Preparations for an ambush in the Badlands were in full swing.
When V told Arthur, her face was glowing with energy again, with no trace of the exhaustion she’d shown just yesterday.
Both of them had death hanging over them... but they faced it in completely different ways. Arthur rembered the days of his own illness, when it felt like knives were lodged in his chest, cutting at him every second without end.
“Let’s go... This shouldn’t be too hard,” V said as she approached.
She seed fond of that blade, now slung diagonally across her back. Her dark hair was tied up into a high ponytail, the loose end falling to her waist.
“Rogue’s recomndation turned out solid... though she’s got a bit of a temper.” V stroked her chin as she laid out the plan. “We split into two groups. I’ll et up with that Nomad woman and help her bring down the AV.
You wait below and secure the scene as soon as it hits the ground.”
A clear, simple plan. Arthur liked that kind of straightforward thinking.
“Alright. Let’s just hope this thod’s more reliable... instead of trying to copy you again,” he muttered, rubbing the stubble along his jaw.
“Ti to move.” V was already striding off with her usual decisiveness.
They were at the team’s base, with little need for extra preparation. Everyone was already gathered.
A hulking vehicle waited in the yard, and leaning casually against it was a tall woman.
Both the ride and the woman radiated the sa wild, untad energy.
The vehicle was a beast—heavily modified, its suspension massive, its body armored with black steel plates bolted across every inch. Mounted at the top was no ordinary gun, but an anti-aircraft cannon, its barrel as thick as a wrist, yawning wide and nacing.
The woman was just as striking. Her outfit and figure scread fierce allure, her curly brown hair tied ssily back. Her sun-darkened skin carried the marks of years in the open Badlands.
A Nomad.
Arthur had t Wraiths in the Badlands before—and wiped them out.
“You all fucking ready yet? Don’t make look bad when that AV passes by!” she barked, her voice loud and unflinching even in front of strangers.
“Here we go... Hey...” Jackie arrived, hefting a crate and slamming it down on the ground. “Gear’s set. We’re good to roll.”
V stepped up to give orders: “I’ll ride with Panam and figure out how to bring that AV down. You lot, get into position and send the coordinates when you’re ready.
Oh, and this ti we’ve got a Doc. Arthur, don’t go shooting too fast and kill the target.”
“Cut it out, ugly hag. He doesn’t need you telling him that!” Rebecca snapped before Arthur could reply, glaring as she muttered.
The crew piled into the vehicles and rolled out, heading for Checkpoint 3 south of Night City.
Trailing Panam’s monster ride, Jackie gripped the wheel with open admiration. “Damn, that ride’s insane. No wonder she blew a fuse when it got stolen.”
Arthur sat in the passenger seat, as usual, asking about the last couple of days. Rebecca, sprawled in the backseat with plenty of space, leaned forward to join in. Only Jackie and V had gone out the last two days. Rebecca had gone to check on her older brother—she’d said she was worried the guy might die alone at ho.
“Panam had a falling out with her clan, so she ca to Night City to carve her own path,” Jackie explained as he drove. They were still within the city limits, the two vehicles sharing the sa route south.
“But her so-called guide scamd her and sicced the Wraiths on her ride. Pretty much everyone who cos to Night City gets burned once—this place is crawling with hustlers.
Later, we helped her take out the Wraiths and get her car back. In return, she agreed to help us bring down the AV. Simple trade.”
Once they cleared the checkpoint, a storm of yellow dust slamd into them, both vehicles kicking up sand as they sped forward.
The Jackson Plains—south of Night City, still far from the city’s airspace.
The ambush site was set here. Reinforcents wouldn’t arrive quickly, giving them plenty of ti to finish the job—and even catch their breath after.
Jackie parked on a hillside with a clear view of the area. Their role was simple: wait until the trap was sprung.
V would handle the rest.
“So what now...?” Arthur leaned back in his seat, lowering the visor against the brutal Badlands sun.
“Tell a joke... or take a nap.” Jackie cut the engine and leaned back, relaxed. “Just wait. Soon enough, you’ll see black smoke in the sky. Then we drive.”
“Boring... boring... boring...” Rebecca groaned in the backseat, sitting cross-legged with her short legs folded easily, soles pressed together. The perks of being small—she could twist into odd positions without a hint of discomfort.
“You’ll get plenty of action later. Kang Tao’s no pushover,” Jackie said casually. “Don’t let their low profile in Night City fool you—they’re just lying low.
Their rcs roll with smart weapons and combat drones. That’s real trouble...”
“I’ll fry their circuits until sparks fly!” Rebecca fiddled with her shotgun. Arthur had already banned her from loading it on her own—she was too reckless for that.
...
While things dragged quietly on their end, the other side was chaos.
On the highway, the gun atop Panam’s armored beast roared, blasting drones out of the air like exploding fireworks.
The vehicle thundered forward, its roaring engine drowning even the gunfire, barreling straight through the drone swarm before smashing into a strange-looking facility.
A power plant.
Explosions and gunfire echoed non-stop until the beast of a vehicle smashed through an iron gate and crashed into a factory hall, where the noise finally began to fade.
“Hurry, get the Daemon ready!” Panam yelled from the window. “If we get boxed in, we’re fucked!”
“Almost there... almost...” V’s eyes flickered with cascading code as her data link fed into a port. She yanked the cable free. “Go!”
“Ha! Watch plow right through you bastards!” Panam floored the accelerator, blasting out of the factory and shredding more drones in her path.
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