Chapter 30: You Don’t Want Arasaka to Know Either, Right?
"Arthur, you're the number one troublemaker in Night City... Remember this—if you stir up chaos again, I'm taking the hood off my head!"
The call ended with a furious click, but even Maman's exasperation couldn't hide the fact that she had agreed to Arthur's request. In truth, the entire situation wasn't as severe as she made it out to be. Blowing up a server ten years ago? That was practically ancient history by Night City standards.
In this city, survival demanded compromise. Maman understood that better than most. With the NCPD already poking around, she had no interest in inviting more scrutiny—especially since she didn't know just how deep Arthur's connection ran with Melissa, the madwoman from the Terrorist Mobile Team. Women in love were dangerous. That, at least, she respected.
Arthur stood in silence, cigarette burning slowly between his fingers, staring out into the industrial wreckage that was now his factory. If he was the city's biggest troublemaker, then what did that make Maman? He scoffed at the absurdity of the title. Night City had truly lowered its standards.
"Is everything settled?" came a calm, sharp voice from behind.
Arthur turned to see Lucy leaning against the wall, cigarette in hand, looking far too composed after the day they'd just had.
He nodded. "The Voodoo Boys won't be bothering us. But this dump? Still needs a lot of work. I'll have to talk to the Animal Gang about equipment. That won't be fun."
He gave a bitter chuckle. "Starting a business in Night City... all it makes is debt and headaches."
Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Hard-earned money, huh? Give it a week—once those brainchips hit the market, it'll be dirty money flowing in."
Arthur smirked but didn't respond.
Lucy took a final drag from her cigarette and flicked it to the ground. "Now that we're done here, I'm out. As for your 'program'—find someone else. If I ever work with you again, I'll eat my own words and become a dog."