Reilly Kudokawa lit up a smoke using the fire erupting from her car.
She would've used her lighter if she hadn't lost it on the highway 500 miles behind her, when it flew out of the shattered window thanks to the Tyger Claw gang suddenly crashing into the side of her car. And also if her right arm was still working.

She tried to blink the blood in her right eye away, looking over her shoulders to see what was left of her car- and her bodyguards.
Shit… her Villefort Alvarado V4F 570 Delegate…
She just had it tuned and coated silver last night. Now it was riddled with holes and dented in.

The Driver leaned on the steering wheel, bullet peppered into his face.
One of the bodyguards in the back had a bullet lodged into his forehead and eye - the other 2 managed survive long enough to get out of the car and put up a fight.

"This is the bitch we needed to kill, right?"

One of the Tyger Claw poked and prodded Reilly's head with a Tamayura. Reilly glared at the Tyger Claw while holding the newly lighted cigarrette loosley in her lip.
She gripped her Nue Pistol, but none of the Tyger Claws took any caution to that.
Why would they, they already got her bleeding out. She couldn't do anything.

No one left to protect her, no routes or options she can take to get out of the situation.

Reilly took a deep breath in, tasting the fume of the synthetic tobacco going through the filter.
For the first time ever since becoming a Fixer, she had managed to reach the big league. She got her own proper office in Kabuki, made a big enough name for herself that high paying clients were starting to pop up in her contacts, willing to push a gig through her way.
Hell, she was starting to make enough eddies to start hiring netrunners and bodyguards - and use the left over money to buy something like an Alvarado.

And she was going to die here.
She knew that she shouldn't have taken that gig. She knew something was off. Client's face was too clean for being just a lowly Corpo. She should've picked up the traces telling her that the Client was a executive of Biotechnica.
The gig wanted Mercs to steal a new blueprint from Arasaka. Corps sabotaging Corps, Reilly realised too late. They just needed someone to act as a middleman- and a buffer. A meatshield.
The gig itself went well - that's why Reilly got into this kind of situation.

Arasaka's counter intelligence may not have found out which Corps hired the hit, but they could trace back the Fixer. And they needed that Fixer to disappear before Biotechnica could place another gig.
Tyger Claw sons of bitch was more than happy to take the hit job.

Guess this was it. Reilly wanted more out of her life before she died - but Night City wasn't the type to listen to every single dream uttered out of the mouth.
It only listened to those with power.
Reilly no longer had power.

Reilly looked down the barrel of the gun.
She couldn't believe this was how it would end.

Gun shot rang through the night sky. Then several more in unison.
Reilly instinctively flinched at the sound, closing her eyes.
But none of them ever launched bullets her way.

"What the hell is happening!"

"誰が撃っているのか?!"

Reilly slowly opened her eyes.
She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Sillhouettes of Tyger Claw illuminated by neon lights and street lamps were falling to the ground.
Few fragments of their heads were splattering on the ground.
Blood looked like black water in the darkness. She could only tell they were blood when the flames from her car showed that a part of the stains newly painted on the concrete and asphalt were red.

She didn't know who was shooting the Tiger Claws down, and neither did the Tyger Claws.
Few saw their friends get slaughtered in cold blood, bullets coming from darkness.
Some were waving their guns into the dark corners and shadows casted by buildings, shooting frantically.

Then she saw.
She saw what could only be described as a humoungous fullborg emerging from the shadows, a knife in their hands glinting briefly before the fullborg went in for the kill.
Steel-black body with muted Orange highlight briefly shined in the neon light as the fullborg dug a fist into one of the Tyger Claw's ribs, and then stabbing the other side with the knife.

Tyger Claw couldn't even let out a scream in pain- knife dug in deep, reaching the lungs and puncturing it.

The rest of the surviving gang couldn't even understand what was going on. One moment it was only them with a helpless Fixer, next they were the one being hunted down by the great unknown.
One saw the gurgling Tyger Claw fall to the ground, blood dripping out of his mouth and wounds.
They turned to aim their gun at the assailant - but the assailant's hands were faster.
Three more knives were pulled out of the armour and thrown at the Tyger Claws. One hit the shoudler, two hit the forehead and cleanly lodged into the skulls.

One hit by the shoulder gripped the trigger, bullets going out of the control and spraying the ground.
Another bullet flew from the top of a building hitting the back of the Tyger Claw in the back of the head and ending the pain.

The last Tyger Claw could only scream, tried to run away.
The Fullborg flicked a knife - hitting the back of the fleeing Tyger Claw's knee with precise accuracy.

As the Tyger Claw fell to the ground, and the fullborg throwing 2 more knives into the back of the gang - one where his liver was, and the other where his heart was- Reilly could only mutter a few words.

Perfectly fucking surgical.

The fullborg quietly walked over to the corpses and pulled any knives lodged into them. It was taking sweet as time retrieving every knives it threw, as if it got all the time it wanted.

Yeah, sure. It can take as long as it needed. Reilly was fine with that. It just saved her life, it was the very least she could do.

Rain started wet the asphalt, she heard some of the water droplets sizzling as it hit the fire on the car.
As the Fullborg finished wiping blood off its blades, she saw as more fullborgs entered into the light of the fire. One by one, emerging from the shadows.

It was the scariest thing she had seen. And boy, she just survived an assassination attempt by a ruthless gang through sheer miracle itself.

Each had a face as intimidating and menacing as the fullborg next to them. It was clear to Reilly that the only thing organic was their brain. They might as well be Adam Smasher's little brothers.

One of the six walked in front of her, and knelt down.
Reilly instinctively pulled back. She couldn't help it, the Fullborg that decided to walk up had a head designed to be an adult's living nightmare.
A mechanical skull that had no eyes, mouth covered with a clear face mask.
It was unsettling. It managed to feel grotesque without showing organs or blood. It was just dipping down to the uncanny valley. At least the other four had some sort of visors that made their heads resemble a helmet.

"Reilly Kudokawa?"

Oh god, the voice was distorted as well. It wasn't even a voice - it sounded more like a machine mimicking a voice by combing sound patterns.
And it knew her name.

"We'll be taking you to the nearest medical service - but we'd also like to notify you that we're here to ask for a job."

Reilly blinked.
These Fullborgs were… here for a gig?

"You guys are… mercs?"

"Yes. We'll introduce ourselves on the way. We have first aid medication ready as well."

Reilly couldn't help but giggle a little.
A group of Mercenaries, here to ask for a job.
What an awful timing for them - but it was perfect timing for her.
Rescuing your employer was one hell of an introduction, you know.

'My name's Locust. Knife nut over there is Leon, One who's been sniping from the building was Killshot, the rest of these 3 are Ram, Noble 6, and Jim. We're… Freelancers. You can call us Baba Yaga.'

Reilly couldn't help but laugh again as she was finalising her treatment by the Ripperdoc. The biggest man on their team, was called Jim.
At least they were polite, sounded professional as well.

She put out her cigarrette with the ash tray provided by the Ripperdoc. She still couldn't get over the fact that none of them were Fullborgs.

They were confused by her naming them Fullborgs, and when she provided further explanation it was their turn to chuckle.

'It's just a suit, lady. Nothing but flesh, skins and bones underneath here.'

Reilly could guess they had a backer or a history- maybe some Megacorp's secret military group. That was the only way they would get their hands on something like that.

Reilly didn't care. They were capable of saving her life, and was more than willing to get a job from her.

So she sent a gig their way- a corpo gig. It was a gig that was too risky for her to send. An assassination gig, requesting an Arasaka executive to be 'neutralised'.
Client was Kang Tao this time - they paid high eddies, almost tripple the amount of an average assassination gig.
Money was tempting, but she saw the danger lying underneath. That's why she was hesitant on taking it.

She had finished a call with the Kang Tao client a moment ago, told them the gig was accepted by a group of mercs.
Fuck it, she wasn't going to hold the job off if there was someone capable of pulling it off. And if those Arasaka corpos thought they could get away with trying to put her six feet under, they had another thing coming.

Every info the Client sent to her was given to the so called 'Baba Yaga- Freelancers'. The back of her mind told her that it wasn't enough info, that she was rushing it. She knew that, but take any longer and that could mean the death of her. Her emotions took over and she promised herself that if this gig was successful she'd never let the emotion get a step over her again.

'Do you want us to do this quietly, or go in hard and loud?'

That was pretty much the only thing they asked from her. And god, did it make them sound like they have experience in this. It made her trust them. And she just wished they could walk the walk.

If they could, she wanted this to be done quietly. And that's what she answered with.
One of them was screwing in a silencer on his pistol the moment she answered.

'If you can, I want him to be captured alive. Contact me once you do. I'll send a car over to you. Hell, I'll pay you more for it too.'

That was a high demand. Reilly knew it. But she was playing safe for the past few months, ever since she started as a fixer. And look where that nearly got her.

She thought it would be okay to act a little bold and greedy tonight, after nearly dying and all.

Her holophone started ringing, and she looked at the number.
Well, look who it is. The Freelancers.
They took the gig and left 10 minutes ago. If they're calling her this quickly, there must be something wrong.

She sighed as she took the call. Guess she was being too greedy.

"Hey, is there a problem? If you triggered the alarm then just run and gun, it doesn't matter so long as you kill the tar-"

"We got the target. We didn't trigger any alarms either. Didn't get caught on cameras too. Folks won't even know that we were here."

Reilly briefly blanked out for a moment.
… What the shit?
This quickly?

"We're currently outside with the target. Alive. We've removed any trackers or alarms from his chip that could trace us. You told us to contact you if we have the target alive, didn't you?"

Reilly batted her eyes a little. She still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Umm… Okay, Okay. I'll… I'll send a car over your way. Send me the coord of where you guys are."

The other side ended the call, but they sent a text message filled with numbers soon after.
She quickly relayed the coordinates to one of her couriers.
Once she was in better health to start walking, the courier came back to greet her outside the Ripperdoc.

The shocked expression on the man behind the wheels said it all.

"The guy?"

"… In the trunk, Miss."

She quickly walked to the back and opened it.
My god.
My goodness gracious.

There he was,
The target.
The Arasaka Executive.
Bound and gagged, expression showed he was beyond terrified.

Yet there was not a speck of blood on him.

Unharmed, safely in the trunk like he was nothing more than a piece of cargo.

Reilly didn't know how the six of them managed to bypass Arasaka's security.
But they did, and that made her too scared to find out exactly how they could.

Reilly closed the trunk (ignoring the desperate pleas and muffled screams of the executive), and got into the car's passenger seat.

She just wanted to kiss that eyeless Skull helmet, right on the forehead.
That unsettling head was looking like the most beautiful thing she had ever seen now.

As Reilly was punching in the contacts of her client, the driver quietly asked.

"Miss Kudokawa…?"

"Yeah?"

"… Just who are those guys?"

"… I don't know. They wanted a job, so I just gave them a job."

Reilly heard on the news the next day: Arasaka executive disappearing from his office at the dead of the night.
No alarms tripped, no traces of him found. No clues that might point to a possble foul play.
Journalists suspected that the Corpo decided to run away. With what anyone could find, that was the best possible answer.

Reilly laughed.
Boy, if they knew.
If only they knew.

Those Freelancers called themselves Baba Yaga. Boogeyman.
They sure lived up to their namesake. Kidnapping Corpos in the dead of the night like they were children, making them disappear with no one know any better.

Kang Tao was thrilled to see their target captured alive. Paid a hefty bonus for the job well done.
Reilly looked at the gigs flowing into her contact. Half of them required going sneaky peaky.
Those gigs were wanting a rare skill. You ask a hundred Merc if they can wipe out an abandoned factory of Maestrom gangs, and a 100 would raise their hand.
Ask the same 100 if they can sneak into an Arasaka building and steal some data without alerting anyone, practically none would raise their hands.

Well, she got 6 Mercs that can raise their hands.
And they wanted more work.
Who was she to deny her saviours of what they wanted?