บท 239: 2077

Timeskip 2077 :

*Thunk!*

A heavily muscled man with short thick black hair, hard brown eyes, and an almost chiselled face steps out of the unassuming car, slamming the door behind him. He wore a basic blue polycarbonate high-neck that had its sleeves rolled up to display his black Cybernetic arms, black Anti-puncture neotac pants with composite lining, and heat-resistant military boots. (https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Anti-puncture_neotac_pants_with_composite_lining), (https://cyberpunk.fandom.com/wiki/Basic_polycarbonate_foldtop)

At his waist were two large revolvers with two strangely-shaped Kunai behind those, and hanging from his back in a sling was a large Quadbarrel Shotgun, of the new releases is the 'Colt Zombie Slayer' series. What was different about it compared to other guns? The fact that it used big-ass depleted uranium slugs, which were denser than lead, and far more volatile gunpowder for maximum firepower.

"Come on, we're on a time limit." Ori grouses, prompting David to get out of the passenger side.

The boy-no, man, now stood at 6ft, just under Ori's 6.3, he'd also gained a shitload of mass due to his extensive Cyberware, still wearing Gloria's jacket. (Basically David in cannon after time skip). He shifts the sword sheath on his hip and he approaches the trunk of the vehicle, "Chill out, Luce' said we're in the clear. 'sides, we gotta wait for the others anyway."

Ori just idly nods, a lot had happened over the last couple of months, it was honestly surprising just how much could change if you had the capital for it. After his meeting with Yorinobu and Wakako, he'd gotten in touch with Rogue and managed to find some buyers for his gold.

Did you know gold was worth far more in Night City than in most other places? Because he hadn't. The three or so billion Eddies it should've been after Rogue's part turned into a clean four. He wasn't made aware of just who had bought it, or even if it was multiple people, Rogue made it clear they'd stay anonymous.

After that, you could say the crew went on a shopping spree. Everyone got upgrades, including himself. The new military spec Sandevistan replacing part of his spine was part of it, along with some other rarer implants.

He'd also taken Yorinobu's suggestion to heart, while he himself couldn't get much stronger than he already was, that didn't mean he couldn't seek power in other ways. Hence, the creation of Sekaiheiwa... Yeah, he hadn't come up with the name, you could say it was the trade-off for having Wakako put her name on it. After all, a group of terrorists couldn't start a mercenary company

It was completely disconnected from all of them, and while he funded it, he mostly controlled it remotely with the help of Sasha, Kiwi, and Lucy. The 'Chairman' was none-other than Judy, though, he'd had to make some concessions before she accepted it. Among them were discounts for the Mox and any other Doll shop that required their protection, along with the creation of a small shelter in Kabuki, for anyone who needed to escape overly forceful employers, friends, etc.

Judy wasn't the only person brought aboard however, there was only so much she could do as a single person, not to mention how vital it was for potential corruption to be rooted out immediately. For the role of Vice-Chairman Rogue had helped them to pick someone for it... One Dean Russell, a man Ori had annihilated in the street races a while back.

The man didn't hold a grudge, even if his girlfriend slightly did, that didn't really matter though since he hated Corporations just as much as Ori and his crew, making a fine addition to the cause. With them at the helm Ori and his crew would be able to utilise Sekaiheiwa's equipment without immediate reprisal.

While it was annoying to go through the hoops, that was the essential component of bureaucracy. It wasn't like they could buy military equipment from official dealers without a valid name for it. Even if they purchased them illegally the markup was so utterly ridiculous that it might've bankrupted them if they'd tried that route.

Billionaires or not, that shit adds up.

Ori lets out a sigh at that thought, "They're late."

"Probably just got held up in traffic, can't get anywhere in Kabuki now, place's been crowded ever since it got that renovation." David adds.

"Better that than a ghost town, even than I'd prefer that to the Strip."

"No shot, we'll just have to keep Arasaka from shittin' out giant murder-bots then." he shrugs, "We gon' crack the lid on this or what?"

"Might as well." Ori mutters, opening the trunk to reveal a tied-up Japanese man in a suit.

"Looks up sleeping beauty's awake." David gives the man a prod on his leg, his nose wrinkling when the scent of urine fills the air. "Fucker shit himself too."

"Mmmmphh!" the bound man screams through the fabric gagging him, squirming against his restraints.

"What's that? You're sorry? Tell that to your Corpo friends who sold you out." Ori sneers and grabs the man by the back of his neck, lifting and facing him towards the river a couple meters away. They'd parked under the bridge in Kabuki right next to the river. While it was dark this time of the afternoon, the ambient lights made the place oddly peaceful in its atmosphere. "Appreciate the view, it's the last one you'll be seein'."

"MMPPHMMMM!!"

David frowns, "Eh, shove asshole back in-, ah hang on." he slides a chip outta the man's port, "Go ahead."

"MMMPH-"

*Thunk!*

"Surprised your boujee guy is finally letting us do serious biz. Somethin' change? Must've..."

Ori shrugs, "No idea but I think something big's about to go down if he wants us to act now. Not like this shit was hard."

"Well, the guy did give us all we needed. Access keys and commands for their private channels, security schedules, veto orders, shit, I don't think we could've fucked this up if we tried." David states.

That was true. All they'd needed to do was pull up, drag the suit from his car, and leave. Restricted as he is, Yorinobu how to get shit done.