Brief note on Jakoby: I was in such a hurry to post my last chapter I forgot to mention that Commander Jakoby is not my character. Jakoby is a character that appears in Field Agent by Johnny Wycliff.
If you haven't read his story you are wrong. Go read it, right now, it's good shit.
Chapter 16: Diversion
- 1 Hour Earlier -
M14, Owen, and Freya sat in a room towards the top of an old apartment complex built in the eighties. The room gave an excellent view of the Mayor's manor.
At least Owen thought it was a manor. It was massive with a perfectly manicured lawn, a long winding driveway, and a thoroughly breached perimeter. The bodies of guards, police officers, and Sangvis were everywhere.
Owen glassed the Manor grounds with his ELCAN and let out a low whistle. Jaegers were in place on the roof, along with a Jaguar. Mixed sentry patrols consisted of Scouts, Dinergates, Guards, Prowlers, and Rippers were inside the perimeter fence, which was a high brick wall that surrounded the property. As he shifted his focus to the building he saw a figure standing motionless on the top of the steps.
At first he thought it was a statue, until he zoomed in and...
"Motherfucker," Owen swore, "That's Lilith."
"Who?" M14 asked.
"Originally we thought she was with the group that attacked Gentiane's base," Owen leaned against the wall under the window, out of sight from anyone in the Manor, "Apparently we were wrong."
"Oh..."
He slid back in cover, and thought about his next move. His team was not equipped to deal with Lillith, but scrubbing the mission wasn't an option with friendlies trapped inside. He looked up at the ceiling and exhaled when his sat phone started buzzing. He had forgotten he had that.
He shared a confused look with M14, pulled the phone from its pouch and answered, "Owen."
"Commander Owen," Helian's voice came through, level and professional.
"Helian," Owen greeted with an equally professional tone.
"We're showing Griffin units operating in a city in Sector 12, but the Sector Commander informs me that he doesn't have anyone in the area."
Owen looked at M14, who had continued her watch of the courtyard.
"Your intel's bad, I'm with M14 right now and she's informed me that their commander in training is somewhere inside, also, Lilith is here.
A pause, "Owen listen to me very carefully."
"I'm listening."
"The manor has a safe room on the lower levels, " she began, "Inside that safe room is an…" Helian paused, "artifact."
Owen waited.
"It is imperative that you retrieve the artifact." She stressed.
"So you want us to fight our way through a massive security force, kill a ringleader, rescue the trainee and the mayor's family, and also retrieve the artifa-"
"The artifact is the primary objective," Helian cut him off, "Everything else is irrelevant. Help where you can, but you must get that artifact out of there."
"Well that simplifies things." Owen said in a neutral tone, "That artifact must be some of that nasty space hoodoo shit."
Silence.
Owen sighed, it was always the space hoodoo, "Any chance of reinforcement?" he asked.
"We're working with the Sector Commander to get more troops to you, but this is a time sensitive matter."
"We had a pretty heavy engagement getting here, any chance of a supply drop?"
"Already in the air." The sound of metallic clanging was heard from the street outside of their building, followed by a surprised yelp from M500 downstairs.
"Oh cool, thanks." Owen said.
Helian's tone took on a strange quality, "Director Kryuger wanted me to inform you that this is a no fail operation."
Owen chewed the inside of his cheek, that phrase brought back some memories.
"Roger that."
"Good bye, Commander Owen, and good luck." With that she hung up.
Owen ended the call and placed the phone back in its pouch. M14 was still looking at the courtyard across the way, but occasionally, her eye would dart to Owen, he could see the concern there, but he ignored it.
No fail.
Back in his Ranger days, a "no fail" mission was one where everything was expended to make sure the mission was completed. Including yourself. If Kryuger and Helian wanted to stress the importance of this mission, that was the best way to do it.
Get the artifact. Civilians were expendable.
No fail.
He exhaled sharply and looked at M14, "How much of that did you hear?"
She said nothing at first before finally turned away from her rifle to look him in the eyes, "We would appreciate it if you gave us the chance to save our friends."
"I'll do my best."
M14 nodded and returned to her overwatch, "That's all we can ask of you, Commander."
Owen stood, "Keep an eye on things, we'll top off our ammo and step off soon."
As he walked through the bombed out lobby he saw that the ammo had been delivered via shot drop pod.
Shot drop pods were exactly what their name implied. Large black pods that were usually dropped by drone or launched from a specially modified artillery platform. They were basically indestructible and were used to drop everything from food, ammo, or even medical supplies thanks to dampeners that protected the cargo during the drop.
Owen was once again impressed with how well equipped his employers were. He was less impressed with the fact that, once the third misfits team were aware he was moving towards them, they stopped all conversation to glare at him.
The exception, once again, was Freya. She was standing slightly apart from everyone, keeping an eye on their surrounding area.
He ignored Nines' team and walked over to Freya, "You good to go?"
Freya nodded once.
"Go relieve M14, give me an estimate of the enemy strength and patrols." Owen ordered her, "Plan for a high speed smash and grab so give me routes in and out."
Freya nodded once more and silently disappeared back into the building.
Owen turned to Third Team, who was still glaring collective daggers at him.
He stared back impassively, "Is there a problem?"
Nines cleared her throat, Owen wondered if that actually helped with anything, or if she was just doing it for show.
"My team and myself," Nines began softly, "were just having a discussion about your mental state, and if that you were still fit to lead." She locked eyes with him and he could see there was some major inner conflict behind her blue eyes.
Owen said nothing, instead he walked over to the drop pods, grabbed spare mags and grenades, and started topping off his chest rig. Third Team watched his every move as he methodically went to work. From where they stood, his silence was deafening, and he knew it.
He looked at Nines, and worked his jaw, trying to figure out what to say to her. His chest started to tighten as he looked in her eyes.
Owen looked around and saw everyone watching him, "Yeah, the bus full of dead kids was fucked." He shrugged and continued, "But that's part of our job. We're fighting in a populated city, we can't expect the only casualties to be combatants."
He looked everyone in the eyes and stopped on MP-40, who was on the verge of tears again, before moving back to look at Nines, whose eyes were still as conflicted as before. He felt his chest tighten again.
He ignored it and held her gaze with his, "If anyone here doesn't like how I operate," he said calmly, "or think I'm too heartless or incompetent to lead, then those individuals are free to speak to me, or transfer somewhere else when we get back."
Nines' face was stone as she gave a single nod.
Owen finished his task, and stood. He studied the team again, the faces ranged from openly hostile glares, to avoiding his gaze altogether.
"We're stepping off soon," he told them, "Be ready."
With that he turned and walked back inside the building. Once inside he ran into M14, who was standing near the entrance.
"Ammo drop is outside," he told the rifle doll, "we're moving as soon as everyone is ready."
M14 studied him for a moment before she nodded and walked outside.
Owen kept moving towards the stairs to meet up with Freya when he heard rapid light footfalls approaching behind him. He turned and saw Nines moving towards him, that same look on her face. He stopped walking and waited for her to catch up. She stopped a few steps away and studied his face like she always did.
"What?" Owen asked.
"Something is different." She said softly.
Owen shook his head in annoyance, "What do you mean?"
"From when we first met, after," Nines paused, eyes wandering while she thought, "After the attack on the base." She said.
"Nines, what the hell are you talking about?"
Nines' focus went back to Owen as her eyes hardened, "Ever since you fought Lillith, you've changed, you've become," another pause, "colder."
Owen let out a snort, "You mean the thing at the bus?"
Nines nodded and said nothing.
"Do you have any idea how many times I've seen shit like that?" Owen said while at the same time trying to figure out why he was defending himself. He normally didn't do that.
Nines opened her mouth to say something, but Owen kept going, "Have you ever thought that maybe I was fucked up after being frozen for ten years, and this is how I am?"
"That's no-"
"Not what," Owen interrupted again, he was getting mad, he knew it, tried to get a handle on it, but couldn't, "not how you thought I would be while you stared at me for a decade?"
Nines looked like she had been slapped.
Fuck.
Owen took a deep breath.
"Nines I-"
Nines held up a hand before she turned and walked back outside.
"Way to go, you fucking moron," He swore to himself.
His temper was something new. He was usually squared away. 'Infuriatingly stoic' as one ex had described him.
Owen turned and went upstairs to find Freya still watching the courtyard.
"Anything exciting happen?" He asked.
"Second high value target appeared and ordered Lilith to send units out our way." She replied calmly.
Owen swore, "See, that's shit I need to know right away."
"Where's the fun in that?" Freya deadpanned.
Owen stopped and turned to Freya, "That was sarcasm."
Freya said nothing and walked out of the room, "I recommend we move immediately, this position is no longer safe."
Owen sprinted downstairs, through the building lobby, and back outside. As soon as Nines saw him her face went to stone and she raised a finger at him.
"Yes, I know, I'm an asshole and I'm sorry, make it up to you later." He said as fast as he could, the team sensed his urgency and stood up, weapons ready.
"Lilith is on her way here, we need to move on the objective yesterday." Owen told them.
"Does this mean we have a plan?" K11 asked.
"Yep," Owen said as he started running down the street, "Don't die."
"We've heard better plans." M14 announced as the team ran after him.
"Nines, take your team to the eastern side of the courtyard and light 'em up long enough to draw defenders away from the building." Owen said as they ran, "Once you're fully engaged, keep them tied up for ninety seconds and fade back into the city and wait for my signal."
"What's the signal?" Nines asked, but Owen didn't hear her.
"If you don't hear from me after fifteen minutes, link up with friendly forces and roll on this place hard."
"Owen, what's the signal?"
"Freya and M14, you're with me." Owen continued, still not hearing Nines, "we're moving fast, getting shit done and getting the fuck out of here."
"Bu-" Nines began.
"See y'all on the other side." Owen said as the two teams split off.
"Be safe." Nines whispered to herself as she moved her team to the assault position.
Owen sprinted as fast as he could to the rear of the property where they found a door in the brick wall for accepting deliveries. Once he heard Nines and her team attack the western side of the property, his team breached the door and cleared the Rippers that were guarding the area. Once inside, M14 led the way, leading them around any guards she saw as they moved deeper into the building.
"Do you know where you're going?" Owen whispered as they passed through a large dining area.
M14 nodded, "We were given a schematic of the building on the helicopter before it crashed, there's a panic room on the lower level, that's where we were supposed to go."
M14 paused at a large oak door, slowly pushed it open, and immediately came under fire. She calmly stepped back from the doorway and gave Owen a knowing look.
"Is that the actual panic room?" Owen asked.
M14 shook her head, "It's in a hidden room beh-"
Owen popped the spoon on an EMP grenade and threw it in before she could finish and pulled the door closed. He counted to seven and peeked in to see a group of Vespids twitching on the ground. He motioned for Freya and M14 to hold back as he rushed in and shot the disabled Sangvis dolls, finishing them. He hesitated on the last Vespid as she struggled to hold a hand up to stop him.
Owen knelt down and pulled her visor off to reveal reddish purple eyes that were full of fear. He frowned, stood, kicked her rifle away and aimed his rifle between her eyes.
"If you move, I will shoot you, do you understand?" He asked conversationally.
The Vespid nodded.
"Outstanding." Owen said.
He waited until the blue indicator on the EMP grenade dimmed, then faded out before he called the rest of the dolls into the room. As M14 and Freya made their way in, Owen noticed the Vespid started shaking like a leaf.
"I thought Sangvis dolls couldn't think for themselves." Owen asked as he, Freya, and M14 stood in a semi circle around the Vespid starting down at her.
"They can't," M14 said.
The Vespid's eyes darted from Owen, to M14, then back to Owen. She moved her lips like she was speaking, but no words came out.
"I can't read lips, lady." Owen told her.
The Vespid held her hands up in a placating manner.
"We think she's saying don't shoot her." M14 guessed.
The Vespid nodded and pointed to Nines frantically.
"Oh," Owen said simply, "I wasn't really planning on it," he patted his rifle, "unless you give me a reason."
The Vespid shuddered.
M14 studied the Sangvis Doll before she snapped her fingers, "Ah!" She announced before she pointed a finger triumphantly at the Doll, "You've been cut off from the network!"
The Vespid nodded again and seemed to relax, if only slightly.
M14 turned to beam at Owen and Freya, "She should be harmless," then turned to Owen, "she could have information stored about Sangvis activities in this area."
Owen looked at the Vespid, "Fair point." With that he held out a hand to help the Sangvis Doll up.
The Vespid looked at Owen with confusion who shook his hand, "I'm helping you up, you idiot." He said.
Vespid looked curiously at his gloved hand before she took it and he unceremoniously hauled her to her feet.
"So you're not gonna, y'know," Owen made a finger gun, "shoot us in the back are you?"
Freya stepped forward, and gazed fiercely at the Vespid who looked down at the floor and gave a small shake of her head.
Freya turned back to Owen "She won't be a problem."
"O-k," Owen said as he gave the Vespid a pat on the shoulder, which caused the Sangvis Doll to flinch slightly, before turning to M14, "Show me the panic room."
M14 had an embarrassed grin on her face.
"You do know where it's at, right?" Owen asked.
"Absolutely," M14 proclaimed proudly, "we know it's in this room!"
Owen nodded, "Yep, that's helpful." He sighed before giving Freya a look. Freya gave him the smallest shrug he had ever seen, walked over to a bookshelf, studied it for a second before pulling a book out and causing a section of the shelf to slide into the floor, revealing a sturdy metal door.
"Oh shit," Owen exclaimed, "Nice."
He walked over to the door and gave it a few knocks, and felt it move ever so slightly. He motioned for Freya and M14 to get ready. Once they were in covering positions, he turned and mule kicked the door causing it to slam open with a metallic clang. In the back of his mind, he noticed it didn't bounce back.
M14 and Freya moved quickly into the room, Vespid tried to go with them, but Owen held up a quick hand to stop her before he followed the other two dolls. Vespid looked around the room at her dead former comrades and grabbed her rifle before she sat down in the corner of the room, facing the hidden doorway. She placed her rifle by her side, pulled her knees to her chest, and waited.
Owen, Freya, and M14 found themselves in a darkened corridor.
"We can't see anything." M14 complained.
"I can see just fine." Freya pointed out.
Owen tried to adjust his eyes like Freya and the techs and Gentiane's base and taught him, but failed.
"Hey Freya…" Owen began.
Freya let out an almost inaudible huff before words started flashing across Owen's vision.
+Neural Uplink Established+
+IR Illum ON+
+Neural Uplink Disconnected+
He felt his head start to hurt, but it was very dull ache.
Owen cracked an IR chemlight, threw it down the hallway and watched as the "let there be light." He muttered.
"Wait, how can you see?" M14 asked.
"Lasik surgery." Owen deadpanned as he moved down the corridor, "Stay on me until we get to some actual light."
M14 moved close behind Owen and the trio moved in silence until they found a matching metal door. Owen turned the large metal handle and shoved the door inward and was met with a large room that was a twin to the large study they had just left. Instead of a group of Vespids however, this room had a family huddled together behind a dark skinned man wearing a trashed Griffin uniform, aiming a rifle at them.
"Do not fucking move!" The man boomed at Owen.
Freya's shotgun started to whir.
"Stand down Freya!" Owen barked.
"Commander Mataan, don't shoot, it's us!" M14 yelled from behind Owen.
"Mataan…" Owen muttered to himself, the name sounded familiar.
"M14?" The man asked.
M14 ran around Owen and threw herself at Commander Mataan, wrapping the confused commander in training in a giant hug, "We were worried that you didn't make it!"
"I thought the same about you." Mataan said as he studied Owen the same way Owen was studying him.
M14 stepped away from Mataan and gestured to Owen, "This is Commander Owen, Commander Gentiane sent him to help us."
"Sarn't Owen?" he asked.
"Corporal Mataan?" Owen responded, "I thought you were at the embassy."
The former Marine embassy guard shrugged, "Separated a month ago to work for Griffin, this is my first mission."
Owen snorted through his nose, "Helluva first mission."
Mataan nodded, "You're telling me, shit went sideways from the word go," He then gave Owen an almost sheepish look, "You got any dip Sarn't?"
"What happened?" Owen asked as he pulled the can froom a pouch on his rig, tapped some out for himself, then handed the can to Mataan.
Mataan nodded in thanks and did the same before he gave a brief rundown of events.
"Chopper got tagged by AA fire not too far from here, I got knocked out when we hit. Brianna and Annie Oakley dragged me out of the wreck and patched me up." Mataan explained as he motioned to a bandage wrapped around his leg.
"Made our way in while the defenders outside held off the Sangvis units, linked up with Mayor and his family but couldn't get back out," he hooked a thumb to the family behind him, "been here ever since."
Owen turned to study the family. The mayor was a muscular middle aged man with a full head of iron grey hair and a stern gaze. The wife looked a little older, with long auburn hair and green eyes that studied Owen as if she was trying to figure out if he was a threat.
Then there was the daughter, mid twenties, short red hair, athletic build, emerald eyes that were studying Owen the same way her mother was. He also noticed that she was trying to conceal a handgun, her hand movements were what gave it away.
Owen wondered if it was okay to ask her out now, or if he should wait.
"They speak English?" Owen asked.
Mataan shook his head, "Ukrainian only, it's been a bitch trying to communicate."
Owen nodded, "Also, the other two you mentioned, uh…" he trailed off trying to remember their names.
"Brianna and Annie?" M14 cut in, "They're okay?"
Mataan nodded at M14 with a smile "You know they're not that easy to take down."
M14 beamed at Mataan.
"Anyway Sarn't, those two are scouting out a separate hallway that leads outside, it'll put us 'bout a click and a half away from this property."
"That's convenient." Owen said.
Mataan nodded, "Yeah, apparently it goes underground and will spit us out a couple of blocks away from here."
Owen nodded, "They mention anything about an artifact?"
Mataan looked at Owen in confusion before he shook his head, but Owen noticed the daughter stiffen slightly out of the corner of his eye.
M14 grabbed Mataan to begin questioning him about what happened during their separation, leaving Freya and Owen on their own.
"Well let's see what the locals know." Owen muttered as he made his way over to the family.
The man stepped in front of his wife and daughter and eyed Owen the same way a predator would look at an injured deer. In response, Owen gave his best diplomatic smile and waved a gloved hand in greeting.
"Mr Mayor, I'm Commander Owen from Griffin and Kryuger, I'm here to help." He said in english.
The man frowned and said "I do not understand English." in Ukrainian.
Owen scratched his head and put on a confused face, "No english?"
The mayor shook his head, "Not even a little?" Owen asked.
The mayor stared at him, "I'm here to marry your daughter." Owen told him.
The daughter let out a sound that sounded like a cat trying to cough up a hairball, but tried to hide it. Owen grinned and looked around the mayor to get a look at the daughter, to find her glaring daggers at him.
"Gotcha." He mouthed with a wink, then switched to Ukrainian, "Mr Mayor, I'm here on behalf of my employer Griffin and Kryuger."
The group looked at Owen in surprise, he kept the diplomatic smile on his face, adjusted his dip, and waited.
"You are here to rescue my family?" The mayor asked.
Owen shook his head.
"Are you here for me?"
Owen shook his head again and fixed the mayor with a stare. After a brief moment, the mayor gave a satisfied nod, "Then Kryuger did not forget our arrangement, good."
"Excuse me." The mayor said, turned on his heel and walked over to the corner of the study, then disappeared into yet another hidden room.
"That's just excessive." Owen said to himself.
Owen stood there, with mother and daughter glaring at him, he rocked on his feet, waiting for the mayor. He noticed the daughter kept her hand close to her concealed pistol.
Owen fixed her with a hard stare and shook his head once. The woman seemed a little surprised but dropped her hand. Owen rolled his eyes as Freya moved next to him.
"We're not safe here." She told him in a low voice, "We should leave, now."
Owen, happy for the distraction, looked around, "You picking up on something?"
Freya nodded once, "Yes, the Vespid we left in the other room has informed me that her boss is nearby."
"Fucking Lillith." Owen swore but Freya shook her head.
"Someone else." She informed him.
Owen rubbed a hand through his hair in frustration, they were wasting too much time here. He wished that once, just once, he could have a normal mission. A routine patrol that ends in an ambush with normal enemies.
Right then, a bookshelf slid to the side and two blonde dolls walked out casually chatting with each other, until they noticed Owen and Freya. They froze, looked to Mataan, then back to Owen and Freya.
"Who the hell are you?" The shorter blonde with a revolver asked Owen.
"Don't be so rude Annie," The taller blonde with a Browning Automatic Rifle slung on her back said.
Mataan cut in, "This is Commander Owen, he's here our ride out."
"Bout time." Annie grumbled.
"Is the way clear?" Mataan asked.
"Yup!" Annie replied.
"Mataan, we need to move," Owen said, "How's the leg?'
"Good to go Sarn't." Mataan said as he checked his rifle.
The mayor returned holding a hardened black case on wheels.
Owen looked down at the large, heavy, case, then back to the mayor.
"What the hell is that?" Owen asked in annoyance as he pointed to the case.
"The artifact." Was all the mayor said.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Owen grumbled as he rolled the case back and forth.
He flipped it around and saw it also had backpack straps.
Owen exhaled sharply through his nose as he hefted the hardened case onto his back, "This is horseshit." he muttered as he positioned the straps over the straps of his chest rig.
He did some quick adjustments on the straps, gave a few test jumps and looked at Freya, who was focused on the door they had entered from, her weapon at the low ready.
Owen spun to Mataan, "Get everyone out, now."
Mataan nodded and turned to the group, "Okay kids, time to go!" He boomed out as he motioned to the far hallway Briana and Annie had come in from.
The family hesitated, not understanding what Mataan was telling them.
Owen jabbed a finger at the far corridor, "MOVE YOUR ASSES, NOW!" He bellowed in Ukrainian.
That got them moving.
"Annie, take point, Bri, you're on our six." Mataan said as they started moving.
The door Owen had entered from earlier flew inward and a lone figure stepped through, studying them briefly.
"It's Agent!" M14 yelled.
"Oh." Owen said as Agent calmly turned to face them.
"Don't fucking move." Owen commanded, the same way Mataan had earlier.
"More insects from Griffin, scurrying arou-"
"Lady, do not start monologuing. Now get on the floor and place your hands behind your head before I put a round through your throat."
"Commander," M14 began, "That's a high ranking Sangvis ringleader, we don't think she'll come quietly."
"Fair point." Owen said, "Fuck her up!"
The room erupted in gunfire and rounds slammed into Agent, throwing her back into the corridor.
Owen turned to Freya, "Let's fucking go!"
Freya nodded and they followed Mataan's group into the escape corridor when Owen felt something grab the case on his back and fling him backwards.
He slammed into the wall and slouched to the ground, momentarily dazed. He blinked his eyes to try and get them to focus in time to see a black high heel connect to the side of his head, sending him sprawling sideways.
Owen pushed himself up to his hands and knees to try and stand up, but Agent was too fast. In an instant, she was next to him, delivering another kick to his ribs. He felt something crack as he flew upwards before Agent threw a punch and sent him flying across the room, again.
Owen coughed up blood as he tried to stand. "Jesus lady," He groaned, "Calm the fuck down."
"Shut your mouth, you insignificant worm." Agent said calmly as she adjusted the glove on the hand that punched him, "Hand the artifact over to me and I will make your death relatively painless."
Owen stood shakily to his feet and spat more blood. Kept the dip in though, like a true professional.
"Lady, we are way past painless." Owen said as he snapped his rifle up and mag dumped on the murder maid.
Rounds impacted, but if they bothered Agent, she didn't show it as she moved towards Owen in a flash.
Owen stood his ground, waited until she got close and hit her with a chokeslam, pulled out his Walther, and dumped the mag into her face. She twitched as the rounds slammed into where her nose used to be.
He let out a sigh, and slumped back down.
Freya came bolting back out of the exit corridor, looking frantically around the room, her gaze fell on a bloody Owen sitting on Agent's body.
"I think I won." He told her with a grin, Freya saw blood trickling down his mouth.
She rushed over and caught Owen before he slumped over, he tried to say something, but his chest hurt.
In all honesty, his everything hurt.
Freya helped him to his feet and took the large case off his back, hefting it with ease.
"Should have...given to that...to you...in the first...place." He wheezed with a grin.
"Shut up." Freya told him softly, "You shouldn't be moving, let alone standing."
Owen continued to grin, "I knew you weren't...as robotic...as you let...on."
Freya said nothing as she walked him to the exit corridor.
"I didn't say you could leave, Griffin trash." A voice said behind them.
Freya and Owen turned to find Agent, standing over her own body, her face impassive.
"What the...fuck?" Owen wheezed out.
Freya gently leaned Owen against the wall, "When you can move again, get away from here." She whispered as she shrugged the Pelican case.
"Kick her...ass." He wheezed in reply before coughing up more blood and groaning, "Gonna..take a...nap." His head slumped forward and continued to wheeze, blood dribbling from his mouth.
Freya reached out and placed a hand on Owen's cheek before she stood to face Agent.
"You worthless foreign knockoff," Agent spat, "what do you think you're going to be able to do against me?"
"This." Freya deadpanned and spun up her weapon while dashing forward.
Once Freya closed the distance, she fired at Agent who rolled out of the way. As she stood the cannons under her uniform unfolded and fired at Freya who danced through the plasma fire, firing as she went.
Agent darted forward and tried to grab Freya's arm.
Freya moved her arm and kicked Agent in the stomach before going cyclic with her ESG-16.
Agent danced from one end of the room to the other in an attempt to dodge the relentless barrage from Freya's weapon. The slugs from the ESG ripped the room apart, with only a few finding their target.
A lucky round slammed into Agent's leg, causing her to lose her footing and fall over. Freya readjusted her aim just as the barrels stopped spinning. Freya looked down and saw the weapon had gotten too hot and seized.
Agent looked at Freya with a smirk and sprinted towards her with cannons firing. Freya disconnected the ammo belt while dodging the plasma bolts, tossed the weapon up in a lazy arc, gripped the glowing barrels and swung the weapon at Agent's head like batter swinging for the fences.
The weapon connected with a sharp crack and sent Agent flying. Freya dropped the weapon and looked down at her hands, the synthetic flesh still sizzling and melting from the heat of the weapon.
Freya ran towards Agent who was getting to her feet and kicked the Sangvis doll in the chest sending her sprawling.
Agent fired her cannons and scored a hit on Freya's shoulder causing her to stumble and giving Agent an opening. Agent leapt to her feet and went on the offensive. She landed a series of targeted blows across Freya's body, denying Freya the chance to set up any kind of defence.
Agent finished the attack by landing a kick at Freya's knee joint. The joint snapped in half and Freya crumpled to the ground.
Agent brought her cannons out and fired until Freya quit moving.
10 Minutes Prior
"Be safe." Nines whispered to herself as she moved her team to the assault position.
As they maneuvered to ambush positions along the western edge of the property line, a little voice in the back of Nines' mind started to eat away at her. She watched as K11 hastily set up explosives at their position.
Owen never claimed to be a good person. He had no obligation to act in a way that she wanted him to. He had no obligation to have any interest in her at all.
But he did, in the hotel room. She thought to herself.
"Nines," K11 hissed out loud, "What the hell are you doing daydreaming?"
Nines shook her head, "Sorry, are we ready to get started?"
K11 gave her a look, "Charges are set and ready to go, just like I said over the Zener network."
Nines nodded, "Right," she checked her settings and noticed that somehow, her link to the Zener network had been shut off, she turned it back on and text started flashing across her vision.
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Nines put in an internal override, the message disappeared, and her connection to the Zener network was shaky, but there.
"She's just sitting there, being all quiet," M500 was saying, "It's weeiiird."
"I was just going over the plan," Nines announced on the network, causing everyone to turn to her.
"Pick a target and open fire on my command." She told them.
"K11 on target."
"MP-40 on target."
"Uzi on target."
"Standby, target is out of...ah, there we go, M500 on target."
Nines sighted a Jager that was walking along the top of the building, "Fire."
The firing line erupted and five Sangvis dolls dropped in unison and the ambush began in earnest.
Nines set the countdown lock for ninety seconds, then sent it to everyone's hud. It took five seconds before Sangvis could figure out where the fire was coming from. Those five seconds cost them an additional ten dolls.
Once they were able to triangulate, however, the Sangvis response was fierce but predictable. The team ducked behind the stone wall as incoming fire started pouring in.
"Wish we had a sniper to counter these fucking Jagers." K11 said as she launched a grenade at the roof of the building. It detonated and Nines watched the Jager disappear in the explosion.
"The Kommandant usually handles that." MP-40 pointed out as she changed mags.
"He might be a heartless psychopath," K11 said with a laugh, "But yeah, he's a good shot, I'll give him that."
"He is not a psychopath." MP-40 scolded K11, "He is a good person, if a little damaged from his time in the war."
M500 fired at a Guard that was trying to help a Striker get in close. The first slug struck the Guard's shield causing it to stumble, the second slug went through its visor before the Guard had a chance to recover. The team focused fire on the Striker before it had a chance to fire.
"I like Commander Owen," M500 announced cheerfully as she sped loaded shells into her shotgun, "He treats me nice and gives me treats."
Uzi threw a firebomb into a group of Prowlers that were speeding towards her and firing as they went. The firebomb landed in the middle and detonated, the thermite in the firebomb instantly melting their tires, causing them to stick to the ground. K11 launched another grenade and finished the group off.
"Sure, he's got a few screws loose," Uzi said as she fired her weapon, "and he's rough around the edges," she dumped the rest of her mag into a Ripper, "But like MP40 pointed out, he was in The War, and there's plenty of humans who came out way worse than he did."
Uzi reloaded, "Besides, he's easy on the eyes, isn't that right Nines."
Nines said nothing and dropped a squad of Vespids with headshots. She checked the timer, ten seconds left.
"Get ready to fall back on my mark." She said and watched the countdown reach zero.
"Now!"
One by one, the team withdrew from the firing line, until Nines was the last one holding the line.
As predicted, the Sangvis units surged towards her. She fired off the rest of her magazine, turned and sprinted to the buildings at their rear.
"NOW!" She called over the network.
The explosion never came.
She checked her network connection.
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"Shlyukha bez materi!" She swore and reset the connection.
"K11 do it!"
"Firing!"
The explosives that had been planted on their firing line that had now been heavily overrun by Sangvis units disappeared in a massive fireball. Because of Nines' delay, a few Sangvis units managed to escape the blast, but were easily mopped up by the team.
Nines and her team found another tall apartment building a block away and on the opposite side of where they staged their distraction. The team sprinted up the stairs, and once on the roof, collectively fell into a heap.
"Never again." K11 said as she fanned herself, "Never again will I run up that many stairs, I don't care if Agent is on my ass, I will walk."
M500 giggled at that, tried to stifle it, before bursting out laughing. The rest of the team followed, the excitement of the firefight wearing off.
"That's the most fun I've had since joining Griffin." MP-40 said with a grin, "It's nice to be on a combat team."
"You weren't before?" K11 asked.
MP-40 shook her head, "Not until Owen took over our Outpost."
Uzi jumped to her feet, "Oh no, we're not going over how bad Zhenka was again," she pointed a finger to K11, "If you want the story on why we all like Owen so much, you gotta wait until we have a flashback chapter."
K11 blinked in confusion.
MP-40 bapped Uzi on the head.
Nines sat against the wall and watched the scene unfold, she loved watching her team get along like this.
As Uzi and MP-40 argued with each other, M500 joined Nines and watched the argument unfold.
After a moment, M500 spoke, "Is everything okay Nines?"
"What do you mean?" Nines asked.
M500 turned to study her, one ear twitching, "I can tell something is bothering you," she pointed to her nose, "I got a sixth sense about these things."
Nines watched K11, Uzi, and MP-40 chatting as she collected her thoughts, "I'm not exactly the same as the rest of you." She admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"Any station, any station, this is M14 requesting immediate assistance!"
M14s distress came over the emergency link, cutting Nines off.
Everyone froze as Nines keyed into the frequency, "M14, it's Nines, where are you?"
"Nines? Thank goodness you're still in the area, we're in the city, we'll send our location to your HUD!"
An arrow appeared in her vision, "I see you, stay right here, we're on our way."
"Be quick, we have multiple civilians with us," M14 informed her.
"M14, where's Commander Owen?" Nines asked.
Gunfire erupted from M14's location and comm went dead.
"M14!" Nines yelled out loud.
She turned to her team, "You heard the transmission, let's move!"
She flew down the stairs and tried to hail Owen's comm and got nothing. She tried Freya's comm, still nothing.
Why didn't Owen send the distress message?
She could hear him in her mind, teasing her for worrying so much.
She could see his face the time Alchemist ran him through with her blade, calling out to her, before he collapsed.
She ran faster, turned down the street M14 was supposed to be on, and saw a Nemeum surrounded by Aegis units firing on what looked like a small utility shed. There were scores of dead Sangvis units, along with a second collapsed Nemeum.
Gunfire could be heard coming from the shed. But Nines couldn't hear the crack of M14s rifle, nor did she hear the signature whir and boom of Freya's ESG. She thought she heard a rifle that sounded like Owen's, but she couldn't be sure.
"K11!" Nines shouted, she heard the desperation in her voice and she didn't care.
"You got it!" K11 hooted in glee as she started raining grenades down on the armored Sangvis units as fast as she could.
The Aegis units turned to face the new threat and lumbered towards them.
"Owen, Freya, M14, do you copy?" Nines yelled into the emergency channel.
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She yelled in frustration and charged the approaching Aegis. She darted between them, firing as she went. Leg servos, IFF sensors, and ocular ports were shot out with extreme precision, leaving the group of mechs combat ineffective. She jumped on top of the Nemeum and fired the rest of her mag into the weaker armor on top until it collapsed in a heap.
She ran to the combat shed and saw two dolls trying to administer aid to M14. She was missing half of her body, it had been blown away by the Nemeum.
"N-nines…" M14 struggled to talk, her scorched face not cooperating the way it was supposed to.
"M14, where's Owen?"
Mataan approached Nines and she noticed he held a rifle similar to Owen's.
"Sarn't Owen fell behind." He said in a somber tone, "I was about to go back and get him before we were attacked by those mechs."
"Where?" Nines asked in desperation.
Mataan pointed to the dark corridor they had exited from. Without a second thought, Nines sprinted through, calling Owen's name as she did.
Mataan swore and followed her as fast as his injured leg allowed.
"Wait!" He called after her, but she didn't hear him.
She practically flew down the corridor until she saw light at the end from a room. At the edge of the light she saw a shape couldn't identify. As she got closer, she could make out a body on the ground. It wasn't moving.
"Oh no." Nines whispered.
She slowed as she got close to the body, her foot slipped on something, she regained her balance and dropped to her knees next to the body.
It was Owen.
He was leaning against a large black box, his M79 in his right hand, and his left hand.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no nononono," Nines tried to hold back her sobs as she saw his left arm was completely mangled and pointed the wrong way at the elbow. She tried to search for a pulse, but couldn't find one.
Mataan caught up with Nines and swore when he saw the scene.
Nines looked up at him, face wracked with grief, "No pulse." was all she could say before her voice cracked.
"Here, let me check him over." Mataan said in a calm voice.
Nines nodded and stood out of the way.
Mataan looked Owen over and pointed at his mangled shoulder, "See there, he put a tourniquet on."
Mataan held his ear to Owen's mouth and heard the faintest rattle of a breath.
"He's breathin, he ain't dead yet." Mataan stood and took his uniform top off and turned to Nines.
"Find a chair or table in there, and break off the legs, we need to get him out of here."
Nines nodded and went into the room, the sound of wood splintering could be heard seconds later. While she did that Mataan tried to inspect Owen to see how bad he was.
"Man, I should have paid attention during the first aid powerpoints." he grumbled to himself.
In Mataan's professional opinion, Owen looked like shit. Beyond that, he couldn't really tell how bad it was.
As Nines looked around the large room for something to break, she could see the aftermath of the attack. There were two identical dolls dressed as maids in the room. One was destroyed by small arms fire, and the other looked like a mix of small arms from Freya and Owen's grenade launcher.
Nines blinked in surprise, she had forgotten about Freya, she looked around, and found what was left of the ATS doll.
She felt another pang in her chest, pushed it down, and finished her work as fast as she could.
A few minutes later she returned with the legs off a fancy mahogany chair.
Mataan quickly went to work making the stretcher and Nines helped load Owen onto it. As they lowered him onto the stretcher, Owen let out a barely audible groan.
"Owen?" Nines said in alarm.
"Grab that case," Mataan ordered, "we need to get out of here quick and you're in better shape than me."
Nines opened her mouth to object.
"He'll be fine if we get him a medivac, which means we need to move quick," Mataan said, cutting Nines off, "Which means I need you to help me out."
Nines nodded once and shouldered the case. Mataan positioned himself at the front of the stretcher, looked back at Nines and counted off, "On three. One, two, three, lift."
They rose at the same time and started moving as fast as they could without jostling Owen too much. Occasionally Owen would let out a groan of pain and Nines felt a little guilt at the fact it comforted her every time he did so.
Even if he was in pain, it was better than the alternative. She thought back to Freya and shook her head.
One problem at a time, as Owen would say.
They got him outside and settled inside the fake utility shed, where Mataan, and surprisingly, the mayor's daughter, started working on Owen. The daughter searched Owen's chest rig for an IFAK, opened it, and gave a murmur of approval at its contents.
She motioned for Mataan to remove his chest rig while she sorted through the rest of his kit.
Nines watched her work, but she paused and peered at Nines, "You're in my light." She said in accented english.
"What the fuck?" Mataan said in surprise, "I didn't know you spoke english."
"You never asked." The woman said as she cut Owen's uniform away, "He is not looking well, I suggest a Medivac, soon."
"How bad?" Mataan asked.
The impromptu medic never looked up, "What is that charming english expression? He is ah," she placed her ear to his chest and frowned, "circling the drain."
She pulled a Nasopharyngeal airway out of the kit and ripped the packaging off. That was when Nines decided to join the rest of the dolls.
"How is Owen?" MP-40 asked.
Nines frowned as she looked at the ground, "He'll be fine." She said, not looking at anyone.
"Wait," Uzi said, "Where's Freya?"
Everyone looked to Nines, who just shook her head.
She looked to MP-40, "Can you get ahold of Colette, see if she can pick us up?"
MP-40 nodded and started putting in the call, "Archangel, Archangel, this is Third Team, do you copy?"
Nines drifted back over to Mataan, "We're calling a medivac." She informed him.
Mataan nodded and looked around, "We're still inside the AA ring, no chance in hell we're gonna get a ride here."
Nines let out a humourless chuckle, "Trust me, our pilot will be here once she figures out Owen's hurt."
"Ah." Mataan said with a knowing grin.
Nines ignored him.
"Contact!" Someone yelled in warning.
Nines looked around and saw a lone figure walking towards them slowly in the middle of the street. She was definitely a female, but she kept her head down and they couldn't see her face. She was wrapped in a charred blanket. Briana, Annie, K11, and M500 had surrounded her in a half circle, and were trying to talk to her.
Nines could see the figure's shoulders shaking like she was sobbing. Something about the woman made her uneasy. She raised her rifle and settled the sights on her head.
The movement caught Mataan's attention, "Why you glassin her?" he asked.
"I don't know…" Nines muttered, "Something about her…"
She realized what was wrong. The figure wasn't sobbing…
"She's laughin." Mataan said as he glassed the figure as well, "She's about to attack them.
Before they could react, the figure yanked M500's weapon from her hands, flipped it around and fired it into her chest. M500 crumpled to the ground. The figure started cackling like a maniac as she jumped out of the firing line of the other dolls.
Nines fired as she landed and hit the figure, causing the blanket to fall off, allowing Nines to finally get a good look.
She was tall, wearing Sangvis clothes, and had red hair.
"Not bad," Lilith said with a gleam in her eye, "But you should've iced me when you had the chance."
Lilith cackled as she aimed her stolen weapon and fired.
A/N: I did a cliff hangar! Thanks everyone for their patience, hopefully I'll have another chapter up soonish but, no promises.
B/N: Hate Cliffhangers? Me too. I unfortunately have to deal with that with another certain author I beta read :)