"Dad~~! V's here. She wants to get a car for her boyfriend."
V quickly tugged at Fidelina's sleeve. "Don't talk nonsense."
Fidelina rolled her eyes. "Ah~ right, right. You know so many guys, but I've never seen you care this much about any of them."
"Yogan and I have been through life and death together."
"If you say so. Whatever. Dad! Forget it, come with me. I bet he's fallen asleep again."
Fidelina led V and Yogan to the store manager's office.
The office door was transparent. Through the glass, they could see a balding middle-aged man lying on a sofa. He was probably Fidelina's dad. He had a book covering his face and was snoring peacefully.
Fidelina banged loudly on the door. "Dad! Wake up!"
The noise startled him from his dreams.
The man jumped up in shock, then, upon recognizing his daughter at the door, gave a helpless smile.
He stood up and opened the door. "My lovely daughter, next time just call me—I can hear you."
Fidelina pouted in protest. "Dad, I did call you twice downstairs. You didn't hear a thing, so I had to come up here."
V greeted the middle-aged man politely. "Mr. Fiore, sorry for disturbing your rest."
Fiore smiled at her. "Hello, V. Car trouble again? And is this young man next to you your boyfriend?"
"Mr. Fiore, I…"
Before V could finish, Fidelina cut in. "Dad, V wants to get a car for her boyfriend."
"Ah, buying a car? No problem, no problem. Come with me."
V lightly kicked Yogan. "You're not even going to help explain?"
Yogan looked aggrieved. "C'mon, you girls were going back and forth so fast I didn't have a chance to say anything!"
Fidelina's voice came from ahead. "V, what are you two waiting for? Come on!"
"I'll deal with you later." V followed after Fidelina and Mr. Fiore.
Yogan rubbed his calf.
"If he really is your boyfriend, then I…"
"Yogan?"
"Coming, V."
"You're grinning like a bootlicker. Planning something sneaky again?"
"No, no. V, you know me…"
---
Mr. Fiore led them to a garage at the back of the shop.
He flipped on the lights. The garage was spacious, with over a dozen cars parked inside.
Fidelina gestured toward the cars with a flourish. "Take a look, handsome. Since you're V's boyfriend, there's a special discount~."
Yogan gave a polite smile. "Sorry to disappoint you, but V and I aren't what you think."
Fidelina elbowed him with a sly grin. "I saw everything earlier. You two look pretty close. But let me warn you—us Heywood girls don't go for weak men."
Yogan sighed. The more he explained, the worse it sounded. "No, it's not like that... you misunderstood…"
Fidelina gave him a knowing look. "No need to explain. I get it." She then made a lip-zipping gesture with her fingers.
V, who had already stepped into the warehouse, hadn't noticed their exchange. "Come on, Yogan. You should find something you like among these."
"Ooooh~"
Yogan walked into the garage with Fidelina's mischievous grin lingering behind him. Great. Now even if I jumped into the Yellow River, I couldn't wash this off.
He leaned closer to V and asked in a low voice, "V, didn't you used to always call me by my full name? Why now just 'Yogan'?"
"It's too much trouble to say your full name every time. From now on, I'll just call you 'Yogan'. What? Got a problem with that?"
Yogan was utterly speechless at her bluntness. "Nope, as long as you're happy."
Mr. Fiore waved him over. "Come here, kid. See anything you like? Or got any specific requirements?"
Mr. Fiore had a decent selection. Among them were high-end models like the Dragula 66, Mizutani, and the Alvarado.
He handed Yogan a tablet. "This is just a portion of my stock. If you want to see more, here's the full catalog."
Yogan scrolled for a while, overwhelmed by the number of listings. "Mr. Fiore, can you recommend a few options?"
"Of course. What features are you looking for?"
"First off… speed. Got anything fast?"
The catalog list instantly shortened. The Rayfield series shot to the top of the list, causing Yogan's mouth to twitch involuntarily.
"If possible, I also want something with good storage capacity."
The luxury Rayfields were eliminated. The Columbus V340-F climbed to the top of the list.
"I'd also like it to be durable."
That brought in contenders like the Emperor from Ragnar and several models from Tianwei Corporation.
"Lastly… I'd prefer something affordable."
At this point, even the smart terminal couldn't find a model that satisfied all of Yogan's criteria. The list was empty.
Mr. Fiore rubbed his round chin. "Didn't expect your wish list to be so long, kid."
"Sorry, Mr. Fiore."
"Don't be. A friend of V's is a friend of mine. You think I'd let you leave empty-handed? Leave it to me."
Mr. Fiore made a phone call.
"Hello, Muammar? I've got a young man here looking for a car.
Yeah, he's a regular.
Haha, come on now. In all of Night City, is there any car-related problem you can't solve, 'Old Captain'?
Alright, alright. I'll send them over."
He hung up and turned to Yogan. "Alright, kid! I've got it sorted. Head over to Santo Domingo and look for a middleman named Muammar Reyes. Folks in the biz call him 'Old Captain'. He's the car guru of Night City."
Fidelina clapped her hands and hopped off the hood she was sitting on. "You two wait here a bit. I'll fast-track your order. Once V's car is fixed, we'll go together to see Uncle Reyes. Dad, I'm leaving the store to you."
Mr. Fiore waved her off with a smile. "Go, go. Just be back in time for dinner. I don't want your mom nagging me again."
"Got it! Let's go, V and Yogan. Wait for me a couple minutes—your car will be ready soon."