[Santo Domingo – David's Megablock]
Morning bled over the edge of Night City's filth-covered skyline.
Inside a cheap, graffiti-stained apartment in Arroyo, a young man stood frozen in front of his mirror.
David Martinez.
Still wearing the same jacket from yesterday. Eyes red. Skin pale. A chip shard in his hand.
On the mirror in front of him, his reflection distorted with emotion.
His phone blinked.
"David… mijo…"It was Gloria, her voice played through the hollow digital recording, warm and distant."...I'm gonna be late again tonight, okay? Got a few extra shifts. But don't worry, we're gonna make rent this time."
David didn't blink.Didn't cry.Didn't move.
[Flashback – Days Earlier]
David Martinez is in Doc's Ripperdoc practice and demands to be updated with James Norris' Sandevistan.
Doc, A scumbag ripper, greasy hands and a tongue that smelled like smog and cheap sin, held up a shiny piece of chrome.
"This baby's a piece of military-grade chrome, top-shelf stuff. Black-market tech. Militech property, I'd bet my kidneys.""You sure about this, kid?"
David stared down at the Sandevistan, the spinal neural implant still glistening with surgical gel.
"Do it," he growled.
The doc hesitated—then smiled, all gums and greed.
"A'ight, suit yourself. But you glitch out mid-jump, don't blame me when you go splatter."
The chair reclined. Tools clinked. David's world faded into metal and agony.
His scream filled the room.
later ....
David returns to Arasaka Academy and enters his classroom. The AI teacher is in the middle of a lecture and scolds David again. When David turns around, one can see the blood stains, resulting from the surgery, on the back of his EMT jacket.
As the teacher droned on about corporate policy and security jurisdiction, David's implanted Sandevistan buzzed faintly at the base of his skull.
He clenched his jaw.
F**k this.
[Locker Room – Later]
Katsuo.
Arasaka poster child. Rich. Arrogant. Disposable.
He walked in, flanked by two others, laughing as if the air belonged to them.
"You shouldn't even be here," Katsuo muttered at David. "This place ain't for street trash."
David smiled. The kind of smile that wasn't a smile.
And then—
—Time shattered.
With a high-pitched metallic screech, David activated the Sandevistan.
His perception fractured. Everyone slowed. Their voices became sludge. Their movements, delayed.
He grabbed Katsuo's face mid-word and slammed him into the locker.
Metal bent. Blood flew.
Katsuo dropped like meat.
The implant deactivated.
David exhaled.
Silence followed—except for the wet sob of Katsuo on the ground, clutching his broken nose. The assault is recorded on video.
David walked out, and the other students were too stunned to react.
David can be seen with his blood-stained EMT jacket walking the sunny streets of Night City. The bystanders are surprised when he suddenly bursts into laughter and seems to disappear into thin air.
Gloria's old apartment ...
David is in front of the washing machine, cleaning the jacket. Exhausted, he's trying to relax on the couch.
undisclosed location .....
A video recording of David's attack on Katsuo is being played. Katsuo's father watches the video, but questions why it should interest him. A man named Marcus explains to him, who the attacker of his son is, and mentions Norris' cyberpsycho incident and the implant. They are aware the implant is now installed into David, but he seems not to be affected by any side effects, as Norris was. Marcus is sure David could be a sufficient candidate to test their "product". Katsuo's father seems interested and wants Marcus to find David.
" .... And making him a testing rat for the product should suffice as a punishment for attacking your son", Marcus said.
"Do you really think I care that my son got a broken nose? " Tanaka, Katsuo's father said in an even tone, "As my heir, it's high time he learned what it means to serve the company's best interests".
Back to Gloria's apartment ...
David is still on the couch in the apartment
His neural link buzzed. A message from Arasaka Academy.
"David Martinez, your enrollment is hereby terminated. Academic performance… unacceptable. Code of conduct violation".
David takes a shower before he returns to the Night City streets again. David uses the NCART and suddenly has the weird feeling of something going on behind his back. He recognizes the girl with the white hair on the train picksocketing passengers, and uses the sandi to slow down time to grab her hand. She quickly pulls him aside.
"Ah! Lookey, here, boy, you are in trouble". The girl said.
She forcefully grabs and slams him into the wall of the train and curiously checks his data.
She notices the illegal Sandevistan, and proposes they could also work together. It turns out, she is especially looking out for Arasaka suits to steal from. David joins her now as her "trainee" (she calls him that a bit jokingly) and introduces herself as "Lucy". Both begin their picksocketing venture using David's abilities. Lucy challenges and tests him with a variety of different victims, before they get off the train.
After their heist, they discuss their cut, but David passes out on the stairs with a nosebleed.
Lucy called for an ambulance, and David finds himself strapped to a stretcher in the next scene. The present EMT wants to know the details and asks for David's immunosuppressants. Lucy seems to care little and has no idea about David's insurance, but eventually mentions Arasaka Academy. The EMT then obviously wants to check the data and disappears for a moment. Lucy realizes, the ambulance passed the hospital, and the returning EMT threatens them with a gun. It turns out, David wasn't insured, and the EMT now wants to make some quick eddies with the illegal implant.
Lucy kicks the stretcher with David in the EMT's gut, opens the door, and both go on a wild ride on the road. She stops the stretcher with David on a Plaza, but David collapses again and wants to be taken to Doc.
Later doc's clinic.....
Doc checks David and is amazed he could even fire the implant eight times in one day, which means extreme stress even for an adult. Lucy insists, that Doc should sell the boy the right medicine, but someone with this advanced implant demands more exclusive drugs. Lucy pulls out the stolen chips, but they can only pay for two days of meds. Doc suggests to better remove the implant again, because David probably can only cope for a few more days with it. He warns him about the psychological dangers posed by the implant. David leaves Doc's practice.
Lucy is waiting for him outside, and they talk business and about his debt. David is invited home to her apartment, and she serves them a beer. She then convinces him to take off his mother's jacket, puts it on herself, and reprograms it to display the letters "Edgerunners" on the back. Lucy explains to him that it's another word for "Cyberpunk". David admits he is a fan of JK's Edgerunners series. He then tries to change the subject by drawing her attention to a poster on her wall, advertising a new life on the moon. He somewhat sneers at the idea of going to the moon, but Lucy seems hurt by his comment. David opens up about his mother and why he attended Arasaka Academy, although he never felt comfortable there. He concludes, his mother wanted him to live her dream, and Lucy suggests he should rather fulfil his own. Lucy then hints at her own dream, which really is to leave Night City and fly to the moon. She invites him to join a moon simulation. The two then enjoy a few minutes of space fareing, before an aggressive call from Maine pulls him from the BD with the words: "You fell over the edge, punk!".
David returns to reality, just to stare into the faces of Maine and his gang members.
Maine is not amused that David has the Sandevistan installed and demands it back. David tells him what happened, but Maine response is
"Tough deal, but... That implant you chipped is all mine".
Lucy is next to him and seems completely unperturbed. David is threatened and punched in the face.
meanwhile back at M's mansion ....
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Author here ....
a boring chapter, the next one will have some action and strategic thinking