The four of them headed up the stairs, each casually settling into random seats while the Tyger Claw guards on the second floor glanced at them with suspicion.
"Only two cameras on this floor? You guys seriously call this security?" V said, sipping from a freshly mixed cocktail as he looked over at the shades-wearing Tyger Claw next to him.
"With us around, there won't be any problems."
VIP clients were a solid stream of pure profit. Maybe it was Tyger Claw tradition to avoid making trouble when unnecessary, but this guy still answered in a surprisingly calm tone.
"Looks like we might be able to avoid unnecessary casualties, huh, Jackie?" Roqi called from a few meters away, nodding at Jackie, who was busy munching on snacks like he hadn't eaten in days.
The guard narrowed his eyes warily, but relaxed again after glancing at Roqi's lazy posture.
After a while, V returned and sat next to Roqi.
"I asked around. The guy doesn't know where Evelyn went either. But their head of security—some dude called Woodman—was the last one to deal with her. His office is over there."
V nodded toward a door in the corner labeled: NO ENTRY.
"Sorry, clients aren't allowed past here," a Tyger Claw said as he stepped in front of it with his arms folded.
Roqi and V exchanged glances and shrugged.
"Looks like we're out of peaceful options…"
"Go."
The second Roqi said it, the Tyger Claw next to Mower got his head slammed into the wall with one brutal punch. Sparks flew from his skull like shorting wires.
Jackie kicked the guard in front of him down the stairs. The guy's neck snapped on impact. Jackie gave a quick apologetic smile to the startled guests nearby.
As for Roqi and V?
Left jab, right roundhouse—the guy dropped like a brick. Quick and clean.
They opened the door, revealing a dim corridor.
Could call it backstage. Or just the employee zone.
One Tyger Claw, lounging on a sofa, was busy going off about the difference between "motorcycles" and "hoverbikes," rambling about how the latter was way more badass.
"Yo, bike talk?" Roqi leaned over the back of the couch, smiling.
"Hell yeah—wait, who the hell are you?"
The gang member turned around, confused at the stranger grinning inches from his face.
Crack—!
Roqi gave him a hand turning his head a bit too far.
"Fan out. See if there's any clues."
The four split up, quietly searching for any trace of Evelyn. The dolls' side of the club and the Tyger Claws' backrooms always held clues if you knew what to look for.
"You ever heard of Jotaro Shobo? Tyger Claw guy," came a voice from behind one of the doors.
"Yeah. Freak. Loves torturing people," answered a man with a lispy, effeminate tone.
"He's on the Moxes' blacklist. The girls want him dead."
"Not surprising, babe. Jotaro's been on my shitlist forever," the man purred.
"The Mox blacklist's the real deal. People die over that."
"Show me his rotting corpse and then I'll be impressed."
"Believe it."
The Moxes are going after Jotaro Shobo?
Roqi silently added that to his mental notes and kept listening.
"Hey, did you hear about Riko?"
"Nope. Wasn't she involved with that politician… Natsuko, I think?"
"Yeah. Riko's her daughter. Just turned up dead."
"What the hell happened?"
"Yoshikawa killed her. That's it."
"Who?"
"Her boyfriend. What, you don't pay attention to real life? Tyger Claw. I saw them here once—whole crew showed up. Wild cyberware. The way he looked at her? Head over heels."
"Then why kill her?"
"Hell if I know…"
Tyger Claw's Yoshikawa killed a politician's daughter named Riko—Natsuko's kid.
Roqi jotted that down in his PDA.
Where's information move fastest in Night City?
Corporate intel departments—and the sewer drains of the underworld.
Any pro fixer knows how to mix with the lowest and highest circles alike.
He looked up.
This was a dressing room.
"What're you doing squatting here?" Jackie crept up behind him.
"Picking up gossip. Might come in handy. What about you guys?" Roqi turned around—then froze. "Damn, did you guys loot a weapons locker or what?"
Mower, V, and Jackie all carried different guns now—ranging from compact to heavy.
"There was a netrunner next door. Toasted him. Found a shit-ton of data," V said, transferring files to Roqi.
Apparently, a detective named Kinjay Ryan had been granted access by Woodman to investigate Evelyn's case—booth eleven. But progress was slow. Ryan had been hired by Maiko Maeda, the current manager of Clouds.
They also found extensive data Clouds kept on clients. Not just visit frequency, join date, VIP level, or average session length—but doll preferences, fetishes, job history, family ties, marriage status, social circles…
"The Tyger Claws spy on their dolls harder than perverts do," V muttered.
[Knew it eight lives ago.] Johnny scoffed in disgust.
"Not sure if they keep it for themselves or sell it off. If they're selling it, the real question is—who's buying?"
"Rivals, bosses, enemies, middlemen," Roqi answered. He knew the drill. In Night City, having no intel is as good as asking to die.
The Konpeki intel and Arasaka dirt they had? That was top-tier. This was somewhere in the mid-sleaze range.
Then they found an incident report from Clouds:
Club Incident Report
1:50 a.m. Wednesday, cyberattack detected in booth 11.
Witness: Thomas Briggs, connected to doll at time of incident.
Doll suffered system shock and exhibited signs of cyberpsychosis.
At 2:06 a.m., security requested emergency response in case of broader attack.
Ten minutes later, Tyger Claw reinforcements arrived.
Fortunately, only booth 11 was affected.
Briggs received emergency care and was transferred to psychiatric treatment.
As of today (Friday), the doll in question is deemed unfit for service.
"Looks like the Tyger Claws weren't behind it," V said. "If Arasaka knew where Evelyn was, they'd have just sent a hit team. No need for all this drama."
Everything supported that conclusion.
They even found a shift-change log that matched the timeline perfectly.
Then—
"Excuse me, sweetie. I think you're in the wrong room," said a woman from the hallway, stepping inside.
A doll.
"Hey, no peeking! Seeing us like this is bad luck!" chirped the male doll behind her.
"Checking out your ass? Sorry to disappoint—I'm not into that," Roqi said, brushing the guy aside. "Chill, we're just looking for something."
"Hold up—this looks familiar," V said, pointing at the floor. "Evelyn's jacket. Crumpled to hell. Must've been here a while."
"Jacket, wallet, schedule—it's all here. She left in a hurry," Jackie said.
"You didn't hear us? Leave!" the male doll shrieked.
"Or we'll call security!" the female added.
"Security?" Jackie chuckled, voice low and dangerous. "Yeah… they might not be able to answer right now."
Every Tyger Claw in Clouds was down for the count.
"This one's nice." Roqi picked up a pink-purple katana from the table. "Arasaka craftsmanship. High-end."
He gave it a twirl. Good balance.
Mower stood behind him with another katana, hesitating.
"Hey—here." Jackie took the blade from her and shoved it into Roqi's arms. "Your girl picked this out for you. Take it."
In the haze of neon and dim light, Roqi caught a fleeting look of sincerity on her face.
It vanished just as fast as she turned away.
"…Thanks."
As he passed her, Roqi rubbed the back of her head, then slid his fingers gently into her hair and leaned in, just a bit.
Boop.
[Bringing your girl to Clouds. You really got no shame, huh?] Johnny griped.
"Shut up, you bitter old creep."
Roqi ignored his "fuck you" and kept walking.
"Woodman's office should be here," V said, pointing at a fancier-looking door.
They opened it.
Behind a desk on red carpet sat a bald man. Woodman. He glared at them as he bit into a burger.
"Hey. No clients allowed in here."
His voice was rough, and he didn't stop chewing.
"Do me a favor and close the door on your way out. You see me eating?"
Then he noticed V, Jackie, and Mower entering behind Roqi. His scowl deepened.
"That many people… and a girl? What, trying to sell us a new doll? She's got a pure look. Might find some buyers."
"I'm looking for Evelyn Parker," Roqi said bluntly.
"No girl by that name here," Woodman shot back.
"She worked here before. What happened to her?" V demanded.
Woodman stretched, tossed the half-eaten burger on the desk.
"Maybe she did what all dolls dream of—found a unicorn and rode off. You're better off without her. Try Roxie in booth two. Same sweet ass, and the chip handles the rest. No difference."
"You don't look like someone unreasonable. Let's work this out," Roqi said.
"And you look like someone who's never been dumped. But sure, keep going. I'm listening."
"I'm not here to waste time. Where the hell is Evelyn?"
"You need glasses, choom? This is a meat market, not a missing persons bureau."
Woodman smirked and pointed at Roqi.
"Let me guess—you banged her a few times, now you've caught feelings? Go to the desk—five seconds later, they'll find you a soulmate 2.0."
Roqi touched his wrist calmly. "Do I look like I'm playing around?"
"Whatever. Just get the fuck out."
"You've been hiding her. I heard you told people she went to Oslo," V said. "You even know where that is?"
"So many girls here—why's she special? Come on, tell me."
Woodman turned, poured himself a drink, voice dripping with mockery.
"She was mid-tier, at best. Looked fine, sure. But just another street-level bitch playing princess. No better than any of the others."
"Or maybe…"
"You all liked banging her together?"
He threw the glass and reached for his gun.
SHLICK—!!
Roqi popped the cap off a pen and jammed it right into his eye.
"AAAAAGH—!!"
Woodman dropped, blood spurting. His gun hit the floor.
He screamed, clawing at the cabinet, trying to pull himself up.
"I've put up with your bullshit long enough."
Roqi walked up and stomped the pen deeper.
Woodman twitched like a dying fish—then went limp.
Roqi was used to this type of scumbag.
If he insulted him, fine—get the info, then kill him.
But dragging Mower into it? Treating her like some throwaway trash?
That made it personal.
The others, especially Mower, had zero objections to how Roqi handled it.
Fortunately, Woodman's terminal—full of shady bookmarks and nasty files—had what they needed.
"Fingers? Jig-Jig Street's back-alley ripper? He bought the broken Evelyn from him?" V said, frowning.
"Damn, mano…" Jackie shook his head. "So now what?"
Roqi started rummaging through the office like it was a loot chest.
Found one: a custom, high-end Ajax.
"If we're saving her, there's only one thing to do—move."
.
.
.
📢 Cyberpunk Alert! 📢
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