12. Entrustment

Oliver and Jack both assumed it was the company dog—the corporate enforcer—who had heard them and was about to come and bite them. Yet, the company dog stopped in front of Karl, glancing at his face a few times.

Karl indeed had a handsome face, but in this era, anyone could get a stylish or pretty face from a cybernetic surgeon. So, what caught the company dog’s attention wasn’t Karl’s looks; it was Karl himself.

“I reviewed the surveillance from Little Chinatown in Watson District yesterday. You took out sixteen members of the Vortex Gang all by yourself, right?”

The events from yesterday were already known today—the cyberpunk world’s surveillance was truly meticulous.

Karl was puzzled by the company dog’s interest. Taking down gang members was NCPD business, after all.

But there was one thing he had to correct.

“It wasn’t just me. My friend helped out too.”

Karl pointed at Oliver.

However, the company dog didn’t even glance at Oliver. Standing with arms crossed before Karl, her chest—whether cybernetically enhanced or not—was accentuated in a pronounced curve beneath her corporate attire.

“I’ve seen the footage. I’m not blind. I know exactly who carried the main load. Don’t worry, I’m not with the NCPD, nor some vigilante seeking justice, and I’m not related to or friends with the scum you killed. I have a job for you. The pay is 100,000 euros. Interested?”

“100,000 euros?”

Just as the company dog expected, Karl was instantly drawn in by the sum. But he quickly caught on. “So, you’re the one commissioning the job.”

His expression shifted immediately into a smile, his tone warming.

“Should’ve said you were the client earlier. Miss... company employee, please have a seat. Tell us the details. As long as it’s within our capability, we’ll get the job done.”

Now that the company dog was a client, they could put aside their prejudices for the moment.

Oliver and Jack exchanged a glance, each seeing a hint of contempt for Karl in the other's eyes. Yet without hesitation, they stood and gave up their seats, making room for Karl and the company employee to discuss matters properly.

A job offer—if only they’d said so earlier.

They were all on the same side, after all; no need for formalities.

100,000 euros was a fortune for low-tier mercenaries—a sum they might not earn in a whole month.

The company employee glanced at Jack and Oliver but seemed somewhat disdainful of the seats they vacated, as if reluctant to sit where two mercenaries had been. Looking around, she spotted an empty seat next to Karl. Though not exactly clean, no one had sat there earlier, so she grudgingly took it.

Once seated, she pulled out a slim data chip and motioned for Karl to take it.

Karl received the chip and plugged it into the interface port he had recently installed. Moments later, the content appeared before his eyes.

After a few seconds of reading, Karl removed the chip and handed it back.

“How’s it look?”

“What should I call you?”

Karl’s tone grew serious—this job was doable.

“You don’t need to know my name. Just complete the task. Can you do it?”

“Absolutely. But how do you want me to send proof?”

“Just text photos to this number. Don’t bother me otherwise—I’m busy.”

Karl memorized the number as the company employee transferred 30,000 euros to him.

“This is the deposit. Don’t think about taking the money and running—unless you’re okay with me using the rest to buy your life.”

With that warning, she rose and hurried out, clicking sharply in her heels. From the moment she entered the Wild Wolf bar until she left, she hadn’t spoken to anyone else or even glanced their way.

“Karl, what’s the verdict?”

Oliver, knowing Karl had accepted a job, asked curiously.

“Sorry for not running it by you first.”

“No worries, we’re all mates. Don’t sweat such small stuff. Honestly, it’s impressive you’re already getting jobs lined up. I’m thrilled.”

Oliver was even more curious about the job itself.

“So, spill it.”

“Hold on a moment.”

Raising a hand to signal Oliver to wait, Karl looked at Jack, who was watching quietly nearby, and extended an invitation.

“Jack, since you’re solo now, want to join us on this job?”

“Me? Really?”

Jack knew the pay for a company dog’s job wouldn’t be small. He hadn’t expected Karl to want to team up with him for a payday.

“More hands, less work.”

Karl smiled. “What do you say? You in?”

“We’re mates, of course I’m in.”

Jack’s grin matched Karl’s, and without asking about specifics or pay splits, he eagerly accepted. When it came to people he trusted, Jack was straightforward.

“Alright, let’s split the money first.”

Oliver and Jack’s eyes lit up—they already had their share before starting.

Karl was generous with the split.

“Dios mío, just the deposit? What kind of job did you get, brother?”

“Hope it’s nothing shady or disgusting,” Jack added as Karl resumed his seat.

Karl began outlining the job that would make ordinary low-tier mercenaries green with envy.

The content was complex, but Karl summarized it succinctly.

In short:

“Go to the Vortex Gang’s territory in Watson District—they have about twenty men stationed there. Find a box the company lost to them. You don’t need to return it to the client. Destroy it and send a photo of the wreckage.”

“Sounds like that company girl’s got something on them,” Jack guessed, drawing on his experience.

“Probably some compromising photos or something. Isn’t that how Japanese movies go?” Oliver chimed in.

Karl pondered the connections.

The Vortex Gang had previously stolen something from the Six Street Gang. Now, this company employee’s item was stolen. Was there a link? Or was it simply the Vortex Gang’s season for heavy looting?

Too little information to think too deeply.

What mattered more now was...

“Shall we go?”

“After we finish eating.”

Oliver and Jack stuffed their mouths with Spanish ham slices.

Well, the kind with questionable origins.