Gearing Up

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “I can do it,” Becky said. “You better be safe.”

  “I’m not the one walking into the lion’s den,” Alvin said pointedly. “I don’t care how many of them fall, you stay alive.”

  Becky nodded as Trevill stared at them. “Did you just tell her it's okay if we all die, as long as she stays alive?”

  “Would you tell your wife differently?” Alvin said, turning his head to stare down the officer.

  Trevill sat back as if he’d been slapped. “I wouldn’t put my wife in that situation.”

  “Really?” Alvin said with a vicious smile. “Where is she right now?”

  Trevill froze. “You son of a bitch.”

  “Probably,” Alvin shrugged. “I’m sending her in with everyone else to buy the time to get your wife and the others free. So, yes, she is more important to me than this entire fucking town.”

  Seething, Trevill’s lips pulled back into a snarl, “If this goes wrong, I’ll kill you myself.”

  “Many have tried, but all have failed,” Alvin snickered.

  “Technically, that isn’t true,” Becky deadpanned.

  Alvin had to concede the point. “Fair enough,” he said with a nod at Becky.

  The bell above the door rang as Gary walked into the bar, ending the conversation. “I’ve got eight men,” Gary said, letting the others file in behind him. “We’re ready to go.”

  “You’ll be going in with Gothy,” Alvin said. “Officer Goodwill and I will be going in the back door to try and get down to the hostage room. Buy all the time you can before the fight starts. If you hear shooting, the cat is out of the bag.”

  “Wait, why are you going with Trevill?” one of the guys asked.

  Alvin looked at the very large bearded man and shook his head. “You don’t look exactly stealthy, okay? This is going to require skills that I have, and that I hope Goodwill has.”

  “His name is Trevill,” the bearded man said.

  Alvin shrugged. “That isn’t the point. The point is that, without keys, I’m the most likely to be able to get a door open.”

  “Fucking criminal,” Trevill muttered, loud enough to be heard.

  “Or I could just be a locksmith,” Alvin grinned. “Now, are there questions about what we’re doing?”

  “You’ll get my wife out?” Gary asked.

  “I’ll give everything but my life to try,” Alvin said. “You all need to keep Lister busy. If things go bad, then just do your best to kill him. Once we get the hostages safe, we’ll be coming up to help.”

  “Doug,” Gary said, addressing the bearded man, “you’re going to be our reason for going in. We all know Lister hates you, but you haven’t given him a reason before.”

  Squaring his shoulders, Doug nodded. “Papa Grimes would be proud to know that I’m going to be taking down a man like this.”

  “Gothy,” Alvin said, getting her attention. “Hand me your MP5. I’ll want the quieter guns. I’ll give you my Type—that and the Tommy are your best bets.”

  The group of townspeople watched the couple exchange guns with raised eyebrows. “You have used a kiosk before,” Gary said after a moment.

  “Since the beginning,” Alvin said. “Sorry for the deceit earlier, but we wanted to get the layout of the town. We ran into Lister’s men back in Hawthorne, and then again at Nine Mile Ranch. Those encounters led us here to find out if they were just bad apples, or if Lister was. Since he is, and you’re all being ground under his heel, we figured we would help you.”

  “So, this is just you being a good guy?” Trevill sneered.

  “Officer, wouldn’t you help out others in need?” Alvin shot back.

  “Of course I would. I swore to protect and serve,” Trevill said, getting to his feet.

  “Good, then let’s go protect your families,” Alvin said, getting to his feet as well. “Give us a few minutes to get around to the back door, then go for it.”

  Becky tugged him back to her and kissed him hard. “No dying.”

  “No dying,” Alvin said, kissing her again before letting her go.

  “She is the most important thing in the world to me. Keep her safe, please,” Alvin said.

  “I’ll make sure she survives,” Doug Grimes said staunchly.

  “If you can get my Stephanie out safely, I’ll give my own life to protect her,” Gary said with conviction. “We’ll buy you the time you need.”

  “Hero,” Becky said, “maybe we should Contract them all.”

  Alvin frowned. “That’s a big hit, and it's not like positive XP is going to be gained.”

  Becky pulled his head down so she could whisper, “You can set the group as all loot goes to you, which means everybody is ours, instead of whoever kills them. If we do that, we can opt to not loot Lister and take all his shit.”

  Nodding slowly, Alvin could see her point. “Devious. I love your plan, and you.”

  “One more thing,” Alvin said as he stepped away from Becky. “We need to stop by the store, first. We’re going to make a party for this raid.”

  Gary’s lips pursed. “Lister’s men were talking about that a few days ago, and how they were all going to get shared experience.”

  “Correct,” Alvin said. “It requires a cheap Power from the store. Gothy and I will foot your cost for it, as well as upgrading your gun of choice so you don’t run out of ammo.”

  Trevill blinked. “What’s the catch?”

  “We get the loot from taking Lister down,” Alvin said simply. “That’s it. We’ll be leaving town after Lister is gone. You’ll be on your own to figure out who’s going to run your town and how it’s to be run.”

  “I’m in,” Gary said.

  “Me too,” Doug added.

  One by one, the others all agreed, even Anders. “That’s eleven of you,” Alvin said. “We can just afford this. Let’s get geared up, and then we’ll go depose this dictator.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Walking across the street with Trevill, Alvin took a good look at the fort that took up the entire block it sat on. The walls were smooth concrete, and a turret was mounted at each corner. The massive doors were both open, letting anyone walk right into the yard. Alvin shook his head as he looked at the front of the building. The whole first floor had no windows, which Alvin had to admit was a good defensive idea, but it lacked any way to shoot from inside.

  Alvin whistled softly as they passed a parking area on the side of the building. An impressive collection of classic cars was parked there. Slowing behind an old Bentley in perfect condition, Alvin resisted the urge to touch the car.

  “That is what Lister uses when he drives around town,” Trevill told Alvin.

  “At least he has some taste,” Alvin said as he started walking again.

  Rounding the corner to the back of the building, Trevill stopped as they came to a reinforced steel door. “Remember, let me do the talking,” Trevill said softly before he knocked on the door. The knock had a rhythm to it, but it wasn’t the standard shave and a haircut.

  A small hatch in the door slid open. “What?”

  “It’s Trevill. I’m here for my weekly visit with my wife,” Trevill said flatly.

  “You see her on Saturdays,” the man inside snapped.

  “Lister said I could see her once a week for two hours,” Trevill snarled. “It was never stated that it had to be a specific day. Now let me in Andrew, or so help me, I’ll beat the shit out of you tomorrow.”

  “I don’t know why Lister puts up with your lip,” Andrew sneered as the heavy bolts were pulled back. “Fine. Come on, then.”

  As the door opened, Trevill grabbed Andrew, pulled him out of the building, and slammed him into the wall. “I lied about not beating your ass,” Trevill snarled as he slammed his fist into Andrew’s diaphragm, driving the air out of the man.

  Alvin summoned the MP5 to hand while closing the door, and waited as Trevill vented some of his anger. When Trevill released Andrew, Alvin knelt on the beaten man’s gut. “
You chose the wrong leader,” Alvin said simply as he pressed the gun into the man’s chest. A quick rapid tap of the trigger sprayed blood up around Alvin. Once Andrew went limp, Alvin moved the gun to his head and pulled the trigger once.

  Trevill was looking at Alvin with disgust when Alvin stood up from the dead man. “Problem?”

  “You didn’t need to shoot him that much,” Trevill said.

  “Actually, yeah, you do now,” Alvin sighed. “Going to have to teach you all the newest rules to the game, it seems. That will come later, we have a mission right now.”

  Shaking his head, Trevill opened the door. “We still need to deal with the next one.”

  Alvin shrugged as he put the MP5 back on safety and willed it into his glove. “After you, Officer Goodwill.”

  “My name is Terrence Trevill, not Goodwill,” Trevill snapped.

  “Terrace Goodwill,” Alvin nodded, “I got it.”

  “Fucking asshole,” Trevill snarled as he started into the building.

  Alvin knew he probably shouldn’t needle the deputy so much, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. Taking a quick moment to loot the body, Alvin absorbed the XP token and wondered if he would get a rune or something off the next goon. Strolling along behind the officer, Alvin closed the door, but didn’t latch it, thinking they might need to get people out quickly.

  A table and chair sat just inside the door. On the table was an unlabeled bottle and a deck of cards. Alvin picked up the bottle, thinking it could come in handy, and took a sniff. The smell of alcohol was strong. Alvin followed Trevill as the former deputy turned left down the hallway.

  It wasn’t a long walk before Trevill came to a stairwell that went down. Following along behind, Alvin wondered what kind of complications were going to spring up. The stairs had landings that Trevill went right past. Alvin wondered what each floor might contain, but kept following his guide.

  At the bottom, the stairs ended at a short hall. A bored looking man sat at another table, playing solitaire. Behind him was another reinforced steel door, with a normal looking door across from him. He looked up when Trevill and Alvin appeared.

  “Trevill? You’re not supposed to be here for another few days,” the guard said as he stood and put his hand on his pistol.

  Trevill came to a stop, forcing Alvin to do the same. “I can come once a week. I just wanted to see her today. Gary’s son came into town today, too,” Trevill hitched a thumb at Alvin, “He’s passed on his visit with his wife so his son could see her instead.”

  “Lister didn’t say nothin’ about this,” the man said as he eyed the two men.

  “We just came from seeing him,” Trevill sighed. “Fuck, if you make me go back up there and explain this, we’re both going to get our asses chewed. Do you want to give up some of your perks?”

  The man licked his lips thoughtfully before shaking his head. “Fuck no. I get first dibs on any women brought back from Hawthorne. No way I’m going to jeopardize that.”

  “So just let us see our family—we even go one at a time,” Trevill said.

  “Fine, you first. I’ll chat with Gary’s son. What’s your name?” the man asked Alvin suspiciously.

  “Leon,” Alvin said.

  “Fine, Leon, you just stay right there. Trevill, go ahead into the visiting room. I’ll get your wife and bring her over.”

  Trevill nodded. “Appreciate it.” He walked up to the guard, who was taking a drink from his own bottle, and smiled. “I mean it, Zach, this means so much to me.”

  Zach wasn’t prepared when Trevill took the last two steps toward him, nor for the sudden fist to his throat as he was drinking. Alvin rushed down the hall as Trevill slammed his foot down into Zach’s chest.

  “She told me what you do to her when you bring her to see me, you piece of shit!” Trevill snarled as he continued to stomp his boot into Zach, who was trying to curl up into a ball.

  Alvin hip checked Trevill away in time to stomp on Zach’s hand, which had been reaching for his gun. “Rage is fine, but if you get shot, it ruins our chances here.” Alvin didn’t summon a gun; instead he knelt down next to Zach and pinned the man’s freshly crippled hand under his knee. “As for you, I’d normally do this differently, but we need it to be quiet.”

  Taking out the bottle he had put into his bag, Alvin shoved it into Zach’s mouth and upended it, making the man drink. Choking, Zach did his best but he couldn’t keep up. Gagging as he was forced to drink the bottle, Zach tried to struggle away, but Alvin just hit him in the balls.

  A whimper was Zach’s only reply as his eyes rolled up in his head. Alvin sighed as he smashed the bottle, getting sharp points. “This is not going to be pretty—”

  “Wait, what are you doing!?” Trevill said.

  “Killing him quietly,” Alvin said as he took the keys off Zach’s belt and tossed them to Trevill. ”Go get them free, you don’t want to be here for this.”

  Trevill got the reinforced door unlocked and went inside. Alvin frowned as he looked at the jagged points on the bottle. “Even I don’t want to do this. I need to pick up a good knife soon.” With that said, Alvin began digging the sharp bottle into Zach’s neck.

  Zach came awake with a gurgle as the bottle began digging into his neck. He began flailing at Alvin to get him to stop. Alvin grimaced and slammed his hand into Zach’s balls repeatedly until he stopped trying to fight.

  “Wrong leader,” Alvin muttered as he finished killing Zach with the broken bottle. Alvin stood up and had to chuckle as the blood liberally coating him slid off his clothing. Taking a moment to wipe his hands off on Zach’s pants, Alvin picked up the chair and began bashing Zach’s head in to make sure he wouldn’t reanimate.

  Just as he was finishing with his gruesome task, the first few people came out from the room behind the steel door and found Alvin standing over the mangled remains. An elderly woman screamed and fainted into the arms of a middle-aged man.

  “Who are you?” the man said as he started to pull the old woman back towards the door.

  “He’s with me,” Trevill said from behind the man. “I know it's bad out there, but we need to go that way to get out.”

  Before more could be said, Alvin knelt and looted the body, taking the XP token and using it. With the body gone, the others weren’t as skittish to walk past the pool of blood that Alvin stood next to.

  “Where did that asshole Zach go?” one of the people asked.

  “Away,” Alvin said with a tight smile. “Which way to the room where the others are?” Alvin asked.

  “When we get up the ground floor, go the other way,” Trevill said as he held onto his wife a little tighter. “I’ll get these people to safety.”

  “Works for me,” Alvin said and started to walk past the others. “Excuse me, folks, but more people need killing.”

  Everyone gave Alvin room as he went past them. Breaking into a jog once he made it past the hostages, Alvin went up the stairs two at a time. A startled exclamation as he went past the first landing made him come to a stop and summon his UMP to his hand. Pressing himself against the wall, Alvin waited.

  A moment later, a goon poked his head into the stairway. Alvin stepped into him and began squeezing the trigger quickly. The sound of muffled gunshots and the screams of the man echoed down the hall and stairs. Alvin shot the man a dozen times, putting the last one through the corpse’s head. The body made a wet sound as it fell. Alvin looted the body, getting a 9mm handgun with two runes on it as loot, but no XP token.

  Trevill came racing up the stairs to find Alvin next to another pool of blood. “What happened?”

  “One of them came from this way,” Alvin said. The sound of distant gunfire echoed in the room. “Fuck!” Springing to his feet, Alvin took off at a run. “Get them out!”

  Putting the UMP on safety, Alvin made it vanish into his glove as he pulled out the MP5. At the top of the stairs, he saw a man running ahead of him. Hip firing on the run is not known to give good accuracy, so A
lvin emptied the magazine, slowing to put the the last few shots into the dead man’s head as he went by the body. He switched out the MP5 for the UMP as he ran.

  A hallway split to his left with a steel door at the end of it, the sound of gunfire coming from behind it. Alvin almost went that way, but instead rounded the corner and found a set of stairs that led up. Sprinting to them, Alvin heard the gunfire lessening, and laughter coming from ahead of him.

  “I told you if you ever fucking tried anything, your families would die! Yet you still came here to try and fuck with me!? Well now look at you all, dead or bleeding out. Didn’t you think I’d have been preparing for this day? Sure, you killed some of my men, but when the rest get back, we’ll be butchering the rest of your friends to teach the others a lesson they won’t ever forget.”