Night City Municipal Building.
Mayor Lucius Rhyne stepped out of his private AV with a calm demeanor, giving no indication that he'd just returned from a trip to Santo Domingo.
As soon as he entered the building, he saw Bryce from Netwatch standing in the hallway.
This agent was originally a covert specialist dealing with Blackwall-related affairs in Night City, but due to recent frequent contact with a group of mercenaries, he had naturally been assigned additional responsibilities.
On one hand, Rhyne needed his experience dealing with those mercenaries. On the other, Bryce's repeated exposure to them had already made his cover practically useless. There was no need for him to stay in the shadows anymore.
People only knew that Rhyne sponsored Netwatch and had established the City Network Security Foundation. But from this scene alone, it was clear his relationship with Netwatch was closer than outsiders imagined.
At least in the Night City branch.
"Honestly, my feelings about them are mixed. Sometimes I think Night City needs a group like them as a symbol of strength. But every time I see them, I'm reminded of the nukes from fifty years ago."
Rhyne lit a cigar as he spoke, walking past Bryce, who quickly fell in step behind him.
"So far at least, Netwatch's psychological evaluations still classify them as within safe margins."
"You don't understand," Rhyne said, taking a heavy drag from his cigar. His demeanor was more gangster than mayor at times. "People like that are fundamentally unpredictable."
Bryce replied immediately, "That's only because Netwatch doesn't have enough monitoring tools. The more surveillance devices we use, the more data we get—the more accurately we can predict and control them."
"Oh, sure," Rhyne scoffed. "And if I let you go all-out, what do you think the public would say about me?"
In just a few steps, Rhyne had already finished the expensive cigar—thousands of euros burned up in seconds.
He tossed the butt toward the trash bin by the elevator and just so happened to catch a glimpse of his deputy mayor Holt down the hallway, chatting cheerfully with two Arasaka employees. They looked very friendly.
As the Arasaka staff noticed Rhyne's approach, their cyber-eyes locked onto him. Their glowing horizontal red optics gave off a distinct aura of pressure.
Very Arasaka.
Noticing his superior, Holt's wide grin instantly shifted into a modest smile.
Rhyne gave a subtle nod in return and stepped into the elevator, which was already waiting. Bryce followed close behind.
No one spoke inside the elevator until Bryce suddenly commented, "That bulldog of yours has a very cozy relationship with Arasaka. Seems to be getting cozier, too."
Deputy Mayor Holt was often called Rhyne's bulldog in the media.
Some believed Rhyne himself was in Arasaka's pocket, mostly because Holt—his right-hand man—was always seen rubbing shoulders with the megacorp.
So naturally, Holt earned the nickname "corporate dog's dog."
Rhyne didn't show much emotion—just a faint smile. "Guard dogs aren't easy to raise. You can't expect me to keep him on a leash 24/7."
"Has Peralez been discharged yet?"
"He'll be at the meeting."
"Good."
Ding.
The elevator doors opened to reveal a massive stepped conference hall.
Representatives from various corporations were already seated. Through Rhyne's cyber-eye, a holographic HUD highlighted each person's company affiliation and identity.
Kang Tao, Militech, Arasaka, Petrochem, NightCorp, Biotechnica, ZetaTech, Kendachi Group...
Ten seats in total.
As Arasaka's representatives took their seats, Holt exited from the staff corridor, brushing shoulders with the departing Bryce.
People quickly settled in, standing by their designated company spots. Despite the number of attendees, the room remained quiet and disciplined.
Soon, everyone was in place.
Tap.
A soft but deliberate sound echoed—something had activated, but it was unclear what from just looking around.
Rhyne stepped into the center of the chamber, ready to introduce the first and most crucial topic.
Ahem. "Thank you all for attending. I'll skip the pleasantries and get straight to our first agenda item—
Arasaka has submitted a request to station the Kujira at Night City's harbor. I'll let their representative take it from here."
Rhyne passed the baton without hesitation. The Arasaka rep seemed entirely used to this leadership style. The intensity of their cyber-eye glow subtly increased—a sign that their preloaded data had popped up in their HUD.
This kind of optical fluctuation could be concealed with tech, but clearly, they didn't find it necessary here.
"In the past six months, Night City has faced several major security incidents—most notably the blackout at Corporate Plaza.
Just yesterday, a massive EMP in Santo Domingo caused over ten million euros in damages.
This poses a serious threat to urban development. If we can't even ensure corporate security, how can we promise economic growth?
I propose increased municipal investment in security, with Arasaka taking on these responsibilities."
Holt cast a casual glance toward Rhyne, then shifted to an empty council seat.
That was Jefferson Peralez's spot. A mayoral candidate and active city official, previously even a council member.
His eyes then turned toward Militech, whose PR rep Stout remained silent.
Not because she had nothing to say—but because now wasn't the right moment.
She thoughtfully stroked her chin and sent Rhyne a message via the local net:
[Deputy Mayor Holt]: I think Arasaka's proposal is quite constructive. Night City has some of the best military contractors in the world.]
[Deputy Mayor Holt: But Militech's recent performance has been… disappointing. Maybe it's time we tried something new.]
Rhyne gave a noncommittal hum but showed no change in expression.
Because he knew someone else would speak up—
[Meeting Alert: Jefferson Peralez requests to enter the conference.]
[You have granted access.]
[Meeting Alert: Jefferson Peralez has joined.]
After a long silence, Jefferson Peralez stepped into the hall. Barely had he exited the elevator when he began:
"Absolutely not. Stationing Arasaka's ship here would only destabilize Night City further. And the corruption scandal involving the NCPD Deputy Director tied to H8 Megatower hasn't been fully resolved yet. Sure, we purged that scum Fort, but he died before naming his accomplices— And we all know H8 was crawling with Arasaka employees."*
Holt couldn't stay silent anymore. He ditched digital messaging and snapped back aloud:
"So what? Corporate employees have immunity. That's not illegal."
Peralez smiled coolly.
"But it severely undermines Night City's autonomy. A carrier ship in our harbor? Only you could come up with that."
"What, you want to stick with Militech's security services?"
"No. I think our priority should be restoring power and infrastructure in Santo Domingo. NightCorp can implement stronger anti-cybercrime tech."
"Interesting."
Stout raised her hand.
"I think that's a reasonable plan."
Holt turned to her—and instantly understood Militech's strategy:
They didn't care who got the job, as long as it wasn't Arasaka.
"Heh. And when it gets turned into another EMP bomb? Again?"
"First off, NightCorp has the tech and capacity. Second—everywhere Arasaka sets up: Chiba, Watson… tell me, what happened once they took full control?"
"People got rich."
"Digging through industrial waste for cash? You really outdid yourself, Holt."
"Still better than letting thousands of small business owners go bankrupt. They'd starve!"
With Peralez now seated, the atmosphere became charged. Rhyne stayed silent, watching the debate unfold.
He had only spoken once since the meeting began—and if nothing unexpected happened, he wouldn't say more than ten sentences in total.
Militech and Arasaka, the two biggest rivals, would naturally clash. In the end, they'd pour massive resources into the city.
Whatever those resources were.
But this time was a bit different. Oversized military assets had already entered Night City, and on at least one point, everyone agreed—
After all the verbal sparring, Rhyne sensed a consensus forming.
Holt pointed at the ceiling, his tone intense:
"But those terrorists… every one of them has superweapons capable of shredding armored units in direct combat. All it takes is one of them to stroll into downtown, and your head's gone!"
"Yours too, Holt. Don't get cocky." Peralez responded calmly. It sounded like an insult, but what followed was not:
"…I'd rather see the NCPD armed with stronger weapons. And if they still can't maintain control, we still have the anti-terror rapid response teams."
Their agreement was formed mid-argument.
Night City needed a firepower upgrade.
Europeans had smuggled in absurd weaponry. If the local powers didn't bring out stronger gear soon, things could spiral out of control.
At the very least, Arasaka and Militech agreed on one thing:
They both had clients, and their products couldn't be overshadowed on the battlefield by European imports.
Rhyne calculated silently, then slowly spoke:
"How about this: These criminals are too powerful. We do need to invest more into public safety.
I think it's time NCPD finally received their Centaur mechs. The Maxtac teams can also get a firepower boost. I'm sure you all have heavier gear to contribute.
As for the Kujira—if Arasaka and their clients need reassurance, maybe we can let the ship stay for a few days.
What do you all think?"