The morning haze hung low over Night City, giving the streets a ghostly sheen as sunlight fought through the smog. Max's boots splashed through shallow puddles as the crew walked toward the industrial sector, the neon afterglow of the bar still fading from their eyes.
Mary's voice hummed in their comms, sharp and composed. "Contract details decoded. Target: Dr. Elara Voss. Former Militech cognitive systems engineer. Currently listed as 'missing' after the Root collapse."
Lucy frowned. "Voss? She was on the AI oversight team. The same division that greenlit Root's adaptive neural link."
"Which means she knows something," Max said.
V whistled low. "Or she is something. You sure this isn't a setup?"
Mary's tone shifted subtly. "Probability of ambush: seventy-one percent. But payout confirmation is genuine. Raven wired advance funds to encrypted accounts."
Jackie chuckled. "Then we're already halfway paid. Even if it is a setup, might as well make it expensive for them."
They reached their rides—Jackie's modded Quadra humming low, V's sleek Yaiba glinting in the mist, and Max's matte-black hoverbike pulsing faint blue under its frame. Lucy adjusted her jacket, plugging her deck into a wrist port. "Sending grid overlay. North Industrial's on lockdown—Militech drones everywhere. Looks like they're already sweeping the area."
"Militech's cleaning up," V said grimly. "Means Voss is alive. Or dangerous."
Max's eyes narrowed. "Either way, we find her first."
They split lanes as the convoy shot through the streets. The early traffic parted like shadows before them. Towers of glass and steel rose overhead, flickering with ads for cybernetic upgrades and synthetic food. Somewhere far above, corporate drones patrolled invisible skies.
Jackie's voice came over the comms. "So, what's the play?"
"Same as always," Max replied. "In quiet. Out cleaner."
As they approached the industrial block, the air grew heavier—thick with smoke, oil, and ozone. Broken billboards flickered over the entrance to the sector, reading: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
Lucy's scanner beeped. "Got heat signatures. Multiple. Two mechs, four drones, and—wait—something big moving underground."
"Define big," V muttered.
"Like… tank big."
Jackie grinned. "Oh, I missed this."
Mary's voice sharpened. "Incoming contact. Militech patrol units engaging unknown hostiles nearby. Crossfire risk is high."
Max slowed the bike, scanning the alley ahead. The sounds of gunfire echoed faintly—short bursts, followed by mechanical roars. "Someone's already fighting them."
"Could be Voss," Lucy said.
V unslung her rifle, checking the mag. "Then let's crash the party."
They moved in through the shadows, slipping between containers and old pipelines. The sound grew louder—the heavy thud of metal feet, the hiss of hydraulics, the whine of charging plasma.
Then, through the fog, they saw it—one of Militech's Combat Drones, the new models: reinforced plating, dual miniguns, and a mounted sensor core glowing red. It was tearing through the security bots like they were scrap.
Jackie whistled. "That thing's not supposed to exist yet."
Lucy scanned it. "It's a prototype. Militech Codename: M-DRN Type-0. Genesis tag confirmed."
V cursed. "Genesis again. Guess they didn't waste time rolling out the sequel."
The drone's sensor core whirred—and locked onto them.
Mary's voice came fast and sharp. "Target acquisition confirmed. Recommend immediate evasion."
Max drew his pistol, sliding into cover. "Too late for that."
The combat drone's miniguns spun up, shredding the container wall beside them. Sparks and debris filled the air as V rolled across the floor, returning fire. Jackie vaulted behind a loader mech, firing explosive rounds.
Lucy ducked beside Max, connecting her deck to the drone's local net. "Give me ten seconds—no, five!"
"Make it three!" V shouted as the drone's cannon tore through a nearby wall.
"Working on it!"
Max slid out of cover, his pistol shifting configuration with a hiss. He fired twice—precise shots that struck the drone's stabilizers, sending it stumbling sideways.
"Now, Lucy!"
She hit a final key. The drone froze mid-motion, guns halting mid-spin. Then, with a sharp electrical crack, it powered down—smoke rising from its core.
Jackie peeked out. "We dead?"
"Not yet," Max said, lowering his weapon.
Lucy exhaled, rubbing her temple. "That was running on Genesis code. The whole system's already being field-tested."
V kicked the drone's side. "And here I thought we'd bought ourselves a break."
Then, from behind the wreckage, a voice echoed—hoarse, but alive.
"About time someone shut that thing down."
They turned to see a woman emerging from the smoke. Mid-thirties, cybernetic implants running down her arms, lab coat torn and stained with soot.
Lucy blinked. "Dr. Voss."
The woman looked at them warily, clutching a data shard. "Who sent you?"
"Raven," Max said simply. "Extraction."
She hesitated—then tossed him the shard. "Then extract this. It's everything Militech doesn't want anyone to see."
V caught sight of the blinking red lights across nearby rooftops—new drones, converging fast. "We've got company again!"
Max grabbed the shard, slipping it into his slot. "Mary, copy and lock it down."
"On it."
Jackie grinned, cocking his shotgun. "Guess the party's back on."
The sound of rotor blades filled the sky as the first wave of Militech gunships appeared through the haze.
Max looked at his crew, eyes steady. "Let's move. We're not losing her—or this data."
Lucy sighed, already diving back into her deck. "Here we go again."
V smirked. "Wouldn't be Night City without explosions before breakfast."
And as the first gunship opened fire, the streets erupted into chaos once more.
Gunfire lit up the industrial sector like a storm of steel and neon. The Militech gunships swooped low, engines screaming, cannons chewing through metal and concrete as the crew dove for cover. The air shimmered with heat and the acrid tang of ozone — Night City's morning anthem.
"Mary, map us a way out!" Max shouted, his voice barely audible over the thunder of explosions.
"North access tunnel, two hundred meters ahead!" she replied instantly. "But it's collapsing. You'll have to move now!"
"Perfect," V muttered, slamming a new mag into her rifle. "Suicidal routes — just how I like 'em."
Jackie rolled from behind a loader mech, launching an EMP grenade that burst midair. The nearest gunship sputtered, veered off course, and slammed into a fuel stack with a roaring explosion. Fire rolled down the alleyway, painting everything orange.
Lucy was already jacked into a nearby control node, her eyes flickering with data. "I can scramble their targeting arrays for thirty seconds tops! After that, they'll be back online."
"Thirty's enough!" Max shouted. He darted out of cover, grabbed Voss by the wrist, and pulled her toward the north corridor. The others followed, bullets slicing through the smoke as they ran.
The ground shook beneath their feet — heavy, rhythmic impacts echoing from below.
Jackie glanced around. "Uh, tell me that's not what I think it is."
Lucy's scanner flared red. "Nope. That's the big thing I picked up earlier."
***
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It's 22 chaps ahead