As we disembarked from the train and ascended the stairs to leave the metro station, we made our way to a shop called “Los Comida.” Inquisitively, I asked Henry if this was the correct location, and he promptly opened the note we had been given, confirming that we were indeed at the right place.

A rich and vibrant medley of spices enveloped me as soon as I entered the shop, making me instinctively cover my nose. "What is that smell? It's overwhelming!" I exclaimed.

Henry explained, "It's a combination of spices coming from the back, I believe." I checked my nose for any sign of bleeding, but thankfully, it was unharmed. As we ventured toward the back of the shop, we suddenly found ourselves held at gunpoint and interrogated about our purpose for being there.

"Judging by the smell, I can see why you guys aren’t popular around here," I sarcastically remarked, eliciting another demand for an explanation from our captors.

"We’re here to meet Hector; we’ve heard that he’s running for mayor, and we wanted to learn more about his platform," I responded. Just then, a door swung open, revealing a tall, dark-haired man puffing on a cigar. "Oh yeah!? Who told you this?" he challenged.

Despite the temptation, I refrained from throwing Reece under the bus, realizing the ramifications it could entail. "The source of our information is irrelevant. What's crucial is who you're up against in the mayoral race in NC," I asserted.

Hector gestured for me to divulge the name of his competitor, prompting me to carefully consider someone with both a formidable reputation and the potential to challenge Hector's bid for mayor of Night City. "Tony Almano. I assume you’re familiar with him," I mentioned.

Hector's eyes lit up with recognition. "No way. That man was my idol. Come, you must tell me more," he insisted, leading us into what appeared to be his office.

“So how is the old man? I haven't heard of him since 2078.”

There was a pause in the conversation; the last time me and Henry had any sort of contact with Tony was in 2078, more specifically April of 2078.

“He’s keeping well; he’s very busy at the moment with the election coming up in a few months.”

“So, what does Tony want with me?” Hector asked.

“He would like you to not run as a major for NC, and we would also appreciate it if you could remove the contract you have on someone called Reece.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Hector laughed, “No can-do, friend. You see, I’m this far in planning my speech and campaign to give up just because my idol is also running for mayor. But I will consider removing the contract with your friend. But in return, I expect a job done for me.”

“You know what fuck this.” I got up and, without thinking about it, shot Hector in the head, killing him.

“What the fuck, Max! Are you fucking insane!?”

“I’m sick of doing jobs for people. Come on, let's get out of here.”

Not surprisingly, when we opened the door, bullets started firing upon us. We took cover at the side of the door, and when there was an opening, we returned fire.

“Got any ideas?” Henry asked.

“Yeah, just one, cover me,” I replied.

I activated my Sandevistan and watched as time slowed down to a point where people were barely moving. Normally whenever I sandevistan, people move at a slow rate, but this was the work of the kerenzikov and the reflex tuner.

I was moving at lightning-fast speed, casually dispatching my enemies with one single bullet before they had the chance to realize that they were dead.

Once finished killing our enemies, I deactivated the sandevistan before quickly dodging out of the way of one last attacker who came swinging at me with a machete; thankfully, Henry shot the machete-wielding psycho right in the head.

“How the hell did you do that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your speed. Max, the second you activated your sandy, you were gone. Did you get new upgrades?”

“Look, I might have bought a kerenzikov and a reflex tuner. But that was all.”

Henry's expression conveyed both annoyance and disappointment as he confronted me. "You do remember the reason why you got that Sandevistan installed in your neck, right? You also remember what you said once you had it installed," he said, reminding me of our previous conversation.

In response, I justified my decision, "Look with everything going on, we need all the advantages we can get, and if it means I need to go and get some new cyberware, then I'll get the cyberware just so I can get the advantage against our enemies. Come on, let's get out of here before the badges show up."

Feeling the urgency, we hastily left the shop and sought refuge in a nearby market. Henry quickly contacted Reece through the holo to update him on the Hector situation.

Reece: “Henry, I trust you have good news for me.”

Henry: "Hector's dead."

Reece: "Nice work. As promised, I'll talk to the elite and see what I can do with your investigation into the Patriots. In the meantime, you two do whatever you do to pass the time," Reece responded.

As the call ended, Henry assured me that Reece would keep his word and get the elite off our backs while looking into the Patriots. With that, we were free to pursue our activities without interference.

Henry asked what we were going to do now. I explained that I still had some unfinished business with Karim and that I should go and see him. Henry was understanding and claimed that he'd do some odd jobs in the afterlife to pass the time.

We walked back to the metro and got off at different stops; I got off at City Center while Henry got off at Watson.