Dogtown's walls weren't easy to breach.
Whether it was flooded sewer shafts or tunnels dug in secret, every route had already been tested by criminals trying to dodge the NCPD and the corps.
Any path still usable was either packed with underwater mines—or, if you somehow made it ashore, littered with old Militech landmines. Quality so good they could sit submerged for over a decade and still blow the sky apart.
Everyone complained about Dogtown's towering walls. No one knew what atrocities Militech had buried beneath the place, but the fortifications were first-rate.
Still, Dorio's maneuvering paid off.
For 1,000 eddies, the four of them slipped into Dogtown hidden in the back of a construction debris truck.
As for Sasha, she stayed back in her Japantown apartment, guiding them remotely while trading attacks and countermeasures with the opposing netrunner.
"Once you're done, exit through the breach on that side. After the first shot is fired, you've got thirty minutes. No more."
The fixer who sold them passage shut the truck's rear door and left.
Rebecca clicked her tongue. "Thirty minutes? What if that slippery punk bolts? Tch."
At that moment, their agents lit up with Sasha's cute cyber-cat avatar. She was calibrating her rig, taking a slow breath.
Maine frowned slightly. Of everyone in the crew, she was the one he worried about most—the girl who never knew how to express what she felt.
"Trouble, Sasha?"
She shook her head on-screen. "The other netrunner's experienced. Once I get the Barghest intel, you handle the problem and pull out."
"Stay safe."
They exchanged brief words, waiting as the rattling truck carried them into Colonel Hansen's stronghold.
Rebecca let out a long sigh. Her pink-and-yellow cyber-eyes blinked.
For some reason, she had a bad feeling today.
Normally carefree, she loved emptying every shell once the shooting started. Loved trash-talking with her crew before a job.
Dorio patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. We're just cleaning up a loose end."
"Smile a little."
Dorio was a pillar of restrained power. With her short blonde hair and corded muscle, she looked like she could punch a hole through a tank.
She usually saved that strength for Maine's face whenever he tried to get too handsy, but she was the tactical anchor the team relied on.
Maine leaned over, his massive frame shifting the rubble around them. He brushed a stray rebar wire aside and let his hand linger on Dorio's shoulder. Rebecca could feel the physical weight of his presence filling the cramped space.
"I think after this gig, we should go unwind a bit. What d'you say—" Mid-sentence, Maine's wandering hand struck again.
POW!
His sunglasses tilted. Blood trickled from his nose.
Rebecca's eyes sparkled. Showtime.
The tension in the truck finally broke. Rebecca pulled a handful of high-velocity shells from her belt, tossing them into the air and catching them in one smooth motion before sliding them into her oversized shotgun.
Because they were infiltrating a high-security zone, they had to ditch the light stuff. Maine had pulled some strings to get her a combat-grade piece that packed enough punch to stop a cyberpsycho.
She loved the heavy weight of the chrome in her hands. With her neon-green hair tied in twin tails, she was often mistaken for a harmless brat—until she started turning people into red mist.
Pilar was the only one still sulking. He'd been halfway through a "revolutionary" new mod in his workshop when the call came. But cleaning up a mess that involved his sister was a non-negotiable family errand.
As the truck ground to a halt, the team fell silent. The back doors screeched open.
A Barghest pulled it aside and saw Maine—solid as concrete—beside an equally imposing woman, a loli with a shotgun, and a long-armed lunatic.
He swallowed.
Then walked away.
"Let's roll, people!"
The sunset over the district was the color of a fresh wound, the light bleeding into the jagged skyline to the west.
..
[Incoming Call: Hamster]
"Hey. If audio's good, make a sound."
Liam nodded. "All clear."
"Alright, shut up. Find a good perch. Just hearing your voice pisses me off!"
Cradling the rifle, Liam picked a decent vantage point atop the abandoned building where Hamster had holed up. He ignored the stream of curses in his ear.
Honestly, he kind of wanted to lean over and whisper:
Your shard's amazing.
Through the scope of his Nekomata tech sniper, the motel below was washed in faint green light. The optic could highlight anyone swept by the gun's targeting line—any moving warm body tagged and tracked with precision.
He ran through the weapon diagnostics like the training instructed. Half a day of simulated immersion had turned a former Barghest grunt into a functional sniper.
Reliable?
Well—
Sharpen a blade at the last minute—it may not cut deep, but it'll shine.
"Big girl, don't let me down."
The tactile sensors in his cybernetic hand fed live weapon data straight into his optics.
And the rifle surprised him again.
It had mod slots. Compatible with attachments.
This beast might end up being his strongest asset in the days ahead.
...
Night fell.
Up in Dogtown's back hills, residents burned trash for warmth, sitting in torn-up couches with cheap cold beer in hand.
Scavengers rode in packs on their bikes—either new work had come in, or they were hunting someone to carve up.
When they weren't strapped for cash, they ignored the chrome-poor. Preferred corporate suits—or contracts involving cyberpsychos.
In the distance, the emerald beam from the Heavy Hearts pyramid lanced into the clouds, officially marking the start of the night.
The Lunar Colony must be finished by now, Liam thought, gazing at the crescent moon. Twenty-five thousand eddiesfor a ticket out of this hellhole. I wonder what it's like up there.
His thoughts were cut short by Hamster's voice in his ear.
"They're here. The other side's cracking the data."
"I don't know what that old bastard Hands told you, but on my end, the upload auto-triggers at the twenty-minute mark. You'd better hold the line."
Liam lay prone on the rooftop, fingers brushing the trigger.
"They've traced my location. Stay sharp!"
Hamster's voice grew heavy. Liam felt the pressure too.
Zetatech turrets plus himself—twenty minutes didn't sound impossible.
Except—
Maine's crew was vicious.
Especially Rebecca.
He'd experienced her marksmanship firsthand. If the Barghest vehicle windshield hadn't been reinforced, those obsidian slugs would've ventilated his handsome face long ago.
Then—
Headlights flared along the sloped road.
A car, engine roaring, drifted hard and screeched to a stop in front of Hamster's hideout.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The Zetatech turrets opened fire without warning, shredding the motel doors and walls like paper, unleashing a storm of rounds at the vehicle.
Maine and the others bailed out instantly and returned fire.
Chaos erupted around the motel. Dogtown residents scattered in panic. Barghest channels buzzed with reports of the firefight in the hills.
Liam exhaled slowly.
His scope locked onto Maine's head.
Then shifted—to Dorio. Pilar.
Finally—
Rebecca.
She swung out from behind the pickup truck, hefting what looked like a heavy machine gun ripped straight off a Dogtown mech frame. Muzzle flashes painted her face in manic light.
Status panels popped up over each of them in his vision.
These were the future legends of Night City.
The ones who would dare challenge Arasaka itself.
Were they really about to die to a hidden sniper in the dark?
Liam's breathing slowed. Crosshairs steady.
Sweat beaded across his forehead.
"God damn it! Liam, fire! That crazy bitch is about to wreck the turrets with that machine gun!"
Hamster must've been locked in high-frequency net combat—his voice came out clenched, teeth grinding.
"Shit!"
Veins bulged on Liam's temple.
The barrel shifted.
Without hesitation—
He aimed at Rebecca.
Vmmmm—BOOM!
The rifle discharged a bolt of blue kinetic energy, the projectile screaming through the air toward the girl who was still laughing as she held down the trigger.