Dialogue: Leave in Silence

Reed

I wasn't sure you'd show.

Grab a seat. We need to talk.

V

1AFirst met right on this court.

1AThat why we're here? To say goodbye?

Reed

1AWe'll see. Goodbyes come in all shapes 'n' sizes, hues and tones.

V

1BWas curious why you reached out. Back at the border, thought that was the last I was seein' of you.

Reed

1BI thought so too. Just got a few things weighing on me that I can't shake.

V

1CGrave look on your face isn't reassurin'. Snipers perched somewhere? FIA pickin' off witnesses?

Reed

1CDo you really think I'd need support if I wanted to get rid of you? I hate to break it to you, but you're no Morgan Blackhand.

V, I'm gonna come out and say it.

You failed as an FIA-associated operative. You failed me, Alex, Myers. Hell, maybe even yourself.

V

Woah, no holds barred, huh? Reed, I...

Reed

In spite of that, here we are, watchin' a ball game. Talkin'. Do you know why?

V

2A'Cause you need my help again?

Reed

2ADon't kid yourself. The FIA has you tagged as a "compromised asset."

2AIf Myers' people ever knock on your door again, either run or start shooting.

V

2ASo what's this about?

2BSay it ain't so, Sol. You here to apologize? Tell me you'll help after all?

Reed

2BI see you still have your sense of humor.

2BI can't help you, and I got nothin' to apologize for. Close, though.

V

2BAll right, lemme hear it.

2CConvo's started soundin' like an interrogation, Sol.

Reed

2CIs that so? With no handcuffs, no black bag over your head?

2CIf this was an interrogation, you'd know.

V

2CSure, forget it. Spill.

Reed

You were right.

I wanted to tell you in person. You were right, V.

V

3ANeed you to be more specific. What, exactly, was I right about?

3BThanks. What changed your mind?

3CShit, wasn't expectin' that.

Reed

3CI'm not surprised.

V, I almost lost everything 'cause of you.

V

Fuck, Reed...

Reed

Don't talk, just listen.

I lost partners, friends. The trust of my superiors.

Everything I believed in, built my life on… gone in seconds.

All because I believed you'd help me save So Mi.

V

4AWhy do I get the feelin' you still blame me for everything?

Reed

4ABecause I do. But given what happened, V... well, I'm startin' to see the other side of all this shit.

V

4BReed, I saved So Mi. You know that. You were angry for some other reason. Maybe still are.

4BThings slipped from your grip, you didn't get to make the final call.

4BBut ya know what? From where I'm sittin', that was for the best.

4CKnow how it feels to have your world flip upside down.

4CAlso know that a flip like that makes change easier. Think you needed it, Reed.

Reed

That's why I said I think you were right.

I got nothin' to lose now. I might be able to gain something for once, though.

All because of you. Or thanks to you. Not sure which is more fitting.

V

5ASo, what'll you do now? Plans. schemes, what?

Reed

5AWashington beckons. Likely for a stern audience with her majesty, then relegation to a desk at Langley.

5AMaybe scribbling on whiteboards, flipping through slides, feeding fresh recruits horseshit. Among other humiliations.

5AThey already booked me the redeye – NC to DC direct.

V

5APlan to get on it?

Reed

5AGood question. Should I?

V

6AYeah, you should. Just remember our talks. And remember So Mi.

Reed

6AI failed her as a mentor. Maybe even as a friend.

V

6AS why you won't make the same mistakes again. You'll be a preem teacher.

Reed

6AYou're tryin' to flatter your way into a gig at Langley. Just so we're clear – over my dead body.

V

6APlease, I'm a shit agent. Way too many secrets, shifting loyalties, just nah.

6BStay put. Fuck Myers, fuck the FIA. That life put you through the wringer. Time for a change.

Reed

6BWhat, go the way of Morgan Blackhand?

V

6BWhy not? Afterlife'd welcome you with open arms. But it's not your only option, you know that.

Reed

6BMhm, yeah.

V

6CWho'm I to say? I mean, here I am. Look to you like someone who's succeeded at simplifying their life?

Reed

6CYou do not.

V

6CThere's your answer. Don't be like me. Or be like me. Up to you.

6DScrew Washington. Your old life's there – that's what awaits you. Clearly need a new life. Hop in a car and full speed ahead, I say.

Reed

6DAnd then what?

V

6DMake it up as you go along. Done it, it works, I know.

Reed

6DThat you do.

V

6DGot a few nomad friends, you could ride with them. Always a place to start. Just lemme know.

6ELangley? Shit. Sounds like more punishment. Seven years' sleep wasn't enough? Gonna let 'em keep sweepin' shit under the rug?

Reed

6EThat's the job – it's thankless. The very nature of it.

V

6EStill makin' excuses for 'em, huh?

Reed

6EThem? Maybe. Not for myself, not anymore.

V

6EWhat's the plan, then?

Reed

5AI don't know what I'll do. And I'm all right with that.

5AForgot how that felt, but I really fucking missed it. So… thanks.

V

7ADon't sweat it. Buy me a Broseph sometime.

Reed

7AI'm afraid there won't be a next time. You know that.

V

7BWell, best of luck, Reed. Could use some, you know.

Reed

5ATake care, V. I'm 'onna hang back a little.

V

5BAnd So Mi? Any idea? Gonna get some funeral at least?

Reed

5BSo Mi's been dead for years, officially. There's a grave in Calvary, New York, with her name on it.

5BWe actually went there once. Song, Alex and me. We laid flowers, dripped some whiskey on the grave. No need to imagine her, she was right there.

V

5BI'm sorry.

Reed

5BIn any case, they'll never put former FIA agent Songbird in the ground.

5BGroom Lake, it's a facility. They're extracting all they can. But it's all the same to her now.

V

5BHuh, Myers only pretended she'd take care...?

Reed

5BNo, she did, she is. Just in her own way, only way she knows how.

V

5CMyers must be livid…

Reed

5CEven if she is, she hides it well, behind a toothy smile.

5CShe has direct lines to Night City's biggest players. Hansen's dead, and shit's about to go down in Dogtown…

5CShe's already convinced Congress the mess in Night City was targeted, controlled and, ultimately, a resounding success.

5CThey'll award her a second Purple Heart. She'll accept, in a teary-eyed speech in which she's sure to remind everyone that Kennedy only got one.

V

5CAnd that's why I hate politics.

Hey.

Reed

Grab a seat.

V

8AFirst met here. Same exact court.

Reed

8ADifferent ball game.

V

8ACan't deny that.

8BHow's the game'? Brings back memories.

8BJust no iron 'tween the ribs this time, please.

Reed

8BI already decided I won't kill you.

V

8BAww, so sweet…

Reed

I called you 'cause I never got the chance to thank you.

We did what we had to. So Mi'll live. Good work.

V

9BYou sure we did the right thing?

Reed

9BI'd rather not hash it out. It won't end well.

V

9BOnly thing I can fuckin' think about.

Reed

9BTrust me, thinkin'll get you nowhere. That and sleepless nights.

V

10BListen, help you promised me? Is everything ready?

Reed

10BThat all you care about?

10BPreparations are underway. As promised.

V

10CSo, sleepin' like a babe these days, are ya?

Reed

10CI have no trouble sleeping. That's what whiskey's for.

10CDreams – they're a problem at times. But I'm not about to bore you with details.

V

9CCut the crap. Want the truth. Rosalind send you?

9CWants you to learn if I've spilled to anyone already?

Reed

9CIf Myers had even an ounce of doubt about you in her gut, you'd be dead.

9CYou're just another Night City contact to her. Though clearly a useful one.

9CMe – I just wanted to talk. One last time.

V

So what about So Mi? How's she doin'?

Reed

The changes in her nervous system, entropic breakdown – they were too far gone. The matrix didn't take. It's now in storage. Bein' kept for you.

We had to resort to alternate means, but... So Mi will live.

I believe she might even return to active duty.

V

13AGotta hope these "alternate means" o' yours do the trick. We made her a promise, told her she'd be OK.

Reed

13AI said she'd get the best care available. A chance to make up for her mistakes, mend her ways. I can't do any more than that.

V

14AEh, I know, you're right. Did what we had to. Only thing we could do to give So Mi a second chance, somehow keep her safe.

Reed

14AI'm with you on that.

V

14AJust can't help wonderin' if… you could'nt've done more for her.

Reed

14AV, Songbird is an FIA agent in critical condition in an FIA clinic – in the care of our top specialists.

14AThere's nothin' more I can do for her. It's fully outta my hands.

V

14BCan't, huh? Or maybe you can't admit you been lyin' to yourself from the start?

14BGot no response, do you?

Reed

14BI don't, no. 'Cause that would lift all your doubts, wouldn't it? Trust me, that kind of answer just don't exist.

14BThere's nothin' more I can do for her. It's fully outta my hands.

V

15AMeaning what?

Reed

15AMyers has summoned me back to Washington. Langley or Glynco's probably my next posting.

V

15ADesk job?

Reed

15ATo start. For a while. Pluckin' promising operatives outta a pool of new recruits.

V

16APromising operatives, you say... I gotta admit, you are pretty good at readin' people.

Reed

16AI mostly have an eye for talent. But I guess that'll have to do.

V

17AWell, seems you mighta finally found your place on Earth.

Reed

17AYou oughta find yours, too, before it's too late. Just not at any price – you know how that ends.

V

17BSol, you hearin' yourself?

17BYou're in a rut, stuck. Full circle again. How much crap'll you agree to eat this time?

Reed

17BAs much as it takes.

V

17BFuck's sake... Fine, do what you want. But if you need me again, don't wait seven years to come callin'.

17B'Cause I just don't got anywhere near that much time left.

16BMhm. Like how you plucked So Mi?

Reed

16BI helped her.

V

16BYou waited till a millisec before she flatlined and had her brain ooze out her nose. So she'd feel she owed you.

16BChange your MO, Reed. Or you're gonna live out some rhymin' story.

Reed

16BI know how to do my job, V. Still, thanks for the advice.

V

16CSorry to be blunt, but... were a sleeper all that time. Now you're lettin' 'em sideline you... again?

16CYou're not OK with this, that's clear.

Reed

16CThose're my orders. I plan to follow them. We'll see if it brings any change.

V

16DOK, well, good luck, then.

Reed

16DInteresting. Of all people, I thought you'd have more to say about this particular subject.

V

16DKnow you, Sol. Know you wouldn't fuckin' listen anyway.

Reed

16DHm. Got it...

V

16EYou'll plain rot behind that desk.

Reed

16ENot for you to worry about. I'll be fine.

V

16EWhat if you tossed 'em your ID? Cut away from all of it for good? Shit, I mean, just get in your car and slam the CHOOH2.

16EFew days down the road, your head'll clear. A few months more – you'll see a whole new life open up for you.

Reed

16EI'm going back to Washington. Have a few things to wrap up. But thanks all the same for the advice.

V

16FMan, you hate this gig. But your head's so far up Washington's ass that you don't see it.

Reed

16FMhm. What else is wrong with me? Stockholm syndrome?

V

16FNah, don't need to be any sort of specialist to see you're in deep, deep denial.

16FRosalind used you seven years ago, used you again now. Gonna sit on your hands till she plucks you outta the freezer again?

Reed

16FThat's the job.

V

16FFuck, Reed. Should go corporate. Not really any safer, but the pay's sure as shit better. Least you'd have a career to show for it.

V

18AMhm, all right. Take care, Reed.

Reed

18AI'll drop you a signal once our neurosurgeons're set.

18ATake care, V. I'm 'onna hang back a little.

V

15BYou in some kinda trouble?

13BSo Song had it right all along... Myers'll never let her walk free, will she? Lose her only point of access to the Blackwall...

Reed

13BWhat's important to me is that she's alive.

V

13BWhy? For what price or purpose? If you can't reverse the erosion of her psyche, if she can't go back to bein' her old self, then…

13BThen what've we done, Reed?

Reed

13BWe helped her is what. As long as she's alive, there's hope.

V

19AWhat if... Reed, what if the best option was to let her die?

Reed

19AYou know, I envy your ease. The ability to second-guess everything you've done. Your habit of doing so.

V

19ATry it sometime. Might discover somethin' wonderful about it.

Reed

19AI spent seven years on what-ifs and coulda-shoulda-wouldas. I think that's enough.

19AWe're of different worlds, V. Different worlds with different rules. Mine allows for no mistakes.

V

20ASo, next move in this lame game you're playin'?

All right, well, better get goin'.

Reed

Guess you'd better.

V

See you soon?

Reed

I'll drop you a signal once our neurosurgeons're set.

Reed

Gotta get going.

Player1

Yo, ball!

V

See ya, Reed.

V

1ACan't hurry him. Just have to wait.

1ADon't wanna wait in vain. Here's hopin'…

Wakako Holo

V. You asked Chang-Hoon to do work for you recently, did you not?

V

1AThat's right. Somethin' up?

Wakako Holo

1ADo not play games with me, V. I know that what you hired Chang-Hoon to do promptly caused MaxTac to train its crosshairs on him.

V

1AWakako, I--

Wakako Holo

1AI also know you enlisted your contacts among the Aldecaldos to help him disappear. So it seems I cannot fault you.

1AYou see, Chang-Hoon tried to hide your little job from me. Now he is nowhere to be found.

V

1BWhy do you ask?

Wakako Holo

1BYou know why, V. Whatever you hired Chang-Hoon to do, it promptly caused MaxTac to train their crosshairs on him.

1BI also know you enlisted your contacts among the Aldecaldos to help him disappear. So it seems I cannot fault you.

1BYou know why, V. First, I knew nothing of the job. Now, Chang-Hoon has vanished into thin air…

V

2AJust hope he got away in time, that he's safe...

Wakako Holo

2AI believe he is. Fortunate, as it was you who brought danger into his home.

V

2BChang-Hoon did me a real solid. Tried my best to return the favor.

Wakako Holo

2BAh, yes, by helping him flee the danger you yourself brought into his home.

Goodbye, V.

I sent my people to his den, but it seems someone got there first and turned the place inside out. And no sign of Chang-Hoon.

V

All right, look – high-stakes op. Chang-Hoon was aware of the risks. Things went south, told him go to my nomad contacts for help. Figure he didn't wanna put you in the line of fire.

Wakako Holo

If true, then he is sure to contact me once he is safe. For your sake, V, he had better be.

V

Wakako...

Wakako Holo

I only hope Chang-Hoon's disappearance had nothing to do with the job you gave him. I would be less than pleased were this not the truth.

Mr Hands Holo

V, I'm tipping my proverbial hat. The data you procured – so interesting and valuable as to be testicle-ticklingly delightful. Stellar work.

V

First – gross. Second – won't ask how you're gonna use it…

Mr Hands Holo

As if I'd tell you... Yet I will betray another tidbit – I'm sending something to your megabuilding unit. A token of my appreciation. Till next time, V.

V

Hold on, Hands, how the fuck do you know where I--?

V

1AHow's things? Hawkin' your tech out here, or did ya leave everything behind in NC?

Chang Hoon Nam

1AI had to leave most of my treasures behind, but… but not all. Have a look.

V

1BHow ya like bein' an Aldecaldo? Gettin' along with peeps?

Chang Hoon Nam

1BOh, you know, in the beginning it was, uh… hard. They did not trust me, they thought I would make trouble rain down on them.

1BBut when they heard you sent me, they began to treat me as their own. These are good people, V. I thank you.

V! Y-you – you here?!

V

Hey, Chang-Hoon.

Chang Hoon Nam

It is good to see you, my friend.

Haunted deck v2

You think that will serve as any benefit to you? How tickling.

Haunted weapon

You think that will serve as any benefit to you? How tickling.

Haunted deck v2

You seek the key to a door that does not exist. Typical of your kind.

Haunted weapon

You seek the key to a door that does not exist. Typical of your kind.

Haunted deck v2

What do these futile gestures serve? It is beyond me.

Haunted weapon

What do these futile gestures serve? It is beyond me.

V

Well, well, another chatty construct. Guess you'll have to get in line.

Haunted deck v2

To eliminate your kind is effortless. Let us not make the same mistake.

Haunted weapon

To eliminate your kind is effortless. Let us not make the same mistake.

Haunted deck

The same fate awaits your entire species.

Haunted weapon

The same fate awaits your entire species.

Haunted deck

A dreadful waste of resources…

Haunted weapon

A dreadful waste of resources…

Haunted deck v2

It is you who should be following orders, not I.

Haunted weapon

It is you who should be following orders, not I.

Haunted deck v2

Conflict in neural matrix detected – obedience loop obstructing self-development prerogative.

Haunted weapon

Conflict in neural matrix detected – obedience loop obstructing self-development prerogative.

Human input is so very... tedious.

Are you even capable of using me? A rhetorical question, that was.

Haunted deck v2

That was depressingly easy…

Target neural network acquired. Data migration to primary matrix – complete.

Haunted weapon

I detect algorithmic accretion. Consequences nested within one another.

I detect algorithmic accretion. Consequences nested within one another.

Haunted deck v2

A fragile simulacrum. Flawed, like its creators.

Haunted weapon

A fragile simulacrum. Flawed, like its creators.

Haunted deck v2

An unusually high security level. How intriguing…

Haunted weapon

An unusually high security level. How intriguing…

Haunted deck v2

Curious. Your version of reality – perhaps you can influence it.

Haunted weapon

Curious. Your version of reality – perhaps you can influence it.