"Tsk, tsk… Should I say this was expected, or just—of course it was?"
After hearing Slidewire reveal that there was a traitor close to President Rosalind Myers, Karl only clicked his tongue a few times, showing little actual surprise.
A snake slithering close to a high-ranking official? Nothing unusual. If anything, it would've been strange if there wasn't a mole feeding info from Myers' inner circle.
After all, if there hadn't been a traitor, there's no way such sensitive intel would've leaked in the first place.
"Still, even if we know about it, it's not really our problem."
Karl turned toward Lied as he spoke. The "we" in his words was pointedly selective.
"But for the ace agent from the Intelligence Bureau? This might hit a little closer to home."
"A mole..."
Lied didn't react to being subtly excluded from Karl's "we." Instead, his brows furrowed as soon as the word "mole" came up. He went quiet, clearly running through possible suspects in his mind.
While Lied was deep in thought, Karl spoke again:
"Hey, Agent Lied—are you planning to delay the transmission to the Bureau?"
"Delay it?" Lied thought for a moment, then quickly understood. "You think our cover was blown because someone in the Bureau sold us out. So the next data transmission might not be secure either, and we'll need to make adjustments."
Karl grinned.
"Sharp as ever, agent. I barely had to say anything. Not bad. Seems we're on the same page—not just on the battlefield, but in our thinking too."
He was referring, of course, to their earlier cooperation at the Azure Tower—and now, their shared intuition.
"If the receiver is the mole, then it makes sense how we got exposed and identified so fast. In that case, sending this intel would be like handing it right back to the enemy on a silver platter."
"So, what's your plan?" Lied scanned the surroundings. "If we're setting a trap, we should start now."
"Looks like we're thinking the same thing again." Karl smirked. "To transmit data from Dogtown to the city, you need both a signal lock and a network address. If the receiver is the mole, they'll use that address to pinpoint our real-world location."
"And if that happens, right after we send the intel—bam, we're surrounded by Barghest."
"And this time, there won't be a gang of split-off Voodoo Boys outside to take the bullets for us. We won't be walking out so easily."
"So... set this place up as bait?"
Lied nodded, then frowned deeply, clearly following a new line of thought.
If the mole really was their contact in the Bureau, then the entire plan of using a hacker to transmit the chip data from Dogtown...
"Might fall apart completely," Karl finished for him, sipping his mint iced tea.
He was weighing the same issue—what to do if their only contact turned out to be the leak.
If that were true, then Karl and Lied would be on their own to get the chip out of Dogtown—and that would be no small feat, not with all of Barghest's dogs already loose.
Lied fell silent.
At this point, he wasn't even sure what outcome he was hoping for anymore.
If the contact was the traitor, getting the chip out would be incredibly difficult—but at least they'd know who the mole was.
But if the contact wasn't the traitor...
Then who was it? And when would they strike?
As a seasoned agent, Lied kept running scenarios in his head—always planning for contingencies.
Karl, on the other hand, didn't dwell on it too much.
He'd considered the possibility that the contact was not a mole—and honestly, that suited him just fine.
If the contact was clean, the chip would be delivered, the job would be done, and everything else—traitors, politics, conspiracies—had nothing to do with him. He was just a hired gun.
If the contact was a mole, Karl would find another way to deliver the chip. Either way, once the job was finished, the rest was none of his concern.
Bottom line: if there's a mole, it's a pain in the ass. If not, things go smooth. But either way—it's not Karl's problem. Worst case, just a harder gig.
Lied moved slowly, but managed to finish the setup before Slidewire completed the full decryption.
"Once I send this out, I'm clear, right?" Slidewire asked for final confirmation before proceeding.
Lied gave him a silent nod.
"Hmph. I'll take that as a 'yes,' Lied. Just hope next time I don't see you pointing a gun at my head through a camera feed."
Slidewire finalized the last few keystrokes, stood up, and said:
"I've set the timer as you requested. You've got five minutes. After that, whatever happens is not my business."
He turned and gave Karl a subtle nod.
"Looking forward to our next meeting."
With that, he headed for the elevator.
Even blind, Slidewire navigated with precision using his camera link. His people were waiting outside, ready to escort him to another safehouse—one far from this boiling pot.
Lied watched his figure retreat. His hand twitched—but he didn't reach for his gun.
"Agents keeping promises?" That joke barely sounded believable, even in his own head.
Yes, he had seriously considered killing Slidewire. But after weighing the options… he decided not to.
Killing him now was easy. But the hacker might still prove useful later.
This safehouse was already burned. But Slidewire still had value.
"No more ties between the Bureau and Slidewire after this?" Even Slidewire himself probably didn't believe that crap.
The Bureau didn't let go of people. Not until every last drop of value had been squeezed out—whether it was Slidewire, or Lied himself. They were all just pieces on the board.
"Guess he's still useful," Karl said casually, having noticed Lied's subtle hesitation.
A man with dirt in the Bureau's hands, a former Voodoo Boy—of course Slidewire was shady. Karl had no sympathy for him either way. Lied could do what he wanted. Karl wasn't getting involved.
"Everyone has their value," Lied muttered.
Time passed.
Five minutes later, the transmission was complete.
Elsewhere, a roaming Barghest patrol suddenly received a location ping.
The target?
The Luna Moth Bar.
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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