As Max looked out at the ocean, and his body and mind were transported back to the interrogation room he was currently sitting in.

“I’ll ask again! What happened at that yacht party, Max?” Richard asked.

“Why do you care anyway? It’s out of your jurisdiction.” I replied.

“It was! Out of our jurisdiction, but when a wealthy businessman makes major moves in Night City and wants to find out what happened to his wife, then it becomes a major fucking issue for us. So, tell me. What the fuck happened on that yacht!"

The interrogation door opened and instep someone who was wearing a black suit with a white shirt. I could tell by Richard’s reaction that he was someone higher up in the NCPD.

“Detective Philips I request that they let my client go.” The man asked.

A quiet fuck creped out of Richard's mouth. He walked over and unhandcuffed me and allowed me to leave. I walked out of the interrogation room with the strange man. In the hallway the stranger said,

“It’s been a long time, Mr. Carver. I trust that nothing serious happened in there."

“Graves? I thought you were busy with the Patriots."

“We were, but something's come up at our end, and we’ve handed the investigation back to you. Before we continue, I think we should get your friend. Do you agree?"

"Yeah..."

The two of us made our way to the second interrogation room, our footsteps echoing in the sterile hallway of the precinct. Inside, we found Henry seated with a cold expression, facing Oliver across the table.

Graves told the same information he'd shared with Richard. Just like Richard, Oliver had no choice but to comply. With a resigned sigh, he reached for the handcuffs that restrained Henry, carefully undoing them and letting him leave.

“What the heck’s going on?” Henry asked, confusion etched on his face as he looked between us.

I felt just as bewildered. All I could do was follow Graves, grappling with the uncertainty of our circumstances and waiting for him to reveal why he had arranged for the two of us to be released.

As we stepped outside the NCPD precinct, the cold, heavy rain and fast winds hit my face like icy daggers piercing my skin. Graves pulled out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it, the flame briefly illuminating the lines of stress on his face, then took a long drag, exhaling slowly as if gathering his thoughts.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

After a moment, he reached into his pocket again, retrieving a small folded note. He handed it over to me. I unfolded the top part and was greeted by a series of meticulously scrawled numbers.

“Aw, how sweet of you. You’re giving me your number. As flattered as I am, you're really not my type,” I remarked, my sarcasm a shield against the tension that hung in the air.

Graves’ demeanor shifted instantly; irritation crept into his tone as he replied, “Take this seriously, Mr. Carver.”

“Well, what the heck do you want me to do with these numbers?” I shot back, waving the note slightly as if to emphasize my bewilderment.

He took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling upward. “I assume the two of you know a netrunner. Have them decipher the location hidden in those numbers. Once you’ve pinpointed the location, you are to investigate it.”

“Wait a second. Can you not give us any more details? This sounds way too sketchy,” I protested, my unease growing at the vague instruction.

Graves released a puff of smoke, his expression hardening. “Fine. If you recall, we took over the investigation into Mr. Richards and his whereabouts. However, something unexpected has come up on our end that requires our immediate attention. Therefore, we’re handing the investigation back to you, and those numbers are the last lead we uncovered.”

With a swift motion, Graves extinguished his cigarette underfoot and turned towards a blacked-out SUV parked nearby. He slid inside, the tinted windows obscuring his expression as he glanced back at us, adding, “I’ll be sending someone to check in on the investigation.”

The engine roared to life, the vehicle pulling away swiftly, the cold air wrapping around us like a shroud as we stood there.

“Oh, thanks. Don’t even give us a car or anything.” I said angrily as we had no way back to Lizzie’s.

“That’s why you should have a self-driving system in your car.” Henry said

I wasn’t in the mood for a debate on having a self-driving system in your car. We hitched a ride back to Lizzie’s; once we walked inside, the warm air of the building was nice. We could see in the distance Suzi and Alejandro watching over the injured.

Alejandro quickly spotted us. “Hey! Max! Henry! Glad that you two are fine.”

Suzi asked what the badges wanted with us. I replied back that it wasn’t anything serious, just something that we had done years ago. I explained that Henry and I can’t stay long as we needed to do something.

I gave Suzi the note Graves had given me.

“Can you find where this place is?” I asked.

“Does the sun shine? Of Course I can.” Suzi walked over to her laptop and began finding the location me and Henry needed to go to.

Seconds passed until Suzi called me over; she turned over her laptop and showed us the location of a hotel.

“That was fast.”

As I and Henry made our way out of Lizzie’s, Suzi asked for the reason why she needed to find a budling. She had that doubtful look in her eye; she was going to find out sooner or later. I needed to find a way to prolong the search.

“It's nothing that you need to be concerned about. It’s just a gig from someone me and Henry knew back in the day.”

She believed us for now.

We walked outside and got into my car. I started the engine and headed for the location.