"MaxTac, huh? Truly... terrifying folks."
Hellman glanced at Roqi and Mower's outfits, blurting it out reflexively—then immediately caught himself and rephrased. Whatever polite words he swallowed back, Roqi couldn't care less.
To Hellman, only corporate elites who held core technologies or resources (like himself) were "civilized." Everyone else? Crude, vulgar, expendable. It wasn't a conscious belief—just arrogance baked into his bones.
Of course, thanks to Rogue's "discipline," Mr. Hellman had at least learned not to talk his way into a beating.
"Mind your words, Mr. Hellman," Roqi said, all smiles. "MaxTac is one of Night City's last remaining 'beacons of justice.' Sure, that beacon occasionally burns civilians to a crisp, but hey."
To Roqi, Hellman—now just another tool in Rogue's toolbox—didn't deserve the respect he once enjoyed. Back then, he was nothing more than a corpo lapdog. And no one forgot his performance during the first interrogation after his capture.
[Careful. This guy plays every angle.]
Roqi sent a quick message to Rogue on his PDA. Seconds later, she gave the air a near-imperceptible nod.
She was already well aware.
After a few more progress checks, Rogue dismissed Hellman with a blank expression—no hint of approval or disapproval. The man left visibly uneasy.
But managing his emotional state wasn't Rogue's problem. In fact, a little anxiety might actually help keep him in line.
Eyes glowing red, she silently compared two inventories in front of her. After a moment, she turned and spoke to someone Roqi didn't recognize.
"Take a look. Any discrepancies? Did he tell the truth?"
The man took the files Rogue handed him, reviewed both in detail, and after a long moment, nodded cautiously.
"Nothing major. The equipment list is definitely incomplete. If possible, it should be filled out. But... he wasn't entirely honest. Aside from the equipment, many of the other items are unnecessary. I recommend monitoring the flow of materials closely—he might be building something on the side."
"I figured," Rogue nodded. "We've got eyes on him 24/7. Security's solid."
Then she said something short and sharp into her comms:
"Give him everything he requested—but let him know I see everything. No surprises."
Obviously referring to Hellman.
The guy still thought he could run little games under Rogue's nose. Typical corpo—always scheming.
Bright, sure. But dumb in all the wrong ways.
Smart in theory. Stupid in practice.
"Your oversight is as masterful as ever, Lady Rogue," Roqi said with an exaggerated bow.
"And Roqi the rookie's doing pretty well too. Maybe I'll give you a gold star next time," Rogue shot back without missing a beat.
Roqi had been planning to tease her, but with her mind like a steel trap, he never stood a chance.
"By the way—who's that guy?" Roqi asked, gesturing toward the consultant.
"One of my private hires," Rogue said casually, taking a sip of her drink. "Old saying—don't put all your eggs in one basket."
She wasn't wrong.
Depending solely on Anders Hellman was risky. Not only was he prone to deception, but keeping him in check was a full-time job. A second expert to verify his claims was essential.
After a few more questions, Roqi let the man go.
Now, the only people left in the room were Rogue, Roqi, Mower, PDG, and a few of Rogue's top mercs.
This tight-knit team was building Rogue's secret Relic lab.
Aside from Roqi and Mower, even Rogue's own mercs only knew the lab involved biotech gear and consumables.
"As usual, your cut will be based on the appraised value of the haul," Rogue said flatly. "You'll receive your share directly."
She wasn't concerned about the exact figures. What mattered was keeping the supply line steady.
PDG had signed a revenue-sharing contract with her—payment based on cargo value. But since Rogue provided intel, gear, manpower, and logistics, she took a bigger slice.
After accounting for losses, Dallas's crew would get maybe a third. But it was enough to keep them motivated.
Especially since part of the shipment needed to be smuggled out using Rogue's channels. That created shared risks—and shared loyalty.
The jobs she handed out were complex but not highly technical. Mostly big, messy logistics puzzles.
Once PDG and the mercs had left, Rogue finally brought up the Relic.
"Progress is slow. Painfully slow," Rogue said, appearing calm—but her eyes betrayed the frustration. "I know this isn't something you can rush, but right now, we're flying blind. Even Hellman has no clue what Arasaka changed after he left. Everything's guesswork."
Worst-case scenario: no baseline data, no research direction.
It wasn't just "crossing a river by feeling for stones"—they were blindfolded and hoping the current didn't drown them.
And this was Relic 2.0—possibly a prototype version. The materials alone were absurdly expensive.
To maintain precision, they needed high-end calibration tools. Reverse engineering took ten times longer than building from scratch.
But their ramshackle lab lacked that kind of capacity. So they had to start with brute-force reverse engineering—trying to deduce the experimental data baked into the chip.
The only good news: Hellman still had the original design document.
But the chip in their hands wasn't that version. It had been iterated on, refined. Those later updates were lost.
Meaning they had to break down this chip, trace its evolution, and rebuild the entire development process from scratch.
Only then could proper research begin.
For now, they were still rebuilding the conditions of the original Arasaka lab.
Hellman had written most of the original blueprint himself. But he wasn't omniscient. He couldn't remember everything. He had to reverse-engineer from what little data he still recognized.
Without quality equipment and materials, even Hellman was working blind.
That's why he was so genuinely excited about the Seimei Kogei gear.
"That's where we're at," Rogue summarized, sighing. "Any suggestions?"
Roqi paused to think, then replied seriously:
"If possible, outsource basic tasks like material analysis and data crunching to a dedicated bio-chem company. Hellman and his team don't have the manpower. But you have cash—and cash solves problems."
Rogue seemed moved by the logic, though she wasn't about to sign off immediately. Her biggest concern?
Secrecy.
Relic wasn't uniquely rare. But if any corp learned she had it—and had kidnapped Hellman to study it—they'd descend like vultures.
And they wouldn't play nice.
She could live without the chip—but Johnny Silverhand lived inside it. Losing the Relic meant losing him.
Seeing her hesitate, Roqi went straight to the point:
"Just repeat what I said to Hellman. He'll understand. But stress the secrecy."
"And those researchers you hired? Have them double-check anything Hellman sends out. Think of it as insurance."
As former chief Relic designer at Arasaka, Hellman had the skills—especially with Saburo Arasaka personally overseeing the project.
But loyalty? Zero.
He betrayed Arasaka. He'd betray Kang Tao. He'd betray Rogue if the price was right.
He even admitted it—his bargaining chip was the design doc. But Roqi had broken him fast enough to grab the chip.
A dangerous asset.
That's why Rogue built so many safeguards—to squeeze his knowledge without getting stabbed in the back.
Roqi couldn't offer more—he wasn't a specialist.
Still, compared to the early days of watching Johnny scream helplessly inside the chip, this was progress.
There was hope.
"Screw it. Enough about that damn Relic," Rogue grumbled. "Let's talk about something fun."
"Oh? What kind of fun?" Roqi noticed her gaze shift to him. Her eyes gleamed—mischief with a hint of menace.
"Nyx, bring me the thing," she said coolly. Her eyes flashed red—but there was a strange gravity in her voice.
A few moments later, a mercenary entered, carrying a sleek, metallic case about half a meter wide.
He placed it right in front of Roqi.
"What is this?" Roqi asked, increasingly suspicious. Rogue wasn't saying a word—clearly enjoying the suspense.
"Open it and see."
She gave him a meaningful look.
He glanced at Mower, then scanned the room—no one else.
Only then did he cautiously reach for the case.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up."
Rogue's voice suddenly snapped, startling him.
"Jesus! You did that on purpose!" Roqi yelped, glaring at her.
She was clearly enjoying herself.
Witch.
He cursed her mentally, cleared his throat, and reached again.
The case was already unlocked. He pressed the button and released the latches.
Pssshhh…
A soft hiss of pressurized air. The lid opened on its own.
Roqi leaned in.
Inside, nestled at the bottom of the case...
A pair of blue... FLESHLIGHTS?!
Roqi: (＃°Д°)!!!!!!!
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🤖💘 MY GIRLFRIEND'S A CYBERPSYCHO—WHO KNEW? 💘🤖
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📢 LOVE MEETS CYBERPSYCHOSIS! 📢
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Romance is already complicated.
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🌃 Night City
🦾 Cyberware
🔫 Gunfights
💀 Cyberpsychosis
💥 Property damage
❤️ And a girlfriend who might snap at any moment
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