This was quite the pickle. Gun-arm restrained to the floor while a second Python was on its way to get the rest of me. Two guards in the hallway that were only dazed for a couple more minutes. Another pair behind the door that my back was turned to, about ready to commit to opening up and seeing what was going on.
All things told, it was probably one of the top five worst situations I’d been in. This year, at least. Ignoring the two times that I had almost died and once where I’d gotten knocked out but fallen somewhere that my targets couldn’t find me. They’d thought I had risen from the grave to get revenge. Amusing in retrospect.
Still, I should probably focus on the task at hand. Or more accurately, on my gun-arm.
Stims fueled my strength. I rose gradually, able to slightly maneuver my barrel over the length of the synthetic snake. Left hand brushed past my tool pouch to slide out a normal shell from the top of my drum. I stopped protesting so hard, and the muzzle sunk back down to jab into the body of the Python.
Tazor shot powered through it. Didn’t go loose, but stopped trying to wind me in and I could move my arm. My leg took some of the brunt of the electrical power and felt numb. Chamber open, I slotted the normal cartridge in as Overcharge powered up.
Second Python coiled up, ready to leap. Click. The V-Force powered the blast straight through it and into the floor. Shredded skin and malfunctioning parts. Replaced the cartridge and hit it with a Tazer to be sure. Foot removed from the first, I grabbed it up off the carpet.
Door opened with a hiss. My gun-arm still hummed from the ejected power, needing to cool off. The head of the held Python zipped forward as I used it as a whip, clocking the first guard in the head and knocking him out. Second guard opened fire as I stomped forward to barrel into him. Dropped him to the floor with the charge. Lashed into his arm with my gun, disarming the pistol that clattered to the floor.
He tried to get back up, but I administered a swift kick to his head, putting him out. A little rougher than I had wanted to be, but I’d made it through the situation without…
I looked up to the end of the room, where a Shredder was now entering. I didn’t get the chance to hide before the laser scan emitted from its singular red eye washed over me. A whirr as the machine-gun on its arm spun up.
Cursing only in the safety of my own head, I dove to the side and rolled - awkwardly with how my leg was still reeling from the self-inflicted Tazer. Plasterboard from the drably painted wall burst out in a rough row as bullets struck it. I scrabbled behind a table, the computer monitor and tower sparking out as they were then fired upon.
“Armed intruder detected. All available security personnel to Office Suite C.”
The tannoy hissed away as it relayed the message. Well, that was me cooked then. Beneath the table I fired off a Tazer shot, striking the Shredder in the lower legs. Enough to cause it to halt the hail of bullets, even if not stop it outright.
A brief reprieve I took full advantage of. I leaped from my position and slid across the desk, knocking keyboards and files of paperwork to the floor alongside the Tazer mag bouncing across the carpet. Drum mag clicked into place and the first shell racked into the chamber.
It left that place of snuggled safety almost immediately. Ceramic plates shattered and dropped to the floor as I repeated the action twice, and then a third time. Enough of the internal electronics were damaged to the point that the automaton just stood there in place, staring at the floor, looking lost.
First, I strode over past the sleeping guards and used the keycard to shut the door behind me. Didn’t want the Pythons after me anytime soon. Even if they still functioned, they’d struggle to get through the small tunnels through the walls now. Next was retrieving my Tazer mag. Topped it up from the near-empty one before putting it back on my belt.
One Shredder and two Sentries remained. Plus the mystery guest. Stims rushed back through me as I realized I had taken a couple of shots to the torso. Lower ribs that managed to miss my lungs, and up near my left shoulder. At least they were using conventional munitions. I briefly considered if bringing my shrapnel remover along on contracts might be worth the effort. If I could pop out the bullets now, then the stims wouldn’t need to heal over and then be opened up again once I got home.
I decided it would be a good idea to go over all of my operating procedures, assuming I survived this contract. Too long had I been working with bad habits and the bare minimum. If I was one of Boss’ most dependable Agents, then imagine what I could be if I put more effort into the job.
Not sure where this sudden change of heart came from.
Two exits from this room and a side office that was dark. While my target could be easily hiding out in one of these smaller rooms of shadow, I highly doubted it. It just wasn't the style - once you got to this level of ego and hubris, you started leaning heavily into clichés. He'd be in the most defended area, twirling a mustache as he felt his practices were beyond reproach, and it was just prudish society that needed to catch up.
Would have to see if he changed his mind once I caught up to him. I stooped down by one of the guards to take his gun. Although I wasn't ambidextrous - so left-hand aim was poor - it might still come in handy. Need to give my other hand something to do other than soak up bullets. I'd much rather steal the Shredder's machine gun, but it was electronically controlled.
That left little for me to do but choose a door. I chose the closed right side. Heavy boot conducted the opening ceremony, almost springing the unsuspecting barrier off its hinges. My choice was rewarded by a slim room that looked like it was used as a security checkpoint, before another shuttered exit was at the other end.
Research - Restricted Area.
I had a knack for turning up where I was least wanted, so the trail must be getting warmer. Roxy was similarly cursed, and I wondered if her opponents felt the same way when she turned up.
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Speaking of supers... There was a non-zero chance that a hero or law enforcement would have been informed by now. Oceano Group had connections out of the ass, so even a rogue researcher might be able to call in the cavalry. Boss sure knew how to pick them - the rewards for this one better be worth it. I had gotten lucky with the wizard villain, and didn’t fancy my chances up against anyone more competent.
Over to the keypad and I swiped the card before inputting four of the five digits. Having one code for the whole floor wasn’t too out of the ordinary… but to not have disabled the code, or refreshed to a different one once lockdown had started... it seemed like a mistake on their part. Unless I was being allowed to go this far for a reason.
I glanced back at the open doorway and dim office lights beyond. Didn’t feel like I was being pursued or watched, but my nerves were still acting up. Unsurprising, really - when I had aching gunshot wounds and almost had my cyborg arm torn off by a faux snake. Deep within the bowels of an unknown place with no backup - not that I’d ever had backup.
Clearly I was a little out of sorts. Shook those thoughts away and hit the final button. Door started opening, and I brought out the stolen pistol once more. Asking for trouble, really, since I was sure the cops would have started putting together a collection of my fingers prints over the years. Boss had assured me my past life had been scrubbed from all records. I was a ghost in the system. Someone who didn’t exist.
But I’d left my mark around the city. Maybe it was having a slight, tenuous connection to another soul that reminded me I was living on borrowed time.
The metal door slid away, and I readied my boot for my next grand entrance. Definitely warmer now. I could tell when a target was just at the edges of my barrel.
Kicked open the door and rolled into the room, both guns up as I righted into a crouch.
A square room. Double-doors to the left and right, as well as straight ahead. Rather than simple wood, they were metal and looked more like an air-lock than something office adjacent. Clearly, the research labs. Good news being that this was the likely place for the target to be hiding out.
Bad news was that I had also found the two Sentries. Standing guard at the sides of the door in front of me.
They both turned to greet me, each having solitary red eyes like a cyclops. A scan that was done in a near instant. Their determination? I was a threat. They were correct.
Threat Level 15. I’m sure those in the know would argue the specs until your ears bled, but they were basically twice the firepower of a Shredder, despite their apparent threat levels being close.
Normal shot struck the one on the right, an arc of electricity causing the glowing red light to blink on and off. I must have gotten lucky and struck a weak point.
Left hand went up to take potshots at the second one, just as it spun up and opened fire. Sparks and clangs rang out as I turned to take the brunt of the volley with my gun-arm.
It didn’t make for a good shield. Stims flooded through me.
Then there was a flash. Pistol lay on the ground amidst splatters of my own blood. Head rang like crazy, pain shuddering up and down my whole body. Gun-arm slunk lax from its raised position.
I really needed to stop EMP-ing myself. With a sigh that rattled the filters in my re-breather, I rubbed at my head. Just managed to get that breath out despite my faltering tech. The brief massage did little to put the looming headache on hold, and only smeared blood across my forehead. Wasn't often that I got to be under closer-range machine gun fire without cover. Didn’t much care for it.
Blood soaked through my many layers of green cloth and dripped to the floor. I shuffled my way up to the first Sentry. Would check injuries after I got out of here safely, but felt like at least half a dozen additional bullet wounds. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t collapse from blood loss before getting back to my bike.
Gun-arm pulled back, I then lashed it forward into the machine. Broken ceramic and metal plates, its guts now exposed. With my bloody left hand, I reached in and pulled at whatever I could grasp. The pulsing red light flickered off and the whirring hum it was generating silenced. Dropped the handful of wires and circuitry and shuffled over close to the second one to repeat the same actions.
They needed to build them with thicker armor on the front - but then again, these didn’t look to be military spec. Commercial grade. More of a deterrent than a machine built for prolonged conflict. There was still a living Shredder somewhere on this floor, but I didn’t care to seek it out. It missed its chance to get blown to shreds.
All things told, I didn’t care for much other than completing my contract and getting some sleep, actually.
A couple of clicks and a hum from the complaining V-force drive, and my tech was functional enough once more. Took a deep breath clear of any obstruction. Some fresh air would be nicer, but I wasn’t in a position to complain. Checked the chamber to ensure it was loaded. Yep. Hand grabbed at the bar across the door, leaving a slick streak of crimson as I pushed it open.
There was a hiss of controlled air as it split and opened up. Blue light washed over me, the lab inside barely lit by dimmed side lights and idle monitors and screens all in a similar hue. Five rows of dark tables with computers and other types of equipment I wasn’t familiar with. At the end of the room was a raised area that led to a side office on the right.
I wasn’t a gambling man, but-
“Ah, you actually made it.”
Muscles tensed up, which just caused a fresh wave of stims to flood me so I couldn’t feel my complaining body scream out. Gun-arm up.
“Such a shame you were sent here on false pretenses.”
I narrowed my eyes. The voice was roving, as if was filling and swirling the room. I waited, statuesque, for any sorts of movement.
“Do you care to know the truth? Of why you were sent here? Of… who sent you here?”
The door to the office clicked - unlocked.
“Things don’t have to be this way. I can help you. All I ask is that you listen.”
A figure stepped out onto the raised area. The good doctor himself, in a smart pastel-blue research uniform. Head high in the air, it wasn’t hard to see that he was an elf based on his body language alone, regardless of the pointed ears or energetic eyes, despite being in his middle ages. Hands clasped behind his back, he turned to me and smiled.
Click. Painted the back wall with the insides of his skull.
Aching legs took me around the tables to get closer, and I racked another shell to put through his chest.
Probably the fifth person in the last couple of years to promise me answers and an escape from this way of life. Words didn’t matter to me, and I liked my job. Perhaps not the part where I turned into a target dummy and half died every few days… but it was a busy season.
Despite being against my usual protocol, I stepped past the dead doctor and entered his office. More soft browns than bright blues, as the furniture and upholstery determined this was probably his home away from home. Over to his desk where he’d left his computer open.
It was currently uploading several folders of data, using a slow, encrypted network like my own. I jostled the mouse, dripping blood across his desk, and opened up a couple of the folders.
Closed them down.
Tore the cables from the back of the computer, before putting a shot through the tower.
Rolling my head around on my neck, I stepped back out into the lab. Needed to get out of here, before I passed out or was found by…
The sound of clapping drew my eyes to the door.
A man lowered his hands and drew a bright silver sword from his belt. Something strange enough at the outset. He wore a smirk across his face beneath an eye-mask of deep blue with white lines - something that matched his skin-tight spandex suit. Designed to resemble chain-mail, maybe.
“Looks like thanks are due, friend.” His shit-eating grin widened as he pushed himself away from the door frame, his empty hand running through messy brown hair. “It's not everyday someone comes along and does the job for you.”
Threat Level 40, my eye interjected.