Chapter Text
Panam sat back in the passenger seat of V’s car. “Okay…” she breathed. “What now?”
‘Now,’ V replied, her eyes trained on the area where the Valentinos were supposed to show- ‘We wait, and we watch. Bein’ late to something like this isn’t normal, ‘specially not for the Valentinos. Keep an eye out- this could go bad.’
The Aldecaldos had made a deal with the Valentinos- a truckload of weapons for desert liquor for the Valentino’s establishments. Panam had called V for her help almost immediately, and V had been more than happy to oblige her.
‘What d’we do if they don’t show?’
V shrugged. Her white eyes turned to Panam and she suppressed a slight shiver- she wasn’t scared of V, not in the slightest, but those obviously cybernetic eyes would never fail to put her ever so slightly on edge. ‘Same way you’d deal with it out in the Badlands- call off the deal, or get the local fixer to do somethin’. Round here it’s Padre- I know him, should be able to help ya if it comes to that.’
Panam nodded. Several minutes passed in silence, without any Valentino car pulling into the abandoned lot. V seemed comfortable not talking, but staying quiet had never been Panam’s strong suit- likely why she kept getting in trouble with Saul.
‘So…’ she tried. ‘You grow up near here?’
V blinked, and seemed to shake herself back to the physical world. ‘Hmmm? Oh, yeah. Right here, basically.’
‘You got any family here?’
The merc laughed, leaning back on her chair and putting her feet on the dash. ‘In a way. Never knew my mom or pop- but whole neighborhood was family. Helped each other out. I was raised by the whole street.’
Panam could barely imagine it. She’d been seventeen the first time she’d set foot in a city. It was the first time she’d ever seen the sky so choked- concrete, steel, glass and smoke rising into, only the tiniest streak of blue or orange letting you know there was still a sky at all.
‘What was it like? Growing up here.’
V seesawed her hand. ‘Eh. Worse places to be a kid in Night City- most a’ the gangs were scared enough of Padre not t’cause too much trouble- course, was always someone dumb enough to try.’
Panam shut up in case V stopped talking. She continued. ‘First time I ever shot a gun- I was four.’ She pointed east. ‘Bout… 5 minutes thataway, back in… uhh… 2055, I think- was with my carer. We were walkin’ past El Coyote Cojo when… well, a’ the time I had no fuckin’ idea what was happenin’, obviously, but as far’s I can tell some gonk went cyberpsycho in the bar. Crashed out the front, mantis blades out, blood all over ‘im, fuckin’... well, psycho look in his eyes. He started getting lit up by the entire fuckin’ street, but he must’ve had some kinda military-grade subdermal armour implants or somethin, because that gonk would not fuckin' go down. My carer- Mary, I think?- pulled me down behind a car and started shooting like everyone else. Pulled a gun out of her bag, shoved it into my hands and told me to shoot. So, I did.’
Panam blinked. ‘Wow.’
V laughed, surprising her. ‘Wow’s right. So, f’ you were wondering- that’s how the sharpest shooter in Night City got her start- wildly sending bullets in the direction of a knife-armed cyberpsycho before she knew how t’ tie her shoes.’
The nomad tried to imagine it- tiny V, pre-white eyes, pre- rocket launcher arm, pre- sniper rifle everpresent on her back, wielding a too-big pistol and firing wildly on a cyberpsycho. It wasn’t easy.
‘Hm.’ V frowned.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothin’, she replied. ‘S’just- only ever told that story to Jackie n’ Judy.’
Panam knew who Jackie was- V’s friend, who’d died in their ill-fated Konpeki Tower heist. She knew V preferred not to talk about him. Judy, though- that was a name she didn’t recognise.
‘Who’s Judy?’
V looked at her and groaned, putting her head against the steering wheel. ‘Swear to- why is it whenever I’m talkin’ to you, I can’t stop running m’ stupid mouth?’
Panam laughed. ‘C’mon, we’re gonna be here for a while. Y’ can’t leave me in the dark.’
V grumbled. ‘Judy’s- she’s just some girl, alright.’
‘Mhm. Girl like girlfriend?’
The merc gaped at her. ‘Wha- okay, first of all how do you know m’ even-'
‘If you’re about to say gay, don’t even go there.’
V rolled her eyes, rubbing her short hair self-consciously. ‘It’s convenient- fine, y’ got me. So what? If you're homophobic, it’d really ruin what we’ve got going.’
‘Judy.’ Panam insisted. ‘Everything. Now.’
‘She’s- she’s a BD technician uptown.’ V relented. ‘I’m just helping her out with some stuff is all. There’s nothin’-’
‘You told Jackie that story-’ Panam said, counting on her fingers. ‘Because he’s your best friend, and you told me that story because I’m your best friend-’ V snorted. ‘So, either Judy’s another best friend, even though nobody says their best friend’s name like how you just said Judy, or she’s your output.’
‘Judy is not my-'
‘Potential future output then, same difference. Also, if I was wrong, you wouldn’t be blushing so hard.’
V sighed. ‘Look… I met her before the heist. She helped me with editing a braindance for intel on Yorinobu Arasaka. After the whole thing went tits-up, I called her for help and…’ She trailed off.
‘Look, bein’ serious, I’m not gonna tell you what we’ve been trying to do, s’ intensely personal- not on my part, on hers- but she’s decent.’
‘What’s she like?’ Panam asked, softly.
V chuckled. ‘She’s… fuckin’ fantastic.’ she said in a low voice. ‘I can’t even- she’s fucking beautiful, first of all, and I don’t just mean hot, y’know, although she absolutely is and she’s so smart, like I’m not useless when it comes to tech, but the way she sees it- s’like art. She’s… she’s had it really rough, she’s got every right to be a huge piece a’ shit like everyone else in this city, but she’s not. She- she’s rough ‘round the edges but- she makes me laugh and she makes me care about this city and the people in it. She’s…’ The merc sighed, staring out the window. ‘She’s Judy fuckin’ Álvarez and she is so out of my league it’s not even funny.’
Most of the time when V talked, her voice had either a snarky tone that made it sound like she was relentlessly making fun of you, or a strict, controlled quality that made sure you listened. Either way, her words were clearly always planned to keep the conversation how she liked it. That was the most uncontrolled the nomad had ever heard her friend speak. It was novel.
Panam breathed out. ‘She sounds great.’
V smiled. ‘She really is.’
‘D’you need any advice, or..?'
‘Appreciate the offer, Pan, but if I ever ask a straight girl for help with a lesbian crush I want you to shoot me.’
‘Got it. I… hope it all works out.’
V smiled at her. ‘Me too. Y’know, it was surprisingly nice t-’
The unmistakable roar of a Militech SUV interrupted her, and the blood drained from Panam’s face as she watched the huge black truck roll into the car park where the Valentino’s car was supposed to be.
‘Fuuuck.’