As the cybernetic-enhanced face in front of him exploded, Kai shook his head and staggered sideways.
"Hey, KK, you alright?"
Oliver was quicker than Jackie, rushing over to support Kai. Looking at the mangled face of the Maelstrom ganger, he couldn't help but remark, "Damn, that really bloomed like a blood flower."
"Almost died back there."
Kai's face was throbbing in pain, and his hand felt dislocated. The Crusher's power and recoil were ridiculous—just one shot, and both his hands were numb.
"Come on, get up, Kai."
Jackie stepped in to help lift Kai up. Seeing his twisted nose and torn-up cheek exposing raw flesh, he reached out and placed a hand on Kai's nose.
"Brace yourself."
Before Kai could even react, Jackie gave a sharp twist. Kai felt a sickening crunch in his skull as his nose snapped back into place.
"Argh!"
The sheer agony made Kai howl, "Damn it, Jackie! Couldn't you at least warn me first?!"
"It would've hurt more if I did."
Jackie, clearly experienced, grinned—a strangely wholesome expression on his battered face. "How's it feel now?"
"Better. At least it's just pain now, no stabbing sensation."
Gritting his teeth, Kai glanced at the dead Maelstrom ganger and said, "Judging by his subdermal armor, she was probably the boss around here. No way your average thug can afford armor that can withstand Copperhead rounds. We might be in the clear for now."
"No wonder this gig was worth 100K eddies. Damn, I actually thought that corpo suit was being generous for once. Turns out it was just a pain in the ass. If a Copperhead couldn't punch through that armor, that thing must've cost at least 30K eddies." Jackie no longer referred to their employer with any respect, reverting to calling them a "corpo dog."
"Well, most of the hard work is done. Now we just need to find that crate and destroy it. Once that's handled, the remaining 70K eddies are ours. Then, you can finally afford some decent subdermal armor yourself."
Kai clapped Jackie on the shoulder. "But first, we need to hit up Old Vik for some medical treatment."
"Sounds like a plan."
Oliver picked up the Crusher that Kai had dropped after firing. "We can also try jacking into those dead gangers and see if we can drain their private accounts. Hope their heads aren't too fried, or there won't be anything left to hack."
"That might be a problem. I put a bullet in each of their skulls."
Kai shrugged. Then, turning to Oliver, he smirked, "By the way, why was that woman chasing you? Some old fling coming back to haunt you?"
"Who knows. She's dead now, so it's not like we can ask her. If she were still breathing, I could've found a hacker to dig through her data."
Despite their casual banter, the trio moved quickly. Jackie, still limping from his injuries, scavenged weapons to sell later, while Oliver and Kai—whose only issue was his throbbing face—searched the factory's systems for any intel on the crate.
After half an hour, Kai finally found a working computer on the first floor. While there was no direct mention of their target, he did uncover something interesting—records of Maelstrom's recent attacks on various corporations and clashes with other gangs.
"'Maelstrom stirred up trouble in Kabuki yesterday,'" Kai recalled hearing from a news broadcast when he first arrived in this city. Combined with Oliver's Six Street gun transport getting hit, this corpo's stolen crate, and now the records in front of him...
Maelstrom was planning something big.
But that had nothing to do with him.
He was just a nobody, on his second day in Night City. A single freelancer had no business getting involved in the affairs of a gang 1,300 strong. Sure, he'd killed over twenty of them by now, but that was still just a drop in the bucket.
'Found the crate.'
Oliver's voice came through the comms, along with the location. Kai disconnected from the computer, then casually pulled out his Lexington and shot the terminal, obliterating the data.
Not for stealth—the security cams had already exposed them long ago—but just to test the gun's stopping power.
The Lexington couldn't penetrate subdermal armor, but it could destroy a computer. Still, seeing how the bullet lodged itself halfway through the machine...
"Meh, barely adequate."
The penetration was lacking. Maybe it was time to ditch this gun after just two days of use.
When Kai arrived, Jackie had already beaten him there. The crate, identical to the one described in their contract, was sitting in front of them.
Nodding at his teammates, Kai called the employer. The line barely rang before it was answered.
"Status update?"
The voice on the other end sounded like they'd been expecting the call.
"We've secured the crate. Want to verify it first?"
"Describe it."
Kai examined the crate and relayed the details, including the red flower emblem on its surface.
"That's the one. Destroy it."
"Understood."
Kai gestured to Oliver, who plugged into the security feed and started recording.
Meanwhile, Jackie tied several grenades to the crate, dragged it to a far corner, and yanked the pins before sprinting away.
Five seconds later, an explosion shredded the crate into flaming debris. For a split second before detonation, Kai thought he saw data chips inside—but whatever they contained was now ashes.
Oliver waited for a moment, unplugged his connection, and sent the recorded footage to Kai, who forwarded it to their employer.
A few seconds later, the line disconnected.
'Good work. You weren't too curious. I'm pleased.'
Along with the message, Kai's account showed a deposit of 70K eddies.
"Well?" Oliver asked, eyeing the wreckage. He was a bit curious about what was inside, but more interested in the payout.
"It's in. Sending your shares now."
A second later, Oliver and Jackie both received their 23.3K eddies.
"There's an extra hundred left. Let's use it for dinner."
"I know a few good places," Jackie offered. Then, after a moment, he added, "But 100 eddies might not cover it. I can pitch in."
"Forget it. Consider it my treat."
With Kai's casual wave, their crew's first mission was complete.
Mission Payout: 100,000 Eddies.