Chapter 7: Mind Your Own Business
Rhys just nodded.
In a way... Maine's crew was definitely different from most edgerunner outfits Rhys knew. He'd gotten that feeling from the anime before he was dropped into this world, but five years of living in Night City had gradually stripped away that rosy filter. Korna's earnest pleas, Susan's furious tirades, the raw, unfiltered reality of the city—it had all forced Rhys to lock his empathy away.
But now, being with them, that filter he only got from the show was slowly reappearing. He'd thought Maine's crew was just another drop in the ocean, a microcosm of the countless edgerunner teams struggling to survive. But seeing them in person, he realized they were genuinely different.
What followed was a few hours of pointless drinking and bullshitting—the typical way edgerunners killed time when they weren't on a gig. It was one of the main reasons they were always broke. They lived hard and spent fast.
At one point, Rhys saw Sasha suddenly grab her bag and leave the table. After a moment's thought, he looked at Maine. "I'll be right back."
With that, Rhys stood up and headed in the direction Sasha had disappeared.
"Shouldn't we stop him? Sasha seems easy to talk to, but she's actually the most principled one among us," Dorio whispered, worried Rhys would clash with the netrunner.
Maine just shook his head. "It's good for them to interact a bit."
"Rhys has the same problem as Rebecca," Maine said, glancing at the green-haired girl with a helpless sigh. "A goddamn case of empathy."
Dorio blinked. "He's like Rebecca? I don't know, he seems more like Sasha to me. He looks calm and composed, and he uses weakness to hide how strong he really is. The difference is, Sasha uses a cute act to disguise herself, while Rhys... he gives me the feeling he's pretending to be a pushover."
"Dorio, you still need to learn how to read people," Maine said with a smile, planting a kiss on her cheek.
Before becoming a merc in Night City, Maine had been a soldier. His experience gave him an edge in seeing a person's true nature. And in Maine's eyes, Rhys was, at his core, a good person.
That kind of person was a huge liability in Night City, because you never knew when their damn empathy would bring disaster down on everyone around them. But at the very least, when you were with a guy like that, you never had to worry about getting a knife in your back.
The mention of empathy made Dorio sigh. She muttered:
"Having one Rebecca on the team is enough. You really want to recruit another one? Have you forgotten what happened on that last job? She took pity on some guy, said he looked pathetic, like a lost puppy, and actually let him go! And what happened? That bastard came back with his chooms and cornered Rebecca and Pilar at their place. If I hadn't shown up when I did, they'd both be flatlined."
"That's true," Maine conceded, "but Rhys is different. He's strong. If Rebecca and him were teamed up, he could protect her and, at the same time, give her an outlet for all her 'goodwill.' Putting those two good-hearted gonks together is a win for all of us."
...
"Are you following me now?"
As soon as Rhys rounded the corner, a voice stopped him.
Sasha was standing by the bathroom door, her head tilted as she watched him silently.
"I need to talk to you," Rhys said.
"What do you want to talk about?" she asked calmly. She walked towards him, the smile on her cat-like lips gone, her eyes growing distant and cold.
"About the gig tonight. I want to talk it over first. I just... I don't want there to be any variables."
Thinking about the fate he knew was coming for her, Rhys couldn't stop the words from coming out. Dammit... When Susan kicked me out of the Mox, I swore I'd rein in this bad habit, but in the end, I just can't stand by and watch.
Seeing something wrong and feeling compelled to speak up—that was Rhys's biggest problem in Night City. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't just accept it.
"I hate variables on a job," Rhys added.
Hearing this, Sasha laughed. Her lips curled into a cold, detached smile. "I hate variables on a job too. Like this one," she said, her voice laced with alienation.
"I could have completed this gig on my own. Stealing a data shard is not difficult for me. But Maine was worried. Fine. He's the boss, so I accepted his 'kindness.' But what is this? How long have we known each other? Not even a full day. What gives you the right to talk to me like this? You don't want variables on the job? You know what? To me, you are the biggest variable I'm facing right now."
Sasha's cute and gentle demeanor vanished, replaced by the spitting fury of a cornered pink cat. She stared at him coldly.
"I am a professional. I know exactly what to do during an operation. The work is the work. Completing the mission is all that matters. I don't need some rookie fresh off the street lecturing me."
"With the time you're wasting, you should be thinking about your own future, about how long you're going to last. Mind your own business, Rhys."
With that, Sasha turned without another glance and walked into the bathroom.
"..."
When Rhys returned to the table, he saw Maine giving him a knowing look. He sat down in silence.
"She's not as easy to talk to as she looks, is she?" Maine said with a grin.
Rhys nodded.
"That's right. Don't let the cute getup fool you. Sasha is the most aloof person on our crew. But she's all bark and no bite. Don't take what she says to heart. She's just not used to dealing with new people. Give it time, you'll see. She's actually a very gentle person."
Give it time?
The problem was...
Based on Rhys's calculations, though he didn't know the full story, the information from the Edgerunners ending credits was clear. Sasha was going to die tonight.
What future did she have?
When Sasha returned, her gentle smile was back in place. She sat down, her head bowed over her datapad, and didn't spare Rhys a single glance.
The Afterlife began to fill up. Eventually, Rhys saw a familiar face—Claire appeared behind the bar, polishing a glass and greeting every merc who walked in.
As the night bled into the early morning hours, Sasha checked the time, stood up, grabbed her bag, and walked towards the exit.
Maine yawned and slapped his own face to wake up. He clapped Rhys on the back. "Go on. Time to get to work."
"Just me and Sasha?" Rhys asked, pointing to himself.
"Pilar and I will be right behind you. Sasha needs to hack the surrounding cameras first, then Pilar will activate the jammer. We'll link up by call."
"You better get going. Sasha won't wait for you."
Rhys sighed but got up and followed her.
Outside the Afterlife, he saw Sasha sitting on a pink motorcycle, putting on a pink helmet with cat ears.
"Helmet's in the back. Get it yourself," she said, looking at him.
Rhys walked over, retrieved a matching pink helmet from the bike's storage compartment, took off his baseball cap, and put it on.
"That's much better," Sasha commented. "A piece of advice: as an edgerunner, talk less, do more. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Even if we are teammates."
"What if you call for help? Should I ignore that too?" Rhys asked as he swung onto the seat behind her. The pink motorcycle was small, and with two people, it was a tight fit. As he settled in, his stomach pressed against her back.
Sasha shifted uncomfortably. Her voice was cold.
"I told you, I'm a professional."
"Let me repeat myself, rookie. Just mind your own business."
With a roar of the engine, a pink motorcycle shot through the late-night streets of Kabuki, heading for the City Center.