4: Light the Fuse

— Sasha —

"Damned vixen in heat…"

Sasha giggled to herself, watching the inside of the elevator after the top hatch had closed. Part of her current duties — aside from slowing the elevator so the team could split — was running interference on the security systems within. As such, she had a perfect view of Atom's reaction as she left him wanting more. She'd put a wicked sway into her hips, and if that and her kiss hadn't gotten a reaction out of him, she would've been offended.

She knew she had a very nice ass. It was a perfect (not-so) little peach with a bubbly bounce to it. If she didn't use it to tease Atom, what was she doing with it~?

Her skin practically burned where Atom's eyes had been on her. Those intense eyes of his, tracking her every movement… That intoxicating tingle on her lips lingered and lingered~… Sasha had barely kept herself from jumping for joy (or jumping his bones…) when Atom began to kiss her back. She only just remembered her plan and pulled back before she could lose herself in him. And from the way he stared after her, that restraint had been worth it~!

Sasha was… both thrilled and exasperated with Atom's stubbornness. The chase was so, so much fun, but she wanted to get to the good stuff, too! There was only so long that she could hope to contain herself. She'd taken to pulling out all of the stops to break through his broody demeanor and make him ravish her. That was the first time she'd kissed him, but she'd like to see him keep playing hard to get now that he'd had a taste~…

For the moment, though, they had a job to do. Sasha disconnected from the elevator's cameras, leaving a demon to continue scrambling them for the foreseeable future. The elevator resumed its usual pace downward. As it did, Sasha anchored herself to the wall of the shaft like David and Lucy had. Above, the shaft stretched on into darkness. Below, the elevator itself pulled away from them, leaving them alone. They were just three figures, hanging by super-magnet 'hooks' and illuminated by neon lights on their clothes in the gloom.

"You done?" Lucy asked, audibly amused.

"Not even close~," Sasha giggled. "But I'll let him stew in that for now~. We've got other things to do before I can reap the rewards of my efforts~."

"Huh? Stew? Reap?" David cocked his head. Actually cocked it. Like a puppy. Force, the boy could be too adorable for his own good. Sasha just wanted to coo and squeeze his cheeks. Gloria had done a good job shielding her son from the worst of the world. His rare innocence was something to be treasured.

"Just girl talk, Davy~," Sasha teased. "Don't worry about it. We've got a job to do anyway."

"I'm not sure I like that nickname…" David scowled.

Sasha stopped and stared for a moment. He looked like he was trying to imitate Atom! "… Oh, that's just the best thing I've ever seen~! David, Davy-boy, you're simply precious~!"

"Tch, whatever…" David clicked his tongue and looked away. It did next to nothing to hide his blush. Sasha barely suppressed a squeal.

Lucy rolled her eyes at both of them, "Can we get moving already? I don't want to be here any longer than necessary. Fucking Arasaka…"

Sasha filed that away for a moment, nodding, "Right, just like we practiced. Trust your equipment. It'll do all the work for you."

She took the lead, attaching said equipment to the wall of the elevator shaft and connecting it to her anchor. It was a useful little device that Atom had modified for their purposes. So naturally, Sasha trusted it with her life. With the press of a button, the device began to creep its way up the shaft wall, rolling out cable behind it where it connected to Sasha's current anchor. They'd practiced with the things in the elevator shaft of Sasha's apartment building. It made scaling a vertical surface relatively quick, easy, and, most importantly, silent.

Lucy and David copied Sasha with their own climbers. As they waited for the cable to fully play out and the climber to anchor itself on the other end, Sasha brought her filed-away question back to the front of her mind.

"Hey, Luce? What's, like, your deal with Arasaka?"

Sasha's brow furrowed slightly in worry when Lucy flinched at the question, but she still answered, "Arasaka… It's the corp from hell, in my mind. They put me through… through torture. I… I was the only one to make it out alive… They've got a lot to answer for. But right now, I just want to make sure their gaze can never fall on me again. That's the only reason I'm going along with this dangerous ass job. I-… I want to be free for once in my fraggin' life…"

"Oh…" Sasha voiced softly. "Yeah, I can get that…"

"Sounds like we gotta crack a few skulls here before we leave," David all but growled.

Lucy snorted, "Trust me, if I see anyone I know from that bullshit, I'm flatlining them without hesitation. Don't go dragging yourself into my mess, though. Either of you. Arasaka's attention isn't something I'd wish on my worst enemy."

"I think we'll have it no matter what, Lucy," Sasha countered. "Just know that the crew is with you. Solidarity, babes. Solidarity."

"Even against Arasaka…?"

"Especially against Arasaka!"

"We're with you, Lucy," David declared resolutely. "Let's run this frakking joint and make sure these corpo fucks can't threaten you ever again!"

"Tough words from someone so green," Lucy rolled her eyes, but there was a small smile on her face that she didn't bother trying to hide.

"Well, one of us has to be optimistic…" David grumbled.

Sasha giggled at their interplay. Far above, the climbers gave clicks that echoed through the cables. They were safely anchored on the other side now. Sasha gave a little grin and attached the second part of their climbing gear to the now-taut cables. Lucy and David did the same. Moments later, their ascent back up the elevator shaft had begun.

They didn't have to go far. But Sasha made sure to keep an eye on the elevator car below them. After dropping off Atom and Gloria, it went lower before rising again. Never close enough for Sasha to worry, though. They ascended quickly until Lucy identified that they were on the right level. It was right at the beginning of the upper floors of Arasaka Tower. As a testament to her skills, Lucy barely paused to get them past the security systems that marked the boundary between the public and 'private' sections of the tower. No laser grid emerged to slice them into itty-bitty pieces, which, of course, was a very welcome development. Sasha much preferred her life without deadly lasers, and her fine-ass body in one piece, thank you.

Sasha spoofed the elevator arriving, and the door to their targeted floor was hers. She didn't open them yet. Beyond the doors lay Arasaka's Archive. Lucy and David's data would be waiting for them there, Sasha knew. Along with a treasure trove of profit to be had. Every slice Sasha made now was tinted with an obvious Militech 'taste'. It wouldn't hold up to much scrutiny, but it was effective enough to muddy the waters. Besides, Sasha found that Militech's trademark methodology — overwhelming demons and brute-forced slicing without any noticeable calling card — was surprisingly satisfying to use for herself.

"David," She called quietly. "I need you to go through there and secure us the beachhead. Two guards and a turret at the end of a short hallway. I'll take care of the turret. Lucy will keep a stranglehold on the sec-system. Take out the guards, quickly and quietly."

David set his face in a serious mien, "Got it. They won't even see me coming."

"Ready? Go get 'em, Davy."

True to his word, they never saw David coming. Sasha let the doors open as they wanted to. In a blurring flash, David launched himself up and through them. The guards only saw darkness beyond the door before a human-shaped blur was upon them.

That Sandie of David's was vicious. Easily some of the best chrome Sasha had ever seen. Vik had given David the go-ahead to use it as needed, with warnings to not stress himself. They weren't needed. It seemed almost impossible for David to stress himself once the chrome was properly installed and settled. The experimental Sandie seemed made for him. Even as he ramped it up past x10, David was as cool as a Tooka-cat.

The guards didn't get the chance to raise any alarm. The doors crept open… and David was suddenly standing right between them. His blaster pistol was out, set to stun. Against armored and chromed-up guards, 'stun' usually would've been useless. It was less so when David pressed the barrel right up against the guards' necks through the gaps in their armor. Both of the half-borgs went limp like their strings were cut.

At the same time, Sasha sliced into the turret's system. It was connected to the rest of the sec-system's alarms, but a little pinch choked that connection so that Sasha could disable the turret unnoticed. The glaring red light on the turret dimmed and went out. Its medium lasers didn't even get the chance to glow menacingly.

Sasha and Lucy were quick to follow David into the breach. David busied himself with pulling the stunned guards out of the way. Just to be sure they stayed down, he tied them up, and Sasha left them a pair of nasty demonic surprises to fuck with their chrome.

"Why didn't you just flatline them?" Lucy asked.

David winced, "I'd rather not-…"

The door at the end of the hallway opened and closed before he could finish. A lone man walked through, visibly distracted. So distracted that he didn't initially notice anything wrong with the scene he walked into. His eyes had that faraway look of a man half-chipped in his neural HUD. David stared at him with a moment of horror as the man blinked and came back to reality. Then he moved.

A startled noise escaped the man's throat as David wrestled him to the ground. There was a ghastly crack. The man's head hit the floor at an angle. His neck bent like a hinge. It all happened so fast, so ironic. One moment, David was saying he'd rather not kill. And the next, a man lay undeniably dead beneath him.

Slowly — so slowly — David sat back up, staring down at the fresh corpse with utter horror in his eyes, "I-I-… No-…"

Sasha moved quickly, sharing a glance with Lucy as she pulled David back to his feet. His body complied automatically. His horror didn't waver.

"C'mon, David, stay with us," Sasha gently cooed. "It was an accident. Nothing you could do."

Haunted eyes turned to her, "… He-… He's not getting up."

"Never again," Sasha confirmed. "But you can't break down on us now. We need you to be strong, David. There's still work to be done. The run doesn't end until we're all home safe."

David gave a shaky nod, "R-Right…"

"Lucy, get us in there," Sasha ordered. "We'll be right behind you. David, we'll be right behind her. Crystal?"

"C-Crystal," David's second nod was more firm, more reassuring. He took in a deep breath and let it out. "… Run doesn't end until we're all home safe."

A first kill was never easy. It shouldn't be. But David rallied before Sasha's eyes. She couldn't help but be proud that he was pulling himself together. It was a shaky thing. It'd last until they could debrief after all of this. It would have to.

The door to the Archive proper slid open. Sasha slid a pressurized dart launcher into her palm. She was the first through the door for that reason. To her left, a stern older woman sat and watched her every move. She strode with purpose as the woman's eyes tracked her. The launcher came up and fired off in an instant.

The woman flinched at the sudden movement, reaching for something on her desk. She didn't get there. A dart buried itself in the woman's lip of all places, and Sasha winced slightly. Unfortunate placement, but the deed was done. A small shock passed through the dart, knocking the woman out cold. The toxin coating would keep her that way.

Just in time, too. Barely a moment later, the whole building shook with a thunderous noise. Atom's distraction. They were on the clock now. Arasaka would know something was up. Sasha sprung herself into action, issuing orders quickly.

"That's our cue. David, I need you to guard the door for a minute or so. You can do this. I believe in you. Lucy, let's get to work. Be quick about it. I want us out of here by the time that elevator starts rising to meet us."

"On it!" David called back.

"I'll pave the way, and you clean up behind me?" Lucy asked.

Sasha nodded, "Jack in, babes."

They did exactly that after gently removing the stern, unconscious archivist from her chair. The terminal there was open to them, and they dove into the cyber ether. Sasha's perception of time outside slowed to a crawl. The Archive's cyberspace took over everything. Lucy charged ahead with brute force of will. Any pretense of subtlety or stealth went out the window. Styled like a great, archaic temple, the Archive folded.

Lucy tore it apart from the foundation. Any structure there might've been to the digital realm was sundered. In the process, secrets and valuable files were thrown into the proverbial air. Lucy paid them no mind. Sasha collected them like discontinued candy.

Black budget projects, future products, foul experiments, dirty research, and illegally gathered data — Sasha took it all. The paydata was thrown haphazardly onto her slotted chip. Meanwhile, Lucy had eyes for only one thing.

Sasha got a glimpse of it when Lucy found it. A secret, secret project. One that couldn't even appear on the black budget. For a corp like Arasaka, that was saying something. And Sasha saw why. Arasaka had taken their own employees' children and thrown them into a netrunning gauntlet. One by one, they ended up dead. All except for… one Lucyna Kushinada…

Lucy had escaped, putting an ultimate end to the beyond-black program. Arasaka then did their best to make it all disappear. But they kept the records for themselves. Sasha saw one last comment line from the file before Lucy purged the data with vengeful cyber-fire.

'Survivor: Location unknown. [Priority: Delta]. The associated employee (Codeword: Sire) is given leave to locate. Suppress both once found.'

Ultimately, Sasha was forced to push that worrying comment line to the back of her mind. Lucy's file wasn't the only data they were there to purge. The data on David was relatively more simple to find. It wasn't buried beneath even the black budget, for one. That didn't mean it was any less worrying, though. David's name was most prominently mentioned… on a list of 'subjects' with exceptionally high chrome potentials… Reading between the lines, Arasaka wanted to make David into a second fucking Adam Smasher.

Fuck that. Fuck all of that. Sasha copied Lucy to a tee, burning David's name from Arasaka's systems with a vengeance. This part of their slicing was the only thing resembling subtlety. Everything else was brute-forced — meant to imitate Militech's style — but for the data concerning Lucy and David, Sasha hid their tracks well. Until they did a full system audit, Arasaka wouldn't even know what they were missing.

Once satisfied with her work, Sasha disconnected from the Archive with a jolt. She pulled Lucy along with her. The suddenness of the disconnect wasn't great, but they pushed through it. They didn't have the time to spare being gentle. As the sounds of reality registered in her mind again, Sasha knew they had to move. Immediately. On the opposite side of the Archive, another elevator arrived, and a squadron of boots stomped out of it.

"Kark!" Sasha swore. "Move, Lucy! Move! Coming out hot, David!"

"Yeah, I can hear that!" David shouted back, sounding frantic. "Punch it, girls! We've gotta make star trails!"

Arasaka samurai came storming into the Archive. Their formation was tight. They cleared as they went, covering each other's backs. And they were decked out to the fucking nines and back. Fucking professionals… The bane of any edgerunner.

Sasha and Lucy ran through a hail of blaster bolts to get out of there. Luckily, it was only a few meters to the door back out into the hallway. Sasha still popped a flash behind her. Just to be sure. Even then, some of those blaster bolts were dangerously close…

They dove through the doorway. David closed it behind them. Sasha overloaded its system to lock it shut. Didn't do them much good. A grenade impacted a second later and turned the door half to slag. Sasha didn't even bother shooting back. It wouldn't have done them any good. This wasn't a fight they could win. They didn't have to, anyway. They just had to make it back to the elevator shaft.

"David! Sandie time!" Lucy called.

David didn't reply, simply blurring into motion. He took Lucy first, crossing the ten-meter hallway in the blink of an eye. Sasha made sure the door held, staying low so her head didn't poke through the slagged hole through it. Barely a moment later, David returned for her, and Sasha's world shifted.

She found herself back over the edge, looking down into the darkness of the seemingly endless shaft. Sasha rolled with the sudden transition as best she could. She attached herself back to the climber and cable. Quickly as they were able, all three of them were back hanging in the elevator shaft once more. Once they were, Sasha plunged them back into darkness as well, shutting the doors to the elevator shaft and thanking her Stars that they were made of sterner stuff than the other door.

"Down," Sasha ordered. "Down, and don't look back up. We'll meet Atom, Gloria, and the elevator halfway."

Sure enough, the elevator was steadily rising below them. The three of them scaled down their cables to meet it. Sasha's blood was racing on the edge. Every second was tense. Like the air before a storm, just waiting for lightning to strike. Thunder came from the sealed elevator doors above them. Sasha didn't let it distract them from descending as fast as they could safely manage.

She only breathed a sigh of relief when their feet thumped onto the roof of the elevator. Everything had held. They'd made it. The demon she'd left in the elevator's sec-system told her that Atom and Gloria were safe within the steel car beneath them. The top hatch popped open. Sasha, Lucy, and David slipped in to join them.

As they did, Sasha heard and felt the sealed doors above — so far and still too close for comfort — finally give way. The reunion within the elevator was tense and terse as a result. David still found it in him to wrap his mom in a tight hug. Sasha's heart just about collapsed with joy and relief when Atom let her do the same to him.

But even as she hugged him, he was all business, "Report?"

"Mission accomplished, boss~," Lucy smirked. "And thank FUCK for that."

"All that's left is the extract," Sasha mumbled into Atom's chest.

"And avoiding Adam Fucking Smasher after Atom decided to challenge him to a glaring contest," Gloria snarked. "The Borg let us escape the first time, but I doubt we'll be so lucky if he finds us a second time before we get the Hell out of here."

"Nova…!" David exclaimed in whispered awe.

We're frakkin' dead…" Lucy groaned.

As for Sasha… her mind blue-screened at that information. Just up and blanked for a long moment. Slowly, she pulled herself back from Atom's strong chest. She blinked up at him. For once, he was at least self-aware enough to look sheepish. It was a good look on him. Very cute and humility-coded. Sasha blinked again.

"He fucking WHAT?!"

IIIII

— Atom —

I don't know what possessed me to glare down Adam Fucking Smasher. The Chrome Rancor of Arasaka, one of the deadliest beings in Night City and likely Hutt Space as a whole… and I'd stomped right up to him with a glare and a challenge. It wasn't righteousness. Not completely out of anger, either. It was… closer to frustration.

A man like Adam Smasher was a man in constant control. A man in control of himself and control of the world around him. He was a man of power and deadly fucking commitment. The kind of man who shook the very ground where he walked, both literally and figuratively. Even taking orders from Arasaka, that power could never be taken away from him. Adam Fucking Smasher ruled over fate; he didn't let it rule over him.

I was… envious of that control. Fuck it, I was jealous. It burned me inside that I couldn't say the same about myself and my life yet. So I lashed out. I acted rashly. And I gained the attention and interest of a Night City Monster for it.

Anyone who didn't fear Smasher was fucking stupid. Even if you completely outclassed him, he was the kind of enemy who'd always be looking for a chance to bring you down with him. And very few people completely outclassed Smasher. Even throughout the rest of the galaxy, if his comment about killing 'Force-cunts' was to be believed. I did. I very much believed it. I'd bet good money that more than a few Jedi and maybe even a Sith or two had fallen to Smasher's chrome.

Yet, I hadn't been able to stop myself from trying to glare him all the way to Hell and back. His parting line sent shivers down my spine. Without my distraction, Gloria and I wouldn't have made it back to the elevator. Not because it'd worked to distract Smasher but because he let us slip away. Again, I'd gotten his attention. A worrying prospect if there ever was one. I knew my next meeting with the Chrome Rancor wouldn't end nearly so ideally.

Vaguely, I'd recognized Smasher's handler, too. She was the main protagonist of the Cyberpunk game. Knowing what I did about her potential, that meeting was also worrying. In another worldline, she'd become even more terrifying than Smasher. It was admittedly a bit strange to find her by Smasher's side, but I'd already learned to take any prior knowledge I might have with a grain of salt.

Gloria rightfully took me to task for my rash challenge of Smasher. For the moment, though, it had to be pushed to the back of our minds. We joined back up with the others in the elevator. Our extract was already running over and over again in my mind. Going out the front door as we'd come in would be folly. Instead, we aimed for the garage level right beneath the tower's 'Floor Zero'.

Sasha's rightfully baffled indignation had to be pushed to the side. Seconds after they joined us and Gloria's snarked reveal, boots thumped down on the roof of the elevator car. We were still a few floors off our stop. That left us with only one way to greet our unwelcome guests.

"You were followed," I growled.

"Chased, more like," Lucy piped up. "But at least it isn't the Smasher."

"Frak!" Sasha swore, shaking herself back to business and snapping out a quick report. "Five of them. Samurai. Well-armored and equipped. They must have rappelled down after us!"

Sparks began cutting through the elevator's top hatch from above. All of us drew some weapon or another. It wasn't a good situation. Five on five. But we were trapped in a steel cage with no cover, and the samurai on the roof had the initiative. I decided it was best if I took that advantage back.

I was mindful of the fact that we were still in an elevator. So, I couldn't go my usual explosive route. A flashbang would have to do. Before the hatch could fall in on us, I called on the Force and pushed. Halfway cut through, it flew open like a hinge. My grenade immediately followed through the now-open hatch. The bang and flash were jarring. But not nearly as bad as it would be for our guests.

Blaster bolts followed. I snapped to the head hanging over the opening. Twin streaks scorched through snarling, demon-faced, vaguely Japanese helmets like they were paper mache. The head beneath the helmet was cored like an apple, molten flesh bordering the sudden hole. My favored dual-barreled 44 was heavy iron, and it made double-taps a matter of course.

The next head was already ducking for cover. I still caught them on the top of the head, double bolts burning off half of their dome. Another flashbang followed, just to keep them off-balance. One of the samurai made the choice to charge ahead instead of retreating to cover. They dropped through the hatch and met Lucy's monofilament wire, quite literally, head-on. It was a clean, vertical cut. The samurai was dead before they hit the floor of the elevator.

The last two samurai played it safer than their comrades. There was a tense second of nothingness as they used the top of the elevator for cover. Then, they tried to return the favor I'd given them. Emphasis on 'tried'… A grenade was pitched through the opening. It didn't even get through the hatch before David sniped it out of mid-air, his reaction time far from natural. We were shielded from the worst of the blast, but I still pulled Lucy and Sasha behind me to be sure.

And then there was one. Both of the samurai had been hit by the detonation. One was dead in an instant. The other, I could feel writhing around in pain above through the Force. Almost negligently, I took aim at the ceiling. Two quick pulls of the trigger put the bastard out of their misery from below.

An almost deafening silence fell over the elevator's interior as adrenaline waned. I steadied my breathing and let the blood settle in my ears. I could see David shaking slightly, trying to put up a cool, composed front. Gloria worried over him for a moment, and he tried to reassure her with a strained smile. Lucy and Sasha fared better behind me. A quick glance showed Sasha visibly restraining herself. Probably from outright jumping me. And Lucy gave me a congratulatory slap on the ass.

"Nice shooting, boss," She smirked. "And… thanks for thinking of us."

I replied with a grunt and a half-hearted side-eye, "Bold…"

Sasha dramatically shook her head as if to clear it, "A-Ahem, right! We're going to have to move fast when these doors open. I'll give Maine the go-ahead now, so we won't have to wait for him in the open. Still, everyone good for a mad dash?"

I gave a curt nod of acknowledgment, "Dump your fakes on here. We'll leave them behind for Arasaka to find."

Just about everything was digital in my new life. As such, I followed my own instructions and ejected the memory chip from the disposable PC I was using for this job. The others had neural ports to do the same. The fake IDs were beyond useless to us now. They were a liability, even. I needed Arasaka to find them, anyway, so they'd be led back to the Tyger Claws. By this time tomorrow, I expected Araska's gang to be teetering on the edge of extinction, courtesy of Arasaka themselves. They might even thank me for the excuse to cut ties with the now-brain-drained (quite literally, after a week of assassinations) gang.

The tension returned as we waited for the doors to slide open at our destination. Which made the 'mad dash' to Maine's already-waiting speeder… surprisingly anticlimactic. The whole floor was an open-air garage and practically impossible to fully lock down. That was why it was chosen for our extract. Yet, no one was waiting for us in the first place. We might as well have strolled out of the building.

Maine and Becca welcomed us with grins for a job well done. We didn't tempt our luck by sticking around any longer than we had to. As soon as everyone was in, Maine hit the gas. But, of course, not before Becca could spray the completely empty garage with a hundred or so bullets from a belt-fed slug thrower. She might've been feeling a bit left out of the fun…

IIIII

— V —

As always, Arasaka returned to business as usual within the hour after the raid. It wasn't the first. It wouldn't be the last. Arasaka endured. And it paid its debts in full, with interest on top…

The days that followed were eventful for V. Having witnessed part of the raid firsthand; she inserted herself into the investigation that ensued. Being Adam Smasher's handler came with perks and leeway like that. And Smasher smelled blood in the water. He had a good nose for it. He was right, of course. He always was when there was violence to be had. And it was in everyone's best interest that Smasher got a taste now that he'd scented blood.

Handling Smasher was… complicated. Terrifying most of the time. But also with strange moments that bordered on exasperation. V often felt like they were attack dog and master… only the attack dog was the one truly holding the leash.

Logically, V knew she should've been honored to be given her task by Arasaka's shadowy board of execs. But at times she couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't so much an honor… Maybe it was something more akin to a test and a deathtrap of a position. There was no denying that Smasher was one of Arasaka's most valuable assets. Not just in Night City. His value was measured on a higher, galactic scale. But he was also a terrifyingly efficient and potent, quite literal killing machine. And… a surprisingly crotchety old man, at times. V was the one made to put up with him more than anyone else. In. The. Whole. Frakkin'. Galaxy…

"BACK IN MY DAY," Smasher rumbled in that grizzly, modulated voice of his. "WE DIDN'T BOTHER WITH ALL OF THIS 'INVESTIGATIN' SHIT. WE JUST SMASHED EVERYONE INVOLVED AND LET THE ASHES DECIDE WHO WAS GUILTY."

"I know that's a lie, Smasher," V sighed. "You're not that old. Arasaka has always put effort into our investigations. That said, I'm sure that you operated like that quite often."

"DAMN STRAIGHT."

"I'm also sure that the only reason it worked is because you're Adam Fucking Smasher."

"DAMN. STRAIGHT."

"I don't know if you've noticed," V continued. "But the rest of us aren't in that same boat. So we investigate. Once we have a target, I'll make sure you're aimed their way, Smasher."

Smasher growled, "GRRN… GOOD SHIT… VALERIE."

"V, Smasher!" V snapped back at him. "It's fucking V! Remember that I'm still the one who authorizes your deployments!"

"BUREAUCRACY CAN EAT MY CHROME DICK."

V groaned and looked away. She found herself staring out the window of Smasher's Arasaka apartment. It took up a whole floor, one of the private, upper ones. When it came to Smasher, Arasaka rarely spared any expense. V spent way too much of her time up here. She worried she was getting more used to Smasher than was good for her. Her 'great honor' meant it couldn't be helped, though…

Taking her mind off the ever-present enigma that was Adam Smasher, V checked for any new news from the investigation. The part of the raid that she'd personally witnessed had been a distraction. Essentially, nothing more than a smoke bomb. Just… one in the perfect place to cause the most chaos. Relations were still bitching and moaning about it, V knew.

Of course, the one behind the distraction was bold (or stupid) enough to fuck with Smasher. That was noteworthy. He'd even succeeded in piquing Smasher's interest. V remembered his name from his companion, the older woman who'd desperately and futilely tried to tell him off. Atom… An almost startlingly young man. Handsome. Grim-faced. Possibly arrogant (or maybe just rightfully confident…). And seemingly without an ounce of chrome on him. V had to admit that her interest was piqued as well.

The investigation had turned over nothing about him. Absolutely, impossibly nothing. As far as the rest of the galaxy was concerned, he didn't exist. At least… not until about two weeks ago when he'd joined up with a known and rather competent edgerunning crew. A crew that then proceeded to go on an unprecedented campaign to purge all of Maelstrom in one night. Good riddance. Those Borg fucks couldn't be gone sooner. Even Smasher was almost impressed (about as close to that emotion as he ever got) by the targeted night of violence. He pinned it on Atom. When it concerned violence, V was inclined to believe him.

The question was… what were Atom and the crew doing now? Who had hired them to hit Arasaka? What provoked Atom to glare down Smasher? On the surface, it looked like a standard distract, smash, and data-grab. It even had all the trappings of a Militech gig. But the rivalry between Militech and Arasaka was well-known. Every odd-numbered breach Arasaka dealt with had those same trappings. Almost immediately, it was identified as a false flag. And that was where the evidence turned… interesting.

A dump chip was found at the breach team's last known location. On it were the IDs they used to gain access to Arasaka HQ. Fakes. That much was expected. The source of those fakes, though, was decidedly the opposite.

Tyger Claws. The fucking Tyger Claws. A most unexpected betrayal. The crew that'd been hired to actually do the job was getting off rather light because of that. The Tyger Claws had long been loyal to Arasaka. It wasn't even a real secret. The corp and the gang shared cultural roots. V even knew — for a fact — that the third son of Sasai Arasaka himself had been a high-ranking Tyger Claw. There were whispers that such an arrangement had been a tradition at one point. Third sons or daughters of the Arasaka Clan to the Claws… Those days were long in the megacorp's past, though. Now, the ties between Arasaka and the Tyger Claws didn't run so deep.

As such, the betrayal… made sense. V had heard rumors that the Tyger Claws were undergoing a significant upheaval. The gang's old guard were disappearing. No, not just disappearing. They were being systematically taken out. The reason why wasn't clear, but the results were now becoming apparent. Their replacements chaffed under Arasaka's yoke. And they seemed to have decided that the best way forward was to assert dominance in some way, to gain leverage over the corp that held their leash.

The basic facts lined up, but V couldn't help but think there was something more at play here. While the official investigation focused on the Tyger Claws, V looked a bit deeper. She started with the other member of the hired crew she'd seen. The older woman who'd been with Atom.

Finding her hadn't been too difficult. Gloria Martinez. Smasher recognized the name. She was an old-school edgerunner with a reputation for friends in many places and an information specialty. After a long absence, an accident seemed to have returned her to the edge. And V had been able to trace a vague connection — a meeting, even — between Gloria and… someone… high up at Arasaka.

That was where V stopped looking. She had a sense of self-preservation, after all. Digging around Arasaka execs was dangerous ground to tread, even for Adam Smasher's handler. The implications there were better left unsaid. And largely, V decided, none of her karking business. If an exec had arranged things to their satisfaction — whatever that satisfaction might be — V wasn't going to be the one to reveal or question it.

The official investigation blamed the Tyger Claws for the raid. It seemed, for the first time in either organization's history, Arasaka was cutting ties with the Tyger Claws. The gang's upheaval likely had more to do with that than the raid. Someone upstairs had decided that the new guard couldn't be trusted and that it was better to just wipe the slate clean. That was where V and Smasher came in, as V received new orders exactly on schedule.

"Smasher," She said. "I've got somewhere to point you now."

Smasher couldn't grin, but his eerie red eyes flashed as if he was, "CRY FUCKING HAVOC, V. CRY. FUCKING. HAVOC."

V nodded, completing one of Smasher's favorite phrases, "And let slip the dogs of war. Let me suit up. I need to shoot some shit, too."

'Shoot some shit' and 'slip the dogs of war' they did. The Tyger Claws had been marked for death by a consensus of Arasaka execs. They wanted to make a statement out of them, too. Sending Smasher made that much obvious. V didn't resent her new orders. And not just because they sated the old rancor's bloodlust…

One by one, Tyger Claw cells across Night City were hit and obliterated by overwhelming force. They never stood a chance. It was a marathon of violence. Something V was becoming all too accustomed to during her time as Smasher's handler. Never let it be said that V couldn't hang. Even Smasher called her 'halfway decent' these days.

She was the anvil, and he was the frakkin' drop hammer, V thought as she stalked silently behind an oblivious, smoking Tyger Claw guard. Silent as the void, she slid her knife into the guard's jugular and slid it clean across the tattoo on his neck. Head hanging half off, the gonk didn't raise a single peep of alarm.

A chrome-boosted jump took her up a level to an unassuming windowsill. V perched there, absently twirling her knife between her fingers. Another three lay strapped against her off-wrist. The hideout inside was bustling with frantic activity. News spread fast when the whole gang was marked for death.

V's Sandie activated with the slightest of breaths. She picked her marks as her perception of time slowed to a crawl. Her first knife flew. Before it even shattered the window in front of her, a second knife was also in flight. Glass broke in slow motion, and there was a third knife flying through the air. All three knives flew true as V deactivated her Sandie. Blood, viscera, and sparks spewed out below her. Then, the frakkin' drop hammer hit.

A supporting quickhack from V cut the hideout's lights. Smasher breached into utter darkness, coming through the ceiling and a whole other floor above. He fell like a meteor. Two unlucky 'Claws were pulped in an instant beneath his chrome bulk. Red eyes glowed in the darkness. The rapid-fire thumps of a heavy slug thrower — the kind normally mounted on vehicles — tore the building's interior to pieces. Tracers flashed for brief instants to illuminate a scene of carnage and the bringer of calamity who'd landed among the 'Claws. Adam. Fucking. Smasher.

Their marathon of violence continued through the night and into the next day. Cell after cell fell. Leaping Koi, Thundering Dragon, Gray Mist, Black Orchid, Weeping Widow — all names to be wary of. Names of prestige and formidable might, tied to the overall Tyger Claw banner and even to Arasaka through the greater organization. But no anymore… None of the Tyger Claw cells stood for long against Smasher and V.

When they came to the more fortified cells, Smasher didn't even bother breaching. A targeted missile strike was also sufficient to slake Smasher's thirst. He was a fan of the famous Mandalorian jetpack launcher. Only, he thought they didn't take it far enough. Only carrying one of the ship-killing missiles was 'PATHETIC', he said. Smasher's chrome could carry a whole rack of concussion missiles. So he did. It was as simple as that.

Even a single one of the starship-grade munitions was enough to blow any dug-in position wide open. And leave Tyger Claw remains that wouldn't even be identifiable by dental records. Not that Smasher going into melee mode left the corpses much better off…

In cover across one of Night City's airways, V watched Smasher tear through another pack of Tyger Claws. His fists shook so hard they blurred, a feat impossible for anyone less chromed-up than the Smasher. They didn't so much tear through flesh and armor as they simply… moved through physical material as if it wasn't even there… The deadly dance of chrome-specific martial arts sent blood and gore flying in great spurts like fireworks. Smasher smashed, as Smasher did best.

V was far from left out of the action. For one cell, Smasher even left all of the violence up to her alone. It was times like this that V felt Smasher was almost grooming her. The thought stuck in her mind like a burr as she executed stealth with ultra-violence.

Like Smasher, V had taken to favoring slug throwers over blasters. Blasters were undeniably more powerful… but Smasher didn't lack power in anything he did. And in his words, 'NOTHING BEATS REAL LEAD AND GUNPOWDER'. Personally, V enjoyed the versatility of being able to silence her guns in a way that blasters simply couldn't match. The silencers V commissioned from Smasher's personal techs were quite literally whisper-silent, leagues better than anything on the market.

She carved through the cell with poise and ruthless composure. Two whispers of her gun slumped two Tyger Claws in an instant. Liquifying brains leaked onto the floor, but V was already moving on. A chrome-boosted dash and slide took her into the next room unnoticed. She grabbed a female Tyger Claw in a chokehold so tight she couldn't make a sound and used her body as a shield. Well-placed shots cleared the room, the last Tyger Claw not even looking up from whatever stupid little game he was playing before he was already dead. A quickhack stopped the chrome heart of V's meatshield where it beat. She slumped over as dead as the rest in seconds.

Six down. Likely a dozen more left in this cell. As V dashed into the next room and leaped clear across it, red-hot monowire flashing from her wrists to scorch lines through every surface as if a tornado of Jedi had torn through it, she couldn't contain the cold satisfaction in her chest. Cauterized bits and pieces of flesh fell to the floor around her, and V smiled. She'd never be Smasher, but one day, the name 'V' would be just as (in)famous.