#someday i will get to the corpo office drama fic and then i'll be insufferable

[merge-conflict]

i used to carry you home

cyberhanami day 4: "who's gonna save you now"

content warnings: some passive-aggressive transphobic comments

summary: Valentine reports to her ex, Abernathy, for her first day back on the job, and for once enjoys having the upper hand.

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If V closed her eyes she could reach out and trace the width and breadth of Arasaka tower in her mind for almost ten floors in each direction, all of them bound together by fiber and steel and enmeshed by the buzz of thousands of interfaces and access points like a distant cicada chorus. There were quiet spots, of course, like the one she had just left behind below her, where the special shielding formed a protective barrier around restricted floors. She was traveling to another such bubble several floors above, where the head of Special Operations, her supporting staff, and the top agents were settled.

For two weeks she had been waiting for this moment, and it took a considerable amount of self control not to bare her teeth in the elevator and unsettle the other occupants any more than they already were. There was a gentle warning pulsing in her notifications, advising her to avoid unnecessary stress. She practiced her box breathing until the car slid to a stop on her floor and she exited into a cloud of frantic misery so thick it made her teeth itch. Oh how she had missed this!

Everything was falling into place at once, her limbs strong and steady, her head clear, and anticipation fluttering in her lungs. Johnny would have hated the bold clean lines of the architecture, the cramped conference rooms, the cubicles that gave not a single pretext of privacy�� but she was so glad to see it she could have cried. There were plenty of threats here, to be sure, but she knew the shape of all of them, and if she was going to cheat death she wanted to do it somewhere climate-controlled. She cut through the atrium like a blade through water, drawing attention in her wake without turning to see it.

Abernathy’s assistant was reluctant to let her in early, but when she simply walked past him he was too flustered to figure out how to physically stop her. She gently closed the door in his face. Her interface chimed another warning, and she dismissed it entirely. The doctors could chastise her for it later– she needed her full attention.

“Hey Birdy,” she said, falling into her casually professional tone, greeting her as though they were equals. “You look good.”

Abernathy had risen as soon as she’d entered, and if her expression was neutral there was something tense about her shoulders. But she had had some time of her own to prepare for their meeting, and her answering greeting was so smooth it was almost genuine. “Valentine.”

In response V gave her the Silverhand special: full barrel wicked grin, an expression that promised every crude and base thought its observers had could come true. He had had a restlessly loose way of standing inside of his own skin that she could adopt on command, and Abernathy reacted with the same instinctive and confused revulsion that Hellman had. Predictably, she decided to go on the offensive.

“Looks like you took a little too much off the top,” she said stiffly, walking around her desk and leaning back against it. But her eyes were drawn inexorably from V’s flat chest to her left side, where her shirt sleeve was pinned modestly around the healed nub of her forearm. “I know things are chaotic, but could they not at least take the time to put you back together before they sent you to me?”

“I think they want you to pay for it. After all, I am assigned to your department.”

Abernathy sighed through clenched teeth, crossing her arms. She looked just the same, like she was about to start into a tirade about her day. It had been so long that V had forgotten how small she really was, all sharp angles and forceful presence that ensured no one would ever be stupid enough to mistake her for someone unimportant. “As though that wasn’t bad enough, they also told me you had some sort of brain damage.”

“I’m fairly certain the report said ‘head trauma’ and not ‘brain damage’.”

“It doesn’t seem to have affected your need to be a little shit,” Abernathy said, and if she was still radiating tension the corner of her lips lifted just a little. The tentative opening to a new game.

“Missed you too, sweetheart.”

“Don’t–“ Abernathy said firmly, eyes flashing. Her grip on her arm tightened almost imperceptibly as she resisted the urge to point. “I don’t care who pulled the strings to get you here, if you cause problems I will get rid of you, and this time I won’t be so lenient about how it’s done.”

V bowed slightly– between two Night City natives the gesture was always sarcastic– and Abernathy could not conceal her anger. Clearly it had been too long since anyone had stood up to her. “I never did get a chance to thank you for letting me keep the clothes on my back.”

“You have your chance now,” Abernathy said coldly, and V realized she was rattled. It was strange, to think that Abernathy was afraid of her– that she could have ever been afraid of her, but there it was on her face. Hiding under her frown. “You might also apologize for plotting to kill me.”

V approached the desk and circled it until her hand rested on the back of Abernathy’s chair. She lingered a moment and then sat down in it, although it was too small for her to recline comfortably. Once, Birdy would have taken the cue and settled into her lap, but now she just watched her with tight disapproval.

“It wasn’t my plan. Huscle scooped me up about fifteen whole minutes after Jenkins told me. You really think I’d orchestrate some gonkbrained plot to kill you just because he couldn’t keep his shit together?” It was bait, to get Abernathy to admit V did have a good reason to kill her– but she hadn’t been made director because she was stupid, and she ignored the play.

“You knew he was planning something.” Her counter was viciously placed. “You were practically his girl.”

“I’m not anyone’s girl,” V said, as blithely as she could manage. She dug her left elbow into the arm rest, and leaned into it as she gestured expansively. Abernathy’s eyes were once again drawn to her missing forearm. “What do you think? I can be your new right-hand man.”

“Someone certainly thinks so,” Abernathy said. She was quiet for a time, but V could hear all the questions she wanted to ask, and couldn’t. All of V’s records starting after her reinstatement were tightly restricted, and she herself was under instructions not to speak about her hand in recent events to anyone. “I suppose we’ll see how well you fit the role.”

“Better than merc work, I suspect.”

It was very interesting that Abernathy had not mentioned her own involvement in giving Goro her file. Very likely it had been a brief interaction, but she could have hardly forgotten it, given that Goro’s original orders had been to retrieve her for interrogation. As SpecOps director she had to know the shape what had happened, even if she hadn’t known about the coup in advance. But clearly she had no idea where V fit into it at all, or why she was being foisted onto her with a missing hand and a medical permit. An obvious plant to keep an eye on her loyalties, and a warning that she was being watched closely– but if she had known who was pulling the strings, she would have already made V a counteroffer.

“You’ve been outdoors too long, V,” Abernathy said, straightening as she rounded the desk. “If you’re going to work here again you’ll need to remember your manners.”

V vacated the chair, holding it steady as Abernathy sat in her place. “Yes, ma’am.”

She was still so used to Hellman’s reflexive annoyance that it surprised her to see the amusement in Abernathy’s face. “Don’t overdo it.”

“I promise to be the picture of professionalism.”

“You’d better be.”

This time Johnny’s grin slipped out of its own accord, but Abernathy’s attention was already on the tablet she was holding. V wiped it away, and sat down on the couch on the far side of the room. It had been a while and she had to make a conscious effort not to slouch into the cushions with her heels up on the low table while she waited for the game to begin.

“Is there an agenda for this meeting?” she asked, picking at the pinned sleeve of her shirt. After she’d conspicuously paraded herself into the office, she was sure that Abernathy would approve whatever model she put in front of her, as quickly as possible. Certainly she could get something better than the cheap piece of shit that medical research had originally fitted her with.

“No agenda. But it came through Hanako-sama’s chief of staff, and he gave me the impression we’ll be meeting with some sort of liaison.”

So they were watching Abernathy very closely. If Abernathy had not been a part of the group that had defected to Yorinobu, she had also failed to stop them. Her position was precarious– even if she managed to survive the next few months, the collateral damage from the failed coup would still leave her perilously vulnerable. V found she did not feel sympathetic.

“Hopefully they can tell me what it is I’m supposed to be doing,” she said. Her own summons had been unhelpfully vague, although her inside source had suggested some intriguing possibilities.

“You don’t know?” Abernathy actually turned to look at her.

“I have been provided a support and advisory position, attached to the local director of Special Operations, Susan Abernathy. My first day of employment is Monday, November 15th, 2077,” V said, quoting from memory.

Abernathy’s expression soured, probably at the term advisory, but before she could reply, there was a soft chime and the voice of her assistant announcing that her 8am appointment had arrived. She rose from her chair for a greeting, but was so obviously ill-prepared to see Goro walk through the door that for a few awkward beats she said nothing at all.

“Takemura-san,” she managed, finally, “It’s a pleasure to see you again. Would you like anything to drink? Tea or coffee?”

“No, thank you.” He made brief eye contact with V. “There is much to discuss, and I fear it will take more time than was originally planned.”

“No trouble at all,” Abernathy replied easily, eyes lighting briefly as she notified her assistant. She relaxed, perhaps encouraged by the idea that his presence would intimidate V. Or for the chance that she might yet be able to turn him into an ally. “This is Valentina– I’m not sure if you’ve had a chance to meet, but she will be acting as my assistant for some of our newest initiatives.”

Clearly she thought she was being clever with that introduction, but all V had to do was say, “Hey, Goro.”

He returned her smile with his own, which merely softened his eyes. As good as she was likely to get, here. “V. It is good to see you.”

“I don’t actually know my job title,” she admitted to him, “But I’m not sure if assistant is the correct term.”

“Mm. I have the details from Hanako-sama, which she instructed me to share.” Goro sent them both the message as he sat down opposite from V in one of two scoopbacked chairs. It still felt odd to see him in such a domesticated environment, like a tiger in a den of foxes.

The message was short, and almost certainly written by the chief of staff, but V felt a little thrill reading the characters of Hanako’s name in the signature anyway. She found it difficult to concentrate on the words, but the most important part stuck in her head as soon as she read it, acting as my liaison to your department, in a support and advisory capacity. There were several attachments to the message– mostly paperwork for PeopleOps– but one which looked just long enough to be a set of contractual obligations, which she’d have to read later when she wasn’t as busy trying not to break into a satisfied smile.

“A liaison,” Abernathy said, expertly feigning pleased surprise as she sat in the remaining chair. The tone in her voice made V’s blood pressure spike. “I think you’ll be a great fit for that position, Valentina.”

Abernathy was struggling with disbelief, operating solely on instinct– but anyone who didn’t know her would have thought she had been secretly hoping for this outcome, and was gratified to see it coming to fruition. In reality, V thought, she was grappling with the fact that not only had V been appointed to her new role, but that the order had more or less come directly from god herself. There was no question it was a threat, but the open question of how V had managed to pull this off was almost certainly driving her mad.

“My primary duty remains safeguarding Hanako-sama from harm,” Goro said, “But she would feel most comfortable if I were to also oversee some of the most…sensitive matters being handled within your department. There have been some recent concerns.”

“Of course,” Abernathy said generously, as though there could be any possibility of a different answer. As though this secondary announcement did not make it abundantly clear how precarious her position was– how closely the sword hung above her neck. She finally locked eyes with V, quiet and even for what felt like an eternity, empty expression covering a dangerous fury. “I’d be happy to debrief you whenever you’re ready.”