Cybergate 2027 - A Baldur's Gate 3 / Cyberpunk 2077 Crossover

XXI

Two gunshots blared from inside the apartment. Lae'zel smashed her shoulder against the door, succeeding only at bruising herself. Then Karlach approached with her digital tablet; the lock clicked, and she rushed inside.

Faela was lying splayed on the floor, stabbed through the heart. A familiar shadowy shape was perched over her, its dark edges dancing and distorted like an object covered by intense heat. For a moment, she met those pale, empty eyes, and her heart skipped a beat—should she try to bring that murderer in alive? Sure, Jaheira and Gortash would love to parade Orin for the publicity, but that woman was far too dangerous.

"Stop gawking and shoot!" Karlach said, shoving her. Shaken up, Lae'zel took aim while the bodyguard fired a round. The slug ricocheted off the far wall, and somehow Orin's blurry shape remained unharmed.

Lae'zel fired twice, missing both rounds. While she stood perplexed, the air shimmered around the murderer, and a glinting object flew at them. She rolled to the side, and it got stuck in the door—a throwing knife.

"She has an optical cloak!" Karlach said. "Keep shooting until we get her!"

But Orin dashed like a devil, zig zagging between spots. She knocked out the ceiling lamp with another knife and—in the ensuing near-dark—lunged at them. Lae'zel shot again before an elbow smacked into her face, and she stumbled back. The fiend, seemingly uninjured, then swung her dagger at Karlach, who blocked with her thick armoured arm. The two women exchanged several melee blows until the bodyguard landed a solid fist, sending the killer staggering. She followed with a heavy swipe. Orin ducked under the blow, then stabbed her in the ribs, drawing blood.

The juggernaut reeled sideways, swearing, but it gave Lae'zel a clear shot. She squeezed the trigger, and the murderer growled as crimson liquid flew from her arm. Now was her chance to end that threat for good. She fired again—and the slug punctured a couch behind the blurry body.

A clink echoed as a metallic canister landed near her feet—that ska'keth threw a stun grenade. Lae'zel managed a swear before she got hit by a blinding flash and a deafening bang. Disoriented, she swung her fists in the air, hoping to deter Orin from cutting her throat while she was vulnerable. Her Githyanki metabolism helped fight off the effect, so she came through faster than Karlach, who was leaning against a wall, bracing her bleeding side.

The window slammed shut in the room where Matt had been killed. Lae'zel pointed her magpistol in that direction.

"Don't," the bodyguard said, panting. "It's... third floor."

And there were no balconies to exploit that time. Thus, still dazed, she wobbled to inspect Karlach's injury. It was deep—the liver might've been punctured.

"Hypo... spray."

The can lay on the floor a few steps away—it must've fallen during the fistfight. Lae'zel sprayed healing gel over the injury until the contents ran dry. Meanwhile, Karlach contacted Enforcer Jameson using her cyber interface.

"He says... perimeter sensor... three."

"Got it." Lae'zel activated her communicator. "Ravengard, we need you—now!"

"Sure, talk to me."

She gave him the sensor's location. Meanwhile, Karlach drew an injector from her pockets.

"It's morphine... don't worry... just go."

So, she ran down the stairs and straight outside. Intensifying rain tapped on her jacket as she sprinted to the sensor's location. Sharp gunshots rang through the air. Soon she neared Jameson's unmarked grey sedan, which sat on the pavement next to an alleyway, its doors open. She gritted her teeth, fearing the worst, and dashed past the corner with her weapon in front. The enforcer was busy bandaging his partner, who was lying next to a grimy puddle.