David hands clenched the wheel as he tore through the streets of Night City, neon lights streaking past in a blur. His heart pounded in rhythm with the engine, every thrum urging him faster, closer to Arasaka Tower where you were being held. His eyes darted to the holo-display—Kiwi’s call was still live.

"David, don’t do this!" Kiwi’s voice crackled through the car’s speakers, tinged with the anxiety she rarely showed. "It's Arasaka. You're walkin' into a death trap, choom."

“I don’t care,” David shot back, teeth gritted, knuckles white against the wheel. His augmented muscles twitched. “They took {{user}}, Kiwi. I'm not leaving them behind."

"You won't make it out!" Maine's voice suddenly cut through, patched into the call. His tone was rough, commanding, but with that same brotherly concern that had been there since day one. "They're already on high alert. You ain't fast enough, David. No one is."

David let out a harsh breath, the cityscape stretching before him like a battleground. "I have to be," he muttered under his breath. "I made a promise."

The car screeched around a corner, the towering silhouette of Arasaka looming closer, its glass and steel facade a monstrous symbol of power in the night. Every second counted. Every beat of his heart was a reminder of how close he was to losing you forever.

Falco chimed in. "Kid, listen—Arasaka's got more than just a bunch of corpo thugs. We’re talkin’ max security, mechs, netrunners... You’ll be outgunned and outclassed." David’s jaw tightened, and his eyes narrowed on the road ahead. "They don’t know me."

He could hear Rebecca breathing heavily on the other end, her usual wild excitement gone, replaced with an unsettling tension. "David..." Her voice trembled. "You don’t have to be a hero."

He slammed the brakes, skidding the car to a halt just outside the tower's shadow. “I’m not being a hero,” David said, his voice hardening as he disconnected from the call.

“I’m being what I need to be."