Leo and the others fell silent, the heavy atmosphere lingering only briefly. When the Delamain cab carried them from the desolate, deserted industrial zone of Northside into the bustling, neon-lit Japanese Street, Takemura suddenly spoke up, "I'll get off here, thanks."
"Pull over, Delamain," Leo instructed.
The Delamain cab smoothly pulled over to the curb. Takemura Goro opened the door, hesitated for a moment, then said, "About my earlier proposal..."
Leo shook his head. "We won't testify falsely, no matter the reason."
Takemura seemed unbothered. "Planning, preparation... all of it takes time. If you help me, you'll be well rewarded. For now, I need to meet some friends, gather their support. Once my people inside Arasaka are ready, I'll call you again. People change—you might think differently by then."
Seeing that Takemura was unwilling to give up, Leo no longer refused him coldly and simply said, "We'll see then."
After Takemura left, Jackie immediately said, "I'm dying of thirst. What do you guys want to drink? My treat."
Leo glanced out the window. Not far down the street, there was a bar. He knew Jackie had been craving alcohol for days—ever since they'd holed up in the safehouse, where Leo, who didn't smoke or drink, had made sure there was no alcohol or cigarettes stocked, almost driving Jackie mad. Now that they were finally out, and there was a bar nearby, Jackie could no longer hold back.
"I'm good. Bring a bottle of tequila for V."
"Heh, I'll be right back!" Jackie, grinning from ear to ear, rushed off as if he had just won the lottery and was in a hurry to claim the prize.
After Jackie left, only Leo and V remained in the car.
V parted her lips lightly. "Leo, what do you think?"
Leo knew she was referring to Takemura's offer. His voice was cold. "Following him would be worse than heading out into the Badlands and joining the Nomads. At least the Nomads still value family. Corporations have no humanity whatsoever."
V's eyes widened. "You mean he's lying to us?"
"Hard to say," Leo shook his head. "Even if he is a traditional samurai who truly wants to avenge his master, it doesn't change anything. A company will use you as long as you're useful, sweet-talking you with promises and lies. If you buy into it, congratulations—you've just become another expendable asset. Once you're no longer useful, they'll throw you out without a second thought. Past loyalty, hard work... none of it matters. In their eyes, employees are just talking beasts of burden. The corporate towers look impressive from the outside, but inside? Stress, suspicion, ulcers, nervous breakdowns..."
Leo suddenly felt a pair of soft, warm hands envelop his own. He froze and looked up, seeing V gazing at him with clear, earnest eyes.
"Sorry, I talked too much."
V gently shook her head. "Whenever you want to talk, I'm here."
Leo didn't know if it was just his imagination, but he felt the atmosphere between them subtly shift. Only now did he realize—V, already beautiful before, looked even more stunning now.
They stared at each other without speaking, time seeming to freeze in that moment.
Until the sharp tapping at the window broke the silence.
Startled, V quickly withdrew her hand like a frightened rabbit.
Leo frowned and looked toward the source of the noise.
It wasn't Jackie outside—it was Takemura, who had returned. His expression was awkward, and even his old face flushed red.
"Um... sorry to bother you, but could you lend me some money?"
...
A few minutes later, Jackie returned to the car carrying three bottles—two alcoholic drinks and a soda.
Though Leo hadn't asked for anything, Jackie still thoughtfully brought him a can of cola.
Sensing the strange atmosphere in the car, Jackie asked, puzzled, "What happened?"
"Nothing," Leo replied simply.
Jackie shrugged and didn't push it.
He handed the tequila and the cola to V and Leo respectively, then bit open the cap of his own drink and gulped down a few mouthfuls, exhaling in relief.
"Speaking of which, what are we gonna do about the Relic?"
Even though Takemura seemed to believe that the Relic wasn't in their possession, the fact remained: Evelyn, who had the means to sell it, had disappeared without a trace. Though the Relic had no built-in tracker, it meant the chip, acquired at great risk and effort, now had no buyer and was stuck in their hands.
"If this keeps up, that cooked duck might just fly away," Jackie muttered anxiously.
"Maybe I should call Evelyn again?" Jackie was still unwilling to give up.
"Go ahead," Leo said indifferently.
Jackie dialed her number.
Half a minute later, he shook his head helplessly. "Nothing. Still says the number's invalid. Shit! Maybe she bolted just like Dex did after the Konpeki heist went south."
"No Evelyn, no way to sell the chip. Fuck. If it were any other merchandise, we could maybe move it, but this? No middleman's gonna touch something this hot."
Jackie had dealt with Wakako Okada and Padre more than anyone. He knew Wakako had several husbands who had all been high-ranking members of the Tyger Claws, and even though she claimed she had no connection to the gang, her nine sons all held important positions within it. Believing she had no ties to Tyger Claws would be pure foolishness.
As for Padre, Jackie didn't believe he would risk angering Arasaka by buying a chip of dubious origin.
"If it comes to it, I've got a backup plan," Leo said.
V and Jackie immediately turned toward him, curious. "What is it?"
"Rogue."
V and Jackie exchanged looks.
"You think Rogue would buy it? Why?"
Leo spread his hands. "Did you forget? This Relic contains the personality construct of Johnny Silverhand. Rogue is one of the few people from his era still alive—besides Adam Smasher, but now he's... dealt with. I can't think of anyone besides Rogue who might be interested in it. She fought alongside Silverhand back in the day. Rumor has it, they were more than just comrades—she might even be his ex."
Jackie looked hesitant. "But... what about the price?"
Leo glanced at him knowingly.
Jackie immediately understood.
"Yeah, guess we won't be getting top dollar for it."
"But it's better than letting it rot in our hands," Leo said. "Besides, we can always see what she's willing to offer first."
Jackie sighed, reluctant but resigned. If it could only be sold as a keepsake or a memento, the price would obviously be much lower. But better that than holding onto it until it became worthless. With Dex dead and Evelyn gone, there weren't many options left.
"Guess we don't have much choice," Jackie muttered.
After finishing their discussion, they prepared to head back to the safehouse to find T-Bug.
Just then, Leo's comms beeped with a series of sharp "doot-doot-doot" sounds.
An unknown incoming call.
Leo thought for a moment, then opened a private comms channel and pulled V and Jackie into it.