"Phew… Alright, I'm done on my end. We can leave the city anytime."
Falco wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave the people behind him a thumbs-up.
"Nice work. Let's get ready to move out."
Jackie walked over, patted Falco on the shoulder, then bumped him lightly with a grin.
"How about your side? How'd things go with the client? I really don't want us paying out of pocket for this trip."
Pilar suddenly popped out from behind the trunk and asked Jackie.
"Relax. The client already transferred the money. We're not covering a thing."
Jackie pressed a hand downward in reassurance.
"Besides, my wallet isn't meant to feed a pack of insatiable hyenas."
"Hyenas—good word. Pretty accurate, especially lately. They've been getting more and more brazen."
"Getting out is hard, getting back in is hard too. With those two factions at war, it's already a blessing we're not being dragged to the front lines."
Jessica spread her hands and shrugged.
"Fair enough. We are taxpayers too, after all. Hah."
Pilar laughed and climbed back into the car.
"Come on, come on! Let's finish this fast—I've got a competition to get to!"
Rebecca walked up and shoved Jackie toward the car.
"A competition? What kind?"
"A shooting competition! I've been drooling over that guy's gun forever. If I miss it, I swear I'll blow your heads off!"
"Didn't Jhin give you a gun already?"
"That's different!!"
"Alright, let's go. Don't keep Rebecca-chan waiting."
Lucy laughed and chimed in.
Soon, everyone was seated, and the vehicle headed toward the city outskirts.
Before long, they reached a checkpoint. They obediently stopped at the barrier and waited.
A uniformed man walked over, knocked on the window, and gestured for them to roll it down.
"Where are you headed?"
"The Badlands."
"The Badlands? That place isn't exactly safe right now… Hm? Judging by your look, you're Edgerunners?"
The inspector scanned the people in the car, squinting slightly.
"Hey, buddy, we're just heading out to the Badlands for a gig. Nothing big—just bodyguard work."
Jackie rested one arm on the window and slowly bent his wrist, revealing a chip.
The inspector's eyes lit up. After glancing around, he stepped closer, took the chip, and slotted it into his reader.
"Whoa… your boss is pretty generous. Alright, you can go. Just be careful—don't pull out any weapons within this stretch, or you'll be in serious trouble."
Pocketing his cut, the inspector broke into a wide grin and even offered a reminder.
"Once you're about five kilometers out, it won't matter. And don't go northeast."
Jackie's expression tightened. "Thanks, man."
"Haha. Paid to help people out—that's my style. Hope I see you again. Good luck."
The inspector chuckled, tapped the doorframe, and waved them through.
Jackie smiled back and drove away from the checkpoint.
"Looks like Night City's forces are stationed northeast of here."
"Probably. Could be patrols, could be minefields. Either way, we'll stay clear of that area."
Jackie shrugged helplessly.
"Or maybe that guy was trying to trick us into wandering into the Wraiths' turf. I know plenty of people who have connections with them. This is usually when they bait people in."
Pilar leaned back in her seat, hands folded behind her head.
"Oh, come on. The Wraiths wouldn't dare show up right now. That'd be suicidal. They're outlaws, not idiots."
Rebecca rolled her eyes and snorted.
"Well… I wouldn't rule it out completely. High risk, high reward. We'll just keep our guard up."
Jackie said this while driving, turning his head slightly as he activated a device—a transmitter sending their location to the client's vehicle.
It was to make sure both sides could find each other and avoid missing the handoff.
The moment the device activated, a signal was sent out.
...
At the base of a hillside in the Badlands, a truck sat quietly parked.
Inside the cargo compartment were several fully armed members of the New United States Special Forces.
"Captain, we've received the signal from that fringe squad."
"Good. Proceed according to plan. Once they reach the designated point, you'll handle the handover. Try to guide them to the proper location and avoid damaging their vehicle."
"Roger. I'll make the preparations now."
"Alright. Be careful."
After the subordinate left, the man addressed as Captain began adjusting the device in his hands. One by one, photos of Jackie and Pilar appeared on its display.
Soon, a lifelike skin mask resembling Jackie slowly took shape on the platform, while several mechanical arms worked on it from above.
The Captain calmly removed the mask he was currently wearing, revealing a face packed with metal components underneath, then fitted Jackie's "face" onto his own.
Only after securing it did he turn to the teammate beside him.
"How does it look? Natural enough?"
"Hm… the corners of the mouth still need some adjustment."
"Alright. Got it."
The Captain nodded, removed the mask, and began a second round of modifications.
"What about the two in their squad whose builds don't match?"
"Leave two people here to guard. It's just two fewer targets—not a big deal. No need to stress over it. At the end of the day, they're just a fringe squad. No one's really paying attention to them."
The Captain waved it off, unconcerned. In his eyes, even if a fringe squad disappeared, no one would care.
"Captain, they're already heading this way."
"Then go get ready. Let's welcome our distinguished guests."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser