IDKjust
patreon
Chapter 310 c
🕑 Added 2025-07-04 15:00:20 +0000 UTCChapter 310 c
2-IN-1 chapter
---------------------
But now, more than six months later, the sheriff didn’t recognize them.
Not surprising. Leo and Jackie had changed too much—no longer scrappy drifters or smugglers, but something entirely different.
“Wanna go say hi?” Jackie joked.
“Better not,” Leo replied with a shake of the head.
No need to bring up the past.
At that moment, José, who had been quiet the whole time, rubbed his hands together. “Um… Mr. Leo, about the training at your company we talked about earlier…”
Of course Leo hadn’t forgotten.
But his company had only just begun construction before they left Night City. Who knew what state it was in now?
The training facilities weren’t ready either—he’d need to get an intermediary to help source them.
Still, none of that was a problem.
Leo smiled. “I remember. But you went through a lot in Tijuana. Once we get you back to Mr. González, take a few days to rest. Get your body and mind back in shape—then we’ll talk training.”
José nodded in agreement and said no more.
“You all stay here. I need to make a call,” Leo said.
He stepped outside the diner and called Dante.
On the other end, Dante’s voice came through, “Mr. Leo—if you’re calling, does that mean it’s over?”
“You’re right, Mr. González. From now on, you and José won’t have to worry about the Salamanca Cartel anymore.”
Leo hadn’t wiped the cartel out completely—he knew some mid or high-level survivors would remain.
The Salamanca Cartel wasn’t the Clemente family. With luck, it could still hold power in Tijuana under new leadership.
But—
Even if the cartel persisted and appointed a new boss, they wouldn’t dare retaliate.
The carnage at the cemetery alone would be enough to stop any revenge fantasy.
If Hector had been sniped quietly, maybe someone would try something.
But this was a full-on drone strike. Three hundred elite enforcers dead without a single survivor—who would pick a fight with that?
Whoever took over wasn’t a fool—and they sure as hell wouldn’t risk everything just to avenge a corpse.
“Thank you—truly. I don’t even know what to say.”
“Then don’t say anything. Show it with your money. Are you still at Konpeki Plaza? We’re at a diner outside the city. We’ll send José over shortly.”
“No, no—you’ve done enough already. Let me come to you. At the very least, allow me to host you at Konpeki Plaza for a proper dinner. As we say in Selys—it’s the least I can do to welcome heroes home.”
…........................................................
.......................
.
Dante hung up, and all the fear and tension he’d been carrying vanished in an instant. He felt twenty years younger.
“Cicero.”
A young man stepped in. “Boss, you called?”
“Get the car ready. We’re heading out of the city.”
“Yes, sir.” Cicero gave a slight bow.
A few minutes later, Dante stepped out the front doors of Konpeki Plaza under the escort of two bodyguards, the doormen bowing deeply as he passed.
Outside, a black armored executive sedan waited, engine humming.
A bodyguard quickly stepped forward, jogging to the armored business sedan and opening the door for Dante.
Once Dante got in, the two bodyguards followed and entered the car.
Cicero started the engine and pulled the vehicle away from Konpeki Plaza.
…
Outside Arasaka Waterfront, a pink van was parked. On the rear door of the van was a large, distinct emblem of the Animals gang—a roaring, savage beast.
Inside sat two hulking men.
“I’m telling you, are you sure the target’s really coming out through here? It’s been days—what if they already left on an AV?”
“Boss told us to wait here, so just sit tight and stop whining.”
“Don’t get mad, I’m just bored.”
“You’re bored? I think it’s perfect.”
“Huh?”
“No work, still getting paid—what’s not to like?”
“But if nothing happens, how are we supposed to prove ourselves? How are we gonna earn the boss’s trust if we don’t get to show what we can do?”
“Young punks. So naive.”
“What?”
“Forget it. I’m not here to argue. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck sitting here with me. Sucks for you, no chance to shine.”
The van fell into silence.
Just then, a business sedan drove past.
One of the Animals only glanced at it casually at first, but a second later his expression changed. He rubbed his eyes and said, stunned, “Hey, was that the car we were supposed to be watching?”
..........................................
.....................
.
Over an hour later, just outside Night City in a small town, Dante finally reunited with his long-awaited son.
Dante embraced José tightly. Leo stood nearby, watching the father-and-son moment with a quiet smile.
“Dad… actually, there’s something I’d like to ask your permission for.”
“Something? I’d say yes to ten things, son.”
Aside from that incident where he killed the Salamanca Cartel boss’s only son, José had never caused any real trouble.
And despite being the son of a nouveau riche, he had managed to get into NYU—a point of great pride for Dante.
So, when José made his request, Dante agreed without a second thought.
“Dad, I want to go train at Director Leo’s company for a while.”
“What? You want to be a mercenary? No way! Absolutely not!”
Even though it was mercenaries who had brought his son back, Dante couldn’t accept the idea of his own son becoming one.
It was far too dangerous.
Being a mercenary meant living with death—facing bullets instead of just bad weather.
Dante himself wasn’t a mercenary, but don’t forget—he was born in Heywood.
Kids from Heywood mostly ended up in the Valentinos. He did, and so did Jackie.
Life in a gang wasn’t much different from being a merc—it was constant conflict and bloodshed.
Dante had grown to hate that life. What terrified him most wasn’t the violence—it was the fact that there was no future in it. No tomorrow. No hope.
He was lucky. He got a chance no other Heywood kid had, and he grabbed it, managing to claw his way out of the mud.
And now his son wanted to jump into the same mud? How was he supposed to accept that?
Seeing the disappointment on his father’s face, José—clever as he was—quickly realized there had been a misunderstanding.
He rushed to explain.
“You’ve got it wrong, Dad. I don’t want to be a mercenary. I just want to train at Director Leo’s company—so I won’t be completely helpless in the future.”
Leo stepped in, smiling. “Mr. González, your son’s not acting on impulse. He’s smart and calm—you’ve raised him well. He’s a strong successor. You don’t have to worry, I’m not trying to steal him from you.”
Dante stood frozen for a few seconds as his mind caught up to what he’d heard.
Realizing it had indeed been his misunderstanding, he let out a deep sigh, then said apologetically, “Sorry. That was my mistake.”
“Dad, so…”
“Yeah. It’s good for young people to learn something. Besides…”
After the kidnapping, Dante’s thinking had begun to shift.
He used to believe there was no need for combat training—he had money, he could hire bodyguards, why would he need to carry a gun?
But now, after what had happened to his son, he’d started to think differently. Even if you could afford protection, that didn’t mean you should know nothing.
The two things weren’t mutually exclusive.
So of course Dante had no objections anymore.
With the misunderstanding cleared up, there was nothing more to say.
Dante invited Leo and the others to ride with him in the armored business sedan he had brought. As for the SUV Leo, V, and Lucy had used—that was a rental. No need to worry about it. Just click the return option on the rental site and pay the fee—the company would send someone to retrieve it.
Of course, since Leo had driven it far out of the expected return zone, the fee would be significantly higher.
But even with the added cost, to Leo it was just a drop in the bucket.
As for the vehicle Jackie had used to bring José to the town—no one cared about it at all.
It was just a standard pickup truck stolen from the Salamanca Cartel hit squad. They left it in town—anyone who wanted it could have it.
…......................................
............
.
On a street in Santo Domingo, a pink van sat parked.
It was filled with burly Animal Gang members.
“Shit. We completely lost them.”
“We’re screwed. If the boss finds out, he’ll skin us alive.”
Their boss had taken this contract very seriously—this one had come directly from Héctor Salamanca himself.
The Salamanca Cartel was one of the major players in Mexico. If their gang could build ties with the cartel, it would be like latching onto a golden pipeline.
They could open up all kinds of business deals down the line.
That’s why the boss had been so committed—he’d posted them at Arasaka Waterfront, waiting for the target to leave so they could complete the job.
They couldn’t stake out Konpeki Plaza itself—not when they were tatted, muscle-bound gangers from the Animals. They weren’t allowed anywhere near Arasaka territory.
If they tried, they’d be warned off immediately. If they ignored the warning, they’d be shot to pieces.
So they had no choice but to wait just outside.
“What the hell happened? How’d you two lose the target?”
The new muscle, fresh in the van, snapped at the two Animals who had been watching before.
One of the older guys snapped back, “This is your fault! The boss told us to stay in the van for everything—eat, sleep, shit, whatever! But you guys got out to screw around. If it weren’t for that, we could’ve tailed them. You made us lose time!”
“What did you say? You old shit—acting tough just because you’re older? Say one more word and I swear I’ll rip your filthy mouth off!”
Another member of the Animals, who had also been in the vehicle earlier, tugged on his companion’s sleeve, signaling for him to stop.
Neither of them had originally belonged to the gang—no matter where you went, veterans bullying rookies was an unspoken rule.
Thinking it’s unfair wouldn’t change anything. The only thing to do in a situation like this was to shut up. Once people tired of talking, they’d eventually stop.
“Hey!”
He suddenly screamed out.
“You still got a problem, punk? I’ll fucking—”
“No, look—check it out. Isn’t that the target the boss told us to deal with?”
The others in the vehicle were momentarily stunned. Then, following his finger, they spotted a familiar high-grade armored executive sedan rolling past.
Everyone inside the van lit up with excitement.
“Go go go! After them!”
...............................
..............
.
Today, the elevated roads of Santo Domingo were unusually empty. Besides the armored executive sedan carrying Leo’s team and the pink panel van driven by the Animals, only a single yellow Thorton Galena G240 remained.
In the past, people only worried about eating enough and finding small pleasures.
But in the 21st century, people also wanted cars.
No car? You couldn’t get to work, couldn’t drop your kid at daycare, couldn’t flee when gangs started brawling over turf.
The Galena first rolled out in 2031. At the time, the government, hoping to stimulate the economy, launched a reasonably priced vehicle line to boost consumer spending.
Since Thorton lacked much experience in compact car manufacturing, they outsourced the engine from India’s Meher Automotive.
That partnership didn’t go well. The Galena didn’t perform great and its sales were underwhelming.
Even so, it still ran on the road—and that was what really mattered.
Though the 2031 model had long since gone out of production, the fact that someone was still driving one in 2077 wasn’t because the owner liked retro—it was because Gloria, the owner, truly had no money.
“I told you to get it upgraded, didn’t I?”
David didn’t argue. It was true he’d messed up.
Whatever his original intentions, he’d nearly gotten expelled, and the incident had saddled them with massive damages owed to Arasaka Academy—that much was undeniable.
So he didn’t meet Gloria’s gaze and instead stared guiltily out the window.
“Going to a ripperdoc was my mistake.”
“You acted on your own, and now we owe ten times more.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re really sorry, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.”
Gloria refused to let it go, and David finally couldn’t help but talk back.
“The first time I asked, you said we didn’t have the money…”
“That’s because it wasn’t payday yet! Of course we don’t have piles of cash lying around.” Gloria glanced downward. “And stop shaking your damn leg.”
David sighed.
Even though his grades at Arasaka Academy were always excellent, the entire student body—except for him—was made up of elites.
Which meant he never fit in with any of them.
And he couldn’t bring himself to lick their boots either, like a damn dog. So his life at Arasaka was far from smooth—it was isolating at best.
What worried him more was that this kind of life wouldn’t end with the academy. If he ever got into the Arasaka Corporation, things would likely only get worse.
Just imagining that future made everything feel hopeless.
So lately, whenever he had downtime, he kept thinking about something else.
He knew his mother probably wouldn’t agree, which was why he hadn’t brought it up before.
But now seemed like a good time.
“Actually, I’ve been thinking…”
“What?”
---------------
Note:
Bombe!!! I bet you all were not expecting this scene? All I will say is.
If you know you know ;)
