3 Chapter 3- Built Stupid

The picksocketing had gone about the same as before. Even if he was a bit more confident as he used his Sandevistan to blur around with no one able to see him.

He picked up the chips with no issue whatsoever, pocketing them all, and confirming the final acquisition.

David: "That's all of them."

Lucy: "Good. Then after this stop, we ghost."

David: "Roger that."

As they came to the stop near Santo Domingo, he hummed as they moved next to the stairs.

"Alright, here we go. This is what we got."

He said handing them over to her.

Some standard tech chips, a couple of languages and some more higher grade combat chips from the Arasaka huscle.

Lucy gave a noncommittal hum as she looked them over, though he knew she didn't really care whether they would bring in a lot of money or not. This was more her way of striking back at Arasaka than anything.

She gave him a little bit of a smirk, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

"Not bad David…. You're really earning that 30 percent."

David smirked right back, his eyes sparkling with playfulness.

"Wow, you're willing to go 50/50 with me? That's really generous of you."

They both stared unblinkingly at each other, before they both started to giggle, before both laughing out loud enough that they needed to hold onto the arm rail nearby.

Lucy wiped a tear of laughter from her eyes as she gave him a real smile. One that he knew oh so well, but had started to see so much less of by the end.

"Alright smartass, you're right. You did pretty good. 60/40."

He grinned, glad that he'd seemingly made a better impression than before.

"So what do you think? Another round?"

"Another line maybe. Somebody's probably already tipped off the pigs so if we stay off the same line, and don't overfish, we should be good."

"Sounds goo-"

His vision swam as he staggered, gripping the wall tightly as he fought off a massive wave of nausea, and pressure behind his nose.

Fuck...he… he thought he'd been careful. Maybe… maybe that's why he wasn't unconscious.

"David? David, what's wrong?"

Lucy said urgently, her face honest with its visage of moderate worry. Heh… she always did care more than she'd pretended to. Even for people she wasn't close to.

He almost responded saying nothing. Like all the other times. Pushing harder. Faster. More chrome.

No.

"N-... Not really. Remember I said I got the Sandevistan implanted today? I might have…. Done something stupid… used a really sketchy ripper to do it. Not sure he did it right."

".... Christ, David. Ok… are you ok? Do you need me to get you somewhere?"

Well… he'd been wanting a doc to look at him proper right? Might as well see if Lucy could help.

"You know a good Ripperdoc? I'm kind of in the market for a new one."

He said smiling weakly as he fought off another wave of nausea, and his back ached and throbbed.

Lucy looked at him, almost seeming to make a decision,before nodding.

"I know a guy. He's good. Real good, and he won't rip you off. He's in Watson."

Watson…. He'd heard about a ripperdoc there. Name of Vik. He'd considered changing ripperdocs before, but got told that Vik wouldn't give him anymore chrome. Would tell him to chrome down…. So he kept using his sketchy old Doc. Now that he only had the Sandy… well he was alright with that. He could use somebody along with Lucy (hopefully) making sure he didn't fall to the urge to chrome up some more. Especially when he didn't need it.

"I'll take it." He said smiling weakly, before groaning as another wave of nausea hit him, though it was a bit weaker.

"You nova choom?"

"Just preem. Fuck.. lets delta yeah?"

"Taxi, or do you think you're up for the tram again?"

"Long as I don't pop the Sandy , sure. Don't want to break my brain."

Lucy gave him an inscrutable look for a moment before leading him back to the tram, getting on and waiting as they were ferried to Watson. As the city flew by, Lucy finally spoke up again, flicking her longer bang with a hand.

"So, how many times did you use it? Twice?"

"Nah… about 6. Probably shouldn't try to do any more until I get it looked at again."

Lucy's eyes widened just a touch and it took all I had to not preen under her surprise again. He'd always liked how impressed she'd been that he could handle the Sandy so well. It was part of the reason he started to chrome himself. Not the biggest of course… but part of it.

"6? And you're still conscious? That's…. Impressive. Are you sure your Ripper was as shady as you say?"

He snorted, and rolled his shoulders hissing slightly as he felt the soreness ached from within again.

"I've never once seen him in his operating room without the fucking dick sucking machine attached to him, and tried to screw me multiple times when I tried to sell the Sandy at first."

He'd initially not given a damn about the thing, just needing eddies to pay for his mom's care. But he had lowballed him once, and then MAJORLY lowballed him when he got more desperate.

His jaw clenched a little. If the bastard had been a little less greedy maybe he would have been able to afford care to save his mom.

But if he had… would he have ever met Rebecca? Or Lucy? Or any of Maine's crew?

… fuck that brought up a lot of mixed feelings. Mm…. Ah fuck. Lucy was glaring at him.

"Heh… sorry. Got caught up in my head. What did you say?"

She glared for a little longer before easing off.

"What I had SAID…. was that it's impressive that a 17 year old can handle military tech like that and not burn up."

He chuckled dryly, remembering many people having said the same.

"Guess I'm just built different."

The white haired girl of his dreams just gave him a deadpan look.

"You told me that you got expelled for doing something stupid, stupidly got the Sandevistan implanted in you, and stupidly had it implanted in you by in your words, a shady ripperdoc. David, you're not built different. You're built stupid."

Her words cut through his standard response and caused him to choke on his laughter, before coughing, and cringing at the added pressure behind his nose and eyes. He looked into her eyes with a grin that only grew wider as she looked back at him, also smiling with the faintest hint of concern.

"You're not going to flatline are you David? I mean the extra 40 percent would be nice but I'm almost starting to like you."

He laughed a little again, before letting his head lean back as he kept a grip on the pole before him, making sure that he didn't fall due to dizziness or a sudden lurch.

"Nah…. Nah I'm ok. But you're right. I was being stupid. Real stupid. But I'm…. I'm gonna be better than that. Gotta be ya know? Mom wouldn't be happy that I'm doing all this but… she'd be even more unhappy if I kept being so reckless."

Lucy seemed to approve of what he'd said as her lips twitched up lightly before turning away abruptly. Like she had when… oh. Oh he WAS affecting her even now. They really had connected almost immediately hadn't they?

"We're almost there. Get ready."

He blinked looking around. Oh. The car was slowing down. That was good. His back was starting to ache more.

Exiting the train car, the two of them walking silently for a while through the streets of Watson. Walking past a noodle shop, and all kinds of entertainment. They'd never done this. Just walked together in silence. But it was kind of nice, especially as she seemed to gravitate towards him before seemingly catching herself and maintaining her distance.

Eventually they came to a shop that seemed a bit… off.

Misty's Esoterica and Chakra Harmonization. Some sort of new age crap? He'd never been one for that shit, though his mom had liked it. She'd had a few crystals she kept nearby to 'center' herself she'd said.

He raised an eyebrow as Lucy stopped and gestured.

"Here we are."

"Seriously? Best Ripperdoc in Watson works here?"

Lucy flicked her longer lock of pastel hair once more as she rolled her eyes.

"Depending on who you ask, best Ripperdoc in Night City period. But yeah. He's down in the basement. Don't worry about the owner of the shop either. She's alright if a bit… off."

He'd been about to make a joke, before his back suddenly seized up, driving his breath out of him, his body wracked with pain, folding his torso in half in agony.

Lucy's eyes widened and seemingly without thinking, out a hand on his shoulder.

"David, you need to get in there. Now."

With the comforting sensation of her hand on his shoulder, he slowly forced himself to stand up straight and wandered in, Lucy hot on his heels.

A pretty woman with a spiked collar, gothic/punk makeup, and a generally friendly demeanor was there to greet them.

"Welcome To Misty's… oh shit are you ok kid?"

I laughed in a choked kind of way.

"Oh I'm… fuck I'm just dandy."

She didn't look convinced. I wonder why.

Misty looked at Lucy in askance and Lucy took the lead with no hesitation.

"Is Vik in? He chipped in some… high grade chrome but went to a sketchy doc and was worried about side effects."

Misty sucked on her teeth briefly.

"Oof. That's no good. Yeah, he's here down in the basement. He'll be watching a boxing match around now but I'm sure he'll be happy to help. It's good to see you again by the way, Lucy!"

David gave her a pained smile and nodded while Lucy gave her a little nod.

"Thanks."

Conversation finished, he made his way down the stairs, as heard slightly raised voices.

"Oh for fucks sake keep your guard up! All that fucking chrome in your skull won't do shit if you keep letting him ring your bell! Only so much shock resistance you can get you fucking idiot!"

As he entered the room of the second ripper he ever met, he marveled at the difference.

It was fucking striking. Doc's clinic had been… grimy. Dirty with blood stains all over the place, and the tools rarely looked maintained.

But Viks? Fuck, it might not be hospital sterile, but it looked clean, with every single piece looking sparkly clean and sharp and well maintained.

…. Where was the bite bar though?

"Vik?" Lucy asked with a familiarity he'd never known she had with the man.

"Lucy! Glad you stopped by. Wanted to make sure your optics got tuned up properly. Been too long. Who's your input?" The man said with a little grin, turning off the fight to address Lucy and David both.

"Hmph." Lucy… holy shit. She actually blushed a little. He'd never really known that she was that into him from the beginning.

"His name is David. And he did something stupid and is trying to make sure stupid doesn't turn to lethal. David?"

Welp, time to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Fun…

"... My mom died today. And she had a piece of chrome on hand. I don't know why she got it or what she was doing with it. But after she died I… kind of snapped. And decided to get chromed up."

Viktor grimaced, standing up to look David over.

"Not seeing any visible chrome…. What was it?"

"... A Sandevistan."

Viktor blinked.

"That's…. Hardcore tech kid. Private?"

"Military."

Viktors eyes widened and grimaced.

"Who the fuck put military grade cyberware into a kid?"

"Um…. Doc? In Santo Domingo?"

Viktor froze, eyes wide, as Lucy looked absolutely fucking horrified.

".... What?"

"Get in the fucking chair before I knock your ass out now."

Vik said with no amusement whatsoever, going to the door and putting up a busy sign, and rapidly assembling his tools.

He couldn't deny that the threat from the friendly Ripper had taken him off guard, but what worried him more was that Lucy had grabbed him by the back of the jacket and frogmarched him into the chair.

"Hey what gives?"

He asked with not a small amount of confusion, squirming in the chair a little.

Vik didn't even look up as he jacked his diagnostics tool into one of David's ports, and began collating data.

"Kid, military grade tech is fucking rare even in the black market. This shit operates on a higher level than even the best public or private implants. They usually only give this shit to people who are in MaxTac, or specialized operatives. But only after it's been optimized to your vitals. Fuck… I need to make sure that the cables and the circuitry are properly embedded in your… spine."

Vik went silent as he continued to read. Not understanding why, David picked up on something…. Odd.

"Wait… my spine? Doc removed it to implant the Sandy. I thought…."

".... Motherfucker. This is worse than I thought. This isn't just military tech. This is.. I don't even know what this is. It's like…. A prototype or something. Have you been feeling nausea? Pressure? Maybe feeling like you're going to pass out?"

Vik said as he began to pull out his tools, along with an injector.

He nodded, that sinking feeling of dread filling him once more.

"Yeah. I used it too many times while I was…. Working with Lucy."

"Yeah I know about her picksocketing. Don't worry about euphemisms kid, it's all good. How many times? Twice? God even that many should have fried you."

Vik murmured to himself as he got the chair to lay back into a flat surface, before getting David to remove his mom's coat, Lucy taking it and holding onto it with white knuckles as she sat back, listening.

"6.. 6 times." David said quietly, the reality of the situation finally hitting him. No wonder doc wanted the damn thing so much. It would have made him a fortune.

".... Ok, docs orders. Until I give you the all clear on this fucking thing, you don't use it more than twice a day. Do you understand me? Now, just relax. We'll get started here soon."

David blinked and turned his head to the doc, starting to tense up.

"Uh Vik? Where's the bite bar?"

Vik looked apoplectic.

"....the motherfucker doesn't even use anesthetic? Son of a fucking… that fucking.."

Vik took a breath.

"...just take a breath Kid. I'll put you out, and you'll wake up feeling a million eddies. Ok?"

David swallowed. He wasn't sure he wanted to go to sleep. What if this was a dream? What if he hadn't actually gotten a second chance and his brain was just tormenting him with what could have been?

Lucy moved forward and hesitantly took his hand.

"... I'll be right here David. Ok?"

He gripped her hand tightly, trying to avoid crying. God please let this not be a dream.

"Ok."

"Just relax kid…. You won't feel a thing."

And with that, he felt just a little prick… and his eyes… reluctantly… closed.

Lucy wasn't one to get attached. Especially not to people who seem ripe to live the Edgerunner life at full throttle, burning out, going in a blaze of fire. Especially not someone who ostensibly was more of a target than anything else.

The kid had after all chipped in some chrome that their illustrious leader had paid in advance.

But David…. Him being Gloria's kid, and finding out about her death, she couldn't bring herself to be heartless about it. Yes, she still planned to speak to Maine… but hopefully to talk in a more relaxed manner. Hopefully Maine would understand. He should afterall, he used to date her.

But...there was something about him. He was sweet. A bit of a fucking dork, but also snarky and playful. And the way he looked at her. How did he look at her with those eyes?

So…. Warm.

So yes. She was a bit soft on him almost from the get go.

Seeing him get sick from the cyberware, she'd been glad when he said he wanted a better ripper than whatever gonk had done the implant in the first.

She hadn't known the stupid boy had gone to Doc Borg. That fucking maniac.

She'd never seen him, or even knew where he was. But she'd heard about him. And none of it was good.

So when he looked at her on the table, eyes filled with fear, she moved without her mind's permission and held his hand.

And as his pretty brown eyes closed, she swallowed as she felt his hand stay tight around hers. Like it couldn't bear to let go.

"Don't worry about it Lucy. I can do my job with you there."

Vik said as he did a final diagnostic before making his move into disassembling parts of the prototype Sandy.

"How long you two been together now?"

"... We're… we're not. I met him today."

"And he's this enamored with you already? That's some romance novel shit choom."

Her cheeks reddened and ran hot, as she couldn't deny… she'd felt that as well. And … god why was he affecting her so badly?

"... Is he going to be ok?"

".... Yeah. Yeah he should be ok. But fuck… no anaesthesia… this kid is hardcore. But he's going to need some TLC. Easiest way to go Psycho is more and more trauma without recovery and adding more chrome. You up for that?"

"... I.. Vik, I…"

" I'm not trying to tell you your business Lucy. But I've never seen you look at someone like this before. So…. Take it from me. If you have the chance to get some happiness in this shitty city? Take it. Don't waste a moment."

".... I'll stick with him while he recovers. After that…. "

Maybe.

She felt herself using her thumb to rub across the back of his hand.

Oh she was in trouble wasn't she?