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The doorbell rang simultaneously inside the flat and into her personal comms link. Elizabeth Peralez intuitively pulled up the video feed from the security camera below. Alongside the image, she was also presented with the budding visitor’s full name and a security assessment, compiled using three databases. Green meant harmless. Red meant trouble.
Valerie, their new babysitter hired through the usual agency, was flagged with a solid green.
Liz hated onnboarding new staff. It meant having to re-explain everything to them, having to endure the inevitable acclimation period where half of what they did would be wrong or only almost right.
She didn’t blame them, mind. It wasn’t their fault. It was completely normal. It was just that the Peralezes didn’t have time or energy right now. All of that was currently devoted to the mayoral campaign.
Jefferson had put his entire career on the line for this position. Burned too many bridges. Made many alliances and just as many enemies. If their gambit paid off, they’d be one of the most - if not the most - powerful families in the whole of Night City. Even Saburo Arasaka would have to at least pretend to respect his stance. As would Rosalind Myers.
She put her thoughts about the future aside as the elevator doors opened and the new help stepped into the lobby.
At a glance, the newcomer looked just like every other babysitter or maid that they had hired before. Neat uniform, courteous smile and a distinctly out of place presence. However, as soon as Liz gave this Valerie girl a proper glance, she had noticed some subtle, but distinct differences to anyone that had come before.
Firstly, pretty much every previous new hire looked awkward in the new grandiose space of the penthouse. Valerie was… relaxed, comfortable even. As if such spaces were common to her.
Secondly, agency-referred staff often looked like they were bred for their job. It wasn’t true, of course, but still. Those people looked like they were lab-grown to be nannies, cleaners or chefs. Their uniform looked like it was naturally growing around their bodies, an extension of them. Valerie, in turn, looked uncomfortable in her starched shirt and pleated skirt. No, not uncomfortable, Elizabeth would correct her own observation - just unused to it. The uniform also somehow looked both too big and too small for the relatively short woman.
And then there was the glance. A blink-and-you’d-miss-it sweep of the room. Razor-sharp. Precise. Elizabeth could’ve sworn she saw the woman’s gaze dart briefly but exactly to the three recessed ceiling panels that housed the security turrets.
Which was impossible. And borderline paranoid to entertain further.
But that was enough for the silent assessment. Proper introductions had to be made.
”It’s good to meet you, Valerie.” Liz offered the new employee her trademarked smile, rehearsed to be approachable and almost sincere to perfection. “You come highly recommended.”
”Pleasure’s all mine.” Valerie gave a short bow, revealing that her training or previous employment came primarily from Arasaka or Kang Tao.
Before the intros could progress much further, Hector decided to intervene. The 18-month old began protesting from his autonomous cradle, demanding attention.
”May I?” Valerie confidently approached the pram, but waited patiently for the mother to give her approval.
“Go ahead.” Elizabeth smirked with anticipation.
This test was imminent, but she wasn’t expecting to administer it so soon. After all, Hector, their son, was as much of a judge for the newcomer as his parents were.
Valerie calmly scooped up the toddler with one hand and raised him high enough so that he could see her face.
”Hey there, big guy.” She offered him her other hand with the index finger extended as a form of miniaturised handshake. “Nice to meet you, I’m Valerie.”
She wore a warm, disarming smile throughout the exchange.
Hector, normally slow to accept strangers, giggled loudly and eagerly took the finger with his hand. Elizabeth was lowkey shocked by this development. She had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide a gasp.
The politician watched the other woman play with her son for a few more seconds before turning her attention to the datapad she had been holding under her armpit.
”Your resume’s short, but impressive,” Liz summarised after scrolling through the document for what must’ve been the seventh time by that point. “Only a few clients, but all notable ones. You babysat Kerry Eurodyne’s grandchildren?”
”That’s right, ma’am,” Valerie nodded without looking. Her attention was still fully devoted to Hector, who she bobbed up and down gently. “Great kids, down to earth parents too. They decided to move back to London, so I found myself looking for another assignment.”
Liz raised an eyebrow at that answer. Normally, the prospective hires would gush about their famous clients. Eurodyne’s recent resurgence had his entire family plunged into the spotlight. Working under such conditions couldn’t have been easy and yet Valerie seemed unbothered.
Given where they were at with the mayoral campaign, this kind of attitude could serve her really well.
Scrolling further down, Peralez got to the extensive background check that had been conducted by their security firm, SSI. It came back clean. One could even say almost spotless. The ‘almost’ part came from a noted connection with a known Valentino gang bar called El Coyote Cojo, but even that was tenuous. Whoever compiled the report had brushed it off as an unconventional choice of a bar, nothing more.
On paper, Valerie appeared like an ideal candidate and the first few minutes of interacting with her were supporting that impression so far. But Elizabeth just couldn’t shake a strange feeling in her gut that there was something about this woman that just seemed out of place.
Maybe it was the odd-fitting uniform. Who wore long sleeves in this heat, anyway?!
”Tattoos are fine, by the way.” Elizabeth nodded at Valerie’s blouse. “Just be prepared for Hector to try and colour them in. He really likes his crayons.”
Valerie responded with a surprised look, but then eased up quickly and even let out a small chuckle. “That’s totally fine. And thanks, I was getting quite hot in this.”
”This will be your schedule.” Liz handed the tablet over on the appropriate page.
This was, in truth, a multitasking test. To see if the new hire could pay attention while also keeping an eye on the baby.
She beckoned for Valerie to follow her into the apartment. The babysitter adjusted her grip on Hector and followed without hesitation
”You start at seven AM, finish at seven PM most days,” Liz spoke as they walked through the lounge towards the kitchen. “Naturally, with our timetables this will change, but we’ll do our best to give you advance notice.”
”You can stay in the spare bedroom if you’re working late.”
Valerie’s eyes darted across the screen with surprising speed. She must’ve had some sort of co-processor installed to help her with data processing. That wasn’t uncommon among staff - it helped them better keep up with their busy employers.
”All of this was in the job spec. I fully understand that you’ve got a lot on your plate with the campaign and everything these days,” the babysitter replied as she handed the tablet back. “Just let me know when and where you need me and I’ll be there.”
”Is there anything else I should know now?” She followed up after a small pause.
Liz noticed that the other woman’s eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, just like their security detail would when entering a public building. She’d fix her gaze for half a second on a security camera or a motion sensor, as if memorising the positions of each and every one of them.
Or - much more plausibly - Valerie was just a little bit nervous and was taking in the penthouse. Months of planning, re-planning and executing on the campaign plans were making Elizabeth look for subtext even when there wasn’t any.
They passed the security room. As much as Elizabeth disliked having strangers in the apartment pretty much around the clock, Jefferson insisted on it for the duration of the campaign. It was currently occupied by two guards who were up to nothing particular when her and Valerie walked past. The babysitter didn’t express any strong interest in the room, although she did glance at each of the guards. A shade of disapproval passed briefly on her face, but disappeared before Liz could scrutinise it any further.
Their tour finished at the end of the hall where the master bedroom and Hector’s room were.
“That’s us.” Elizabeth patted her sides as she turned around to face her new employee. “Any questions?”
”Just one.” Valerie’s brow furrowed as she swiped back and forth on the tablet. “Did you know your north-facing balcony camera’s not working properly?”
She turned the screen so that Liz could see. Indeed, the camera’s feed kept glitching, cutting out for seconds at a time.
“Odd.” She could’ve sworn that they had all security systems checked just a couple days ago. “I’ll get the SSI guys to check it out. Thank you.”
A long pause hung in the air.
”Any questions about the job?” Liz finally nudged.
”Ah.” Valerie looked like she wasn’t expecting the question to have a follow-up. “No, no questions. Your instructions were very clear.”
Elizabeth scanned through the information on Valerie once again just to be sure. Despite a few odd, but insignificant details about her, she really couldn’t fault this one. Her credentials were more than sufficient, references glowing. Most importantly, Hector already took a great liking to her.
The decision was an obvious one.
”When can you start?” Elizabeth asked with a glowing smile.
Valerie smiled back, just as radiantly. “How about right now?”
Before Liz could reply, her holo buzzed. It was Jefferson, meaning the call was urgent and could last a while. Without further ado, she pressed her thumb to the reader on the pad to sign the employment contract with immediate effect.
Valerie’s eyes flashed orange for a few seconds. She must’ve gotten the confirmation.
Without another word, the babysitter simply turned sixty degrees on her heels and proceeded into Hector’s bedroom, leaving Elizabeth to deal with her husband without needing to worry about her son.
”Liz?” Jefferson called out on the other side of the line. “You there?”
”Yes, yes,” she replied. “Was just finishing the tour with the new nanny.”
”Oh, splendid! How is she?”
Liz took a moment to pick the best description. Hector’s joyful giggle coming from the room made the decision for her. “I think she’s a great fit.”
——
Two months later.
To say that Valerie took the job in stride would be to say nothing at all. The two months may have seemed like ten times that for the campaigning Peralezes. But that did not diminish the babysitter’s feat in the slightest. If anything, they were dangerously reliant on the woman now. She was always on time, always ready for anything. Always ready to go the extra mile in an emergency, and there were many of those.
And they were all calling her just ‘V’ by that point. She insisted, although chose to stubbornly dodge the question when pressed as to why that was.
The closer they drew to the election date, the less time Elizabeth and Jefferson had to care for their son. They were both heartbroken about it, but there was little to do when the campaign grew more and more demanding by the day. Thankfully, Hector didn’t seem to object too much to be taken out and about with his parents. The crowds and commotion excited him. Even that, however, was possible only thanks to V, who diligently chaperoned her tiny human around while his parents went about their work.
Jefferson had turned guessing V’s background into a game.
‘Ex Militech spec ops!’ he’d shout at her in the middle of dinner, prompting a surprised gasp from Elizabeth, an excited giggle from Hector and a subtle sigh from V.
’Nope,’ she’d reply nonchalantly. Although sometimes one could spot a glimpse of a smirk if they were paying attention.
His guesswork extended to times when V wasn’t even in the room.
”She’s a vet of some sort, I’m sure of it,” Jefferson voiced his thought out loud when it was just the two of them.
He had a glass of scotch in his hand. Elizabeth went for an organic red wine.
“And I know it’s not in her background check. But bloody nothing is in her background check beyond what you’d expect…” He swirled the glass with such fervor that the whisky would come all the way to the brim.
“But just look at how she walks, Liz!” He exhaled, realising he’d gotten over-agitated again. In a much calmer tone, he continued. “All those agency staff also stand and walk like they have a titanium rod for a spine, but… They don’t do it with the same attitude. I bet she sits like that when she’s sipping on a beer in whatever bar she frequents.”
”About that…” Elizabeth pulled up an email chain from their security agency. “SSI finally managed to tail her to a spot she apparently visits a lot.”
On her husband’s insistence and out of her own ever-rising curiosity, Elizabeth had their security provider do what they called ‘an extended post-employment audit’ on their babysitter. What it really meant was to create a fresh dossier, learn everything there is to learn about a person. They did this for just about every employee and campaign aide who spent more than an hour inside their home.
Trouble with V, though, was that she was hard to pinpoint in the first place. Her contract listed all the necessary information like address and contact details, so that’s where they started. She did sleep in her apartment, but that was about it. Where she went or what she did, the entire team of agents couldn’t track down. Somehow, V would escape them every time she left her place. They’d see her again only once she returned, sometimes hours later.
This - of course - only fuelled Jefferson’s theories as to the woman’s past exploits.
Nonetheless, SSI finally came through with some intel, which Elizabeth was eager to relay in full. Not in the least because she was dying to hear what her ex-DA husband thought about this new tidbit of information.
”She was spotted entering El Coyote Cojo.” She had to take a small pause to make sure she pronounced the name of the place correctly. “Heywood.”
Jefferson leaned forward so quickly that Elizabeth got scared he had a muscle spasm or a cyberware malfunction. “She goes to El Coyote?!”
”Yes?” She glanced back at the tablet to check the footnote on the bar. “Ah. A Valentino haunt, isn’t it? Curious.”
”No, no, no.” Jefferson shook his head. “This isn’t El Pinche Pollo or MotoCielo, or any other place outright owned or controlled by Valentinos.”
”El Coyote Cojo’s different. It’s in their territory, it hosts them, but it isn’t owned by them.”
Elizabeth only raised an eyebrow, signalling for him to continue.
Jefferson took a pause, rubbing his chin deep in thought. “El Coyote is run by a certain Guadalupe Welles, and her rule there is absolute. Might be the only bar in Night City where the ‘no guns’ rule is actually respected.”
“In my years as a prosecutor, we’ve never had a single incident inside that bar.”
Now that would be a real achievement for Night City. Even Embers had a business-related stabbing or an assassination to report on occasion.
”What does that mean for our V, then?” Elizabeth leaned in too, now much more invested.
“It means that either she’s a blissfully unaware simpleton who just happened to make that bar her usual spot. Or - and that’s my bet - there’s much more to our polite and diligent nanny than just military training.”
”Did they manage to trail her inside? Did she meet anyone?”
Elizabeth scrolled further, but reached the end of the report much sooner than she’d expect to.
”Not quite.” She shook her head after reading the last few lines. “They got thrown out almost as soon as they walked in.”
Despite the disappointing finale, Jefferson appeared to be more excited than ever. He got that glimmer in his eye, the same one he had when he was about to launch into a high profile prosecution case.
”I’ll get one of the PIs I trust to look into it.”
”Anything that gets your mind back into the campaign, dear.” She flipped to the calendar. “We still have to plan next week’s appearances.”
”I feel particularly uneasy about the vet center one next Thursday. The crowd may be disappointed that you won’t be there.”
”Nonsense!” Jefferson put his glass down on the table, stood up and walked over to the armchair where Liz was sitting.
He then knelt down so that their faces were the same level, placed both hands on her shoulders and spoke again. “You’ve seen the sentiment reports. Your approval rating with the military wives is much higher than anyone’s.”
He looked into her eyes. “They’ll love you, Liz.”
”If you say so, Jeff,” she whispered in response.
The baby monitor erupted with crying. The quiet moment was shattered.
“I’ll go check on him.” Jefferson gave her a gentle pat on the knee and stood up. “You finish your wine.”
With her husband gone, Elizabeth turned her attention to the glowing city below. Even from the height of their penthouse, you could hear the wail of police sirens and muffled echoes of gunshots.
Her moment of quiet introspection was interrupted by a bright light from a passing drone. She could’ve sworn it was the third time one had passed at this height since they sat down. She dismissed it as a coincidence, penned the mild paranoia on tiredness.
”Hey Liz,” Jefferson’s voice whispered to her through the baby monitor, “come here.”
She placed the empty wine glass next to the whiskey tumbler for the maid to clean up in the morning and made her way to the baby’s room.
Tiptoeing on her approach, Liz gently leaned around the door frame to look inside. Hector was already asleep, dreaming whatever happy toddlers dreamt of.
In his arms, he clutched a fluffy orange cat with black stripes. The one that V got him.
——
On Thursday morning, Elizabeth was still unsure that the appearance at the vet center would go well. But it was far too late to back out by this point, so she did what she always did - straightened her ponytail, adjusted her lipstick and got on with it.
Jefferson was still an underdog against Weldon Holt so every vote they could close over the incumbent was worth it. And - as her husband said before - the data was on her side.
The most stressful part of the event had nothing to do with Elizabeth, the venue, the attendees or even the topic of her speech. Because they were appealing to families, she had to show up with Hector in tow. Even the most pessimistic simulation predicted a twelve point improvement over going by herself.
And where Hector went, so did V. The babysitter traded her usual uniform for a tailored tracksuit for the occasion. The new outfit suited her much more, both in terms of aesthetics and in fit. She looked visibly more comfortable in something that allowed for free movement.
“Ready, Miss Peralez?” Samson, their Head of Security, asked as he held the handle for the door to the landing pad where their personal AV already awaited.
Liz glanced back at V, who had Hector strapped in the carrier on her chest and a tactical duffel stuffed to the brim with baby wipes, nappies and formula slung over her shoulder. The babysitter gave her two thumbs up. Hector, seeing his new favourite person make the gesture, mimicked her perfectly.
The two tiny thumbs forced the widest smile on Elizabeth’s face.
Her PA joined them in the AV. The entire ride to the veteran’s center was just one long final rehearsal for the speech, the talking points, the curveballs to watch out for during Q&A. Liz would have her assistant translate suggestions and helpful statistics via a personal link throughout, but repeating it still helped.
V spent the flight playing all sorts of games with Hector. His latest favorite was peekaboo, except V would make a different silly face every time she pulled her hands back. This would send the baby into bouts of laughter without fail, no matter how many times they’d play.
They landed in the parking lot in front of the main entrance. The entire area was packed with journalists and onlookers. Some held pro-Peralez posters, some pro-Holt. There were a few particularly nasty signs, but those were to be expected. Jefferson’s approach to politics always invited strong opposition. The key was to ensure that the number of loud voices in support always drowned out the naysayers.
Her security detail exchanged words with the local NCPD presence who were responsible for crowd control. The building itself had some private security they offered for the event, but neither SSI, nor Jefferson or Liz had much hope for their help if things went south.
The initial meet and greet with the local committee members went just as expected - a formality coupled with a photo op. Hector got a lot of attention and plenty of compliments. All of which he was largely oblivious to on account of playing with his orange cat under V’s watchful supervision.
After another photo op with the mothers and wives of soldiers stationed at the So-Cal border, Elizabeth and her retinue were guided indoors for her speech and the following question time.
The stage was small, but well-lit. It was high enough to give even those standing in the back of the hall a decent view of the speaker.
The best part, however, was the attendance. The main hall was full, with every seat filled and every wall lined with two rows of people. Even the gallery level was packed with attendees. Press drones buzzed overhead like giant scoop-hungry bumblebees. All-in-all, this was promising to be a great event for coverage, if nothing else.
The leader of the committee introduced her by name and made a joke of how they got the actual most important person from the Peralez campaign. The crowd reacted with a loud rumble of laughter - a good sign.
Elizabeth took to the podium when told and readied to deliver her speech.
Before she uttered her greeting, Liz was pulled down with such force that her neck spasmed. It took her a moment to reorient herself, only to see that it was V - of all people - who forced the mayor’s wife to hunker down.
Liz opened her mouth to admonish the babysitter for this unceremonious act when a shot rang just above her head. If she was still standing, it would no doubt strike her.
The room turned feral after that.
Security personnel started shouting ‘shooter! shooter!’ as they scrambled to establish a protective perimeter around the VIP. People screamed and ran in all directions. More shots rang out.
V’s entire demeanor had changed. She moved her free hand to protect the back of Hector’s head. Her eyes gained a level of focused intensity that Liz had only seen in her husband or in the mirror.
Before Elizabeth knew it, Valerie had flipped a nearby steel-top table on the side and dragged it in front of them as makeshift cover.
“Hold him for me.” V’s voice was calm and measured as she unfastened the carrier sling straps. She stood out against the chaos unfolding around them like a boulder in the middle of a whitewater river.
As soon as the wailing baby was safely in his mother’s arms, V stood up. She pulled on her right sleeve, raised her arm and aimed it towards where the shooter was hunkered down. Her wrist opened up to reveal a state-of-the-art Projectile Launch System.
She fired. A galley above them exploded. More screaming erupted from the fleeing civilians, but the shooting momentarily stopped.
Elizabeth put her free hand on the floor to help herself stand up. V instantly signalled with her other hand to stay down. The ridiculousness of taking orders from her babysitter wasn’t lost on Liz, but she obeyed nonetheless.
One of her security detail rushed to them. “Madam, we’ve got to evacuate back to the AV, you’re not-“
He didn’t get to finish the sentence, as his head exploded in a spray of blood and gore. Elizabeth screamed as some of it landed on her and Hector. The baby, in turn, began wailing even louder than he already was.
A man clad in full tactical gear aimed his rifle right at her. He wouldn’t get to pull the trigger, though. A knife flying at an astonishing speed hit him square in the chest. It pierced the armour like it was made out of paper and lodged deep between the ribs. The first knife was swiftly followed by three more. Each found their marks with the last one landing right in the jugular vein.
Gurgling blood, the man stumbled backwards and eventually sank to his knees before dropping on the floor.
When turning around to see where the knives came from, Elizabeth saw V standing there, with another blade at the ready. Her left arm unfolded like an origami sculpture blooming into a steel fan of polished throwing knives ready to be unleashed.
“We need to go,” the deadly babysitter said simply.
“NOW, Elizabeth,” she raised her voice when the other woman hesitated for far too long.
Elizabeth looked around. There were still some stragglers trying to get out through the exits. “We need to make sure the people are safe!”
“They aren’t here for them. They’re here for you.” V pointed at the side entrance where the second gunman had emerged from.
She beckoned to the two remaining bodyguards, who just stood there with their pistols raised. “You two, cover us.”
The guards gave Elizabeth an incredulous look as if asking, ‘who the hell does this chick think she is?!’
Liz only nodded in response, silently telling them to follow the new person in charge.
”Yes, ma’am,” both of them confirmed obediently.
V helped Liz stand up and strap Hector in properly. Before they dashed, she quickly knelt down and retrieved what turned out to be Hector’s favourite cat plushie. The baby quieted down in an instant and clutched the toy with both hands, as if trying to protect it from the attackers.
”Cover our six,” the weaponised nanny instructed the suits as she grabbed a rifle from the corpse. She also made sure to retrieve her blades, which were swiftly stashed back into her arm holster before it folded back in.
”Oh, and here.” V fished out a small plastic case from one of her pockets and chucked it at Elizabeth.
Liz caught the case and opened it. It contained two sets of ear plugs - one adult-sized and one tiny. She plugged Hector’s ears, but didn’t use the other ones. It was better to be fully alert, she gathered.
V watched the whole thing and nodded towards the exit as soon as everyone was ready to move.
In the corridor they found two corpses of the venue security staff in charge of guarding the stage entrance. They were killed in a clean, professional fashion. Three to the chest, one to the head.
”Those guys aren’t amateurs,” V surmised after giving the dead men a single glance. “Stay close behind me.”
”Okay,” Elizabeth nodded.
V advanced through the deserted corridor like a spec ops soldier on a dangerous escort mission. She’d check every corner, wait, then hail to the others that it was safe to continue. As she advanced, V would also snipe every camera she would come across.
The veteran’s center proved to be a maze of bare corridors that snaked deeper into the building with seminar rooms, offices, break rooms and other sorts of mundane spaces spread throughout. V insisted on leaning into every single one of them to check they were empty before progressing further.
At first, this irked Elizabeth. She thought their priority was to get out, not check everywhere for new enemies. That naive assumption quickly fell apart when V discovered two fully armed goons waiting in what turned out to be the security room.
This was when Elizabeth discovered that her babysitter had a Sandevistan installed. A blink later and both dropped to the floor with their throats slashed. V had also managed to collect their weapons and disabled the entire camera system so that they wouldn’t get tracked. Even with the slow-mo implant, that kind of efficiency was impressive. And terrifying.
Elizabeth realized she was staring slack-jawed only when Hector let out a giggle after getting a playful wink from his nanny.
The respite was short lived, however. Three more attackers ambushed them from the back. The guards barely lasted seconds - just long enough to take the first volley of bullets. V swiftly pulled her charges inside the room that she had just cleared and gone to work.
Elizabeth watched with one eye peeking around the corner as V turned the closest enemy into a pin cushion with her knives. She closed the distance with the other two using her Sandevistan. One got shot in the abdomen point blank, painting the back wall with his guts. The third - also a woman - had enough time to unsheath her Mantis Blades and prepare for combat. The sight of gnarly serrated arm blades didn’t seem to faze V in the slightest. Armed with a knife in each hand, she readied herself for the confrontation.
Elizabeth found it hard to keep track of the movements while the two women fought. Sparks flew as metal struck metal. V appeared to be losing ground for a moment, but then she blinked out of existence once again, only to appear behind her opponent. The other fighter swung blindly. Exactly what V had counted on. She grabbed the other woman by the wrist and shoved it into the wall. Half-immobilised, the Mantis-wielding fighter was like a sitting duck. V sliced through her arm lengthwise where armour would’ve been weaker, releasing a waterfall of blood on the floor. Five rapid stabs to the chest that followed were more of a precaution than a necessity.
“We delta. Now,” V urged. “Kitchen’s got a fire exit.”
She stopped only for a second to check on Hector, who seemed to be calmer despite the constant commotion.
”I’ve called us a ride.”
”But we’ve already got our AV-“ Elizabeth began protesting, but was swiftly cut off.
“They’ll be waiting for you to try and make a break for it.” V shook her head. “Won’t make it so easy for the rotten bastards.”
This was the first time she swore in front of Elizabeth.
They encountered no resistance on their way to the kitchen. For a moment, Liz thought that they were finally in the clear. Managed to evade the attackers through the back rooms. On the final stretch to safety.
She was very wrong to think that.
In the kitchen, three more masked operatives awaited.
They opened fire as soon as the metal door swung inwards. Their bullets struck the concrete wall of the corridor. Using the moment of confusion to her advantage, V rose from her crouched position and sent yet another man to his maker with a perfectly placed burst of gunfire. Much to the misfortune of the second enemy, someone had left a butcher’s knife on the counter by the door. The giant knife was soon hurled halfway across the room and found its new home in the man’s skull. The crunch and squelch as the blade buried itself inside the bone made Elizabeth wince.
The final, and by far largest, soldier didn’t want to take chances at a distance. He rushed V like a freight train, smashing the much smaller woman into the steel fridge with such force that the door bent inwards.
V let out an inhuman groan as she first raised, then brought down her fists on the man’s shoulders like a pair of sledgehammers. He staggered, giving her just enough wiggle room to kick him first with a knee to the groin, then with a roundhouse kick to the head. The last strike was so hard that it dislodged the visor off the man’s helmet, exposing his face. Elizabeth didn’t recognise him.
The babysitter didn’t waste precious time. While her opponent was still disoriented, she grabbed the sizzling vat of cooking oil and tipped it all over the man. His screams were beastly. The room filled up with a sickening smell of burning flesh and hair that made Liz retch and Hector cry in protest.
V grabbed Elizabeth’s hand and dragged her towards the fire exit at the back of the room. She kicked the doors in, finally giving them a glimpse of the outside. V barely got to scan the rubbish-littered parking lot when a volley of high caliber bullets made her duck behind the wall.
”Drones, two of them,” the babysitter whispered, nodding to the outside. How she managed to catch that in such a short time was anyone’s guess.
”Stay here.” V mouthed soundlessly as she walked back into the room, a new looted rifle at the ready in case they got ambushed from the hallway side.
She proceeded to lift the still smoking deep-fried corpse. Holding it by the back straps of the tactical vest, she wielded the huge body like a riot shield. The strategy proved a winner as the drones began firing at V as soon as she stepped into the sun. The corpse gave V just enough time to close the distance for what was to come next.
Elizabeth could only see flashes of her protector as she jumped on the roof of the parked van, pausing only to shoot a rocket at one drone. She vanished once again, only to reappear on top of the second drone. The flying machine was not designed to carry an entire person, so it sank closer to the ground. V punched a hole in the armoured cladding with her bare fist. When her hand came back out, it was holding a black box surrounded by sparkling wires. The drone’s engines whirled and whined for a few seconds before shutting down.
V beckoned to her boss that it was safe to come out. At the same time, a growing shadow covered the car park. Liz looked up to see a black Rayfield Excalibur descend. A checkered stripe running the length of the aerodyne revealed it to be a Delamain. Elizabeth didn’t even know Delamain offered AV services, even though she and Jefferson both were Excelsior-level customers.
The door of the AV started opening before it reached the ground.
“Quick, quick,” V rushed Elizabeth to get in.
Liz obeyed. After settling in the forward-facing row, she immediately checked on Hector. The toddler must’ve gotten so exhausted from crying that he had dozed off.
V gave the car park another intense scan before jumping in herself. Delamain sped off as soon as the door closed.
“Welcome aboard, V and Miss Peralez,” the AI cabbie greeted his customers with his usual detached courtesy. “As I understand, you may be in a bit of a pickle today?”
”One hell of an understatement, Del.” V was already patching her shoulder up with the medkit she had fished out from the side compartment.
”I believe some refreshments are necessary, then.” Two glasses of champagne emerged from the cup holders. “On the house, as they say.”
V glanced at her glass, then at Elizabeth, as if looking for permission. Elizabeth was puzzled at first, momentarily forgetting that this killing machine of a woman was still her employee, supposedly still on the clock. She gave a nod of agreement and grabbed her own glass, which was very much needed. V downed her champagne in one gulp. The glass was refilled the moment she set it down in the cup holder. It was then just as promptly picked up. Unlike the first, though, it was not drained in one go.
Elizabeth was about to go into an entire speech that she had been preparing ever since they were whisked away from what could easily prove to be the scene of her assassination if V hadn’t interfered. She already opened her mouth and raised her hand to speak when the whole cabin shook violently. The AV veered to the side, clipped a balcony and almost crashed into a giant billboard. By some miracle the AI had steered the flying vehicle back on course.
”Apologies,” Delamain spoke without a hint of concern about what had just happened. “It appears we’ve been struck by a ground-to-air missile. This vehicle is reinforced against such weapons, however.”
”We will still make our destination, albeit with a zero-minute, forty-five-second delay.”
“Sorry about that, Del.” V looked and sounded genuinely apologetic.
”Not to worry, V.” The AI actually sounded like it was trying to convey an emotion for once. That of comfort. “I’m fully insured against such occurrences.”
Elizabeth felt like she was transported into a script of a Bushido movie for a second.
”It appears you were on the news, Miss
A video feed started broadcasting into Elizabeth’s ocular feed. It was N54 news with that insufferable fame chaser Gillean Jordan yapping about unconfirmed rumours from a safe distance outside the veteran’s center. The only solid pieces of info were the fact that an attack took place at all and that Elizabeth was in the building at the time. The feed cut to the shot of Jefferson reacting to the news in the middle of an official Night City council meeting. He took it calmly and excused himself immediately, but Liz knew he’d be pulling every string he could to find out more at this point.
Not wanting to worry her husband any longer, Elizabeth tried to dial him in. The call dropped immediately, without even attempting to connect.
”I’ve asked Del to fire up the jammer,” V explained nonchalantly. “Don’t want anyone to track us down to where we’re going. Safest way.”
She shuffled forward awkwardly and slowly placed her hand on Elizabeth’s knee. Judging by the awkwardness of the whole gesture, V didn’t do such things often.
“I’ll get in touch with Jefferson as soon as we get to the safehouse. Through a secure line.”
”Mhm.” Liz slowly nodded.
The entire situation had started to take its toll on her. She felt incredibly tired, to the point that her eyelids began feeling extra heavy like she had pulled two consecutive all-nighters. Hector’s rhythmic snoring didn’t help in the slightest, either.
”How about you take a nap, Elizabeth?” V suggested in a soft tone. “We’re safe from here.”
Elizabeth did reply something along the lines of a thank you to V, but the sleep took her before she could properly register if the other woman responded in any way.
——
Liz opened her eyes to an unfamiliar room. The events of the past hours immediately flashed in her memory, triggering her fight-or-flight response. She didn’t even realize that she had shot up in bed until her eyes stopped on the only familiar item - her own clothes. They were cleaned and folded into perfect squares, waiting patiently for her on the chair.
The full scope of the events leading up to this moment had re-arranged into a correct sequence in her head. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in the Delamain AV under V’s watchful eye.
This wasn’t the shoebox apartment she’d seen in V’s file, that much was apparent just from this room alone.
”Hector!” She called out instinctively when another quick look around didn’t reveal her baby anywhere. “Hector?! Where are you?!”
”Down here!” V’s voice came from somewhere behind the pulled up curtains.
Elizabeth pulled the covers off to find herself dressed in a XXL-sized ‘Vote Peralez’ t-shirt that they were giving away at every event. A pair of Konpeki Plaza branded slippers was placed by the foot of the bed. Not bothering with those, she got up and immediately pulled the curtains apart with both hands.
The setting sun blinded her for a few seconds as it beamed at her through the enormous two-floor tall windows. It turned out that the bedroom was on a mezzanine level, with the rest of the awe strikingly large apartment spread below it.
V, dressed in a loose Samurai band tank top, looked away from Hector, who was busy wrestling with a giraffe plushie that Elizabeth had never seen before.
”Feeling better?” The babysitter asked. “You didn’t wake up even when I carried you up.”
”I-uh…” Liz rubbed the sides of her forehead with the hand that wasn’t holding onto the railing. A bitch of a headache was approaching, and fast.
”How long have I been out? And what is this place?”
”Just two hours. And this is a safehouse, of sorts.” V smirked. “It was the closest location with an AV landing pad that wasn’t exposed in any way.”
”Couldn’t exactly take you back to the flat you had on file after, y’know…” She made a finger pistol, raised it to her head and pretended to shoot herself. Hector giggled at the silly face she made.
“I’m sure they’d be watching it, just to cover all bases.”
While V was talking, Elizabeth put on the slippers and ran down to reunite with her son. Hector was positively beaming at seeing his mom. He immediately raised his new toy to show her. Putting away the plushie, Liz embraced her little treasure in a firm, but careful hug.
V watched the exchange without uttering a single word, only smiling softly. She waited for the mother to take her time before speaking again. “I’ve let Jefferson know you’re safe and sound before he scours half of the city looking for you.”
“He was adamant to pick you up straight away, but that would be unwise. He’ll be here in a few hours when I get confirmation the coast’s clear.”
”When you get confirmation?” Elizabeth blinked at her host.
It was the first time she took a proper look at Valerie in this new guise. Not her employee, not Hector’s babysitter. But a woman in her own domain - comfortable and in control.
V’s arm tattoos went all the way to her chiselled collar bones. The designs did a stellar job hiding the seams of her arm implants, but now that she knew what to look for Elizabeth was baffled that she hadn’t noticed them before.
The gunshot wound to the shoulder had already closed up. The scar appeared weeks, not hours old. That could only be the work of nanites, and not the cheap kind. Judging by dozens of the fresher ink strokes, V was no stranger to scars.
“Those guys will catch on the moment your husband or his teams start sending out feelers.”
V noticed that Hector took a liking to her hair clip and immediately took it off and passed it to the child to put on the giraffe. The clip was fashioned in the shape of a roaring dragon. Something told Liz that the stones covering the accessory were very much real.
“So I called in a favor. My netrunner will guide Jefferson here once the Net chatter dies down.”
What kind of person had netrunners on call? V may have been ex-military, but there was more to her than that. Much more.
“Alright, then.” Liz clapped her hands on her knees. “Okay with me to at least check the news?”
“Of course.” V’s eyes flashed and Elizabeth received a guest access permission. “I’ll make us something to eat in the meantime. Otherwise H will get cranky.”
She walked over to the toddler and scooped him up. “I’ll watch him. He’d seen enough for the day anyway.”
As V walked away, Elizabeth got a better look at the woman’s back not covered by the tank top. Her unusually large Sandevistan peeked from the collar, but it wasn’t the implant that was most striking. The exposed shoulderblades each had an ebony with red highlights wing tattooed on it. The rest of Azazel, Angel of Death must’ve been covered by the top.
Elizabeth knew that tattoo well. It placed her host as a member of the dissolved Arasaka elite kill squad. She’d seen that tattoo once before. Case files. For someone serving seventeen consecutive life sentences in New Alcatraz on Luna.
V either pretended not to notice, or really didn’t feel the other woman’s gaze drilling into her. Judging by what she already had out on the counter, they were going to have steaks. Hector would get his favourite strawberry-flavoured formula, which V had stocked for some reason.
Almost as if she was expecting to use this place as a safehouse at some point.
Realising she had been staring for way too long, Liz turned to TV and pinged a mental command for it to turn on to N54 News.
As expected, Gillean Jordan was mid-report about the shootout at the veteran’s center. As the news anchor spoke, the editor overlaid shifting clips from the scene, as well as snippets of Jefferson pushing through the crowd of reporters. He had apparently refused to comment until more facts were available.
The open plan space quickly filled with the sounds of sizzling meat which were soon followed by the appetising smells. Only when her mouth watered and her stomach grumbled did Liz realize that she had been starving. V hummed some vaguely familiar tune while sauteing some greens in a pan with one hand and helping Hector hold his bottle with the other.
Ten minutes later, a plate that could easily have been served to her in an upmarket restaurant was placed in front of Elizabeth.
”Steak cooked medium rare, leaning on rare with organic vegetables and peppercorn sauce.” V described the dish with the precision of an experienced waiter. She also remembered how Liz liked her steaks.
The two of them sat in silence for a while as they ate. Hector, overdue his afternoon nap, had curled into a ball and quietly fell asleep. V carefully took out the thumb that the baby was sucking out of his mouth and replaced it with a pacifier. She used her napkin to wipe the thumb before placing the tiny hand back down.
Content with the baby’s state, V had stood up without saying another word and walked over to a frosted glass fridge door in the kitchen. Liz followed her host with curiosity, so she saw that the fridge was dedicated exclusively to bottles. There were at least thirty in there.
”I don’t think I’ve got the ones you usually have, but would Sansretour Pinot Noir do?” She pulled out the bottle and turned the label to face her. “Feel like we both could use a drink.”
”No, no. It’s perfect, thank you very much.” By this point being offered a rare and expensive bottle of wine was far too little of a surprise for Liz to react to it. She just penned it to the bottom of the ever-growing list of telling details that revealed glimmers into who her babysitter truly was.
V brought over the bottle and two exquisite wine glasses. She placed them on the table before reaching into her back pocket for the corkscrew. Watching her work the tiny knife to cut the foil inadvertently echoed the brutal and deadly way she had been brandishing her knives earlier.
The cork came out with a satisfying pop and soon the deep red liquid was being poured first into Elizabeth’s glass, then into V’s.
”Well,” V spoke as she raised her glass to eye level, “how about we toast to this being the worst situation you’ll ever get into?”
”I would certainly hope so!” Liz couldn’t help but let out a nervous chuckle.
When they clinked their glasses together, it suddenly dawned on her that she had made a terrible omission.
”V!” She sat up straight and looked the tattooed woman in the eye. “I’m so, so sorry!”
”About what?” V looked genuinely confused by this development.
”I never thanked you properly for saving my life.” Elizabeth bowed her head. “Mine and Hector’s lives. Multiple times over.”
V looked away, as if trying to hide a blush. She suddenly became fidgety, agitated. Like this surprise outburst of gratitude had taken her completely unawares. Perhaps it did.
”It’s… no problem, really,” she said too quietly and too quickly. ”I saw a guy on the balcony pull out a rifle and acted on instinct. Rest just kinda happened.”
“Could you undersell what you’ve done back there any more?!” Elizabeth let out a laugh, but quickly stopped herself in case V’d think she was ridiculing her.
”Sorry, all I meant to say was that-“ A soft shake of V’s head made her stop talking.
”I know you meant it in a nice way, don’t worry.” The ex-assassin smiled too. “And you’re welcome.”
She still looked slightly uncomfortable, so Elizabeth wasn’t surprised when her next words were a complete 180 on the subject. “We should give you a scan, make sure you’re all good.”
“I gave H one while you were asleep. He’s as healthy as they come.” V stood up without waiting for an answer. “Bring your wine with you.”
Liz could do nothing but to follow.
V led her to the small door underneath the bedroom mezzanine. Interestingly, it was blocked off for Liz even with her guest access pass. She’d quickly find out why.
Inside was what could only be described as a state-of-the-art armoury, netrunning suite and a mini ripperdoc’s clinic all merged into one.
Three out of four walls were lined with weapons of every type and make. Pistols, rifles, even machine guns neighbored knives, swords and hammers. Even a golden baseball bat hung among them. The other wall was fully lined with screens, half of which showed rotating streams from a dozen cameras. An auto-surgeon like the kind you’d find in City Center hospitals hung above the reclined chair. A large 3D printer in the corner was already busy printing a batch of replacement knives.
”Take a seat, please.” V casually pointed to the chair while she herself took a small rolling stool.
Elizabeth continued ogling the room as she settled into the surprisingly plush seat. V, in the meantime, pulled up a handheld medscanner and pointed it at her guest. The machine let out a series of satisfied beeps as it traced Elizabeth’s body. V checked out the readouts on a screen to her right while sipping wine.
”Looks all good to me,” she eventually concluded. “It throws some odd error on your brain scan, but it’s nothing life threatening and this thing’s not set up for those anyway.”
She patted Liz on the knee. “Unless you got a history of stroke or degenerative brain diseases in the family, no need to get it checked out, I reckon.”
“We should head back.” Elizabeth picked up her glass and slid off the chair. She knew that the danger had long passed, but was still reluctant to take eyes off Hector for longer than strictly necessary.
”Don’t worry, I’ve been keeping an eye on H this whole time.” V pinged over the camera feed aimed squarely at the couch where the toddler peacefully slept. “But we’re done here anyway.”
They returned to the main space. Liz couldn’t help but admire it for the second time. Just as they sat back down to finish their wine, an AV flew by, momentarily blocking the sun.
”That’ll be your husband.” V drained the wine with one large gulp and placed the empty glass on the table.
”I’ll go pick him up from upstairs.”
She made a beeline for the elevator, but paused for a second. “System, full protector mode please.”
Four double-barrel turrets descended from the ceiling. Steel mesh blinds covered every window from the outside. In fifteen seconds, the penthouse became a fortress.
“I’ll be back with him in less than five minutes,” V assured her stunned host as she stepped into the elevator.
Elizabeth could only nod, still slackjawed from what had just happened.
Left alone, she took her time to study the rest of the space. There was another, smaller balcony on the shorter wall. It was fashioned into a cosy-looking reading nook. The books on three-meter tall bookshelves appeared to be real. Some bindings looked outright ancient. A pair of arcade machines sat under the library - Roach Race and Arasaka Tower 3D. Full size pool table completed the games collection.
And then there was the bar. Wine fridge was just one element of it, and not the most impressive one. The sheer collection of liquor bottles from all over the world that lined the shelves was truly impressive. Elizabeth didn’t even recognise half of the names, let alone tried them.
Upon closer inspection, the apartment gave an impression of a socialite or movie star living there.
The elevator dinged and opened. The turrets reacted instantaneously, but stood down just as quickly when V emerged first. A flash of her eyes and the weapons retreated back into their housings. The window shutters opened too.
“Liz!”
Jefferson rushed towards his wife. He looked like he hadn’t stopped for even a breather ever since the attack. His shirt had one button too many undone and the suit jacket was heavily crumpled at the bottom.
He crashed into her and immediately wrapped Liz into a tight hug.
”I was so worried.” Jefferson pulled back to look for Hector. Only after spotting the toddler snoozing peacefully on the couch did he turn back to give her a proper look-over. “Are you hurt? Where the hell was Trauma Team?!”
”I’m fine, Jeff.” Elizabeth smiled to reassure her agitated husband. “Bately a scratch on me. All thanks to V.”
Mention of their babysitter made both of them look in her direction. V remained near the elevator, leaning on the ladder leading up to the book nook. She was using one of her razor-sharp blades to pick under her nails.
”I’m forever in your debt, V. Name your reward and I’ll do my darnest to deliver.” There was not a hint of understatement in Jefferson’s tone.
V stopped doing what she was doing and looked blankly at the couple, as if stunned by attention suddenly turning to her. Still silent, she unfolded her blade sheath arm, slotted the knife back in and only then opened her mouth.
”Tha-that’s fine, really. I couldn’t just stand there and let them hurt you.” She paused, looked away. Spoke again in barely a whisper. “Had enough people die on my watch already…”
The Peralezes were both stunned by this response. It could’ve been the first sliver of personal info that V had willingly offered. And it was devastating to think of its implications.
”Ahem.” Jefferson cleared his throat, his way of also clearing the tension. “How about we all sit down and you can walk me through what happened?”
”Sure.” V nodded obediently, slipping back into her polite staff mode. She was already halfway to the couch when Elizabeth’s raised hand stopped her frozen.
“Wait, Jeff,” Elizabeth pleaded softly. “Can we not do this later? When we’re back home?”
”Yes, yes, of course.” He nodded with fervor. “I’m sorry, darling. Of course, you both must be so tired.”
He took both of her hands in his. ”Let’s get home, shower, get a change of clo-“
Words were stuck in his mouth after glancing at what Liz was wearing. He inadvertently shot her a look that screamed ‘what the hell are you wearing?!’. She only shrugged with a goofy smile in response.
”It’s safe for you to leave.” V’s tone reverted back to her confident, independent operator mode. “I trust that Delamain will get you back home with no trouble, and your security detail can pick it up from there.”
She paused. “Or do you want me to come with? Because I was hoping to clean up the house a little bit tonight.”
Elizabeth and Jefferson looked around the impeccably clean apartment with raised eyebrows.
Then it hit them.
Jeff swallowed hard and nodded. “We’ll be just fine. You’ve done more than enough, V. SSI had tripled active staff till the end of the campaign, too.”
The last sentence prompted the briefest of eyerolls from the deadly babysitter. She nodded. “Thanks.”
V escorted them to the roof where the Delamain AV patiently waited. Her and Del exchanged a few short sentences as she instructed the AI on the route and precautions to be taken.
Hector was still fast asleep, even after being scooped up and carried into the noisy evening air of Night City. V gave the little one a very gentle head pat, adjusted the collar of his onesie and handed him over to Elizabeth with the utmost care.
The tattooed woman stayed on the landing deck until the AV had disappeared behind a taller skyscraper.
——
They had to retreat to the bedroom to escape the SSI agents who had invaded every other room of their penthouse.
Hector made a valiant effort to stay up after dinner, but sleep had ultimately won. The baby was currently fast asleep between his two parents in their bed. An ice bucket with a bottle of white rested just above the toddler’s head.
Jefferson was quietly processing the retelling of the day’s events.
Liz was about to ask him what he made of the whole situation when a new message notification popped up. It was a string of messages, actually. From V.
[ Sorry to message late! ]
[ Hope Hector’s not too rattled by what happened today ]
[ Sorry! I’ll get to the point, you must be tired ]
[ Mind if I take the day off tomorrow? Turns out I’ll need a bit more time for this thing ]
[ The clean, I mean ]
[ Found some nasty surprises, got to scrub harder ]
Elizabeth re-read the last three messages four times. Then decided to divert the decision to Jefferson. She was far too tired for this.
”V wants to take a day off tomorrow. To finish her ‘clean’, she says.”
Jeff turned to her, chuckled bitterly. “Can we even tell her ‘no’ by this point?”
Liz had no idea. So she replied to V with a simple ‘yes, of course.’
A return message arrived almost instantaneously.
[ Great, thanks! See you Saturday! ]
”What did she say?” Her husband looked incredibly invested.
“That she’ll see us Saturday.” It was Elizabeth’s turn to chuckle. “Guess that answers your earlier question of whether she’ll stay on as the nanny.”
Jefferson shook his head, took a sip of the wine. “From what you told me, we can replace SSI with her alone and be better off.”
”I was actually thinking of-“ He suddenly stopped talking. “Getting a call, hold on.”
Liz patiently watched her husband’s eyes lit up blue. Whoever was calling at this hour must’ve had a pretty damn good reason to.
His brow first furrowed, then suddenly shot up to the top of his forehead. He squeezed the glass harder. Then exhaled in relief just as the call ended and his pupils returned to their natural dark brown.
”Trouble?” She ventured.
”Not exactly...” He sounded mildly shell-shocked. “This was Rogue.”
Rogue being Rogue Amendiares, Night City’s highest flying fixer and bona-fide legend of edgerunner underworld. Her and the Peralezes were - officially - on diametrically opposed ends of the legal spectrum. In practice, nothing was ever so black and white. This wasn’t the first time Jefferson and Rogue interacted, nor would it be the last. Especially if he became NC’s mayor.
Still, every call from Queen of the Afterlife carried significant weight.
“And?”
”She ‘strongly advised’ to call off my PI.” A single drop of sweat slowly rolled off from his brow and down his chin. “Advised to appreciate V’s services as they are given and not dig deeper.”
The message was polite and rather vague, but at the same time ominous and crystal clear.
Yet, knowing Jefferson was the last person to turn away at threats, Elizabeth had to ask, carefully. “And… are you going to do that?”
He let out a nervous laughter. “I saw the Azazel tattoo when we were in the elevator. I was going to call off my guy in the morning anyway.”
Hector mumbled in his sleep, inadvertently cutting through the high-strung mood in the room and reminding his parents what really was at stake here.
”Think I know enough to satisfy my curiosity for now,” Jefferson concluded while gently stroking his son’s head. “Although I’m dying to ask her how her ‘cleanup’ went.”
”Guess it’ll just have to stay one of those life’s mysteries…” Liz smiled as she sipped on the last of the wine in her glass.
Jeff promptly grabbed the bottle to top her up. “Think we should tell Xochi?”
”Not a chance! She’s already worried about the campaign. Don’t want her to cut the Europtrip short.”
She paused. Sipped on the wine some more. Looked out of the window, imagining what their babysitter was up to at that moment. Whether it was something utterly mundane, or utterly crazy.
”We can fill her in when she gets back.”