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"Alright, alright."
Jax tried to soothe Rebecca, reaching out to gently pull her down from the table. He could feel the eyes of the other patrons on them. In Night City, drawing attention usually meant drawing trouble, and while they could handle themselves, a breakfast joint in Heywood wasn't the place for a shootout.
Jax looked the part of an ordinary citizen, provided you ignored the Arasaka thermal Katana strapped to his back. Lucy, in her sleek netrunning suit, was far more deceptive; she looked more like a neon-lit celebrity spokesperson than a girl who spent her nights jacking data on the subway.
But Rebecca was the real outlier. To the uninitiated, she was just a hot-headed girl who looked like she'd be stopped at the door of any bar for being a minor. It was a mistake many had made—and few had lived to regret.
"So, why did you call me here?" Lucy asked, leaning back and watching Jax with a calculated gaze.
"First, to split the take from last night," Jax said. He initiated the transfer, and Lucy's internal HUD pinged with the arrival of 5,400 Eurodollars.
"There might be some fluctuations depending on the fence, but this is a fair price. I checked with my team's specialist," Jax added. He had spent part of the night consulting with Sasha, who had analyzed the chip data while lounging on his sofa.
Lucy nodded, the credits settling some of her wariness. "Pleasure working with you. Is that all?" She began to slide out of the booth.
Yesterday, she had viewed Jax as a useful, non-threatening tool—a "little lamb" to help her reach targets. But she had realized quickly that this "lamb" was something she couldn't control. The realization had cost her two packs of cigarettes and half a bottle of whiskey before she could fall asleep.
"Don't rush," Jax said, his voice dropping an octave. "I'm here to offer you a real job."
"A job?" Lucy's eyes narrowed.
"Your skills are wasted on the subway, Lucy. It's small change, and it's a countdown to a funeral. How long before a high-level Corpo tracks a missing encrypted chip back to you? The NCPD might be slow, but Arasaka security doesn't stop until they find the leak."
Jax knew the reality. Night City was only so big, and Lucy's "hunting grounds" were limited. Eventually, the law of averages—or a corporate hit squad—would catch up.
"Netrunners are the lifeblood of an Edgerunner team," Jax continued. "Ours is moving into the big leagues. We need hands like yours. That's why I went with you yesterday. I wanted to see if you were as good as you looked."
Rebecca, who had been listening with a scowl, crossed her arms. The crew already had Sasha and Kiwi, but she knew Jax was right. In a high-stakes heist, a backup netrunner wasn't a luxury; it was a life-saving charm. If Maine were here, he'd already be offering Lucy a drink and a contract.
However, Rebecca couldn't help but notice the pattern. Jax, Sasha, Jackie, and now this "cyber-widow" in the making. The crew was getting crowded, and the number of "troublesome" personalities was skyrocketing.
Rebecca's gaze drifted toward the back of the restaurant, near the restrooms. A group of tall men in gang colors had cornered a waitress. They were pulling at her uniform, laughing as she struggled. When she tried to push one away, he slapped her hard enough that the sound echoed over the low hum of the kitchen.
Rebecca's jaw tightened. This was Night City 101, and normally, the advice was to look at your plate and keep eating. Maine and Dorio had told her a thousand times not to "waste ammunition on someone else's problems."
She looked at Jax, wanting to say something, but he was still focused on Lucy. She bit her lip, torn between her instinct to act and her desire not to let Jax down. She didn't want him to think she was just a "troublemaker."
Then, Jax stopped talking. He turned his head and looked at her.
"What's wrong, Becca? You've been twitchy for the last five minutes."
Rebecca didn't say anything. She just pointed toward the back of the room.
Jax followed her finger. He saw the waitress being shoved against a wall. He remembered what Maine had told him: Take care of the kid. Don't let her get herself killed, but don't let the city kill her spirit either.
"Let's go," Jax said, sliding out of the booth and straightening his jacket.
He realized it had been a while since Rebecca had been allowed to "release her empathy." In this city, kindness was treated like a defect, but Jax didn't want to see her become as cold as the chrome she wore.
Lucy watched in confusion as Jax stood up. The green-haired girl beside him practically jumped with joy, grabbing a heavy metal fork from the table as a makeshift weapon.
Lucy lit a cigarette, the purple smoke swirling around her face as she watched them walk toward the gang members. She leaned back, her emerald eyes cold but curious.
"Meddling..." she murmured to herself.
She wanted to see if this "family" was as strong as Jax claimed, or if they were just another group of idiots about to get chewed up by the street.
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