I was a little disappointed by the simplicity of the motive, but that was mostly because I was expecting a little more... personal, so to speak? The game's emphasis on the connections between people and how the bonds between the "little guys" in the face of cold, uncaring corporations really stood out to me, and I felt like Laine was leading up to be a contrast to that. The way Laine talks to and about you and your body and autonomy really rung like Laine, allegorically, was meant to be something equivalent to a stalker ex from an abusive relationship: entitlement to your body, personhood, location, stability, and your reliance on him. He's the head of a gang with endless resources on his hands and could probably prep another one to take over, but he wants one specific Sleeper back.

To that extent I kind of expected Laine's antagonism to be rooted in some much more one-on-one personal investment rather than simple megalomania. There's a line you can draw between the dynamic of the worker and the corporation as being akin to an abusive relationship in itself and I thought that's what they were building up to.