"V… thanks. Really." Judy's voice wavered, the edge of emotion slipping through.
The contrast was what made it so damn charming — everything about her look, her gear, her swagger screamed cool big-sis, Mox queen energy, but underneath she was soft, sensitive. Human.
In Night City, that kind of softness was rarer than clean air.
Vash shrugged it off, "C'mon. Between us? No need."
As he spoke, he swung a leg over and settled onto the passenger seat of her bike.
Judy, up front, said suddenly, "Heard from some of the girls at Lizzie's — you rolled up looking for me in a Rayfield Caliburn."
"Ahem… weather's nice today." Vash's ears went a little hot.
"Hold on tight." Judy started the bike, a smile tugging at her lips.
Vash sat up straight and grabbed the rear handle — despite really wanting to grab something else.
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Finn "Fingers" Gerstatt's clinic wasn't hard to find — if you knew where to look. A back-alley hole off Jig-Jig Street, Japantown, half-hidden behind neon rot and cheap perfume.
Judy was a veteran around the Mox. She knew the shortcuts, the side doors, the angles that didn't get you knifed. In no time, the two of them were outside a cramped storefront with a line snaking along the wall.
The people waiting were mostly scantily dressed dolls and street workers, trying to look bored while their eyes stayed sharp. Fingers was a known ripper in Japantown — specialized in patching up "certain cyberware" for girls, and he occasionally took jobs even Clouds didn't want to touch. Over time, that ugliness became a kind of reputation.
"V… this Fingers isn't clean." Judy warned in a low voice, "He keeps goons around. Watch yourself."
Vash flashed an OK sign. Looks like little Judy still didn't know what kind of monster she'd brought along. If things popped off, the aftermath would be… loud.
They pushed into the clinic. Compared to Viktor's place, this was a dump. Filthy, cluttered, claustrophobic. Cyberware parts hung on the walls like trophies. Ash and smoke lingered in the air — some of the girls were still casually lighting up while they waited. The whole place felt like tetanus with neon.
"You two — line up!" Fingers's receptionist snapped, eyes hard and mouth mean.
"We're here to see someone." Judy said, cold as chrome.
"Don't care what you're here for. Everyone lines up." The receptionist doubled down, attitude ugly and proud.
Bang!!
Vash drew Skippy and put a round into the ceiling. The smartgun's little holographic "rocket" phantom popped up, cheerful in the worst possible way.
「Hostiles detected: fifty-two heads in the area. Stone Cold Killer Mode engaged — estimated time to neutralize: ten seconds!」
Skippy's voice rang out, loud and bright, the kind of tone that made the words feel even more murderous.
Every streetwalker in the room shut up instantly. It was 2077 — sure, everyone had iron, but someone walking in with a talking smart weapon? That was a walking reaper.
The clinic went so quiet you could hear someone's implant fan whining.
The receptionist's face went white, "Y-you two… if you're just looking for someone, then… of course. No problem."
The other girls didn't argue either. Who the hell would?
Vash holstered the gun and looked at Judy, "Handled."
"Good." Judy said, and for a second the tension in her shoulders eased.
They went straight through to the operating room.
Inside, a woman lay on the chair-table hybrid, while Fingers worked with practiced patience, never bothering to look up.
"What's the noise out there?" He muttered, "Whatever. Wait a minute."
Since he had a patient open, Vash and Judy held back. While they waited, Vash scanned the room. It was only slightly cleaner than outside — same grime, same stink, just a different corner of the same rot.
"I'm talking to you." Judy said, voice sharp, "This is the trash you slap into people?"
Fingers didn't pause, "Beautiful, that's not fair. This is standard kit around here."
Judy snorted, "Those optics and that synth-skin? Preem if we were in 2060. This is junk. What you're doing is robbery."
"Don't worry. Relax… Might sting a tiny bit." Fingers said to the patient, almost soothing.
His nerve was solid — more accurately, he didn't care if Judy scared off business. In his world, these girls didn't have leverage. They couldn't live without a ripper, and he knew it.
Under Judy's sarcasm, Fingers finished the job. The woman got up and shuffled out, numb and hollow. She'd heard every word, and none of it moved her. She was used to this kind of cruelty.
Fingers peeled off his gloves, slapped sanitizer into his palms, scrubbed at the sink, then finally turned toward them.
"I paid the Tyger Claws for protection, didn't I?" He asked, voice guarded.
The soundproofing in the clinic was a joke. He'd heard the shot.
"We're Mox." Judy said, "Here to ask about someone."
"The Mox…" Fingers rolled the word around like it tasted dangerous, "Alright. Who?"
"Evelyn Parker." Vash said, "Before we came here, I went to Clouds. Take a guess how I got your address."
Fingers wasn't stupid. A smile flickered onto his face like a quickhack animation, "Let's talk in my office."
He called it an office. It was really his bedroom.
The decor looked like a budget Clouds suite — cheap mood lighting, messy sheets, fake luxury. Fingers sat on the bed and said, "I'm not like those docs who just swap arms and legs. It's not only technique. I know what they want deep down. Flattery. Praise. Comfort. They want to believe they deserve it."
Vash silently thumbed Skippy's mode switch.
「Switched to Puppy-Loving Pacifist Mode. Automatic crotch-targeting enabled. Ready to fire.」
"Wait!" Fingers threw up both hands, "Fine — fine. I'll talk. About that doll… don't remember much. Too many faces come through here. But her — yeah, I remember."
His voice dropped.
"When she was brought in, she was already cooked. Neural port and brain interface weere completely fried. I couldn't fix it. Before I could even decide what to do, some mysterious people showed up — paid stupid money and bought her…"
"You could've sent her to Lizzie's!" Judy's jaw tightened.
Fingers didn't dare answer.
"Judy. Breathe." Vash said quietly, "I'll ask."
Judy was too keyed up to squeeze anything useful out of him.
"Who bought her?" Vash asked, flat and direct, "Which crew? What'd they look like?"
Fingers put on a pained face, like the truth physically hurt, "Now you're making it hard. Big, tall. Black robes. Anti-surveillance masks — full blackout. No biometrics, no readable info. Like they walked out of a bad braindance."
So he was a small-time pawn. Not like in the game, where he proactively ran to Wakako with the "deadweight" deal right from his clinic.
Still, Vash got something out of it.
When they left Fingers's place, Judy looked like her soul had been yanked out through a data cable. Another hard-won lead — gone.
She leaned on a railing and lit a cigarette. Vash stayed beside her. Sometimes silence did more than words ever could.
One cigarette turned into another. When Judy pulled out a fourth, a big hand covered the lighter before she could flick it.
She looked up — Vash's face was serious, steady. She'd never been into guys, but when he touched her like that, she didn't feel disgust or discomfort. Just… grounded.
"Judy. That's enough." Vash said softly.
Tears shimmered in her eyes. Normally she played it cool — years in Night City had made "crying" feel like a skill she'd deleted.
But the last few days had been one gut-punch after another. And Evelyn — her most precious friend — was still missing. Alive, dead, worse than dead… no one knew.
She couldn't hold it anymore. Tears slipped free.
At a moment like this, if Vash did nothing, that would be brain-dead.
He pulled Judy into his arms and patted her back, slow and gentle, "If you need to cry, then cry. This isn't on you, Judy. You don't have to chew yourself up over it. People make choices. People walk paths. Sometimes… they get shoved down them."
As he held her, he kept thinking.
From what they'd seen so far, Evelyn hadn't been sold by Fingers to the Scavs for snuff braindances. That, at least, was a small mercy in a city that didn't hand out many. It meant she might still have a sliver of dignity left — though Night City never left much.
And then there was whoever had bought her. From Fingers's description, and the motive behind the whole mess, only one crew came to mind: the Voodoo Boys — the same ones who had fried her in the first place.
But it was still a guess, and he wasn't about to feed Judy speculation as comfort.
After a while, Judy cried herself out. Sometimes crying empties the weight — but it leaves something else behind: awkwardness.
She realized she'd broken down in Vash's arms. Her first instinct wasn't to shove him away or snap — just embarrassment, raw and unfamiliar.
"V…" Her voice even sounded different, softer around the edges.
"Ah… Judy, I wasn't taking advantage." Vash blurted, "I just… wanted to help."
"Mm. I know." Judy said.
When they separated, her eyes were still red, and so were her cheeks.
Something unspoken stretched between them — warm, messy, hard to name.
Vash said, "Judy… Evelyn wasn't sold to those Scav scum. That's luck, as far as luck goes in this town. And if someone paid that kind of eddies for her, she's probably not dead. The lead's cold for now, but don't worry — I'll keep digging with you…"
"No." Judy said, "That's enough."
She took a breath, like she was bracing against the city itself.
"This is far enough. I've known Ev a long time. I've been with the Mox — at Lizzie's — for long enough too. If she's gone like this… then I should go too. Try living somewhere new. Somewhere that doesn't feel like it's eating me alive."
As Vash listened, his heart sank.
Judy stared up at the night sky, then said suddenly, "You were right. If someone stays in one place too long… they need some sunlight. So…" Her lips quirked, "You can cook, right? Like, that night level everyday?"
Vash froze, then the joy hit him so hard it almost knocked the breath out of his chest, "I'm only worried you won't be able to handle it."
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That night passed without many words.
The next morning, when Vash woke up, the weather outside looked unusually good — like Night City was pretending it had a soul.
Thinking back on yesterday, his mouth kept curling up, again and again.
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T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want 20 chapters ahead, smut chapters or spicy images of this novel for just $5, or enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations (free or starting at $1.5): MrBlackWing (you know where to search)
Take a look at the new book I'm translating on my profile, Umamusume Pretty Derb: I'm Just a Trainer! Its also on my website for $5 too!
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)