Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077-Chapter 151

"See?" Jackie said to her. "I told you it was just a business chat—nothing to worry about."

Then he turned to Leo. "So how about it? Did that big guy offer a fat payday?"

Leo sat on a chair, took the water Misty handed him, and thanked her. "Nope. He didn't share any details."

He recounted all that Dexter had said in the car.

"Damn! That big guy is way too cautious. I figured if he called you in, he'd lay everything out."

Leo didn't blame Dexter for being cautious, though he couldn't say he liked how the man kept so much to himself.

"It's our first time dealing with Dexter. Sure, T-Bug knows him, but he doesn't really know us—and we're not that close to T-Bug, either."

They'd only worked with T-Bug a few times. To be honest, she was a puzzle. High-minded folks might describe her style as "unconventional but perfectly at home in Night City," while plain talkers would say, "She's just not a people person." She never met Leo's team in person, always handling things over the phone. Even during ops, she worked remotely. They hadn't seen her face even once, so calling it a "close friendship" would've been an overstatement.

Jackie nodded. "Makes sense. So do we just head for Maelstrom's base and grab the drone for Dexter?"

Leo shook his head. "Not so fast. Dexter made it sound easy, but snatching the drone won't be simple. I've heard of Royce—he's as dirty as they come."

"For a few small-time eddies, he'd butcher the golden goose. If we waltz in there expecting to pay once and walk out with the drone, we're dreaming."

Jackie scowled. "Shit! So Dexter probably realized that, which is why he's sending us. These guys are all rotten to the core."

"What do we do, then?" Jackie asked. "If worst comes to worst, we could sneak in and steal the drone."

Leo waved a hand. "Not that easy. Royce may be scum, but he's not stupid. He knows how valuable that drone is—he'd keep it somewhere heavily guarded."

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Jackie scratched his head in frustration. Every idea seemed like a dead end. Was the mission a lost cause?

Lucy, who had remained quiet, suddenly spoke. "Didn't you say Dexter mentioned a corporate woman also going after Maelstrom? Maybe we can use her."

Jackie's eyes lit up. He smacked his right fist into his left palm. "Yeah! We don't have to march into that hornet's nest ourselves. Let the corpo types pave the way."

They discussed the plan further. Not long after, V arrived at Misty's Esoterica in a Delamain taxi. Having hashed out the details, the four of them decided to check out Jackie's new car first, then contact that corporate woman who had a grudge against Maelstrom.

Jackie's new ride was parked outside on the street. As they approached, they saw some shady-looking guy smoking right in front of it, like he was either picking a fight or trying to figure something out.

"The hell's this punk?" Jackie's expression darkened instantly.

He'd only picked up this nearly new, secondhand car last night. It might not have been fresh off the assembly line, but its previous owner had barely driven it, so it was practically mint. Jackie had spent a hefty chunk of his hard-earned eddies on it. Now some rando was loitering by his car, smoking a cigarette so close it could scorch the paint. No way he was going to let that slide.

"Hey, chombatta, what's your deal?!"

The stranger jolted like he'd just woken from a trance. He flicked his cigarette butt aside and hurried off, looking guilty.

"Asshole!" Jackie glared after him until he vanished into the crowd. Then Jackie rushed over to check if the jerk had burned any marks into his precious car.

Meanwhile, Leo stared after the stranger, seeming thoughtful as he watched him fade into the throng.

"Good thing all he did was smoke," Jackie muttered. "Otherwise, I'd have made him swallow that butt."

Satisfied that his car was unharmed, Jackie turned to see Leo's distant expression. "Leo?"

Leo finally looked away from the crowd. "It's nothing. That guy felt...well, never mind. Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

He glanced at Jackie's new ride. "You never said you'd get a sports car."

"What else would I buy? I can't cart Misty around in an old piece of junk, can I? It's about style. I want to show her I'm willing—and able—to give her a good life. She won't regret choosing me."

"Alright, enough with the lovey-dovey stuff. You'll choke all us single folks to death."

Jackie snorted. "Single folks? You think I don't know what's up? I'm not just some meathead, ya know."

He shot a quick sidelong glance at V and Lucy, then snapped his gaze forward before they noticed. "Anyway," he said, throwing his arms wide in a theatrical pose like a game-show host unveiling a prize, "go ahead, shower me with praise."

"It looks pretty sweet. Must've cost you a ton of eddies, though."

"You're off the mark."

"Oh?"

Jackie cleared his throat, a mysterious grin creeping across his face. "Sure, it might look like I forked over a stack of eddies, but that money didn't really vanish—it just changed how it's keeping me company."

Leo stared at him in mock disbelief. "Whoa! Where'd you pick that line up?"

"A friend told me it came from some wise old man in a far-off land."

"You nailed it. Don't ever say it again."

Most sports cars had only two seats, but Jackie's coupe had front and back rows. It could seat five comfortably—or six or seven if they really squeezed in.

Jackie took the driver's seat, Leo settled into the front passenger spot, and Lucy and V climbed in the back. The coupe roared to life and eased onto the road, merging into traffic toward the industrial zone in Northside.

Leo dialed the number Dexter had provided for Meredith Stout, Militech's senior operations manager. A moment later, the call connected, and a woman's face appeared on his tactical goggles.

"This is Stout," she said tersely. Not one wasted word—classic corporate style. Seeing no point in pleasantries, Leo got straight to the point as well. "I hear you're looking for something. Maybe we can talk."

"Stuff a rag in his mouth and throw him in the trunk!" Meredith barked, not at Leo but at someone else near her. It looked like she was out in some deserted area, definitely not in a bustling corporate tower.

"So you have it already?" she asked.

"I don't."