Cyberpunk: The Relentless

"Why do I feel like you're always in a bad mood, Mr. Kenichiro?"

Stepping off the AV, Karl greeted Kenichiro with a wide grin. "Isn't today a party? Can't you at least pretend to enjoy it?"

"That's not something a security operative should say," Kenichiro replied coldly. "Letting your guard down because of a festive atmosphere is how the dam starts to crack."

"That might be true, but if you keep your nerves stretched too tight, they'll snap eventually."

While Karl made easy conversation with the ever-stoic Kenichiro, V leaned toward Jack and Oliver and whispered, "Who is this guy? Looks like he could beat the crap out of all of us. Wasn't he the one we met last time too? Don't tell me all that stuff we joked about when we were drinking was true—Karl's really some corpo bastard child?"

"You're overthinking it," Oliver said. "He's just Karl's supervisor from his Dangerous Girls side gig. That mission at Arasaka Tower we talked about? He was the one who assigned it. Name's Kenichiro. He also happens to be a high-level exec at Arasaka."

Truth be told, no one in the squad besides Karl knew much about Kenichiro. They recognized his face and status, but not the man himself. What they were curious about was how Karl managed to act so familiar with someone so high up.

Sure, Kenichiro had a cold expression, but compared to the usual corpos who looked down on everyone, the fact that he even bothered speaking directly to them was borderline polite. If anything, his attitude felt almost... warm?

"Come with me."

After exchanging a few words with Karl, Kenichiro turned toward the AV landing pad and walked ahead.

In truth, he hadn't wanted Karl and his crew to come.

He trusted his own security forces to handle tonight's banquet. But thanks to past incidents, Chidana had less faith in them. She quietly issued a contract to Karl's team behind his back. By the time Kenichiro found out, it was too late. Miss Hanako had already approved it.

Now Karl and company had to be worked into the security detail.

Tonight's banquet was meant to ease the nerves of Arasaka staff affected by recent internal purges. Employees could bring a small number of family or personal security. Kenichiro was confident in controlling that scenario. Karl's team, though? They were a wild card.

Last time Karl showed up, he helped Adam Smasher purge traitors from the tower. And now he was back, during what was supposed to be a peaceful event. It sent the wrong message.

Fearing that jittery mid- and upper-level staff might read too much into it, Kenichiro personally came to escort Karl's crew and preemptively manage the situation.

"The banquet is divided across four floors," Kenichiro explained once they reached a secure, specially prepped room.

"Standard employees aren't invited. To compensate, they'll receive one floating vacation day to use over the next year. Department heads and above—excluding security personnel—can attend. Each floor hosts a different level of personnel. Your assignment is the top floor."

He walked over to a wall panel near the hangar-adjacent storeroom and pressed a few hidden switches.

"Hold onto something."

A faint mechanical rumble filled the narrow room. The door behind them shut slowly, and Karl felt the ground move beneath his feet.

An elevator—disguised as a storage closet. Probably for evacuating execs quickly during emergencies. Arasaka Tower really was like a megacorp dungeon, complete with hidden passages and secret elevators.

Karl smirked to himself.

Moments later, the lift stopped. Kenichiro gestured for them to step out. As Karl exited last, he looked back to see the door seal itself seamlessly into the wall. You'd never know it was there.

"Follow me."

As they moved down a pristine hallway, Karl noticed there were no doors or corners—just a long, featureless corridor. It looked like some kind of architectural anomaly.

"Is this a hidden access route or something? Is it really okay for us to see this, Mr. Kenichiro?"

"You think Militech and the other corps don't have these? Militech copied our internal layout, by the way."

Karl chuckled. That explained everything. Every major corp had these "open secrets".

Although, that last part—Militech copying Arasaka—sounded a bit rich. More likely they both stole from each other.

Eventually, they reached another wall. Kenichiro tapped a panel, and a hidden door slid open, revealing a massive dressing room—large enough to host a basketball game.

"What is this place?"

"Changing room," Kenichiro answered. "Get dressed. You can't show up looking like this. Especially you, Karl. Your face is too recognizable. You're all going in as Arasaka personnel."

"Arasaka uniforms, huh..."

Karl gave his squad a look. They did a quick sweep of the room for bugs or traps, then began changing. Surprisingly obedient.

Karl, in particular, changed with the kind of efficiency that made Kenichiro frown.

Was it just his imagination?

He stared at Karl.

Why does this kid look like he's worn Arasaka combat gear before? He's way too smooth with it...

.

..

.

🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless

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