Night City greeted Starr, Reaver, and Zeke with its usual chaos—neon lights flickering in the smog-choked sky, advertising everything from illegal cyberware to braindance fantasies that promised you could forget who you were, at least for a little while. The Quadra Type-66 roared through the streets, cutting through the maze of alleys and highways like a ghost. Its black frame blended into the urban sprawl, drawing no attention. In a city where flashy chrome and heavy modding were the norms, stealth was a weapon all on its own.
Starr stared out the window, her thoughts racing as the lights of Night City smeared into glowing streaks. The adrenaline from their escape had worn off, replaced by the familiar, cold edge of survival instinct. The mission had gone sideways in a way none of them had expected—Arasaka's tech, those mind-controlled drones, the massive spider-like abomination. And now they had the data Byte had pulled, data that Chimera was eager to get her hands on.
But there was a growing knot in Starr's stomach, a quiet dread that told her something about this whole gig was wrong. It wasn't just the risk or the payout—it was the silence from Chimera. After everything they'd been through, she hadn't heard a word from their mysterious fixer except for the brief instruction to meet. No explanations. No congratulations. Just cold, calculated efficiency.
That was Chimera's style, sure, but it left Starr on edge. She didn't like being kept in the dark, especially when the stakes were this high.
"We're almost there," Reaver muttered from the driver's seat, his voice breaking the tense silence that had settled over the car. He didn't look at her, his eyes locked on the road ahead, but Starr could feel the weight of his unspoken thoughts. The air between them was thick with the unresolved, but neither of them was ready to face it. Not now.
Zeke, slumped in the back seat, let out a grunt as he shifted, his armor creaking with the movement. "Just say the word when it's time to collect. After this shitshow, I'm ready to drink until I can't remember my own name."
Starr allowed herself a small smirk. "Don't get too comfortable yet. Chimera's quiet, and that's never good."
Zeke snorted. "Yeah, well, when is anything ever good in this goddamn city?"
He wasn't wrong.
Reaver took a sharp turn, and the car slowed as they pulled into a back alley behind one of the many forgotten megabuildings in the Santo Domingo district. The alley was a narrow, grimy stretch lined with trash heaps and flickering holo-signs advertising quick fixes and back-alley chrome jobs. A few street kids scattered at the sight of the Quadra, vanishing into the shadows as they approached. It was a familiar scene—Night City's broken promises and shattered lives, all played out in the backdrop of endless noise and neon.
The car came to a stop, and Reaver killed the engine. Silence filled the car, broken only by the distant rumble of the city's heartbeat. Starr felt a cold knot tighten in her chest as she reached for the door handle. This wasn't just a drop-off. There was something bigger at play here, something Chimera wasn't telling them.
"Let's get this over with," she muttered, stepping out of the car. The others followed, the tension between them unspoken but palpable.
The alley smelled like oil, rotting garbage, and the faint metallic tang of blood. Typical Night City. Starr led the way, her eyes scanning every shadow, every hidden corner as they approached a rusted door at the far end of the alley. This was the meet—an old, abandoned chop shop that had been gutted and forgotten by the city long ago. Chimera always picked her locations carefully, favoring places no one cared about.
Reaver followed close behind, his hand never straying far from his mono-blade. Zeke brought up the rear, his massive frame casting long shadows against the alley walls.
Starr stepped up to the door, her fingers brushing over the keypad. It was covered in grime, the faint glow of the numbers barely visible under the layers of filth. She punched in the access code Chimera had sent her earlier, and the door unlocked with a soft click. No alarms, no sounds, just the quiet hum of an old building that had long since been forgotten.
They stepped inside, the door closing behind them with a heavy thud.
The interior was dark, the air thick with the scent of dust and rusted metal. Broken-down vehicles lined the walls, their frames stripped of any valuable parts, and the faint light of a flickering neon sign buzzed in the corner, casting everything in a sickly blue glow. In the center of the room, a single figure waited, her back to them as she leaned against an old, decrepit workbench.
Chimera.
Her bioluminescent tattoos glowed faintly under the neon light, casting shifting patterns of blue and green across her pale skin. She didn't turn around as they entered, didn't acknowledge their presence until they were a few steps away. Then, slowly, she turned, her cold, calculating eyes locking onto Starr's with the intensity of a predator assessing its prey.
"Right on time," Chimera said, her voice smooth and measured. "I trust the mission was a success?"
Starr's jaw clenched. She didn't like the way Chimera said "success," as if it were a game and they were the pieces being moved across the board. "We got what you wanted," she replied, her voice sharp. "But you didn't tell us about the drones. Or the mind-control tech."
Chimera's eyes flickered, the faintest trace of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Ah, yes. That was an… unexpected development. Arasaka's always full of surprises, aren't they?"
"Unexpected?" Zeke growled, stepping forward. "We almost got killed in there. You could've warned us."
Chimera's gaze shifted to Zeke, her expression cool and unreadable. "And if I had? Would it have changed anything? You were hired to do a job, and you did it. That's all that matters."
Starr's fists tightened at her sides, the cold knot in her chest twisting tighter. She had never liked Chimera, never trusted the way she operated. But they needed her. In Night City, everyone needed a fixer, and Chimera was one of the best. That didn't mean Starr had to like it.
"What now?" Starr asked, her voice hard.
Chimera pushed away from the workbench, her eyes flicking over the three of them as if she were calculating their worth, measuring their usefulness. "Now, you get paid. And then we move on to phase two."
"Phase two?" Reaver asked, his voice low, suspicion lacing every word. He took a step forward, his body tense, ready for whatever curveball Chimera was about to throw.
Chimera's smile widened ever so slightly, and Starr's stomach twisted. "You didn't think this was the end, did you? No, no. What you've done is just the beginning. Arasaka has far more secrets than just the neural tech you stole. And now that we've stirred the hornet's nest, it's time to capitalize."
"Capitalize how?" Starr asked, her voice ice cold. She didn't like where this was going.
Chimera tilted her head slightly, as if considering how much to reveal. "There's an asset within Arasaka. Someone deep inside who has access to far more than just tech. They have information. Dangerous information. And I want it."
"What kind of information?" Zeke asked, his brows furrowed. "More mind-control bullshit?"
"Worse," Chimera said, her eyes gleaming with something dark. "Something that could reshape Night City. Maybe even the world."
Starr's blood ran cold. She had heard these kinds of promises before—of power, of change, of revolution. But in a city like this, those words never came without a cost. And the people who spoke them usually had their own agendas.
"Why us?" Starr asked, cutting through the tension in the air. "Why not send someone else? Why are we so important to you?"
Chimera's smile faded, her expression growing serious. "Because you're survivors. You've proven yourselves capable of handling the impossible. And I need people I can trust to see this through."
"Trust?" Reaver's voice was sharp with disbelief. "You don't trust anyone, Chimera."
For the first time, Chimera's composure faltered, just for a split second. "Maybe. But in this line of work, trust is a commodity. And right now, you three are the only ones I have."
The silence that followed was thick with tension, the unspoken weight of the deal hanging over them. Starr could feel the others' eyes on her, waiting for her decision. They had been through hell together, and now Chimera was asking them to dive even deeper into the fire.
Starr took a deep breath, her mind racing. She didn't trust Chimera. She didn't trust any of this. But she knew one thing for sure: walking away now wasn't an option. Not if they wanted to survive. Not if they wanted to stay ahead of the forces that were now hunting them.