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ruvviks · 2 years ago

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Chapter >> 13 [x] Characters >> Cato Wu (oc), Eddie Wolfe (oc), Judy Álvarez, Mikhail Koshechkin (oc), Rogue Amendiares, Vitali Dobrynin (oc), a long list of side characters Total >> 6.6k words Warnings >> Alcohol, blood, brainwashing mention, death, descriptions of suffocation, injuries, violence

The sun had long set, the sky a deep, dark blue color yet too polluted with light and fumes to show any of the stars it held. Bright beams of advertisements between skyscrapers and Megabuildings illuminated the city and even at that hour of the night the streets were crowded and full of life.

Truly a place that never slept.

Tucked away between buildings in Watson, muffled music rose up from the underground club the Afterlife. Especially busy that day; for no particular reason, though the entrance itself was already crowded enough to signal to anyone who wanted to enter what the rest of the club’s grounds would be like.

The bright neon lights above the entrance flickered lightly when a car came to a stop on the club’s parking lot. Some curious glances in its direction- innocent, mostly, simply the gazes of those wondering who had arrived.

Though those very same gazes lingered just a little longer when three people exited the car- one of them dressed in a deep red suit with golden accents and stitched embroidery of flowers decorating the back of the jacket, and the other two in full combat gear- and slowly made their way inside.

The Afterlife was known to be the place for mercenaries and fixers to discuss business; no one would bat an eye upon seeing even the most popular of fixers- or the most infamous, for that matter- enter and make themselves right at home.

Though this was different.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Slicked back bleached hair; recently cut, a few loose strands covering a freckled forehead. Head held high, shoulders pushed back and a black cane with the same golden details as the ones decorating the suit in a gloved left hand and two piercing blueish gray eyes staring straight ahead, ignoring the stares of the rest of the club’s clientele.

Vitali Dobrynin was not a fixer often seen at the club. Most if not all of his business took place in his own office building in Wellsprings, far away from the prying eyes of nosy mercs looking to only half-commit to a job and jump ship with their payment before the contract would end.

Though people talked about him. Many visitors of the Afterlife did not want to work for him- believed him to be a faulty fixer still knee deep into the corpo life, ignoring the fact he had managed to build everything he now had up from ground level with nothing but hard-earned eddies from his own time as a merc.

Especially now, with the Broker running around; with ties to that very same Vitali Dobrynin, mercenaries rumored to work for him wreaking havoc in Night City not too long ago- and especially after that very same Vitali Dobrynin had supposedly worked for Arasaka again, about half a year back.

Rumors, rumors, rumors.

Nobody there knew Vitali had been brainwashed by the corporation, used like a puppet by them to try and tie up the final loose end of the disaster with the Relic. Nobody there knew the mercenaries in question no longer worked for Vitali, and now worked for the Broker instead.

And nobody there knew the Broker was not Vitali himself, but no one other than his very own father.

But that was about to change.

‘Eyes on the prize, boss. Milf spotted in the back booth, left of the bar.’

‘Cato, can you please be respectful for once in your life?’

Mikhail’s voice was only barely audible to Vitali over the noises surrounding them, earpiece in his right ear and earplug in his left. His friend’s exasperated comment was merely met with laughter from Eddie- there with them in the Afterlife- and Judy- on the other side of comms, with Cato.

‘Aw, come on, Mish- Am I wrong?’ Cato playfully asked. ‘Rogue’s a hot piece of ass, everyone can see that! ‘s Not as if she can hear me from all the way over there, anyway.’

‘Usually we try to handle these kinds of operations with a bit more…elegance,’ Vitali responded as he slowly maneuvered through the crowd, a greeting nod in Claire’s direction as he passed her by. ‘But, you have a point. So I’ll allow it- this once.’

‘See? Even the boss can appreciate- Wait, what?’

Vitali reached for his earpiece, switching channels with a hint of a smile lingering on his face as he stopped at the far end of the bar, carefully lowering himself on one of the barstools. Claire had followed along and reached for a bottle to pour him the usual- but Vitali caught her gaze and signed a quick “just some water, please” before she could lift it up.

‘She’s still busy at the moment from what I can tell,’ Judy said over comms, Cato’s confused stammering still slightly audible in the background. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to send her a quick ping? Both you and V are on her good side. Shouldn’t be an issue.’

‘Thank you, Judy, but it’s alright.’ Vitali smiled at Claire and swiftly stopped the glass of water shoved into his direction from sliding any further. ‘The Council does not need to know about my visit to her. Off the records. Surely she will understand.’

‘Your call, jefe. I’ll let you know when there’s a window.’

Mikhail and Eddie stood on either of Vitali’s sides as the minutes slowly passed by. He had not wanted to bring them along; but Vincent had not allowed him to visit the club all by himself and had even threatened to come after him were he to try it anyway.

In hindsight, it had been a good decision. It had been a long time since the last time he had walked in there; well over a year now, as a matter of fact. Vitali knew he wasn’t liked and he knew he had to watch his step in there, well aware it would not have to take much for him to end up with a bullet or two between his eyes.

Eddie leaned backwards against the bar, elbows on the counter as he slightly tilted his head toward his boss to get his attention. He gave him a playful wink the second Vitali’s gaze met his, and in return Vitali softly slapped him with the glove he had taken off, right before shoving it into his pocket.

‘What are we here for anyway, if I may ask?’ Eddie asked, a grin on their face as they bumped their hip against Vitali’s thigh. ‘Talking to Rogue. Not really your style, considering- well, you know.’

‘Things were different back then,’ Vitali answered, crossing his arms on the bar and leaning on them a little as he shifted position on his seat. ‘Through…unfortunate events, we have history now. And I- I need to talk to her about the Broker. Who they are.’

Eddie slowly nodded, their gaze trailing their surroundings as they checked if anyone was trying to listen in. Vitali finished his drink in the meantime and fiddled with it a little, the rings on his right hand softly ticking against the glass.

‘I am hoping to clear my own name,’ he continued, ‘call in the Council. Not sure if it is even possible in these times, but- I need to speak to them. Situation might escalate again soon and I would like to have things sorted out before that happens.’

‘Understandable.’ Eddie made brief eye contact with Mikhail and gave him a solid nod and Vitali briefly glanced over his shoulder, just in time to see his friend wander off into the crowd. ‘You think she’ll help?’

‘I sure hope so. Though with my track record of “getting help” these days I feel like it’s not going to lead to anything. But at least I’ll have tried.’

Even the act of visiting the Afterlife was already a big risk Vitali was taking and he knew it; yet nobody had been able to talk the idea out of his head. Another dumb mistake, possibly- but who would he be if he would not even give it a try?

‘Boss? Trouble.’

Vitali instantly perked up, first glancing at Eddie and then quickly turning around on his seat to assess the situation.

Mikhail had started making his way back to the two of them but had been stopped by- someone Vitali did not recognize, from that distance at least. A tall, muscular enough man with blond hair, wearing DIY combat gear over a jumpsuit; almost as if he was an NPC that had somehow wandered its way straight out of a video game.

Vitali tightened his jaw and hopped from his seat, grabbing his cane before slowly making his way over to the two men. A small crowd had formed around them, for some reason; friends, possibly, or just random bystanders waiting for a show.

‘Gentlemen,’ Vitali said, raising his voice slightly to make himself audible over the partially incoherent yelling of the man. He stopped, turning his head to look at Vitali- who used the split second of silence to his advantage and gently tugged Mikhail on his sleeve, positioning himself between his friend and the man despite the fact Mikhail was suited up for exactly these kinds of situations and he himself very much was not.

‘Can I help you?’ Vitali asked, and watched as a wide grin spread on the man’s face. He pointed at Vitali and turned to look at some others- they all looked like mercs of some sort on closer inspection. A gang, perhaps? Though Vitali had never seen them before in his life.

‘Been lookin’ for you,’ the man said, wagging his finger around in Vitali’s face before moving it over to Mikhail behind him. ‘That motherfucker screwed me over. You’re the big man in charge, right? I want my eddies back.’

It only took Vitali a fraction of a second to realize what he meant- A job done in the time he had been in Arizona with Vincent, when Mikhail had temporarily taken on the role as fixer to keep business going.

‘I’m sorry- screwed you over?’ Mikhail repeated and scoffed. ‘You provided us with shady, unreliable information, your informants didn’t show up and you nearly got several of our mercs killed. You should be glad I decided to let you walk away from the situation alive, you fucking-’

‘Alright, alright,’ Vitali gently interrupted him and raised his hand, ignoring the whispering and laughing of the crowd surrounding them. ‘Any of that true, sir?’

‘Well, I- uh-’ The man paused, visibly clenching his jaw as he straightened his back, towering high over Vitali; a weak attempt at intimidation, perhaps, though it did him very little and he merely patiently waited for his answer.

He knew his absence had not been easy for Mikhail and he knew not every job had gone as smoothly as they had usually gone, before his sudden departure. Did not blame him for it either, if anyone had to take the blame it would be Vitali himself and he had made sure Mikhail knew he had done everything he could and any trouble they would get because of it would not be his problem to deal with.

Hence why Vitali stood there now, positioned between Mikhail and the man- who was visibly starting to become more frustrated and took a few jumpy steps back as he ran his hand over his face and shook his head.

‘Listen,’ he said, once again pointing his finger in Vitali’s direction. ‘I’ma give you to the count of five, and if I don’t have my eddies back by then- all three thousand of ‘em- that dark red suit o’ yours is gonna be red for vastly different reasons.’

‘Really now?’ Vitali asked, raising his eyebrow and slightly tilting his head, a smile taking shape on his face as he let his eyes trail the crowd; people were starting to get rowdy, starting to cheer. A rush of adrenaline was already soaring through his system, reminding him of the street fights he used to participate in-

Sure, he was there for business now. But he could have a little bit of fun.

‘One!’ the guy yelled, his voice barely audible above the buzz of the club, the music suddenly a lot louder than before; though it could just be Vitali’s imagination, straightening his back and redistributing his weight to his left leg while grabbing his cane halfway down the shaft.

‘Two!’

‘You sure you’re going to do this, jefe?’ Judy asked. ‘Viktor’s gonna kill you.’

‘Only if I get hurt,’ Vitali replied, rolling back his neck as the man yelled out a loud three, dragging it out a little bit longer as if he was trying to give Vitali time to reconsider.

Another day, another client turning against him. Far from the first time and far from the last; though usually Vitali dealt with these sorts of things with a bit more finesse than he was about to do.

‘Four!’

He did not care. His reputation preceded him; the bruising of his knuckles as dark as the rims underneath his eyes, everyone knew Vitali Dobrynin was a fighter first and a fixer second. All to protect, all out of love- but no one cared about that. They only ever saw what was on show.

‘FIVE!’

The man wasted no time and went for a swing- and Vitali intercepted his arm with his cane with ease, hitting it from the side and causing the elbow to bend the wrong way. He swiftly stepped aside, allowing the man to stumble past him and he used the momentum to kick him down to the ground.

Accidentally used his right leg for it. It hurt a lot more than he had anticipated.

Vitali noticed people reaching for their weapons and glanced at Mikhail and Eddie who immediately drew their guns, keeping the crowd under control. The man was on the floor now- squirming, cursing and coughing his lungs out as he clutched his broken arm close to his body.

‘You have some nerve, I’ll give you that,’ Vitali said, tossing his cane aside and taking off his jacket. ‘Endangering the lives of my mercenaries with faulty information and then crawling back on your knees to beg for your fucking eddies. I should stuff them up your ass. Deliver your body in a box to your parents.’

‘Every job comes with risks, man!’ the guy cried out, trying to scramble to his feet as Vitali rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and walked closer. ‘Look- Sure, maybe I could’a been a bit more careful with some things, provide more detes, but-’

Vitali set his foot down on the man’s hand before he could finish his sentence and a strangled cry left his throat. He leaned forward and reached for his collar- but before he could get close enough, two pairs of strong hands grabbed him by his arms and violently dragged him back.

The world spun around him as a fist collided with his jaw and only a split second later he was face down on the floor, people screaming and cheering around him. Oh, and it felt good- the stinging pain burning through his muscles and the taste of blood in his mouth and he pushed himself back up on feet with a grin decorating his face.

A man and woman had joined the fray- both twice his size with biceps about as big as his head- and Vitali steadied himself and with a single blink of his eyes he was suddenly looking directly at Jackie and Viktor instead, a bright and warm sunday morning in the ring.

‘Watch your footing, Vito,’ Viktor said. ‘Can’t have you gettin’ swept off your feet before you can even land a hit.’

Vitali spat some blood on the floor and dodged another incoming swing, balling his fist and ramming it between the woman’s ribs before running straight into the man and shoving him violently into the wall. His hair was grabbed and yanked back- but it did nothing as he turned his head and sank his teeth as deep into the man’s wrist as he possibly could, until he let him go.

‘Dirty fighter, huh, V?’ Jackie grinned up at him as Vitali pinned him to the ground. ‘And right you are- Night City don’t play by the rules, either.’

The woman kicked him hard on his leg- his right leg once again, causing him to wince in pain and nearly sink through his knees. She wrapped her arm around his neck and lifted him from the floor, squeezing as hard as she could and he could feel his windpipe getting crushed.

Tears sprung in his eyes as he dragged his nails over the woman’s arm, cutting into skin and flesh and drawing blood but not nearly enough to cause her to let him go. He swung his leg back and managed to kick her in the crotch- with barely any effect- but she slightly loosened her grip giving him just enough space to push his arm between the two of them and elbow her hard in the chest.

He was dropped to the floor and landed painfully on his knees, coughing and wheezing as he tried to catch his breath. The man had regained himself in the meantime and walked forward- and without warning went for a kick, hitting Vitali in his ribs.

He grabbed the man’s foot and rolled to the side, dragging him along and causing him to fall backwards and hit his head hard on the concrete floor. The woman tried to stomp on him- but Vitali was a lot faster and dodged her foot, then reached for his belt, flicked out a knife and stabbed it through her shoe as hard as he could.

He was back on his feet within seconds, the world only slightly spinning as he swayed from side to side and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The woman had yanked the knife out of her foot, cursing loudly at him as she swung it around and then hurled it through the air-

‘You need to be quicker.’ Viktor smiled gently as he extended his hand, and Vitali begrudgingly took it and allowed the man to pull him back to his feet. ‘Reflexes are key, Vito. You’re agile, you’re perceptive; use that to your advantage.’

Vitali caught it.

He licked his lips as he carefully twirled the knife between his fingers, watching the blood drain from the woman’s face right before she quickly raised her hands in defense and took a few steps back until she was once again part of the crowd.

People were a little bit quieter, now. The man on the floor hadn’t moved yet.

Vitali absently wiped the knife on his pants as he redirected his attention to the man who had started it all; still sitting on the floor, holding his arm tightly and looking even more pathetic than he had done a few minutes ago. The second he realized Vitali was looking at him, he made another attempt at scrambling to his feet- but slipped on the little pool of blood that had taken shape underneath the head of the man lying dead at his feet and he fell down on his ass again.

‘If I can’t even beat the two of you, I’ll never make it out there.’ Vitali tilted his head up and allowed Jackie to pinch the bridge of his nose for him, while holding a tissue up against it.

‘Just give it time, mano,’ Jackie simply answered, and playfully kicked his foot against the side of his friend’s leg. ‘You tackled me to the floor just now like I weighed nothing- you couldn’t do that a month ago.’

Vitali walked over to the man and grabbed his collar- then seemingly without effort dragged him on his feet and tossed him on one of the benches to his right, only to then ram him violently into the wall and climb on top of him.

‘It’s funny,’ he sneered, leaning in until his forehead nearly touched that of the other man. ‘You even admit that you were in the wrong. Do you truly think that will save you?’

‘You’re fucking insane!’ the man yelled back at him, struggling in his grip- but his broken arm prevented him from doing anything, and with Vitali straddling his lap there was nowhere for him to flee.

‘Piece of- corpo trash! Fucking- Get off of me!’

‘Shh,’ Vitali gently shushed him, letting the back of his fingers run over the man’s cheek- leaving behind a trail of dark red blood. He wasn’t even sure if it was his own or someone else’s.

‘Just let me go, man! I won’t bother you again, I swear!’

‘I know, I know.’ Vitali paused, and he felt the eyes from nearly everyone in the club on his back. Could almost hear their thoughts, could feel their judgment like acid burning through his skin-

‘But you almost got my mercenaries killed. And I can’t let that go unpunished.’

And he balled his fist, and let his knuckles collide with the man’s jaw.

One hit.

Two hit.

Three hit.

He grabbed his collar again, ignoring the blood dripping out of the man’s mouth and his eyes rolling back in their sockets. Wanted to speak- but then noticed the man reaching for his knife and grabbed his hand before he could get to it, twisting it around and pinning it against the wall.

‘Alright, enough!’

A sudden silence washed over the crowd and Vitali slowly turned his head. People had stepped aside- to make room for no one other than Rogue Amendiares, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she slowly let her gaze move over the scene playing out in front of her.

‘Show’s over, everyone get back to your fucking business,’ she said. ‘Vitali, get off the man. You got your point across.’

Vitali clenched his jaw and turned back to his victim, who was only barely conscious anymore. He slowly let go of the man’s wrist and instead firmly gripped a handful of his hair, to yank his head up and look him in the eyes.

‘Did I?’ he asked, slightly tilting his head again- adrenaline still coursing through his veins yet his heartbeat as stable as ever.

The man weakly nodded in response.

Vitali slowly got up and stepped back, exhaustion instantly washing over him the second his body realized the conflict was over. Mikhail carefully walked closer to him- and after brief eye contact as confirmation handed him his cane again, his jacket held tightly underneath his arm.

Breathe in, breathe out.

‘I’m surprised to see you here,’ Rogue said, turning back around and making her way back to her booth, gesturing for Vitali to follow her. ‘Thought this place was- how did you word it? “Not your style”?’

‘Times change, Rogue, you know that,’ Vitali coldly responded, wincing a little as he set his right foot down and he leaned heavily on his cane while following her down the steps.

‘Just fuckin’ with you, kid. Here.’

Rogue turned around, snatching a tissue from a box on the table and she grabbed his chin to keep his head still- and he allowed her to wipe the blood off his face.

Last time Vitali had been to the Afterlife, he had asked Rogue for help- had needed information on the Relic and had thought she would be willing to provide that in exchange for eddies, or resources, whatever she desired; one fixer to another.

But given his history with Arasaka she had not been willing to even sit down for a conversation with him. Which he had understood, mostly- but in all his desperation to find a way to save Vincent’s life, he had not handled the rejection very well. And that was putting it lightly.

‘What brings you here?’ Rogue asked, tapping Vitali’s chin the moment she finished and sitting down on the couch of the booth, gesturing for him to follow her lead. ‘Doubt you showed up just to put on a nice show for the regulars.’

‘Needed to see you.’ Vitali sat down and briefly glanced into the rest of the club, watching Eddie and Mikhail take their positions at the opening of the booth, turned sideways to both keep an eye on their surroundings as well as Vitali himself.

‘That’s one way to get my attention. Could’ve called.’

‘Would like the Council to not know about my visit here.’

‘My lips are sealed. Let’s hope the dead don’t learn how to talk in the meantime.’

Vitali clenched his jaw, eyes once again momentarily pulled to the outside of the booth as the body of the man who had attacked him was carried outside. He hadn’t meant for that to happen, of course; but it also did not do him much. He had other, more pressing matters to worry about.

‘How are you doing?’ he asked, biting the inside of his cheek as he turned back to Rogue.

‘Oh, cut the bullshit, Vito-’ She leaned forward and shook her head. ‘To the point. What do you want?’

‘The Broker is my father.’

Silence washed over the booth and something about Rogue’s expression changed- softened, almost, before she clenched her jaw and a frown slowly took shape on her face.

‘Matvey Dobrynin,’ Vitali quietly continued. ‘He’s doing all of this.’

The last thing he wanted was for the Council to find out about that. But he needed Rogue to know; he knew she was the only one who would believe him when he would tell her he had nothing to do with it, and with her on his side he could finally have a chance at clearing his name.

‘Shit,’ Rogue said, dropping her head briefly and sighing. ‘Must’a been quite a shock.’

‘I’ve found peace with it,’ Vitali replied, crossing his legs and sinking back into the cushions of the couch. ‘Complicated family.’

He clicked his tongue and Mikhail walked closer, handing Vitali his jacket. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a datashard; and after a brief moment of hesitation he handed it to Rogue, who slowly brought it to the slot behind her ear.

‘Evidence,’ Vitali simply said, watching the rings around her pupils light up bright blue. ‘The attack, those mercs- ex-mercenaries of mine. They no longer work for me. Left my network during my absence and my father used this to his advantage to win them over, turn them against me.’

‘He’s behind it all and tryin’ to frame you for it,’ Rogue slowly said. ‘Clever.’

‘The Council cannot know it’s my father, but- I need them to know that it is not me.’ Vitali paused, sucking in a shallow breath as he watched Rogue pull the shard out again. ‘I don’t need their help- I can handle this myself- I just don’t want them as my enemies, either.’

‘I understand.’ Rogue gently placed the shard on the table, visibly thinking, her leg lightly bouncing up and down. ‘Have you heard anything new? Any developments?’

‘Nothing new as of right now,’ Judy said in Vitali’s ear. ‘Only what we picked up earlier.’

‘There’s been chatter, the past few days,’ Vitali said. ‘Matvey is preparing another attack- I don’t know when, or where, but something is happening again. We’re monitoring the situation as best as we can but whatever it is he’s planning, he is going to try and put the blame on me.’

They had not picked up much yet; too vague bits and pieces of conversations, encrypted messages, snippets of plans. Piecing together what Matvey was working on would require a lot more information and Vitali knew that very well- but knowing things were being set in motion again at the earliest notice at least helped him prepare himself and his mercs alike.

But he was not there to talk about what his father had planned out for him.

‘I want to defend my case, to the Council,’ Vitali slowly said, swallowing heavily and gesturing at the datashard on the table. ‘That is why I came to see you. I was hoping you could- I don’t know, arrange a meeting. Call them together. Just- an hour of everyone’s time, and-’

‘I can’t do that.’

Rogue’s voice was strict, as always- though surprisingly gentle at that, and she couldn’t look Vitali in his eyes as she shook her head.

‘Too dangerous,’ she continued, and slowly leaned forward to move a little closer to him. ‘One thing we know is that the Broker is targeting fixers. You specifically now- and I’m startin’ to see why- but the Council isn’t paying attention to that. Say we get everyone together, what if he attacks? Half the Council dead. Your point proven, but at what cost?’

Vitali leaned forward too and lowered his gaze, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to keep his breathing stable as what he had already feared for became reality right in front of him.

‘A lot of ‘em are trying to lay low until the situation’s over,’ Rogue quietly explained. ‘They’re scared, Vito. Won’t ever admit it, but I know they are. I can present the evidence you put on that shard, put in a good word for you, but- that’s all I can do right now. We gotta wait for the situation to settle down, first.’

Vitali understood.

Of course he did; deep down he was scared too and if he could disappear and wait for his father to just give up and leave him alone, then he would do that in a heartbeat.

But how many more people would get injured or lose their lives were he to do that? How much more of Night City would end up in rubble, how many more attacks would take place? How far was Matvey willing to go, just to get his revenge?

‘Just don’t mention that it’s my father,’ Vitali quietly said, as he slowly looked up again. ‘I can’t have them know.’

‘I know. Secret’s safe with me.’

Silence fell over the booth once more and Rogue reached out for the bottle of liquor on the table, to fill up her own glass. She grabbed a second one, put it close to Vitali and gave him a questioning look- he merely shook his head in response, fingernails digging deep into the palm of his hand on his lap.

‘What’s your plan?’ she asked, picking up her own glass and taking a swig.

‘Not sure yet,’ Vitali honestly answered and slowly sank back into the couch again. ‘Cards are finally on the table now, that’s a start. I know what- who- I am up against. I just need to get closer again. One last time.’

‘Good luck with that.’ Rogue paused, slightly twirling her glass around and causing the ice cubes in it to softly clink against the sides. ‘Whatever you do, though, do it quickly. It’s been going on for long enough. People are getting restless.’

‘I know. Eager to blame me for it?’

‘Some of them are. That Dinovic especially- the cunt’s got beef with you, from what I could gather. What’d you do?’

‘Threatened him at his stupid fucking bar after he dared to withhold V his payment following a gig gone wrong because of his own fucked up intel.’

‘Yeah, that’ll do it.’

About a year had passed since that unfortunate incident, but Vitali knew Dino could hold a serious grudge. Not that he cared at all- the man meant very little to him and were he to ever try something like he had again, Vitali could not guarantee he would leave the fixer alive.

He stared at the shard on the table in front of him for a while as Rogue slowly finished her drink, and listened to the noises of the rest of the club. He mostly just heard the music again- even within the booth he’d had a hard time hearing Rogue speak on occasion, but at that point he could read lips well enough to manage.

He knew there was not much else left to say. Rogue made good points- a Council gathering could very easily end in disaster with Matvey still out for blood and although it would at least prove Vitali was not the Broker himself, it would still point fingers in his direction as a possible collaborator.

And if they were to find out the Broker was his father, it would only make things even worse for him.

‘Well, if that was all,’ Rogue suddenly said and set her empty glass back down on the table. Vitali felt his heart drop, but kept his mouth shut as he inhaled deeply and watched her slowly get up-

‘Ask her about the Arasaka thing, boss,’ Cato suddenly quietly said through his earpiece. ‘Thought you wanted to mention that too.’

That was very true. He had almost forgotten about it.

‘Rogue,’ Vitali quickly said, and she stopped mid-movement to look at him again. He shifted position on the couch, moving a little closer to her- and she slowly sat down again, leaning in to make sure no one else would hear them speak.

‘Do they still think I willingly went back to Arasaka?’ he quietly asked.

He was almost scared to get an answer to his question.

He knew that on a surface level it had looked exactly like that. He had vanished- had gotten shot and Arasaka had taken him in, patched him up and had put him through their latest brainwashing program in secret, and when Vitali had finally shown his face to the outside world again he had been entirely in their control-

But to everyone else it had simply looked like he had decided to switch sides.

‘Some do, yeah,’ Rogue finally answered, a frown on her face telling Vitali she did not find it easy to say. ‘They don’t know about what went down there.’

‘But you were there, too.’

‘Only Wakako knows about that.’

Vitali clenched his jaw and lowered his gaze, an exhale leaving his chest a little sharper than he had meant for. Deep down he had already known about all of it; but to hear it come out of Rogue’s mouth like that made it even more real to him and he clenched his fists again, a desperate attempt to keep himself under control.

‘Hey.’

Rogue reached out and placed a hand on the side of his upper arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze before pulling back again.

‘I’ll present them the evidence,’ she said, ‘as my own, not yours. You were never here, they’ll hear it from me, it’ll ease their minds. For now. You deal with your old man in the meantime, and this will all be over before you know it. Alright?’

‘Thank you,’ Vitali quietly said and she shook her head, waving her hand vaguely in the air.

‘Don’t mention it. Now get outta here, kid. This place isn’t your style.’

With a light smile on his face, Vitali carefully stood up and left the booth, leaning a little heavier on his cane again as he walked. The fight had been fun- but it had not done him any good and Judy’s words from earlier began bouncing around in his brain again.

Viktor really is going to kill me, huh.

‘Ladies, we are leaving the club as we speak,’ Eddie dramatically said, slowly following Vitali with Mikhail by his side. ‘Thank you for tuning in and we will see you back at the office.’

‘Not me, I’m going home,’ Judy replied. ‘Well done though, boys. Hope you’re okay, Vito. You did great.’

Vitali was not listening to their conversation anymore.

Eyes focused straight ahead, trying to ignore the stares of everyone around him as he slowly made his way through the club back to the entrance. Some people actually stepped out of his way as he passed them by- as if he would hurt them were they to get too close.

Vitali would never do such a thing unprompted.

But they did not know that. No one cared about that.

They only ever saw what was on show.

The cool midnight air of Night City was a welcoming breath of fresh air- as fresh as it could be, at least. A pleasant change from the heavy air inside and Vitali could not complain, briefly slowing his pace as he closed his eyes and breathed in deep a couple of times.

He was exhausted now. Partially regretted the fight; his ribs were sore and his leg was screaming at him to sit down, and he quickly made his way back to the car they had arrived in.

‘Small victory, yes?’ Mikhail asked, sitting down in the driver’s seat as Vitali himself took place in the backseat of the car, right in the middle.

‘Small victory,’ he repeated and buckled his seatbelt. ‘I’ll take what I can get.’

Of course he had hoped for more, but to have Rogue in his corner was a relief; if she could turn the heads of the Council away from him, even if it was just for a little while, it would be a big weight off his shoulders and he would be able to focus on dealing with Matvey in peace.

Vitali said nothing as they slowly began making their way back to Wellsprings, eyes glued to the scenery of the city outside- flashy, neon advertisements and bright car lights alike blinding him until he inevitably lowered his gaze.

He wondered what his father was doing at that very moment. A curious thought- but one that refused to leave his head, that single question repeating itself over and over again like a broken record.

What was he planning? When would he make his next move?

Vitali looked down at his hands. He hadn’t bothered to clean them yet; the blood on them had dried, and the bruising on his knuckles had darkened.

Another sharp exhale as he quickly averted his gaze. It was fine; they’d had it coming. None of them good people- and neither was he, and he knew that, and it was far too late for him to come back from that now.

‘Let’s stop by a diner or something, I’m starving,’ Eddie suddenly said, breaking the silence as they pointed at a building nearby. ‘I’ll just hop in and out real quick- Misha, the usual? Anything I can get you, boss?’

‘No, thank you,’ Vitali politely declined, shooting them a small smile as Mikhail turned to the side of the road and parked the car, allowing Eddie to jump out and hurry their way over to the diner.

‘You okay?’ Mikhail asked after a brief silence, slightly turning in his seat to look at Vitali. ‘You look sad.’

‘Just tired,’ Vitali answered, the smile on his face turning a little weary. ‘Didn’t go entirely as expected.’

‘You could have let me handle it. I’m your bodyguard, remember?’

‘This was more fun. I gave them a good show, no?’

‘Hm, you always do. Showoff.’

‘Asshole.’

Vitali closed his eyes and smiled as Mikhail reached out for him and ruffled his hair before leaning in and planting a soft kiss on his cheek. He turned back on his seat, a few soft clicks and coughs leaving his lips as he tapped on the steering wheel and waited for Eddie to return.

Vitali leaned back again, relaxing in the backseat and once more allowing his eyes to wander outside- from his position, he could see the pier in the distance, overlooking the dark and empty ocean.

He could see a storm rolling in.

#nuclearwriting #rbs much appreciated :) <3 #vitali is so sexy in this. that thing he says about delivering the guy's body in a box to his parents. awooga #taking off his jacket. rolling up his sleeves. ends up covered in blood straddling some guy's lap #shushes him and runs his fingers over his cheek. me next please please pleaesep leapellpaelseshgjgnhg #anyway. hi. serious chapter with serious conversation and so on.#also i am beaming the fight scene with music and dramatic flashbacks to jackie directly into your brain right now. do you see my vision #i'm very normal about this chapter as you can tell SHGFDHGJFDG #very excited to see what you guys think of this one <3 #ch:the broker

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