Chapter 15

Wow, even I, Jack, have such an amazing day!

With the upcoming meeting at Afterlife Nightclub to discuss the theft of the Relic with Dexter, Jack suddenly felt that, through their collective efforts, they no longer seemed like the small-time players they used to be.

"Tell Dexter that I've got the stuff for him, and we'll meet up at Afterlife later," Jack leaned against the wall and said, "Damn, I thought we wouldn't make it out today."

"Don't mention Afterlife, it's bad luck," Roche gritted his teeth.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked curiously.

V walked aside to make a phone call with the black fat guy, while Roche and Jack stood together.

"We don't waste time, we go now, right away, the sooner the better."

Although Jack didn't know why Roche was in such a hurry, he chose to trust him.

V also gave an OK sign to show understanding and continued talking to Dexter.

"… We're all set, what do we do now?" V asked the other end of the phone, "Alright, I'll be right there."

V snapped his fingers at Roche and Jack: "Dexter is waiting for us at Afterlife. Shall we go now?"

"Yeah, you two go ahead."

After a moment of silence, Roche looked up at the sky with a worried frown.

"Again, just the two of us?" Jack asked, "Do you have any plans?"

"…" Roche didn't speak.

He looked at the friendly, slightly unfocused face.

"May you be unique and unparalleled."

Roche showed a faint smile.

"Hey, Lucky, have you arrived? We're ready to go."

Jack called, and then he saw a familiar figure walking out of a small path next to Afterlife Nightclub.

Beside him was a masked woman he had never seen before.

"Who's this?"

"My... friend. She's coming to Konpeki Plaza with us," Roche greeted V and sat in the front row.

Jack couldn't help it; he got into the back seat, closed the car door, and looked around nervously, "But T-Bug only arranged fake identities for the three of us, what about her?"

"She'll be supporting us from the car and… providing special assistance in case of emergencies," Roche explained.

"Nice, very thoughtful," V said, "From now on, you're Erwin William, Jack's Ramon Victorino, and I'm Harry Conwell. We're going to meet a representative from Arasaka called Takigawa Hajime."

"What an awkward name," Jack complained, "Here's your suit. Put it on, and you'll look like a decent person."

"Alright, stop complaining, get ready, and let's go," Roche clapped his hands and took the clothes.

Jack scratched his head, feeling the atmosphere in the car was a bit strange: "Lucky, your friend here doesn't seem very talkative, huh?"

Then he was stared at by an icy gaze. Although the face was masked and not clearly visible, it felt like a ferocious beast to him.

"Moer, calm down. He didn't mean any harm," Roche reassured.

Suddenly, after all the car doors were closed, all the screens in the car, even including the rearview mirror, displayed a pale, scary blue bald head.

"Welcome to Delamain car service - Choose Delamain, leave your troubles behind."

Delamain's familiar voice rang out, which gave Roche a headache.

Not because it was unpleasant to hear, but because the first time he took a trip with Delamain's taxi company, he encountered a very unpleasant situation. Thus, Delamain and his gentle, signature voice became synonymous with unpleasantness in Roche's mind.

It won't be the same today.

Roche chanted in his heart, trying to dispel the stifled energy in his chest.

"Damn! Absolutely no problem!"

Jack used three swear words to jinx it, which almost made Roche throw him out of the car.

"I don't understand why you have to swear," Delamain asked mechanically.

"Really?" Jack was a bit emotional, "Do you remember when I tried to rent you for my nephew's celebration of his breakup, huh?"

"Unfortunately, we do not cater to such services," Delamain replied politely.

"I saved up for three months for that..." Jack was still holding a grudge, clearly not a very humane experience, "Ah, it's all in the past. Let's go, Old Del!"

At this point, Roche suddenly laughed.

He was curious about what would happen if GLaDOS and Delamain were put together - if they would argue.

Oh, no, he felt that it would probably just be G-sis relentlessly mocking Old Del - the two wouldn't even argue.

However, his expression became a bit stiff.

The incident Jack mentioned about his nephew seemed to be a hint at Delamain's rigid operating rules, but he hadn't realized it at the time and hadn't even later until he got into this car.

It won't be the case; that was a script, and in this world, there are no screenwriters.

Roche tried to convince himself.

"Before the trip begins, I must confirm the identities of all passengers," Delamain followed the procedure, "Please connect to your personal link."

Roche looked at V, Jack also looked at V, and the latter helplessly rolled his eyes, pulled out a data cable from his palm, and connected it to the car.

"Thank you, the 'Strive for Excellence' package has been activated."

"Strive for Excellence? Hahaha, it's getting better and better!" Jack laughed heartily.

"Why are you so excited?" V asked curiously.

"Wait, look at this..." Jack showed the smile of someone showing off their toy, "Delamain! Activate battle mode!"

But Old Del poured cold water on him.

"I'm sorry, but you are not currently facing any pressing threats."

"Hmph... Forget it then," Jack sighed disappointedly, glancing at V, indicating it was quite uninteresting.

However, Roche detected an underlying message.

What exactly happened when Jack rented Delamain for his nephew's breakup celebration?

They even activated the battle mode!

Imagining the scene at that time, Roche's face showed a "comical" smile.

But Moer, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at him with an idiotic gaze.

"Trust me, if it came to that, he could wipe out a whole army of Arasaka ninjas," Jack continued to boast about Delamain's combat abilities.

"What's included in the 'Strive for Excellence' package?" V asked.

"A full set of health insurance, including handling and burial of the client's body in case of death in the car," Delamain explained.

"Shut up," Roche's face darkened again, "If you mention this again, I'll dismantle you today."

V and Jack were taken aback, not understanding Roche's strong reaction.

But Roche just waved his hand, telling them not to worry about it.

V and Jack, only able to see the back of his head, exchanged glances and helplessly shrugged.

"Is this battle mode... legal?"

"Of course, it is legal. It's regulated by the Second Amendment," Delamain explained, "While in the car, you have the 'burden' and the right to use all my features."

"The Second Amendment, I know. Wilson's gun shop is named after it," Roche said, "The NCPD has limited manpower, so everyone should take up arms and uphold justice. That's the idea."

"Hmph..." Jack shook his head disdainfully.

"Dexter is quite generous, huh?"

"At least we know where sixty-five percent of his money goes, right?" Jack said, "That fat guy is really shady, only giving us thirty-five percent. Lucky, don't you think it's too little? We risk our lives."

Yes, it was definitely too little.

The thirty-five percent wasn't enough. If Roche were to negotiate, he'd want at least a hundred percent plus Dexter's life.

"Strive for Excellence... To mingle with the big shots, you have to ride in a car like this," Jack sighed.

"The car is just a facade. If you want to have some capital to talk, you need to bring something to the table," Roche said, "Even the most powerful bosses can't sit across from a company and talk because nobody has more capital than them."

"That's true," V agreed.

But Jack seemed nervous, just like when the three first arrived in Night City and went through border control.

"Madres... This is the most important day of my life."

"Shut up. If you say that again, I'll throw you out, right now," Roche turned his head, glaring at him fiercely with gritted teeth.

"Whoa, mano (brother), is that necessary?" Jack hurriedly surrendered with both hands up.

"Necessary, very necessary, extremely damn necessary," Roche took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Treat today like any other day."

"How is that possible?" Jack mumbled, looking somewhat wronged.

Driving past luxurious high walls and buildings, they finally arrived at the extravagant Arasaka seaside building area. Ordinary people without any status would never be able to overcome the obstacles to reach this place.

"We're about to arrive at our destination," Delamain kindly reminded them.

At that moment, T-Bug's call came through.

Roche didn't access the call through his PDA, so only V and Jack joined the conversation.

After exchanging some small talk, V and Jack's route maps synchronized, serving as a final confirmation before departure.

Listening to Jack and V's one-sided conversation, it seemed that the genius hacker was chatting with them about Aristotle.

The car smoothly stopped in front of the red carpet at the entrance of the Azure Tower, and Delamain said,

"Thank you for choosing Delamain transportation services. Good luck, and I will be..."

"Spare me the luck," Roche said irritably, "Thanks for your flag."