Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 42: Serial Kidnappings (Patreon)

Pantheon hesitated before answering the call.

“Yeah? Who’s this?”

“Are you the famous King?”

A man’s voice came from the other end of the line.

Pantheon’s mouth twitched. Did everyone in Night City have to start with flattery?

“Get to the fucking point!”

“Whoa, easy there. This is serious. The lives of a lot of innocent young women are at stake.”

Jacob’s words sounded grave, but there was no anxiety or concern on his face. If anything, he looked faintly condescending.

Pantheon was already in a foul mood and had been considering finding a few scumbags to take it out on.

At Jacob’s words, his tone softened a little.

“All right. Tell me what happened.”

Maintaining his polished manner, Jacob began to explain.

Jacob Miller was an independent reporter at a small radio station. While investigating a story, he had stumbled onto a string of kidnappings.

Further digging revealed dozens of similar cases. The victims were almost all attractive women who had been alone when they disappeared.

Just as he was preparing to investigate further, NCPD officers came knocking.

They warned him to drop the investigation for everyone’s sake, threatening to make him regret it if he refused.

Jacob pretended to back down but kept investigating in secret. And he eventually found a lead.

Callum Black, a low-ranking NCPD patrol officer.

Jacob had discovered that one of the kidnapped girls had been seen in the back of Callum’s patrol car.

Determined to get to the truth, he wanted to uncover the rest of the criminal network.

So he approached Regina with a gig. He wanted someone to break into Callum’s home and look for evidence.

Regina’s corporate ties made it difficult for her to involve herself directly.

But she admired Jacob’s determination and courage, so she recommended Pantheon.

“So you want me to break into that asshole cop’s place and look for evidence?”

Pantheon narrowed his eyes, sizing up the so-called independent journalist in his suit and tie.

Something about the man felt off.

“Exactly! Crimes this vile cannot be swept under the rug. Someone has to expose the corruption inside the NCPD!”

“And if nobody else will speak up, then I will!”

Jacob raised his voice, practically trembling with righteous passion.

The man looked ready to die for truth and justice. Seeing such apparent conviction, Pantheon lowered his guard for the moment.

Maybe he had judged Jacob too harshly. Night City was full of scum and idiots, but a decent person could still turn up now and then.

“All right, I’ll take the job. Free of charge. I hope I get to read your story soon.”

“Great!”

Jacob looked delighted. Whether it was because things were going so well or for some other reason, Pantheon could not tell.

“I’ve sent you the intel. Callum’s out on patrol tonight, so his place will be empty. It’s the perfect opportunity.”

Pantheon skimmed the information Jacob had sent. Once he confirmed it checked out, he headed straight for Callum’s apartment.

...

Callum lived on Sutter Street, at the edge of Kabuki.

The neighborhood straddled the border of Little China and Kabuki. All kinds of people lived there, including plenty of undocumented immigrants.

The NCPD barely bothered policing the place. It was practically left to fend for itself, which suited people like Callum perfectly.

Standing outside the dilapidated building, Pantheon took in the haphazard illegal extensions surrounding it and began to understand why Callum was working with the Tyger Claws.

A low-ranking NCPD patrolman’s salary barely covered living expenses.

Callum lacked the influence to extort anyone important. At most, he could squeeze a few unlucky nobodies.

So he preyed on ordinary people without connections and undocumented immigrants.

Following Jacob’s directions, Pantheon found Callum’s apartment.

There was no additional security on the door. Just a lock and two layers of sheet metal.

Then again, the neighbors were either petty thugs or dirt-poor. Who would dare break into an NCPD officer’s home?

He took out his tools and worked the lock for a few seconds.

Click.

The lock sprang open.

In a game, a lock this flimsy would probably require no more than three points in Technical Ability.

Pantheon slipped inside and locked the door behind him.

For a moment, he thought he had entered the wrong apartment.

The building looked like a slum outside, but the apartment resembled an upscale private club. He opened the fridge and found it packed with expensive Real Water bottled water.

Top-shelf liquor lined the kitchen counter, while the living room boasted the latest sofa and television.

Pantheon snorted. He had given this idiot too much credit.

Callum had money to spare, yet instead of upgrading his security or cyberware, he had spent it all on luxuries.

Shaking his head, Pantheon started searching for evidence.

Nothing in the living room looked especially suspicious. In the bedroom, his eyes went straight to the computer on the desk.

He powered it up. As expected, it was encrypted.

Cracking that level of encryption himself would take far too long. Better call for help.

Lucy was probably asleep by now. Kiwi, then.

“Are you there? Are you asleep?”

Less than two minutes later, Kiwi replied.

“...”

Pantheon pretended not to understand her silence and gave her access to the computer’s local network port.

“Three thousand eddies. The faster, the better.”

Pantheon skipped the small talk and went straight to the money.

A few minutes of work for what an ordinary person earned in a month.

Kiwi seemed to wake up instantly. He heard a lighter click, followed by her lazy, slightly husky voice.

“Two minutes.”

“Why is the NCPD still using the same old encryption? It’s been years. Haven’t they upgraded?”

Pantheon watched Kiwi work, unable to resist making a few comments.

“Knew it. There’s another layer. Is that the Tyger Claws’ own encryption?”

“Mm.”

Kiwi wasted no words.

Before two minutes had passed, she had broken through every layer of encryption. Kiwi let out a breath over the comms.

“Done.”

Her voice betrayed no emotion.

“Next time, give me some warning. This one’s on me. Just hit that bastard a few extra times for my sake.”

“Business is business.”

Pantheon transferred the money as he browsed the files. The hidden emails laid bare the secret dealings between Callum and the Tyger Claws.

His expression slowly turned cold.

[From: Jae-Hyun Lee]

[1. Sophia Lopez, 23, Latina, assistant pastor at a community church

2. Emma Brown, 21, white, an immigrant from the UK with heavy debts

3. Milani Ulysses, white, bar hostess, member of The Mox

The latest shipment looks excellent. The higher-ups are very pleased. Looks like another payday for you.]

The attachments showed the girls bound like livestock inside a cramped, dimly lit shipping container. Six or seven more girls could be seen in the background, all in the same condition.

The message was dated two days earlier. Given how quickly Scavengers operated, there might still be time to save them.

The possibility gave Pantheon fresh urgency. He scrolled through the files faster, looking for anything useful.

[From: Callum]

[This job’s getting harder. I think someone’s watching me. Might have to lie low for a while.]

That message was five days old. Apparently, the idiot cop had at least some sense of counter-surveillance.

Then he opened the photos in a hidden folder, and his pupils widened in horror.

The photos documented how these monsters tortured the girls and recorded it all as illicit braindances.

Girls who died under torture were dissected for their usable organs and cyberware.

The remains were thrown away in dumpsters, left on beaches, or buried in random holes out in the Badlands.

The bastards had sent those grisly photos directly to Callum as a warning.

He was to keep doing his job and forget any thoughts of running.

Pantheon tensed so hard that he crushed a corner of the desk in his grip.

Those bastards were dead. Not even Jesus could save them now!