A/N: this is a very long chapter. it took me a while to write and I think it is my best one yet. Tell me what you think!
"First off, I'd like to congratulate you boys on a job well done." says Avery, as we gather round the office table. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"We want to expand business. There's a building down town that would be perfect." says Phil
"So what's the problem?"
"The building is already in use by another firm."
"Again, what's the problem?" Avery smiles.
"What are we supposed to do?"
"Trash the place, then make an "arrangement" with the manager. Its simple."
"Well. . .alright, Avery."
We decide to carry the plan out the next day. We wear coats covered in pockets for weapons, and carry an assortment of firearms. Tec-9s, Aks, and grenades, to name a few.
We drive to the building, a thirty storey skyscraper, a convenience store which has everything anyone could ever need, from food, to clothes, to medicinal drugs. Ironically, what it doesn't have is a metal detector. We stroll in. As soon as we enter, we notice the guards watching us like hawks. They catch a glimpse of the metal in my hand, and begin to reach for their holstered guns. I whisper to my team mates that we may be in danger. I feel time slow down. The men pull out their pistols, and we dive to the ground, rolling for cover behind the counter, amidst the array of bullets. Phil pulls the pin on a grenade, and tosses it into the centre of the floor. The mass of guards scramble as the blast knocks some of them off their feet. The fire from the explosion starts to spread, blocking the exit.
"Looks like we're in for the long haul now, fellas." says Phil, in a disturbingly excited way.
We make a break for the elevator, but the flames beat us, and we are forced to cover ourselves from the fire.
"Shit!"
We dash through the gunfire to the stairs, where the upper level guards are making their way down. We gun down most of them and seek refuge among the shelves on the next floor. Gator and I duck behind the boxes as Phil shoots wildly. Judging by the screams he is doing okay. He runs further on, closer to the staircase to the third level, unloading clip after clip into the store security. I can hear shouting and see the shadows of more guards coming from the floor below.
"Oh no you don't!" I yell, before shooting the wires on the light hanging from the ceiling, causing it to fall in front of the stairway. The fire spreads and creates a barrier, preventing the guards from getting any closer. "That'll hold em, at least."
"C'mon!" yells Phil as he runs up to the next level.
Gator and I follow, keeping low to the ground under the line of fire.
Third Floor – Liquor
We each grab a bottle of alcohol, light an oil stained rag, and toss it. The resulting effect is not quite as spectacular as we intended, but it holds the guards off until we reach the next floor. The reception desk is situated directly in the middle of this floor, so we leap behind it. Phil and Gator tackle the oncoming opponents, and I keep the rear. Three uniformed men with the store name printed on their shirts slowly sidle up the stairs. I load my Ak with anticipation. A shot knocks it out of my hands.
"Gator! Sniper! Take him out!"
"Where the fuck is he?"
"Find him dumb ass, I have other problems!"
I pick up my gun and fill the attackers with bullet holes, each shot jerking them into a different disfiguring pose.
Gator scouts the vicinity for the mystery sniper. It starts raining bullets.
"There's more than one of them!" he screams.
"Next level!" yells Phil. "Move out!"
We reach level four, where an army of store police officers are waiting.
"I can't take this any more," says Phil. "We're taking the easy way out."
He grabs hold of an innocent shopper, and holds the gun to her head. The guards hesitate. He takes her, and walks over to the elevator, always facing the gunners. We follow. He feels around behind him and presses the button on the door. We wait silently for a few seconds until it arrives at our floor. The door slowly opens, revealing an armed man. He cocks his gun.
"Phil, duck!" I yell, and shoot the man in the head, causing an outburst of gunfire from everyone else on the floor. We clamber into the elevator, still with our hostage, and shut the door behind us, bullets denting the metal. He presses for the top floor – the manager's suite.
As the elevator goes up, Phil speaks. "Okay, this room will be heavily guarded, so get ready. Load your guns, and have them pointed at the door." he looks at the panicking woman. "You sit in the corner and out of harm's way." She nods nervously.
The elevator gives out a cheery tone, breaking the stony silence in the room. The doors slowly open. We commence fire on the occupants before they know we are there. The guards turn round and are greeted with round upon round of metal bullets. The manager tips his desk over and ducks behind it. We ignore him for the time being. We continue to fire on the bodyguards, Phil using his hostage for immunity. I duck and roll through the onslaught, and grab the manager. Everyone stops. Phil guns down the rest of the bodyguards as Gator and I both hold guns to the manager's head. There is no one left.
We bring the manager to his feet.
"Wh. . .what do you w. . .want?" he asks.
"To take over this building." I say, and walk him to the edge of the room.
"I'm afraid that is out of the question." he croaks.
He takes out a gun and holds it threateningly, as he edges towards the window. He takes off his coat, revealing the parachute underneath. He looks at Gator, and I see the twinkle in his eye. He steadies his gun hand. . .
"NO!" I dive at the man as the bullet leaves the gun and enters the wall above Gator's head. He staggers backward, unbalanced, and falls from the ledge, as I wrestle with him for the gun.
"Oh, SHIT!"
We plummet down several floors before the idiot remembers his parachute. He pulls the chord, and I wrap my legs around his waist to grip and jostle for the gun in his hands. We fight for it, as the breeze controls our direction and we sway slowly downward. The ground is still a great distance away, and the people and cars look like distant specks. I pummel the man with his gun while it remains in his grip. Beaten and bloody, he finally relents. I hold it with a sense of achievement, near his head.
"Go on. Kill me. I dare you." he says
"What?"
"You kill me now, and you get to soar to the ground and into the arms of the police force, with a dead body next to you. It's going to seem rather suspicious."
"Dammit, you're right."
I feel defeated, stupid, angry. I let the wind carry us down further, until an idea strikes me. The shopping mall is still within touching distance, and there is an open window further down. I start swinging my legs to gain momentum, and launch myself through the window. I shoot the parachutist with his gun, and turn around. . .
"It's ours now." says Gator, back in the manager's suite.
"Very well done gentlemen." says a man as he enters the room. His voice, though calm and collected, has an icy edge to it. "But. . .I'm afraid, he was not the manager. The manager has already escaped in that helicopter." He points to the chopper as it leaves the roof.
"Damn. I don't suppose you know anyone else that owes you a favour, Phil?"
He shakes his head.
"Where is he headed?" demands Gator.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you. But he has left me in charge until he returns."
Phil and Gator stare at him in disbelief.
"Big. Mistake. Buddy." says Phil.
"Oh, was it really? You fellows won't ever leave this building alive." He produces a flame-thrower.
"Shit! Look out!" Gator tackles him as he triggers the weapon. The flame singes his skin. He pins the man to the floor, and Phil approaches his head. He puts a pistol into the man's mouth.
"I pity the person we hire to clean this place up." he says, and shoots the man, spilling crimson liquid over the floor.
"No time to relax, Phil," says Gator, "we still have to get out of here. The bottom floors are almost completely engulfed in flames and the place is bound to be teeming with guards. I can solve one problem." He reaches into his backpack and takes out some sort of bomb. "This thing contains a poisonous gas. I can set it on time release and leave it to go off. Nothing can possibly survive something like this." he says with an evil grin.
"And I think I've solved the other problem." says Phil. He walks out of the cupboard with two parachutes. "So, Gator, set the bomb, and we jump."
Gator sets the timer, giving them plenty of time to escape. They pull on the parachutes and move over to the window.
"Phil, you ever done this before?"
"Sure. You scared?"
"Yeah, a little."
"Just go on the count of three, okay? THREE!"
"Dammit, Phil!"
I turn around. Facing me are several guards. The don't look happy. Everything freezes for a second, before sparks burst from every gun , and millions of bullets fly in my direction. I keep my head low and run full tilt through the barrage of bullets. Fighting back would be futile so I just run and run. The exits are blocked. The staircases to higher and lower floors are all blockaded. I hide behind a counter. Bullets fly all around me. The elevator!
I get back on my feet and sprint for the elevator.
Its on another floor, and apparently out of order.
"Shit!"
I see the cable that the elevator runs on. It leads all the way down to the bowels of the building. I debate whether to chance it, but I feel the air getting thicker, and begin to choke on it. The guards are temporarily occupied, choking also, so I grab the wire and slide down, detaching on the first floor. I see all the other guards fall to the ground, holding their stomachs. I try not to breathe. I head for the door, still covered in flames, and dive head first through the fire. I roll and land at Gator's feet. Everything goes black.
When I come to, I'm back at the old Ammunation building. Gator is polishing a shotgun and Phil is on the phone.
"Yeah? Well I don't care how messed up it is, you better clean it! What do you mean it's my mess? Of course it is! That's why I hire you to clean it. Never mind what happened there, just do it!" He slams the phone down hard and joins Gator.
They walk over to me. "We're headin' out. Gonna seize us some new land. There's a car showroom and mod shop that would be perfect for our new line of merchandise. I can see it now, "kill people without leaving your car", it'll be perfect!"
I start to get up, but Gator stops me. "You better stay here, you got gassed pretty bad and you don't look so good." I lie back down. "We'll handle this." They load their guns, and leave.
I sit awake. How am I supposed to relax when they could be in trouble? Or when I'm left in this huge building, alone?
A hear a noise. The echo bounces off the walls, singing harmoniously. It is a song which instills me with fear.
I hear the sound of a gun going off, and the shells hitting the ground with a cold, steely tone. Then silence. Then footsteps, perfectly synchronised, keeping a steady beat as they gain in volume. My heart beats faster, as the footsteps get closer. I look around. I'm totally defenceless. A sitting duck. There is nothing else to do but sit.
Gator and Phil enter their car and drive across town to the shop. They stop around the corner, where they won't be seen.
"Remember the plan?" says Phil.
"I got it." says Gator.
"Okay. Go."
Gator leaves the safety of the car, and approaches the Autoparts garage. He runs the plan over in his head several times, until he is at the door. He walks around nonchalantly, and spies one of the heavily modded cars. The keys lie in the ignition, tempting him. He checks around, making sure everyone is looking, and gets in the car.
He shouts a loud, "fuck you" at the mechanics, and peels off into the street.
Phil watches from the car as six other cars leave the garage after him.
"Now it's my turn."
Phil entered the now deserted shop and casually swept everything from the shelves onto the floor, giggling feverishly. He got in one of the cars, and drove after Gator, throwing a Molotov out the sunroof on the way.
A shotgun lies on the table in the hall. Should I risk going for it? I contemplate for a second, as the footsteps thump thump thump in my head. I hear deep, nasal breathing. Coarse and threatening sounding.
The figure skulks through the shadows of the building, his breath condensing in front of him. He holds a doubled barrelled shotgun close to his chest, as he creeps silently around the building. The building is a maze of corridors and rooms. He reaches a door. It is closed. He smirks silently to himself, loads the gun with a malevolent click, steps back. With a crash he bursts through the door and points his gun at the bed. He pauses. The room is empty. He turns round to leave, and is at head height with my gun.
I grin and watch the bullet sail through his head and through the wall behind him. The shot rings out through the otherwise deserted building. He doesn't have time to scream. I check the briefcase the man was carrying. Inside are several crumpled documents. One looks like a floor plan of the building. It shows where the man was to plant the bomb. Bomb? Oh, shit, I don't see a bomb in his case. He must have already planted it. I grab the case, a gun, and some money and exit through the rusty double doors. I get in my car, and begin a long drive to the store where Gator and Phil are taking over.
Gator looks in his rear view mirror and panics. They are right on his tail, chasing him in high performance cars, and clipping his bumper to try and run him off the road. He stops the car abruptly.
"Well, well. Nice of you to keep up." he says. "This is the part where you die."
"I don't think so, holmes." says one of the men as he ducks behind his car. The rest do the same.
"I suppose it is about time for my real surprise." Gator fumbles in his pocket for his "surprise." He produces a small black box. He smiles at the others. "Sayonara" he says, before pressing the box. In a fiery inferno, the six cars go up in flames, and explode, spreading wreckage everywhere. Gator stands in the middle of it, the wind from the explosion blowing in his face. He grins like a maniac. "Oh, yes. This is what I was born to do, baby." He turns back to his own car, where the Hispanic guy is starting his car.
"So long, holmes." he yells as he drives away. Gator looks on in utter dismay. He sighs, "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this."He presses a different detonator and sees the smoke rising in the distance. "Waste of a good car if you ask me." Phil limps over to him angrily. "You didn't tell me you put a bomb in all the cars, dumb ass."
I drive up to the Autoparts store and see the flames inside. "Shit! Phil! Gator! You in there?"
I force my way through the flames, hand over my mouth so as not to inhale the poisonous fumes. The oxygen is low. The place must have been burning for a while. I search every space, and make for the exit. The fire hisses and spits, slowing my retreat, and when I am a few feet from the door, the roof collapses over it. The heavy timber lies in a heap. I feel as if it is mocking me. I choke and fall to my knees briefly, but manage to keep my consciousness. I stumble wearily into the upstairs showroom. My means of escape stares me in the face. A car. A monster truck. Keys in the ignition. Doors unlocked. Second storey glass window ahead. I gear up the truck and reverse to the other end of the building, then floor it back across, through the window with a crash as the entire top floor collapses. My head hits the roof of the car when I land, but I continue to drive forward, wondering where Phil and Gator could be. Shit! What if they went back to the building? That place is wired to blow and who knows when it could go off! I drive top speed back to the Ammunation, trampling other road vehicles on the way. When I stop outside, I see them walking up the path.
"I thought you were resting?" says Gator.
"Guys, we have a major problem." I pant.
"Can we discuss it inside?"
"NO!" I scream. "the whole freakin' building is gonna blow. Look, I don't know who, but someone is trying to kill us, and I think it would be safer if we moved into our new building and let as little people know as possible." As I finish the sentence, every window in the building smashes, and smoke and fire pour out. "See?"
"Okay." says Gator. "Hey we got that new car shop now too."
"No we don't." I say. "Well, we have half of one. Who was the idiot who threw the Molotov inside?" Phil raises his hand. "Yeah. Thanks Phil."
After salvaging what we can from the wreckage of the old building we move to the new one. When we get there we see several people in aprons standing in line. The cleaners.
Phil takes the lead. "Ah, wonderful job. See what you can do when you put your mind to it?"
"Cram it fat ass. We know." says one of the triad cleaners. He has "Mr Wong's Home Cleaning Service" stitched on his apron.
"Know what?" I ask, slightly nervous.
"We know what you have been up to here. The price of cleaning may be low but our silence is costly. Very costly."
Phil tirns to Gator and I. "Should we kill them?" he whispers.
"What? And ruin the wonderful job they did cleaning this place? No way!"
"Yeah," says Gator. "at least lead them outside first."
"Yeah you're right," whispers Phil. He turns back to the disgruntled triads. "Gentlemen," he says in his kindest tone of voice, "if you would please follow me."
Phil turns his back on the men and motions for them to follow him outside. I stand at the back and see one of the triads reach for an Uzi.
"Phil! Gator! Take cover!"
I grab the man's gun arm ands twist it around, until he releases the gun, as Phil and Gator duck behind the triad's van for safety. All the other triads pull out handguns and shoot wildly at me as I roll out of sight, behind the van. We nod, and exchange signals, before destroying every triad in sight in a frenzy of blood and gore. Gator walks over to one of the survivors, who is severely wounded. He puts a gun to the man's head.
"And remove the bomb." he says.
The man retreats into the building and comes back with the explosives.
"I'll have those." says Gator.
"You'll be sorry," says the man, "any moment now my brothers will show up to avenge me."
"Really?" says Phil. "Pity you won't be around to see it then." he shoots a bullet into the man's skull, shielding his eyes from flying pieces of bone and bullet. "Okay, everyone into the van."
"Phil these vans smell."
"Shut up, Gator."
"Where are we going?" I ask.
"Gonna head off the triads. Grab an Ak. I'm driving."
"You sure that's a good idea, Phil?"
"Of course. Now hurry up."
Phil takes the van out onto the street, almost tipping it over as he turns the corner.
"Practice, boys, practice."
Five triad fish vans spot us as we pass, and begin chase.
We turn onto the main street, a seemingly endless stretch of road, where speed limit means nothing, a favored place for criminals in police chases. People look in their wing mirrors and see the van speeding towards them, sigh, and pull in as we pass. Phil drives like a freaking maniac.
Gator and I open the back doors of the van, which are immediately blown off from the wind at the high speed, and shoot our attacker's means of transportation. The vans form some sort of positioning tactic, be splitting into two lines of two with a leader at the front. The front man weaves through the bullets, tipping from side to side. Gator unleashes several bullets at the windshield, smashing it to pieces. The passenger door opens and the body of a man slumps out, and is trampled on by the other vans. The driver stares in disbelief out of the open door, then loses control when I pop one of his tyres. He skids and swerves, but is unable to continue, and causes a blockade.
"Oh yeah, " smirks Gator, "almost forgot."
He picks up the bomb from the triad ambush and tosses it with force into the centre of the pile up.
"Do you have the detonator?" asks Phil as we start to drive back.
"The what?" We all stare at him accusingly. "Just kidding!"he laughs as the pile up erupts with fire and smoke, tearing away part of the road.
We continue back to the new building.
A man crawls out of the wreckage, burnt, bruised and bleeding. He gets to his feet, and limps back to Wong's Laundrette, anger in his blood and revenge in his eyes.
"So Phil, do you think it was the triads that put the bomb in the old building?"
"I don't know, but we should probably sleep with one eye open anyway."
We step over the mass of corpses lining the path.
"Who are we gonna get to clean this up?" asks Gator.
Phil hands him a broom and says cheerily, "You!"
Gator grumbles into acceptance and starts hauling the bodies into the van. "Hey Phil, we got a live one here."
"Bring him in."
Gator hauls the partially unconscious man into the meeting area.
Everyone gathers around the meeting area, with only a very dim light illuminating the thick darkness, and casting eerie shadows along the walls. Phil wanted to add to the atmosphere.
"Hello. Mr Wong." he says, letting the light emphasise his intimidating smile.
"H. . .how did you know my name?" says the man, still a little dazed.
"Please, Mr Wong, everyone knows you. You are practically a celebrity."
"Wh. .what do you want from me?"
"Answers, my friend, answers. This particular building was almost blown to smithereens earlier today. Was this your doing?"
"I'm afraid I cannot say."
Phil nods to Gator and I. A click is heard as we each load our guns.
Mr Wong gulps. "Okay, it was me! It was my idea."
"Thank you, my friend. I knew some gentle persuasion would change your mind. Now, even earlier today, our previous accommodation was rigged with explosives. What do you know about it?"
"Sir, I can assure you that my men were not inside, or even near your building."
"That is not what I asked you. I asked you what you knew about it, not what you did not know."
"Very well. I know who is responsible. . ." A shot is heard, and Mr Wong collapses over the table, with a bullet in his back.
"DAMMIT! That bastard just silenced our lead!" says Phil pointing at the man as he leaps out of the window. "Chase him down, idiots!"
We run outside, but the mystery sniper has already driven away in his car.
"Shit." Not again."
we walk back inside, looking at the ground. "Lost him." mutters Gator.
"Looks like we got an enemy then, guys." says Phil. "Bout time we go some real competition."
A/N: Thanks for reading. I'll continue this when I can but I'm concentrating mostly on GTA Big Brother just now. Read my other stuff if you like this. I have some short stories which are sort of like this, and Big Brother, which is a humour story and is quite long. read and review! review review review!