Chapter 26: The Conscience of Night City
"We really kicked the hornet's nest this time. Mercs zeroing their fixer isn't unheard of in Night City, but doing it like we did... that's probably a first."
Maine drove one-handed. Despite his serious injuries, he turned back to Rhys, his face flushed with adrenaline. "So? How'd it feel?"
"How'd what feel?" Rhys shifted slightly. Kiwi was using his lap as a pillow, and Sasha was slumped against his other shoulder, fast asleep. The crew's two netrunners were completely wiped—one poisoned by malware and puking her guts out, the other having nearly fried her own brain from system overload. Kiwi had to lie down; sitting up would just make her vomit again.
"Last night, choom! All that chaos. How'd it feel?"
"Dangerous," Rhys admitted after a moment. "But... definitely intense." That surge of adrenaline, the feeling of his brain running white-hot... he actually kind of liked it. Maybe he was just wired for excitement. It was probably why he'd adapted to Night City so well.
Maine let out a huge grin. "Once we get patched up by this Viktor guy, get some fresh chrome installed, I'll show you something even more intense!"
Rhys just smiled wryly and nodded. He knew what Maine was doing. The big guy was clearly worried Rhys would leave the crew and was trying to keep him hooked with promises of action and thrills.
He'd already gotten the system notification when he'd flatlined Janus last night. The two random +0.1 attribute points had gone into Reflexes and Body—exactly what he needed.
"Pilar, keep up! We're almost there," Maine called out.
Pilar's voice crackled over the comms instantly. "I know this place better than you do!"
Maine chuckled and guided the car into Kabuki. Following the map in his head, he soon pulled up in front of a small shop.
"'Misty's Esoterica'..." Maine looked at Rhys, skeptical. "You sure there's a good ripperdoc here?" He felt like Rhys was messing with him. What, did the doc sell tarot cards on the side while installing military-grade chrome?
"Just get out of the car," Rhys said, his tone familiar now. He rolled his eyes, carefully lifting Kiwi into his arms as he exited. Sasha stumbled out after him, her usual smile gone, her head bobbing groggily.
Maine and Dorio climbed out, followed shortly by Pilar and Rebecca in the second car.
"This is it? Are you kidding me?" Rebecca stared up at the strange symbols painted on the shop's sign. One of her eyes was missing, replaced by a dark, empty socket with a few visible wires—a genuinely unsettling sight. She squinted her remaining eye. Unlike Maine, Rebecca had no filter.
"This is the address. Let's just go in," Pilar said.
Rhys had already carried Kiwi inside. The air was thick with the pleasant scent of incense. The shop was dimly lit, decorated with esoteric trinkets and artificial flowers.
"Good morning. Can I help you?"
A gentle, magnetic female voice spoke. A woman emerged from the shadows, wearing gothic makeup and dark clothing, her eyes wary as she took in the battered crew.
"Hello. We're looking for Doctor Viktor."
"Vick?" The woman looked them over, her expression shifting to understanding as she noted their injuries. "Vik's clinic is downstairs. Um... follow me. I wasn't busy anyway."
She came out from behind the counter, her gaze sweeping over the crew. "You guys are really messed up," she said softly. "Are you mercs?"
"That's right. Maine's crew. Ever heard of us?" Maine gave the woman, Misty, a wink.
Misty paused. For a strange moment, Maine reminded her strongly of someone else... Yeah, the resemblance was there. Same massive build, same boisterous energy.
She shook her head. "I don't really follow the edgerunner scene. As you can see, I'm just an ordinary person."
"I'm Misty, by the way. And you are?" she asked, her voice gentle despite her mystical appearance.
"Rhys," he replied, looking at her. Misty. A key character from the game, someone who witnessed V's entire rise and fall. And the one who, in the Phantom Liberty timeline, guided V on how to live as an ordinary person again. Rhys had a very positive impression of her; probably every player did. Not just because of her unique charm, but also because of Jackie.
Hearing Rhys give his name, Maine didn't hesitate. "Name's Maine."
"Dorio."
Sasha, still looking dazed, mumbled her name too. "Sasha... Yakovleva." In her groggy state, she seemed less sharp, less guarded, almost endearingly clumsy, her usual cleverness replaced by a simple vulnerability.
"Hey, hey, hey! You guys are just giving out your names like that?" Rebecca complained, but then looked at Misty. "Rebecca."
Pilar had been trying to edge closer to Misty the whole time, but Rhys, carrying Kiwi, kept blocking his path. Frustrated, Pilar practically jumped up and down. "Pilar! Hey, beautiful, Pilar!"
Misty smiled faintly and led the way through a back door into an alley. She guided them to a metal door set into the ground and pulled it open, revealing a set of stairs leading down. "Vick's usually just getting up around this time. Probably watching his boxing matches again."
The temperature dropped noticeably as they descended. Misty pushed open another door, and Rhys heard the roar of a crowd—the sound of a boxing match playing on a screen.
"Vick! You've got customers!" Misty called out.
A burly figure sat with his back to them, watching the screen intently. Hearing Misty, he paused the playback, stood up, and turned around. He had an unchromed face, square glasses perched on his nose. He wasn't particularly tall, but he was built like a tank, muscles bulging under his blue work shirt and pants.
"Thanks, Misty," he said, his voice deep, rough, and calm.
Misty smiled but didn't leave. "I think you might need some help. This is quite a crowd."
Viktor's gaze swept over them, lingering on Kiwi in Rhys's arms. He diagnosed her instantly. "Malware poisoning? Bring her over here. The rest of you... one at a time." He was already giving orders.
"Come on, everyone, this way," Misty said, gesturing them towards a waiting area. When her shop was slow, she often helped Viktor out. She was practically his nurse.
"Wait a second! You haven't told us how much this is gonna cost!" Maine frowned. This wasn't right. Treating first and talking eddies later? Was this the trustworthy ripperdoc Rhys had mentioned? Sounded more like a back-alley butcher. Who knew what kind of bill he'd slap them with afterwards?
Viktor paused, looking at Maine. "Right now, you need treatment. Especially her," he nodded towards Kiwi. "That trojan looks nasty. If we don't deal with it fast, it could damage her internal components. That'll be much harder, and more expensive, to fix."
"As for the eddies... pay what you can. Enough to cover my costs is fine. If you're broke, you can owe me."
Without waiting for a response, Viktor walked over to a diagnostic chair, motioning for Rhys to put Kiwi down. He immediately began operating the nearby equipment, initiating a scan.
Maine just stood there, stunned.
"Is he fucking serious?" he whispered to Rhys, right in front of the ripperdoc.
Viktor didn't say anything, just placed a hand on the back of Kiwi's head and jacked a cable into her neural port.
Rhys smiled and nodded. "He's serious."
After all, this was Vick. The conscience of Night City.
Viktor Vektor. In the eyes of every player... the best ripperdoc there was.