Unexpected.
Even with Sandevistan installed, V couldn't prevent the sudden strike of the sword that cleaved Kuno in half!
V almost instantly raised her gun to fire, but the assailant reacted quickly, and the bullet hit nothing but air!
The katana was lodged in Kuno's body, and with a thud, her corpse fell to the ground—
The chip Kuno was supposed to give them was gone too!
Leo gritted his teeth and growled, "Damn it, optical camouflage—over there!"
As the attacker moved, the effectiveness of the optical camouflage weakened, and the three of them saw the light near the alley's entrance distort!
V charged ahead, with Leo and Jackie close behind. Turning the corner, Leo spotted four bodies on the ground!
They were the Tyger Claws from earlier! But one was missing!
"Damn it, we've been played—"
Beep—
Before Leo could finish his sentence, a faint warning sound of rising frequency reached his ears—a laser tripwire mine was on the ground!
Boom!
A terrifying explosion erupted, with a wave of fire engulfing the alley!
Everything flipped upside down!
The massive shockwave made Leo's organs feel numb, and pain surged, nearly causing him to pass out.
In his cybernetic eye, bio-monitoring alerts kept flashing errors.
**[Bio-monitoring Alert:]**
**[Minor spleen laceration, small-scale hemorrhage detected]**
**[Minor pulmonary edema detected]**
**[White blood cell count in left arm spiking, potential contusion or fracture detected]**
**[Please proceed to the nearest hospital for treatment.]**
But this was already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
V, who had just rushed out of the alley, saw the agent mounting a motorcycle, but before she could give chase, the explosion echoed from behind.
V anxiously shouted into the comms, "Leo? Jackie?!"
"Cough... We're fine, but you have to catch that bastard! Damn it! NCPD and the Tyger Claws will be here! V, you must catch that bastard!
Don't bother with the motorcycle, just drive our car!"
Leo's voice over the comms was weak but clear in its instructions.
In city operations, a motorcycle's agility far surpassed their Mackinaw pickup, but V didn't question Leo's reasoning.
Activating Sandevistan, V instantly appeared inside the Mackinaw, revving it up and speeding after the target.
In the alley, Jackie shook off the debris. His clothes were torn to shreds, some parts still smoldering. His face was bruised, and his hair was disheveled.
But despite taking the brunt of the blast, Jackie's injuries might not have been as severe as Leo's.
Luckily, it was V who triggered the mine.
Clearly, the attacker expected that after the tripwire was triggered, they would walk a bit further, encompassing the entire alley in the blast radius.
But V was too fast, and although Jackie and Leo were close behind, they hadn't fully entered the alley when the explosion occurred.
Otherwise, even with Jackie's subdermal armor, his legs would have been blown off.
Leo was kneeling on the ground, trying to ease the damage the shockwave had inflicted on his organs.
Jackie extinguished the flames on his clothes and looked at Leo with concern, "Are you okay, Leo?"
"I'm fine…" Leo shakily pulled out a pneumatic injector from his pocket, filled with painkillers and coagulants.
After injecting himself twice, Leo managed to stand up—
"Help me get to the motorcycle. The Mackinaw's agility and horsepower won't be enough; V might lose him."
"But you said not to ride the motorcycle…"
"I know, but there was no time to deal with it earlier—cough—"
Leo coughed up some blood and, with Jackie's help, reached the motorcycle.
He pulled out a tech glove and began examining the bike—
Just as he suspected, the motorcycle had been tampered with, the electronic starter rigged with a homemade explosive. Clearly, the guy had planned to sacrifice these fools from the start.
If they had just hopped on and started it, as soon as there was enough fuel in the tank, the detonator would have blown the bike up.
The explosion would have been sudden, and if V had actually gotten on, she wouldn't have had time to escape.
But that wasn't the biggest problem—they had dead Tyger Claws, and a dead corporate agent.
Tracking, hiding, assassination, and then planting mines to block pursuit—
Clearly, the assailant was a seasoned operative, and he wouldn't miss the chance to frame the three of them.
It's likely that before striking, the guy had already called both the Tyger Claws and the NCPD, reporting a murder.
Leo dialed a number.
Contact: Rogue.
Beep—
Rogue: "Burgerking, looks like there's been trouble."
Leo: "Yeah, trouble. Give me Wakako Okada's number."
Rogue: "You're still daring to call her? The Tyger Claws are looking for you. If you reach out to her, she might just sell you out to them."
Leo: "The Tyger Claws didn't kill their own; it was a corporate mole hiding within them."
Rogue: "Big news. Here's her number."
Wakako Okada, fixer of Westbrook, Queen of Japantown.
Although officially just a fixer, not the leader of the Tyger Claws, she had relationships with several Tyger Claws bosses—who were now all dead.
With the Tyger Claws on the hunt, Leo didn't want a conflict, so he could only ask her to mediate.
Beep—
Contact: Wakako Okada.
Wakako Okada: "Oh my, isn't this the hottest newcomer?"
Wakako Okada: "You step onto my turf and kill Tyger Claws? You've got a death wish?"
Leo: "I'll keep it brief. I didn't kill them; it was a corporate mole, either from Biotechnica or Arasaka."
Leo: "Help me get the Tyger Claws off our backs, and I'll give you evidence."
Wakako Okada: "...You think I'd believe you?"
Leo: "This is one of your gang's bikes, with a bomb rigged to the fuel tank."
Wakako Okada: "That could have been your doing."
Leo: "Sure, sure, maybe it was me. The whole City Center is probably in chaos now. My team's in the Mackinaw chasing that bastard. Check if he's headed for Westbrook or City Center!"
Leo: "Once he reports back to the company, that damn corporate immunity kicks in!"
Leo: "Then he'll go on vacation, bragging about how he played the Tyger Claws, and how even the Queen of Japantown, Wakako Okada, was just another fool!"
Leo: "But give me some time, and you'll still be the Queen who even corporations fear! I'll bring you that bastard's head!"
Wakako Okada: "…I'll give you time, but if you don't provide proof in the end, you know what happens."
The call ended just as Leo finished modifying the remaining motorcycles.
He breathed a sigh of relief—Wakako might not help, but he had to use this tone to at least get them a chance.
The good news was, he'd gotten that chance.
"Jackie, go catch up with V. Drive that bastard toward City Center and watch out for NCPD pursuit."
Jackie opened his mouth, doubting his ears.
"…Brother, did I hear that right?"
"You heard it right. The guy's mission only half-succeeded; you must catch him."
Leo patted the motorcycle beside him.
"I've modified the bike's circuits. Honking will overload the engine, giving you enough speed to catch that guy, but don't overdo it."
"So… we're going to arrest a corporate operative in City Center?"
Jackie clicked his tongue, "My mom's gonna kill me."
Leo stood up and patted Jackie's shoulder, speaking earnestly, "Listen, Jackie, this is on you.
If we don't catch him, or if he makes it back to the company, all the deaths here will be pinned on us—corporations, NCPD, and the Tyger Claws will all take it out on us.
But that's not going to happen. We're going to embarrass the corporations, right here, in the heart of Night City, where all the rich people can see.
Let Night City see what a kid from Heywood is capable of.
You and V, we have to catch that operative in the city center."
Jackie smiled, rubbing his nose, then mounted the motorcycle, "Then leave it to me."
The motorcycle roared to life, and Jackie gave Leo a puzzled look, "Aren't you coming?"
Leo shook his head, "I'm not going. With all this noise, whether it ends or not, you two will face NCPD pursuit. I'll figure out a way to hack them."
Besides, high-speed chases on a motorcycle weren't Leo's strong suit.
If he was to be useful, he'd need to hack City Center's systems first.
"Alright, be careful, brother—"
Jackie had wanted to say that Leo would be alone then.
But saying that might come off as doubting Leo, so Jackie just told him to be careful and then revved the motorcycle.
As the motorcycle started, Jackie was surprised to see the remaining two bikes also start up simultaneously.
Leo explained, "These bikes have built-in autopilot. I've unlocked the system, so now they'll follow you, mimicking your bike's movements.
I'll send you some software; just lock onto a target with your cyber eye, and the bikes will suicide bomb them."
"Impressive, so now I've got a motorcycle squad."
"Go." Leo reminded him again, "You have to catch that guy and get the chip back."