Cyberware Capacity

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[Incoming Call: V]

Full and finally thinking about how to approach Slider, Cade got a call from the corporate devil herself.

At a moment when a major commission was about to begin, he really did not want to answer V's call.

If he had a choice.

"Living pretty well in Dogtown, aren't you?" V sounded tired on the other end.

Cade raised a brow and glanced at Rebecca beside him. "Mm-hm. How would you know?"

"Chrome upgrades, plenty of cash, and... a beautiful woman eating with you. Sounds pretty comfortable to me."

There seemed to be a chill under V's voice. Cade's back went cold, and his temple began to pulse.

Unease spread through him so sharply that he turned at once, trying to see who around him was watching. His mood sank hard.

For the first time, Cade felt genuinely uncomfortable. Even angry.

He had connected himself to a corporation and had prepared for it.

But he had not expected to feel like a lab rat under someone's scope, every movement watched.

Were corporate methods really that strong?

V closed the mail window on her computer, spun her chair, and looked out at the gray sky over Corpo Plaza.

"Relax. You make everything sound so serious. You have my locator program, plus Arasaka cyberware and database access. I can see some things from here."

"As for the beautiful woman, that was a guess. Don't be offended."

Was that honesty, in a twisted way?

When someone smiled and told you they knew everything about you, then told you they meant no harm, no one sane would believe them.

Cade took a deep breath and gave a soft laugh. "You didn't call to talk feelings."

V did not intend to keep circling the topic either. This was standard corporate procedure: ring a bell, tighten the leash, then assign the work. Of course, the money had to come with it.

"First, I'm sending you operating funds and salary. I also paid for Trauma Team coverage for field personnel. It will not be much use in Dogtown, but think of it as insurance once you're in Pacifica."

"Trust me. You will need it."

[Account Transfer]

+30,000 eurodollars.

"Equipment purchased in Dogtown, personnel, building informants... the boss wants information on Dogtown, so you need to know Dogtown. Any problem?"

"Mm-hm." Cade nodded.

Rebecca was eating beside him, but her ears had been up the whole time.

Cade's boss? That corpo woman?

Cade noticed Rebecca listening and switched the call to silent mode.

"Then there is this." V's voice moved directly into his auditory implant. "We found something. Details are in the attachment. Read it, then think about how to make this big netrunner spit out what he knows. I can find ways to insert people into Dogtown for you. How many come back out is not something you need to worry about. Use them."

After saying that, V ended the call.

She wanted to shove Arasaka agents into Dogtown?

Cade gave a bitter smile.

Only V could treat the casualties of agents on a mission as completely irrelevant.

Just like her boss Jenkins, she cared about efficiency and outcome, not cost.

No wonder Jenkins had promoted her. Their styles were basically identical.

Corporate claws revealed themselves at the right moment, making sure you could not struggle free and could only submit.

Cade had known this day would come. He simply had not expected it so soon.

Then V's file arrived in his inbox.

Which Dogtown netrunner was it?

Cade did not want trouble with netrunners, but this was corporate business. He could not refuse.

As he read through the attachment, his expression darkened.

What?

Wilky Raguel.

Fuck. Slider?

Cade's heart dropped.

Costin had only just told him about the Behavioral Imprint-synced Faceplate. Slider was the seller for this shipment. Cade never would have imagined Arasaka's Dogtown mess involved Slider too.

What now?

When Cade was irritated, his fingers tapped the table without stopping.

Arasaka had found that on the day Cade was hunted by Barghest, while Arasaka and Militech were biting each other, Slider had gone online to keep Dogtown's hackers alive. The Net traffic from that day had also been altered by him.

According to V's attachment, Cade was supposed to bring Arasaka people into Dogtown, find Slider's hideout, forcibly control him, and make him explain what Hansen had ordered him to erase.

The timing was too perfect.

Cade was certain V did not know he knew Slider.

But after thinking carefully, it made sense. A former Voodoo Boy had entered Dogtown, planted roots, and built a black-daemon workshop, yet Hansen pretended not to see him.

That meant Slider had cooperation with Hansen and enough netrunning skill to matter. Otherwise, Reed would not later follow V to force him to trace Songbird.

Rebecca saw Cade's expression turn bad and silently waited beside him.

Cade's mind raced through options.

On one hand, he still needed the Behavioral Imprint-synced Faceplate as insurance for his life in Dogtown. With it, he could infiltrate Barghest. He absolutely had to obtain it, so he could not turn Slider into an enemy too early.

On the other hand, if corporate agents entered Dogtown, they would be helping while also watching him work. Those people were there to force Cade and Slider into a life-or-death clash until the information came out.

Two sides in conflict. Cade did not know how to handle it.

The lives of those agents, Cade's own life, and the risk of exposing his position in Dogtown were not mentioned in the file even once.

The mission assessment was basically blank.

Everything was trouble.

Cade opened the call again. V answered quickly.

"This netrunner is likely cooperating with Hansen," Cade said evenly. "Is it smart to move on him?"

V nodded. "Probably. Which means you need to find him and pry his mouth open."

"If Hansen protects him, what are our odds of withdrawing? And if we do not find your corporate mole, the loss may not be worth it."

Cade was not accusing her. He simply wanted to know how V was thinking.

V fell silent for a moment. "So you're negotiating conditions with me?"

She kicked off her heels, put her feet on the desk, sank into the chair, and gave a playful smile.

"You're Arasaka. Did you read the employee handbook I sent?"

Cade exhaled slowly. "The handbook teaching me how to die for your boss who has lived for a century? No, I missed that one."

"We made things ugly with Biotechnica, pulled you out from under Hansen, and spent a great deal covering your data."

"And when it comes to Dogtown, I have answered every request you made. Shouldn't you do something in return?"

"The people above me are out of patience. I need to give them an answer. As a fair trade, you owe us feedback."

Cade understood V's thinking. This had dragged on too long. She had lost patience and needed to spend her pieces to produce something for the people above her.

V continued, "As for staying embedded in Dogtown afterward, that depends on how smart you are. The company does not keep people with no value. You understand that by now, right?"

Cade's mouth curved.

V meant that even if Dogtown was dangerous, Cade had to lie low through the storm and then return at risk of losing his head.

Still, he did not think the matter was impossible to maneuver.

"What if Slider dies?"

Cade needed to prepare for every possibility.

He was done asking what Arasaka thought. It meant nothing. To Arasaka, he was only an agent who did jobs.

V sounded satisfied with his response.

At least he was not yelling. She hated corporate dogs who could not read the room.

"Then that depends on you. If he gets zeroed and you fail to obtain anything, the company will naturally deal with you. Prove your value."

"Also... good luck."

After the call ended, V let her expression fade.

She had considered whether the informant she had paid so much to place in Dogtown was worth the risk of exposure, but she could not wait anymore.

There was no way to get the information directly from Cade's side, so she had to hand it to Arasaka's netrunners.

The person and clues they had found could not be ignored. For V personally, if this failed, Jenkins would not spare her. For the corporation, as long as the ghost inside Night City HQ remained, no one could sleep soundly.

For this, she considered the risk worth taking, even if it might burn a promising Dogtown asset.

She could only hope there would be a result.

V sighed softly.

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