Cyberpunk 2077 Theory How Dex And T-Bug Are Connected

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T-Bug and Dexter DeShawn are two important characters within act one of Cyberpunk 2077, both involved in the Konpeki Plaza heist that landed V with the Relic in their head. Alongside Jackie and V, they form a crew that takes the Relic job from Evelyn Parker and attempts to steal the Arasaka technology. And while the player gets to know both characters a bit during the first part of the game, both have mysterious pasts that never fully get explained.

Warning: This articlec contains spoilers for Cyberpunk 2077.

T-Bug is the group's netrunner, almost always working remotely and staying as removed as possible, while Dex is the fixer that puts the job together with Evelyn's info. T-Bug seems to have been working with V and Jackie for at least some time before act one begins, while Dex is freshly returned to Night City after an ambiguous multi-year hiatus. Both characters have an air of mystery about them, as though they know something about the job that V and Jackie don't. And, given that the two have some unexplained past, it might have to do with their backstories.

Dexter And T-Bug Have Worked Together Before

History Between These Two Powerful Figures

While it is never fully or directly explained, it is confirmed in the game that T-Bug knew Dex prior to his Night City exile. It was her that first made contact with Dex after his return, and it's thanks to her that Dex is working with Jackie and V at all. While the latter two characters are somewhat fresh on the Night City merc scene, it's clear that T-Bug and Dex both have quite a bit more experience under their belts.

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Dexter DeShawn was a big Night City fixer, after all, on a similar level to Wakako or Padre. While the game states that Dex did not go on jobs himself, he had a skill with people that led him to go far in the biz. T-Bug, likewise, is regarded as an excellent netrunner, well above Jackie and V at the beginning of the game in terms of both reputation and skill. T-Bug likely vouched for the other two mercs to get Dex to take them on for the job, and whatever past business the two had, it was enough for him to trust her.

Both of these characters are infamously close to the vest when it comes to their personal lives, and there's nothing to verify how exactly they are familiar with one another. While it's possible they were just frequent collaborators on jobs, the game's info on Dex states that he did not have a regular crew, instead constantly taking on new business partners for different gigs in Cyberpunk.

Rumors Of A Relationship Between The Fixer And Netrunner

Lovers, Family, Or Something Else Entirely?

Players have speculated that Dex T-Bug are more personally related, either through a romantic relationship or a familial connection. In the game, Jackie once intimates that the two are rumored to have once been together, though T-Bug blows this off and a romantic past honestly doesn't seem to fit either of their characters too well. The two being family is entirely possible, though beyond coincidence and their trust in one another, there is nothing to back this theory up.

Both of these theories exist more from a lack of alternative evidence than anything concrete, since both characters have such massive blank spots in their backstories.

A more probable theory might be that T-Bug was the person who helped Dex escape Night City, several years ago. Dex's "vacation" from the city was likely out of necessity after a job gone wrong. Royce, a leader within the Maelstrom gang, implies that Dex had a falling out with some people in Pacifica. Pacifica is home to all sorts of dangerous folks, from Mr. Hands to the VooDoo Boys gang, and it would take someone with skill to help Dex plan a way to escape their grasp.

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Someone like T-Bug. If she had helped to save Dex's life, it might make sense that he'd give her a position on this lucrative gig to steal the Relic, and take her advice on the mercs to hire. Though, some players theorize that T-Bug's endorsement of V and Jackie might be more malicious than it seems.

Were Dex And T-Bug Conspiring Before The Heist?

Tragic Coincidence Or Planned Betrayal?

Some players have gone as far as to suspect Dex and T-Bug of secretly planning to betray V and Jackie, either giving them a disproportionate cut or leaving them out to dry after stealing the Relic. This is a bit far-fetched, given how much both characters seemed totally taken by surprise by everything that happened during the end of act one, but there are some things that point to the two conspiring together.

The first is Dex's reputation. He's someone whose last job went so badly he had to leave the city entirely, and the way the game talks about his business practices, it seems he cares little for the fates of those he works with. When Dex first meets V, speaking in his car, he tries to get a gauge on the merc's priorities and ideals, almost trying to determine how easy it would be to screw him over. Based on how Dex's plot line ends, he's not above betraying his allies for his own goals.

Act one ends with Dexter DeShawn shooting V in the head, killing the last other living member of the crew. It seems that DeShawn planned to escape after this via space shuttle, and it did not wish to leave behind "loos ends."

Next is how it seems like Dex is aware of things he shouldn't be. He's very suspicious of V after their meeting with Evelyn Parker, seeming to recognize if V lies about Evelyn's offer. He could just be that good at reading folks, or it could be that T-Bug filled him in; she did, after all, have access to V's network right around the time Evelyn made her offer.

Dex And T-Bug Are Probably Victims Of Circumstance

Just Plain Bad Luck

But are the two really conspiring together? Maybe, but probably not to the degree people think. T-Bug is standoffish, but seems to have some respect for Jackie and V, and probably wouldn't want to get them killed. And while Dex is a traitor, he betrays V once things have already gone south. The heist going poorly was not by design.

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Clearly, neither character expected the heist to go so wrong, and it seems like Dex only killed V when he started panicking. Maybe the two had plans to take more of the payout than they were owed, and maybe T-Bug was more loyal to Dex than to the others. But that seems to be all when it comes to some secret conspiracy, and it wouldn't make much sense for the two of them to purposefully try and get their allies killed in Cyberpunk 2077.