Chapter 40: The Misunderstanding About to Unfold

Rogue cast a glance toward a small crew gathered inside the Afterlife Bar before slowly stepping forward.

“Looks like you’ve made up your mind. Here’s the intel on that person—see for yourself.”

She pulled out a chip and handed it to the man before her—a silver-haired guy with a hedgehog cut, somewhere in his thirties.

White rubbed his stubble, leaned forward slightly, and picked up the chip from the table.
“Didn’t expect you to take a gig connected to Arasaka, Rogue. That’s a surprise.”

As he spoke, White slotted the chip into his deck and took a casual sip from his glass.

“I take on just about any job. It’s just that Arasaka doesn’t usually come knocking.”
Rogue sat down across from him.

“Heh… this gig’s kinda interesting. This Kuroda guy must be something special, huh?”
White pulled the chip out, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.

“Mind sharing a little about the client?”

Rogue ignored the question and cut straight to business. “The client wants him captured within five days and delivered to the drop point listed on the chip. How you handle it is up to you—I don’t think I need to explain the details.”

“You can count on me. This isn’t Arasaka turf, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Better make sure of that… and one more thing—you’ve been taking a lot of risks lately. Don’t get burned.”

Rogue rose from the booth, leaving White and his crew behind.

“Boss, what was Rogue talking about?” asked a man wearing a tactical helmet and goggles, his tone curious.

“Nothing much. Just something from before.” White shook his head, offering no details. Seeing he didn’t want to elaborate, Golor dropped the topic.

“So, what’s the job this time?”

At that, White grinned wide, flashing a set of bright white teeth.
“A corpo dog gig. And it’s a big one.”

“A big one? Seriously? Don’t jerk me around, boss.”
A sharp-looking girl with short blue hair eyed him skeptically. The girl sitting in her lap nodded silently in agreement.

White twitched a little at their doubt and replied, “I’m not kidding. The reward’s a million eddies—real big money. All we’ve gotta do is snatch someone.”

“It’s not a Militech guy, right? They’ve been acting like rabid dogs lately.”

Vilet frowned, concern clear on her face. Her reaction made sense—since Fiers’ death, Militech had been on edge, launching countless operations.

The main problem was that they still had no leads on Jhin. The failure was humiliating. Sure, Fiers’ death had made Weis happy—but if he couldn’t offer his people a proper explanation, that happiness wouldn’t last long.

“I’m not an idiot. I’m not gonna pick a fight with Militech right now. That’d be suicide.”

White rolled his eyes. Tiana, still resting in Vilet’s arms, shifted positions and laid her head on Vilet’s lap, quietly watching him.

“Captain, it’s not like you haven’t done stupid things before.”

White’s mouth twitched again. His eyes slid toward Rich, who was still tinkering with his laptop.

Catching the look, Rich glanced up and said, “Don’t look at me, boss. You know she’s right. I’m not covering for you.”

“Damn it… fine. Our target’s a research director at Arasaka HQ. He’s in Night City right now but might be leaving soon. The client wants him grabbed within five days.”

White sent the intel on Kuroda to the rest of the squad.

“Hmm… his schedule’s pretty predictable. Seems he likes to hit up the Tyger Claws’ Kabuki club every night. Looks like an easy job.”
Golor rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Doubt it’s that simple. If he’s bold enough to move like that, he must have something up his sleeve. Let’s spend a few days digging up more on him before making a move.”
Tina’s eyes gleamed as she spoke.

“No problem. I agree.” Vilet nodded without hesitation.

“Your opinion doesn’t count,” Rich muttered at her, then added, “but Tina’s right. What do you think, boss?”

“No problem. Rich, Tina—you two handle the online recon.”

The pair nodded.

“Alright then, that’s it for today. Same place tomorrow.”

White stood, waved a hand, and walked out of the Afterlife.

Once he was gone, the remaining four huddled together.

“Hey, what do you think the boss did to make Rogue say that?”

“No idea. But if I had to guess… probably something tied to Militech. You know how he is.”
Vilet shook her head, thinking aloud.

“Makes sense. Let’s just hope he doesn’t do anything reckless. Militech’s been tearing the city apart looking for Jhin.”
Golor nodded in agreement.

“Jhin, huh… If that bastard somehow survived, he’d probably end up a living legend in Night City.”
Rich’s tone carried a hint of admiration.

“Who knows? In this city, people like us rarely get happy endings.”
Tina lit a cigarette and narrowed her eyes.

“There you go again with that talk… seriously.”
Vilet frowned, took the cigarette from Tina’s hand, and kissed her.

“Hey, come on! We’re still here, you know!”
Golor groaned in protest.

Vilet waved him off without looking back, signaling them to leave.

Rich shrugged and got up, heading out. Golor glanced at the two still locked in a kiss, snorted, and followed after him.

When the kiss finally ended, Vilet cupped Tina’s face.
“I don’t know about the others, but our ending will be a good one.”

“I know.”
Tina smiled helplessly, then kissed her back.

Within their squad, Captain White handled the frontline, packed with heavy combat cyberware—including a Sandevistan. Rich and Tina managed the netrunning, with Rich doubling as the driver.

Golor provided fire support and close combat, equipped with hyper-reactive implants and a Kerenzikov. Vilet was another frontliner, outfitted with Berserk cyberware.

Their collective firepower was no joke. That was exactly why Rogue had chosen them for the job—because, if nothing else, their strength was never in question.