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"Why am I the only one operating with you, and why on earth do I have to wear this outfit?"
Valerie (V) shifted restlessly in the driver's seat. The Arasaka corporate uniform was designed for standard mass-production measurements; on her, it was uncomfortably tight, especially around the hips. The originally dull, bureaucratic gray fabric took on an unintended air of wild seduction.
"I brought you out to gain some perspective. Is there a problem with that?" Kael, wearing the same uniform, looked up from the passenger seat. V immediately settled down.
"You're the boss. You have the final say."
The squad had split. Kael and V (the nomad) were the primary protection detail for V (the corpo). Meanwhile, Jackie was leading Lucy and the others to "repay the favor" to Susan Abernathy—ensuring she was too busy defending her own life to coordinate her assassins. With Delve and Baymax providing tactical oversight, Kael wasn't worried about the other team's survival stats.
"How much longer until the 'Crown Prince' touches down?" Kael asked.
To force V out of the safety of Arasaka Tower, Susan had assigned him a high-priority protocol mission: welcoming Yorinobu Arasaka to Night City.
"About an hour," Corpo-V replied, checking his HUD. "The problem isn't the schedule; it's the travel time through Ninja-controlled territory."
Kael nodded, continuing to admire the weapon in his hand: Arasaka's latest generation Nanowire Thermal Katana. It was a masterpiece of lethal art, coated in a nano-virus that paralyzed hardware on contact.
"I say, big brother, can you stop looking at the blade and look at me—"
Before V could finish, Kael's hand shot out, pressing her head down.
SHING.
A black Mantis Blade punched through the car roof, grazing the spot where V's neck had been a millisecond prior. The assassin tried to retract, but Kael's thermal blade swept upward in a crimson arc. A heavy thud followed as something fell from the roof to the asphalt behind them.
"Damn! I almost bit it!" Corpo-V hissed.
"Whoa, Boss!" Valerie shouted. A truck suddenly swerved, flipping onto its side and completely blocking the highway.
Under the sickly yellow streetlights, three blurred ripples flashed across the road. Optical Camouflage. To the naked eye, they were ghosts, but to Kael's Power of Eight, they were as clear as high-res renders. He could hear the specific rhythm of their blood flow and the hum of their customized "Silence" implants.
"Sit down and watch," Kael said, pushing the door open.
The three Cyber Ninjas circled him. They didn't use firearms; their custom chrome was built for the exquisite lethality of the blade and the Shuriken. They launched a volley of high-penetration stars from three angles. Kael dodged the one from his blind spot with a fluid twist while his thermal blade sliced the other two out of the air.
The ninjas paused. They realized Kael could "see" them perfectly.
Knock, knock. Corpo-V tapped the window, pointing at his watch. "Now you're rushing me," Kael muttered.
The ninjas initiated their Sandevistans. Even in Valerie's high-spec eyes, they were just blurred afterimages. Two lunged at Kael to pin him down, while the third bypassed him, aiming straight for the car—and the target.
"Whoosh—"
Valerie saw Kael vanish into a sphere of glowing red light—the afterimage of the thermal blade vibrating at its structural limit. The two ninjas in front of him were suddenly reduced to a heap of glowing, half-melted mechanical parts.
The third ninja reached the car window, a hint of relief rising in his circuits. Then he saw Kael's face reflected in the glass, accompanied by a wall of fire. His vision spun three hundred and sixty degrees before hitting the pavement.
Kael kicked the headless chassis aside and sat back in the car. "Drive."
"Right. Driving now," Valerie stammered, flooring the gas. She looked at Kael in the rearview mirror. He'd brought her for "experience," and her heart was pounding so hard she thought her chest would crack. It wasn't just adrenaline; it was the realization of the gap between a mercenary and a legend.
Yorinobu Arasaka stepped off his private jet at Night City Airport. At 82 years old, he looked like a fit man in his forties. As Saburo's rebellious son, he had spent decades as an outcast, only recently returning to the fold. Or so the Board believed.
Following him was his shadow: the true Widowmaker, Adam Smasher.
Smasher looked at the arrival car with a metallic grunt. The roof was shredded, and the bodywork was a disaster of bullet holes and sword gouges. V got out, bowing deeply. "My apologies, Lord Yorinobu. We encountered some... technical friction on the route."
"I don't care about the friction. Take me to Konpeki Plaza," Yorinobu replied, bored.
As they drove, Valerie couldn't help but steal glances at the monster in the passenger seat. Smasher's cyber-eyes swept over her, scanning for threats. Finding no dangerous combat-chrome, he turned his focus back to the road.
Kael had already slipped away to meet up with Jackie. Back in the city, Susan Abernathy lay in the wreckage of her own getaway car, bleeding out.
"Who would have thought... that kid was that capable," she laughed through a mouthful of blood, looking at the data on her screen. "Now it's Jenkins' turn to have a headache. Hahaha!"
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