Neon walked in, pushing the door open with her left shoulder. The blood ran down her right arm, and two medical assistants quickly moved in to remove the bullet.
“I’m back, has the place burned down yet?”
Kowalski ran over to her, with a syringe in his arm.
“How did you get shot? You were only supposed to receive the package, and get out of there!”
“Relax Doc, I got the package right here. I just got into a small argument with those Viper boys, and bam. Shot me straight in the shoulder”
Kowalski grabbed her arm, and inserted a syringe into the wound the bullet had created. Neon’s arm twitched a little from the pain.
“You’re too reckless. Had it not been for you being able to endure large doses of serum, you’d have horrible scars all over that body of yours by now”
He removed the syringe, and wrapped some bandage over the wound.
“Anyway, you have a meeting with Markus. It’s about your new partner. I believe his name was-”
“Partner? What the fuck do I need a partner for? Target practice?
Kowalski looked at her gun briefly, before pointing at her arm.
“That’s why you need a partner. Keep up your recklessness, and one day you won’t get away with a just a little scratch like that”
Neon rolled her sleeve down over the bandage.
“I’ll be fine without some little fuckboy-”
“Will you two tone it down a little?”
Markus was standing behind them. Neon felt a little shiver going down her back as she turned around to look at him. As he took out his hand, Neon threw the package to him.
Markus looked down at it, before staring right into her eyes. He pushed a mercenary in front of himself.
“This is Jack. He will be your partner moving forward”
Neon hadn’t noticed the man before now. Jack looked like he was in his early 30s, just a few years older than her. Bald, with a solid build.
Markus walked out of the room, stopping as he was about to close the door.
“Why don’t you two go fetch some more serum? We’re running out”
As the two of them left the building, they felt the heat. It ran down the walls surrounding Regina, the town built into the heart of Ravenbourne. The town was buried deep down in a long ravine, with only 3 hours of direct sunlight a day. The light in the city mostly came from the numerous white crystals peeking out of the ravine walls. The white crystals absorbed large amounts of light from the sun, and gently reflected it back until the sun came back.
Neon walked down the main street, with the black tips of her hair sticking out from her hood. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of gunmetal sunglasses with black lenses. She wore a thin gray jacket over her shirt, and put on a pair of black gloves to hide her hands from the sun. Jack had a large coat instead, and used it to cover most of his body.
“So, you’re the boss. Where are we supposed to get the serum?”
Neon looked down at a small briefcase she had gotten from a fellow Cobra member. Even though it had been filled up with cash, it was just half the amount of money Markus had stored for the serum. The other half was kept securely in his own safe. Neon looked up at Jack. He was nearly half a meter taller than her.
“Is that supposed to be a joke, or are you really that fucking stupid? This serum is top Guard tech from up north, so naturally only the biggest gang could hope to get their hands on it, dumbass”
“Was just asking, no need to be such an asshole about it”
“Well then excuse my language, ‘Sir Cunt’, but I don’t have time to deal with you, or your bullshit. All you need to do, is shut up and do what I tell you to do! Got it?”
The two of them kept walking, until Neon suddenly turned right. In front of them, embedded into the tall ravine wall, there was a large metal door. The dark grey metal was a strong contrast to the beige sandstone around it. Neon knocked on the door, and shortly after it opened. Inside, a large bouncer with a loaded shotgun was waiting. He let them in after Neon showed him a small metal pin with a cobra emblem.
“This is a bar run by the Python guys. The manager, Cole, owes me a favor or two... by the way do you have any guns on you?”
Jack pulled out a handgun, and handed it to Neon. She took out the mag and checked for any chambered rounds, before giving the gun to the bouncer. Afterwards, Jack followed her into the bar.
“So, how did someone like you end up working with the Python gang? Didn’t know gangs worked together”
“We don’t. We just don’t shoot each other, and sometimes we trade a few favors. Nothing more to it”
The room was just lit up by a few light strips that ran along the floor, as well as a dim light on each of the tables. The bar itself had been lit up by lights, making it stand out from the rest of the room. The chairs had a black leather cover, and the tables had a mate black metal frame, and the tabletops were made of large sheets of dark tempered glass.
The thin lights on the floor made pathways across the floor to the main bar, the tables, the VIP lounge (and its bar), as well as the toilets and the exit. All the lights in the room were synchronized, and slowly faded from color to color. First red, then orange, yellow, green, blue, and finally purple.
Neon walked up to the bar, and showed her pin again. The bartender got one of the guards to escort Neon up to the VIP lounge. When Jack tried to follow them, another guard stepped in to stop him, and escorted him to one of the empty tables instead.
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The VIP lounge was lit up by a few red lights. There were just 3 round tables, each with four seats. In the middle of the room there was a square table with two sofas on opposite sides of each other. Neon sat down at one of the sofas, and put the briefcase on the table. As she waited, she ordered a shot of vodka.
A short man in a suit sat down on the other sofa.
“Neon? What you be doing here?”
“Business. As far as I remember, you owe me a favor, and I just happen to need something from you”
Cole looked down at the briefcase on the table.
“May I?”
Neon opened it up, revealing the money inside.
“500k, cash. Need 20 vials of serum”
“Markus got the rest back at his little hideout?”
“Yea, this is just half, paid in advance”
“1mill be enough for 20 vials, but I only have 10. It be risky getting more with all the Guard activity around here”
He got one of the VIP servers to get the 10 vials.
“Don’t remember you being scared of the scouts. What happened?”
“I’m not. The Guard, they be sending out the 200 now. Some people even be claiming to have seen the 300 moving around”
Neon downed her vodka.
“Why would they send 300-series soldiers out to Ravenbourne?
“I don’t be knowing, but something’s up. Something big”
“Fine. I’ll take the 10 vials for 500k”
She traded suitcases with Cole, and walked down to Jack. While Neon had been up in the lounge, he had ordered a beer.
“C’mon, we’re leaving”
As Jack got up to follow Neon, he left a small silver coin to pay for the beer. A bouncer approached them to give Jack his handgun back, before escorting them to the exit.
When they got out, the sun had passed over the ravine. The white crystals lit up beautifully, giving a small blue tint to their light. Since the sun was gone, stands started to pop up, all the way down the street. Regina was a very thin town, with only one large main street, with one smaller street on each side. When the sun didn’t hang over the ravine, this one street filled up with people, as they traded wares and bought goods.
Every now and then you would spot a gang member, but they didn’t fight in the crowded streets. You would expect a town filled with gangs to be a violent place, but it was surprisingly peaceful. Every now and then, gangs would get in fights with each other on the side streets, but the main street was always calm.
If you had the coin, you could own the whole town, and if you didn’t, you ended up dead on the street. Some people got rich gambling, only to get robbed the very next day, while others spent all their money on bodyguards. The money jumped from person to person, only being kept calm in the hands of the large gangs.
These gangs would often fight over territory, but only in hideouts or abandoned buildings. If anyone tried to fight in the streets, they quickly got killed by other gangs wanting to raise their own reputation. That was just how it worked in Regina, the city made of controlled chaos.
“So, how did the trade go? You got what you came for?”
“Only half, apparently increased Guard activity had stopped them from getting larger amounts of serum”
“What, they sending out more scouts or what?”
“No, it’s not just scouts they’re sending out here. Apparently, they have started sending 200-series light-combat units. Just a matter of time until they reach Regina”
Neon opened the door to the Cobra hideout, and walked in with the serum.
“Hey Marcus, got the stuff!”
It was dead quiet. Usually the hideout was filled with stuff happening, like people returning from missions, or doctors healing wounded members. But now none of that happened. No noise, no movement, nothing.
“Hey, Neon, you smell that?”
Jack had noticed a faint smell in the room, but couldn’t make out what it was. They started moving from room to room, trying to find anyone, but to no success.
“What the fuck is going on? HEY, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL!!?!?
“Why all the yelling? Didn’t your mom tell you not to shout indoors?”
The voice came from the door leading to the main office, where Marcus spent most of his time.
“Fuck sake Markus what’s going on?!?”
Neon and Jack both walked towards his office, bursting through the door. Markus sat in his chair, as usual. Neon walked up to him, and put the briefcase on the table.
“Didn’t get all 20 vials, this was all the supplier had”
“Why just 10? I told you we needed 20”
“I’m sorry Markus, the supplier didn’t have anymore. Something to do with increased Guard activity”
“Well, I guess 10 will have to do. It doesn’t really matter. After all, why bother with serum when we have such fine guests?”
“What gue-”
Neon felt something clamp around her arm. As she turned around, she saw them. The Guard logo stamped on their armor, next to the 200-mark. One of them held what looked like an oxygen mask, and in front of them, Jack had passed out on the floor.
“I must say I’m impressed Markus”
From the group of Guard soldiers, someone emerged, clapping their hands slowly with every step. Unlike the white armor of the other Guard members, his had a black coating. Regular Guard armor pieces was made with round shapes, but his armor had been designed with sharp angles and straight lines.
"I wouldn’t recommend moving, little girl. Those handcuffs are designed to cut off your hands should you move”
Neon looked down at her arm. It was just her right arm that had received a handcuff, with her left being free. Behind her, Markus sat in his chair. In front of her, there were a total of 6 guard soldiers, with the black armored guy in the middle. To her left, there was a window, with a 5 meter drop to the ground.
“I wouldn’t recommend that, girl. If you try to jump through that window, not only will you be shot by my soldiers, you’ll also lose one of your hands”
“Your soldiers? Must be pretty high up yourself then”
The black armored soldier walked up to her.
“I guess I could introduce myself. After all, our names are quite similar in origin. I am Xenon, 500-series commander”
“500-series? I thought the Guard only went up to 400”
“Yes, the Guard did only go up to 400 before. I am honored you know so much about us”
“Oh, and I am so honored to be in the presence of a 500-series commander. Though I shouldn’t keep you from your little circle jerk club with your boys over there”
Xenon punched her in the stomach so hard she lost her breath, and she fell to the ground.
“You will speak of the Garde with respect! Just be glad I didn’t kill your friends”
“Wait, are you trying to tell me you emptied this place without killing anyone? Too chicken to kill?”
“No, I merely like to finish my job as cleanly as possible. It’s almost become a hobby for me”
Neon saw the gas cans on the back of the Guard soldiers. Xenon might have a differently styled piece of armor, but functionally, it should be the same. So when Xenon hit her, she reached her left hand around him, and grabbed his knife from the holster on the back-right side of his armor. She had then fallen to the ground to hide it from Markus. With just a little more time, she could get the cuffs of her right arm, and escape through the window.
“Enough of this foolery, capture her. Send her to Grand Aldwith where she belongs!”
Two of the Guard soldiers walked up to Neon, and readied the gas masks. Just a few seconds. Neon needed just a few more seconds to unlock the last lock on the handcuffs. The masks came closer. 4 more seconds. One of the soldiers turned a valve on the other soldier’s gas tank. 3 more seconds. Neon could smell the gas now. 2 more seconds. The mask almost touched her face. Just a little more.
The handcuff cut into her arm as she jumped away from the mask. When she reached the table, the metal razors had cleanly cut though her entire right arm. She screamed in pain, and the blood spewed onto the soldier’s helmets. Before the soldiers further back could react, she had taken out the knife in her left hand, and pushed in deep into Markus. He just stood there, unable to react as she twisted the knife around inside him, cutting through every organ she could reach, until his insides where a blended mess of mincemeat and blood.
The two soldiers near her had wiped most of the blood of their helmets, and they immediately pulled out their guns. All the soldiers, even the black-armored commander, had pulled out their guns. Neon stared Xenon right in his eyes, as the now dead Markus fell to the ground.
“So much for a clean job, Commander”