"You're a good shot, David."
"I'm still far from being as good as you and the others, Karl."
After taking down the Tyger Claw as payback, David turned to Karl with a request.
"Karl, can you recommend a merc team for me? I want to start taking jobs like you do—after school."
"You… want to be a merc?"
Karl looked at David, meeting the unwavering determination in his eyes. Amidst the relentless gunfire outside their cover, he remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"That look in your eyes… Have you already decided not to go down the corpo route anymore?"
"I still have a year until I graduate from the academy's high school division. Then, Arasaka Academy's university division takes another two years. That means it'll be at least three years before I even become a low-level corpo employee. And after that, who knows how long it would take before I climb up high enough to have any real protection? That's too long. I want the power to protect my mom now."
"But you've been safe all this time, haven't you?"
Karl stopped mid-sentence.
How long would that luck last?
Tonight had been proof that it wouldn't last forever.
"Even so, you don't have to be a merc," Karl countered. "Being a merc is more dangerous than the life you're living now. You could take a job in the morning and be dead by noon—hell, even before lunch. If you want to get stronger, there are other ways."
Karl knew exactly what kind of business mercenary work was.
"You could hire someone to train you."
That was a stupid thing to say.
David's family? Hiring bodyguards or trainers? That was never an option.
Karl sighed and added, "I can lend you money. Enough to hire a trainer or a bodyguard. When you start making money as a corpo, you can pay me back—or not. I don't really care."
"No, Karl."
David shook his head, rejecting the offer.
He looked Karl dead in the eye.
"I've been relying on you guys for everything… But this is the one decision I don't want to depend on anyone else for."
David thought back to that moment of desperation—
When he was pinned down, when his mother was bleeding out—
The first thing he thought of was Karl.
That wasn't right.
That wasn't how it was supposed to be.
"I'm really grateful to you guys, Karl," David continued. "You, Jackie, Oliver—you helped me grow. You made me see what the corpos really are.
"But I think—at least when it comes to things that could cost me my life—I have to make those decisions myself."
"That's a very mature way of thinking, David."
Karl studied him for a moment—then asked a question.
"What's your dream?"
In the past, under his mother's expectations, David would have automatically answered:
To climb the ranks of Arasaka.
But this time—
David didn't hesitate.
"I want to protect the people I care about."
It sounded the same as before.
But the way he said it—the way the words held weight—
That made all the difference.
Watching David, shining like gold, his ambition glowing like a fire that had finally been ignited, Karl asked one last question.
"Aren't you afraid of what would happen to your mother if you died?"
"I don't want to live with the regret of being too weak to protect her."
David's voice was steady.
"I want to become stronger.
Stronger than thugs.
Stronger than gangs.
Stronger than the darkness of the corpos.
So just this once, Karl—let me be selfish."
To live in constant fear, clinging to the illusion of safety within a corporation's walls—
Or to walk into the darkness on his own terms, carving his own path, fighting to truly stand above the corps in his mother's name.
David had already made his choice.
To stand still, paralyzed by fear, waiting for death to come at any moment—
Or to move forward, to face death head-on, and try to overcome it?
How do you choose?
Everyone has their own answer, but Karl knew one thing—anyone who took that step forward was someone he would always respect.
"You're an incredible friend, David."
David knew he wasn't strong enough yet, so he had chosen to become stronger.
He refused to keep relying on Karl, Jackie, and Oliver.
The David standing before him now—
Was a man who could stand as their equal.
So Karl realized—he hadn't been wrong to treat David like one of them from the start.
A man's conviction wasn't something he had the right to interfere with.
So in the end, he simply smiled and said something that made David, who had been standing so firm in his decision, let out a small, exasperated chuckle.
"You keep saying you don't want to rely on us… but now you're asking us to recommend a merc team for you."
"Well—"
David's face flushed red as the determined image he had just put up completely crumbled.
Then, a little embarrassed, he muttered, "Just this once."
"Then let's call this your first real favor owed to me, David."
Karl grinned.
"A favor from a future legend—guess I better find you a damn good merc team, huh?"
Karl started going through the merc teams he knew.
Not many—just two.
But both of them were trustworthy.
One was Brown's squad—he had met them during a convoy job.
A team that faced certain death with such ease, who nearly got buried alongside Karl and his crew.
Even in their final moments, they looked after the youngest—made sure someone got out alive, made sure someone carried their legacy.
David would be in good hands with them.
But Karl didn't know if they were looking for new members.
That's why the second option was a safer bet.
Maine's crew.
Karl thought back to that same convoy job—
To Maine, who said he'd take the front line—
And actually did.
To the way his team worked like a machine—efficient, well-organized, clear roles.
Yeah—Karl figured he could ask Maine if he'd be willing to take on a rookie looking to learn the ropes.
But throwing in a kid with no chrome at all—even if it was just for supply runs or grunt work—
That didn't sit right.
"If you're gonna juggle being a student and a merc, David, you're gonna need some cyberware," Karl pointed out.
"Luckily, I've got something for you.
Something I wasn't gonna use anyway—I don't like the neural link on it.
If you want it, it's yours—for free."
"You don't have to refuse," Karl added quickly, seeing the look on David's face.
"This isn't a favor, just a gift between friends.
If it makes you feel better, consider it your first job payment."
"Job payment?"
"Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet a merc crew I know. You'll run support work for them—just grunt stuff.
If you do a good job, you'll get your first payday and my recommendation."
"And if I don't do a good job?"
"You doubting yourself?"
David's eyes hardened. "No."
"Then you owe me that favor."
Karl smirked.
"I trust you—so I'm paying you in advance."
Outside, the gunfire gradually died down.
Karl checked his comms and hit up Vik.
"Yo, Vik—you got a Ballistic Coprocessor?"
[Ballistic Coprocessor] – A cyberware implant that directly links the user's optical implants with their weapon systems, providing real-time tracking and targeting assistance.
Tomorrow… David's new life would begin.
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