Beep.
The holographic call connects.
"Did you plug it into the Dogtown network? What's the situation?" The man's voice on the other end is low and steady.
Under the night sky, a woman leans against a car. Tailored suit. Immaculate patent-leather corporate heels. The pale-gold components of her cybernetic hand catch the ambient glow.
"It's done. Looks like the Barghest are having themselves a lively little war down there. As for Kurt Hansen… still giving one of his speeches. Same old garbage spilling from his mouth."
She flicks her hand, shooing away flies drawn to a corpse by the roadside—organs harvested clean by Scavs.
A moment later, encrypted data from inside Dogtown's network streams in from her superior.
"We've confirmed it. Someone from the Night City HQ is involved in this inside job."
Her eyes glow blue as the files upload.
"Abernathy's been climbing fast lately. That bitch has been wagging her tail in front of the board, trying to steal my spotlight. We've still got several regional contracts pending. The Dogtown operation needs to be flawless. Anti-Intelligence is conducting a manpower audit this round. You're on the promotion list."
"Is that so? Sounds promising." Her voice is smooth, slightly nasal, calm and unhurried.
Her superior continues:
"Hansen wants us to lose the deal. This shipment was rerouted from Europe—officially listed as export goods."
"But you know we don't bankroll warlords. If Dogtown won't let us in, then he doesn't get to keep our merchandise either."
"The executive responsible for the European arms diversion is already dead—handled by our people. As for who in Night City pulled this stunt, that's on you to uncover. I've got to monitor the Frankfurt contract. The Project Cloudsea is at a critical stage."
"Dogtown is yours. I expect a report when I return."
"Understood. What about Militech?"
"Ignore them. They're afraid we're in bed with Hansen. Let those dogs chase their own tails."
The call ends.
Arms folded, she watches the firefight raging down the hill.
A leak inside Night City HQ—Anti-Intelligence always draws the short straw when it comes to cleaning up this kind of mess. Best case scenario? Layoffs. Worst case? Your employee badge gets deactivated and corporate agents come to escort you away.
After that, you disappear. No trace left behind.
One of the names on the list her superior sent is down there right now, in the crossfire.
After a brief moment of thought, she opens the car door to leave.
From the darkness, several Scavengers begin circling in.
"Organ harvesters? Interesting."
She watches them with faint amusement. Her slender, delicate face carries a smile that reveals nothing. Her cyberoptic slowly shifts to red.
Suddenly, arcs of electricity burst from the Scavs' heads. Bloodied cleavers and clubs clatter to the ground. Violent cyberware detonations ripple through their bodies; their optics flicker wildly.
The car door slams shut. Tires spin, smoke rising.
One twitching Scav staggers forward, trying to shake off the overload.
Bang.
His body launches into the air as the car's red taillights vanish down the Dogtown highway.
—
The skeletal construction site is crawling with Barghest.
Opposing them: a cyberpunk crew—and a sniper providing overwatch from a distance.
Surrounded by the Barghest, two opposing factions have been forced into an uneasy alliance.
Everyone's exhausted.
Liam fires his final round, punching it through the skull of a Barghest crouched behind a concrete slab. His heavy rifle falls silent.
No time to think. He slings it aside and draws his kinetic rifle from his back, continuing the fight.
The Barghest were a different breed—ex-Militech veterans with disciplined tactical execution. They moved through the urban ruins with practiced efficiency. The only thing saving Liam and the crew was the claustrophobic terrain. If the Barghest managed to bring their heavy technicals into the construction zone, the game would be over in seconds.
"Watch out!"
Pilar, his long cyber-arms stained with oil and blood, ducked behind a pillar just as a muzzle flared inches from his head.
Rebecca lunged, kicking her brother out of the line of fire before turning the Barghest's face into a red smear with a point-blank blast.
"Maine!" Dorio shouted from behind a crumbling barricade. She was bleeding from a shrapnel wound on her shoulder, her expression grim.
More Barghests flood in.
The tide is turning fast.
Liam locks eyes with Maine.
For now, they're on the same side.
"Dammit!" Liam was furious. "I told you idiots to get out! Split up, now! If we stay pinned here, we're all dead!"
Maine took the shouting without arguing. For now, it didn't look like Liam had any intention of turning on them.
The big, rough-edged merc sized up the battlefield and immediately signaled his crew to fall back to the flank. "Idiot, you still planning to run solo? Move this way!"
Liam had no intention of joining their crew, but before he could retort, a rhythmic, heavy mechanical thudding echoed through the construction site.
A Barghest Combat Mech was entering the fray.
Graffiti-covered ex-Militech combat bots stomped onto the field, white skulls spray-painted across their fronts. Each arm mounted a heavy machine gun and missile pods. These machines didn't need roads—they could trample straight through the uneven construction site.
Liam scanned desperately for a solution.
No matter what, he wasn't dying here today.
The mech pushed into the construction zone. Barghest soldiers hunkered behind cover, waiting for it to flatten Liam's position.
On a rusted industrial tank nearby, he spotted the faded logo:
[Petrochem]
CHOOH2.
Fuel. Just like gasoline.
An idea sparked instantly.
That was also where the Barghest' heavy firepower was concentrated.
"Throw me something that hits hard!"
In the distance, Rebecca—dual pistols blazing—immediately hurled her shotgun over.
Liam caught the heavy weapon. Not his usual iron, but it would do.
He moved fast and low toward the fuel tank.
The mech noticed.
Whirrrrr—
The machine gun locked onto him. A stream of rounds tore sparks from the ground at his heels.
His soul felt like it was leaving his body, but he gritted his teeth and kept running.
"Hey! Over here, you scrap-heap!"
Rebecca's veins bulged at her temple as she dumped rounds into the mech's armor, instinctively drawing its fire.
The armored brute took the bait and pivoted, unleashing suppressive fire toward Rebecca and the others moving opposite Liam.
There was a blind angle between the mech and Liam. The Barghest squad leader cursed the machine's limited targeting logic and ordered concentrated fire at Rebecca's group instead.
"Over here!"
Liam darted out in front of the Petrochem tank and fired.
The recoil was savage. Buckshot blasted against the mech's casing, sparks flaring inside its mechanical arm. The armor dented and cratered.
The instant the mech began turning back—
Liam dove away.
The mech's rounds ripped into the fuel tank behind him.
Liam ran with every ounce of strength he had left.
Then—
A massive force exploded at his back.
He was launched through the air as if kicked by a giant. His spine went numb.
Behind him, the mech disappeared into a roaring inferno.
The shockwave left everyone—including the Barghest—reeling in a deafening hum.
Wreckage. Screams. The crackle of burning fuel.
Maine shook debris from his head, grinning wildly. "That's insane!"
Rebecca dropped her gun and sprinted toward Liam, who was trying to push himself upright.
His brain felt like mush. He couldn't hear anything. In his blurred vision, Rebecca's mouth moved—he couldn't make out the words.
Clang. Clang.
A jagged, burning sheet of reinforced steel plate was rolling down the rubble toward him, propelled by the blast. Liam tried to move, but his body wouldn't obey.
The sharp edge of the steel plate sliced through his arm cybernetics like a hot knife through wax. A severed arm, trailing sparks and hydraulic fluid, flew into the air.
The sharp edge rolled over his cybernetic arm.
The severed limb, sparks arcing from exposed wiring, spun high into the air.
When the pain finally hit, nausea surged through him. Blood spilled from his mouth, dripping onto Rebecca's gun.
Liam shoved the weapon into her arms as she tried to help him up—and pushed her away.
"You and your crew… get out."
The construction yard burned in patches of scattered flame. Wounded Barghest struggled to stand. A stunned Rebecca was hauled away by Dorio. The crew disappeared into the maze of shattered concrete and steel.
Liam forced himself upright.
Dragging one leg, he staggered toward the wasteland edge of Dogtown.
System notifications flickered in his vision—rewards updating in bulk.
He didn't care.
There was only one thing on his mind.
Kill the one who sold him out.
Nothing else mattered.