Chapter 75: The Cassels

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

Also, for the ENTIRE month of December, you will get 50% off your first month when signing up to the first Tier of my ! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Aurore Cassel and her brother arrive in Dogtown~

-x-X-x-

"We won't need a second opportunity, So Mi. Just sit tight and be ready when the time comes."

So Mi bites her lower lip, wanting to ask a million questions. But she can't imagine they can keep this up forever. The time they have together must be limited. For a split second, she considers being honest with V, telling him the truth right then and there so he knows what he's getting into.

… But she's too much of a selfish coward. She wants to live, she wants to be free, and V and whoever he's working with are her best chance of getting out of Hansen's clutches alive with the data she needs at this point. Even if it means ultimately screwing them all over in the long run.

She would burn that bridge when she got to it though. For now, she's just grateful that V isn't forcing her to use the Blackwall again to contact him herself. This is probably the best case scenario she could possibly hope for and she'll latch onto it for all she's worth for as long as she can.

"Alright V. I'm counting on you. And… thanks."

V just smiles and cocks his head to the side.

"You can thank me when all is said and done, So Mi."

That's the thing… she's not sure she's going to get the chance.

-x-X-x-

"I don't like this."

Aurore Cassel rolls her eyes as her brother, quintessential stick in the mud that he is, voices his unhappiness with their current circumstances for the umpteenth time. Truthfully, sometimes Aurore wondered how the two of them could even be siblings, let alone twins. They were just so… different from one another.

Aymeric was the fun-hater of the two of them, the type who never did anything fun unless it benefited him in some meaningful way. Shit, her brother had a whole belief system in what he called 'spiritual hygiene', a way of life that had managed to get two years of his memories stolen because he insisted on regularly transferring them to external storage disks.

By comparison, Aurora was the free spirit of the pair. She was the one who actually lived rather than simply persisting like her brother did. And sure, it got her in trouble sometimes… but what was life without a little trouble, really?

"You've said as much before, Aymeric. But you're still here all the same, right alongside me. If you wanted to pull out, we already would have."

Her brother's jaw clenches at that because he knows she's right. They were a partnership after all, no matter how different from one another they might be. They were blood and they were in it together until the very end.

When Kurt Hansen's message about moving everything up and paying them extra for their troubles had first come in, they'd talked about it and made the decision to come here to Dogtown together. No matter how Aymeric griped, ultimately this was their mutual choice.

"Frankly, I'm proud of you, brother. Actually living a little dangerously for once."

Aymeric scoffs at that, taking a sip from his drink and looking around the rest of the Black Sapphire's Main Floor.

"Everything we do is dangerous, sister. Do not pretend like our work in Europe was any safer than this."

Aurore grins, inclining her head and conceding the point. It was true, after all. Over in Europe, where they worked under the collective pseudonym 'Skylight', they had had their fair share of trouble. She'd even spent five years in a high-security prison in Paris. Not to mention the bounty a certain French crime syndicate had placed on her head.

Of course, that bounty was part of the reason Aurore and Aymeric were here in Night City in the first place. Best to let the heat die down a little, and so they'd been taking more work in the Americas recently. This was just the latest, albeit biggest gig they'd picked up so far.

Before Aurore can respond to Aymeric verbally, they're interrupted by their employer… and a certain infamous woman hanging off of his arm.

"Cassels. Good to see you made it safe and sound."

Her twin shoots Aurore a glance before looking back to Kurt Hansen and nodding stoically.

"You paid our bonus, so here we are ahead of schedule."

Letting out a light laugh, Aurore runs a finger along the rim of her glass.

"Besides, this sort of gig is so exciting. Wouldn't miss it for the world… even if we are expected to play second string."

Her eyes flicker over to Hansen's 'companion'.

"Not that there's anything wrong with playing second string to a Netrunner of your renown, Ms. Songbird."

Songbird's smile is frosty as can be as she very, very lightly holds Hansen's arm. She's certainly not clinging to him, making it clear just how… strained their relationship is. Under other circumstances, Aurore certainly would have nettled. It's just who she is. But even someone like her knows when to hold her tongue about certain things.

Her brother clearly has no faith in her, because he shoots her another glance. As though he expects her to start prodding Hansen about something like the President's escape with her next breath. But Aurore holds her tongue about that… even if it is fucking hilarious.

"Just Songbird is fine. And I merely hope the two of you prove… up to the task."

Aurore bristles at the implied insult as this is also just who she is. Aymeric beats her to the punch though, answering for her and keeping her from saying anything regrettable. Because that's who he is.

"There is a reason my sister and I were specifically sought out for this gig. Monsieur Hansen has done his due diligence."

Indeed, and that was another reason they both had felt compelled to come. Even now, Aurore and her brother didn't quite know how the mercenary warlord that ruled this shit heap found out about their history working for Militech on Project Cynosure. The very same project that this Neural Matrix he wanted them to activate came from.

Songbird's frosty smiles becomes something truly wicked as she glances to Hansen, who has puffed up and is preening like a particularly pleased peacock after her brother's praise. Only for it to all come crashing down with the next words out of the older Netrunner's mouth.

"Did he? I was the one who put your names forward for this gig. I was the one who… uncovered you."

Aurore freezes at that and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Aymeric do the same. Songbird… had been the one to scout them out? That explained a lot to be sure. But it was also the sort of information they didn't need to know. Not when it was being used as ammunition to insult their employer right in front of their faces.

Kurt Hansen was a petty, proud kind of man, just like most warlords of his type. To be exposed as a fraud in any way… was a death sentence to all who he was exposed to.

With a growl, Hansen suddenly goes from letting Songbird hold his arm to holding her arm in a tight, bruising grip. Just like that, he's dragging the woman away from them, though Songbird doesn't look too put-out by his aggressive actions. If anything, she seems a poorly concealed mix of amused and smug as the two leave.

As soon as they're out of hearing range, Aymeric lets out a rough exhale and downs the rest of his drink before fixing Aurore with another 'look'.

"I really don't like this."

Aurore just hums. Truth be told, neither does she at this point. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together, all things considered. To everyone else, Songbird was the spoils of war. Kurt Hansen might have missed when he went for the Queen, but he still came away with her most prized possession.

Given Myers' escape back to NUSA, everyone would be wondering how it happened… no, how Hansen LET it happen. By parading Songbird around tonight, he ensured that people knew his attack on the NUSA President hadn't been completely for naught. And certain people who knew just what Songbird was and everything she was capable of, would know just how much Myers had lost in the exchange.

For a simple warlord like Hansen to pull off such a maneuver… it spoke well of him. On the surface, anyways. But of course, Aurore and Aymeric knew better. They'd always known something was up when Hansen told them they would be working with Songbird from the start on this gig.

But now… now the older Netrunner had truly blown things wide open when she'd all but admitted that she was the one who told Hansen to hire them. That meant she and Hansen were working together… emphasis on 'were', because it's very clear that things between the two have degraded immensely since then.

This was not information that Aurore or her brother should have had. This made it significantly more likely that Hansen might do something to… tie up loose ends when all was said and done. And they had just become two of those loose ends.

"… I'm sick of just standing around, let's go try out the roulette table."

Aymeric sighs as Aurore does what she does best and pushes their newest problem firmly into the future where it belongs. Still, at least he doesn't complain or try to stop her as she strides over to the roulette table with him trailing in her wake.

Arriving to find that the table is mostly empty at the moment save for a beautiful blonde, Aurore doesn't hesitate to sit down and tap the table.

"We are guests of Monsieur Hansen. You'll let us play a few rounds, no?"

She makes sure to emphasize the 'guest' part. Sure, the party was filled with Hansen's guests tonight… but there were all different sorts. Not that it matters too much anyways how she speaks.

The roulette table is manned by a simple computer program, humanized in the shape of a robot torso at one end of the table. It scans both her and Aymeric and whatever the Black Sapphire's Systems return seems to do the trick because they suddenly both have a 'balance' to spend.

Smirking, Aurore joins the table while Aymeric does the same beside her. Only then does she actually take in the blonde who had been there before them. At which point, she has to do a double take because…

"My… has anyone ever told you that you look exactly like the late and great Altiera Cunningham?"

The blonde poser, because that's exactly what she is, smiles in amusement as she takes a sip from her drink and offers a half-shrug in response.

"From time to time, yes."

Before Aurore can say anything else, the next round at the table begins.

"Place your bets, please."

Humming, Aurore considers for a moment. Aymeric, boring as he is, bets on black and nothing else. A simple small bet on a coin toss… so lame. Aurore though, well, thirteen has always been her favorite number so she throws some over to it, smirking all the while as Aymeric rolls his eyes at her.

The smirk drops, however, when the Altiera Poser also bets on thirteen… and ten times the amount that Aurore did at that.

There's a pause as Aurore meets the Poser's eyes… and then the roulette ball is rolled and the next thing she knows, it lands on Thirteen Black. They've won.

Even as her own paltry sum is returned to her quite a bit bigger, Aurore's eyes flicker to the holographic representation of currency in front of the blonde as it grows much larger. Her nostrils flare and she tilts her head to the side in consideration.

"… You're an interesting one, aren't you?"

The Poser just smiles at her.

"Am I, Ms. Cassel?"

Oh. Aurore doesn't like that. She doesn't like it one bit. But she is again cut off by the next round starting. This time, Aurore pauses and lets the blonde place her bet first. Noting this with a smirk, she puts a princely sum… on double zero.

What? Aurore wasn't about to follow her there. Or was she? Narrowing her eyes, she studies the Poser's stolen face for a long moment… and gets this feeling in her gut. And she's always listened to her gut whenever possible.

Smiling thinly, she puts all of the currency Hansen allotted for her to play with on double zero as well. The chances of it actually paying out are thirty-seven to one, easily the least likely bet on the entire table. And yet… Aurore doesn't even have to watch the ball. Instead, she watches the blonde, who seems supremely confident and so very sure of herself the entire time.

Until finally… it happens. The ball somehow lands on double zero. Aymeric makes a noise of disgusted disbelief next to her. The Altiera Cunningham Poser looks completely unperturbed, even as she makes enough money off of that one bet that Aurore is expecting a Barghest Soldier to walk up and shoot the dumb bitch at any moment.

"Good to see you can follow another's lead, Ms. Cassel."

Oh… oh this cunt. Aurore's smile becomes fixed and plastic on her face as the blonde's words echo through her mind. Then, she decides she's not going to wait for Barghest to take out the trash. If this Poser really thought that-

Aymeric's hand is suddenly on Aurore's wrist, causing her to tense up.

"Aurore. Don't."

What? Aurore looks to her brother, incredulous… only to see that her normally stoic twin actually has a look of caution and worry in his eyes. Not directed at her though… no, he's looking at the Poser.

Frustrated, Aurore sets aside her intentions of Quickhacking the bitch into oblivion and does as her brother is doing. Namely, she studies the other woman through the Net.

It's there that she sees the truth… and freezes up in horror as ice runs down her spine.

-x-X-x-

The Vote:

[X] Stick with Aurore's POV - 77%[ ] Switch to Alt's POV - 23%

If you'd like to read more of my work not seen on this website, check out Hentai-Foundry.com and QuestionableQuesting.com where I have over a thousand stories!

If you'd like to contribute to funding my writing at all, check me out on .com/Cambrian

Thanks for reading!