Chapter 25: Pulling_The_Sums.rlf

V opens his eyes without seeing anything, feeling suspended in some kind of soft substance. He begins to wave his arms around, touching what seems to be glass; suddenly he hears a metallic click. The container where he was submerged opens, vomiting his body onto the metal floor beneath him, while covering him with the viscous liquid in which he was submerged. 

The liquid starts to slip through the holes in the metal floor as V rolls over it, spitting and vomiting it as he tries to breathe.

V feels a stabbing pain, as if all the bones in his body are breaking at once. His fingers stretch and clench, as do his legs and arms. His cheekbones sprout outward, as does his jaw, restoring his face to its original shape.

Suddenly he hears footsteps on the metal walkway, coming from his left. He tries to crawl, seeing nothing. 

Eric: THERE HE IS!

V hears a muffled voice of a woman, screaming.

Panam: VINCENT! VINCEENT! TELL ME SOMETHING, PLEASE!

Out of the darkness Panam's face is outlined as she is holding V's face with both hands, desperate.

Panam: VINCENT!

V grabs her and kisses her lovingly, then with his right hand caresses her cheek. She looks at him, with her eye wide and her lips quivering.

V: Hi, desert rose.

Panam rests his forehead on V's chest, letting loose in a liberating and joyful cry.

Eric: Well I don't need to tell you he's fine, he seems happy to see you, too.

Eric throws at V his old pair of pants.

Eric: Fuck V, get your shit together! At least wait until I'm gone…

V slowly stands up and puts on his pants while Panam helps him. Eric slowly walks away, leaning on the black monolith behind them, sliding against it until he sits on the ground then he takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, letting out a joyous laugh.

Panam hugs V, holding him with all the strength she has left, resting her head on his chest while V caresses her.

V: Panam, I…

Panam: Please Vincent, don't say anything. I just want to hear your heartbeat.

V looks at Panam, moved, caressing her face.

Suddenly from the ladder in front of them, Faith appears, carrying Max in her arms. Eric quickly stands up, holding his glasses in his hand. 

Max slowly gets out of his mother's arms and begins to walk toward Eric, who looks at him, sobbing.

Eric: Max… Max… How do you feel?!

Max stares at Eric with a pair of huge, joy filled eyes.

Max: Taller, dad!

Eric bursts into tears, letting go of his glasses on the floor, hugging Max while Faith does the same. V watches the scene, crying, too.

Panam: Vincent… Are you all right?!

V: Yeah Panam, they're of joy for a fuckin' time.

Faith walks toward Panam who lowers her eyes, ashamed. After a moment Faith hugs her, still in tears, whispering something in her ear.

Faith: Thank you …

Panam slowly hugs Faith.

Panam: I told you Faith, the Aldecaldos always keep their promises.

Faith removes a Shard from her neck and places it in Panam's hand and then closes it. She looks at her, surprised.

Faith: Here's Panam. Try looking at the basement level. The door with "B1" written on it.

Faith tries to hug V, but he freezes her with his eyes. Faith lowers her head and walks back to Eric, together they escort Max up the metal stairs.

Panam leans against V and slowly they too begin to walk to the metal ladder.

V: Pan…Why do you have handcuffs?!

Panam chuckles.

Panam: Vincent…Of all the things that could have bothered you…Is this what you want to ask?! They tried to arrest me, went badly for them, though.

V: Look, now It's my turn to say it. I know somebody really good, back in Night City.

They both begin to climb the stairs.

Panam: Ugh... Why do you all want to fill me with chrome?!

V suddenly stops and gently grabs Panam's face, she doesn't look at him, ashamed.

V: Look I don't care, understood?! I mean I care so much about you.. Damn, what I mean is that you could be a voice in a vending machine and it wouldn't change anything for me.

Panam smiles, touched.

Panam: It's both the most romantic and the most offensive thing I have ever heard.

V smiles while they both start climbing the stairs, again.

V: Well, now you know how it feels.

Panam chuckles.

Panam: Now we're even, I guess.

V: We'll never be, Panam.

Panam: All right then, I want a lifetime subscription of back and feet massages.

V: Just that?

Panam: Yeah V, just that. I have a broken nose, probably a head trauma and the left arm looks like a roasted chicken. Not to mention the eye and my ribs that look like mashed potatoes. I think I will be out of business for a long time.

V: I'll wait as long as necessary, Panam.

After climbing the stairs, Panam and V both arrive at the walkway where V and Max's old bodies lie flat on the floor. Eric and Faith walk past them as she rests Max's head on her chest, preventing him from seeing his old body.

V stops for a moment and kneels beside Deckard's body, which is no longer wearing pants, then he removes the Aldecaldos jacket from him and puts it on.

Panam: Did you figure out who he was?

V stares at the body lying on the floor, moved.

V: Somebody... Nobody...an old friend…

V rests his hand on Deckard's face and then closes his eyes.

V: A good man.

V and Panam start walking again and join the others on the last walkway above them, immediately before the elevator.

Eric: V! One last thing…

Eric turns around and hands his tablet to V.

Eric: There's everything there, features, biometric profile…There's also the expiration date.

V picks up the tablet and without looking at it, throws it into the void beneath him. Then grabs Panam's head and clutches it to his chest, she returns his hug, smiling. Eric smiles too.

Eric: Goodbye, V.

Eric begins to walk toward the last flight of stairs, along with his family.

V: ERIC!

Eric turns one last time, V looks at him, moved.

V: Can you…?

Eric looks at Panam, then lowers his eyes, sad, shaking his head.

V: You can't...Or you don't want to?!

Eric looks up again, surprised and sees V, looking at him with eyes full of anger. V slowly pulls out his old, sand covered phone from the jacket and plays a recording as he stares Eric, straight in the eyes. The voice in the recording is distorted but you can make out what he is saying.

Judy (phone): V, I translated the conversation...He says he doesn't trust his contact at Biotechnica and suggests taking precautions. He sounds quite angry. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything else. I hope it helps.

Panam slowly moves his face away from V's chest, looking at Eric with pure hatred.

V: When did you sell us Eric? When I went to make that phone call or as soon as I showed up to your apartment, huh?!

Eric: V… I don't know what you are talking about.

V smiles sarcastically, as Faith looks at him fearfully, pulling Max close to her.

V: "The Relic is not something you can build in a basement out of vending machine parts". And you show up with not one, but a couple of those fucking chips.

Faith begins to babble, with watering eyes.

Faith: I told you… I had my contacts… I…

V points his finger at Faith as his screams echo in the silo.

V: SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Eric stares at V, getting increasingly angry.

V: I'll never be as smart as you, that's true. So stop me if I get off track…When I appeared into your apartment and you scanned my head, it must have seemed fuckin' unreal to you. You were finished and out of nowhere you drew four aces: me, Panam, Johnny and the technology to save your son's life…What were the chances?! One in a million?! One in a billion?! You tell me Eric.

Eric looks away while V gets closer to him.

V: And so the plan began to take shape. Johnny had figured it out, that's why he jumped at your neck. He was trying to protect me…

V steps even closer to Eric.

V: You think you're a fucking genius, don't you Eric?! But the truth is, you're a fuckin' open book. They may fire you, kick you out of a company…But you never stop bein' a corpo.

Eric looks at V, shaking, getting even angrier.

V: So you used me to eliminate Santiago, you went along with me to make sure everything went smoothly, without a hitch. All while Faith was in the parking lot of that building to get the chips. You sent your wife because you don't get your hands dirty, do you?! You just pull the strings, livin' the dirty work to others.

Eric: Bullshit, that slant eyed asshole tried to take my son and wife.

V: OF COURSE! Even he understood you right away. He's not clueless, Eric...That's why Faith tried to kill him. HE WANTED TO PROTECT YOUR SON, YOU BASTARD! I bet he's up here, ready with a nice firing squad, isn't he?!

Panam draws the Malorian and aims it at Eric, V quickly grabs it and snatches it from her hands while she looks at him, stunned.

V: Pan, no. It's not worth it. He's not dangerous. He's nothing.

V stores the gun in the back pocket of his pants, then looks at Eric, smiling.

V: But then came the setback you didn't expect, did you?! You couldn't have known that Mitch and Garry would show up with the Basilisk drawing the attention of Militech. Your fucking perfect plan was about to go up in smoke because of a bunch of hillbillies. It must have been really hard to swallow…

Panam clenches her fists, angry.

V: It was getting dangerous, you could be caught at any time in the camp. So you were going to do the one thing you should have been doing all along…Protect your family and leave, Eric. The stakes were too high, though and you couldn't resist.... What did they promise you?! A new job at Arasaka? Or maybe a penthouse in Tokyo?! No…You just wanted to prove you were smarter than everyone, even God.

Eric smiles in a mocking way, while remaining angry.

V: And so you started doing what you do best: muddying the waters…With those pathetic little stories about my past. You were trying to stall just in time to get your cushy helicopter ride, while the Aldecaldos were dying to break through in this fucking building. But once again an unexpected variable presented itself: Judy. Your wife had realized that she could blow it all and so she came down with me to make sure I didn't stick my nose where I wasn't supposed to.

V clenches his fists, assuming an angry, glossy eyed expression. 

V: You know what pisses me off the most, Eric?! Everybody had figured it out. EVERYBODY but not me, why?! Because you used your son...You slimy son of a bitch…You used your son's illness to buy my trust....

Eric slowly turns toward Faith, ashamed. She looks at him stunned and teary eyed.

V: I have met the worst of humanity during my career. Fuck, I'm a cold blooded murderer myself. But even at someone like me you make my skin crawl…Tell me, what fucking monster would use their own child as a bargaining chip?!

Eric violently pushes V.

Eric: FUCK YOU, V! YOU'RE JUST A FUCKING UNGRATEFUL ASSHOLE! I saved your miserable life, Panam's life and all humanity. I DEFEATED DEATH, VINCENT!

V smiles mockingly.

V: You didn't save humanity. You've doomed it.

V suddenly hugs Eric whispering something to him.

V: Try one more time to use Panam against me, and the first thing I will do with your new body, is to use it to crush your head in front of your wife.

V pushes away Eric and slowly walks toward the metal stairs, passing Faith and Max, then he turns to Panam.

V: Let's go, Pan.

Panam slowly walks toward the stairs starring Eric in the eyes, passing Faith without looking at her and reaches V, who slowly approaches Max. Faith looks at him full of fear, drawing the knife. Max breaks free from Faith's grip and slowly walks up to V.

V: Max, I have something for you.

V draws the gun and ejects the magazine, then takes a bullet and puts it in Max's hand.

V: You have to promise me one thing though. Don't use it, ever. Neither this nor any other. When you betray, use or kill somebody…You are only killing yourself.

V puts a hand on Max's shoulder, he looks at him with a pair of big eyes.

V: You have your whole life ahead of you, you can be better than this.

V looks up at Faith and Eric.

V: Better than all of us.

V puts away the gun and along with Panam slowly begin to climb the stairs.

Eric: VINCENT!

V stops and looks at Eric.

Eric: What does it feel like? To die?

V stares at Eric for a while, then smiles.

V: Find out for yourself, dickhead.

V hugs Panam and helps her up the stairs, leaving Eric and the others on the floor below them.

V: When you aimed the gun at them…You knew, didn't you?!

Panam stops and lowers her eyes, ashamed.

Panam: No Vincent. I didn't realize that.

V looks at her, mooved , and then lowers his stare. They both start walking again, up the last few steps before reaching the walkway to the elevator. As soon as they arrive, Takemura appears in front of them, joined by a Japanese man wearing a pair of glasses, a white robe and sandals.

Panam: Shit...but that's?!

V: Yorinobu.