One of the bastards slid across the table, cutting the distance between us in half, whilst the other darted towards me from the left. I skipped forward and brought my cybernetic hand down, breaking the table in half, halting his progress then spun into a kick losing it towards the bastard who was attacking to my left.

He crashed into the wall, and the leader charged toward me with a shock baton. I feinted left, sweeping my leg, but the bastard predicted my move and skipped back.

I felt a sharp pain shoot up my back, like the one from the table loosed an outstretched leg at me, hitting me in the back.

I turned towards him with gritted teeth and sailed right over him, stomping him in the head, using it as leverage. As I leapt across the room landing in a crouch. Then, I spun around, grabbing the now shattered conference table, and flinging half of it across the room.

A loud boom echoed across the room, as it divided them in two. Fuck…their cybernetic, I thought, realising one of them dodged the shattered table with ease and darted towards me.

The leader waved his shock baton, missing me five times, but then feinted left, only to kick him in his right side, to hear a loud clunk.

I strafed back trying to avoid his baton but felt the tip graze my shirt. Another joined the leader, flying through the air with a knee, which I barely dodged, but tilted to the side.

A drilling punch burrowed into my side, which made me gnash my teeth, and then a shocking sensation of shock ran up my spine, momentarily stunning me. Luckily, the baton had struck my cybernetic side.

I spun, slapping the baton from the bastard’s hand, skipping back in the process, Only to be tripped up. I rolled back, using the momentum and kicked myself up, then blocked a knee, swept my legs, downing one of them, but as soon as I was ready to end him, two appeared in front of me, which forced me to run across the side of the wall avoiding their assault.

I failed, as the duo cornered me, and began releasing an array of punches about my body.

A third punch hit me in the jaw, sending me left. I stimulated my SMB to shoot my wrist, returning the favour. The bastard dropped to the floor from the unexpected punch, and I grabbed one of the bastards around his waist, slamming him into the ground whilst the third wheel burrowed the shock baton into my side.

I rolled off of him, scooping up the baton in my hand and kicked my feet out. He skipped back, avoiding my sweep and watched me as I climbed back up to my feet.

“Just tell us where the Lineagecube is!” The leader growled. “…or what, you’ll put me in the ground?” I said, pointing towards his men.

He released a pitiable growl and watched as I stepped back, keeping distance between him and me. His two minions lay on the ground moaning from the trauma of my paltry assault. Good, I said to myself, I needed to vent my frustration.

The leader bared his teeth like a wolf, hunting its prey, and slowly sidestepped as if he were gauging me. Come, you bastard. I’ll put you through the wall.

The thing about snatch and grab jobs are, that using guns, is best, but when you’re unfamiliar with the terrain and you needed your target alive, shock batons were best. The problem they had though, was that I’m a living weapon.

I made a small step to my right and palmed the bastard in the side, then quarter-spun losing my leg with five straight kicks, which the leader dodged perfectly.

I switched to X-Ray vision momentarily, trying to get a better gauge on his Cybernetics, noting that his right side and left leg are right cybernetically enhanced.

Aim for the head Cypher…Aim for the head.

Instead of waiting for him to take charge, I stomped my way toward him, waving the baton at him. He strafed left, then stepped into me. Just like how I wanted him to.

The bastard over-committed leaving his chest open. I palmed his baton stub with my left hand, then stepped in blocking his right side from reacting, I flicked my right shoulder forward hitting the bastard straight in the chest.

He skidded back from the blow, wailing a growl. As he re-oriented himself, to counter-attack. His face was met with my boot. It sank right into his face and watched as the bastard hit the side of the door, and then plunked down onto the ground.

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My lungs and muscles were on fire. It didn’t help that barely got an hour of rest in the past twelve hours. It didn’t help either, that Darlina or Elhisia had sent this bastard after me.

This. Was, not part of the plan.

I had expected resistance from Elhisia, but we made a deal of Three Hundred Million Credits for the Lineagecube. Yes, I knocked her out, because she was dead set on killing herself trying to rescue her people, but knocking her out, was in her best interest.

The shuffling sound of feet clicked behind me, drawing my attention. I turned, only to see a baton heading for my face. I stepped in, dressed back, using my centre of gravity and pummeled my shoulder into the second assailant’s chest. That didn’t do shit.

The scraping sound the bastard shoes made, left the impression that he was wearing tap dancing shoes, to a bar fight.

Blood trickled down his lips, and his eyes held a snivelling expression that made him look like a snake. His tooth was twisted as if it’d been broken a few dozen times.

I tried keeping my concentration going, but my adrenaline truly was at its lowest at this point. If it didn’t get a shot soon, my heart would probably give out from the stress. The problems of being Cybernetically enhanced. Overworking your body has never worked out…for anyone.

I confirmed that his chest was cybernetically enhanced, but after further inspection, his entire upper torso, except his stomach was enhanced. As my eyes drifted up and down, his nose was enhanced, which could explain why he woke so soon. Synthetic smelling salts are embedded into his nostril system.

“You’re not supposed to have military tech like that arm.” He said firmly, licking the blood from his mouth. “I don’t have any military tech,” I answered. “…officially.”

…unofficially as well.

I skipped forward, using my feet to distract him, but compared to just now, the bastard head was in the game, whereas his eyes followed me perfectly.

All the feints I tried, weren’t working, hell one of them sucker-punched me when I tried to kick him in the side. He tried again, but I was ready.

I rolled my shoulder, avoiding the full explosiveness of his punch and spun sending my heel into his chest. The bastard danced back from the blow, only to smile at me as if he were enjoying the fight.

A burrowing pain sparked on my back, sending me to my knees. The shock from the electric baton felt like spider webs had crept up across my back, and ensured I couldn’t move. Then, the broken-nose bastard appeared in front of me in a second, sending his knee into my face. Fuck! That hurts! Ughhh I groaned, which led to a moan.

As my upper torso began to fall, thoughts of Shin-Lee's severed finger appeared in my mind. The finger that Akatani severed wasn’t just any, but the one with our wedding band. It was a silver ring of simple design, as she wasn’t fancy about anything sparkly. “It draws attention” she would say, and she was right. No one ever wanted simple things, well, no one in Bridge City.

I heard Hannah’s giggle in my heart, as I neared the ground. God...I just want to hold you again. I felt a droplet of water trickle down my eye, then fury surged within me. All the pent of anger just flowed through my body, and I just snapped.

The snapped from my wrist, The blade turning the blaze orange, with steam hissing from the as it went crimson from me slicing the leg off from one of broken nose bastard. I pressed my right hand on the ground, and twirled, swiping wildly hitting the other bastard in the chest.

Steam hissed from the bastard’s wounds as he screamed in agony. I could hear his wail screeching in my ears, but I couldn’t give a fuck enough at this point. “You came to me,” I growled. “Now give Darlina or Elhisia this message. If you want the cube, come to me. Don’t send messengers.”

Yanking my short sword from the leader’s shoulder, and watched as tears trickle down his cheek as he fell to the ground with a thud, showing agony painted across his face.

I switched to X-Ray Vision, scanning the room and looking for the box. The box that Akatani had left here. I found it in a couple of seconds underneath the conference table. I dug the box out, feeling my body scream from all the blows I'd received in the past twelve hours.

It didn’t help that I did it with the moans of three men rolling around the room either. It was god damn frustrating.

“WAIT!” The leader croaked, "don’t leave him like that!”

“what are you talking about?” I growled back.

“Brokon, his leg...cauterise it...please.”

The leader rolled on the ground, trying to alleviate the pain from his shoulder, whilst the broken-nose bastard winced on the ground, holding his back. The legless one lied there, unmoved. Probably in shock. I thought.

“Please!” The leader pleaded.

I stood above them, looking down with anger coursing through my veins. To say I was angry at them would be a lie. I was frustrated with everything I’d been tossed and felt as powerless as a twig in a hurricane.

I pulsed the short-sword from out of my wrists, then, watched as the blade turned orange-crimson. I hadn’t realised that once heated, the blade vibrated in a peculiar hum, as if it were a silent lawnmower, or tried to be anyway.

I walked on over to the man, dragging him over to his leader then plunked him over his chest. I snatched up the nearest baton and placed it in the bastard’s mouth. “Make sure he doesn’t bite his tongue,” I told the leader.

The scent of burning blood wafted into my nose and I could only hope this could work, because I know the possibility of blood poison, was here, especially with blood traces of someone else bubbling on the blade.

My broken nose groaned, moaned and then screamed, as I sheered his leg, cauterising it as best as I could. Once I was satisfied with it, kicked myself up, and began to walk to the door. “Who are you working for?” I asked, believing it was my right to know. The leader eyed me with distilled eyes and frustration. I knew that frustration, owing someone, but not wanting to betray your employer, could leave a bad stain on your name in the mercenary business.

“Who is it?” I growled.

“Darlina Weitson.”