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Chapter 295 c
🕑 Added 2025-06-22 15:05:06 +0000 UTCChapter 295 c
2-in-1 chapter: Back to the previous format tomorrow.
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When everyone had taken their seats again, a scarred-faced man seated by the car door spoke in a deep voice, stating that they had arrived at their destination and now it was time to inspect their weapons and magazines to ensure they were in perfect condition.
The others in the car began their inspections.
Once they had finished, the man took out a phone and dialed a number, which was answered almost immediately. Hector’s voice, cold and ruthless, came through the speaker.
“Listen up—all of you. I’ve already told you once before, and this is your final briefing before departure, and likely the last time you hear my voice before you die. Your mission is a suicide attack—you’re going to die. Fire every bullet you have, empty your magazines, and kill every living person in front of you. Remember this: you must not live to see tomorrow’s sunrise. If any of you are captured, bite your tongue and end your life or bang your head on the wall—just don’t survive, and especially don’t reveal anything about me.”
“If you carry this out, I guarantee that when the sun rises tomorrow, I, Hector Salamanca, will personally wipe away all your debts. Those slumlords who lent you money at high interest will never touch your families again, and I will provide a large compensation for your loved ones to ensure they can live happily even after you’re gone.”
“I promise this in my name. Now, let the operation begin!”
The phone clicked shut.
The folding phone was snapped in two, and everyone in the car felt the confusion vanish, replaced by a mixture of frenzy and despair.
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Though Tijuana and San Diego were not far apart, from a high vantage point in Tijuana one could easily see the tall buildings and swaying green trees of San Diego. Although the country had fallen, it was still a former superpower, and compared to developing regions like Tijuana the contrast was stunning—especially to someone like Leo and the gang who had just left Tijuana.
They drove straight to San Diego’s airport, and Jackie parked outside the terminal. As soon as the car came to a halt, everyone eagerly exited.
Looking at the impressive terminal, relief washed over them.
“We finally made it.”
In just a few hours, once their plane landed, they would be able to fly directly to Night City, where José would reunite with his father and their mission would be complete.
Jackie stretched and said, “Let’s go grab something solid to eat—I’m about to starve.”
Leo was about to reply when he received a phone call. Seeing the caller was Dante Gonzalez, he motioned for silence before answering.
“Hello, Mr. Gonzalez.”
“Hello, Mr. President. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
Dante sounded anxious—he had every right to be. Under normal circumstances, they should already have been in Night City last night. Dante had been waiting at Night City International Airport since yesterday, refusing to leave until Leo and his group landed.
He refrained from calling Leo after they landed in Tijuana to avoid disrupting him, but did contact the pilot of their private jet, who confirmed they had landed and would depart from Tijuana soon.
That reassured Dante—until, hours later, he called again and couldn’t reach the pilot.
He had waited a full day and night without news of his son. That was why he called Leo.
“We ran into some trouble,” Leo said quickly, fully understanding Dante’s concern. “After the Salamanca Cartel discovered we’d rescued the hostage, they shut down Tijuana Airport and forced us, pursued by cartel operatives, across the border into San Diego.”
Dante gasped. “You were pursued? Is José okay?”
“He’s unharmed—didn’t lose a single hair. You can rest assured.”
“That’s good. What about the pilot I sent?”
“When the airport shut down, the personnel there were evacuated, but our pilot fell into Salamanca’s hands—he must have been killed.”
Dante fell silent as he imagined what had happened. “Understood. I’ll make sure his family receives compensation.”
He hesitated, then asked, “So you’re in San Diego now? When can you get back to Night City?”
“We’ve booked a flight at 1 PM this afternoon,” Leo replied. “If nothing goes wrong, we should be heading home tonight.”
“Good… good… Is my son near you? I want to speak to him.”
Leo paused. “Can’t you call him directly?”
“He doesn’t use an implant comm link—he uses a smartphone, and it fell into Salamanca’s hands when he was kidnapped.”
Leo understood. He didn’t like others accessing his tactical visor, so he instructed Lucy to fetch a data cable. One end plugged into the visor, the other into José’s neural link port, enabling the call.
They stepped aside to give father and son some privacy. Standing around waiting for José to finish wouldn’t do, so Leo turned to the others. “What do you want to eat?”
Jackie suggested, “How about Mexican food? Haven’t had it in a while and I’m really craving it.”
Mexican cuisine’s most famous offering abroad was the taco—a hard shelled corn tortilla folded U‑shaped and filled with special meat sauce and vegetables. It was the most popular food in Mexico and the most loved north of the border, though Night City’s tacos were inauthentic, as Jackie often remarked: “Not the real thing.”
In Tijuana, Jackie had a few times wanted to suggest stopping and finally trying authentic tacos. But he had refrained—mission always came first, after all.
Now they were safely across the border and out of Salamanca’s reach, so his guard finally lowered a bit. And since San Diego lay so close to Tijuana, it was perfectly reasonable that Mexican immigrants would open authentic Mexican restaurants there.
Leo gently supported his right elbow with his left hand while his right fist tapped his cheek in thought as he replied, “Tacos?” He paused, considering. Although Leo had heard of tacos before, he had never tasted them, much less authentic ones. But since Jackie wanted some, he had no objections.
“Then shall we see if there’s a Mexican restaurant nearby?” V and Lucy naturally agreed.
Meanwhile, José finished his call with Dante and respectfully handed the tactical goggles back to Leo. Leo returned the data cable to Lucy and once again put on the goggles.
At that moment, V spoke up: “So we just go in like this?” She glanced at the two trucks parked in the lot—vehicles belonging to the Salamanca Cartel. “What about our guns? Should we leave them in the car?”
They had come from Night City on Dante’s private jet, bringing several weapons cases, which now sat in the Salamanca Cartel trucks. Because airports did not allow weapons, and the terminal entrance had detection gates like those at the Cobalt Tower, they could not bring the cases inside without being detected. Leaving them in the vehicles, however, risked theft if left unattended.
Jackie frowned. “That is a problem.”
V nodded and volunteered, “No worries, you guys go in—I’ll stay with the car. Just bring me back my food when you’re done.”
Leo, scanning the area, suggested, “Or we could eat outside—find a roadside restaurant, park nearby, dine there. That way we can keep an eye on the vehicles.”
Jackie agreed, adding, “I don’t mind. But I feel bad leaving V alone.” He knew V wouldn’t mind, but he still felt uneasy relying on others’ efforts.
Then a tentative female voice spoke up: “Um, I could stay too?” Everyone turned; María was standing beside José. Having been rescued, she had remained silent the whole way, and the group had grown accustomed to ignoring her. When she heard others looking, she shrank back and then, with quiet courage, said, “I can stay. You go eat.”
José instantly responded, “If María stays, then I will too.”
“José?”
“Don’t say anything,” José replied, turning to Leo. “Gentlemen—and ladies—please go ahead. María and I will stay here.” He assured them that he would neither touch their guns nor wander off, and that they would wait in the car until the others finished or until food was brought back to them.
Although it seemed like a good idea, Leo knew it was far from safe. Even though they were already in San Diego, he had not forgotten how relentless the Salamanca Cartel had been. Unless they were back in Night City, he could not be sure the cartel wouldn’t show up again. If his instinct was right and trouble came, leaving José and María alone outside could have dire consequences.
Lucy asked, “Leo, what did you plan to do with those weapons cases?”
Leo explained that if nothing had gone wrong in Tijuana, they would have followed their original plan of boarding Dante’s private plane with the weapons cases. However, after the incident in Tijuana, he had thought instead to fly out from San Diego Airport and use a courier to ship the cases back to Night City, since personal weapons were not allowed on commercial flights.
Lucy looked surprised. “But those cases contain guns and explosives—can they really be shipped?”
Leo nodded. “Of course. This is North America, not Cerise or Japan; regulations aren’t so strict here when it comes to guns.”
Jackie paused before asking, “So why don’t we find a shipping company now and have them send everything?”
V shook her head. “Jackie, are you joking? Our flight isn’t until this afternoon; it’s only around nine a.m. If we ship the weapons now and something happens in the meantime, what then?”
In the end, V stayed behind—not only because she volunteered, but also because her presence reassured Leo.
A group of people entered the terminal building, where the flow of travelers was sparse—nowhere near the throngs typical of megacities like New York or Los Angeles, and even less crowded than the Tijuana airport.
They wandered throughout the terminal until they finally discovered a Mexican restaurant.
A server greeted them, welcoming them in and asking what they would like to eat. The menu was displayed on the walls and on the tables, much like at a fast‑food joint, except here they sold different varieties of tacos and Mexican‑style beverages.
Jackie ordered three different types of tacos—two of each, in total six tacos. Observing this, Leo asked whether he would be able to finish that amount.
Jackie just flexed his right bicep—a solid muscle that looked like a calf—and suggested Leo reconsider the question.
Leo chucked and let it go.
Leo himself ordered only three tacos, Lucy ordered two, and José and Maria shared five. Since the restaurant wasn’t busy, they found a seat by the window. Leo paid, then called V to ask what she wanted, and ordered two tacos for her as well.
