Ch. 3: Rubicon
The guards walked on by at their appropriate time, to take Kenji to his nightly session. They arrived; spotting Uriko huddled in a corner and Kenji lying on the ground. His chest was covered with a thick, red fluid.
"I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't... I had to... I had to kill him..." Uriko said distraught.
"Shit!" one of them yelled. "This is Agent 43, requesting medical assistance! Prisoner 232 has apparently attacked Prisoner 947!"
One of the other guards walked over and struck Uriko across the face. "What did you do, you little wench?"
"He... he tried to force himself on me. I..." she sobbed, "I tore his chest open when he wouldn't stop... he..."
"God fucking dammit, Master ShenLong is going to kill us!" he mumbled.
"Uh, Agent 36?"
"What is it?"
"This...'blood' kinda smells like..."
"Ketchup?" Kenji said. He quickly kipped up to his feet and struck a spinning kick to the temple of one of the guards. Uriko also sprang to her feet, smashing the other guard's head into the wall. "Quickly, Uriko, before the guards arrive."
"You mind?" she said removing her pants. Kenji looked away as she quickly slipped on the guards uniform. Kenji did the same, and then they slipped the prison fatigues on the guards. Not a moment too soon, the medical staff arrived.
"Quickly," Kenji yelled to the medical staff. "If either of them dies, Master ShenLong will have all of our heads!"
"Yessir!" One of them yelled. They picked up the bodies and ran them to the medical faculty.
"Now we must go," Kenji whispered, taking Uriko by the hand. "There's a weapons closet down the hall. Hurry." Kenji dragged Uriko behind him. The cold concrete cellblock gave way to a sleeker steel artifice, with several doors lining the way. He stopped abruptly at one such door, and then quickly punched a series of numbers into the keypad lock. "ShenLong you're too predictable. Didn't think to remove my clearance."
The door opened, and Kenji shoved Uriko inside. "Yeesh, not so rough."
"It won't take long for them to notice we're gone. We must act quickly," Kenji mumbled as he rifled through the assorted munitions. "Where are they?"
"What?" Uriko asked inquisitively.
Kenji smiled. "These. They're Titanium hollowpoint rounds with a mercury fulminate compound inserted into the cavity." Kenji looked up and saw Uriko's befuddled expression. He sighed. "Its an explosive-tipped round, makes an exit wound the size of a deep dish chicken pot pie." He loaded two pistols and holstered them to his sides, then loaded normal rounds into a shoulder holster and finally picked up a fourth and attached a silencer. He picked up a shoulder-mounted rocket and looked straight at Uriko.
"Isn't that overkill?" Uriko asked.
"Not if we meet Shina. You know how to fire a gun?" he asked. Uriko shook her head. "Great," he grumbled.
"Hey, if it wasn't for me..."
"Shush!" Outside, she could hear the low voices of two, maybe three guards. "We can't risk being spotted yet," he whispered. As soon as the voices were out of range, he opened the door and peered outside. "Let's go, and quietly." He held her hand, leading her down the hallway. They got to a corner. Kenji slid his back to the wall, and peeked around. In one swift motion, he spun around the corner, firing two rounds before ducking back. "Good," he whispered, "no one heard. Let's go."
Uriko felt a little squeamish when they passed the pair of bodies. She realized, though, it needed to be done. Slowly, deliberately, they made their way through the corridors of the ZLF HQ, until finally they made it to an elevator. "Press your back to the wall, and don't move until I tell you." Uriko nodded, while Kenji loaded another clip of ammo. The elevator dinged. Kenji swerved, aiming his gun inside, but it was empty. "Go."
The boarded, and Kenji hit a single button. "Why are we going to the roof?" Uriko asked.
"There's a walkway from the rooftop to the parking garage. We go there, steal a car, and make our getaway." The elevator neared the top. "Uriko, you are to sit in that corner, and don't make a sound, don't even move a muscle until I call for you." Normally, she would resent him taking such a commanding tone, but in such matters it was not time to argue. She sat, covering her head with her hands.
Kenji took a deep breath, readied two pistols, and stood awaiting the ping of the elevator reaching its destination. I did, and the doors slowly opened. Kenji rushed outside as gunfire erupted. The deafening roar of pistols, rifles, and submachine guns hurt Uriko's ear. She clenched them tightly to her head, and shut her eyes, wishing it would all just go away.
Moment's later, it did. A million thought rushed through her head. "Did they kill Kenji? Is he okay? Did he win?" Her fears were put to rest as his strong voice called to her. She emerged from the elevated, into a scene wrought with corpses and bullet holed. At least a dozen men lay dead at his feet.
"It had to be done," he said, taking her hand. They raced across the bridge, but a ping stopped Kenji in his tracks. He looked back as Shina emerged from the elevator with another dozen ZLF troops. "Shit..." Kenji muttered. She approached with unearthly speed as Kenji hurried to the other side of the bridge. With one swift motion he readied the rocket launcher, and fired, destroying the walkway and knocking Shina back.
"Hurry!" He yelled to Uriko. They ran to the parking garage, settling into a large, sturdy jeep. Kenji quickly began tearing open the panels, trying to hotwire the vehicle. "Um, Kenji?" Uriko muttered, "We got company."
Kenji groaned and handed Uriko a gun. "Point, pull trigger. It's not rocket science!"
Uriko reluctantly took the gun and fired on the oncoming ZLF troops. Her first shots missed, but one then struck a man straight in the chest. Part of Uriko wanted to shout out "I got one," but the part of her that wanted her to cry kept it silent. Suddenly, only a click came from the gun.
"Kenji, I'm... WHOA!"
Uriko fell back in her seat as the jeep sprang to life, speeding through the ranks of the ZLF. "Brace yourself!" Kenji warned. Uriko could hear the snap of wood as splinters flew overhead. She looked back, at the ZLF HQ.
"We did it!" she yelled, "We're free!"
"Not yet," Kenji warned.
ShenLong surveyed the rubble with a very unhappy scowl. He looked to his men, then to Shina. "Find them," he ordered. "Hunt them down, and bring them to me." Shina stared blankly, and then began walking in the direction of Kenji and Uriko's escape.
The guards walked on by at their appropriate time, to take Kenji to his nightly session. They arrived; spotting Uriko huddled in a corner and Kenji lying on the ground. His chest was covered with a thick, red fluid.
"I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't... I had to... I had to kill him..." Uriko said distraught.
"Shit!" one of them yelled. "This is Agent 43, requesting medical assistance! Prisoner 232 has apparently attacked Prisoner 947!"
One of the other guards walked over and struck Uriko across the face. "What did you do, you little wench?"
"He... he tried to force himself on me. I..." she sobbed, "I tore his chest open when he wouldn't stop... he..."
"God fucking dammit, Master ShenLong is going to kill us!" he mumbled.
"Uh, Agent 36?"
"What is it?"
"This...'blood' kinda smells like..."
"Ketchup?" Kenji said. He quickly kipped up to his feet and struck a spinning kick to the temple of one of the guards. Uriko also sprang to her feet, smashing the other guard's head into the wall. "Quickly, Uriko, before the guards arrive."
"You mind?" she said removing her pants. Kenji looked away as she quickly slipped on the guards uniform. Kenji did the same, and then they slipped the prison fatigues on the guards. Not a moment too soon, the medical staff arrived.
"Quickly," Kenji yelled to the medical staff. "If either of them dies, Master ShenLong will have all of our heads!"
"Yessir!" One of them yelled. They picked up the bodies and ran them to the medical faculty.
"Now we must go," Kenji whispered, taking Uriko by the hand. "There's a weapons closet down the hall. Hurry." Kenji dragged Uriko behind him. The cold concrete cellblock gave way to a sleeker steel artifice, with several doors lining the way. He stopped abruptly at one such door, and then quickly punched a series of numbers into the keypad lock. "ShenLong you're too predictable. Didn't think to remove my clearance."
The door opened, and Kenji shoved Uriko inside. "Yeesh, not so rough."
"It won't take long for them to notice we're gone. We must act quickly," Kenji mumbled as he rifled through the assorted munitions. "Where are they?"
"What?" Uriko asked inquisitively.
Kenji smiled. "These. They're Titanium hollowpoint rounds with a mercury fulminate compound inserted into the cavity." Kenji looked up and saw Uriko's befuddled expression. He sighed. "Its an explosive-tipped round, makes an exit wound the size of a deep dish chicken pot pie." He loaded two pistols and holstered them to his sides, then loaded normal rounds into a shoulder holster and finally picked up a fourth and attached a silencer. He picked up a shoulder-mounted rocket and looked straight at Uriko.
"Isn't that overkill?" Uriko asked.
"Not if we meet Shina. You know how to fire a gun?" he asked. Uriko shook her head. "Great," he grumbled.
"Hey, if it wasn't for me..."
"Shush!" Outside, she could hear the low voices of two, maybe three guards. "We can't risk being spotted yet," he whispered. As soon as the voices were out of range, he opened the door and peered outside. "Let's go, and quietly." He held her hand, leading her down the hallway. They got to a corner. Kenji slid his back to the wall, and peeked around. In one swift motion, he spun around the corner, firing two rounds before ducking back. "Good," he whispered, "no one heard. Let's go."
Uriko felt a little squeamish when they passed the pair of bodies. She realized, though, it needed to be done. Slowly, deliberately, they made their way through the corridors of the ZLF HQ, until finally they made it to an elevator. "Press your back to the wall, and don't move until I tell you." Uriko nodded, while Kenji loaded another clip of ammo. The elevator dinged. Kenji swerved, aiming his gun inside, but it was empty. "Go."
The boarded, and Kenji hit a single button. "Why are we going to the roof?" Uriko asked.
"There's a walkway from the rooftop to the parking garage. We go there, steal a car, and make our getaway." The elevator neared the top. "Uriko, you are to sit in that corner, and don't make a sound, don't even move a muscle until I call for you." Normally, she would resent him taking such a commanding tone, but in such matters it was not time to argue. She sat, covering her head with her hands.
Kenji took a deep breath, readied two pistols, and stood awaiting the ping of the elevator reaching its destination. I did, and the doors slowly opened. Kenji rushed outside as gunfire erupted. The deafening roar of pistols, rifles, and submachine guns hurt Uriko's ear. She clenched them tightly to her head, and shut her eyes, wishing it would all just go away.
Moment's later, it did. A million thought rushed through her head. "Did they kill Kenji? Is he okay? Did he win?" Her fears were put to rest as his strong voice called to her. She emerged from the elevated, into a scene wrought with corpses and bullet holed. At least a dozen men lay dead at his feet.
"It had to be done," he said, taking her hand. They raced across the bridge, but a ping stopped Kenji in his tracks. He looked back as Shina emerged from the elevator with another dozen ZLF troops. "Shit..." Kenji muttered. She approached with unearthly speed as Kenji hurried to the other side of the bridge. With one swift motion he readied the rocket launcher, and fired, destroying the walkway and knocking Shina back.
"Hurry!" He yelled to Uriko. They ran to the parking garage, settling into a large, sturdy jeep. Kenji quickly began tearing open the panels, trying to hotwire the vehicle. "Um, Kenji?" Uriko muttered, "We got company."
Kenji groaned and handed Uriko a gun. "Point, pull trigger. It's not rocket science!"
Uriko reluctantly took the gun and fired on the oncoming ZLF troops. Her first shots missed, but one then struck a man straight in the chest. Part of Uriko wanted to shout out "I got one," but the part of her that wanted her to cry kept it silent. Suddenly, only a click came from the gun.
"Kenji, I'm... WHOA!"
Uriko fell back in her seat as the jeep sprang to life, speeding through the ranks of the ZLF. "Brace yourself!" Kenji warned. Uriko could hear the snap of wood as splinters flew overhead. She looked back, at the ZLF HQ.
"We did it!" she yelled, "We're free!"
"Not yet," Kenji warned.
ShenLong surveyed the rubble with a very unhappy scowl. He looked to his men, then to Shina. "Find them," he ordered. "Hunt them down, and bring them to me." Shina stared blankly, and then began walking in the direction of Kenji and Uriko's escape.