AN: Alrighty then. I feel like another rewrite is in order, because I'm still not happy with the way my work is turning out.
I took a deep breath and nearly choked, it was freezing and the cold air burned my lungs. "So, are we actually doing this?" I asked. Aaron laughed and sat back onto the table. "Yes. It's fun, bro. Besides, if we get busted Truck's the one running the course, right?" Truck leaned over the deck railing above us. "I heard that, smartass." Aaron laughed. "Little old me? Why I would never." "Hey. I'd hate to bother you guys," I said. "But I'd like to get this done before I get arrested. May I?" I loaded my assault rifle, going for a speed run on The Gauntlet I would only need just less than thirty rounds in my ACR and maybe one clip for my sidearm. "Okay, pushy much?" Aaron scoffed. "Remember, switching to your pistol is faster than reloading." I said. Aaron turned, and gave me a sarcastic salute. "Yes sir, Sergeant Major, sir!" I just glared, but Truck seemed to enjoy our bickering. "Girl, you look like you about to get your ass whooped." "Yeah right…" She muttered. Now we were both ready to go.
"I watch right side, you watch left." Aaron said. I nodded. "Step over the starting line when you're ready." Truck called. We sprinted into the course and two metal targets flew up on both sides of us, I turned left and let the bullets fly, my first two targets were down. I've worked with Aaron long enough to know she'll handle her work, I'll handle mine. We booked it forward and two more targets came straight ahead, one in front of the nearby truck and one behind. "Two more, by the vehicles!" Truck called" "Front!" Aaron yelled dropping to a crouched stance and shooting the target behind the truck, I shot the one up front and we moved ahead.
We came around the corner and the building was covered with targets. Two on each side of the roof, one on each side of the ground floor. I started from the top as planned, shooting the two targets on left side of the roof but by the time I looked to the bottom, my target was gone with Aaron's. and she was running for the door. I laughed. "Good work, princess" "Screw you." Aaron called moving for the door. Aaron was faster than I was, but sometimes she got too overconfident. It was her greatest downfall.
On her way through the door a target flew up in the doorway and slammed Aaron in the face. I almost stopped to see if she was okay, but I knew how pissed she would have been had I. "Melee with your knife, not your face!" Truck called. I kicked the target out of the way and ran through the door, Aaron staggered but she was right behind me. "I thought you were going to stop for a second!" She called. I laughed. "I didn't for my safety!" I yelled, running upstairs. The next floor had a series of targets moving on rails between Civilians, a risky shot. "Civis!" I yelled. "Watch you fire!" I waited for an opening in the targets on my side of the room, and took my shot the second it opened up. I turned to see Aaron take her last target, narrowly missing a civilian by maybe an inch. "Outside!" She yelled rounding a corner way too quick for me to keep up.
I followed her through the doorway onto a bridge, my lungs were starting to hurt, and I couldn't keep this pace much longer. Across the bridge, two metal targets in the shape of dogs came barreling down the tracks straight at me. "Dogs!" Before I could raise my rifle Aaron had shot them both down from behind me. "Bridge, left side, behind cover!" And lo-behold, on my left behind the sandbags, stood a target with my name on it. I shot it, and the hostile to the left of it in the window. Aaron had almost ran inside when I saw the two targets on the roof, and called to her, "Ten and two high, ten and two!" She had looked up just in time and shot the target on the right side of the roof, and I turned to the target on my left and shot it down. "Last room!" She called.
We stacked up on drew my pistol not knowing how much ammo I had left. Aaron looked at me and did the same. "Last room!" Truck called. We busted through the door and on the left, two targets popped up on each side of a civilian. I fired, closely missing the civilian, but missing all the same. The entire world had felt to have been in slow motion and I had just now heard the two gunshots go off next to me. I turned and my partner had a huge stupid grin on her face indicating we had set our record. Sandman sat up from his desk inconveniently placed in the middle of a live firing range. "Thanks for not taking my head off." He said. Aaron beamed. "How'd we do?" Sandman looked down at his stopwatch and grinned. 23.4. New record. "Alright," Grinch yelled outside. "Pay up." "God dammit, are you serious?" Truck yelled.
"Shouldn't have betted against 'em…" Sandman grinned looking at his watch. "No he shouldn't, captain." Said the voice behind me. I nearly jumped out of my skin; Aaron was looking down, at her feet. "Aw crap…" She muttered. "General?" Sandman stood straight up, and saluted our CO standing behind us, Aaron and I turned and did the same. "General." We repeated. "S-sir, what are you doing here?" Sandman stuttered. "I was just looking the unregistered users on The Gauntlet, captain. Is that a problem?" Sandman's eyes widened. "No sir. I-" "That's enough. Sandman" Overlord said before turning his attention to us. "23.4 seconds." He said. "That's a very impressive record." I just stared in disbelief. "Th-thank you, sir." Aaron gawked. She might not have been speaking well, but she was still speaking better than I was. "I'm reassigning you both, for a very important mission." He said "Pack your bags; you're going to New york.
AN: Okay, hopefully this going to be my final re-write for the series, and now I can just focus on getting new chapters up. Maybe.