I looked at Lea and Amber but it's clear that neither of them expected this either from the look on their faces.

Deciding that it was better to just follow along, I pulled out my shotgun and ran into the bar after the others.

The entire bar had been turned into a warzone with overturned tables, broken furniture and several dead bodies littering around the place.

There were already two distinct groups in this conflict where on one side were distinctly well dressed men and the other side looked more rugged like the thugs we usually see.

The people we were with went to the side of the thug looking group and I realised there was a single well dressed man ducked behind an overturned table to take cover from the shootout.

I guess I know which side we're on and who's our client now.

Taking a moment to look around, most of the suit wearing guys were occupying the second floor above and shooting down at the bar area below which was where we were standing.

There were also a few of them on this floor as well and they were guarding the stairs that lead to the second floor.

I pointed at the second floor and my partners immediately understood what I was aiming for.

All of us sought our own covers and Lea immediately set herself up to start sniping at the people above us.

Amber was trying to reach the second floor by flanking around the sides and shooting down anyone who was standing in her way.

I backed her up and joined the group of Mercs shooting at the suited thugs behind an overturned table that looked like it was made from stone.

After making sure that the next round was a slug round, I popped out and fired it at the table itself, punching through the cover to blast the guy behind it.

I flanked around the side as well aiming to support Ambe from behind but several of them suddenly decided that I was the better target instead.

My shield flared to life as a few of their shots hit it, giving me the time I needed to duck behind some cover again.

I waited for the rain of bullets to subside somewhat before I peeked around to fire a few shots at the thugs.

I wasn't even aiming to hit anyone in particular but it seemed like three guys fell where I had shot at.

At this point, Amber had already fought her way to the stairs and only two other thugs who were hiding near the stair landing were blocking her.

Just as I was planning to run towards the stairs to support her, one of the Mercs gave a shout, "There's more of them coming! We need to leave!!"

I turned in the direction of the voice and sure enough, a group of those suited thugs burst out from a door and started firing at us.

"Amber!" I shouted, prompting her to turn back to see the threat.

She nodded to show that she understood and I started to retreat from my position as the other Mercs began laying covering fire on the thugs for our client to run towards the doors.

I was fully expecting to see Amber following behind me but when I turned back, I saw that she had just shot the two thugs that were covering the stairs before making a dash towards the reinforcements that had just arrived.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

Wait, what?! That was not the plan, Amber!!

Ah fuck it!

I chased after her just as she reached the group of thugs who were just as surprised as I was to see her rushing towards them.

Three rifles were lifted to point in her direction and I didn't even have time to shout a warning before they started firing.

I grimaced, expecting her to get hit by the bullets but she simply leapt towards the wall and started wallrunning towards them, almost like she had sticky soles that allowed her to stick to the surface.

The thugs adjusted their aim but she leapt towards the ceiling and flipped herself in midair before she started firing her twin pistols, gunning down the three thugs who were shooting at her.

The others behind the three guys tried to lift up their own guns but I was just a second faster and fired my shotgun from the hip, the pellets blasting through the crowd of them indiscriminately and dropping them like flies.

The rest of them managed to find cover behind a wall but a low whine came from behind me, right before a bullet penetrated through the wall and pierced through the unfortunate guy hiding behind it.

There were more thugs behind the door but the sight of their comrades falling one after the other made them a little bit more hesitant to come out from that door.

That must have been Amber's goal because she immediately started running towards me when that happened, prompting me to start my own retreat as well while covering her.

We managed to reach the door and I realised we also lost a few on our side but well… Not like we were close to anyone here anyway.

Some of the well dressed thugs tried to take a few more shots in our direction and another Merc went down with a bullet through his head while my shield protected me from a few stray shots.

One of the Mercs then smashed his fist into the control panel beside the door which caused the door to slam shut behind us and locking in place.

"We have to move to the hangar, right now." The guy who first greeted us commanded.

I'm assuming this guy is the leader of this operation since the client was currently cowering behind him.

I wonder just what kind of 'high profile' client he is? Maybe someone who is working for the government?

The guy then directed his gaze at the Mercs, "Those guys would not be giving up any time soon. We need to get to the hangar and get out of here."

All of us moved towards the lift that would lead directly to the hangar and I noted that the streets were now completely empty.

I realised that the people that had been here had chosen to hide themselves and I could even see a few of them peeking out from within a few of the stores.

I guess even people around here aren't willing to get themselves involved in a gang shootout where they might be added to the casualties.

But then I found out the real reason why the place was empty when we came across a blockade set up in front of the lift.

They even had three guys wearing power armour standing at the very front.

Their guns lit up the moment they saw us and three Mercs immediately went down while two managed to leapt back into cover after their shields tanked the damage for them.

I got ready to fight when the lift doors opened and even more of them poured out to join the blockade.

"Fuck! We're going to have to take another way up to the hangar! We'll head for the stairs around the corner here!"

One of the Mercs raised his hand, "Woah, woah, hold on a moment! The job didn't say anything about a full on gang war! This isn't just a small time gang you guys are involved with are you?! It's one of the top gangs!!"

"The job is to escort the client to safety and you took that job. Whatever happens during the job you will need to help protect him. If that is too much for you, you are free to give up on the job and leave."

"Yeah, fuck this! I'm out!"

Some of the Mercs also left with him, leaving only a little more than half of us remaining, not counting whom I assume to be the client's original bodyguards.

The leader of the team sighed, "Let's go then. I don't doubt they might have blocked the stairs too but it's too cramped for them to use a power armour there so we only need to worry about numbers. Anyone else feel like giving up?"

I raised my hand, "There's going to be a bonus for this, right?"

Hey, if they're going to put us through some shit like this, why shouldn't I ask for more?

The leader looked at the suited guy who was doing his best to hold himself together.

He seemed to understand what was expected of him and quickly nodded, "Ye… Yes! I'll double the original pay if I am brought to the Warp Gate outside this station. I guarantee it… I'll even issue the first payment right now as a gesture of good will."

Everyone else seemed to be satisfied by that and the ping from my Codex indicating a transfer of twenty thousand Credits showed that he was serious about this.

Guess he's really important somewhere.

Seeing that everyone else was prepared to stay, the team lead started guiding us away from the lift just as we heard footsteps running from that direction.

Guess we're going to fight our way there then…