Chapter 21: Surprises
"What the fuck do you mean he's not here?" Jess shouted at Adelaide.
"Cool your temper, honey. I meant exactly what I said. Hurk came over to visit. Then the peggies came and he ran off leaving the cultists to lock me up in the shed. At least Xander got away with Tulip but I don't know where the hell he went off to! What a day….but anyways, who's your friend Jess?" Adelaide motioned towards Marcus.
"His name is Marcus and he's been helping us kick the peggies' ass. But we don't have time for introductions. Do you know where dumbass went?"
Adelaide shrugged. "He probably went back towards his good for nothing father's place. Also, you might want to get to him sooner rather than later. He was showing me all the launcher ammo he had stored up. I get the feeling that's what the peggies might by after."
"Shit, then we really gotta track him down." Jess lamented. "Let's get moving. We'll do the same groups."
"And what am I supposed to do?" Adelaide asked as the group started moving away.
"Just sit tight Adelaide!" Grace called back out. "We got a bunch of fires to put out. We'll come back to help as soon as we can!"
Grace and Sharky went to the car that Jess and Grace came in while Jess and Marcus went to his car.
"Give me the keys. I'll drive." Jess held her hand out.
Marcus was surprised that Jess wanted to drive but he gladly tossed her the keys. They got in and Jess started driving but Marcus noticed that she purposefully not going fast and saw Grace quickly pass them by going north.
"I didn't get a chance before, but we got time now." She started. "Everything that happened at the statue has been rolling around in my head. You were different then. Not like you are now. So want to know something. What did she do to you?"
Marcus was startled. Did she know that he went to go meet Faith? "What do you mean?" He asked gauging what she knew.
"Don't fucking play dumb with me Marcus. When she captured you, Faith had to have showered you with bliss. Its why you suddenly changed at the statue. It was the bliss, it changes people."
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief. So she didn't know. But Jess had remembered that Marcus was in a much darker mood at the statue. It had to do with Faith but not in the way that Jess thought.
"Look…" Jess interrupted his thoughts. "I've known people who exposed to too much bliss. Some of them became angels and I had to put them down. That's what the bliss does; I don't know what other effects it has. I don't want you to start becoming something like those angels Marcus. I do want to help. But I need you to be honest with me. How much bliss do you think Faith gave you?"
Marcus decided to come clean with her. Jess had been a good ally and friend. "When I first got captured, I got showered with a bunch of the stuff. It was enough to make me lose consciousness for a bit. When I regained myself, it seemed if I was in some separate area. It was a lush field surrounded by trees and such. That's when I saw Faith. She started talking about herself but then the area changed. I think the bliss' effect wore off and I found myself in a prison room. Then she realized that I wasn't affected by the bliss anymore.
"So you got hit with enough bliss to make you pass out at least. Did you get hit with any when you escaped?"
Marcus took a deep breath. Jess was going to be pissed but he had already decided to tell the truth about this at least. "I didn't escape Jess. Faith and I had a conversation. We got to know each other a bit. Then she decided to let me go. She had one of her people drive me to the edge of Holland Valley and dropped me off there. When we parted, she said she hoped that we could meet again."
Jess glanced over at him, and Marcus was surprised there wasn't fury all over her face. "So you lied then? About escaping?
"Yeah, I did."
"Why?"
"I figured you'd react badly. You'd think that something was up or that I was playing double agent."
Jess shook her head. "I don't know what to think anymore, Marcus. Normally I'd be fucking pissed at you right now and kick you out of the damn car. But I'm not. I guess I'm just relieved that you're being honest with me now. Fucking going soft. So you're not feeling any sort of bliss effects then?"
"No, I've not felt any effects since that night."
Jess nodded. "I wonder what her plan is…." She said softly.
Seeing that Jess was not pissed at him like he expected, Marcus decided to take a big risk and come clean fully. "Jess, about the statue….the reason I was so furious was because…."
"Well talk about it later." She cut him off. "We're here."
They had arrived at the Drubbman Estate, where Hurk's father lived. Grace and Sharky had arrived first but they had patiently waited by their car for Jess and Marcus. The Drubbman patriarch was sitting in his rocking chair holding a rifle. Beside him was a rather nervous looking Hurk who seemed like he was waiting for his execution.
"Looks like we got some more visitors Hurk. But not the bastards who stole my truck." He glared at the group that approached him and immediately noticed Sharky. "Even fucking Charlemagne came to visit us. What the hell do you want?"
"We're just here to pick up Hurk." Sharky answered, sounding intimidated.
"Well, what could you want with my shit for brains son?" He mused out loud. "Doesn't matter! This sack of crap ain't going anywhere until he gets my SUV back!"
"Hey, dad…." Hurk spoke up. "Do you at least mind if I speak to my amigos off to the side for a bit?"
Hurk Sr waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, just don't take too long."
Hurk Jr ushed the others to the garage where they were outside of his father's earshot. "You guys sure picked a fine time to drop in. Anyways, Sharky said you guys were her for me. What's that all about?"
"Well, Bonshaw here thought that you would be useful. At least about as useful he is." Jess remarked coldly.
"He told us that you have a rocket launcher in your possession." Grace said being more diplomatic.
"Not just any rocket launcher!" Hurk stated proudly. " It's a Rat4! That baby is a homing launcher that will car, truck, tank, copter, plane, you name it. Unfortunately, there's a bit of a problem." He hung his head in shame. "I was visiting my ma at the marina when all of a sudden, the cult showed up out of nowhere. I was driving my dad's SUV and I had the launcher and all the ammo in the back. Thought I got away but then a bunch of them suddenly appeared in front of me on the road and blocked the way. Threatened me at gunpoint to hand over my dad's ride and everything in it. Ended up having to walk the rest of the way home. Why did you do this to me monkey god?" Hurk cursed at the sky.
"I don't suppose you overheard where they were taking it?" Marcus asked.
"Only that they were taking it to the outpost." Hurk responded dejectedly. "Wherever that is."
"I think I knew where that is." Jess mused. "I scouted it when I was hunting Cook so I know exactly where it is. Let's get moving."
"Wait! You gotta take me with you!" Hurk pleaded.
"No we don't." Jess retorted. " We can just grab the launcher with all the ammo and leave you here. Will save us a lot of headache."
"Hear me out." Hurk persisted. "I may not look like it, but I've traveled all around the world. Been to islands, places like Kyrat, its how I managed to gather up all this ammo. That launcher is expensive, complicated tech that took me some time to learn how to use. Unless ya'll wanna blow yourselves up, its best if you let me use it."
"So how you gonna get away from your pa if we did decide to take you with us?" Grace asked him which earned her a disappointed glare from Jess.
"Leave that to me." Hurk said confidently.
The group then went back to Hurk Sr.
"Dad, we figured out where Nancy is. I'm gonna go with them to get it back."
The elder Hurk glared at his son. "And what the hell makes you think I'm gonna let you go from my sight until she's returned?" He asked harshly.
"Well dad, do you really want some stranger driving Nancy?"
"Point taken. Fine, you can go with them. But you fucking bring Nancy back in one piece." He suddenly turned his glare to Sharky. "And don't let Charlemagne anywhere near it!"
"I'm offended Uncle Hurk." Sharky protested.
"Good. Now don't fucking come back until my vehicle is brought back to me!"
Now with Hurk in tow, the group was now up to five.
"Hurk and Bonshaw, you two take the peggie truck. Follow us and don't do anything stupid." Jess roughly tossed the keys to Sharky. She then got in the driver's seat of the other car with Grace riding up front this time and Marcus riding in back.
Jess peeled out of the driveway and started driving towards the outpost with Hurk and Sharky struggling to keep up.
"Was it really wise to leave the two of them on their own?" Grace asked.
"I wanted some peace and quiet for a little bit." Jess responded. "Marcus, are they still following us?"
He looked out the window. "Ya, they're still following us but they're swerving a bit."
"Fucking dumbasses…." Jess muttered.
They traveled for about a half an hour longer until Jess started going up a hill and then pulled off to the side.
"So why'd we stop here?" Sharky asked as the group met.
"Cause we need to come up with a plan!" Jess snapped at him.
"What plan? All we gotta do is sneak up on them. We have the element of surprise." Sharky pointed out.
"Bonshaw I swear you…" She was stopped from continuing when Marcus put a hand on her shoulder.
"Jess, it might be that simple."
She turned towards Marcus and crossed her arms. "Ya?"
"I don't think we can do things like normal this time. Its too much of a risk to leave the vehicles at the bottom of the hill while go towards the outpost. There's no cover where we can hide them so we need to take them with us. So let's just rush in guns blazing from the vehicles. They'll give us some cover and if we let the cult truck lead, I think we can still take them by surprise even if they hear us coming."
Jess thought for a moment then nodded. "Alright Marcus, we'll do things your way. You and me will take the truck and lead the charge. Drubman, you drive behind us and let Bonshaw and Grace back us up."
"Let's kick some ass!" Sharky said excitedly.
The convenient thing about the cult truck was that there was .50 cal gun mounted on the truck bed. Marcus manned that while Jess drove. Driving behind them was Hurk with Grace and Sharky on two opposite sides, ready to fire out the windows. As Marcus suspected, even driving up a hill and their presence being announced by the sound of their vehicles, surprise was still achieved. Marcus's guns ripped the first cultists to shreds and those who weren't downed right away scrambled to find cover. But Hurk's truck intercepted them, and Grace plus Sharky's gunfire finished them off. Marcus whirled the gun around trying to find any more cultists, but none remained. All that was left was the SUV they had come to retrieve which was sitting nicely at the beginning of the driveway of the outpost.
Hurk found the keys on one of the bodies. He then went to go inspect his dad's truck with Grace and Sharky to make sure everything was still there. Meanwhile, Jess and Marcus picked through the rest of the bodies to scavenge ammo. As Marcus finished up on the last individual, the man's radio clicked to life.
"Retrieval team, this is demo team. Do you read?"
After no response the radio came to life again. "Demo team to retrieval team, are you there? We are hearing reports that the guards at the marina are dead. The enemy may be after the SUV and its contents, over."
After a few seconds, "Someone respond dammit! We are nearing the outpost! Are you under attack? Respond!"
Marcus didn't need to hear anymore. "Hey! We're gonna have company!
"Should we ambush them here?" Grace suggested.
"No." Marcus responded. "A few stray hits on that SUV and we could all be blown to hell. Let's get moving. We'll lead with the truck, followed by the SUV, then the car. Hopefully the demo team passes us by and then we can get away from them before they realize what happened. If not, well we'll have the .50 cal and our prize will at least be blocked a bit from gunfire."
Thus the group divided into three parts. Marcus and Jess would lead with the truck. Jess would drive and Marcus would be in the back with the mounted gun. Hurk would follow them, driving his father's recovered SUV. Bringing up the rear was Sharky driving the third car with Grace serving as a passenger gunner. The convoy started descending from the outpost. When the neared the bottom, he saw another convoy coming toward them who must have been the retrieval team. Marcus had told Grace not to fire unless she was fired upon or saw Marcus firing. He was hoping that they would be able to pass by without arousing suspicion. Unfortunately, either because they recognized Marcus or that the target SUV was driving away. The enemy convoy reversed course after passing by and started firing at the convoy. Marcus returned fire with the mounted gun. He managed to take out a few of the passengers that were firing at them but Grace made the decisive move. She carefully aimed at the leading vehicle's tire and shot it out. The driving panicked and swerved, causing a crash that took out all the cultists that were following behind. The rest of the trip was smooth sailing.
Hurk Sr was surprised when he saw the convoy pulling up in his driveway. He had initially assumed that the peggies had returned to come after him. But then he noticed that his son had brought back his beloved SUV. After some words with his father, Hurk returned and said that he was now allowed to go with the group. The moved most of the rocket ammo to the car while putting whatever remained in the truck's backseat. The group then started making their way back towards Holland Valley, trying to get back before nightfall.
(Author's note: I'm going to be taking a break from this story. I'm a bit burnt out and end of the year at work has gotten hectic. I will try to return to this at the beginning of the next year. Thanks for understanding.)