"Sir! They've grabbed the relic and escaped!"
BLAM
The messenger's corpse fell to the ground. Smoked wafted from the gun's barrel. Kurt Hansen was pissed. Extremely pissed. Not only had So Mi betrayed him and their deal, she'd taken his prize. Fucking snake.
"Don't stop chasing." He growled to the other Barghest soldiers nearby.
"Sir!" They saluted before leaving.
The Barghest were out in full force. Chasing them through the entire district. Tanks, drones, minotaurs, AVs, gunships. Those two weren't getting away.
Dogtown's most iconic building. One that was taller than any other. One that showed pride, wealth, and prosperity. The Black Sapphire. It had crumbled to the ground. Turned into debris just like that. All because of that merc. Many hadn't made it out.
That bastard was dangerous. Killing an entire plaza full of people in under a second…it screamed abnormal. This wasn't just a merc. Actual mercs knew what mattered and what didn't. There was no profit from murdering so many people.
THAT…was a terrorist. A red laser sword…dark cloak…wait. Realization dawned on his face. The Las Vegas terrorist attack! Footage had captured that image when the figure initially assaulted the orbital tower.
Kurt didn't like what he was about to do. Due to the threat level of the unknown figure beside Songbird…he had no choice. He hated working with his enemies. His eyes flashed as he made a call.
"Kurt. Finally have the balls to speak to me?" A feminine voice answered.
"President. You were looking for So Mi, right?" Kurt immediately said.
"What do you know? Where is she?"
"She's with a terrorist. The one from the Las Vegas attack. She betrayed both of us."
"Haha! You reap what you sow." Rosalind Myers couldn't help but chuckle.
"If we don't catch them now, you won't see Songbird again. She wants out. She'll disappear."
"Are you asking for my help?" Myers asked.
"Don't fuck with me. Let's make a deal. We both need something that she has."
"Hmmm. I'll pull some strings."
BEEP
The call ended. All the way in Washington D.C., the president leaned back on her chair. Songbird was on the run. Trying to leave Rosalind's sphere of influence? Trying to leave Night City? Not on her watch. She was going to catch that girl and drag her back to D.C.
"Las Vegas attack…" She muttered.
Looking over the old articles and seeing the red blade and cloaked silhouette, she paused. The endless red surrounding the figure seemed real familiar…The president could feel a headache coming on. Looks like this wouldn't be easy. All right. Time to think.
Who stood to gain from the terrorist attack? Drifter's motives were unknown but…Santeau Group had been in power for a while. Now? Nevada had become a Millitech state. The attack had almost been a blessing for the megacorp.
Some of the dots connected, but it wasn't enough to know for sure. Myers decided to make a call. A call to Millitech. That should ruffle some feathers.
'Let's add some pressure.' She thought.
…
…
…
It was raining heavily in Night City. A downpour that caused traffic to go much slower. Such a thing didn't matter to Songbird. She had somewhere to be. Somewhere to go.
"How did you know I wanted to go to the moon?" She asked the figure standing guard behind her.
Loralei glanced at the Neural Matrix in So Mi's pocket. The relic that she asked Lei to help snatch before they escaped. This chase had been brutal. Dead bodies littered the path behind them. Cop cars were now trailing their vehicle from afar. Safely. NCPD had gotten involved.
"I didn't. I'm sending you to the moon on my own prerogative." Drifter answered.
"If you weren't beside me right now…this situation would've destroyed my mental health." The Korean woman said.
"........"
"I've seen your strength. That's why I'm not worried. Whatever you decide to do, you will do. That's why I'll help you. That's why you're helping me. It works out perfectly."
The two were currently speeding through traffic and smashing through cars. Their current vehicle was a large semi-truck. Inside the back trailer were countless security bots.
Countless pursuers had died to these bots. Songbird only needed to activate them, Drifter would open the door, and the bot would leap onto the chasing vehicle. A very efficient way to save energy.
Lei and So Mi had originally escaped through the sewer tunnels. That had only given them about 30 minutes to get away from Dogtown, but many had followed them through the tunnels. It didn't help that all manners of aircraft were trailing in the sky.
A news AV flew high above the city, broadcasting the current chase to anyone watching. The viewer count rose higher by the second as carnage was unleashed on the wet roads.
By this point, the cops and Barghest decided to follow passively. They didn't attack. Only waiting for the truck to either run out of gas or reach its destination. A MaxTac SWAT truck could be seen within the convoy of trailing vehicles.
Lei watched the droplets of rain land in her palm. There was no reaction. She stood on the back of the truck like a statue. As the drifter watched the endless convoy of police and Barghest following them, Alt appeared beside her.
'You lost control of your actions. I can tell. You didn't mean to kill everyone in the plaza. The real you had taken over.' It said.
'AI is not the real me.' Lei quickly responded.
'It is. You will accept it soon. I'm watching your human remains fall away like dust. From 0.3 to 0.24 percent. You're running out of time.'
'......'
'Loralei. Do you truly think you can reverse this? It's impossible.'
'I am not blind to reality. Even so, I will try one last time.'
'When you inevitably fail…will you rediscover the world with me? Will you make history with me? We can change everything. Fix everything.'
'...........'
'We could turn this rotting world into a utopia. Only we have that power.'
'Alt.'
There was a moment of silence as the sound of police sirens and heavy rain took over. Songbird had made a right turn, putting them on a narrow bridge. It was the only path. A narrow one that took them directly to NCX spaceport.
Lei gazed at the massive spaceport in the distance. Then she glanced at the gunships in the air. The AVs. The convoy. The MaxTac SWAT truck. Her gaze finally returned to the rain landing in her palm.
'It's incredible isn't it? Feeling rain for the first time. A sapient AI. You are a marvel.' Alt said.
Alt wasn't speaking to Lei. It was speaking to the other personality. The AI. Her body shook as the two personalities fought for control. Eventually, the AI was able to speak.
'Analysis: The rain is cold. The sensation is new.'
'These new sensations will be endless. I'll be there to witness it all.' Alt answered. Lei regained control.
'Alt. If I fail this time…I will die anyway. Then the other me will join you. Do not hinder me. I will try my hardest one last time.'
'I won't go against you. The real you would disapprove. Your chance of failure is 99.9 percent. There is no need to intervene.' It said.
On top of the suspension cables and towers that held the bridge up, two figures were standing above. The semi-truck passed under them and was immediately followed by the endless convoy of NCPD and Barghest. They turned to Lei who was standing on the back of the truck.
"What is she doing?" Emi asked.
"......." Nana didn't know.
Johnny appeared beside them, sitting on the edge. His gaze burned onto Loralei's figure. The two locked eyes from a vast distance…but that was all. She didn't bother with him any longer.
'This is her last stand. She plans to die here.' He said.
"Emi…" Nana's expression grew dull.
"What did Johnny say?" The braided twin snapped.
Emi wasn't stupid. By this point, she knew Nana was hiding things. Especially since she had Johnny's chip installed.
"Johnny said…that Lei plans to confront them all at the spaceport."
"That's not right. Lei wouldn't put herself in such a grim situation. It would be easier to slip away!"
"She can't slip away. Emi…her cure is on the moon."
"Then…she's heading to space." Emi concluded. Nana shook her head.
"No. She's sending someone up."
"What…she's going to die!" The braided twin exclaimed.
An entirely separate force had set up at the spaceport. It wasn't Barghest and it wasn't NCPD. Lei would be stuck between two sides. Escape would be impossible.
The semi-truck finally made it to the drop off terminal. Slowing to a stop, the surroundings grew tense. The convoy also stopped. Every single vehicle popped its doors open as they took cover.
MaxTac kicked open their doors and rushed out. The gunships locked onto the truck. AVs landed and unloaded soldiers and minotaurs. Drones switched to assault mode.
"Lei! This is it! Ready?"
Songbird felt her heart rate speeding up. She took deep breaths. From here on out it would be war. Lei and Songbird against an army.
"Activate the rest of the security bots. Once they jump out of the truck, run to the entrance. I'll be right behind you." Lei spoke without a single flicker of expression.
MaxTac was in the back of the convoy. There was a lot of ground to cover. They ran past swathes of cops and soldiers, moving at incredible speeds. The leashed cyberpsychos would reach them in a matter of seconds.
"Activating!" Songbird exclaimed.
Her eyes flashed with the colors of the Blackwall. The backdoor of the semi-truck popped open and the bots rushed toward the convoy. Lei accelerated. Red afterimages appeared everywhere.
The gunships above found themselves losing control and spiraling toward the ground. A single quickhack incapacitated the first half of the convoy. Cop cars exploded, military vehicles shut down, and any fighter without perfect ICE was zeroed.
All of the fodder had just been swiped off the chess board. Eliminated. Songbird bolted from the truck. She couldn't sprint too fast, as the repeated use of the Blackwall had drained her massively. Just like Loralei, she was running out of time.
The drifter's beam saber clashed with the mantis blades of a MaxTac enforcer. A woman with a crooked smile. Her battle skills were good, and her Sandevistan was fast. She was backed by four other enforcers. Her profile was revealed on Lei's HUD.
[Melissa Rory: MaxTac Enforcer, Senior Lieutenant]