Week 14 Story: The Guilty Guards
Night City is a place where anyone who needs anything can get it anywhere at anytime. That is, if they have the right resources. Every day, guns are hired to get jobs done, whether it be simple hit jobs, complex robberies, or just sending messages to the competition in the area. But in this line of work, this means high risk high reward jobs that stray from the norm pay the most. In doing so, this requires high stress relief. But where can mercenaries all go after hours to relax and kickback, enjoying a drink or two before their next gig?
Cue the Afterlife. Known as one of the most prestigious clubs in Night City, one could only gain access by having a reputation behind their name, as the club only served to the hottest mercs in the city. For a club to be so exclusive, the service provided was a cut above the norm, with the alcohol following suit. Many rare and discontinued liquors could be found at the Afterlife.
When the club died down during business hours, staff would take this time to clean up and prep the space for the next influx of mercs coming off jobs and looking for a good time. The guards out front who worked long shifts would be tired, either sleeping or eating and catching up on rest. One day, the bouncers working that week chose to indulge in not just food, but also drink. This led to the consumption of an extremely rare bottle of cognac, with not a drop to spare, leading the drunk guards to panic and replace an empty bottle to the shelf behind the bar.
The next day, the owner of the club noticed that one of the curated bottles had been emptied, and had a fit of rage as the bottle dated back to his great-grandfather, only to be opened on special occasions where he deemed it worthy of celebration. To satiate his rage, he banned all and every client of the nightclub until further notice.
V, a regular attendee of the Afterlife, heard about the ban and thought it was unfair. He knew there would have been no way for someone outside the club to drink the liquor, as the space was swept and cleared of non-staff and closed during the day. The only explanation would have to have been that someone from inside consumed the rare liquor. Presenting this information to the owner, he realized his mistake, and fired both the bouncers, allowing all members of the nightclub to return once more.
Author's Note: This story is loosely based off the jataka tale the Guilty Dogs. In the original story, two royal dogs chew on leather harnesses and failed to admit to the crime, leading to the king wanting to execute all non-royal dogs for he blamed them for the incident. I changed it here to a simple theft from a prestigious place, with those being blamed once again for an issue that had nothing to do with them being brought into the light.
Cue the Afterlife. Known as one of the most prestigious clubs in Night City, one could only gain access by having a reputation behind their name, as the club only served to the hottest mercs in the city. For a club to be so exclusive, the service provided was a cut above the norm, with the alcohol following suit. Many rare and discontinued liquors could be found at the Afterlife.
When the club died down during business hours, staff would take this time to clean up and prep the space for the next influx of mercs coming off jobs and looking for a good time. The guards out front who worked long shifts would be tired, either sleeping or eating and catching up on rest. One day, the bouncers working that week chose to indulge in not just food, but also drink. This led to the consumption of an extremely rare bottle of cognac, with not a drop to spare, leading the drunk guards to panic and replace an empty bottle to the shelf behind the bar.
The next day, the owner of the club noticed that one of the curated bottles had been emptied, and had a fit of rage as the bottle dated back to his great-grandfather, only to be opened on special occasions where he deemed it worthy of celebration. To satiate his rage, he banned all and every client of the nightclub until further notice.
V, a regular attendee of the Afterlife, heard about the ban and thought it was unfair. He knew there would have been no way for someone outside the club to drink the liquor, as the space was swept and cleared of non-staff and closed during the day. The only explanation would have to have been that someone from inside consumed the rare liquor. Presenting this information to the owner, he realized his mistake, and fired both the bouncers, allowing all members of the nightclub to return once more.
Hello Aaron. I thought your story was really cool as the setting it takes place in sounds very unique. It also sounds like Night City is a very dangerous place considering everyday people are getting hired to rob and send messages. Perhaps this is why you decided to call it Night City since it is such a dangerous place? Overall a cool story; I really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteHey again Aaron! I love that you took the Guilty Dogs and dropped them into Night City - that's a really clever change of scenery. I'm guessing you've played Cyberpunk 2077? Regardless, it fits the theme very effectively, and about the only thing I can come up with to improve the story would be maybe dwelling on the aftermath at Afterlife for a few more lines. Anyway, excellent work.
ReplyDeleteHi Aaron! I really enjoyed your story. You took a very creative spin on it. I had just come from your project and I like how you are consistent with your themes. That is awesome! Keep up the great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Aaron! I really enjoyed your story. I thought that the setting you chose to have the story take place was very interesting! I love how it was sort of mysterious/dangerous which kept my engaged! I like how your title gives a little bit of a hint of the story. Overall I think you did a great job and I really enjoyed your story!
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