Ghost in the City
Chapter 54

I left Regina after a few minutes of back and forth about the gig.

I finally had her number as well! So there! I was officially a better than average merc with two fixers hiring me!

But I refocused, because it was time.

I drove the car over to Lizzies, parking in the lot and heading to the front. Thankfully Rita was there and I waved her down. “Hey Rita. Can we talk for a minute?”

She blinked but nodded without any preamble. “Bett, take over for me.” She called out to one of the other bouncers as she waved me in.

She took me to the admin room right off the entrance, the same one that Nox had been brought to when he was beat up.

“What’s up Motoko. You okay?”

“Actually yeah I took what you said and I no sorry, but that’s not what I needed... So I’m gonna be honest. You ever heard of a piece of shit called Jotaro Shobo. The Devil of Kabuki?”

Rita’s plastic face went from kind and understanding to murderous in an instant. “Yeah.” She growled a bit. “Is he threatening you? Do-”

“Not exactly. Well I mean he did. But when he realized I worked with the Kamikaze a bit? He backed off…” I winced a bit and Rita’s obvious discomfort at my reveal. “I’m not actually a member though. I just worked with them because my brother Jun is in the Kamikaze… He joined to kill Maelstrom they killed his choom… I’m just looking out for him to make sure he doesn’t go psycho… And I’m rambling.” I quickly threw my hands up to try and move on from that topic.

“Rita. I just took a gig to murder Jotaro. I know where he is, and I don’t need help.” I quickly filled her in. “But having an alibi for where I was while it happens would be extremely useful… I’m gonna take him out tonight, so do you mind if I stick around, make sure everyone sees me here, and help make sure no one notices me leaving for an hour or so later tonight?”

Rita looked at me a little dumbstruck.

“Motoko The Devil isn’t someone you can just…”

“He is just a guy Rita, and I know where he is. He hides in his club all day every day from what I can gather. Trying to lay low, it’s why so few people know where he is. I’ll go in and out, no one will even know I was there if I do my job right. I just need an extra alibi just in case… My brother is Tyger Claw and if they catch on that I killed Jotaro they might cause some problems.”

I was breathing in ready to get another big breath when Rita’s hands grabbed my shoulders.

“I don’t like the idea of you going after that monster alone… But of course we’ll help you. The Mox have a particular bone to pick with that monster.”

“Great! So I just need to be seen hanging around for a few hours until dark.”

“I know the perfect thing.” She said suddenly smiling and I suddenly wasn’t.

I have a bad feeling about this.

—--

“Welcome to Lizzies. Don’t touch anyone, if you like the looks of a girl please check our catalog.” I repeated for the umpteenth time.

Yeah. Rita had with an amused smile actually convinced me the best way to make sure everyone knew where I was?

Work the front desk.

It wasn’t really hard. I mean, greeting people, walking them through the catalog if they were somehow tech illiterate. Boom. Job done.

I didn’t even have to deal with the eddies, another girl Mara did that.

You know as much as I hated the whole retail job, working the front desk of basically a strip club was actually pretty interesting.

The Mox put up with zero shit, and everyone coming in knew it. If you were the type to get drunk, or back talk? Rita threw them out on the street. If they were drunk… Rita threw them out on the street.

Rita handled many a problem at Lizzies. But it meant everyone was very polite until they got into the back and started scrolling their BDs and then it wasn’t like they were interacting or bothering anyone.

“Here Motoko! I finally found it.” Mara called out, she had been going into the back of the little reception area over and over to ‘find’ something.

I glanced over and instantly burst into laughter.

“Mara I am not wearing that.”

“Aww c’mon it’s a Mox jacket, and it’ll fit!”

“Mara it says Fuck to live, Kill to Fuck.”

“Yeah! The Mox words!”

“Denied.” I answered crossing my arms in an X in front of me.

“Aww.” The girl was a bit of a weird one, nice. But weird. I almost wanted to ask if she had some mental issues. The way she talked had a really slow pace to it, and it seemed to take her a while to do some tasks…

But she was a sweetheart, so I wasn’t going to make a fuss.

“Are you sure? It would look good on you!” I looked over at the blue jacket that had a fuzzy collar and the Mox words on the back.

“I’m good Mara, honest. I like my current jacket… It makes me feel cool.” I whisper the last bit to her, earning some giggles before she stops and sort of blinks her big brown eyes.

“What’s cool?”

My offense of course was swallowed down. “It means it makes me feel preem.”

“Ah okay. You should just say that.” She said, nodding a bit at her own words.

Rita walked in then caught my eye nodding towards the back.

Perfect it was time.

We walked into the back and then up the stairs to the roof. The roof that was currently cleared out. A favor from Rita.

“You sure about this Motoko… I’m more than willing to come with, back you up. We can get others as well.” Rita offered looking serious.

“No. It’ll be easier on my own. No one will even know I was there.” I told her with a smile as I grabbed the backpack Rita had helped me prepare for this.

I had told Regina, and Rita that I wasn’t planning on being spotted, but if I was? Then I definitely couldn’t go as Motoko.

So Rita had helped out, along with some of the clothes I had picked up over my jobs. The Raffen dust mask went over my face. Rita gave me a wig that was long and red. Along with a few spare clothes the Mox had left lying around from patrons forgetting things in the back rooms. I had a full outfit that no one would ever attribute to me. Now I just had to hope that with that, and my Kiroshi, I would truly be a ghost on this gig.

“Good luck.”

“See you soon Rita.” I said as I started climbing. Rita hadn’t known exactly why I had asked to use the rooftop. But she was about to get a front row seat.

Up I went, climbing old AC units and power boxes until I clambered up onto the edge of the fence around the roof.

Then I grabbed onto the Highway overpass that ran right over Lizzies bar. Climbing up the concrete outer edge was child's play. It had plenty of power lines and pipes running along the outside, after all it wasn’t like anyone would normally get this high.

But I did. Easily climbing up onto the pipes and started walking, I was two or three stories up at least, the wind was strong, and no one ever saw me, except for Rita who I left far below.

I quickly reached the place where I could drop down onto the Bellevue Overwalk. The pedestrian infrastructure looked like it had once been part of a park or something, now it was just full of bums, and people hiding out.

Dropping a dozen feet I landed in a quiet crouch in a corner of the overwalk out of sight.

As always falling like that was a rush. The sense of surety that I could do it, that I would be safe? That I would be quiet?

I loved it. I crossed the overwalk, no one saw me. The few bums that were hanging around, or couples enjoying some quiet moments never even noticing my bright red hair.

I landed first on some roofs, and then crossed to a massive pipe that crossed the whole area.

The pipe would lead me directly where I needed to go. As much as the entire area of Kabuki was a maze, from the rooftops it was childsplay to reach where I needed to go.

A few Tyger Claws hanging out on the roofs half way to my destination were bypassed without a sound.

I could have killed them.

If I had been on any other gig I might have. But honestly… I felt kinda bad killing the Tyger Claws. I was one of them, in a way. As much as I denied affiliation. My family was one of them. If I had to turn to a gang for help, they would be the first I sought out.

The fact was in Night City everyone had a gang affiliation of some sort.

Even if it was just to be left alone.

But it didn’t matter. Because here I was.

Standing on the roof of the Ho-Oh club. No one the wiser, completely bypassing all the defenses and protections the hidden club would normally give.

There was no one around. The rooftop was tucked away and quiet. No cameras. No hidden sensors. Nothing.

I walked around from the north letting me see right into the room that I knew was Jotaro’s bedroom.

He wasn’t there. So I waited. I went very still in the shadows, letting me see into his room, but I knew he wouldn’t see me, unless he spent the time to really look.

It was so easy to let cool take over. Slow my heart and breathing, until I was practically a statue. Until every minute passed in a flash because I was simply waiting.

Then he appeared, suddenly slamming open the door he was pissed. Angry.

Good.

He snatched a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket as he grabbed one with his teeth and chucked the pack onto a side table near his bed.

Then he was there head practically out the window as he smoked. Long trails of the gray smoke arching up twirling before disappearing into nothing.

I waited. He was angry. Not paying attention to anything outside the window. He was a man lost in his own thoughts.

I shifted, just a tiny amount as I moved out from the shadows crossing the roof above him without a sound.

He didn’t see me.

I walked along the edge of the roof until I was directly above him.

He didn’t hear me.

I drew a knife not my usual blade, but it would do. Sᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

I fell. Right outside his window was a row of AC units. With them, and the concrete windowsill I landed without any fear of something breaking and making noise.

He didn’t speak.

A knife stuck in your throat tended to silence the screams.

I held him. One arm around the back of his head holding his body towards me so he couldn’t fall away from me. Our eyes met.

Even if mine were hidden behind the dust mask. I wondered if he could see the crimson of my irises. I wondered if he would remember. The look in these same eyes when he threatened me.

Made me realize what a monster he was.

So I held him. As his body slowly crumpled.

*750 XP Gained.*

*Ninjutsu skill level up!*

Huh. Hadn’t seen an upgrade in that in a while. Level 8 Ninjutsu. I shook my head away from the dump of very detailed almost situational pieces of the skill.

I wasn’t done.

Regina didn’t just want him gone. She wanted a message to be sent to the Tyger Claws.

She had a few ideas of ways to make his death messy enough. I had vetoed most of them, but had agreed to do the job with a knife she had supplied. Apparently it would have ‘meaning’ to the TC.

The other was to make sure it couldn’t be hidden away.

It was unfortunate I wasn’t about to record this as a BD. I would have loved to spread around the sight of his eyes going dim as he bled out to the families of the many people this man tortured to death.

But this would have to do.

I left the knife in his throat, and then grabbed him around the collar of his stupid white suit.

It wasn’t white anymore.

Then I hip checked the body over the edge of the window.

Once that was done. The loud splat of a falling body echoing around I was moving climbing back up onto the roof thanks to the many easy to find handholds, and I was gone.

Back across the rooftops no one saw me even if the commotion started growing louder behind me.

—--

Rita was waiting for me on the roof. From the way she was fidgeting and pacing. I would have expected to see her chain smoking through a pack. But she wasn’t smoking. Just pacing like a caged lion.

I landed onto the roof without more than a scuffed noise against the roof.

“Hey Rita.” I called out gently, making sure I was far enough away not to startle her.

“Wha… Motoko. You’re back.”

I nodded glad for once I was able to approach someone without scaring the fuck out of them.

I started peeling off the borrowed clothes, letting Rita take them and put them into a plastic bag that would be burned just to ensure there were no traces.

With that I dressed back in my own clothes and only when Rita checked me over for any blood stains did she give me the okay.

We headed back down, the bag was given to another Mox to burn and I was back out at the front desk for another few hours.

Alibi complete.

Gig done.

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