Lucy took one look at Jackie's condition and immediately called out to Rebecca, "Rebecca, hurry—get Jackie to the car. I'm almost done cracking Lily's system."
"Alright, just be careful!"
Rebecca nodded quickly, then moved in to support Jackie as they headed for the exit.
A moment later, Lucy finished purging the virus inside Lily and let out a long breath.
"Okay, the Trauma Team block is gone. They should be on their way soon. I'm heading out. Take care of yourself."
Lucy gave Lily a small smile and extended her hand.
"Mhm!"
Lily smiled back and took it.
Bang!
A gunshot exploded through the air. Blood sprayed across Lucy's face. Her pupils shrank, the smile on her face freezing in place.
Lily still looked confused, clearly not understanding what had just happened. She reached toward her chest, where a wave of burning pain hit her—
Bright red filled her vision.
A barrage of gunfire followed. Lucy snapped back to reality, grabbed Lily, and rolled them both behind the corner. When she looked back, the light had already faded from Lily's eyes.
"Fuck!"
This was Night City.
"Hurry the hell up! Those mercenary bastards killed the boss and stole our cargo! If we don't get it back, we're all dead!"
A Scav leader pointed furiously toward Lucy's hiding spot. Killing the boss wasn't what enraged him—it was the stolen goods.
Lucy clenched her lower lip. She glanced once more at Lily's body, then scanned the area for an escape route.
Her eyes landed on an emergency exit buried under a pile of junk.
"I just need to stall them a little…"
An orange glow burst in Lucy's eyes. At the back of the Scav group, several members abruptly froze—then pulled the guns from their waistbands and opened fire wildly at their own people.
Chaos erupted. Caught off guard, the Scavs were mowed down in seconds.
Lucy seized the moment, sprinted to the exit, shoved the shelf aside, and her face lit up in relief.
But the second her hand touched the doorknob—
the other side slammed shut.
Shit.
The Scavs recovered quickly, executed the hacked members, and charged straight toward Lucy.
"Die!!"
Boom!
Just as one Scav raised his gun at Lucy, a thunderous crash shook the room. Two blinding headlights washed over everyone's faces.
The Scav aiming at Lucy was instantly crushed beneath a speeding vehicle.
"What are you standing around for? Get in!!"
Hearing Rebecca's voice snapped Lucy out of it. She flung open the car door and dove inside.
Pilar floored the accelerator, ramming straight into the scattering Scavs before bursting through a wall and out onto the street.
"Yahoo!!"
Pilar whooped the instant they hit open air again.
"Not gonna lie, this Gig was crazy intense!"
"Where's Lily?"
Rebecca glanced at Lucy's side and asked.
"She's dead."
Lucy's voice faltered for a moment before going flat again.
"I see…"
Rebecca sighed softly but didn't say more.
"Could you two maybe tone down the cheer? There's still a guy here who took a bullet for you."
Jackie rolled his eyes, wincing.
"Oh—right, right. First we take you to a Ripperdoc."
"Little China. I know a guy there. When it comes to this stuff, he's the only one I trust."
Jackie grunted, clutching his wound.
"Fine. Just don't fall asleep."
"Relax. I'm not dying today—I'll stay awake."
...
Back at the scene, the remaining Scavs stared at the carnage around them, stunned.
"Cough—dammit!!"
The Scav leader, lucky enough to still be alive, wiped dust from his face and stood. His expression hardened.
"What are you idiots waiting for? After them! You wanna die here?!"
The Scavs snapped out of it and scrambled for their vehicles.
None of them noticed the leader slipping over to Lily's body. He reached toward her eye socket, planning to strip the high-end Cyberware and bolt with the profit.
No way he could stay in Night City now. Their corporate backer wasn't huge, but it was definitely not a corporation a small Scav gang could cross.
Just as he moved his hand—
The hum of an AV vibrated through the air behind him.
His hand froze. A helpless look crossed his face. He turned, gave the Trauma Team landing behind him the finger.
"Son of a—"
Bang!
"Move, move! Inject the meds! Prep the defib and stretcher!!"
...
Meanwhile, Pilar was tearing down the road. Their relief didn't last long—several bikes and cars were already on their tail, opening fire without warning.
The incoming barrage was overwhelming. If not for Pilar's driving, they'd already be dead.
The firefight drew the attention of the nearby NCPD.
But just as a patrol squad prepared to mobilize, a command from their sergeant halted them.
The Scavs' corporate backer had finally stepped in, dispatching their own team to wipe out all witnesses.
Soon, Pilar and the others were forced into an abandoned factory, boxed in by Scavs and a full Corporate Security squad.
"Looks like this is where we die."
Jackie sighed at the sight outside.
"Damn it, bro! What kind of Gig did you pick?! Weren't we supposed to be syncing as a team?!"
Rebecca, the quickest to explode, grabbed Pilar by the collar and barked the question.
"How the hell should I know? Something was obviously off with this Gig!"
"No shit!"
"We need to think about how to get out of here."
Lucy said quietly. The others fell silent, focusing up.
Then something happened that shocked them all.
As the Scavs stepped out of their vehicles, the Corporate Security team immediately opened fire—slaughtering every single one of them.
"They're cleaning up loose ends…"
Jackie murmured.
Roland, who had been watching everything from a distance, wore an odd expression. He'd interfered a little—but he didn't expect the show to get this dramatic…