Chapter 362 – Lucky You - Cyberpunk: The Relentless

🔥 Cyberpunk: The Relentless

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"Yo, Andy, this is the first time I've seen you lead a team out in the field." "Well, Mr. Johnson is the Deputy Commissioner now." Andy nodd

"Yo, Andy, this is the first time I've seen you lead a team out in the field."

"Well, Mr. Johnson is the Deputy Commissioner now."

Andy nodded to Karl, his gaze sweeping over the still-burning vehicles before turning toward the distance—where the kidnapped victims were being safely evacuated from the hospital by NCPD officers.

Seeing the expressions on those rescued faces, Andy looked back at Karl and said, "You saved a lot of people this time, Karl."

"Did I?" Karl didn't seem particularly affected. For him, it was just something he helped with casually. "This was V's mission to begin with. I just lent a hand."

"A hand that might've saved several families..."

Andy, unlike Johnson, was still not used to handling the emotional weight of active cases. His face betrayed a trace of melancholy—though it quickly faded when Karl asked about Mr. Johnson.

"How's Mr. Johnson doing, now that he's the Deputy Commissioner? Is he adjusting well?"

"Mr. Johnson?" Andy smiled slightly. "He's working overtime every day, barely gets a break. Says he's still busy dealing with everything related to the former commissioner's death."

Karl chuckled, imagining Johnson's grim expression buried in paperwork. "Hard to picture a guy who's spent half his life patrolling the streets stuck behind a desk."

"Actually..." Andy remembered something. "There's a hot topic going around the station right now."

He glanced around at the surrounding area before continuing. "You know where this hospital is located, right?"

"Near the Badlands, in the Santo Domingo outskirts."

Karl wasn't quite sure where Andy was going with this, but he answered nonetheless.

"Well, soon this area might no longer fall under NCPD jurisdiction."

"No longer under NCPD?" Karl frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Because of how chaotic the Badlands and Pacifica are, and how difficult it is for law enforcement to operate there, the city council is debating a proposal to withdraw all NCPD presence from those zones—removing them entirely from the jurisdiction of Night City."

"Removing Pacifica and the Badlands?"

In Karl's mind, NCPD presence in those areas had always been rare to begin with. Enforcement efforts were minimal—more symbolic than functional. But if the city officially announced that it was giving up on them altogether... that would cause a political earthquake.

"The city council's trying to turn Pacifica and the Badlands into another Dogtown, aren't they?"

Dogtown, though once part of Pacifica, was now considered completely separate from Night City's systems. Now the council wanted to abandon not only Dogtown, but other nearby territories as well?

"They're saying it would lower the city's crime rate."

"Sure—if you don't count it, it doesn't exist, right?" Karl scoffed. "What a 'brilliant' plan."

But thinking back to the former commissioner's policies, and knowing how the city government operated... Karl had to admit, it could happen.

"Karl, time to go."

While Karl was pondering what chaos this kind of policy might unleash, V waved to him from a short distance away.

The target V had been assigned to rescue was now in the hands of the NCPD, and under Andy's supervision, they'd be safely escorted home. With the job wrapped up, it was time to return to the city.

"Got it. I'm coming."

Karl said goodbye to Andy—who still had work to handle—and walked over to V.

Once there, Karl noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Panam? She left?"

"She said the delivery was urgent. After we confirmed Andy didn't need her help, she rushed off—looks like she had to meet a deadline with the 6th Street Gang."

"I see."

Back in V's car, heading toward the city, Karl scrolled through his messages.

To his surprise, not a single fixer had contacted him with a new job.

"Damn... things are actually quiet in the city for once."

As soon as he said that, they passed through Coronado Ranch in Santo Domingo.

Right then—gunfire erupted up ahead, followed by shouting and screaming.

"Fuck you, Will Firearm! I'll put a bullet through your mama's purse!"

The sudden gunfire made Karl twitch involuntarily, the timing making his earlier comment feel like a cruel joke from the universe. But what caught his attention most wasn't the noise—it was the name being yelled:

Will Firearm.

Karl remembered Oliver mentioning that name before.

Will Firearm was a major figure in the 6th Street Gang, second only to the boss. Power-hungry and politically ambitious, he was actively scheming to seize control of the gang for himself.

Karl didn't like him one bit.

After all, Oliver was expelled from the gang just two weeks after joining—thanks to this bastard.

Back when Karl first met Oliver, one of their squadmates had been a relative of Will Firearm. That guy got gunned down by the Maelstrom, and to make up for the loss, the gang's leader booted Oliver—who'd survived the mission—blaming him for the failure. If it weren't for Oliver's father still having some pull in the gang, he might've been executed instead of just exiled.

A street shootout involving that guy, huh...

Karl briefly considered getting involved, maybe giving Will Firearm a little surprise.

But before he could act, his phone buzzed with a new message.

A special frequency and alert tone—only one person used that encrypted channel: Hanako.

He glanced at the screen.

"The R&D team developed a new monomolecular wire as I requested. It's been delivered to my place. Would you like to come see it? Also, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Will Firearm...

Guess you got lucky today.

Karl put the phone down.

"V, take me to North Oak."