Show Time
They had planned and prepared for this assault in advance. They had separate parts for most of the mission, but would both accomplish their ends of the objective, she was sure, unless an unidentified obstacle stepped in their way. And really, what were the chances of that happening? Aside from her recent encounter with California, she usually had
( Read more... )
Two guards grabbed Cal's shoulders again and lifted him off his knees. "The boss wants to see you. Has an offer for ya." Cal rolled his eyes and got another punch before being dragged off again.
As they ascended, Cal remembered what Fortin looked like. This could be a good chance to just kill him. As they entered the room, Cal saw him looking out a window, looking all cliche with the appearance of one of the bad guys. Sad when there wasn't any "good" or "bad" in the real world. Shaking free of the guards, Cal started walking toward Fortin, but not before causing the other guards to freak out and draw their arms.
Fortin held out his arm, calling them off before turning to face the Freelancer. "Ah, your the one who annoyed every single guard of mine. And killed a few others." Cal snorted and replied with, "Your welcome." Fortin smiled. "Oh no, I should thank you. Next Friday was pay-day. Less money I have to lose."
Fortin sat down in his comfy leather chair and folded his arms on the desk. "Your skills are rather impressive. Better than any of these buffoons I currently have on my pay roll. How would you like to work for me?" Cal looked down as if considering it, before looking up with a cocky smirk. "That's a good offer. But then I'd be passing up the large amount of credits currently on your head. Wouldn't be a mercenary if I did that."
Fortin's smile seemed to strain. Cal then felt the barrel of a pistol pressed against the base of his skull. "Too bad. I'm sure we would've worked well together. Kill him."
Reply
The second guard who had brought Cal up whipped out his weapon as well and looked around catiously, but pointlessly. The air before him rippled briefly, but by then it was too late. His gun dropped from his hand and a scream came from his throat as his arm was broken. The scream morphed into a gurgle as a wound suddenly opened in his throat, as if a knife had been shoved into his esophagus. He collapsed to the ground, grabbing at his throat with his good arm as his life's blood spilled through his fingers. This time, the blood floating in the air was a clear sign of where the invisible combat knife was. The guards fired at the general area the man had been killed in, but when a voice came, it was from further towards the front of the room.
"Catch."
Cal's helmet came sailing out of invisibility in his direction, but the sound of feet moving indicated that, as soon as Omicron had left her possession, Lizzy was already moving to take care of the remaining guards in the room. Several of them shot at where she had been, but Lizzy dropped and rolled, shedding her invisibility and rippling back into sight as she tumbled right up to one of the guards and jammed her combat knife into his inner thigh. The guard screamed and Lizzy rose from her crouch to toss him almost effortlessly into one of his friends. While the second guard was distracted by his comrade falling on him, Lizzy kicked the third in the side of the knee to knock him off balance, then reached out and with a hard punch to the throat, collapsed the second guard's throat as he tried to support the man still screaming about his leg and still aim at Lizzy. To put him out of the misery of a slow death, she broke his neck with a swift twist. Both he and the guard he'd been supporting fell to the floor.
Warning. Weapons fire.
Lizzy backed a step away to avoid the fallen guards and then was forced to slide to the side quickly at Sil's warning as the remaining standing guard of the trio shot at her. She quickly dodged back and away, disengaging in order to let both herself and Sil take stock of the best CQB options.
Fallen guard also recovering his weapon. Suggestion: Disarm Guard 3 and then eliminate Guard 1.
Noted.
The distant sound of feet distracted her as she flipped a chair and tossed it at the guards, in part to block the incoming bullets and in part to distract them. Sil?
More guards are coming, Lizzy. The weapons fire must have alerted them that all was not well.
Damn. She said nothing about it aloud, preferring to keep her conversation to that one warning to Cal if possible. She debated going invisible again, but she didn't want to drain her power any more than was necessary.
Worry about what's at hand. Then think about the new trouble. If she was lucky, Cal would have Fortin dead before the new guards arrived to cause trouble.
Reply
Cal paused before jerking his wrists outwards, snapping the chains around his wrists with ease. With a swift motion, his right hand clamped tightly around the helmet and slipped it back on, immediately rebooting the HUD and establishing a connection with his AI.
Miss me Josh? Omi asked, the image of a woman with her arms crossed flashed across his mind.
If we weren't in the middle of getting in a fight, yes.
Josh quickly slid away from the bodies snatching up one of the pistols and checking the clip. The guards were too busy looking for Massachusetts. Fools. In the next moments, Cal easily watched as they collapsed to the ground.
Fortin cowered beneath his desk, eyes shut tightly as he shivered. It was all a trick. A set-up. And he'd fallen for it hook line and sinker.
A gruff hand grabbed his coat and pulled him out. Scared eyes met gold-slitted visor.
"Sorry, no hard feelings Fortin. Just business."
Fortin didn't even scream. The gunshot did it for him. The back of his skull exploded in bone, blood and bits of brain. The body collapsed, whatever remained pooling out around.
Cal looked sadly down at the corpse. Omi released a small pain killer into his system, drowning out the pain of his broken jaw and black eye.
The sound of running footsteps drew his attention toward the door. More security.
"Omicron, ways out. Now."
Only way out possibly safely is the window. Calculations indicate possible fractures, but it is better than the alternative. Warning, Guards closing in.
Cal stepped back and aimed the pistol at the windows. Two shots and a kick busted out the glass and let it fall loosely toward the ground. It was quite a drop, but the reinforced layers of the suits would more than likely allow them to survive.
"Lizzy! If you don't want to end up with numerous bullet holes, we have to jump!"
Reply
Better brace yourself! Sil suggested cheerfully. Lizzy looked back to Cal, her visor blocking her expression as she quickly crossed over to him.
"Ladies first." The grin she was wearing was implied in her tone of voice and without further preamble she vaulted out of the window, turning her body to face the building as she traveled out into open air.
Straight drop, likelihood of fractures high, fair possibility of broken bones, Sil offered, but she sounded giddy. It's going to be a long drop!
With an eye sharpened by her visor, Lizzy calculated the fall to the next faint window ledge and made a grab for it. Her shoulder wrenched, causing her to grit her teeth, but it stopped her momentum so that she at least wouldn't have the full fall behind her. The sudden thought that Cal was coming right after her made her jerk her attention upward and she simultaneously let go of the ledge, on the off chance that he was already close enough to hit her. Too bad she yet again hadn't had the time to use a lizardline.
Although outside her helmet was silent, the inside rang with Sil's voice as she provided steady updates to their fall speed, distance to the ground--
Lizzy's feet slammed into the concrete and she bent her knees to absorb as much of the additional stress as possible. Her legs ached fiercely, but she quickly rolled aside so as not to end up underneath Cal when he finally landed. With any luck, he wouldn't be in any worse shape than her. She looked up as she stood, already drawing a pistol as her other hand checked to be sure her rifle was still on her back.
"Move," she instructed once Cal had landed, and took off back in the general direction of their transportation without checking to make sure he wasn't injured. Freelancers didn't have such a luxury, nor such a rapport (at least not on the job). They could always check their injuries back at the apartment, and if needed they could double back and throw off any pursuers. For now, though, time was of the essence.
Reply
He was still mildly surprised that Massachusetts had chosen to save him on top of allowing him to take down the target. Most of the others would've left him to die and, in the moment, taken Fortin down. Apparently, Mass was different. It was...refreshing. Thoughts of Wisconsin slowly crept back into his mind, but he shook it off. Better not dig up old wounds.
Enemy forces slowly closing in, recommend hauling ass. Omi stated calmly. Cal rolled his eyes. She could make even the funniest joke sound monotone.
Cal slid to a halt beside their transport and looked over his shoulder. They didn't have much time, and they'd need cover fire in case of pursuit. He swung open one of his cases and got down to one knee. After a few adjustments, he stood back up. In his hands, a large chain-gun shined in the sun.
"Time to get my big baby."
Reply
Leave a comment