"This is the last location where Jackie's signal disappeared."
"In an alley?"
In the conference room, three of the Hive's four leaders—Berry, V, Viktor, and Judy—were all present.
Don't ask why there are five people among the four leaders.
Isn't it common knowledge that the four leaders have five people?
And now, they were racking their brains to analyze the situation and figure out how to rescue the missing Jackie.
"It looks like Jackie came out of Misty's shop here, then stopped at the crossroads for less than two minutes, and was then taken all the way to the alley entrance here."
"But then the signal disappeared, perhaps due to some shielding device. In any case, we lost his location."
Berry stared at the hologram for a moment, then cursed aloud.
"Damn it, no matter who did it, once I find them, I'll make them pay!"
No matter whose hands Jackie had fallen into, the situation was extremely dangerous now.
She knew the modus operandi of Night City gangs; if they couldn't quickly find Jackie's location and launch a rescue operation,
Jackie would either be chopped into pieces or dumped in the river.
In short, they couldn't delay.
But the problem was that they currently had no way to find Jackie.
They couldn't possibly search every single house in the four or five streets surrounding Jackie's last known location.
It would be like 'beating the grass to startle the snake.' If Jackie was fine, doing that might provoke the kidnappers into killing him.
"Perhaps Jackie is still safe for now."
During the silence, Viktor, wearing small round sunglasses, suddenly spoke.
He glanced at everyone and offered his analysis.
"If the enemy wanted Jackie's life, they wouldn't bother kidnapping him; they could just shoot him on the spot."
"But now they've kidnapped Jackie, which means they don't intend to kill him anytime soon."
"Perhaps they plan to use Jackie as leverage to force us to comply."
Viktor's face was grim as he leaned on the edge of the table, delivering his final conclusion.
"The Tyger Claws suffered a setback with us this morning. Perhaps, capturing Jackie as a hostage is their plan."
"Maybe in a little while, the Tyger Claws' threat call will come."
After Viktor finished speaking, everyone nodded.
Given the suddenness of the incident, Viktor's speculation was not without reason.
"So, we still have time to save Jackie."
Looking at the last signal location of Jackie before he disappeared on the holographic map, Berry remained unwilling to accept it.
The Tyger Claws had completely caught them off guard.
And they had hit them precisely where it hurt.
Knowing Jackie's importance to the Hive.
To be able to scout Jackie's travel route, snatch him in minutes, without even giving them a chance to intercept.
It seemed the Tyger Claws had investigated them very thoroughly and possessed a great deal of their intelligence.
Yet, they knew nothing about the Tyger Claws.
From the very beginning, the Hive had fallen into a disadvantage.
This was also the almost inevitable outcome for countless small gangs facing a behemoth like the Tyger Claws.
"Yes, but we must pinpoint exactly where Jackie is being held. If we can't succeed in one strike, Jackie might..."
Viktor didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood what he meant.
Berry remained silent.
She was frantically thinking of ways to rescue Jackie.
Jackie was their good brother; even if it ultimately meant sacrificing the entire Hive, she would agree.
But things hadn't reached such a desperate point yet.
There was still hope.
Berry's eyes moved, and ideas constantly surfaced in her mind, only to be dismissed one by one.
Find Rogue?
Not now.
Although Rogue's intelligence network covered all of Night City, given the suddenness of the incident, Rogue wouldn't be able to find Jackie's location right away.
But this path shouldn't be ruled out.
If all else failed, Rogue could act as a Fixer to mediate relations between the Hive and the Tyger Claws.
However, given the disparity in their sizes, this would almost certainly end with the Hive being sold off.
Perhaps worse.
Infiltrate the NCPD's surveillance system?
That was one direction.
The NCPD has surveillance systems covering the entire city. If we could infiltrate the NCPD's monitoring system, we might be able to find the last place Jackie disappeared.
But that's still not feasible.
The situation is urgent, and every second counts.
Just infiltrating the NCPD would take up a huge amount of their time, and success isn't guaranteed.
Jackie might not be able to wait that long.
"We're not saving Jackie right now."
"What?"
As soon as Berry said this, everyone looked surprised.
Berry slammed her fist onto the table, looked up at the others, her eyes filled with determination.
"The Tyger Claws kidnapped Jackie and they must have hidden him somewhere we can't find. If we try to rescue Jackie now, we'll just fall into the Tyger Claws' trap."
"We won't rescue Jackie. Instead, I'm going to make the Tyger Claws voluntarily hand him back."
"Berry, what do you mean?"
Judy was confused by Berry's words, unsure what Berry intended to do.
Only Viktor and V remained solemn, seeming to vaguely guess Berry's intention.
"Heh, the Tyger Claws think that by capturing Jackie they can force us to comply. They severely underestimate us."
Once the decision was made, Berry's anger gradually subsided, turning into calmness.
She had figured out a way to break the deadlock.
"I've decided to dispatch the 'Phantom' squad to arrest the Tyger Claws leadership."
If they can go, so can I.
Having entrenched themselves in Night City for decades, the Tyger Claws didn't regard small players like Honeycomb as important.
Berry didn't think the enemy leadership would be wary.
It's even possible that the Tyger Claws leadership doesn't yet know about Jackie's capture.
Since that's the case, how could she not sting the Tyger Claws fiercely?
The concept of the enemy being hidden while we are exposed is relative.
Honeycomb might not know the Tyger Claws leadership, but the Tyger Claws would certainly never anticipate that Honeycomb possesses something as heaven-defying as an Armored Squad.
Now is the time to translate this advantage into tangible benefits.
As long as she captures a high-ranking Tyger Claws executive with enough leverage, she can force them to the negotiating table.
Only then can Jackie's life be saved.
"Judy, contact Rogue. I need a list of the Tyger Claws leadership. If she's willing to give it, I'll give her whatever she asks for, as long as Honeycomb has it."
"Viktor, call back all the transport convoys, put the building under lockdown, and if the Tyger Claws contact us, try your best to stall them and buy us more time."
"V, prepare for combat."
"Yes."
The three exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Although it was crazy, it had to be said that Berry's plan was surprisingly feasible.
All this confidence stemmed from the "Phantom" squad that Berry had painstakingly assembled.
As long as "Phantom" launches the offensive, everything will turn out fine.
Berry suppressed her trembling hand and took a deep breath.
Jackie's life weighed heavily on her heart now. Even though she had made the final decision, she still couldn't relax for even a moment.
Just as everyone was preparing to act.
"Doo-roo-roo, doo-roo-roo..."
"Whose phone is that?"
Berry asked, only for all three people to look directly at her.
Stared at by the three of them, Berry belatedly realized.
Oh, it was hers.
These three guys were all augmented people; they didn't use external phones.
Berry quickly pulled the phone from her pocket and answered the call.
"Basement of 46 Broland Street."
"What?"
Immediately after connecting the call, a male voice blurted out an incomprehensible address.
"Jackie Welles is at this location."
"Are you Blue Eyes?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Berry finally remembered.
"While I'm glad you remember, there are more important things now, aren't there?"
Because the call was on speakerphone, V and the others could hear Berry's conversation.
The four looked at each other, wondering what trick this sudden appearance of Blue Eyes was playing.
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