The Arasaka Octant pulled up, its spotlight flooding Takemura's penthouse suite with harsh white light.
Panoramic windows, natural partitions—offering an unfiltered view of Night City.
But Roqi wasn't in the mood to admire the so-called beauty of the city. All he could think about was how little cover there was.
And even that didn't matter. Concrete and steel didn't stand a chance.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT—!!
The massive video wall—big enough to hide both V, Jackie, and the relic case—was shredded like wet cardboard.
The gunship's cannon roared like a mindless brute, turning the suite into a storm of splinters and sparks.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck…!"
Roqi scrambled up the glass staircase toward the rooftop. "T-Bug! Get the car airborne!"
Then he dropped flat at the last few steps—playing dead. Here, the outer wall shielded both head and legs. Unless the Octant flew directly overhead, he was invisible.
"Two seconds!" T-Bug snapped. "Okay—it's up!"
Saburo Arasaka's luxury AV, parked with its landing gear deployed, sealed its hatch. The four vector thrusters ignited with blue fire, lifting the sleek black vehicle into the air.
Rain blasted across the rooftop, flaring up like wild dogs. Roqi scowled, his face twisted in frustration.
The Octant hesitated—it recognized Saburo's AV, but no clear intel had come through. All it knew was that Konpeki Plaza was in full red alert.
The AV disappeared into the clouds, heading toward Arasaka Tower.
Two more Octants broke off to follow it—escort protocol overrode confusion.
CLANK—
A different gunship flipped on its spotlight, turning the rooftop into daylight.
Arasaka wasn't giving up.
Roqi bolted. He practically surfed down the stairs, slipping and skidding.
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT—!!
The Octant opened fire again, tearing through the glass walkway behind him.
"Fire on that flying bastard—!"
He thumbed a speed-dial, shouting mid-sentence—then tripped over something hard.
Saburo's katana, Satori, had been lying on the stairs. Roqi nearly died tripping over the thing he'd risked so much to steal.
But in that moment, it wasn't about the sword anymore.
Outside the window, the Octant gleamed in the downpour like a blade from hell.
Roqi chuckled bitterly.
He'd changed the world's course—but could he survive the turning gears of time?
Shattered glass let wind and rain whip through the room. Distant shouting echoed inside like a ghost.
WHOOSH—
BOOM—!!
In a flash, the Octant reeled—its tail end bursting with smoke, spinning out of control.
It was Moelle.
The bright, sterile lights of a Militech lab flashed through her memory—then faded into the dim, dirty interior of a back-alley clinic.
A ripperdoc, tired but not old, hunched over a cluttered desk.
"You guys Scavs? Never thought I'd end up in a kidney-chopping den."
"Scavs don't save people."
"...What?"
"Ask him later. He's the one who chose to pull you out."
Now, Moelle stood under the open sky, holding a shoulder launcher. Her bob-cut soaked, her visor dripping, her Militech combat suit darkened by rain.
Roqi's voice still rang in her ears.
"Why'd you save me?"
"Because you're useful. Otherwise, I'd have saved someone else."
She could still picture his smug, lopsided grin.
WHOOSH—
Another missile launched, spiraling up like a playful comet.
Her eyes followed it as it shrank into the storm clouds.
"You're using me."
"Yeah. But if you weren't, you'd probably be in some corpo morgue, or on a psych ward slab getting scanned for cyberpsychosis. And by then? Too late."
"Too late?"
"Exactly. Thank Vik—he's the only one who had time to save you. But now, come with me. Your turn to help."
He'd freed her from the chair and opened the metal door.
"Don't be scared. I'm just gonna blow some shit up."
"...Are you underestimating me?"
And now, here she was—firing serious hardware skyward.
Around her, Arasaka troops had closed in.
"Drop your weapon! Surrender now!"
Dozens of guns aimed at her.
Did she regret it?
Maybe a little.
Mostly, Moelle regretted ever signing with Militech—a place that had no soul.
SWISH—SWISH—SWISH—
"Target's gone—target's gone!"
A blur shot through the squad. The team leader cursed as he lost track.
All he saw was her launcher clattering to the floor.
Then—SLASH. A blade slipped under his chin guard, slicing through soft tissue.
SWISH—SWISH—SWISH—SWISH—!!
The killzone blurred with motion. Moelle danced like a phantom through the rain, slicing throats as blood steamed in the cold.
The last Arasaka grunt collapsed, his vision fading. All he saw was her silhouette—black against the deep blue glow of Arasaka Tower.
"Moelle, status? I heard gunfire!"
Roqi was clinging to a service ladder, back pressed against one of the few bulletproof panels that hadn't been torn to shreds.
"I'm fine…" Moelle replied, cold as ever. "Arasaka reinforcements are here."
"How do you know?"
She paused.
"They're here now."
Roqi: …Seriously?
That wasn't just security. That was Arasaka elite.
Don't say it so casually, you maniac!
"Do I go loud?" she asked.
"No, hold on." Roqi nudged open the hatch with his foot and dropped down. "Start Delamain. If everything's clear, we follow the plan."
CRASH! SMASH!— "…Alright."
Moelle kicked in the garage doors and stormed in.
She didn't even hang up the call. Screams echoed in the background.
Roqi could only hope she remembered the details.
Suddenly—
"Whoah! Who's there!?"
"It's me…" V startled too. "We think this way might work."
It was V and Jackie. They'd made it out—but instead of running, they'd waited for Roqi.
They were in a dark utility area—Konpeki's hidden guts: ventilation, wiring, access ducts.
"I saw those big-ass bugs again…" Jackie peeked through a cracked door.
WHIRRRR—
Outside, an Octant roared past. Its spotlight swept the corridor like a searchlight.
"Shit… where are we?" Roqi wiped rain off his face.
"No clue," V said. "Top floor's 100. This has to be somewhere in the 90s."
Once things went quiet, Roqi crouch-ran out, hiding in the shadow of a humming air unit.
"Holy shit… It's here."
Through the metal grating of a skylight, red alert lights flickered from below.
"Where is this?" Jackie asked, his hulking form clearly not built for stealth.
"Back when you and V would've gone splat here. Not today." Roqi grinned, punching Jackie's shoulder. "Help me out."
He crouched beside the skylight. V grabbed one side, Roqi the other.
"One, two, three—pull!"
The frame bent with a groan, giving way like a cheap can lid.
"Damn—I'm stronger than I thought," V said, cracking his knuckles.
"Low grade alloy. Probably aluminum." Roqi shook his head.
Even a palace like Konpeki had its shortcuts.
"Watch me. One at a time." Roqi dropped his legs down, hanging from the edge, and let go.
A short drop onto a square vent duct. He caught himself on a pipe, then let his weight drop again, crouching on the grate at the bottom.
"V, you're up."
Roqi looked up, bathed in red emergency light. He raised his arms.
V climbed down next, gently dropping the relic case into Roqi's arms.
"Nice. Let's move."
Roqi stepped aside to give him room—just in time to see Jackie drop like a rock, landing flat on his ass with a CLANG.
V and Roqi exchanged a look, snickering as they helped him up.
"Careful. From here on out… we stay quiet."
.
.
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