Cyberpunk - Badland Madman [Cyberpunk 2077]

He resumed working, opening the boxes and helping Gloria. They made small talk in between, and she told him about moving into a nearby building recently. It was the benefit of working for him. Eventually, after finishing the work, they walked over to the nearby bar and poured themselves some drinks.

He sat down right beside her on the high seat. It was one of those round, rotating stools by the counter. She grabbed the glasses, and he grabbed the bottle. Before long, they were three drinks down.

"Don't mind me asking. What did you do before EMT?" Cypher asked casually, sipping the drink and savoring the sight of Gloria's curves. The way she had crossed her legs, knees towards him, one elbow on the counter.

"The usual, wannabe legend. Merc work. Then I had David, and priorities shifted hard. Was doing alright too, till one gig went to hell and I lost my husband. Had to hustle, make sure Dee got raised right. Already knew EMT work, just wasn't qualified on paper. Sorted that out quick and signed on. Saved enough eddies to put Dee through the best schools."

Cypher just nodded, trying to remember his life. This body's life. "Well… I was a nomad, so all I ever got was nomad schooling. Worked out alright, I guess. Fuck Arasaka, though. Bunch of samurai larpers. You oughta stick David in Militech school instead. Lucas is gonna start there."

"You really hate them, don't you?"

"Why shouldn't I? I hate all of them, honestly. The whole world's fucked, and I'm stuck in the middle of it. Mark my words, Gloria, I'm gonna fix this shit. Your kid won't gotta break their back for some corpo over scraps. I'll burn every last one of them down, especially the Scavs." Cypher near growled that last part and poured himself another drink.

"Easy there…" Gloria suddenly leaned.

Cypher felt her hand land on his leg, on the thigh. He stared at her face, but the neck of her t-shirt hung low, and he saw more.

Light blue. Fuck! Don't look… Ah, too late.

In a matter of seconds, he grew hard. So he forced himself to stare at her face, but even that didn't help. Her red hair tied behind, her sharp facial features, that red tattoo on the cheek. She was a sight to behold.

However, even when he made it obvious where his eyes were exploring, and the tent rising in his pants that he couldn't hide, Gloria didn't remove her hand.

"I believe you, Mr. Blackwell. Got a feeling in my gut. I'm pretty damn good with that stuff. Same way I know my son's gonna hit the top someday."

Really doubt that.

"Mr. Blackwell... Don't push yourself so hard, okay? I owe you more than I can ever repay, and I don't have much to offer. But I'll do my best to back you up. Even if it's just working in this club, I'm gonna give it everything I got."

Cypher chuckled and put his hand on hers. "When'd this turn into a suck-up-to-the-boss meetup? Just be straight with me and do the job you got, Gloria. Don't let me down again, that's all I want. Anyway, I got shit to do."

He downed the glass and got up to leave. While the meeting at Lizzie's was in the evening, he wanted to start working on the SecUnits and build the Fusion Core. In case Atlas found a solution, he wanted to get to it right away.

Woosh!

However, as soon as he was up, Gloria jumped towards him and hugged him like he was her long-lost lover. Her arms were so snugly wrapped around him that she trapped his arms straight as well. He did feel her ample breasts mold onto his chest, and her face pressed into his tie.

She already drunk? Bet she is.

"I'll never do something gonk like that again. I promise," Gloria muttered into his tie.

Free my arms, woman. I wanna hug back too.

But for now, all he could do was wait. He could bet she felt his massive erection, however. It was hard to ignore.

Many moments later, she finally eased back, an embarrassed blush constant on her face. But at that point, Cypher decided to be bold and cupped her face with his left hand. His fingertips sank into her red hairline, his thumb softly pressed onto her cheekbone.

At that moment, Gloria just stared into his eyes, and he did the same. He noticed the faint reaction, though. The way her body was inching closer. She was drunk, and he had no doubt he could kiss her, and she would kiss back.

But it was no fun if the other person was drunk. He maintained the gap between their faces and rubbed his thumb over the red tattoo on her cheek.

"Hm? I thought it was a tattoo. But it got texture."

Gloria smiled at that. "Mm, it is a tattoo, just not the usual kind. Actual metal fused into my skin and all. Has no real purpose, just cosmetics."

"It's pretty." He finally stepped back. "Now get your ass to work. And get some rest before the club opens, alright? Wear some nineties clothes too. Maybe a nurse outfit."

He said the last part with a wink and turned to leave.

"Mr. Blackwell!" Gloria called him before he left. "I... I'd really like it if you came over for dinner sometime. Just a little housewarming thing."

"Free home-cooked meal? Fuck yeah, I'll be there. Just shoot me the date and time." Cypher waved without looking and headed downstairs.

He went to the floor where Microbots were at work. There, he used a different secret elevator to go underground. It was nothing special, a highly reinforced, secret room where he could build some things. It had all the tools he needed, and it was also where the batches of utility Servo-Skulls were to be stored.

Cypher stretched his fingers, sitting at the offline computer, ready to work. SecUnits had an entirely different programming language, after all. Thankfully, it wasn't as complex as Atlas's programming, and he believed he'd be able to understand it and learn it. And it was also superior to current world programming, which meant he would have an edge that didn't rely on Atlas' constant support.

However, Atlas seemed to have some different matters to discuss.

"Why didn't you kiss her, Cypher?" Atlas asked, appearing right beside his table.

"Because she was drunk."

Clap! Clap!

Atlas, the old Morgan Freeman in a white suit, started clapping.

"You are better than most, Cyph. Perfectly fitting for a g—"

"Shush. I already know the shit you're about to say. You're having fun with this, huh? Now go poof, let me work."

All Cypher heard was an old, throaty laughter from Atlas as the old avatar vanished.

Hm? Since when did Atlas start laughing?

####

Militech Offices,

Meredith Stout sat in her new office, behind the larger desk, in front of the massive window that overlooked the Corporate Plaza. It was a beautiful view, and a privilege to be there. After all, the nameplate on her desk suggested a new designation.

He didn't lie.

She hummed, staring at the nameplate while rolling a small, soft ball in her hand, painted like the earth. She thought about the first time she had met Cypher at Embers. How scared she was; she still was. But she now understood Cypher Blackwell better.

Already a Senior Operations Manager. Soon, I'll be a Supervisor, just two ranks below Director Goldstein. At this rate…

She was ambitious, yet she tried her best to keep it in check. She was still just a little fish in the sea that was Militech. She didn't know what Cypher Blackwell had done to Director Goldstein's mind; all she knew was that Omnissiah now controlled his mind.

She no longer received threats from that man. If anything, Director Goldstein treated her neutrally, while secretly handing her favors. Missions and projects that were guaranteed success. At the same time, Goldstein was somehow able to progress in his reverse-engineering projects.

Omnissiah was playing games; she could see that clearly.

Militech is compromised.

At that point, she had stopped overthinking. Until the last meeting of Goldstein and Cypher in the club, she wondered if she should reveal Cypher's plan to the higher-ups. But there was no guarantee that she'd be rewarded. And now, she couldn't even imagine telling anyone, as she had already joined hands.

Once again, she looked at the nameplate on the table and imagined CEO written under her name. It felt like a dream to her, but now, closer to reality than impossibility.

With a deep sigh, she turned her rotating chair and looked out of the large window. So high in the air, she glanced at the Arasaka building and wondered if Cypher was doing something to them as well.

Yet, Meredith still worried about something. As they say, there's no such thing as a free lunch. But she had already eaten one, the result being this new office and position.

He still hasn't asked for something in return. What will it be?

####

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

Advance chapters on [PATREON] are in long-form format. I have 10 long chapters of this story on P@treon. That's equal to 35-45 NovelFire chapters.