Chapter 239 – Leaving the Bakker Family

January 20, 2076. Having just wrapped up their latest gig, Karl's entire crew was sprawled out like ragdolls in Oliver's apartment.

"Finally done!"

Oliver raised his limp arms and groaned.

"We've been grinding non-stop since Christmas. Those fixers really don't see us as human anymore. I've fired so many bullets these past few days, my hands are still shaking."

"Twenty straight days of this," Jack added, slumping deeper into the couch.

"Wake up, get in the car, chase the next gig. I haven't even seen Misty in days."

He tossed his Sadala-tech double-barrel shotgun aside, grabbed the mini-Cola that T-Bug handed him, and took a long swig.

"Thanks, T-Bug."

"No problem. Compared to you frontline types, I just support from the net. Not exactly exhausting."

T-Bug had recently moved into one of the megatowers—just across the hall. Watching the three of them collapsed on the couch, she stole a glance at her updated account balance.

Yeah… joining this crew was the best decision she'd made.

Where else in Night City could she find a team this competent? Nowhere.

In just 20 days, she'd raked in over 60,000 eddies—and that was without any major gigs. Back when she was freelancing solo, that amount would've taken four or five months to make, and even then, she'd constantly have to worry about getting ghosted by fixers or stabbed in the back by temp teammates.

"T-Bug, toss me one too."

Karl raised a hand lazily. A chilled bottle of sweet tea flew through the air, which he caught one-handed.

"Damn, you know me too well."

"You drink it every damn day. How could I not?"

"Fair."

Karl sat up, cracked open the bottle, took a long drink, and exhaled.

"That was the last job on our list. We've been grinding for almost a full month—it's about time we took a break. I'll hit up the fixers and tell 'em we're off-duty for a few days. No gigs unless it's something major."

"Good call," Oliver said, stretching his arms.

"I've been meaning to head back to Santo Domingo. Missed Christmas with the family—I should spend a few days there."

If the gigs hadn't piled up so much, he'd have already taken a break.

"Let's just chill for a bit."

Karl glanced down at the SMG resting near his feet—his trusty Dian.

"Gotta take this thing in for maintenance. Lately it feels like the bullets are dragging a bit—could be nothing, but better safe than sorry."

"I should drop by Misty's and have Vik check on my blood pump—make sure everything's syncing properly."

Jack stretched his arms above his head.

"Still, ever since I got that thing installed, I feel like I've got jet fuel in my veins."

"Well, yeah. It boosts oxygen delivery to your cells. You could run a full klick without even breathing hard."

Karl mentally reviewed the team's latest cyberware upgrades.

T-Bug had enhanced her neural storage and added an External Drive implant. Jack had paired his new Adrenal Booster with improved subdermal armor, and just the other day installed that blood pump. Oliver had synced a smartlink and visual cortex enhancer, and upgraded his nanofiber structure to help steady kinetic recoil when sniping.

As for Karl—

He hadn't added much. Aside from the same external drive as T-Bug—to boost memory and processing—he'd installed a Memory Optimizer to improve sync between his brain and his chrome.

He'd also picked up three new quickhacks with T-Bug's help:

Synapse Burnout

Cyberware Malfunction

Reboot Optics

Thanks to the upgrades, the past month had gone smooth as chrome. Every gig they took was wrapped up within a day or two—sometimes same day.

And ironically, that kind of efficiency only made things worse. The fixers kept piling more gigs on them. If you're fast, they'll just work you harder.

Just like a corpo job.

Except, in this case… at least the pay matched the pain.

Unlike a corpo gig—where you're just expected to work harder and longer for nothing in return.

Sipping his tea, Karl pulled up his message feed and started contacting the fixers.

"No more gigs for now. Don't call unless it's urgent."

Right as he finished sending, a new message popped up.

His relaxed gaze sharpened.

"V messaged. He's checking in—says he's safe."

That made everyone on the couch sit up.

"V finally made it back to a signal zone?!"

Oliver looked relieved.

"I was this close to calling in a few favors to track him down."

"Last we heard, he was staring down a tornado. Then radio silence. I legit thought he got sucked in."

Jack couldn't help but grin.

"Good to know the guy's still breathing."

"He says he made it back to the Bakker clan… but—"

Karl's face tightened as he scrolled.

"Things were already blowing up when he arrived. The new clan leader made the call to join Snake Nation. V showed up with a bunch of eddies, tried to convince them they didn't have to sell out—but it didn't matter. They threw it all back in his face."

"So they really chose Snake Nation in the end?"

Jack frowned.

They all knew about V's situation. The Bakkers were falling apart—no leadership, no resources. They needed a new path. But Snake Nation?

"I thought Snake Nation was in bed with the corps," T-Bug said.

Karl nodded.

"More like a pack of dogs the corps keep on a leash. Nomads were born because the corps screwed them over. Now these clowns wanna crawl back and play lapdog? Pathetic."

"V would never be okay with that. That's just not who he is," Oliver muttered.

"Doesn't matter now."

Karl kept reading.

"He argued with the clan leader. Tried putting his own money on the table to prove they had options. But the guy took it as an insult—said V was challenging his authority. So they kicked him out."

"What? Just like that?" Jack snapped upright.

"V always treated them like family. Worked his ass off in the city just to support them."

"Guess playing pet to the corps matters more than blood."

Karl shrugged, bitter.

"Anyway, V's cut ties. He's heading back to Night City—starting fresh."

"…Damn."

Jack didn't know how to feel.

Part of him was furious on V's behalf. But another part…

"You think I should be pissed or happy?"

He chuckled darkly.

Having V back was great. He was a solid friend and a hell of a fighter. But this? This wasn't how you wanted someone to come back.

Karl leaned back on the couch.

"We'll figure it out when he gets here. Still a ways to go."

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