Now that they knew soone was planning to use an attack on Kurt Hansen to provoke a conflict between Arasaka and Militech, the logical step to stop it was clear:
Find Kurt Hansen.
No matter what those operatives with the unregulated anti-terror gear wanted to achieve, everything revolved around Kurt Hansen.
If he was their target, then the best course of action was to go talk to him directly.
Simple in theory—anything but in practice.
Who was Kurt Hansen? The king of Dogtown. A man who had carved out a piece of Night City for himself and turned it into his private kingdom. If so random street punk ran up to him saying there was danger and people were trying to kill him, Hansen would probably laugh and kindly toss the idiot out. And where that "outside" was? Well, that depended on how amused he was by the clown.
Of course, that's how it would go for a street punk.
But for KK, Hansen held a certain level of respect.
After their previous encounter, KK had left quite the impression. Soone of his caliber wasn't easily ignored—especially not when he sent a ssage ahead of ti saying:
"This concerns your life, Kurt Hansen. If you're interested, you'd better hear out. If you don't trust coming alone, surround yourself with as many guards as you like."
Naturally, Hansen wasn't going to make a show of gathering overwhelming protection. But he did limit the eting: KK could only bring two people.
The eting wouldn't take place at Hansen's stronghold in the Erald Tower. That would be too obvious and a little too much of a power play.
While Hansen wasn't obsessed with saving face, he was still a forr New USA colonel—he'd survived gunfire and bloodshed. He had guts. In his mind, even if KK showed up with two elite soldiers, it was delusional to think he could take Hansen down before he had ti to react.
The eting spot was a small diner on the street. The owner had been paid off by Hansen's Phantom Dogs to disappear, and the surrounding buildings were also under their control. Under those conditions, KK arrived right on ti.
To Hansen, the two people KK brought looked unfamiliar: one was a burly man, the other a woman with fluffy blond hair and glasses. Completely different from the teammates he'd seen with KK before.
But after a quick scan with his cyberoptic-linked database, Hansen identified the man easily.
Maine, forr warrant officer of the New USA, now a rc based in Night City. His squad had a reputation, with a mission success rate above 90%.
Forr warrant officer, huh?
As a forr colonel, Hansen gave Maine a closer look.
He noticed Maine had retired around the sa ti he himself had left the New USA—during the Unification War.
As for the fluffy-haired woman, Hansen couldn't find any data on her.
His eyes scanned her face, and so guesses began forming in his mind.
Militech's facial disguise tech? If so, Hansen was already starting to guess the reason for KK's visit.
That guess was soon confird when KK sat down and explained.
"Ex-Militech operatives are planning to kill , and the governnt wants to protect ?"
Hansen couldn't help but chuckle. "That's rich. I thought they saw as a traitor. Now that they have the chance to get rid of , they're sending soone to save ?"
Clearly, that was directed at Karl. But his tone was calm:
"Technically, the job isn't to protect you—it's just to eliminate them and make sure their plan fails. But to ensure that, your survival is essential. That's why I thought it best to speak with you directly—so you understand how to stay alive."
Karl's eyes locked on Hansen's.
"Because if this mission fails because of soone else, I'd be pretty damn disappointed."
"So, you think I can't protect myself—even with your warning?"
This was new for Hansen. People usually worried about what he'd do to them. This was the first ti soone stood in front of him and worried for his safety.
"I didn't say that," Karl replied. "But if that's how you want to take it, I won't argue."
He leaned in slightly.
"It's not the bullet you see that kills you—it's the one you don't."
Hansen was certainly no slouch. Even Karl would have to "work a bit" to take him down in a fair fight. But in an ambush? With Karl getting the drop on him? If Hansen lasted even a second, it'd be because Karl was feeling generous.
And the sa applied to this Militech threat. If they ca at him head-on, Hansen might survive. But if they used the experintal equipnt they'd seized—who knew what could happen?
Especially since so within Militech and the New USA wanted Hansen dead, just so they could replace him with a loyal puppet. At this point, it was impossible to tell who in his inner circle he could still trust.
Hansen's grin faded.
He clearly understood the situation better than Karl had expected. But he had needed to gauge KK's attitude first.
Now, though...
"I think we can talk."
Hansen looked at Karl. "I doubt KK would turn down a protection contract that happens to co with a bonus payout, right?"
A side job with extra pay?
Karl's expression finally changed.
He smiled.
A smile famous in Night City's braindance circles.
"Of course."
Because this wasn't just a little extra money—it was triple pay in one go.
'Talking business like this... yeah, V and the others still have a lot to learn from .'
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