I can't base any conclusions from a single day but my lizard brain is telling me that the previous discovery was simply dumb luck so I have begun plan C. Foot reconnaissance of the general area where I THINK is the magical warehouse full of high-quality weapons. If this doesn't pan out I'll go back to plan A, slowly working through the Empires food chain.

I might still do it because this is fucking slow and boring. Some legitimate businesses still operate here so it's not like I'm walking through Pripyat but I could count the number of people I've seen on a single hand. And that's not only because it's 2 AM. The van pulling up on the opposite side of the street is the first sign of life in about half an hour.

I observe six men drag a tied struggling body into the depths of a defunct restaurant.

Huh.

Did… did that just happen?

No street lights and my superior stealth skills mean they didn't see me so I have a choice to make.

Yeah, right.

The only choice is how should I engage. I have the Glock but I don't really want to use it. Limited ammo notwithstanding I haven't actually fired a gun before. The point-blank execution doesn't count. OK, that is not completely true, my downloaded memories show that I have gone to the gun range several times and done well but shooting in a controlled environment and, in action are different things. Plus, I haven't shot from this gun yet. Sure, I'm confident that I could put rounds on target but I don't want to test it now with a potential bystander in the way.

Up close and personal it is.

There's nobody in the dining room and I could hear voices from the kitchen. I could take one of the remaining chairs as a weapon but in such close quarters it would slow me down and against six hostiles I need all the speed I could get.

I creep up to the kitchen doors and listen. "-eed to do this Jake."

"Have some fun with the bitch first, we won't mind."

"Don't pussy out now, you came this far."

Thank you, stereotypical assholes, thank you for giving me confirmation. It would be awkward if there was a good reason for this and I would mistakenly kill you. After all, I did and plan to do again a similar thing.

They are so concentrated they don't notice me slipping in the room. One guy in the back, then two pairs separated by kitchen island and the sixth is with the victim in the freezer. That guy is my main problem, no matter how this goes down he's going to have plenty of time to kill her or at least use her as a hostage. Alright, let's do this.

Broken glass crunch under my boots but the first doesn't get a chance to react. I wrap my left arm around his mouth and open a few new holes in him. Kidney, lung, throat, and heart. Can't take any chances. I let him fall and charge the others. Goddamnit, why couldn't I get speedster powers? It would have been over in a couple of seconds.

I assume Jake is the youngest so I go for the other pair. They have just enough time to realize what's happening and I'm in the middle of them.

Chaos ensues.

I flip the knife to reverse grip and second gets a deep slice to the neck, the amount of blood suggest I hit the jugular so two down. The third throws a punch which I dodge and put him in an armbar. I manage to sever the inner elbow tendons but my downwards stab gets blocked. Probably instinctive but still, nice job skinhead number 3. No, I shouldn't assume, they might be a boyband with matching hair and clothing styles. Maybe I would do differently but I can't argue with results as the sixth goes for an attack that I can't block or dodge. Shit. My right arm is in the way so he can't land the punch on my jaw but my temple and nose are undefended. I hope it hurts him same as me when I tilt so he strikes my forehead. I at least land a front kick on my stumble back.

I tune out the screaming and shouting while I take stock. Two down, one has a disabled arm and another is clutching his stomach. On the other side of the counter, Jake is freaking out and the fourth member is pulling out a gun. Double Shit.

I throw the knife at the third, even managing to cut him and vault over. Left hook takes care of Jake and I'm inside the fourth space. In the slowed time I notice the safety is off so the priority is to control the gun. Throat punch with my right while I eject the magazine with my left and I'm halfway there. I really hope for some bad guy stupidity when I grab the arm to aim at the sixth who recovered and is going around the counter. Strike to the wrist, which causes the fingers to contract rewards me by a loud crack right next to my ear and the sixth goes down from a chest wound.

And now there are only two and a half.

I hook the fourths leg and topple him. Massive stomp and his face is no longer recognizable. Second stomp and his throat is half as thick as normal.

I have to applaud their fighting spirit as the third Nazi advance. Also, their generosity because he has my knife. Why thank you, for providing me with better means of killing you.

One left.

I step over the growing pool of blood and look at sobbing Jake on the ground. The babbling about being sorry is interrupted by burrowing the knife in his brainstem. I loot and finish off the whole bunch and go check on the tied up body in the freezer.

"Don't worry it's over, I'll remove the gag so please don't scream, my ears are injured enough", my bedside manner could be better but the young woman is sympathetic or perhaps just tired to make a sound.

"I promise I'll not hurt you OK? It doesn't look like you're seriously injured but I can't tell in this darkness. I'm going to untie you and carry you outside so be calm, I'm here to help."

She even puts her arms around me while I bridal style her out of here so I assume she believes me.

Moonlight helps a little when I inspect her further on the curb outside. "Good news is they didn't hurt badly, the bad news is you're gonna be sore in the morning." I put a phone in her hand "wait 10 seconds then remove your blindfold and call the cops. I will be nearby until they arrive but I don't want to deal with them." I get up but she grabs my arm and stops me.

"Wait,... please don- don't go."

"I promise you're safe, there's nobody around here but us and if something happens I'll be right with you but… look the cops might be grateful but I'm not taking that chance, the assholes that attacked you are… not exactly in great shape so please" I cup her hand and she lets go.

It takes 20 min for the police to arrive and after I'm sure she's fine with them I head home. Maybe they'll search the area but they wouldn't find me here even if I stayed still.

After robbery and kidnapping, this is my first good deed since I got here and I'm really pleased about how it went. I never planned to patrol or shit like that because... well it's stupid so this might be the only occasion I get to feel the warm and fuzzies that normal 'superheroes' get to experience all the time.