Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077

After that, V carefully lifted Sandra out of the bathtub. The group made their way to the apartment's balcony. Three minutes later—right on schedule—Trauma Team arrived. Their AV (air vehicle) hovered just beyond the railing, and several armed personnel jumped out, guns raised at the group.

They relaxed at once, however, lowering their weapons.

"I never expected to see you here, Mr. Leo," their team leader said. "You may not remember me, but I've never forgotten how you saved our lives."

Leo wore a puzzled expression. In response, both the team lead and a female medic named Nadia removed their helmets.

Months earlier, they'd gone to Westbrook on assignment to pick up a Platinum member and return them to the Trauma Team HQ. On the way, they'd been ambushed by a cyber-merc known on the streets as "The Ripper." Everyone else on the TT squad had died except for the team lead and Nadia, and they'd have perished too if Leo hadn't intervened. After he took down The Ripper, Leo had simply slipped away, leaving no contact information behind.

They had assumed they'd never meet again and were thrilled to run into him now. Leo was glad too but kept the exchange brief, since they were all in the middle of a rescue. Once they had exchanged a few grateful words, Nadia administered another stimulant to Sandra and hauled her into the Trauma Team AV. Moments later, the vehicle zipped away.

They watched the AV disappear among the skyscrapers. Jackie exhaled loudly, obviously relieved.

"What's with you?" Leo asked curiously.

"I've heard that Trauma Team only cares about their clients," Jackie explained, "and they tend to be hostile toward any armed individuals nearby. Sometimes it escalates into conflict."

Realizing how that sounded, Jackie quickly clarified, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid. It's just…there's no point fighting with them. It would just escalate til we have a whole corpo breathing down our necks"

Leo patted Jackie on the shoulder. "I get it."

Their rescue was a complete success. The target was safe and unharmed; only the Scavs had suffered, which everyone in Night City would consider to be a good thing. They left the Scav corpses to whatever medical center cleanup crew eventually showed up.

While heading back, Jackie cracked his knuckles, grinning as he told the others about his plans. "Finally got enough eddies to buy myself a new car. I've got my eye on something real slick."

Leo was happy for him. "Nice, Jackie. Didn't you say before you wanted a badass bike, though?"

"Bikes are cool, sure, but they're not ideal for dating. If it rains or something, it's a hassle. Besides, if I feel like riding a bike, I can just borrow yours, right?"

Leo owned a Fenrir motorbike, chosen by V and Lucy. It was a Japan-only model never exported elsewhere, so on Night City streets, where you typically saw 'Kusanagi CT-3X,' 'ARCH Nazare,' or 'Brennan Apollo,' the Fenrir definitely turned heads.

"You've really thought this through, huh?" Leo smirked.

"C'mon, Leo, we're pals. You'd let me borrow it, yeah?"

"Sure, why not?" They stepped into the hallway and pressed the elevator button. "By the way, I should call Wakako."

The call connected quickly, and Wakako's face appeared in a floating window on Leo's tactical goggles. "So, how is our client? Still breathing?"

"She's fine. Trauma Team picked her up. Being Platinum, they arrived in a flat three minutes."

"Did you, uh, have any…trouble with them?" Wakako asked cautiously.

"We're good."

"Excellent," Wakako said, visibly relieved. "By the way, Leo, any chance you need to go to Watson soon?"

"Why?"

"NCPD locked it down. They're sealing it off. If you or anyone else need to slip in there without getting stuck, you'd better hurry."

They arrived at the underground parking garage. Noticing Leo's serious expression, Jackie asked, "Something up?"

"NCPD's sealing Watson. Something must've gone down."

"Maybe some big shot is paying Night City a visit?" Jackie laughed drily. Then he realized their predicament. "Hold up. We only have one car…"

Ever since the SUV Leo had taken from the Bakker family was destroyed at the Eden Gang's hideout, he hadn't bothered buying a new one. Whenever they needed transport for a group job, he'd just call a Delamain taxi. It sounded weird at first—mercs taking a taxi to gigs—but Delamain vehicles were fully bulletproof and arrived on demand, so it wasn't actually a bad arrangement. V and Jackie quickly got used to it after a while.

They each lived in different districts: Leo and Jackie in Heywood, Lucy in Japantown, and V in Little China—specifically in Watson, now under lockdown. Leo had picked everyone up in his Delamain, but now if he dropped off V first, they might get stuck inside Watson. If he dropped off the others first, V might not get home before the lockdown.

"All right," he decided, "Jackie, Lucy, hold here a minute. I'll get you another cab, and V and I will take the current one to Watson."

"What if you go in and they seal the place behind you?" Jackie asked. "How are you gonna get out?"

"Worst case, I crash in a motel," Leo answered. "NCPD rarely seals an entire district. The last time was when they basically cut Pacifica off from the rest of the city."

He continued more quietly, "Something serious must be happening in Watson for them to go to such lengths. I don't want V going back alone."

Lucy immediately said, "I'll come with you."

Jackie scratched the back of his head. "Then we should all just stick together. Don't bother with a second cab."

Leo considered it briefly and nodded. "In that case, I'll book two extra rooms if we have to stay overnight."

"Don't worry about me." Lucy smirked. "I can always crash at Misty's place if needed."

…

Light rain spattered the night sky, the neon signs and massive holographic ads reflecting off the raindrops and coloring the world in bright, pulsing hues. Pedestrians on the sidewalk walked beneath umbrellas or rushed through puddles in the gloom.

The Delamain taxi faithfully ferried them toward Watson. Jackie scowled at the drizzle. "What the hell is this weather? Forecast was way off."

"When isn't it?" Lucy shrugged.

"Good point," Jackie said. "I'm starving. We should go grab something, huh?"

"Jackie, they're shutting down Watson, remember?"

"Oh, right…" Realizing he wouldn't get into Watson if they made a food stop first, Jackie sighed. The rest of the ride passed in silence, broken only by the car radio. Even though Wakako had warned them, and Leo had urged Delamain to drive faster, they arrived at the Watson Bridge only to find NCPD had already sealed it off.

Several squad cars were parked in the middle of the road, lights flashing, and even a bipedal mech from Militech was deployed.

Clearly, this wasn't just any random blockade.

Leo's face grew even more somber. "Looks like this is serious," he muttered. "Either something happened, or it's about to happen." He also felt relieved he'd insisted on coming back with V. If he hadn't, she might be facing this alone.

The taxi slowed to a stop in front of the barricade. A female cop approached and was about to say, "Watson is sealed off, please wait for clearance…" when she recognized the passengers and froze. Then her face lit up with surprise.

"Leo? Lucy? Didn't expect to see you two!"

Leo and Lucy blinked, equally taken aback. This was the second time that day they'd bumped into someone they knew.

"Hello, Officer Linari," Leo said. "Long time no see."

Linari was one of the NCPD officers they'd rescued while infiltrating the Eden Gang's hideout alongside Lucy and Rebecca. After recovering, she'd dropped by the Coyote Cojo to express her thanks.

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