Chapter 252

But clearly, Rogue understood.

Her eyes slowly shifted from disbelief to shock.

"Johnny?"

This time, Johnny didn't speak through the comms; instead, his voice came through the external speaker.

"Long time no see, Rogue."

Rogue's expression changed instantly—but not in the way Leo had expected.

It was full of anger and displeasure.

"Leo, what the hell is going on? This isn't funny."

"No, this really isn't a joke."

"Not a joke? You're telling me this is Johnny Silverhand?"

"I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's really him. Do you still remember that job V, Jackie, and I did for Dexter?"

"I remember. This is about that?"

"Yeah, exactly. Dexter wanted us to steal a biochip from Arasaka. But someone else wanted that chip—not for the chip itself, but for the data inside it. That data was Johnny Silverhand."

Seeing that Rogue was starting to believe it, Leo continued, "Tell you what, I'll give you two some space. Talk it out yourselves."

With that, Leo got up and left the private booth, nodded to Crispin, and made his way to the bar outside.

Right then, Claire, who happened to be free, walked over. "The usual? Cola?"

"The usual."

Claire smiled, saying nothing more.

Shortly after, she brought over a glass of cola, then turned to leave.

"Wait a sec, Claire."

"Yeah? Need something else?"

"That woman who walked out of Rogue's booth earlier—do you know anything about her?"

"Shouldn't Rogue be the one to tell you that? She definitely knows more than I do."

"I was going to ask her later. Thought it couldn't hurt to get a second opinion first."

"Then you're asking the wrong person. I don't know much. Just that she's a drifter—not sure if she left a tribe or not."

Claire thought for a moment, then added, "But you know how it is. There aren't many drifters in the city, and even fewer who are willing to work with fixers like her."

She wasn't wrong. That was just how drifters were.

Leo picked up the cola and took a sip. "I heard them arguing earlier when I got here. What was that about?"

"Seemed like Rogue matched her with a partner, and something happened between them."

"What happened exactly? Can you be more specific?"

Claire apologized, "Sorry, that's beyond what I know."

"Alright then."

Her response at least confirmed Leo's earlier guess.

A drifter coming to the city to find work usually meant only one thing—they'd had a falling-out with their tribe.

Leo himself was a similar case.

The Badlands outside the city belonged to the clans. If you were cast out, you couldn't survive out there anymore—you had to come into the city and find a way to make ends meet.

Right then, a figure came to mind: McCoy. He wondered how McCoy and the old Bakker family were doing now, ever since they got involved with the Snake Nation.

Leo sipped his cola idly, his mind drifting.

By the time half the glass was empty, Crispin's voice called out behind him.

"Boss, Rogue wants to see you."

"Got it."

Leo finished the rest of his cola in one go and headed back to the booth.

The atmosphere inside was clearly different now.

He sat down across from Rogue. "So? Did Johnny explain everything?"

Rogue sighed. "I still don't really want to believe it, but I've got to admit—no AI, no matter how advanced, could possibly recreate Johnny's infuriating personality this perfectly."

Leo let out a quiet breath of relief.

If Rogue was convinced, that was enough.

She had people, money, and resources—if anyone could figure out a way to extract Johnny Silverhand from the body of this robot, it was her.

Leo didn't particularly like Johnny, but he didn't hate him either. He just figured that if it were him stuck in some tin-can body—not even a Gundam—he'd be miserable too especially since Johnny had ended up this way because he went up against Arasaka.

After a brief exchange, Leo left the booth again.

...................

......

.

Two days later, Leo was out shopping with V and Lucy when Rogue called.

"Leo, I need a favor."

"What is it?"

His heart tensed. It had to be something related to Johnny.

"I can't explain over the phone. Come to Afterlife. It's urgent."

Hearing the weight in her voice, Leo knew it wasn't just talk. Rogue never spoke like this—at least not in Leo's memory.

"Got it. I'm free anyway. Be there soon."

"Thanks, Leo."

After ending the call, Leo explained to the two girls.

"It was Rogue. Sounds like she's got a job for us."

V blinked her gem-like eyes. "What kind of job?"

"She didn't say. Just told us to come over."

Lucy, already holding a piece of clothing, put it back on the rack and looped her arm through Leo's. "Let's go, then."

"Sorry. I promised I'd take you shopping today."

V smiled understandingly. "We can shop anytime. Commissions don't come every day. Besides, this is Rogue we're talking about. She's helped you out plenty—you should repay her when she needs something."

Leo nodded, relieved—but then noticed Lucy quietly staring at a dress she'd just put back.

"…You sure?" he asked. "I know how much you were looking forward to this."

Lucy didn't answer. She just gave him a flat look and pulled his arm tighter.

"You owe me," she said.

V tilted her head. "Us."

Leo raised an eyebrow. "Okay. What's the price?"

Lucy answered first. "One full day. No calls, no jobs, no excuses. Just us."

"And," V added, crossing her arms with a sly grin, "you're carrying all the bags."

Leo groaned. "Fine. But I draw the line at holding little pink purses."

Lucy leaned in and kissed his cheek. "You'll hold whatever I tell you to."

V gave him a playful shove toward the exit. "Let's go, pack mule. Rogue's waiting."

Leo sighed, but a smile tugged at his lips. "At this rate, I should be getting hazard pay from you two."

Lucy smirked. "Too late to bail now."

V shrugged. "You knew the risks."

…

The three took a Delamain cab to Afterlife.

In Rogue's private booth, they met with Rogue and Johnny Silverhand.

"Four drinks, over here."

Rogue's cybernetic eye flickered with a golden light as she activated a commlink. Then she gave the group a warm smile.

"Sit wherever you like."

Leo sat next to Rogue.

V and Lucy took seats a little farther away.

Claire came in carrying a tray, placing three glasses of liquor and one cola on the table. As she turned to leave, Rogue added, "Leave the bottle."

Claire set the bottle on the table and left.

Rogue raised her glass first. "Go on, don't be shy."

Leo picked up the cola.

V and Lucy each grabbed a glass of liquor.

"To your health."

"And to yours."

They downed the drinks and set their glasses down again.

"I'll be straight with you, Leo—I want your help getting Johnny out of that robot body."

Leo thought, just as I suspected.

"Sorry, Rogue. That's not something I can help with. I'm no scientist. In fact, Johnny ended up in that flathead body by sheer accident. This isn't modesty—it's just not something I can do. You'll have to find someone else."

Rogue swirled the liquor in her glass, the golden liquid shimmering under the light.

"I called you here because there's a way you can help."

"That job you did with Dexter—the one at Arasaka. The head of that secret Relic project was someone named Anders Hellman. He's the one who designed the Relic."

V asked, "How do you know it was him?"

Rogue gave her a sharp glance. "My intel told me."

Leo took another sip of cola. "Almost forgot—you've got eyes everywhere. So where's Hellman now? Don't tell me you want me to fly to Japan and kidnap him?"

"No need. He's no longer with Arasaka. For reasons unknown, he defected."

"Defected? Where to?"

Rogue gestured toward a chip on the table.

---------------------------------------

You can read 50 advanced chapters as well as 2 daily chapters on!

Patreon(.)com/IDKjust