Sasha
"Neera..." Spade smirked, "It's been a few months. What brings you here?"
"Magister's orders." Neera answered sternly. "He wants the remnants of the mothership to be recovered...for additional research. I assume you're here for the same reason?"
"Well...it's more like settling some debt, take out a rival, and get some of that sweet tech." Spade replied sheepishly. "How the hell did you get here?"
"Looks like you really do underestimate the Magister. He knows a lot more of your dirty secrets than you expect. By the way, nice recon. I assume you're here for Dail?"
"I'm just running errands on my own, but hey, I can offer all kinds of service. Even The Magister needs someone to take care of his dirty work.'
The tip of the spear dug deeper into Spade's neck. Neera growled.
"DON'T...YOU...EVEN!"
"But...hahah...we're here for the same reason right? Come on, can we at least get the job over with before you kill me or something?"
He took out one of the glass vials and tossed it to Neera.
Neera took the spear off of Spade's neck and grabbed the vial. They were special, but he was here for the mother lode.
"They've been running generators with this stuff. They're basically super-batteries. Looks like the Front's R&D team has really been at it."
Neera's anger faded away as she examined the vial, which gave off the warm indigo glow of the Kingdom Stone.
"It looks very concentrated. They've been running some of their small generators with it. Looks like it can power a small city alone for decades." Spade said
"They've has gotten pretty far. It's only a matter of time until they release whatever it is they're working on." Neera observed.
Spade patted down one of the knocked out guards. He pulled out an assault rifle and grenade. The rifle was pretty small and unusually light. The plasma rounds definitely were a modification.
"They probably know that we're here already. This should create a temporary diversion, if I can throw...it...right..." Spade said, aiming away from the fortress.
Spade tossed and the grenade sailed over a warehouse.
"Should be good enough." he observed.
Spade and Neera ran toward the one of the side entrances just as the grenade detonated.
The entrances to the main fort was unlocked. On the outside, it resembled a centuries old tourist attraction, but after decades of renovation, the insides looked relatively new, aside from the few years of disuse. Electrical wires, unboxed crates filled the halls. The walls were made of rebar and concrete.
There was shouting in the distance but it faded away, looks like they were using another exit.
"Check the rooms." Spade said just as Neera started searching.
Spade darted to one of the rooms and booted up the Lotus.
"Ezra! Come in!"
"Boss! What's going on?"
"Did you make sure that nobody else aside from us check the intel?"
"We made sure."
"Well...Neera is here now. She's probably here for the same reason."
"Did she say anything."
"Magister's orders, and Nice recon."
"Dammit!"
"We'll talk about this later okay? For now, we finish the job. Then we find the moles, if there's any."
"Okay. But I will at least check the servers then. Anything else?"
"Inside the main fortress now." Spade said, eyes darting. "Created a diversion, should give us another 30 minutes or so. Neera is checking the rooms, but I don't think anything is worth much here. Also came across some assault rifles. Plasma rounds. This is some new stuff they're developing, but they're basically prototypes."
"Plasma rifles?"
"Very lightweight too."
"They've definitely gotten far. They must've used Shuigang scientists for it."
"Why Shuigang?"
"Dail is still around so there are some people who still thinks of him as too brutal or at least a puppet of that alien. Could explain why the Front reappeared on the map a few months back."
"Looks like this area doesn't have any scientists around. Or at least the intel says so."
"This is the main hub. But The Front has gained experience underground. They know logistics and how to redistribute their people. At least taking out and confiscating this base should give signs of their whereabouts. Sasha did some work undercover here under my directive. She's the one who has provided the intel. She should be around here Boss, it's time to get her out."
"What? Why haven't you told me about this?!" Spade exclaimed.
"I was going to brief you about this. A fault on my part. I'll take full responsibility for my actions."
Sasha Birch, an Earth Dragon mix, about 21 years old. Out of many of the recruits, there was something about her that seemed to pique Spade's interest. It was a few months after Lilac left when she first joined. She was skilled, good with lucrative business, had this natural charisma that many other members lacked. It was hard to believe a girl like her could start off as a delinquent. She also a had minor drug problem, but it didn't take long for her to cleanup. After the invasion, when he initiated the organizational cleanup of the Red Scarves, she started to show. Usage in firearms was phenomenal, fighting techniques was pretty solid, agility could use some work, but she seemed level-headed in several situations. Ezra was right. He did train her well.
"We'll talk about this later." Spade sneered.
"Yes...Boss."
Spade placed the Lotus back into his pocket. The room was obviously sparse. Empty cabinets and drawers, and a table glowing the flickering lights. A deck of cards sat on the table along with some cash. In front was a 10 Clovers. Spade flipped it over. Ace of Hearts. This guy would've been lucky if he kept on playing. Spade took the deck and the loose cards. More ammo for him.
Spade got out of the room and started searching. There was nothing of value in the other rooms. Neera was not around; she must've gotten far ahead. He reached the main atrium of the fortress. This area has seen less neglect comparing to the hallway. Even the stairways maintained the wood stain. Otherwise, it had a cold look like the rest of the fort. There were two guards to the left and right balcony. It seemed the rest went out. Spade's ears pricked. He could hear radio chatter in the distance.
"Got 5 men knocked out. Ren and Miller are frozen solid. Shit! I think the priestess is here."
Another voice: "Send two units into the woods! Check on Park and Murph! Everybody else! Head back into the base! Engage at enemy immediately!"
Spade took out a set of 8 cards; two for each guard, and flung it aimed.
Fwit fwit fwit fwit...
Two cards managed to hit some of the guard's faces. Three cards sliced into each guard's arms and the rest missed. All of them dropped their weapons and screamed in pain, their hands covering their newly opened wounds.
Spade dashed up the steps. On the right balcony, he quickly dispatched the two guards with a takedown. The other two started to recover, one of them took the card out of his cheek. Spade sprinted and lunged forward, knocking over the guard, who then fell squarely on his face on the floor. The last guard ran forward and attempted to knock Spade out with a punch. Spade leapt over, but the punch skimmed his cheek while midair. Spade grunted and landed behind the guard. He kicks the guard in the back, knocking him forth and send with one last push, forcing the guard over the rail.
The last guard's body flopped like a rag doll. He let out a scream before getting cut off with a loud THUD!
Spade kept on running towards the opposite hallway, much of which consist of offices and a cafeteria. In the distance he heard the sound of drawers and files opening. He quickly examined one of the rooms. Neera was shifting through some of the cabinets.
"You left a couple of guards." Spade said.
"Those were for you, just to even things out a bit." Neera answered.
It took a few seconds for Spade to process what she meant. He smirked.
"Anything good?"
"It's gonna take a few minutes." Neera answered. "Lots of them looks like stolen files from Shuigang. It'll be difficult to get all of the objective material. Any hostiles?"
Spade scratched his back.
"The guards I took out asked for some reinforcements. If you could ice them in like two minutes or so...it should buy us some time."
Spade glanced at the desk, and noticed a couple of flash drives sitting around. If Neera was going to sabotage his opportunity to loot, now was the time to take something.
Spade grabbed two flash drives and ran off.
"I'll check the other rooms."
The fluorescent lights flickered on and off. Despite the Front's energy sources, their electric infrastructure sure hadn't hold up. Then again, it's only three months since the Shuigang military abandoned it.
Spade took a turn in the hallway. It was then when he heard some noises. A few grunts, some weeping. It wasn't on this floor. Spade paused, and started to examine his surroundings. There's gotta be a basement somewhere. Spade started to examine each door. All of them were locked, but one card slice was enough to destroy the locks. He kicked open each door and looked in.
Empty. Empty. And Empty.
Spade quietly cursed and got cracking with the next set of doors. It was then when he heard the thumping of footsteps. He got back behind one of the rooms.
The basement door opened. Two guards walked out, one with a pistol drawn, another with a standard combat knife. Their balaclavas hid much of their faces, so it hard to determine what they were. The pistol man might be a tiger, the knife man was probably a fox.
"What the hell?" The tiger said.
The knife man paused, and examined a busted lock on the other side of the hall.
"Looks fresh." The fox responded.
"We know you're here. Give it up and no one gets hurt!"
Spade said nothing. The fox started to kick open the each door. The tiger approached Spade's door. Hearing the approaching footsteps, Spade slid further into darkness.
BAM!
The door flew open and the pistol guy cautiously entered. He had a pretty nice build, clearly strong enough to be conscripted, but the way he held the pistol was enough to indicate he was probably a new member or trainee. He should be easy.
Spade lunged and grabbed the gun. Startled, the pistol man accidentally pulled the trigger, discharging one shot.
BANG!
Ears ringing, the tiger winced. Spade took the opportunity to disarm him, and with a quick twist of the wrist, the tiger grunted in pain. With a quick coordinated hit to the knee, Spade brought the tiger down. Spade glanced down at the now defeated figure, and with one last resounding kick to the head, the guard was knocked unconscious.
"Jackson!" The fox exclaimed just as he came face to face with Spade's pistol.
"Get down!" Spade grunted.
The fox raised his arms and dropped the knife. He kneeled down and placed his face on the cold, damp concrete.
Spade pocketed the knife and his pistols and took out his deck. The ace of spades is his standard signature. He placed the card right at the foxes throat.
"You know who I am?"
The fox nodded, beads of sweat pouring down his face.
"I can end it right now. You'll be surprised by the capabilities of cardboard cutting into flesh and metal."
The fox's eyes widened with fear.
"Alright, tell me what is in the basement."
The fox stammered, and growled with fear.
"Thanks." Spade said, before knocking the fox unconscious with a quick stamp to the head.
Spade got up and went into the basement. The smell of fresh plaster filled his nose. He took a turn to the right and came across a well lit room. A plastic table laid on one corner, with a bit of radio equipment scattered around the edges. On the other side, there was a long PVC pipe and a cage. A prisoner sat in the corner, handcuffed to the pipe. A bag covered her head and she let out small groan in pain.
Spade recognized her voice.
"Sasha?"
