Snippet #2468578

Everything happened so fast, Mark only understood it completely when they were already halfway to Night City. His mind started to piece things together very slowly, and several thoughts occurred to him then.

The first thing he thought was that George looked awful, but he was sure she’d be okay. She always was. Maybe it would take her some time, but she would recover and be ready again. She had to, for everyone’s sake. Only then did the hacker notice what did George mean to this strange team that was put together… She was what bound them together, even if the woman herself didn’t know it.

His second thought was Imogen, but the scientist seemed okay too… At least physically. He couldn’t know how she was feeling, and was unsure why that made him feel so bad. Asking her crossed his mind like a flash, but the simple idea seemed so terrifying he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He tried occupying his mind with something else, something other than mixed guilt and rage for not being able to protect anyone, for not being able to ask Imogen if everything was alright…

His next thought was the equipment on the RV, which had survived, and that brought him comfort. He could put it to better use in the next mission… A next mission? Would there be a next mission? That troubled Mark. How could there be? Everything almost went to hell in this one… How could they bring themselves to risk everything again… And for what?

Revenge, thought The Sphinx. No one crosses CKSD and gets away with it. They would have to track them down. Track every single person down, everyone who had anything to do with the betrayal they suffered… They would make them pay. And if there was anything worth doing after tonight, that was it. That was a reason to leave his apartment again, to use the wonderful machines in the RV again. Payback.

When Imogen turned to Mark, who was completely submerged in his own mind, he looked at her with a confused look. Why would she want that at all? What had Mark done to make a woman such as Imogen want to receive a call… From him? He mumbled and affirmative as she stepped down the vehicle, and had yet something else to think for the rest of the trip, and all the way up to his apartment.

Once there, he took a long overdue shower, and turning on one of his many devices, brought up the contact window and clicked the little icon that displayed Imogen. The program immediately asked him if he wished to call her, the green icon flashing in the screen. And Mark looked at it, uncertain on what to do, what to say…

The green, flashing icon was still there when Mark went to sleep and turned off all the computers.