Here's chapter number 7! please review with your opinions and ideas you'd like to see incorporated! even constructive criticism! thanks!
The next morning the freelancers were all seated in silence at their table, each occasionally stealing glances across the room to where an exhausted Colorado was sitting by himself.
"We should go say something. Apologize or something." C.T. whispered.
"No way! I saw him in the training room last night, he was literally ripping apart training drones. I enjoy having my arms." Wash whispered back. North nodded his agreement.
"You men are such babies." Carolina said as she stood up with her tray. She confidently walked over to the empty table where Colorado was and sat down. The angry and exhausted freelancer glared at her before returning to eating his food in silence.
"Look, we are sorry we read your personnel file. It was wrong. But in our defense you were very secretive about the shit, and why you have a whole damn private bay to work in. Plus, no offense, but you're pretty much the most socially sheltered and awkward person any of us have ever met. And we've ALL met Wash." She said to him. Colorado looked up from his food with a softer expression on his face, though it was still covered in anger.
"I get that. But I was keeping in a secret for a reason. I wanted to work without all the crap in that file causing problems." He responded.
"Well, we only read the file. Other peoples take. Not yours. You can always tell us your half too. Hell, maybe it'll make you feel better about the whole thing." Carolina stood back up and returned to the table with all the others. When she was gone a small holographic image appeared.
"She is right. There is a chance talking about your problems could help. Several studies have shown traumatic experiences like the ones you-"He started.
"Scythe, I don't want to hear it. Don't you have tests to be running?" Colorado interrupted the AI.
"The device has been rendered inoperable. No further tests can be performed until you perform the necessary repairs." Scythe stated before disappearing.
"You've got to be kidding me…" Colorado said with a loud sigh.
After breakfast the ten of them changed into their armor and walked onto the training room floor as the stone pillars started to slide out of the ground.
"What do you guys say we make this more interesting? A full out free for all brawl." Colorado asked while sliding a clip into his magnum.
"What'd be the reward for winning?" Maine growled.
"The satisfaction that you're the best." Carolina sneered. The whole group agreed and quickly fanned out in the maze of pillars as F.L.I.S.S. called out the start of the match. Colorado sprinted from the outer edge into the center where several people were shooting. He dropped to the ground and slid across the floor, shooting Wyoming's feet as he slid past. The British freelancer let out a curse as he was suddenly coated in paint pellets from C.T., who ended up eliminated buy Colorado seconds later. There were a few shots fired across the room and Colorado heard the angry yells of South echo.
"That's total bull shit! Fuck you North!" Colorado laughed to himself at the girl's anger. He started stalking after two figures moving through the pillars. He watched from a discreet distance and cover as Wash and York worked together to eliminate Maine, and then North as he rounded the wrong corner at the wrong time. There were more shots in the distance followed by a growl from Carolina.
"Get back here Tex!" She screamed. Colorado ran up to the distracted pair of freelancers in front of him, flipping over York and firing three shots into Wash at point blank range. The three hit him in the worst possible place, and he fell over with a high pitched "why!?" Colorado kicked out and knocked York's pistol away. York pushed forward into him and tried to pry his gun out of his hands. Colorado wrapped his arm around the Tan armored freelancer's neck and jumped up and flipped over York's back, using his moment to send York flying into a pillar. The rock exploded from the impact and York collapsed on the ground leaned against the pillar behind it. Colorado casually walked past and shot him in the head.
"Three agents left. Opening weapons caches." F.L.I.S.S. called out. Colorado watched as a floor panel slid away and a container was revealed, housing two SMG's and an assortment of paint grenades and flash-bangs. He gladly clipping the two SMG's to his legs and took the grenades before he stalked after the other two remaining agents.
There was a click from behind him and he spun and shot. His paint round collided with the one that Tex had fired, causing the hardening blob of paint to crash to the ground.
"You've got to be kidding." Tex said angrily. Colorado just laughed and fired again, his round clogging the pistol in the black freelancer's hand. She charged forward and tore the pistol from his own hand, before the two started a match of hand to hand combat. Colorado threw a punch, which Tex grabbed and held under one of her arms. She went to throw a punch with her free hand, but Colorado caught it the same way she had done to him.
"Got you both now!" a voice yelled. Colorado and Tex both looked to see Carolina holding a modified rocket launcher with an explosive paint round.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Colorado said. The two of them jumped back, and Colorado reached for the SMG on his left hip. He emptied the whole clip, which coated Carolina's rocket launcher just as she pulled the trigger. The rocket exploded, covering her in paint and immobilizing her. Colorado turned back just in time to see Tex holding his other SMG right to his face. There was a purple flash and suddenly he couldn't move and couldn't see anything but the pink.
"Round over. Texas wins." F.L.I.S.S. called out.
Colorado was sitting in front of a table working on the same device he had been for the past few days, though his head wasn't really in it. He was thinking about the training match early that day, and what both Carolina and Scythe and told him during breakfast.
"Power levels indicate that it is functioning again, at higher levels than before." Scythe observed after Colorado had attached a new wire inside the device.
"Run the tests on it. I'm going to go get some sleep." He ordered the AI before retiring for the night. He sat on his bed and was just about to fall asleep when a southern drawl called out over the intercom system.
"Agents Carolina, Washington, Maine, New York, North Dakota, Wyoming, Connecticut, and Colorado, report to the briefing room at 0800 tomorrow morning. That will be all."
Colorado sighed. It looked like their supposed third day off wasn't going to be happening after all.
Again, please review! hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!
