[center][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/40/4a/f2/404af273fac611239f5ff5975ee90b3c.jpg[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220228/11075c38be0cdd491d3b42d4da31dbbd.png[/img] [hr] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zs1r6DxdfXI[/center] [@Dark Cloud] [@VeyrinDay] [@Gisk] Hours had passed since Hiro first made contact with Sweetie, and now he was stirring awake, lying beside her in what could only be described as a heavily disheveled bed. Incessantly his head pounded, a soft groan escaping his lips as he turned over on his back and stared bleary-eyed at the large mirror on the ceiling above, reflecting his immodestly covered figure and that of the cyberdoll to his right. Speaking of, the detective glanced over at the joytoy laying on her side, her rather pertinent endowments rising and falling gracefully with every silent breath she took in and exhaled. The tousled crimson sheets half-covering her more or less accentuated her voluptuous, nude body, a rather pleased smile near permanently etched across her sumptuous lips as she slumbered. [color=ec008c][b]"How the hell did this happen?"[/b][/color] Hiro mused to himself weakly, trying his damndest to recover the last bit of his memories. Faintly, he could remember bits and pieces of what happened, at least the conversation he had with the hooker before...well...this. [hider=Hours Ago] [color=ec008c][b]"Alright."[/b][/color] Hiro closed the door behind them and locked it as soon as he was sure nobody else was lurking about. He then turned and faced the cyberdoll as she sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up at him with those same fearful eyes, eyes that told Hiro she knew more than what she should. It was impressive to the detective, honestly how real they were making these toys of carnal pleasure. Reaching into his coat pocket, he fished out another cigarette, clenching it in his mouth and lighting it with a flick of his lighter, then taking a slow drag off of it before resuming the interrogation. Usually, he'd have his partner Emma do all the grilling since she had a more persuasive nature. He guessed that was the perks of being an ex-NAE Marine. However, he assumed she was busy, her and the rocker chick, with tailing that group of netrunners. Nevertheless, he continued. [color=ec008c][b]"Tell me everything you know, Sweetie. Don't skip a single detail."[/b][/color] Sweetie bit her lip, a brief glimpse away from the detective as she curled up her shoulders to her neck. There was a sliver of tense silence between the two before she responded, her eyes still brimming with apprehension as she turned to face Hiro. [color=ed145b][b]~"You want to know about Jenna, right?"~[/b][/color] She whispered. [color=ec008c][b]"That's the reason I'm here, isn't it?"[/b][/color] Gruffly the detective replied, exhaling a wisp of smoke. [color=ec008c][b]"Tell me about her. What was your relationship like with her, aside from courtesan and client?"[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]~"We just had sex. That was all."~[/b][/color] Sweetie answered with a shrug, albeit a tad defensive. [color=ed145b][b]~"She was going through a rough patch with her boyfriend and wanted to play a little. I didn't know she'd be a repeat customer honestly, but she paid good and she fucked good. So what?"~[/b][/color] Hiro's brow furrowed at Sweetie. [color=ec008c][b]"I think there was something more between you two."[/b][/color] He added while crossing his arms over his chest, a suspicious glimmer in his eyes towards the cyberdoll. [color=ec008c][b]"Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so torn up over her death, nor would you be acting so strange."[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]~"I...I..."~[/b][/color] Sweetie stammered, practically gnawing at her lip until it would hypothetically turn red. She averted her eyes from the detective once more. [color=ec008c][b]"Answer me, Sweetie."[/b][/color] Said Hiro. Pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against, he slowly shuffled across the room and sat down beside her on the bed. Still, she refused to make any eye contact with him. Nishida resumed, [color=ec008c][b]"Did you or did you not have a romantic relationship with Jenna Hayworth?"[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]~"I...I..."~[/b][/color] There was a hint of sadness to the cyberdoll's voice as she continued to stutter, finally bursting into what Hiro could only assume from her lack of tears...as a fit of sobbing. Sweetie threw herself at him full force, burying her face deep into his broad shoulder, her voice muffled by his coat, [b][color=ed145b]~"Yes! It's true, detective! I did love her!"~[/color][/b] [color=ec008c][b]"O-oh..."[/b][/color] Hiro mumbled, taken aback a little by her sudden bout of despair. All he could think to do at this moment was wrap a comforting arm around her shoulder and let her cry into his. [color=ec008c][b]"It's uh...it's okay, Sweetie."[/b][/color] Weakly he muttered, setting his hand gently on her trembling shoulder. [color=ec008c][b]"I'm...I'm sorry."[/b][/color] Sweetie lifted herself from his shoulder, silently sniffling as she dried her eyes. [color=ed145b][b]~"She was my angel, Detective Nishida."~[/b][/color] She resumed, her quavering voice rasp with tears as she looked at Hiro. [color=ed145b][b]~"She was the only person in this goddamn world that made me feel like a real woman, not some cheap whore or a pimp's plaything. I tried my best to warn her...but it was too late."~[/b][/color] Hiro's eyebrow rose slightly. [color=ec008c][b]"Too late for what?"[/b][/color] He asked, staring at her quizzically. [color=ec008c][b]"Do you know who killed her, Sweetie?"[/b][/color] Sweetie nodded back, answering with a sharp edge in her tone, [color=ed145b][b]~"If I did, detective, I would gladly kill them myself."~[/b][/color] However, her voice softened to her accustomed sadness afterward, her lips curling into a sullen frown. [color=ed145b][b]~"But no...I don't. All I know is Big V was the one who set up the hit."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"Hmm, I thought so."[/b][/color] Returned Nishida. [b][color=ec008c]"He acted awful sketchy when I requested to speak with you. How did you find out?"[/color][/b] [color=ed145b][b]~"It was yesterday."~[/b][/color] Said Sweetie. [color=ed145b][b]~"I overheard him speaking to someone while I was with a client. I heard him say Jenna's name."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"What else did he say?"[/b][/color] Hiro continued to question her. [color=ec008c][b]"Do you know who he hired? Was it a merc? A solo?"[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]~"I don't know."~[/b][/color] Sweetie shook her head. [color=ed145b][b]~"I just know he knew about Jenna's involvement with Yamagata. There was a scientist she worked with there a while back. I think her name was Caroline."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"Caroline Cadmus."[/b][/color] Hiro finished with a suspecting grimace. [b][color=ec008c]"I remember her case. She was found dead in an industrial waste dump about a year ago, stabbed eighty-nine times. Her body was found stripped naked with no I.D. The same as Hayworth. Could it be..."[/color][/b] He paused momentarily, his mind racing now as gradually he was beginning to piece everything together. So adrift was he in thought that it startled him when the cyberdoll rested her head once more against his shoulder. [color=ed145b][b]~" Detective..."~[/b][/color] Softly she murmured slipping her frail hand across his muscular chest, only to reach up and caress his firm jaw. She looked at Nishida with something else in her eyes now, a languid, longing gaze deep into his own eyes. [b][color=ed145b]~"I don't want to be alone tonight. I'm afraid if Victor finds out what I told you, well...he'll kill me. Please...stay with me."~[/color][/b] Hiro turned and gave her a confused look. However, there was no time to respond before she grabbed him, locking her lips with his and kissing him deeply. Her arms ensnared him as they both fell back into the plush mattress, bathed in the sultry glow of red neon. [/hider] And sure enough, that's what led to Hiro sleeping with her. Something he wasn't proud to admit due to his displeasure towards prostitutes, but still...it was a hell of a night for him. Hiro soon began straggling out of bed to look for his clothes, the light shuffle of his movements, unfortunately, eliciting a hushed, incoherent whisper from the joytoy, gently turning over and greeting the detective with a soft, sleepy smile, again her glimmering eyes gazing at him longingly as he got dressed in the dim red light of the room. [color=ed145b][b]~"You're leaving?"~[/b][/color] A sigh exhaled, Hiro nodded pulling up his pants and zipping them up. He then slipped his shirt sleeves over his arms and began buttoning it up. [color=ec008c][b]"I have to."[/b][/color] He replied blunt. Sweetie sighed and sat up, her arms encircling him from behind, a tender embrace with her lips leaving tender little kisses up and down the back of his neck. [color=ed145b][b]~"Please, don't go."~[/b][/color] She begged him, not even budging once to let Hiro free. [color=ed145b][b]~"I feel much safer with you here."~[/b][/color] Hiro sighed again, turning around to look into her eyes with a somber frown, a soft kiss planted upon her beautiful, supple lips. [color=ec008c][b]"I know."[/b][/color] He answered her quietly. [color=ec008c][b]"But I have work to do."[/b][/color] Carefully he untangled himself from her, letting her arms slip from his waist as she lied down again, still those ever seductive eyes gazing at him. [color=ed145b][b]~"You know, detective..."~[/b][/color] Said Sweetie just as Hiro was reaching for the doorknob. Hiro stopped and turned around. [color=ed145b][b]~"There was something I forgot to add...about Jenna."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"What is it?"[/b][/color] Hiro inquired. Sweetie resumed, a brief sigh punctuating the beginning of her sentence, [color=ed145b][b]~"Before she died, Jenna told me about a project she and Cadmus had worked on. It had something to do with synthetic humanoids, kind of like me but more...well...advanced. I believe she said it was called E13."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"Is that so?"[/b][/color] Replied the detective, quite astounded by her answer. [color=ec008c][b]"And this 'E13' project. Why would it be so important to have both Cadmus and Hayworth killed over it?"[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]~"Who knows."~[/b][/color] Sweetie answered with a light shrug. She got up out of bed, slipping on the silk kimono she was wearing earlier and tying it securely around her waist. [color=ed145b][b]~"All I know is my Jenna and Cadmus were both Yamagata employees. So it was likely them who did it."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"Wait a minute."[/b][/color] Hiro muttered confused, his dark eyes narrowing on the cyberdoll's face. [color=ec008c][b]"You said it was your pimp Victor who set up the hit. Are you telling me some fixer like him is working for the corpos?"[/b][/color] [color=ed145b][b]~"Not exactly, sugar."~[/b][/color] Said Sweetie. [color=ed145b][b]~"But he may as well be. Victor only cares about money, and if the corpos offered him a fat check to kill my Jenna, then chances are they'll pay him again for another ill favor."~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"And he'll probably use the same guy he used for the last job."[/b][/color] Hiro added gravely. [color=ec008c][b]"I'm gonna find this son of a bitch and put an end to him before he kills more innocent people."[/b][/color] He started to reach for the door again but paused turning his head toward Sweetie. [color=ec008c][b]"So...when can I see you again?"[/b][/color] Sweetie smiled at the detective, albeit with a hint of sadness to her voice as she replied, [color=ed145b][b]~"I don't know if I'll be around much longer, Detective Nishida. Now that I've told you everything, I'm almost certain Victor will have me killed. Still..."~[/b][/color] Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she leaned forward with a gentle peck of her lips to his, staring deeply into his eyes with a lover's ardor. [color=ed145b][b]~"I will never forget this night we shared. You're by far the most amazing man I've given myself to. Please...if I survive this....will you come back to me?"~[/b][/color] [color=ec008c][b]"I..."[/b][/color] Hiro uttered with slight hesitance to his words, relenting with a deep and woeful sigh. [color=ec008c][b]"I can't make any promises, Sweetie...I'm sorry."[/b][/color] And with that, Hiro pulled himself away from her arms reluctantly, leaving the heartbroken doll all alone....leaving her to a possible grisly fate at the hands of her greedy, lecherous pimp. Of course, Hiro's own heart was beginning to ache, yet he fought against all urges to turn back around, to burst through that door and take that beautiful woman once more as his own. Flipping up the collar of his coat around his face and shoving his hands firmly into his pockets, the embittered detective once more stepped out into the cold drizzle, stamping through puddles collecting on the sidewalks and the glistening city streets until he was at the driver side door of his car. As he fished his keys out from his coat pocket, he took one last look towards the bordello a block away. There she was in the rose tinted window staring back at him, briefly before she drew the thick velvet curtains shut, cutting herself away from him...possibly forever... [hr] [@Eviledd1984] [@VeyrinDay] [center][img]https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/news/ford-mustang-cyberpunk-2077-rendered-with-japanese-police-livery-143563_1.jpg[/img] [hr] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220311/aed4f8e44f6b5ed6028130e1bc50aff5.png[/img][h2]&[/h2][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220310/f237e47c4f8b325ccae56acfc64e4674.png[/img] [hr][/center] [color=f26522]“Alice has taken the red pill, her mind is expanding.” [/color] [b]"Yeah yeah, just don't bump your pretty little head there sweetheart. Watch it now."[/b] Emma carefully yet callously shoved the hacker into the back of her cruiser before slamming the door shut in the girl's face and climbing in herself. Then she reached for her radio on the dash, just as her ride-along for the night Nina was settling in on the passenger side, a rather perturbed look plastered on her face as she glanced at Maggie in the backseat through the rearview mirror. The young rockstar's brow furrowed a bit. Something was off with Mags she thought. It was as though she had no memory of Nina. She even confused the blonde for being another policewoman, despite Nina knowing her for years. [b]"Dispatch, this is Thorley. I got four idiots in custody right now. Need you to send over a unit to the address I'm forwarding, over. Yeah, caught 'em trying to break into some BemaTech facility in Sendero. Looks like a couple of runners and some mercs. These guys were packing some heavy firepower too. No pushovers. Yeah, I'll send you the coordinates. Well don't get your thong in a twist! I'm working on it, shit! Yeah, I know about that shooting at the apartments. I've got some guys already combing the place. Nishida? Fuck, last I heard, he was headed over to the Venus District for a little R&R, if you catch my drift. Yeah, I'll contact him too. Alright. Over and out."[/b] Emma squelched the mic shortly after and hung up the radio, glancing in the rearview mirror at the two perps behind her, their hands bound with zipties since she forgot to carry her cuffs with her unfortunately. She smirked at their irritated faces glaring back at her in the mirror, snickering to the two netrunners, [b]"You girls just get nice and cozy. We've got a long ride back to the precinct. If you think once of trying to get out of those zips, I won't think twice of splattering your brains all over that back windshield. So just sit back and relax."[/b] And with that, Emma slammed her foot down on the gas pedal, sending the cruiser violently careening out of the parking lot and speeding down the road in a blur of reds and blues. While Emma was focused on the road ahead, Nina unlatched her safety belt and turned around in her seat to get a better look at Maggie in her recently dumbfounded state. [color=00aeef][b][i]"Hey Mags. It's me, Nina. Don't you remember?"[/i][/b][/color] Softly Nina whispered to the hacker, at least hoping to elicit some response from her. [color=00aeef][b][i]"Look, if you're mad about me snitching on you, I'm sorry. What was I to do? Let you and your guys get killed? Besides, the cops kinda knew already."[/i][/b][/color] Nervously she tittered and scratched the back of her head, her cheeks reddening slightly with an awkward grin across her face. [color=00aeef][b][i]"I uh...just want you to know I did this to protect you. It's not worth it, risking your life over money. And, well...I guess I'm sorry."[/i][/b][/color] [b]"Forget it, Blondie."[/b] Emma quipped while making a sharp left turn at an intersection, rudely cutting off some man on a bike who cursed at her and flipped her the bird. [b]"Let little miss Script Kiddie back there sulk because she got busted, her and her friend there. They're damn lucky it was us and not some cybered up psychos with katanas and AR-46 assault rifles. Otherwise, we'd be taking them to the morgue instead of the precinct."[/b] A sharp glare she shot towards Maggie in the rearview, muttering, [b]"When are you kids gonna learn? You go fucking around with corpos, sooner or later, they're gonna fuck you...hard! And that's without any lube."[/b] [color=00aeef][b][i]"I think you made your point, [url=https://pisces.bbystatic.com/image2/BestBuy_US/images/products/3428/34283175_so.jpg]Angel Cop[/url]."[/i][/b][/color] Nina grumbled rolling her eyes and sitting back down in her seat, fastening her seatbelt again. [color=00aeef][b][i]"What I don't get is why Maggie was hired by a Yamagata corpo to break into BemaTech. They don't have anything to do with what those guys are peddling. I mean, it's not like BemaTech's going into the cybernetics market anytime...are they?"[/i][/b][/color] She gave Emma an odd stare. [b]"Hell, who knows."[/b] Emma shrugged keeping her eyes fixed on the road, every once in a while glancing in the mirror at Maggie and Lilith. [b]"These corps have been playing a dangerous game for a very long time, and innocent people are getting caught in the crossfire. It makes me sick, how they toy with people's lives, use them as pawns in some game of chess, and to what end? Power? It's not like they control every goddamn thing in this city. Electronics, the news, the fuel we put in our cars, the food we eat, the fucking cybernetics we put in our bodies. Chances are some corporation's name is slapped right on the side of it. Even the guns we use are made by a corporation. We're nothing to them but puppets, fucking slaves."[/b] [color=00aeef][b][i]"Wow."[/i][/b][/color] Nina whistled astounded towards Emma's short outburst. [color=00aeef][b][i]"Never thought I'd hear a cop badmouthing the corpos. You must have a real bone to pick with them, huh Emma?"[/i][/b][/color] [b]"Listen, Joan Jett."[/b] Emma responded, heaving a troubled sigh from her lungs. A stark contrast to her reckless abandon earlier tearing up the road, she gently pressed her foot down on the brake pedal, bringing the cruiser to a steady halt at a red light. She resumed her conversation with Nina, all while keeping a vigilant eye on the other vehicles stopped beside her. [b]"The only reason I'm a cop is because I want to keep people safe. It has nothing to do with the rich bastards who sign my checks. They can all go to Hell as far as I'm concerned. My point is they ruin lives for profit, profit and control. Take [url=https://i.imgur.com/XXXqQtUm.jpg]Suzy Chen[/url] for instance."[/b] [color=00aeef][b][i]"Who?"[/i][/b][/color] Inquired Nina raising her eyebrow lightly. [color=00aeef][b][i]"Yeah, I don't know who that is."[/i][/b][/color] [b]"It was a case Nishida and I worked a few years back.[/b] Emma replied rather blunt. [b]"Poor girl had her guts blown out by some prick who shot himself afterwards. Anyhow, we did some digging on her and found out she and her family were in deep. We're talking the exact definition of corporate warfare. There was blackmail, phony lawsuits, assassinations, you name it. And here was this sweet young girl caught right in the middle of it. I don't know what's happened to her. Hell, I don't even know if she's still alive. If there's anything corpos hate, it's loose ends."[/b] [color=00aeef][b][i]"So what did you do about it?"[/i][/b][/color] Asked Nina, her lips curling downward into a more somber expression to match her soft tone of voice. Emma returned bitterly, a dry huff of air flaring her nostrils, [b]"Nothing... We couldn't do a goddamn thing about it. Somehow the corps who hired the assassin got to our witnesses. Soon, evidence started disappearing, people refused to speak to us. We didn't have a shred that could stand up in court. Even so, none of us knew who these bastards were, this...[i]Conglomerate.[/i] They're like the fucking boogeyman or something, lurking in the shadows, always watching your every move. If you ask me, I think they're the real owners of this city. Maybe even the whole damn world. The corps are their puppets, just as we are the puppets of the corps. And the more I think of it....the more it scares the ever living shit out of me. Power corrupts men, and many will do whatever is necessary to keep a hold on it."[/b] [color=00aeef][b][i]"Jesus, Em..."[/i][/b][/color] Nina uttered a tad shaken. Her eyes were as wide as saucers once Emma finished her venomous diatribe. [color=00aeef][b][i]"When you put it that way, it's almost like we're already losing."[/i][/b][/color] [b]"Nah, I wouldn't say that."[/b] Emma chuckled. [b]"You see, the thing about people is you can only control them for so long, before they start wising up to all your bullshit you're feeding them. Sooner or later, the same thing's gonna happen to this Conglomerate. People are gonna get tired of being shoved around and played with like dolls. They'll fight back. You can guarantee this city will become a fucking battleground. Until that day, I say we just lay low."[/b] Emma looked up at the traffic light again. Was this thing ever going to fucking change, she thought.