Leo shook hands with the other person and smiled.
"I needed your help getting certain things."
"?"
"Yes. A bit later, I was going to set you up with a dedicated hacker's workshop, equipped with the best gear available. All I needed you to do was dig up the dirt Emilia Mordon planned to use against JoAnne Koch from inside her neural link.."
Indeed.
From the beginning, Leo never intended to introduce Emilia to Rogue. Emilia might have possessed certain expertise and professional abilities, but let's not forget—she was also part of the Nightingale Project.
Even though she dared to oppose JoAnne, when JoAnne used the Red Ochre Nomad family as test subjects, Emilia not only stood by and watched, she personally took part.
SECURICINE was a byproduct of the Nightingale Project, the very painkiller responsible for the deaths of countless innocents, including Sasha's mother. Emilia, who was involved in the experints, knew all too well how damaging SECURICINE really was.
And yet?
Had she ever anonymously sent any information to the dia? Even though she held incriminating evidence on JoAnne, she only planned to hand it over after she lost her job, out of revenge against JoAnne and to find herself a new patron.
In Leo's eyes, Emilia and JoAnne were cut from the sa cloth—both had innocent blood on their hands. The only reason he contacted Emilia in the first place was to use her as bait, luring JoAnne out of the Biotechnica corporate hotel. After all, the hotel was located in a bustling city center. Causing a scene there would have drawn too much attention and backlash.
Leo had never considered saving Emilia's life. JoAnne, Diana, and anyone connected to the Nightingale Project had to die. This ti, no one was going to make it out alive.
.....
..
.
Outside the No-Tell Motel Motel, a van marked with a dical center logo was parked by the roadside. Leo, Rebecca, Pilar, and Kiwi were all inside the vehicle. Both Leo and Kiwi wore yellow jackets from the dical center, looking like temporary employees.
"Maine? Dorio?"
Their two teammates on back-door duty sent a ssage: "We're in position."
Leo nodded, then looked around at everyone in the van.
"Rebecca, Pilar, once Kiwi and I head inside, you both stay at the front entrance. If you spot Emilia, grab her. But if you see she's ard…"
"Then kill her. While the data in her neural linkis important, I don't want you risking your lives."
Pilar nodded first. "Got it, no problem."
Rebecca shot Pilar a glare—she had ant to say that line herself. Feeling a bit competitive, she added, "I'm a great shot. Even if she pulls a gun first, I can shoot her hand without killing her."
"Good, that's reassuring. I'll leave it to you," Leo said with a smile, reaching over to pat Rebecca's head.
Rebecca narrowed her eyes in contentnt, as though she enjoyed the gesture. Pilar, in the front passenger seat, stared in disbelief. This was the first ti he had seen Rebecca act like a little sister. Normally, she wouldn't even let him lay a hand on her head without baring her teeth.
So what was going on here? Why did it look like Leo was her real brother?
Kiwi, anwhile, didn't notice the strange atmosphere in the van. She had been about to light a cigarette, but rembering that Leo disliked the sll of smoke, she put it back in the pack.
"Should we head in now?"
"No, wait a mont."
Leo withdrew his hand, much to Rebecca's subtle disappointnt, and pressed a fingertip to the side of his tactical goggles. He activated the scan mode, unleashing a ring of invisible red light that expanded outward from his position. Though the surroundings looked the sa, nurous red humanoid silhouettes beca visible to him alone.
He focused on the inside of the No-Tell Motel and soon located a marked red silhouette, labeled Emilia Mordon, on the first floor. However, Emilia was craftier than expected—she wasn't in the agreed-upon Room 106 on the first floor but had gone to Room 204 on the second floor.
"Always so cautious."
Leo glanced out the window, then jerked his chin at Kiwi, indicating the surveillance cara above the motel's entrance.
"Shut it down."
A few seconds later, Kiwi gave a slight nod. "Done."
"Let's go."
They climbed out of the van. Leo handed Kiwi a Yukimura smart pistol.
"Here. Consider this a gift to welco you into Maine's crew."
Kiwi looked surprised but accepted it without protest. After offering a quick thanks, she felt her impression of Leo rise once again. Now she was sure he was far more than just so run-of-the-mill rc.
Once Leo and Kiwi disappeared into the motel's main entrance, Pilar turned in his seat, draped his long arms over the backrest, and waved his hand around as if shooing away a fly. Carefully, he snuck a glance at Rebecca out of the corner of his eye. She was staring intently at the motel doors, oblivious to his antics.
Pilar casually moved his hand over her head, but it was like she had eyes on top of her skull. She turned and fixed him with an icy glare. Pilar's outstretched hand, hoping to mimic Leo's head-pat, froze midair. He couldn't decide whether to go through with it or retreat.
Eventually, Rebecca broke the tension by speaking first.
"Bro, what are you trying to do? You're not thinking of patting my head, are you? I hate it when people do that."
No one liked being made to feel small, and a pat on the head was the quickest way to do it. Rebecca wasn't about to let that slide.
Pilar opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Leo can do it—why can't I?" But he knew that line would only bring chaos. He clamped his mouth shut, drew his hand back, and scratched his cheek.
Rebecca glared at him, muttered sothing about it being "so weird," then returned to watching the motel entrance.
…
In Room 204, Emilia jumped up from the bed as though electrocuted. The front entrance surveillance cara had gone offline, which had to be the work of a netrunner. She couldn't be sure if it was JoAnne's people tracking her down or if Leo had so other plan, but she knew one thing: she couldn't stay here any longer.
Fortunately, she had planned for exactly this kind of situation.
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