At the warehouse facility in Arasaka's Coastal District of Night City, Kenichiro Ken came to a stop and turned to Karl's squad walking behin
At the warehouse facility in Arasaka's Coastal District of Night City, Kenichiro Ken came to a stop and turned to Karl's squad walking behind him.
"This is the promised reward warehouse. All the parts inside are yours to take. Your ID cards will allow free access to and from the coastal area. Just remember—"
He paused, looking directly at Karl.
"You are not permitted to enter any other zones."
"I understand."
Since leaving the supercarrier, Karl had been unusually quiet—even now, standing in front of the massive warehouse.
It wasn't that he was the silent type by nature; he was simply messaging Arasaka Sesen.
Kenichiro noticed.
"You planning to accept the protection job Sesen offered you?"
"Not sure yet. We're still discussing pay and duration. If the terms are good, there's no reason to say no."
Karl looked up from his phone.
"Gotta eat, right? Work is work."
Then he glanced at Ken.
"If you're asking because you want me to spy on him or take him out when I get the chance—forget it. I've got standards. If I take a job, I see it through. No spying, no backstabbing."
"…"
Ken was momentarily speechless.
He hadn't expected Karl to jump to that conclusion so quickly. He'd only wanted Karl's opinion on the whole Sesen situation—now Karl was accusing him of plotting an assassination.
Ken couldn't help but ask himself: Is that really how he sees me?
"I just wanted your thoughts on Sesen deciding to stay in Night City," he said calmly. "What do you think he's planning?"
"If I accept the job, I won't talk about the client. But I haven't yet… So honestly? I've got no idea."
Karl was blunt.
"Today was the first time I met him. And then, out of nowhere, he's asking me—a guy who was a complete stranger—to be his bodyguard. I'm just as confused as you are."
"That's definitely something to think about…"
Ken frowned, trying to piece things together.
He knew most of Karl's background. What he couldn't understand was why Sesen would choose an outsider—not aligned with his faction, and who'd even taken part in clearing out some of his people—to guard his life.
Even short-term bodyguards were a matter of life and death. Choosing someone like KK's squad over his loyal hawks? That was bound to raise eyebrows.
After their brief exchange, Ken left to conduct internal checks and think things over. Arasaka's turf in Night City belonged to the doves. Even if Sesen was a dragon crossing the river, he'd have to keep his claws sheathed while operating here.
Once Ken left, Karl's squad finally relaxed. They'd stayed standing the whole time. V wasted no time pulling out his ID and scanning it at the warehouse entrance.
"Finally. Let's see what kind of sick parts we can grab."
Without Ken's imposing presence, even Oliver lightened up. He rushed to join V as the massive warehouse doors began to open.
"Hope there's a cart inside. We could load up like crazy."
"I say we bring the Sky Hera here and mod it on the spot."
Karl wasn't as hyped as V and Oliver about car mods. He just stood still, watching the eight-meter-tall warehouse doors slowly slide open.
"Modding here? Nah, not worth it."
Jack shook his head, stepping forward to look inside.
"From here I can already see four cameras. Modding in here means Arasaka's watching everything. We can't let them see our secret mod tech."
"Secret mod tech? What are you, Mr. Krabs?" Karl joked with a reference no one got.
As the doors fully opened, they heard V and Oliver gasp in surprise from inside.
"Is that a GreeCo automotive A/C compressor? Those things start at four grand apiece!"
Oliver was stunned.
"A Flyover clutch?! I've never even seen one in real life!"
V buzzed around like a bee, bouncing from shelf to shelf, shouting out discoveries.
"Are we really allowed to take all of this?"
Even though they knew it was payment, V and Oliver were still in disbelief. These weren't parts they couldn't afford—it was just that no one expected to be handed an entire warehouse to loot from.
"Take it. It's all ours," Jack said, finding a massive rolling cart. "This whole place is our reward. Not grabbing stuff would be the real waste."
"Well… all we really did was stand around."
Leaning against the doorway, Karl wasn't that into the gear talk. He kept texting Sesen—until his fingers froze.
Sesen had sent the job outline.
"Provide personal security for his ten-day stay in Night City, and accompany him to meetings throughout the city."
Meetings?
For some reason, Karl suddenly remembered something he'd heard back at Afterlife.
Lately, it seemed like every merc in the city was getting work.
Maybe it had something to do with Sesen's arrival...
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