Chapter 75: Wanna... Come Up and Watch a Braindance?
City Center, Arasaka Tower.
Under the colossal, cloud-piercing structure, two holographic koi swam lazy circles over the plaza. Eto Kei stood before the reinforced glass, watching the fish for a moment before proceeding to the 22nd-floor office. He knocked.
"Enter."
A deep voice responded. Eto took a breath and pushed the door open. The office was palatial, hundreds of square meters decorated with expensive art from around the globe, juxtaposed with traditional Japanese scrolls.
Behind a three-meter-long desk, a man in glasses watched him approach.
"Mr. Tanaka, I've compiled the files you requested," Eto said, bowing, the paper file held rigidly in both hands.
"Why wasn't this an email?"
"Apologies, sir, it's time-sensitive. We lost two agents, and there was an... unexpected complication with the merc. He's proven more difficult to acquire than anticipated. I printed this report the moment I had it and came straight here," Eto explained. He stepped forward and laid the file on the desk.
Paper. In an age of neural interfaces, Arasaka still held onto old traditions. And besides, sometimes, physical paper was more secure than any encrypted network.
Tanaka picked it up. The paper was still warm from the printer. He scanned the first page, his eyes narrowing. "Eto, what is the deal with this man? Is he connected to Militech or not?"
"No, sir. According to our fixer intel, he's ex-Mox, currently running with a crew out of the Afterlife. His associates are as follows." Eto handed over the rest of the files.
"Maine... Dorio... Jackie... Rebecca..." Tanaka read the names aloud, then paused, pulling one sheet from the stack. "And who is this? No... what is she doing in Night City?"
He held up the photo for Eto to see. Whether in the old world or the new, the daughter of a Polish executive and an Arasaka netrunner... she was a natural beauty. Muted pink and ice-blue hair, a style all her own. Hmph. Such a prize, wasted as an expendable asset. Her father... he had ice in his veins.
Eto took the file. "Apologies, Mr. Tanaka, our agents haven't confirmed the details. Intel from the Warsaw branch states she is a high-priority target their internal investigations department is tracking. She must have fled to Night City recently. If not for this incident, none of us... or even she... would have known..."
"It doesn't matter. I'm more concerned with him," Tanaka interrupted, tapping a different image. It was a grainy security still of Rhys, leaping between rooftops, the white-haired girl in his arms.
"And you're telling me he can do this with no connection to Militech? Are you certain he isn't one of their experiments? Have they developed a new line of combat cyberware without our knowledge?"
"Impossible, sir," Eto countered immediately. "He's openly hostile to 6th Street, and he's actively sabotaged Militech-backed operations. The fixers in this city wouldn't dare feed us false intel on this."
"What about Kang Tao?" Tanaka pressed.
"No documented contact with Kang Tao whatsoever."
"..." Tanaka fell silent, steepling his fingers. He stared at the report, at the data: height, weight, minimal implants, and off-the-charts strength, speed, and reflex metrics.
"Then he's probably not connected to Biotechnica either," Tanaka mused. "If they had this kind of tech, we'd know."
"His physique shows no signs of the hyper-inflation from Animals-grade combat chems. So... Eto. Do you believe in a second Morgan Blackhand?"
Eto remained silent. This was not a question he was qualified to answer. Morgan Blackhand... the top Solo of his era, perhaps of all time. Even Arasaka's own boogeyman, Adam Smasher, was rumored to be his inferior. After the nuke, the world believed Blackhand was dead. But Arasaka's internal reports told a different story. The recovery team had found only the shattered remains of Adam Smasher in the rubble. Blackhand... had simply vanished. A man like that doesn't just die.
"Eto, contact the Anti-Militech division. I need their support. Pull some of their assets off their current surveillance. This man is the priority. His biometrics... they could be the proof we need for the head office's 'Project Adam' initiative!"
Eto hesitated. "Mr. Tanaka, the 'Project Adam' candidates are still..."
"It doesn't matter. If they go cyberpsycho and die, they're just expendable assets. A dead subject is, in many ways, more valuable than a living one," Tanaka said. "With his body, we might finally unlock the key to mass-producing operators on Blackhand's level. You know how interested headquarters is in genetic augmentation. E... no, Kei. You were transferred from HQ. Night City is just a stepping stone for you. When you return, you'll be fast-tracked to management."
"You'll need a significant achievement for your portfolio. A report... proving you are executive material."
Eto took a deep breath, his back straightening. "Yes, sir. I understand. I'll contact the fixers and deploy the agents immediately."
"Good. This needs to be planned meticulously. We need to draw him out. Get the local fixers involved. We need one clean shot."
Eto bowed and left the office.
Tanaka turned back to his terminal, replaying the video clips of the black-haired young man. He wasn't the only one who had noticed. Militech, Biotechnica, even Kang Tao... they were all watching this kid now. He'd become a star overnight, the talk of the merc world. Wiping out a Wraith family... solo?
No advanced implants, but that level of combat power? How could they not be curious?
Night City was a crucible. The legends forged here... sometimes they changed the world. Morgan Blackhand did. Johnny Silverhand did. Could this kid be the next... secret weapon... to shift the corporate balance?
Tanaka closed the terminal. "I look forward to meeting you, Rhys..."
Late Night, Heywood.
A Delamain cab pulled up beneath the towering Heywood megabuilding. Rhys looked up at the massive steel behemoth, then glanced at the person beside him. Lucy's intricate face was smudged with grime, her beautiful hair lank and oily, plastered to her cheeks.
"This is your stop, Lucy."
Rhys hit the button to open his door. They'd rented the Delamain, the most convenient transport in the city. "This whole day has been a mess..." From the moment they'd left the diner, they'd been running. First, from those unknown gangers, then from the NCPD. They'd finally shaken them when the cops gave up the chase.
A rocket launcher in a public street... even the NCPD couldn't ignore that. They had to at least look like they were doing their jobs.
Rhys was a mess, too. His clothes were torn, his cap was long gone, and he was covered in bloodstains. (The enemy's, mostly.)
He was about to close the door and tell the Delamain to take him back to Santo Domingo when a hand rested on the window.
He looked up. Lucy was leaning down, one hand on the roof, the other on the open window. The harsh white streetlights caught her face, turning her iridescent hair into a dream-like shimmer. Her orange-glossed lips were full and alluring.
"Wanna... wanna come up and watch a braindance?" she asked, her voice soft.
Before Rhys could answer, she added, "If you go back to Santo Domingo now, it'll be past 01:00. It's late. You'll probably hit NCPD checkpoints, right?"
"And... it's not like you have anything else to do, right?"
"My BD wreath is top-of-the-line. The sensory feedback is the best you can get. You... wanna try it?"
Rhys looked at her, his expression turning... strange. This feels...
This feels a lot like I'm a kid being lured into a van with candy.
The line... it was basically the 2077 version of, "I have a cute cat at home, want to come see it?"
Should I go?
She had a point. At this hour, the city was crawling with cops and gangers. If he got stopped, covered in blood and armed, he'd be in for another chase. And he'd been running all damn day.
He hesitated.
"You can watch your Dangerous Girls BD on it," Lucy added, as if sensing his hesitation. "A better rig... it's like a better implant. The experience is totally different."
Rhys: "..."