Neon Cogs Act 2 Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Note: Added Lucy Scene

Act 2 Chapter 3

Rebecca didn’t waste any time as she reached for the guns hidden in her jacket and whipped them out. With a small laspistol on one hand and her black gun on the other, she had all the firepower she needed for this fight. Loud cracks filled the air with the barking of guns as lead was answered by laser fire. She fired blindly, raining suppressing fire as Sombra pulled out her own gun.

“Fuck! We’ll be breathing through new holes if we don’t get out of here!” Sombra shouted as she fired her gun all the while sending out quick hacks that had the guns of those firing at them exploding in their faces.

She responded by pouring everything she had to the fire surrounding them. The blaze roared into a raging inferno, making them rear back and giving them time, as it spread outward. Before she could even speak however, a body was pushed into the wall of fire, opening it for just the briefest of moments until a certain snow haired netrunner came jumping in.

“Sombra!” She shouted in warning but Lucy was terrifying quick with her wire. Sombra screamed as the glowing monofilament wire wrapped around the latina’s hand and gun before it squeezed. Chunks of flesh and metal came flying everywhere as Rebecca’s former comrade turned on them.

“Lucy you bitch!” She screamed in anger as she placed herself between the bleeding Valentina who was desperately trying to stem the bleeding and opened fire at her former friend only for the girl to dodge her shot with ease. At least the shooting stopped now she was there inside the ring of fire with them.

“You shouldn’t throw rocks when you live in a glass house Bee,” Lucy taunted as she circled around them, her monofilament wire lashing around creating deep gouges on the floor.

Rebecca was not having any of her quips right now as she decided to respond with the most effective language known to man, violence. As soon as she saw Lucy about to pass by the window overlooking the street, that was when she knew when to strike. She raised her black gun at the girl's face, making the traitor’s eyes widen in fear. The bale green glow of her gun was all the warning they’ll ever have as she opened fire and those before her ceased to exist. The furniture, the goons, their guns and even the very fire of the warp itself seemed to flicker out at the direction of the blast.

Lucy managed to dodge as the woman threw herself to the side and right at the warp fire itself. As much as she wanted to make sure that the woman was dead, she had a girl bleeding out and there’s more hostiles flooding in the room. She had to make her escape now, else she’d be surrounded and gun down.

Taking advantage of the momentary surprise her attack made, she grabbed on Sombra, tossing the surprisingly light girl over her shoulder before she made a mad dash to the gaping hole where a wall once stood. Without a moment of hesitation, she jumped out of the street before landing atop a car’s roof.

Rebecca gritted her teeth at the impact but she managed to pull herself up at the crumpled roof as she ran for her care with a slight limp to herself. “Note to self, car roofs aren’t made of fabric anymore!” She hissed before she winced as she felt bullets whiz by her.

She could hear the frantic shouts of Faraday but she was far too much in pain to focus on it. Her mission was a bust so the best course of action was to just run. To stay and fight was just a fool's errand even if she could do it. She forced herself to move, zigzagging through the streets until she got to their car.

Tossing the uncomfortably cold and pale Sombra on the driver's seat, she jumped in the car and booked it out of there. Slamming her foot on the pedal, she drove as fast and hard as she could through the narrow and winding road.

Turning to her companion, she ordered her frantically, “Sombra, I need you to give me your stump, now.” There was little time to lose after she took such a grievous wound.  She only noticed now just how soaked her outfit was with blood now that they weren’t being actively fired at. The only silver lining she had was that monofilament wires always cut cleanly.

With some hesitation, the girl held up the stump that used to be her right hand. The girl winced as she grabbed on to it before Rebecca pulled on the warp. It was dangerous and she was untrained but she had almost no other options. The woman screamed out through gritted teeth as flesh and bones warped but in the end, all that was left was a mangled looking but no longer bleeding stump.

“Oh don’t be such a baby, at least I didn’t cauterize it.” Rebecca joked as pulled back before reaching down for the glovebox where she was sure she kept some MaxDoc. The sigh of relief from the girl as she took a shot of the almost miraculous concoction of painkillers and whatever else was in there gave her enough peace of mind to focus on the road. The highway was just up ahead and if they’re lucky, they won’t be chased down.

“I would have shot you if you did.” Sombra groaned out as she slumped against her seat. She still looked pale but blood no longer pooled down on the floor of the car.

She was about to snark back when she saw the headbeams of a car reflected upon her rear view mirror. Her eyes widened as she saw Lucy on the passenger seat but her attention was soon called to another as the roof of the car behind them popped up as a heavily muscle goon peered out with a light machine gun in hand. “Duck!” she shouted in warning as she pulled the girl down for cover.

She spoke far too soon as glass rained down on them while bullets whizzed past over head. Looking back up, she could only curse out as she saw the veritable convoy chasing after them. They were hot on their heels, heavily armed with goons with assault rifles and shotguns peering out of the windows of their cars and they were just peppering their car with gunfire.

Her car was a workhorse but even it has its limits when it comes to being fired at. She was starting to regret her choice of vehicle but it was far too late for that. She needed to deal with this before they popped a tire or pierced a fuel line.

Making a sharp turn as they reached the highway and joined the outgoing traffic, she pulled Sombra over to her seat. “Sombra grab the wheel!” She barked out before she clambered over to the back. The girl might have only one hand but it was plenty enough when the only thing they needed was to get as fast and far away as possible from their persuers.

“Wha-?!” The girl sputtered out groggily before the girl cursed out. The slight swerve before their ride corrected itself told Rebecca plenty enough that the netrunner still had enough presence of mind to drive.

“Eat shit and die Lucy!” Rebecca roared out as she started blasting while she desperately searched for the latch. Green bolts of energy shot out and exploded, melting any unfortunate car that she aimed at. She had to be careful else she hit something unintended. There were just far too many civilians around in danger of getting caught by such a powerful blast. It’s one thing to kill a bastard and it's another to have innocent blood while doing so. She also would rather not bring down a bridge if she could help it.

Thankfully, their pursuers started swerving around, doing their best to avoid her shots, just in time for her to pull down the latch. Slipping her gun back to its holster, she reached down and pulled out a far more reasonable ordinance, that of her heavy bolter.

Clearing the glass off the broken rear windshield, she plopped her gun down and took aim. She laughed as her gun let out its deadly melody, filling her world with fire and the barking of 1.00 caliber rounds. Feeling the gun’s bucking in her hold, it was now her turn to fire back. At such close range, her shots hit through with the rounds chewing through engine blocks and people alike. She kept firing, keeping them pinned down, unable to fire back until she finally ran out of bullets.

She cursed as she reached down to reload her weapon only to be nearly thrown off her seat when she found their car ramming against the side of another vehicle. The screaming and shouts of terror of the passengers filled her heart with terror as she turned to her companion in panic. “Sombra! Are you ok!” She called out, worried that the girl had been hit only to find the netrunner’s wide in terror.

“Better buckle up cause their netrunner gone crazy!” She screamed back as Rebecca slammed against the soft foam of the seat. She winced at feeling her nose slam against the seat but it was quickly forgotten at the sight of all the cars heading their ways. Both of them screamed out in terror when a car suddenly landed beside from the bridge above as drivers suddenly found themselves fighting against their own vehicle’s steering wheel.

“Lucy what the fuck!” She shouted just as a bus almost crashed against them. Thankfully, it seemed like she could only see a couple of vehicles at a time and their chase would soon attract the vultures that were the media helicopters. “You shoot, I drive!” She barked out as she barged in the girls seat as their situation became a whole lot more serious. Trying to figure out which vehicle Lucy was going to take control next was next to impossible so best to just limit the number of cars around them.

As she made a turn on a nearby overpass, she dialed Hiro’s number. She gritted her teeth as she swerved around a car that suddenly stopped. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Hiro to answer. “Rebecca?” he asked out groggily before he let out a loud yawn.

“Hiro, big trouble, need back up!” She hastily explained as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. There were far fewer cars but the space was far narrower. Each car sent her way had her pursuers gaining ground. Sombra’s effort at trying to ward them off could only get so far as they remained persistent in their chase.

“Where are you right now?” he asked, far more alert now with the sound of gunfire and car tire squealing filling the background.

“Downtown Santo Domingo. Heading straight for the plaza,” She shouted before her forehead slammed against the steering wheel after a sedan crashed to their side. Shaking her head to get the spots in her vision to disappear, she added, “Trying to shake off my target goons. Fucking Faraday and Lucy!”

Here she was, expecting this was just going to be an info gathering mission only for her to stumble upon her team's former netrunner shucking up with the broker that Hiro absolutely hated for some reason. Who could have guessed that she was going to meet up with someone that would be able to recognize her. Fucking snake, she’ll gut her if she could but she was far too busy trying not to die.

“We could use some help over here papi!” Sombra shouted as some color returned to her cheeks. Rebecca had to duck as a motorcycle psycho caught up to them and sprayed them with their SMG only to be shot in the face by an irate and angry Sombra wielding a shotgun. The girl cursed and shouted as the gun flew out of her hand but it did its job well enough.

She tossed the girl another MaxDoc to keep her going just in case. If either one of them passes out, it’s game over. “There’s a panic button in the dashboard. I need you to find the car cigarette lighter and press on it for five seconds or until you hear a message,” Hiro then instructed before he started barking out instructions angrily on another line.

“Got it!” Rebecca didn’t need to be told twice as she pressed the seemingly innocuous trinket before the radio lit up on its own.

+This is an automated reply. The nearest Arasaka agent is 13 minutes away and has just been contacted. Help is on the way. Please stay inside the vehicle. Thank you+ Came the monotone voice of the car. If it had a face, she would have kissed it right now as things were really getting hair.

“Don’t dare die on me or I swear I’ll be very angry at you once I piece you back together!” Hiro shouted as panic colored his tone but she couldn’t help but giggle at how just silly it all was. She didn’t doubt one second that he’ll find a way to make a miracle, he somehow just does it without a second thought.

“Hah! As if something like this could kill me. They have to bring heavier ordinance if they want a chance!” She shouted confidently with a grin on her face before she closed the line. As much as she wanted to keep hearing his voice, she didn’t want him to hear her if things really went south. At least help was on the way and she simply needed to survive till then, easy enough she supposed. Now, how was she going to get out of this situation?

The answer soon came into view as she saw some construction workers surveying the damage to the guard rails of the bridge. The grin on her face got wider as she slammed her foot down on the pedal, their car’s engine roaring as the speed dial kept going up. “Sombra, buckle up! I’m going to do something crazy!” She laughed out as she headed straight for the gap in the guard rails.

Sombra turned to her in confusion but it was quickly replaced with that of horror. “Oh you have to be kidding me!” She screamed out as she dove back to the front seat and grabbed the seat belt. “Rebecca, I swear if we die, I’ll haunt your ass in the afterlife!” She shouted in equal parts anger and terror as she held onto the grab handle for her dear life.

The construction workers scattered as their car and Faraday’s goons came into view. It was dumb, it was dangerous but it just might work. With her knuckles white with how hard she was gripping the steering wheel, she then made a turn and drove off the bridge.

For a brief moment, she felt weightless. Their screams drowned out by the roaring in her ear as their ride slowly tipped forward. It then came to a jarring and sudden stop as bits of the hood and the front wheels met the asphalt of the bridge just a below the the overpass they were on. She winced at the crunching sound their car made when it fully landed but by the skin of their teeth, the car kept on going as it rocketed forward and met the traffic.

They landed on the wrong lane and the steering wheel became stiff but she managed to wrestle her car to a sharp turn as she corrected herself. The cars following her came to a screeching halt only for the lead one to be pushed over by the cars behind it. Unfortunately the car that met its fiery death didn’t have Lucy as the bitch looked at them gobsmacked from the car that had just pushed the other one over.

She flipped the bird at her as they made their merry way, escaping their captors after a long and grueling chase. Eventually, the cars trying to smash into them returned to simple drivers ramming them for being slow as they slowly limped toward the nearest Arasaka building. Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the the steering that was fucked up but the engine started to rattle and squeal.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Sombra muttered as she took her third MaxDoc. She looked a bit cut up but for a woman who just had her hands mutilated, she was holding up surprisingly well.

“That’s enough of that, you’ll get addicted I swear,” She scolded the girl as she slammed the glovebox. The girl glared at her but she just sighed as she slumped back on her seat.

As they made their way down back to the main road, their car finally gave up as it sputtered before they lost all power. Their car made a valiant effort but it had more holes than a body the scavs got their hands on and she just drove off a bridge and somehow survived in one piece. It was a miracle that it got this far. She only wished that the Cathedral wasn’t a stone throw away from where they were.

“Welp, all we can do now is wait,” Rebecca sighed as she unhooked her seat belt and reclined her chair. Leaning back and getting herself comfortable, she then said,  “Wake me up when backup arrives.” She already had way too much excitement for the day, a small nap wouldn’t hurt

Not a minute into her short nap, she felt Sombra already shaking her awake. “Um Becca, I think we should run. Like right now,” the latina frantically told her, causing her to jolt awake. She bolted up and there heading towards them was the group chasing after them. She quickly turned around and not only was their way forward blocked, so too was their way back. It's not like they could drive away as well as their car was busted with the hood smoking.

She leaned back down, hiding with Sombra as she pulled out her gun. They were fucking trapped and the timer on the radio’s screen didn’t bode to well on their chances. “Shit, still 5 minutes away,” she gritted out. As much as she wanted to run, running would only hasten their death and make it painful. The fact of the matter is, the car was their beacon for help and they had to stay there.

“Fuck, Fuck, what are we going to do now?” Sombra frantically asked as she clutched a laspistol close to her chest. Rebecca couldn’t answer her as she peered out of their cover and she saw how much more of them were still around. The broker really threw everything along with the kitchen sink at her. They were fucked and both of them knew it.

They were quickly surrounded with men lining up around them. Rebecca’s hands clutched her black pistol as she waited patiently, thinking of a way to buy them some time. She could take quite a lot of them but with the amount of guns pointed at them, one of them was bound to get lucky and land a fatal shot.

As the guns lined their shot, Faraday stepped forward holding his hand up to stop his men from spraying them full of lead. “It seems that your luck finally ran out of Firebird,” the man taunted them with a smirk as he gestured at the men and women he brought along. “As much as I want to simply rain lead all over your ride till all that remains is a flaming wreck, cooler heads must prevail,” he offered coolly as Lucy stepped out behind him.   

“If you come out now, I’ll promise you that you’ll remain alive,” The man so ever so generously offered as he pulled out a gun. “Be grateful. If it wasn’t for my pet runner over here, you'd already be dead,” he added as he leveled the gun at them before aiming at the fuel tank.

“Surrender now or die, the choice is yours. You only have three seconds,” The four eyed freak threatened them. Was this it? Was this the end of the road for her? Surrender now and she’d not only hurt her input emotionally but she could also potentially compromise him in the company. There will be hell to pay but she had no doubt things were going to get ugly while she's in captivity. She couldn’t even promise Sombra was going to be ok if they surrendered.

“Wait! Let’s talk this out shall we? I have a friend over here. I want to make sure she’s still in one piece if I surrender!” She bargained, hoping that he’d waste some time by taking her bait. There were still 2 minutes on the clock and time wasn’t ticking down faster.

“Three,” The man started counting down, ignoring his plea for a bargain

If she didn't surrender, there’s only one clear answer to what’ll happen next and that was death. She would be dead and that’s the end of it. They’ll probably make sure she’s far too gone for Trauma Team to patch her up. They could even drag her body and scatter her to spite Hiro.

“Two,” the former broker cocked his gun as his goons raised their guns. There were just far too many of them and too little time. She had no choice, with shaky hands, she was about to raise her hands but she was quickly cut off as a harsh spotlight suddenly beamed down on their position.

“On-!” Before Faraday could finish his countdown, a dark shape suddenly slammed into him kicking up dust and debris everywhere. She and Sombra gawked as the dust settled revealing a heavily armored man standing over the pulped remains of the broker. He stood there menacingly, heavy bolter slung over his shoulder held in one hand while the other held onto chainsword as the logo of Arasaka was emblazoned on his back. Lucy scrambled away, a gibbering mess as the man stepped forward but that menacing image quickly shattered when they spoke.

“God damn, owww.” The man, no, the teen hissed out as he clutched his knees. “How does that old bastard keep doing this? I swear I might have to replace my knees if I keep doing this,” he grumbled as he stretched and shook his legs. This was their backup?

Turning towards them, the face of a youth barely out of highschool stared back at them while sporting an easy going grin. “Hey, sorry for being late. These guys bothering you?” He asked as he gestured at them. She was about to scream out in warning when a goon leveled their gun at him but she was quickly silenced as the youth merely leaned to the side and casually dodge the shot.

“Oyy! I’m talking here,” The boy shouted only to be met with more shots. The boy just sighed as he danced around the gun fire, parrying some shots he couldn't with the roaring blade he wielded. The goons quickly emptied their magazine leaving them all panicking as they did their best to reload.

The youth smirked at this as he unslung his gun and aimed his sword at them. “So that’s how you want to play huh! Well come get some you son of bitches,” He roared out as he launched himself at them, a whirling dervish of swords and gun fire as guns and limbs were chopped up with some receiving new holes to breathe through. It was over in a flash with the men surrounding them a groaning and broken pile of flesh while Lucy stared at the boy in unbridled terror

“Now what am I going to do with you?” He asked as he walked over to the girl before her eyes flashed. The boy merely snorted as he shook her head and added, “Sorry, won’t work.”

The girl slumped in defeat against the wall of the building behind her, finally ending this little chase they had. Getting out of the car and stomping over to the traitorous cunt, she shouted at her, “Lucy you bitch, why the hell did you shoot me. Also, you owe her a new hand.” She tehn gestured toward an irate Sombra.

Yes, she shot them but she’s now their prisoner. She was her friend once so she was going to give her the chance to explain herself. The fact that she was also working with the guy that the suspicious Arasaka worker was meeting helped alot in staying her hands and just shooting her there and then.

“Like hell she does!” Sombra growled out as she raised her stump of a hand and shook it in anger. “Let me at her so I can give her a piece of my mind,” Rebecca had to hold the girl back lest she actually kicked the girls teeth in. She gave the latina a pleading look, just asking her to give them some time. Thankfully, the girl relented. What she didn’t get what Lucy then said.

“You don’t understand. I had to get away! You left me no choice?” Lucy gibbered out, eyes frantic and pleading as she stared back at him which caught her entirely by surprise. She had seen people panic before but not quite to one like this and she hasn’t even placed the barrel of her black gun against her forehead.

“You two know each other?” Their backup asked as he looked at them.

Rebecca sighed and nodded before reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Yup. We used to be friends. Emphasis on used to,” She muttered out. Why the hell was she so afraid right now? Yes, she was a cat thief who specifically targetted Arasaka personnel but to be so afraid that she was having a full blown panic attack, it was simply too fucked up. “Also, what the hell are you yammering on about? Do you know how much Kiwi got worried sick about you?” She questioned her, trying to figure out what the hell was missing here. Did she have some history with Arasaka beyond what she knew?

“Wait, she knows Kiwi? Huh, so you're that daughter she kept talking about. Can’t see the resemblance but I’ve seen stranger things. Congratulations on getting a new step dad by the way. Scary guy but he does his best” The boy joked as he chuckled, making Rebecca stare at him in disbelief. This boy…

“You know what, I’m way too tired for this.” Rebecca groaned out as she massaged her aching head. “I want to shoot you right now but like you said earlier, cooler heads have to prevail. Besides, I have a whole lot of questions for you to answer.” She admitted, hoping that she’d at least listen to some reason.

“No! Stay back! Please don’t take me back!” She shrieked out as she pulled out a gun and aimed at them. She could only pity the girl as with how much her hands were shaking, she wouldn’t be able to hit them much less the broad side of a barn.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, what ever twisted fantasy you have inside that skulls ain’t gonna happen as long as I’m around. Don’t you remember my input?” Rebecca tried to reason with her. It would all be for naught however as Sombra suddenly pushed her down.

“Becca, Look out!” She warned her and her eyes widened as she saw a car heading straight for them.

“Wha-! Oh fuck!” The boy cursed out as he threw his weapon to the side and slammed both hands down on the hood of the car. The car buckled under his strike as the rear lifted up before crashing down.

“Jesus Christ, who throws a car at people when there’s still people inside.” He asked, bewildered at just what happened. “Hey ma’am, are you ok? Do you need medical assistance?” he called out as the airbag deflated revealing a shocked but very much alive driver.

Rebecca sighed as she thought she was a goner only to remember Lucy. As she turned around, she found no sign of the girl. She could only curse as more Arasaka vehicles streamed into the scene. Faraday was dead and Lucy got away but at least they still have some prisoners to interrogate though she doubted that they know the full picture. At least now she had a target to find. Why Lucy of all people was involved in this plot, she did not know but she’ll get to the bottom of this one way or another.

-x-x-x-

Lucy staggered into her safe house, far away from Faraday’s apartment, before shakily closing the door behind her. As soon as she was in the safety of her home, she felt her knees give out beneath her. Her lungs burned while her knees were shaking as sweat covered her form. She pressed her back against the door, her mind telling her it wouldn’t be of any use if they came knocking but what else could she do? She couldn’t just sit there, hoping things would work out, hoping that nothing bad would happen; She had to do something!

So there she waited, dreading what was to come but it never came. No extraction team came bursting through her window nor did that borg’s apprentice come barging through her door. They didn’t chase after her and now she… got away. She quickly shook her head, refusing to believe such fantasy. They’ll always come after her, she has to get away.

She ran away… like she always did. She was tired, so tired of running away but it was all she could ever do. The road had no end in sight and she could simply stop but what awaited her back there was no way to live. She couldn’t go back, she couldn’t turn back else their eyes would stare back at her. She just wanted to be free, free to pursue what she wanted and as far away from Arasaka.

She pulled her knees close as tears fell down from her face. She ran away and found freedom but at what cost? She was alone again, just like at the facility. Just like when she lost Kiwi. Just like now. Maybe she should have stayed with Kiwi and waited things out. Maybe she should have trusted Rebecca but that was a road far too gone to think about. She made herself enemies she shouldn’t have when she sided with Faraday, a costly mistake but all she can do now was deal with it.

Forcing herself up, she made her way to the kitchen. Her apartment was by no means like Faraday’s home but it was secluded, safe, it was her one and only bastion of privacy. She might be in their city but there was still a way out. Thanks to Faraday’s death, she could finally siphon off enough money from the dead man’s account to fund her life on the moon. All she needed to do was get out.

Grabbing herself an energy drink, she quickly downed its contents as she made her way to her room. With her fight with Rebecca, she had landed herself in way too much hot water. She simply couldn’t stay and wait for them out. If only Rebecca didn’t have to stumble on her so soon, she could have switched sides.

She grabbed her clothes and quickly stuffed them in a suitcase. Guns, medicine, physical money, she grabbed whatever she could. As she ransacked her room, she stumbled upon the letter from Militech. She grimaced as she stared at it, her hands about to crumple when a voice called out that had her shaken to her core.

“Ahh, Ms Kushinada, just the woman we need,” a man spoke, making her look up. She felt ice fill her veins as the black armored figure with the symbol of Militech emblazoned upon their chest stood inside her bedroom. He was unarmed yet her heart raced as she tried to look for a way out.

“It’s unfortunate Mr. Faraday expired but without his help and his insider, we wouldn’t have our strike team inserted,” The man added as he pulled out a fashion electronic pad only to pause as his gaze locked on her bag. “You weren’t thinking of running away weren’t you?” he asked her as he looked up while her own reflection stared back at her on those blackened visors.

“Don’t you remember my employers deal with you? Just help us with this job and you can have your own home in Alaska, far away from Night City and free from Arasaka control. You know that was a generous offer right? You can’t simply back away from such a deal now that it falls unto you to fulfill it,” he reminded her, his voice even yet the message was clear; Either continue working or die.

Her fist clenched, her hands shaking before she unclenched them as she schooled her features. “N-no… I was merely moving to another safe house. I’ve stayed here for far too long,” she whispered back as she found herself forced into a decision not of her own.

“Good, let us worry about funds necessary for such a move. After all, Militech cares for its own,” The man magnanimously replied. She wanted to run but it seemed that the road was cutting off soon and there would be no way to go.