"Mr. L."
In the office, David stepped in, saw Rocky seated behind the desk, and greeted him.
"Sit, David. Relax."
Seeing David a little stiff, Rocky smiled and waved him to the chair opposite.
"You said before you could give me a job. What exactly is it?" David asked.
He still did not know what work Rocky meant. Rocky had said he would not waste David's Sandevistan, so David believed the job would match the kind of field work he imagined. He wanted to use the Sandevistan for real missions and become the kind of legend people told stories about, not sit in an office. He worried Rocky might have only been humoring him.
"I want you to join our Special Operations team," Rocky said. "The work can include anything: theft, intelligence gathering, assassination, robbery, military actions. You might be sent on any of these. In short, it is no different from a Night City mercenary's work, except you serve only me."
The worry eased off David's face. This was precisely what he wanted.
"No problem. I am willing to join," he said at once.
"Do not rush it. This is work, not a game. You do not do it just because it feels exciting. You will not be facing a small scuffle like the clinic run against Scavengers. What comes next is far more dangerous and could cost your life. Have you thought it through?"
"I have."
He did hesitate for a heartbeat, but he still nodded. Excitement had drawn him, but he trusted he could do the job. If he could control a Sandevistan, most people could not; he could learn the rest.
"Good. Follow the instructions for the personnel department, register, and then report to Special Operations. Someone will teach you the ropes."
"I understand. Thank you."
After thanking Rocky, David left the office, went to Personnel, and activated the whole company system on his profile. Then he followed the map to Ascension Technology's Special Operations floor.
It was not on the same level as the regular offices. Along the way, he saw no busy employees or passersby. For a moment, he wondered if he had taken the wrong route. He did not know this was the core of Ascension Technology. Lissandra's server, secret laboratory, and Special Operations were all here. These were critical assets of Ascension, so Rocky did not allow outsiders into this area.
"Hello, I—"
He stepped into the Special Operations space with a knot in his stomach. It was quiet, almost deserted. Weapons racks and terminals stood in view, but no people.
"No one? Did I come at the wrong time?" he muttered.
He was about to step deeper to check when a voice spoke beside him.
"Hey, kid. Who are you? Where did you come from?"
David jumped, looked around, and saw no one.
"Ah, sorry. I forgot to turn this off."
A figure shimmered into view next to him.
He looked down. A petite girl with twin ponytails stared up at him.
Rebecca.
"I was testing the latest cloaking device," she said. "Now answer the question."
Though she had to look up to meet his eyes, her presence did not feel small. David looked green, and he knew it. Rebecca studied him, curious why he was here. With Lissandra's control over the building, no one wandered into this zone by mistake. If he made it here, he had permission.
She scanned him with her artificial eye. The company system tagged him as a Special Operations member whose start time was just now.
"A newcomer," Rebecca decided. "Here to report, right?"
"Yes. I am David."
"New blood, nice. Come on in. I am Rebecca."
His answer matched the system, so she let it go, brought him through Special Operations, and pinged Jackie.
In under a minute, Jackie returned from the next lab, where he had been chatting with Vik.
"You must be the new guy, David. I am Jackie. Special Operations reports to me for now."
At present, Ascension's Special Operations department has only Jackie and Rebecca. In essence, it was closer to a mercenary team; to Jackie, this was a new teammate.
"I have read your file. You have not done this before. You are just a student, right?"
"Yes."
David tensed, worried Jackie would look down on him. Jackie did not. He smiled.
"It is fine. L told me you have talent. I will get you familiar with the place. Do not worry. This is an Arasaka training chip. Practice the basic combat skills first. Then I will take you on your first mission."
He handed over a chip Rocky had sourced from Arasaka. It was not high grade, but it was perfect for a rookie.
"Thank you."
David took the chip and dropped into the sim.
"Jackie, do we have a mission?" Rebecca asked when she heard Jackie say he would bring David on his first job. She had only just officially joined Special Operations herself and had not run a mission yet. It would be the first for both of them.
"Looks like it," Jackie said. "There is a problem at the factory. Someone is playing tricks. We need to find the person. It is not a big impact. Mainly it is for the kid to get his hands warm."
They used David's training time to prep.
"By the way, Rebecca, have you tested the equipment L sent over? Any good toys?"
"Not finished. I was testing it when David arrived," she said, shaking her head.