Rebecca moved slowly, the weight of the machine gun preventing any quick sprints. Pilar, Dorio, and Maine spread out to draw turret fire.
"Go to hell, assholes!"
Rebecca growled through clenched teeth, hot brass casings bouncing off her cheek. She didn't care.
A blue streak flashed past her face.
Maine, standing beside her, felt a powerful gust of wind.
CRACK!
Rebecca's eyes went wide. Her expression froze—like walking on thin ice and suddenly plunging into freezing water.
No one escapes the premonition of death. Edgerunners who lived on the blade's edge felt it more acutely than most.
"Fuck! Rebecca!"
Maine's reflexes were a beat too slow.
The heavy machine gun in Rebecca's hands disintegrated instantly. Components scattered in a small explosion, debris showering the ground.
The next second, Maine scooped her up. Dorio's gun was still suppressing the Zetatech turrets as she ducked behind the pickup truck—years of teamwork required no words.
Everyone understood: a sniper had them in their sights.
They crouched low and sprinted toward a nearby unfinished building. Pilar spun and emptied a mag toward Ethan's position.
Ethan kept his head down until the burst ended, then shook concrete dust from his hair and rolled to a lower platform on the rooftop.
"Heavy machine gun's down, Hamster."
Hamster chuckled darkly. "Fucking nice!"
Ethan dropped to one knee. The Nekomata was a reaper's scythe, locked onto Dorio as she ran toward the building's rear.
Second shot—no hesitation. The round struck Dorio's weapon dead-on. Shattered steel fragments turned her hands red.
"He's playing with us!" Pilar shouted.
Twenty minutes...
Ethan muttered to himself. Simple defensive mission. Keep them off-balance, wait for Barghest.
Mission accomplished.
Actually, Ethan wanted to spare them. But the panel's generous rewards and his past-life memories made him hesitate.
Right now, his position was relatively safe. He just needed to keep Hamster's underground lair intact for a while.
Scope tracking. Maine poked his head near a window—Ethan put a round through the concrete wall an inch above his skull.
Just like that. Keep stalling. Once Barghest shows up, they'll scram.
Ethan thought.
But Dorio was holding Rebecca tight. If left unchecked, that girl would charge straight at Ethan's building and personally turn the sniper who'd humiliated them into mincemeat.
"Dorio!"
"Switch entry point—I'll find the sniper!"
Maine wasn't giving up. He patted Dorio's shoulder and dropped off a platform on the building's side.
Ethan's scope was a hair too slow. Experienced edgerunners like this knew how to deal with a lone sniper.
Damn!
Cursing was one thing, but Ethan had to sling his rifle and draw his pistol.
He needed distance to intercept—to let Maine know the situation in Dogtown. If they kept pushing, extracting once Barghest arrived would be nearly impossible.
"Bunch of fucking lunatics!"
Ethan muttered. Normal people would retreat when facing this many turrets plus a sniper, right? But no—they wanted to push harder. These hot-blooded street crews really had guts.
Maybe the secret to becoming a legend is burning every bridge behind you?
Ethan descended the building's exterior metal staircase, pistol up in proper military stance, slowly advancing and scanning.
He had to stay near Hamster. If not for certain concerns, he'd have relocated and continued sniping.
Maine moved through the complex alleyways under cover of darkness, gun raised. His Arasaka Kenshin was a nice piece—picked up on a recent job.
All Foods and Big Dick's Energy Drink ads plastered the walls. Junkies huffing Glitter. Occasional shouting. The sound of his crew still fighting the hacker's defenses.
Good news: the sniper had stopped shooting. Bad news: the sniper probably knew he was coming.
"Barghest scum are really a pain in the ass."
Maine grumbled, stepping out of an alley—
Two gun barrels met in midair.
Ethan's whole body prickled. Maine was even bigger up close than he'd imagined. At 5'10", Ethan—even with cyberware and synthetic muscle—looked almost scrawny next to Maine.
Ethan kicked Maine's shin, expecting no effect, and instinctively grabbed Maine's gun barrel.
A shot rang out. The neon sign behind Ethan went dark.
Maine felt searing pain in his shin. Surprising—this guy had some strength. How...?
His hand felt clamped in a vise. He wrenched Ethan sideways and slammed him into a wall. Ethan's organs nearly rearranged themselves.
Strong as hell, Ethan internally groaned.
"You're not Barghest?"
"Wait—"
"You're that dumbass... Ethan?"
Ethan drove a knee into Maine's gut. Maine countered by hurling him aside. Ethan immediately scrambled up, pistol raised, trying to duck into a nearby alley.
BANG!
Blood mist erupted from Maine's shoulder.
"You Barghest bastard... nice moves. What's your angle? How'd you get our info?"
Maine's voice came from a distance.
Ethan wasn't about to explain how he knew all their names. That was his biggest advantage and secret.
"Go back the way you came. Get it? Barghest shows up and neither of us is walking out."
Ethan's temples throbbed as he started his pitch—part bluff, part warning.
As far as Hands had told him, Barghest was just for show. But for Maine's crew, they were very real.
Thanks to his arm cyberware and pain editor, Ethan had survived being thrown into that wall. But his whole back was numb.
This fight between him and Maine was pointless.
The edgerunner crew feared being sold out. Ethan feared them exposing the mess to Hansen. And Mr. Hands didn't want outside forces meddling in Dogtown.
If Maine would just calm down and listen, things could work out differently.
"I don't care if you believe me or not, but Barghest patrols are almost here. You think you can escape if all of Dogtown mobilizes?"
If not for the rewards, I'd have put a bullet in your head, Ethan thought. This guy's got rocks for brains.
"Turn around now. Everyone's just trying to make a living—no need to make this harder. Hansen's grudge will be settled with whoever hired you, or the corporations."
Maine laughed loudly. Behind his shades, his eyes were full of mockery.
"Barghest really knows how to run their mouths."
"I'd almost think you were Hansen himself."
"But I came here to flatline you, dumbass. Whatever else you know—you think I don't see Hansen's protecting you?"
Ethan leaned against the wall. So much for "diplomatic" solutions. This edgerunner crew had limited intel—whoever posed a threat got eliminated.
No reasoning with them.
"ETHAN! Get over here—their netrunner's pulled back to crack the turrets!"
Hamster's voice crackled, unstable, like he could disconnect any second.
The crew's netrunner was that good?
Ethan suddenly smelled something wrong.
Just as he was figuring out a route to disengage from Maine and reposition for sniping, Hamster screamed.
"It's not the fucking edgerunner crew! It's MILITECH netrunners! Shit! ETHAN!"
Static and screaming—then Hamster went silent.
At the same moment:
"Maine, pull back! Arasaka's on us!"
Sasha's voice was weak. Maine roared: "Arasaka?! Sasha?!"
While Ethan and Maine faced off, Barghest forces had rapidly converged.
Ethan understood immediately.
All that "just business, no hard feelings" bullshit—this was a goddamn fishing expedition!
So THIS was the "surprise."
Ethan stood frozen as a massive explosion rocked the motel in the distance. Barghest drones swarmed overhead toward the blast!
One spotted Ethan hiding below. With a strange staccato beeping, its IFF system locked on.
"For real?"
Maine sensed something was wrong too. Both were driven into a side alley by a hail of bullets.
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.
300 , 500 , 1000 for each milestone 1 Bonus Chapter.