Chapter 8: Incoming!

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Ethan kept watch, his heightened senses attuned to the faintest of movements. Over the next three minutes, his life-detection ability revealed the gradual disappearance of the guards' signals one by one. Maine and Dorio were making quick work of the patrol.

Just as the duo finished and began returning, Ethan's gaze snapped toward the far end of the hall. The elevator there began descending with a low, mechanical hum.

Lucy noticed it too. Her expression grew tense as she relayed the development to Maine and Dorio through her comms. "The elevator's active. We've got incoming."

Seconds later, the heavy clunk of the elevator landing shattered the hall's silence. From its metallic depths emerged a Maelstrom soldier piloting a military-grade mech suit, flanked by six heavily armed guards.

"What the hell?" Lucy muttered under her breath, her voice laced with frustration. "Where the hell did they get a mech? This is going to take me a minute to crack."

Her crimson-lit eyes flickered with streams of data as she began her work, sweat forming on her brow. The tension in the air thickened as Maine and Dorio rejoined them, their faces mirroring Lucy's growing unease.

"Did they spot us?" Maine asked in a low whisper, his eyes scanning the scene.

"Not yet," Lucy replied tersely, still focused on her task. "But it's only a matter of time."

The Maelstrom soldiers in the hall didn't seem alerted—yet. They were casually chatting, their laughter and crude jokes echoing faintly in the cavernous space.

However, it didn't take long for the leader of the group—the one piloting the mech—to sense something amiss. His sharp gaze swept the hall, his cybernetic enhancements amplifying his instincts.

"Where the hell is everyone?" he growled, his voice distorted through the mech's external speakers. "This place is too damn quiet."

Ethan's heart skipped for a moment as he recognized the man. The imposing figure with a bare, heavily augmented torso was none other than Royce—the future leader of Maelstrom, known for his ruthlessness and hunger for power.

Royce's suspicions solidified when he spotted a body hidden behind one of the crates. His face darkened, his expression twisting into a snarl.

"Shit! We've got intruders!" Royce bellowed, his voice laced with fury. "Seal the damn doors and flush them out! Search every corner of this place!"

The blaring of alarms filled the air as red warning lights flashed across the storage hall. The atmosphere shifted in an instant, charged with tension as Maelstrom's security systems rebooted, reactivating cameras and putting the entire facility on high alert.

"Guys, mission's blown. Prepare for a full frontal assault!" Maine barked, his voice steady despite the escalating chaos.

Realizing their cover was blown, Maine knew their only option was to strike first and hard. He and Dorio quickly removed the suppressors from their weapons, their fingers tightening on the triggers as they launched a surprise attack on the nearest guards.

"You've got some real guts breaking into Maelstrom's turf," Royce growled through the mech's speakers, his tone dripping with arrogance. "But you're not leaving here alive. None of you are!"

With a sneer, he unleashed a barrage of firepower in Maine's direction. The intensity of the mech's weapons forced Maine and Dorio to continuously shift cover, dodging the onslaught of bullets and explosions.

Meanwhile, the remaining Maelstrom guards joined the firefight, their weapons lighting up the hall in a storm of muzzle flashes.

Amid the chaos, Lucy worked furiously, her fingers flying across her interface as she hacked into Royce's neural system. Sweat dripped down her temples as streams of data flashed in her crimson-lit eyes. "Eight seconds," she announced over comms, her voice strained but focused. "Just hold out for eight seconds, and I'll shut him down."

Ethan, stationed near Lucy, had already dispatched three guards attempting to flank her. He kept his senses sharp, ensuring her safety as she continued her work.

But Royce wasn't oblivious to the cyber assault. His mech's systems detected Lucy's intrusion, and his gaze snapped toward her position.

"You think I wouldn't notice, you damn little hacker?!" Royce roared, his voice filled with fury. "I've got you now!"

In a flash, Royce fired a laser projectile in Lucy's direction, the red-hot beam tearing through the metal storage crates with terrifying speed.

Lucy froze for a moment, dread washing over her as the blast hurtled toward her. Memories of her time trapped in the Arasaka research facility flooded her mind—the helplessness, the despair, and the cold, unfeeling world that had stripped her of any hope.

This is it, she thought bitterly, preparing to close her eyes and accept the inevitable.

But before the blast could reach her, a dark figure moved in a blur, stepping between Lucy and the incoming destruction.

Boom!

The laser collided with the figure, its fiery energy dissipating harmlessly against his body.

Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief. Standing in front of her, unscathed, was Ethan. His metallic frame bore the brunt of the attack, the blasts leaving only faint scorch marks on his alloy chest.

"You… why?" Lucy's voice trembled, her expression one of shock and confusion. "Why would you do this?"

Ethan turned to her briefly, his golden eyes calm and steady. "I don't need a reason to save you," he replied simply.

Lucy stared at him, utterly stunned. For a moment, the relentless chaos of the battle seemed to fade into the background.

Royce, however, wasn't nearly as composed. "Who the hell are you?! And where the fuck did you come from?!" he bellowed, his frustration boiling over.

Royce's frustration boiled over as he realized that the three laser projectiles he had fired failed to leave even a scratch on Ethan. Snarling with rage, he began charging his mech's most powerful weapon—a high-intensity laser beam capable of incinerating anything in its path.

In just three seconds, the weapon finished charging, and a blinding crimson beam shot forth, tearing through the air toward Ethan. The sheer heat distorted the surrounding space, generating an oppressive force that made even Lucy, hardened by years of Night City's cruelty, tremble uncontrollably.

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….

If you want to read 5+ chapters ahead and unpublished fanfics you can check out my patreon or just take a visit.

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