Chapter 5
Spectre or Ghost?
About two hours later, they had left the bar, thinking about how to get to the Spectre. Much to the chagrin of Velpia, she would be the bait. The idea was simple enough, they would make very obvious inquiries in the city while parading her around. If they were lucky, they would get a tip before the Spectre. She protested, of course, but as infantile as the plan was, and if Martin was right, they would have a response soon enough.
They slowly moved through the city on foot, talking to anyone that would spare the moment. As night fell, they made their way to the leisure district.
The muffled music booms and bright lights illuminated the crowded sidewalks as they made their way through. "Really wish we had time to stop," Velpia said.
"Nightclubs are not really my scene." She laughed as they continued walking. "Your right. Getting blackout drunk and losing your pants is much more your scene." Martin's face turned redder than it already was from the cold. "I thought we agreed not to talk about that!" Velpia lifted her arms out in defense, noticing his embarrassment. "I didn't agree to anything."
"And that's why I don't party with you anymore," he snipped. "Admit it, you just can't keep your pants on around me." She fired while looking down at him.
They started to circle back around to their buggy. They had given up on talking to the locals. Most refused to talk or just weren't worth the time.
"You seem to like it here, well, more than Omega anyways." Martin kept walking; she was right. If he closed his eyes hard enough and forgot who he was, He could pretend this was Earth if he wanted to. "It's familiar, but not what I'd call home."
"Where do you consider home?" Martin didn't know how to answer the question and remained quiet. He always thought of himself as more of a nomad. In one way or another, he had been on the move since childhood.
"Nice, way to dodge the question." Martin looked over at her for a quick moment. "How can I answer something I don't know?"
They rounded the corner to a less populated street and down to an open parking lot where they parked their buggy. "Ugh, finally, we can stop walking," Velpia complained.
"You're really that tired? We've only been walking for six and a half hours." Martin boasted as he headed for the driver's side.
"Not everyone has the stamina of a demi-god." She climbed into the buggy from the driver's side and moved to the passenger seat.
"Sounds like you're complaining."
Martin was right beside her as something smacked into the chin of her helmet and ricocheted into his chest. A sharp crack echoed three seconds after they were hit.
Martin was knocked to the ground, shocked by the round and terrified by the initial plastic thack sound from her face.
He panicked, realizing what had happened, and scrambled to get back on his feet, disregarding the pain coming from his chest. He saw her on her back, unconscious, spread out across the seats with her head hanging out of the buggy. The bottom of her helmet smashed and cracked, exposing parts of her face.
Martin tried staying low as he tugged Velpia by her shoulders out of the vehicle. A second thwack ricocheted off the front of the car, again followed by the crack a few seconds later.
He managed to pull her to the ground as another shot whizzed overhead.
Martin had to stay low. The buggy couldn't provide the cover he needed to fire back or move. It was an open frame design, entirely exposed, besides the engine compartment and floor. He remained on the ground, pushed up against the buggy's wheels pulling Velpia closer to shield her from any more gunfire. His mind was in a frenzy, trying to hear her breathing or find a pulse.
Martin had to break her suit's seal from the bottom of the helmet to get it off her head. He held her and moved her closer so he could hear her breathing. She had some minor cuts dripping with blue blood, but she was alive.
He remained on the ground, looking around him to see if he could get to a better position, but he couldn't leave her without risking her waking and stumbling around. Martin waited for her to wake up and kept his arm under her head. Luckily a few moments later, she began to awaken.
Her head pounded with pain as she reached out to grab the blurry blob in her sight and pulled it towards her. A warm feeling came over her; everything returned to focus, and her eyes began to clear.
"You got your medigel. You can let go of me now!" Martin demanded. Velpia looked down to realize she had grabbed his head and squeezed him against her chest armor. She let go of him and tried to get up, but Martin stopped her. "Sniper, stay down."
"Sniper?" She asked, still in a bit of a daze.
"Yeah, you got socked in the face. Stay low. The shots are coming eastbound and from up high."
Martin crawled away from her to the back wheel of the vehicle. She slowly shuffled her way to the front, only to have another round impact in front of her.
"Can you see them?" She asked, still confused at what was going on. "Nah, just help me flip this thing to give us some concealment."
The two grabbed the bottom of the wheels they were behind and, through more missing shots, got the car over onto its side.
"Now what?" Velpia asked as they knelt down behind the buggy. "Have anything reflective?" They both looked around themselves for a moment before she grabbed onto his vest and took out his aviator sunglasses. Without a word, he grabbed the glasses from her hand and held them over the flipped buggy.
Martin put his back against the car's floor and started looking at the rooftops of the surrounding buildings hoping to see a silhouette. After a few seconds, another round twanpt through the floor panel three inches from his face, spreading shrapnel and forcing him to recoil onto his side. "Fucking hell!" He yelled as three more rounds pierced through where he was just sitting. "Are you okay?" She panicked.
"Center-left building, fourth row from the top, fifth window from the left." He wiped his bloody chin with his forearm.
"This is bullshit!" Martin exasperated.
"You're the one that wanted to use me as bait!" He scooted over away from the holes. "Yeah, I thought he wanted to talk to you, not kill you!"
Martin looked up, saw an alleyway some hundred meters away, and handed her the sunglasses. "Stay down and try not to be seen."
"Where are you going?
Martin looked back at her. "A better position. Once he starts shooting at me, run that way." He pointed in the opposite direction, back the way they came.
"You going to be alright alone?" She asked. He saw the slight concern in her eyes. "Not my first rodeo. I got this."
Martin readied himself by the edge of the buggy, backed up, and started running with everything he had to give. The sniper immediately started shooting, and rounds started whizzing by him. The air filled with the delayed cracks of every round that was fired. Velpia watched for a few moments and began her run back the way they came. The sniper shifted focus. Firing off multiple shots in her direction. She was the easier target, taller and slower. She ducked behind another car and laid down, waiting for the fire to stop.
"Hey, Vee, You still alive out there?" Velpia moved her hand to her comms as she lay on the ground. The sounds of wind noise from his movement muddled the call. "Yeah, barely." She replied.
"Listen, I'm almost in position. We might have to shake him out of the building. I'm getting as close as I can without him noticing."
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"Once I start shooting, I want you to get as close to the rear of the building as possible. Just in case he runs for it." Velpia was exhausted and hurting, the medigel did help, but she didn't know if she could keep this up. "It might take me a bit. I'm not feeling so hot right now."
"I know. Once this guy displaces, I'll be down on the ground with you. Alright?" She mustered what strength she could. "Yeah, just don't wait for me."
Martin made it to the roof of a small ten-story building. He unfolded his Viper DMR from his back, crawled on his stomach, and got into position just behind some machinery. He took aim at the window, popped the scope out of the rifle, and looked out, keeping both eyes open. The scope read the distance at 1,287.54 meters.
"I knew I should have studied the ballistic calculator for this thing." He counted out the windows where he saw the flash from behind the car and steadied his breathing. A faint glimmer from the back of his mind lit up. He had done this before during counter-terrorist operations while deployed in Korea. This was back before the big one when he was just a regular grunt. The memory was satisfying and comforting. He quickly shook the memory, but it made him smile.
He saw the fluttering of fabric out an open window, the window he was looking for. Another flash came around the material and a silhouette. The faint thud followed some seconds later. Martin aimed his scope a bit higher, off-center, and a bit to his left. He wasn't entirely sure how the wind or distance would affect his shot, so this would be more trial and error than anything else. He just hoped the other guy was as shit as he was.
Martin hovered his finger over the trigger and began applying pressure. His breathing was steady and relaxed. He slowed during exhale and steadily pulled the trigger. The weapon cacked as he watched the round head toward the building. Funny enough, the round impacted the bottom of the window sill. He witnessed a small puff of dust get picked up from the round.
"That should have gotten his attention." Martin quickly adjusted just as he saw the silhouette move and another flash light up the window. The round clanged a foot away above him, hitting the metal machinery he was behind. He quickly let off his second and third shots, hitting inside the room. The silhouette ran out from behind the window.
"Vee, he's on the move." Velpia was running to the back exit of the building and stopped around the corner. She readied her avenger rifle and positioned herself at the corner as she tried to catch her breath. Velpia waited about two minutes before the door opened, nervous but ready.
A human ran out of the building. "Martin, it's Dallas, not the Spectre." She yelled over the radio.
"Acknowledged, I'll be there in a minute, kill him if you can, but don't push too hard." He replied. She followed him through the small crowds making their way passed. She kept her distance, not that she had much choice. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!." Velpia yelled over the radio.
"Vee, change of plans; get out of there!" She stopped running. The panic in his voice terrified her. She watched as Dallas ran away from her at full speed. "What's going on?" Velpia waited for a response as she started walking back. The sounds of sustained gunfire proliferated as she stopped to listen. Something was wrong.
Eclipse caught Martin off guard, attacking the building just as he left. They forced him back up to the fifth floor. They came from the ground and landed soldiers on the roof. He was fighting for his life and firing frantically down both sides of the hallway. Rounds were piercing the walls around him as he switched sides of the door to keep the others at bay. Martin couldn't hear anything except the near-constant sound of continuous gunfire, yelling, and screaming. The dust from shooting through the walls made it hard to see clearly and irritated the eyes.
Martin was felling them but slowly. He was in a tricky position and couldn't expose himself enough to accurately get the needed shots. One of the Eclipse soldiers managed to slip into the adjacent room and began blindly shooting through the walls. Martin quickly fell to the floor after taking a few grazing shots. He drew his pistol from his position on the floor and started returning fire through the wall.
His pistol barked to life, firing all six rounds off in quick secession until it refused to fire again, and he felt the thump of a body hit the floor. He switched back to his rifle just in time to see a human face poke into view. Martin quickly raised his rifle and shot off a string of panicked shots until the man fell over. The Eclipse stopped trying to get close and decided to blindly fire through the walls. The amount of gunfire was astounding. Hundreds of rounds a second were ripping and ricocheting in every direction. Martin covered his head and face from the incoming fragments bouncing around him. He couldn't move without getting shot, pressing himself against a metal desk in the middle of the room. The walls were breaking down around him, exposing the cheap metal framework.
Martin crawled to the exposed wall behind him and began pulling the cheap material apart, firing every so often in each direction to keep them back. He tore apart the wall, got a hole large enough to crawl through, and then moved to the next room on his stomach. The soldiers were still firing from both sides, firing blindly up and down the walls. He made it down to the third office before throwing a flash bang through the wall that separated him from the Ecplise. The grenade detonated, and he quickly stood up and began firing almost point-blank at the soldiers on the other side. He unloaded shot after shot at the blinded and confused squad, connecting with upper chest or headshots going right now the line.
He burst through the rest of the wall and sprinted towards the doorway. The other squads coming from below, now in hot pursuit. Martin ran to the staircase and saw another team heading up. He started firing, dropping a few before heading up the stairs. He bypassed the sixth floor and headed up to the seventh. The last few soldiers from the roof were headed back up the stairs, seemingly falling back. The gunfire had mainly stopped, and a strange quiet had overtaken the building.
"Maybe the police decided to show up?" He thought to himself. Martin heard the noise of an assault rifle. "Velpia! Shit!" He quickly got back on his Radio. "You have to get out of here. There're too many! Get away from the building!" He didn't get a response. Soon explosions and more gunfire were coming from downstairs. There wasn't much time. He rushed back down four flights of stairs before the gunfire stopped, and the vehicles that dropped the Ecplise soldiers sped away.
As he descended the last set of stairs, a familiar Turian silhouette stepped up to the darkened bottom step. "Jesus girl, you about gave me a heart attack," Martin said, relieved and breathing heavily. The silhouette and Martin stopped. Both froze and stood unmoving. The Turian's left hand began to light up with a blue aura. It illuminated the face of the Spectre.
"Ah fuck." Martin was exhausted, bleeding, and bruised. His ears were still ringing from the gunfire and the flashbangs. And now this was happening. "Today," he breathed heavily, "Is just not my fucking day!" Martin raised his gun, but the weapon was overheated. The Spectre slowly moved towards him. The adrenaline from the firefight was fading, and his chest and body began to hurt.
He slowed and moved back up the stairs. "What the hell do you want?" The Turian drew his pistol with his right hand. "You think I wouldn't find you, human? You think you'd run off, and I wouldn't come back for you?" Martin backed away as the Spectre kept his pace toward him, backing his way down one of the hallways. He stopped once they entered the hall and hovered his hand over his pistol. "I've already got my weapon drawn. You'd be an idiot to try that."
"I hear a lot of talk and little action, Turian." Martin quipped back. The Spectre raised his pistol and shot him on the right side of his chest. The round from the Carnifex pistol rocked Martin on his ass. But luckily, his kinetic barrier recharged enough to slow the round down. Martin rolled over and stumbled to stand up before the Spectre launched his biotic attack, throwing him into the wall behind him. Luciso put his gun away, stormed Martin, and kicked him in the chest.
Whatever air in his chest was evacuated as he struggled to intake anything. Lucsio grabbed Martin by his hair, pulled him to his feet, and gripped his face. Martin latched onto his arm as Lucsio slammed his head into the wall behind him, causing his head to breach the wall and then fall back to the floor.
"Where's all that Human bravado?" He lay on the floor, dazed and coughing, trying to force air in and out of his lungs as he attempted to stand again. "Look how easily pride gets washed away." Lucsio waited until he had gotten partially onto his feet before using a biotically charged kick, launching him a short distance across the room.
Martin again staggered to his feet. His chest and back were in pain, making it almost impossible to stand straight. This breathing was shallow, wheezy, and bloody. The thought of dying at the hands of this vulture annoyed him. "Come on, coward." Lucsio laughed at his gesture, "I'm impressed. I haven't seen many humans able to handle a biotic kick." He started heading toward Martin, "Now, I'll end this if you tell me where your friend is." The Spectre reached out to grab him again. He quickly swatted Luciso away and head-butted him. They both recoiled, taking a moment to stave off the dizziness. Luciso quickly recovered and landed a hard punch to the side of Martin's face, bouncing him off the wall.
The Spectre closed in for the follow-up, but Martin dodged at the last minute, forcing Lucsio to punch the wall instead. Martin gave him a clean uppercut, followed by a punch, before tackling him to the ground. He quickly drew his K-bar knife from his leg and tried to stab Lucsio in the face, but the blade deflected off his metal carapace but leaving a gnarly scrape. He dropped the knife and instead began to put all his pressure into strangeling the Spectre.
Lucsio started panicking and punching Martin in his broken rib cage from both sides, unable to concentrate on creating a biotic attack to get him off. Martin struggled with the pain, which had become almost unbearable, applying as much pressure as he could muster. After nearly the most agonizing minute of his life, Lucsio stopped struggling, and the gurgling sounds halted.
Martin let go of Lucsio and rolled away from him as Velpia entered the room. She looked down at him, his face covered in blood and half swollen and bruised. She also looked around him; everything was destroyed around them.
Martin grabbed Lucsio's limp arm and signaled her to scan his Omni-tool. He rolled over to his side and used the wall to help himself onto his knees. She noticed him having trouble and gave him her last dose of Medigel. His breathing steadied, and he could move again.