Chapter 99: Rookie Thief and the Master Outlaw

Blowing up a million-euro sports car with a rigged motorcycle in City Center, turning a perfectly orderly street into a wasteland of wreckage— This is what you call a big case in Night City. If this had happened in Santo Domingo or Heywood, the NCPD would probably just shrug and think: Well, people need to blow off steam, you've got to give them some slack. But this happened in City Center, and that's a different story. The duty sergeant's face turned ashen—he never expected to run into something like this in City Center! "A police car was destroyed by a heavy sniper rifle, possibly a Nekomata." "The explosive in the City Center was a Kusanagi CT-3X model motorcycle, likely caused by a fuel tank explosion. The suspects include a tech specialist." In the bustling NCPD dispatch center, the duty sergeant tugged at his hair, staring at the display screen: "Pull up the suspect analysis." He almost wished he hadn't looked—his heart sank when he did— [Victim: Diana Kuno.] [Identity: Biotechnica's Operations Unit Leader.] [Suspects: Data missing, data missing, Biotechnica operative.] The sergeant knew their network had been compromised. Two of the suspect profiles were missing key data, and one was even listed as driving a luxury sports car... Clearly, something was wrong. But the kicker was that glaring "Biotechnica operative" entry. Combine that with the possible Nekomata weapon... And to make things worse, the database was continually updating with more information. [Suspect: Unknown Biotechnica operative.] [Details: Infiltrated Tyger Claws for years, initiated a purge of fellow employees, thus exposing himself.] [Biometrics...] [Mission info...] "Shit!" The sergeant cursed, "Shut it down, shut it down now!" The operator on duty was sweating bullets: "But sergeant, if we shut it down, we'll lose all the data on the other two suspects..." "Forget it! Just shut it down! We'll handle this manually, I'm calling the higher-ups..." But just as the sergeant reached for the phone, another call came in. The caller was making his first call to the sergeant, but he knew the name: Brad Norwood. Night City Councilman, die-hard Militech supporter. Meanwhile, David floored the gas pedal, slamming into the two police motorcycles still hot on their tail, sending them flying. The car's radio was still on, and they could even hear the officers cursing as they were knocked off their bikes. Sweating bullets, David jerked the wheel, sending the car swerving before it finally straightened out, tailing closely behind the black Mackinaw. V glanced at the rearview mirror, sensing trouble. She was about to ask Leo to give her a clear shot. "Shit, more cops?" "Don't shoot... Ugh—that's me!" "You? Damn, Leo, I thought you'd found a hole to hide in. Didn't expect you to steal a cop car!" "Less talking, more driving—ugh." Leo's words were interspersed with groans, clearly suffering from motion sickness. Strangely enough, his nausea seemed to be filtered out, making the scene all the more bizarre—he looked in agony, yet remained eerily calm as he manipulated the road network. As the car sped through the streets, NCPD units stopped converging on them and instead turned their focus on some unlucky rich guy on the other side of City Center. With no more NCPD reinforcements in sight, Leo checked the map and sent a message to Jackie and V. "Take the next left, slow down a bit, and we'll hide in that alley." The car turned into a narrow street just as several police cars sped by on the main road, sirens blaring. Leo kicked open the door and jumped out, taking a moment to recover. Meanwhile, the engine of Jackie's motorcycle sputtered and finally gave out with a puff of black smoke. "Good work, buddy," Jackie said, patting the bike, "Glad you held out—maybe we should buy some motorcycles. They're great for these chases." V stepped out of the car, surveying the scratches and dents on the vehicle. "Gotta say... not buying a new car was a smart move." She then turned her gaze to Leo and the car's passenger, David. "Where'd you find this temporary driver? The way he drives, the car's all over the place." "A chip thief, caught by NCPD—believe it or not, he used to be my classmate back at Arasaka Academy." Leo, finally feeling a bit better, stood up, and the three of them turned their attention to David and Lucy in the car. The two rookie thieves suddenly felt a wave of anxiety— In their eyes, the kind of work the Burgerking team did was no less terrifying than a cyberpsycho... Is this work? This is more like a terror attack! V couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Look at them, they really are greenhorns—are you planning to take them in?" "Can't always run errands myself, can I?" Leo waved at David, signaling him to get out of the car. Inside, Lucy pressed David down with a firm hand. "You're not seriously thinking of getting out, are you? What if they want to tie up loose ends..." David swallowed hard, forcing a smile, "They may be a bit unconventional, but that big guy is actually a good person..." A good person? A good person who plants motorcycle bombs in City Center and probably blew up several NCPD cars? Are you sure you know what "good person" means? David turned to Lucy with a forced grin, "Don't worry, street punks keep their word. He said he'd pay me 5,000 eddies for this job." Lucy hesitated for a moment, "Hey, if you're short on cash, we can split the take 80/20." "It's not really about the money. I just wanted to buy my mom a new car; it's hard for her to get to work." "I can't believe you..." Before Lucy could finish, David got out of the car. Leo watched him approach and said with interest, "That punch you threw earlier wasn't bad, especially without any Gorilla Arms. Looks like you're getting the hang of it. So, how'd you end up getting nabbed by the NCPD?" "I..." David scratched his head sheepishly, "Got caught stealing a chip. When I stayed behind to cover our escape, I ended up beating the guy up, and the NCPD saw." The three of them exchanged glances and burst into laughter. "Hahaha... What a character, stealing from someone, getting caught, and then beating them up! Who else would they arrest if not you?" V clutched her stomach, laughing, then rested her hand on Leo's shoulder. "You sure know how to pick 'em, don't you?" "The kid's only been at this for a couple of days," Leo admitted, finding it funny as well, but this was exactly the kind of thing David would do. "You did well on this job. I'll transfer your payment once we're somewhere safe—but you've got to learn to control your strength. For example, when hitting someone, the trick is to strike just hard enough. Going all out can easily hurt yourself. And another thing, you're supposed to be stealing; how do you end up beating up the owner?" David nodded earnestly, feeling a bit embarrassed. Not long after, Lucy poked her head out of the car and waved to everyone: The NCPD police channel announced the withdrawal of their pursuit orders. "All NCPD units, City Center has returned to normal." "Returned to normal? Are you kidding me? You all must be blind." Click. Someone couldn't resist venting in the police channel, but it was quickly cut off. V looked at Jackie, then at Leo, "I've got to say, we really pulled one over on NCPD in City Center!" Pulled one over on NCPD? Let's not forget, it all started because they got played by a Biotechnica operative. But in the end, it turned out well. It seemed the data Leo uploaded to the NCPD's temporary database had scared them off. Once they wiped that database, finding them again would be nearly impossible. Now, the next step was to deliver the body to Wakako Okada and clear up the "misunderstanding" with the Tyger Claws. A few hours later, Leo, Jackie, and V took a breather in Japantown. "Impressive, Burgerking, causing such a ruckus in City Center and still getting away. I thought you'd end up bringing out the MaxTac team." Leo kept his face stoic as Jackie laid out the Biotechnica operative's body. The three of them were separated from Wakako by a curtain; the Queen of Japantown was just behind it. "No need for flattery, Wakako. Here's the body—this guy set us up, almost got us killed. Check it out—optical camo, pain editor, all corporate gear. If you still insist he was with the Tyger Claws, there's nothing more I can do." Optical camo was high-tech cyberware, typically only issued to corporate operatives due to its precision and high malfunction risk— It may not have any direct offensive capabilities, but it's one of the few full-body mods available, and it's definitely not low-grade stuff. The operative had no direct evidence proving he was with a corporation—that's standard for infiltrators. In fact, he probably shouldn't have activated the optical camo, but clearly, the pressure from Leo's team was too much, and the truth was, these three were indeed some of the craziest people around. "You sure are modest, taking on both the NCPD and the Tyger Claws, deciding on the spot to hunt down a corporate operative in City Center, and you still pulled it off. Not just anyone could do that. Of course, I believe you, and I'll take the body. This wasn't an official job, but you'll still get paid; I can't have you running around for free, can I?" Transfer: +10,000 eurodollars. Leo didn't say anything—10,000 euros was just a token amount. But a token is still something, and getting an intermediary like Wakako involved is always beneficial. For instance, dealing with the stolen NCPD cop car would've been a real headache otherwise. After transferring the funds, Wakako said, "Since you're the experts at causing trouble for corporations, I have a long-term gig for you. There's no way the company only had one operative in the Tyger Claws. If you get any more information, we could do some regular business. But I'm not asking you to go out of your way to investigate." Leo waved his hand, "Got it. I'll keep you in mind if anything comes up, but if it hits the fan, you're not involved." "Your words are harsh, but I suppose a bit of pride is a good thing for someone of your caliber." "Let's leave it at that for now—take care of the NCPD car for us." With things settled with Wakako, the three of them turned to leave. Just then, David pulled up in their freshly repainted red-and-black Mackinaw. The dents and scratches had been temporarily fixed up, so it mostly just looked like a well-worn old car. "Boss, the car's all fixed. What's next?" Lucy smacked David on the arm, "Next? Next, we go home, you idiot!" Leo nodded, "Yeah, head home. You won't be able to handle what's next—good job today." Transfer: -5,000 eurodollars. Account Balance: 53,000 eurodollars. "Whoa, thanks, boss!" David's face lit up with excitement—5,000 eddies! They made maybe a few hundred euros a day stealing chips, and he'd only get a fraction of that. But this was 5,000 eddies in one go! Seeing the money in his account, David hesitated for a moment before transferring half of it to Lucy. The amount surprised Lucy—she knew how hard it was to make money, and this was a dangerous job. 5,000 eddies wasn't a huge amount, but in the end, they hadn't faced any real danger; these three crazy pros had handled everything. The kid even thought to give her half—pretty decent. Maybe she'd give him an extra ten percent cut in the future. With that thought in mind, she hesitated and then said to Leo, "That's a good amount of money. I'm in need of cash right now. If you have any other jobs, you could send them our way. We may not be able to handle big jobs, but we can take on smaller ones." Leo spread his hands, "Well, that depends—who's calling the shots between you two?" The two rookies exchanged glances, and David quickly backed down. "I am—this kid's a rookie no matter how you look at him, right?" Leo: Rookie, huh? So rookies can't be in charge? Leo glanced subtly at V and Jackie, then continued, "Alright, I'll let you know if something comes up." Watching David and Lucy drive off, Leo turned back to find V staring at him. "You got some money?" "...Just 5,000." Leo replied sheepishly, knowing V didn't know that Arasaka Academy had refunded him 48,000 euros in tuition fees. V circled around Leo suspiciously, "Remember, you still owe me 760,000. So, what's next?" "Ahem, next we check out what's on that chip and see how things are going with Faraday." If Biotechnica was sending operatives to assassinate their own, they might be targeting others who could get close to the truth. That's bad news—Biotechnica was getting nervous. Maybe even desperate.