[Incoming Call: Judy Alvarez.]
Neo didn't expect the call. It came out of nowhere—like the time Evelyn Parker had called him, just before everything went straight to hell.
He connected anyway. "Hey, Judy."
No words came at first. Only the shaky, uneven sound of someone trying not to fall apart. The kind of sound that made silence feel heavy.
Then, between sobs—her voice.
"Ne—Neo… I… I don't know what to do. I don't know who to turn to. I tried to fix it, I really did, but—"
She broke again.
Neo didn't need her to finish. He already knew.
Evelyn Parker was missing.
In the original story of this damned city, the relic heist at Konpeki Plaza had triggered a domino chain of blood and ruin. Saburo Arasaka's death had overshadowed everything, but Arasaka's retribution had been merciless. Their black ops and netrunners scoured Night City, peeling back every layer of the operation until every name was known, every accomplice found.
T-Bug—burned alive in her own chair.
Dexter DeShawn—executed by Takemura.
Jackie Welles—bled out in a Delamain cab.
And Evelyn… poor, desperate Evelyn.
She'd run, swapped implants, tried to disappear, only to be sold by the Fingers bastard to a scavs' den—where they broke her mind for profit, turning her into a living braindance nightmare.
Dex had said it himself, back at the motel:
"Saburo Arasaka's dead. Anyone tied to it? Already walking dead."
Now, the timeline was catching up again.
David looked up, confused, hearing the crying through the line. "Uh… Neo? Who's that?"
Neo exhaled slowly. "Judy Alvarez. From the Mox. One of the best braindance techs in the city. You've probably seen some of her work."
David blinked. "Wait—you mean those adult BDs with the—uh, the—"
Neo smirked. "Yeah. Those."
David coughed into his fist. "Right. Just… curious."
Neo's voice hardened. "Forget that part. What matters is—she's going to be one of us. Night's Ember needs people like her."
David straightened immediately. "Understood."
Neo turned back to the call. "Judy. I'm in Watson right now. You still at Lizzie's?"
A sniffle. "Y-yeah."
"Alright. Stay put. I'm coming."
...
When Neo and David arrived at Lizzie's Bar, its neon lights were dark. Closed. The music that usually pulsed through the walls was gone—just the hum of the city outside.
Two familiar Mox girls stood guard by the doors.
"Hey, Neo," one of them greeted with a half-grin, twirling a pink baseball bat on her shoulder. "You're kinda a big deal these days. Heard you're the new legend everyone's talking about."
Neo's expression didn't change. "We're not here to party. I'm here to reopen this place."
She blinked, then burst out laughing. "You got a way of saying things that just makes people feel safe, you know that? Anyway, I get it. You're here for Judy. She's in the studio."
They stepped aside.
Neo and David walked through the silent bar, past empty booths and holographic dancers frozen mid-loop, until they reached the hidden stairway to the basement braindance lab.
The air grew thicker down there—humming with power and the faint tang of coolant. And just as they reached the threshold, voices echoed from inside.
"Judy, I swear, you keep bringing strays in here like this, and I'm gonna lose my damn mind!" That was Suzie Q—the iron-fisted manager of the Mox.
Judy's tone was quiet but stubborn. "They're not strays. They just need help. You know how the streets are right now. If we don't take them in—"
Suzie snapped, "We're not a charity, Judy! This bar's not a shelter for every broken doll in Watson. You want to play saint? Go join a church."
Judy's voice trembled slightly, but she didn't back down. "Maybe it's not about playing saint. Maybe it's about being human. These girls just… need a chance."
Suzie's laugh was bitter. "You think Night City gives a damn about chances? This place eats people alive. The Mox barely scrape by as it is—booze and flesh keep the lights on, not your bleeding heart."
She sighed heavily. "This city doesn't reward kindness, Judy. It kills it."
That was when Neo pushed the door open.
"Sorry to interrupt," he said smoothly, stepping into the room with David behind him.
Suzie turned sharply, ready to bite back—until she saw who it was.
Her eyes widened.
Neo. The man who'd killed Adam Smasher. The merc who'd blown through Arasaka's walls and walked out alive. The one whose name was already being whispered in Afterlife as the new legend.
Instantly, her tone softened.
"Ah—Neo, right?" she said quickly, smile snapping into place. "Didn't know Judy had friends like you. I was just leaving."
She brushed past him with a forced laugh, nearly tripping over herself on the way out.
Once the door shut, Judy slumped into her chair, exhaling shakily. "Thanks for that. I think I was about five seconds away from losing my job."
Neo crossed his arms. "She wasn't wrong. Feeding and housing that many girls isn't easy. But she's also missing the point."
Judy looked up, exhausted but curious. "And what's the point?"
Neo stepped closer. "I've got space. A lot of it. After we cleared out the Maelstrom from the All Foods plant, the factory and the district around it became ours. Wide open, plenty of housing. If the girls need somewhere to go, send them to me."
Judy blinked. "You'd do that?"
"Of course. You cover initial costs—whatever it takes to move them safely—I'll front the eddies. Pay me back later, with interest if it makes you feel better."
For a second, Judy just stared at him, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
"Neo… you always know how to make something sound like a business deal."
Neo smiled faintly. "That's because everything in Night City is a business deal. Even kindness."
She looked down, laughing softly. "Maybe you're right. Still, thank you. You didn't have to step in, but you did."
Neo's gaze softened. "Judy, I know what it's like to stand alone. To want to fix something in a world that punishes you for caring."
He leaned against the console. "Before I came to Night City, I was part of the Bakker family. Nomads. Out in the Badlands, we took care of our own. When shit hit the fan, you called the family. You didn't ask if they'd help—you just knew they would."
"The Mox are the same. You're not a corporation, you're a family. Don't lose that."
Judy smiled weakly. "You make it sound easy."
"It's not," Neo replied. "But it's worth it."
...
The neon light from the studio window flickered against Judy's face, highlighting the exhaustion there—but also something else. Hope.
She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Neo, I think I understand now. Thank you."
He gave a slight nod. "Get some rest. Tomorrow, we start fixing what's broken."