V shot the lock off the fence and helped Yogan climb into an apartment building. A group of punks who had been hanging around in the stairwell smoking scattered the moment they saw V with a gun. A resident standing at their door quickly retreated and shut it tightly. In the blink of an eye, the stairwell fell silent.
Seeing no one around, Yogan couldn't help but complain, "That fixer's secret route sure was something. Climbing up and down all the way—rooftops, ladders, you name it."
V, panting from hauling someone the whole way, replied, "This is the city. The kind of underground tunnel you're imagining doesn't exist. Still, that old man Johnson sure put some effort into maintaining this escape route. Most of the junk piles we ran into were positioned to block anyone who didn't know the path. Step carefully and you wouldn't even know someone was hiding behind them. Shame all this prep went to waste, and we're the ones cashing in."
V took a breath, and Yogan had mostly recovered from the system's aftereffects.
"Listen," V said. "Sounds like Arasaka and Militech are clashing."
Gunfire rang louder and louder from the direction they came from, occasionally punctuated by explosions.
Yogan listened to the noise behind them and felt a chill. If they'd been any slower, they might've ended up face-to-face with fully armed corporate troops. He wasn't sure if his system would've been able to save him then.
V patted Yogan on the shoulder. "What are you spacing out for? Let's go. We can watch the fireworks later."
Soon, the two emerged onto the street. Pedestrians bustled about, completely ignoring the not-so-distant sounds of gunfire.
"Next block over's basically a war zone, and these people don't even flinch," Yogan said.
V shrugged. "C'mon, this is Night City. Bullets fall more often than rain."
Suddenly, V grabbed Yogan and turned them both to face away from the street.
In a low voice, V said, "Careful. A few Tyger Claw vans just drove past."
Yogan, seeing the small trucks bearing the Tyger Claws' logo driving away, looked confused. "So what about the Tyger Claws?"
"If our dear Miss Company Agent V wasn't lying, those vans are full of Arasaka troops. But Arasaka wouldn't stoop so low as to have the Tyger Claws ship their soldiers… right?"
Yogan stroked his chin. "I'd say we've gotten ourselves caught in some deep shit. Those vans are clearly heading to fight Militech. And you're right—Arasaka wouldn't need Tyger Claws for transport unless they're hiding something big."
"Hold on a second," V said. "Both Arasaka and Militech were after Johnson. Even without us, they would've clashed. Let's leave why Militech was after him aside for now. Arasaka straight-up had the guy killed—over that mystery chip…"
Yogan picked up her train of thought, "Then we can assume both companies are after the same thing. And if something's worth that kind of heat, it must be massive. Johnson's dead. That means we're the only ones left who know anything. Shit! V, we're about to become Night City legends!"
"Watch your mouth. You know what happens to legends in Night City? They end up in the ground."
Still, something had been bothering Yogan.
"By the way, sis—what's the deal with you getting so hung up on that guy calling himself 'V'?"
V hadn't expected the question. She froze for a moment, then snapped, "It just caught me off guard. In this biz, people use all kinds of nicknames—Iron Fist, Iron Hammer, stuff like that. But I thought I was the only one who went by just a single letter."
"No way. There's definitely more to it than that."
"There isn't. That's it. I said what I said."
Yogan could tell she didn't want to talk about it and dropped the subject.
But he had other questions.
"Hey, where are we going, anyway?"
"Honestly? I don't know. Miss Phone V is guiding us."
"I thought you were still skeptical about her?"
"What choice do we have? We need to face her head-on to figure out what her game is. And don't forget I've still got a daemon jammed in my head. By the way, why'd you start calling her 'Phone V'?"
"Well, you're a 'V,' she's a 'V'—I've gotta tell you two apart somehow."
"So what are you gonna call me? You wanna slap an adjective on my name too?"
"Perish the thought…"
"Which means you totally do."
…
As they bantered, the two arrived at their marked destination.
The crowd thickened. Yogan, unfamiliar with Night City, had to ask: "Where are we?"
"Southern Japantown. Head straight ahead and there's a metro station. Wait… I thought we were supposed to stay out of sight. Why are we heading right into a crowd?"
Almost as if answering her, a text message popped up in V's vision.
[Tell the guy next to you to toss his gun into the river. Go to locker 25 24 04 at the metro station.]
V muttered, "Damn it. More cryptic shit."
Seeing her scratching her head, Yogan asked, "What's up?"
"Phone V says ditch your bang-bang."
"And?"
"She gave us some numbers. Says we'll find a locker at the station."
"She just said 'ditch it'? Didn't say how?"
"Specifically said toss it in the river. Right over there, across the street."
Yogan started heading for the river. But V suddenly tensed. "Crap. I think she's watching us."
"Huh?"
"She just messaged again. Told me to go with you."
Realizing their every word might have been overheard by some netghost lurking in the shadows, neither of them felt like talking anymore.