Leo glanced down at his still-flat stomach and unchanged right arm before letting out a relieved breath.
That damned déjà vu almost made him feel like he was losing his mind.
Forget it. Time to stop overthinking. It was time to call in the hacker girl.
Hopefully, she'd be satisfied with this meeting location.
He gestured for V and Jack to stay quiet, then his eyes lit up as he initiated the call.
Bzzz—bzzz—
The call connected almost instantly. It felt like the other side had been waiting for it.
"L?"
Sasha's voice came through, still altered by a voice changer.
Leo's lips curled into a small smile. "Miss Sasha, have you given any more thought to my proposal?"
"Didn't you say we'd talk in person?"
"Exactly. Afterlife Bar, Booth 7. If the bouncer gives you trouble, just drop my name—L. That's all. See you soon."
He ended the call swiftly, not giving her a chance to respond.
Jack and V exchanged surprised glances.
"You invited someone else?"
Jack still didn't know about the hacker.
Leo realized he hadn't explained and quickly filled him in—he'd found a hacker to support the team.
"A hacker? Hell yeah!" Jack got fired up again. "Now we're talking—having a personal hacker makes us a legit crew! Once I'm healed up, let's land ourselves a big score!"
V, remembering the "ghost story" about the hacker and her mother from a few days ago, was also intrigued.
The three of them chatted casually, painting bright pictures of the future.
"When I've got the eddies," Jack said, "I'm buying an ARCH Nazare motorcycle. I swear, that bike is sexier than the girls at the bar! Two years in a row, voted #1 by Guns, Guts, and Glory fans!"
"When you rev the throttle just once—" Jack lifted his hand and mimicked twisting a grip, "Vrrroom! Whole street turns to stare. That feeling? Pure bliss!"
He smacked his thigh and downed his soda in one go.
"Ahhh—damn, that hits the spot!"
Leo remembered a certain special conversation between V and Jack about that very same bike. Once Jack actually got it, he planned to borrow a few lines to make himself look cool.
"Ugh. Men…" V muttered, sipping her cola, "Motorcycles are just meat wrapped around metal. One hit from a junker and you're toast. If I had that kind of money, I'd buy two solid guns, aim at my enemies, and squeeze the trigger. That's real satisfaction."
Leo's mouth twitched. He couldn't help thinking V might be a little too fond of violence.
Unfortunately, her hypersensitive intuition picked up on that judgmental glance instantly.
"Why so quiet? Who do you think makes the better point—me or him?"
The ball was kicked straight into Leo's court, leaving him stuck between a loyal bro and a… well, future waifu. Not yet, but still—it was a tough call.
Just as he was weighing the possibility of picking a third option, salvation arrived unexpectedly.
Ding-dong—
A chime rang from the wall console of the private booth.
Someone was at the door.
All three of them jumped slightly.
"So soon? That your hacker girl?"
V instinctively glanced at the time. It had only been about five minutes since Leo made the call. That hacker was fast—too fast.
"Doesn't make sense…" Leo muttered. Sasha shouldn't have enough status to freely enter Afterlife yet, not at this stage of her career.
Their confusion earned a chuckle from Jack. "What are you two overthinking for? This is the Afterlife, Night City's finest establishment. Of course the doors come with a video feed."
He fumbled with the control panel and pulled up the feed.
A second later, he sucked in a breath.
"Holy shit—it's Rogue! What the hell is she doing here!?"
Leo and V immediately leaned in to take a look.
No mistake—that bold makeup, that overwhelming aura, and that don't-you-dare look on her face—it was her. The Queen of Afterlife: Rogue.
Jack began speaking a mile a minute. "That's her—that's Rogue, Night City's top fixer. A living legend at the Afterlife… Damn, I've only ever seen pictures online. Never thought I'd see her in person!"
"Don't get too excited," V cut in coldly. "If you ask me, she's not here for drinks. She's probably here to cause trouble."
She shot Leo a pointed look—look what you've done now.
Leo wasn't surprised. Rogue was obviously here because of him. After all, his way of entering Afterlife had been a bit dramatic—and not exactly subtle.
[Shironeko, you're sure the Afterlife's netrunner isn't onto us?]
[Positive. I just bombarded him with junk data—he's too distracted to notice anything else right now.]
That gave Leo a bit of peace of mind.
As the saying goes: if it's fate, it's fate. If it's trouble, there's no dodging it.
Bring it on.
"Open the door. Don't panic. Hold the line."
He had Jack unlock the booth, then calmly sat back down and adjusted his posture.
A minute later, two firm sets of footsteps echoed their way.
The first figure to appear at the booth entrance was indeed Rogue.
She wore a yellow jacket and black leather pants—very standard attire. But on her, it radiated an edge so sharp it pierced straight through the air, pressing against their nerves.
Behind her stood the usual—her massive bodyguard. Hands clasped in front of his stomach, cyber-eyes glowing, locking onto Jack and V like targeting lasers.
"You're L."
Rogue didn't ask. She stated.
Without waiting, she stepped into the room, grabbed a single chair, and sat directly across from Leo.
Leo observed her closely, mentally recalling everything about her from the original plot.
"Why so quiet?" Rogue crossed her legs, her aura dwarfing V's completely. "You had your netrunner hack Afterlife's security system. Don't you think that warrants an explanation?"
Leo gave a light smile. "That's the rule, isn't it? To get in here, you need fame or skill. I'm new in town. All I could do was flex a little muscle—or I'd never have made it through the door."
"Flex, huh? Got some guts, I'll give you that."
Rogue's eyes wandered over his appearance, then drifted to the soda cans on the table. Pretty face, polished manners—probably a rich kid from a powerful family.
"From Kang Tao? You folks want in on Night City's fixer market too?"
Just as Leo expected. With his face and public profile, that was a natural assumption.
But he wasn't about to play that card—especially since his identity was fake and had no official records back East.
"I'm Chinese, yes. But not Kang Tao. We've got more than one company over there, you know."
"Ohhh…"
Rogue drew out the syllable—hard to tell if she believed him.
"Whatever. That's your business. But here—" she tapped her boot on the floor, "—this is my territory."
She was, of course, referring to Afterlife.
"You're in. Fine. But if you cause me problems, watch your back. In this city, nothing escapes my eyes."
Rogue didn't need to strike a dramatic pose or deliver a movie-style "I'm watching you." Her tone alone was more than enough—aggressive, suffocating.
"This is just a courtesy visit. You…"
She paused, noticing Leo's hand stretched toward her.
He was offering a handshake.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Leonardo DiCaprio. Call me L. Who knows, maybe we'll work together someday. Let's get along."
He figured she'd find out his fake identity sooner or later, so he might as well face it head-on and show some backbone.
But the result wasn't what he expected.
"I don't shake hands with nobodies. Lowers my standards."
With that, Rogue turned on her heel and left.
The arrogance was suffocating.
Leo noticed the amused looks from Jack and V. He couldn't afford to lose face now.
"Well then, next time you want to work with me, you'll be the one reaching out first."
"Hmph. I'll be waiting."
And just like that, the Queen of Afterlife walked away without a glance back.
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