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Chapter 143 c
🕑 Added 2025-04-03 15:03:01 +0000 UTCChapter 143 c
The major acted decisively. “Everyone out—move!”
He threw open the door and jumped out first, waving frantically at the soldiers in the other armored SUVs. Because the EMP strike had taken out their comms, they had to rely on these basic signals. Fortunately, this was a proper corporate security unit, not some ragtag street gang. They still retained the most fundamental professional discipline.
Under the major’s command, the soldiers poured out of their SUVs, using the vehicles themselves as cover and gathering behind them. Naturally, JoAnne and the major positioned themselves in the safest spot, at the center of the formation.
“Major, why are we staying here?”
JoAnne couldn’t comprehend it. If the vehicles were dead, shouldn’t they be trying to head back to the city on foot?
The major didn’t have time to answer before two new vehicles roared into view from different directions. One was a pink sedan; the other was a Delamain taxi. In the pink car’s back seat, Maine and Dorio leaned out of opposite windows with rocket launchers, launching explosive rounds at the convoy.
In the Delamain taxi, Jackie half-emerged through the sunroof, using a heavy machine gun to spew smoke and fire.
Gunfire and explosions tore through the air in a deafening uproar. The corporate security troops were immediately on the back foot—not because they lacked heavy firepower but because the EMP minefield had knocked out their vehicles and inflicted damage on their neuralware and cybernetics. Had they not been outfitted with some electromagnetic shielding (standard for corporate security), that pulse alone could have knocked them unconscious or even killed them outright.
Still, even with shielding, their implants were partially fried. Their augmented eyes flickered with static like an old TV losing reception, heavily reducing their combat capabilities. Meanwhile, Maine, Jackie, and the others had been waiting safely outside the EMP blast radius and were completely unaffected. Each of them was no ordinary merc; they were armed with advanced weaponry, courtesy of Leo’s sponsorship—upgraded gear that set them apart from run-of-the-mill hired guns.
It didn’t take long before all of Biotechnica’s soldiers were neutralized, leaving only the major and JoAnne. The major’s face went pale. Their comms were still down, and there was no way Biotechnica could learn about this in time—certainly not soon enough to send help.
He had no choice but to make one final stand.
“You—think carefully about this!
Whoever hired you, don’t you know what it means to cross the company?! Biotechnica won’t let you people live! If you kill Biotechnica’s R&D Director, they’ll hunt you to the ends of—”
Bang!
His head exploded, and the corpse toppled over, splattering JoAnne with blood. She froze in shock, then let out a terrified scream. Perhaps, to someone unaware of her crimes, she might have seemed pitiful in that moment. But anyone who knew her dirty secrets wouldn’t spare her an ounce of sympathy.
Leo slid his Tech Revolver back into the holster. “He talked too much.”
JoAnne paid no attention to the blood all over her face. “Wait—please, wait! I don’t know why you want to kill me or who sent you, but I’ll pay. However much they offered you,
I’ll double—triple!”
“Didn’t you say you couldn’t even scrape together one million? Now you’re offering two or three times that? Who exactly are you trying to fool?”
JoAnne turned desperately to Leo. After all, he had been the one on the bike who destroyed two armored SUVs and drove the entire convoy into the minefield, single-handedly orchestrating their annihilation. He was clearly the one in charge.
“No, no… I only meant I don’t have a million right this second. But I do have over three hundred thousand in my account—all of it is yours if you just give me time…”
“I can also secure a high-ranking position for you in the company’s security forces! Then you’d—”
JoAnne felt certain these people weren’t working for a rival corporation. If that were the case, a megacorp would have more profitable ways to leverage her existence—ransom or blackmail—rather than outright killing her. So the only explanation was that they were mercenaries, paid by someone with a personal vendetta. She had stepped on plenty of toes on her way to becoming R&D Director, so it could have been anyone.
But instead of puzzling over who had hired them, she tried to buy them off. After all, in the eyes of most mercs, a cushy position with a corporation promised far more stability and better benefits than risking their lives on each job. A permanent role in corporate security paid even when there was no active assignment. Compared to the constant uncertainty of mercenary work, it was a tempting offer—if you could land a top position and not just become a low-level grunt.
Yet the only response JoAnne received was the entire group raising their guns in unison.
“Don—”
A thunderous barrage of gunfire erupted, wave after wave. SMGs, heavy machine guns, shotguns, Tech Revolvers, smart pistols…everyone emptied their magazines. JoAnne was riddled with bullets until her body lay in tatters.
….......
..
.
“Hey there, Night City! This is Josh Kavorkin, back again for all your biz and stock market updates!”
“Let’s see how things are looking today. Kiros is up 2%, Gudra down 1%, New Asahi Auto up by 1.5%…and…what’s this?
Biotechnica is down by 11%. Wow!”
“Hey, who remembers that Redwood Psychiatric Hospital scandal? Once it got out that Biotechnica tested their experimental drugs on those patients, the company’s stock took a nosedive—and, boy, did it crash, around 22% total. It made a slight comeback, but now it’s down another 11%.”
“Folks, hopefully none of you are still clinging to Biotechnica stock, yeah? This just isn’t their year. Between Redwood Hospital, the Nightingale Project, and now another wave of dirty secrets exposed, it looks like their PR team’s spin is about as good as toilet paper.”
“Of course, all these corporate intrigues and backstabbing barely affect most of us nobodies in the big city. We just want to know who’s going to help us make some eddies, right? If you’re looking for a safe, and I do mean super-safe, investment, try Arasaka’s Osa Protective Plan. Only 100,000 eurodollars to start, stable and guaranteed returns. It’s available today only, so don’t miss out!”
“As I like to say, ‘Spend a little smarter, not bigger.’ That’s all for now, folks. Your biz is my biz—until next time!”
Click.
The screen went dark, reflecting Leo’s silhouette. It had been several days since he and his team had ambushed JoAnne’s convoy in the Badlands. Biotechnica was now in chaos, too busy dealing with damage control to spare manpower for investigating JoAnne’s death. After all, once someone was dead, their rank and position no longer mattered—what people really cared about was who would inherit the deceased’s assets and power.
Sure enough, someone eventually climbed over the pile of corpses and took JoAnne Koch’s former spot in Biotechnica. That new individual had zero intention of going after Leo and his people. In fact, they ought to be grateful—without Leo’s handiwork, they wouldn’t have landed such a prime job. So at most, they’d mouth off in front of the cameras, promising a thorough investigation to bring the culprits to justice…then go right back to business as usual.
As for Maine’s crew, they simply returned to their usual, laid-back routine.
