David was chrome from head to hell and burning with a rage you could taste. When they’d taken Lucy because of his weakness, the man snapped. He took command like a natural leader, calling the shots with the kind of blunt authority the crew listened to.
“We know where Lucy is,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “If the intel’s right, Ivan’s holding her in a place that’s locked down — and he won’t be alone. If she’s got that data, he’s got an army with her.”
“We need stealth,” Nova added, cautious.
“Fuck stealth,” David spat. “We’ll show them you don’t fuck with us. We go through the front door. Maine, Dorio and I break the way. Rebecca, Pilar and Nova — you cover the rear, clear anything at range. Once inside we split: Maine, Pilar and I go hunting for Ivan; you three seal off escape routes. Fill the place with bodies.”
“You can’t risk it like that, David,” Nova said, worried for the others.
David jerked Nova forward by the collar, close enough to feel his breath. “Remember this — your ‘friend’ the cyber-ninja is why we’re in this mess. Don’t want to come? Fine. But if I see her… I’ll kill her.”
Nova stared at him. David had changed faster than Nova could track. The rage made him dangerous, borderline insane — and in that moment he was stronger than reason.
“All right. I’ll help. But if I see anything off, I pull you down.” Nova answered flat.
“Count me in,” Rebecca said, flexing gorilla arms that glittered with fresh chrome.
“You’ve grown fast,” Maine muttered, relieved David would lead.
“Fine,” Dorio said, skeptical but resigned.
“LET’S KILL SOME MOTHERFUCKERS!” Pilar barked, hungry for chaos.
They mobilized with no more info than the address. David didn’t need nuance — he believed in brute force. Ivan wasn’t in a downtown tower; it was a compound outside the city, a mansion turned ops center, heavily guarded. They hit the front gate with a grenade and a scream.
They tore across the front yard like a freight train. The mansion’s first layer — ornamental walls, fountains — turned into carnage. Flesh and metal met: brains, limbs, and entrails sprayed through the air. Nova kept his head clear, Sandevistan flickering on demand to protect the crew, while David’s augmented body bulldozed through anything between him and the compound’s heart.
“That fucking Faraday, that idiot didn’t care about Lucy’s data he didn't do shit,” Ivan raged into his feeds. “I’m not done extracting this. I need more time — this is vital. I’ll bleed cash into it if I have to. They won’t keep screwing with me.”
Ivan switched on the estate’s PA and security grid. “What the fuck do these idiots want in my property? NCPD will be here in a second and clear you all out.”
“Don’t worry about the cops, Ivan,” David snarled back, voice cutting through the speakers. “They won’t make it. I’ll blow your brains out before they arrive.”
“If you try that, I want to see it,” Ivan laughed, arming the mansion — turrets, mines, automated guns folding into the hedgerows like metal teeth.
“Aagh!” David roared. He smashed through doors with Sandevistan speed; huge steel shutters slammed down, cutting off Rebecca, Dorio and Nova outside. And then the worst: the compound erupted with cyberpsychos — hundreds — pouring from hidden rooms like a plague.
“What the fuck is this?!” Dorio screamed, popping out to fire and then ducking back into cover.
“This is Ivan’s doing,” Nova panted. “I don’t know how he controls them.”
The psychos swarmed. Shots rang out and one slug slammed into Rebecca— but her new gorilla arms took the hit, metal plates locking. She roared and went feral.
“These arms are the best thing you’ve made!” she screamed, making shot everywhere taking down lots of psychos
Nova dove into the mob, Sandevistan slicing time into ribbons, gutting as many as he could, but there were too many. He ducked for cover and spotted Rebecca exposed. He just triggered his Sandevistan and was out of juice. A round snapped toward her — Nova threw his body like a shield. The bullet ripped through muscle and hit him high in the shoulder, metal singing.
“Ah! Fuck!” Nova cursed, stumbling.
“YOU SON OF A—!” Rebecca screamed, letting loose a spray of rounds, tearing through a half-dozen psychos in a frenzy. She pivoted and looked at Nova, concern breaking the manic grin. “You good?”
“Yeah— just— pull the round out,” Nova hissed, trying to keep steady.
“My gorilla fingers are too fat,” she said, pissed and worried.
Nova fished a pair of needle-nosed pliers from his pocket and tossed them. Rebecca blinked at the tool, surprised and confused visible in her face.
“Where the hell did you get that? What else are you carrying? Are you a walking inventory?” she said making the joke.
“Just pull it,” Nova said, teeth clenched.
She pinched the bullet out with clumsy, giant fingers. Slowly the wound sealed — the Sandevistan’s healing bleed-stabilizing, all the damage nova made with his fist and bullets was making the healing.
“What the— you human?” Rebecca shouted, awed and half scared.
“It’s the Sandevistan,” Nova panted, tasting copper. “It does some of the healing.”
They didn’t have time for wonder long — the psychos kept coming, and the mansion had hardly been breached. But for a breath, with blood on his shoulder and the Sandevistan’s hum in his bones, Nova felt the razor edge between living and surviving.