Cyberpunk 2077 - The Ballad of Lost Souls

Meredith walks calmly toward the entrance to a large abandoned factory in the desert. The large decaying green structure towers above her, sheltering her from the scorching heat of the Badlands outside Night City. Behind her, two armed Militech guards escort her.

They all stand in front of the double doors of the factory entrance, when Meredith, in a relaxed manner, closes her eyes and stretches her head, as if preparing for exercise. Suddenly her optics light up, signaling an incoming call on her holo.

Meredith(Holo): Ehy! Yeah… Yeah.

Meredith turns toward the soldiers behind her, motioning toward the door. After a short while she knocks it down with one blow, stepping inside with the soldiers behind her.

Meredith(Holo): Yes, I went there. Boring as hell. What was I supposed to do? I took her hubby's place, I had to go.

Meredith gets in the large abandoned factory, followed by the two soldiers, passing over the huge metal doors that bend slightly under her weight.

Suddenly, two raiders wearing bright blue t-shirts, armed with clubs, step out of the darkness shrouding Meredith's sides. The first one raises his club in the air, trying to hit her. She immediately throws a punch at him, piercing his chest.

Meredith(Holo): Of course, she was crying like crazy. Without her executive husband, the days of weekends at Cristal Palace are over.

The man falls to the ground clutching his chest, dropping the bat, while the other violently strikes Meredith in the back. The metal bat bends in the other man's hands, taking the shape of Meredith's back, while she remains unfazed.

Meredith(Holo): Come on, she'll surely find a solution in no time. Too bad she doesn't like women...Or maybe she does, but wouldn't know how to explain it to her children. Anyway, one thing we both know is that her husband has never been much in bed.

One of the two soldiers hit the man behind Meredith in the head, covering her face with blood. Meredith turns and glares at him, pointing at his cheek and then raising her hands, annoyed.

Meredith(Holo): Yeah, sorry I'm working. Look, what the hell do you want from me?! He brought it on himself. He had that wheeled shithole for the Lithuanians screwed under his nose...Do you have any idea how much it cost us to fabricate that story with the press? They were right to throw him in the bay.

Meredith signal to the soldiers behind her to advance, while she remains behind, pleased, with her hands behind her back.

Meredith(Holo): Bullshit. I could have had the office facing Corpo Plaza, but I got the one on the side. Fuck that. Three fuckin' years, literally kissing that asshole…And it all goes to shit to make room for the Pocahontas's taskforce.

Meredith begins to walk merrily through the huge factory hallway, lit by the shattered windows through which the scorching desert sun comes in.

Meredith(Holo): The fuck does "you never come to the office anyway" mean?! You're never there either. By the way, I went to R&D. Had all the executive package implants installed… Plus a few extras, you should too.

Meredith lights a cigarette as she joins the two soldiers.

Meredith(Holo): Just wait until the handsome one is there, the tall brown-haired one. Demian something I think he's called. Got the bald and fat one, a real fucking maniac. Every time he stares at me he starts to sweat... You know he keeps recordings of the people he stitches? A real creep.

The two soldiers are waiting in front of a large metal door at the end of the wide corridor, three dead Wraiths lie on the ground, their bodies filled with bullets.

Meredith(Holo): ...But no! I'm in a concrete factory in the middle of the desert. Apparently these assholes liked to pick fights with the Aldecaldos…To me they're all fucking clowns, why they don't get real jobs, I don't know.

Meredith pulls an inhaler from a holder attached to the belt on her back. She brings it to her mouth inhaling three times, then closes her eyes, tilting her head back and smiling. After a moment she opens them again, signaling to the soldiers to burst through the door.

Meredith(Holo): Listen. The scribblers are groping in the dark. It's been three months and we don't have shit. Yorinobu doesn't give up any information, except four blurry photos...Mayers is getting nervous and your department is also breathing down my neck about the budget...Whatever…But do something about it! Otherwise, the fuck did I get you promoted Senior Manager for?! 

The soldiers break down the door as Meredith follows them. The three of them find themselves in a large room full of rusty old machinery with two catwalks above them. Four men begin to spare toward the soldiers; Meredith dodges all the bullets while the two return fire.

Meredith(Holo): Of course he knows who he is! He provided us with the blurred versions, though. Apparently our "V" mounted Kiroshi's with built-in noise jammer...Translated we have just a bunch of blurred squares, which is to say, fucking nothing.

One of the soldiers is hit and falls to the ground while the other kills the wraiths above him, who fall to the ground, exploding in a pool of blood. Meredith pulls the rifle out of the arms of the wounded soldier, who squirms while covering his shoulder, then shoots behind her, killing the Wraith on the catwalk.

Meredith(Holo): Hold on there…

Meredith draws the rifle, aiming at the soldier lying on the ground, looking at him, disgusted.

Meredith: Get your ass up. Now.

Meredith turns her back, as the soldier slowly rises from the ground.

Meredith(Holo): Sorry I was saying… Yeah, he is the fucking boogeyman of Night City. Nobody is willing to give us anything, not even a description. 

Suddenly, a man armed with a machete charges Meredith, screaming, surprising the soldiers. She strikes him, carelessly, in the knee, breaking his leg cleanly and knocking the bone out of his leg. He falls to the ground clutching his leg with both hands, crying.

Wraith: Jesus Christ... Oh my god! Shiiittt....

Meredith(Holo): He's not going anywhere, anyway. They say he's dying...Rumor has it that he even saved Myers after the DogTown mess and she offered him a cure... He decided to screw it up and went kissing Sitting Bull's pipe, instead...go figure.

Meredith turns to one of the soldiers, snapping her fingers and pointing to the man on the ground. The soldier grabs him, dragging him toward the exit, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Meredith(Holo): Of course she'ill never admit it. It would be political suicide. She is the only one besides the dudes in kimonos who knows what he looks like, but won't open her mouth. She just sits there in the fucking oval office, massaging her temples. Hoping things will get better on their own. Fuckin' hate her.

Meredith pulls out the inhaler, again, and puts it in her mouth. This time her hand trembles. She notices it and tries to stop it with her left.

Meredith(Holo): No, the police don't know shit either... he slipped under their noses. Personally he reminds me of a guy I met last year… Oh c'mon can't be him! That guy used to steal cars together with an ape of the Valentinos. He helped me once with the Maelstrom thing and that's it… What do you care, are you jealous?! Anyway, yes. He had a nice cock but still it was a meh out of ten.

Meredith breathes in three times from the inhaler and then throws it to the floor.

Meredith(Holo): However, Kirsoshi will have to give in, sooner or later...They held on for a while trying not to step on each other's toes but they would never give up the NUSA market for a favor between countrymen... Yeah, It would be a fucking disaster, that's what... Of course! I mount them too. I'd have to pluck a new pair of eyes out of some tramp.

Meredith sends the remaining soldier to a staircase that disappears into the depths of the factory. He raises his rifle, walking down, as she follows him.

Meredith(Holo): Speaking of tramps. I'm not happy about the mess you made at home, at all... No, listen, I understand the eyes but the fuck was the point of ripping his lips off?! Found him banging his head against the glass. You know how long it took me to tear him apart?! He soaked the whole apartment with blood and piss. Can't you do it with a Joytoy like all normal people do? The bottom of the bay is full of 'em. They were fucking made for the purpose.

The two begin to descend the staircase, finding themselves in a small, dark basement filled with pillars and shelves. Suddenly from behind one of them appears a woman with a knife who tries to strike Meredith. She quickly blocks her arm, slamming her head against one of the concrete pillars.

Meredith(Holo): Yes, stupid idiot. I had to call a crew to clean up…Please, cut the crap! Last time I asked the maid to take out the trash, she had a panic attack and started crying...Do...Do you have any idea how hard it is to find qualified staff now that the city is on lockdown? That's my point.

The soldier aims the rifle at the woman's head. Meredith raises her left hand, as if to tell him to let it go, while with her right hand she pushes the woman's head harder and harder against the pillar.

Wraith Woman: aaaaahhhhhh! AAAAAAAHHHHH!

Meredith(Holo): Told you I'm not changing apartments anymore. No, the Japanese style one in Corpo Plaza is no longer for sale. Somebody snatched it from me at the last minute…Yeah, you always make fucking mistakes, Patrick. That's the thing. Like that chick in the sales department. What was the need to share the video of her taking it all over the office?! Eventually she threw herself out of a window, that's what…

Meredith keeps pushing the woman's head harder and harder against the pillar, as she begins to cry and scream, trying to free herself. After a while, streams of blood start coming out of her nose and eyes. 

Meredith(Holo): Then you don't understand. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT LITTLE DOROTHY! I don't want any trouble, got it?! She could have landed on my car when she threw herself down. You know how fucking long it took me to get a pearl white Quadra Turbo with tobacco leather interior? Six months.

Eventually the woman's head collapses under the weight of Meredith's hand, exploding into a mash of bone and blood, as her eyes pop out of their sockets. The lifeless body collapses to the ground, leaving a red blob on the floor, as Meredith waves her hand to wipe away the blood.

Meredith(Holo): One last thing. Cut off those fucking beauty creams in the morning. Feel like I'm kissing a woman with a beard, you're messing with my brain. Yeah...anyway I have a reservation at the Ember for tonight... Well those are the perks of being me... Exactly. Get nice and put the Studd in "Turbo" mode, I want to have fun... Whatever, bring him along too...Ufff... bring the wife too, then! I hope they don't pass out after twenty minutes like your other friends.

There is one last door that leads to a lower level of the basement. Meredith waves the soldier through it. The soldier obeys, disappearing into the deeper levels of the factory.

Meredith(Holo): Hold on, someone is calling me. 

Meredith hangs up the call and answers the next. A brown-haired man in his forties in a lab coat appears on her interface.

Meredith(Holo): Stout.

Demian(Holo): MEREDITH, THE FUCK DID YOU DO?!

Meredith lights up a cigarette, bored.

Meredith(Holo): Hi, Damian. I can hear you pretty nervous.

Demian(Holo): NERVOUS?! Jesus Christ! I found Raul curled up in a corner of the lab. Had to give him a tranquilizer to calm him down. The fuck did you do to him?!

Meredith chuckles, amused.

Meredith(Holo): Fuck, we saw each other three days ago and he's still in that state? Has he ever seen a woman?!

Demian(Holo): It's no laughing matter, Meredith! You can't come down here and harass my staff. I saw the tapes, you got all that shit installed down here, there's not even the proper equipment to do that! Your heart stopped twice under the fucking knife!

Meredith(Holo): Yes, I wanted to replace that as well, but your Mexican lackey had run out of them.

Suddenly two shots are heard coming from the lower level of the basement.

Demian(holo): DID YOU WANT TO INSTALL MORE STUFF?! Shit, Meredith. I understand the Kiroshi, the fortified ankles and the cell regeneration system… But explain to me the total endoskeleton replacement. That's what infantry troops use in theaters of war, what are you doing with it?! Not to mention Apogee 2.0, that thing didn't even pass inmates testing. IT WAS JUST A PROTOTYPE!

The Miltech soldier returns from the subterranean level full of blood, gesturing with his hand toward Meredith, mimicking the number "two." Meredith nods and then turns her back.

Meredith(Holo): Don't worry. I'm taking the inhaler.

Demian(holo): The inhaler?! Meredith, you can't mount all that cyberware in one fell swoop! I'm seeing your biomonitor data, your cortisone levels are dangerously off the charts, as are your lithium levels. You are risking a psychotic break! You have to come back to hq.

Meredith puts out her cigarette on the floor.

Meredith(holo): The fuck you just said?!

Demian(holo): Meredith, you don't understand. You are a time bomb in this state...

Meredith closes her eyes, massaging her head.

Demian(holo): I'm asking as a friend. You have to come back here, we'll take all that shit off as fast as we can.

Meredith explodes in a most violent rage. Her optics glow a fiery red as she arches under the weight of rage.

Meredith(holo): YOU AIN'T GONNA DO SHIT, YOU FUCKING PAPER-PUSHER! You're going to erase every goddamn log, every fucking piece of data... Every fucking recording! Otherwise I'm going to test all this stuff on your wife's face, while your son watches... Do we understand each other?!

Damian's expression on the holo changes, suddenly he squints, fearful.

Demian(holo): Meredith…

Meredith hangs up the call, closing her eyes.

Meredith(holo): Fucking idiot.

Meredith begins to breathe faster and faster, slowly trying to rest her left hand on his right shoulder, as if seeking comfort, lowering her head, weighed down by a heap of scattered thoughts. The soldier watches her motionless from the other end of the room, when suddenly she hears a whisper coming from somewhere around her. 

Voice: Fucking lunatic, she creeps me out.

Meredith suddenly teleports in front of the soldier, looking at him with her head tilted slightly, lifting her lip, angry, showing her teeth.

Meredith: The fuck did you say?

The soldier stares at Meredith, puzzled, clutching the rifle in his hands.

Militech Soldier: Sir, I did not say anything.

Meredith begins to nod smugly, almost smiling. Then with a pat, she hits the soldier's shoulder, causing him to gasp.

Meredith: How many have we had, can you tell me?

Militech Soldier: I... I would say thirty, sir.

Meredith approaches the soldier's face, smiling sinisterly.

Meredith: Thirty-six, stupid idiot. Thirty Six. How many did the scan show?

Militech Soldier: Thirty-seven, sir.

Meredith: Exactly.

Meredith turns, giving her back to the soldier. She starts scanning the area using her optics, that alternate between a red and a blue. She clasps her right wrist with her left hand, as if she is preparing for action.

Meredith: So it means we are not done, yet…

After looking around for a while, Meredith smiles as her optics go out, showing her eyes again. Her attention focuses on a large closet to her left. Suddenly, she closes the basement door behind her, signaling to the soldier to be quiet.

After a moment of silence, a young man flung open the doors of a small metal closet located on the far side of the basement to Meredith's left. After looking around, the boy tries to escape, but in vain. Meredith stretches out her foot slightly, causing him to fall to the ground, which slides along the filthy floor until he stops not far from them.

Meredith: Well, well. Were you hiding in the crawl spaces like a rat?!

The young man turns on his back, then raises his hands as if to protect himself.

Young Wraith: No… No…please!

Meredith grabs the young boy by the neck of his shirt, lifting his torso, as the soldier behind her loads his rifle. The boy begins to tremble, trying to pull Meredith away.

Meredith: Who are you supposed to be? The mascot of the group?! How old are you, brat?

Young Wraith: Twenty… Twenty-five!

Meredith approaches the boy's face, sneering.

Meredith: Too old to be a boy, too young to be a man… But always in time to die. Unless you help me… Will you?

The boy begins to nod nervously. Meredith gives him a mad look, smug. Then she raises her right hand behind her, asking for something at the soldier, who hands her a tablet.

Meredith joyfully shows the tablet to the boy, which depicts a picture of Saul, Panam and V running in the basement of the Arasaka tower. V's face is obscured and blurred by a set of pixelated cubes.

Meredith: Lookin' for these two. Beautiful hair on the left is dead, crushed under the weight of his mistakes. I'm left with the girl and Rubick's face. Have you seen 'em?

The boy raises his finger, pointing it at the tablet screen, at Saul's face.

Young Wraith: Hi...Him! We had captured him together with a group of Aldecaldos then someone came to free him... But we don't know who did it...We chased them for a while in the desert but lost them in a storm.... I... I don't know anything else, really!

Meredith stares at the boy, disappointed and bored.

Meredith: Congratulations. What am I supposed to do with this information, exactly?

The boy raises his hands again, stammering, then begins to look around.

Young Wraith: Wait... I... I remember her! She was with a guy. The leader of a smuggling gang in Nevada. They were called the leather jackets... But that's all, really!

Merdith closes her eyes, smiling and shaking her head.

Meredith: In Nevada…

Young Wraith: But that's the truth… I swear… I…

The boy turns to his left. His gaze is caught by the disfigured body of the woman, killed by Meredith. What remains of the head is smeared on the floor like a bucket of spilled paint. The boy stares at her, changing expressions several times, marked by terror. Then begins to cry as a lake of pee forms in the middle of his pants.

Meredith stares at him in disbelief, then bursts into thunderous laughter.

Meredith: Ahahahah.... AHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Please keep going. Don't stop. When I'll have to give the usual speech to our division's new employees it's your piss-soaked ass I'll show.

Meredith continues to stare at the young man, filming him with her optics, while he shakes with tears. The soldier behind her looks away for a moment, trying to hide his shame, then taps the receiver in his ear, listening for a communication.

Militech Soldier: Director, we have the algorithm from Kiroshi.

Meredith lifts her right foot, crushing the boy's ankle, who gasps.

Meredith: Good. Run it on the picture.

A thin line passes over the top of V's face, removing the cubes that obscured it and revealing his hair, as Meredith stares smugly at the tablet.

Another line passes over V's face, revealing his eyes. Meredith's expression changes, becoming puzzled as she crushes the boy's ankle tighter and tighter, as he leans forward, reaching for her with his hand.

Another line reveals V's nose, this time Meredith assumes an angry and incredulous expression, uncovering her teeth, while the boy begins to scream in pain.

Young Wraith: aaaahhhh…AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

The last line reveals V's mouth and chin. Meredith begins to tremble, hardening the muscles in her arms and cracking the screen of the tablet, that goes off in her hands.

Suddenly, Meredith bursts into a violent scream, breaking the tablet in half, like a sheet of paper and crushing the boy's ankle, which explodes as if it were made of plastic.

Meredith: FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!

Meredith lowers her head. Her fiery red optics target the boy, who is crying in pain as he tries to free himself. With a swift gesture she grabs the boy's hair and begins to drag him toward the door to the lower levels.

Meredith: C'mon. I want to ask you some questions…

The boy grabs Meredith's hand and extends the other toward the soldier, begging for mercy.

Young Wraith: Noooo… NOOOOOO!

The soldier lowers his head, closing his eyes. As the boy fucks, dragged by Meredith, into the dark depths of the factory.