"You guys come with us to the police station for a report, and I’ll have someone check the surveillance to verify if what you said is the truth with ERO."
In a normal situation, the officers might have already swarmed them, pinned them down, and brought them back.
But unfortunately, the Tiger Claw Gang + players together numbered twenty or thirty, some even holding guns, their cyberware unknown.
Forcing a move would definitely result in deaths. Since the other side is cooperating, whether genuine or an act, as long as they are taken back to the station, there’s no way they can carry out any plan at the NCPD headquarters.
The players exchanged glances and nodded.
After all, as the city’s security force, they wouldn’t make too much of a scene on the surface. Even if there were some underhanded dealings, they wouldn’t back down.
If this life is lost, the next one will charge into the NCPD with a bomb strapped on.
At the Santo Domingo police station, the players actually handed over their weapons obediently and allowed the officers to shut down their combat cyberware.
They didn’t even resist or swear. All the officers had never seen such compliant criminals before.
Although Santo Domingo’s security was outsourced to the Sixth Street Gang, the NCPD still had a precinct building at the corner, showing that the city government still held an obsession with Santo Domingo.
The players and the Tiger Claw members were put in the detention center, called out one by one for questioning, and their answers were largely the same.
Unlike the obedient players, the Tiger Claw members completely lost their previous cowardly demeanor after arriving at the NCPD. Instead, they became aggressive, banging on the detention center doors, speaking menacingly, causing many officers’ expressions to darken but they dared not do anything.
"Let us out quickly, or our boss will teach you a lesson!"
"We paid you, now do your job, officer-san. You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your family, right?"
"Hey! I’m talking to you, didn’t you hear me?"
Some even stared at some of the female officers in the station with malicious intent, whistling lewdly, saying,
"Nice figure, missy. Interested in coming to the Phoenix Club to entertain our boss? Our boss guarantees to make you feel heavenly and die for it, hahaha."
The Tiger Claw gang mocked the officers. Some young officers got angry, grabbing their batons, wanting to teach these gangsters a lesson, but they were immediately stopped by veteran officers nearby.
Beating them up now may feel good, but in a couple of days, the vindictive Tiger Claw might dump you into a cement barrel and into Tokyo Bay.
And although the NCPD is a privately-run law enforcement agency invested in by major corporations, overseeing most of Night City’s security, the gang’s money is still money; it doesn’t stink and is always needed.
Hayden Carson compared the testimonies with the files, pulled up nearby surveillance, and officers who went to ERO returned with messages.
Comparing all sides, the truth of the situation emerged.
This group of strangers... or smuggling Wanderers from the Evil Land really didn’t lie; they were just being righteous.
They likely just arrived in Night City and got their records entered into the NCPD files by Daniels.
The only thing they’ve recently done is took on a job from a new company to help with renovations.
Only guys this clueless about the city would dare to offend the Tiger Claw gang without a care.
They even covered the medical expenses for two injured people.
What a pity... this place is Night City.
Hayden Carson organized the files, thought for a moment, then walked to the detention center where the players were held, opened the cell door, and said to the players inside.
"I’ve basically figured everything out, it’s consistent, and you guys can leave soon. Before you go, remember to pick up your belongings from the storage room."
The Tiger Claw folks didn’t even bother to lie, plainly admitting to their crimes because they knew admitting wouldn’t get them into trouble.
The leader was surprisingly taken aback.
"Damn, it’s that simple?"
The players thought there would be harsh interrogation or they’ll be asked to pay bail or something.
Turns out this group of NCPD isn’t entirely unreasonable, huh?
The leader getting out of jail shamelessly moved up to Hayden Carson and said,
"Hey chief, we did perform a good deed, how about some rewards... like a good citizen award or a banner, something like that."
He was really just joking, testing the intelligence of this NPC, but was surprised when Hayden Carson looked at him for a while and suddenly said,
"You’re right, there is something that should be given to you."
Finished speaking, he turned and went to the finance room.
Hayden Carson actually felt a bit sorry for these people because good guys can’t survive in Night City.
Not long after they leave, the Tiger Claw gang will find them and kill them, otherwise, he wouldn’t have released them so quickly.
If he was being nasty, the officers might even squeeze out any profit from the prisoners before releasing them.
But maybe he was touched by these people’s actions, he didn’t let his subordinates do so.
Actually, he even placed two money chips in front of the players.
"These are the bounty rewards for those Tiger Claw gang members. Since you caught them, this money should belong to you."
This money wasn’t from the NCPD. Its sources were varied.
There were rewards from civilians, money offered by companies that got messed up, and bounties from rival gangs.
The amounts are generally not high, and no one would offend the Tiger Claw gang just for this little money; it’s simply meant to annoy them.