AN: Thanks for all the reviews guys! Really means a lot. Here's part 2. Might be a smidge shorter, but it features a bit more action.
I was already on my feet when the first blast had gone off. Madam Yang had calmed me down, but I stood ready and waiting for the moment Arasaka really hit us.
That would be our chance.
Yang's men and women would keep the hallway a kill zone for as long as possible. The assault would wane for a brief moment, and both Takemura and myself would jump at the opportunity.
Arasaka was going to be throwing bodies at us, trying to breach this defended position.
It was going to be loud, and fast, but that would be our only chance.
Then the next explosion shook the building. The one that came from above us.
"Yang?"
"The roof has been breached. The Arasaka elite unit is now advancing into the building"
Shit.
"How long do we have?"
Silence.
"Yang?"
Takemura was on edge now, if his drawn pistol was anything to go by. He was antsy being stuck in here for so long.
"V, our security is failing. Arasaka has a Netrunner of considerable skill on their side. Our systems will be compromised soon"
Johnny was starting to mumble aloud, complaining how we should just be moving, blast a hole through the little siege we've found ourselves in.
I willingly ignore him. A Haven's defenses always consisted of serious and top notch security technology. Naturally, they employed equally skilled individuals to maximize the effectiveness of all that gear.
"What are the twins doing?"
Yang's two oldest children, Haley and Hannah, they ran-
"Haley is dead. Hannah has been trapped… the Haven has been compromised V" as she said this, the comm line cut out. After a second, the viewscreen displaying the video feed of the corridor blacked out.
Our eyes were cut off.
The gunfire picked up once more. Shouts and orders were barely discernible, but they could be heard between the spewing waves of lead.
This means more Arasaka forces had arrived up the other lift, probably the stairs as well. Johnny's face stepped into my line of sight, uncomfortably close with his shades off.
I stepped back instinctively, but held his gaze. His eyes were narrowed into a glare, a nasty one too.
"Yang's gone, we're surrounded and the big boys are coming to play" Johnny pointed over my shoulder, "there's a fight going on, and it's about time you joined it"
"V?" Takemura asked me, stepping toward me with urgency. He was serious, but also worried. A man of action… being told to sit around and wait was killing him.
Just like Johnny…
Just like me…
I close my eyes.
Damn the rules. I'm not dying here today.
"The Haven has been compromised" I draw my latest edition, bringing the sleek barrel of the Malorian into the air.
Takemura is looking at me still, a muted understanding splayed across his features. Johnny sighs in relief.
"Finally" he says.
I cock the pistol, drawing the hammer back to check the round in the chamber.
The hammer snaps forward upon release.
Here we go. I turn, developing a plan in my head as I lead the way toward the entrance to Yang's. Besides a path out, the plan seemed very simple.
"Takemura, I want you on my six until we're in the clear. If they're holding a gun, drop em"
We reach the weapon lock chamber, ignoring the warning alarm it gives after it scanned our newly armed figures.
The gunfire in the corridor beyond the establishment was sputtering out.
Arasaka forces were just finishing the mop up of Yang's perimeter security.
I took in a deep breath of air, the door to Yang's right before me.
'You were made for this'
Henry Kincaid loved chess.
As a child he was enamored with the game, playing hours upon hours with his father. While on deployment, he played matches with his superiors. In the field, Henry directed his pieces with such finesse and tactical prowess, his sharp rise in rank was considered natural.
When the war was over, he found himself behind a desk, in an environment far too… tame.
The Chess of the corporate world was nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the matches of a battlefield. Risking life and limb to secure a victory, to complete a mission… that was the only game Kincaid enjoyed playing anymore.
This eccentricity, the way Henry Kincaid approached most situations in his life as he would a chess match, this earned him notoriety.
Because he kept winning?
Well, this was the reason that from the tactical command center, in his luxury comfy chair, he observed the development of this match.
His Queen was doing wonderful work in the background of the ground assault.
She was eliminating the last Netrunner in the enemies employ. Quite skilled, very dangerous Netrunners to be sure, but nothing in comparison to Wolf's capabilities.
"Assault Two, status report"
The Pawns had done their work. From helmet cams and the newly conquered security system, Kincaid was able to bring down the fairly large number of enemy combatants. Nearly 20 men and women had been living in apartments next to the target, seemingly for the sole purpose of defending the establishment.
Curious.
Kincaid had never seen such a concentrated defense effort. Something so sturdy it would surely hold off even the most determined of gangs.
But not him.
Not the might of Arasaka.
Assault Two chimed in, "Sir! Perimeter is secured. We are ready to-" a bright flash exploded across one of Kincaid's monitors, "CONTACT!"
The comm line cut out.
Kincaid blinked.
On a monitor before him was the image of the door that would lead into the target site. The very same door that had been shut just moments ago.
Now it was open, and a figure- correction, two figures- had stepped through it.
Kincaid sharply looked to another monitor, a helmet cam from a soldier at the back of the column.
The camera was shaky, considering the now once more active combat zone and therefore the soldier was likely firing his weapon, but the image was clear.
Kincaid smiled.
"Mike, the King's on the move"
The pawns were ready and capable of-
Then the King was moving.
"Sweet mother of god"
'Come out of the gate swinging, kid'
Vik's advice stuck with me.
As Yang's door swung open, I snapped a flash grenade off to my right, before turning left.
Time slowed to a crawl as I processed the entire length of the corridor.
One elevator destroyed, multiple dead bodies and approximately twelve targets in front of me.
One soldier was almost directly in front of me, gazing into one of the many false apartments on the same floor as the Haven.
He hadn't noticed me yet, or the Malorian pointed at the side of his head.
The flash grenade detonated just as my heavy pistol let rip a round through the gonk's brains.
His head exploded.
His buddies didn't seem so happy about that, raising weapons and shouting orders.
'Too slow'
Their friend's corpse served as a temporary meat shield, my left hand grabbing the back of the tactical vest.
My right arm was still outstretched past the deadman's torso, the Malorian spitting out high caliber death to whoever I laid an eye on.
Bullets sliced into the corpse, but their senders were quickly dispatched.
In a few moments I'd cleaned out five of the twelve estimated hostiles.
The gunfire behind me indicated Goro was doing his own work.
'Keep the momentum'
I release the body, dropping to one knee and bracing my iron even further. Two of the hostiles ducked into the now vacated rooms, leaving five out in the open.
Three are dead before their buddies emerge again-
"Cover!" I yell behind me, rolling to my right and into an open room.
-now with heavy machine guns. Defenders.
They fill the corridor with indiscriminate amounts of gunfire.
Coming out of my roll, I'm on my feet and facing the door, gun pointed toward it as I draw a grenade from my belt.
Another flash… I'd probably need most of the explosives for later. But as I approach the door, I activate the new cyberware in my head.
'40%'
Across my vision appeared the program, and it informed me in deep red text;
[ACQUIRING TARGETS]
And as the God's Eye boots up, the world shifts, the detail and colors of it all dialing up to twelve.
I can clearly count and visualize every crack, nick and break in the concrete. The bodies visible in the hallway are counted, as are the shell casings that litter them.
In the air, I briefly see bullets whiz by, the slight fluctuations in the air that they create by moving at such speeds.
"Wow" Johnny appears before me, un-inhibited by the snail's pace of time. He strides around the room, staring at the walls, floor and corpses.
Turning to me, he regards me from behind his shades, nodding to himself as he speaks.
"I can say… I've never experienced something like this before"
I can't talk to him. My focus is being channeled entirely into the space. However I can feel my left hand pulling the pin of the flashbang.
"So this is God's Eye? Pretty neat" Johnny walks into the hallway, bullets flickering through his form.
He looks both ways with his arms crossed.
"Huh. It can even construct an environment from memory… 40%? Crazy to think what this could do at 100% huh?"
The grenade is flung into the air, spinning into the corridor at the bullet storm. My head is turning away already. With the pin pulled the grenade would detonate midair in the hallway… if a bullet hadn't prematurely hit it.
Johnny disappeared as the flash went off, and in a second I'm turning. Striding into the hallway now bereft of bullets, I've got a clear line of sight.
Four guards are clutching at their eyes, some firing their weapons inaccurately, or reaching for the wall or floor.
In this slowed perception of the world, the Malorian's chamber blasted back across the length of the weapon four times.
Each soldier died.
[TARGETS ELIMINATED]
The program closed down.
"V!"
As I turned to face Takemura a sharp pain struck my head.
"Fuck!" Johnny shouted, appearing on his knees and clutching his head. I'm not much better, slumped against the wall of the corridor with a hand clutching the back of my head.
With great effort I keep my feet, the sharp pain slowly but surely disappearing from my skull.
"V" Takemura has jogged up to me, his free arm bracing me with his weapon still at the ready, "we must hurry"
Eventually the pain is manageable, and I'm able to stand properly and look Goro in the eyes.
"Ready?"
He scoffs, "I should be asking you that, Thief"
The word 'Thief'… isn't delivered in his usual harshness. The word has a modicum of respect in it now, a levity I never expected from the ex-bodyguard.
I ejected the now empty clip of the Malorian, slotting a new one in and cocking it.
As we turn to the remaining lift, Johnny groans from behind me.
"We've gotta work on your reloads V..."
"Mike, the King's on the move"
Kincaid's voice doesn't shake me from what just happened. We'd breached into the enemies operations room. Fought our way there, and then into an office space.
This place was turning out to be very interesting.
The top three floors of this building were dedicated to this… this… this safe house that doubled as a restaurant.
None of the people from the roof to the seventh floor had been affiliated with a gang. I could tell, being able to study their bodies as I passed them.
We would breach a room, Mike would step in with his rifle raised, and in a few moments everyone in that room would be dead.
Vi was somewhere else, drawing screams, shouts and small arms fire as she busted through walls and doors.
Mike glanced around the office room as he replied to Kincaid.
"Roger that, we're moving"
He walked off, leaving me to stare at the dead woman behind the desk. Her blood was dripping off the antique bookcase behind her.
She had been old and alone.
There were no guards in her office… just her.
And Mike had just shot her in the head.
No conversation, no talking… just, bang.
"Kid"
I turned around, finally able to take my eyes off the body.
"Yes sir"
Mike was already in the other room, reloading his rifle. He glanced around the Netrunning room, looking at the bodies of the guards, and the female netrunners in their chairs.
"This" he let his rifle hand on its sling as he gestured around the room, "is just the beginning, and she" he pointed past me to the old lady, "will be one of many"
"Yes sir" I nodd, walking up to him.
Mike appraises me for a moment. He then sharply jabs me with a finger.
"You don't have to like it kid, you just have to do it"
He walks away, weapon now raised as he converses with Kincaid, "what do you mean Assault Two is down?"
I follow after him.
'Had my disgust been so obvious?'
"Wait" I said, glancing at the lift, "Yang told me there's a hostile Netrunner. A good one. Odds are they've compromised the building's systems"
Takemura looked to the open doors of the lift, "we must take the stairs then"
"Yeah" I unclip a belt from my waist, "but that doesn't mean the lift is completely useless"
I gesture at the bodies with my gun, "scavenge whatever explosives you can. We're going to drop a surprise on those Arasaka bastards"
Goro stares blankly at me.
My words catch up to my brain.
"You know what I mean"
He says nothing as he walks towards the closest body.
Fighting off a slight cringe I walk into the lift and shoot out the cameras.
As I crouch down in the lift, Silverhand appears, looking down on me as I wrap the belt of grenades.
"Nice idea. Shitty payload"
I keep my eyes on one grenade, fiddling with its settings and establishing a connection. I wasn't speaking to him.
Johnny seemed fine with that, continuing to chatter on as I worked.
"Did the same thing in Arasaka tower, loaded a lift with enough bang for its buck, and sent it right down into the heart of those Corp fucks. Ended an entire building in a mushroom cloud"
I frown, connecting the grenade to my cyberware.
"But you didn't walk away from that one"
My thoughts are open for a moment, and he sees them, he sees my worry and fears. Probably the only person who really could.
And after being exposed to a slice of my consciousness?
The engram in my head snorts, "I don't think you're going to zero out here" he gestures to Takemura, who appeared for a moment to drop a fairly large pile of explosives next me, "he might, but not you"
"Your confidence touches me" my voice is dripping with sarcasm.
"You seem to forget I know what you are" he tapped his head, "so trust me when I say, you'll be fine"
He blinks out, leaving me alone in the lift.
Hmm.
"Now what?" Takemura is standing beside me, waiting on my order.
Like a loyal dog.
I shake my head a bit as I stand, looking around the lift before I answer him. I spot what I'm looking for.
Pointing at the upper corners of the lift I ask Goro, "see those levers?"
"Lift cameras are gone, but from some of the hallway cams and body cams, we know they're up to something" Kincaid was out of his chair now, pacing back and forth in front of the monitors.
Assault Three was on standby in the lobby, armed to the teeth and ready to fucking party. The entire lobby of the building had been cleared away around the lift room. Carts and stands were pushed away, some rudimentary barricades had been erected, there was even a mounted gun.
Kincaid still had Smasher on standby outside the building. Their target could very well change his mind and decide to leap out a damn window, so the Borg was waiting for just such a situation.
Mike's team was pushing down from above, and was only a floor away from the enemy's King.
Kincaid took a deep breath, calming himself.
'You can't account for everything' he told himself, still processing the capabilities of the mission's target.
This V, the mercenary, was incredible.
It was the only way to describe it. Seeming him in slow motion as he executed his attack was a work of art.
Not a single wasted move, nor an uncalculated motion, he had drifted through the air to deliver death in an almost unspeakable maner.
He had killed the Majority of Assault Two in practically a blink of the eye.
Kincaid was as awed as he was disturbed.
"Mike, I need you to step it up. Letting you know though, this is a very dangerous King. His Rook ain't half bad, but prioritize the Merc. He is extremely deadly"
"Is he a good shot?"
"Like you wouldn't believe" Kincaid's voice cut off right after that reply. Mike didn't openly react to the comment, and neither did I… at least, externally I failed to react.
Internally, I was sweating up a nervous storm.
The grizzled older Merc continued on, rifle still up and ready to deal with any potential threats.
Kincaid sounded pretty impressed by whatever he'd seen, and that was enough to send my personal danger detector into the red zone.
"'Like you wouldn't believe'" Vi mocked and she moved to stand alongside me, "what's that supposed to mean?"
I look at her, and more importantly at her fists.
They're stained with crimson. In fact, I can see the little droplets of blood softy drip onto the floor.
I focus on her face, "did you see anything of the recordings of the incident at Arasaka tower?"
She grinned, "course not. Heard the stories though. Our target's a slippery bastard"
I sigh. Of course that's all this brute had picked up.
"He's also very handy with a sword" I walk after Mike, keeping both hands around my pistol as I scan around the 7th floor.
Only a very solid layer of concrete separated us and our prey.
Vi's heavy footfalls trudge behind me.
"Smasher's new scar" an exhaust port on her arm hissed quite loudly, "that come from our guy?"
"Mhmmm"
Vi doesn't say anything else.
I've still got a line of sight on Mike, who is still gliding through the empty corridors. Occasionally he turns into a room and fires his rifle, silencing any shouts… and witnesses.
I don't bother looking into those rooms as I pass them.
The mental images would-
Next thing I knew, I was flung into a wall. The very structure of the building had just violently shook, sending dust and debris everywhere.
"What the-"
Vi's large fist hauled me up off the ground.
"Kincaid?" Vi asked into the comm line, trying to get some clarification as to the very sudden and very large explosive blast that had rocked the building.
She dropped me into my feet.
"Double time it people, the targets just dropped an elevator filled with explosives into the lobby…"
Myself and Vi broke into a sprint, catching up with the now hurrying Mike.
"What's the status of Assault Three?" Mike asked, his eyes glued to the path in front of him.
"Fucked, probably" Vi grinned, getting a harsh glare for a moment in response of her comment.
"Recovering" Kincaid clarified, "Targets are in the stairwell, moving quickly to the lobby"
We reached a junction that Mike hesitated in front of for a moment. Banking left a second later, I could see the 7th floor stairwell ahead of us.
"We're right on their ass Kincaid"
There was an ominous silence as we reached the steps. This silence was broken by gunshots reverberating up the steps, and then Kincaid's voice.
"I'm sending in Smasher to reinforce the lobby"
Glancing down the spiral of the Stairwell, I can just barely make out two hastily moving figures.
"I see-"
A large arm pushes me aside.
"Outta the way Kid"
Vi launches herself over the railing and drops like a stone. A multi ton, incredibly aggressive and augmented stone.
"Vi is engaging the target" Mike informed Kincaid, far too calmly for what had just happened before my eyes.
I had only one thought as I ran down the stairs like my squad leader.
'Holy shit'
"Above!"
Takemura's call pulled my attention away from the spatter of Arasaka soldiers on the staircase. Dealing with small fry had been easy, and what troops were present failed to detract from our downward momentum.
The explosive blast of our elevator surprise had nearly knocked me down, but stable footing had been on my side.
A floor and a half away from the lobby, a shadow appeared out of the corner of my eye.
"Hey there!"
A pair of booted feet connected with my face as our new adversary swung themselves into me.
Idly I realised that they had leapt from above, grabbing onto the ledge of the staircase above us and monkey'd their way into knocking me on my ass.
Painfully crumpling me against the wall of the stairwell.
"V!" Takemura shouted, snapping off a few shots at the hostile.
I got a glimpse of long red hair and large forearms before the assailant engaged the ex-bodyguard. Those very same arms doubled for a protective shield, taking Goro's gunshots with ease.
As she closed in on my corpo associate, her right arm shot forward with power. Takemura had the reactions and sense of mind to fling himself out of the way.
The Gorilla arm shattered the concrete wall right behind where Goro had been standing. Retracting the limb, the attacker refocused their attention on me.
"Fuck, V!" Johnny's voice piped in, "get up!"
And I did.
I scrambled backwards to avoid the next strike. Her fist blasted concrete into the air from the space I had previously occupied.
She was fast.
But so was I.
The Malorian found its way into my holster, and in a heartbeat a combat knife took up a place in my metal palm.
That was the only reprieve I would get.
My opponent decided to close the distance, advancing in a boxer's stance.
If I wasn't careful she'd rip me to pieces before I even noticed.
I ducked a right swing and backpeddled the upper cut.
A bullet scraped her shoulder, nicking her ear slightly. My opponent crouched slightly, and leaned away from the railing. She wasn't going to expose herself so casually.
Takemura was lending me a metaphorical hand for a moment. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Arasaka forces pouring up the staircase.
Time slows down as my adrenaline goes into overdrive.
I get only a few moments to evaluate my opponent.
'Kill potential?'
Unlikely. Presuming this is an elite unit, elimination will prove timely and difficult. She most certainly has backup on the way.
'Disable potential?'
More likely. Arms have additional venting ports meaning high exertion enhancements. Target the shoulder or elbow for maximum effectiveness.
I flip my knife into my biological hand.
My target charges me again.
The right swing comes forward and I step back just far enough to see the curled digits of her fingers before my face.
I catch her elbow with my metal hand, stepping into her guard before she swings with her left.
At this distance I can see the shock displayed clearly across her features.
My knife is buried into her left shoulder.
The gun port of my metal hand discharges, sending the high caliber shell right into the delicate machinery of her forearm. Right above the venting port.
A knee to the chest sends her tumbling down the steps.
I hear the scrape of the steps behind me.
Taking a page out of my attackers book I hop the railing, dropping all the way down the floor and a half distance to the lobby.
I'm vaguely aware of a bullet skimming across my shoulder.
Landing in a crouch that quickly becomes a roll, I find myself right behind Takemura, who has a gun pointed into the devastated lobby area.
…
I exhale.
Takemura glances behind him just as the Thief executes a forward roll across the ground.
Quite gracefully, if Takemura had to describe the motion.
With a sharp exhale, V is back on his feet and moving with Goro out of the building.
"They're right behind us" the Thief remarks as they finally find themselves out of the claustrophobic interior.
It's night out, and the streets surrounding the building are devoid of all life. Arasaka cordons and barriers are placed everywhere.
But… it seems as if all the soldiers had been dispatched. There would be more, Takemura knew this, but they had earned a momentary reprieve.
"Now what?" Takemura asked.
V was looking towards a number of side streets they were approaching.
"Hello meat!"
Goro heard the metal stomping of Adam Smasher's approach before he felt it. The borg body checked him, sending him flying through the air and down one of the side streets.
Rolling uncontrollably, Takemura's body is on fire. Smasher definitely broke something.
As his vision begins to fade, the Night City legend has engaged V. From beyond the battling individuals, Goro could just barely see two figures coming out from the building.
They were most likely the elite unit Yang had mentioned, the ones dispatched from the roof.
In complete honesty, the situation had degraded quite drastically.
Takemura had no idea how him or V were going to make it out of here alive.
AN: DUN DUN DAAAAAA
Sorry bout that. But a cliff hanger in my writings is like Thanos, inevitable. Next chapter will see the conclusion of our Friday Night Firefight, and a decent break from the action. Some R and R, if you will.
Anywho, really appreciate all your kind words, and I'm so fucking glad I've entertained a lot of you with this story. It might not be as popular as some of my other works, but I would argue it's my best written story so far.
Hope you're all having a great day,
Freedom.
p.s: many kisses