"So what's going on, Karl? It's not every day you lot come looking for me."
As he watched Karl's squad step out of the AV, Kerry picked up a few bottles of liquor and tossed them one by one. "Where's Jackie? Didn't he come?"
"He went with Misty," Oliver said, casually catching a bottle and glancing at the label. "Old-school tequila—what a coincidence."
"Coincidence?" Kerry didn't get it. "Isn't this the stuff I always keep around? Haven't you guys had it several times already? Whatever, come on in and sit."
Kerry ushered them in, and from the corner of his eye he noticed the dog paddling its limbs in V's arms like it was swimming. "You even brought your mutt along? That's a surprise."
"It's been a while. Figured you should see him," Karl replied, glancing at the dog.
"A while, huh? And I should see him?" Kerry looked even more confused. "It's just a dog. What's there to see?"
"You'll find out in a moment."
"Karl, you're being awfully cryptic today."
Though Kerry didn't understand, as the host he led them inside. At that moment, Karl felt the dog struggling harder, so he lightly synced with it.
'Hey, kid! Stop dicking around and get this damn thing off my mouth! It feels like playing some crappy game—fucking awful! I need to talk to Kerry, now move!'
"Mumbling nonsense I can't understand."
Karl disconnected.
The dog struggled harder, but V held it firmly by the scruff of its neck, making escape impossible.
Clearly, Mr. Dog hadn't fully adapted to this body yet. Otherwise, the heavily modified "Ball" body—tuned by both V and T-Bug for lethal efficiency—wouldn't be this easy to restrain.
By Karl's evaluation, if Ball's full combat capacity were unleashed, it could easily take out an entire corporate strike team. Might even outclass what Johnny Silverhand could do back in the day. Unfortunately, such a high-performance body now belonged to someone just learning to use it—he couldn't even break free from V's grasp.
Inside Kerry's villa, Brown greeted them.
The squad was rotating shifts to patrol the perimeter, and Brown just happened to be on break when Karl's crew showed up.
"It's been a while. Heard you guys were working for Senno Arasaka—done with that already?"
Brown gave them a once-over and noticed Jackie wasn't present. "Speaking of which, where's Jackie?"
"He's with Misty. As for the job—yeah, it wrapped up the day before yesterday."
Karl flopped down on the couch. "Pretty solid gig."
"The day before yesterday?"
Hearing that familiar date, both Kerry and Brown raised their brows and started piecing things together. Brown, with his merc instincts, figured it out first.
"That's the same day Saburo Arasaka—"
He stopped mid-sentence, staring at Karl. "Wasn't it reported that a Militech agent assassinated Saburo Arasaka?"
"Yup. I was there. You wouldn't believe how clean that kill was—Saburo's eyes popped open and then shut, and just like that, he was gone. That Militech agent was brutal. One shot, lights out."
You were there when Saburo Arasaka died?
Hearing Karl's tone—light, almost like reciting lyrics—both Brown and Kerry, who knew him well, instantly caught that something was off.
If it really had been a Militech agent, would Karl be talking like this?
Knowing his personality, he'd probably be bitching that they acted too fast and didn't even let him take a shot at the old bastard.
But he hadn't. He didn't even sound disappointed about missing the kill, which meant… unless Karl had suddenly changed as a person—and that seemed unlikely—then…
"I remember the name that Militech agent used," Brown said suddenly. "He went by Allen."
He looked directly at Karl. "That name… rings a bell. Think I've heard someone mention it before."
"It's a common name," Karl said with a grin, his eyes meeting Brown's and Kerry's, who were both realizing the truth.
"You really pulled off something massive," Kerry muttered.
As he processed what Karl had done, Kerry's face went from shock to disbelief—and finally into a kind of thrilled acceptance. "That old bastard… died a glorious death."
"No doubt about that."
Karl was in the middle of replying when he noticed the dog in V's arms had finally figured out some of its motor functions. Two mechanical limbs, designed for climbing, extended from its back and pried open V's grip.
The push wasn't forceful—V could've easily resisted—but curiosity got the better of him. He let go.
The dog landed almost silently thanks to its leg dampeners. Then it darted off at high speed, limbs moving in sync, rushing past the group as they chatted.
Brown noticed, but since it was Karl's dog, he just looked on curiously. Meanwhile, Kerry felt something brush against his pant leg. Turning his head, he saw the dog rush toward the music corner.
The place where he kept…
"What the hell's wrong with your dog? Is it glitched? Why's it running straight toward my guitar collection?"
Kerry had several expensive, even custom-made guitars mounted on the wall in that corner. If Karl or any of his team had asked for one, Kerry wouldn't have minded gifting them. But a dog charging them?
"What the hell's it doing?"
"Rather than a glitch…" Karl narrowed his eyes at the dog as it used its mechanical limbs to pull down a guitar from the wall. "I'm more curious how it plans to play using those climbing supports."
"Play?" Kerry looked utterly baffled. "Your dog plays guitar?"
"My dog doesn't," Karl said, watching the dog pluck a few strings—and instantly find its rhythm.
"But Johnny Silverhand does."
"Who the hell are you talking about?!"
Kerry's jaw dropped at the name—just as he heard a familiar sound.
A tune only one man had ever played.
"This melody…"
Kerry's eyes went wide.
"Never Fade Away!"
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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