Chapter 184: NCPD at Work

"Scanning surveillance feeds for reported cyberpsycho suspect, Andy!"

"Negative, Captain! Cameras are compromised—someone beat us to it. Need time to override."

"If we can't access them, we'll do this the old-fashioned way!"

—WEEEOOO—WEEEOOO—

An AV siren wailed as the underground garage entrance blew open, flooding the dimly lit parking lot with a harsh glow.

Through the breach, a heavily armored MaxTac officer stormed inside.

MaxTac had deployed after the Tyger Claws reported a cyberpsycho: Andy.

Their tactical analysts reviewed the footage. The suspect was a merc who had stormed Cloudtop, executed multiple Tyger Claws, and escaped.

They weren't here to clean up a gang dispute—MaxTac didn't give a shit about some dead gangoons.

They were here because Andy had potential.

Combat potential.

And they needed recruits.

The squad had lost an assault trooper in a recent op. They were short-staffed.

Andy?

He was a prime candidate.

The team's netrunner had dug deeper—according to the Tyger Claws' report, a cyberpsycho was engaging their forces.

The captain wasn't about to let a recruit-tier target go to waste in a street-level firefight.

So he made the call—

Breached the garage with precision shotgun fire.

Led the charge himself.

And the moment his boots hit the concrete—

He barked his orders.

"MAXTAC! ALL COMBATANTS, YOU GET ONE WARNING! DROP YOUR WEAPONS! I WON'T SAY IT TWICE!"

MaxTac didn't do warnings.

But this time was different.

One side had potential recruitment material. The other was the reporting party.

The captain was a veteran—he knew how to read the room.

All he needed was for the Tyger Claws to stand down. Then they could extract Andy.

That was the plan.

Until he noticed something was off.

No gunfire.

Not a single shot fired.

Either the fight was over— Or the fighting had never started.

His visor's scanner swept the area.

Then, a calm voice cut through the still air.

"You're late."

His HUD finished processing—

And that's when he saw it.

Bodies.

Twenty-four of them.

All spread across the garage floor.

Each one with a bullet through the heart. Each one shot in the back.

No survivors.

And at the center of it all—

Perched atop one of the corpses, elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped together—

Was a black-haired merc.

"Who the fuck are you?"

The captain demanded—

But his visor's HUD had already pulled the data.

"Mercenary KK?"

The man didn't deny it.

Instead, he smirked.

"If you're looking for work, you know where to find me."

Then, his gaze locked onto the captain.

"But right now? There's nothing left for you here."

Before the captain could respond—

CLANK!

The garage doors groaned open.

Three more MaxTac officers entered, weapons at the ready.

The last one in spoke up.

"Whoever was fighting me for system control just backed off. I have full access now."

"Figured as much."

The captain's tone was flat, his eyes never leaving KK.

"Looks like the street merc beat us to the punch again. That makes three times now, doesn't it?"

"This guy is..."

The three MaxTac officers recognized Karl immediately.

After all, he had already cleared out two cyberpsychos before they could even deploy—it was hard not to know him.

"Did he wipe them out again?"

Two of them sighed, assuming it was another wasted trip.

But their netrunner wasn't so quick to give up.

"Wait, Captain! I'm detecting another life sign! Someone's still breathing!"

The squad had already started lowering their weapons.

Now, they were back on high alert.

"Looks like you missed a spot, Merc KK."

The captain turned to the netrunner.

"Confirm target. Any Tyger Claws still breathing?"

"No. It's Andy. The cyberpsycho Andy is still alive. He's behind Karl, near that vehicle!"

The moment those words left his mouth—

The entire squad understood the situation.

The captain leveled his Militech M251s Ajax at Karl.

"Merc Karl—stand down. The suspect is coming with us."

Karl didn't even blink.

He'd been on the receiving end of a barrel too many times to care.

Instead, he seemed more interested in the weapon.

"A Militech Ajax? Nice piece."

The captain's patience thinned.

"Move."

The tension spiked.

He had gone from ordering Karl to 'stand down'—to outright telling him to 'get lost.'

Sure, people joked that MaxTac was just a squad of cyberpsychos with badges—but the truth was more nuanced.

Their corporate backers wouldn't fund a unit with zero control.

A rabid dog that bites indiscriminately isn't useful.

MaxTac still followed the old-school NCPD recruitment model for its captains.

They were always selected from the best of the best.

And because of that—

The captain was willing to give Karl two warnings.

If a fight broke out, there was no guarantee Karl would go down clean.

And even if they did put him down, some of his own men would die in the process.

That wasn't a good trade.

But at the same time—

The captain wasn't about to issue a third warning.

MaxTac didn't believe in third warnings.

The moment the atmosphere reached its breaking point—

A siren howled from outside, growing louder by the second.

—SCREEECH—

Multiple NCPD Enforcers tore into the lot, screeching to a halt.

—BANG!—

The doors swung open, and over a dozen uniformed NCPD officers stormed out.

"NCPD! DROP YOUR WEAPONS! THIS SITE IS UNDER OUR JURISDICTION!"

Leading the charge—

Was Johnson.

And while his booming voice was aimed at Karl—

The barrel of his Militech Ajax, along with every other NCPD officer's weapon, was subtly pointed at MaxTac.

They were all part of the same force.

But everyone knew the truth.

MaxTac and the regular NCPD? They weren't on the same side.

And for the four MaxTac operatives, including the captain—

The situation had just taken a surreal turn.

The NCPD—

The same NCPD that usually ran for their lives when MaxTac showed up—

Had just rolled in and pointed guns at them.

For the first time in years—

A single thought crossed the captain's mind.

"Did these NCPD grunts just lose their fucking minds?"

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