Case 016 - The Dirty Trick.

Case 016 - The Dirty Trick.

A few weeks have passed since that memorable meeting during which I found a true friend. I even managed to introduce Yorinobu to my Penguin crew. He laughed till tears when he heard about the funny story with our call signs, and decided to reminisce about his youth by watching a cartoon about badass penguins. Huh... That was fun.

Well after that came the dullness of routine. Training, calls, and so on. Only it was all a facade to shield from unnecessary attention our plan to spank the Animals. These underdeveloped degenerates began to get bolder and bolder: the number of assaults on our clients and their resistance during our client evacuations increased. TT is doing at best right now to gather as much intel as posssible. But still there wasn't enough information. No, what we've gathered so far is enough to give them a good beating, but we want to do enough harm to keep them stuck in their kennels for at least a few more years.

I was in the Planning and Analysis Room when the emergency call came in. At first I wanted to send one of the squads that was just in reserve, but when I heard that one of our clients had been attacked by the Animals, and that one of Saskwatch's closest associates had been spotted there, I decided to go myself. This opportunity, to take one of her lieutenants alive, is something I could not miss, for he will know a lot of valuable information. A quick rally, and here our bird carries us toward the highway, where there is a gunfight between the client's guards and the Animals.

The whole highway was filled with cars, we had no way to land, so we had to use the ropes. Except when we started our drop off, one of the Animals' gunners fired a rocket at our bird. The pilots reacted quickly and dodged, causing the missile to pass within a couple of meters. Lucky... Except we had to hurry, it wouldn't take too long to reload. Once we reached the ground, we quickly as possbile detached the safety carabiners and told the pilots to get away before they another rocket attack will take place.

"Okay, we divide into two teams: Private and Manfredi, you on the left, me and Johnson on the right. We go parallel to each other. Rico, you cover us from a distance, and also be for our spotter. Go!" - After giving out the orders, we, like a two-headed snake, moved toward the enemy.

I don't like working in these conditions: too many civilians and hideouts for the enemy, a very limited field of view. We need eyes in the sky, Rico alone, even with his scope, won't help us much. We'll have to call in the pilots. The risk, of course, but not too much.

I used the intercom to call the pilots. They saw much more than we did, thanks to their more powerful cameras and scanners. So when I verified that the enemy was still busy dealing ith client's bodyguards and that they had deployed a weak rearguard against us, I ordered my squad to pick up the pace. We had managed to walk another 25 meters when the first enemies appeared.

"Contact!" - we begin to deal with the targets, while simultaneously giving suppressive fire. The animals, using the vehicles as cover, started to fire back. We used cars as cover too and this could lead to deadlock, but we had a couple of advantages over our opponents that allowed us to deal with them quickly. First, we had superior firepower, thanks to our assault rifles and Rico's sniper rifle. Second, we had the Private, or rather his shield. So while me, Johnson, and Rico kept the enemy grounded, Private used his shield to flank the enemy, at the same time reducing the distance to an optimal distance for his submachine gun. A few short bursts and the enemy, having lost at least 3 men, started to retreat. Just coming out of cover made them an easy target for Rico, who finished off all the fleeing men in half a minute.

"Rico! Report!"

"Clear, Skipper. No reinforcements or ambushes in sight. Pilots confirm no new targets either."

"What about the rocket man?"

"They're still picking up scans from the MANPADS."

Too bad, I was hoping we'd killed the rocket man and now could call in air support. Sigh. Okay, get out the armor-piercing ammunition. Of course, there's an increased risk of injuring the client and his guards, but if we don't use them now, we'll waste too much time forcing the Animals out of cover, of which, thanks to the cars, there are plenty for them to use.

"Everybody get your armor-piercing ammo. Try not to hit the engine, gas tanks, battery or any other shit that can cause an explosion. Rico, you gotta find the guy with the MANPADS and get rid of him as fast as you can. Then you call in a bird and request fire support on the highlighted targets."

"Whom to cosnider priority when highlighting targets?"

"Foot soldiers, cannon fodder. We're out here for more than just saving the client, we also need to capture one of Saskwatch's inner circle. So get moving, and we'll get ready for short range contact."

"Copy that. Moving on."

"Okay, Private, Manfredi, Johnson. Let's get the Action Boy and the painkiller and antishock medicine out of the first aid kit."

"I don't like that stuff. Action Boy makes my body twitch like a junkie in withdrawal."

"Private, shut up and inject the damn thing. Or next time I'll inject you with it and make you tap-dance to the accompaniment of shots to your feet."

Exhaling, I took the injector out of the med kit and quickly injected the stimulant into my neck. The next second I felt as if lightning had struck me. The explosion of energy caused a frantic desire to rush into battle and tear the enemy with my bare hands. But this feeling did not last long, the beta blockers had started to work and reduced the effect of the stimulant to its optimal level. Now it was time to take the painkillers with the anti-shock for backup; they wouldn't hurt during the assault, over hyped CNS may just back fire in case of wounds or injuries. One shot will feel like two or three thanks to overstimulated nervous systems.

"Ready?" - The answer was the green confirmation marks on the display.

We split into two teams again and went in for the assault. The enemies were waiting for us and, having taken cover, began firing. But thanks to the armor-piercing ammo and the accelerated reaction speed, that wasn't a problem. At first, we just shot everyone who was using the cars as cover. The armor-piercing rounds just shredded them, with only occasional ricochets when the bullets hit at the wrong angle or at reinforced parts of the car.

The most problematic were the smart ones that were covered by the engine compartment of the car. We had to either dig through their cover, wasting precious ammunition, or call Rico, who took the enemies out with well-aimed shots, inflicting fatal wounds.

And so we proceeded, until at last we saw the car with the client, near which the last living bodyguard was holding. We must hurry, or he will be shot so soon.

"Rico! Did you find the guy with the MANPADS?"

"No! But the pilots are getting readings of something similar to homing heads from MANPADS looking for them."

"Shit. Okay, we'll work without air support. Rico, while we're grinding down the enemy, you need to find their leader. Then give us his location. If he tries to escape, you have my permission to inflict non-lethal injury. But it's better if you can just hold him off until Private and I can take him down. Everybody reload, start on the count of three."

A quick magazine change and I start the countdown on the comm channel.

"Three."

"Two."

"One! Go!"

With quick runs, covering each other, we, like a tidal wave, swoop down on the Animals, overly engrossed in a firefight with the remaining bodyguard. I point my rifle at one of the Animals with a shotgun and send a bullet straight into his head. It flies out of the barrel of the rifle and in less than a second it's already reaching the target, making a neat little hole in his head. The enemy goes down, and I have already switched to the next one, a huge tough guy with a pair of heavy-caliber revolvers. This one was smarter, and instead of firing at me, he jumped to the side.

Only that didn't help him. With the activation of my chrome, my reaction speed improved even more, and his jump was like slow motion to me. Point my rifle a little to the right and fire a short burst. A couple of bullets go past, but the rest hit right on target, knocking the Animal's body back a little. Only that wasn't enough for the big guy, and he's still breathing. As I approach him, I step on his throat, breaking the trachea and cutting off his access to oxygen. I have to save armor-piercing ammo, I only have a magazine and a half left, and he's definitely not going to make it, gunshot wounds and a broken trachea - either death from blood loss or from lack of oxygen here.

"Skipper! I see the target! Their commander is a big freak with a Mohawk and two submachine guns. I think he wants to escape!"

"Stall him! Private, with me, now! You have to ram him with your shield. Cover is on me and Rico. Go!" - I gave my orders, simultaneously changing the magazine and marking the target for the Private.

He saw who I was marking and rushed out to catch him while Rico and I, sparing no ammo, killed everyone in his path and tried to keep the boss from escaping with heavy suppressive fire. The private, like a bull in a Spanish bullfight, charged at theboss with a Mohawk. Even from here I thought I heard bones cracking. But the Animal Boss didn't want to give up so easily. Roaring like an enraged beast, he somehow managed to knock the shield out of the Private's hands and rushed into the melee. Private didn't let him slip: he was able to wrestle Animal and then drop him to the ground. The Boss proved to be quite skilled and fought back like an MMA fighter. Neither of them could take the initiative. Punches, blocks, grapples.

At the risk of losing my source of information in case of a botched shot, I had to run to the Private's aid and take the big guy down in hand-to-hand combat. I was about to hit the boss in the head with the butt of my rifle, but at the last moment someone else's bullet hit me. My helmet deflected the bullet, but I missed my chance to knock the big guy out. Turning over, he used the Private as a shield. And that's when I saw the opportunity for the perfect hit.

"Private, spread your legs!" - My command caused the Private to stammer for a few seconds, but then he did as I asked.

This opened the way for me to apply the most effective, but forbidden trick in all forms of sport: a kick to the balls. It worked perfectly. The Animal boss screamed in an incredibly high-pitched voice and loosened his grip. Private had already taken advantage of that: with a couple of blows, he was finally able to knock him out.

"Private, tie him up. If you want, you can beat him some more later, just not fatally. Rico, report!"

"Most of the targets killed, the rest either fled or will be finished off by our medics."

"Copy that. Medics, one of you should check on the client, have the other help with our trophy. Rico, you carry the rest." - After issuing my instructions, I started looking over the bodies and looking for that damn MANPADS.

Finally I found a big tube that looked like a Stinger, but with a bunch of components attached by a drunken gunsmith or engineer.

"Rico, I think I found a MANPADS, but it's kind of weird. It's either reworked or badly repaired. See if you can figure out what it is."

"Copy that. Finishing up with the rest of them and heading your way."

Waiting for the medics to finish what they were doing and for us to begin evacuating, I started inspecting the battlefield. Just then a woman in a Night City paramedic's suit caught my eye. She was alive, but a small pool of blood indicated that she was wounded, and probably very seriously.

Shit, I hope it wasn't us who shot her. If we did, our legal department might start lecturing me again. We should call one of the medics, and if it was our fault, let him treat the wound and get the bullet out. The less evidence and traces we leave behind, the easier it will be for our lawyers.

"Manfredi, are you done there with our trophy? There's a civilian casualty here, probably due to us. Need medical assistance."

"Trophy's in an induced coma. Be right there."

Manfredi arrived quite quickly and began his initial examination.

"What is it?"

"It's definitely not our bullet. The caliber doesn't match. Most likely one of the Animals shot it. But, just in case, I took the bullet out and stopped the internal bleeding, and treated the wound. Her condition certainly isn't good, but it's not fatal. If medical services get here in time, maybe she'll make it."

"Phew, that was close. All right, let's get ready to evacuate, your brother's already got a client ready. Let's go, we need to make room for our bird."

The evacuation went fine, we loaded the client and took off. It wasn't until we were already in the air that I cast one last glance at the female paramedic and remembered her name on the patch.

Well, Gloria Martinez, I hope you have better luck next time.

A.N. Here comes another chapter. Some may say that this is a bit too positive but honestly. There is too much darkness and just want to add brightness and light to cyberpunk. Hope you enjoy. Let me know. Good comms like and reviews and etc make me smile. Like a fat crocodiles 😂