"How'd it feel meeting KK?" Orianna sat in the passenger seat, teasing her teammate Gilay. "You looked like a damn coward back there—like yo
"How'd it feel meeting KK?"
Orianna sat in the passenger seat, teasing her teammate Gilay. "You looked like a damn coward back there—like your balls just shriveled up. If we'd run into him somewhere else, I bet you would've dropped to your knees."
"You weren't much better, Orianna."
Still gripping the wheel, Gilay's face was tinged with lingering fear. "You usually bark like a rabid mutt, but today you turned into a prim little lady. 'Nice to meet you'? What the hell was that? Damn near made me bust a gut."
Orianna fell silent.
Yeah... they'd both looked like total cowards in front of KK.
After a pause, she muttered, "Well... it's KK."
"Exactly. KK."
Gilay let out a crooked grin. His tiny eyes—which he usually kept hidden behind sunglasses—were now wide open. "The guy who didn't even need to fight the Warlord himself—his teammates did the job. And now he's our job guarantor? That's just nuts."
"Doesn't matter." Orianna steadied herself. "At least this time, he's on our side."
"'Our side,' huh..."
Gilay gave her a sideways glance. "Maybe."
"Maybe?" Orianna's brows knitted. There was something strange about his tone. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. Let's just do the job."
Gilay kept his eyes on the road. "Anyway, after this, maybe you'll finally qualify to sit down at the Afterlife."
"The Afterlife..."
Hearing the name of the mercenary mecca, Orianna lit up with anticipation. She didn't even notice how Gilay had said "you" instead of "we." "I wonder what that place is really like. If we get there, maybe we'll end up as legends."
We?
Gilay scoffed silently. Orianna might be new to this, but he wasn't. She was his first real partner in the city—but he'd had plenty before. In the merc world, trust was just another disposable word—worth about as much as an empty shell casing. Only someone as naïve as Orianna would still believe in it.
He had a lot of secrets. She had none—at least not from him. Like her little girlfriend over in Militech. The only reason he stuck around was because she was talented, useful... and stupidly trusting. Lately, their fixer Colmec had been hinting that Orianna was starting to act a little too independently. Gilay understood what that meant.
Maybe something would happen on this job.
Maybe on the next.
Hard to say.
The Afterlife...
Gilay looked over at her.
You had to live long enough to walk through those doors.
Unaware of the look he'd just given her, Orianna was practically bouncing with excitement. Having KK as her backup? That wasn't just terrifying—it was inspiring. Sometimes, fear gave birth to drive. Maybe that's why she'd chosen to be a merc in the first place.
If even KK was vouching for her now, then maybe she and Gilay really did have a shot at reaching the Afterlife. Maybe she could rise through the ranks—become one of Night City's living legends.
Maybe even her asshole father would finally acknowledge her. Maybe if he realized that the Militech "veteran's compensation" he always believed he was getting was actually money she'd been wiring home from merc jobs... maybe then he'd stop bitching about her being a merc and finally see the life she was building for them.
With that hopeful thought fueling her, Orianna and Gilay arrived at the edge of the city, at the Sunset Motel in the Badlands, where their contact awaited.
The man was tall and gaunt, dressed in a sharp red suit and matching red fedora. His face was covered in cybernetic scarring, and his mouth was split all the way down past his earlobes, revealing a row of golden teeth. His right arm was a gleaming gold cyberarm. When he saw them approach, he gave a grin so wide it practically cut through his cheeks.
"Orianna. Welcome, Orianna."
He knows my name?
The man's eerie appearance startled her a little, but Orianna kept her composure. She had no idea she was so well-known that people recognized her on sight. Then again, if he was one of Colmec's contacts, he probably got her profile in advance. Not too surprising.
"I'm Aison. Aison Brane."
The man introduced himself—unusual for a contact, who usually kept their name to themselves.
After giving his name, he stared intently at Orianna, as if waiting to gauge her reaction.
"Aison Brane?" Orianna frowned slightly, then nodded. "Oh… I know you."
"So you don't recognize the name," Aison said flatly. "I thought you might."
"Is it supposed to be famous?" Orianna asked, puzzled. "Can't expect me to know every name in the city."
"Not exactly. Just another nobody from thirty or forty years ago."
As he spoke, Aison reached down and retrieved a box from the seat beside him. It wasn't even thirty centimeters wide. He slid it over to her.
"Take it. It's yours."
"This is what Colmec wanted?"
Orianna stared at the box. That was it?
She'd expected firefights, danger, the usual mess. But this? Just grabbing a box?
Couldn't be easier.
"Of course it's yours," Aison said with a smile.
Then he stood and added something that made both Orianna and Gilay freeze in place.
"It also belongs to the Counter-Terror Tactical Unit."
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