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"Alright, enough with that. Come on, drink!" Maine barked, raising his glass high.
Jax reached for his drink, but his internal link chimed with a high-priority notification. He paused, his hand hovering over the table. "Susan's calling," he said, glancing at Maine.
Maine immediately sat bolt upright. He gestured frantically with his eyes for Jax to answer. This wasn't just a social call; this was the intel they needed to survive.
Jax accepted the link.
"Jax, are you out of your damn mind?!"
The roar in his head was so loud it made his eyes twitch. Susan didn't wait for a greeting; she went straight for the throat.
"You aren't even finished with the Tyger Claws and now you're kicking the 6th Street Gang? Fine, you're the big man now, Kolina and I can't tell you shit. But tell me this—do you have a terminal illness? Because that's the only reason you'd be stupid enough to tangle with Arasaka and Militech at the same time!"
"I sent you out to lie low, Jax! Not to become a full-time suicide-jockey! Get your ass back to the Moxes. Now."
Jax lowered his gaze, his voice a soft, steady murmur. "I'll come back, Susan. But not right now."
"What?" Susan's voice turned dangerously cold. "Is it the 'moral purity' again? Is that your excuse? This is Maine dragging you into the gutter, and I'm already being a saint by not hunting him down myself. What more do you want?"
"A man has to be loyal," Jax said, his tone softening. He didn't argue because he knew where this was coming from. Susan wasn't just angry; she was terrified for him.
"Loyalty? What's that worth in this city?!" Susan roared. "Don't forget that the last time you followed your 'empathy' to save a passerby, I was the one who ended up in a med-ward!"
The silence that followed was heavy. Jax didn't have a rebuttal for that. On the other end of the line, Susan's breathing hitched. She seemed to realize she'd hit a nerve. She pushed her hair back, her voice losing its edge, replaced by a weary desperation.
"Look... I'm not blaming you for that. I'm telling you that you've known these people for forty-eight hours. You don't owe them your life. Come back to Lizzie's. I'll make the calls. I'll fix it."
"Kerfu is a cockroach. I can squash him. But you're playing in corporate orbits now. They won't kill you because they're afraid of you, Jax. They'll kill you because you're a nuisance they haven't noticed yet. Stay quiet, and they'll forget you exist. Keep pushing, and they'll clean the room."
Jax looked up. Maine was watching him, his mouth open but silent, ready to respect whatever Jax decided. Sasha was looking at him too, her head tilted, a flicker of genuine worry in her blue-pink eyes.
Is he leaving? she seemed to ask.
"Susan," Jax said after a long pause. "If I really just ran back every time things got hot... would you even recognize me anymore?"
Jax knew he wasn't the strongest in the Moxes. Before his attributes started climbing, even the dolls could out-brawl him. But Susan and Kolina had protected him because he was different. He was a "normal person" in a world of gears and chrome. He was holding onto his humanity with both hands, refusing to be assimilated by the meat-grinder of Night City.
Susan gritted her teeth. "Idiot," she hissed.
Jax smiled. "Yeah. But you like this idiot, don't you?"
"Get the hell out of here," Susan snapped, though he could hear the faint traces of a laugh in her frustration. "I'm sending the address. But listen to me: Kerfu has been seen with a corporate dog from Night Corp. This whole hit likely came from them."
"The word on the street is this: stay calm. Lie low. If you don't make a scene, the Corp will lose interest in a few days. The 6th Street Gang will still want your head, but that's your problem. Don't expect me to mop the floor for you."
"That's it. I'm hanging up. Don't die, Jax."
The link died. Jax's pupils returned to normal.
"Well?" Maine pressed.
"I have the address," Jax said. "He's in a commercial district apartment in Heywood. But there's a catch. He's tied to Night Corp."
Maine didn't blink. "So? We're already on the gray list. What's one more mark? Kerfu isn't a god; he's a mid-level Fixer who tried to zero us. If we don't take him out tonight, we're telling every shark in the city we're open for business."
"Worst case?" Maine grinned. "We'll just go join the Moxes with you."
Kiwi let out a sharp, frustrated groan. "Night Corp now? Is there no end to this? Does every job have to involve a goddamn logo?!"
Rebecca, who had been quietly watching the exchange, suddenly looked at Kiwi. "Is this really who you are? Why didn't I notice you were such a whiner before?"
Kiwi choked on her next sentence, her mask hiding the sheer indignation on her face. Jax and Maine broke into simultaneous laughter, the tension in the booth finally shattering.
"When are you heading back to the club?" Maine asked once the laughter died down.
Jax shrugged, leaning back. "Not tonight. The merc life is... interesting. I haven't seen enough of it yet."
Maine's rugged face broke into a genuine, toothy smile. He raised his glass again. "Swallow your worries, kid. I'll make sure you get the full tour."
"Looking forward to it," Jax replied, clinking his glass against Maine's.
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