Chapter 49…
"I gotta say… I'm very impressed with how well you've been taking all of this…" The enemy pilot drawled as he approached Ashley's boss from the front. "But come on now… what do you expect to get by sitting there and keeping your mouth shut?"
The bandit pilot reached out his gloved hand and tapped at the open wounds littering Anatoly's chest. In response, Ashley's boss hissed in pain - but said nothing.
"This doesn't need to go on any longer than it already has," the pilot drawled. "Just tell us what we want to know… I'm not going to lie to you and say that I'm going to spare your life. Make no mistake, the only thing waiting for you is an execution."
Now behind Anatoly, the bandit pilot leaned forwards and rested his hands on the man's shoulders.
"But you have the power to choose," the pilot's voice had a sickeningly sweet edge. "You can choose between the relatively quick death that is a bullet to the head…"
The pilot raised his hand in a gesture to his two companions.
"Or I can have these two beat you to death… it doesn't really matter as long as I get what I want…"
Ashley, disgusted, was watching this display from her hiding place. The dark haired woman could feel her fingers trembling against the textured grip of her handgun.
"So…" the pilot paced around Anatoly to view him from the front. The armored man bent his knees so that he was face-to-face with Ashley's boss. "What's your answer? Are you going to make this quick? Or violent?"
Ashley watched as Anatoly parted his swollen lips to answer. The enemy pilot leaned forwards in anticipation.
With a gurgling noise, Anatoly lobbed a large glob of spit into the enemy pilot's face. The large glob of saliva trailed down the "X" shaped visor of the man's mask; and Ashley could imagine the look of derision on his face.
"I gotta admit… I respect the balls on you…" the enemy pilot chuckled darkly as he wiped off his visor. "I'll take that as your answer…"
Before the words were done leaving his mouth, the pilot reared up a stomp and delivered a downwards smash onto Anatoly's left foot. Ashley's boss made a pained noise, but other than a minor twitch of his facial features he showed no pained look.
Unsatisfied, the enemy pilot released a flurry of punches. Each one struck Anatoly's head with a vicious amount of force - snapping the man's head left and right. Only after about a dozen hits did the pilot finally relent - leaving Anatoly's face a mess of blood and snot.
To his credit, Ashley's boss still said nothing…
As for the dark haired woman hiding in the shadows - she was on the move. Ashley did not sit idly by while her boss was being viciously beaten. She had left her spot by the wood pile and was now creeping along the room's outer wall. At her current movement speed it would take her a few seconds to get to the optimal spot for an ambush.
While Ashley was moving, Anatoly mumbled something…
"What was that?" the bandit pilot asked. He lowered himself so that his head was closer to Anatoly's lips. "I couldn't hear you too well on the account of your busted face…"
The pilot's two lackeys chuckled darkly in response to the joke…
"Even… if I told you…" Anatoly managed to wheeze out. "How to activate the titan… you wouldn't be able to do it…"
"And why not?"
"It's not just about the code…" Anatoly wheezed again. "You need the exact right voice tone…"
The enemy pilot looked at his two companions - who both shrugged.
"Okay…" the enemy pilot muttered. "And whose voice would I need?"
In response, Anatoly cracked a wide grin…
Still watching from the shadows, Ashley's pace slowed down in anticipation…
"That is all that I will tell you…" Anatoly snickered, despite the intense pain that he was probably in. "If I die… I will die knowing that you are sorely disappointed…"
"Well, you're right about the first one…"
Ashley's eyes widened and she quickened her pace.
"Earl, get me the largest, most jagged, most rusty power saw that you can find…" the enemy pilot muttered. He turned his attention back down to Anatoly, his visor glowing with a sinister light. "Assuming that there is anyone left in that little shithole town of yours… they're going to find you in pieces…"
Ashley craned her ears and listened closely to the sound of footsteps… she followed the noise to its source…
"I…" Anatoly struggled out. "Am surprised that you would do this all for one titan…"
"Come on… you should know better than anyone how important that titan is…" the pilot drawled. "That machine might be archaic, but it'll save my guys a lot of manpower…"
"Such a shame… that you will never operate it…"
"On the contrary, it won't be hard for one of my tech guys to bypass the activation code…" the pilot countered.
"But how will you haul such a large titan back when it is inoperable?" Anatoly gave the pilot a gap-toothed smile. "Do you not think that the Militia will come to investigate?"
"Militia?" the pilot scoffed. "Let me teach you a lesson - one that I learned while fighting the Militia, back before the IMC decided to leave us for dead on this shitstain of a planet. Smaller forces can move without being seen…"
"Do not lecture me, I was a fighter years ago…" Anatoly scoffed. "I know guerilla warfare…"
"Great for you…" the pilot nodded. "Then you should realize by now that me and my guys will be long gone before the sun comes up. We have ways of moving the titan; and even if we don't get it out in time we can always come back for it…"
The bandit pilot straightened his back. "Now where the fuck is Earl? You guys keep saws lying around, right?"
"I won't say anything to help you…" Anatoly sneered. For a moment, the man's swollen eyes flicked to look behind his torturer.
"Right…" the pilot drawled. The man tilted back his head so that he was staring up at the ceiling. "Earl!? Where are you man!?"
The pilot froze when he heard a very soft noise. It was the sound of ruffling fabric and a boot scraping against the concrete floor of the mill.
In an incredibly fast motion, the bandit pilot simultaneously whirled around while drawing his pistol. Within seconds, two pistol barrels were being leveled at each other.
"Drop it!" Ashley spoke with a snake-like hiss. "Or he dies!"
In her right arm, Ashley was holding up her pistol and leveling it straight at the "X" shaped visor of the enemy pilot. Her left hand was holding her combat knife, which was resting against the carotid artery of the pilot's second companion.
"Sorry, Jameson…" the pilot's second companion muttered. "She got the drop on me…"
"I see that…" Jameson, the bandit pilot, muttered. "And who is 'she' exactly?"
Ashley kept her mouth shut.
"What did you do to Earl?"
Ashley gave the pilot a flat look and slowly shook her head.
"Eh…" the bandit pilot gently shrugged his armored shoulders. "Considering that your arms are covered in blood, I should have guessed…"
Ashley pressed her knife against the throat of her hostage. Slowly, the woman pulled herself and her new hostage in Anatoly's direction - her gun still leveled on the hostile pilot.
"Drop your gun…" Ashley demanded, her eyes narrow. "No one else needs to die here…"
"Drop yours…" the pilot scoffed. The man was slowly turning to keep his gun leveled on Ashley's head.
"If you try to shoot me… you'll hit your man," Ashley warned. "It will only take me a second to put a bullet in you…"
"Not exactly…" the man known as Jameson cocked his head. "I'm going to go ahead and guess that you've seen some action - given your tactics and how you're holding that gun…"
Ashley kept her mouth shut.
"Assuming that I'm correct… can you tell me a little bit about the gun in my hand?" Jameson almost cackled.
On one hand, Ashley did not want to split her attention - lest the man's request was a trap. But on the other hand… something about the man's pistol was eerily familiar…
Jameson's pistol was coloured a matte black - there was nothing unique about it. But then Ashley noticed the bulbous, elongated barrel; the carefully ridged slide; the boxy magazine and grip…
… and perhaps the most alarming, the shining red targeting laser that sat in front of the gun's trigger.
"Fuck…" Ashley muttered in shock. "You've got to be fucking kidding me…"
"Recognize it? Good!" Jameson used his free finger to tap the black slide of the SMART pistol. "I don't really have to worry about missing, see? With one quick trigger pull you and your friend here will be dead! So why don't you drop your gun?"
Ashley's fingers felt very sweaty at the present moment. While she would never admit it out loud… she was at a very severe disadvantage…
SMART pistols were very rare - given how expensive it was to produce them; and they had never really made it to mass production. Because of their rarity, pilot's who managed to get their hands on one, usually through private sale, were the envy of their cohorts…
"I'd like to keep at least one of you alive for questioning…" Jameson continued. "So why don't you just drop the gun?"
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
Ashley tensed her muscles in preparation. She snuck a very quick glance at Anatoly - who was still seated and right next to her. Ashley's boss had a steely look on his mangled face.
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
"Easy now…" Jameson muttered. "One ounce of pressure is all that it takes for me to end your life. You can't outsmart SMART pistol tracking… it's in the name..."
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
"I really think that you should drop the-"
Ashley wouldn't do as requested. In a lightning fast motion the woman whipped out a kick to her left side. Her boot smashed against Anatoly's thigh with enough force to send the man teetering sideways.
As she did this, Ashley sprang forwards and heaved her hostage in the bandit pilot's direction.
Two silenced gunshots filled the air. The first SMART round buried itself into the head of Ashley's hostage; the second missed Anatoly's head and buried itself into his shoulder. Ashley's quick thinking was the only reason why Anatoly was still alive…
"Fuck!" the enemy pilot yelled as his dead cohort was thrown at him. He sidestepped to avoid the falling corpse, but was not fast enough to defend himself from a high kick. Ashley's leg connected with the pilot's hand, sending the SMART pistol flying from his grasp.
Not wanting to lose her advantage, Ashley thrust her pistol up so that she could empty it into her enemy. But Jameson dodged the opening shot with incredible speed, reacting with a spinning kick that disarmed Ashley.
Preserving his momentum, Jameson flared up his jumpkit thrusters and whirled around. He raised his right arm and stuck out his elbow, aiming the padded joint so that it would strike Ashley's temple…
Ashley knew this move well from pilot training - it was a tricky, efficient way of putting down an unarmored opponent. But Ashley also knew full well how to avoid it.
Ducking underneath the elbow jab, Ashley collapsed herself so that she was on the ground. The dark haired woman lashed out her foot in a kick, striking Jameson's left knee and being awarded with a howl of pain.
In response, Jameson whirled around, pointing the glowing afterburners of his jumpkit straight at Ashley's face.
"Fuck!" The woman roared. She threw her body backwards into a roll - resisting the urge to scream in pain as the sensitive welt on her back was crushed under her body weight.
Her timing was impeccable, as only moments after rolling the spot where she had been lying was obliterated by a stream of fire from the jumpkit. Jameson did not stay put, using the impulse to push himself upwards into the rafters of the mill.
Ashley narrowed her eyes and snuck a glance at her boss. Anatoly was still lying on his side and gasping in pain - blood oozing from the small bullet hole in his shoulder. He wouldn't be much help, not that Ashley could blame him…
Tearing her attention back towards the fight, Ashley pushed herself low and scrambled for her gun. She thrust the weapon upwards and began scanning the ceiling above her head.
Thankfully for her… the jumpkit was rather easy to pick out in the dim light…
Ashley let loose a torrent of rounds at the enemy pilot above her. Jameson was playing it very smart, using his superior mobility to bounce around in the roof rafters. The dark haired woman could not land an accurate shot on the man - each bullet missing him by mere moments…
There was an irony here that Ashley couldn't help but smirk at…
How many enemies had Ashley confused by using her jumpkit this way? It was quite ironic that she had now found herself in their position.
Ashley's pistol finally clicked empty. The woman cursed, quickly sliding her hand into her pocket to withdraw a new magazine.
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
Up above, Jameson had clearly noticed the lull in gunfire. The bandit pilot bounced off of a rafter and straightened his body like an arrow - his armored boots pointed downwards.
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
Ashley was sliding in the new magazine; Jameson was picking up speed…
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
There was a clicking noise as the magazine was accepted by the pistol. Good timing too, as only moments later was Ashley forced to break into a forward roll. Jameson landed exactly where she had been standing moments ago - his armored boots cracking the ground.
If Ashley had taken a second longer, the attack would have snapped her neck…
The dark haired woman twisted and turned her roll so that she would land back on her feet - but a harsh kick to her lower back sent her sprawling. Ashley landed hard on her stomach, the pistol flying from her grasp and the air leaving her lungs…
"I think that I'm going to melt you…" Jameson snarled. Ashley could hear his armored boots stomping behind her; and she could hear the whining noise of his jumpkit warming up. "Seems like a fitting way to kill you…"
Ashley began to crawl forwards. She could see the black grip of a pistol sticking out from a nearby workbench…
"Saw that too, huh?"
The dark haired woman felt her stomach drop…
There was the sound of footsteps as Jameson walked around a still-prone Ashley. He stopped at the workbench and crouched down to grab the pistol. "Did you think that I didn't see the gun?"
The bandit pilot whirled around, the pistol in his grasp. "How stupid-"
The words abruptly died on his lips. Ashley was no longer lying on the ground where she had been a few seconds ago…
"Impressive…" Jameson nodded. The man slowly rotated to look around the large room, and the many piles of wood which could be concealing his adversary. "Trying to get the drop on me again?"
With a snort, the helmeted man paced backwards, his grip on Ashley's pistol tight. The room was very dim… and Ashley could attack from any direction…
Jameson peered in the direction of an near-unconscious Anatoly. Ashley's boss was still lying on the ground and tied up in his chair.
"I could just kill your friend here…" Jameson offered. "How about I give you ten seconds? Huh? Just come out and show-"
The man grunted in surprise and whirled around when he heard the sound of wooden boards shifting. Unbeknownst to the bandit pilot, Ashley had crawled atop one of the wood piles. He would not have the time to react, as Ashley landed on top of him and shoved him to the floor - the pistol clattering out of his hand.
Jameson crossed his arms as Ashley delivered a flurry of blows. All of her punches were aimed at the man's neck, as his helmet would prevent any real damage from being done. The dark haired woman wrapped her legs tightly around the man - not keen on the idea of him escaping her onslaught.
Ashley's stomach flopped when Jameson activated his jumpkit. The dark haired woman and the bandit pilot arced in a straight line across the floor.
Perhaps the bandit pilot was banking on Ashley letting go of him? There was no way she would let that happen; at their current speed Ashley would be thrown into one of the wood piles - and if she was lucky she would only have a few broken bones. Instead, Ashley clamped her hands around Jameson's shoulder pads and held on for dear life.
Pressing herself low to protect her head, Ashley clung to the pilot for dear life. Hands that were not her own tugged at her jumpsuit and jabbed painfully into her sides, but Ashley would not relent...
Finally, Jameson and Ashley reached the end of the building. The two of them flew out of the open cargo doors and detached from each other.
In an incredibly painful series of events, Ashley slammed into the muddy ground outside the cutting building. If the ground had been harder she most likely would have been killed. After a few seconds of uncontrolled sliding, friction finally slowed the dark haired woman to a stop. But Ashley was now covered in mud, and every single muscle in her body was aching.
"Fuck…" Ashley coughed and spat mud out of her mouth. The dark haired woman turned her head, still discombobulated, and tried to push herself up into a standing position.
A well placed boot to her lower back sent her sprawling back down to the muddy ground. Ashley grunted when gloved fingers worked into her dark hair and pulled her limp body upwards - causing a searing heat to flare up in her scalp.
"You're not an ordinary civilian…" Jameson huffed as he dragged Ashley by her hair. "Almost gave me a run for my money. You are, or were, a pilot…"
Ashley grit her teeth and stayed silent. The dark haired woman began quickly blinking her eyes, trying to clear away the worst of the mud and muck.
"The silence is deafening," Jameson chuckled. "You knew how to not fall for the tricks… and you managed to hold on when I turned on my jumpkit. You're a pilot… just admit it…"
"I don't know what you're talking about…" Ashley grunted.
The woman's eyes were now clear enough to get a vague indication of where she was. Her feet were dragging along the ground in front of her, and she was being pulled away from the mill's cutting building.
Ashley had a sneaking suspicion of what their destination was…
"Don't play stupid…" The bandit pilot huffed as he pulled Ashley along the ground. "I have a hunch…"
"Fuck you and fuck your hunches…"
Ashley's retort was answered with a painful tug. With an audible grunt, Jameson heaved Ashley onto the ground. The dark haired woman clawed her hands into the muck and lifted her head - staring upwards into the dark optic of Big Ivan.
"Now…" The bandit pilot muttered. As he said this, he slammed his boot onto Ashley's left calf; the shock and pain forced the woman upwards into a kneeling position. "Make the titan boot up…"
"I don't know how to do this…"
"Don't bullshit me…" Jameson growled, reaching his hand forwards and delivering a sharp tug to Ashley's ear. "Make it boot up…"
Ashley grit her teeth and kept her mouth shut. She heard an impatient sigh behind her and knew that things were about to get violent…
… and she turned out to be right.
A pair of gloved hands shot underneath Ashley's arms and hoisted the woman upwards into a standing position. Ashley tried to resist, but every single muscle in her body was aching; the welt on the back of her shoulder felt like it was on fire.
The dark haired woman was whirled around and a sharp punch was delivered to her gut. Spit flew from Ashley's mouth and it took every ounce of her remaining willpower to not keel over.
"Speak!" Jameson roared. The helmeted man was now acting out of anger rather than sense; he wrapped his gloved hands around Ashley's throat and began to squeeze. "Or I'll kill you here and now… and then I'll kill the guy in the chair… and then I'll kill everyone else in that podunk little town…"
'Inhale…...exhale…...inhale…...exhale…...inhale…...exhale…...inhale…...exhale…'
Ashley's breathing was not completely restricted.
"Talk!" Jameson roared again. The man's "X" shaped visor was perhaps a foot away from Ashley's face; the bright blue light from the headgear was burning her eyes a little bit.
There was a painful sting as Ashley's back was forced against Big Ivan's chassis. Ashley was now between a rock and a hard place.
"This is your last chance…" Jameson warned.
Out of the corner of Ashley's left eye… she spotted the slightest hint of movement…
"There is an easy way and a hard way… always…" Jameson hissed. "Always a simple ultimatum…"
Ashley spotted movement again. A humanoid form was moving in the shadows - a long object clenched in their hands.
'Inhale…...exhale…...inhale…...exhale…...inhale…...exhale…'
"Hard way it is then-"
"Titan…" Ashley gasped, in an instant she felt the grip on her throat slacken. "Reboot… authorization code Alpha-India-One-Nine…"
Jameson tilted his helmet upwards to look at the titan he was pressing Ashley against. There was a series of humming and clicking noises as Big Ivan woke up from his short slumber. Ashley could imagine the dark optic shining behind her.
The key word was "imagine"... Ashley was focused on the person now standing behind Jameson.
"Well I'll be damned…" the bandit pilot chuckled, his hands closing tightly around Ashley's throat. "You did it-"
There was an almost comical sounding slam as a tire iron smashed against the side of Jameson's helmet. Shocked, the bandit pilot made a strangled yelping noise and collapsed to the muddy ground. Without anything to hold her up, Ashley's tired muscles gave out and the woman collapsed.
The dark haired woman's savior had not paused their assault. They were bringing their heavy tire iron down repeatedly on Jamson's prone form. The bandit pilot yelped and struggled - visibly recoiling whenever the heavy tire iron managed to sneak past his armor plating.
"Titan!" Ashley called out in the loudest voice she could muster. "Articulate left pincer attachment! Open position!"
"Complying," Big Ivan's heavily modulated voice rumbled from his loudspeakers. There was a droning klaxon and flashing lights as the pincer attachment on Big Ivan's left arm widened into an open position.
A few feet away, Ashley's savior was losing the fight. They had lost the element of surprise and Jameson had fought his way upwards into a standing position. The bandit pilot was dodging the tire iron with ease - and was beginning to get in some hits of retaliation.
"Titan…" Ashley forced out, digging her fingers into the ground to get some leverage. "Close left pincer - half speed…"
"Acknowledged…"
'Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…'
Having gathered her bearings, Ashley dashed forwards. She stretched out her hands and succeeded in grabbing the back of Jameson's bulletproof vest; the bandit pilot did not anticipate her re-entry into the battle and swiftly took a tire iron to the helmet - stunning him.
With only a few seconds to spare, Ashley whirled around and threw the rogue pilot into Big Ivan's grasping pincer. She lifted her leg and lashed out a violent kick that connected with Jameson's chest - keeping him still.
"Detecting obstruction…" Big Ivan droned. "Adjusting force to compensate…"
Jameson screamed and struggled as the pincer claws tightened around his midsection. The man tried in vain to pull apart the pincer claw - but Big Ivan had the mechanical advantage.
On one hand… Ashley was feeling pissed off enough to let the man be bisected…
But on the other hand…
"Titan! Pause current action and maintain a consistent level of force!" Ashley called out.
"Acknowledged," Big Ivan rumbled. The titan paused it's action as ordered, leaving Jameson trapped in the titan's claw.
"Oh…" Jameson chuckled darkly. "This was clever… I'll admit it…"
Ashley did not grace the man with a response. Instead, she turned around to address her saviour.
Her saviour was not the man Ashley would have wanted to help her; but she did have to admit that he did a good job. Standing awkwardly, and slightly disheveled looking, was the owner of the cutting mill. Gregori was dressed in rumpled nightwear - a grim look on his unshaven face and his hands trembling around the tire iron.
"Thanks…" Ashley huffed and swallowed. "You good?"
The man shrugged, reminding Ashley of the language barrier between them. Despite this barrier, Gregori seemed far more lucid than Ashley had ever seen him be.
"Listen…" Ashley held up her hands in gesture. She pointed in the direction of the cutting building with her left and pointed to Gregori with her right. "Anatoly is in the mill… can you go get him?"
Gregori cocked his head in confusion.
"Anatoly…" Ashley repeated. She stabbed the air several times with her finger in gesture to the mill. "Get Anatoly?" She pulled her hands towards her chest like she was receiving something. "Bring him?"
Gregori slowly nodded and stalked off in the direction of the cutting building. Ashley considered taking the tire iron from him, but Gregori was treating the tool like a lifeline.
"Alright…" Ashley sighed as she turned back to the man struggling in Big Ivan's left claw. "You…"
"Me?" The bandit pilot struggled out. "What about me?"
"I want information…" Ashley swallowed. "Where did you and your allies come from?"
"Earth…?"
"Don't be a smartass…" Ashley growled. "Where is your camp located? Last I heard from the town… the doctor got taken. I need to know where you took him…"
"And why should I tell you anything?"
"Because there is an easy way and a hard way…" Ashley spoke in a cold tone. "Excuse me for taking a page out of your book. You can tell me what I want to know… and I'll make it quick. But if you don't… I can tell the titan to keep squeezing…"
It was not an empty threat…
"Fuck you… you don't have the balls-"
"Titan, increase pressure on the obstruction in your left claw!" Ashley ordered. At once Big Ivan followed Ashley's request. The bandit pilot grunted in pain as the pincer claws tightened around his midsection.
"Shit!" Jameson roared in pain. "Fine! I'll fucking tell you!"
"Titan, pause current action and maintain current level of force."
Big Ivan stopped, prompting Jameson to sigh in relief.
"You're vicious…"
"You don't know the meaning of that word!" Ashley spat. "Now talk!"
"We set up a temporary camp four kilometers north," Jameson grunted. "There used to be an old IMC outpost up there. We just repurposed it for our own use…"
"That's pretty close…" Ashley leaned forwards, her hands balling up into fists. "How the fuck have you managed to fly under the radar for so long?"
"We stay on the move… always…" The helmeted man struggled out. "But if you want to find your doctor… that's where I had him taken…"
"Thanks…" Ashley muttered. "Now take off your helmet…"
"What?"
"Take. Off. Your. Helmet," Ashley growled. "Now…!"
Jameson weakly complied with Ashley's order. He reached up his hands and lifted the piece of headgear off of his head. He had a rather plain, unremarkable face - with hard features and a smattering of brown hair atop his head.
"Now toss it over…"
The bandit pilot once again complied, tossing the piece of headgear in Ashley's direction - which the woman deftly caught.
"So this is the man that beat my face in…" A familiar voice growled from behind Ashley.
The dark haired woman spun around to find her boss and the owner of the mill. Gregori looked visibly shaken, but he was supporting Anatoly by slinging the latter's arm over his shoulder.
"I'm surprised that you can stand…" Ashley muttered. "You okay?"
The dark haired woman's eyes narrowed on the fresh bullet hole in Anatoly's shoulder.
"It went clean through…" Anatoly gasped in pain. "I have had worse…"
"Sure…"
Anatoly lifted his free hand - revealing an object clenched in his grasp. He tossed the SMART pistol in Ashley's direction.
"Saw it underneath a workbench…" Anatoly gave Ashley a cracked smile. "I figured that you would want it…"
"You were right about that," Ashley frowned. She clenched the tracking pistol in her right hand and switched the weapon into it's manual fire mode.
"Why did you take my helmet?" Jameson asked, the man still trapped in Big Ivan's left pincer. Despite the dangerous situation, the man gave Ashley an infuriating smirk. "Did you want to look me in the eyes before you did it?"
"No…" Ashley shook her head and raised the SMART pistol to eye level. "I need the helmet to operate your kit…"
There was a single silenced gunshot… and the bandit pilot went slack in Big Ivan's pincer…
There were a few moments of silence amongst Ashley and her superiors. The morning sun was beginning to peak about the horizon; but the tranquil scene was spoiled by the distant sound of gunfire.
"Titan, open left claw…" Ashley ordered. Big Ivan complied, unceremoniously dropping the limp body of the rogue pilot to the ground. Ashley tucked the SMART pistol into the folds of her jumpsuit and placed the helmet on the ground. She then gingerly approached the fresh corpse.
"What are you planning?" Anatoly asked weakly.
"Good question…" Ashley huffed as she began untying Jameson's combat boots. "Help me with this? Would you? I'm going to need his kit..."
