"Had something to take care of. Just got back. How's work been lately?"
Rocky swirled the drink in his glass. After a round at Lizzie's, he didn't particularly want any more.
"Pretty good. Wouldn't have time to drink here otherwise, right? Cheers."
Rebecca clinked her glass against his and emptied it. Faced with that enthusiasm, Rocky took a small sip.
"L, something happen?"
"Hmm? Why?"
He turned toward her. Apparently she'd been watching him. Their eyes met.
"Nothing. You just looked like something was on your mind when you got here."
"That obvious? Well, something is bothering me."
He'd been thinking about the job, but he wasn't normally someone who wore his worries on his face. Rebecca was more observant than he'd given her credit for.
"Ha, not that obvious. What's the problem? Need a hand?"
"Took a job. We're still missing a netrunner. You mentioned your crew has a backup runner, didn't you? Tell me about her."
That was his real purpose. Approaching Lucy directly seemed too abrupt. It might lead to complications. Better to make contact through Rebecca.
"Huh? You mean Lucy?"
She turned and pointed. Rocky followed her gesture.
A woman sat alone beyond the noisy crowd. Her distinctive rainbow-gradient hair made her easy to recognize. Her slender figure and revealing outfit made even the view from behind arresting.
"There. That's Lucy. Kiwi brought her in. Been with us almost a year, I think. She's our backup runner, yeah. We don't need her on every job. That's why she isn't always here."
"Doesn't talk much with the rest of us. Keeps to herself. Maybe runners are all like that. I don't know. Doesn't feel like she's really settled into the crew yet. But her skills? Really fucking good."
Netrunners often occupied an unusual place in mercenary crews. Their relationships with the others weren't always close. Many worked with multiple crews rather than committing to a single set of teammates.
It wasn't unusual to see a crew's runner drinking alone while the rest gathered elsewhere, all the more so for Lucy, a backup who was still relatively new.
"Thinking of asking her to join your job?"
It wasn't hard for Rebecca to connect that question with his missing netrunner.
Rocky nodded openly.
"Yeah. She's with your crew, so that puts my mind at ease. And as your backup, you might not need her over the next few days. It'd be good to have her."
"Ha! Fair enough. Lucy's reliable."
"I'll go talk to her, then. Thanks, Rebecca."
With an opening established, he didn't want to waste time. He took his drink and headed over.
Rebecca stared after him. He hadn't seemed nearly so eager a moment ago.
"What's with that guy? Barely talks to me before running off."
With nothing else to do, she turned back to the bar and ordered another drink.
Rocky reached Lucy and sat beside her. Her expression didn't change. She didn't even turn to look at him.
She seemed accustomed to men approaching and pestering her, and clearly had no interest.
Despite her outward stillness, her cyberdeck was already active. If some idiot tried to put his hands on her, she'd show him what happened when he annoyed a netrunner.
Rocky didn't speak immediately. He took a moment to look at her. Apart from the glimpse he'd caught on arriving, this was his first close look, and their first actual encounter.
Damn. She's beautiful.
That summed up his thoughts. He'd imagined meeting Lucy before, but in person she was even more striking than he'd expected.
His first encounter with Rebecca had given him some practice at this. He quickly steadied himself, slowing his breathing a little.
"You're Lucy, right?"
She remained aloof, but Rocky knew something about her. The cold exterior was protection. Get past it, and there was more warmth beneath than anyone would guess.
"What do you want?"
His knowing her name finally earned a response. She turned to look at him.
"I'm a friend of Rebecca's. Heard you were one of the crew's netrunners. Wanted to talk."
"Rebecca?"
"Yeah. Just finished talking to her over there."
Lucy looked toward the bar. Rebecca was still drinking, though for some reason she'd twisted around to watch them.
Their eyes met. Rebecca was about to look away when Rocky also turned, smiled, and waved. She had little choice but to wave back, adding a thumbs-up.
"There you go."
His story confirmed, Lucy nodded.
Neither of them saw Rebecca turn away and drain the entire bottle that had just been served.
"Stupid L. Asshole. Only came over to ask me about Lucy, didn't he? Whatever. Why am I even thinking about it? Hey, another bottle."
Several bottles later, the alcohol was beginning to hit her. She couldn't resist another look.
Under the lights, Rocky and Lucy sat side by side, talking. Maybe it was the drink, but his back, which had made her feel so safe, looked oddly well matched with Lucy's graceful silhouette.
It also left her with the uneasy feeling that someone was about to take something that belonged to her.