Dum Dum fiddled with the controls, and the Flathead's shell gradually turned transparent. It wasn't entirely invisible—if you looked carefully, you could still make out a faint distortion in the air where it clung to the ceiling. But the mont it scuttled into the overhead shadows, it vanished in the darkness.
Leo now understood why Dexter wanted this little machine so badly. Its uncanny wall-climbing and dynamic camo alone opened up a world of possibilities. Sure, it was unard, just an auxiliary drone, but it functioned like an extra set of eyes, constantly feeding intel on enemy positions. That said, using it seed to co with a downside; Dum Dum hadn't been operating it for more than a few monts, yet he was already dry-heaving.
"Enough," Royce snapped, wrinkling his nose as if worried Dum Dum might actually throw up. It wasn't that he cared whether Dum Dum ended up with permanent side effects—he just didn't want to deal with the ss or the sll.
He instructed Dum Dum to guide the Flathead back into the tal case. "So? You've seen the goods. How do you like it?"
Leo shrugged. "Decent enough, I guess."
Royce snorted. "Look at you, acting picky. Just say the word—are you buying or not?"
"We are," Leo answered readily.
Royce's red optics flickered ominously. "All right, then pay up."
Leo's voice stayed calm. "Dexter sent us. He already paid Brick."
"Dexter?" Royce gave a mocking grin. "Big black guy with gold arms and dreads? Ha!"
He burst into loud laughter, then abruptly slamd his palm on the table and yanked a tech pistol from his belt, aiming it straight at Leo's head. Around them, every Maelstrom on the platform instantly leveled their guns at Leo's crew, tension crackling in the air.
"I don't care what Dexter told you, and you can stop throwing his na around. This is my turf. If you want to walk out of here with the Flathead, you're paying again."
Most people in Night City feared crossing fixers, but Royce wasn't most people. Maelstrom funded itself by smuggling illegal substances and chips through its own channels. They had no need for Dexter or any other middleman. Hence, Royce felt no pressure to honor any arrangent Dexter had made.
Leo didn't flinch, even with several barrels aid his way. He spoke in a low, cold voice. "You plan to rob us, Royce? Guess you've had one too many implants. You must think I'm stupid. Even if we did pay you again, you'd never let us walk out of here alive."
Royce bared his teeth. "Damn right, kid. Who says you can only sell sothing once? I'll do whatever I want. You can forget about walking out with the Flathead, but if you hand over every last eddie in your pockets, maybe I'll be generous and let you leave."
At that mont, a Maelstrom mber scrambled onto the platform, nearly tripping over himself. "Royce—the Militech squad's broken in!"
…
A few minutes earlier, in an abandoned factory sowhere in Northside Industrial District, a dozen Militech vehicles idled, engines rumbling. Soldiers in full gear sat waiting in armored SUVs and transports, weapons locked and loaded. redith paced anxiously at the front of the column. This was her last shot. If she failed to reclaim the hijacked convoy today…
Suddenly, the tracker in her hand lit up, pinpointing the target location. She froze for a second, then broke into a relieved smile, dashed back to her armored SUV, and issued the order. The factory gates clanged open, and the convoy rolled out in a roar, heading straight for the Totentanz.
…
Maelstrom was full of lunatics, and none more extre than Royce. Rumor had it he practically inhaled iron shavings instead of drugs. He couldn't be predicted; he acted on whim. He might blow soone's brains out just for fun. After he seized control, Brick's loyalists tried to stand against him, so he threw them into an industrial microwave and forced everyone else to watch.
Even in a gang of psychos, that horrific scene caused mass panic. Many who didn't necessarily like Royce still followed him out of sheer terror, and so Brick's gang swiftly beca "Royce's gang."
Royce didn't care if Dexter ca looking for revenge. Night City had plenty of fixers—he didn't need Dexter. That was why he had no qualms threatening Leo's crew, even after hearing Dexter's na. Far as he was concerned, it was Leo and his friends who should be scared.
But no plan survived contact with reality. The panicked shout—"Militech just stord in!"—threw everything into chaos. Maelstrom's people all went wide-eyed. Hijacking a single convoy was one thing, but they'd have to be delusional to think they could stand toe-to-toe against Militech. They'd barely escaped when NCPD raided All Foods; facing a gacorp's private army was a death sentence.
While the Maelstrom gangers reeled, Leo's crew attacked. Leo squeezed the trigger on his scabbard's release chanism—Murasa shot out and slamd into Royce's chest, knocking him right off the edge of the platform. Leo then ripped the scabbard free and struck the nearest Maelstrom in the throat. The man dropped his gun, clutching at his windpipe and sinking to his knees.
As if Leo had eyes in the back of his head, he flung the scabbard backward, cracking another Maelstrom who'd been lining up a shot from behind. V whipped out the tech pistol strapped to her thigh, did a backward roll to evade incoming fire, then fired twice to drop her target before putting a round through his head to finish him off.
One more goon lunged at V from behind, grappling her. She stomped his foot, and as he howled in pain, she pivoted for a swift shoulder throw that slamd him onto the floor. A single shot at close range ended him.
Jackie blocked a jab with his forearms, then dodged in a quick side-step. The attacker's stance opened up, and Jackie ramd his forehead straight into the poor bastard's skull. It felt like smashing a hamr onto lon—enough to crack open the gangster's skull.
The crowd on the dance floor scread and scattered. More Maelstrom poured out from side rooms, firing wildly up at the platform without even bothering to aim. A storm of bullets tore into the iron railings, sending sparks flying everywhere.
"Lucy!" Leo yelled. "Kill the lights!"
A few seconds later, the harsh red glow winked out one by one. The Totentanz, far dimr than Lizzie's under normal circumstances, now sank into near-total darkness. That left the Maelstrom gangers effectively blind—and their glowing red optics made perfect targets. anwhile, though Jackie, V, and Lucy didn't have built-in night vision, all they had to do was aim at the red lights blinking in the dark. Their shots hit ho every ti.
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