FNC Chapter 71Nueva9 de noviembre
"How come you've barely touched your drink? What, are you trying to make it last all night?" Valerie asked, looking at the vodka in Levi's hand. Seeing how little he'd drunk, she immediately grew annoyed.
"I've got something to take care of later. Can't drink too much."
Levi shook his head, and his answer made Valerie's eyes widen.
"Something to take care of? What's more important than all this?"
"I'm helping a friend out." Levi didn't elaborate, but Valerie immediately grew serious.
"Need us to come along?"
Vivian gave Valerie a complicated look. She could tell Levi didn't want to discuss the matter, but Valerie seemed completely oblivious.
She couldn't help wondering whether she should step in and help Levi out of the awkward situation.
"Hey, chica."
Jackie was standing beside her, chewing on a mouthful of grilled meat while talking to Vivian over a private call.
"No need to be so uptight. Levi's my choom. He's not the kind of guy who throws his weight around."
Vivian turned toward Jackie, her voice serious.
"Jackie... you don't understand. There's no way this guy is ordinary. Someone with his connections could crush me without lifting a finger."
Jackie couldn't help laughing. He patted her shoulder.
"You're overthinking it, chica. Sure, maybe he's got some serious connections, but..."
"He's our friend, and he'll be yours too. If you keep putting him on some pedestal, you're only gonna end up pushing him away. Besides..."
"He told us he wants to become a living legend in Night City, and he's taking us along for the ride. He's one of us."
Vivian fell silent at his words.
"Mano!"
Jackie waved toward Levi.
"Hm? What's up?" Levi turned toward him, still tearing meat off a rib.
"Weren't we gonna talk to Vivian about that gig? Now's as good a time as any."
"Oh, right."
Levi had almost forgotten about Wakako's gig.
After all, he hadn't heard much from her these past few days.
"A gig? What kind of gig?"
Vivian still couldn't shake the mindset she'd developed from dealing with corporate higher-ups. She was both nervous and intensely focused, feeling as though she'd somehow been dragged into something far bigger than herself.
"Here's the situation."
Levi walked over and stopped beside Vivian. After swallowing his mouthful of meat and taking another sip of vodka, he looked her in the eye.
"We picked up a gig from Wakako Okada. The target has something to do with Arasaka Counterintelligence."
"...I'm listening."
Vivian straightened her back, not daring to make any unnecessary movements.
She was even beginning to suspect that Kang Tao special forces operatives had already surrounded the place, ready to take her head off the moment she made a move against Levi.
"Relax, Vivian."
Levi sighed. He knew he probably wouldn't be changing Vivian's impression of him anytime soon.
She'd spent so long living as a corpo that the mentality had become second nature. It would probably take leaving Arasaka for her to finally change.
"According to the gig's intel, Arasaka Counterintelligence is preparing to intercept an important Kang Tao asset that's scheduled to arrive in Night City through the Badlands sometime soon."
"..."
Vivian broke into a cold sweat.
She was convinced Levi was a Kang Tao executive, and now that very executive was standing right in front of her, casually revealing details of a classified operation being handled by another section of Arasaka Counterintelligence.
"The gig I picked up is connected to that operation," Levi continued with a faint smile, watching Vivian press her lips together so tightly they'd nearly turned white. "So... I was wondering if you and I could work together on this. Maybe we could both come out ahead."
Vivian's back stiffened.
To her, what Levi was suggesting was no different from asking her to become his mole inside Arasaka!
In an instant, she imagined what would happen if this conversation ever got out.
Jenkins would have her eliminated without a second thought.
But... but...
As a dyed-in-the-wool corpo, Vivian could feel her heart pounding.
She realized that what lay before her was also an extraordinary opportunity.
An opportunity...
One that could send her career soaring to unimaginable heights—or plunge her straight into the abyss.
"Work together..."
Vivian neither accepted nor refused. Instead, she struggled to keep her voice steady.
"I'm not sure I understand. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Levi watched Vivian struggle to maintain her composure. Her body was so rigid that he could practically tell she'd already imagined a dozen ridiculous scenarios.
He felt helpless, but he also found the whole thing rather entertaining.
"It's simple."
Levi took another bite of his rib and met Vivian's eyes with a serious smile.
"The guy we're after is named Cole."
His cyberoptics lit up as he transmitted the conversation logs from the encrypted shard to Vivian.
"I know him."
Vivian nodded, her expression turning exceptionally grave.
"He's the leader of an operations team in another section. He's equipped with a military-grade Sandevistan and commands twelve operatives. Three netrunners, one sniper, one medic, and the rest are heavily armored assault troops."
"I want to take him out."
Levi looked at Vivian, his tone serious.
"..."
Cold sweat beaded on Vivian's forehead.
"Hey, Vivian, you're getting way too worked up."
Jackie walked over to her, looking thoroughly exasperated. Then he turned toward Levi.
"Levi... how about you let me handle this conversation?"
"Sure."
Levi nodded, exchanging a helpless look with Jackie.
He'd realized that no matter what he said to Vivian right now, she'd interpret it as some executive from a rival corporation trying to set her up.
Hell, she might even see this gig as an offer to bring her into his inner circle.
They couldn't have a proper conversation like this.
Especially since Levi wasn't a corporate executive in the first place.
"Another drink?" Valerie asked, raising her bottle toward Levi.
"Nah."
Levi shook his head, then glanced at the chat group.
"I'll probably have to head out pretty soon."
"All right. If you run into trouble you can't handle, just give me a call."
"Will do."
Levi nodded, then went back to stuffing himself alongside Valerie.
Even before he'd transmigrated, he'd never eaten food like this.
He'd just finished devouring an entire rack of slow-roasted lamb ribs when a message from Bruce suddenly appeared in the chat group.
[Bruce: @Levi, I've run into some trouble. If you can, come over in a few minutes.]
At the same time, permission to transfer between worlds was granted.
'He didn't call Tony?'
Levi frowned. He set down the rib bones, picked up the napkins he'd prepared earlier, and wiped his hands before turning toward the exit.
Then again, calling Tony wouldn't do much good. Tony had no combat capabilities right now, and he was probably still catching up on sleep.
"What's going on?" Valerie asked, turning toward him.
"Something urgent."
Levi kept walking toward the exit.
"Gotta take care of it. You guys keep eating."
"All right. Remember, if you can't handle it, call us."
Valerie watched him go, her tone unusually serious.
"Will do."
Levi nodded.
But just as he was about to leave, Vivian spoke up in a low voice.
"Do you need my help?"
Levi turned back, looking somewhat surprised by her offer, then shook his head.
"No need. For now, the only thing we need to work together on is that gig. Nothing else."
Vivian immediately interpreted his words as a warning.
Only after she completed the gig, eliminated Cole, and proved her loyalty would she have any real basis for cooperating with Levi.
But was she really going to do that?
Vivian pressed her lips together, uncertainty darkening her expression.
Still, one thing was clear to her.
Cole was a dead man either way.