Brian steps out onto his backyard scanning the area before stepping down the backsteps into the patched dead grass and dirt with litter scattered everywhere. The Woman in Black follows him out the backdoor with her arms crossed watching him.
"You think I didn't do this already..?" She proclaims
"Well, if you found it, you wouldn't still be here would you?" He says looking back at her; She looks at him directly as Brian continues.
"No... you wouldn't. In fact, I'd go as far as to say you can't go back to wherever you've come from without... whatever the hell this is." He goes back to searching briefly before shifting focus and walking back into the house right past her... she promptly follows.
Brian exits back out on to the front porch of his home while lighting another cigarette. The feelings... frame of mind.. and energy he now has feels in complete contrast to when he first exited his home that morning. This dormant, buried energy of proactive motivation he once had has returned so unexpectedly that he doesn't even notice it... instead remaining focused on the task at hand. His front porch offered him a great view of the entire block's landscape... enabling him to see it's activities and inhabitants more like a chess board. He scans the street out front with focus while he takes a drag of his smoke before stepping down onto the side walk. Brian looks at the burned rubber tire marks of the Avenger and the pursuing Emperor... they drag in a drift right past the front of his house before returning to the road slightly and continuing up the street.
He calmly smokes his cigarette as he follows the path of the tire marks up the street occasionally glancing at various areas and debris around them. Local pedestrians stumble by detached from reality or self involved in their own business... The woman sticks out like a chrome thumb as she catches hard looks and hears subtle whispers from vagrants and street toughs. The unfamiliarity of the environment grips the woman... the level of squaller and sketchiness causes her to remain guarded with her head on a swivel.
She follows behind him at a good distance with her arms crossed attentively watching him work... observing his methods of tracking. The area was in ruin... with trash piles that all sort of blurred together. The overall typography of the place made it a nightmare for her untrained eye to discern new remnants from old... the streets were just littered with the aftermath of various compounded events left to rot in their final resting places. On her own... it'd be like looking for a needle in a bonestack.
They reach the end of the tire marks as Brian looks around the impact/crash site. To his surprise, the area that it went down in is noticeably far more clean than your standard NCPD wipe up. All traces of both vehicles are completely gone besides several twisted metal scraps and a lot of broken glass... it was as if they wanted to be sure not to miss anything... nothing left for the local buzzards of the neighborhood this time. Brian takes another drag before looking around the impact site then up to the top floor of a nearby apartment complex. He takes a final drag before flicking the cig into the street and letting out a deep breath. "Shit.." He whispers in a tired tone.
"What is it..?" The woman asks confused.
"Come on." He B-Lines it into the apartment at a steady pace as she follows. The pair walk past a clearly destroyed elevator to take the stairs up.
"What are we doing..?"
"We're gonna try and have a chat with someone."
"Up here..?"
"Nicholas Howard.."
Brian says while reluctantly closing his eyes and continuing up the flight of stairs.
"Who..?" She asks.
"For as long as I can remember, playing on this street, we kids would always look up and see ol' Nick staring blankly out of that damn window right inside his living room. We would laugh and make guesses as to what he was looking at or what the hell he was even doing... just standing there all day like a fuckin' potted plant. Nothing about it was certain except for the fact that he was always there... always looking up and down the street day in and day out... stood stone like a fuckin' gargoyle."
"And you think he saw... what exactly..?"
"We'll find out." The flight of stairs is no joke as both traverse them, neither of them get winded or tired on the way up. Brian continues. "Besides... its not exactly what he knows that matters." The woman promptly looks over at Brian as they both reach the front door of the apartment. Brian returns the look. "Its what he won't tell anyone that matters." Brian knocks on the door 4 times with light force.
"So he doesn't talk to badges huh." The woman proclaims figuring out the purpose of the visit
"He doesn't talk to anyone..."
"So why the fuck would he talk to you..?" She asks while putting her hands in her jacket pockets.
A brief pause takes place.
"...He knew my father."
Brian responds before impatiently knocking harder another 4 times. "NICK! Its Brian! Open up!"
Brian knocks on the door harder as the woman in black waiting rolls her eyes. Shes clearly impatient by nature but has worked on it. "He's not here." She proclaims as she stands back up straight ready to leave.
"Oh, he's here... he's just fuckin around... NICK!" Brian bangs again. The sound of an Achilles tech rifle charging up on the other side of the door startles the woman as she quickly turns to face the door. Brian calmly puts his arm out in front of her... gently moving her over to the side out from in front of the door. Next they hear an M2038 Tactician get racked as Brian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath looking down. The heavy footsteps of Nicholas slowly approach the door as they hear several locks and chains get fiddled with and removed... some dropping to the carpeted floor with a hard thud.
The door finally opens with a slight crack as Nicholas peeks through. "Brian..." He says in a deep, rough voice
"Nick.." Brian responds while looking at the man's red eyes and disheveled thinning hair, holding the rifle.
"What do you want Brian... Where's your-"
"He's gone Nick... shootout you heard the other day."
Nicholas stares at Brian before briefly looking down in mourning. Brian continues while letting himself into the apartment slightly pushing himself past Nicholas. The woman, surprised by this, promptly follows behind Brian as Nicholas looks at her confused.
"Y'know, if you ever took the time to actually leave this place you'd have a better idea of what's goin' on outside the view of your windows here." Brian says as he glances around the apartment and walks up to the window showcasing a clear cascading view of the subsequent backyards leading up the street towards Brian's house.
The woman in black takes the time to make some observations... all things considered, the place doesn't look anything like she guessed. It was spotless... everything was in order and squared away... A direct contrast to the scattered trash and debris you find in the streets and in that very apartment complex. The place smelled of fresh linseed oil and polish from woodwork. It was clear to her judging based on the man's big, imposing frame and organized living space that he was most likely ex-military. Upon further observation she notices his opened weapon locker with various guns scattered within it and a lone picture of 2 men in uniform side by side resting atop it.
"There's nothing left out there for me Brian... you know that. I don't belong here... never did."
"I know Nick... my dad-"
"-Enrique..." Nicholas interrupts
"My dad told me-"
"My only choom.." Nicholas says as he stares off in the distance
"Nick..."
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him...The only reason I stayed in NC..."
"Nick.."
"Right by his side... no matter what... even if it meant being in this shithole Arroyo-"
"NICK!"
Brian yells a final time getting Nicholas re-focused and standing right in front of him... Nicholas turns his attention to Brian.
"After the shootout and the crash... what did you see out here Nick. Who did you see?" Nicholas stares at Brian briefly before turning his attention to the woman in black leaned up next to the backyard window.
"So that's why you're back here huh." Nicholas says to her... getting her full attention.
"Wanna know what i saw?" He says raising his rocky, grumbled voice looking at Brian.
"I saw HER!" Looking over at the woman in black. Brian looks over at her then back at Nicholas.
Nicholas continues while face to face with Brian but only looking directly at the woman. "They were on her ass like i'd never seen before. Cornered her... then she went to work... right there." Nicholas points vaguely at the window.
"I saw her kill 3 chromed out corpo huscle... yeah, i know they were corpo... she even sent a 4th one fleeing..." Nicholas turns his body away from Brian and towards the woman while squinting his eyes and grinning slightly... he continues.
"What was that... sandevistan and a K-Bar? Ha... they almost had you. I thought it was over after they got your iron." Nicholas pauses briefly before shifting subject.
"Where the hell did you get that implant huh...? Military grade combatware... and who the hell would even be able to chip that for you huh? Cyberware acquisition at that echelon... tch... damn near unheard of... everything's catalogued"
"Nick.. who else did you-" Nick ignores Brian and starts walking towards the woman before continuing.
"You wanna know what stood out to me about that..." He says slowly stepping towards her as she shifts her posture and attention towards him.
"Nick.." Brian says agitated... attempting to interrupt.
"I've seen and been apart of some scraps in my day... but that... that was brutal." Nicholas pauses briefly. "You like killing corpos... don't you." He says as he stands in front of her now face to face.
"NICK!" Brian yells.
Nicholas matches the tone and yells back while still looking directly into the woman's eyes. "The fourth one didn't get away!... Did he?" He exclaims.
"She tackled him... strangled him while he begged for his life." The woman now fully locked into his eyes uncrosses her arms. Nicholas continues with a smile. "You didn't have to. You wanted to... didn't you." He whispers in her face.
The woman looks down and away from him before he continues... getting even closer to her face and lowering his rocky grumbled voice.
"What did they do to you huh?... what did they take-" The woman quickly looks back up at him and into his eyes... an expression of nervous intensity washes over her face... she says nothing.
"Because THAT'S! WHAT THEY DO!! THEY ONLY!! TAKE!!!!-" Nicholas shouts right in her face.
Brian grabs him from behind, tripping him and quickly slamming him to the floor of the apartment. He pins him down with his knee on his back while holding one of his arms and pressing down on his head. The woman looking away flustered doesn't react... feeling the tension of the moment suddenly break.
"I don't think you're hearin' me Nick." Brian says through his teeth with an intense look on his face.
"Gaahhhh!!! Brian! You little shit!!!" Nicholas shouts in pain while squirming to get up or move with no success.
"AFTER it went down and everyone was gone... WHAT. Did. You. SEE! NICK!"
"NCPD SQUAD CAR! OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!" Nicholas yells while in pain.
"WHAT ELSE!!" Brian yells through his teeth while holding him down and yanking slightly... The woman in black stands there watching while still in a haze.
"Aaagh! 6th STREET! THEY WERE AT YOUR PLACE! BACKYARD!" The woman, snapping out of her trance re-focuses her attention... Brian, uneasy at the news continues.
"How many."
"JUST ONE!! AAGHH!!! WHAT THE FUCK!! LET GO!!!"
Brian looks directly at the woman while holding Nicholas down. She returns it with a confirming look... Brian then lets Nicholas go and stands up over him as he lets out a shriek of relief while still laying on the floor.
"Get out of this city Nick... you said it yourself... nothing left for you here." Brian says in a dead tone... staring down at Nicholas with heartless pity and the jaded numbness of different times
Brian glances at the woman before turning and walking out of the apartment... She stares down at Nicholas left in pain on the floor... thinking deeply. Nicholas stares back up at her without saying anything... She follows after Brian out of the apartment.