8. The Scavenger

"Got a job?"

That was Karl's first reaction. His second was, "Faraday? Who the hell are you?"

"Faraday?"

Oliver, hearing the name Karl spoke, was quite familiar with it. "I remember him. He’s a fixer who operates all over the place—City Center, Watson, Santo Domingo. Back when I was with the 6th Street gang, some of the guys took jobs from him."

Jackie lowered his voice and asked, "How good is he?"

"Bottom-tier mercs for a bottom-tier fixer."

Oliver’s hushed tone made it clear that the fixer wasn't worth much. However, Karl, who was still on the line, didn't overthink it. Once he realized he was talking to a fixer, he understood why he was calling.

"A fixer, huh? Looking to hand out some work?"

"A long-time corporate client of mine recommended your number. Said you’re quite capable... So, interested in warming up a bit?"

"A long-time corporate client..."

The only "corpo" Karl knew was Blanca. It seemed she was impressed with his service and was sending some business his way.

"What's the job? Give me the details."

If there's work, it's always worth a look, even if they had just finished a big job today.

"Just a small warm-up. Rescue someone from a Scavenger den. Don't treat it like an official contract. Before we dive into any major, formal partnerships, I always like to gauge the other party's capabilities. Given the difficulty, the pay isn't huge—six thousand eddies. You don't mind, do you?"

Six thousand eddies...

Hearing that figure, both Oliver and Jackie felt like they were being treated like idiots.

The talk about "gauging capabilities" before a "major partnership" was something only a brainless merc would fall for. It was just a carrot on a stick. What it actually meant was: "I have plenty of suicide missions for you later, but I'm afraid you'll botch them, so take this low-paying, soul-crushing job first while I skim most of the profit."

Still, since he was the first fixer to approach them, neither Oliver nor Jackie felt like speaking up to reject it for Karl. Their squad left the job-taking and negotiations to Karl. If he thought it was worth doing, they’d do it; if not, they wouldn't. They just listened and waited for their cut.

"Rescue someone from a Scavenger den, huh?"

Karl thought for a moment before saying, "Send over the specifics. What's the deadline?"

"I'll send the details right away, along with fifteen hundred upfront as a deposit. As for the deadline, it’s up to you. If you’re feeling proactive, go early. If you're busy, later is fine too. The client’s bare-minimum expectation is at least getting a corpse out. The pay is set to that bottom-line expectation, too."

Faraday’s subtext was clear: the client’s money was only enough to save a dead body.

"Got it. Send it over, and I'll decide after I take a look."

"Fine. I'm hanging up then."

The fixer, Faraday, clearly didn't consider this a major matter. Within ten seconds of the call ending, a file was transferred. Karl scanned it with his deck's software to ensure it wasn't carrying any common viruses before opening it.

"A fixer dragging some desperate idiots off the street, paying them peanuts—hardly enough for a cheap piece of chrome—just to send them in with guns to fight Scavengers. I thought that kind of thing was just a tall tale, but I didn't think I'd actually run into it."

Jackie looked at his bag of chips, which he hadn't even managed to take a bite of yet, and sighed, though he already reached for his Saratoga.

"Tell me about it."

Oliver watched Karl and knew they were likely taking the job. He sighed as well and stood up to gear up. Working right after a full meal—he was worried he might lose it.

"I haven't even finished reading, and you two are already getting ready?"

Karl finished reviewing the file and looked at Oliver and Jackie. "Isn't today supposed to be a rare day off?"

"Are you actually trying to rest?"

Oliver checked his gear and said, "Let's go. Get it over with so we can come back and finish eating. Think of it as burning off the calories."

"Can't we rest a bit more?"

"Come on, Karl, we know ourselves better than that."

Jackie flipped Karl the bird. "Stop playing coy and asking questions when we're talking about killing Scav scum. Let's move. If we’re late, God knows whose life savings went into this contract, and all they’ll get back is a corpse."

"Didn't realize you had such a kind heart, Jackie."

Karl chuckled, standing up from the sofa. He left the bucket of fries on the table, planning to finish them later. "And besides, we can't let those bastards keep doing their sick work."

For scum like the Scavengers, even without a contract, Karl, Oliver, and Jackie would take them out if they crossed paths. After all, nobody wanted to worry about their friends getting snatched off the street and gutted.

The group headed downstairs and piled into Oliver’s beat-up car.

"Why are you complaining about my car being a piece of junk again? Keep it up, and I’ll make you walk back, Karl."

"I was just thinking it, I didn't mean to say it out loud."

"Bullshit, you were practically shouting it. Fine, if it's too small, I'll have someone mod it later—see if I can cram you into the engine block."

"Alright, we're all crammed in here, cut the chatter. Stop moving around, my face is practically pressed against the window."

Jackie complained about the restless shifting of Oliver and Karl, bringing the conversation back to the fixer. "Speaking of which, this job pays six thousand eddies. How much do you think that guy Faraday is skimming?"

"He’s treating us like idiots. I doubt he’s giving us much. I suspect he’s keeping at least half."

Oliver recalled the complaints from those in the 6th Street gang who had worked for Faraday. "I heard that skimming half right off the top is just how these fixers roll."

"Knowing his type, it’s probably more than half. I’m just worried that if this job ends up paying thirty or forty thousand, it’ll drain the client’s entire life savings, and all they’ll get in return is a friend or relative who's been hollowed out just the same."

Jackie shifted to the side. "I moved over a bit. Karl, where's the location? Tell Oliver to step on it."

"Right."

There was no time for joking around. Karl quickly gave the address.

The Scavengers were located in City Center.

[City Center]: The heart of Night City, packed with corporate offices. It is the safest place in the entire city. Rumors of robberies and gang violence are, to the corporate staff, nothing more than tall tales.

NCPD Threat Assessment: Safe