Gearbound: Cyberpunk 2077-Chapter 195

As for the two sentry turrets by the entrance, of course, Leo had already reprogrammed them long ago, marking all of them as friendlies in advance.

—

Ten minutes later.

T-Bug also arrived at the location, stepping out of a Delamain cab.

Once everyone had gathered, Leo pulled a few crates out from a hidden compartment in the wall.

V and Jackie crowded around curiously.

And when they saw what was inside the crates, Jackie's jaw dropped.

"That's... that's a lot of weapons!"

Each crate was neatly organized—kinetic weapons, tech weapons, smart weapons, all sorted by type. Other crates were filled with ammunition of various calibers.

This was Leo's safehouse.

And in a real-world cyberpunk hellhole like Night City, any proper safehouse needed more than just walls—it needed weapons, supplies, and essentials for survival.

This wasn't a game where you could lug dozens of weapons around in your backpack. Outside of the gear carried for missions, all extra equipment had to be left at home.

And if you couldn't get home?

You were screwed.

It was exactly for situations like this that Leo had stocked his safehouse to the brim—ready for any contingency.

Seeing the arsenal, V and Jackie didn't stand on ceremony.

V picked a tech pistol Kenji, a smart SMG Dian, and a tech sniper rifle Nekomata.

Jackie grabbed a tech shotgun Sovereign and a kinetic LMG Defender.

T-Bug only chose a smart pistol, Yukimura.

Leo offered to let her take more, but she declined.

In her own words—

"My aim sucks. I can't hit a target at ten meters. My physical strength is low too—can't handle the recoil from kinetic or tech guns. Only smart weapons are manageable."

"If I burn through two full mags and the enemy's still standing, I'll be screwed anyway. At that point, one extra gun won't make a difference."

At that moment, V suddenly leaned over.

"Shouldn't we call Lucy? Let her know we're alive? She's probably worried sick."

Lucy hadn't come along for this mission. But there was no doubt she'd seen the disaster at Konpeki Plaza on the news.

Leo agreed. He had meant to call earlier but hadn't found the right time.

He dialed. The call barely rang once before it connected.

Lucy's tear-streaked, worried face appeared on the holo-display.

"Leo, where are you?!"

Her eyes were red, makeup ruined from crying.

"We're safe, Lucy. We made it out. We're at a secure location."

Hearing that, Lucy visibly relaxed, breathing out a shaky sigh of relief.

"That's good... that's good. When are you coming home?"

"We can't come back yet. It'd only bring trouble to you and Mama Wells," Leo said gently, quickly steering the conversation away. "How are things over there?"

Lucy shook her head. "So far, nothing suspicious. Mama Wells moved us into El Coyote Cojo for now. It's safer."

Leo nodded. That was just like Mama Wells—always thinking ahead.

"Where are you? I'll come find you," Lucy said anxiously.

"I can't tell you. I don't want you getting dragged into this."

"But—"

"Listen, Lucy. I just wanted you to know we're alive. Don't worry about us. We'll be back once this blows over. We shouldn't stay connected too long—if Arasaka traces the call, it could get ugly."

Lucy clearly understood. Though she had so much more she wanted to say, she swallowed it all down into a single sentence:

"Be safe."

"Tell Mama Wells Jackie's with me—he's safe too, not a hair out of place."

After the call ended, Leo sat in silence.

V noticed something different about him and asked softly, "Are you okay, Leo?"

"I'm fine," he said, forcing a small smile.

They were alive. That was the truth.

But when he saw Lucy's tear-streaked face, it felt like someone had punched him in the chest, knocking the breath out of him.

He knew Lucy was suffering even more—

because she wasn't by his side.

At that moment, Leo felt someone grasp his hand.

Startled, he turned and saw V looking at him, her eyes full of encouragement.

She didn't say anything.

She didn't need to.

Her gaze said it all:

—No matter what comes next, I'll be here with you.

.......

..

.

A little while later, Jackie couldn't sit still anymore. He started bouncing his leg anxiously.

"Hey, Bug," he called out.

T-Bug, reclining in her hacker chair, glanced over. "What?"

"If this job had gone smoothly and we got paid—what were you planning to do with your cut?"

T-Bug rolled her eyes. "Is now really the time to talk about that?"

Jackie shrugged. "Yeah. Better than sitting around staring at each other awkwardly."

T-Bug looked around.

Cramped in this tiny 20 or 30 square meter room, packed shoulder to shoulder... yeah, he had a point.

"If everything had gone right, I'd be on a plane out of Night City right now."

"You were planning to leave Night City too? Why? Is this city that bad?" Jackie asked, wide-eyed.

It surprised him.

Lucy had never seen Night City as home—only a temporary stopover. Only after joining their crew, had she started thinking differently.

Same with Judy from the Mox gang—Evelyn had lured her in with promises of making enough to leave the city.

Now hearing T-Bug wanted to bail too...

Was Night City that awful?

One after another, everyone seemed desperate to get out.

It really was like a walled fortress: those outside wanted in; those inside were desperate to escape.

"Jackie, you're a Haywood native, right?" T-Bug said. "Do you really think this city is paradise?"

Jackie quickly waved his hands. "No, no, I'm not saying Night City's a utopia or anything. I just mean—if you had money, you could move somewhere nice. City Center, Charter Hill, North Oak."

Was Night City a paradise?

Hell no.

Gunfights happened more often here than anywhere in New America. And that was just the stuff people saw. It didn't include the bodies that ended up in sewers or alleys.

Still, it wasn't all bad.

If you had money, living in those wealthy districts was pretty damn close to paradise.

T-Bug just gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Maybe you're right. But I still want out. I've already picked my place—Crete."

"Crete? That's in Greece, right? You planning to become a philosopher or something?" Jackie teased. "Hey, if you really go, don't forget to send me a postcard!"

T-Bug smiled faintly. "No offense, but I plan to block everyone and start fresh."

Jackie and T-Bug kept chatting, laughing easily.

Meanwhile, V sat near a terminal, watching the exterior cameras feed.

Leo sat at a workbench, loading bullets into magazines.

—

One hour later.

Jackie and T-Bug were still talking.

V eventually came over to help Leo, taking over the magazine loading.

Leo moved to the workshop area, setting up to craft some new smart weapons.

—

Two hours later.

The storm outside grew heavier.

The city's neon glow bled through the dirty windows, casting flickering lights across the small, crowded safehouse.