A missile-lock warning screamed across Lena’s Kiroshi optics.
She looked up.
The six micro-missiles had separated in midair, spreading out to block every obvious escape route.
Her Arasaka Mk.III Cyberdeck calculated their trajectories and projected the results across her vision.
Lena did not retreat.
She raised the RT-46 Burya.
The revolver thundered.
Its first round struck the leading missile and detonated it in midair.
Fire expanded above the factory floor as fragments scattered in every direction.
Lena shifted the barrel and fired again.
The second missile exploded.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
Four precise shots destroyed four missiles before they could reach her.
The remaining two emerged from the smoke.
[DISTANCE CRITICAL]
[INTERCEPTION WINDOW INSUFFICIENT]
The missiles were already too close to shoot down, and their approach angles left no time to escape.
Lena holstered the Burya, lowered her stance, and crossed her Gorilla Arms over her head, neck, and chest.
Rook watched from beside the AV.
“Is she insane?”
He had already experienced Lena’s strength firsthand, but even her extensive cyberware should not have allowed her to withstand a direct strike from Militech micro-missiles.
The two projectiles hit.
Boom!
The explosion swallowed Lena.
Fire swept across the area, and the shockwave hurled chunks of concrete and twisted metal through the factory.
Smoke rose from the crater as secondary flames spread across the floor.
Jackie and Valerie had no time to check on her.
The Militech heavy combat robot was moving again.
Repeated EMP discharges from the Yinglong had slowed the machine, and blue arcs still snapped across several damaged joints.
Valerie continued firing, directing smart rounds into its exposed interfaces.
“Jackie!”
He was already moving.
Jackie locked both Gorilla Arms around the robot’s damaged chest armor.
Reinforced muscles strained as he pulled in opposite directions.
“Open up!”
Metal screamed.
Jackie tore the combat robot’s chest plate apart with brute force.
Internal wiring and core modules were exposed.
Valerie immediately redirected the Yinglong.
A burst of electromagnetic rounds entered the opening and detonated inside the machine.
Blue electricity spread through the combat core, followed by thick black smoke.
The robot shuddered.
Then its enormous body collapsed onto the factory floor.
Jackie stepped away and flexed his numb arms.
“That oversized toaster nearly rattled my chrome loose.”
His gaze shifted toward the smoke surrounding Lena.
“Is she okay?
Those missiles hit her directly.”
Valerie checked the squad biomonitor.
Lena’s heart rate was elevated, but there were no critical-injury warnings.
Her vital signs remained stable.
“She’s fine.”
Jackie stared at her.
“You sound awfully certain.”
“You’ve seen how much cyberware she has.
Two micro-missiles aren’t enough to kill her.”
The smoke gradually cleared.
Everyone turned toward the crater.
Dr.
Koch checked the readings on his control pad.
The target’s life signal remained active.
“She’s still alive,” he said, despair creeping into his voice.
A figure emerged from the dust.
Lena’s combat suit had been torn in several places, and burn marks covered her shoulders and arms.
Dust stained her long pink hair, but she remained upright.
She wiped soot from her cheek.
Valerie and Jackie joined her, and the three advanced toward the grounded AV.
Anvil looked back at his companions.
Rook’s chest armor was deeply deformed from Lena’s kick.
His breathing had become labored, and the hand holding the TKI-20 Shingen trembled from pain.
Osprey was in even worse condition.
The wounded netrunner drifted in and out of consciousness, kept alive by his biomonitor, internal support systems, and the stimulants Rook had injected.
Their heavy combat robot was gone.
Every perimeter unit had disappeared from the network, and their evacuation route was nearly within reach.
Someone had to buy time.
“Rook, get the doctor and Osprey aboard,” Anvil said.
He turned to face the approaching mercenaries and clenched his fists.
“I’ll hold them here.”
Rook hesitated.
“If you can’t stop them, run.”
“Anvil, come with us,” Dr.
Koch insisted.
“The AV has military-grade armor.
Their weapons won’t penetrate it once we’re inside.”
“They’re too fast.
If no one slows them down, one EMP will disable the engines before we lift off.”
Dr.
Koch studied his expression before reluctantly nodding.
Rook dragged Osprey toward the AV.
The netrunner barely raised his head.
His unfocused optics settled on Anvil.
“Run,” he whispered.
Anvil did not look back.
“Go!”
Dr.
Koch pressed his palm against the identification panel.
The AV recognized him, and its cabin door began to open.
Then three electronic chirps sounded beneath the aircraft.
Rook’s expression changed.
“There’s something under—”
Three EMP mines detonated beneath the AV.
Blue-white electricity surged through the landing gear and spread across the aircraft.
The engines died before completing their startup sequence.
Cabin lights flickered, and the door jammed halfway open.
The electromagnetic pulse tore through the cyberware of everyone standing nearby.
Dr.
Koch stiffened.
Static filled his optics, and his neural-assistance systems reported simultaneous failures.
His legs gave out, and he struck the side of the cabin.
Rook’s Smart Link disconnected from the Shingen.
Multiple combat implants shut down, leaving his limbs temporarily unresponsive.
He tried to support Osprey, but both men collapsed.
Osprey suffered the worst of it.
His optics went completely dark.
His body convulsed several times before he lost consciousness.
Anvil spun around.
“Rook!
Osprey!”
He abandoned his defensive position and rushed toward them.
Dropping beside Osprey, he checked the netrunner’s pulse.
It was weak, but present.
Rook forced himself onto one elbow.
“Forget us,” he rasped.
“Run.”
Anvil understood.
If he escaped alone, his Sandevistan and knowledge of the factory might give him a chance.
But blood continued flowing from his waist and thigh.
His injured shoulder barely moved, and every breath pulled at his wounds.
He picked up a fallen dagger and stood between the mercenaries and his companions.
Lena, Valerie, and Jackie stopped several meters away.
“Waiting for your Sandevistan to recover?” Lena asked.
Her optics continuously monitored the damaged implant.
“I’ve already breached its interface.
If you force it to activate, I’ll shut it down before the acceleration begins.”
Anvil tightened his grip on the dagger.
He knew she was not bluffing.
Anyone capable of silently taking control of an entire automated factory could disable one damaged Sandevistan.
“Then let’s find out.”
He lowered his stance.
“If you want them, you go through me.”
Lena prepared to upload Cyberware Malfunction, but her command stopped short.
Jackie noticed her hesitation and remained silent.
Valerie lowered the Yinglong.
These security operatives were not like the Scavengers they had fought in Heywood.
Despite the hopeless situation, none had abandoned the others.
Dr.
Koch pulled himself upright against the AV.
“Enough, Anvil.”
“Stay behind me, Doctor.”
“It’s over.”
Dr.
Koch approached and gently lowered Anvil’s injured arm.
He looked past him toward the three mercenaries.
“You disabled an entire factory, blocked our escape route in advance, and deployed combatants with this level of firepower.
Which corporation sent you?
Arasaka?
Militech?
Kang Tao?”
Lena did not answer.
Dr.
Koch interpreted her silence as confirmation.
“If this is corporate business, then we follow corporate procedure.
I am a registered research director with Zetatech.
These three are official security personnel who have served with me for years.”
He glanced toward the unconscious Osprey and injured Rook.
“Take us prisoner and contact Zetatech.
Whether your employer wants money, technology, or a personnel exchange, the corporation will negotiate.”
“The corporation won’t protect us,” Anvil warned.
“I’m not standing here while you throw your life away.”
Dr.
Koch turned back to Lena.
“You spared my workers.
You also had several opportunities to kill us and chose not to.
Elimination was never your objective.
State your employer and conditions, and we can arrange a formal transfer.”
Lena, Valerie, and Jackie exchanged looks.
The situation had suddenly become absurd.
“We don’t work for a corporation,” Lena said.
“We’re mercenaries.
A fixer hired us to steal your research data.”
Dr.
Koch stared at her.
“You’re telling me three mercenaries destroyed my security robots, drones, turrets, and heavy combat unit for one set of experimental data?”
Lena nodded.
“The last team Wakako sent is still lying outside your gate.
We weren’t going to walk in unprepared and join them.”
Dr.
Koch’s shoulders relaxed.
The attack could be buried, the lost data could be blamed on external mercenaries, and Zetatech might never learn the complete truth.
“What will it take for you to release us?” he asked.
Valerie immediately stepped forward and raised her weapon.
“Let’s not rush.
We came a long way, burned through ammunition, and damaged expensive equipment.
Someone needs to cover those costs.”
Jackie inspected the scratches across his Gorilla Arms.
“That robot nearly tore my chrome off.
Repairs won’t be cheap.”
Dr.
Koch answered without hesitation.
“My department has three hundred thousand eddies in discretionary cooperation funds.
I will transfer all of it and allow you to copy the research data.
In return, you let the four of us leave.”
Jackie whistled.
Valerie’s eyes brightened, and the larger ransom demand she had been preparing died unspoken.
Three hundred thousand eddies would not make them wealthy by corporate standards.
It was less than the price of many private AVs and barely enough for a one-way lunar ticket after additional expenses.
For a mercenary crew, however, it was a fortune.
Lena examined the security team.
Her original plan had been to salvage Anvil’s Sandevistan, Osprey’s high-grade cyberdeck, and Rook’s smart-weapon systems.
Those implants were immensely valuable.
But three hundred thousand eddies was fair compensation for leaving their cyberware attached.
“Your funds and the research data will cover your lives,” Lena said.
“But I want one more thing.”
Dr.
Koch’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“The blueprints for the Headsman.”
His expression immediately hardened.
He could explain the disappearance of the cooperation funds.
He could claim the research data had been stolen during the attack.
But if the Headsman’s complete weapon design entered the black market, Zetatech could trace the resulting weapons back to his department.
Lena understood his concern.
“The blueprints are for our crew.
We won’t sell them, give them to another corporation, or mass-produce the weapon.
We may build a few for personal use.
Nothing more.”
“We’re mercenaries, not arms dealers,” Valerie added.
“Dumping corporate blueprints onto the market would put a target on our backs.”
Dr.
Koch looked toward his injured guards.
“Deal.”
He opened his terminal and transferred the Militech combat robot’s research files and the complete Headsman blueprints.
Lena verified the data before sending the requested files to Wakako through an encrypted channel.
A reply arrived moments later.
[DATA VERIFIED]
[GIG COMPLETE]
[PAYMENT RECEIVED: €$50,000]
The fifty-thousand-eddy contract payment entered their account.
Dr.
Koch then transferred the promised cooperation funds.
[PAYMENT RECEIVED: €$300,000]
Lena closed the interface.
“Transaction complete.”
Before they left, Dr.
Koch sent her his contact information.
“If you require other weapon designs, contact me.
Future exchanges will follow normal business procedures.”
Lena saved the number.
“And if you ever have work too sensitive for corporate security, call us.
If the pay is right, we’ll handle it.”
Not long afterward, the Thorton Galena returned to the highway.
Jackie sat in the passenger seat, staring at the account balance with an enormous grin.
“We made three hundred and fifty thousand eddies from one job and walked away with two sets of technical data.
Can we do this every day?”
Valerie leaned back in her seat.
“Only if Lena keeps shooting netrunners through concrete walls.”
Jackie nodded.
“And surviving direct missile strikes.
I’m not sure I could take two of those.”
Lena kept both hands on the steering wheel.
“We’re not celebrating yet.
First, we make sure no one follows us.
Then we decide how to spend the money.”
Behind them, Dr.
Koch and Anvil watched the Galena disappear beyond the factory gates.
“They kept their word,” Anvil said.
“They accepted payment, completed their objective, and spared every innocent worker inside the facility,” Dr.
Koch replied.
“Night City doesn’t produce many mercenaries like that.”
Anvil surveyed the ruined factory.
“Their appetite is enormous.”
“Three hundred thousand eddies for four lives was inexpensive.”
Dr.
Koch turned toward the unconscious Osprey.
“Let’s get everyone treated.
As for those mercenaries…”
He glanced at Lena’s newly saved contact.
“We may have use for them again.”
]”
__________________________________