Oliver was getting away.
He ran down the dock like his life depended on it, which it did. Veena cursed viciously, attempting to stand and run after him, but the red light from a sniper rifle kept her rooted firmly in place behind a stack of crates.
The transfer had been going easy. It was a simple, "Take Oliver from the copter to the boat and then proceed to drive him to Hoyt's Island." Veena had been issued with the task of driving the boat, which left her boys alone, unguarded, and in the land of Rook without a remarkable sniper like herself to keep them safe. But the plans had been interrupted. Across the river docks was a cliff; it was tall in stature and it was an easy vantage point for someone to sit and watch the the area. They had sent a few pirates up there to keep a lookout, but now they didn't respond and Veena swore she could see Brody up there.
Which is what they were left with. Pirates dropped when bullets pierced through their skulls and Langley, Hopper, and Lewis were nowhere to be seen. She hoped that her boys were all right and still alive. "Hey! Wait!" Her head jerked to the side when she saw Hopper fall out of his place of hiding, hands grabbing the druggy's leg and forcing Oliver to fall and hit the dock. A bullet pierced the ground beside his hand, which made Hopper yelp and draw back. Oliver was back on his feet and running towards the boat.
Langley peered out of hiding; Veena's M-700 had been dropped and picked up by the thin man. He could see Jason up on the cliffside, crouched down on the very edge and picking off pirates as though the situation were a shooting gallery. Langley had recognized Jason's pattern. When he ran out of ammo for his clip, he would back away from the cliffside and hide behind something to reload. This allowed Lewis time to dart from his own hiding place and slide into a different one. Langley crouched himself, bracing the barrel of the sniper against the bottom of the window and peering through the scope. He could see just barely of Brody's ugly blue shirt peeking out from behind a thick rock.
It was the only shot that offered itself to him and Langley took it. The bullet shot from the barrel, whizzing through the air silently; the recoil from the weapon pushed back and nearly smacked into Langley's face. He watched through the scope as the bullet pierced through the blue fabric and he could just barely hear the cry of pain from Snow White's throat. Langley ducked out of the way when Jason's own gun focused onto the window he sat just beside.
While Jason was distracted there, Langley dashed across the dock and spotted Oliver as he got out from behind a crate and and ran towards the docked boat. Oliver slid over the side of the railing and landed inside, and only then did Langley see Jason dive down into the darkened waters of the river. Veena dashed out of her hiding spot and ran to the side of the dock, watching as Oliver drove the boat closer towards the middle of the river, allowing Jason to board.
Then a massive turret gun faced in their direction. "Shit!" Veena shoved Hopper out of the way before the bullets pierced through them. They hit the dock, but Veena was already to her feet when she spotted the boat go tearing out across the surface of the water. She made a grab for her walkie talkie. "Rock! We need a barricade set up down river from the River Boat Docks! Brody showed up! I'll meet you there!"
"Vee?" Langley tried, but recoiled in shock when the woman dashed towards the nearest vehicle, snapping at him, Lewis, and Hopper to follow. She jumped into the front seat of an old, ugly Darrah. Lewis took the backseat with Hopper and Langley in the passenger's seat. They weren't allowed time to buckle up, for Veena immediately plugged the keys into the ignition and tore off down the street beside the river, diligently following behind the fleeing boat.
Pirates already began loitering on the sides of the river, driving fiercely after the escaping boat. Veena brought the Darrah's speed up, the vehicle quickly caught up and passed the boat. This had to be the fighters Rock set up. Men were firing turret guns at the boat behind them, but Veena wasn't going to wait around to see whether or not they were able to take the boat out. The Darrah was parked on the bridge further up the river; other pirates were already parking beside them.
"They might take it down back there?" Hopper told Veena with a weak grin. "I'm pretty sure we don't need to be parked-" An explosion erupted from down the river, and the three men jumped. They ran off the bridge, watching with narrowed eyes at the curve of the river, wondering if Brody and his friend will come around. They did. The speed at which the boat shot around the corner alarmed the men, and they quickly took shelter when the turret in the boat trained on them. Jason didn't seem to see the determined woman standing on the bridge.
"Veena!" Langley yelled to her as Brody and his friend drove beneath the bridge and he jumped into action when he saw just how quickly Veena moved. The woman darted to the opposite railing, jumping up and over the wooden paneling. She dropped right into the boat behind Oliver. The drugged man let out a cry, and Jason was off the gun in seconds. Oliver had gotten off the wheel from his shock, curling up in the bow of the ship, trying to keep away from the woman.
Her knife was grabbed, and yanked out of its sheath, and the dreadlocked woman faced Brody with fire in her eyes. Jason was quick to grab his own and Langley ran onto the bridge just in time to see their equally sharp blades collide. Oliver seemed horrified of the fighting, keeping his back pressed up against the bow, watching his best friend and a mysterious woman fight and punch at each other. Although, Jason didn't seem to be in his normal, vicious ways. He seemed reluctant.
"Back off!" Langley could hear Jason's voice snapping at Veena, and it was in that moment he realized that Jason felt uncomfortable fighting a woman. But Veena continued her assault, bringing her knife forcefully against Jason's and forcing him to back up to avoid getting too up close from this woman. "Come on." He begged, and Langley grew tense at the very tone. He didn't trust it, and Veena didn't seem to care.
Veena's blade strikes against Jason's hard enough to knock it out of the way. Jason let out a cry of shock, which morphed into one of pain when Veena brought her blade through Jason's side. He hissed, grabbing Veena's hands and shoving her and her blade away. Jason could feel the warm blood pouring from his side and it was at that time Jason knew he couldn't get Veena to stop this attack.
"Fine." Jason growled, righting himself and switching the machete to his other hand. "Have it your own way..." He spat. The fight continued, blades clashing and nicking flesh. Hopper and Lewis were both tense, standing up on the bridge on either side of Langley, whom seemed to be the most tense.
"Langley!" All three heads perked at the familiar voice. Rock was running up the street, his chest heaving with labored breaths. Rock was definitely not meant to run. "Where is Veena?!" He snapped, jogging up onto the bridge and stopping beside them. Hopper jabbed a finger down to the boat, and Rock's dark eyes focused on the two fighting individuals out on the river.
A mighty clash, a knife went flying out of a hand and Jason's blade pierced through the chest of the unarmed woman. Langley felt his blood turn cold. The four pirates on the bridge watched Jason rip his knife from Veena's chest. Her hands came up to the wound, her hands were trembling from the very movement; she stumbled back and fell backwards off the boat and into the icy waters of the river. "VEENA!" Langley's cry was loud, and before the other pirates could realize it, Langley was ripping his pistol off his side, kicking his boots off and driving into the water after his friend.
"Are ye' crazy?!" Lewis called after him, but it was already to late. Langley hit the water with a splash. "It's croc'dile'in'ested! Langley!" The Australian groaned aloud, snapping at Hopper and Rock to stay put as he dashed down the bridge and ran up to the side of the river. He could see a grassy patch, dark eyes lurking just between them. But at the splash from Langley, the crocodile's gaze focused to the middle of the river, where Langley was still down retrieving Veena. "O'no ye don'!" Lewis snapped, grabbing the crocodile's tail as it spun around to face the direction.
With a mighty yank, Lewis forced the crocodile to shore, jumping backwards when the beast turned and snapped sharp fangs in his direction. Lewis caught himself, snorting like an angered bull at the creature. The reptilian snapped powerful jaws at him again, but this time, Lewis ripped a grenade off his belt and pulled the pin. The third time its jaws opened, Lewis promptly dropped the grenade down its throat. He backed away, watching with satisfaction as the moments ticked by. Then blood splattered across his face when the bomb went off, promptly drenching Lewis in dismembered pieces and gore from the crocodile bitch.
At that same moment, Langley resurfaced, hefting a bleeding Veena comfortably in his arms. He swam towards shore, and Lewis waded knee-deep into the water to reach his friend. Lewis helped tug both Langley and Veena out of the water, and it registered to him quickly that Veena was already gone. Hopper was there, and Rock too; both were leaning over the trio, ignoring how Jason and Oliver escaped on their watercraft. "L-Langley?" Hopper damn near whimpered the words, searching Langley's face for any hints of emotion. There was none.
"We best leave. Rakyat may swarm this location." Rock mumbled, and ducked down to scoop the woman up into his arms. Langley's gaze followed and with help, they pulled the shivering, wet pirate to his feet. All remained silent; Lewis reached the mounted Jeep first, taking his normal stance on the turret. Hopper climbed into the passenger's seat, knowing Langley would want to be in the back with Veena.
Langley's silence unnerved them the entire way; Lewis' voice was quiet as he spoke to Vaas through the radio. Vaas seemed furious at the loss of Oliver, but he had fallen silent when Lewis mentioned Veena. "...She's...dead?" Vaas seemed relatively confused, but when Lewis clarified, the Boss seemed to take a deep intake of breath. "Return to the compound, motherfuckers. With her body. Got it?!" Lewis winced, and gave a slight nod of his head, only to speak with affirmation when he remembered Vaas couldn't see.
"We're uh...needed'ack a'th' com'ound." Lewis told the others, and Rock gave a firm nod from the front seat. The jeep pulled out onto a different road and, knowing there was nothing left they could do here, they drove off towards the newly taken over Camp Murder. By now, other pirates may have shown up to defend it, and Clause and Randall would be there, maybe already knowing that they were needed back at base.
"Lewis...ya gotta match?" Langley's voice came through clearly, and when Lewis glanced down to his friend, he went rigid when he saw a thick cigar hanging from his lips, and upon even closer inspection, he could see the beginnings of sobs racking his torso.
"Yeah, ma'e...oi go'one..."