"Take this. Operating funds. Use cash, and hire people you trust. Don't get sold out and drag me into it."
Jenkins handed V a stack of banknotes. Without corporate agents to support this dirty work, they would need professional mercenaries. He didn't expect V to pay for them himself.
"Don't worry. I know what to do."
V took the money and left. Someone was waiting outside the office: the woman he'd been discussing with his colleague. Her red cyberoptics made it impossible to tell where she was looking.
Had Rocky been there, he would have recognized her as the senior Arasaka counterintelligence manager who would be involved in David's future downfall. She would oversee the hunt for Lucy and authorize the contact with Faraday that helped bring about the ending.
"I know you. V, isn't it? Jenkins said he was discussing something important and asked me to wait. Didn't expect you to be the one inside. Looks like the rumors about your promotion are true. Keep up the good work, kid."
She hadn't expected Jenkins's important business to concern V. Perhaps the young man did pose a threat to her position.
But she couldn't dictate Jenkins's decisions. For now, at least, their responsibilities lay in different areas. They might manage to coexist.
Without waiting for an answer, she entered the office.
V had little interest in her. Jenkins's assignment was enough of a headache without worrying about what she had to say.
He called Jacky.
If he needed someone trustworthy, he already knew the ideal man. One of them had become a freelance mercenary, the other a corporate dog, but they'd stayed in touch. Their friendship hadn't changed.
Jacky had handled plenty of dirty work for him. Whenever V couldn't use Arasaka's resources, he turned to his friend. If Jacky agreed to help, V would consider the job ninety percent done.
The call connected quickly.
"V? We talked this morning. Got time to call again? Guess you're not working late today."
"The opposite. I'm calling because I am. Jacky, I need help with something. We need somewhere to talk."
"All right. Trouble again, huh? I'm in Watson. Come to Lizzie's. See you there."
Jacky didn't press for details. With the meeting arranged, V left Arasaka Tower and headed for the bar.
* * *
In a private room at Lizzie's, Rocky studied the shard.
"Think I've got it. You want these small-company executives eliminated?"
Not long before, he'd been at the clinic making soldier serum when Jacky called. There was a job he needed help with, and he wanted Rocky's opinion.
His tone had made it clear that this wasn't one of the minor gigs of the past few days. Rocky wasn't about to refuse a friend in trouble. Jacky knew how busy the clinic kept him. He wouldn't interrupt unless it mattered.
Rocky had come straight over.
"Right," V said. "But it has to happen by the day after tomorrow. We're disrupting their partnership with Arasaka. That's when the meeting is scheduled."
"Then it's not a simple job. According to this, they're staying at Konpeki Plaza. I doubt they'll set foot outside until the deal's signed. That's Arasaka territory. Security is what they're selling. If a few lowlifes kill their guests under their noses, you know better than I do how they'll respond."
Jacky nodded. He'd already raised much the same concerns with V.
Konpeki Plaza was Night City's most exclusive hotel, catering to the elite. Its security was extremely tight, and Arasaka took the place seriously. Killing someone there carried considerable risk.
"I'll handle the aftermath," V said. "Blame Militech. Shift Arasaka's attention from finding the killers to putting pressure on them. Your part is working out how to eliminate the targets. I can't help with that without leaving a trail."
"By the way, I don't know if Jacky told you. I work in Arasaka Counterintelligence."
V was willing to reveal his position to persuade Rocky because Jacky had already made one thing clear: Rocky would decide whether they took the job.
Jacky didn't want to get involved in corporate affairs or become an executioner helping the corps hurt people. But he didn't want to lose such a lucrative contract, either. And V was his friend. If he could help, he wanted to.
Eventually, he'd left the choice to Rocky. If Rocky accepted, they would do it.
That was why the three of them were here.
Rocky looked at V and nodded. This was his first face-to-face meeting with the famous mercenary-to-be. Jacky had mentioned his corpo friend before, and Rocky had guessed who it was. Still, over the past two years, they hadn't had any real contact.
Most cyberpunks disliked corporate employees. It took a friendship like Jacky's to bridge that divide. Unsure whether his two friends would get along, Jacky had avoided introducing them rather than risk an unpleasant encounter.
This time, he'd had little choice.
"All right. I'll take the job. Jacky?"
"Told you. Your call."
Rocky had considered the risks. They were real, but not fatal. He was confident they could complete the assignment.
The fee was good, too. Sixty thousand eddies meant twenty thousand apiece, even split three ways. It wasn't as lucrative as selling drugs, but it was a sizeable job by mercenary standards.
His main reason, though, was V. He expected to deal with the megacorps often in the future. A close friend inside Arasaka Counterintelligence could be extraordinarily valuable.