Watson District, Bradbury and Brawn Street.
Misty ran a little esoteric shop, and she also served as the receptionist for Viktor Vector's clinic. Usually, Viktor didn't have many patients, and Misty's clients, who came seeking spiritual healing, appreciated the quiet atmosphere of the shop. But today, that peace was disrupted by a man with a booming voice, waking Misty from her nap at the counter.
> "Jack, seriously. This is the first time I've seen a guide who has to double-check the address."
> "Relax, chica. Sure, it's my first time here too, but trust me—when I handle something, I handle it right."
> "First time? You saying that already makes me doubt it. You've known Viktor for so long and never thought to support his business?"
> "Damn, of course I wanted to! But c'mon, chica, someone like me—barely scraping by—where would I get the money for fancy implants? I make do with what I've got. Anyway, we're here."
A burly man carrying someone on his shoulder stood at the door of the esoteric shop. The man was Jack, and the one slung over his shoulder—his face green after tasting a Night City special burger—was Yogan.
Jack looked around the shop's interior, visibly puzzled.
V followed behind and asked, "Looks like a fortune-teller's place. Jack, are you sure this is the right spot?"
> "Don't worry, chica. Trust me."
Misty rubbed her face, stood up, and greeted them.
> "Welcome to Misty's Esoterica. How can I help you today?"
Even with her punk makeup, Misty's beauty shone through. Jack could only utter one word:
> "Wow~"
Standing behind Jack with arms crossed, V squinted her eyes and kicked Jack in the butt to remind him why they were here.
> "Hey, chica—I mean, miss—we're here to see Viktor. Dr. Viktor. I already contacted him. He sent us this address. So, um, you see…"
Misty smiled at the bumbling big guy.
> "You must be Jack. Dr. Viktor already told me. Go through the back alley. There's a basement where he's waiting for you."
Jack scratched his head and grinned.
> "Thanks a lot, miss. Honestly…"
V gave him another kick, pushing the reluctant Jack into the alley.
> "Jack."
> "Appreciating beauty is human nature."
> "Didn't you have a girlfriend?"
> "We broke up. She said she didn't want to wake up one day and find herself a widow…"
Jack stepped into the basement, shouting:
> "Hey, Vik! I'm here!"
Dr. Viktor, who was watching a boxing match at his workbench, stood up.
> "Jack, good to see you! Who's this on your shoulder? Is he hurt? Put him down."
Jack laid Yogan on a recliner.
> "Shouldn't be anything serious. He got like this after eating a burger. This lovely lady here is V, the one I mentioned."
V shook hands with Viktor.
> "Nice to meet you."
> "Call me Vik, just like Jack does."
Jack pointed to the one lying on the chair.
> "This is Yogan."
Vik gently stopped Yogan from trying to get up.
> "Easy, kid. No need for formalities. Call me Vik. Let's start with a full-body scan."
He pulled a machine over and began scanning.
> "Jack, you said you needed my help. What's going on?"
V stepped up.
> "Let me explain. We're here to use your equipment to analyze some data from cyberware."
Vik glanced at the backpack on V's back and then focused on scanning Yogan.
> "I told you—don't be so formal. Just call me Vik. You don't look too good either. I'll do a full scan for you afterward, free of charge for new clients."
> "Me?"
> "Sure, why not? Call it a welcome gift."
> "Thanks… Vik."
Vik chuckled, but his face grew serious as he looked at the monitor.
> "This is strange…"
> "Is there something seriously wrong with him?"
Vik shook his head.
> "Honestly, I've never seen someone with no cyberware at all."
> "But he should have some implants."
Vik scanned again.
> "Maybe. But my equipment's picking up nothing. Without implants, I'll have to use old-school methods. Good news: it's just a severe allergic reaction to the synthetic meat in the burger. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and some swelling. Bad news: he might have to go vegetarian from now on. I'll prescribe some meds to help."
Jack grinned and handed water to the shaky Yogan, who swallowed the pills Vik gave him.
Watching Vik scan V, Yogan asked:
> "Vik, can I use your equipment now?"
> "Of course. The cables are by the console."
Yogan opened his backpack and connected a piece of cyberware to the console.
> [Operation template loaded]
[Command executing…]
With help from his system, Yogan's hands moved fluidly across the panel. Lines of data streamed down the screen.
Jack peered over his shoulder.
> "So, what can you tell?"
> "Honestly, not much. A lot of data was damaged when the cyberware was removed. The signal transmitter seems to have broken even earlier."
> "But some files survived. Like implant specs, drivers, and the last operation log—holy crap!"
> "What is it?"
> "Vik, you're the expert. Have you ever heard of Arasaka developing their own Sandevistan system?"
> "Never. Most Sandevistans out there are military tech."
> "Let's check… '2070/8/4, 06:34:09 – Experimental equipment online.' This guy was high-level Arasaka. Normal agents don't get this kind of gear. Neural systems, cortex, circulatory system—it's all high-end corp tech. He could probably wipe out a whole gang solo."
Jack pointed at a string of gibberish on the screen.
> "What's that?"
> "Weird. This segment shouldn't be corrupted. Is it the driver for the experimental implant?"
> "Dude, I thought you were one of those badass street netrunners—you know, snap your fingers and shut down a block."
> "If I were that good, I'd be in a cushy corp office."
He kept working.
> "Let's check the last activation log… Hmm. Last startup was April 13, 2074. Just three days ago. Damn. This is serious."
> "Why?"
> "'2074/4/13, 19:09:36 – Unauthorized access detected.' This guy was hacked. His ICE kicked in two seconds later. Then the Kerenzikov auto-defensive system activated. Then the Sandevistan kicked in, which means he was aware of the attack. But just one second after that, he died."
Even Jack realized the gravity.
> "Damn… Less than three seconds to take down an elite Arasaka agent…"
> "Only another mega-corp could pull that off. This is above our pay grade."
Yogan started wiping the system clean.
> "V, better call our fixer again. This goes beyond us."
V nodded and reached for her phone. But when she tried calling, no one answered. She hung up immediately.
> "Looks like the fixer's already been hit."
Vik suddenly asked:
> "Have you installed any chips recently?"
> "Yeah. A gun training chip."
> "Toss it. Someone tampered with it. There was a backdoor in your eye implant, transmitting everything you saw. I've removed it, but I need to do a full system sweep to make sure nothing else is lurking."
V paused.
> "Vik, can I keep the video footage?"
> "If you want it, sure."
She played the footage silently. Suddenly, Jack shouted:
> "Wait, pause it!"
V, confused, paused the video.
Jack stared at the screen, murmuring:
> "No… That's not right…"
> "Jack, what is it?"
> "Chica, I've seen that guy. He's not Valentino. He was one of the corp dogs who came to our gang to negotiate. I swear on the Virgin of Guadalupe—he's from Militech."
V and Yogan exchanged looks and immediately tried to call Johnson again. Three rings. No answer.
V hung up.
> "The fixer's compromised."