"You can have Lucy try to locate L first. If that fails, we go to an intel broker."
That was Jackie's call. They knew nothing about Rocky's status, so the first move was clear: let Lucy deep dive the Net and try to trace him.
Everyone agreed. There was no better option right now.
"I'll get ready to dive."
Lucy stood to leave. The clinic had no braindance-grade interface for a safe deep dive, and time was tight.
Misty, quiet until now, spoke as the plan formed. "You're going to rescue L. I know he's in danger, but if Arasaka locked him up somewhere with tight security, that's too risky. I'm worried about you."
She was anxious about Rocky, too, but she understood what Arasaka was. She did not want to see Jackie and the others step into the same danger.
"No matter how dangerous it is, I'm still saving him. Even if he's in Arasaka Tower, I'll go up there and bring him out."
Rebecca clenched her fists. "I watched them take L right in front of me. It's my fault for being weak. I couldn't stop them."
The scene outside Rocky's clinic replayed in her head. She hated that she had not been strong enough to protect him. Rebecca had never been the kind of girl who needed shielding. She wanted to be the one who shielded the person she loved. She had never had someone to love before. Now she did, and she had watched him being taken away. She swore to bring him back.
Her voice shook the room. People glanced at each other, moved by how firm her resolve was.
So this is Rebecca's love for L. Someone would charge Arasaka Tower for the person they love. If it were L, would he do the same for me? He said he would…
Lucy felt her chest tighten. Rebecca's words hit deep, and guilt pricked. It almost felt like she was the thief who had stolen Rebecca's lover. If Rebecca found out about her and Rocky, how would she look at her?
Jackie's thoughts were simpler. Rebecca's too righteous. Going through fire for your lover? That's real romance. I'm not falling behind.
"Rebecca, you're right. We are getting L out. I'm here. I won't let you take this risk alone."
Vik had been listening from his chair. He was moved, too, but he stayed practical. "Misty isn't wrong. Storming Arasaka turf to extract someone is extremely dangerous. And the two of you alone? That's a hard job to pull off."
He was looking at Jackie and Rebecca. He knew the final push would come down to them.
"Hey, Vik, don't underestimate me," Jackie said. "I'm not who I was. L hooked me up with that stuff. I'm strong now."
Vik shook his head at Jackie's flex. "You are fine. What about Rebecca? No offense, Rebecca. This kind of job eats lives. I can't watch you throw yours away. If L knew, he wouldn't agree either."
He had expected that Jackie had already taken the serum. But he meant Rebecca. She did not even know what the serum was, so she had not used it. The problem was practical, not prejudiced. Her combat power was too low. Determination could not change that. At her current level, charging Arasaka would be suicide.
Rebecca understood. "You're right, Vik. I am still too weak. Can you help me? You're a ripperdoc. You can make me stronger. Any method, any cyberware. If it makes me stronger, I accept it."
She had decided. Before this, she could live without chrome because Maine's crew carried the heavy fighting. Now she saw it was not enough. Only her own strength would protect the people around her. With a ripperdoc right here, she would get implanted, get stronger, and then go save Rocky.
"You've decided?"
"Yes."
Vik opened a cabinet and took out a blue vial. Rocky had left it with him. It was the original, one hundred percent effective formula.
"This is the Advanced Soldier Serum L left me. Time to use it. With this, you can tolerate better cyberware, and your odds of pulling L out go up."
Rebecca nodded, lay back on the operating chair at Vik's signal, and did not hesitate. The injection was quick, and she slipped into a deep sleep.
Misty guided Lucy to a nearby apartment that had a deep dive interface. The clinic fell quiet.
"Vik, I'm making a call."
"Go ahead."
Jackie stepped outside and dialed V.
When he first learned Arasaka had taken Rocky, Jackie had wanted to call V immediately. He held back. In his mind, V was just a regular agent. Maybe V did not even know anything about Rocky's arrest. Even if he did, helping would be hard, and it might drag V into the whirlpool. V was not the only one who decided anything in a company like that. If Arasaka intelligence leaked and someone snatched the target because of it, that was a serious charge for anyone.
Besides, V and Rocky were not close. Jackie had no standing to demand help.
He had planned to call V only if there was no other way. But after seeing Rebecca today, he changed his mind. He did not want Rebecca to take this risk if there was any chance. He did not want Rocky to lose someone who loved him.
Jackie did not know that V had made a qualitative leap in just a few days. He also does not realize that Rocky's arrest has been set in motion by V's orders, though V does not recognize that the man they grabbed is Rocky. V had delegated the operation and was only waiting for his team to deliver intelligence on Ascension Technology.