Chapter 7

-2 years ago-

The NCART was where all sorts of people went, from corpos and mercs to ordinary citizens. While it wasn't the safest, especially during rush hours and nighttime, it was one of the fastest and most accessible modes of transportation in Night City.

But that's exactly why it couldn't have been a more perfect place to steal datashards and make a quick buck for a skilled netrunner like Lucy.

These datashards were filled with personal information and data. Most of it would be mundane—photos of uninteresting things, schedules of nobodies, and terabytes of mundane porn.

Occasionally, though, she struck gold: digital wallets, valuable schedules, encryption keys—those were the real paydays.

Finding targets in the NCART was easy, and the security cameras weren't that difficult to hack either. Moreover, this particular NCART route was often a gold mine for opportunities.

The reason was simple: it led to Westbrook, specifically Japantown, an area teeming with wealthy elites.

"Hmm, let's see," Lucy muttered to herself as she scanned the train. Her eyes darted from one passenger to another, assessing their potential worth.

She'd gotten good at spotting the ones who were too engrossed in their devices or too oblivious to their surroundings. She usually avoided those with a lot of implants—they tended to have enhanced security or retracing capabilities that made them risky targets.

Her eyes locked onto a young man holding onto the pole and watching the neon-lit landscape blur past the windows. He was in a crisp black and red uniform, polished and pristine—someone whose life had been meticulously planned out for him.

After a brief quick scan, she confirmed he was mostly organic—a rarity these days. Beyond that, his information indicated he was just an ordinary upstart Arasaka Academy student. The perfect target.

"Sorry, handsome... A girl's gotta eat," she muttered to herself.

With practiced ease, Lucy moved closer. Her eyes focused on the chipware socket near his neck. She discreetly activated her cyberdeck, sending a signal to hack into his socket. Within seconds, she bypassed its basic security protocols. The datashard ejected smoothly, and she swiftly caught it in her hand.

Just as she was about to pocket the shard, a strong hand grabbed her by the neck.

Lucy struggled for a moment, but the young man tightened his grip slightly, enough to make her stop struggling. He then placed her against the sliding door, making them appear like a couple to any onlookers, although there weren't any given how quickly he moved.

"Don't bother resisting. I can crush your neck before you can even think of escaping," he whispered into her ear before loosening his grip.

She gasped for breath, her voice hoarse. "Fine, I'll give it back." she muttered, handing the shard back to him, her eyes darting around as she tried to think of a way out.

He took the shard and slotted it back into his chipware socket, his eyes never leaving hers.

"What else do you want?" she asked, preparing to knee him in the balls, but stopped upon hearing his next words.

"I want your number and a date."

Lucy blinked, taken aback. Of all the things he could have said, this was the last thing she expected. But what surprised her even more were the words that came out of her mouth, "Okay, you've got a deal. Can you let me go now?"

"Not yet, I need some collateral."

"Collateral?"

"Yeah, I have a feeling you'll just back out from our date. But if I have something of yours, like your datashard, I think you'll feel less inclined to ghost me."

Lucy glared at him and in one swift move, she tried to knee him in the balls. But he anticipated it, shifting his stance just enough to avoid the hit. "Nice try," he said and held out his hand. "Your datashard. Promise I won't do anything to it." 

Lucy sighed and reached into her pocket, retrieving her own datashard. She held it out to him reluctantly. He took the shard, examining it briefly before slipping it into his pocket. 

"Don't worry. I'll give it back after our date." 

As soon as he pocketed the shard, he released his grip on her neck. Lucy rubbed her neck, glaring at him. "This isn't how you pick up girls, you know," she muttered.

He shrugged. "Worked, didn't it?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tomorrow evening, turbo bar in Japantown. 7 PM."

"Deal," he said, stepping back and giving her some space. "By the way, I'm Lucas."

She hesitated for a moment before replying, "I'm Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," Lucas said with a grin.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," she replied, turning and walking away.

***

-Present day-

A soft chime echoed through Lucy's mind, the unmistakable sound of her neural comms ringing. She sighed as the caller ID flashed in her vision. "…Lucas." 

Why was he calling? Could it be that he wanted to get back together? A flicker of excitement sparked within her at the thought, but she quickly dismissed it.

That ship had long since sailed. She had made it clear that day, and them being together shouldn't have happened in the first place.

Curiosity had gotten the better of her. How was he able to move like that despite not having any combat implants? Part of her wanted to know, and mostly, he had her datashard—though she had already wiped the data and created a backup before giving it to him. Plus, he was good-looking.

She went on that date to learn more about him. Turns out, he wasn't some corpo exec's kid with a meticulously planned life. Just a regular guy with well-off parents and was trained to defend himself.

Yeah, Lucy regretted going on that date and spending more time with him. Not because it was a waste of time, but because of how hard she had fallen for the gonk in a such a short period of time. It would have been better if he had just been some asshole, an arrogant wealthy elite. She wouldn't have even given him the time of day, let alone agreed to a second date.

Her past, her life could not involve someone like him. It was better to cut ties before things got even more complicated—before they got any deeper. She should've just blocked his number when they broke up.

The chime echoed again. Lucas was calling back. She ignored it again, but a moment later, a message flashed in her vision: "It's urgent. Pick up."

Lucy sighed, hesitated, and then called back using thought command. "What is it?" she asked, her tone sharper than she intended.

"I need you to do me a favor."

It was a voice she hadn't heard in a while, one that stirred a mix of emotions. "What kind of favor?" she asked after a short pause, trying to keep her voice steady.

"My friend's mom is in the hospital. His basic healthcare package won't let him visit. I need you to hack the system and upgrade his membership."

Lucy should've just ended the call right there. It was none of her business. 

But after another pause, longer this time, she agreed to meet up. She had nothing else to do anyway, no gigs after her boss was ghosted after making a deal with his cyberware supplier. No, she failed realized, she just wanted to use this as an excuse to see him again. 

"Why am I doing this?" she muttered to herself after ending the call.

She pulled out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag. The familiar burn of nicotine did little to settle her nerves. She glanced around her apartment, the flickering neon lights from the outside casting eerie shadows on the walls. This wasn't the life she had envisioned for herself, but it was the one she was stuck with. 

As she exhaled a cloud of smoke, Lucy grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. The city was as chaotic as ever as she navigated through the crowded streets, her thoughts racing. 

What was it about Lucas that still held a grip on her? He was just another kid aiming for the corpo life, yet he had managed to get under her skin in a way no one else had. She shook her head, trying to focus on the task at hand. 

This was just a favor, she kept reminding herself. Nothing more.

After a while, Lucy found herself at the city center. She made her way to the food court, scanning the area until she spotted Lucas sitting at a table near a burger joint. There he was, looking even more handsome with the passage of time. Next to him was his friend, presumably the one in need of her help.

She approached them, her heart pounding slightly. "Alright, let's just get this over with," she said to herself.

Lucas looked up as she approached. They locked eyes for a moment before he broke the silence. "Hey, long time no see."

"Yeah, long time."

"This is David. David, this is Lucy," Lucas said, gesturing to the guy next to him.

David stepped forward, smiled and held out his hand for a handshake, but Lucy just glanced at his hand and didn't extend hers, keeping her arms crossed. "Not here to make friends. Just here for a favour. So let's get this over and done with," she said bluntly, even surprising herself.

She usually wasn't this bitchy. Was Lucas making her act this way? Was she mad that the two of them weren't alone? Nah, must be just her imagination.

"Ouch," David muttered, pulling his hand.

Lucas cleared his throat. "Alright, let's go," he said, trying to ease the tension before things could get any more awkward…