The sirens of Night City whale off in the distance... white smoke rises from sewer grates, wafting into the air.
The size and density of Night City often offers alot of deadzones... areas that were once or even never inhabited. Abandoned store fronts... crumbling construction projects... businesses that just never got off the ground... shell after shell of hallowed out, soulless infrastructure. Its no wonder so many in society... whether vagrants, criminals or runaways call this place home. A cityscape where opportunity and dismay dance together hand in hand in a whirlwind of chaos and uncertainty. Whether its dorph heads living in squaller, wandering the streets like zombies... or blue collar workers snarfing scop dogs on the street corner before double shift... its home to them all.
Such is the folly of Night City... the desire to change things ever loses to the white knuckling of another day on the streets.
Amidst the feint sounds of the empty, isolated block; three people turn a corner off the main road down an alley. The darkness hidden away from direct sunlight engulfs the three as they make their way down its long stretch. They get to the end of the quiet, trash littered stretch and hop a short chainlink fence before turning a final corner. They walk another 30 yards down after turning the corner and stop in front of an unassuming door.
Audrey waves her hand over the locking mechanism... a dim green light appears illuminating a small, feint area of the alleyway. She places the palm of her hand over the green light and holds it there briefly.. the door beeps subtly before sliding open.
They make their way into her hideout pitch black and slide the door closed behind them. Audrey's Kiroshis briefly flicker blue as she turns on the lights giving a clear view of the living room area.
The pristine nature of the living space is in direct contrast to the surrounding neighborhood... the second story apartment looked barely lived in... untouched by high traffic and regular use. It was almost as if stepping into a portal to a more high-end part of the city. Although no opulence on display, it was well put together... plush... comforting... things were organized and had their own place.. it was cozy with 2 bedrooms.. a small living room connected to the kitchen area.
"You guys can stay here for the time being... Its not much, but definitely safe from prying eyes." Audrey says watching Brian and Zaunya slowly walk through the place checking it out. "CCTV is setup to watch the mainstreet and this back alley here. There's not too many directions of approach in this area as well... pretty straightforward ins and outs from a strategic perspective really."
"Interesting location for a get-away vacation home." Brian says looking around the layout of the place.
"Well, if you're trying to 'get-away' for 'vacation' or because a multibillion eddie mega-corp is hunting you down, i'd say you've been brought to the right place. This area sees no through traffic... a geographical dead end on the city's grid. Just... one of hundreds of deadzones in Night City... nothing more than a shortcut home for a corpo slave or a quiet street for a crusty to lay their head at night. Other than that, if things do get hot.. there's several spots you can use as shooting nests up along the fire escape and rooftop... buildings also been retro-fitted for small arms and explosives... heavy concussive impacts."
Brian looks over at Audrey with confused skepticism. She continues.
"And if all else fails... come here." Audrey gathers them to follow her.
She walks into the kitchen area behind the bar counter and opens a couple of cupboard cabinets underneath it... revealing a ladder that leads down into a dark hole. "You can use this to get down into to the sewer systems... hopefully well... you won't have to. Bought this place years ago... long before corp owned property managers in the area could sink their claws into the district."
"Thanks Audrey... I don't know how to even repay you.. I was-" Zaunya says.
"-Don't mention it... just bring me that eye and we should be square." She responds closing the cupboards.
"I gotta ask..." Brian mutters with a slight grin.. watching the front street with forearm posted on a window and head down. Zaunya and Audrey look over at him.
"The location... this place... a lot of work went into it... a lot of thinking. I don't know... It just screams distrust to me... me n' her aren't the only ones on the run here are we..?"
A silence sits between the three briefly.... Zaunya looks over at Audrey without saying anything
Audrey pauses for a second... focusing in on Brian.
"...When you're in service to a mega-corp... doing work off the books. You don't get deets... you get orders. Sure, they pay well but it comes at a cost."
she checks him with a serious tone hes unfamiliar with as she slowly approaches.
"I'm a tool. She's a weapon." She mutters flatly in his face... gesturing back toward Zaunya who looks down and away with arms crossed.
"Tools and weapons... they don't get a break. They don't get to retire. They don't get a say. An opinion... a heart.... a conscience. They're simply used until they are no longer OF use. To then be disposed of... replaced... forgotten." She looks down calculating while taking a step back. "This is just in place for that inevitability."
"So you're still tied to em huh."
"More like chained..." She replies with a nod... looking deep into his eyes with a pause. "More like chained."
She turns around, making her way to the couch.
"So what? Do they not track you or-?"
"-Contract work honey. Technically i'm not theirs therefore not their responsibility... plausible deniability... no liability whatsoever if N Fifty-Four comes sniffing around and all that. Don't ever let them hear that claim though... I'm sure they'd say otherwise. Third party contractors like me are retained... usually only looked at when needed. Like being filed away in a cabinet or... on a shelf till called upon."
"Hm.. not much different than the merc fixer relationship i guess huh."
Audrey shrugs in reply... saying nothing.
"Thanks for this Audrey... really." He mutters sincerely.
"Don't thank me yet. We still have biz."
Brian and Zaunya exchange a brief look as all three converge on the living room space.
He grabs a cigarette and lights it before tossing his Death Styx pack onto the table. Zaunya drags a chair from the kitchen to the living room area to sit on.
"Ready?" Audrey asks glancing at the pair of them.