Hidden Enemy
"You have no exits. You have no options. Make this easier on yourself, and your families, and surrender now!" A police officer yells.
Inside a bank lobby, three thugs are standing, each one masked. They are wearing heavy armor for protection, including vests, helmets, boots, and gloves. A clearly annoyed man walks into the lobby from behind the counter. Also equipped with the armor, He fires his rifle to his right, then left, and then forward. The shots hit nothing but get the others' attention. The man drops his gun and takes off his helmet, still holding it in his left hand.
"You done fucked it up!" He shouted to the other thugs.
The man pulls out one of the pistols the Rider had used in the previous chapter and shoots one of the thugs.
Days Earlier
Onyx is sitting on a crate in a warehouse. He is much younger, only fifteen in age. He is wearing an off white dress shirt with a grey vest. Onyx is wearing a black leather vest with only the top bottom done over the other vest. Over this vest are two thick black leather belts with silver buckles, each one going over a different shoulder and under the opposing armpit, creating an X across his chest and back. Around his neck is a crimson scarf and a matching sash belt is around his waist. Over the sash belt is a black leather belt with a rounded silver buckle and many black leather pouches. Onyx also wears grey pants with black leather on the sides, tucked into black leather boots that reach just below his knees.
"So let me get this straight," Onyx speaks, "You want us to rob a bank."
In the warehouse is a table, on the table are the blueprints to the bank. Standing at one end of the table is Red.
"I know we don't usually go for jobs this big, but it's for big pay." Red states.
Onyx stares at him questionably.
"Listen, Onyx, we are going to need your Chaos powers to help us do this." Red says.
"It just seems too easy to get caught." Onyx explains, "The bank has two conventional exits and in order to get to the vault we'll need to go through plenty of security."
"That's why the pay is so high." Red states.
"The Chaos Zone will protect us from the guards. We still need to watch out for cameras, security laser, and who knows what else they're packing." Onyx says.
"Why cameras, they won't see us or anything on us?" Red asks.
"The moment we move anything in view of the cameras, the place will be on guard or even lockdown." Onyx states.
"Oh right... Shit, that makes our job harder." Red says.
Onyx walks out of the warehouse with Red.
"Head back home. I'll be there after I talk to some guys to see if they're willing to help." Red says.
Onyx nods and heads to the penthouse. Red lived in the same one he does now. Onyx enters and heads to his room. It is mostly empty filled with what Onyx called the "essentials". The room has a bed in the corner, a dresser next to the bed, and desk in the opposite corner of the bed. On the desk is Onyx's weapon and his wallet. Onyx lays on the bed with his upperback leaning against the wall. He bounces a small red ball off the wall waiting for Red's return.
Present Day
The Rider stands on the edge of the rooftop, gathering his thoughts.
"Brooding on rooftops, how clichè." Red jokes.
"Says the walking stereotype." The Rider says.
"Hey! Did you just make a joke? That's progress." Red says.
"Focus, Red. Get the Bullhead ready." The Rider orders.
Red nods and does as the Rider ordered. The Bullhead rises in front of the building. THe Rider launched a grapnel hook from the lower barrel of his pistol and pulls himself inside the Bullhead. He sits in the copilot seat.
"Activate the Tactical Cloak." The Rider orders.
Red presses a button cloaking the Bullhead.
"I said the 'Tactical Cloak'." The Rider repeats.
"Did I do somethings wrong?" Red asks.
The Rider reaches over to Red's console and presses another button. The button seemingly does nothing.
"The Tactical Cloak shields us from radar and sonar detection. What you activated was the Active Camouflage." The Rider explains.
The Bullhead continues to fly until it is high above an old factory that is positioned on a cliff that overlooks the city. The Bullhead stops and hovers above the station.
"Where are we?" Red asks.
"An old factory. It used to mine dust from the tunnels below it. The dust crystals would be shaped and refined in the station before being shipped to other locations. The factory is also responsible for smelting and forging weapons. The station was abandoned due to it's questionable labor force." The Rider explains.
"Why are we here?" Red asks.
"One of the prisoners gave these coordinates. He said it is where their forces are organized." The Rider explains.
The Rider gets out of the seat and walks to the doorway. The door opens and the Rider hold the edges of the door to keep himself from falling.
"Hold position until I call." The Rider orders.
"Yes sir." Red says, sarcastically.
The Rider glares at Red before jumping out of the Bullhead. As he drops down, Red contacts the Rider through the Com-Link in Onyx's mask.
"How are you planning on getting in?" Red asks.
"The main smokestack." The Rider responds.
"Um, readings show that their is a large heat signature inside. The power station is active." Red states.
"No time to change my trajectory. I'm going in." The Rider states.
Once the Rider enters the smokestack, he can clearly see the boiler is active. He fires a grapnel line from his pistol, points his pistol in the opposite direction, and fires the opposing end of the grapnel line. The Rider holds onto the line and swings himself so he is positioned on top of it.
A man enters a room. Suddenly holographic images of ten people appear around him. One of them is the thug that dislocated Onyx's arm and another is Red.
"Has the Rider taken the bait?" The man asks.
"Yes sir." The thug states.
"Good." The man says.
"I do not wish to have my involvement with this revealed yet." Red states.
"Then let's keep it that way." The man states.
The ten holograms disappear and the lights in the room turn off.
"Tick tick, boom." Man says to himself.
The Rider walks through the factory until he reaches the central control room. Once inside the Rider actives the console in the center of the room. The console reveals a self destruct countdown, currently at seventeen seconds. The Rider quickly turns and runs towards an exit. But seventeen seconds was only enough time for the Rider to jump out the window in the central control room that overlooks the workground and run to the exit door. As soon as he opens the door the bombs go off. The explosion knocks the Rider out the door into the streets below. What little of the Rider's Aura that had recovered was instantly drained. It was enough to protect him from the explosion, but that wasn't good enough. The fall instantly knocks the Rider out. In the few seconds the Rider had during the fall, he asks himself:
Is this the end?