"This is a special access card from Arasaka's security division. Looks like... that guy had pretty high clearance." Standing in the elevator, V explained.
She wasn't exactly happy about the descent. This elevator didn't go directly to the underground garage, which meant they'd still have to stop at the lobby.
Taking advantage of the rare lull, V opened a comms link to Jackie and the others...
It took a while before the connection went through.
From the noise on the other end... things weren't calm there either.
"Damn it, finally got through..." Jackie's voice came heavy with ragged breaths, like he'd just run a marathon.
"Shit! What's going on over there?" Watching the shaky feed, V felt her heart tighten again.
"Those Arasaka bastards locked down the whole hotel... but we broke through their blockade..." Jackie's voice cut in and out, but the roar of gunfire behind him left no doubt about the chaos. "And now their lapdogs are right on our ass."
He leaned out, firing a burst with his thick arm, then found a moment to keep talking.
"We can't hold much longer... Where the hell are you two getting out from?
And... damn it, that taxi driver won't recognize us! It's like talking to a brick wall. So now, the only car we've got is the one we came in with."
"Just get out of the garage first!" V's tone quickened—they were almost at the lobby. "We'll fight our way straight through the lobby!"
Inside the elevator, they both chambered rounds. With V's arm immobilized, Arthur handed her the pistol while he kept the rifle he'd taken from the Arasaka operative.
A brief wave of extra weight pressed down as the elevator stopped.
Pressed against the slowly opening steel doors, they cautiously peered out...
Instead of a wall of gun barrels, what greeted them was pure chaos.
Though Konpeki Plaza wasn't crowded, these well-dressed patrons weren't exactly disposable. Right now, they were locked in a standoff with several security guards.
More importantly, the security presence in the lobby was thinner than expected. Jackie and Rebecca must have drawn away a good number of guards in the garage.
Tension rippled through the hall. A squad of guards blocked the main entrance, shouting reassurances while trying to hold back the crowd pressing at the doors.
Voices clashed, bickering and panicked. Even the polished gentlemen of the upper class couldn't keep their composure when death loomed this close.
Arthur and V moved silently toward the entrance. Watching the guards stationed there, V tensed, ready to strike.
But a large hand caught her only working arm. Arthur glanced around, frowning. "This place is surrounded by glass, isn't it..."
At that, V furrowed her brow. She understood what he meant... but she really didn't know if the glass would give way.
She thought back to their fall from the sky and her injured shoulder. It seemed... the glass here wasn't bulletproof.
At the very least... it was worth testing. Security in the lobby was thin, and even if it didn't work, their situation wouldn't get worse.
With that in mind, the two slipped into an inconspicuous corner.
V raised the pistol and fired at the towering glass.
The crack was loud. The lobby's glass panels were massive, each over four meters tall. The bullet punched through, and the whole sheet collapsed like an avalanche, crashing to the floor with a thunderous boom.
Ignoring the uproar in the lobby, they slipped through the gaping hole and escaped Konpeki Plaza.
...
Meanwhile, gunfire still thundered through the underground garage. Luckily, this was Konpeki Plaza's foundation, so Arasaka didn't dare use heavy ordnance here.
Using the maze-like layout to their advantage, Jackie and Rebecca had managed to shake off their pursuers—for the moment.
Moments ago, they'd struggled up out of the elevator shaft. Barely ten seconds later, the elevator itself had come down to that floor.
They had nearly been crushed.
And before they could even breathe, a squad of Arasaka security had poured out of the elevator, almost turning them into swiss cheese.
Worse still was that damned taxi driver. They'd finally found him, but despite having passenger records, he refused to move unless V herself gave clearance. It wasted precious time.
"Bad luck!" Jackie spat, still gasping for breath, yanking open the car door. Rebecca dove in behind him.
Inside, Jackie slammed the accelerator. Tires screeched, and the car shot forward.
Bullets peppered the air around them, chasing them as they sped off.
Jackie ducked low over the steering wheel, trying to keep track of the way out. Luckily, as a pro, he'd memorized the route when they first came in—at least he wouldn't plow headfirst into a support pillar.
The gunfire soon fell behind. Ahead, the steel roll-up door blocked the exit. Jackie pressed the pedal harder and rammed through it.
"Damn you, Arasaka! Don't ever try dealing with me again!" He let out a relieved grin, shouting his frustration to the air.
"Oh, please." Rebecca groaned from the back, sprawled out across the seat as usual, never sitting properly. "Arasaka's probably glad we're out of their hair... But I'm never working with that bastard Delamain again!"
Rebecca cursed bitterly. That damned Delamain refusing to drive had nearly gotten them both killed.
"Huff... Anyway, looks like we made it out alive." Jackie couldn't shake a bad feeling, maybe leftover from the last time they escaped. Brushing so close to death left a mark.
It wasn't fear of dying itself... It was the faces that had flashed through his mind in those moments—his friends, the people close to him—that chilled him the most.
Arthur, V, even Rebecca—they all had the grit to survive in Night City. But... what about Misty? What about his mom?
Sometimes courage in the face of death was selfish. Looking back, maybe he'd treated life far too lightly.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser