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The day after Christmas, even though it had started raining around noon, the Wild Dog Bar was still packed. In fact, business was even better than usual—probably because they'd been closed the whole day yesterday.
Amid the noise and bustle, Karl stood at the bar's entrance, shaking his head to fling off the cold raindrops that had made it down his collar. After brushing the water off his clothes, he stepped inside.
His entrance drew a few glances, but most patrons, seeing it was just Karl, turned back to what they were doing.
It was just KK. Nothing special. No need to make a fuss.
So people did stand up when they saw him, though. And from behind the bar, Mrs. Wells, noticing how soaked he was, rushed over with a towel in hand.
"Why didn't you have Oliver or soone pick you up? You look like a drowned rat."
She began rubbing his hair and neck with the towel, scolding gently. "You think getting drenched feels nice?"
Letting her dry him off, Karl gave an embarrassed smile. "Soone did drop off nearby. I had them stop a block away from Wild Dog—I thought I could just walk the rest. Didn't think it'd be raining this hard."
"I told you yesterday it was going to rain this afternoon."
Mrs. Wells sighed as she continued dabbing the moisture off his jacket. Once satisfied, she stepped back and nodded. "There. Much better."
As she finished, a few others—Oliver included—called out from their usual spot.
"Yo, Karl, perfect timing! We were just guessing when you'd be back from Arasaka Tower. Fries are hot and crispy—get over here!"
"Oh, hell yeah."
Karl waved to Mrs. Wells and made a beeline for their table.
"Been running around all day. Haven't had a bite yet."
Taking his seat, Karl glanced around and noticed soone missing.
"Where's V?"
"Back to the nomad clan," Oliver said. "They've got so kinda big assembly going on. Right after you left for Arasaka Tower this morning, he said his goodbyes and headed out. Gotta book it—his tribe's camped way outside Night City."
"Ah… I was hoping to send him back with a few things."
Karl leaned back with a sigh. "Well, by now he's probably halfway across the Badlands. Don't know if he'll even get a signal out there. Guess I'll just have to give it to him next ti."
"Give him what?" Oliver asked, setting down his glass of whiskey.
"Nothing too major. Just figured I'd get him so gear."
Karl explained: "I ntioned I'd bring back so… 'special gear' from Arasaka. Got my hands on a batch of weapons and cyberware. Already had it all delivered to Viktor's place. Wanted Vik to check them for any backdoors or hidden protocols. I'd planned to have a few things prepped for V—stuff that'd suit him."
"Wait. Weapons? Cyberware? A few things?"
T-Bug looked over, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't just go to Arasaka to run a job. You went on a supply run."
"Don't exaggerate. It's not that much," Karl shrugged. "Just enough for our crew. And the cyberware I picked is all pretty generic, adaptable stuff. Once our bodies settle into the adjustnt period, we'll have more options to swap in upgrades."
"Arasaka-grade gear?" Jackie asked.
"From all kinds of corps," Karl replied. "But minimum spec? It's the kind used by Arasaka's elite. No prototypes—just proven gear that rcs already trust on the street."
"Gear used by Arasaka elite…" Oliver muttered, suddenly rembering that Shingen smart SMG Karl had tossed him during the escort mission.
"Don't tell you grabbed a whole batch of guns like that?"
"That's just the baseline," Karl grinned, raising his hand. "I even picked up a Frostbite."
"Frostbite?!"
As a sniper, Oliver's eyes lit up. "The Soviet bolt-action rifle? The one they say only had 300 units ever made?"
"Yup. That one. Heavy kinetic weapon. If you're gonna use it, you'll need a good perch and plenty of bracing."
Karl didn't think Oliver needed a kinetic rifle—not when he already had that tech-enhanced Nekoyama. But still, Frostbite was the kind of thing you didn't turn down. While it was heavier and lacked the charge chanics of the Nekoyama, it fired instantly—and that made it perfect for sudden support shots.
"I grabbed stuff for you and T-Bug, too."
"Wait, I got sothing?" Jackie said. That made sense—he was always up front in the fight. But T-Bug tilted her head.
"I got sothing too?"
"Never know when shit's gonna go sideways," Karl said. "I picked a smart pistol that doesn't require a smartlink implant. The Kang Tao A-22B Super. Just pop in an auto-target chip and you're good to go. Perfect for soone like you."
"Kang Tao, huh?"
"Yep. Industry leader for smart weapons. I even picked one up for myself."
Karl crunched a fry and swallowed. "We'll head to Vik's later and go through everything. Test what fits. Pick a few cyberware options to keep in reserve."
Frostbite. Kang Tao gear. High-end cyberware.
As the three listened to Karl talk, one thing beca abundantly clear in all their minds:
Karl totally went on a supply run.
.
.
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