[MESSAGE]
[Angel]: My boss... Yaya showed up in Dogtown these past few days. But you'll need to plan carefully. This involves business and personnel changes — you understand. Best to take him out quietly.
[Angel]: A lot of people have their eyes on this position. If I get caught up in it, nobody wins.
[Cole]: Mm-hmm. For the money, I'll make arrangements.
[Angel]: Here's hoping :D
Ethan put down his phone, watching two fighters go all-out on the open-air ring.
He wasn't here to watch boxing. He was here to stake out someone.
The truth was, during his time in Dogtown, the first three jobs had all been passed down from Hands. On that very first gig, Ethan the fixer had been played by both Biotechnica and Hands — then locked down by Arasaka's V.
The other two jobs? The Cole identity just helped Ethan make some money. For intel, he only needed to contact Night City's information brokers to get what he needed.
Simple. Easy. Pleasant.
But this time was different. First, Angel's information was limited. Obviously her boss was wary of her.
Second was the smuggling channel problem. Ethan had considered many approaches —
No matter what, he couldn't avoid Barghest.
But working Dogtown meant dealing with Barghest eventually. Angel's job was the real test of his fixer credentials.
After all, she'd dared to hire this new fixer. He had to deliver results.
So to secure the smuggling route, this discount fixer had to do the legwork himself — stake out the boxing arena for this Barghest money-grubber: Ross Elmore.
According to Ethan's past-life memories, this guy was Dogtown's executioner — a nightmare who combined exoskeleton frames with cyberware.
But Ethan had leveraged his old Barghest connections and discovered this senior soldier who liked arms dealing had one hobby: watching fights.
These open-air matches usually had betting. Ross liked to gamble, but today his luck was shit. The Animals' big bruiser was getting absolutely demolished by a bald guy half his size.
"Motherfucker! Throw some punches, you pussy!" The two Barghest grunts beside Ross went silent. When the boss lost money, the pups got chewed out.
Ethan watched the ring and noticed something off.
This wasn't a fair fight. The skinny guy was clearly juiced up on something — his punch speed kept accelerating.
The Animals fighter could protect his head from the barrage, but the situation wasn't looking good for him.
Cyberware?
Ethan studied the match. The lean fighter's breathing was ragged — the aftereffects of cyberware overuse kicking in.
The Animals member, forehead split open and looking rough, kept his eyes locked on his opponent's openings.
A straight punch exploded outward. The skinny man staggered backward.
Cheers erupted from the crowd. The big man's counterattack had begun.
The lean fighter shook his head, trying to use his chrome to suppress the Animals boxer again.
Wide, fast hooks flew out. But the skinny guy was running on fumes now — full of openings.
His opponent seized the moment with an uppercut. The crack of jawbone collision drew gasps.
Ross's expression finally improved. "That's it! Fuck yeah!"
The Animals fighter's footwork was precise too. He slipped to the skinny guy's weak side.
One final, devastating straight punch!
The lean man swayed, gasping for air, eyes unfocused. Finally he collapsed.
Ethan now understood why the Animals survived in this city. These hormone-stuffed meat mountains — regular cyberware couldn't handle them.
Ethan crossed his arms, watching. Ross was already conferring with his boys about the next match's bets.
The next Animals fighter was even bigger. Veins bulged on his forehead. The man was a small mountain. His boxing shorts looked ready to burst from his thigh muscles.
Ross shouted, "I like the look of him! Put everything on him!"
The one-sided slaughter had skewed the odds dramatically. The organizers came up with a solution —
Put another Animals fighter in the ring.
Ross was clearly unhappy. His sure-win bet was gone. A Barghest squad leader used to running wild in Dogtown wouldn't let this slide.
As the second fighter climbed into the ring, people started placing bets with the organizers.
This new fighter could've been the first one's actual brother. Ethan figured even the same mother couldn't produce two bruisers this identical. Even their boxing shorts matched.
Ross's expression darkened further.
BANG!
A gunshot.
The cowards among Dogtown's residents fled clutching their heads. The braver ones tried to get their money back.
The fight organizer was stunned. He hadn't expected this Barghest idiot to pull this shit... But then again, nobody in Dogtown dared hold Barghest accountable anyway.
Ross's hungry-wolf gaze swept the crowd. His gun swung toward Ethan.
"You. Get up there and fight for me. Everyone else's bets are riding on you."
Ethan had planned to wait for the match to end, then follow these guys and find an opportunity to talk business. He hadn't expected Ross to come to him first.
The fighters in the ring glanced at Ethan and snorted.
Ethan raised his hands. "Is that really appropriate?"
Ross didn't care. Today he was winning this money. "Say another fucking word and I'll put one in you. Get up there!"
Ethan climbed slowly into the ring. The two mountain-sized fighters sandwiched him. Eventually the second one stepped back down.
The organizer decided that the next time this asshole showed up, he wasn't pulling any of these rigged-fight tricks. Ross was completely unreasonable.
"You got chrome?"
The fighter's speech was slurred, voice booming.
Ethan nodded. "A little."
The referee climbed up, casting Ethan a sympathetic look. "Just go down quick. Boss says we're taking the L on this one."
Ethan cracked his neck with a series of pops. Fine. Let's make this Ross guy lose his money quick, so he comes looking for trouble.
The big guy across from him was honorable enough — he extended his fist for a touch.
Ethan adopted the Barghest military combat stance, tentatively bumping fists.
Ross looked confused.
"Isn't that Hansen's style? Do we have someone like this in Barghest?"
The two soldiers shook their heads. Looked like the kid was one of theirs though.
Fists touched lightly. The fight was on!
A fist nearly the size of Ethan's head came roaring toward him. Ethan sidestepped, easily negating his opponent's reach advantage.
"Ohhh!"
The brave souls who hadn't fled exclaimed in amazement. This kid was good!
Normal people would've pissed themselves facing these beast-like savages.
The fighter hadn't expected Ethan to dodge so fast. He grunted and increased his tempo. Ethan got a lesson — these big boys might be huge, but they weren't slow. Solid boxing.
But the Animals fighter was clearly a battle junkie. The more Ethan dodged, the denser his combinations became.
Finally one landed on Ethan's shoulder.
THUD!
The crowd gasped. The expected scene of Ethan getting launched didn't happen. He just stumbled a few steps, shook out his arm, circled around, and maintained distance.
That fucking hurt.
Ethan made a decision:
He wasn't going to try tanking this guy's attacks. That one accidental hit had left his shoulder numb. The force was nearly equivalent to arm cyberware.
Ethan dodged while waiting for a fleeting opportunity.
His advantages: Gorilla Arms and polished combat technique.
He had zero intention of following boxing rules.
There.
The big guy got impatient. His footing wavered. After throwing a punch, he didn't immediately return to guard.
Ethan seized the moment — he dropped to his knees, coiling up before the Animals fighter like a rearing king cobra!
Gorilla Arms carrying tremendous force shot toward the fighter's unguarded lower body. His entire arm vibrated, emitting a low hum —
A devastating punch drove straight into the Animals fighter's gut!
The blow twisted the fighter's face. His abs started spasming!
The big man clutched his stomach, knees nearly buckling. What kind of power was that? What tier of cyberware?
He stared at Ethan in disbelief, gulping air. "You... fucking human?"
Ethan didn't waste words. While his opponent was still reeling, he unleashed a flurry. The bruiser hastily guarded his head.
His Gorilla Arms pounded like hitting a heavy bag — thud thud thud.
The crowd around the ring erupted. Ross had picked the right guy after all — that kid's chrome was straight-up corporate soldier gear!
The weight disparity was the whole gimmick of Animals underground fights.
Nobody had given Ethan a chance at first. His opponent's arms were nearly as thick as his waist.
But the kid's cyberware was serious business. The tide had turned completely!
Thick-skinned bastards. Ethan had to respect anyone willing to pump this much hormone into their bodies.
How could a normal person take this? Gorilla Arms could punch through thin steel plate.
"Setting me up, huh?" Ross never blamed his own luck. If Hansen hadn't ordered them not to mess with civilians, he'd have shot the kid in the back.
Of course, he was also afraid the kid was Barghest.
No wonder the punk hadn't run. He was a plant to scam him!
While Ross's mood darkened...
Ethan's heavy blow sent the fighter sprawling. Gorilla Arms' signature feature: gradual charging.
"Haven't tried this move yet."
Ethan's Gorilla Arms reached from behind to grip the struggling fighter's neck. Partly to protect his cervical spine — partly because he just wanted to try out a move he'd thought up.
Savage Sling!
Confusion doesn't hurt the brain. Just lie down.
The fighter watched helplessly as he was yanked in front of Ethan. Another fist, fully charged, rocketed straight toward his face. Cold dread flooded his entire body —
What kind of move is this?
THUD!
A heavy impact.
The big man dropped to his knees and toppled backward, leaving Ethan shaking out the numbness from overusing his arms.
Amid the crowd's cheers and jeers, Ross's face had gone completely dark.