"Karl, were you watching the whole time?" Andy didn't even glance at the woman he'd just punched—who was now getting back up—but looked stra
"Karl, were you watching the whole time?"
Andy didn't even glance at the woman he'd just punched—who was now getting back up—but looked straight at Karl, who was strolling over.
"That's the cyberpsycho?"
"She is. Almost got away, actually. Good thing you blocked her path, Andy."
Karl had been ready to step in when he saw NCPD personnel suddenly appear in front of Melissa Rory. But the moment he recognized it was Andy, he relaxed. He knew Andy was more than capable of handling the situation—and clearly, he was right.
"Dusk Mantis Blades. No wonder," Andy muttered as he looked at the woman now caught between him and Karl. He pulled a collapsible baton from his pocket, flicked it open, and pressed a button. The familiar crackling of electric current echoed in the alley.
"Well then, let's bring her in."
"Bringing her in alive, huh? That's way gentler than what Johnson would've done."
Karl subtly adjusted his stance, drawing his neurotoxin dagger. "Guess I'll need to control the dosage."
"Hssss—"
Melissa Rory, cornered between Karl and Andy, now had her eyes fully bloodshot. After rapidly using both Sandevistan and Kerenzikov, the Dusk Mantis Blades' flawed neural link was taking a toll on her sanity. She looked more dangerous than before, but rather than attack, she shifted her weight, tilting her head side to side like a predator gauging her escape route.
If anyone had recorded this moment—a cyberpsycho woman trapped between Karl and the NCPD sheriff—it probably would've made for a top-selling braindance. Titles like "Two Men and One Woman—One of Them Is Karl" or "The Sheriff, Karl, and the Mantis Blade Girl: A Story You Won't Forget." Fortunately, there were only the three of them, so Karl wouldn't have to hunt down a braindance producer later.
"So, what will it be, miss?" Karl asked, raising his dagger, the blade tilted slightly toward her.
Melissa Rory didn't reply. She crouched like a cat preparing to leap.
But Karl had already seen through her plan.
"Trying to run again?"
The moment Karl spoke, Melissa leapt—clearly attempting to use her Charge Jump again to escape.
But Karl wasn't about to let her get away a second time.
No one got to run twice in front of him.
The moment she jumped, Karl's dagger left his hand, flying directly into her path.
It only took one glance earlier to memorize her trajectory. All he had to do now was throw the blade where she was going to be—and let her impale herself.
Perfect timing.
Melissa, mid-air, sensed the danger.
Her body—now completely ruled by instinct—reacted. Her enhanced reflexes kicked in at full throttle.
Sensing that the blade would strike her torso, she tried to deflect it by launching her Mantis Blades. But activating them mid-air, while changing posture, wasn't easy.
Lifting both arms altered her center of gravity. She'd hoped to activate her blades at the jump's peak and begin climbing again—but the shift threw off her trajectory.
The delay gave Andy his window.
He subtly flicked the bottom of his electric baton, triggering a mechanism. A small device popped from the tip and shot upward—glowing brighter and brighter as it rose.
Flashbang.
Andy's cybernetic eyes had already engaged anti-flash protocols.
As the device exploded into blinding light, Andy watched Melissa without flinching.
She, on the other hand, was completely blinded. Her vision filled with pure white static.
Her reaction and movement faltered.
She couldn't track the incoming dagger.
Shnk—
The blade sliced through her subdermal armor. It was Arasaka-made, and easily tore through standard implants.
The moment the neurotoxin entered her bloodstream, Andy lunged. His baton crackled as it came crashing down.
The NCPD's riot batons were rarely used in Night City, but Andy's had been specially modified. It delivered a current specifically tuned for augmented targets. Melissa's body spasmed.
But only for a second.
She had a grounding skin system installed. That particular implant was excellent for countering electric attacks. A stronger current might've penetrated the smart relays—but Andy's baton couldn't.
'With implants like that—plus a notoriously unstable set of Dusk Mantis Blades—how could she not go cyberpsycho?'
Karl saw the baton hit but fail to disable her. He prepared to hack her operating system—to forcibly shut down her implants—when he noticed something incoming.
It wasn't aimed at him or Andy.
It was dropping from above, targeting Melissa's location.
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, Melissa Rory—already mid-jump, stabbed and shocked—was slammed into the ground. Her fate unclear.
Atop her crushed and bloodied form, a figure in distinctive tactical armor slowly rose.
Karl and Andy immediately recognized who it was.
There was no mistaking that uniform.
MaxTac.
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