Chapter 52: Preparations Complete
“Rogue? What do you need from me this time?”
White pushed himself up from the bed, lighting a cigarette as he spoke with mild curiosity. After the last mission failed, he figured Rogue wouldn’t be coming to them again so soon.
Sure, the failure wasn’t entirely their fault, but failure was failure. Their squad had taken losses too—Vilet, for example, still hadn’t returned.
Her injuries had mostly healed, but she wanted time to rest, and White couldn’t argue with that.
The issue was that if Vilet was resting, Tina was resting with her. It was unavoidable—the two wanted to be together. And as their captain, not their partner, White had no say in the matter.
So with nothing to do lately, he’d mostly been at home.
“I’ve got work for your crew. And it’s a big one. Interested?”
“A big one? You serious?”
White froze, momentarily forgetting the cigarette between his fingers.
“Dead serious. Think of it as giving you another chance. But the client has a requirement: you’ll be working alongside two of his people.”
Rogue said this as she passed along Roland’s instructions.
“No problem. What’s the payout and the job?”
“Minimum fifty thousand eddies, potentially rising to a hundred thousand depending on circumstances. As for the details… if you’re planning to take it, come to Afterlife later. We’ll discuss it face-to-face.”
“…Alright. I’ll talk it over with the others and call you back.”
“Good, don’t make me wait.”
Rogue nodded and hung up.
White no longer felt like smoking. He stubbed the cigarette out, then hurriedly pulled on his clothes.
“Why the rush?”
A beautiful woman sat up in his bed, brushing her hair aside as she asked lazily.
“Rogue says there’s a big job. I need to get the idiots together and talk. Can’t stay with you today—next time.”
“Fine, I won’t hold you up, my busy man.”
Hill smiled, leaned in to give White a quick kiss, then pushed him away.
...
Over at Vilet and Tina’s place, the two were in the middle of an intimate embrace when a call came in, making Vilet frown.
She ignored it outright, hanging up without looking at the screen, then pulled Tina close again.
Tina still hadn’t realized someone had called when another ring cut through the moment. Vilet’s breathing hitched.
Seeing this, Tina paused and tilted her head at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s White. He’s calling. Give me a second.”
Vilet kissed Tina’s cheek, then answered with a dark look.
“You’d better have a damn good reason.”
“I know I’m interrupting you two, but listen—Rogue handed us a big Gig. That’s why I called. I need to know if you’re taking it.”
White explained while driving toward Golor’s place.
Vilet hesitated, thinking it over. After a brief silence, she said, “Pick up the others first. I’ll call you back.”
“Alright.”
White hung up and focused on the road. Golor hadn’t answered his calls—White figured the guy was high again—so he had no choice but to show up in person.
“Something up? Did White need something urgent?”
Tina leaned on one elbow, watching Vilet.
“Yeah. Rogue’s offering another big Gig and wants to know if we’re in.”
Tina was quiet for a moment, then said softly, “Vilet… to be honest, I don’t want to keep doing this. It’s too dangerous. I’m scared of losing you. When you got hurt that day, I—”
Before she could finish, Vilet silenced her with a kiss.
Eventually, they parted.
“I know. But what else can we do?”
“We’ve saved up plenty. Let’s leave this place and start fresh somewhere else. Night City has opportunities, sure, but most of the time it just swallows people whole.”
Tina tried to reason with her. Vilet hesitated, feeling torn, but still shook her head.
“I don’t know. Maybe we should look for another way. I don’t want to leave. I grew up here. I’m used to this place—I understand it.”
Tina fell quiet at that. Then she pulled out the contact information Roland had left them.
“Maybe we can ask his opinion. If we’re not leaving, then maybe sheltering under a strong enough ‘tree’ will help us survive.”
Vilet glanced at the contact information for Jhin in Tina’s hand.
“Then after this operation. Once the mission’s done, we’ll talk to White.”
...
“Well, it looks like your squad has made up its mind.”
Rogue looked at the assembled White Squad with a faint smile before taking a seat across from them.
“Yeah. We’ll take the Gig. Since you’re willing to trust us again, Rogue, we won’t let you down.”
Golor leaned forward with a grin.
“Hey—this time it’s not me doing you a favor. The client specifically requested your squad.”
Rogue waved her hand, making it clear this wasn’t her decision, then pushed forward the Gig intel.
“They requested us specifically? We’re that well-known now?”
White muttered as he picked up the chip and slotted it into the reader.
After reviewing the details, everyone’s expressions hardened.
“WTF? Are they for real? Stealing intel on raw ingredients from All Foods?”
Golor was the first to blurt out, though he quickly lowered his voice.
“And in Watson, no less. There’s a high chance we’ll run into the Maelstrom.”
Tina set down her chip, her tone equally serious.
“That’s why the pay is high. You know how it works—risk and reward scale together. Just like the last Gig. If luck hadn’t been on your side, you’d all be souvenirs by now.”
Rogue took a sip of her drink and nodded.
“We want to meet the client’s assigned contacts as soon as possible and get a sense of their capabilities.”
White said this as he set down the chip.
“A reasonable request. I’ll let him know.”
Author's Note
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