Chapter 36: Operation Begins

Watson District, Arasaka Waterfront.

Konpeki Plaza.

Rocky rolled the Deluxo up to the main gate, letting it coast to a smooth stop.

In the passenger seat, Lucy had a tablet wired into her neural port. She ran one last check on their comms link to him and Jacky, watched the signal bars hold steady, then spoke.

"Connection's clean. You're good to go in."

"Then let's start." Rocky nodded. "Jacky, hand over everything. Lucy, in a minute, the car'll switch to auto and head for the underground garage. You link up with us from there."

He took Jacky's weapons one by one and dropped them into the storage space in his left hand, then gave Lucy a quick look.

"See you inside."

He opened the gullwing door and stepped out into the Konpeki lights.

"Oh man. This place is really overdoing it," Jacky said when they reached the front steps.

"The most high-end hotel in Night City. What did you expect, Balsatar?" Rocky said, smiling at him.

He was back at Konpeki Plaza again. Last time he'd come as V's stand-in. This time, he was here for himself.

"Hey, about time we found out how the corpo dogs live," Jacky said. "Let's go, Fabien."

They walked up to the security checkpoint.

Guards swept them with full-body scanners. No alarms, no red lights. Clean.

"Please, come in, gentlemen."

With security and the concierge guiding them, the two of them crossed into the lobby. In suits, freshly groomed, they fit the décor. The staff treated them accordingly.

"We'd like to check in," Rocky told the lobby receptionist.

Konpeki's whole design screamed luxury and status. Gold as the primary color, polished surfaces everywhere, even the concierge staff wearing golden dermal plating as decorative "skin."

Rocky didn't think it looked good. He doubted many of the staff had picked it themselves.

"Welcome, sirs. Do you have a reservation?" the gold-plated receptionist asked.

"Yeah. Name's Fabien."

"Alright, Mr. Fabien. I'll pull up your booking now. Please hold for a moment."

She typed his alias into the terminal. The reservation popped up on her screen.

"Mr. Fabien, you've booked a Silver Suite on the fortieth floor, correct?"

"That's right. Something wrong with that?" Rocky asked.

She hesitated for half a second, as if weighing her words.

"Not wrong, sir. It's just that for elite guests like you, we do offer more advanced options—for example, our Green Gold Suite on the forty-second floor. Larger and more luxurious, daily in-room catering included, plus an additional occupancy insurance package for extra security and premium services. It fits your status much better. Would you like to consider an upgrade?"

Her smile was professional and pretty. Her pitch was pure upsell—higher tier, much higher price.

Rocky had expected something like this. People in places like this never could resist squeezing a little more.

"Heh. So what you're saying is the room I booked is beneath me? Or that I'm low grade?" he asked.

"N-no, sir, not at all… I just thought you might prefer better service. I definitely didn't mean it that way. I'm very sorry, please forgive me."

His sudden shift in tone scared her. The sharp look in his eyes made her feel like her direct superior was dressing her down on the spot. Fear kicked in by habit.

She'd seen how he carried himself the moment he walked in. The clothes, the posture, the composure. She'd guessed he was at least mid to upper management at some big corporation. She'd thought this low-tier package didn't match him, so she'd tried to sell him the upgrade.

Turned out she'd been too clever for her own good.

Even if she really had bumped into a senior executive, someone like that didn't want a stranger telling him what was "suitable" and trying to teach him life.

Rocky had just taught her that lesson.

"I'm just messing with you," he said, laughing. "You've got a sweet tongue and good eyes. Just remember this: do your job, and stop worrying about things that aren't your lane."

Once she backed down, he let it go. At the end of the day, she was just another worker trying to hit numbers. It wasn't easy.

"Yes, sir, I understand. I appreciate your understanding. I'll finish your check-in now. Please verify your ID."

Relief washed over her as soon as his aura softened. She didn't dare add another pitch, just rushed to complete the process.

Once his identity was checked and he had the room number in hand, Rocky and Jacky left the desk and headed deeper into the lobby.

"Damn, Fabien, that aura of yours was no joke," Jacky said. "You had that girl shaking."

"People like that are always the same," Rocky said calmly. "Don't show a little teeth and they think they're geniuses."

"Can't argue with that. What do you think, Lucy? You've been quiet," Jacky asked.

He always kept an eye on everyone on the team.

On the other end of the line, Lucy blinked when she heard him suddenly pull her in, then answered with a slight smile in her voice.

"I think L's right. You don't owe suits from Arasaka and places like this any politeness."

The three of them talked as Rocky and Jacky stepped into the elevator and hit the button for forty.

When the doors opened, they walked into a quiet corridor. Not many rooms on this level. It didn't take long to find their suite. The target's room sat two doors down.

"Nice. Gotta give Konpeki that much. This sofa is soft as hell," Jacky said.

He dropped onto it, yanked his tie loose, and let out a satisfied sigh.

Rocky scanned the room.

Low tier, just like he'd expected. Smaller than the suite he'd seen when he came here as V, the decorations less refined, the details simpler.

"This is nothing," he said. "This is their low-tier package. They've got higher ones. You should see the penthouse. That's real luxury. Normal people don't get within twenty meters of it. Even the mayor of Night City doesn't get to live up there."

Jacky felt like Rocky was flexing on him a little.

"Don't talk like you've been there yourself," he said, annoyed and amused at the same time. "Fine, tell me. Who's good enough for the top floor?"

"At minimum, someone like Arasaka's crown prince."

"You mean Yorinobu Arasaka?" Jacky whistled. "Yeah, that's heavy. But he's not actually in Night City, is he?"

"No idea."

Rocky shook his head.

Ever since Yorinobu came to Night City, the penthouse at Konpeki had been his exclusive space. Whether Yorinobu was in the city or back in Japan right now, Rocky didn't know.

He just hadn't had a reason, or the connections, to touch that level of intel yet.

While he and Jacky were trading comments, Lucy's voice cut into the channel.

"Should I remind you two to stay on schedule?" she asked.

"Sorry, Lucy. What's our next step?" Rocky answered right away.

He and Jacky were comfortable. Lucy was still sitting in the underground garage. The faster they finished this, the better.

"There should be a smart room terminal in there," she said. "L, hook your personal link into it. I'll use it as my entry point. That device talks to everything else on the local net. It's the best door in."

"On it."

Rocky found the wall panel, flipped it open, and connected his personal port.

Then he waited.

Time stretched. The system stayed quiet. Lucy didn't start the hack.

"Lucy?" he called softly into the line.