by JN Chaney
She took a step toward the box.
I took a quick breath. It was now or never.
“That’s far enough,” I said, pulling my pistol out from inside my jacket. “Back up!”
“E-Excuse me?” she said.
“I think you heard him,” said Abigail, lifting her own pistol out from under her shirt.
Dressler looked at Alphonse. “Constable?”
“I’m afraid it’s a robbery,” said Alphonse, frowning. “So sorry, Doctor.”
“Hands up,” I ordered.
“Th-This is outrageous! Do you have any idea what kind of security measures we have in place around this facility?” asked Dressler.
Abigail grabbed the doctor by her wrist and pulled her close to her waist. “That’s why you’re coming with us.”
“Well, that’s not the only reason,” said Alphonse. He reached into the box and lifted up a thin, green object. It looked like a tube of some kind, sealed on both ends and filled with…something. Alphonse handed it to me.
I examined it closer in my hand. It had a cloudy look to it, like there was smoke inside. “This is it?” I asked.
“Were you expecting something else?” asked Alphonse.
“I don’t know,” I said, cocking my eye. “Maybe a shiny gem or a giant orb?”
“They have both of those down the hall,” he said. “Would you prefer it if we stole those, too?”
“Are they worth anything?” I asked.
“If they’re in this building, they’re worth something. In fact—”
“Hey!” snapped Abigail, tightening her grip on the doctor. “Shouldn’t we find a way out of here?”
“Oh, right,” I said, stuffing the ancient fuel cell into my leg pocket. “Which way, Doc?”
Dressler squirmed against Abigail, uncomfortably. “If you think I’m helping you steal that, you can forget it. Verdan! Initiate security procedure Beta-Gamma-Six-Two-Nine!”
“Proceeding,” said Verdan. “Informing Security Forces have been dispatched.”
Alphonse’s eyes widened. “Oh, no.”
I Fucking knew it, I thought.
And here I was, hoping to get out of this place without any trouble.
I pulled my pistol up and cocked the hammer back, aiming it at the doctor’s forehead. “You’d better fix whatever the hell you just did.”
Alphonse reached his hand out at Dressler. “Listen to him, please. That man is a trained Renegade. He’s not bluffing.”
“A Renegade?” she asked. “Constable, what are you doing with this man?”
“I put a bomb in his belly and forced him to follow me,” I said, motioning to Alphonse’s belly. “If he tries anything, those guts of his will end up all over your clean walls.”
“There’s a bomb?” she asked, her eyes widening in disbelief as they fell on Alphonse’s waist. “You brought a bomb into this facility?!”
Alphonse nodded. “You see the situation now, don’t you? I had no choice.”
“If you detonate a bomb in here, do you know what kind of chaos you’ll unleash? The materials on this level alone are—”
I leaned forward and pressed the barrel into her chest. “Then you’d best do as I say, lady, and help us get the fuck out of this place.”
She furrowed her brow at me. “You had better take that gun out of my face!”
I paused at her tone. She had spunk. I’d give her that much.
“We need to move,” said Abigail, shoving the doctor forward. “Those security officers will be here any second.”
“She’s right,” said Alphonse. “Shall we retreat?”
I stared at Dressler, who stared right back at me. “Fine,” I said, after a short moment. “Try anything else and you’re done, Doc.”
“I’m no fool,” she said. “You’re going to kill me no matter what I do.”
“Wrong,” I countered.
“If you help us, we’ll let you go,” said Abigail.
“What’s it gonna be, Doc?” I asked.
She hesitated to answer. I could see the gears turning in her head as she weighed her options. Help a group of thieves or risk getting killed here and now. “Fine,” she said at last. “There’s another lift through the main warehouse, back the way we came. It leads to a second security checkpoint on the surface.”
“How about you call off the guards first?” I asked.
“I can’t,” she said. “Once they’ve been activated, they have to perform a full check on the identified location.”
“We need to hurry,” said Alphonse. I was surprised to sense a bit of anxiety in his voice.
I glared at Dressler. “Where to?”
“If you can get to the lift, the security system won’t stop you,” informed Dressler. “It’s on a separate network, used only for emergencies.”
“What’s the catch?” I asked.
“You’ll need my authorization to use it,” she said.
“Of course we do,” Abigail said.
I crept up next to the doorway, peering through to the previous room with the shelves and into the main warehouse. “Let’s head out,” I said, motioning for the others to follow. “Everyone, stay behind me. Try not to get yourselves shot.”
* * *
We fled into the warehouse at the exact same moment that the elevator opened. Seven soldiers poured into the atrium, fully-armed and ready to stop us.
“Back up!” I barked, as soon as I spotted them.
The lead guard shot a burst in my direction, tagging my shield and causing it to flicker. “Shield at 90%,” said the automated voice inside my ear, a copy of Athena’s, although I knew it wasn’t her.
I ducked behind the wall, back inside the storage room. “Everyone, stay!” I told them, grabbing Alphonse by the shoulder and slamming him against the shelf beside me. The force knocked an object onto the floor, an old artifact of some sort.
Several more shots came through the opening, keeping me from moving. “They’re using suppressing fire to keep us in here,” said Alphonse. “I would expect a second group to move in soon.”
“No shit, Constable,” I muttered, checking my pistol, then raising it beside the doorway. “Abby, stay here and keep these two locked down. I’ll be back.”
“Is he serious?” asked Dressler, peering up at Alphonse.
“Shut up,” said Abigail, still gripping the woman’s wrist. “Let the man work.” She looked at me, nodding. “Go.”
One of the soldiers was moving between two rows in the warehouse, coming toward us. “Be back soon,” I muttered, then dashed into the gunfire.
A bullet struck the shield around my leg, lighting me up for a brief second and draining my energy to 80%. Not a problem, so long as I was through.
I ran to the nearest soldier, between the two rows of artifacts. I shot him twice in the chest before I was even on him, then collided with his body and slammed him into the nearby shelves. He wheezed when I struck him, and I finished him quickly with a bullet to the head.
I sprinted from there and slid when I reached a gap between the rows, firing two shots and hitting one of the soldiers in the leg. He screamed, causing the others to return fire, but I was already behind the second row.
I leapt to my feet and continued running. What I wouldn’t give for some grenades right about now.
I could see the soldiers moving on the other side of the shelves, heading towards me. Immediately, I dropped to the floor and got off a quick couple of shots, hitting two of them in the feet, ripping their boots to shreds and destroying their fucking bones. That’ll slow them down, I thought.
In a quick scramble, I scurried back up and dashed forward before they had a chance to realize what the fuck was going on.
A second later, a spray of gunfire shot up the spot behind me, exactly where I’d been lying, knocking several priceless artifacts to the floor, filling the warehouse with ear-piercing noise.
“He’s on the move!” shouted one of the guards. “Head to the rear!”
<
br /> I reached another gap in the rows and took a hard right, away from the soldiers. I’d have to lose them if I wanted to keep this going.
Can’t stay in one place for too long, I thought. These bastards won’t stop until they bleed me dry.
Before I could enter another row, I heard a gunshot from behind, followed by the flickering light of my shield and the automated voice, saying, “Shields at 65%”
I reacted with a quick turn, dropping in the process and sliding. I extended my pistol, waiting until I had the pursuing guard in my sights, and then fired.
The bullet struck him in the stomach, and he staggered, but only for a moment. These guys had body armor, enough to protect their abdomen from one or two shots. Before he could react any further, I followed it up with another one, this time at his skull.
He collapsed on his knees, dropping the rifle, and fell forward.
I was already moving, turning back around, toward the room where Abigail and the others were waiting.
Two soldiers came up behind the corpse. “Friendly down!” shouted one of them.
A spray of bullets followed me as I ran.
I took multiple hits, sending my shield into a frenzy, lighting it up so much I thought it might break. “Shield at 30%,” said the voice in my ear.
I reached the end of the row where the first soldier was lying dead, then turned to see Abigail and Alphonse watching me from inside the room.
There were still soldiers in the open area of the warehouse, and they didn’t hesitate to fire when I burst through the rows.
I ran to the room, firing blindly at the guards, less concerned with hitting them than just getting the fuck out. “Shield at 10%,” said the voice.
“Your turn!” I snapped as I reached the room, barely getting inside before my shield gave out.
Several bullets struck the wall to our right, across from the open doorway.
Abigail took Dressler by the hand and pushed her behind Alphonse. “Stay,” she ordered, then looked at me. “Watch them while I handle the rest!”
I was on the floor, back against the wall in a reverse-prone position. “You got it,” I said, wheezing from all the running.
Abigail burst into the bullet storm, instantly taking fire. Her shield lit up, but she was already shooting, popping one soldier in his chest before he had a chance to understand what was going on.
The two men who’d been chasing me arrived from between the rows, charging at her. They fired as they came, managing to get two shots on her shield before she retaliated.
With the pistol in her hand, she reached for her electric baton, activated the charge, and stabbed one of the men in the stomach. He fell to the floor and spasmed like he was having a seizure.
She extended the baton, brought it up above her head, and slammed it across the second guard’s neck.
I heard the crack from all the way inside the room where I was watching. “Ouch,” I muttered with a cringe.
In only a few seconds, both men had been incapacitated.
Abigail turned her attention to the only remaining soldier. He fired his rifle, sniping her shield—first in the stomach, then in the shoulder.
Abigail lifted her pistol, began marching towards him, and squeezed the trigger.
I heard two shots, out of view, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.
The nun returned a second later, casually reentering the room. “Everyone ready?”
“Y-You killed all those men?” muttered Dr. Dressler. “How is…how is that even possible?”
Alphonse motioned with his hand toward the warehouse. “I hope you understand the severity of your situation, Doctor. Now, please, show us the way so that we can leave you in peace.”
“You heard the man,” I said. “Al doesn’t want to die today.”
“Death does not agree with me,” he added.
“Dispatching additional personnel,” informed the A.I. over the loudspeakers.
Abigail grabbed Dressler by the wrist. “Let’s go!”
We fled along the nearby wall, passing by several of the formerly living guards. I was in the lead, with Alphonse, Dr. Dressler, and Abigail right behind me. This wasn’t the way I had hoped for today to go, but it certainly could have gone much worse.
When we reached the edge of the warehouse, Dressler pointed. “Through the second door!”
I glanced over my shoulder. “If we walk in there and an alarm goes off, so help me…”
“It’s safe, I promise,” she insisted, running up beside me and letting the scanner examine her eye. It beeped and the door slid open, showing a dimly lit corridor. “Through here, then a left, and it’s straight until you reach the—”
“Contact front!” shouted someone from the other end of the warehouse.
The soldiers fired, causing us to rush inside and forego the discussion. I yanked the doctor into the hall, both of us falling on our faces. Abigail pushed Alphonse ahead of her, taking a shot in the back so he didn’t have to.
The door closed behind her, and we hurried to our feet. “Run!” Abigail snapped. “We need to go!”
I dragged Dressler behind me as we moved. The lights overhead began to come on, one at a time, further into the hall. We ran faster than they could activate, rounding the corner and reaching the far end in under thirty seconds.
I heard voices coming from the previous direction Someone was shouting orders. “Get this fucking door open!”
Dressler ran up to the elevator doors, which were only a few more paces away. She then tapped a code into the touch pad, allowing us to pile inside.
“That was almost bad,” I said, once we were in.
A loud, shattering sound came from down the hall, and I heard footsteps clapping, growing louder.
As the doors closed, shadows emerged from around the corner, followed by men with guns, clad in Union armor.
“There!” shouted the closest one.
I waved, right as the doors shut, the second before they opened fire, denting the elevator metal.
Dr. Dressler nearly fell back into Alphonse’s arms, scared to death.
I looked at her, then at Alphonse, and gave him an obvious smirk. “Save it for later, Al,” I said, turning forward and cracking my neck. “We might have more killin’ left to do.”
Eight
The doors opened behind three men in lab coats. Before they could even turn around, Abigail had a pistol on one and the end of her baton on another. “Don’t move.”
“W-What is this? Who are—”
“Keep quiet!” she snapped, nudging the man with the barrel.
“After you,” I said to Dressler.
The doctor stepped through the lift doors and into what I guessed was a laboratory. “Everyone, please, just do as they say,” Dressler said.
“Where are we?” asked Abigail, still with both her weapons against the two doctors.
“F-First floor, laboratory twelve,” said one of them.
Abigail lowered the pistol, but only to her hip. The barrel remained pointed. “Which way to reach the courtyard?”
The man bent to his right and pointed.
I tapped Abigail’s shoulder and motioned for her to step back, along with Alphonse and Dressler. With everyone out of the way, I asked if there was anyone else in this lab.
“Only us,” said the second doctor.
“In you go,” I said, nodding at the elevator, and they did exactly what I told them. “Press the button for the bottom floor and don’t come back here for an hour.”
They each nodded, fear all over their faces.
We waited for the doors to close and the elevator to descend, just to be sure.
Abigail dragged Dressler behind her, heading in the direction the other doctor had suggested. “Time to go!”
I nodded at Alphonse, and we both followed.
After a short corridor, we found a set of double doors, which opened into a field of finely cut grass. This must have been the side entrance. It was secur
ed with a scanner, so you couldn’t leave without authorization, and there didn’t seem to be any handles or devices on the other side. That meant that once we were outside, there would be no going back.
If we ended up in the middle of a firefight, it would also mean little to no cover.
Nowhere to run, but forward.
“Are we ready?” I asked each of my fellow fugitives.
“I could stand to stay behind,” said Dressler. “Please, you don’t need me anymore, do you?”
“Nice try,” said Abigail.
The doctor swallowed. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
I fled through the door, the others right behind me, my pistol at the ready. A sudden breeze flew across my cheeks and, for a moment, it was nice, like being in a glade near a brook, the total opposite of where I actually was. It was almost like I wasn’t robbing the Union and trying to escape with two hostages at my side and one of the galaxy’s most powerful artifacts in my goddamn pocket.
I could see the entrance to the landing platform straight ahead of us, across the field. It was a wide area with thin towers on all sides, which could have been anything from overhead lights to turrets, for all I knew. I cursed myself for not scouting this location more before coming down, but there hadn’t been enough time, not with General Brigham tracking us, although I certainly couldn’t confirm that he was. I’d been too shortsighted, rushing onto this asshole of a planet. Oh well. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d played fast and—
“Stop them! They’re heading to that ship!” shouted a husky voice to my left.
A group of armed guards filed out of the front of the building. A quick glance revealed it was the same squad that had escorted us into the building after we’d landed.
“Run!” I shouted, taking Dressler’s hand and pulling her into the open grass.
Several shots fired on my position. Dressler screamed, surprising me with how loud her voice could get. For such an angry-looking woman, she sure could project herself.
“Wait! They have a hostage!” shouted one of the soldiers.
“Doesn’t matter! Keep firing!” returned another.
“W-What did he just say?!” asked Dressler.
“Keep up!” snapped Alphonse.
