Chapter Summaries

Kerry brought Rogue to meet Johnny Silverhand, whose personality had been transferred into Carl and the others’ dog, BallBall. After Rogue recognized him and learned about the Relic, she agreed to consider helping him escape the dog’s body if he behaved himself.

• Kerry surprised Rogue by presenting BallBall as a gift at the Afterlife Bar.
• Johnny Silverhand spoke through BallBall, and Rogue recognized his voice immediately.
• Johnny’s projection appeared and greeted Rogue, who recalled seeing Adam Smasher tear him apart decades earlier.
• Carl explained that Johnny’s personality data had survived on the Relic biochip Arakawa Sesen stole.
• Johnny asked Rogue to help him leave the dog’s body, and she said she might help for the sake of their past if he behaved.

Carl agreed to let Rogue rent his dog, but asked Johnny Silverhand to earn the million eurodollars himself. After trading insults, Johnny learned that Rogue considered Carl Night City's current legend, far beyond his own reputation.

• Rogue offered to pay Carl to rent his dog while she worked on getting Johnny a human-looking body.
• Carl asked Johnny to earn the million eurodollars himself, curious to see what the old legend could do.
• Carl and Johnny exchanged barbs about Adam Smasher, their reputations, and their ability to get things done.
• Johnny offered to help Carl cripple Adam Smasher and settle his own debt with him.
• Johnny asked Rogue who Carl was, and she identified him as KK, Night City's current legend, far beyond Johnny.

Carl let Johnny Silverhand adjust to life in BallBall’s canine body while catching up with friends amid Arasaka’s power struggle. Blanca contacted Carl about a job, and he agreed to meet her the next day.

• Johnny Silverhand questioned Carl about why he had not tried to kill Adam Smasher, and Carl teased him about his fighting ability.
• Johnny Silverhand browsed the Net to learn about the past fifty years and settled down rather than running off in his dog body.
• Carl reassured Haruko that she could reply when she had time while she dealt with the upheaval at Arasaka.
• Carl read Maki’s message about being told by Takemura Goro to stay home and focus on studying.
• Blanca asked Carl to meet her the next day for a job, and Carl immediately agreed.

Blanca asked Carl to contact Reid, a missing Intelligence Bureau agent hiding in Dogtown, and help him with an upcoming operation. After learning more about Blanca’s decision to align with the Hawks and Rosalind Myles, Carl asked her to share a meal with him, and she agreed.

• Blanca asked Carl to travel alone to Dogtown and establish contact with an Intelligence Bureau agent.
• Blanca explained that she had joined the Hawks’ side within Militech and aligned herself with Rosalind Myles to advance her career.
• Blanca told Carl that the agent was named Reid, had infiltrated Night City during the Unification War, and had faked his death.
• Carl invited Blanca to taste Spanish food he planned to make, and Blanca firmly agreed to make time for him.

Carl waited at Andrew Jackson Basketball Court to meet New America Intelligence Bureau agent Solomon Reed, preparing for trouble while Reed arrived late. After Reed demonstrated his skill by killing several attackers, Carl recognized him and introduced himself as KK, and Reed confirmed he knew who Carl was.

• Carl prepared weapons, communications, and cyberware before going alone to meet the Intelligence Bureau agent at Dogtown.
• Carl waited past the agreed time and watched a gunfight unfold near the basketball court.
• A black-clad figure rushed the heavy gunner and killed him and three other attackers with precise shots.
• The figure approached Carl, who recognized him as Solomon Reed and remarked that he was eleven minutes late.
• Carl introduced himself as Carl, also known as KK, and Reed said he already knew him.

Carl agreed to follow Solomon Reed’s lead while helping with his assignment in Dogtown. As they left, Carl destroyed a group of Scavengers pursuing them, and Reed realized her abilities exceeded what he had learned from her file.

• Carl told Reed she would follow his instructions and asked whether he needed to conceal his appearance.
• Carl and Reed changed their appearances with camouflage chips and walked away from the basketball court.
• Scavengers arrived at Reed’s abandoned vehicle and fired a rocket at it.
• Carl noticed the Scavengers’ vehicles and used a brief manipulation to overheat their engines and ignite their fuel.
• The Scavengers’ vehicles exploded in a chain of blasts, and Reed suspected Carl had hacked them.

Carl met with New America agent Reid and learned that President Rosalind Myles wanted him to retrieve a document hidden in Kurt Hansen’s military ID tag. Carl accepted the job and settled on a direct infiltration plan with Reid, leaving them to prepare for the operation in Dogtown.

• Carl met Reid at Moth Bar, where Reid introduced a scrambled communication panel for their contact.
• Rosalind Myles revealed that Hansen carried a document in a compartment inside his military ID tag and asked Carl to retrieve it.
• Carl warned that he might accidentally kill Hansen, and Rosalind clarified that Hansen’s death would count as mission failure.
• Carl confirmed the mission and proposed infiltrating Dogtown, finding an opening, taking the tag, and escaping.
• Reid agreed to follow Carl’s plan while keeping his own approach as a possible backup.

Carl and Reid planned to infiltrate Kurt Hansen’s territory in disguise and steal his Dog Tag, but neither had a useful identity or contacts. Carl asked Mr. Hands to create a temporary identity for Hansen’s banquets, and Mr. Hands promised to provide one the next day.

• Carl and Reid chose disguises as their method for getting close to Kurt Hansen and taking his Dog Tag.
• Reid admitted he had no contacts who could help them approach Hansen, leaving Carl frustrated that the operation depended on the two of them.
• Carl realized he could not think of a suitable identity and called Mr. Hands for help.
• Carl asked Mr. Hands for an identity that could attend Hansen’s banquets without attracting suspicion or being investigated too closely.
• Mr. Hands asked whether Hansen would die, then promised to prepare the identity by the next day.

Carl and Reid attended Kurt Hansen’s banquet in disguise to gather intelligence, where they observed political and corporate guests and Reid worked the crowd. Carl was approached by a woman who seemed interested in her, prompting Carl to decide to use the attention to gather information.

• Carl and Reid entered Gemini Sapphire Tower as ordinary guests and surveyed the banquet.
• Carl noticed Vice Mayor Weldon Holt networking, then spotted the NCPD commissioner meeting a Biotechnica department head whose connection to his wife puzzled her.
• Reid used his handsome disguise to mingle with guests and gather intelligence.
• Carl watched Kurt Hansen monitor the banquet from a guarded sofa while considering how to approach him.
• A young woman invited Carl to chat, and Carl decided to learn intelligence-gathering techniques by using the attention she attracted.

Carl and Reid infiltrated Kurt Hansen’s banquet to steal the Dog Tag holding a data chip, and Carl used a blackout and a memory wipe to create an opening. Hansen discovered the tag had been sliced apart and the chip was missing, while Carl and Reid had already escaped the tower.

• Kurt Hansen learned that Carl and Reid were members of the Van Buren family, but decided not to pay them special attention.
• Reid told Carl that Hansen would train Barghest recruits after the banquet and shared a dangerous escape route beneath Gemini Sapphire Tower.
• Carl decided to let Hansen discover the theft only after she had time to escape, and Reid explained the tower’s exits and security risks.
• Carl caused a brief blackout with an EMP knife, wiped the memory of the girl beside her, and used the confusion to approach Hansen as he left the banquet.
• Carl and Reid switched the Dog Tag’s data chip during the escape, and Carl left the tower with the girl while Hansen went to train the recruits.
• Hansen ordered an investigation into the blackout, then found that the Dog Tag had been sliced open and the chip inside it was gone.

After an alarm sounded at Gemini Sapphire Tower, Barghest searched for an infiltrator while Carl and Reid escaped with the chip. Carl hid in a Dogtown hotel with an unconscious girl, but armed Barghest soldiers arrived at her door, leaving her to wonder whether her cover had been exposed.

• Barghest soldiers sealed off Gemini Sapphire Tower and began searching for the unidentified intruder as many guests had already left.
• Reid messaged Carl that he had escaped the tower with the chip through the underground passages.
• Carl stayed at a Dogtown hotel with the girl whose car she had used, and put her to sleep after she made advances toward her.
• Carl considered investigating the girl's identity and adjusting her memories, then saw two armed Barghest soldiers waiting outside her door.

Carl convinced the Hellhound soldiers that she was an ordinary hotel guest, allowing them to search her room without discovering the chip. As the Hellhounds sealed off Dogtown, Reid planned to get the chip’s information to the President and destroy it, then hinted that the hacker he intended to use was unusual.

• Carl acted like a wary guest and persuaded the Hellhounds outside her door that she was not their target.
• Carl prepared the room and opened the door, and the Hellhounds entered to conduct an inspection.
• Carl used Reid’s perfume and her apparent companion’s presence to keep the soldiers relaxed as they scanned the room for the chip.
• Reid told Carl that the Hellhounds had sealed off Dogtown and set up scanners at checkpoints.
• Reid said he planned to have a hacker transmit the chip’s contents to the President before destroying it, then revealed that the hacker was different.

Carl and Reid planned to enlist a former Voodoo Boys netrunner to help protect the chip, while Kurt Hansen learned that the Intelligence Bureau had taken it. Hansen suspected an Intelligence Bureau agent had betrayed Reid, and Carl awaited Reid’s signal to meet him.

• Carl learned the netrunner Reid wanted to contact had once belonged to the Voodoo Boys, and she promised not to start a conflict if they cooperated.
• Reid asked Carl to wait for his signal, said he would send her the address, and planned to meet her in two hours.
• Reid hid the chip and returned to Gemini Sapphire Tower, where he pretended to be a disgruntled guest submitting to Barghest scans.
• Kurt Hansen received an anonymous message saying an Intelligence Bureau guest had infiltrated his party and taken what they wanted.
• Hansen considered who could have sent the warning and suspected an Intelligence Bureau agent had betrayed Reid.

Reid and Carl went to the hideout of Voodoo Boys defector Slider, hoping to enlist the netrunner’s help for the Intelligence Bureau. When Reid warned that Slider might need to be forced to cooperate, Carl changed into KK and stormed into the hideout to demand a meeting.

• Carl met Reid at the address Reid had given her, and they discussed their disguises and how to avoid pursuit.
• Reid explained that Slider, whose real name was Wilkie-Laguerre, was a blind netrunner and an Intelligence Bureau informant who might help them.
• Reid and Carl approached the abandoned spa where Slider’s group was based and observed its security.
• Carl confirmed that Reid could handle Slider once they reached him, then changed into KK.
• KK kicked open the door to the spa’s back area and demanded that someone tell Slider he wanted to speak with him.

Carl visited the Voodoo Boys splinter group to find Slider, but the members’ fear and evasiveness made her force her way inside. She left one blocker unconscious with a damaged Access Port, and the others realized she was the real KK and were relieved she had not killed them.

• Carl told the Voodoo Boys splinter members she had come peacefully and asked them to inform Slider she wanted to see him.
• The members hesitated and denied that anyone called Slider was there, so Carl decided to search for him herself.
• Reid confirmed that they only needed to find the network connection point, while the splinter members continued to obstruct them.
• When a member tried to block Carl, she damaged his Access Port and warned the others not to stand in her way.
• Carl went inside, and the splinter members accepted she was the real KK and privately felt relieved that someone else had taken the hit.

Carl and Reid visited Slider in an abandoned spa to have him transmit data from a chip they had taken from Barghest. Before Slider could begin, Barghest tracked them to the spa and launched an inspection, leaving the group under attack.

• Carl and Reid walked through the spa under the watch of Slider’s Voodoo Boys splinter group and asked Slider to open the door.
• Slider let them in, greeted Carl warmly, and questioned Reid about the Intelligence Bureau’s intentions.
• Carl explained that they needed Slider to send data from a chip taken from Barghest to a contact in the city without leaving a trace.
• Slider began to consider the job, but an alarm sounded, and he said Barghest had tracked them to the spa.
• Slider’s people exchanged fire with Barghest outside the spa.

Reid, Slider, and Carl fled the spa while the Dog Soldiers attacked, planning to use Reid’s Moth Bar hideout to crack and transmit the chip’s data. The Dog Soldiers realized their target might have escaped and requested permission to search nearby.

• Reid and Slider agreed they needed to relocate so Slider could safely decrypt and transmit the chip’s data, and Carl agreed to leave rather than fight the Dog Soldiers.
• Slider explained that he needed to hack cameras to guide them and asked for a safe place with better equipment; Reid offered Moth Bar.
• Slider told his people to withdraw by separate routes as reinforcements arrived, and Reid carried him while Slider guided them out.
• Carl asked about the equipment’s security, and Slider ordered her to destroy the equipment and hacker chair to erase possible data traces.
• Carl used grenades to destroy the equipment as the Dog Soldiers saw Slider’s people retreat and reported that the target might have escaped.

Slider decrypted part of the information chip and discovered that it contained the President’s recent itinerary. His findings suggested a traitor was extremely close to the President, while the rest of the data was still being decrypted.

• Reid assured Slider that the Intelligence Bureau would leave him alone after the job, and Slider offered Carl discounted hacking equipment in the future.
• Carl and Slider agreed she might hire him someday, provided he did not return to the Voodoo Boys’ criminal activities.
• Slider began decrypting the chip while Carl brought sweet tea downstairs for him and Reid.
• Slider told Reid and Carl that the chip contained unusually complex safeguards and that he had uncovered the President’s recent itinerary, suggesting a traitor close to the President.

Carl and Reid prepared to test whether Reid’s Intelligence Bureau contact was a traitor by using their hideout as bait while Slider transmitted the chip’s data. Five minutes after Slider left, Barghest received the address of Moth Bar, putting the plan to the test.

• Carl suggested that Reid’s Intelligence Bureau contact might have betrayed them and proposed testing the contact by sending their network address.
• Reid and Carl prepared Moth Bar as bait, knowing Barghest might use the address to locate and surround them.
• Slider finished extracting the chip’s data, set the transmission to begin in five minutes, and left with his people.
• Reid considered killing Slider but decided to keep him alive because he might still be useful to the Intelligence Bureau.
• After five minutes, Barghest troops received Moth Bar’s address.

After their contact betrayed them and Barghest exposed their disguises, Carl and Reid tried to escape Dogtown through a route leading into EBM Petrochem Stadium. Barghest discovered them there, and Carl drew her gun as they prepared to fight their way out.

• Carl realized Barghest had exposed her identity and that she and Reid had no outside support.
• Reid found an old Intelligence Bureau route that might let them bypass Dogtown's checkpoints through EBM Petrochem Stadium.
• Carl and Reid evaded patrols and bounty hunters as they made their way to the stadium.
• Minotaur-model combat robots activated and attacked Carl and Reid after Barghest discovered them.
• Carl drew her gun and joined Reid in preparing to fight their way out.