CHAPTER 43: RANGE.
Asimov took cover behind an overturned car and waited for the next grenade to be fired. But a few minutes passed since the last attack and that began to make Asimov calculate that either they were starting to catch on to his tactics or they were running out of grenades. But the sniper never slowed down his attacks, meaning he must still have plenty of mags left.
Back on the hill the Ranger had a growing pile of empty casings all over the hood of the car and several empty magazines left haphazardly around. The Ranger just got done loading a new magazine and peered back down the scope.
"This is all takin' too long!" the man with the scarf complained. Why can't we just go in and attack?"
"If you want to, then go ahead." Nelson said to him while keeping his eyes glued to the radar screen. "In fact, why don't you guys who are just standin' around go down there and flush them out instead of twiddling your thumbs?"
His men looked at each other, wondering if anyone of them was gonna take the first plunge. One of them looked at their feet and two others just kinda darted their eyes around slowly. The buzz cut woman just rolled her eyes before looking back at the Ranger.
"I can see the Power Armor man on the move again!" the Ranger suddenly alerted. "He's makin' a run for it right now!"
"Then just shoot him already!" the man with the eye patch shouted.
"I have a better idea than shooting him!" Nelson said while redirecting the radar towards the Power Armor. "Let's see if he can use that thing when it's in a thousand pieces!"
()()()
Ezrah took cover behind a cement truckto catch his breath before moving over to look at his Power Armor. It was still standing just fine where he left it and it amazed him on just how far away he got from it since the shootout started. The path to his suit was clear but out in the open as he left it with no cover in between. He pulled back and laid against the wheel and sighed while cradling his rifle.
"So close yet so far." Ezrah said to himself. "I wonder if my voice commands can reach from here?" he inched back towards the passenger side of the cement truck again and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Command! Walk towards my position!" The Power Armor didn't move, meaning the system microphone didn't pick up his voice. "Blast! I must be too far. I've never gave it commands from this distance."
Before he could try again, a grenade landed just a few feet from the Power Armor and detonated. The blast toppled the suit back and it landed on the ground with a thunderous crash. Even when it landed the armor remained locked in position like when it was standing. It was still in one piece and covered in dirt and a few new scratches near the legs.
Ezrah reeled back and quickly returned to the passenger side of the cement truck with his ears ringing. "At this rate I'm gonna end up with tinnitus!" he said while digging a finger in his ear. "I went against hordes of Super Mutants in that armor and yet a few grenades and a sniper are keeping me away from it. Funny how life can flip on someone."
()()()
"Damn! It's still in one piece!" shouted the man with the scarf.
"Well that shouldn't be surprising." the buzz cut woman said. "It is a Power Armor suit. It's gonna take a lot more than a grenade to destroy it."
Nelson thought about firing another grenade at it before turning the radar in another direction. "No matter. The armor has toppled over on its back. I doubt he can lift it by himself."
"And once we're done, we can sell the armor to the right people and get a ton of caps!" the eye patch man said arrogantly.
The balding man gave him a quick elbow jab to the side and told him to shut it under his breath. The Ranger overheard him and glanced away from the scope for a moment. Once more he felt that something was wrong with his part in this rescue mission. If it was a rescue mission.
"Those people are on the move again!" the skinny man called out. "And she's still in the lead!"
"Dammit all!" Nelson seethed and turned the radar to view them. "This isn't going as planned! I didn't think they'd be this crazy to attack us head on!"
"If they get any closer, we're gonna have to go on the attack besides shootin' grenades and the sniper taking potshots at them." said the buzz cut woman.
She found herself suddenly looking up at the Ranger after he stot up from his position and looked down on her with anger in his eyes behind his red lense. She took a sharp step back from him. "I do not take potshots! Now all of you, stop bothering me or I'm walkin' away from this contract!"
"But...you've never walked away from a contract before!" said the man with the missing teeth.
"First time for everything." the Ranger responded before crouching back down and peering down the scope.
Nelson glared sharply at the Ranger before turning his attention back to the radar screen. His arms felt heavy and ached from holding it up a long time, and being almost halfway out of grenades didn't help his nerves either. His brow began to sweat from worry, everything had spun out of control so fast. None of the wanderers have been taken out and it was getting harder to convince the Ranger that the redhead was a hostage. He wiped his brow as fear began to creep through him. Nelson had seen and heard how Jeremiah punishes those who fail him and his family. There was no choice now but to ramp up the attack and capture her or die trying. Because anything was better than returning with nothing.
()()()
The Vault dweller and his group managed to cross many yards through the construction zone with no resistance as expected. But even so there was no doubt their attackers have seen their movements. They reached the other end of the neighborhood before taking cover behind a tall stack of rotted wooded boards about chest high and covered by a faded tarp with a number of tears all over it. They got down to rest and catch their breaths and think of their next move.
Louis held his square mirror up and turned it towards the hill. He could faintly see the people in the reflection and turned it side to side to see all of them before pulling the mirror back and placing it in his side pouch. "We're getting a lot closer. But there's still a ways to go, including that hill."
"Then let me charge them alone." Victoria said. "They won't shoot me."
"No one is going to charge them." Louis said to her. "I know they're tryin' to catch you but that's still too dangerous. One of them might get jumpy and shoot you by mistake."
"He's right, Vic." said Joe while putting a cigarette in his mouth and searched his inner vest pocket for the lighter. "They see you comin', there's no telling what they might do."
"Are you seriously smoking right now?" Doug asked him.
"My nerves are getting antsy. Lay off..." grumbled Joe while finding his lighter.
Louis poked his head out for a few quick moments and looked at how much ground they had left to get across and groaned after what he saw and pulled his head back. "Bad news, we might have been a bit hasty with our plan. There's not much cover left from here on."
"Well fuckin' shit! All this for nothing!" Radcliffe roughly cursed.
"Now hold on, it's not over yet." Louis said to him. "We still got the others out there too."
They were suddenly startled by another explosion many yards away. Asimov avoided another grenade from blowing him to pieces. The Assaultron slid across the dusty ground and into an open foundation area. He scurried across the ground and hid against the other side of the foundation wall. He got a good look of his surroundings before he hid in the open pit.
"Seems the closer I get, the less cover there is." Asimov said to himself while poking his head up. "And it seems Louis and the others have the same problem." he sat back down and leaned against the side of the foundation. "And I've lost track of Inez. This fight has scattered us all over the place."
During that time, Inez was arms deep inside the bulldozer engine opening, rooting around. As she expected the inside had rusted over the centuries, but there was still a chance to get to start if only for one last time. She hopped back out and started taking out a few tools from her backpack and a roll of duct tape.
"Okay, I think this is gonna work." she said to her group. "I mean, it's pretty much gonna be a mix of hot-wiring, duct taping, and a hope and prayer."
"Well, that's nice and all," Chloe began to say, "but how is this gonna help us again?"
"Simple, once I get this thing runnin', I'm gonna tie down the controls and send it rolling towards those people." she answered with a small smile. "It's a long shot, but if we're lucky, we can at least take out their mortar weapon."
"Okay, I can see your point, but what do you need Wayland for?" Chloe pointed her thumb at the waiting Super Mutant.
Inez looked over to him. "Well, this is where it gets a bit complicated. There's no time to check just how bad the machinery on the inside is, so I don't want to run the risk of shifting the gears around too much. Which is why I want you to turn the bulldozer in their direction. By...dragging it across the ground."
Wayland stood surprised by her plan and looked to the large construction vehicle, knowing it would be a difficult task. The bulldozer was massive and heavier than anything he had ever moved. And turning it around towards the people on the hill could leave him exposed if he wasn't careful. But he decided to take on the task anyway. "I'll do it. Just tell me when."
"Right, just give me a little more time. I need to at least see if this will turn on before we make anymore moves." Inez said before turning back to her work. "And if it doesn't than the plan's already derailed."
"I'll keep an eye out while you work." Chloe said to her. "In case those bastards start taking shots at our position again."
While the mechanic started working again, Louis and his group discussed a new plan from their cover. "So if we can't continue any further from here, how can we still go on the attack?" the Vault dweller asked the group.
None of them had an answer at the moment until Victoria looked to Joe and his rifle and came up with an idea. "Wait a minute. Joe, can your rifle reach them now? At least enough to make them move from their position?"
Joe reached for his Sako 85 and looked at it. The hunting rifle was nothing like a sniper rifle, but being much closer than before might be enough for him. "Hmm, I could give it a shot, so to speak." he held the rifle and pulled the bolt to chamber a round. "But once I start popping shots, they'll start popping back."
"But at least they won't try to blow us up." said Doug. "I hope..."
Joe checked his rifle one more time and gave his smoke a quick puff before turning around and got up in a kneeling position. He pointed the hunting rifle towards the hill and looked through the scope. In a moment he had them within his sights and bit down the butt of the cigarette and inhaled another drag and exhaled the smoke through his nose.
His first target was the sniper, he made a few adjustments to the scope and took a deep breath to calm his nerves and lined the shot. The sniper didn't notice him but that would soon change if he failed. He steadied himself, braced against the stock, and exhaled while pulling the trigger.
His rifle barked, the bullet flew and struck the side of the rusted car right near the sniper's rifle. The Ranger jolted sharply and pulled away with his rifle and hid behind the car. Nelson and his hunters also jumped in shock from hearing the bullet pierce through rusted metal. The Ranger leaped back into action just as another shot hit the car.
"Shit! They got a sniper too?" the man with the eye patch shouted.
The Ranger kneeled behind the rusted car and checked his MSG90 for damage. "I don't think the shooter is a sniper." he checked the sides and scope. "That sounded more like a hunting rifle."
"You can tell just by the sound?" asked the buzz cut woman.
"I've been in sniper fights before. And I've learned a thing or two about certain gunshots." the Ranger held the sniper rifle at the ready and prepared himself. "And I still have the upper hand against the shooter."
He waited for the next shot to hit the car before attacking. In a moment he was standing and looking down his scope. He saw the ghoul taking aim again and picked him as the target. The Ranger didn't have time to take proper aim, so he lined the shot as best he could and fired. Less than a split second, Joe cried out and fell back as blood began to seep out from his left shoulder. The Sako 85 fell off the stack of boards and hit the ground.
Joe clenched his teeth and covered the wound with his hand. His blood began to seep on the ground as his group crowded around him. Radcliffe picked up the rifle as Victoria began to rummage around in Joe's backpack and pulled out a clean cloth and pressed it on his wound to stop the bleeding.
Louis opened up the first aid kit and started to pull out bandages. "Joe, is there a stimpak in here?" he asked while searching.
Joe gasped in pain again before moving his hand away to look at the wound. "No, don't use a stimpak!" he hissed again from the pain and covered it. "The bullet just grazed my shoulder. Deeply, but still a graze. Don't waste those on an injury like this."
"Even so, we still have to stop the bleeding." Victoria said to him. "So start getting your shirt off, we gotta patch you up before you lose more blood."
"Yeah, I don't want to see his bare ghoul chest..." Radcliffe remarked.
Doug gave him a sharp jab in the chest. "Hey, instead of being an ass, give him one of your flasks."
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"Like you need to ask." Doug snapped. "Give it to him for the pain."
Radcliffe huffed and reached into his pack and reluctantly pulled out a flask, unscrewed the cap and gave it to Joe. He already had his sleeveless jacket off before taking the flask and downing the whiskey. While Victoria helped patch him up, Louis picked up the Sako 85 and checked it over.
"Joe, did you manage to get any of them while you were shooting?" he asked and checked the scope to make sure it wasn't damaged.
His shirt was finally off with a huge stain of blood. "No, I didn't. The velocity of my bullets go down too far thanks to that damn hill. My shots can't reach my targets from shooting here. And now I pretty much have a bum arm!" he winched in pain as Victoria placed a large gauze patch over it.
"Please hold still so I can fix you up." she said to him while getting the medical tape.
"So we're back to square one again." Doug said with a heavy sigh and sat down and leaned against the stack of wooden boards. "It's pass noon already, we only have only so much time before night falls. And I don't want us to be out here during that time."
"We won't be." Louis peeked over to the side of their cover to try and spot the rest of their group. "For now let's wait for Joe to get patched up and we'll try something else. I wonder if everyone else is working on their own plans?"
Ezrah found himself a foundation pit to take cover in. He managed to get a look of his surroundings before taking cover and saw that he still had quite a distance to travel and that any form of decent cover was becoming more scarce.
"At this rate I won't have any cover to get in closer." he said to himself with a deep breath. "I hope everyone else has realized that by now. Our attackers are more ahead of us than I gave them credit. That hill is completely clear of any cover, charging would be nothing short of suicide."
He suddenly heard gunshots ring out and turned himself in that direction. Far across on the other side of the development, Louis used Joe's hunting rifle to fire from cover. He did it to keep the enemy on their toes and to get payback for Joe's injury. The magazine ran out and he got back down before they attacked in return.
"Sorry I wasted your bullets, Joe." he said to him. "I just wanted to do something other than sitting around and twiddling my thumbs."
Victoria finished patching up his wound and he already had another cigarette in his mouth. "Don't worry about it. Them attacking us back shows we're gettin' too close for their comfort."
"Even so we're still pinned down with nowhere to go." Radcliffe pointed out huffily. "Can't believe I'm sayin' this but I was safer back in Paradise's Raid."
"Then by all means, run back if you can avoid their sniper fire and grenades." Joe said to him while throwing his long sleeve shirt back on and then started looking for his lighter.
"Save the fighting for those assholes." Doug chimed in. "If we can't attack, then we should at least keep an eye on their next moves."
Back up on the hill, the slave hunters were on edge after being shot at. They thought the job would be an easy one and that they wouldn't have to do any fighting up until this point. Nelson stopped his attacks to check the grenade mortar over for damage in case a stray bullet hit it at some point.
"Those people are gettin' too close!" the man with the eye patch spoke. "We can't let them advance any further!"
"They have nowhere else to go at this point!" the buzz cut woman snapped at him. "There's no more cover for them from here on out."
"And they won't get any closer because you guys are going down there to take them out!" Nelson shouted while getting back in position beside the weapon. "I want four of you guys to surround them while we keep them pinned from here! Now get going, I still need one of you to stay and load the launcher."
The Ranger turned his head up to him. "Just so you know, I only have about six magazines left for my rifle. And I'd rather not bust out my other weapon unless I really have to. The ammo is very hard to come by." he looked over to the long rectangle case resting against the rusted car. "And to top it off it's getting late. I'm used to fighting on my own and in the dark if the job requires it. But we're all gonna attract too much attention with the wildlife in this area."
"Don't tell me how to run this!" Nelson replied to him sharply. "And I don't take advice from a hired gunman! We're seeing this to the end no matter what and catch that fucking bitch!"
Everyone went dead silent once they and Nelson realized what he blurted out. The Ranger rose slowly from his crouching position yet again, forgetting about the people below and clenched his heavily gloved fists tightly.
"Alright, what's really goin' on here?" he demanded, looking to each person in front of him. "I've begun to suspect something was wrong here, but now this confirms it. Who are you people really?!"
He heard the cock of a hammer and felt something tab against the back of his helmet. Slowly, he turned his head just enough to see the buzz cut woman holding the magnum, ready to fire.
"Now that's enough out of you." she said with a cold tone. "We hired you for a job and you're gonna be a good hired gun and get back to it. So don't try anything funny or this bullet is gonna rattle around in your helmeted head."
The Ranger slowly turned around to face the barrel of the gun pointing right in his face. "What makes you so sure that bullet can pierce my helmet?"
"I could find out right now if you want. Plus you're still surrounded by the rest of us here. Think your armor can take all our shots at once?" she gestured with the gun for him to get back in position. "It kinda sucks you found out this wasn't the job you were hired for, I have a thing for tall mysterious men like you."
The Ranger huffed and slowly got back down. "Trust me, I don't think I'd be your type if you knew what I looked like."
Nelson huffed in annoyance and roughly scratched the side of his head. "Goddamn it all! It wasn't supposed to be like this! All we had to do was capture the bitch and get rewarded! It was supposed to be a simple trap!"
"Calm down." the buzz cut woman said to him. "We can still bag this before nightfall. Just stick to the plan and we'll deal with the sniper here once we wrap this up."
The Ranger got back into position with his rifle to play along for now. "And what are you gonna do to me once this is over?"
"If you behave, we'll consider letting you go. But we're gonna take your weapons so you don't get any funny ideas." she replied with a smirk, still keeping the gun pointed at his shoulders.
"Just so you know, the very second I get a chance...I will kill you all." the Ranger said with deep malice in his synthesized voice.
"Yeah, whatever. Just don't expect a payment anytime soon from us." Nelson said before turning his attention back to his men. "And what are you guys waiting for? Get down there and surround them!"
"But, Nelson, the sniper is on to us now! He's gonna put a bullet in our backs the moment he gets a chance!" protested the man with the missing teeth.
"Hmm, you have a point." Nelson sarcastically nodded in agreement. "But, here's another thing for you guys to consider." he pointed the radar gun at them and the grenade mortar turned in response, making them step back in fear. "There's also the possibility of your asses getting blown to pieces if you don't get movin'!"
To that, they quickly grabbed their assault rifles and practically charged down the hill like soldiers on a mission. Once they got about halfway down they went off to their right side to find the Power Armor man and Assaultron and take them out first since they stood alone. After that, Nelson turned his attention back to the group Victoria was with as the buzz cut woman gave the Ranger another poke to the head with her magnum just as a reminder for him to stay on task.
During that time, Inez was finishing up her work on the bulldozer. She pulled out several strands of wires and started connecting and twisting them together in an attempt to spark the construction vehicle to life. They heard another shot from the sniper firing on the other group. She picked up the pace with her work and started tapping the ends of two wires together creating sparks. The engine made a faint hum, she struck the wires again and the entire bulldozer rumbled.
"Okay, I think I got this!" Inez called to her group. "Once this thing gets going, I'm gonna set the controls towards that hill."
"We're ready." Chloe said, eager to finally get back into the action. "I'm getting bored just sitting on my hands."
"Alright, I need you to strike these wires until the engine turns over." she held up the wires and tapped them together a few times, causing the vehicle to rumble with each jolt. "Just be careful, this wire connects straight to the engine."
Chloe took the wires from her and held them delicately as if getting them too close together would cause an explosion. And knowing the bulldozer had a nuclear powered engine made her feel anxious. "Right. Just jump start a nuclear engine that hasn't been turned on in over two hundred years. What could go wrong?..."
"And Wayland, start turning the bulldozer towards the hill." Inez said to him next. "Go around to the back and start turning it while I get in the driver seat to lock the controls in place. We only have one shot at this."
Wayland nodded and marched towards the back end of the construction vehicle and got in place.
"What do you think the odds of this working actually are?" Chloe asked as she stood ready to strike the wires.
Inez started climbing up to the driver seat. "I'd say...fifty, fifty?" she answered slowly. "Sixty, forty?"
"I...wasn't expecting an actual answer, Inez. Now I'm a bit more worried than before..." Chloe looked down at the wires in her hands.
"I feel the same way, but I don't see any other choice for us. Charging them will get us killed and I realized there's no cover on the outside of this town." Inez said while opening the shattered door to the driver seat. "We just gotta believe this will work. Or at least give us an opening to attack."
Inez checked over the equipment, pulled a few levers, and turned the controls slowly in case it was too damaged from rust and age. She waved her hand out for them to start, making sure to stay low in the driver seat. Wayland grabbed the sides of the back and held tight. With a strained grunt he pulled with a few hard tugs until the bulldozer started scooting across the ground. Chloe began striking the wires, and with each spark filled strike the engine rumbled and chugged slowly to life and finally turned over. The dashboard flickered on and Inez quickly started ripping off strips of duct tape. Step by slow step Wayland turned the bulldozer and waited for Inez to stop him. His grip on the sides was so tight that the metal began to crumple thanks to rust. Inez poked her head up to look through the dusty window to watch and wait for the right moment. Once she felt the bulldozer was at a good enough angle, she called for Wayland to stop turning to his relief. She set the shift stick into drive, the bulldozer chugged forward by barely an inch at a time thanks to the layers of rust and dust built up inside. Inez quickly started strapping the controls in place with strips of duct tape and even set the scoop to rise up in front of the driver seat and called for Chloe to throw her a big rock or something of that nature. Chloe quickly found a dirty brick and tossed it up. Inez caught it and hastily jammed it onto the foot peddle. The bulldozer picked up speed, making its slow crawl boost to a light pace as Inez made sure everything was locked in place before hopping out from the driver seat and landed on her feet and fell to her knees.
"Okay, that should do it! At that speed it will reach them in at least fifteen or so minutes. Although the hill might be a challenge for it to climb. Just hope the tracks don't snap." Inez said loudly over the rumbling engine noise. "So what should we do now?!"
"For starters, find some cover!" Chloe said with her plasma rifle in hand. "We're way too exposed now!"
Wayland looked around and noticed they were missing someone. "Wait, I don't see Cavall anywhere."
Inez and Chloe looked around and couldn't find the massive canine anywhere. "Oh, dammit! Where did that dog go now?" the mechanic said.
"We don't have time to look for him!" Chloe waved her arm for them to run. "We have to assume he got somewhere safe! Now let's go!"
The three moved on before the sniper could take aim at them. They headed towards the right where a pile of sewage pipes were placed, still held together by massive metal bands. For now they stayed hidden and watched the bulldozer roll away on the dusty road, straight towards the hill. It didn't take long for everyone to take notice of the vehicle, including their attackers. The bulldozer rumbled and chugged with great difficulty and seemed it would break down at any moment. But even so it continued on, it was a rare sight to see any form of working vehicle in the Wasteland.
"Okay, is everyone seeing this shit?" Radcliffe asked them as the bulldozer was inching closer to their area. "And here I thought this day couldn't get more fucked up."
"I get the feeling this was Inez's doing. She's the only one with the skills to do so." Louis said as they watched it get closer. "And it's heading up the hill! This might be our chance to stop those people!"
"You want us to follow a bulldozer with no driver heading up a hill where a sniper and a jackass with a mortar launcher are?" Doug pointed out, with a look saying he thought the whole plan was insane.
"Well, when you say it like." Louis trailed off while readying his rifle. "But it's pretty much our only option right now."
"Then I'm coming with you to end this." Victoria said to him. "No more running and hiding from them."
"She's right about that..." Joe spoke before wincing again. His arm laid in his lap as his shoulder stung with a dull pain. "We have to take this chance. I'm no good right now, so Radcliffe will go with you guys too."
"Yeah, fuck that! I'm not gettin' blown to pieces!" Radcliffe protested loudly.
"When this is over, I'll buy you a few rounds at the next town. Sound good?" Louis said to him.
Radcliffe perked up and picked up his LMG. "Right, let's fuck their shit up!"
"Wow, he sure shifts on a dime." Joe scoffed.
The four sprang from cover and ran towards the back of the bulldozer. They stayed low and soon caught up with it and stayed behind it at a reasonable distance in case it broke down before reaching their attackers.
Asimov stood up from cover to see what was causing all the rumbling noise and found himself surprised to see a bulldozer on the move. It didn't take long for him to figure out it was Inez's work and leaped from his hiding place and ran at full speed towards the hill to attack from a different angle to throw off their attackers. The three remaining slave hunters started to panic as the bulldozer inched closer to the foot of the hill.
"Who the hell are these people?!" Nelson grimaced with anger. "We haven't killed a single one of them and they even got a bulldozer working?! This damn job shouldn't be so hard!"
"You people made two mistakes when coming up with this attack." the Ranger spoke despite the risk of antagonizing them. "Not fully preparing for this fight and underestimating your opponents."
"Oh, you think so?..." the buzz cut woman replied while jabbing the barrel of her gun into his helmet. "But we did one thing right, making sure to keep an eye on you this whole time..."
"Make sure you keep them all on me." the Ranger said to himself.
The blotchy skinned man that stayed behind to load the mortar cannon suddenly remembered the Ranger's case he brought. "Hey, hold on a second! What's in the case? You haven't used it since we got here!"
"Yeah, I've been curious about it too." Nelson said and looked at it. "What's in the case? If it could help us than I suggest you use it. Before we decide your services are no longer necessary."
"That weapon isn't something to use on a whim." argued the Ranger. "The ammo alone isn't easy to come by."
"You won't have to worry about that if you're dead!" Nelson pointed out. "Now what's in it?"
"My lunch..." jested the Ranger.
The buzz cut woman turned her head and spotted the Assaultron approaching alone and was about to reach the base of the hill. "Heads up! That robot of theirs is coming! It's alone and running at full speed!"
Nelson turned his attention to the robot. "It's alone and far away from the woman. I can blow it to pieces without endangering her."
He aimed the radar gun and the mortar cannon turned and lowered until he could see Asimov on the screen and locked on. A grenade was fired and flew at a low arc from the ground. Asimov saw it coming and sprinted to the left just as the grenade landed and exploded. Bits of rocks and dirt pattered against his armor plates. Asimov pressed on and started to ascend the hill, already passing the bulldozer by many yards. Another grenade soon came flying in and landed near Asimov's right. The shock wave nearly made him fall over, but quickly straighten himself out and kept going. At that time Nelson came up with an idea and lowered the angle of the launcher and decreased the range by a quarter and fired. The grenade flew a few feet off the ground and soon sank low because of the hill's angle. It hit the ground on its side and rolled roughly down the hill right in front of Asimov. It exploded and he went flying back and crashing onto the ground and went rolling down the hill before coming to a rough stop.
By then the bulldozer reached the hill and started trailing up with Louis and his group still following at a cautious pace. During that time, they witnessed Asimov as he tried to charge the hill and got caught up in the last explosion. They couldn't help him from their position and had to press on and could only hope that Asimov will be fine. The bulldozer crawled at a slow pace as the tracks scrapped against the pavement while the engine strained with difficulty, the group feared it would break down. But it chugged on after seeming to get good traction on the broken pavement.
Nelson began to panic and pace as the bulldozer inched up the hill. Without thinking he aimed for the vehicle and fired on it. The grenade hit under the front and the explosion did a number of damage to the underside. He fired another and it landed right in the raised scoop and exploded, causing the bulldozer to shift in direction. He then fired off three more, one hitting the front of the right tracks, the second landing right in the scoop, and the last hit above near the driver seat. The constant barrage of explosions finally proved too much for the vehicle. A loud clanging came from the engine and black smoke poured out from all the crevices as it came to a complete stop and died. The four quickly huddled behind the back end, staying alert in case it rolled back on them.
"Well I guess this plan's a bust..." Louis sighed and placed a hand on the vehicle. "Hate to say it but I'm now fresh out of ideas."
"Should have expected as much." Doug sighed as well. "Once again we're stuck..."
"And fucked!" Radcliffe kicked up some dust.
While the three stood around and talked to each other, Victoria gripped her SMG at the ready. To her there was only one course of action left, and that was to charge up the hill by herself and attack before they could have a chance to stop her.
Inez stood overwhelmed with dread after seeing the bulldozer she worked so hard to fix break down midway. She didn't expect the vehicle to last forever, but it was a lot sooner than she would have liked. "Guys, the bulldozer's dead and Louis and the others are stuck behind it!" she said to her group.
"Damn! Well, it was a nice plan, Inez." Chloe laid back against the large sewer pipes. "I just hate how we can't help anyone from here! We're stuck and there's nothing we can do about it!"
"You can say that again!"
Inez, Chloe, and Wayland turned to see four men pointing their rifles at them. They snuck around on the outside of the neighborhood and spotted the three while their attention was on the bulldozer and quickly closed in on them. Wayland reached for his AK-47, but the man with missing teeth saw him and fired at his feet, missing by only a few inches. They shouted for them to get their hands up and ordered Chloe to drop her plasma rifle.
"Not another move you freak!" he warned with a hint of fear trembling in his voice. "You understand me, monster?! You move another inch and we'll mow you all down!"
"Why did we sneak up on these people anyway?" the one with the eye patch asked. "We could have killed them before they noticed us."
The man with the scarf around his face took a step forward. "True, we could have killed 'em. But Nelson didn't say we couldn't have a little fun with the women first."
"Good point." the taller balding man smiled. "Let's hurry up and kill the monster and make these bitches strip down!"
The man with the eye patch suddenly heard a heavy growl from behind and quickly spun around to see a large dog leap and tackle him to the ground. All attention turned to Cavall and the slave hunter rolling around in a terrible struggle. He screamed from Cavall biting and clawing at him, tearing through his clothes and leaving deep wounds all over his arms and chest while his assault rifle was flung from his hands.
"Get it off! Get it off! Get it fucking off me!" he screamed before Cavall started attacking his head.
"I can't get a clear shot! The man with the missing teeth shouted, trying to line up his aim.
He suddenly cried out in agony from three red lasers bore out through his chest and fell to the ground before he even knew what killed him. Ezrah stood several yards away and approaching with his laser rifle still raised. The balding man began to panic, not knowing which one to fire on first. Chloe quickly acted and drew her plasma pistol and fired two shots into his chest. He fell back with a scream as the plasma melted through his torso.
"Who's the bitch now?" she asked with a satisfied smirk.
The man with the eye patch made a final cry of agony as Cavall bit into his head near his good eye. The front of the canine's teeth popped the eye and punctured into the side of his head deeply. He went slack with a few bloody gargles, leaving the man with the scarf the only one left. He turned and ran just as Ezrah got in close with his group before firing on the running man. He hated having to shoot people in the back, but at the same time he had enough from the long and harsh day.
"Is everyone alright? Sorry it took so long for me to get around to you." Ezrah said while lowering his weapon.
"We're fine now. Thanks to you." Inez said and waved to him. "If it wasn't for Cavall surprisin' them in the first place, I'd hate to think what could have happened."
Chloe kneeled and picked up her plasma rifle and brushed it off. "Guys, now that these bastards are done with, we gotta go help our friends. No more running and hiding."
"You're right." Inez nodded. "Let's move while they're still focused on the others."
The group began advancing towards the hill, but before that they retreated back to get Ezrah's Power Armor. Wayland lifted it from the ground with ease and Ezrah climbed back in but didn't have time to run a full diagnostic on the suit before they turned their view back on the hill and continued as fast as they could run.
Victoria finally decided to put her plan into motion. She glanced at the guys to make sure their attention wasn't on her at the time and checked her 10mm SMG one more time and stood up. She took a deep breath and darted out from behind the bulldozer. The guys noticed her sudden departure a moment later and gave each other confused looks before following after her and forgetting the danger.
"Vic! What are you doing?!" Louis called to her.
"What else? I'm ending this!" Victoria responded and picked up speed to stay ahead of them.
Nelson had his attention on the four he sent down to attack the divided wanderers. His already sour mood shifted to near uncontrollable rage after witnessing them all being killed through his radar screen. "Those fucking idiots! They couldn't even handle a simple job!"
"Are you saying they all got killed?" the buzz cut woman asked in disbelief.
The Ranger lifted the back of his rifle a bit and gently tilted his head to the side to see the reflection in the lense of the scope. His plan paid off as he was able to faintly see them, mostly the woman and waited for the right moment to strike.
"Boss, we should just cut our losses and leave while we're still breathing!" the skinny man exclaimed before another coughing fit took over.
"I told you before, if we don't come back with her, we're as good as enslaved!" Nelson turned and snapped at him. "Now shut up and load the goddamn mortar!"
"But we're almost our of grenades! We got like less than thirty left!" the skinny man argued.
"Stop panicking before you have another coughing fit!" the buzz cut woman turned her head to him.
It was the moment the Ranger needed. He leaped up from his position and grabbed the woman's wrist and arm. He caught her by surprise and the two started wrestling for the gun. The woman cussed and yelled as the Ranger held firm and started twisting the gun upward. Victoria was almost at the top of the hill before coming to a stop after seeing two of them fighting amongst themselves. She stood bewildered watching them and wondered what could have started the fight as the guys were about to catch up with her from behind.
The Ranger pushed the woman back and now pointed the gun sideways. The man loading the mortar stopped what he was doing and reached for his handgun. The Ranger quickly jerked the woman's wrist around and pointed right at the man as he took aim. He gave her wrist a tight squeeze and she unintentionally fired, hitting the man in the chest and killing him almost instantly. Before Nelson could think of anything to do, the Ranger jerked the buzz cut woman's arm again and pointed it at him, forcing her to fire another round. The bullet didn't hit him, but it did strike the radar gun. The screen shattered and sparks flew from it, forcing Nelson to toss it down. The buzz cut woman tried to pull away before the Ranger lifted his leg and kicked his heel into her knee. Her leg bent sideways with a crack and she screamed up to the sky and fell to the ground. The Ranger snatched away the gun and without a word he flipped it around, and put a bullet into the woman's head.
"Now then..." the Ranger tossed the gun to the ground and reached for his rifle on the car hood. "Time to blow your brains all over this fuckin' Wasteland!"
As expected, Nelson had already fled not long after the radar gun to the mortar launcher had been destroyed. The Ranger looked to the right and saw that Nelson had already ran several meters in a surprising amount of time. He hoisted his rifle and chambered a round and took aim. He lined up the shot, aiming right for Nelson's back before hearing running footsteps.
"We got you now!" Louis shouted and picked up the pace.
The Ranger turned to him sharply and held his hand up in defense. He barely managed to get a few words out before Louis barreled straight into him, knocking the wind out hard despite his thick body armor. They both went tumbling to the ground and Louis began striking random punches all over the Ranger as he quickly threw up his arms up in defense. Victoria soon reached the top of the hill as Doug and Radcliffe brought up the rear. The rest of the group soon followed after Inez checked on Asimov and found that he was fine and relatively undamaged. Joe was the last to start making his way up while grunting slightly with each step, his arm hanging in the makeshift sling.
"I'll teach you to shoot my friends!" Louis shouted as he managed to sit himself on top of the Ranger. "And you're not taking Victoria! We won't let you!"
"Wait, you don't understand! I didn't know what was going on!" the Ranger said before Louis's fist hit the face mask near the mouth. A sudden burst of static was heard.
"Hold on, Louis!" Victoria quickly approached them. "I saw him fighting with those people!"
The Vault dweller stopped himself and turned his head. "Wait, what?..."
The Ranger pushed him off and placed a hand on his face. The static buzzed and crackled as he and Louis stood back up. The wanderers looked on in confusion as the Ranger tried to readjust the voice modulator to no avail.
"I don't believe this!" the Ranger's voice fluctuated and crackled from the deep monotone to a more feminine voice. "You broke my voice modulator! These things aren't easy to find!"
"Is it me or does that guy sound like...not a guy?..." Radcliffe asked the group.
"Well, that's not how I would phrase it," Louis said, slightly rolling his eyes, "but yeah, he does sound like a woman."
The Ranger got tired of the buzzing static and finally undid the face mask and it made a light hiss of pressure while taking the helmet off. Several long braids of blackish brown dreadlocks fell out around the shoulders. To their surprise, the Ranger was indeed a woman with dark skin and bright brown eyes. She sighed and looked at the Ranger helmet in her hands.
"Guess my secret's out..."
