Chapter 36 - 35: A Hot Potato and Thor’s Thoughts!
After Lucy finished speaking, the line went dead.
Arthur stared at his phone, the weight of her warning settling over him like smog. In his hands, he held what might be the most dangerous item in Night City. Just a chip—something so small it could be mistaken for a scrap of junk—but it radiated the kind of danger you didn't want to get too close to. Holding it felt like gripping the exhaust pipe of a burning hot Arasaka ride: one false move and you're cooked.
Military Tech hadn't skimped on deception. The chip had been buried deep within multiple large boxes, each layered in foam and dummy parts to draw attention away from the real payload. Whoever packed it knew what they were doing. It wasn't meant to survive discovery by corps rats, but it wasn't meant to be found by the homeless either. They had thrown out a few low-value scraps to keep wanderers distracted—but Aldecaldo wasn't just any crew. Panam had spotted the decoy, and her people, sharp and desperate, pounced.
Now the data was theirs—or rather, it had fallen into their laps like a cursed treasure. Arthur shut the lid of the box, slotting the smaller container neatly inside before sealing the case. His fingers lingered on the lid, hesitant, thoughtful. Then he turned to Thor, who stood silently by his side.
"Can we pretend I was never here?" Arthur asked, voice low.
Thor didn't respond right away. He wasn't sure what Lucy had said, but he could see it had rattled Arthur. That alone was enough to confirm the situation was bad. Real bad. Arthur didn't scare easily, and if he was looking to disappear, then Aldecaldo was in deeper trouble than they realized.
"Friends should protect friends, right?" Thor finally said, his tone calm but resolute.
Arthur raised a brow at him. "If Panam calls you dumb again, come to me. I'll make sure she regrets it."
Thor let out a dry chuckle, the kind only middle-aged men with too many regrets knew how to pull off. But Arthur didn't laugh. His mind was racing, his thoughts stuck between survival and responsibility.