Leo rode in the Delamain taxi, taking in the premium interior that rivaled any luxury car. Aside from the armored plating (which safeguarded both the passenger and their privacy), the cabin décor was on par with high-end limousines.
"This is the life," Rebecca said with a sigh, relaxing in her seat.
Rebecca, seated beside Leo, asked, "Leo, how did you know for sure that MaxTac's heavy AVs would come?"
"Because Lucy's the one who called them," Leo replied. He then gave Rebecca a concise account of how they'd been unable to request backup due to signal jammers—so Lucy had hacked into MaxTac's subnet to call in a 'rescue.'
Rebecca listened with wide-eyed astonishment. "Seriously? That's even possible?"
She imagined herself in that same desperate scenario: no comms, no chance for help… She would have chosen a final blaze of glory, taking out as many enemies as she could. It never crossed her mind that she might hack MaxTac.
"So you can do that, huh?" she murmured.
Leo simply changed the subject. "Anyway, thanks for your hard work in this job. You must be exhausted, right?"
Rebecca gave a half-laugh. "My body's fine, but more than anything, I'm—"
A loud gurgle came from her stomach. She rubbed her belly, embarrassed.
"Hey, you know Santo Domingo better than me," Leo said. "Pick a good place to eat and tell Delamain where to go. I'll cover the tab."
Rebecca's eyes lit up. "For real?" She became animated at once, and started chatting with Delamain via the display screen on the seat back in front of her.
Leo then turned to Lucy, who had leaned her head on his shoulder. Gently pushing aside the hair on her forehead, he asked, "You okay?"
Lucy shook her head very slightly. "I'm fine."
"Any injuries?"
She shook her head again. "Just…that was too dangerous. Don't do that again."
Leo knew exactly what she meant—how he had stayed behind to cover everyone else, telling Lucy to leave with the female officer and the other NCPD. It wasn't about playing hero. If he hadn't held off the enemy at the only exit, the Eden Gang would have charged in and butchered everyone. While there were corrupt cops in the NCPD, there were also good ones.
Besides, Leo didn't want Lucy getting hurt. Even though she wore the custom bulletproof combat suit he'd made, he still had an instinct to protect her.
…
They arrived at a restaurant Rebecca chose, and Leo told Delamain to wait outside. After they enjoyed a meal at a window table, they returned to the taxi. Only then did Leo call the Captain.
"Hey, Leo. Took you long enough to check in. Are you all okay?"
"We ran into trouble. When we tried to leave, the NCPD showed up with some Channel 54 crew. Funny enough, they went to the wrong place. They were supposed to be somewhere else." Leo paused, then added, "Anyway, a massive battle broke out. A lot of people died. The entire Channel 54 team was wiped out, and the NCPD lost a ton of officers—those left were all badly injured."
The Captain's voice, laced with static, came over the line. "Damn, that's brutal. But you and your crew? You made it out all right?"
"We did. A few scrapes, nothing serious."
"And the Eden Gang?"
"They're gone. No more Eden Gang."
The Captain sucked in a sharp breath. "Wait…you took out all of them?"
"Come on, they had hundreds of members. That'd be impossible unless I had powered armor or something," Leo replied. "We took out half, maybe, then MaxTac showed up."
The Captain understood. MaxTac—the NCPD's elite special operations division—focused on neutralizing cyberpsychos, but they rarely turned a blind eye to any violent crime in progress. When they rolled in, they tended to leave no one standing.
"Huh," the Captain said. "Well, it sounds like you had a hell of a time. You know what? I'll double your pay for the trouble. You earned it."
Leo's eyebrows rose when he saw the extra money appear in his account. "That's…a lot more than we agreed on."
"It's fine. It just means I won't make quite as much on my end, and that's no big deal. I have to hand it to you—Regina wasn't wrong about you.
Thanks, Leo."
He paused, then continued, "Right, about that other job I mentioned…"
"You want me to handle it now?" Leo asked. "We're pretty beat, but if it's something quick, I can do it today. I'd rather clear it off the slate."
"Ha, so you don't believe in procrastinating, huh? The city should give you a 'Top 10 Outstanding Citizens of Night City' award." The Captain chuckled. "Well, it's more of a personal favor than a job request. I've got a gal named Juliet who was supposed to deliver some high-value data to me. She's been off the grid for a couple weeks. I get it—people have families, emergencies come up. But two weeks is too long. I'm starting to think she might be ignoring me on purpose, or maybe she's sold that data to someone else. It's messing with our arrangement."
"So you want me to drop by her place, figure out what's going on, and retrieve your data."
"Exactly," the Captain confirmed, sipping a cup of coffee. "She's pulled some good intel from Zeta Tech for me in the past, so I don't want to burn bridges unless I have to. But if she's playing me… You get the idea. The data is top priority."
…...
..
.
Juliet and her husband lived in a two-story suburban home in Rancho Coronado, an area known for wide, open roads but lacking in greenery. Whenever the wind picked up, the place turned into a swirl of dust. The houses and people all looked worn by the gritty environment. While the spacious plots meant each family had its own house, many chose to cram themselves into tight apartments in The Glen, Japantown, or other urban districts simply because there were more jobs—and more security—than out in this quiet sprawl.
"Here we are," Leo said, stepping out of the Delamain. He walked up to Juliet's house. "Let me take a look first."
He'd gotten into the habit of scanning for threats before entering any unfamiliar space. "No laser tripmines, no turrets… Doesn't look like anyone's inside. But there's an anti-surveillance scrambler in the basement. Not sure what we'll find down there."
He turned to Lucy and Rebecca. "All right, let's go inside—but be careful."
They reached the front door. Leo gave it a push, but it didn't budge. "Locked. Electronic."
"Leave it to me," Lucy said, tapping her temple. A faint red glimmer lit her eyes, and moments later the door unlocked with a click. "All set."
When the door opened, the first thing Leo saw was a still-glowing smart home panel lying atop the living room couch. Light from the second floor spilled down a narrow, twisting staircase against the wall. A TV—around fifty inches, resting on a stand—was switched off.
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