Dexter DeShawn needed Karl and his team to bring intel on the Tavernier Suite. For them, that was no big deal. It would've been weird if the
Dexter DeShawn needed Karl and his team to bring intel on the Tavernier Suite. For them, that was no big deal.
It would've been weird if they couldn't provide intel on their own place of residence.
Still, Karl didn't go overboard with the report. A basic environmental layout and general info were enough—too much detail would only draw suspicion.
The files he compiled included one set of blueprints from when the Tavernier Suite was originally built, and another diagram showing later renovations by the construction crew. He had downloaded all of this directly from Azure Plaza's database. Whether Dexter DeShawn could figure out the Relic's location from those materials—that was his problem.
And sure enough, Dexter didn't disappoint. The man had skills. After thoroughly analyzing the data, he sent back a revised plan the next day, with every possible Relic storage location marked. Based on his analysis, a clean sweep of the suite would take no more than thirty seconds.
Because of the Relic's temperature requirements, it had to be stored in specific climate-controlled zones—and Dexter clearly understood that. Among the locations he marked, one of them happened to be the exact spot where the Relic was currently stored.
"As expected—there's never a shortage of capable people in this world."
That was Karl's only comment on Dexter's ability to deduce the Relic's location from two schematic diagrams. He didn't dwell on it.
After all, within Azure Plaza, there were only a handful of places suitable for storing something like the Relic. Dexter's deduction wasn't exactly genius-level—it just showed he wasn't stupid. That's all.
Any reasonably smart person could've figured it out.
What Karl was curious about, though, was how Dexter planned to pinpoint the moment they'd leave the suite.
Karl had already provided one half of the equation—the item's location. With that, Dexter could go back to his Militech clients with something tangible. But what he lacked was the right timing.
How would he figure out when the suite would be vacant? Would he stage an accident? Or maybe...
Karl's eyes landed on the security camera in the corner of the room.
Of course. The best way to check if someone's home is to hack the surveillance feed.
Azure Plaza's security system was maintained by a dedicated netrunner. Usually, just one or two were on duty—because a skilled netrunner could outperform hundreds of mediocre ones. That setup had its strengths and weaknesses.
The benefit? Fewer people meant fewer leaks. With only one netrunner, loyalty was easier to manage, and if something went wrong, the breach could be contained quickly.
The downside? If that one netrunner was compromised, the entire building's surveillance could fall into enemy hands.
Karl knew what he'd do in Dexter's shoes: go after the cameras and the netrunner.
Before Arasaka's security division could react, take out the guy monitoring the feed, then tap into the system to see when Yorinobu and the KK Squad left the suite—then strike during the window.
To pull that off, they'd need a way into the surveillance hub and a valid excuse to be inside Azure Plaza for a prolonged period.
So—what kind of person would be allowed to stay inside for a long time?
Karl flipped through the building's floor plans, thinking.
Guests.
Azure Plaza was a luxury hotel, after all—hosting guests from all over the world was its whole purpose.
And then... ventilation ducts.
Karl's eyes focused on one particular suite—it had been booked in advance but was still unoccupied, and it sat right next to the building's surveillance control center.
That suite was scheduled for occupancy tomorrow. Meanwhile, its ventilation system connected directly to the room where the netrunner operated.
The duct was narrow, but with a small robotic dog or spider drone, it was totally navigable. Of course, to avoid detection, the bot would need optical camouflage.
What a coincidence.
Karl immediately thought of the small flat-headed bot he'd left back at home.
It was equipped with optical camo, and developed by Militech no less. Talk about perfect for infiltration. It was almost like the damn thing had been made specifically for this job.
Whether that was just a convenient coincidence or not—Karl made a mental note to be cautious.
He glanced around the suite.
Yorinobu was on the phone, seemingly yelling at someone. The others were slouched across the room in various lazy poses—none of them looked even remotely like they were about to head out.
That wasn't going to work. If someone watching the feed saw this, who knows how long they'd wait. Karl needed to give them a nudge.
He looked again at the idle camera in the room.
It was equipped with the latest tech—motion sensors, thermal imaging, friend-or-foe ID. Unless you had subnet access to Azure Plaza's systems, tampering with it would be almost impossible.
Almost.
Karl did have internal access.
"Alright, everyone—move around with me a bit."
Once Yorinobu finished his call, Karl waved at them. "We need to record some footage of us leaving the suite. Later I'll upload it and overwrite the live feed. That way, anyone watching will 'clearly' see us walking out and heading downstairs."
"Is that really necessary?" Jack asked, puzzled. "Can't we just actually leave when the time comes? And seriously, do we even need to let those thieves in? We know what they're after. We're not planning to hand over the Relic. Let's just take them out."
"That won't work. I'll be staying behind to keep an eye on things. Also—"
Karl turned to Yorinobu.
Yorinobu gave a solemn nod. "Saburo Arasaka has left Japan."
"There it is."
Karl nodded. "Then someone from Militech has to be on-site."
If the 'emperor' of Arasaka died with Militech agents nearby, even if there was no actual foul play—there had to be.
Another day dawned in Night City.
As the sun rose high above the skyline, a vehicle carrying four passengers pulled up in front of Azure Plaza.
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🔥🦾 CYBERPUNK: THE RELENTLESS 🦾🔥
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