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Judy half expected V to be waiting in her apartment when she returned from the lake. The merc had looked a bit crestfallen when Judy had decided to stay, but she needed time to process everything, the good and bad.
The apartment was completely quiet and the silence caused Judy to let out a breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. She moved to her bedroom, placing the box of diving gear in its normal place across from her bed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want their moments from the lake to continue. Quite the opposite, but the intensity to which she wanted that scared Judy. V had practically crash landed in her life and it was an understatement to say bad luck followed the merc like an ominous raincloud. The logical, more defensive part of Judy’s brain was telling her to pump the brakes hard, to slow this speeding train as fast as she could, but there was no way her heart would let her near the controls. Not after last night…
Judy exited her bedroom and moved to the bathroom, in desperate need of a shower to wash the toxic lake water from her hair. There she found the only hint of V’s presence in her apartment. There was a slightly wet towel hanging on the wall next to the shower. Evidence that V had the same idea after the lake. Judy shivered, thinking of V standing in the same spot naked, wet. Flashes of their evening played like a BD in her mind. Her shower should probably be cold, she thought.
With her shower complete, Judy pulled on some comfortable clothes before heading straight into her office. She needed something to distract her and the BD they’d scrolled together would be perfect. While it definitely wouldn’t help Judy stop thinking of V, it would easily completely absorb the rest of her evening.
Judy had been right. The BD had been the perfect distraction. She hadn’t even stood up since she’d entered her office, only the buzz of the holo was able to wake her from her trace. It was Tom. Judy considered letting it go to voicemail, but then curiosity got the best of her. Besides, it could be something serious relating to Clouds.
“Heya, Tom. What’s good?”
“Judy! Um… Glad I caught you. Got a bit of a situation…” Judy heard a gunshot in the background. She sat straight up, tossing her BD headset on her desk, her heart beginning to race.
“Tom, what the fuck was that?”
“Um… Tyger Claws, bit of retaliation I think? Maiko just left for the day and isn’t answering her holo!”
“Fuck… where’s security?!”
“No idea, I’m in the back of the VIP area. They haven’t made it to the second floor yet. A few girls ran up stairs and they’re with me… Judy… this is really fucking bad.” Before Judy could respond, Tom jumped at the sound of the door opening to the room he and two other dolls were hiding in.
“Tom… TOM!” Judy saw the look of shock in his face but couldn’t tell who had just entered.
“Jesus V! Thank fuck you’re here.” Tom spoke to the figure to his right.
“V’s there?” Judy was so confused, how did she even know.
“Tom, you take the elevator in the back with the dolls, stay in the storage room until I give you the all clear, understood.”
Tom nodded. “Judy, we are gonna owe V like a million pizzas when this is over.”
“You tell her to make it out in one piece, alright!” Judy was already grabbing her pistol and heading out towards her van.
“Gotta go, can’t be on the holo and sneaky at the same time.” Tom ended the call just as Judy slid into the driver seat, her van’s engine roaring to life as she spun out of the parking lot and towards Clouds.
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“You had Judy on the holo?” V whispered to Tom as she escorted the group to the elevator making sure no one had entered that part of the club yet.
“Yeah… I wasn’t sure who else to call. Maiko wasn’t answering.”
“Yeah, they had her trapped outside. I think they were waiting for her when she left today.” V motioned for them to enter the elevator. “I’ll ride down with you, but you need to get to the storage room while I clean this mess up.”
The elevator dinged and V pushed the group against the left wall, as the doors opened, her pistol aimed outside just in case.
“All clear, remember. Do not leave under any circumstances until I give you the signal.” Tom and the dolls nodded as V ushered them into the room, closing the door behind her.
“Fucking Tyger Claws…” V muttered as she headed down the short hall. She heard voices, at least two men conversing on the other side of the wall she crouched near.
“You check the back, those whores are probably around here somewhere. The exits are all covered. Can’t have gotten far.” As one of the men rounded the corner on V, she slid up behind him, pistol with silencer to his head. Less than a second and he’d crumpled to the floor lifeless. Without missing a beat, V rotated around the corner, zeroing the other man with a direct shot to the face. A bullet flew past her right shoulder, signaling another gang member past one of the booths. The lead buried itself into the wall, a small ricochet flying in V’s direction, clipping her exposed forearm.
“Fuck…” She hissed, blood now dripping down her arm. It was superficial, but still hurt like hell. V leapt back into cover as the man who’d seen her kill his buddy radioed to the rest of his group.
“Got a problem here, need backup. Two down.”
“Hmmm, let's make that three.” V said to no one in particular, as she slid around the corner, ducking into the nearby booth, before popping out again to drive two shots directly into the man’s chest.
V knew she saw at least 4 others outside and if they did in fact have exits surrounded, there were at least several more. She reloaded her revolver and peaked around the corner, scanner at the ready. One Tyger Claw was examining the body she’d just downed. She quickly pinged him, lighting up 4 of his mates.
“Five… I can do five…” She watched in her visor as two of them rounded the corner, guns drawn. She lobbed an emp grenade in their direction, chuckling as she heard them scramble. They weren’t fast enough. The emp went off, shocking their systems just long enough for V to fire 2 shots off, zeroing each one. The two remaining claws retreated back towards the entrance of the club.
“Fall back! To the cars!”
“I don’t think so…” V emerged from cover, firing in their direction. She nailed one in the shoulder, while the other narrowly dodged around the corner. She could hear him scrambling out past reception. When she rounded the corner, she watched him run out, doors closing behind him. She bent down over the injured gang member, fingers wrapping around his jacket and pulling him to her face. He grunted, wincing in pain.
“Tell whoever sent you that this place is under my protection, these dolls are not to be fucked with, understood?” The Tyger Claw couldn’t have been older than 20, and for a split second V felt a tiny bit sorry for shooting him. But only a tiny bit. She shoved an airhypo into his hand. “Go… NOW!” The Claw stabbed himself with the hypo, feeling immediate relief as he stumbled onto his feet and out the door.
V jumped over the front counter, pulling up the security feeds on the camera to double check the exits and rooms. It did appear they were all gone, for now. V hopped back over the counter and headed back to storage.
“Coast is clear.” She knocked on the door, Tom opening for her.
“They’re either gone or dead. Only issue is I think they took Maiko.”
“Fuck…” Tom leaned against the door. The other dolls mumbled their thanks as they rushed out. “We really fucking poked the bear, didn’t we?”
“Yeah of course. Price for freedom, you know?” V learned against the opposite side of the doorframe.
“What now, do we stage some sort of rescue mission? Do we even know if they will keep her alive?” Tom’s voice was still shaking.
“No no… something was off about this. They didn’t send many and they backed out hella quick.” V ran a hand through her short hair. “Felt like a test. Not sure if Maiko was involved or not. She’s why I’m here. Got a SoS Clouds text from her. Luckily I was in the area…” The gears in V’s head were spinning, trying to place all of the pieces together.
“Tom!” Judy’s voice broke V’s concentration. Tom stepped out of the storage room, seeing Judy jog down the hall towards him.
“Judy! It’s good to see a friendly face!” Judy stopped short of Tom, just as V poked her head out.
“Hey Judes, fancy meeting you here.” She smiled slyly at her, finally holstering her pistol.
“V, is this your work?” She motioned to the bodies on the floor.
“Umm… Plead the fifth?” Judy just shook her head smiling slightly.
“What the fuck happened?” Judy leaned against the wall near V, resisting the urge to reach for her.
“I don’t know… one minute I was grabbing a quick drink in the VIP lounge, and the next minute I heard a gunshot. Security ran downstairs towards the noise while some of the dolls flew up the stairs here. I rushed them into the back and we heard another shot. That’s when I called you and then our knight in shining armor appeared.” Judy looked from Tom to V.
“How the hell did you end up here so fast.”
“Maiko texted me 20 minutes ago, SoS Clouds, so I booked it here. Was already in the area working a gig for Wakako… shit.” The realization hit V like a wave. “Wakako’s with the Claws, Maiko texted me before any of this shit even started. This was a fucking set up…” Judy looked at V, concerned as she saw the rage building. “They fucking knew I was in the area, what the fuck are they playing at? It can’t be a coincidence. I hate being played…” Judy reached out, touching V’s arm lightly, trying to bring her down from wherever she was headed.
“Hey, chill. We don’t know anything yet, but you’re right, something doesn’t sit right.” V took a deep breathing, leaning into Judy’s touch, letting the other woman ground her.
“Right, they’d better hope this wasn’t fucking intentional.” While Judy definitely wanted V calm, she couldn’t help but feel a bit warm under the collar. Angry V, when not directed at her, was pretty hot.
“Tom, call Maiko again, tell her to get her ass back here. Jack from Security is nursing a bad cut on his shoulder, but he’s already called NCPD to work on the clean up here, reports and shit. And you…” Judy turned towards V. “Let's get you in the back so I can take care of that arm.”
“I’m good, no worries.” Judy stared daggers into V which quickly shut her up as she ushered her into the Doll’s dressing room.
“Come on, sit.” Judy motioned for V to sit on one of the cushioned benches while she grabbed the first aid kit from the wall. “I feel like you’re a magnet for fucking fire fights…” Judy straddled the bench, their knees touching as she took V’s arm in her hands.
“I mean… maybe? But aren’t they also common in Night City?” V winced as Judy poured some rubbing alcohol on her open cut.
“Common? More like fucking daily for you.” Judy used a sterile cloth to clean the wound.
“Hey… I didn’t get shot at yesterday. Was a bit busy with some other things…” V scooted closer to Judy, leaning in to press a soft kiss against the nape of Judy’s neck. She smiled when she heard Judy’s breath catch.
“Ah, so you’re saying I need to keep you busy more often if I want to keep you safe?” Judy leaned down and away from V’s distracting lips, grabbing a bandage from the kit.
“Couldn’t hurt? We should test that theory.” V let her free hand slide up Judy’s thigh, fingertips curving around Judy’s hip. “Though, it’s kind of hot when you play nurse…” Judy playful pushed V’s shoulder.
“Give me your arm, gonk.” Judy wrapped the bandage around the wound. “Too tight?”
“Nah, perfect.” V dropped the injured arm down, that hand joining her other hand at Judy’s hips, tugging Judy closer to her.
“Seriously, I could get used to you patching me up.”
“Shut it V, I don’t want to get used to it. I’d rather you not get shot at…” Judy’s tone switched from playful to a bit more serious and V felt the shift between them.
“Yeah, I suppose that’s ideal… Hey.” V reached up tucking a few stray hairs behind Judy’s ear. “I’ll do my best to avoid it, yeah?” V let her hand linger, cupping Judy’s face gently.
“That’s more like it…” Judy learned into the touch, reveling in how easy it was to just melt into V. Judy leaned forward, intending to press their lips together before the door to the dressing rooms swung open.
“Hey, just talked to Maiko… Oh! Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt!” Tom’s cheeks turned a little red.
“All good Tom.” V smiled at the Doll. Judy made a move to shift away slightly, something in her thinking she needed to put space between her and V, but V held her firmly in place, hands reassuringly squeezing her hips. It was an odd sensation. Judy didn’t want to hide V, quite the opposite in fact, but she’d never had someone not want to hide her.
“Right… well she’s headed back. Tried to feed me some bullshit about some sort of business issue. NCPD is here, but she said I could wait in her office. Want to join me?”
“Absofuckinglutely.” V stood, Judy following suit as they headed to the elevator to Maiko’s office.
“Now V, no cowboy shit until we figure out what really happened, yeah?” Judy locked eyes with V. “Maiko will shut that down quick and we won’t get any real answers. Let me handle her, yeah?” V agreed grumbling slightly, arms crossed as she leaned against the inside of the elevator.
The elevator dinged and they entered the office directly, Maiko still not there yet. V instantly went into mercenary mode, her scanner activating as she surveyed the room, one hand on the pistol loosely holstered around her thigh.
“Nothing out of place here… of course…”
Before V could poke around anymore the doors to the office slid open, Maiko slinking in.
“Of course you are both here too…” She lit a cigarette and rounded her desk, pulling the chair out and sitting down comfortably before them as if she hadn’t just walked past multiple dead bodies a few floors below.
“I mean, you did invite me personally, Maiko. Feel quite honored, really.” The anger was dripping from V’s words.
“Well we all knew this wouldn’t be a seamless takeover. The Claws can’t just hand over the place without at least some show of force. They’d be seen as weak. This way, they can still flex their muscles, but so do we. It’s just business.” She took a long drag of her cigarette.
“Fuck you, Maiko. V could’ve fucking died.” Judy slammed her hands on the side of the desk across from Maiko. “She’s not some fucking pawn you can toss around on a whim… She’s…” V was both a little shocked and quite proud of Judy’s outburst.
“She’s what, Judy? I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught the last part of that…” V knew Maiko was just trying to push Judy’s buttons. It seemed like a past time of hers. “She’s a fucking merc, who took a job and she’ll be paid just like any one else.” Maiko’s eyes started to glow blue, initiating a credits transfer to V, but the merc swiftly rejected it.
“I’m not on your payroll.”
“She’s not your Merc, Maiko.” Judy practically growled at the Clouds’ boss.
“Oh down girl, I know you’ve already staked your claim there.” Maiko turned toward V. “I’d be careful with that one V, she’s not that stable… Fucking nut case, really. Enjoy my sloppy seco…” Before Maiko could finish her sentence, V was at her side, lifting her up and slamming her against a nearby wall.
“You’ll never be half the woman Judy already is. You should be thanking her, because if it wasn’t for Judy, you’d have been leaving Sato’s place in a body bag and we wouldn’t even be having this conversation. She has compassion and she cares. You’re just fucking pissed it’s not directed at you anymore. Now be a better boss than Woodman or you’ll end up just like him decomposing in a trash bin. How’s that for unstable?” V let Maiko drop to the floor as she walked towards the other two.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Pizza on me.” V stormed pass Judy and Tom as they followed her out of the side entrance to Maiko’s office.
“Shit V… that was like, amazing!” Tom was practically bouncing.
“Yeah, that was hot… definitely hot.” Judy mumbled loud enough for V to hear, which caused her chest to tighten and cheeks flush.
“Ah, well… thanks. She deserved it though. Hopefully, that will push her down the right path for once.” They entered the elevator, pushing the ground floor.
“I mean, if that doesn’t I’m not sure there’s any hope really.” Tom sighed, leaning against the Elevator's cage. “I need a shower… and to sleep for like two days, rain check on the pizza offer?”
“Yeah, no worries. Let me know if you need anything Tom.” They exited the elevator and Tom headed off down the street.
“That was hot, huh?” V bumped Judy’s shoulder as they walked in the direction of Judy’s van which was parked at the back of the building.
“Uh… yeah. It really was. Also a little intimidating. I can see why you’re good at what you do. You didn’t even have me pinned against the wall and I was ready to agree to whatever you said.” Judy chuckled, her face flushing a bit at the thought of being in Maiko’s position but obviously for different reasons.
“Are you saying you’d like me to pin you against the wall and make demands, Miss Alvarez?” V leaned down, letting the words ghost over Judy’s ear.
“Umm…” Judy cleared her throat, stopping next to her van. “Fuck yes.” She grabbed the lapels of V’s leather jacket and pulled the merc against her as Judy’s body hit the side of her van. V’s hands braced against her hips, holding her firmly against the van’s side door. Judy felt like a kid again, her hormones racing just being near V. It was both ridiculous and absolutely thrilling.
“I think that can be arranged.” V dipped her head down, trailing a few kisses against the nape of Judy’s neck. Judy purred, her hips pushing forward into V’s. The merc slid one leg between Judy’s moving upwards to apply pressure against the smaller woman. V wasn’t sure how she was ever going to get anything done ever again… besides Judy.
“Fuck… V…” Judy’s hands ran across the shaved sides of V’s head, tangling in the short hair at the top. “You keep this up and I’m gonna throw you in the back of this van…”
“Is that a promise?” V’s hands slid into the sides of Judy’s overalls, fingertips gripping skin, short nails digging into soft flesh. V captured Judy’s lips with her own, kissing her deeply as their bodies rocked together.
“Val…” Judy whispered against V’s lips. Judy knew hearing her name drove V crazy. The merc’s right hand left Judy’s hips and slipped behind her to tug the sliding door open and push Judy onto the bench seat behind her.
V climbed into the Van after Judy, closing the door behind them. It took them a few minutes to adjust to the darkness from the blacked out windows in Judy’s van, but when V’s eyes did, she couldn’t help the warm feeling surging through her body as she looked down at the woman beneath her.
“Mmm… you’re really going to fuck me in the back of my van like we’re 16 aren’t you?” Judy smiled as she relaxed back onto the bench seat.
“Yes, but this V is much more skilled than 16 year old V was, lucky you.” V smiled devilishly as she settled between Judy’s legs. She hooked her arm around Judy’s waist, tugging her close so that their bodies were pressed tightly together.
“Lucky me indeed…” Judy wrapped her arms around V’s neck, crashing their lips together as she felt V’s hips grind down into hers. V had one hand on the bench holding herself up, but the other hand was already sliding Judy’s overalls off her shoulder.
“God Judy… I’ve been thinking about you all day…” Judy was glad she wasn’t the only one completed distracted by the other.
“I can’t get you out of my head either…” Judy arched her back, allowing V to pull the overalls completely down to her hips. If V didn’t touch her soon she was afraid she’d explode.
V must’ve felt the same, because before Judy knew it, she felt V’s hand slide in between their bodies. Deft fingers dipped below the waistband of her boyshorts, instantly meeting the heat pooling between her legs.
“Fuck, V…” Judy moaned, pulling V into a searing kiss. V didn’t waste anytime, sliding two fingers into Judy as their bodies rocked together. She arched into V’s touch, grinding against her, not even caring if the entire parking lot heard her moans. “Harder… please.”
V was always good at following directions, so her fingers drove deeper and harder, her palm applying pressure against Judy’s clit as the smaller woman grinded against her. Judy's whole body shook with pleasure as V drove her straight over the edge. She cried out V’s name as wave after wave of pleasure rocked her body. It’d be embarrassing how easy V got her off, but it felt so fucking good, Judy couldn’t be bothered by it too much.
“You’re so fucking hot…” V whispered against her ear, her hand finally stilling against Judy.
“Mmm… You can do that as much as you like…” Judy pulled V into a soft kiss, playfully tugging at her lower lip with her teeth.
“Yes please.” V withdrew her hand, smiling as Judy shivered at the loss of contact.
“We just fucked in my van…” V chuckled as she let her body weight rest more on the woman beneath her.
“Yeah, we did. Want to go again?” V smirked and Judy just shook her head.
“I’d love to… but this seat is not comfortable and we have a bed…”
“Mmm solid points. Take me home Miss Alvarez.” Judy’s whole body buzzed at the word home. She had a home, one she now shared with this beautiful woman on top of her and that made all of the other cares in the world float away.