Chapter 14

"Ah... so, with that said, David will be joining us on future jobs. Play nice with him. That's all."

About a week and a half had passed since I saved my mom from the scavengers' clutches.

I'd been crashing at Jugra’s place, living relatively peaceful days while getting that Warpdancer or whatever Sandevistan installed in my back. But thanks to Jugra’s curt "Go meet them," I found myself at Maine's hideout.

Turns out after that incident, Maine's crew had caught some unwanted attention and surrendered wholesale, becoming something like Jugra’s underlings. Jugra had gotten a job from Wakako Okada, the Tyger Claws fixer we owed favors to, and apparently she was assigning me work as part of my "cyberpunk education." In more ways than one, I couldn't refuse.

...Well, if I tried acting tough in front of Jugra, she'd probably slice me up with mono-wire anyway.

And that's how I ended up joining Maine's crew, standing before the seven of them in the same outfit as last time.

"'That's all,' my ass... Maine, this kid was that little shit's lackey, wasn’t he? Why the hell—"

"Dorio, I told you before—stop calling Jugra 'that little shit.' Think about whether she might be watching through this kid's eyes right now."

"Damn straight. For all you know, I could be spectating like a parent at school right now."

Jugra’s voice coming from the container hideout's speakers made Dorio's face twist as he turned pale and crumpled to the ground. Maine sighed deeply before comforting him, going through the usual routine of calming Dorio's hyperventilation.

Before, it used to be Maine charging ahead with Dorio backing him up, but after getting his gorilla arms sliced clean off during that incident, Dorio developed full-blown trauma regarding Jugra.

Their dynamic had shifted to this. As a result, Dorio—who used to play the role of point man—had developed a habit of carefully assessing enemies' weapons first, apparently reforming his reckless charging style.

"I've been telling you! Even to my eyes, that woman’s tech is a treasure trove of the highest grade. Her left arm's medical-grade chrome is genuine top-shelf hardware—high-grade specs with monofilament wire cutter functionality plus mods like surgical suture capabilities. And that right arm? Merged with something insane. The output's beyond anything normal mono-wires can do. The heat it generates could melt gorilla arm material like butter—no stock hardware could ever manage that. Definitely custom. So anyway, when I get both arms chromed next time, I'm counting on you, Lady Jugra!!"

Pilar—Rebecca's brother—clasped his hands together, bowing toward the speakers as he said this.

Pilar was a hardcore cyberware otaku and techie, but his skills paled next to Jugra’s, whom he'd begun worshiping like some kind of god. During my stay at Jugra’s clinic, Pilar had dropped by occasionally, geeking out over catalogs of cutting-edge tech.

"...Ever since that day, my shitty brother's gone full cultist. The hell am I supposed to do about this, David?"

"Uh, that's... my fault? Just accept that Jugra’s insane and call it even?"

"Nah, don't get me wrong—as his actual sister, I'm glad I don't have to see that disgusting bastard jerking off at home anymore. But now he's just getting creepier in a whole new way..."

"Whoa, whoa, don't just casually drop the jerking off thing..."

"Hmm? What's up, David? You interested in my killer bod? Fine by me—let's ditch this dumb meeting and go have some fun. Heh, not that a virgin like you would have the balls for it."

Rebecca, being Rebecca, kept needling me about my virginity since she'd apparently seen right through me. If I actually took her up on it, she'd probably laugh in my face with some "Just kidding!" bullshit, so I always refused.

When I tried consulting Jugra about it:

"Hah? Then just take her up on it and lose your virginity. Pretty sure she's just faking experience based on stuff she's heard. And even if not, hey, free meal, right? Only a fool turns down food served to him. Go nuts, cherry boy."

That was the kind of outrageous "advice" I got.

I couldn't possibly discuss this with my mom, and if I asked Pilar—who seemed experienced—I'd probably just get some vulgar hand gesture in response.

Sigh... "While I was down, something weird happened, didn't it...?"

"...Lucy, trust me—you're lucky you missed it. Just thinking about it makes me shudder."

"What even happened back there, Kiwi? No one will tell me anything, just that I'm 'better off not knowing'..."

Lucy—the silver-haired beauty who hadn't been there that day—was pressing a trembling Kiwi for answers. Kiwi had completely surrendered to Jugra after whatever happened with the "Megacon" thing, refusing to oppose her under any circumstances.

"Alright, alright, let's drop that. So Maine, what's the plan for today?"

Falco—the team's driver, a dandy middle-aged man—steered things back on track, as usual.

Maine the leader, Dorio the right-hand man, techie Pilar, his tagalong Rebecca, netrunner Kiwi, Lucy, and driver Falco. This was Maine's cyberpunk team—the "Edgerunners."

Jugra had apparently named them. Maine just nodded along like a bot, though...

"Edgerunners... huh. Nice ring to it. Good taste..."

He'd muttered that quietly, so he must've liked it.

Rumor was he'd dreamed of being a city-roaming cyberpunk since childhood. He'd finally formed a team but struggled to name it until recently. The team only properly came together when Dorio—formerly of the Animals gang—joined after they became an item, prompting Maine's shift to mercenary work.

During a drinking session last night to "get to know each other," I'd heard their story. Maine had a lawful streak—preferred fairness and playing straight. He'd left the Animals over issues like unequal pay and hierarchy. Dorio shared that mindset, so they'd struck out together.

But they'd struggled at first, spinning their wheels until they met Kiwi on a job and brought in Falco, after which business finally picked up. Feeling shorthanded, they recruited Pilar from want ads, followed by Rebecca joining to keep an eye on him. Kiwi later brought in Lucy, completing the team.

After hearing their origins, I shared my life story—growing up poor in H4 Megabuilding, attending Arasaka Academy thanks to Mom, being looked down on for my background, and how meeting Jugra changed everything. They seemed surprised to learn that when we'd first met, I'd known Jugra for less than a week.

Looking back, Jugra had been oddly kind to me despite us having no prior connection.

"This job comes from rising fixer Jugra Kagara."

"Let me brief you. Your target is an organization formed after the recent incident—a collaboration between Sixth Street and some scavengers. Their office is in a building in Wellsprings, west Watson. Raid it and kill them all. These are bottom-feeding scum targeting students and the poor—peddling drugs and preying on civilians to make quick cash. How you slaughter them is up to you. Fewer scum in Night City—what a wonderful job, no?"

"...That's the gist."

Our optical implants displayed a detailed 3D map from Jugra, showing red dots moving in a building's room.

...Wait, can they see everything in there?

The Edgerunners looked like they were fighting headaches and nausea from Jugra’s excessively thorough "help."

Hold up—"slaughter"? You're kidding, right Jugra? My first cyberpunk job involves killing people?

Maine sighed deeply and looked my way.

"By the way, Jugra’s adding bonus eddies for every kill David gets."

"That bastard's cutting off my escape routes!"

"Honestly, it's a merciful job. Ugh, those red dots are still moving—this is real-time intel. Damn, putting netrunners out of business with work like this..."

"She's right, David. Think about why she gave you this job. These are the kind of scum who make you sick—the lowest of the low where killing them leaves no guilt. No bonus? I'd waste them myself."

As I checked Jugra’s intel on the office, the horrors kept coming—lockers with dead little girls, shower stalls with bloodstains from dismemberments...

She's bombarding me with this to lessen the guilt, but come on.

My grip tightened on Byakko's hilt.

Yeah, I get it. You're saying if we leave them alive, there'll be more victims like Mom.

Why does a Japanese woman like you understand our heroic spirit so well? Cut it out—you're making it impossible to hold back.

"Heh... Feels like I got dragged into something insane, but damn, this is a good job. Straightforward—right up our alley."

"Maine. ‘Edgerunners, assemble!’—say that, and it just clicks. Gets the blood pumpin’."

"Love it. Adopted. Alright, Edgerunners—ASSEMBLE!! Time to work, people!"

...Dude, that’s a line from that antique American comic movie you showed me when I was crashing at your place.

After last night’s talk, I could tell Maine secretly wanted that heroic vibe—and Jugra nailed it. Dorio, finally recovering a bit, cracked a smile watching Maine hype himself up.

Falco stubbed out his cigarette and smoothly headed off to prep the car, while the rest of us got ready. Not that I had much to do—already geared up, so I just helped load Maine’s heavy firearms.

...There was a light machine gun in there. Smaller than the ones in Jugra’s tech den, but still.

We piled into the six-seater van: Falco driving, Kiwi riding shotgun, and me, Pilar, Rebecca, and Lucy crammed in the back. Maine and Dorio took a heavy bike separately, planning to cover our exit.

The tinted windows painted the city gray as we left downtown, heading toward the coast.

---

"Listen up. First wave: Me, Dorio, David, Rebecca, and Lucy breach. Kiwi stays in the van for remote support. Lucy handles relays. Pilar guards the van outside."

"Got it. I’ll keep your ride home safe."

"...David, you get this is a test for you too, right?"

"...Yeah. Bonus eddies per kill, after all."

"Heh! Attaboy, David. I’ll watch your back."

Rebecca bumped my fist with hers. I tried the same with Lucy, but she just scoffed. Guess she’s not a fan. Whatever—we’ll warm up eventually.

The van rolled past the target tenement—a shabby place, the kind with half-assed management and drugged-out husks loitering outside. After circling back, tension sharpened as we prepped to move.

"EDGERUNNERS—ASSEMBLE!!"

"OOOH!!" (Only Maine, Dorio, and I shouted back.)

The van stopped silently. We spilled out, sprinting for the building. Jugra’s intel still streamed into our optics, tagging targets with NCPD warrants or skull marks for shoot-on-sight.

Maine and Dorio moved like ghosts—slamming a lookout into the wall, snapping his neck before he could blink. We followed, clearing the path.

"Can’t let her show us up... Lucy."

"Got it. Sending PING... Done."

"Breach ready. Feels too easy. Marks set. Hostiles outside the office—clean them first."

"Copy. Sending shortest path. You three—take left corridor. We’ll handle right."

"Oookay! David—SHOWTIME!!"

"Wha—?!"

Rebecca, you bitch—shoving me into the hallway as bait?! No—wait. This is my shot.

I focused, activating the Sandevistan.

The world stuttered.

So this was how Jugra moved like a god.

Not bad.

Not bad at all.

I drew Byakko. The first scavenger froze, too slow to react. I closed the gap, aiming for the neck.

—Don’t hack. Glide.

Jugra’s advice echoed as the blade whispered through flesh.

One down.

Another lurked—Sandevistan time almost up. I overshot but twisted, slashing the exposed nape.

Cooldown hit.

"Close call..."

Two silent kills. No alarms. Adrenaline roared, euphoria swallowing me whole.

Rebecca thumped my back, grinning. I thumbed up. Lucy watched, bored—until a scav woman lunged from the shadows.

A glare. A pop—fried circuits bursting from her neck. She crumpled.

"Clean."

"Finish the job."

"Back’s covered."

"Your side clear? Regroup."

We met Maine at the stairs. Lucy jacked into a laptop, killing cameras. Dorio hurled a chair as distraction—BANG. Maine’s LMG roared suppression fire.

I triggered the Sandevistan, flanking as bullets flew. Drew Smiley.

This time—I pulled the trigger.

Smart rounds curved in slow-mo, heads exploding like overripe fruit.

...The hell? Normal bullets don’t do that.

Smiley’s modified. Terrifying.

I emptied the mag before time reset.

Bodies dropped. Maine gave me a look. I ignored it, hunting the office.

Lucy and Kiwi cracked the locked door, scooping data from terminals.

Mission complete. We bolted, van screeching away.

---

"Haaah... We made it."

"Holy SHIT, David! Seven kills first time?! (Still behind my record, though!)"

"Heh... Pulled the trigger fine this time."

"Yeah, unlike last time—shaking like a leaf till Maine drew fire."

"You saw that?!"

"Letting ‘em think they’re safe pays off. Damn, you delivered."

Rebecca slapped my shoulder, way too close. Sweet scent, clingy touch—teasing, obviously.

But I didn’t miss Lucy’s smirk.

...Guess I’m a real edgerunner now.