"FUCK!"

I slammed my fists against the steering wheel the second me and V got into the van, and I was sure both doors were closed. A short honk is released from the horn when I accidentally hit the button that activates it. The sound momentarily jerked me out of my anger, and I looked around to see if I attracted any unwanted attention. When I saw that everything was good, the irritation returned.

"I should have known better than to trust the fuckin' Maelstrom to make this easy. Can't believe the kind of shit I keep walkin' into."

V sighed deeply before giving me a playful jab on the shoulder.

"That's just how those gonks operate. Rule through fear. And if fear doesn't work, take the piece off the board. Nothin' outta the norm. Question is, how do you want to play this?"

I looked at V and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

V shrugs.

"The way I see it, we have no reason to do what Brick wants us to do. I saved the fucker's life, and he doesn't want to repay the favor. Open season as far as I'm concerned."

I grunted, acknowledging her point and thinking back about our conversation with Brick. At first, I thought the Maelstrom head honcho would want something basic. Maybe steal something from some megacorp, or ice a rival gang member. But it quickly became apparent he wanted something else. After he told everyone else to leave and it was just us, he told us he wanted us to help kill his lieutenant, Patricia.

Apparently, Patricia's been challenging Brick's authority and trying to gather members to her cause of taking over the gang. Now this wouldn't be so bad since the internal politics of the Maelstrom are notoriously... treasonous. The problem was how blatant Patricia was about it and that it seemed like she was gaining steam. After Brick's reputation hit after Royce's short-lived rule, Patricia further fanned the flames by claiming that Brick has gone soft, garnering more support for herself.

Now that she was a legitimate threat to his rule, Brick kept her in check by zeroing her and purging her most avid supporters. To do that, he wanted me and V to lead Patricia and her team on a 'gig'. Of course, the gig was made up, and the location we're going to is just somewhere Brick had set up an ambush for his soon-to-be former lieutenant. I didn't want to get involved in Maelstrom's power struggles, but time was of the essence, so we agreed.

Of course, we could also stab Brick in the back and help Patricia come out on top, which V's suggesting now.

"You think Patricia would be easier to work with than Brick?"

"No clue. I'm just throwing it out there that we could try swapping out the dealer to see if they'll give us a better hand. Brick has already proved that saving his life meant basically nothing to him. Maybe Patricia will be more grateful."

Would she, though? I started thinking about the alternative of informing Patricia about Brick's plot and helping her get out alive. After some consideration, I decided to put the idea to rest. As much as I dislike Brick and want to get rid of him, he is the devil we know. It's also not guaranteed that Patricia will be more cooperative than Brick in the future. 

That's not to mention that her campaign motto is apparently 'Brick is too soft'. If Brick was a moderate, what the hell is the Maelstrom under Patricia going to look like? Tack on the extra risk of deposing Brick and our three-day deadline for the meeting with Himiko made this seem like a non-starter. I guess we'll just have to make do.

"I hate it, but we'll have to play along. Even if we help Patricia right now, there's no guarantee she'll let us have the parts. We just don't have the time right now for Hail Marys."

I tried to sound confident and nonchalant in my choice, but deep down, I felt dirty, and it took me a bit to understand why that was. It wasn't that we were using underhanded tactics, breaking the law, or even working with the Maelstrom. I've been happy to do similar things until now, so the actions didn't bother me too much. No, I was troubled because I was being taken advantage of.

While thinking about my emotions, I saw Patricia walk out of the hotel with a small group of Maelstrom behind her. Patricia looked around until she saw my van and marched over to us. I sighed and tried to throw my distaste for how Brick handled my request into the back of my mind to better focus on the task at hand. I also secretly promised myself that if I ever got the chance, I would break up the Maelstrom as I did with the Shivs.

I rolled down the window when Patricia got close to see what she wanted. As usual with the Maelstrom, Patricia barked out her orders with her warbled mechanic voice.

"Brick wants you two with us to help smash up a clinic and kleping some chrome. Just follow our rides. If everything goes well, you'll get your turbine parts. DON'T FUCK THIS UP."

V took offense to being treated like baggage and snapped back at Patricia.

"Why don't you worry about yourself? Brick wouldn't have to bring us solos in if you gonks were so good."

Patricia snarled, seemingly gearing up for a fight, before spitting on the ground and telling us their radio code. 

"Just get your fucking radio tuned to our channel and try not to get lost."

After Patricia got her last line in, she stomped off toward her car. After yelling out a few more orders, Patricia hopped into her ride and left the parking lot. Happy that we didn't have to skip straight to the main course and start a gunfight right here and now, I started up the van and followed behind the pack.

We drove through Watson, heading south into Little China, past the Med Center, before making our way into Kabuki. We wound through the tightly packed streets, inching closer and closer to the waterfront. Our destination was a ripperdoc clinic called Instant Implants, or, at least, that's what Patricia thinks.

The real goal was to get Patricia to the bridge connecting Kabuki to Japan Town. Under the bridge is where Brick has his goons set a trap for Patricia and her posse. It's the perfect location. One way in, one way out, undercover, and in the slums where NCPD doesn't like to respond to calls. Brick did his homework.

Once we got just a few turns from our intended site, V pulled out the Constitutional Arms M2038 shotgun she had resting against the door and checked the chamber to ensure the gun was locked and loaded. I also had a weapon prepped before driving, but it was locked in a crate in the back. Wanting something to compliment my new beefed-up ride, I picked up a shiny new toy from Wilson that should be perfect for the situation.

We made the last left turn off Creek Loop, and the bridge pulled into view. The concrete structure got closer until we finally started going underneath the overpass. While Patricia's pack continued, completely unaware, I started gradually slowing down and getting ready to jump out of the van and leap into action.

But something felt off. Well, more off than an ambush already was. It was too quiet and way too dark. Sure, there was less natural light under the bridge, but that was supposed to be compensated by artificial sources like street lamps and flood lights. But for whatever reason, the deeper we got, the more broken lights there were.

The situation gave me all kinds of heebie-jeebies, with the unnerving feeling peaking when I suddenly heard the screeching of car tires breaking hard. Red lights cut through the darkness as all the cars in front of us came to a grinding halt. Moments later, Patricia came over the radio, announcing she was being ambushed. It just wasn't by who we thought.

"It's the Inquisitors! Spread out, don't let those grenades get you!"

A split second later, small explosions rang out, and blue lightning arced from car to car. Static blared over the radio, and the vehicles' taillights flickered out. Thankfully, whatever caused the Maelstrom cars to lose power was too far away from me and V, and the Van lights stayed on. 

When the blue lightning faded, it was replaced by gunfire and muzzle flash spraying from all directions, signaling the party officially starting. Once the ambush began, V and I were supposed to get out and fire on Patricia's group from behind, catching her off guard and keeping her and her faction from escaping. But what Patricia said over the radio right before getting cut off gave me pause.

I looked over at V and noticed she had the same look of hesitation.

"She said Inquisitors, right?"

"...Yeah."

Fuck.

The Inquisitors was a notorious cult-like gang with a deep-rooted hatred for any type of chrome, instead choosing to rely on bioware to enhance their abilities. They considered anyone with cyberware to be committing sins and are known for 'soul saving' exercises where they would wander the streets and rip cyberware from anyone they found. As one would imagine, the Maelstrom and Inquisitors do not have good standing with each other.

Did Brick leak Patricia's route to the Inquisitors? Or maybe this was some Maelstrom posing as the Inquisitors, so the hit couldn't be traced back to Brick. No, both of those things can't be right. Those lightning arcs must have been EMP grenades, and the Maelstrom wouldn't be caught dead with one of those since they are so heavily chromed. And Brick wouldn't want to cover it up anyway. The whole point was to show how ruthless he could be and make an example out of Patricia.

"Fuck, I think it's actually the Inquisitors, V. I say we get out of here. I don't feel like going up against the Inquisitors AND the Maelstrom at the same time."

"Yeah. Fuck Brick and whatever he has going on right now. Let's delta the fuck out of here."

As I was about to Hook a U-turn and high-tail it out of there, I heard a series of loud *thunks* from the back of the van. Then there was another explosion, and familiar bolts of blue light washed over the car and both of us. By the time I realized it was an EMP and we were getting cornered in by Inquisitors in the back, it was too late.

Glitched visuals filled my vision, forcing me to close my eyes and try to focus on something other than the sudden headache that hit me. I lost control of my cyberware, and my body started to seize up. A shockwave of pain ran through my body, and my artificial arm lashed around involuntarily. This barrage of sensations only lasted a few seconds before my system recalibrated, and everything returned to normal.

Having regained my senses, I checked my surroundings to see what was happening. There were more *thunks*, and it didn't take me long to figure out that it was coming from rounds impacting the rear of my van. I silently promised myself I would buy every Aldecaldo that worked on my car a round of beers. I would have been Swiss cheese if it weren't for the armored panels.

On the other side of the windshield was the developing firefight between the surviving Maelstrom members from the initial ambush and the Inquisitors. Looking to my side, I saw V holding her head with both hands and grimacing from what I imagined to be a killer of a headache.

"You doin' alright, V?"

V slapped herself a few times to get herself back into the moment and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

"YEAH! Yeah, I'm good. What's the game plan?"

*THUNK THUNK THUNK*

More impacts from behind us, and even a few stray bullets landed on my windshield from the front. If it wasn't for the high-octane situation, I'd probably marvel at how pretty the spider web of cracked glass was. The van was dead, and trying to turn the key didn't bring it back to life.

"Van's gone, so just driving away is off the list. We gotta get rid of the fuckers behind us before seeing what the rest of our options are. I'm going to unlock the rear doors, grab my gun from the back, and set up. When they open the rear doors, I'll open up. That's your cue to get out of the car and focus on whoever stopped us from leaving. Sound good?"

"Yup. Good luck."

I gave her a quick nod before unlocking the back doors and exiting my seat. Once in the cargo area, I located a sizeable heavy-duty gun case with my trusty crusher shotgun. Picking the shotgun up, I put it to the side since it wasn't what I was looking for. Taking the locks off the case, I flipped it open and was greeted with the sight of the Tsunami Arms Type-18 grenade launcher.

The thing was massive, weighing at least 40 pounds, right on the border of something that could still be fired from the shoulder. I quickly took it out and pulled the bipod with the gun out. Hooking the bipod into the front of the launcher, I opened the feeding tray to ensure the first round of the belt was placed where it needed to be before slamming the tray back down and racking the charging hand.

While I was doing this, the sound of gunfire continued, and I swear it was creeping closer and closer to the van. When I finished the function check, I went into a prone and placed the spring-compensated stock into my shoulder. Aiming down the sights, I patiently waited for the doors to swing open, hoping that the armor would hold.

A few more seconds passed, and no more rounds impacted the van, at least not from the back. I held my breath, finger on the trigger, waiting for the door to open. Finally, I heard someone pull on the handle, and the thing swung open to show one of the culprits responsible for my current predicament.

An average build, with a rifle slung in front, bald head, brown eyes. If it was just those things, the man would have looked like anyone else. But what stood out was the giant cross tattoo across the middle of his face and the plate chest piece that looked like it came from a medieval TV show. He looked freaky, but it was also clear that this man was not a member of Maelstrom.

The man's eyes searched for a split second before landing on me, and his eyes widened in horror as he stared down the barrel of my grenade launcher. I couldn't help but grin at his shocked expression, the unexpectedness from my ambusher greatly pleasing me. Pulling the trigger, I felt the heavy push from a 25mm high explosive dual-purpose projectile launched at well over 700 feet per second from the barrel.

The round landed square in the man's chest, exploding upon impact, creating a giant fireball and considerable shrapnel. The shockwave shook the car, causing it to rock violently. I could feel the temperature spike for a few moments from the flames and bits of metal peppering the inside of my can and hitting my face. I'd probably be pretty messed up if it wasn't for the subdermal armor I had installed, but thankfully, I was fine.

The same couldn't be said for the Inquisitor. The knight-like armor probably would have saved the Inquisitor from most types of projective, but not a literal grenade. The point-blank concussive force launched the Inquisitor into the air, only stopping when his back crashed against a parked car. His armor was now caved in, with most of his upper body covered in dark smoldering soot.

With him out of the way, I could see the other four Inquisitors, a part of the containment team, frozen in shock. Not wanting to give them a chance to process what happened, I swung my grenade launcher around and started targeting them. The automatic fire of the grenade launcher gave a satisfying thumping sound every time a round was fired, which would be quickly followed by an explosion. 

Metal shredded through my targets, my eyes even catching what looked like a limb getting blasted into the distance. The overwhelming firepower made quick work of the three closest Inquisitors before the other two snapped out of their trance. They both turned around and leaped over a car before raising their guns and firing wildly in my general direction. A few of them got close, with one flying over my head.

Keeping my head down, I returned fire, slamming rounds into the side of the truck behind which the Inquisitors hid. If this was a video game and not real life, the car would have exploded or at least set on fire. But instead, my grenades were just blowing holes into the thin metal, tearing up the interior but not quite traveling far enough to punch through the other side.

The 30 rounds in the drum magazine quickly ran out, and I heard the telltale sign of running out of ammo when the bolt slammed home without another round coming out. Before I could even get worried about the Inquisitors taking advantage of the situation, I watched V sprinting into the fray before launching herself into the air with her enhanced legs.

While shooting over their head made the Inquisitors a hard target to hit, it also had the weakness of them not seeing what was happening. V landed right on top of the hood of the car the Inquisitors were hiding behind with her shotgun at the ready. Four quick shots later and the people that prevented us from leaving were no longer an issue.

However, the fight wasn't over, as I could still hear the ongoing conflict between Patricia's group and the remaining Inquisitors. Knowing that the van was non-functional, I grabbed the crusher and jumped out of the back. Peeking around, I saw about a dozen people left, split roughly even between Maelstrom and Inquisitors. Despite being ambushed, it seems the unhinged aggression of the Maelstrom has kept them on an even footing with their enemies.

"So, think we can take 'em all? Got any more belts for that grenade launcher of yours?"

V rushed over after neutralizing her targets and asked if we should try finishing what we started.

"Nope. That was all I had for the Type-18. Still, we have a good chance of getting them all if we're smart about it."

Showing V what I meant, I pulled four frag grenades out of my vest and held them out. Explosives have become my favorite for any job that doesn't require discretion. Honestly, people need to start using them more. The efficacy is stellar.

"Let's spread these out, try to kill as many as possible before picking off any stragglers. Sound good?"

V didn't say anything, only giving me an evil smirk before taking two from me and nodding.

"You try to hit the Maelstrom, and I'll see if I can knock out the Inquisitors."

We then pulled the pins from our grenades and studied the battlefield briefly. Both sides clearly have their own side of the conflict, with the Inquisitors hiding behind concrete barriers and other structures. At the same time, the Malestrom sought cover behind their wrecked cars. Once we both had a good idea of what we would do, we threw our grenades, and I watched as the four explosives soured through the air.

Four flowers of fire and death bloomed, followed by pained screams and death rattles. V and I took advantage of the situation and rushed out from where we were hidden. I activated both my Sandi and Camo, putting away my shotgun and drawing my Overture from my holster since it wouldn't be affected by the time dilation.

I uploaded a ping quickhack and was momentarily confused by why I only saw three Maelstrom fighters before remembering that The Inquisitors wouldn't have any chrome to ping off. Rushing past the wrecks of cars and corpses, I found my first target in an Inquisitor hiding behind a concrete pillar. 

A combination of being rattled from the sudden explosions and my camo meant that he didn't even register the danger he was in before I put a bullet into the side of his head. Not wasting time confirming his demise, I ran to the next Inquisitor, hiding behind a concrete barrier between the roads. This guy was crawling, presumably thrown off his feet from the concussion from one of the explosions. Next to him was the corpse of a woman in similar attire, missing both legs.

With the same level of ruthless efficiency, I put a slug through his noggin. My Sandi time ran out, and I was put back into standard time. I still had my optical camo, however, so I took advantage of my invisibility by hopping onto the top of a car and searching with more altitude. From my advantage point, I spotted only two more Inquisitors hiding behind a vehicle, one male, the other female.

It seemed like they knew the gig was up as a resigned expression came over their face. But instead of running away, I saw them do something completely unexpected. With a battle cry, they lept across their cover and sprinted to the other side. Before they could do whatever they would do, Patricia popped out from somewhere and put a bullet between the eyes of one of them.

Instead of flopping to the ground lifelessly, the Inquisitor exploded into a gory mess, flinging body parts and blood everywhere. This seemingly triggered the same mechanism in his fellow Inquisitor, and she also blew up. A suicide attack instead of running away. I guess they're fanatics for a reason.

Right then, my camo ran its course and was once again visible. Patricia snapped her gun to the sudden addition in her view before putting it down when she saw it was me. She looked pissed, and I mean beyond just being ambushed pissed. I guess the fight didn't go well for her or her goons.

I didn't see V anywhere or know if any more Maelstrom were hanging around, so I didn't immediately start trying to kill Patricia. It could be just the two of us, but there could also be three Maelstrom gonks hiding just out of sight. Jumping down from m spot, I walked over to the Maelstrom lieutenant, trying to seem as casual as possible.

Once I got within earshot, Patricia immediately started laying into me.

"Where the fuck were you and your little friend! Do you know how many guys I lost because you two were sitting on your ass!?"

It seemed like Patricia didn't suspect me and V working against her yet, which was good. Raising one hand up, I tried to smooth things over for now.

"We were caught up with our own little group of Inquisitors. The second me and V took care of our problems, we came over, didn't we?"

One second, Patricia was a few feet away from me, and the next, she grabbed me by my jacket collar and tackled me to the ground.

"I FUCKING KNOW YOU WERE INVOLVED WITH THIS. NOW FUCKING TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW BEFORE I BEAT IT OUT OF YOU."

Spit sprayed across my face from Patricia's rage-filled screeching. I couldn't tell if she knew the conspiracy against her or if this was just an episode of paranoid cyberpsychosis. Either way, I was not in a good situation right now. Before I could start fighting my way out, something hit the side of Patricia's head hard, and she let go of me before rolling away from me.

Patricia shook her head a few times before looking up, raw wrath spewing from her eyes, only to be met with the sight of the wrong end of a shotgun. It was V who struck Patricia with the stock of her shotgun and was now pointing her barrel at the gang member.

"Brick send his regards."

Buckshot rocketed out of V's M2038 and blew a hole into Patricia's face. The glass on her red eyes cracked, and brain matter spewed from the back of her head. Patricia's body fell to its knees before flopping forward and crashing into the ground.

V then walked over to me after executing Patricia and reached her hand out to me. Grabbing onto her arm, V gave a good yank and helped me get back onto my feet.

"Thanks."

"No problem. What's next?"

Looking around, I was greeted by smoke, fire, and death. With the strange bodies of Inquisitors and Maelstrom lying around, it legitimately looked like a scene from hell.

"Well, there's nothing left here. Let's get back to Brick before the lawman shows up."