Monitors had flickered with Eddie's dark web probes, confirming Jade's tablet, stolen from Lena's corpse, held arena schematics and betting data keys to Viktor's empire. The team Brick, Raven, Tara, Eddie, Doc knew Jade's refinery was no decoy now; it was her lair, and they'd hit it to snatch the tablet and choke Viktor's grip. A traitor's leak still haunted them, someone feeding Jade their moves, but Brick's focus was razor-sharp: hunt, strike, survive.
Brick, Raven, and Tara crouched in the refinery's shadow, their graphene armor blending with the night, the high-tech bike stashed in a ditch. Brick gripped a tactical shotgun, its barrel cold, buckshot ready. Raven's semi-auto pistol was holstered, her knife gleaming in her fist. Tara held a submachine gun, its magazine locked, her tic steady. Eddie and Doc stayed back, Eddie monitoring comms, Doc prepping for blood. "Jade's here," Tara whispered, eyeing the refinery's loading dock, its rusted gate ajar. "Guards, maybe twelve, plus her blade freaks. Tablet's likely in her command room top floor, old control tower."
Brick's thigh ached, but his voice was steel. "We go in hard, grab the tablet, get out. No games." He glanced at Raven, her eyes fierce. "Ready?"
"Always," Raven said, knife twirling. "Let's bleed 'em."
Eddie's voice crackled in their earpieces. "Dark web's hot, Jade's tightened security. Motion sensors, cameras. Watch your step."
They slipped through the gate, boots silent on cracked concrete, the air sour with chemical fumes. The refinery's innards loomed vats hissing, catwalks creaking, shadows dancing under flickering halogens. Twelve guards patrolled, rifles slung, machetes sheathed. Three of Jade's blade fighters, cloaked in black, moved like wraiths, their daggers glinting.
Brick signaled, and the ambush erupted. He fired his shotgun, the blast ripping through a guard's chest, blood and bone exploding and the guard's body slamming a pipe. The metal dented with a clang. Raven's pistol fired, a bullet drilling another guard's forehead with blood spraying like ink. Tara's submachine gun roared, bullets shredding a third guard's arm with his scream echoing as he fell, clutching the stump.
A blade fighter lunged at Raven with her dagger slashing. She ducked, the blade grazing her armor. Raven spun, her knife slashing the fighter's throat with blood flowing like a crimson wave. The dagger dropped as her body crumpled with her legs twitching. Brick faced a guard with a machete. The guard swung the blade but Brick sidestepped and the machete went sparking off a vat with the metal screeching. Brick used his shotgun butt to smash the guard's jaw. The Guard's teeth shattered with blood flowing from the Guard's mouth as he staggered back. Brick's shot blasted the guard's stomach, His guts spilling open.
Tara saw Jade on a catwalk, her black coat billowing with her pistol in hand. Jade fired a bullet pinging Tara's armor with sparks flaring. Tara dove behind a crate and returned fire, her submachine gun's burst chewing the catwalk's edge. Jade leapt, vanishing into a maze while laughing like a maniac.
The team fought to the control tower. There was a spiral stair littered with rust. A guard charged at Brick with a chain whipping at Brick. Brick ducked and the chain went wrapping a rail. His shotgun roared as he blasted the guard's chest, the guard's blood and bone painting the stairs. Raven faced two guards, their knives flashing at her as she weaved. One of the blades nicked her arm with blood trickling. Her pistol fired, blowing through the guard's eye. The second lunged at her but she parried, their knives clashing with sparks flying. Raven kicked the guard on the knee and he fell on one then she drove her blade into his heart with his ribs cracking. The man gurgled as he fell.
At the tower's top, Jade's command room glowed with monitors, the tablet on a console. Jade stood with her pistol raised. Two blade fighters flanked her. "You're late, Phantom," she said, her voice smooth. "Viktor's done. I'm the future."
Brick's shotgun leveled. "Hand over the tablet, Jade."
She smirked and fired a bullet at Brick. Brick dived towards a bunch of monitors, the bullet sparking off a monitor with glass shattering. Raven tackled a blade fighter, their knives dancing. She used her Gravedigger to smash his nose. His cartilage popped with blood spraying. Tara's submachine gun stitched the second fighter's chest with bullets shredding his flesh.
Jade lunged at Brick, her dagger slashing as he ducked, her blade grazing his armor. His shotgun butt swung hitting her on the wrist which cracked her bones and sent her pistol flying. Jade's scream pierced the room. Raven grabbed the tablet while the monitors flickered as Jade's systems crashed. "Got it!" Raven yelled.
Jade recovered, drawing a second dagger, and charged Raven. Brick intercepted, his fist slamming Jade's cheek which cracked her bone cracking, sending her staggering. Tara's submachine gun fired, a bullet grazing Jade's shoulder with blood seeping, forcing her back. "You're done!" Tara shouted. Jade turned and ran towards a vent on the floor and slipped through it, her shadow gone. The fight spilled down the stairs with more guards rushing up.
Brick led the charge with his shotgun roaring, blasting a guard's shoulder. A blade fighter slashed at Raven as she ducked, her knife slicing his thigh as he collapsed, clutching the wound. Tara's submachine gun fired, bullets ripping through another guard's leg with blood spraying and his scream echoing as he hit the stairs, rolling limp.
They hit the loading dock, but Kira "Knuckles," Viktor's enforcer, waited, her bruised fists raised, three new goons at her side. "Viktor wants you dead!" Kira roared, a berserker in fur-lined leather. The fight was a meat grinder, vivid and relentless.
Kira charged Brick, her fist hammering at his chest. Brick swung his shotgun like a club, catching Kira's ribs.She grunted and countered, her elbow smashing his jaw. Brick staggered, his old thigh wound reopening with blood soaking his pants. He fired the shotgun, its blast grazing Kira's arm, tearing her flesh while blood sprayed but she lunged, tackling him as the fell with the concrete cracking under their weight. Brick's shotgun skidded off.
Raven faced a goon, his machete slashing as she ducked, the blade embedding in a crate. Her pistol fired, blowing through his chest. Another goon swung a chain. She jumped and rolled, the chain sparking off a pipe. Her knife slashed at his wrist, the chain dropping as he screamed, clutching his arm.
Tara battled the third goon, her submachine gun's burst ripping his stomach as he fell. Kira grabbed Brick's throat with her hands crushing. Brick's vision blurred as he clawed her eyes with his nails and blood welled up. She loosened her grip from the intense pain and screamed. His fist smashed her temple with blood oozing, but Kira's knee slammed his thigh tearing his muscle deeper while blood flooded. Brick's roar of pain shaked the dock.
Raven's knife slashed Kira's back parting her skin. With blood seeping she spun, her fist clipping Raven's shoulder. Brick surged, his fist crushing Kira's nose. Blood sprayed as she staggered, giving them a breath. Tara's submachine gun fired, a bullet grazing Kira's leg forcing her back.
"Move!" Brick bellowed, limping with blood dripping. They sprinted to the bike, Raven clutching the tablet while Tara covered with gunfire, bullets sparking off pipes. Kira's goons faltered. Their Boss was wounded Badly. The bike's engine roared, tires screeching as they vanished into the fog, Neon City's sirens wailing.
At the safehouse, Doc stitched Brick's thigh again. "Jesus Christ!! You're a fucking punching bag, Brick," he grunted. Raven iced her shoulder, the tablet on the table. Its data was locked. Eddie hacked its encryption. "Arena schematics," he said. "Viktor's last stand, traps, guards, everything."
Tara's tic twitched. "Jade's hurt, but she's not done. That leak's still out there, someone's close."
Raven's knife twirled, eyes hard.