Cyberpunk - Badland Madman [Cyberpunk 2077]

Perhaps for the first time in history, a godly AI was speechless. Or maybe it was just Atlas choosing not to indulge Cypher more.

Not that Cypher wanted that, as his eyes were entirely focused on the woman coming closer. Her walk was enchanting, high on those heels, her legs strong, hips wide, an hourglass, full, mature figure meant to climb the corporate ladder. And that face, of course, was beautiful. She gave off a very dominant air.

Cypher didn't get up and just stared at her, openly checking her out from her face to her chest to the wide curve of her hips in that tight skirt.

Then, he gave the waiter a look. "Can I smoke here?"

"Of course, sir. Embers has the state-of-the-art filtration system."

Nodding, Cypher took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, puffing out smoke towards the tall woman, finally in front of his table.

"Greetings, Omnissiah."

What the… huh?

[Cypher, she believes that you are also Omnissiah.]

Hearing Atlas' quick hint, Cypher shrugged, shaking his cigarette, gesturing for her to take a seat. "Militech did you dirty. You're a hell of a lot better looking in real life than that stiff company photo."

"So you know me."

"Hey, I know how to appreciate a pretty face, Meredith. Especially if she's particularly interested in me," Cypher said, winking at her.

He didn't need Atlas to see how nervous and terrified Meredith seemed. It made sense if she thought he was Omnissiah. Netrunners were some of the most dangerous people in the world, especially the sort that reached Songbird's level, and his level was Atlas, countless tiers above.

Creak—

Meredith sat in front of him and leaned closer, her elbows on the table. Cypher gave a wave to the waiter, and another glass of champagne was brought. He said nothing, drinking his own glass at first, and munched on some snacks.

Finally, once he saw the corpo woman had sipped once, he wiped away the smile from his face. His blue eyes turned icy and serious. "Let me guess. Director Goldstein over in Special Projects called dibs on me, huh? Man wants me no matter what. And you, poor Meredith, got roped into the mess. So now it's your gig to reel me in however you can. I nailed it or what?"

"Hah! Thanks, Atlas. Love playing this whole 'I know everything' guy role."

[Don't mention it, Cyph. Ask her about the eye, she'll be left speechless, might faint in fright.]

Cypher was really curious to know what was going on in her mind. She looked completely stiff, like a frozen, dead body. Her eyes were on him, but clearly her mind was elsewhere. Her jaw was clenched visibly, and her frown had disappeared.

"H-How do you… know about the Director?"

Cypher smiled and took a really big puff of the cigarette and then blew all the smoke towards Meredith's face. "How's that eye holding up? You want some ice to cool that burn down?"

Creak!

Meredith Stout leapt to her feet, one hand going to her hips, but there was no gun. Her military-grade Kiroshi widened, horror clear in them.

Woosh!

From there, the real game began for Cypher. He never planned to meet Meredith Stout when he left home that morning. But since she had chosen to appear, he had every intention to tame her.

He used Atlas' mighty powers and did the same as he did with that City Manager. But this time, there was no Omnissiah or a monster. It was just Cypher in his black suit. With total control over Meredith's optics, he showed her whatever he wanted to show.

She was still standing in place, frozen.

Cypher had disappeared from his seat in a heap of mist. But his voice was still echoing from all around. Soon enough, Cypher made her see him in multiple places, standing and then vanishing. Multiple figures at the same time.

And finally, he appeared right behind her, close to her left ear.

"What were you thinking?" Cypher asked, his hands reached up and landed on her shoulders. It was all sensory and happening to her in her own mind. "What was the plan here? You gonna throw money at me? Power? Yourself? Just so I'd slap a leash on my neck and play along?"

Woosh!

Again, Cypher vanished in smoke and reappeared right in front of her face. He was half a head taller than her and glared down into her eyes, leaning in until his nose was an inch from hers. His right hand moved up and rested on her waist, the other caressed the side of her face with the back of his fingers.

"I know you are ambitious, but I doubt you are dumb enough to believe that alone will help you rise... So, Meredith Stout, be careful choosing your next string of words. I can be your worst nightmare or your sweetest dream. It all depends on you."

Cypher chose to take a hardliner stance against her. To him, Meredith didn't seem the sort to fall for sweet talk and promises. What the woman feared was greater power and authority. But he didn't want to take it too far.

He asked Atlas to retreat from the neural link and optics control. As soon as that happened, all the illusions vanished. Cypher was still seated in his chair, smoking. Meredith was still standing in place, shaken, as if the last few seconds of the exchange hadn't even happened.

Once again, Meredith took a seat. All hints of pride, strength, and superiority had vanished from her face. She looked like a lost puppy at that moment.

"I…" Meredith opened her mouth and instantly recoiled, looking left and right.

Cypher snapped his fingers. For five seconds, all the lights in the premium restaurant turned off. "Speak your mind. Nobody can hear us or record us. Everything is under my control."

Meredith tried to use her Kiroshi to do just that, and found it disabled. It was as if she had been cut off from the entire net.

"Any man with your intelligence would rather walk his own way than submit to a thankless corporation," Meredith said, her voice smooth and lacking the deep rumble of 'Agent'. She was just Meredith Strout, a woman stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Knew it from the start. The only way to fulfill the Director's wish was to drag you in a body bag."

"Hah!" Cypher laughed and lit another cigarette. "Want one?"

"Thanks." Meredith took it, drew a few slow puffs. "You're walking on a thin line, Cypher Blackwell. It isn't just Militech after you. Arasaka counterintelligence has started sniffing along your trail. Petrochem and Biotechnica want you dead for that Moisture Vaporator. But... I know this is something way above my pay grade. Thing is, I don't get to choose. I either bring you in, or I die. That's the only way this ends for me."

Cypher stared at her face. No matter how attractive she was, he had no doubt she was just playing a role, a game. The poor damsel in distress.

"Music to my ears. The more those corporations chase me, the more fame I get. It's free publicity," Cypher said.

"You're a madman if you think that," Meredith said, more confusion on her face than interrogative pride. "Seriously, who even are you? You appeared out of nowhere and kicked up this whole mess. There's no record of you before the last few years. Nothing at all. So where did you learn all this? I don't buy the nomad story. You don't seem like one. You seem more like some hidden corpo genius they raised in a lab. You've got a powerful backer somewhere, don't you?"

[She's right, Cyph. I'm your backer, and I believe I'm quite strong.]

"Damn right, Atlas. You're my big, cosmic, horny, Morgan Freeman Skynet."

[Marvelous use of free will over your tongue, Cyph. Let me play a clapping sound in your head.]

"..."

Fucker actually played claps in his head. Cypher's brow twitched, and he focused back on the beauty. He rested his right hand on the table and stretched it to her. "Feel my hand, Meredith."

After a few moments of hesitation, Meredith removed her tactical gloves and carefully reached for his hand. Her fingers stroked his palm, all the rough patches.

"C'mon, pretty face. You know damn well this ain't the hand of some cushy corpo lab rat. You of all people should know me, my number one stalker. I'm just a lazy techie who happens to be a nomad. My whole life's been me staying a couple hours ahead of death," Cypher said, and suddenly gripped her hand with his palm.

"Alright, your turn. I already know the answer, but I wanna hear you say it. Why'd you walk up to me today? And the bigger question, what's your dream, Meredith Stout?"

At a mere gesture of his hand, the waiter brought more drinks before leaving them alone. He had his eyes on Meredith the whole time. Breaking a woman like her wasn't easy. Someone driven by ambition was only moved by the lure of that very ambition.

He noticed her gaze on her hand that he'd grabbed. He was rubbing his thumb on the middle of her palm.

"At first, it was the money. Thought that was the point. But after a while, I saw how empty it was without power. So power is what I want now. The kind that decides who lives and who dies, while my own neck stays safe."

"Then, Meredith." Cypher leaned across the table, getting a little closer. "What's it gonna be? What're you willing to do to get that power?"

"Everything."

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Check out Cypher X Panam, Cypher X Misty, Cypher X Gloria NSFW ART, and advance chapters at [email protected]/MrPlotThickens Or Subscribestar.adult/mrplotthickens

Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 6 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 24-26 NovelFire chapters.