Cyberpunk 2077: V

Chapter 13: Gone Psycho

The next person who said "show me what you're made of" to V was going to get a revolver up the ass.

V stared at the text message from Regina with a mix of annoyance and shock. A cyberpsycho gig? Already? What the hell happened to the world? Just a couple of days ago she and Jackie were eking out a meager but respectable living as small time mercs working their asses off to rise through the ranks.

And now Jackie was distancing himself from her, they got slapped with an insane gig to steal a top tech-tier biochip, and some random fixer fingered V to knock out cyberpsychos before MaxTac pulled up?

V was starting to become more and more convinced that something happened that night she went to sleep after the Dorsett gig. Like she hit another timeline or alternate reality or...something. The hell was going on?

Before V could reply to the text, the phone rang. Regina. 

V accepted the call, jumping when Regina's tense voice started talking immediately.

"V - no time. Check map ping. Hurry - will send more info."

The call hung up.

V blinked. Blinked again. Then her NetConnect dinged as some coordinates came through. V selected the prompt and a blown-out view of Night City faded into view over her right eye, showing a blinking red pin. It would be about a fifteen-minute drive to the location; it seemed the psycho was located in one of the weird blended industrial/retail areas that seemed to always hover around the bridges. V shifted into first gear and slammed her foot on the accelerator.

The sense of urgency was not lost on V. The amount of eddies Regina had promised for such a gig, coupled with the knowledge of what would happen if V didn't do what she needed to do and delta before MaxTac showed up, kicked V's adrenaline into high gear. She careened through the Night City streets, glad that she'd brought her Bandit along today. Faster and smaller than her Hela, she was able to maneuver through traffic, accelerate like crazy on the straightaways, and take sharp corners with ease. It was a miracle she wasn't pulled over, though she drove past a couple of cops. They seemed more interested in other things at the time, luckily.

She made the fifteen-minute drive in seven, but instead of pulling directly to the map ping, she parked a couple of blocks away in a public parking lot. The loud and obnoxiously orange Bandit was not what she needed to come roaring up with. While this situation called for speed, it would rely on stealth, and V needed to blend in, creep in, and see what was going on before she made any sudden moves. Be that as it may she sprinted the two blocks in record time, her breathing only a little labored as she approached the ping location. V was just about to dash across a small four-way intersection that led to a smaller side bridge when she saw a hulking black MiliTech vehicle from the corner of her eye. Sliding to a stop at the light, V watched the heavy car take the turn fast with a squeal of tires, then jolt forward as the driver mashed the pedal down. It nearly ran over some street kids and other pedestrians up ahead, who all were gathered outside a stretch of red cordon lights that sealed off a street that ran up to the bridge. V felt her heart rate go up. 

MiliTech was on the scene, which meant if they were here, MaxTac was not far behind. She'd have to move faster.

Off at a sprint again, V closed the distance and slowed to a stop next to a gaggle of people gasping and pointing. She tried to get her breathing under control as she surveyed the scene before her. 

There was a side street of small shops, with what looked like an old bridge sluice maintenance room alley in between them. The shop windows showed that the lights were on, but the silence emanating from the smashed open doors and shattered windows told of some sort of violence having taken place. There were three MiliTech Chevillon's, including the one that just pulled up. The newcomer Chevillon's doors slammed open and three MiliTech guards in full battle rattle darted out of the vehicle, rifles at the ready. One of them, perhaps the guy in charge, shouted out, "NEUTRALIZE THE TARGET!" before turning and dashing towards the alleyway. V watched them run in, then felt her heart drop.