Chapter 11: The Flesh Factory
Two months later. Japantown. Underground Parking Garage.
"The girl we're looking for is probably in this building," Jackie said, leaning back comfortably in the driver's seat. His cross earring glinted faintly in the dim light. "The bastards who snatched her are probably all here. Ears open, eyes sharp, V, Berry."
"Rescue missions… We rarely take those," Berry said from the back seat, pulling out her sidearm, "Vitamin B"—specialized treatment to ensure you never need a B vitamin supplement again.
"Who cares? Wakako said the payout's good this time. That's how we mercs roll: they pay, we deliver, plain and simple," Jackie shrugged, unconcerned.
"Did Wakako give you any intel on this gig?" V, in the passenger seat, scanned the surroundings for potential surveillance cameras.
"'I'm not your mother. Get paid, solve the problem. It's not hard.' That's what she said," Jackie shook his head, perfectly mimicking Wakako's impatient demeanor.
"Heh, that's Wakako's style," Berry cracked a smile.
"If that's the case, let's go right in then," V nodded to Jackie and Berry, opened the door, and stepped out.
"Elevator's this way," Jackie tilted his head, twin pistols raised, and led the way. The trio crossed the empty, dark garage, rounded a corner, and reached the elevator. After Berry, the last one, entered, V pushed the button. The elevator doors closed, and it slowly began to ascend.
"Target is Sandra Dorsett. Her bio-monitor signal was lost a few hours ago. Suspected kidnapping," the netrunner T-bug connected to their comm channel, her clear female voice speaking in their ears. "Target might already be dead. Not sure if you're too late." T-bug's tone was indifferent, as if she didn't care about the mission's success.
"We're not too late, Bug—yeah, that's us. Even if you're remote, you're still one of the crew, just like us," Jackie offered his usual friendly overture.
"One of the crew, interesting," But Jackie's friendship spell seemed to fail; Bug remained stone-faced, not even batting an eye.
"Hey, Bug, try to be a little friendlier," Berry said into her external headset—since she hadn't undergone cranial modification, she had to rely on external gear for comms.
"If you want friendly, encouraging words? Call a crisis hotline." Bug was unyielding. Jackie shrugged at the other two, signaling his helplessness.
The elevator doors opened, and the three stepped out. A dilapidated corridor, littered with empty cans, the walls covered in ugly graffiti. "Too loud," Berry frowned as the trio cautiously moved down the hallway. Ear-splitting music blared, sounding like a cheap party, making her uncomfortable.
"Look for room 1237," Bug's voice reappeared like a ghost. "The target should be in there, but I can't see her bio-signal…"
"Let's hope we're not late. Ugh, I hate these life-or-death gigs. Just hack the door open, let's try it." This job clearly made Bug uneasy, and she was struggling to maintain her usual cool.
"Han, is that you?" An old, haggard woman opened a nearby door, clearly mistaking their movements for someone else. V waved her hand, signaling the woman to retreat. Seeing the trio with their guns drawn, the old woman quickly closed the door—this was the sharp sense of awareness typical of Night City residents.
"Found it," V spotted the number 1237 on a door on one side. Berry and Jackie took positions on either side of the door. V's eyes glowed blue as her mind breached the building's monitoring system, and the door was quickly cracked open.
"Keep it down," Jackie led the way inside, brandishing his twin pistols. The room beyond the door was deafeningly loud with music, drowning out all other sounds. But when the trio passed through the cluttered main room and entered a side chamber, even the three battle-hardened mercenaries were sickened by the sight.
An unidentified female corpse lay on a surgery chair. All cyberware and internal organs had been stripped clean, leaving only a raw, red skin husk and a shriveled head. On a nearby rack, several male corpses were hanging. Their cybernetic spines had been partially stripped out of their backs, looking like centipedes crawling out from under the skin. Basins underneath were filled with blood and organ fragments, and the floor was covered in bloodstains and footprints. The horrifying scene, coupled with the foul stench, almost made Berry vomit. She never expected the game's visuals to be this visceral in reality. She knew who was responsible: the Scavengers (Scavs), those who profited from selling used cyberware. She shivered, unable to believe humans could commit such barbaric acts against their own kind. These Scavs were truly beasts in human skin. However, having seen dead bodies before, Berry quickly suppressed her reaction, preventing the two others from noticing anything amiss.
"Shit, are we too late? Is that her? Is that the one we're looking for, V? Berry?" Jackie's voice was urgent as he rushed forward to examine the female corpse.
"Sandra Dorsett… a corpo on the second tier. We're looking for a rich girl…"
"Look, this is ZetaTech black-market knockoff gear. A typical bootleg."
V stayed calm. She glanced at the female corpse—the cyberware still left on her body was cheap, clearly not their mission target.
"Let's keep looking." V kept moving forward.
Just as V cracked open a door, Jackie pulled her back.
"V, hey, eyes up—someone ahead."
V carefully opened the door wider. Sure enough, a scavenger stood with his back to them, shirtless, tattoos covering his body, a gun in his hand. But thanks to the blaring music they had released to cover victims' screams, the noise had now become their own death trap.
V crouched low, crept up behind the scavenger, then suddenly rose and locked his neck. With a sharp twist—crack—the man's neck snapped before he could even scream.
Stuffing the body into a nearby crate, V waved to Jackie and the others, signaling all clear.
Through the piercing music, the three of them hunched low, weaving through crooked rooms littered with bloody cyberware and trash. One wrong step could send debris clattering everywhere.
"Stay sharp—someone's coming. They're about to spot you."
Bug's warning came through the comms just as Jackie and the others turned a corner.
"Damn kidney-cutting bastards," Jackie cursed, ducking behind a cabinet. The others followed, and seconds later three scavengers strolled in, laughing, oblivious.
"Don't rush it. Wait for the right moment." Jackie gripped his gun, watching the three scavengers' backs.
"One each. Take the closest." He swallowed hard, nodding to his crew.
The three crouched like hunting cougars, silently stalking their prey.
Berry tucked her gun into her waistband—ready to draw if anything went wrong. She was extra cautious, eyes locked on her target.
She had to be. Her strength was only eight points, nowhere near V and Jackie, who could wrestle bulls barehanded.
The scavenger rummaged through a table—maybe client lists, maybe the next victim's file. Who cared? Berry swallowed, then sprang like a leopard, arms snapping out like whips, choking the scavenger's neck.
She felt his throat convulse, heard the rasping gasps. But she showed no mercy. With a hard wrench—crack—his cartilage snapped.
"Nice work, Berry." Jackie and V had already dispatched their targets, giving her a thumbs-up.
"All clear. But there are plenty more outside—we'd better sneak past."
They turned toward the main hall. Sunlight filtered through blinds, revealing at least a dozen scavengers lounging and chatting.
Careful not to be seen, the trio followed Bug's holographic markers, slipping past desks and junk, hugging the walls until they reached a dim side room.
Closer to the target now, they slowed their breathing, footsteps barely audible.
"You…"
A sudden voice froze V, goosebumps rising. A scavenger boss spotted them, eyes widening.
"Fuck—who the hell are you…" He lunged for the machine gun on the desk.
V panicked. In this cramped room, if he grabbed the gun, they were dead. Instinct took over—V smashed the butt of her rifle into his jaw, staggering him.
Jackie knocked the gun away before the boss could reach it.
But the man was huge. Shoving V aside, he lunged for the door to warn his crew. The music outside was too loud—no one had heard the struggle.
Jackie and V were desperate. They couldn't fire, not with a dozen scavengers outside.
Just as the boss's hand touched the doorknob—thud! His skull exploded, body collapsing.
They turned. Berry stood at the corridor, chest heaving, silenced pistol trembling in her grip.
"Brought a suppressor… figured it might come in handy." Pale and sweating, she forced a smile.
"Nice save, Berry." V hugged her despite the corpse nearby. Jackie wiped his brow, looking shaken. "We almost bought it. Good thing you were here."
Bug's voice cut in, calm as ever: "Target's final location is behind that door. Open it and you'll see."
"Bug, you've got no empathy," Jackie muttered, then motioned them forward.
"Alright, let's finish this." Jackie opened the door. "Holy shit…"
The three froze, stomachs churning at the sight inside.