Westbrook, Northside.
Clad in a sleek black stealth suit, V silently arrived at her destination—a luxurious villa tucked away in one of Night City's wealthiest districts. Shadows clung to her as she approached under the cover of night.
Since her own problem had no immediate solution, she'd decided to first complete the task that Takemura Goro had assigned her.
The towering iron gate was painted a cold gray-blue, flanked by two stone lions whose sharp eyes seemed to judge all who passed. A winding cobblestone path led through a garden manicured to perfection.
Hugging the flowerbeds, V slipped past several patrolling guards, staying low and invisible. Her optical HUD displayed a blue interface, highlighting every surveillance camera and exposed wire embedded in the walls and corners.
> "Remote access."
"Verifying credentials…"
"Executing command override."
"Hack initiated."
The garden's vibrant flowers swayed gently in the breeze, blissfully unaware of the digital warfare unfolding around them. The villa itself was neoclassical—marble columns, grand staircases, a two-story roof lined with golden carvings. At its peak, the Arasaka Corporation emblem gleamed like a holy relic, catching the light from crystal-clear windows.
"Tch. Nice place, but the people inside... filthy rich Arasaka scum," muttered Silverhand, arms crossed, his contempt practically radiating. In his eyes, anyone affiliated with Arasaka deserved to burn. The fact V was working with them made him sick.
"Won't I be spotted like this?" V whispered, eyes scanning the grounds.
"What are you so scared of? Nobody can see me. I'm a digital ghost in your neural OS. You ever met someone who can see consciousness?" Silverhand scoffed.
"…Fair point."
Over time, V had grown oddly accustomed to Silverhand's constant arrogance and unfiltered rants. Despite knowing he was just an engram, she caught herself treating him like a person.
"If you ask me," he continued, "we should stop playing nice and just blow up Arasaka Tower again."
"That's not how this works," V muttered. "I need to get inside Arasaka before I can blow anything up."
"Find my old crew, and we'll make it happen," he said, his tone almost excited. "Hey, kid. You remember our deal, yeah?"
"I remember," V replied.
Their agreement was simple—when one of them took control, the other stepped aside. After this mission, it would be Silverhand's turn to reconnect with his former allies.
> "Hack complete."
The camera feeds flickered to life across her HUD. Taking a deep breath, V slipped deeper into the compound. The infiltration had officially begun.
---
Just as expected from Arasaka Hanako's personal aide, the number of surveillance systems was insane. Cameras were tucked into every alcove, shadowed corner, and flowerpot. V's cyberware, though newly installed, couldn't handle too many hacks at once. Overextending would alert enemy netrunners—and she had no doubt there were a few lurking in this estate's system.
So, V stuck to the shadows and used a combination of hacked feeds and physical blind spots, calculating every move with brutal precision.
Eventually, she reached a side door—unlocked, likely an emergency escape route. No guards. A quick scan showed no movement nearby. She slipped inside.
The interior screamed wealth. A massive crystal chandelier hung above a hall adorned with leather furniture, baroque oil paintings, and a glowing fireplace. V's eyes, however, were fixed on a middle-aged man lazily sipping red wine on a velvet sofa.
She crept up behind him like a ghost.
"Don't make a sound," she whispered, pressing a dagger to his throat and covering his mouth with her gloved hand. "Nod if you understand."
He nodded.
"Good. Mr. Hashikawa, I don't want to hurt you. I just need to talk—and what I have to say can't be overheard. Nod again if you agree."
Another nod.
V removed her hand and sat on the edge of the coffee table, smiling pleasantly.
"Nice to meet you."
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" the man asked calmly, adjusting his silk collar.
He was impressive. No panic, no yelling. Just cool-headed corporate calculation. V knew the type.
"My name's V. Just a nobody. But I need your help."
"What kind of help?"
"I want Arasaka Yorinobu dead. And I want Arasaka Hanako in control."
Hashikawa raised an eyebrow. Was this woman some kind of Hanako fangirl?
In a world where even consciousness could be commodified, he'd seen his share of zealots. But this one? She had evidence.
"You have a computer here?" V asked. "I want to show you something."
She pulled out a data shard and handed it over. It contained the video Evelyn Parker had once shared with her—Yorinobu arrogantly boasting about his father's death over a call.
Hashikawa watched it in silence, his sharp eyes catching every detail.
"This video alone isn't enough to bring him down," he said afterward. "Conflicts between father and son aren't exactly rare in Arasaka."
"I know," V replied. "But the woman in the video—she's the key. A living witness to everything."
Hashikawa paused, staring at V for a long moment. Was she bluffing? Or subtly offering a deal?
"This is the closest footage to Saburo Arasaka's death," V added, tapping his tablet.
Hashikawa narrowed his eyes. The closest? That was a vulnerability. Maybe even a weapon.
"If we find this woman and have her testify that Yorinobu killed his father, is that enough to stop his rise?" V asked, her tone steady.
Hashikawa stroked his chin in thought. In theory, it might work. But Yorinobu was the officially designated heir. Could one woman's word truly topple a prince?
"At the very least," V continued, "it'll throw him off course. Delay him. You know he's a hardline reformist, right?"
Hashikawa's lips thinned. Reformists. The bane of the old guard.
Progress always came with casualties—and for Hashikawa and others like him, that meant being pushed out or rendered obsolete.
"Do you know where this woman is?" he asked cautiously.
V shook her head. "Not yet. But I know she's alive."
Interesting. A deliberate answer. Either V couldn't say more… or she was testing him.
"Find her. What you do with her afterward is up to you," V said. She was playing the Hanako loyalist role to perfection. No strings, no attachment.
Hashikawa rose and extended a hand. "Thank you for the lead. I hope we can cooperate more in the future."
V smiled and shook it. "Ms. Hanako isn't one to give up easily."
"Exactly," Hashikawa replied with a nod. "She may be calm on the surface—but when the time comes, she doesn't hesitate to fight for her bloodline."
They didn't speak for long. V melted back into the night, vanishing as easily as she had arrived.
The content of their conversation needed to remain absolutely confidential. Arasaka Yorinobu had informants watching Hashikawa's every move. One wrong step, and the old man would be silenced permanently.
Hashikawa sat back on the sofa, swirling his wine as he pondered this twist of fate. He had once considered going down fighting—taking a few traitors with him before the inevitable. But now, maybe there was still a chance. A crack in Yorinobu's perfect image.
He took a moment to rub the red jade ring on his thumb, then picked up his communicator and dialed.
Beep... beep...
"Hello?" a woman's voice answered.
"I need you to find a woman named Evelyn Parker. I'll send you her photo. No matter what it takes—find her."
There was a brief pause.
"…Understood, sir."
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