The heavy weight of Zaunya's boots on carpet slowly thump one after the other... pacing back and forth in front of the window of the apartment.
The cigarette smoke casually makes it's way out of the open window into the Night City air. Her shadow playing peek a boo with the curtains as she struggles to maintain her patience... feeling as restless as she did back at the motel. Idle hands is often the devil's playground... especially for someone using the weight of time's past like a spear on the front lines.
The place is dead quiet... no foot traffic in or around for sensory distraction... just her against the mind.
With her arms crossed tightly... she hears voices begin to echo in her head... starting with her mom's:
"Remember... whatever they want... whatever they ask... the answer is yes. Ok?"
Then Brian's. "tch... as capable as you are... You're lost".
Then Audrey's. "This isn't just your fight anymore."
She rakes back her long black hair... gripping it tightly while slowly pacing back and forth. Her heart pounding in her ears... the tension in her shoulders and neck becoming unbearable.
She hears Nicholas' voice. "What did they do to you huh... What did they take."
The feeling of powerlessness brought about by a lifetime of serving... the instinctual need to do something about it bares down on her. The traumatic events of time's past begin to flood back into her mind untamed.
The tension sinks deeper... she grits her teeth, hitting her own head several times with the palm of her hand. Her breath's grow sharper... her pacing increases vigorously as the voices in her head grow louder and louder.
She hears Nicholas' voice echo. "BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THEY DO!!...THEY ONLY!!! TAKE!!!!"
Zaunya's tension reaches it's peak as the front door to the apartment abruptly slides open. She snap draws her Nue with eyes wide open... pointing it directly at Brian as he enters.
He stops in his tracks... staring directly at her pointing iron at him... he lowers his eyebrows and tilts his head up slightly without a word.
She lowers her Nue closing her eyes tight.
He picks up on her energy before speaking... his voice deep and mellow.
"Any move you make... involves a thought... an action that reverberates throughout the city... intentionally doing no action... often the hardest part."
Zaunya looks up at the ceiling with a sharp inhale. The tension release drops her Nue to the carpeted floor with a heavy, weighted thud... she covers her face with her hands.
He says slowly approaches with a softened tone. "Waiting... is a skill in itself... to be studied... learned.... mastered."
They stand face to face before he reaches down and picks up her iron.
A deep look in each other's eyes during a pause.
"...Waiting ends today." He confirms with a nod... placing her Nue back into her hand.
Sometime later in the day they find themselves in Heywood... sitting in the Galena G240 parked strategically scoping out El Coyote Cojo and the surrounding neighborhood. The sunny streets are busy and in full swing. Night citizens go about their day in a cesspool of chaos they've long become numbed to. Overworked blue collars on lunch breaks they have no intention on coming back from... corpo rats running around doing grunt work... dirt kids ditching school posted on the block while hungry mercs comb the streets like bounty hunters.
We pick up on the pair toward the end of a conversation.
"Talked to Mama Welles. Gave her the description you had... was right on the money. Apparently the rat's overstayin' his welcome... she's at the end of her rope with him n' his 'goons'. I guess makin' more racket than a janky servo... deterring regulars startin' to-"
"-hahaha geez; 'rat'..? You really are a streetpunk aren't you... How's that 'climb to the top' working out for you huh? That chase to become a 'street' legend." She giggles.
"Legend's a title they give to sorry gonks who bit off more than they could chew... only way to it's in a hole in the ground... often end up there before you ever even get close." He sees a quick flash of Graves' bloodied corpse in his arms in the R.E.O facility... his lifeless face rested permanently in a gaze.
"Ha... yup. A street punk through and through."
"Is that right." He mutters staring out the driver side window.
"Mercs don't question. They simply do what they're told to do for eds... incorporating as little discretion as they can along the way. Not you though huh... you're a whole different... kind of something aren't you."
"Interested in pickin' my brain... probably flow better over a drink instead of a stakeout-"
"-Heh. I disagree." She snap responds giggling.
"Mama Welles gave me a time window she usually sees em at-" Brian's kiroshis glow blue briefly as he checks the time "-which is about now"
"So what's the move?"
"They'll more than likely be there." He points at the Coyote bar.
"We'll be there." He points at an apartment complex across the street.
"Mama Welles did us one better... big mouth gave up his room number a few nights back. Apparently had the nerve to invite her over to his place. Ha... guy really is fuckin gonked."
As he continues to articulate the deets, the pair of them suddenly see the short, fat corpo amongst the heavy foot traffic. He walks with back straight, carrying an energy of no nonsense with a bitter scowl... feeling the locals are hardly worthy of his presence... even as he lives among them. Projecting his structured insecurities of inadequacy with every step he takes... sticking out like a neon thumb with his escort of degenerate looking huscle making their way into the Coyote.
"THERE HE IS!" Zaunya shouts, quickly re-fastening her black leather facemask and opening the passenger door.
Brian quickly grabs her forearm... she stops and looks over at him.
"The less your masked face is out in public the better. Stay here."
"WHAT?"
"Think they're the only ones that stick out around here...? Petrochem is scanning the entire fuckin' city right now.. any significant moves involving corps are gonna get sharper looks... all it takes is the wrong set of eyes on you and we're done and there's-"
"-Brian." She says in exhale with a low tone... feeling his uneasy energy with a firm look in the eyes.
He opens his mouth to respond instinctually... but quickly catches and stops himself. The look in his eyes implying a subtle level of fear as he breaks eye contact with her.
He lets go of her forearm... and slowly pulls his hand away... opening the driver side door.