It had been a few minutes since I received a text from Afterlife confirming the completion of the gig and the transfer of the eddies into my account. As I got back into my car, another text came in, this time from Suzi.
Suzi
"Max. Get to Lizzie's as soon as possible! I’ve texted Henry to come over. I would advise you to text Alejandro."
The message took me by surprise, prompting me to get in the car and head for Lizzie's. While driving, I called Alejandro.
"Ah, good to see you haven't forgotten about me. How can I help you?" Alejandro answered.
"I need you to get over to Lizzie's; don't ask questions; just get there. I’ll see you soon," I informed him before ending the call.
Upon arriving at Lizzie's, a worker directed me to the basement, which was where I was needed. Following their instructions, I navigated through Lizzie’s and found my way to the basement. Descending the stairs, I entered a room where Jill, Rita, and Suzi were patiently waiting for me.
“What’s going on?” I asked, eager to understand the urgency of the matter.
“We’ll tell you when everyone else arrives,” Suzi replied.
Soon after, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, indicating Henry's arrival. We exchanged a fist bump before patiently waiting for Alejandro to show up.
“Did you even text him?” Suzi asked.
“I called him. Don't know how he's taking this long to show up.”
More minutes would pass until we could hear the footsteps approaching us and the voice of Alejandro getting closer and closer until finally, he arrived.
“Ah. Sorry for the long wait. I was busy with some other stuff.” Alejandro said.
With all of us here, Jill began to explain the reason she asked Suzi to call us: “Yesterday some Crimson Blades thought they were clever and attacked and killed five of our girls, with another two being held captive. I dread to fear what those sick Crimson fucks are doing to those poor girls. Normally I would get some of ours to handle this, but Suzi insisted that you three deal with this.”
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“Where are they being held?” Henry asked.
Suzi pulled up a digital map of Night City on her portable device. She pointed out an old sewer pipe on the display and confidently asserted, "That's where the Crimson Blades are holed up with the girls."
"They used to have a hideout there, and the best way to approach would be through the sewers," Suzi added, her eyes fixed on the map.
Just before we prepared to set out, Jill had a request to make.
"It's not that we don't trust you; it's just that I'd feel better if Rita and Suzi went along with you," Jill stated earnestly.
Given Me and Rita had already worked together; I had no qualms about Jill's request. Suzi, on the other hand, would keep us updated and alert us if any backup made an appearance.
"Alright, we'll get it done. But we'll need one of your cars," I stated firmly.
Jill nodded in agreement.
"Good. Henry, you'll go with Alejandro and Suzi. Rita, you're with me," I directed, establishing our team configurations.
As the five of us departed from Lizzie's establishment, Henry, Alejandro, and Suzi each headed to their respective vehicles, while Rita joined me in mine. I gestured to Henry to take the lead, indicating that I would closely follow his vehicle. While we drove the pipe, Rita asked how I was doing.
I replied, “I’m fine, just been busy these past days with gigs. But it's nice to see you again. How about you? How have you been since we last spoke?”
“Same as you. Busy with the Mox.”
It was silent after Rita finished; it took a while before I ended up saying,
"Look, I'm going to be honest with you. Ever since that night we shared things have been a bit awkward between us. I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't want things to be awkward between us.” I said I was trying to find the right words to use.
"Max, things aren’t awkward between us. I mean, yeah, we fucked so what. You're a good-looking kid; it was bound to happen anyway.” Rita replied confidently.
I laughed and smiled, “And you’re a very attractive woman.”
“Now you're trying to be romantic, but maybe we should have this conversation later.”
“How about over dinner? I know a good Italian place we can go there later tonight. Once we're finished this gig of course.”
Rita thought about my offer for a few seconds before accepting it. Part of me felt she was going to laugh and brush off my offer and change the subject.
Henry had stopped their car and got out alongside Alejandro and Suzi. I stopped the car, and the two of us got out and rejoined Henry.
“This is the place; I’ll stay in the car. Max, call me on the holo so I can keep tabs on where you guys are.”
“Got it.” I established a holo link with Suzi before she gave us the green light to make our way to the Crimson Blade’s hideout.