As Kai slowly stepped out of the AV, every eye on the field locked onto him.
Four Arasaka elite operatives stood guard at his sides, while two armed Arasaka AVs hovered above in escort formation.
The scale of the deployment was enough to rival the kind of procession used when an Arasaka director went out personally on a special operation.
Seeing Kai, youthful and sharp-featured, standing confidently in the center of the field, everyone present had their own reaction.
The moment Caitlin realized the Arasaka commander who had come wasn't there to save her but was actually Kai, it felt as if she had been plunged into an ice pit.
The excitement that had filled her only moments ago vanished instantly. Her whole body went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
Counterintel was her enemy.
And the order to have the Animals ambush Kai had been carried out by her own hand.
Now she had led a team here to steal Counterintel's operation target. Between old grudges and new, it was hard to believe Kai would let her live.
But even so, Caitlin still had not given up her desire to survive.
After all, this was internal conflict within Arasaka. Arasaka and Militech were the real enemies. In a situation like this, they should be united against the outside threat.
Caitlin quickly found the logic she needed to cling to and crawled toward Kai like a rabid dog desperate for life.
"They... they were the ones who attacked Arasaka tactical..."
Kai did not even look at her.
He had already issued instructions to the elite squad around him. Any factor that threatened his personal safety was to be eliminated immediately.
Seeing that Kai had given no sign to spare her, the Arasaka elite security detail immediately understood his intent and acted according to standing orders.
One of them raised the heavy weapon in his hands and aimed it directly at the crawling Caitlin. The muzzle began to charge.
Blue electrical arcs gathered inside the barrel, compressing into a sphere around a dark metal round.
Buzz... buzzzzzzzz.
Boom!
A fully charged electromagnetic slug roared out.
Caitlin's eyes went wide.
She stared at it in disbelief, the blue arc round filling her vision as it rushed straight toward her.
Crack!
The shot hit her squarely.
The massive electrical surge tore through her body, overloading and destroying the cyberware and electronics throughout her system.
The moment her body could no longer withstand the pressure, it burst apart into a spray of blood and flesh.
Dark red gore exploded in every direction, splattering onto nearby Militech operatives. Most of what remained hit the ground in chunks, giving off thin trails of white smoke from the heat.
The field, already quiet, became deathly still.
No one had expected the Arasaka officer who came as reinforcement to kill one of his own people on sight.
It was ruthless.
And decisive.
The moment Kiwi realized it was Kai stepping out of the vehicle, half the fear in her heart had eased.
But when she saw him casually order Caitlin's execution without the slightest hesitation, that half-relaxed tension immediately returned.
"Shit. Another cruel one..."
Kiwi knew there was a very good chance they were still doomed.
There was no way Arasaka would really go to war with Militech just to save them.
From a broader interests perspective, Arasaka and Militech were the same kind of beast.
Not just Kiwi, but Maine and Dorio and the others all felt the same weight settle over them.
Yes, the reinforcements really were Kai.
But now none of them could tell whether he would actually save them.
Most likely, he wouldn't.
That meant they were still going to die here.
The only difference was that instead of dying at Militech's hands, they would die at the hands of an Arasaka elite squad.
Rebecca glared at Kai viciously and spat to the side.
"Another corp rat."
An invisible pressure and hopelessness wrapped around all five of them.
Right now, they were meat laid out on a platter, only waiting to see who would do the cutting.
On the other side, Meredith wiped a fleck of blood and tissue from her forehead with her leather glove and fixed her gaze on Kai.
She also had not understood what exactly Kai intended with that move. Her mind began racing through all the impressions and intelligence tied to the young Arasaka executive in front of her.
High rank. Counterintel. Upright bearing. Refined face. No visible cyberware implantation anywhere on his body.
Was he some young master from one of the Arasaka board families?
Having no real impression of Kai, Meredith immediately activated her optics and began searching through Militech's intelligence database.
One Arasaka executive profile after another flickered through her cyberoptic display. Not only entries on people like Susan, but even detailed information on members of the Arasaka family itself.
Very quickly, she got a result.
Kai. Deputy Director of Counterintel. Had spent the last several months carrying out a special operation on the border. Had only recently returned to Night City.
On the way back to the company, he had been attacked by the Animals.
Yesterday morning, he had gotten into a serious confrontation with Susan in the lobby of Arasaka Tower. The incident had already spread through every department in the building.
Meredith processed the information rapidly and made her judgment.
Kai had killed Caitlin on the spot because Counterintel and Special Ops were at each other's throats, and there was a very good chance Caitlin's intel for this operation had been stolen from Counterintel in the first place.
Kai was here for the same military-grade Sandevistan, but rescuing Caitlin had obviously never been part of his plan.
Arasaka Special Ops and Arasaka Counterintel had clashed over this operation, which explained why they had arrived on the scene at different times.
As long as they had overlapping interests, negotiation was still possible.
Though both he and Caitlin held the rank of deputy director, the man in front of her clearly had more power and stronger backing.
The fact that he had arrived at exactly the right moment with the strongest possible force meant he had come prepared.
Within the space of a few seconds, Meredith took in the situation and made her own decision.
"Mr. Kai. I didn't expect Counterintel to mobilize as well."
After removing the loose end that was Caitlin, Kai finally shifted his attention to Meredith.
"Ms. Meredith. Head of Militech Special Ops. You showing up here in person is the least surprising thing that's happened tonight."
Meredith raised an eyebrow and asked in return, a little surprised, "Looks like you've done quite a bit of homework on me. To be honest, though, I am the type who prefers to handle things personally."
Kai nodded slightly.
"In that case, I would appreciate it if you personally took your people and left the scene. From this point forward, the site is under Arasaka control."
Meredith understood at once that Kai was effectively ordering her off the field. Since she had already killed so many Arasaka personnel, the consequences would not be minor if the matter spread, and her expression turned ugly.
"And what exactly are you trying to do?"
Kai gave her a puzzled look, his tone almost innocent.
"When Arasaka cleans out its own internal traitors, does it now need Militech's permission?"
"Caitlin, Deputy Director of Arasaka Special Ops, leaked a high-level company operation, colluded secretly with Counterintel personnel, and jumped ahead to seize the mission target. As a result, she was heavily wounded by Maelstrom and paid with her life."
"Ms. Meredith, are you seriously expecting me, an Arasaka deputy director, to write you a report for Militech?"
The moment Meredith heard Kai say that, and realized he had not mentioned Militech's involvement at all, she immediately understood his intention.
He wanted both sides to walk away with a win.
(End of Chapter)
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