"Arasaka hardware got stolen and fenced into Dogtown. Militech's looking to pin it on us. Hansen's throwing mud at both sides, saying the corps don't play fair."
"We had someone double-dipping. Sold to Arasaka, sold to Hansen. That's how it blew up."
"Now talk. That braindance. When you're done, you can fuck off wherever you want."
V had considered applying pressure. Decided it wasn't necessary. The ask wasn't unreasonable, so she gave Liam the broad strokes.
Broad strokes.
No internal Arasaka dirt. No mention of which exec was gutting which. V knew exactly where the line was.
Liam nods.
Matches his guess. The corps are neck-deep in this. Hansen wants anyone who knows the truth dead—gives him leverage in negotiations.
He and that cyberpunk crew? Just disposable lines running between the corp and Dogtown. Hansen fishing, flexing on the megacorps at the same time.
No point hiding it now.
He tells V everything he saw in the braindance.
Arasaka's already on his trail. Talking or not talking won't change much. If she can walk into Dogtown, she can reach him anywhere.
Corporate reach. Endless.
He remembers the storyline—V after Arasaka fired her. Even getting into Dogtown took effort back then.
"Turbo-R… golden tiger figurine… Japanese speaker… yeah."
V tucked the data shard containing the recording into her pocket and stood up. When she didn't offer anything else, Liam felt a sudden spike of anxiety. Had the intel from Hands, the Pacifica fixer, been a fabrication? He had to know the stakes.
"What if the intel from the Pacifica fixer is a dud?"
V's face, framed by black hair, goes cold. "Then lie down and wait to die. We'll find you. And the fixer."
God, Corporate suits are cold, Liam thought, suppressing a shiver.
The "Queen of Night City" lived up to her reputation. Right now, she was still a loyal hound for the Arasaka brass, a rising star in Counter-Intel. It wouldn't be long before she became the legend—the cyborg who could slot a dozen mods without losing her mind.
Soon, the Soulkiller Relic would force the ghost of a dead revolutionary into her skull, making her the city's most brilliant, short-lived king. But for now, only bottom-tier mercs and street-rats took fixers seriously. To V, they were just noise.
Based on the timeline, V was likely Jenkins' top operative, a high-flyer with Platinum-level Trauma Team coverage.
"What about the big names in Pacifica? I heard Dexter DeShawn is the man to see," V asked, her arms crossed. It was a reflex from her training—always be gathering intelligence.
Liam couldn't help it. He remembered a classic line from Royce of the Maelstrom gang: "The big fat pig of Pacifica? He still breathing?"
Liam didn't mean to laugh, but the slight curl of his lip didn't escape V's sharp gaze.
"You got kicked out of the Barghest, nearly died on a merc job, and you're still laughing?" V remarked dryly. "The Dogtown really did a number on your brain."
Liam shakes his head. "Dogtown problems require Dogtown solutions. All I know is Hands sold me out, and I'm going back to settle the score."
V stared at him. She already felt her life wasn't normal, but this guy was on a different level of crazy. "You actually want to go back there?"
He shrugs. "You want me to. Arasaka needs eyes in Dogtown, right? Otherwise why are you still here?"
V liked smart people. So did Jenkins.
"Alright," V said, sitting back down. The prospect of a promotion felt closer than ever. "Tell me your plan."
"I've got my own angle. But the Arasaka rat who sold you out—"
He pauses. "No, I mean the corp rat who double-crossed you. If he's really playing both sides like you said, Hansen's bound to meet him eventually. You track that meet, build the data trail. Simple."
V shook her head. "Naive. A man in his position doesn't do his own dirty work in the field."
Liam stayed silent, watching her.
V's eyes cleared as she realized what he was doing. He was waiting for her to reach the conclusion herself, making her look the fool.
"You little—"
"So you need someone in Dogtown pulling intel," Liam says smoothly. "Convenient. But that's extra."
Teasing a beautiful woman is fun. Pushing too far isn't. He's here to earn, not die.
Being on good terms with a corp has pros and cons. Right now, Arasaka's more than willing to spend to get back at Hansen.
The cyberware job wasn't charity. He knows that. Might as well squeeze some benefit out of it. No one complains about too many eddies.
As for Hands, Liam didn't plan on squeezing him again just yet. Even a cornered rat bites. For now, he just wanted Hands to lose sleep. He was going back to Dogtown to start his own operation.
The goal? To steal Hands' business right out from under him.
"Fine, what do you want?" V asked. She found Liam's audacity fascinating. Most people who dealt with the vipers of Arasaka were terrified. This "dead man walking," betrayed by his fixer and exiled from the Dogtown, was bargaining as if he held the winning hand.
"Have Dr. Viktor give me a discount on maintenance and future mods. And whatever jobs you send my way, pay me standard fixer rates. Sounds fair?"
V tapped her fingers against her arm, calculating. Liam gave her space. In this world, you banked as much as you could while you were still breathing.
"What if I offered you a spot at Arasaka instead?" she asks suddenly.
"Doing what?"
"Arasaka Counterintel. Field operations. Salary on time. Bonuses for major ops. No clocking in. Trauma Team Silver coverage. Additional private benefits. That's the package."
Trauma Team Silver. Good inside Night City. AV won't cross into Dogtown airspace.
Liam saw the play. V wanted to bag some glory for Jenkins to secure her own promotion. He was a ready-made deep-cover asset. Arasaka agents were too easily spotted in Dogtown, but a local ghost like him was the perfect proxy.
"Doesn't the company run background checks?"
Liam had concerns. He was ex-Barghest, currently at war with a Pacifica fixer, and Arasaka tended to keep their "assets" on a very short leash.
"They do," V says evenly. "I can have your file cleaned up. Arasaka's got plenty of black-ops field assets who don't officially exist. The rest is on you."
"Meaning?"
"New identity. Something that won't flag scans easily."
"Pick a new name. Codename works."
She studies him.
"One condition: I keep a locator on you. My personal terminal only."
Liam wasn't a fool. Corporate money was "steady," but it came with strings. Still, having the shadow of Arasaka behind him was a tool he could use—and V was a tool he could use, too. He'd cut the cord when the time was right.
"Fine."
"Call me Rin. R-I-N. Short, easy to remember."
V shrugged. "Works for me."