Chapter 276 c

Chapter 276 c

After exiting the adult toy shop, the first thing Leo saw was the parked pickup truck outside and its completely empty driver’s seat. Detective River Ward, who had driven him here, was not in the vehicle.

So where had he gone?

Leo turned his head to look to the side—and the answer revealed itself. Dressed in a trench coat, River was blocking the narrow alley beside the shop. He’d been here before and knew the back door of the shop connected to this alley. Worried that his informant might try to slip out the back, he had gotten out of the truck as soon as Leo went inside and had stationed himself in the alley to intercept.

But after waiting a long time without seeing anyone come through, just as River began to feel puzzled, someone called his name. He looked toward the voice and saw Leo waving at him. River didn’t move immediately; he stood in place and took another few glances down the alley to confirm no one else was coming, then jogged over.

“You were in there for a while. What’s the deal? Did he spill anything?”

“He talked. He was surprisingly cooperative.”

Leo returned to the truck with River and recounted everything he’d heard from the detective’s informant. When he was done, Leo asked, “What’s your take on it?”

River thought for a moment. “A club doing that much business wouldn’t shut down without a damn good reason. Closing for even a day means a massive loss, let alone several days in a row. I’ve never seen a business owner who’d turn their back on money like that.”

River’s opinion matched Leo’s—they both sensed something off. “Unless something happened that left them no choice.”

Leo took a tablet from his coat and pulled up the WNS report on Lucius Rhyne’s death, showing it to River. “The news says he died at home, but what if—just hypothetically—what if he didn’t?”

River’s eyes went wide. “What? Leo, are you saying Rhyne died in that club?”

Everyone who’d been to a place like that knew exactly what kind of stuff went on there. Sometimes, people with power and money didn’t pursue refined pastimes like opera, travel, or golf.

Often, they preferred something far more primal—violent, crude, indecent. If Rhyne had died at that club, River could understand why the Red Queen’s Race shut down. But emotionally, he couldn’t accept that a mayor would die in such disgrace.

“But his family told the media themselves—”

“If my family died in a nightclub, for the sake of their reputation, I’d lie too and say they passed peacefully at home.”

Self-preservation is an instinct every politician has. Either tell the truth and have your entire family be ruined socially, or use one simple, undetectable lie and protect them—most people would choose the latter.

Even if he didn’t want to believe it emotionally, the facts in front of him forced River to reconsider.

“Looks like we have no choice but to visit the Red Queen’s Race. There’s bound to be something there. But I also think we should take a look at the shop.”

“The shop?”

“Horvath’s employer. I mentioned them earlier. I don’t want to let that lead go cold.”

Leo gave it some thought. The club had been closed for days. Whether they went a couple hours earlier or later made no difference. Since River insisted—

“Alright, let’s meet them.”

Decision made, River started the truck, and they headed toward Japantown. The rain picked up, pounding louder on the windows. River didn’t dare drive too fast—visibility in this kind of weather was much worse than on a clear day. Even if he could see fine, he had to consider the other driver’s vision.

Traffic on the roads thinned out, pedestrians grew scarcer, and water on the ground reflected the neon lights above in a shifting wash of colors.

“You did well. I gotta say, you’ve got a real detective’s instinct. Ever think about joining the NCPD?”

“Forget it. I’m not cut out for government work.”

“Are you worried you won't pass the civil service exam? It’s not as hard as you think. Hell, even someone like me passed, and you look like someone who actually knows how to study. You’d ace it.”

Leo smiled but still declined. “No thanks. I like my life just the way it is.”

He would never join the NCPD. Not in this life. Even Commissioner Gerald Fort was just a corporate lapdog. What was the point? Nothing would change. Leo respected people like River and Linari—those who stayed clean in the filth—but he believed the NCPD was too rotten to fix.

River looked slightly disappointed. Maybe some people in the city still held prejudice against mercs, but he didn’t—especially after working with Leo. The guy was solid. If he joined the force, they’d make a hell of a team.

But if Leo wasn’t interested, he wouldn’t push. “Alright. To each their own.”

Leo changed the subject deliberately. “So where’s this shop you mentioned? Is it far from here?”

“Not far. I heard she’s running a stall in the Cherry Blossom Market in Japantown. Sells a bit of everything.”

“Heard? You haven’t met her before?”

“No. I planned to, but I wasn’t allowed to investigate the case. They told me to stay away from anyone related to it. I was being watched every day. I had to lay low for a bit, make them drop their guard. Even if you hadn’t come, I would’ve gone myself eventually.”

They chatted casually as they drove, and from the conversation, Leo learned that River wasn’t completely alone. He wasn’t married, but he had a sister—and she had children. Leo didn’t ask for details. In Night City, respecting privacy was an unspoken rule. Even in the original world Leo had come from, no one liked others digging too deep.

In this world, where danger loomed everywhere—especially for a detective like River—it was even more important. He might not fear for himself, but he had family to consider.

Half an hour later, River parked the truck on a patch of open ground outside the Cherry Blossom Market. This space had been deliberately left vacant for a reason. As Leo opened the door, he hadn’t even stepped out yet when a stench slammed into him.

Not far away, piles of trash had been stacked like small hills. Several ragged figures were rummaging through the waste, completely ignoring the approaching vehicle.

River looked at them with sympathy. As a regular cop, there was nothing he could do for them. He might live off an above-average salary in Night City, but his sister’s family needed his support too.

“We can’t help them. Let’s go.”

They left the lot. As they approached the Cherry Blossom Market, where artificial cherry blossom petals drifted in the air, the stench slowly faded.

The market wasn’t big, just a small collection of stalls, but it was bustling.

“Be specific. What’s the name of the shop owner we’re looking for?”

“Christine Markov, forty-two. Her file says she’s the sole proprietor of Horvath’s, also the only listed contact.”

River pulled two umbrellas from the truck, handing one to Leo before opening his own. Rain pattered down and ran in streams from the edges.

“I’ve never met her either, so we’ll split up. I’ll take the left. You go right.”

“Hold on. I’ve got a faster way.”

Leo grabbed River before he could leave and activated the scanning mode on his tactical goggles. Within two seconds, dozens of red human outlines lit up in his view. The market wasn’t large, but the crowd was dense. No need to check them one by one. Leo entered a name into the search field. Moments later, the system tagged a target at a booth deeper inside the market.

“I’ve got her. This way.”

River raised an eyebrow but followed without question. They arrived at Christine Markov’s stall. She was tinkering with a broken radio.

The world of 2077 was strange. Back in Leo’s original world, radios had become nearly obsolete after the MP3 came out in the 2000s, and once smartphones became mainstream, even MP3s and MP4s were swept into history. But in this world—even in 2077, with countless forms of braindance entertainment—radios were still around.

It was baffling.

Leo stayed calm, but River’s stern face made nearby shoppers instinctively give them space. River didn’t seem to notice. He tapped the worn table covered with junk electronics. “Are you Christine Markov? We have a few questions.”

Christine glanced at them, then turned back to her broken radio. “You two NCPD?”

River nodded. “Yeah. We’re here about Peter Horvath. We heard he worked for you for a while.”

Christine didn’t try to hide it. “That’s right. He did. Then he quit. Started going around giving speeches.”

Both Leo and River looked at each other in confusion. “Speeches? What kind of speeches?”

Speeches were usually for politicians or CEOs trying to sell dreams. A guy doing odd jobs at a booth giving speeches? What, did he want to run for council?

Christine continued, “He was always full of negativity. Always going on about how ‘Rhyne’s balls were already in the corp’s grip, and he still wanted to screw me over.’”

Negativity was common. In Night City, who among the lower classes didn’t carry some resentment? Even the most optimistic mindset would eventually be crushed by reality. Leo remembered the guy across from his apartment in The Glen shouting out his window every morning, “Hanako Arasaka, I’ll wreck you!”

The corporations had taken everything. Who didn’t hate them? Hating the mayor was rarer, but Leo had met people convinced the mayor was out to get them—though most of them had long gone mad, seeing enemies everywhere.

Leo asked, “He had beef with the mayor? How could that even happen?”

One was a city mayor. The other just sold crap at a booth. Their worlds shouldn’t even overlap.

And Horvath wouldn’t have dirt on Rhyne. If he didn’t, then Rhyne had no reason to go after him.

River suddenly spoke. “That theory doesn’t sound like something Horvath came up with on his own. I think someone planted it in his head.”

Christine shook her head.