David caught the pistol out of the air and froze. The weight and metal bite felt nothing like braindance. BD gets close, but this was a real gun, the kind that ends people. Gloria had kept him away from things like this his whole life. He swallowed. Was he supposed to use this to rescue his mother?
"I…" He hesitated. He didn't know if he could shoot anyone, much less kill. If he rushed in, they might cut him down.
"Are you hesitating, or afraid?" Rocky asked.
"No. I just thought… call the police?" David pushed back, stubborn on instinct.
Rocky laughed once, cold. "Call NCPD, and ask them to collect her body when they finish paperwork. If you find a body at all. Maybe you meet your mom again in a can. This is your only chance. Keep hesitating, and prepare to live with it forever." The picture landed. Reporting a back-alley black clinic in Santo Domingo would not bring a fast police response. Scavengers do not run, and NCPD does not hurry for people like them.
David's chest tightened. He had seen Scavenger cruelty in black braindance. He could imagine what they would do to Gloria. He clenched the pistol. "I understand."
"What should I do?"
Rocky's mouth curved. He signaled Lissandra.
{ 3D map pushed to your interface }
{ Target: Gloria — Operating Room B }
{ Hostiles: 1 guard in pre-op corridor }
{ Route: marked — follow waypoint }
Rocky knew exactly what David was right now: no cyberware, no chips, just an ordinary student who watched too much black BD. Zero combat experience. Sending him against Scavs with a pistol was a delivery. The point was to light a fire, to wake the cyberpunk spine. Rocky said he would not help, but he and Lucy shadowed David and watched the clinic feed through Lissandra. He was not going to let the kid die here.
"The map is in. Follow the route," Rocky said.
"Got it." David drew a slow breath, steadied, and moved.
He slipped into an operating room. The passage to the den branched here. According to the map, one Scav stood guard. David eased forward, light on his feet. Rocky and Lucy followed, relaxed like they were on a walk; this kind of Scav hole could not threaten them now, and Lissandra had the building under glass.
Using the wall as cover, David leaned out on the guard's back and raised the pistol. All he had to do was press the trigger.
He stopped. Killing had always lived far away from him.
After a beat, he chose. He pressed.
The shot snapped out. No blood. The round skimmed past the guard's head and streaked by his eyes. David had missed. Silenced or not, a bullet grazing your face gets attention. The Scav dove behind cover. David dumped the rest of the magazine on reflex. The Scav waited him out and popped up to return fire.
Rounds sliced the air. Before David even processed the danger, a hand hooked his collar and yanked him behind the wall. It felt like teleporting. Pain in his wrist from the pull told him it was real, and that Rocky had just saved his life. Bullets chewed the space where he had been. David stared, breathing hard, skin prickling with the shock of still being alive. Rocky watched him, unimpressed. First time shooting. Missing was normal. At least the kid had pulled the trigger. That meant there was hope.
"Lissandra, make him harmless," Rocky said.
With the guard now fully alerted, a one-on-one would end with David dead. Time to cut the risk.