Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077-Chapter 207

Johnny responded by flipping his middle finger.

"Anyway, what you're saying is..." Johnny pointed at Leo. "You guys aren't just ordinary cyber mercs, right? The relic, plus this combat android I'm stuck in—none of that's ordinary gear. Tagging along with you is bound to be interesting, and maybe, just maybe, the way for me to get out of this tin can depends on you."

Johnny wasn't unwilling. If he could, he'd have sprinted straight to Rogue's side right now. If he had possessed a human instead of a machine, he would've done so already. But now, no, because he'd likely be kicked out before he even reached the doors of the Afterlife. Besides, as a machine, not a human, going solo brought all kinds of inconveniences. He had to admit, human society was still very exclusionary.

Perhaps he should start fighting for a different cause...

.........

....

..

T-Bug soon regained consciousness. Johnny hadn't gone for the kill—he'd only choked her out until she passed out. When she woke up and saw Johnny, she instinctively reached for her gun, but Leo stopped her. After some explanation, she still found it hard to believe that inside that cropped-head android was the soul of Johnny Silverhand.

What amazed her even more was that Arasaka was willing to let them go. She just couldn't understand why. There had never been a case where people walked away unscathed after provoking a megacorp. Why would Yorinobu Arasaka make an exception? T-Bug racked her brain, but she simply couldn't figure it out. Still, the fact that they weren't on Arasaka's hit list was undeniably good news.

Thinking of this, T-Bug couldn't help but let out a long sigh. If Dexter DeShawn had known it would turn out like this, maybe he wouldn't have died in vain. But reality didn't come with "if"s.

"Bug, what do you say—want to hit El Coyote Cojo for a victory drink?" Leo asked.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," T-Bug replied. She wasn't the type to show her face in public unless absolutely necessary. She preferred solitude, not out of social anxiety but because it was how she had always operated—and it was safer that way. As a netrunner, the moment you connected to cyberspace, your awareness of the outside world dropped to zero. If someone got hold of your real-world information, there was no telling how they might exploit it. T-Bug trusted no one but herself.

This was clear from how, after making enough money, she'd planned to move to Crete and cut off contact with everyone.

"Leo."

Just as she was about to leave, T-Bug tugged Leo's sleeve. Leo paused, realizing she had something to say to him. If they were on the same comms channel, they could talk privately, but in a multi-person channel, their eyes would light up blue or gold—effectively giving away the fact they were talking.

"Johnny Silverhand... is he the consciousness inside the relic?"

"Yeah," Leo answered without hiding anything; there was no reason to.

"Then, does that mean this relic can't be sold?"

T-Bug's goal in this job had been the same as Jackie's: money. So, it made sense she'd ask.

"Right, but not just because of that. Only Evelyn had the connections to offload something like this, and now that she's gone, nobody will touch the chip."

T-Bug wasn't ready to give up. Like other netrunners in Night City, she'd been in the biz a long time. Netrunning was even riskier than merc work, since you often had to dive solo into hostile subnetworks to steal data. During that process, you could be counter-hacked or slaughtered by ICE defenses. And when you worked alone, there was no backup, no reinforcements—no one but yourself.

Because of the asymmetric risks involved, netrunners were often seen as loners, misfits by their own crews.

Before meeting Leo and the others, T-Bug had worked with many teams. Some got wiped out entirely; others dissolved for various reasons. But without exception, T-Bug had developed a deep-seated aversion to jacking into cyberspace. That's why, when Dexter approached her with news of a big score, she had agreed almost without hesitation.

Even though it was Leo, V, and Jackie who physically infiltrated Konpeki Plaza, the risks T-Bug faced were no less. In fact, without Leo's timely warning when the red alert sounded, she might have been caught by Arasaka netrunners and flatlined right there through the wire.

So, when she learned that the chip they'd fought so hard to obtain was now worthless, she just couldn't let it go.

"Can't we find another fixer? There are tons of them in the city—Wakako? Padre? Rogue? Maybe they'd be interested."

"This thing's a worthless prize, Bug. The rich can easily spend a little extra to buy legit versions straight from Arasaka; the poor can't afford it at all. And besides, extracting the relic is basically murder for Johnny Silverhand. Bug, are you really that cold-blooded?"

T-Bug opened her mouth, looking like she wanted to argue, but in the end, she swallowed her words.

"I get it."

Leo patted her arm. "If something good comes up, I'll let you know."

T-Bug nodded, then called out again just as Leo turned to leave. "Leo."

When Leo looked back, T-Bug spoke sincerely. "I don't think I've properly thanked you yet.

Thank you. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be a corpse by now."

"No need. I try and take care of my crew, even does who stay with me momentarily"

...

At El Coyote Cojo, Mama Wells was discussing inventory with Pepe and Chihiro, talking about what stock they were running low on and what needed to be ordered.

Lucy wasn't interested in any of that, but she wasn't just freeloading—she was doing what she could to help out, wiping tables, sweeping the floor, serving drinks to customers.

Just then, the door to the bar swung open. Lucy, who was mopping the floor, instinctively called out, "Sorry, we're closed."

Then she looked up toward the entrance—and froze in place.

"Jackie?!"

Mama Wells also turned, then rushed over, leaving Pepe and Chihiro behind at the counter, and threw her arms around Jackie. Jackie was touched, but also a little embarrassed. With so many people watching, having his mom hug him tight made him feel awkward. But honestly, he was overthinking it—everyone could understand how Mama Wells felt. No one was going to laugh at him.

Leo walked up to Lucy and gave her a smile. "I'm back."

Tears sparkled in Lucy's eyes. "Welcome back." She stepped forward to help Leo take off his white trench coat.