Chapter 127: Totally Exhilarating

"Damn it." The car was parked just outside the camp, and anyone who laid eyes on it would be stunned. It was a Quadra 66 Avenger—or rather, its base was a Quadra 66 Avenger. Just judging by appearance, this car had been voted the sexiest vehicle by viewers of the show Guns and Steel. In terms of performance, it was equally impressive. "Choom, look at this car! I went to great lengths to find the perfect premium parts for it." "To make sure you'll be comfortable driving in the Wastelands, I raised the body, replaced the old system with military-grade dynamic suspension; The glass and body have been swapped out for lightweight armor plates, the engine's horsepower boosted to 1,000, and it's equipped with an all-new all-wheel-drive system! And check out the bumper and the automatic machine gun mount, and the panoramic crystal ball technology." "Alright, alright, I can see how badass it is." Leo cut off the el captain's introduction. This middleman was dressed in a shiny purple suit, the kind of fabric that reflected light, making him quite an eyesore in the sunlight. While he was talking, he kept throwing flirtatious glances at Leo, which gave Leo goosebumps. But the car was indeed awesome. A standard Quadra 66 Avenger would cost at least 700,000 eurodollars through official channels. Leo wasn't sure how much all the modifications and adjustments cost, but it certainly wasn't cheap. Because the standard Quadra 66 had 550 horsepower, the upgraded Avenger had 777, and this beast now had a full 1,000 horsepower! With military-grade components and top-tier software, it wouldn't be surprising if it sold for over a million eurodollars. Leo glanced at V, who looked like her eyes had turned into stars. El captain also looked at her and whispered, "This car was stolen from the factory, but I've taken care of it for you. Drive it freely." Leo gave him a thumbs-up and then said to V, "The car's yours—hey, hey, hey, don't drive it now! You're still recovering!" But V was unstoppable, plopping right into the driver's seat. Jackie rubbed his hands and squeezed into the passenger seat: "I'll join the ride too!" Leo had no choice but to activate the remote control system, watching as the two of them sped off— No exaggeration, they literally flew off. The acceleration was so intense that both of them aggravated their old injuries, grimacing in pain as the car came to a halt under Leo's control. The el captain didn't seem the least bit embarrassed and even played along, saying, "True car enthusiasts! No wonder you're the best boss in Night City!" "Alright, enough of that. What's going on in Santo Domingo?" "Thanks to your heads-up, Faraday is done for! You're really something, predicting everything!" El captain grinned like a withered flower. "The moment you called me, I went and threatened Faraday's people. I even told them to think it over carefully, and before long, Faraday was no more! Everyone there was scared out of their wits. Oh, look, another call coming in." The captain's cyber-eye flashed, but he ignored it, hanging up immediately. What's the point of answering when the boss is right in front of him? Hesitating even for a second would be disrespectful. After hanging up, he continued, "But there's something unsettling about Santo Domingo: Corpo rats and NCPD are swarming around. God knows how many died last night. Trauma Team is swamped, and so are the body collectors—though the collectors are grinning like it's Christmas." "Seems like we won't be heading back anytime soon. How long do you need to clean up after Faraday?" "Honestly, things have been pretty chill lately." El captain was being diplomatic—they were too afraid to make any big moves, so they had to tone down their plans to consolidate resources. But that wasn't surprising. Leo thought for a moment and said, "That's probably for the best. What about the Black Antelope Motors situation?" The captain smiled even wider at that. "Thanks to you, Black Antelope is bankrupt. Their people are all dead, leaving just a figurehead behind. When I went to talk to him, he tried to act tough, but then your people from the factory called him, and he nearly pissed himself. I've cleared out their equipment. Heck, once I'm settled, I could even modify a tank for you!" "So you're not going legit, huh? Didn't expect that." Going legit meant setting up a proper company for legitimate business. The captain already had his own company, but it was mostly a front. His accounts and real business activities didn't fully match up—though not entirely. His "premium car broker" business mostly dealt with vehicles that had dubious origins. Like today's Quadra 66—it had been stolen—or rather, hijacked. The captain chuckled shyly. "These days, either you're getting screwed by the corpos, or you're screwing the corpos. I prefer the latter, you know what I mean." Leo smiled, watching the Quadra 66 roar off into the distance once again. Those two really had some stamina. "Speaking of screwing corpos, I have a couple of things I need you to deliver: two datachips." Leo pulled two chips from the slot on his neck. They contained information on Project Nightingale, the side effects of Painkiller drugs, the source of the Santo Domingo plague, and even communications between Koji and the Militech commander. Unfortunately, there wasn't any direct dirt on that congressman—though if this data went public, corpo agents would be all over it. "One goes to Manuel Mendoza, the other to Zora Barnes. WNS News will be all over this." After transmitting the info, Leo added, "Payment for the job will go into Maine's account. He used to work with Faraday, but from now on, he's yours." El captain nodded as he took the chips. "I've heard of him. Got it. Anything else to keep in mind?" "You can sell the data to other companies after you copy it. You know what I mean." "Got it, throw a bone out and let the dogs fight over it. Genius move!" Just as Leo was about to end the conversation, he noticed the captain rubbing his hands as if he was gearing up for something. "Out with it." "Well, uh, boss, word on the street is that those top-tier legends who've been shaking things up recently were only driving a Mackinaw. As soon as Thorton Corp heard that, their stock prices went up a bit. Do you have any footage of that ride? I'd love to check it out. And if you can get me the actual car, even better." While talking, he kept glancing at the camp— Where the legendary Mackinaw was now covered up, awaiting a major overhaul. But legends have a certain aura, and the captain could tell at a glance. "The car's gone—there are no living legends in Night City. But if you want to pay your respects, I do have some footage you could check out. Though it's not on me. You'll have to track it down yourself." Leo had indeed prepared some footage. It was live surveillance footage captured from traffic cameras, with some shots of other Nomads driving Mackinaw trucks during the operation. But after a little editing, it looked just like Leo's ride. The data wasn't here, though. It was stored in the traffic network's database, and any half-decent hacker could retrieve it. The captain understood immediately and, after receiving the network data coordinates, beamed with joy, transferring 10,000 eurodollars to Leo on the spot. [Transfer: +10,000 eurodollars] [Account Balance: 23,210 eurodollars] "Thanks, boss!" "Alright, that's it for today. It was a pleasure working with you, but stop calling me 'boss' all the time." "Hey, without you, I wouldn't be making all this money. You're my bread and butter! I'll be off now—reach out if you need anything, boss!" The captain kept calling him "boss" as he left. Right then, Jackie and V returned with the car, stopping in front of Leo just in time to hear the title. V glanced curiously at the captain, then at Leo. "He calls you 'boss'? He looks older than you!" Leo looked at V—her hair was all blown up, and she looked a bit silly. "It's his way of showing respect. Now get out of the car." "Why? Damn, this car is awesome. You should take it for a spin too—" Leo massaged his forehead. "Get out of the car. It's too fast, and another lap might mess up your circulatory system. Don't forget, you're still running on broken machines— Huh? Jackie? Jackie?!" Leo peeked inside and saw that the big guy had already passed out in the backseat! V turned her head to look, and as soon as she did, she collapsed too! Panicked, Leo rushed over to check on them—a quick implant diagnostic revealed that both of them had fainted from exhaustion, their blood pressure skyrocketing from the sudden speed boost. In simpler terms, they had quite literally been exhilarated to the point of fainting.