Bros Before Everything

Clap, clap.

"Ugh, huh? Biotechnica came after us?"

With a couple of light slaps, Leo brought Murphy out of his slumber.

"Not quite—found you a fixer to handle your situation. Faraday—the top fixer in Santo Domingo."

"Huh?" Murphy was puzzled. "What do you mean? You didn't..."

"Don't worry, he's not with Biotechnica. He's been hired to investigate them. Just tell him what you know, but don't spill everything—

I don't need to teach you that, right?"

Tell, but don't blurt it all out.

Murphy understood, but he was a bit frustrated—

"I... I've already told you everything, and now you're telling me this?"

Indeed, Murphy had already given Leo the crucial name—his superior, Diana Kuno.

But he couldn't help it; he was genuinely scared witless by that cyberpsycho Cedric, and the tainted blood infection made him experience the same nerve pain as a cyberpsycho. He was already in a panicked state.

Not everyone can keep their wits in a crisis.

Leo added, "We're bros; of course, I wouldn't reveal that. He doesn't know about Diana Kuno.

But listen, if you wait until after you've met with that journalist, your boss will probably have already fled—

I'm guessing the company's already logged you as AWOL, and she's probably getting ready to bolt."

"Damn... You're right! So what now? Do we go grab that little witch?"

"See, you're catching on—I'll help you grab her, and you tell me everything about her.

Then, you can score some witness protection from Faraday, got it?"

Under Leo's guidance, Murphy quickly caught on.

"Brilliant! Man, you've got this figured out—

We're bros, I'll send you that witch Kuno's office location, her license plate number, and...

I'll send you whatever else I think of later. I'll tell you everything; just go get her!"

"Alright, bro, you wait here. If you get hungry, grab a burger. I'll make sure Diana Kuno is brought to justice. If anything comes up, call this number—Faraday's men will handle it."

Leo pointed to the burger on the table.

It was only then that Murphy realized he was sitting outside a burger joint—Leo had even picked a dark corner to ease his nerve pain.

His left hand had been amputated, and Cedric had crushed his leg, so now he was left leaning against the wall with a crutch, looking... rather pitiful.

With that, Leo drove off.

Murphy, having not eaten in hours, happily munched on his burger—

What a great guy, Leo was! Not only helping him get revenge but also finding someone to protect him—and even buying him dinner!

So thoughtful.

Not long after, a flashy purple sedan pulled up—a hulking figure, Maine, arrived with his crew.

The biggest guy was, of course, their leader Maine; the tall, lanky guy with arms as long as his body was Pilar; the short girl was Rebecca.

Trailing behind them, barely noticeable with a mask on, was Kiwi, a blonde hacker.

Leo didn't go far; he observed them from a distance—he recognized Maine's crew and noted the absence of the white-haired Lucy and David.

This was the standard setup for a merc team: one big guy to break through, a hacker, a tech expert, and a support gunner.

V curiously asked, "So, why are you so focused on this big weakling? No offense, but he's just big—if it came down to arm wrestling, Jackie would crush him."

Jackie agreed—kidding? With Gorilla Arms, if he lost at arm wrestling, he might as well find a brick wall to smash his head against.

"Just keeping an eye on things. Biotechnica's a big fish; better to be cautious."

Leo then glanced helplessly at Jackie in the backseat, "Alright, Jackie, you can put your hand down now. You don't think I can tell whose cyberware is better?"

Maine's cyberware was bulky; his arm implants not only enhanced strength but also hid a projectile launcher.

But the quality wasn't great—it was the typical trade-off of size for performance, and even then, its overall performance didn't match up to the premium quality of Jackie's gorilla arms.

When it came to raw arm strength, there weren't many who could outdo Jackie.

As Jackie lowered his hand from the headrest, Leo said, "Judging by that reaction—why don't you get into boxing? V and I could make some pocket change."

"I'd like to, but we've been so busy lately, I haven't had the time."

"Fair enough."

The car started and headed toward the city center.

Ding-Dong—

Incoming call: Maine.

Maine: "I heard you're the one who grabbed Murphy. Gotta say, not bad—I respect that."

Leo: "You really called just to say that? Big body, empty head? What's the status?"

Maine: "You—!"

Maine: "Ugh, Murphy said we should meet up with Manuel Mendoza, the journalist. He might have more information."

Maine: "Alright... What I wanted to say is, thanks for finding us a lead. Biotechnica killed one of our former teammates; I need to keep digging."

Leo: "My condolences, but I'm doing this for the money."

Maine: "I get that, but I still want to thank you."

After hanging up, Leo spoke with interest to the two in the car, "Remember that big guy at The Afterlife?"

V thought for a moment, "What about him? Did he call you?"

"Yeah—just called to give a progress report. Said he had a teammate who died because of Biotechnica and thanked us for giving him a lead."

"Seems like he's got some guts. Most people would piss themselves if they went through something like that with a corporation."

"Most people who go to The Afterlife aren't cowards—alright, check out the chip. I've compiled everything we have on Diana Kuno."

Diana Kuno, one of Biotechnica's product development managers stationed in Night City, was the one who had instructed Murphy to meet Cedric and retrieve the abnormal test subject.

Murphy had been AWOL for a whole day—if she wasn't reacting, that would be surprising. The question now was, how far had she reacted?

Checking the time, it was still only 9:30 PM, still early. According to Murphy's intel, she was likely still at work.

Leo's cybernetic eye projected a large red frame—

He had already collected Murphy's voice data and planted a backdoor in his system.

Now, he would use Murphy's system as a springboard, faking a communication timestamp, and contact Kuno directly.

Ding-Dong—

Dialing: Diana Kuno.

Kuno: "Murphy, you idiot, where the hell have you been? The project's been waiting on you all day! All of us are in the lab!"

So, Ms. Kuno was still in her office.

However, she quickly lowered her voice and asked, "Did something happen?"

Leo: "Yeah, something big. The nomads brought in a toxic corpse! I've lost my whole arm!"

Leo: "What the hell are you guys up to?"

Kuno: "No, no, no, that's impossible. You must have violated safety protocols. What's the condition of the body?"

Leo: "To hell with safety protocols—this is a work injury!"

Leo: "The body's charred, like it was burning in sunlight—damn it, it's terrifying."

Kuno: "This is a huge problem. Why didn't you return to the company?"

Leo: "Because my arm's gone—just tell me, will you file this as a work injury or not? Otherwise, I'll blow this whole thing wide open."

Kuno: "You're asking for death. The company won't cover a work injury for someone who wasn't on-site."

Leo: "Come on, I saw the nomads bring that guy over—he's not going to last either. A bunch of people will end up dead."

Leo: "The company won't help me with my injury, but they'll come out to explain that this is the company's fault? Stop hiding behind the company."

Kuno: "What exactly do you want?"

Leo: "I told you, either help fix my arm or pay up, or I'm not showing my face."

Kuno: "Fine, bring the stuff over first. I'll check it out—

You've got a point; maybe I'll need to run too."

She then sent Leo an address—

An apartment south of Japantown, fairly close to the company plaza—according to Murphy's intel, it was probably near her home.

Leo smiled: intimidation tactics were quite effective.

"South of Japantown, the address is marked on the nav map. Stow the gear a bit, don't let NCPD spot it."