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Chapter 272 c
🕑 Added 2025-06-07 15:03:02 +0000 UTCChapter 272 c
After watching the braindance twice in a row, Leo exited the recording and removed the headset. Jefferson and his wife, Elizabeth, both looked at him with concern.
“So? Did you find anything in there?”
“Any clues at all? Suspicious details? Or maybe we’re just overthinking it?”
The neon and streetlights outside the car window reflected across Leo’s face as he handed the headset to Jefferson.
“Hard to say. I can’t draw any conclusions from this one segment. I need to ask a few questions first.”
Elizabeth took the headset, ejected the chip, and put it away. The headset was theirs—the only part that needed returning was the chip.
“I understand. What do you want to know? I’ll try my best to answer.”
Leo asked his first question.
“The location of the assassination looked like it was set up for a press conference. What was the event about?”
Jefferson answered, “No specific reason. Rhyne liked hearing his own voice on TV, seeing his face on the screen… stuff like that. As far as I know, the press conference was about Night City’s crime rate going down. Rhyne just wanted to take the opportunity to win some votes.”
He held a press conference just to see himself on TV? Either Jefferson was lying, or Rhyne was just obsessed with vanity. But considering all of Rhyne’s actions while in office, Leo figured the second explanation was much more likely.
What confused him even more was— “Crime rate in Night City’s gone down?”
That was news to him. NCPD patrols hadn’t increased, and the official site didn’t have any new hiring announcements.
Jefferson gave a bitter smile. “Remember half a year ago when Rhyne redistricted and cut Pacifica loose? The numbers from there don’t count anymore, so compared to last year, this year’s crime rate has supposedly gone way down.”
Leo shook his head helplessly. This kind of trickery was obvious to anyone with a brain. But the sad truth was, in a city like Night City—where nobody had the benefit of nine years of mandatory education—most uneducated civilians genuinely couldn’t tell what was going on. More often than not, they just believed whatever was on the news.
Leo thought for a second and asked another question. “Is the mayor’s security detail handled by NCPD?”
Jefferson shook his head. “No. All personnel were handpicked by Holt himself. Their pay came from a shell company that Rhyne set up—purely to avoid drawing attention. Some of them were former NCPD, but none were current.”
“He didn’t use corporate security?”
That was strange. High-profile figures usually preferred corporate security over NCPD—better personnel, better gear, and that added sense of prestige. Names like Arasaka and Militech carried weight.
“You might not believe it, but Rhyne didn’t trust corp security.”
“Oh? That’s odd. Why?”
“Because he believed no matter what corp it was, any bodyguards assigned to him would not only protect him but also monitor his every move and send the data back to the corp. So, he’d rather spend his own money than take on their "protection" ."
Interesting. Rhyne was pretty clear-headed about that. But even so, he still had to dance to the corpo’s tune. Without them, Night City couldn’t survive—even without interference from the NUSA. Part of that was Rhyne’s personal weakness, but the reasons ran deeper.
“Holt—that’s the Deputy Mayor, right?”
“Yeah. Rhyne’s second-in-command. His lapdog. He’s the one sitting in Rhyne’s chair now.”
“Temporarily filling in, sure. I’ve heard your competition with him is getting intense.”
“Didn’t know you kept up with local politics.”
“Of course. I’m a model citizen.” Leo shifted topics. “That NCPD officer who killed the assassin—the one who called himself River Ward. Do you have any info on him?”
“Detective River Ward from NCPD—he’s a good man. He’s helped us with a few cases in the past. If you want to talk to him, I can get in touch.”
“Good. I’ve got some questions for Detective Ward.”
“What kind?”
“Don’t you think the timing of his appearance was a bit too convenient? He walked in, then boom—assassination attempt. And the security guard just happened to take a hit for him at the door.”
Jefferson’s expression turned skeptical. “You think he was working with the assassin…”
Leo waved a hand to cut him off.
“No, no, Jefferson. I never said that. I’m just saying—he either got incredibly lucky, or he has a source feeding him first-hand intel.”
Jefferson thought it over and found Leo’s theory reasonable. He knew River and didn’t believe the man would ever work with an assassin. That left the informant theory as the most likely.
“I’ll give you his number. If he asks, just say it’s for work we’re doing. He won’t turn you down.”
“Just like that? You sure?”
Leo’s implication was clear: Jefferson had to sneak around just to show him a braindance, yet now he wanted Leo to openly tell River he was investigating Rhyne. What if that backfired?
“I know what you’re thinking, but trust me—Detective Ward is a good man. You can rely on him.”
“Got it.”
Just as Jefferson trusted Leo, Leo trusted Jefferson’s judgment. After that, the Peralez couple chatted with Leo about other topics. Nothing serious, just small talk now that the business was out of the way.
During the conversation, Leo was surprised to learn Jefferson used to be a gamer. But ever since setting his sights on the mayor’s seat, life had left him too exhausted to play anymore.
By the end, Jefferson even sighed.
“You know, this is probably the most relaxed I’ve felt in a long time. For a short while, I can push the stress and anxiety away and not think about anything. You have no idea how much pressure I’ve been under. Honestly, I…”
Jefferson was getting emotional, maybe about to say something too revealing. Elizabeth quickly cut in.
“Dear, we have company. Let’s not turn our friend into an emotional dumpster.”
Interrupted like that, Jefferson calmed down quickly.
“Sorry, Leo.”
“No worries.”
The atmosphere in the car grew a little awkward. Just then, Elizabeth noticed something outside the window. They had been stuck at the intersection for over a minute. The light had already turned green, and other cars had moved on—but theirs hadn’t budged.
“Carter, why aren’t we moving?”
“Ma'am, no idea what’s going on with the car in front.” Carter, the driver and bodyguard, honked a few times, but the van in front of their luxury sedan didn’t move an inch.
Leo’s instincts kicked in—something was off.
As he was about to activate scan mode and check the surroundings, the van’s rear doors suddenly flung open. Four gunmen sprang out, two crouched in front and two standing behind them, all aiming their black muzzles directly at the luxury car.
Jefferson and Elizabeth froze, minds blank. Even Carter only had time to jerk the steering wheel.
But right at that critical moment, time slowed to a crawl.
Inside the car, the three passengers. On the street, the four gunmen. Around them, pedestrians scrambling away in panic. Time seemed to crawl, every motion stretched thin like a scene caught between heartbeats.
Except for Leo.
Only Leo moved at normal speed. He drew his tech revolver from its holster, extended his arm past Carter’s ear, and fired.
Boom!
The windshield burst open with a shriek. The bullet shattered the gun in the left crouching shooter's hand, tore through his chest, then punched into the knee of the man standing behind him.
Bang—
Leo fired again. This time, the windshield couldn’t hold anymore and shattered completely, raining glass across the hood. The bullet blasted through the right crouching gunman and took out both his weapon and his partner behind him.
Time resumed.
The four gunmen screamed in pain, chaos erupting on the street. Inside the car, the three passengers were overwhelmed with relief. Jefferson turned to Leo, who was holstering his revolver, eyes filled with gratitude.
But Leo wasn’t smiling. His face darkened. In a blur, he grabbed Jefferson’s shoulder and yanked him toward himself.
Thud!
Something heavy landed on the roof. It caved in with a deep dent. A piercing metallic screech followed—a katana sliced straight through the roof, stabbing into Jefferson’s thigh.
Had Leo not pulled him aside just in time, the blade would’ve pierced his skull.
Elizabeth screamed, hands over her head.
Leo drew his tech revolver again and fired several shots through the roof. But the attacker had already retreated, pulling out the katana and leaping off the vehicle.
“Keep driving. Don’t stop.”
Leo threw the door open and jumped out of the moving sedan. Elizabeth gasped and looked out the window—but both Leo and the attacker had vanished from view.
