Chapter 22: The Queen

A/N: Here's the new Chapter! Which also means the next four chapters are up on my for early access as well as the chance to vote on the direction of the story!

Rogue tries to play games but is missing several cards in her deck.

-x-X-x-

Rogue Amendiares. The other woman. Though technically, Alt supposed, she was the actual other woman in this situation. Back in 2011 when Rogue had broken up with Johnny for cheating on her, Alt and Johnny had already had a fling or two.

Alt wasn’t the only one Johnny was fucking behind his girlfriend’s back at that point, but she was the one that wound up catching in the Rocker Boy’s mind and ultimately sticking around. At a cursory, surface-level glance, Rogue and Alt seemed to have a lot in common. Strong, independent women who didn’t take shit from anyone.

The difference between the two of them was that when it came to Johnny, Rogue had made an exception to that rule. She’d let herself get pulled along into Johnny’s orbit and set herself up for heartbreak in the process. By comparison, Alt had loved Johnny, but she hadn’t let him take her for granted for even a nanosecond. He was a part of her life, but he wasn’t the focus of it. She had her own work on the Net and while it wasn’t like she was playing hard to get or anything, she didn’t jump into action the moment Johnny called.

It made her all the more addicting to the easily obsessed Rocker Boy. And ultimately, it had gotten Alt killed in the end. Because as strong as she’d thought she’d been, she’d still been too weak to protect herself. Too weak to keep from being captured by Arasaka. Too weak to stop Johnny from recklessly charging in to save her, only to sign her death warrant in the process.

Johnny and Alt, the real Alt, had both died a long time ago. Rogue had survived. She’d lived on and now here they were, fifty plus years later. The mercenary had become a Fixer, and not just any Fixer but the Queen of the Fixers. And this was her domain.

Watching from the sidelines, invisible to everyone but V, Alt tilts her head to the side as she considers Rogue. It was obvious from the Fixer’s words still lingering in the air that she expected V to be a good little boy and sit, even if all he wanted to do at the moment was chase after Panam to explain himself properly.

What Rogue didn’t know was that V was in no great rush to run down Panam. The female Nomad was hot-headed, but her temper was like a flash in the pan. The anger would peter out quite quickly if she was just left alone without the source of it staring her in the face. Right now, the worst thing that V could do was follow her and he knew it.

That’s why he just shrugs and ambles over to the seat Rogue patted, dropping down into it on the couch next to her. He winds up in the corner of the thing, his arms spread over the back and one leg up using the couch itself as a footrest.

… It’s a Johnny pose, plain and simple. Of course, Alt being in V’s head and all, she knows it’s on purpose. While there are still fragments of Johnny scattered throughout the engram that V has become, V is still his own man. A Legend in his own right, one even greater than Johnny Silverhand… if you were in the correct timeline anyways.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to act the part. This posture is all Johnny. Completely nonchalant, disrespectful in the extreme… and so very Silverhand that someone like Rogue, even over half a century removed, can’t help but notice.

The Queen of the Fixers doesn’t flinch, but Alt sees the tightening around her eyes and the slightest pursing of her lips all the same. So does V, though he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he glances to the other person in the booth with them, Rogue’s bodyguard and top solo, Crispin Weyland.

Giving him a nod of acknowledgment, the young mercenary flashes a toothy smile.

“Sup.”

Weyland stares back at him for a moment as Alt watches on in amusement. Finally, the dark-skinned man nods back, letting out a grunt in response.

Perhaps sensing that somehow this power play was getting away from her in her own club, Rogue steps in to reassert control of the situation.

“You’ve been a busy bee these past couple of weeks, V. Some might say too busy. Heck, some might even say you were running from something.”

Ah. So that was the angle. Rogue knew about Konpeki Plaza. Or at least, she was aware that V had been there. Humming, Alt slips into the Afterlife’s Systems right under the nose of Rogue’s top Netrunner, Nix.

… He’s better than Hanako Arasaka, but not by much. Curiously, he seems to have noticed some of her actions on the Net, Alt realizes. As she peruses Rogue’s files and Nix’s research, she can’t help but grow even more amused. These were people who were not at all used to being in over their heads. And yet, at this point… they most definitely were.

V smirks at Rogue’s words, not bothered by them in the slightest as he tilts his head to the side questioningly.

“Do YOU think I’m running from something, Rogue?”

Eyes narrowing, Rogue studies V in silence for a long moment.

“… No. No, I don’t think you are.”

Insightful. But then to be fair, Rogue hadn’t gotten to where she was today by being a chump. Even if V’s Johnny-like mannerisms were throwing her off a bit, Afterlife’s Queen was more perceptive than most.

“Honestly, it feels like you’re running towards something. You’re making a name for yourself V… fast. And without a care for who finds out too. It’s almost like you want Arasaka to come for you.”

Alt raises an eyebrow at that. She hadn’t expected Rogue to come right out and say it. Even V is a little surprised by the older woman’s bluntness. But then, Rogue had already proven she didn’t care to mince words sometimes when she’d outright told Panam that she hadn’t sent V to help her.

Still, Alt leans forward, curious to see how V plays this. And when his plan finally coalesces in his mind enough for her to pick up on it, she can’t help but grin before the words even leave his lips.

“I’m not worried about Arasaka coming for me. They have enough on their plate already. And they’re only going to have more to deal with as time goes on.”

It was true too, so long as one associated Arasaka with Yorinobu Arasaka. Saburo’s killer didn’t actually want to find V. At this point, V’s only purpose to the new CEO of Arasaka was as a scapegoat and a distraction for Goro Takemura. The moment Takemura reported that he’d managed to track down V, then Yorinobu would have to act, but until that time, he was happy letting the modern day samurai spin his wheels because it allowed Yorinobu to enact his own plans… involving dismantling Arasaka from within.

Meanwhile, the other factions of Arasaka were a bit more focused on V than he was letting on… but using Takemura, V had given Hanako more than enough to think about regarding her brother. Even if she wanted to figure out what V had done with the Relic, she ultimately had to split her focus between that and subtly working against Yorinobu from the shadows without him finding out. Hence her pawning the former task off to Michiko.

And Michiko… well, Alt actually liked Michiko. She really did. But the other woman was in over her head and so were her operatives.

Still, it’s interesting seeing the effect that V’s words have on Rogue and her people. Nix, who has been ‘secretly’ listening in from his spot over on a faraway wall, curses under his breath and begins to check the Net for what V could be talking about, taking him seriously from the very beginning.

Rogue and Weyland both seem to take V seriously as well. Weyland stiffens, while Rogue’s eyes tighten up even further, her lips pursing properly now.

“… Oh? And why is that?”

She tries to keep her tone light and carefree, but they all know what she’s feeling is anything but at this point. V lets out a laugh and shakes his head.

“Come on now Rogue. You know how the game is played. That sort of thing… will cost you.”

Alt snickers, though only V can hear it. Unable to help herself, she saunters over and drops herself into V’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. He can’t actually react to her presence, but she delights in giving an unaware Rogue a cheshire grin all the same, even blowing the unsuspecting Fixer Queen a kiss while she’s at it.

Once again, when it came to men, Alt had clearly won out over Rogue. Her V was the best, hands down and beyond a shadow of a doubt.

“… And how much would my silence be worth, V? What sort of price tag would you put on the fact that I haven’t told Yorinobu Arasaka where to find you just yet?”

With that, Alt’s smile drops from her face. This bitch. She should have expected it, but she’s still both outraged and amazed that Rogue has the gall to threaten V, even on her own turf. He could kill everyone in here if he wanted to. If he let her, she could do it without him having to even lift a finger.

Perhaps V senses Alt’s outrage, or perhaps he’s feeling some of it himself, because while his smirk doesn’t drop, it does turn into a toothy, predatory grin. He leans forward in a motion that is all V and no Silverhand, causing Rogue to stiffen and Crispin Weyland to place his hand on his holstered sidearm.

“Go ahead.”

The words though… they suck the tension out of the room, especially when V leans back again, looking for all the world like he wasn’t just intimidating the Queen of the Afterlife with his mere aura.

“… What?”

Alt giggles at Rogue’s baffled tone. She’s really off center at this point. Nothing about this conversation has gone the way the Fixer Queen intended, that much is certain.

Shrugging his shoulders, V hums.

“Go ahead and tell him. He’ll burn this place to the ground and make sure you and everyone you know is dead, of course. But feel free to tell him. It’ll certainly spice things up a bit.”

Silence falls again as everyone, Rogue, Weyland, and Nix are all trying to figure out if V’s bravado is false or if he really believes what he’s saying, each in their own way. Alt, figuring she might as well throw Nix a bone, surreptitiously directs Afterlife’s top netrunner to a couple of overlooked details about the most recent activities within Arasaka. She grins wickedly when he curses under his breath from over on the wall again.

“… He wouldn’t dare.”

Meanwhile, back in the booth, Rogue seems to have come down on the side of disbelief. But V doesn’t crack under the weight of her withering incredulity. He just smiles at her wolfishly again.

“Care to find out?”

Before Rogue can respond to that provocation, Nix sends her a message telling her they need to talk, marked as urgent. Rogue’s eyes flash for a moment before she purses her lips and then forces a smile onto her face.

“You’re an interesting individual V. A very interesting individual. And I’ve heard nothing but good things about your work so far. Can I expect to call upon you in the future if I have a gig worth your time?”

It’s a crazy thing, to threaten to sell someone out to a megacorp and then a few seconds later offer them future work while so clearly dismissing them from your presence. But then, this is a crazy world they live in. If V were any less than the man he is, he probably would have made a scene. Instead, he rises to his feet and gives Rogue and Weyland another nod each, still smiling easily.

“Of course, Rogue. If the price is right, you can always hire me. And knowing you… I’m sure the price will be right.”

He gives her a wink at that. The older woman doesn’t flush or blush or anything, but Alt can tell that V has piqued her interest in a way practically no one else does these days. As he moves to leave the booth, Alt rests a hand on his shoulder and whispers in his ear, still invisible to everyone else.

“Going to stick around for a second. See the fallout.”

V doesn’t acknowledge her in any outward way, but she gets an internal ping from his thoughts that tells her he’s in agreement. With that, he leaves the Afterlife and Alt stays behind. As soon as V is out of sight, Nix hurries over and throws up some serious protection to ensure their privacy. Not enough to keep Alt out of course… but then she was already inside.

Once Nix is confident its just him, Rogue, and Weyland, he proceeds to drop a bombshell on the other two.

“I think Yorinobu Arasaka is trying to break Arasaka from the inside.”

Rogue’s eyes widen in disbelief at that before narrowing dangerously, her tone becoming downright clipped.

“What?! Explain, now!”

Nix shares what Alt had helped him discover with Rogue and Weyland, before launching into an explanation of what the data means. Specifically, it’s the telltale signs of someone within Arasaka’s upper echelons sabotaging the business in increasingly large ways.

“This… this could be anyone on Arasaka’s Board. What makes you think it’s Yorinobu?”

Nix is already shaking his head.

“Because of what the kid said, and Yorinobu’s history. It’s not exactly a secret that Yorinobu Arasaka abandoned the corpo life and led the Steel Dragons for a time. Wasn’t until Kei Arasaka died that Saburo pulled him back in and forced him to become his heir. Now Saburo is dead, someone is effectively trying to dismantle Arasaka from within… and we’ve got the kid they’re trying to pin Saburo’s murder on saying he’s not worried about retaliation. Why? Unless…”

For the first time, Weyland speaks up. The man might not say much, but he’s not an idiot. He finishes Nix’s thought for him with a grunt.

“Unless Yorinobu played a part in his father’s murder and V believes his knowledge protects him from the other man’s wrath.”

Rogue stiffens even further, looking straight as a fucking board at this point. When she speaks, her words come out in an angry hiss.

“What… you think the Konpeki Plaza Heist was all just a cover? That Yorinobu hired V on the downlow to assassinate his father?”

Nix grimaces and shrugs.

“Not sure about the finer details, to be honest. But… it would explain the threat. If any part of this is true, and we try to sell information about V’s whereabouts to Yorinobu… then yeah, he might just decide he has to destroy the Afterlife and kill us to keep his secret safe.”

Hah. They were so close, yet so far away. The idea of Yorinobu and V working together… wasn’t altogether laughable. If Yorinobu hadn’t played a role in getting Jackie and T-Bug killed, anyways. Because of that, Alt knew the man was marked for death regardless.

Still, as the Queen of the Afterlife and her advisors continue to discuss the situation, Alt decides she’s seen enough. She leaves a small undetectable monitoring subprocess to keep watch and record the rest of course, but she also leaves the Afterlife’s Systems behind, returning to V’s head.

She’s curious to see where his feet have carried him, knowing that he’d actually been of two minds on what he was going to do next.

[ ] Let Panam go for now (keep her as a love interest but stay solo) - 21%

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