Heywood has more clean, decent areas than I imagined.
But the place I need to go is Vista del Rey.
A district where the Valentinos and 6th Street clash at every opportunity—and where the little shop my sister set up in advance is located.
I was driving toward the location marked in the vehicle’s navigator, and I had my suspicions, but...
To think the groundwork my sister had laid was with the Valentinos.
The Valentinos are one of the gangs in Night City that can be reasoned with, to some extent.
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Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several gunshots rang out through Vista del Rey.
It was such an everyday occurrence that people merely moved to avoid stray bullets.
No one was particularly startled.
Grrrrr!! Grrrrr!!!
Had it not been for the old-fashioned vehicle kicking up a storm of dust with its thunderous roar,
the old-fashioned pickup truck would not have drawn everyone’s attention.
6th Street and the Valentinos briefly froze with their weapons trained on one another.
Then the pickup’s door opened, and someone wearing a peculiar, plain white mask stepped out.
"Greetings, Valentinos. Do you happen to need any help?"
A man whose gentlemanly manner did not suit the situation at all, holding an assault rifle and a pistol that suited it even less.
"Have you perhaps not heard about me? I am the White Crow you were scheduled to meet today."
The White Crow.
That was how the man introduced himself.
"Is 6th Street the problem? Shall I take care of them for you?"
Thrown by this bizarre situation, both gangs could only stare blankly at the man.
"Unless you have some special reason not to, could you guide me now?"
It was clearly a voice altered by a modulator, so why did it send chills down their spines?
Why were alarm bells ringing in their heads, screaming that he was someone they should not provoke?
"Will you guide me?"
"Y-Yes. We will guide you right away."
At the man’s voice, which sounded like an ultimatum, a Valentino officer answered at once.
"Then let’s go."
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6th Street and the Valentinos happened to start a shootout just then, so I stopped the car.
To conceal my identity, I put on the mask I had in the vehicle, picked up my customized guns, stepped before them with an exceptionally friendly attitude, and made a polite request.
The Valentinos kindly began showing me the way.
Thanks to their guidance, I was able to reach the meeting place comfortably.
"Nice to meet you. I am Kangal Spitz, the person you arranged to meet with this time."
"I’m Gustavo Orta."
"I’ll get straight to the point. Do business with us—and with me."
I took out and handed Gustavo the twenty contracts my sister had prepared in advance, along with the three contracts I had drafted on my way here.
"Our boss always puts the most important terms on the first page of a contract."
"So you’re saying this clause is the most important: ‘The Valentinos shall cooperate with Korax, receive a measure of support, and shall not interfere with Korax.’"
"That is correct, Mr. Orta."
"What are you bastards trying to do in Night City?"
"Cleanse the stagnant filth and bring about a new change."
Gustavo’s eyes widened, then his expression immediately soured.
"I know what Mr. Orta thinks of us, but even so..."
"You’re saying you’ll be different?"
"Korax was Nomad-born. Freedom and romance are ingrained in our bones."
"Ha! Nomad romance, huh?"
"Our romance is our creed—our very foundation, you could say."
As though he found that amusing, Gustavo smiled with his eyes and adopted a far gentler attitude than before.
"All right. I just sign here?"
"Yes, that is all you need to do."
"One last question."
"I will answer as fully as I can, within the limits of what I am able to say."
"These personal contracts of yours are full of nothing but ordinary non-aggression clauses."
"I gave them to you because I do not want pointless misunderstandings or friction with the Valentinos."
"Is that really why?"
"Yes. I want us to become closer, get along well, and treat each other right."
"Is this Nomad romance too?"
"You could say that."
He stared at me intently, like a mind reader trying to verify the truth.
"I’ll sign these contracts too."
"Thank you, Mr. Orta."
It seemed Nomad romance still worked in Night City after all.
Thanks to that, I resolved the matter easily—and took care of some personal business while I was at it.
Now all that remained was to meet with Viktor in Watson and talk face-to-face, then go to my place, write the report, and unpack my things.
I was enjoying the feeling that today would end peacefully as I drove through downtown when—
Crash!!
Apparently, that had been a huge mistake.
It looked like this was going to be a very long day.
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