Capítulo 18: Step by Step
"I need another pill." Lei gasped.
Her room was dark. The windows had dimmed, turning off its see-through function. This would block all forms of light. It was another day but the sickly girl felt differently. The night had been going on and on. Sleep had never come.
Currently, Lei was lying in bed. Her body was curled in the fetal position as she prayed for the pain to go away. It was no longer just an ache in the heart. It was now an added ache in the mind. Because of the numbers.
With shaky hands, the medicine bottle was opened and a pill spilled out. She immediately snatched the tiny capsule and swallowed it with no chaser. Then she closed her eyes.
It took some time but the numbers were eventually starting to go away, like mist escaping a half closed lid. That just left the heart. It left her feeling sluggish…her body was slick with sweat. Why? Why did she have to go through this?
BEEP
'Your Voodoo Boy got back to me. He's stopping by tomorrow for more junk. Be there.' ~ Panam
'Lei, you okay? Bad shit went down. Hope you made it out.' ~ Kagami
'I've given you time to recover. There's another job for you. The reward will leave you satisfied.' ~ Meredith
'Some weirdos have been looking around lately. Soon as the cops bailed. Thought you would want to know.' ~ Parzik
Several messages popped into the sickly girl's inbox throughout the day. She was unable to see them, her consciousness swimming between pain and sleep. Though that didn't last long.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips once the pill took full effect. Her tense muscles relaxed…her shaking limbs stilled. Even her breaths turned smooth. Sleep became peaceful.
…
…
…
Lei had slept the entire day. Almost fully recovered from her episode, she now lazed around a bit more. The empty eyed girl had yet to leave the bed.
With a cue from her cyberdeck, the windows slowly returned to a clear state. The city skyline had appeared once more. Light returned to the room. Lovely. She resembled a zombie as she rose from the bed.
Dragging her tired body down the stairs, she entered the kitchen and poured a glass of cold water. It felt like heaven going down her throat. A gasp escaped her lips after finishing the glass…allowing her to gaze out the window.
'Lots of messages. Who comes first?' Johnny asked.
He appeared on the counter beside her, sitting with a lazy posture. Lei remained silent. She couldn't help but pour another glass of heaven's nectar and down it. Only then did she look at her display.
Panam first.
'I'll be there. What time?' Lei sent.
'He'll be here in an hour. Almost thought you'd miss it.' Panam responded.
Her eyes narrowed upon reading the message. Right. It was a new day. That meant the meeting was today. Damn. With a sigh of acceptance, she slowly dragged her body toward the bathroom.
An article of clothing flew off every few steps until she was completely nude. She stumbled into the bathroom, glanced at her 'beautiful' form, then carried out her wash routine.
Lei was on the road 30 minutes later, zooming on the Yaiba Kusanagi. It wouldn't take long to get to the Badlands with her need for speed. Not to mention that traffic was meaningless to a motorbike.
VRMM
The Kusanagi gathered everyone's attention as Lei pulled into Sunset Motel's parking lot. Panam's truck was already there. The trunk was filled with broken gadgets and technology. Junk for most people.
That didn't seem to be true of the Voodoo Boys, as one of their reps was digging through it. He would find something and inspect it before moving on. Several things had been separated into piles.
Panam herself was sitting on the hood of her vehicle. She seemed bored, just gazing off into the sunset. No pun intended. Lei approached the two while speaking.
"Hiiii…" She greeted both with a girly wave.
She wasn't in her merc gear since it was stained with too much blood and hadn't been washed yet. There hadn't been enough time. Thus, she currently wore a skin tight nanoweave suit that left nothing to the imagination. Curves on full display.
Even the high heels were part of the suit. It was built in, meaning that Lei had to put the entire thing on from the neck hole. Pretty difficult endeavor…but it was worth it. No need for a helmet, but her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail. Two strands of hair framed the sides of her face.
Panam immediately waved before turning to the Voodoo Boy. He had paused his actions and turned to look at the new arrival. His eyes quickly scanned the sickly girl before he went back to digging. Panam gave Lei a wry smile.
As expected, his skin was a medium brown color. His brown hair was cut in a flat top while the sides and back were perfectly tapered. Due to the nature of his nappy hair, it had already started to lock up…some of his curls had become full on dreads. His eyes were dark brown and emphasized his serious demeanor.
"Jamani, this is Lei. Lei, meet Jamani." The Nomad introduced the two.
"Sak pase." The Haitian man muttered in his language.
After that, he turned right back to the equipment. Didn't seem like he was up for conversation. Lei stepped beside the man and watched him work. There was a cool moment of silence that stretched on for almost 15 minutes.
"So…" Lei hummed trying to start a conversation.
"Panam already told me. You want help from my family." He stated. The accent was strong.
"Yes…I've been looking for a place-"
"You want help, then you give help. Then we speak about YOUR help." Jamani interrupted.
"And how do I know you can fulfill it? What if you can't even help? Wouldn't I have done all of that for nothing? You don't even know what I need." Lei countered immediately.
"We will fulfill. We never fail. Help. Then gain trust." He answered casually.
The man still had yet to look her in the eyes. Still busy digging through junk. Didn't seem to have manners at all. Rogue had long since given Lei the spill. She knew that the VBs hated everyone but themselves. A tight-knit community.
"Well…alright. How-"
"I will contact you." He interrupted again.
His contact info appeared on her display. Lei turned to Panam and frowned. This guy didn't seem trustworthy at all. He could be talking absolute nonsense.
'Really?' Lei spoke to her through a call.
'That's how he is…I don't know.' Panam shrugged.
'So is that it? He doesn't even seem like he'll actually do anything. Might never call me.' The sickly girl couldn't help but complain.
'I'm sorry, Lei. Having him speak with you was all I could do. He barely speaks to me either.'
'It's fine. See you around, Panam.'
'Come visit the camp sometime! I'll be there.'
'Someday.'
Lei's heels clicked as she returned to the Kusanagi. The engine purred as she pulled out of the parking lot. She was definitely unsatisfied with such a meeting. It left a bad taste in her mouth. If it was like that, why did he even bother to speak with her?
The sickly girl needed to take her mind off things. As such, she made another call. The roaring sound of her bike's engine matched the ringing sound of the display. It rang for a few seconds…and the call was soon picked up. Meredith's face appeared, dressed in uniform.
Stout was standing in front of the armored truck and screams could be heard in the background. Something heavy was hitting soft flesh. Sounded brutal. A cig was in her hand. Smoke filled the screen.
'If you're calling me, then you must be ready for the job.' The corpo lady commented.
'Well, I'm not actually ready…'
'Sending you the deets. Check the reward.'
'Meredith…did you even hear me?'
'Call me back after you've read it.'
BEEP
The call ended. Lei couldn't help but roll her eyes. Did anyone in Night City know how to speak to another human being? So ridiculous. That was until she read the reward.
Rewards:
[MTH-32L Heart Sleeve] - An autonomous bioware mixed with cyberware. Enhances the heart's immune system as well as reverberates the heartbeat. Moves blood through veins/arteries more efficiently. Assists T-Cells in fighting diseases and symptoms. Raises capacity for stress and lowers recovery time.
- 65,000 credits
RINGALING
Meredith answered the call.
'Well?'
'Where are you?!' Lei demanded an answer. Her tone was serious. The mature lady smiled knowingly.
'Sending location now.'
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder