[Check Out My P4treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][https://p4treon.com/talkfictome]
===
Kidnapping Director Tanaka was the pivot point for Faraday's grand design: stealing the intelligence on the "Adamant" cybernetic project. The data wasn't just on a server; it was hard-coded into Tanaka's neural bridge.
Prying open an executive's skull was a hell of a lot easier than ghosting Arasaka's central mainframe, but snatching a suit of his caliber was a nightmare for any Edgerunner. No one wanted to draw the eye of Arasaka's internal security; their tactical response teams made the NCPD look like mall cops.
Maine knew the play: they needed Tanaka's travel itinerary. That meant getting to his daily luxury AV or his driver's personal link. Maine might look like a blunt instrument, but he was a "Calculating Survivor" in his own right. He'd set his sights on Tanaka's bodyguard and personal driver, a chrome-head named Maxim.
Maxim had one glaring weakness: a gambling addiction centered on the Animals' underground boxing circuit. When he lost—which was often—he'd drown his sorrows at a gutter-tier bar nearby. That was the window Maine's crew needed. But first, they had to ensure the house won. They had to make the reigning champion, Butcher, take a fall.
"Why are you all looking at me with that 'I'm about to screw you' grin?"
Kael was lounging on a sofa, Lucy nestled in his arms, when he noticed Maine and the rest of the crew staring at him with synchronized mischief.
"Ahem. Don't you know, Kael? Butcher put out a public challenge for you a few days ago," Maine said, his laugh a lewd, metallic rumble.
"Half of Pacifica wants a piece of me. How am I supposed to track every 'roid-monster with a name like Butcher?"
Kael already saw the board. Maine wanted him in the pit. Butcher was the Animals' golden goose, a brutal brawler who turned the arena into a splash zone. Making her lose was a tall order for anyone with a heartbeat.
"Think of the payout, kid. The betting pools in those pits are massive. We could clear a million Eddies on the spread alone," Maine winked, leaning in to seal the deal.
"Fine," Kael sighed, stretching his limbs. It wasn't just about the credits; he needed the timeline to stay on track.
"That's the spirit! Dorio, sign him up."
Maine rubbed his hands together. He'd recently had his chrome re-tuned by Viktor, swapping his botched mods for official Arasaka Gorilla Arms. He felt like he'd de-aged a decade, and his inhibitor count was finally dropping. He was already calculating how big a loan he could pull to bet the farm on Kael.
Dorio was the logical choice for the setup. Her father had been a high-ranking Animal, and she still carried the aesthetic—thick, dense muscle fueled by a history of performance enhancers. She spoke their language.
The weekend arrived with the stench of ozone and old blood.
The Animals' arena was tucked away in a hollowed-out factory. It wasn't a ring; it was a concrete pit, five meters deep. A true deathmatch. The floor was stained with years of darkened gore and bleached bone fragments.
The stands were a riot of noise, hundreds of voices screaming for Butcher. With twenty straight kills, she was the undisputed queen of the pit. Her opponent was a "skinny" kid nobody recognized. The physique disparity made the match look like a joke. The name 'BT' hadn't hit the mainstream news yet.
"You're BT?" Butcher sneered. She was over two meters tall, a mountain of meat and chrome. Her fists were the size of Kael's head, reinforced with integrated steel knuckle-plates. "I heard you took down ten of my boys solo. Looking at you now... I think they just tripped on their own shoelaces."
"Are we going to fight, or are you going to talk me to death?" Kael asked, his voice bored. He hated being the center of attention in a place this filthy.
"I'm going to pamper you, little man. Right before I snap your spine." Butcher pounded her fists together, the sound echoing like a sledgehammer.
BZZZT—
The bell shrieked.
Butcher surged forward, a tidal wave of testosterone and bio-boosters. She threw a lead hook meant to cave in Kael's skull. Kael didn't even blink. He planted his foot and delivered a front kick.
CRACK.
The force of the impact, imbued with the Power of Four, sent the two-hundred-kilogram woman flying backward across the pit. She slammed into the concrete wall with enough momentum to make the spectator stands rattle.
The arena went deathly silent.
Kael walked slowly toward the crater in the wall. Butcher was gasping, blood-froth bubbling from her lips. Her chest plate was visibly dented, her internal stabilizers screaming. Even with her combat hormones redlining, she was finished.
"Surrender?" Kael asked. He had no "Hobbies" for unnecessary slaughter. Butcher wasn't a Scavenger; she was just a merc.
"Surrender? While I... still draw breath?" Butcher tried to curse, but Kael's fist met her forehead with the clinical efficiency of a pneumatic press.
THUD.
Butcher's head slumped into the dust. She was still breathing, but the lights were out.
"It's over. Pay up," Kael said, looking up at the referee.
The crowd exploded into a chaotic mix of fury and awe. Kael didn't stick around for the applause. He collected his share—hundreds of thousands of Eddies—and walked out. Maybe I should do this more often, he thought. The pay-to-effort ratio is incredible.
While Kael was turning Butcher into a floor-mat, Maine and the crew were tailing Maxim. They found him at a dive bar, drunkenly lamenting his losses.
Maine and Kiwi stayed in the car, acting as the tactical hub. Rebecca and Sasha—the crew's veteran infiltration duo—slipped into the bar. Rebecca's "innocent kid" act worked flawlessly. She swiped Maxim's data-shard key while Sasha provided the digital smokescreen.
"Shard secured," Kiwi reported, jacking the key into the car's terminal. "Accessing the navigation logs now. Almost there..."
"Shit! He's coming out!" Dorio hissed.
The drunken driver had cut his mourning short. He was heading straight for the car where Kiwi was currently mid-hack.
"I need sixty seconds!" Kiwi snapped.
Maine was about to send Rebecca in to cause a distraction when a figure emerged from the shadows of the alley. Maxim, stumbling and cursing, bumped right into him and fell flat on his ass.
"Which blind idiot..." Maxim started, but as he looked up, his jaw hit the pavement.
He looked like he'd seen a ghost. BT. The man who had just dismantled Butcher in the pit.
"Who's blind?" Kael asked, lifting Maxim by his collar. His eyes were cold, reflecting the neon lights like a predator's.
"I am! I'm blind! I'm a moron!" Maxim stammered, his sobriety returning in a cold wave of terror. He'd spent the last hour cursing BT for losing him his salary. Now, face-to-face with the legend, he was just trying to remember how to breathe.
"These clothes are custom-tailored, Maxim. Very expensive," Kael noted, dusting off a non-existent speck of dirt.
"I... I have cash! Take it! All of it!" Maxim shoved 1543 Eurodollars into Kael's hand.
"Good dog. Corporate training really does wonders for obedience." Kael patted his head and let him go. Maxim scrambled into his car and tore away, feeling lucky to be alive.
"Nice save!" Rebecca cheered, leaping onto Kael's back.
Sasha watched Kael from the side, her feline eyes soft and glowing with an affection she didn't bother to hide. Lucy stepped between them, her gaze sharp, reclaiming her territory.
"Did I miss the party?" Kiwi asked, stepping out of the car with a satisfied smirk.
The data was sent to Faraday. The middleman's tone was actually civil for once—he knew he had a high-tier crew on his leash.
"Dog-bastard is good at faking sincerity," Maine spat after the call. If Kael didn't need the Militech connections Faraday provided, Maine would have zeroed him weeks ago.
"That's enough for tonight," Kael said, waving the crew off. "I'm heading to Delamain's to finish Big White's latest iteration."
"Wait, why is she coming?" Lucy asked, pointing at Sasha.
"Sasha's helping with the logic-gate software for the robot's datashard," Kael explained with an innocent shrug. "I'm a hardware guy, Luce. I need the teachers for the soft-side."
Kael thought about the Japanese school uniform he'd ordered for Lucy. Tonight's 'remedial lessons' are going to be interesting.
"Alright, move it," Kael said, ushering both girls into the car.
Kiwi watched them go, lighting a cigarette. "The cabbage has grown up," she murmured to Maine. "She's starting to hunt with the wolves."
===
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 40 on my patreon, go check it out
exclusive 18+ character images, and early chapters, please visit my Patreon. Thanks for your support!
p4treon.com/talkfictome
if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Every 40 Power Stones == Bonus Chapter
every three 5-star reviews == Bonus Chapter