Later in the evening, Brian and Zaunya are seen in Graves' Butte finishing some smokes taking the time to scope out the 6th street house on the block. Its clear another conversation has taken place between them prior to this. Although the evening hue of Night City brings with it a shifted tone to it's inhabitants... the danger and energy only increases. Mellow lulls before flashes of action in the simmering pan of the black asphalt and slabbed concrete... this flow of motion that exists within Night City is one that takes some getting used to if learned before its too late. To their surprise, attentively as they watch, they don't see any foot traffic in or out of the house all afternoon bleeding into the late evening. Brian decides its time to go by simply opening his door, with no signal; Zaunya follows.
With the sun now set and work commuters turned in for the night to tuck dirtkids into bed, Zaunya and Briancan be seen walking with purpose through the mellowed streets of Arroyo... just on the border of Rancho Coranado. Stepping over dorph heads caughing and huffing... skezzed out their minds and past kids running around breaking into abandoned buildings and busting windows or trying to start fires. The two share a silence, walking at a steady, determined pace side by side as she follows his lead up the street... neither have a need to talk at this point as the plan is clear. The two of them reach the 6th street house... a huge purple skull with a giant 6 on the forehead lay spray painted onto the wall of the house silently glaring at both of them. The pair both glance at each other before ascending the porch steps. Brian takes a brief pause before knocking on the door forcefully, it startles Zaunya a bit.
"WHO THE FUCK IS IT!!?" A loud, booming, scruff voice yells through the door seemingly across the house.
"Its Brian, open up." He says matching the tone. A long pause happens as the pair outside waiting glance at each other... they hear heavy locks and chains release with some thumping to the floor. Footsteps are heard on the otherside of the door along with scattered shuffling around before it finally opens. A short, older man with a brown leather bomber jacket and a white cowboy hat swings the door open. A huge smile takes over his face:
"BRIAAANN!!! LOOK AT YOU! GOOD TO SEE YA!!!"
"Rick." Brian says before attempting to walk into the home. Rick stops Brian in his tracks by putting his hand on his chest. Brian immediately grabs his arm with quick force, stepping towards him and holding onto it tight while squinting his eyes and gritting his teeth. Rick, unbothered by this turns his full attention towards Zaunya.
Rick and Brian disengage as Rick leans the forearm of his prosthetic up against the door frame and crosses one of his short legs over the other looking up at her. "And you sweetheart? who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Rick says in a lowered monotone trying to be sexy. Zaunya looks back into the man's eyes with a serious expression.
"Z" She simply says in a flat tone.
"Z huh..? haha.. alright, fair enough." Rick continues to smile big raising his eyebrows and checking her out before stepping out of the door frame letting the pair of them in watching Zaunya walk past.
The 3 of them make their way through the 6th street hangout. They feel the warmth of the building hit them immediately.. a direct contrast from the cold streets just outside. With Morro Rock playing obnoxiously loud in the background they see scattered Broseph and polished off Whisky bottles layed everywhere. The place smelled like tobacco and spilled liquor...'Live Free or Die' spraypainted in blue is seen in the main room with various 6th street gear and clothing scattered about. Rick speaks as they follow.
"Hey... some pretty crazy shit a couple days back huh? Did you see ALL that corpo huscle? Tch... sniffin' around here like bloodhounds i tell ya... pretty much scraped the entire damn place clean! Funny how some of these rats like to keep things 'extra' tidy at times."
Rick stops abruptly in his tracks and looks back at the pair of them remembering something. "And hey Brian... sorry about your dad." Rick says in a serious tone... he looks down and away briefly in mourning. "We lost a real soldier with that one..." Rick turns back around and continues walking. "You checked on Nick at all since? Better to before he strings himself up first. I know he never really wanted to be out here.-"
Rick continues to ramble as the pair silently scan the area following behind him. Stacks of various crates and boxes with old military tech are piled up in the corners with an endless assortment of weapons laying about everywhere... Some being taken apart and laying in pieces to be cleaned, others mounted on the walls like trophies... some belonging to other gangs: A Tyger Claw katana, A Turquoise metal bat from The Mox and even a golden Valentino prosthetic arm formerly belonging to some poor unfortunate choom. Rick sits at a desk displaying the trophies overhead behind him as Brian and Zaunya take seats across the desk from him.
With the music now turned down and cigar smoke from Rick's stogie tacking the room completely out, Rick continues to ramble to the two of them about the car chase and shootout from a few days back. Brian and Zaunya struggling to remain patient sit back attentively listening to Ricks verbal diarrhea drone on and on almost turning it into background noise. The pair of them glance at each other before Brian finally engages while Rick is mid laugh.
"So where's everybody at..?"
"Crews out workin right now... Badlands."
"Still got em out there rollin' around in the dirt huh." Brian chuckles
"Hey, Eds are eds Brian... nomads are usually good for it. Last fuck up turned out to be on OUR end... we flatlined that trash though. Fucker had the audacity to look me straight in the eyes and lie to me... RIGHT in my face... i mean... can you believe that? I don't even think the-" Brian cuts him off before he can get going with another ramble.
"Did you find anything out there after the badges split Rick... We're lookin' for an access card."
Rick abruptly stops talking and takes a long drag of his stogie leaning back into his chair and changing his facial expression. The pause in conversation allows the radio to take back over and makes Brian and Zaunya lock back in...
Rick takes one more puff before putting out the stogie in a dirty, littered ashtray that looked like a graveyard for smokes. He then reaches over in to the top drawer and pulls out the access card. It has a sleek all black finish with gold trim throughout it which shined even under the dim lights of the hangout. No identifying markings, brands or logos on it at all... just a clean sleek piece of metal that he promptly puts into his pants pocket. Rick finally speaks in a now lowered and serious tone.
"I sent Angela over there after things got quiet... Didn't tell her to go snoopin' through people's backyards though... shes a real go getter that one."
"Mm. And what do want for it." Brian asks
Rick wrinkles his eyebrows and crosses his arms before continuing, still leaned back in his chair.
"Where's Graves a-"
"Dead." Brian immediately responds in a flat tone looking Rick straight in the eyes. Rick raises his eyebrows surprised and looks down n' away before looking back at Brian.
"...You know he owed right?"
"No, I didn't Rick... the hell does that have to do with-"
"He'd been your fuckin' choom since the sandbox Brian. I remember seein you little shits runnin' around this block all the time. Was he chasin scratch..? You'd know. He better have been. Shit. We might need to take a look through that apartment of his tomorrow when everybody gets back." Brian blankly stares at Rick stone cold... keeping his emotions buried expertly and not reacting.
Rick shifts subject slightly due to the lack of response now looking at Zaunya... he leans forward in his chair.
"Sweetheart... let me ask you somethin'... Do you have any idea who it is you're runnin' around with? Hm?" Zaunya, sitting back in her chair with both her legs and arms crossed doesn't respond. Rick continues gesturing toward Brian.
"This is the son of Enrique Varga... haha... of course you don't know who Enrique Varga is... but if you did... you'd damn sure know who his son is." Rick giggles softly before reaching over and grabbing a bottle of Massy. He continues
"Something I picked up servin' always stuck with me... everytime I think about it... makes me think of you." Rick says glancing over at Brian while pouring a glass of Massy for himself. The sound of the liquor filling the glass takes over the lack of sound due to the now turned off radio. Rick continues while raising the filled glass.
"Talent... Talent hits a target that nobody else can hit... Genius hits a target that nobody else can see." Rick takes a swig from the glass before continuing still looking at Zaunya whose attention is now raised.
"You see... Brian is a brain. Alright...?... You're not gonna find him on the receiving end. Any conflict you have in the streets leads back to a thought. A thought someone, somewhere once had that manifests itself into action. In our world... our game... in this city... its not the guy whose gonna pull the trigger you have to worry about... its the guy who plans it."
Brian staring at Rick finally breaks his stare looking away slightly bothered. Rick takes a final swig finishing the glass before continuing. "I still say to this day you would've been the best damn thing to happen to this outfit Brian. Your dad made sure that never happened of course... unfortunately."
"What do you want for the card Rick.."
Rick completely ignores Brian before continuing. Still looking at Zaunya. "He disappeared into NC once upon a time... Don't know what the fuck happened but when he came back, well..." Rick reaches over and re-opens the same drawer he pulled the access card out of. He pulls Brian's blood red, crimson Nue out of the drawer and gently lays it on the desk in front of them...the heavy weight of it makes it knock down onto the wood hard.
Zaunya and Brian both look at the Nue shine and glimmer even in the dimly lit, darkened hangout. Brian stares deeply at his iron... almost as if seeing someone he buried... got rid of for good long ago. Rick proclaims: "Graves ain't the only one that owed."
Brian's blood red, crimson nue lay resting on the desk in front of the 3 of them. Brian staring deeply at it doesn't react, keeping a straight face. This iron represents a multitude of things in Brian's life... past successes... past failures... past regrets. The sight of it sends a flood of memories back into his head...most he's chosen to bury away to no avail... others that he had luckily forgotten return with vigor and clarity. Rick breaks the silence snapping Brian out of his trance.
"I mean... how could I have ever said no to THIS." Rick says to Zaunya while smirking. Rick grabs the Nue and raises it up toward the light turning it back and forth making the dim light reflect off of it.
"I gotta say Brian... everytime I look at this thing... well... she's a real looker alright... definitely one worth a display hm?" Rick says looking back at the various iron, cyberware and tech mounted on the back wall like trophies.
"As good as she looks... doesn't really fit the criteria for the wall... you being a nobody n' all." Rick says placing the Nue back onto the desk hearing that heavy knock of the wood again before continuing. "I'm guessin'... he never told you why he came back did he?" Rick says to Zaunya before finally turning his attention back over to Brian locking in and looking directly at him while squinting his eyes.
"Care to tell her Brian? Hm? Care to tell her what sent ya scurrying back to daddy in Arroyo? I'm sure we'd all like to know at this point. Or maybe tell her about what 6th street did for you when you had nowhere else to turn."
Rick pauses for a bit before looking deep into Brian's eyes leaning forward onto the desk. "Who are you now Brian." He says in a deep tone.
"The card Rick... what do you-" Brian says impatiently in a raised voice tired of his rambling before being cut off.
"You don't have aaanything that I want Brian!..." Rick says in a now raised tone leaning back into his chair and laughing condescendingly.
"I know damn well ya got no eds! As good as you were... this city chewed you up and spit you back out. Ha... honestly thought when you left i'd never see you again. As fate would have it... here you are."
He then looks over at Zaunya... scanning up and down her long legs and lanky frame.
"Your friend here on the other hand... 'Z' was it..? How bout you do me a favor and take that mask off hm?" Rick says licking his lips and leaning forward in his chair.
"Shit, I'll give ya the card... no idea what its for... don't care either. I just wanna see that deliciously beautiful face i know you're hiding." Rick gets up out of his chair and starts to walk around the desk... both Brian and Zaunya sit up in their seats. Now standing before both of them but still resting up against the desk. Both of them shift their posture, Zaunya looking directly at Rick standing in front of her grows uncomfortable while lowering her eyebrows and trying to stay calm.
Rick leans in uncomfortably close making her instinctually lean back... a rapid succession of memories suddenly hits Zaunya like a truck... A series of quick flashes enter her mind.
She sees her mom smiling and cheering in celebration... she sees a corporate executive office with muted blue colors and lighting... She then finally sees a bed with bright neon pink lights surrounding it... flooding the room with vibrancy, pink silk sheets that shined in the dim light... and the unforgettable sound of dress shoes tapping across the marbled floor step after step after step... Rick's voice snaps her out of the flashing memories.
"Come on... why hide your beauty..? Is it really worth that much? Hm? How bout a kiss... through the mask." Rick goes to push up toward her for the kiss.
Before Brian can reach over to him, Zaunya throws a punch at his face. Rick dodges the punch, grabbing her wrist and quickly throwing her over the desk, slamming her back up against the trophy wall with great force making a loud bang sending various trophies flying around the room as Zaunya falls to the floor. With his attention turned toward where he threw Zaunya, Brian tackles Rick from the side as both fall to the ground wrestling. Brian, now on top of Rick starts raining down fists and elbows while holding Rick's arm. Each strike deters Brian from throwing another one as the damage being done to Brian's knuckles and elbow outweighs the damage being done to Rick's face. The impact of bone on chrome is excruciatingly brutal but Brian ignores it. Rick instinctually tries to get up but Brian stops him, still holding him down with his much bigger frame attempting to crush Rick's throat.
Rick quickly grabs brian by the throat with his prostethic... Brian grabs the metal hand with both of his while gritting his teeth trying to rip it away. "Still mostly ganic huh!?" Rick says gritting his teeth trying to get Brian off of him. Rick punches Brian in the face sending him flying off of him as he knocks over a bunch of empty glass bottles breaking some of them. Rick, without getting fully up scrambles on top of Brian... the weight on top of him feels like a full sized car. Rick quickly draws a blue and white stinger from his ankle and stabs Brian in his bandaged wound on his shoulder from the Tyger Claw blade a few nights back. It causes Brian to scream in pain in a tone never heard before. Without hesitation, Rick yanks the knife back out and raises it to stab Brian again in the face.
The booming sound of a gun shot rips through the hangout hitting rick in his collarbone from behind and exiting out of his neck from the front... spraying blood all over Brian's face. The velocity of the shot sends Rick tumbling off of Brian immediately giving Brian a clear view of Zaunya holding her nue with her hand shaking and a smoking barrel. As Brian rolls over in pain struggling to get up, Zaunya helps him to his feet checking his body and stab wound as he breathes in relief, flustered trying to calm himself as he shakes her touch off. Their attention is then quickly turned to Rick who has crawled over to a wall and sat up against it with his eyes wide open caughing and spitting up blood as he struggles to breathe.
The fear and panic in Rick's eyes is clear as Zaunya slowly walks up to him, squats down, and grabs his knife. She holds it up admiring the craftsmanship and customization. The white and blue steel faded in and out all the way to the handle with a single white star along the body of the blade stained with Brian's blood. "Now THAT'S a trophy." She says in a detached voice completely contrasting Rick's state before standing back up fully and casually tucking it in her belt. She turns back around to see Brian stood over Rick's desk not moving before she continues to search Rick's person... opening up his jacket, jostling his arms and legs around and patting down his pockets as he grunts in extreme pain with every movement she makes him do.
Brian slowly reaches onto the desk grabbing his nue... the feeling of the iron in his bloody and bruised red right hand sends a warming shock through his core... drowning out the sound and commotion of everything happening around him. He stares at it in his hand deeply as Zaunya walks back up to him explaining their current situation... due to his current state of mind... it was completely inaudible.
"Brian..? ... Brian..?" Zaunya says softly realizing his state and snapping him back out of it... he quickly looks at her.
Rick struggling to speak through the lack of air and blood gets both of their attention as they turn to look at him while standing side by side. "You're... you're dead... the both of you... are FUCKIN DEAD!!! ya hear me!!!?" Rick's eyes begin to glow orange as he attempts to make a call on the holo. Brian and Zaunya both raise their nues simultaneously unloading a flood of loud, booming shots into Rick's face and chest leaving behind gunsmoke and an unrecognizable, barely together torso.