"Sasha, can you go any faster?! We're fucking sitting ducks here!" Maine grunted as he felt the turret's bullet ping off his shoulder. On his side, Rebecca is growling as she, too, is stuck behind the cover.

"Give me a second!" Sasha shouted back before shutting off the turret. The group sighed in relief as Maine looked to where he was injured. Grimacing at the broken hand cannon caused by the turret, he suddenly remembered that he needed to find a new supplier of cyberware lest his crew fell apart.

With Gloria quitting her job as an EMT to work for Builders Incorporated, Maine had been having trouble finding contracts that could serve as an alternative to Gloria. With almost all of his former contracts he had burned away or done with, Maine is having trouble finding a new supplier of cyberware that he could use for himself.

It also didn't help that low-end gigs and biz are quickly disappearing from Night City, with Builder's Incorporated seemingly having a hand in their disappearance. Especially in Watson, where gigs almost became nonexistent. Well, except for those relating to Arasaka.

Regardless, a leader low on eddies is a leader that's going to find his crew falling apart. That's why their current gig was more of a desperate act than anything. Accepting a gig that requires attacking a Militech warehouse so they could extract a shard wasn't so ridiculous, especially when one is low on eddies.

'I should've listened to Dorio. Then again, we ARE low on eddies. I'm just thankful that they decided to tag along.' Maine internally mused as Rebecca cackled with glee alongside Pilar at the number of things scattered on the floor: waiting to be klepped. Meanwhile, Sasha and Dorio talked about something he didn't bother hearing.

Calling the fixer on a job well done despite the lambasting he'd heard from the fixer, the group road back to their base of operation. In this case, it's Maine's home.

As the group settled on themselves, Maine took a deep breath before looking at the group, "Look, let me blunt. We're low on eddies. While the gig we took covered most of the payments I've given you, it wasn't enough. Now, I know that you might complain, and I understand that. Hell, I could understand if you wanted to leave. But if you're willing to stay with the crew, then I'll appreciate it."

Silence filled the room as the group digested his words. While he knew Dorio would stick by him, he wasn't sure about the others. For all her bubbly personality and friendly disposition, Sasha's fixated on a single goal: to smear Biotechnica's image at all costs. Rebecca and Pilar, for all their wackiness, are solitary people. Despite joining his crew Rebecca and Pilar rarely interacted with the remaining members.

As Maine was about to talk again, he heard Sasha give him a chuckle, "Really, now. Just because we're low on money doesn't mean I'm jumping ship. Besides, Dorio and I have been thinking about this scenario for a few months now. That's why I have thousands of eddies tucked in for safekeeping." Sasha gave Maine a cute smile, "I'm not leaving this crew that easily, Maine."

"Don't worry, choom. My brother and I got your back all 'round. And like Sash said, you ain't kicking us off that easily." Rebecca cackled, with Pilar giving Rebecca a noogie.

As he felt himself relax, Maine felt a hand grab his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Dorio give him a soft smile.

"Besides, there's plenty of people out there who's willing to hire a group such as ours. I bet you that someone would call us right now for a gig." Right as Rebecca finished her sentence, Maine felt someone call him.

Hitting the yes, he straightened himself, "Yes, who's this?"

The group remained silent as Maine shushed them to silence and added them to the call, "Yes, is this Maine I'm talking to."

"Yes, that is me. Who are you, and what do you want from me?" Maine crisply replied, suddenly weary of the person he was speaking with.

"My name's Lucyna Kushinada, COO of Builders Incorporated. You may have heard of me." Maine heard Rebecca choke as Pilar repeatedly slapped her back to no avail.

"According to the person who provided me with your contact information: you're reliable and competent. A surprising rarity considering the numerous Solos running around like they're the next Morgan Blackhand." Maine could feel Lucyna shake her head in exasperation, "In any case, I have a job for you. Meet me tomorrow at Megabuilding H10. One of my men would escort you to the penthouse. Oh, and please, do keep yourself professional. I'll have an important guest to talk with."

With the call ending, Maine felt himself unconsciously sit down on the chair.

"Holy shit, I am a prophetess." Maine could only nod at her words.


"Would you sit still, Becca? You're making me anxious." Sasha complained as Rebecca gave her a snort.

"I'm making you nervous? Look at that dickhead over there, couldn't stop sniffing glitter because he's getting the shivers." Maine made to look where Pilar was, and lo and behold, he was still sniffing the glitter he'd kept in an emergency.

Maine sighed as Dorio gave him a pat on the back. Giving her a peck on the cheek, Maine focused on the road, constantly reminding himself that he should calm down. Bad enough that his crew is getting the jitters. The moment he made a nervous look, it'll affect the group as a whole.

'Besides, this gig might serve as a stepping stone for our crew, and I'll be damned before I let something bad happen.' Maine thought as his gaze turned to the bustling streets of Watson. From his memories, Watson was a shithole. A shithole cemented by the establishment of the Arasaka Waterfront: carving out a chuck of Watson for themselves like they're feudal lords. The poorest district, Lucius Rhyne had said on television once. If not for Pacifica, the Watson district would've remained a reminder of Night City's over-embellishment of everything it wants to be and failing.

But then Tom Hiddleston arrived, and Builders and Builders Incorporated arose. Suddenly, Watson's given a second chance at prosperity. The Builders eliminated their rivals while their company gave the people of Watson an opportunity to become something more. Businesses flourished, abandoned warehouses were bought and repurposed into giving cheap, organic meat and vegetables to the masses of Night City, children could freely roam the street without fear as the Builders provided a sense of security to the district, education provided at a cheap cost by the Builders, and almost all of the homeless people in Watson were relocated into community homes and given jobs provided by the Builders Incorporated.

Watson experienced a Renaissance never before seen in Nighty City's history. And while many wondered where they gathered their money, with Network News 54 creating a news segment dedicated to discussing Builders Incorporated alone, it didn't deter the people of NC that there's an actual corporation dedicated to helping the people.

And for Maine, meeting someone in the higher-up of Night City's most prolific company, that alone was enough for him to break into a nervous sweat. The last time he felt this nervous was when he served during the Unification Wars.

"Okay, we're here." The group nodded as Maine went ahead and parked their van.

As the crew descended to the elevators of the Megabuilding, he felt someone tap his back. Turning around, Maine was greeted by a dour-looking man, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but near him.

"Are you Maine?" Maine nodded at his question, "Good, follow me."

As the group followed Maine's lead toward the penthouse, Maine could see the man grumble to himself as they approached the place where they were supposed to meet the COO.

'He doesn't want to be near us, huh.' Maine grumbled to himself as they arrived at a simple-looking door.

"Miss Lucy, we've arrived." The door opened, revealing Lucyna Kushinada in all of her beauty, as the man seemingly looked at her in envy.

"Thank you, Faraday. Dismissed." The man nodded before walking away, leaving his crew and the COO of Builders Incorporated alone.

"Please, take a seat." Seeing the crew sit, Miss Lucyna nodded before giving Maine a shard.

"Insert it, for that'll contain most of your mission briefing." Maine nodded before inserting the shard into his lobe.

"As you may have heard recently, Sixth Street had a sudden change of leadership: with Rick Morton being 'killed' in a coup led by Will Gunner for siding with corporations. We wouldn't give Sixth Street much notice as we tend to stay within Watson, but our CEO was nothing if determined to allow the people of Night City a chance to uplift themselves, the gonk. If you've noticed the quotations in the word killed, then you've surmised correctly. Yes, Rick Morton is still alive, and Rick wants out of Night City. That's where you'll come in. While we would've hired a Nomad to traffic him to SoCal, our recent scuffles with Arasaka made that unlikely, as they've seemingly increased border security for those escaping Night City. And since they're busy questioning Nomads en masse, this is where you'll come in. So, you only need to escort Rick out of Night City, and if you manage to do it quietly, I'll offer a bonus on your way back. Any questions?"

Maine shook his head, causing the rest to shake their head in response.

"Good. If you have no more questions, then please leave the office. I'm going to be busy-" Miss Lucy's words cut off as the door opened, revealing a man wearing a blue overall complete with a miner's helmet.

The man gave Lucy a grin, causing her to shiver before being glomped by said man.

"Lucy! How's my favorite munchkin? I see you are still wearing eyeliner. Hoping to impress someone?" The man teased as Miss Lucy gave a fierce blush.

"Stop embarrassing me, you stupid gonk!" The man only laughed as Miss Lucy whale on him, acting like they were doing a skit from one of those Japanese 'animes' that recently started to burst Night City's media.

"Nah, I won't. Besides, I am curious about whom you hired for the gig." The man reached out an arm to Maine, "Sup, the name's Tom. Tom Hiddleston." The group was stunned to silence as, once again, Rebecca choked on air, causing Pilar to hit her in the back again.

As Maine woodenly shook the arm of Night City's most famous person currently alive, the man hummed at Maine.

"You're pretty chromed up, choom. Be careful not to overdose on too much chrome, all right? I'd hate to see my new hire on's flatline. By the way, have you given them eddies?" Miss Lucy shook her head, causing Tom to tsk, "Well, that won't do. I'll give them an incentive, then."

Maine's eyes widened as he saw 100,000 eddies pop out of his HUD, "There we go. 20,000 eddies per individual. If you do this right, you'll receive another 100,000 eddies amounting to 200,000 eddies in total. Pretty preem, am I right?" The man chuckled at their expressions as he continued, "And if you do the gig quietly, as Lucy might have told you, I'll toss in another 50,000 eddies. Nova?"

Maine could only nod at their newest employer's words, "Nova. Welp, I gotta delta. The board is hounding me again on the course of action we need to take regarding expanding our operations in the Badlands. So, tootles."

Miss Lucy could only sigh before gesturing to them at the door, "Please, just... close the door on your way out."

And as the group descended back to the ground floor and into their van, the van cloaked in tranquility, Rebecca started, "I wonder if he has an Output."

"Rebecca! Don't you dare!"

"Try me, pussycat!"

"He's mine, you failure of a loli!"

Maine sighed as Pilar guffawed while Dorio sat silent yet giggling at their interaction.