The gunfight was about to erupt.
Whistling bullets ripped through the narrow corridor, turning it instantly into a death trap where stepping inside meant certain death.
"Damn it, this isn't working."
Jackie had barely poked his head out when the storm of bullets forced him back into the room.
They were here to rescue someone. Every second that passed put David in greater danger. As time dragged on, the scattered security personnel would regroup, making the rescue even more perilous.
Time was against them.
"Hey, ugly, that kid's not behind this wall, is he?"
Rebecca, stationed at the rear, hefted Guts—the shotgun longer than her own legs—onto her shoulder, then casually pointed at the opposite wall with one hand.
Across the corridor lay the room where David was trapped.
To reach it, they had to push down the corridor to the single door.
"He's not here. What the hell are you doing at a time like this?" Lucy snapped, her netrunning abruptly cut off.
"Then it's simple..."
Rebecca lowered Iron Guts, aiming it straight at the opposite wall.
"Everyone, clear out."
A thunderous crack split the air as Rebecca's shotgun roared, flames bursting from the barrel. Heat swept over the three of them, and a heartbeat later the opposite wall blew open, leaving a gaping hole.
"Still not wide enough."
The recoil shoved Rebecca back nearly a meter. She stepped forward, worked the smoothbore barrel, ejecting a smoking yellow shell casing before racking in another round.
Another deafening blast shook the corridor.
The wall collapsed further under the impact, dust and rubble filling the air. Through the haze, the group caught glimpses of panicked figures in the room beyond.
"That should do it."
Rebecca flicked the spent shell away and slung Guts back over her shoulder, satisfied.
"Well then… filthy Arthur, isn't this beast way better than your pocket-sized toy?"
She strolled back to her spot, still taunting.
But there was no time for banter.
On the other side, Jackie instantly sized up the situation. His massive hand seized the iron door Arthur had kicked open. Muscles bulging, he ripped it clean off its weakened frame.
Holding the heavy iron door like a shield, he charged straight into the hail of bullets.
He lowered his head and bellowed behind him.
"Hurry!"
Arthur darted forward, keeping tight to Jackie's towering frame, then dove through the blasted hole across the corridor.
The dust hadn't even settled when his body slammed hard onto the floor. Ignoring the pain from shattered tiles beneath him, Arthur rolled and crouched low.
Frontier was already in his hand. It roared several times in rapid succession, cutting down a handful of unlucky souls on the spot.
With Arthur and Jackie taking the brunt of the fire, the two behind them steadied themselves.
"Who the hell are you? This is Arasaka's private property! You've violated the Company!"
A man in a white lab coat shouted the standard corporate line while fumbling inside his coat. He was clearly stalling to pull a weapon, but the move was clumsy, almost laughable.
A shadow cut through the dust and buried itself in his right shoulder.
"Ah!"
The man shrieked as his arm went limp, hanging uselessly at his side.
"Damn it! Do you even know what you're doing?"
His face twisted with rage as he glared at Arthur, his free hand fumbling desperately with his coat.
But another wave of searing pain ripped through him before he could react. His eyes bulged in horror as the dagger embedded in his shoulder slowly slid free—landing in Arthur's hand—before plunging right back into him.
"Ah— Damn it, you bastard!"
Clutching his limp arms, the man roared in desperation and lunged at Arthur—only to be slammed down by the cold butt of a rifle.
Arthur yanked him up by the hair.
"Spit it out! Where's David?"
The man's nose was smashed in, his mouth spilling broken whimpers.
Arthur dragged him deeper into the room and hurled him to the floor.
"Make another sound and I'll rip your head clean off."
His raspy voice hit like ice water. Staring into the black muzzle aimed at his forehead, the man swallowed the blood in his mouth. His wide, trembling eyes betrayed sheer terror.
"Inside... inside... the Cyberware preservation chamber. We only handle data collection... installation is automated."
"Hmph..."
Arthur grunted and turned his gaze to the far end of the room.
He didn't know the facility, but the massive black container was the only thing big enough to hold a person.
Without hesitation, Arthur strode toward it, putting the man on the floor down with a single shot.
Now the only question was how to retreat.
The gunfight outside raged on, but having reached David's location, they were no longer pressed for time. Jackie and Rebecca held the entrances, using the terrain to keep the enemy at bay.
Lucy, however, was already sprinting toward the massive crate. She was so frantic she hadn't even drawn her pistol.
But time was ticking. The security forces hadn't gone far, and soon they'd regroup in greater numbers. They needed to leave—fast.
Swallow shimmered back into Arthur's hand as he steadied himself. He grabbed the hat that had rolled away in the tumble and strode toward the massive crate.