"Karl, you're up early today?"
When Jack came downstairs, he found Karl already lounging lazily on the couch, breakfast fully made.
"You guys just slept in. T-Bug was down here earlier—had breakfast and went back upstairs."
Karl gave Jack a glance, then looked up at the two still-closed doors on the second floor.
"Looks like V and Oliver are gonna sleep in for a while."
"They drank way too much last night."
Jack sat at the table and checked out the breakfast: toast, fried eggs, bacon, sausage, and a glass of milk. Simple, but solid. As he started eating, he asked:
"Were you waiting for us to wake up?"
"Kind of. Got a job, nothing urgent."
Karl sat up on the couch and explained the message he'd just received from NetWatch.
"You remember that NetWatch guy? The one we met on that Pacific States gig? He messaged me this morning. Apparently, the Voodoo Boys are up to something again. He wants us on standby—might need help pulling something off."
"Wait—NetWatch? Doesn't he already have the Animals covering him?"
Jack raised the same point Karl had brought up earlier.
"They're great as bodyguards, sure. But stealth? Forget it. This is a covert op—he's planning to make a move on the Voodoo Boys' leadership. Needs people nearby who can help when the time comes, without blowing the whole operation."
"So, what? A silent takedown on Voodoo high command, and we're the backup muscle in case things go south—but we have to stay hidden?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, definitely not something the Animals could handle. When's it happening?"
"He didn't say. Just booked us in advance. They're still tracking Voodoo assets online, so until they have a lock, we're on standby."
"Standby, huh?" Jack raised a brow. "Bet the deposit's hefty, then."
"Three hundred thousand eddies," Karl said, tapping the side of his head. "And once it's done, he's offering a NetWatch-grade NetDrive Mark I interface pod as part of the payment."
"Not bad at all."
Karl nodded. "Compared to the Arasaka pod I'm running now, this one's better. T-Bug saw it and said, 'Damn, NetWatch is actually giving out tech like that? That's rare. Usually, if they spot someone using that kind of gear, they pounce and strip it off the corpse.'"
"Yeah," Jack nodded, chewing thoughtfully, "T-Bug mentioned it before—it's the same model NetWatch's elite agents use. Killer intrusion specs, right?"
"Basically," Karl shrugged. "It's only about 20% better than what I've got now—but 20% at that level? That's huge."
He gestured with an open palm. "There's nothing better on the open market. If you want the best, that's it. Honestly, the pod's the real prize in this gig. You guys can split the deposit, and once I get the pod, I'll throw in something extra as compensation. But the pod's mine."
"Something like that... if it's got hidden failsafes, it could be a real danger. You sure NetWatch isn't trying to slip in a backdoor?"
"Oh, I'll be scanning it thoroughly. But from what I've heard, there are commercial units of this model circulating now. Probably stripped-down, sanitized versions. You know how it is: if it's available on the open market, it's already outdated."
Karl sighed. "No wonder rich folks always go custom. Whether it's actually better or not, at least it's tailored. Meanwhile, people like us? We can maybe afford to customize a gun. Pods like this? Way out of our league."
"Like Johnny Silverhand's custom 'Malorian Arms 3516'?" Jack grinned. "Wasn't that a one-of-a-kind piece from the CEO himself? Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"
He gestured to Karl's arm. "That monowire and cyberarm of yours aren't exactly standard-issue either."
"Heh."
Karl smirked and brushed it off. "Don't worry about that. The point is—custom gear like cyberdecks or interface pods might be out of reach, but weapons? That we can manage. Maybe it's time we hit up a weapons manufacturer and commissioned something custom. Pull that out in the middle of a job, and half the enemies might run before we fire a shot."
Jack laughed, taking a bite of a fried egg.
"Pretty sure just seeing our faces is enough to make gangs shit themselves. If we're drawing weapons, they're already halfway dead."
He chewed and swallowed. "So once V and Oliver are up, we'll sit down and talk?"
"You guys can do that. Maybe take on one of the gigs I posted to the squad channel. I'm heading out."
Karl stretched and stood up. "I need to hit the Badlands—something's arrived."
"Something?" Jack tilted his head. Then his eyes widened. "Wait... you mean it's here?!"
"Yep. Finally arrived. It's with your APC—both are temporarily parked with the Aldecaldos. Your vehicle's too big to bring into the city, so they're renting it out as a cargo hauler. But the other item—just the size of a shipping container. I'm heading out there now to make arrangements to bring it home."
"You're storing that thing at home? What if the NCPD shows up? We'll all be in a cell for violating city codes."
"Let them try. Every gang in Night City has one hidden away. Why can't we? Honestly, no place in the city feels safer than our own turf. Just make sure V and Oliver clear out the storage room. Thing's about two meters tall—it'll fit."
Karl was already halfway up the stairs toward the rooftop elevator when Jack called out:
"Karl! Doesn't that thing need maintenance? Are we just gonna leave it in the house?"
"V's been reading up on it—he says he's got it covered. Ask him."
Karl waved without turning back and disappeared up the stairs toward the rooftop AV pad.
Jack scratched his head, frowning.
"V knows how to maintain an ACPA? From just reading up on it? Man, I really hope that works..."
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