CHAPTER 1
"Run!"
He ran with all the speed he could muster. All of his considerable athletic ability was at the present, focused on one goal. To get to the rendezvous before he was caught.
With him ran four of his co-workers. Fellows in his conspiracy. If they made it through this, they would each be wealthy enough to get away from this drab city, and make quite the lifestyle somewhere else. His employer had promised all that and more.
If we make it. If we get the disc there. At the moment, he wasn't too sure. Dear God, please don't let me die here, in this hellhole.
He could hear them. About seven or eight policemen, chasing him with their guns drawn, hoping to bring down the criminals they were after. So far, the crowd around them seemed to be ignoring the chase. Maybe they thought the police were running to make the afternoon sale at Dunkin Donuts.
He drew his gun. He'd never fired one before, but his employer had guaranteed him that this piece of hardware didn't require much practice to do its job. All you have to do is believe. Well, we'll see.
He pivoted on his heel, brought up the gun and fired it at his pursuers. To his surprise, one of them lurched backwards and fell, bleeding profusely from the chest. Well I'll be damned.
However, he noticed something else while he was firing. A black car seemed to be following the chase, and inside, he could see…
Them! Oh god, run! But how did they get here so fast?
He turned and, with a new burst of speed, sprang forward.
* * * * *
The normally quiet alleyways were home to an extra inhabitant today. He too was running, but to the chase instead of away from it. In his arms he cradled a high power Krieg Commando rifle, but its weight didn't seem to slow him any. In seconds, he was at the site of the chase.
Dammit! What went wrong? This wasn't supposed to happen for another half-hour. The bastard was lucky we were even in broadcast range.
None of that mattered now, however. All that mattered was keeping that disc safe. As he reached his vantage point, the man brought the rifle up to his chin and scoped out the happenings of the chase.
He fired at them? He was only supposed to use that as a last resort! Oh, crap, this just gets better and better.
In response to the death of their comrades, the police officers had begun drawing their Glock 9mm pistols. The semi-automatics would cut through the contact and his group almost immediately.
The man sighted his rifle on the policemen as he moved into the sunlight. The light reflected cleanly off of his bald head, but glare was the last thing he was worried about right now. He needed to get off his shots, before it was too late.
The police fired first.
The man could see one of the fleeing fugitives fall, a bullet hole in his back. However, the man had no time for empathy. He fired.
The bullets sliced cleanly through their targets. Designed to take out armored attack personnel, it slaughtered the unarmored policemen.
Well, they're safe for now.
He fled into the darkness.
* * * * *
The fleeing men were doggedly followed. Of the four he had left, the fleeing man feared he would lose several more. Can't turn back now!
He ran into a crowd, hoping to lose them. The people could give him the cover to escape. However, before the last man got into cover, a shot rang out. He fell with a hole in his chest, and behind him, the black car stopped, and They got out, one holding a still smoking pistol.
Oh shit!
He shoved aside the people in front of him, pushing forward. Pushing aside a blonde, he rounded a corner, and came face-to-face with a man in a black suit.
But wait..He's behind us!
The running man ducked and ran around the man in the suit. Behind him, one of his companions wasn't so lucky. The man in the suit punched him, knocking him on his back.
He can handle himself. He was always talking about how built he was anyway. Time to prove it.
However, his unlucky comrade sailed over his head two seconds later, slamming into a wall hard enough to shatter it. The unfortunate man slumped over.
Three left.
Ahead of him, the crowd had thinned out, doubtlessly running from the chase. The crack of a gun ran out, than another one.
I'm all that's left.
He saw a parked taxi, about to pull away. He jumped to the drivers side and threw the cab driver out of the seat of the car, getting in himself. The man pulled away from the street, and into the traffic.
Safe. Now I just gotta get to the safe house.
He heard a crackling noise behind him. Just what I need, an engine short. Then, he felt something pressing on his head…a gun barrel.
"Do we eliminate him? Yes. He is of no importance now."
No!
* * * * *
The shot signaling the death of the contact rang in her ears. Damn it, we were too late.
She set aside her rifle, and turned to her three companions. One was tall, and looked like a native american, with a ponytail tied behind his head. The next was a woman with short cut blonde hair and a pale complexion. The last was Caucasian, with a shaved head, a beard and a mustache. Everyone was wearing sunglasses.
"What do we do now, Trin?"
The woman called Trinity turned her back to him and thought about it. What can we do? Nothing. Time to go.
She turned to her questioner, the bald man they knew as Cypher, and said simply, "We leave." She turned to the woman. "Switch, secure the exit at the bottom of the building." To the indian man, "Go with her, Apoc." And to Cypher, "Sweep the roof, make sure nobody saw us."
After they left, she took a cell-phone out of her leather jacket, and hit SEND. Someone picked up the call immediately.
"Operator."
"Tank, tell Morpheus they killed the contact. We lost the package. And prep the 5th and Vine exit. We're jacking out."
"Got it, Trin. By the way, Argos and Osiris just arrived. You've got one hour, then we're re-broadcasting for the meeting."
"Got it. See you when we're out."
Trinity returned to her comrades, and said simply, "Let's go."