Bzzz—
Early in the morning, Karl's phone buzzed non-stop.
A new message had come in.
"I require bodyguards. Karl, would you and your team be willing to take the job once more? I'll ensure you're well compensated."
The sender—
Arasaka Seisen.
Seisen?
Karl's groggy mind snapped awake. He double-checked the sender and message content—no mistake. It really was Arasaka Seisen.
"You're back in Night City?"
"I'll be arriving at Arasaka Seaside by 2 PM. Your team still holds clearance. If you're willing to accept, we'll meet there."
Two in the afternoon?
Karl glanced at the time—9 AM. Only five hours?
Why so sudden?
Karl couldn't make sense of it. Seisen returning to Night City wasn't strange—he'd told them as much when he left. But this was too abrupt.
Only five hours before arrival, and now he's sending the request?
It sounded like a last-minute call—or worse, like someone was on his heels, and this was a desperate move for protection.
Karl didn't know the full picture, but one thing was obvious: this job was urgent.
After thinking for a moment, he called on his squad.
"Seisen sent us a mission."
Straight to the point, Karl opened the team voice channel and laid out the situation.
While Karl held final authority over taking jobs, he preferred to vote on certain ones to keep things fair.
"Seisen again? Another bodyguard gig?"
Jack was the first to weigh in, casting a yes vote.
"We worked with him before. He's not your typical corpo dog. I've got no issue guarding him again."
"He's offering good money. I'm in." V voted second.
That sealed it—majority ruled. The job was on. But Oliver had a concern.
"Last time we had to bring our own supplies. Is it the same deal now? If we can't even trust the food, we'd better load the trunk with cookware and clear some room from the weapons rack."
"Take them, just to be safe," Karl said, sharing the mission briefing.
"We leave at 2 PM. Not a lot of time. Get moving."
"Same as before, bring Ball for backup," T-Bug added. "I'll disable hallway access and prep emergency egress routes."
"If things go sideways, extract via AV or emergency tunnel. Head to the NCPD branch in Pacifica—Andy's there, and the Voodoo Boys' hacked infrastructure's still up. You can support us remotely from there."
"Got it. You all be careful too, Karl."
With the whole team in agreement, Karl responded to Seisen:
"We'll see you at the Seaside as scheduled, Mr. Seisen."
Karl always addressed older clients with "Mr." out of respect.
Ding.
Watching the confirmation pop up on his screen, Arasaka Seisen exhaled deeply.
His AV had already left Japan, cutting across the ocean toward the western coast of the Americas—toward Night City. He stared out at the receding island landscape, then gripped the handle of the case in his lap.
He had left the island alone. His men were still back there, fighting with everything they had.
But this wasn't an escape—it was an advance. A move down the only road that might stop his father, Arasaka Saburo.
Inside that case was an object of vital significance—something that could reshape the world order. After years of planning, Seisen had finally gotten his hands on one of its prototypes.
He knew Saburo would soon realize the theft. That was the point.
This item was too important. So important that Saburo would send his best agents after it, no matter the risk.
But once Seisen reached Night City—where the "Emperor's" grip had already been severed repeatedly—he was confident. Even Saburo's elite couldn't retrieve it from him there.
Unless Saburo came in person.
And if he did—
Seisen's grip tightened.
Even then, he wouldn't allow this thing to remain in the world.
Something capable of permanently freezing the social order—keeping the elite on top, rulers in power, emperors immortal—that could not be allowed to exist.
Time passed quickly amid the preparations.
Karl quickly realized just how tight five hours—or technically four hours and fifty-five minutes—really was.
There were supplies to pack, food to load into the trunk, weapons to ready. Between waiting for the elevator, picking up ammo, and prepping maintenance kits for blades and guns, things got chaotic fast.
Karl had it easier. As squad leader, all he had to do was send out notices to local fixers that they were off the board for a while, and message a few friends to say he'd be busy.
The real chaos belonged to Jack.
He had to stop by El Coyote Cojo to let Mama Wells know he wouldn't be coming by for a while, wait for her to fry up some fries for Karl, then head over to Misty's Esoterica—partly to spend time with Misty, partly for her usual tarot reading. He ran around all morning, barely pausing to breathe.
But when he returned, he brought good news.
Misty's reading for the mission turned up The Star—symbolizing hope and inspiration.
It wasn't entirely clear, but the spread for the entire squad showed The Wheel of Fortune.
A card of shifting fate, and upward momentum.
Taken at face value, it might suggest that they were still in the middle of events. But as a sign for safety and protection—it was a good omen.
After all, only the living can change their fate and rise again.
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