Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 70: Escape to Freedom (Patreon)

Hearing the distant sirens, Sasha tightened her grip on her Power pistol. A flicker of anxiety crossed her eyes.

"Listen, Sasha. Your identity's been exposed. You can't stay in Night City!"

Pantheon took off his helmet, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes.

"The security robots got a clear look at your face, and you didn't have time to erase the records of your intrusion. With Biotechnica's resources, they'll track you down in no time if you stay here. You need to leave the city right now. Head into the Badlands or hide out in Dogtown until this blows over."

Sasha bit her lip. Now that she'd calmed down, she knew he was right.

"I'll do what you say."

Pantheon breathed a sigh of relief. His greatest fear had been that Sasha would let her emotions take over and insist on staying to see the results of her actions.

A Chevillon Emperor rounded the intersection and came to a gentle stop beside them.

After Sasha cut off communications, Maine hadn't fled. He'd clung to the faint hope that she might return.

Or, failing that, that he'd at least be able to recover her body.

"All right, you lovebirds. You'll have plenty of time to go on a date once we're out of City Center."

The moment Maine saw Pantheon, the weight on his chest seemed to disappear. He let out a long breath and couldn't resist teasing them.

"Knock it off and let's get moving! The NCPD will be blocking the roads any minute."

Pantheon rolled his eyes.

Sasha simply smiled, though it was clear she'd already made up her mind about something.

So what if he had a girlfriend? That didn't bother her.

That was just how girls in Night City were.

The car set off toward Japantown, where they could reach the nearest bridge across the water.

Pantheon frowned as NCPD patrol cars sped past outside the window.

"Maine, once we're out of City Center, take Sasha into the Badlands and lie low for a while. I'll get in touch with the Aldecaldos for you."

For some reason, Biotechnica was acting especially frantic tonight.

Pantheon vaguely remembered that even after what happened to Sasha in the anime, the response hadn't been anything like this.

Apparently, "Securicine" was extremely important to Biotechnica.

"Was Faraday the fixer for this gig?"

A dangerous gleam flashed through Pantheon's eyes as he asked.

"No. Someone else."

Maine kept his eyes on the road, overtaking several vehicles.

"He's all right. We can trust him."

Pantheon was certain the fixer had another corporation backing him.

As long as that corporation wasn't completely useless, the fixer should be fine even if it couldn't make the whole scandal disappear.

But Sasha and the others had shown their faces. Getting out of town for a while was still the safest option.

Sasha seemed to be worrying about the same thing.

"Will Biotechnica come after us?"

Pantheon gently smoothed her hair.

"Don't worry. They'll have much bigger problems to deal with soon."

He glanced back at the Biotechnica building and smiled to himself.

He had no intention of revealing the extent of his netrunning skills just yet. But there was a saying: wherever you went, you left traces behind.

To him, the best way to hide those traces wasn't to erase them. It was to add so many new ones that nobody could tell which were real.

Before long, Biotechnica would receive the gift he'd left behind.

"NCPD checkpoint! Slow down! Stop the vehicle!"

A blockade stretched across the bridge ahead. Several police cars stood across the center of the road, with long strips of police tape marking either side.

As they approached, Pantheon made out more of the defenses.

The NCPD had brought alloy barricades and retractable road spikes. Two towering unmanned Minotaur mechs stood guard on opposite sides of the checkpoint.

Their massive metal bodies gleamed coldly beneath the searchlights. Rotating machine guns turned slowly, ready to tear apart any suspect foolish enough to cause trouble.

"Relax. Leave this to me."

Maine spoke softly, suppressing what looked suspiciously like a grin.

The window rolled down, letting in rain and the faint smell of gunpowder.

An NCPD policewoman approached with a tablet in her hand, inspecting everyone inside with a wary eye.

Fortunately, the three of them had already changed clothes. Their previous outfits would have given them away immediately.

"It's the middle of the night. Why aren't you people at home?"

The officer sounded irritated, and it was easy to tell she was in a bad mood.

Maine put on an expression of weary frustration and gestured toward the back seat.

"Officer, don't get me started. It's all that brat's fault! That little bastard ran off with my daughter in the middle of the night! If her old man doesn't keep an eye on them, who knows what they'll get up to?"

The policewoman looked into the back seat.

Pantheon's mouth twitched.

Well played, Maine. You're always calling me your brother, and now you're trying to be my father!

But he reacted quickly enough, slouching back into the seat and adopting the insolent air of a troublesome teenager.

"Hmph! What's it to you, old man?"

Sasha wrapped her arms protectively around Pantheon and looked at Maine with wounded indignation.

"Dad, you don't understand! He's different!"

Even knowing it was all an act, Maine felt his blood pressure rise. For a moment, he genuinely wanted to kill Pantheon.

The policewoman, on the other hand, found the scene painfully familiar. Every family had its own problems.

Still, something about them bothered her.

Her eyes moved from Maine's dark face to Sasha's distinctly Slavic features. One of her eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

A Black father and a white daughter?

Was changing skin color fashionable in Night City these days? Or had he adopted her?

She had plenty of questions, but she kept them to herself rather than pry into a stranger's family affairs.

"All right. Stop yelling at the kids."

The officer waved a hand, her tone softening.

"Teenagers are like that. My son's no different."

Maine seized the opening and gave her a look of heartfelt sympathy.

"Exactly, Officer. Kids these days are impossible. You got any advice for a father like me?"

"Not really advice. Just talk to them more. You can't always act like the absolute ruler of the house."

She sounded as though she spoke from experience.

After checking the vehicle's scan results one last time, she confirmed that nothing appeared wrong, tapped a few commands into her tablet, and waved them through.

"Go on. It's not safe to hang around here."

"Thank you so much, Officer! You're a wonderful person!"

Maine thanked her profusely as he rolled up the window.

The road spikes withdrew, and the massive Minotaur mechs took several heavy steps aside to clear the road.

As Maine's car drove away, a young officer came over to the policewoman.

"Officer, are we really letting them leave? There are still a few checks we haven't completed."

She gave him an icy look.

"What department are you from? Who's your supervisor?"

That rookie hadn't stopped to consider who'd been standing right at the front of the checkpoint.

If they'd actually found something in that car, what would have happened to her?