The Corpo Dog Who Showed Up

"Jack, come over and have a drink with us."

The moment Jackie Welles walked into the Afterlife bar, the Valentinos gang member who had been shouting to Mrs. Welles about wanting to drink with Jack immediately stood up and held out a hand, beckoning for him to come sit with them.

Before Jack could say anything, Mrs. Welles, carrying a tray, beat them to it. "Jack, perfect timing. Come help me deliver these things to those two guests over there."

"Got it, Mom."

Having just come home only to be drafted into work, Jackie Welles could only apologize to the friends inviting him for drinks with a look. He steadily took the tray from his mother, walked over to Carl and Oliver, set it down for them, and took a seat beside them.

"What should I call you, mano?"

Jackie Welles himself was truly standing right in front of them now. Still, since Carl had already met Viktor before, well, it was nothing too special.

"Carl."

Carl picked up the sweet tea he had poured into a glass and took a sip. "You can call me KK."

Didn't this sweet tea just taste like iced tea?

"Oliver."

Oliver also picked up his bottled ice beer and gestured toward Jack. "You're Jack, right? I heard them calling you. Have a drink with us. I don't mind getting to know some new friends."

"Sounds good."

Jack had only approached them to test the waters, worried about these unfamiliar mercenaries in his mother's bar. But after realizing they were not as dangerous as he had imagined, he immediately accepted Oliver's invitation.

He got up and jogged over to the bar counter in his own home. After enduring his mother's nagging while grabbing a beer like Oliver's, Jack also sliced up a plate of Spanish ham (ingredients unknown) and carried it over. On the way, he did not forget to apologize to his Valentinos gang friends who had invited him earlier. "I might have some things to do later today, so I won't be drinking with you guys. I'll keep these new friends company over here."

"Then you have to come next time."

"Of course!"

Grinning broadly, Jack set down the Spanish ham, sat down, and took a huge gulp of beer.

Only after swallowing did Jack look back at the two of them. "Have some ham. Judging by the looks of you, are you two mercenaries?"

"We only formed our crew yesterday. We haven't even taken a single job yet."

Carl drank his "iced tea" and stuffed another fry into his mouth. The fries were fried crisp and tasted incredible. "We heard there might be work to find at the Afterlife bar, so we came here early this morning."

"A crew formed just yesterday?"

Surprise flashed through Jack's eyes at Carl's words. "Doesn't look like it, judging from how you're dressed. Has someone been guiding you?"

New mercenaries often did not understand the importance of weapons and armor. Even the mercenaries in the Afterlife bar, who did not even have fixers, had usually walked the line between life and death several times and lost countless teammates before realizing the importance of bulletproof vests or Subdermal Armor. There were plenty of hotheaded rookies who saw only the glorious exploits of legends on the streets, decided they wanted to become mercenaries, and jumped in without preparing anything.

"You could say we got help from a Ripperdoc named Viktor. He really is a good man."

Faced with Jack's smile, which made him seem rather guileless and trustworthy despite the fierce look he had worn when he first came in, Oliver did not think much of it and casually revealed this unimportant detail.

But Carl, sitting beside him, noticed that beneath Jack's hulking appearance, which gave people the stereotypical impression that he was reckless, lay an exceptionally meticulous mind. Within barely a few sentences, Oliver had already been coaxed into revealing information.

Still, it did not really matter, so Carl stuffed several more fries into his mouth.

They really were delicious, though it was a shame the Afterlife bar did not provide salt and pepper or ketchup. There was not even mayonnaise.

"Viktor?"

Hearing that familiar name, Jack immediately realized that the Viktor Oliver mentioned was probably the Viktor he knew.

"Viktor from Watson?"

"Yeah. You know him too?"

"Of course, brother. We go way back."

Jack's smile grew even brighter, and he finally dropped the last bit of caution he had toward Oliver and Carl. Anyone Old Vic had helped of his own accord could not be a bad person. It seemed he really was about to make two more friends.

Once Carl joined the conversation, the group chatted a little more about Old Vic. Then Jack spoke about his own situation. "I'm actually like you guys—I haven't been a mercenary for long either. I've taken a few jobs already, but they were all small stuff;

"As for fixers, I know one, but I don't think I'm quite at that level yet. I don't want to bother them just yet. I figured I'd improve myself first, at least until other fixers would give me jobs based on my skills instead of connections."

"You've got ambition, Jack. Unlike me, I've always relied on my dad and my sister. And if Carl hadn't been around, I wouldn't even know how to make it on my own."

Oliver truly admired a man like Jack, who had completed several jobs and had fixer connections yet chose not to use them. But with a glance, he noticed that Carl was almost done with the fries while they talked.

Jack had already noticed the nearly empty plate in front of Carl. With a hint of pride, he said, "Carl, how are the fries? My mom made them. I've been eating them with chips since I was little and never got sick of them."

"They really are good, but I think they'd be even better with some ketchup."

"Exactly, that's what I think too. But my mom's never willing. She just likes them plain." Jack felt that he and Carl got along remarkably well in this regard. His tone grew a little excited, and he almost wanted to drag Carl over to offer his mother some suggestions right then. But before he could do that, a new guest entered the Afterlife bar.

"Suit and tie. Corpo Dog."

Oliver lowered his voice. Just as he said, the person walking into the Afterlife bar with a frown was a female corporate employee, impeccably dressed and made up, fairly pretty at a glance, though her arrogant expression ruined her features.

"Keep your voice down, or we might get bitten by the dog."

Jack also lowered his voice, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.

Few people had any goodwill toward Corpo Dogs—those who served The Corporation, looked down on ordinary people from above, yet knelt faster than anyone else before their superiors.

"She's looking over here."

While Jack and Oliver had their heads lowered and were speaking quietly, Carl's calm words immediately made them look up. Then they watched as the Corpo Dog, her high heels clicking sharply, strode toward them.

She heard us? What kind of cybernetic ears are those?