Striker/Spriggan: Unknown Object
By: Ominae
Rating: T
NOTE:
All characters of Striker/Spriggan are under the copyright of Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa. Cameo appearances of other characters are under the copyright of Capcom and Tsutomu Takahashi. All other characters are under my jurisdiction.
Summary:
After the Strikers had their initial meeting with Tsang Sie Yu over his links to Trident, the group suddenly find themselves under attack by mysterious perpetrators in Central. Will they be able to fight their way out? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
To all readers:
Hope this chapter would eventually inspire others to do some action-kicking fics!
Chapter 6: Rumble in Central, Part 1
Entrance, Prince's Building, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Damn, that's got to hurt! Probably a Trident-led attack."
Mark hissed, coughing due to the smoke that intruded his nose before clearing it. Is Trident willing to stage another attack against us? He looked around to see most civilian cars have been left in the streets, probably with help from either security guards or police officers on foot patrol. That'll minimize civilian casualties.
"Right!" yelled Michael, who was with him. The two brothers took cover behind an abandoned 1998 Nissan Bluebird. "Smoke's getting clear."
Rooftop, Jardine House, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Got the stuff ready?" The first soldier dumped the used Saab Bofors AT4 CS rocket launcher on their black duffel bag and got a AN-M14 incendiary grenade after slinging his Colt M4A1 rifle on his shoulder.
"Yeah." The other soldier got their rappelling gear ready after slinging his Colt M4A1 assault rifle. After seeing his comrade toss the AN-M14 inside the duffel bag to eliminate any traces of the AT4 CS bazooka from them, he clipped the harness on his waist as the rappelling gear mount was already in place.
"Let's go!" Together, the two Trident soldiers began their descent towards the abandoned streets of Central.
Entrance, Prince's Building, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Everyone okay?" shouted Yu, now prone near the entrance of Prince's Building. Like the streets of Central, the building had been abandoned due to the attempted rocket attack to kill the Strikers once they were trying to enter their vehicle.
"Yeah."
"Fine."
"Okay."
"No cuts, mate!"
"Got no holes in me!"
Yu looked around the streets, noticing the smoke caused by the explosion on the 2000 Ford Transit Mk. 3 minibus was clearing, but they had another thing coming.
"Guys!" yelled Yu. "Incoming!"
Abandoned Streets near Prince's Building, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"I see them!" Michael noted two Trident operators rushing towards them, armed and ready with their Colt M4A1s. "They must the ones who tried to assassinate us."
"Bro!" Mark said, standing up from behind the Nissan Bluebird. "On me!"
The two dashed towards the Trident operators; The two hired guns were about to fire their rifles at the incoming Strikers.
"Fire!" yelled the first trooper. The two of them were about to open fire with their assault rifles...
Abandoned Streets of Connaught Road Central near Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Shit!"
Hearing the booming sound of a vehicle taken out by a rocket, Ada took cove near one of the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong hotel, but being careful not to be seen by Leon or with the other Anti-Umbrella comrades that he was with.
What the hell was that?
Abandoned Streets of Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Sakura!" yelled Guy, checking Sakura if she was okay. "Are you hurt?"
"No." shook the student/fighter. "I'm fine." She tried to stand up, but noted a wound mark on her leg, probably caused by hard debris.
"Are you okay, miss?"
Leon, seeing that Sakura was hurt, raised a hand for her to grab onto. "Here."
"Thank you." Sakura in her almost fluent English.
"Guys!" Leon called out to his comrades. "I need help here!"
Jill, Chris, Barry, Rebecca and Claire rushed out to assist Sakura and Maki, who were on the ground after being struck by the shockwave of the AT4 CS rocket attack initiated by Trident mercenaries from the rooftop of Jardine House. Dan and the others thanked Leon and his comrades for their help before joining them in seeking the cover of abandoned vehicles as the two groups were in close proximity with one another.
Abadoned Intersection of Ice House Road and Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
Kyoya dove on the ground, hands covering his head after hearing the impact of a rocket on a van near the Prince's Building.
Damn rocket!
Clearly, it was not the detective's good way of spending a vacation.
Hearing the vibration of his rented Nokia 8850, he answered the call and found out who called him while still prone on the cemented sidewalk.
"Iida!" yelled an old man on the other line. "I've heard a story of an attack in Central. Are you all right?"
"Believe me old man." groaned Kyoya. "You don't want to know anything about it."
"Better get out of there. I don't want to hear news of a dead detective later on."
"Yes, sir."
Abandoned Streets of Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"What are those two doing?" Claire asked, referring to the two Trident mercenaries about to rush in into the two Filipino Strikers.
"Probably the guys who tried to attack their van." replied Rebecca, keeping her head done from cover fire.
"Looks like they're going to fight." commented Leon, motioning everyone to watch the upcoming fight between two groups that are unknown to them.
Abandoned Streets near Prince's Building, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Heyah!" Michael initiated a roundhouse kick to one of the Trident soldiers before executing a palm thrust on his chest. Thanks to the power of his Armored Muscle Suit, it sent the soldier a few miles away from him before he had his back land on a 1999 Toyota Dyna truck. Grunting in pain, the Trident soldier made an attempt to grab his Glock 17. Michael, seeing it, rolled on the ground and grabbed the trooper's Colt M4A1 and peppered him with bullets.
"Gotcha!" grinned Michael, now moving to check the man's corpse for clips.
Mark, nearing the other Trident operator, raised his hand and went to activate the prototype glove's fiber wires.
Remember. Mark began to flex his right hand. Flex and shoot! Raising his right hand, he stretched his right index finger, shooting a thin stretch of fiber wire that the Striker aimed at the Trident mercenary's right leg from the tip of the glove's index finger, he then saw the wire wrapping itself on his leg.
"Hah!" Pulling the wire with both his hands after applying moderate strength, he made the trooper fall down on his back, resulting in groaning pain.
"Argh!" The trooper yelped in pain, who didn't know that Mark had used some fiber wire to trip him. Attempting to get his combat knife from his sheath, he failed to note a pistol barrel aimed at his head.
"Sayonara!" (So Long!) muttered Mark, aiming his Sig Sauer SP 2022 pistol after getting the pistol from underneath his jacket. "Baka!" (Idiot!)
A single gunshot ripped through the empty Central air, instantly killing the downed Trident soldier after a single 9mm bullet pentrated his skull.
Abandoned Streets of Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Guy sempai." whispered Sakura, hiding behind a mass of abandoned vehicles. "That guy is ruthless."
"No kidding." Maki seemed shaken a bit, feeling a bit of sympathy for him. Who is he? His voice sounds familiar.
"Be glad that we're not picking a fight with him." commented Jill. The others, streets fighters and ex-cops (except Claire) alike, nodded at her in agreement.
Cabin, Trident Sikorsky S-70-27
"Looks like the battle started without us." Sidewinder stared at the chopper window from the cabin.
Hedgehog simply chuckled, patting his right prosthetic arm, ready for battle. Jack the Ripper and Iwao couldn't help, but simply sweat since they wondered if the spectacled Trident agent is a madman or what.
"Strikers are on the move!" yelled the chopper pilot, motioning the others to check his side's window port.
"I'll tell the pilot to move on ahead from the Striker's present location." Iwao alerted the pilots to move on ahead at Connnaught Road Central after making a left on Ice House Road.
Abadoned Intersection of Ice House Road and Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
No use staying here!
Kyoya, though he wanted to follow orders from his boss, decided to hike it towards a group of foreign bystanders that he eyed on the deserted Chater Road. He began his journey to reach them without alerting the Strikers by making a left on Des Vouex Road Central before making a right on Peddler Street before making a right on Connaught Road Central. Using the side alleys, he eventually walked towards Chater Road since the area was deserted due to the rocket attack.
HKPD Checkpoint, Intersection of Ice House Street and Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
The manned checkpoint consisted of a single 1999 Toyota Coaster bus in HKPD markings with a 1999 Ford Mondeo parked sideways to block the road that leads into the inner districts of Central.
Manned by officers of the HKPD's Police Tactical Unit (PTU), they were Hong Kong's first line of defense against hostile incidents that ordinary officers may not handle. If their situations turns troublesome, PTU officers would dispatch the Special Duties Unit or SDU to come over and assist or replace them. Since the month is February, all of them were wearing blue shirts with dark blue jackets on with HKPD berets.
"What now?" muttered one of the PTU officers standing guard near their 1999 Toyota Coaster, donned in his kevlar vest that had the words POLICE in English and Mandarin Chinese. "I heard gunfire." He had his Heckler and Koch MP5A3 with him. "But who did that?"
"Don't know." muttered another PTU officer, standing near the 1999 Ford Mondeo. "Be on your guard." He also had a Heckler and Koch MP5A3 with him also.
Things were quiet around the area as the PTU squad consisting of 8 officers assigned to the Ice House Streets and Queen's Road Central checkpoint, they were nearly for anything.
That was, until they heard from loud noises coming from their rear.
"What the!" A few of the PTU officers saw heavily armed men wearing olive green fatigues and Trident berets armed with various weapons running towards the checkpoint from the deserted Queen's Road Central.
"Fire!" yelled the Trident platoon leader, who fired his Steyr AUG A1 assault rifle. Two PTU officers were killed instantly as their vests weren't strong enough to withstand a barrage of 5.56 NATO bullets.
"Get them!" shouted one of the PTU officers, who retaliated by firing his HK MP5A3. He was able to cut down two Trident soldiers before a lucky 5.56 NATO bullet made its way and impacted itself on his forehead, killing him.
The firefight between the intruding Trident mercenaries and the PTU officers turned into a small firefight, with PTU numbers slowly dwindling due to the superiority of the Trident soldiers.
"Damn it!" The last surviving PTU officer reloaded his HK MP5A3 and fired it in desperation after running a few feet away from the overrunned checkpoint. He was later gunned down for his troubles.
The Ford Mondeo and Toyota Coaster were riddled with bullets as glass were shattered and its metal bodies had bullets hole in them. A few tires were busted during the gunfire exchange, leaving a flat tire or two.
The Trident mercenaries ran down the deserted Ice House Street, taking a few glances on the dead office.
As soon as they were clear, one of the officers shot groaned due to his major injuries. With his back on the engine cover of the Ford Mondeo, he gripped his radio mouthpiece and made an urgent request.
"Send in... SDU. Fei Hui..."
The wounded sergeant, after relaying his message, collapsed and died of his wounds.
Abandoned Streets near Prince's Building, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Hear that?" Michael had the Colt M4A1 on his hands. "Sounded like a gunfight."
"Whatever it is," Mark handed the Colt M4A1 that he got from the dead trooper to Yu. "we better get out of here."
"Can't agree with you." Yu quickly got the 30-round magazine out to check its remaining bullets. Noting that the magazine had a few rounds used, he slapped it back before all of the Strikers began to run down the abandoned Ice House Street as they didn't want to stick around to figure out who was that initiated the gunfight back at the end of the street that they were standing in.
Abandoned Streets of Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Did you guys hear that?" whispered Maki, hearing the gunshots from the now overtaken HKPD checkpoint.
"Yeah." murmured Carlos. "Whoever did those didn't leave any witnesses around."
"Hey, who's that?" Jill saw someone running towards their little group, a bit tired.
"I'm Kyoya Iida." introduced the Japanese detective. "I noticed your little group is here and I was wondering if I could join up with you people and escape."
"Sure." nodded Rebecca. "In fact, we were planning to get away from here by following those guys from Prince's Building."
Streets of Connaught Road Central near Chater Road, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"Ada! Are you all right?"
A while ago, Ada had answered her cellphone with a call from Wesker. "Yeah." She coughed out. "Don't know who did it, but whoever fired that rocket had a nasty vendetta against some teenagers."
"Those teenagers are Striker operatives of the ARCAM Corporation." said Wesker, a bit concerned on events in Central. "According to intelligence, the perpetrators happened to be from the Trident Corporation."
"Aren't they the mercenaries working for Takasumi Zaibatsu, Clovers Heavy Industries and the Campbell Company?"
"You're right." Wesker stopped for a few seconds before telling his colleague. "Due to the sudden change of events, I do wish that you could gather some intel on the Strikers. Maybe we could use their combat data for research purposes back in headquarters."
Ada groaned. I'm suppose to be on vacation, not on a mission. "I'm on vacation, Wesker. Not on some reconnaissance mission!"
Wesker chuckled at Ada's disappointment. "You have a few more weeks on your vacation time, Ada. You can use the advantage of the gunfights in Central as a means to barter for a raise with the higher ups, perhaps."
Why not? The Chinese woman sighed, wondering that there was nothing to loose. "Fine Wesker. I'll see what I can do."
"Excellent, Ada. I know you'll do a good job. Wesker out."
Ada shut the phone, ending their conversation. She then digged through her purse, looking for a video camera to use for the supposed "recon" mission.
"Where's that Optura?" Ada rummaged on her purse until she grabbed her Canon Optura Pi camcorder that the Organization had obtained through their contacts in Canon Japan.
Somewhere in the abandoned streets of Des Voeux Road Central, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"This part's abandoned too." Riza eyed the entire area. "Probably by Trident."
"Keep your eyes open." warned Jean. "They're probably in the area."
Suddenly, the sound of rotating chopper blades came from behind the Strikers when 2 Trident Sikorsky S-70-27 began to unload 2 platoons of Trident soldiers, nearly surprising the agents.
"Shit!" Yu raised his rifle. "They're here."
"Positions, everyone!" said Michael, urging his comrades to take cover using the abandoned vehicles for protection. Ducking behind the various cars, trucks and buses, the ARCAM agents waited until the Trident mercenaries were in a position for the Strikers to take them on. In fact, they had a close call when the sound of an explosion came from an abandoned 1999 Mercedes ML350 SUV and a 1999 Toyota Coaster public greenlight bus. The agents alighted from cover to note that one of the Trident mercenaries had tossed an M67 fragmentation grenade.
"Let's go!" Mark emerged out from hiding behind an abandoned 2000 Toyota Coaster public red light bus and fired his fiber wires after he flexed his left hand, shooting out wires that entangled one of the Trident soldiers on his arms, legs and head.
"Hah!" Pulling the wires after wrapping them slightly on his hand with strong force, he watched as the soldier's body parts get ripped out thanks to the strength of the fiber wires; blood painting the gray paved road.
"Take this!" Michael crouched near an abandoned 2000 BMW M3 convertible, firing his Colt M4A1 assault rifle at the approaching Trident soldiers. Yu, lying prone next to an abandoned 1999 Nissan Cedric red taxi, fired his own Colt M4A1 at any Trident soldier that dared to come close to their group.
"Forget it!" snarled Wesley. "They're close." He launched a punch at an upcoming Trident soldier, slugging him to the ground thanks to his suit. The others likewise began to use martial arts to handle the other Trident soldiers that tried to attack them. Yu and Michael, for one thing, slinged their rifles before going into unarmed combat, using punches, kicks and throws to eliminate the imminent threat.
Jean dashed to a Trident mercenary and punched him in the chest before throwing him into the window of a 1999 Ford Mondeo, critically wounding him. When he saw two more Trident mercenaries armed with GIAT FAMAS G2 assault rifles aiming at him, he dashed towards them and clobbered one with a well-aimed kick to the face while he came behind the rear of the other soldier and snapped his neck.
Yu gave a foot sweep to a Trident soldier sneaking behind him when he saw another one attempting to swipe him.
"Damn!" The Japanese Striker nearly got a cut on his face when he saw the mercenary's kukri. "A Gurkha!"
"No surprise!" He felt Mark press his back against his. "I got one too!" The two had the urge to get help, but duly noted that their comrades were too busy fighting their share of Trident mercenaries.
The two, in unison, dodged the initial swipes when the two Gurkha Trident mercenaries did a vertical swipe, who had their Colt M4A1 assault rifles slinged on their backs. The two punched them, which failed after they dodged. Seeing that the opposition was being wiped thanks to the enemy being slugged, punched, kicked, uppercuted or tossed into vehicles due to the strength of their armored suits, Yu did a palm thrust on the trooper's unprotected chest.
"Eat this!" yelled Yu, watching the trooper stagger a few feet before he dashed at him again, using his kukri blade again.
"Damn Gurkha!" Yu did a roundhouse kick, which missed its aim before doing a double punch attack. "Can't they stop moving for once!"
"Ata!" Mark blocked a kukri swipe meant for his head with his left hand before using a backhand fist attack on his face. Seeing the Gurkha block it, he kneed his crotch and performed a roundhouse kick that went for his chest.
"Gotcha!" grinned the Filipino Striker.
"Eat this!" Yu did a headbutt on the other Gurkha mercenary before doing an elbow thrust. Seeing his opponent feeling weak, the Japanese Striker dashed to him and tossed him over his shoulder with a karate throw. Afterwards, he did a roundhouse kick that sent him flying towards an abandoned 2000 Volvo S70, smashing the glass windows on the car's side doors.
Similarly, Mark used an uppercut on his Gurkha opponent and used a hook punch on him. Seeing the chance to get rid of him, he ran towards him and did a flying kick on his chest, making the Gurkha mercenary stagger before using a palm thrust, sending him towards a abandoned 2000 Isuzu LT134 private bus. He watched the mercenary crash through the bus' windshield and crashed inside its interior. He gave a whistle went he saw his handiwork.
"Come on!" Yu patted his friend on his shoulder. "We have to go!"
"Right!" Mark lead his comrades towards Connaught Road Central. Yu and Michael slinged their rifles to conceal them and dashed towards the intended destination.
"Whoa!" whistled Chris, watching from a distance. "That's some serious fighting."
"Guy sempai." said Sakura. "One of them looked kinda familiar, don't you think?"
"I think so." nodded the bushin ninja.
"His voice seems familiar." Maki scratched her hair. "But I just don't know where."
"Hey guys." said Jill. "Much as I want to figure who our mystery guy is, we have to escape before we get caught in another fight with them again."
"She's right." noted Claire. Though they're right. I have a feeling I know who he is.
"We'll figure it out later." said Rebecca in agreement. Why do I have an intuition that the guy who fought one of those soldiers is familiar?
As the group headed toward Connaught Road Central, the group was watched by a woman from a distance, the events of what transpired in the streets recorded from a video camera from a side street nearby.
Streets of Connaught Road Central, in front of Jardine House, Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
The Strikers eventually reached the sidewalk of Connaught Road Central, managing to pass the HKPD checkpoint by passing themselves off as civilians trapped in the early gunfight back near Prince's Building. Using the overhead walkway, they made their way towards the Lantau Island Pier area with someone watching at a distance. Yu and Michael hid the Colt M4A1s on their jackets by slinging it on their shoulders, but the slight protruding of the carbine's barrels brought questions to the PTU officers manning the checkpoint until Mark used memory wipe to forget their encounter regarding the strange object sticking out of Yu and Michael's jacket.
After the Strikers left, Ada followed them for a short distance before PTU officers allowed her to go through after passing herself off as a civilian who got trapped in the initial gunfight near Prince's Building. Same goes for the other civilians.
Lantau Island Pier, Intersection of Man Yiu St. and Finance St., Central, Hong Kong SAR, China
"We're safe for now." said Yu, wiping sweat of his forehead.
"Though the interior of Central's been cordoned off by the police, we should be safe here." commented Jean, studying the area.
"I wouldn't say that if I were you."
Looking up, the Strikers noted a few Sikorsky S-70-27 choppers were hovering around the Lantau Island Pier area. Someone very familiar was sitting on the edges of the chopper's cabin.
Akatsuki, Hedgehog and Jack the Ripper are here. Looks like the entire happy Trident family's already here. Now what?
Most of the Strikers began to get into various martial art stances; Yu and Michael drew out their Colt M4A1 carbines that they hid under their jackets.
Nearby, another group of civilians that escaped the interior of Central had traced the Strikers in the Lantau Island Pier, only to see some civilians run away from the pier due to the presence of heavily armed men.
"Do you think it's a good idea to watch these guys fight each other near the future?" groaned Chris, thinking that it was not a good idea.
"Quiet!" insisted Jill. "I heard of these guys, Chris. Heard that they were suppose to be mercenaries."
"Which one?" asked Carlos. "The guys wearing olive green fatigues or the ones in civilian clothes."
Claire glared at the Brazilian man. "She meant the guys wearing berets."
"Dan!" squeaked Sakura, stunned at the sight of heavily armed men. "What do we do?"
"Like I said, little girl!" boasted Dan, pointing his right thumb. "The master of Saikyo-ryuu karate's gonna handle this!"
Maki glared at the ponytailed man, "Like the hell you will!"
"Their battle's about to start." said Kyoya, motioning everyone to watch from a short distance through the cover of fleeing civilians, both locals and tourists alike.
Yu snarled at the Trident operators, aiming his Colt M4A1 assault rifle at them. "Are you guys so eager to toast us that you're actually risking to do battle in an urban city?"
"Quiet, kid!" Jack the Ripper grinned. "As long as we're paid, we'll be able to take care of you Striker chumps."
"I knew it!" Mark sighed, putting his hands on his hips, acting disappointed. "You peeps do anything as long as money's being flashed in front of your eyes."
"Why you!" Jack was about to lunge at him when Iwao placed a hand in front of him.
"Very considering thoughts you got there." grinned Iwao, referring to Mark's comments. "But still, we've got orders to silence your little group once and for all."
Gerald raised his fists, getting into a fighting stance. "Ready for you blokes to go down?"
It was Hedgehog's turn to ridicule the Irish Striker, fixing his glasses on his nosebridge. "What can you do to us, you Irish kid?"
"Watch it, you langer!" shouted Gerald, flexing his hands on his palm.
Jack was a bit impatient and decided to slightly draw out his Omihalcon blade from his prosthetic knuckles as a show of force; the Strikers were not intimidated by the sight of it.
Mark decided to initiate the fight against the Trident soldiers on the pier, which was almost empty due to the appearance of Trident's operatives.
"C'mere!" mocked the Filipino Striker, using his right hand to motion them to come forward and fight them by waving his four fingers at his direction.
Without any words to acknowledge Mark's challenge, the two factions began another part of a covert and secret war waged on the planet for the control of the exotic out-of-place artifacts.
Only this time, they were about to rumbles on the narrow streets of Hong Kong.
Chapter 6 END
Notes/Terms:
Kukri- A Nepalese weapon used by Gurkhas serving in the British and Indian armies. A Nepalese legend once said that a Gurkha never uses his Kukri without drawing blood first.
Langer - Irish slang for idiot. Though it is also an Irish slang for p-nis.
Out-of-place artifacts (OOPArt) - A name given to strange and weird historical, archaeological or paleontological artifacts found in locations that may or may not be easily accessed. The term was given to these exotic objects by Scottish-American zoologist Ivan T. Sanderson. By coincidence, one of the main themes of Spriggan is the existence of out-of-place artifacts and whether they can be used for military/paramilitary purposes or not.
Police Tactical Unit (PTU) - One of the Hong Kong Police Department's special units trained to deal with criminal situations, internal security matters and disasters, they are mostly armed with Heckler and Koch MP5A3 and MP5A4 submachine guns. They wear HKPD berets and kevlar vests with the words POLICE written in English and Mandarin Chinese. In extreme situations, they wear PASGT helmets. Though wearing helmets and the vests make them look similar to their comrades in the Emergency Unit or EU, the main difference between them is that the PTU are dispatched from their regional HQ, while EU officers act similarly to the Armed Response Vehicles of the British Police. They have been featured in Hong Kong media, with the most recent one on Johnny To's movie with the same unit name.
Special Duties Unit (SDU) - Under the PTU, they serve as the HKPD's anti-criminal and anti-terrorist unit in Hong Kong. Trained and influenced by the British SAS and SBS (Special Boat Service), they are known as one of the world's best elite units. Members are sent to train overseas with other units or have been involved in training missions with them. Like their PTU colleagues, the SDU has been famous in Hong Kong for being featured on HK movies and TV shows, with the most prominent ones made by Hong Kong-American actor Michael Wong on the First Option movie and New Option movie/TV series with another recent appearance in Breaking News. They are also known as Fei Hui or Flying Tigers in Mandarin Chinese, not to mention in Cantonese.
