Arthur gripped the door on both sides, tearing aside the weakened barriers and opening a gap just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
A crimson glow pulsed from inside, seeping through the crack. Arthur shoved his massive frame through the opening.
Thanks to its last functioning Gravity Engine and the advanced AV's resilient outer shell, the cabin had barely warped despite the brutal crash.
A quick scan was all it took for him to spot V struggling in a corner.
She was still conscious. If not for the debris pinning her down, she might have escaped already.
Opening the door from inside was far easier.
"Let me guess—this is the moment you wanted to see me most.
Don't go dying yet, girl. I'm taking you home."
He strode forward and shoved aside the heavy table pinning her.
It had been bolted to the floor—no wonder it weighed so much.
Arthur reached down, pulled V up, and slung one of her arms over his shoulder.
"You don't look so good."
Her weight sagged against him. She seemed drained of all strength.
"I'm fine...
Those Arasaka bastards locked my Neural Link and netrunning pod. Just need some rest.
Damn them! I had over two hundred thousand in my account..."
"Hey! You just snatched your life back.
Even if it means living broke."
In the time it took for those few words, they had already reached the AV's door.
Arthur suddenly tensed, instincts flaring. He drew his revolver in one swift motion and aimed at a shadowed corner.
There, half-buried in broken glass, a figure stirred.
Abernathy crawled out, only to freeze as she found herself staring down the faintly glowing muzzle of the Frontier gun.
"We had a deal.
You can't kill me."
Her panicked eyes flicked to V beside Arthur.
Catching Arthur's questioning glance, V explained.
"I did promise."
Arthur shrugged and lowered the gun.
Beside the door, a large red button gleamed conspicuously.
Arthur smashed its transparent cover with his gunstock and slammed it down.
"Bang!!"
The door blew outward, revealing the spreading fire beyond.
"We need to move fast. Arasaka's reinforcements are already outside the city.
After something like this, they might invoke emergency protocols and force their way across the border."
V's usually flat tone carried a trace of urgency. Arthur could feel the tension in her arm.
But she quickly eased off—clearly, she wasn't in good shape.
"If they weren't here for sightseeing, we'd already be caught."
Arthur's brow tightened as he spotted a convoy racing toward them from afar. His voice grew heavy.
They couldn't afford to get pinned here. This was Night City, and Arasaka's power was at its peak.
If trapped, sheer numbers alone would bury them.
He moved as fast as he could toward the Nazare parked by the roadside.
Flames flickered across its glossy surface, like kindling ready to ignite.
"You finally learned to ride this thing. I thought I'd end up driving it myself."
V spotted the flashy red motorcycle too, her tone easing slightly.
With that machine's speed, shaking the pursuers wouldn't be hard.
"I think... I've figured out how I fell from the sky."
As they closed in, she noticed the massive rifle strapped to the bike.
Standing upright, it nearly covered the entire seat.
"Then you'll have to figure out how to run with me again."
Arthur spoke briskly, already moving to toss the weapon aside to make room for her.
"Hey... no need to throw it away."
V pulled a rope from somewhere and tossed it to him.
"Just sling the beast on the side."
Though it had been a long time since he'd worked with rope, his hands moved with practiced ease.
He secured the weapon, then fired up the engine and twisted the throttle deep.
"Woo-hoo—
I'm alive!"
Leaning against his back, V shouted joyfully, her bright voice ringing into the night.
She was never cut out to be a spy—she hated silence and shadows.
"Better hope so."
Arthur's grim voice cut through from the front as he narrowed his eyes at the sight ahead—
Blinding beams swept across the landscape, lighting everything in their path. Another convoy was already moving toward them.
"Damn it!
All this firepower... just for me."
From the back, V spotted it too and yanked Arthur's revolver from his belt.
"My advice? Hold on tight!"
Arthur's words came as he leaned hard to the side, the bike swerving sharply into a narrow side road.
The crash site lay deep in Rancho Coronado.
The district sprawled wide, with only sparse settlements scattered like small hamlets.
The rest was as barren as the Badlands.
Even these backroads ran straight, and the Nazare was already pushed to its limit.
"Why can't we shake them?"
Lights still trailed them, relentless as a swarm of flies.
"Probably the vehicles. They've likely been modified for pursuit,"
V said, her voice low, already firing shots behind them.
"Where'd you pick up that gun? Damn thing's impressive."
"Militech.
And you can still hold a gun in your condition?"
Arthur's words carried a trace of teasing, even as his eyes caught sight of a vast depression nearby.
Inside, dense clusters of strange structures stretched like rows of greenhouses.
It might be the perfect place to lose them.
With that thought, he slammed the throttle harder, barely shifting the handlebars as he drove straight for it.
After a few muffled gunshots, Arthur felt V turn back, muttering under her breath.
"Alright... my aim's a little off."
They tore into the massive basin.
"Only five of them are keeping up now.
Should we take them out?"
...
(70 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser