Of course, Rogue herself had been part of Alpha Team.
Alpha wasn't just made up of Johnny Silverhand's squad; it had included a few Militech special forces soldiers as well.
Beta Team, the second group, had also been composed of cyber-mercs whose skills and reputations were no less than Johnny's.
Finally, the most elite, Omega Team, was led personally by the legendary Morgan Blackhand, made up entirely of Militech's top-tier ACPA units.
Back then, the assault on Arasaka Tower had started off smoothly.
But everything changed when Adam Smasher arrived—
Alpha Team suffered massive casualties.
Those legendary mercenaries fell one by one under Smasher's assault.
If not for Morgan Blackhand's timely arrival, Rogue, Spider Murphy, and the others would have never made it out alive.
Just trying to bomb Arasaka Tower had been that difficult.
To assassinate Saburo Arasaka?
The difficulty would be exponentially higher.
Rogue wasn't foolish enough to believe that Leo's group had truly been responsible for Saburo's death.
—
After ending the call.
Leo turned back toward the others in the safehouse, who were watching him anxiously.
"A contact at NCPD says Arasaka hasn't issued any public bounty through official channels," Leo said.
V couldn't believe it. "Could it be a long con? Like... letting us relax before striking?"
Leo shook his head.
He had a different theory.
"No. Think about Yorinobu Arasaka's position. Saburo died without officially naming a successor. Arasaka Corporation must be in chaos right now."
"Don't forget—emperors never have just one heir."
"Besides Yorinobu, Hanako and Michiko are both Saburo's descendants. They have legitimate claims to leadership too."
"And inside Arasaka Corp, there are already Hanako and Michiko factions."
"Yorinobu's hands are full fighting for the throne and purging dissent. He doesn't have time to play games with us."
Jackie gaped. "You mean... this is really over?"
It wasn't just V and Jackie— even Leo himself found it hard to believe.
Just a day ago, Dexter, a veteran fixer, had panicked so hard over this that he'd tried to kill them to cover his ass.
Who could've imagined that after just one night, a desperate, no-win situation would suddenly turn around?
Still, to be cautious, Leo suggested they stay holed up in the safehouse for another two days and keep monitoring the situation.
.........
..
.
"Let's return to the week's biggest headline—Saburo Arasaka, President and CEO of Arasaka Corporation, has been assassinated."
"Reports say that the head of the Japanese corporate giant was murdered during a private family gathering, inside the company's Konpeki Plaza hotel."
"Yorinobu Arasaka, son of the deceased, claims corporate rivals were behind the assassination. However, so far, no evidence has been produced to support this accusation."
"Analysts suggest that the assassination might be a smokescreen, designed to divert public attention from Arasaka's mounting internal issues."
"Stay tuned—after the break, we'll interview experts on Arasaka's crisis management strategy."
Click.
Leo turned off the TV with the remote.
Then he contacted Linari again.
She confirmed once more—no bounty issued by Arasaka through NCPD channels.
He called Rogue too.
Same story.
No word among the fixers either.
Arasaka wasn't offering any bounties at all.
At last, Leo decided—they could risk heading back to check their homes.
It had already been three days since Konpeki's "execution concert."
During that time, they had been glued to every news broadcast.
But not a single word mentioned them.
If Leo went back and found no Arasaka ambush waiting,
then maybe, just maybe, it really was over.
Originally, Leo wanted V and Jackie to stay behind.
But they insisted on sticking together.
Unable to sway them, Leo agreed to bring them along.
He also decided to bring the empty relic cryo-box and the silver case carrying Falchion with him.
Seeing him haul out the empty box, V frowned. "Why bring that?"
Leo couldn't explain it. "Just a hunch. It might come in handy."
V shrugged and didn't press the issue.
"Take my car?" Jackie asked.
Leo shook his head. "No. We call Delamain."
Driving their own vehicle would be too easy to trace. Delamain cabs, on the other hand, were everywhere in the city.
Plus, those cabs were armored tough enough to punch through a warzone.
If shit hit the fan, they'd rely on Delamain for a tactical retreat.
—
Meanwhile.
The penthouse suite at Konpeki Plaza.
Saburo Arasaka's body had already been removed and processed.
The suite had been scrubbed clean.
All furniture and electronics replaced.
Yorinobu Arasaka stood silently at the spot where his father had died, his thoughts unreadable. Suddenly, his cybernetic eye gleamed with a cold blue light.
"Lord Yorinobu."
A voice sounded in his mind—one of his trusted agents assigned to monitor Takemura.
"Speak."
"Takemura appears to have discovered something. He's headed to Watson District. What are your orders?"
"If he's discovered anything... you know what to do."
"Understood."
"And the other matter I assigned you?"
"I pulled all the surveillance footage from Konpeki Plaza, but it's all obscured—heavy anti-detection interference, top-end grade."
"..."
"But I've sent people onto the streets to gather intel the old-fashioned way. Sometimes the simplest methods work best."
"Good."
"One more thing, Lord Yorinobu—Adam Smasher's backup consciousness is missing from Mikoshi."
"What?"
As Arasaka's top enforcer, Adam Smasher had a copy of his mind backed up in Mikoshi.
If the backup was gone, it could only mean one thing:
someone had stolen it.
"Should we initiate a search?"
"No."
Whoever did it likely belonged to one of the rival factions inside Arasaka. Yorinobu's Eagle faction was still too weak to crush all opposition.
Even within his own faction, there were whispers of doubt—suspicions that he had been involved in Saburo's death.
It was a shame to lose Smasher. But Yorinobu couldn't risk igniting a civil war just yet.
"Leave it."
The blue light faded from his eye.
He cast one last look at the spot where his father's corpse had lain.
Without another word, Yorinobu turned and took the elevator down.
—
"Delamain, pull over."
Screeech.
The cab slammed on its brakes.
The door popped open.
Leo tossed the empty relic cryo-box onto a pile of garbage on the sidewalk, scattering a cloud of buzzing flies.
He slammed the door shut. "Alright. Let's go."
V and Jackie exchanged puzzled glances but said nothing.
Whatever Leo's reasons, they trusted him.
"Where to first?" Jackie asked.
"My place," Leo said.
His apartment in Glen District wasn't like others.
He owned the whole damn floor.
If Arasaka knew their real identities and was planning an ambush, Leo's place would be the prime spot.