Did you see the look on her face, though??” Muzzle-mouth yelped out in delight and high-fived another guy by his side.
“No, and so did you because she never did see Stoner coming,” Plate-Face retorted as he tossed Muzzle-mouth a bottle. “Open that up, will you”
Muzzle-mouth clamped his steel jaws around the head of the bottlecap and twisted before he passed the bottle back to Plate-face.
“So what now? We get to party with the blud?” One of the Hyenas snapped in, looking over to another room where they had their prisoner.
“Rain said no one touches her until Big Rock says so,” Plate-face calmly replied as he leaned back in his chair, sipping on the bottle in his hand, his eyes focused on the prisoner in the other room. “But damn, I get first dibs.”
Rain looked over his shoulder. “Shut the fuck up! We’re working here!” and turned his attention back to his front as he checked on the two women feeling around and tugging at the catches of the bodysuit the prisoner was wearing.
“You good? I don’t want the suit damaged.”
Pixie nodded, her hands carefully gripping the pliable material of the bodysuit as she slowly peeled it off the prisoner’s skin. “Ya, we just have to take our time. The ICE she had in the suit was tough to crack, but we got it now.”
“Fuucck, man. I’ve heard stories of these com-suits, never figured I’d get to do this to one in such vogue condition,” Mosh said, making sure not to move the prisoner too much while she held her up.
“Huh ya, usually when we get it off of stiffs, the suits are all burned out, hardly any value at all,”
Pixie replied, focusing fully on the task at hand. Her right hand was on the back of the prisoner, and her left slowly pulled at the suit. Small pins attached to the suit slid out from the girl’s back, the tiny perforations allowing them into her body for interfacing hidden among the column of ink on either side of her spine.
“This blud from High-Rise or something? Check out her skin and hair; it's almost immaculate,” Mosh mused.
The body suit was slowly lifted, exposing more and more of the girl in her hands. She leaned in closer to the red hair of the prisoner, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. “And damn, she even smells so good.”
Rain shrugged. “Fuck if I know; you girls have the same nice skin as far as I’m concerned.”
The three continued chatting as Pixie and Mosh continued to peel the body suit off of their prisoner. After more than some time, finally pulled it off of her feet. Leaving her bare body lying on its side on the steel table.
“One relatively pristine Ritt-Arms combat suit.” Pixie sighed in relief as she tossed it over to Rain, hitting him in the face and breaking his reverie.
She laughed at his reaction as he turned to face her “kerb! Focus! Stop ogling the naked girl already.”
“I was checking out her ink!” Rain retorted, folding the suit up neatly on his lap.
“Aha, sure, you fucking perv” Mosh smirked at Rain as she gently ran a finger on the column of ink along the girl’s back.
“This is some nano-ink, though; this much costs mucho YeeBees for sure.”
“You’d need that kind of nano if you really wanna use those kinds of com-suits, just the way they are.”
Pixie replied almost sagely and turned to face Rain.
“By the way, check out the shoulder and arm areas on the suit, should have some supply of SimDs in there, enough doses for fights; doubt our lil’ princess had time to use ‘em all up,” she stated knowingly as she patted the hip of the girl laying on the table, who started to stir.
“Refresher,” Mosh piped in as she injected another dose of sedatives into the girl’s bloodstream and tossed the empty syringe away.
Rain got up and placed the folded suit on the chair he was on. “Well, I'm hitting some stims; all this has got me worked up some. You guys can keep her safe? I don’t want her touched ‘til Big Rock says so.”
Mosh smirked and grinned before she nodded at Pixie.
“What makes you think we won’t do anything?” Pixie teased him.
“I know, coz you guys don’t wanna cross Big Rock as much as I don’t.”
Pixie shrugged. “Hmm, maybe; I do know I have something that you don’t over Big Rock.”
Rain turned and glared at Pixie, who laughed in reply, “Okay, okay, you got it, yoh. No one touches her until Big Rocks says so; yeesh, you need to get laid, kerbie.”
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I still can’t believe people live here,” Noa muttered as she sped her bike down the large thoroughfare,
“Some people don’t have a choice.”
“Well, perhaps,” Noa replied, her tone paying no heed to the thought.
“Anyway, you should be able to see two HiD blocks; the ones in that area are HiD blocks 4 and 5. They should be the only significantly large structures around there.”
Noa nodded as she identified the two huge towers. Their stature dwarfed the other low-rise buildings in the area, rising out from among the smaller, shorter blocks like an angry rectangular wardrobe.
“Okay, and?”
“Well, you’ve never been there. I know the HUD shows you the route to the place, but I just wanted to give you a better idea of the terrain as best as I could; they don’t call it Wildlands for no reason.”
“Noted, go ahead.”
“Okay, so the Hyenas have total control over the area, with a stronger concentration between the two HiD blocks, which is, well, quite large for a street gang.”
Noa smirked. “You know as much as I do that the Corpo-houses back all the larger ones.”
“Ya, well, these guys are allegedly backed by Xela. Of course, there is no solid evidence for that.”
“Hence their tacky name and fashion sense?” Noa interjected.
Bug chuckled on the other end. “What?”
“Never mind, go on, please.”
“Okay, it's pretty much a chill area, at least the parts you’re headed into. Not many petty crime reports, except when you stray away from their main hangouts. Anya’s last show that she's at the outskirts of the total control area, in one of the main hangouts, headed by some kerb called Thing.”
Noa can’t help but chuckle as she heard that “Thing? Really?”
“Really. Word is that this kerb has had a majority of his meat chromed up, basically a walking testament to human enhancement tech.”
“Even his dick?”
Bug Bunny laughed at Noa’s reply, “Probably, though you don’t need to be a ganger to have that enhanced.”
“I’m about a few blocks away now, safe to proceed as per the map you think?”
“Best bet? Walk in, not ride in; that’s an old factory they’re in. It's still running, probably drug manufacture. But what do I know? You’re the better person when it comes to real space.”
“Ya, well, I like to bounce off my thoughts; sometimes that’s the best way to tell if an idea isn’t gonna come off well.”
“Well, for this kinda thing, I’d rather refer to you. Whatever it is, I’ll keep this comms channel up, so just holler if you need anything.”
“Will do, and thank you.”
“Don’t mention it; just make sure you get your ass and Anya safely back.”
“You bet.”
Noa slowed her motorcycle as she paused at a junction. She sat up slightly while her HUD identified the destination building as Factory 14. Information scrolled about its previous use as a heavy machinery plant, operations having stopped just under a decade before.
The sun was setting, and the lights were coming on. Neon signs showed off shops of various ilk that lined the streets. Noa gently guided her ride to the sidewalk a couple of blocks from her targeted destination.
Passers-by generally ignored her, and those who noticed her did so with a fearful look on their faces. Her bodysuit and bike, a hint of her being an outsider to the area, were also ignored.
“Quite a lot of pedestrian traffic in this area, surprisingly, doesn’t look safe… or clean, at all.”
Bug Bunny couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle at Noa’s critical opinion of the area, “Well, most of the people there work more than 1 job; some work at, how one would say, ‘weird hours,’ you know… starting around the time people usually go to sleep and ending when people usually wake up. So, chances are, there’ll always be people walking about at any hour.”
“I read about that somewhere before,”
Noa stated matter-of-factly as she alighted from her transport and opened the top box. She checked its contents and then checked the gear she already had on her: the baton strapped to her thigh, the dark-bladed knife, and the pistol on her hip holster.
“Okay, if there is a network inside—and I’m gonna bet there is one—it seems not connected to the outside. So, if you wanna have the choice of my assistance inside, be sure to set up something so I can talk to the network inside.”
Noa nodded, picked up a couple of fist-sized devices, and attached them to her belt. She looked down, chuckled, and shook her head, realizing that with the com-suit’s reflective mode on, it would only camouflage itself and not on any peripherals on top of it.
“I’m realizing now why this thing is still not released, and yes, got it. Anything else?”
“Not much, from what I can see. There are a couple of guards posted at the front and the ladders on the side of the building; not many street cams working in this area, so I’m afraid that’s all I can see.”
“I’m beginning to appreciate what you said about not rushing in,” Noa replied as she started heading to the destination on foot. Her eye HUD displayed the remaining rounds in the magazine in her pistol. She decided to replace it with a fresh one and put the used magazine into a small pouch. Her hand fleetingly brushed her belt, checking on any remaining ones there.
“I don’t have much left after that job. I guess I gotta use the local stuff.”
“That’s one opinion, but you’re right as well; we can’t take too long in getting Anya out; no telling what they have planned for her in there.”
“Hyenas are heavy into scaving, so that should hint at that.” Noa’s tone turned colder as she realized what that meant.
“They would probably be seeking to salvage the ink from Anya,” she added softly. The thought further steeled her resolve to get her sister out as soon as possible.
"Then this is the only choice we want."
Noa nodded as the target building loomed closer.
One street away, Noa crouched down and scanned the larger factory building that stood out from the rest of the shorter buildings in the area. She leaned around a corner, her HUD picking out the guards; small red chevrons appeared over their heads as she scanned over each guard in her line of sight.
‘Should have brought the car instead,’ Noa’s mind fussed as she noted the lack of tools for this. She stood up again and walked across the street, acting like she was from the area before she slid into an alley closer to the factory building.
“Any possibility of getting a gargoyle here in time?”
“I can always get a gargoyle there or any other type of drone, but it won’t arrive in time until after you go in…It'll help with keeping the outside free, but inside, you'll be alone until I get to talk to their network from outside.”
Noa inhaled deeply and started to close in on the factory, her scan having identified an ideal route. She took a path at the side of it and was very aware of the metal ladder on the side while she kept out of sight of the floating chevrons on her HUD.
Stimulant Level Depleted.
A red warning popped up on her HUD; just as she winced and leaned against the flat bricked wall of the factory, her hand moved to the spot on her side that was hit earlier,
“What’s wrong?’
Noa shook her head and hissed through gritted teeth, “SimDs just ran out, and I didn’t bring extras.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“You’ll be ok without?”
“Not turning back now, Bunbuns.”
A small icon flashed repeatedly at the upper right corner of her eye HUD as she grasped at the sides of the ladder, remembering the guard at the top Bug Bunny had mentioned earlier. Her hands moved and made sure the hood attached to the suit was still attached to it and over her head, feeling the adrenaline pumping as she let out a breath.
Reflective setting: ON. Confirm. Yes.
Slowly, she ascended the ladder, her eyes constantly scanning the top. When she finally reached the top, she gingerly peeked over the side and picked up on the guard who was looking over the main road. He now seemed to be speaking to someone on his communicator, a cigarette in his left hand.
Noa vaulted onto the roof and stealthily moved to a large metal object close to the guard, who turned around and continued on his route, having apparently ended his call. She crouched down into the shadows of the metal object and tilted her head downwards, focusing on where she expected his feet to appear.
Just as he passed, she crept up behind his slow and relaxed gait; she looked at him, his body highlighted by her HUD,
Target Acquired.
Just as she sprung up to grab his head, four appendages lept out from the suit from her back, the heads of each appendage the shape of rounded spearheads, sunk into various parts of his body just as Noa’s hands reached his head, grasped it tightly as one hand moved to lock his mouth. The sudden appearance of the appendages had startled her, and in response, she hardened her focus as she firmly gripped the guard. His body suddenly went limp, the weapon in his hand slipping from his grip.
ACQUIRING. The word flashed beside the Empty Stimulant icon at the top right corner of her HUD.
His body leaned back as his head dropped back onto Noa’s shoulder. The thin wire-like appendages from Noa’s suit were embedded into his body. A slow spinning circle appeared on her HUD at the bottom left corner, while a deep blue color slowly filled up the otherwise outlined icon on the opposite corner of it.
Noa could feel new stimulants being pumped into her bloodstream, but the feeling was different. As the pain from her wound dissipated, a euphoric feeling replaced it.
“Fuuuccck,” Noa gasped, her body suddenly feeling more alive than the effects of the usual stimulants she’d gotten so used to. Her senses heightened as her vision focused and got even clearer; her nose picked up the faintest scents, and her hearing suddenly became more acute and focused. The sensation sent a tingling wave down her body as her hands loosened their grip on the guard.
She slumped down onto her knees and shook her head; her eyes blinked as her pupils dilated. The appendages slipped out of the now dead guard’s body and disappeared into the back of her com-suit. The information that Anlidar had shared somewhat prepared her for the appendages, but seeing it happen was entirely different for her.
“What the fuck” breathlessly, she stood back up, feeling more alive than she ever had before. She exhaled as she flexed her arms and body, then shut her eyes momentarily as she embraced the sensation. She took in slow, deep breaths while recalling Anlidar’s information about the custom stimulants that the suit instantly synthesized from blood and the potential effects it would have.
“What’s up? All good?” Bug Bunny responded with concern in her tone.
“All good, yes, yes. This new suit? Its insta-synthed SimDs packs a strong kick.”
“I’d have thought you’d be used to strong SimDs.”
“Heh, I might have underestimated these ones. No matter.”
She shook her head again, inhaled, and exhaled another deep breath before she knelt at a metal hatch and checked it, smiling at the fact that it wasn’t securely locked.
“Entering now; will hook up the module for you to get in.”
“Okay, be wary, Noa.”
Noa nodded, tugged at the metal hatch, and pulled it aside. She landed softly into the room and immediately looked around. Her eye HUD adjusted light levels as she scanned the dark room, highlighting the various items that lay about; a strong, dank air permeated the room.
“Ugh, definitely drug manufacture, alright, smells like death in here.”
“Smell of death? Do you mean putrescine? Didn’t know Hyenas were also into making DVs.”
Noa scoffed as her scan yielded an outlet: “Heh, Ded Vibes is popular for what it can do in a fight.”
“... and more”
“Yes, and more… found an outlet, jacking you in Bunbuns.” Noa jerked the outlet cover open, and her HUD lit up input points and switches as she mounted one of the fist-sized objects she had attached to her belt earlier.
“About time, gimme 2 secs.”
Noa crossed over to a door exiting the room. The right side of her HUD lit up as information started scrolling up.
“Right, passing you the layout of the building.”
“Received, thanks.”
“As you can see, four floors and two basement levels. Large central space, two main staircases, one going down the separate basements, two elevator shafts, and one maintenance shaft. The maintenance records are pretty standard, nothing of special note. Just be mindful that the latest info is five years old and shows that the elevators aren't working, although their cabs are still there. I’m guessing Anya should be in the basement?”
Noa nodded to herself. “That’s my bet, too, anything else?”
“What cams there are show not many of ‘em around, I see, two, three Hyenas inside, but cams are fairly limited, so prep for more. No cams in the basement, though found a few auto-turrets and some mines along the area, but that’s easy to de-activate.”
“You do that; I’ll deactivate the soft bags, then get to Anya.”
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The shrieking bounced off the walls, strong enough to reach more than a couple of levels up from the basement if it wasn’t for a pair of large steel doors at the entrance to the stairs that headed down. Muzzle-Mouth turned to Rain; he leaned against the door to shut it as a look of horror rose on his face at the blood-curdling intensity of the scream.
Rain shook his head slowly and looked down the stairs leading to the basement, where the screaming continued. Then, he returned his horrified look to Muzzle-Mouth.
“No pain meds,” he uttered with a heavy tone of dread, taking a long drag of the cigarette in his hand.
“Just keep the doors closed; I don’t want people to think this place is haunted,” he continued half-jokingly.
“Thing said to keep them closed, so I’m keeping them shut, kerbs. Did you see how he was?”
“You mean overjoyed we got Mils’ killer alive?”
“Heh, well, that, but I’ve never seen him like that; it's fuckin’ scary.”
Rain tossed the cigarette and snuffed it out with his boot; his hands were already lighting another.
“Well, he’s scary any time of the day, yoh. Being on his hit list is the last thing I’d wish for anyone. Plus, I doubt she’ll be in any shape to have fun with after.”
The unnerving screeching died down momentarily. Muzzle-Mouth opened the heavy steel door again as he stepped outside. “Well, I’m gonna wait out here; them screams gonna keep me up at night, yoh.”
Rain nodded and closed the door after Muzzle stepped out of the staircase.
—------------
Mosh looked at Thing, her hands pressed down on a trembling thigh.
“We either have to go slower or pump her with pain meds. Thing, the ink won’t be useful to anyone if the host dies during extraction.”
She looked down at the girl on the steel table.
Anya lay on her back, stripped bare, her upper chest and ankles strapped to the table. Her skin glistened with sweat, while her sweat-covered and tear-streaked face contorted from the pain as her chest heaved up and down, panting for breath.
“I’ll fucking burn every last one of you!!” She squealed out hoarsely as her gaze burnt into Thing, who stood aside at the table.
“I can muzzle her, Thing, shut her up for good.” Pixie turned to him, her hands on the other side of Anya’s naked body.
He shook his head slowly, a wicked grin on his face. “Nah, I want to hear this blud scream; maybe we can record it.”
He looked at the man holding onto Anya’s left arm.
“How is she lookin Doc? Can she take it?”
Doc was a small, scrawny man. His left eye was a cylindrical tube, which tapered out and then slid back in. His right eye lit up with information as he gave Thing a nod.
“We’re good for now; she can take a hell of a lot more.”
Anya’s left arm lay on a metal rest, Pins stuck into her shoulder and upper arm, and the rest of her arm lay inert on the cold rest. The lower arm was bleeding, covered in her blood, as Doc gingerly held onto the ink circuitry that he was peeling off of her arm, leaving large open wounds.
“I should be able to cut this out once we reach her shoulder safely; then, we can begin on her other arm.”
Thing nodded. “Ok, just make sure the ink is useable.”
“And the girl?” Doc looked down at Anya, whose nude body lay on the table, thin rods attached to wires inserted in various parts of her upper torso made her unable to move it; as her blood-shot eyes flashed at Doc, burning hatred in them, she opened her mouth to shout out at him, and he hurriedly pressed a blood-stained cloth over it, muffling her intent.
“Just keep her alive until the ink is extracted properly, then I don’t care. Pity, I’ll bet we cuddave fetched quite the price for a princess like her. Remove that cloth, keep her pumped with whatever you are doing so she doesn’t pass out. Like I said, I want to hear her scream.”
“Ok,” Doc turned and returned his focus to the task at hand, Anya’s blood-curdling shriek again nullifying any other sound in the large room.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Noa’s eye-HUD registered the two large men in the corridor in an animated conversation as she slowly peeked at them around the corner. Two small red chevrons appeared over their heads while she continued her scan down the corridor; her HUD registered an auto-turret crudely affixed to the ceiling above a pair of double doors, taking note of a small red blinking light in its center flat plate hull and how its twin barrels pointing downward indicated that it was deactivated.
She turned back around the corner she was leaning against and took a deep breath as she squatted down. She turned slowly, side-stepped low into the corridor, and immediately threw her bladed baton into the air. The now javelin-like weapon sliced through the air and embedded itself deep into the back of the man’s head, stopping as the blade sliced cleanly through and hit the hilt.
Simultaneously, Noa sprung up, her other blade in her hand as her HUD painted her target in a red hue. Her arm moved up as she lunged at the other man. The Hyena, still shocked at the protruding blade that suddenly stuck out from his partner’s face, blinked momentarily as he saw a heavily obscured figure lunging at him, her movement unnaturally faster than anything he’d seen before. He noticed the dark blade; a red line glowed across the edge of the blade, and he raised an arm to block a blow instinctively.
The blade sliced across his arm, cutting deep and sliding away. Eliciting a pained grunt from him.
Noa flipped mid-air and landed crouching on her feet, facing the Hyena; unaccustomed to the new stimulants and enhancements of the new suit, she had cleanly missed her mark. She hesitated momentarily, which allowed the Hyena to raise his weapon, pumping a round into the chamber of his shotgun. She lunged low and forward towards him as he fired off a round; the pellets from it grazed at the hood over her head as she reached him.
Her blade moved swiftly in an upward motion and buried itself between his legs. He cried out aloud in response as Noa twisted and simultaneously withdrew the blade and sprung up, the blade plunging into his body, cutting upward through his body armor, and continuing to slice deep across his neck. A red fountain sprayed out as the blade left his neck, and Noa kicked off of his shoulder, vaulting over him and twisted mid-air to watch as his body crumpled to the floor. His blood flowed freely onto the floor as she landed and turned to pick up her other weapon, still stuck in the other Hyena’s head.
She turned and headed to the far end of the corridor. The map layout Bug Bunny had given her indicated that the door to the basement was around the corner. She could hear the shrieks of agony now, muffled through the heavy steel doors that led down to the basement.
She gritted her jaw, fighting the urge to charge forward, and crouched again.
“One behind the door and another two on the far side of the large center hall. One on the first-level gangway and the other on the one above it. I’ve marked them for you.” Bug Bunny’s calm voice continued through the communicator. Three chevrons hovered on her HUD as if on cue, showing some animation.
“Got ‘em.”
She returned both knife and baton to her belt and unholstered her pistol from its hip holster. Then, she turned back in the corridor and half-ran as she affixed a suppressor to the barrel.
Reaching another door closer to the elevator shaft, she paused and checked on the location of the chevrons on her HUD. The one on the lower gangway had moved closer while the other was still at his earlier spot. Readying her pistol, she nudged the door open and then knelt on her right knee, her weapon aimed squarely at her target.
The targeting reticule in her HUD enhanced the target, highlighting it as it helped swiftly align her aim to the target. The HUD lit his body up in red, which indicated a favorable shot, and she let out three successive rounds before spinning back into cover just as Bug Bunny chimed in on the communicator.
“Downed, two more. Be aware that I’ve jammed outgoing comms from their end, but it won’t stop them for long. The gargoyle has arrived, keeping the ones outside busy. I dunno how long the ammo will hold, though.”
“Acknowledged, gargoyle at site. I think they disabled Anya’s personal med-assist, so send a Med response team as well, forwarding you her Med plan client number.”
“Will do.”
She turned to check on the chevrons on her HUD; their locations indicated that both were now closer to the door next to the basement’s entrance. She checked at the bottom left of her HUD; the round count on her weapon indicated she had nine rounds left in it.
“I need a feed to one of the cams in line of sight of the two Hyenas.”
The left upper corner of her HUD changed into the camera feed as she flicked a switch on her pistol.
Ricochet Interface Activated.
Her fingers moved, indicating shot origin, and registered the chevron marked Hyenas. Faded red lines indicating possible ricochet paths to their targets appeared.
1 of 2 targets Possible. The message appeared as she picked an option.
She turned and sprinted toward the double doors closer to the basement entrance before checking momentarily to ensure that her intended target didn’t move from his location. Upon reaching the doors, she knelt and leaned against one of them; her barrel pointed in the direction indicated by her HUD.
She squeezed out three successive shots, then leaned back. The bullets bounced off the ricochet points and hit home. A wounded cry sounded out as she checked the camera feed again; the one active chevroned Hyena swung his weapon in different directions as he shouted out expletives.
She leaned against one of the doors again and slowly pushed it open by a crack; her left eye registered the remaining active Hyena as he continued trying to ascertain where the attacker was shooting from. The suppressed reports from Noa’s shots, having bounced off the hall’s walls, confused his attempts.
Returning her pistol to its holster, she unclasped the bladed baton from her belt, pressed gently on the other door with a foot, paused, then pushed it open. Bumps appeared on the door’s surface as the rounds hit; the Hyena hollered out in panic as a spray of rounds hit the other side of the door. Within moments, the distinctive sound of an empty chamber reached her ears, and she ducked out of the doorway.
Her HUD lit him up as she launched the bladed baton at him. Immediately, she sprung up in a quick sprint and lunged at him. He screamed out in pain as the bladed baton connected, embedding itself through his left shoulder and pinning him to the wall just as Noa landed in front of him, the other blade already in her hand as she sliced under his other armpit.
He stared in horror at her, her head now free from the hood, blood splatters slid down on her face, crimson on her silver hair and obscured bodysuit giving off a horrific visage as her clear green eyes glared madly at him, thin glowing red outlined her irises as she grasped at his metal jaw.
“You lokh’s have the most curious chromes.” She pulled the bladed baton out from his shoulder and kicked forcefully at his knee at an angle, separating the joint that sent him to his knee on the floor before he slipped down face first.
“Stay!’ she barked out at him as she hurried over to the other Hyena, who was lying on his side, writhing as he clutched at a wound to his torso.
He watched as she stepped over that man and nonchalantly sunk the bladed baton deep into him before she stepped away. He looked at the dropped weapon close to him, his functioning arm trying to reach for it as he pushed himself on the floor toward it, groaning out at the pain that was shooting up in him. Just then, she came back while the blood from the other Hyena slowly dripped down from the tip of her blade.
“I said stay, fuckin lokh” She knelt and picked up the weapon. Kicking him onto his back and then sank her blade into his forehead before she knelt beside his body. Her hands checked and found two filled magazines.
She checked the weapon and reloaded it. The side of her lip pulled upward as the weapon’s grip connectors interfaced smoothly with the sensors on the palm of her gloved hand, her HUD displaying magazine information.
The shrieking from the basement was even clearer now, which made her blood boil. She slipped the sling of the weapon over her shoulder and grunted as she pulled his lifeless body up before she propped it up against the double doors that led to the basement. Pushing forward, the doors leaned away and opened, only to be met by a loud series of booms followed by wet sounds of rounds landing into the body.
“What the fuck! Muzzle!” the shooter screamed, distraught. Noa pushed forward and tossed the corpse toward him as she raised the captured weapon and fired - bullets perforating his body as the force knocked him back against the wall while Noa sprinted down toward the sound of the screams that had abruptly stopped.