Chapter Text
The sun clung to the horizon as night began to overtake the city, yet the streets were just as busy as they were during the day. The Scavengers were no exception. They still had work to do, and the cover of night was the best time to get things done. The nefarious gang filled dark alleyways like rats, waiting for helpless victims to make themselves vulnerable. They profited from the misfortune of others, stealing cyberware from their targets and selling it on the dark web.
Though the Scavs were known to be a ruthless gang of monsters, there were occasionally members that didn't quite fit the stereotype. Den had joined the gang almost two years ago when he moved to Night City and started dating Lee Hoover, the leader of this particular group of Scavs. It wasn't a job he enjoyed, but it paid the bills.
The young man stared out the open garage door, watching cars pass by the hideout. It was an unsuspecting building that had the appearance of a mechanic's shop, making it the perfect place for illicit activities. Soon he was joined by an androgynous blond Scav wearing a respirator, a white dog with a robotic leg trailing behind. “You ready to deal with that gig?” They spoke with an upward inflection in an accent that was difficult to identify.
Den glanced at them and nodded. “Might as well get it over with.” His low Spanish accent didn’t quite match his cute, freckled face.
“Aw, you nervous, choombatta?” They teased, placing their prosthetic hand on their hip.
“Drop it, Lucky.” Though Den considered Lucky to be a friend, they often got on his nerves.
"Hey, chooms! Check out this corpo chick we grabbed!" A Scav wearing a hoodie called.
Den and Lucky exchanged glances before going to join the others by a bathtub filled with icy water. Sitting in the water was a young woman covered in freckles. The other Scavengers had just shaved her head, making it easier to access her netrunner cyberware, but more difficult to tell what color hair she might have had.
As he stopped by the other gang members, a tall white man with a backwards cap greeted Den by grasping his jaw and pressing their lips together. Though Den seemed very uncomfortable, he didn’t reject him. “What’s so special about her, Lee?” He asked, tapping the tub with his toes.
Lee folded his arms, very proud of himself. "Her cyberware is top shelf." He explained, placing one foot on the edge of the tub. "’Sides that, she’s also a corpo netrunner. We're gonna be sitting pretty when we're through with her."
Lucky leaned over the tub to get a good look at her. She was barely conscious, but aware enough to be startled by their mask. "You use the shard I threw together?" They asked, glancing at their leader.
"Worked like a charm, great job." Lee replied, dipping his head.
Den repressed a sigh. "Almost a shame that you're just gonna hack her up..." He murmured, a touch of sympathy in his voice.
Lee made aggressive eye contact with his boyfriend, as if he were jealous. "Yeah? Why's that?"
"She's so young..."
"Same age as you. Why's it matter to you, anyway? Not like you're the one doing it."
Den shook his head, not wanting to start an argument. "Never mind. We need to go grab those supplies."
Raising an eyebrow, Lee dipped his head in agreement. "Yeah, you do that." He turned his attention to the hooded Scav. "C'mon, we need to move her to the apartment. All of our supplies are there."
After the others had left, Den knelt beside the tub and carefully touched the woman's facial cyberware. "Pobrecita… I'm sorry." His tone was hushed, but kind. Though the woman watched him, her gaze was distant and glossy.
Lucky could barely take their eyes off of her, almost like they were fixated. They didn’t seem to be ogling at her naked body, though, but admiring her face instead. “I wonder what she’s like? Y’know, when she’s not skezzed out.” They paused, tilting their head to the side. “Wish I could stay with her. It’s a shame they’re gonna fuck up that pretty face of hers.”
Den shot them a disgusted look. "You could stop talking, you know."
"We both know that’s not true."
When the two made it outside, there were two other Scavs waiting for them by a car. Lucky signaled for them to get in and turned towards Den. "When we get there, me 'n' the guys will keep them busy. You do your sneaky thing and find a point of entry."
Den dipped his head. "Makes sense. What are we looking at for security?"
"It's Maelstrom." They started. "So dumber than shit, but they got a lot of scary tech."
"Can you guys handle them alright? We shouldn’t underestimate them…"
"What are we, a bunch of fucking kids?" They scoffed, leaving Den's side to get into the car.
Den made a face, but didn't press further. While it was true that most members of Maelstrom weren't the brightest, they still managed to maintain a reputation of being one of the nastiest gangs around.
As the group of Scavs rolled up to an old warehouse, the driver pulled off of the road, parking behind the cover of some wreckage. Den leaned forward to get a better look at the building. From the outside, it appeared to be completely abandoned, but they knew that the inside was crawling with Maelstrom goons. "Let's make this short and sweet." He started, turning on his holographic mask. "I'll find a point of entry while you guys keep the borgfuckers busy, then we can find our goods."
Lucky nodded in agreement. "Keep it clean, we don't know what kind of security they have. Spot any preem chrome on the gangoons? Mark 'em and we'll grab it later."
The Scavs in the front seat dipped their heads in reply.
Den quietly made his way around the building. Using his ocular implants, he scanned the area, ensuring that there were no cameras or tripwires. He soon came to a locked door on the side of the warehouse, and started looking for a way to open it. "Hm. Old fashion, no keypad or tech." He muttered, looking the door over as he ran his hand down it. The wood was light enough that he could have easily broken it, but he worried about alerting anyone hanging out on the other side. Grabbing the tire iron hanging from his belt, he quickly crossed himself before slamming the sharp end of the tool between the door and the frame, granting him access to a poorly-lit room.
It seemed like the other Scavs had managed to distract Maelstrom, as Den only came across a few stragglers once he was inside. After briefly looking through a few rooms, he found a computer set up on a makeshift desk, and hoped that it was linked to the security system. Unfortunately, computers had never been a strong point of his, and he found himself struggling to get into it.
While looking at the screen, he heard footsteps behind him, and suddenly felt what he assumed was the barrel of a gun against his back. He didn’t dare move, but tried to see his attacker’s face in the computer’s reflection.
"Well, well!" A Maelstrom woman exclaimed. "What's wrong, little Scav? You get separated from your pals?"
With as little movement as possible, Den gripped his tire iron. In one swift motion, he turned and swung the tool at the woman's head, causing her to stagger back a few steps. She fired her gun reflectively, clipping the young man's arm and shattering the computer screen behind him. The Scav winced, but quickly grabbed his revolver, firing one round into the goon's face.
He took a moment to catch his breath, then returned his attention to the computer. "Mierda." He muttered under his breath.
"Trouble with the tech?" Lucky's voice startled Den. "Lucky for you, your knight in shining armor is here."
"Fuck off." Den rolled his eyes, procuring an inhaler from his jacket and taking a hit. He tore a bit of fabric from the downed goon’s shirt and tied it around his wound.
Lucky connected their personal link to the system while the other Scavs kept guard. After a few minutes they disconnected, dipping their head. "And we're good." Den’s injury caught their attention. “Are you good? Don’t really need you slacking off.”
“I’m fine. Let’s keep moving.”
Lucky’s dog stayed ahead of the group, alerting them if anything seemed off, but she had been suspiciously quiet for the longest time. Eventually they made it to the end of a hallway with a large set of metal doors blocking their path. Ymir laid her ears back and dropped her tail, letting out a low growl. All four Scavs readied their weapons, bracing themselves for whatever was on the other side.
Den signaled for the others to stay back as he pressed himself against the doors, trying to hear what was going on in the other room. “At least two having a conversation.” He whispered. When it had quieted down, he waved two fingers towards the door, backed away, and gave a firm kick near the handles.
“What the hell?!” A Maelstrom man exclaimed as the group entered the room.
“The Scavengers! Knew they’d show their ugly mugs before long!” Another added.
Den wrinkled his nose, though it was hard to see past his mask. “Look who’s talking. Hand over our supplies.”
“Your supplies? You mean the supplies that we were gonna klep from that ripper?”
“I won’t ask again.” Den asserted, pointing his gun at the closest goon.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have to!” Both men charged at the Scavs, firing their weapons wildly.
The Scavs quickly took cover, returning fire from behind some storage crates. As one of the men approached Den and Lucky’s hiding place, Lucky grabbed their baseball bat and swung it as hard as they could, striking the goon’s knees and dropping him to the floor. Den took aim, shooting him between his robotic eyes, flinching as blood splattered onto his clothes and face. He didn’t enjoy hurting others, despite the fact that his friends seemed delighted by it.
Before they could take out the other man, they were startled by Ymir barking, followed by the doors behind them flying open. A tall, muscular woman stormed in, glaring at the unwelcome guests. “The fuck is going on in here?!” She spat in an almost robotic voice, looking down at her dead associate. “Fucking Scavs.” She hissed, swinging the minigun that she was carrying at Den and Lucky, slamming them into the storage crates.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” One of the other Scavs cried, fleeing from the woman as she began unloading her gun, taking out her fellow ganger in the process.
Den’s ears were ringing, and his head was spinning. He sat up, noticing that the tower of crates were about to fall, and his friend was moments away from being crushed under them. He scrambled to his knees, grabbed Lucky by the hood of their vest, and pulled them out of the way.
Lucky tensed up as they watched the metal boxes topple over, then sighed loudly. “I owe you, Valentina.”
“Yet again.” Den replied jokingly, standing up and grabbing his gun.
Lucky briefly lowered their mask in order to whistle, bringing Ymir to their side. “Árás.” They commanded in their native tongue. Without a moment of hesitation, the dog charged at the Maelstrom goon, lunging and sinking her teeth into what little flesh was left on the woman’s arm.
“Fucking mutt!” She cried out in pain before she grabbed Ymir by her neckerchief. “Fuck off!” She tossed the dog aside like she was a minor inconvenience, but it gave the Scavs just enough time to retaliate. Den fired at her legs, causing her to fall to the ground, then Lucky ran at her, hitting the side of her head with their bat. They took another aggressive swing for good measures before going to check on their canine companion.
Den exhaled deeply, making his way over to the Maelstrom woman. He then looked back at the other two Scavs. “Are you guys alright?”
One gave a thumbs up as he looked the other man over. “I think so! Just some bullet wounds!”
“Just some bullet wounds…” Den shook his head, glancing at his own injury.
“Check out her throat implant!” Lucky spoke up, kneeling beside the woman. “Looks brand new, must’ve just gotten it.” They removed their backpack, procuring some surgical tools from it.
Den frowned. “You’re going to do that here?”
“Might as well. Go find the supplies, I know your pussy stomach can’t handle this shit.”
Den started to protest, but decided that it was for the best. He soon found the stolen supplies in refrigerated containers near the back of the room. He called the other two Scavs over to help him carry them, taking a quick peek inside before they left. “Fuck.” He muttered. “It’s all kid stuff…”
One of the other men shrugged. “So what? Business as usual.” While this was true, it was one of the hardest parts of the job. It was bad enough that they were stealing cyberware from people who needed it, but it was far worse to know that some kid was probably going to die because they didn’t get the chrome they needed to survive.
“Stop messing around!” Lucky yelled, waiting by the exit. “Let’s delta before more goons show up!” Ymir barked enthusiastically, as if agreeing with her master.
“On it.” Den replied, his tone defeated. He grabbed the only remaining container and went to join his friends.
There was a lot of commotion as the small group of Scavs returned to their hideout. Everyone seemed to be on edge, leading to some concern. Den sat the container he was carrying on the floor before joining the others. "What happened?" He asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"We lost the corpo chick." The female Scav explained. "Some fucking mercs took out our guys and nabbed her."
Den managed to keep a straight face, hiding how relieved he was. "Are our guys okay?"
"If they were, they sure as hell won't be once Lee’s through with ‘em." The woman muttered, then left the two.
"I bet you're happy, huh?" Lucky asked mockingly.
"She's not the only corpo we can lift parts from." Den replied, avoiding the question.
Lucky shrugged one shoulder. Though their mask completely hid their expression, they also seemed somewhat relieved. "Whatever. She gets to keep her pretty face for now." Their response surprised Den a little.
"Don't tell me that you took a liking to her."
"Hey, why don't you shut the fuck up, Valentina?" They sneered.
"Valentina! Lee’s looking for ya!" Another Scav called.
Den sighed, glancing at Lucky before leaving to find his boyfriend.
Lee was clearly upset when Den found him pacing by a salvaged car. This made him nervous, and he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to approach.
"Oh, so you're still here? Thought maybe you decided to fuck off someplace again tonight." Lee snapped. “You plan on staying with Mads again tonight? Or some other guy you wanna cozy up with?”
Shifting his weight, Den rolled his eyes. “I stayed with Lucky because you gave me a black eye…”
“You know I didn’t mean it, babe. I love you, you know that?” He leaned in for a kiss, but Den turned his head, only agitating the man more.
"You wanted to see me?" Den asked, rubbing his arm sheepishly. He did his best to avoid conflict with his lover, but at times it seemed impossible. Things seemed to be getting progressively worse the longer they dated, but he had formed some sort of attachment to the man despite all of his flaws.
"Tell me you guys had better luck with your gig."
"Maelstrom was dealt with, and we secured the supplies."
"All of them?"
Den briefly dipped his head. "Sí." He started to turn away from the Scav leader. "I'm going to see if the guys need help with—" Before he could finish, Lee caught him by the wrist, dragging him closer.
"I'm not done talking to you." He said with a scowl. "I'm guessing you heard about the corpo bitch?"
"I did. It's a shame."
"God-fucking-dammit!" Lee exclaimed, shaking his head. "We would have been loaded! I can't fucking believe they let those fucking mercs get in the way!" His raised voice caused Den to flinch.
"We couldn’t have predicted the mercs showing up, it wasn’t their fault…" Den's response caused the Scav leader to strike him in the face with the back of his hand. Lee’s gorilla arm cyberware packed a punch, leaving him with a bloody cheek.
"Stop being so fucking soft!" Lee spat. “Sometimes you're worse than the fuck-ups that lost our goods!"
Den lowered his gaze. "I'm sorry..."
"Whatever. Either go do something useful, or get the hell out."
Rather than returning to his companions, Den made his way to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He waited a moment for the overhead light to stop flickering, then looked at his newest injury in the dirty mirror. It definitely wasn't the first time his boyfriend had struck him, and likely wouldn't be the last.
"Mierda." He muttered under his breath as he procured a pink and blue injector from his jacket pocket, braced himself, and stabbed it into his forearm. After a few moments, his vision started to blur, and his head felt hazy. This still didn't seem like enough to him, however, so he grabbed the inhaler that was sitting on the sink and took a hit from it without even considering what it was. He remained in the bathroom for a few more minutes before stumbling out and making his way to the open garage door, wanting nothing more than to leave.
Lucky lifted their chin, raising an eyebrow at the sight of their friend. “Valentina! What did Hoover want?” They met Den by the door and immediately noticed his hazed expression. “Fuuuck, what did you take?” Having not heard anything his friend had said, Den shrugged in reply. “Nice. Well, try not to die if you’re driving.” They smacked his shoulder. “Your organs are worth a lot less if you destroy them.” They gave a thumbs up, making their advice even more unsettling.
“Right.” Den muttered, wrinkling his nose. He picked up his helmet and started towards the exit.
Lucky followed him and caught him by the sleeve of his jacket. “A minute, Valentina?”
“Santa madre, Lucky, I just wanna go home…”
“I hear you, but listen for a sec. Haven’t you had enough of Hoover yet? Wouldn’t you like it if he, y’know—” They made a gagging sound as they slid their index finger across their throat.
“What are you trying to say?” Den asked in an alarmed tone.
“Look, I think it’s time for some new management, and I won’t pretend that I haven’t been eyeing the position.”
“I… don’t understand. Why are you telling me this? Are you threatening Lee?”
“He did that to you, didn’t he? C’mon–” Lucky pointed at his wound before shaking their head. “Never mind, I’ll wait ‘til you’re in a better headspace. Later, choomba.”
Den watched them for a moment before continuing on his way. He staggered towards his motorcycle, glad that he remembered where he had parked. As he sat on the bike, he pressed his fingers against his temples and groaned. This routine was getting old fast. The constant use of whatever drugs and alcohol he could get his hands on was starting to wear on him, and he barely remembered what it was like to be sober. He was startled by an incoming call from his adoptive sister, Shiloh. He had been avoiding her because he knew he would be in for a lecture when she got through to him, but something made him answer nonetheless.
"Yeah?" He answered, his voice tired.
"Den! Where the hell are you? I've been so worried!" Though the two lived together, Den was rarely home these days.
He tried to think of a reasonable excuse, but was unable in his current state of mind. "I've just been really busy."
"You sound terrible."
"Thanks, good to hear from you too."
"Look. I need to talk to you about something. It’s about the Scavs."
Den didn't respond for a few minutes. He had become distracted by the passing headlights dancing across his motorcycle, and had stopped listening to her.
"Den?" Shiloh tried to get his attention.
He flinched. "What about them?"
"Are you somewhere safe? Can you talk about it?"
He paused again while giving his surroundings a brief glance. "Yeah."
"I know I’ve said this to you a thousand times, but you should leave. I feel like… I feel like things have gotten worse for you recently." Shiloh got straight to her point.
"Everything is fine, Shy. I know they’re into some... questionable things, but that's their thing. I'm not into that. Things are fine with us." They both knew that he was lying.
Shiloh sighed. "I just don't want to find you rotting in a dumpster somewhere..."
Den frowned. "I'm fine… that's not going to happen, alright?"
"Promise me that you'll think about it."
Den shook his head and put his helmet on. "Yeah. I'll do that." He started his motorcycle. "I'll talk to you later."
"Please be safe." Before she could say anything else, Den ended the call.
As he sped down the road, Den cut in between cars and ran every light. He couldn't stop thinking about what Shiloh had said. Leaving the Scavs seemed to be ideal, but he didn't want to leave his boyfriend. Or maybe he did, but he was afraid of what would happen. While lost in thought, he took his exit too soon, hitting the curb, which sent his bike flying off of the overpass. Bracing himself for impact was the last thing that he remembered before everything went black.