The Order of Alzumah had been getting on his nerves recently. It was not because of his current predicament, being relegated to the passenger side of the car by his current partner, Lena. But more the missions they had been assigned. Though he did not appreciate that he wasn’t allowed to drive. Apparently she had been a bit hesitant to let him drive after a previous mission had left them stuck in a ditch. Maxwell had argued that it hadn't been his fault, but it didn’t matter in the end. Fortunately they were both in the risky line of work, and the road they were currently driving along had a decently steep slope down one side, and a rocky cliff up the other. So, he was just waiting for his moment to take back the wheel. And when he did, he would do something more exciting than sitting behind a relic convey moving from some historical site in New Teotlan as part of a convoy with a large truck and another car at the front. He knew that Mictepeh had a lot of history and cultural influence on the region, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care when they had to guard relics at a time so late at night that it could be classed as early morning.
When in long cross continent car drives in the past, he would stare out of the window to admire the landscape, but thanks to the timing of the trip it was only becoming an option now. Unfortunately the side of the road that wasn’t a rocky cliff, was equally as barren. Aside from the occasional interesting rock formation and yellow tuft of grass, it was as dead as a desert. So in order to pass the time, he decided to annoy Lena.
“So, if you-“
“No.”
“I didn’t even finish what I was saying!” A beat passed.
“I don’t care. I knew what you were going to ask. You’ve asked me five different variations of the same question in the past half an hour. If you’re really that bored, play something on your phone.”
“I’m conserving charge in case Louis spots something, or if something catastrophic happens back at the Order headquarters.”
“Oddly sensible of you. Are you sure there’s no other reason?”
“Now that I think about it, I do get travel sick.”
“There we go.” Lena muttered under her breath. Maxwell couldn’t help but smirk at that. It wasn’t much of a song and dance, but it was theirs and it passed the time quite nicely. He did decide against staying silent though.
“Seriously though. If you weren’t with the Order, where would you work? I accept wrong answers too!”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only answer you would accept as wrong would be the International Law Enforcement Agency, no? You did enough complaining about their ‘stupid’ rules when we were trying to get permission to be here, especially when they insisted on one of their own joining us.”
“I was quite right in complaining about that. Besides, I would accept joining the Followers of Xanthopan as wrong too. Though we would end up in a very cushy job and a much bigger backing… now that I think about it, it might be pretty nice.”
“Maxwell Will Weil. Ignoring the fact that that we would get killed before even approaching them? Yeah, we might get a nice deal. I’d go for the Scholars though. Being a part of the neutral party might kill me on the inside, but they have access to some juicy secrets and cool rituals. Some that even the Keeper might not be privy to.”
“Oh? You’ve seen some of the Scholar’s rituals? How’d that happen?”
“I am not allowed to say. But you haven’t answered your own question.”
“Personally, I’d probably go for one of the smaller ones. Smaller jurisdiction, less danger all around and I don’t have to travel cross country, just to go back across that country at night.”
“Good reasons, though there are two issues with that. You would no longer have the Order’s protection when the Followers turn up to finish the job, and you would no longer have access to the armoury.” Lena jerked her chin over her shoulder, gesturing to the large number of guns he had piled on the backseat. “And I do know how you love your explosions.”
“You’re right. I do. You know me so well babe.” Lena muttered something under her breath, but it wasn’t loud enough for Maxwell to hear and respond to. He might have gone for a different angle, but then his phone rang, cutting off any thought to do that. He checked the caller name and became concerned when he discovered that it was Louis calling him. He immediately picked up.
“You have incoming from the front. One vehicle, six-wheeler, armour plated and accelerating. I wouldn’t be surprised if the glass was bullet proof. Looks military and very big. You’ve got about two minutes before you make contact.”
“Got it.” Louis hung up and Maxwell pulled out his handgun from its holster and started to check that it was in working order. “We have some visitors. Get to the front of the convoy.” Lena nodded and started to accelerate.
Maxwell meanwhile undid his seatbelt and kicked the chair back to give him access to the stockpile of weapons behind him. They knew that the Followers of Xanthopan were going to jump the convoy eventually. Objects like these gave off a distinct aura that could be tracked by anything supernatural, and while usually this included things like old family heirlooms whose blessings had been running on fumes for centuries, or curses that had been unintentionally cast with dying breaths, sometimes there was a special case. When the hallway in Mictepeh has been opened it had been a treasure trove.
After sifting through the items in the room it had been determined that they had unearthed a small section of the underground catacombs that was older than the rest of the ruins, and even had a door to the caves running underneath Mictepeh. However, discovering the hallway had opened a seal on a powerful object. One that felt very similar to others that the Followers of Xanthopan had been trying to gather over the years. So, when the clock started ticking it was fortunate that the Order of Alzumah had been close by to lend a hand and to keep them from achieving whatever goals they had with what was found. As the Followers had more funding and power though, they did not expect the convoy to make it to its destination unscathed.
Which was why Maxwell may have come overprepared. They had given him free reign in the armoury and he had taken full advantage of that. There were quite a few options that he had, but considering what they were dealing with he decided to go straight for the thing that had taken the most bargaining. Draped across all of the seats in the back laid a rocket launcher. He had stored the ammo in the footwell behind the driver’s side, which was not something Lena was happy about, but she had agreed that it was the most sensible place. While Maxwell was preparing the launcher, Lena had finished driving up to the front of the convoy. Then he started winding down the window.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Soon he heard the vehicle approaching, the roar of its engine sounding more beast than machine, and once it came into view, he understood why. Height wise it was almost as large as the truck carrying the relics, and it was certainly wider. At the front of it sat a battering ram, and above that was a windshield through which he could barely see the driver and his manic grin as it accelerated towards them. Maxwell manoeuvred himself out the window with the launcher and fired it directly at the thing.
An explosion completely covered the front, but it didn’t matter. The vehicle powered through it and Lena swerved to avoid a head on collision, instead being clipped on the side causing their car to spin out to the side. The other car in the convey was less lucky however, with the force of the collision knocking it off of the road and down the slope that was off to one side. Maxwell got dislodged from his position leaning out of the window and thrown to the road. He took it with a roll and landed in a firing position on his knee, drawing his handgun smoothly to unload a few rounds in the rear of the vehicle. As expected it did nothing and he watched on as it went for the truck with the relics. The drivers of said truck also swerved to avoid a head on collision, but unfortunately their vehicle was longer and more unwieldy than theirs. The man scraped the drivers cabin but hit the cargo hold in such a way that it sheared through diagonally. Pot shards and dust flew everywhere as the tail end of the truck burst apart. Behind him he heard Lena get out of the car and throw a high calibre rifle at his feet, holding a similar model in her hands.
“You don’t have anything armour piercing, but these should be enough to take out the wheels. I’ll go for the ones on the right, you go for the ones on the left.” Maxwell nodded and holstered his handgun, picking up the rifle and aiming it at the vehicle as it finished turning around and started another run up for the group. The two drivers of the truck had managed to make it out of the cabin and started running to get off of the road.
Heavy gunshots filled the air as they unloaded onto the front two wheels, managing to bust them both before they had to roll out of the way of the second drive by. It barely missed them and drifted to turn around again, giving the two of them a wider range of wheels to shoot at. Only Lena kept on targeting the wheel though. Maxwell had dumped his rifle at Lena’s feet and made for their car, opening one of the back doors and started gathering every explosive he could find. Including the box of remaining RPG ammo.
He heard the engine of the vehicle starting up again so picked up the box and started to fiddle with the ammo inside.
“Get to the truck and get the mirror. You probably don’t want to be around for this.” Lena nodded at him and then started sprinting towards the remains of the relic truck, with all of its bits of pottery and wooden shards scattered across the road. Maxwell, meanwhile, stood at an angle and stared down the driver, handgun once again out of its holster. He distantly noticed that one of the wheels had completely come off during the drift. Then, like a bull, it charged forwards.
Maxwell waited for it to come closer. Watching it get faster and faster until he could see the driver’s face in full. Then he dived out of the way, throwing the box of explosives beneath the vehicle, aiming for one of the wheels, and rolling off of the road and down the slope as much as he could. He cried out in pain as the fire licked across his back and sent him flying even faster down the slope, it appeared that he hadn’t managed to completely escape the blast.
It didn’t take long for him to come to a stop at the bottom of the slope, but it felt like an age when it felt like his back was still feeling like it had been ripped open. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if it had. He reached for his bell. The little silver thing that all agents on the Order carried around with them, something they were all trained to use. He rung it twice, feeling a soothing feeling run over his back. Unfortunately, Alzumah and her compatriots couldn’t do miracles and heal his back completely, but numbing the pain and stemming the blood flow was possible.
He stood up and noticed with no small amount of dread that the military vehicle was not only still intact but trying to start up again. Lena appeared in his peripheral vision and was walking towards the thing, holding a large white object that had small black scribbles on it. She threw it down to him without stopping her determined stride. Maxwell caught it, able to see the runes sewn onto the white fabric that was wrapped around the circular object. It wasn’t big, it was no larger than his torso, but it was a bit heavier than he had expected.
“Run away, Maxwell. Get some distance and wait for Louis to pick you up.”
“There is no way that that thing can’t offroad. Forget it. I’m staying here and helping you.”
“I can deal with this by myself!” Her exasperated cry didn’t stop Maxwell from climbing up the slope he had just rolled down. He pointedly ignored the trail of blood that painted the hill and rushed to where Lena was. On his way up he gladly noticed that the military vehicle had sustained some damage in the explosion. Losing it another tire and deforming one of its sides. However the road had taken the brunt of the hit, leaving a large crater that the thing had gotten stuck in. Further stranding it more than whatever internal damage it had.
Lena was rummaging through the boot of their car, where they kept the spare tire, tool kit and excess explosives that Maxwell couldn’t safely fit on the back chairs. Lena made a sound of victory and pulled out the power drill the kept there. She then climbed onto the front of the military vehicle that was still trying to start and started to drill the windshield.
Maxwell could see the man driving becoming more and more panicked. He had lost his handgun in the explosion, but fortunately he was standing next to a massive weapon stockpile. After picking up a couple of hand grenades, he went around to the back seat and pulled out one of the submachine guns. The he pointed it at the driver side door and waited for Lena to finish what she needed to do. For a while there were only the sounds of the vehicle trying to start and Lena drilling through the windshield, both competing for dominance. Until one found victory.
The driver grinned victoriously as the monstrosity finally started up again and it started to drive out of the pit. Only to stop part way. The wheel that had lost its tire screeched as it sawed against the edge of the hole it had found itself in, sparks flying everywhere. He could tell that Lena was trying to keep calm as she got started on a third hole in a triangle shape, this time not going the entire way through before moving onto the next one. The vehicle lurched forward and Lena was almost thrown off, but then it rolled back into the hole. She had decided that the lurch was enough warning however and jumped off calling out to Maxwell.
“Blow that shit up and give me your gun.” He gave a small nod and gave her the gun as he passed her on his way to the machine. Then he pulled the pin on the grenade in his hand and then he put it on the hood of the vehicle. As soon as he knew it wasn’t going to roll off, he sprinted down the road towards his partner while Lena took on a firing stance, aiming the submachine gun at the windscreen. Maxwell could see the man scrambling out of the drivers seat to take shelter further in the back.
Then the grenade blew up and Lena started firing blindly into the smoke. Meanwhile he started making his way back to their car to get another grenade out of the boot. And once he had it, once Lena had run out of ammo and once the dark cloud had cleared, he threw it in the hole. The subsequent explosion destroyed any glass that had been clinging to the edge of the windshield, blowing it outwards in a rain of shards that were as wide as they were thick. Lena dropped the submachine gun and pulled out her handgun, hopping back onto the hood of the vehicle to look inside. She scrunched her nose in distaste.
“Target down.” Maxwell sighed in relief and sent a text out to Louis to give an update on the situation, though he doubted the man needed it.
“What is that car?”
“It looks like a new version of the Raider. Only slightly illegal for civilians to own and very expensive.”
“So the Followers sent it then?”
“Most likely, but deny it if you’re ever asked about it. The last thing we want is to be even further in their crosshairs.” Maxwell sighed and ran a hand though his hair. Then he got a message on his phone form Louis.
Headquarters want you to take the mirror the rest of the way. Someone will arrive shortly to clean up the mess. Wait where you are, I’ll pick you up.
“On the plus side, it seems like we’re not stranded here. Go through the car and collect what you can.” He muttered. Lena nodded with a sigh and started to collect the discarded guns from the road while Maxwell walked to where he left the mirror. He only hoped that Louis would arrive sooner rather than later.