Michael 'Magos' Sobronov
The sun had already begun to dip as I reached the washed out diner in one of the forgotten corners of Watson's Northside industrial district.
Fat Larry's was a squat building, with dust-stained windows that barely reflected the few still functional flickering lights within, and only a pair of regulars seated at the counter waiting to be served their cheap chow for the day.
The doors squeaked on their hinges as I pushed past them, drawing curious eyes that quickly became cautious, and then fearful as heads dipped away from my attention.
Not so the eyes of the squat wrinkled woman standing behind the counter, who only scowled as I passed her by and made for the back, where my employer for the day was waiting.
Detective River Ward looked worn, his sole organic eye sporting black lines underneath, and his breaths came long and haggard. The man had been awake for longer than a day.
"Detective." I said in greeting, and removed my helmet "Been a while."
He snuffed out his cigarette, and looked up "Magos. I honestly didn't think you would take the job."
"Jones made it interesting." I said, taking a seat across him and engaging my knees so as to not crush the cheap bench "You agreed to her condition?"
He exhaled, absently reaching for another cigarette and offering one to me.
I refused with a hand, not caring for the taste and unwilling to inject nicotine into my brain to get the full experience.
Ward lit it, and took a long puff "She can have the suspect so long as they are taken care of. The Commissioner was all too happy to take her eddies for the 'bounty'."
He exhaled a cloud of smoke "As for me. I just want to stop the murders."
"Nine dead already, was it?"
"Ten as of an hour ago." Ward corrected grimly "High caliber handgun shot between the eyes, same as the rest."
"And you are still sure it is a cyberpsycho?" It sounded far too clean.
"The MO should rule it out." He nodded "But the victims are too random for a serial killer. I thought I had it narrowed down to lone people in alleyways yesterday, but then three died at the same time and in the open right next to the local supermart."
He probably knew what he was talking about, or at least I hope so "And you confirmed it is the same killer?"
"The bullets all had identical barrel markings." He flicked me the images and scans.
"Hm." I hummed in thought and realized the waitress had walked over to us.
"Anything you'd recommend?" I asked the Detective.
"The burgers are pretty good."
"Then I'll have three." I turned to the waitress "To go."
"Fine." She said and walked off.
"Charming lady." I quipped as she left earshot "What if all this is just a Maelstrom intimidation campaign?"
Ward shook his head "They would have made it clear it was them."
"That's true." I agreed, thinking over potential scenarios for a while before speaking again "You think they are building up for a rampage?"
"I hope we catch them before that." Ward muttered "Because all the signs point to it."
'The 'buildup phase', when they are still not completely broken. Could prove exceedingly useful for Regina's project if we get him before the snap.' I thought and nodded, getting up to my feet "Well, we definitely won't find out anything sitting around here. Do your people have the body secured?"
He seemed to briefly age a few years at that question but just nodded instead of answering.
Knowing I'd get an explanation soon enough, I didn't press and walked over to the counter just as my order was finished and wired the price to the waitress and moving to leave.
"Want one?" I asked as we stepped out.
Ward seemed a bit surprised but shook his head "No, I already ate."
"Alright." I shrugged and tossed the burger into my maw, packaging and all.
We didn't bother driving to the scene of the crime as Ward had chosen our meeting point only a minute's walk away, and as we rounded into a trash covered alley I realized why he looked so exhausted.
The only thing that made it resemble an actual crime scene that happened literally just an hour ago was the warning tape stretched out around the corpse, a corpse that had obviously been turned over multiple times and searched for anything of value the moment it was left unattended.
And what's worse, there was not a single NCPD officer in sight.
Ward had been thrown to deal with this whole thing on his own.
But I kept that revelation to myself right now and instead approached the corpse, a young man, barely older than me, dead before he even realized what was happening.
"No cameras." I noted as I scanned the alley.
"First thing I looked for." Ward confirmed.
"And the spree near the mart?" I pressed.
"Broken, all four of them." He spat, irritated "It's like they have a sixth sense for these things."
"After our last experience with a cyerpsycho, I would honestly not discount the idea." I noted dryly.
The shudder that went through Ward's back was impossible to miss.
"So, what's the plan then, Detective?" I spoke up after staring at the corpse for a while "I doubt there is much we can learn from this unlucky fucker."
"Nothing you can detect?" He asked "Jones did say you had some impressive scanners."
"Nothing beyond the bullet wound, sadly." I shook my head "But that does give me an idea now that you mention it. Can you point me to where the shooter stood?"
He nodded and waved for me to follow, leading me halfway through the alley "He shot from here, and then escaped that way." He said, pointing at a wire fence surrounding a dented metal door.
"Has at least one Cyberarm up to the shoulder." I muttered to myself and then activated my left Optic's spectroscope.
Chasing after this one was turning out to be a bit more challenging than the simple cordon I had to deal with last time, but the little kid in me found it all kinds of novel.
Still, novel or not, one only got ahead in life through copious amounts of cheating.
And so I narrowed my detection range to the filth and trash around the spot the shooter was in and then compared it to the less visible tracks surrounding their escape route, some tweaking later and I had a trace.
"Come on, this way." I said and began following.
Ward quickly caught on and his steps became more certain.
"So." I said as we twisted through the third filth covered alley, the gold-marked footprints I was following starting to slowly fade "Who did you offend to end up with this assignment?"
"What makes you say that?" Ward tried deflecting.
"Come on, Detective." I chuckled "This kind of case is not something the NCPD would give enough of a fuck about to assign to someone of your rank, especially with not even a single Deputy to watch your back in a gang war infested area."
He cringed.
"This is a punishment detail if I ever saw one."
Ward exhaled "Can't just leave it well enough alone, huh?"
"I won't demand you tell me." I shrugged, refreshing the trace with a new layer of detritus the target seemed to have picked up from a pond of filth "But I will admit I am curious."
He was silent for a while as we kept following the trace before ultimately answering "I punched my Lt. in the face."
I couldn't help but huff "That would do it."
"Asshole was asking for it." He muttered "What kind of a self absorbed monster brags about selling off an evidence stash of glitter to a high school?"
Blink.
"What?"
"You get why I did it, then?" He seemed to perk up at someone finally sharing his reaction.
"You were incredibly stupid to punch him." I said, making him immediately start turning crestfallen even if he tried to hide it.
But I wasn't done.
"You should have killed him quietly and hid the body." I sagely nodded "That way you both punish him and open up a way for your promotion, if you play your cards right."
"That wouldn't be true justice, and this isn't about advancement." He scoffed, sounding both offended and relieved at the same time "I'm not going to turn my job into some corpo rat race. That isn't why I joined the force."
"Ward, I don't know how to tell you this." I spoke slowly "But the NCPD is a branch of Nigh Corp. You are already in the rat race whether you like it or not."
"You may accept that state of affairs if you like." He refuted "But I do what I do to make Night City a safer place."
"Consider this, then." I decided to play the devil's advocate despite my respect for his determination "How much safer could you make Night City if you were at the top, making all of the decisions?"
His sole organic eye widened at the idea before he quickly hid the reaction behind a scowl.
Wordlessly, I agreed to drop the topic and we resumed our pursuit.
The tracks, even if I used powerful scanners to access them, were already old by now, an hour was more than enough for someone to leave the city.
If they were coherent enough to consider it.
Someone with only half their mind though? Not a chance.
And whatever sense or luck that hid had kept them from being found finally failed them as they left the alleyways for the open street facing Kabuki. And directly into the veritable sea of cameras watching over the area.
I raised a hand for us to stop as we nearly walked into a crowd and focused on the net.
Before the minute was out, I found exactly what I was looking for "He passed through here nine minutes ago."
Ward's back straightened "You are sure it was him?"
Instead of answering, I flicked him the details.
Will Rogers, thirty years old, and appeared on multiple quickdraw shows before a 'series of unfortunate events' ended up with him losing his career and his family in increasingly gruesome ways that practically screamed of a setup.
Perfect recipe for a snap.
"Everything fits together." Ward said, sounding relieved and eyeing me with a flash of respect for finding what he failed to "But how do we find him in this crowd?"
He didn't even bother mentioning the idea of calling for reinforcements, practically because he wouldn't get them, but probably because the man didn't want to give the target more time to kill anymore innocents.
"Oh don't worry about that." I smirked, showing just a bit of teeth "Now that I know what I am looking for, he can't hide from me."
My Cyberdeck churned, promptly bouncing hundreds of [PIng.exe] applications across every block surrounding us.
Seventeen seconds later and a sole red outline appeared in the distance, right in the middle of an open air food court.
One that was filled to the brim with people trying to recharge after a long day of work.
Once I informed Ward of this, he cursed "Fuck, we need to get there yesterday."
"Don't scream." I deadpanned and before he realized what was happening I had thrown him over my shoulder and leapt over the crowd, scaring the absolute shit out of a bunch of people but paying them no attention as I cleared the road just before a wave of cars rushed past me.
Thankfully, the commotion had drawn the attention of the people on the other side of the road and they quickly cleared the way, letting me dash straight through and saving me precious seconds.
I was one leap away when the red outline began twitching, and the man started walking to the crowd.
To give credit where it was due, Ward didn't sputter or curse when I set him down, instead he grabbed his pistol and rushed the stereotypically cowboy-looking brown bearded man, a cowboy-looking man with a rather preem looking revolver I noted.
He also had only the Cyberarm, a pair of Optics, and what looked to be a lung replacement in his body.
What a pathetic cyberware affinity.
"NCPD!" Ward shouted over the din, drawing all attention to himself "Drop the gun and put your hands in the air!"
The man startled, and for a moment it looked like he would actually listen, but then I saw his eyes glitch out "You won't take me!" He snarled and started drawing on the Detective.
It was impressive in a way, watching a man snap fully both on the net and in fleshspace.
It was as if all the signals his implants achieved perfect synchronicity with the rest of him only to completely overwhelm him in the next instant, sending wild signals directly into his brain in a way I was 100% sure was not intentionally programmed in any way and making him move much faster than he was moments earlier.
How... interesting.
My finger twitched.
The shotgun blast echoed loudly, sending anyone inattentive enough to miss Ward's callout crawling on the ground as the EMP shell struck the cosplayer dead center, sending him sprawling and knocking him out on the spot.
"You know, Ward. Ambushing is a valid tactic." I drawled as I passed the stunned cop by.
He broke out of his stupor quickly enough "He was going to shoot someone."
"Correct." I nodded "Probably someone called River I'd wager?"
He scowled but I noticed him slightly puffing out his chest "Better me than them."
"Hah." I huffed "I almost believe that, Detective."
As I threw the subject over my shoulder, I saw a group of five Tyger Claws crawling out of their cover. Their weapons were lowered but I noticed their leader looking at the two of us with narrowed, calculating eyes.
Yeah, I wasn't dealing with that right now.
Immediately, I sent him a quick reminder of just who I was, and got to watch in real time as the poor fucker's eyes widened and he quickly told his people to back off, letting us leave without disturbance.
"That was odd." Ward said, watching after them wearily.
"It pays to have a reputation." I shrugged "Come on, we should clear out."
-
A few minutes later, the two of us had made some distance away from the scene.
"Finally." Ward sighed "I thought I would be chasing a ghost forever at this rate."
"That's what happens when you don't want to play the game." I told him "But all is well that ends well and all that. Jones got what she wanted, and you get bragging rights to save your ass."
"Hah." He laughed just a touch bitterly "I wouldn't have been able to do a thing on my own." He shook his head "If you weren't here just now, I would probably be rushing to another crime scene just so I can call in MaxTac."
"This little fucker barely even qualifies as a threat." I tossed the man on my shoulder lightly "But if you don't want to rely on me again, you can always just get some better implants. That thing in your face must be fifty years old, at least."
His hand absently twitched for his eye "It works perfectly fine, thank you very much."
"You keep telling yourself that." I smirked and saw my van drive itself into the side street were standing in "And there is my ride. Be seeing you, Ward. And do get some rest."
"I'll try." He snorted lightly and as I turned to leave he spoke up again "Be proud, you saved a lot of lives today."
Part of me probably was.
I said nothing and simply gave him a backwards wave before tossing the subject into the back of the van.
Now then, it seemed I had finally reached my human experimentation phase.
How terrible was it that I could only feel excitement at the idea?
-------
Send forth a stone to honor Fat Larry.
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