“You heard that, Karl?”

“Loud and clear,” Karl replied, turning up the car’s audio slightly. “Crystal clear.”

Initially, Karl had only been fulfilling his role as a guarantor, but on a whim, he’d hacked into Gilay’s cybernetic systems—specifically his auditory receivers and optical implants—to monitor their meeting with the contact. He hadn’t expected to witness such a spectacle.

“Aison Brane…”

Karl repeated the name, a smile spreading across his face. “Interesting.”

That name was very familiar to him.

Jack used to bring it up occasionally—one of the old legends of the Valentinos. And now Karl had seen the man in person.

“What do you make of it?”

V asked, watching as Orianna and Gilay bolted out of the Sunset Motel, clutching a box, scrambling into their car, and speeding off. “That stuff Aison Brane said—how much of it do you believe?”

“None of it.”

Karl’s grin widened.

“The TCU—those cyberpsycho freaks—aren’t the kind you mess with lightly. Sure, technically, their rules say they can’t just kill civilians on a whim. But even when dealing with actual cyberpsychos, they’re supposed to give a warning first. Ever seen them actually follow that rule?

“Well… maybe once. But it was more like shooting while shouting. Orianna and Gilay are too naïve to think handing over that thing would keep the TCU off their backs.”

“Not everyone’s that gullible. They’re just betting on a chance.”

V had seen through it.

“Once the package’s delivered, the TCU’s first move will be to get it back from the council member. It’s like finding your stolen item on a rival’s desk—you deal with the rival first. If you wait too long, they’ll come up with an excuse to keep it. To both the TCU and the council, the item’s current location matters more than the details.

“While that mess is going down, Orianna and Gilay might just slip through the cracks. Better odds than holding the thing themselves.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

Karl considered the TCU’s status.

“Evidence doesn’t mean much to people like them. What matters is what the situation can be turned into. If the TCU and the council start butting heads and lose track of the details, those two small fries might be completely forgotten.”

Given the TCU’s intense mission cycles and the meds they take to stay mentally stable, odds were that by the time their political game finished—win or lose—Orianna and Gilay would be the last thing on their minds.

Like an exec who loses something—they won’t assume some punk thief took it. They’ll think a rival orchestrated the whole thing.

Petty thieves? Cleanup optional. Depends on time and mood.

V glanced at the car ahead—Orianna and Gilay’s vehicle was already in motion. He started their own and followed, asking:

“How much time do we have?”

He meant: how long until Aison’s supposed call to the TCU.

“No idea.”

“…You didn’t keep track?”

V turned to Karl, visibly surprised. “I figured you’d remember, so I didn’t bother.”

“So now I’m the team brain?”

Karl chuckled. “Nah, it’s not that I forgot. I just didn’t see any reason to memorize a lie.”

“…A lie?”

V thought back to their earlier conversation:

“How much of Aison Brane’s speech do you believe?”

“None of it.”

Realization hit. “You meant literally zero?”

“Pretty much.”

Karl recalled the view from Gilay’s eye feed.

“The twenty-minute timer. The scheduled call to the TCU. That the item belongs to them. I think all of that was fabricated.”

“All of it?”

“Can’t say for sure—but I don’t buy any of it.”

Karl explained:

“I observed him through Gilay’s optics. You know I’m good at reading people—micro-expressions, tone, posture. And I’ve never seen someone lie as smoothly and consistently as that man. Well… maybe except for two things: his name, and the fact that he said he wanted to see what Orianna could do. The rest? Lies.”

“Seriously?”

V groaned. “So I got conned too?”

“You really just believe everything people say, huh? What if someone tells you they’re the president’s envoy—would you fall for that too?”

“Goddamn it, Karl. You had me going. I bought the whole TCU angle.”

“Hey, I never said I was sure. I just said it was possible. Better to prep for the worst, right?”

“Tch. Makes sense now…”

V realized why Karl had been grinning through the entire ride. He’d thought it was excitement—maybe a chance to throw down with the TCU again. Turns out Karl had just been enjoying watching V panic.

Annoying. But also… clever.

“You know what? Let’s just call Colmec,” V said. “If this really involves the TCU, we’re charging extra. And if Colmec knew and didn’t warn us, we walk. Which means—if he doesn’t know about the TCU stuff, this whole job’s a fake?”

“Nothing’s ever 100%,” Karl said with a smirk. “Maybe Colmec’s been taking lessons from Faraday.”

“Son of a bitch. So you figured all this out earlier and just let me spiral?”

“No harm done, V. At least you figured it out eventually. That’s better than those two rookies who heard ‘TCU’ and lost their minds without even checking.”

Karl looked ahead. Orianna and Gilay’s vehicle was accelerating rapidly. He was curious now.

Why lie to them like that?

Was Aison trying to push them toward a specific place in a limited time frame? Or was it just to make them drive faster?

And if so… what happens when they do?

The answer arrived moments later.

From the side of an intersection, a heavy-duty truck barreled out of nowhere—slamming straight into Orianna and Gilay’s car.

The answer was: a car crash.

–

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