The Gig

Chapter 12 12. Commission

Oliver and Jack both thought the corpo was coming over to bite their heads off, but the corpo stopped in front of Karl, staring at his face for a few moments.

Karl did have a handsome face, but in this day and age, anyone could get a handsome or beautiful face from a Ripperdoc, so it wasn't Karl's face that attracted this corpo. What she noticed was Karl himself.

"I reviewed the surveillance footage from Little China in Watson District yesterday. You took out sixteen Maelstrom members by yourself, right?"

What happened yesterday was already known today. The surveillance in the cyberpunk world is truly meticulous.

Thinking this, Karl couldn't figure out what this corpo's purpose was. If a gang member was taken care of, shouldn't that be a matter for the NCPD?

But there was one thing he had to correct.

"It wasn't just me. My friend helped too."

As he said this, Karl pointed to Oliver.

But the corpo didn't even glance at Oliver. She stood in front of Karl and crossed her arms, and the things in front of her chest, which may or may not have been modified, were originally pressed down by her corporate uniform, but her arm-crossing gesture revealed a rather impressive curve.

"I've seen the surveillance footage. I'm not blind. I know who the main force was. Don't worry, I'm not with the NCPD, nor am I some do-gooder looking for trouble, and I'm definitely not a relative or friend of the trash you killed. I have a job I want you to do. The reward is 100,000 eddies. Interested?"

"100,000 eddies?"

Just as the corpo had predicted, Karl was instantly attracted by the number, but he quickly caught on. "So, you're here to commission us."

Immediately, Karl's expression changed, a smile appeared on his face, and his tone became enthusiastic.

"You should have said you were a client earlier! Please, have a seat, Ms. Corporate Employee. Tell us the details. As long as it's within our capabilities, we can complete the task for you properly."

The corpo had become a client, so he would put aside his prejudices for now.

Oliver and Jack exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of disdain for Karl in each other's eyes, but they acted quickly. They stood up, making room for Karl and the corporate employee to talk.

If there was a job to take, they should have said so sooner.

They were all on the same side, so there was no need to be polite.

100,000 eddies was more money than a bottom-tier mercenary might earn in a year.

This time, the corporate employee did look at Jack and Oliver, but she seemed to dislike the seats they had kindly offered, as if she didn't want to sit where two mercenaries had sat. She looked around and found an empty seat next to Karl, which, although not very clean, at least hadn't been sat on by anyone before she arrived, so she reluctantly sat down.

After sitting down, she took out a strip-shaped data chip, signaling Karl to take it and look at it.

Karl took it and inserted it into the access port he had just modified yesterday, and the contents were displayed before his eyes.

After reading the contents for a few seconds, Karl removed the data chip and handed it back.

"What do you think?"

"What's your name?"

There was more seriousness in Karl's tone this time. This job, they could do.

"You don't need to know my name. Just complete the task. Just tell me if you can do it."

"Of course we can. But how do we send you the proof?"

"Send photos to this number when you're done. Don't call unless it's important. I'm very busy."

Karl memorized the number the corpo gave him, and then she transferred 30,000 eddies.

"This is the deposit as an advance payment. Don't think about running off with the money, unless you're not afraid of me using the rest of the money to buy your life."

After this warning, the corpo stood up and walked out in a hurry, her high heels clicking. From the time she entered the Afterlife bar to the time she left, she didn't say a word to anyone else, nor did she look at anyone else even once.

"Karl, what's the word?"

Oliver understood that Karl had just taken on a mission and asked curiously.

"Sorry for accepting the mission without your permission."

"It's okay, we're brothers. Don't mention such a small thing. I'm just impressed that people are already coming to you with missions. I couldn't be happier."

What Oliver was even more curious about was the mission: "So, tell us about the mission."

"Wait a minute."

Raising his hand to signal Oliver to wait, Karl looked at Jack, who was watching from the side, and extended an invitation: "Jack, since you're working alone now, would you like to join us on a mission?"

"Me? Can I?"

Corpo missions usually paid well, and Jack knew this. He didn't expect Karl to want to bring him in on it.

"More people, more strength."

Karl smiled. "What do you say? Want to work together?"

"We're brothers, so of course I'll do it."

As if infected by Karl's smile, Jack also smiled, agreeing to Karl's invitation without even asking about the specifics of the mission or how the reward would be split. He was truly generous.

Jack had always been straightforward with people he liked.

"Then let's split the money first."

A light flashed in Oliver and Jack's eyes. The 10,000 eddies that belonged to them had already arrived before they even started.

Coincidentally, Karl was also quick to share the money.

"Dios mío, you dared to pay that much as a deposit, what kind of mission did you take on, brother?"

"It's not some conscience-defying or disgusting mission, is it?"

Amidst Jack's exclamation, Karl awkwardly made room, and the two who sat back down began to discuss the mission with a reward that would make ordinary low-level mercenaries green with envy.

The details were quite complex, but Karl managed to summarize it succinctly.

In short:

'Go to a Maelstrom territory in Watson District, one garrisoned by twenty people, go in and find a box that was stolen from the company, no need to return it to the client, just destroy it, and take a picture of the destroyed remains.'

"Looking at it that way, that company chick must have something she wants to hide."

The well-informed Jack guessed that there might be something extraordinary in that box.

"Most likely some compromising photos or something, isn't that how it always plays out in Japanese movies?"

The knowledgeable Oliver chimed in.

Meanwhile, Karl was contemplating the connections between certain things.

The Maelstrom had previously robbed the Sixth Street Gang, and now this company employee he met had also had something stolen by the Maelstrom. Could there be any connection, or is it just the season for the Maelstrom to be on a robbing spree?

Too little information, no need to overthink it.

What's more important now is...

"Leave?"

"We leave after we eat."

Oliver and Jack stuffed their mouths full of Spanish ham slices.

Yeah, the kind with questionable ingredients.