Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 246 8. Big Shot

"Mr. Johnson."

"It's been a while since we last met. How have you been, Carl?"

"I'm doing the same old job, there's no difference."

Carl stood at the foot of the H8 super skyscraper in the Westbrook District, talking to Mr. Johnson who was waiting, while looking up at the building that was no different from where he lived. He suddenly realized something:
"Come to think of it, Mr. Johnson, you also live in an apartment."

"if not?"

Johnson glanced at Carl, who looked very surprised, and understood what the boy was thinking: "You don't think that I live in a single-family villa or a high-rise mansion."

"It's not to that extent. I just think that since he's the sheriff, he should have a more spacious place to live."

“This is already a very cost-effective place.”

Johnson always thought that Carl must have been born into a powerful family, but he became a mercenary because of something that happened to him. Now his guess has been confirmed. Live in a more spacious place. Listen, is this what a human being would say?

You know, those who can live in such a place are considered well-known figures in Night City. And they want it to be more spacious. How much do you earn a month?

"No, Carl seems to be able to earn much more money than me in a month."

As sheriff, Johnson's annual salary is about 30 euros, or 2.5 euros a month, if we don't count the money from corruption and bribery, but he has to use this money to do many things.

For example, he had to pay rent, eat and drink daily, buy necessary equipment for himself and his subordinates, and give part of the money as pension to the families of his deceased former subordinates. These and other expenses made him spend all the money soon after he received it every month, so he lived a very poor life. Even buying a 2,000 euro Ajax gun made him hesitate for a long time.

Compared to him, Carl's income
The more Mr. Johnson thought about it, the more withdrawn he became. The gap between people was so huge that it made him silent.

Unaware that Mr. Johnson has shut himself in, Carl thinks about Andy.

Andy used to have his own residence, but after attacking the Tiger Claw Gang and being put on the gang's wanted list, he could no longer return to his original home, so after Regina determined that Andy was mentally normal, he is now temporarily living in Mr. Johnson's home, which is the room in the H8 apartment building in front of him.

Now, he was waiting for Carl.

After taking the elevator with Mr. Johnson all the way up to the fourteenth floor, Carl discovered after stepping out of the elevator that although H8 looked exactly the same as H10 where he lived from the outside, there were some differences inside.

For example, this floor.

Carl was a little surprised when he saw the children running in the corridor.

Children running in the corridor?

If it were in Carl's era, he would definitely not be strange at all, but in this era.

The residents of the super skyscrapers come from all corners of the world, so it is not surprising who they are. Don’t parents living in the apartment buildings worry about their children?

This is not a place like Heywood and Santo Domingo where the street atmosphere is strong and children are watched by neighbors or gang members. Instead, this is a place where tenants may change at any time and it is the first stop for outsiders entering Night City. Is it really okay not to have some protection for this place?
To say something that may sound alarmist, if someone wanted to do something to these kids, it would only take him ten seconds to pull out his gun and clear the corridor. There was no place to hide in this straight place.

Noticing Carl's curious look at the children around him, Mr. Johnson, who knew what Carl was thinking, had recovered from the depression of income. He motioned Carl to look at some places in the corridor:
"Look over there, Carl."

"Ok?"

Carl looked in the direction Mr. Johnson pointed and found a familiar-looking young man leaning against a corridor in a good position with a good view, staring at the group of children and the people going up and down the stairs.

This familiar young man
Carl blinked and recognized him. The other party was Mr. Johnson's subordinate. Carl had seen him in the team led by Mr. Johnson.

"I see."

Carl understood immediately.

"Are all the people living on this floor the families of police officers?"

"There's more to it than that, but it's pretty much like that. Letting people who aren't working take turns to look after the children is like replacing a machine to take care of the children."

Mr. Johnson was talking about the childcare robots developed in this era: "After all, I am still relatively old-fashioned. I always feel that I can't trust everything to machines."

"That's the truth."

Carl now understood why he felt this floor was different.

Because if you think about it carefully, this floor is just a small street, no different from the spontaneously united neighbors in Heywood and Saint Domingo. Even the people who provide shelter have simply changed from one gang to another "gang".

"Now I understand why Andy was able to stay here without anyone knowing."

“He used to grow up like this.”

Mr. Johnson looked at the children running in the corridor, his face full of memories: "Although they moved out later, they are still our people after all, so we can't just not take care of them."

"And even if the Tiger Claws knew, they wouldn't dare to blatantly attack the NCPD's family quarters, right?"

The only thing that can deter a gang, apart from force and a company, is another gang. Now it seems that, apart from others, Mr. Johnson's gang called NCPD is still quite deterrent.

Carl noticed that the police officer saw him and nodded and greeted him.

When the other party saw Karl, he smiled and nodded in greeting.

Neither party spoke, but the conversation was complete.

"Let's go, it's the fourth room from the left, go in."

Mr. Johnson unlocked the door with his prosthetic eye scan and took Carl into his suite. Many children who noticed the two of them entering had already gathered around the guard police officer who was wearing a casual uniform and a bulletproof vest underneath.

"Brother Bute, who was the person who followed Uncle Johnson in to see Brother Andy?"

"Him."

Feeling the bulletproof vest on his body and the gun on his waist, Boot smiled at the children: "He is now a big shot in Night City."

"Big man?"

Some of the children didn't quite understand and looked back at the black-haired young man who disappeared into the closed door. They couldn't understand: "But we haven't seen that brother in any Super Dream movie."

"Because he's a real big shot."

That's all Butt said.

(End of this chapter)