Headhunters

zTiamaTz

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MIND THE GAP

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++Xander POV++

As I turned a corner, hoping I was heading for the front of the building, I could hear the fire door being shot to pieces, and broken down. My best chance, was that most of them were too dumb to try another entrance.

With my way out in sight, I saw a big problem. It looked like someone had tried to blockade the entrance, there was a ton of crap piled up against the three sets of doors.

Reaching the mass, I started pulling the larger pieces of furniture out of the way. Desks, chairs, bookcases. Random items were thrown in too, probably out of panic. Dead potted plants, telephones... A rubber ducky?

I shoved it into my pocket, as I got to the heavy wooden doors, but they wouldn't budge. I could hear the Locust coming down the hallway I had started in. I figured one of the big ones must be in the lead, otherwise they'd be here already.

There wasn't a knob for me to shoot off, simply a push-pull handle with a lock. I brought the saw to life and started to cut around the door handle, hoping I could get through it in time. I figured I should let Cordelia know what was going on in the mean time.

=H=H=

~~Cordelia POV~~

:Cordy, I've got to cut through the front doors of this place. I'll be there ASAP, promise.: Xander's frantic voice came over the line.

I wasn't sure whether he was more worried about his situation, or the one he thought I was still in.

:I'm already free,: I could practically hear him sigh in relief. :I'm coming up the street now.:

:I'm stuck in the hotel, be careful! Some of them are bound to be smart enough to try and cut me off!:

:Got it. As soon as you get out, head to the left, and run. I'm half a block away.: I told him, as I set up behind what had to have been a hot dog cart.

I looked through the scope on the assault rifle. From this distance, it was actually usable. Thirty seconds later a huge Locust came lumbering around the corner. It had one of those strange looking guns that shot fire out of it, those things scared the hell out of me.

:Xander, one of those flamethrower guys is outside the door.: I wanted to shoot it, but I didn't want the explosion to hurt Xander.

:Try going for it's knees!:

It was as good an idea as any, that way I didn't have to worry about hitting that big tank on it's back.

I thumbed the switch to single shot. Looking through the scope, I could see the thing about to go up the short steps, which would completely cut Xander off. Lining up the Flamer's left knee with the too-tiny cross hairs, I fired.

The bullet hit to the right, barely grazing it's knee. "Shit." This thing definitely did not shoot like my sniper.

"Burrrrrn." The big Locust growled, as it turned toward me, a flame shooting out from his gun.

It's fire wasn't even close, if I could lure it away from Xander, he'd have a much better shot at getting out.

As I aimed at it again, I could see another Locust coming up behind him. It was a Grenade, and that's what he was swinging, trying to take me out.

=H=H=

++Xander POV++

"UHHhhh-AHHHHhhhhhh!" A loud cry echoed off the lobby walls, I was guessing it was Locust for 'Charge!' or 'Where's the potty?', I wasn't sure which.

:Try going for it's knees.: I told her, it wasn't like I had a better idea.

"Grind!"

I instantly dropped face-down to the ground, after hearing the familiar voice. The whine started, and before long, a huge amount of lead was cutting every piece of furniture I'd pushed aside in half.

It was creating a hole in the door though, if the Grinder kept it up, and I didn't die painfully, I'd have my way out.

=H=H=

~~Cordelia POV~~

I was about to run out of the grenades range, when one of the sets of doors to the hotel Xander was in, practically exploded outward.

:Xander!: I screamed, afraid he'd been killed.

I could barely hear the sound of the big gun from earlier, shooting at Xander. The Grenade, who was standing right in front of the door was torn apart. Shortly after, there was an explosion, followed by a bigger one. Seconds later, it crescendo-ed into a huge fireball.

So surprised by it, I got hit with several pieces of shrapnel before I could even think to duck behind the cart.

:Xander, answer me dammit!: I screamed as I pulled a piece of metal out of my forehead. I could already picture him with those damn tweezers again.

:What the fuck was that?:

:A Locust was about to throw a grenade when it got shot through the door. It blew up the Flamer too.:

:Nice, I'm just waiting for this Grinder to shoot a big enough hole in the door, and hope the others don't rush me. Then, I'll be right out.:

I shook my head in disbelief. That plan definitely sounded like it would go off without a hitch.

:Just get your butt out here loser!: I exclaimed, afraid of what would come around the corner next.

=H=H=

++Xander POV++

I was still shaken from the fireball that had blasted through the hole in the door. My hair was a bit singed, but otherwise I was okay.

Keeping my face to the floor, I slammed my hands against the bottom of the door. The heavy fire suddenly stopped, and the venting sound started again, I figured it was so that huge gun wouldn't overheat.

:Cor, I'm trapped in here.:

The sound of boot steps let me know I was running out of time, the other Locust advancing toward me.

:On my way.: Cordelia tried to say calmly. :We need to move Xander, they're going to be all over us.:

What was left of the cover blocked my view of them, so I simply held up the Lancer and sprayed the entire room.

They started shooting back, bullets were hitting the ground in between the furniture that was still standing. I didn't know if it would be enough.

=H=H=

~~Cordelia POV~~

:We need to move Xander, they're going to be all over us.: I told him, as I got up from behind the hot dog cart, and ran toward the hotel.

I kept the assault rifle ready, in case something else decided to come round the corner. I was hoping their friends going boom would make them think twice, at least for a little while.

As I neared the building, I was hit in the face by the awful smell of the burnt Locust corpses. On top of that, I could hear shooting from inside, but I didn't know who was doing it.

:Where the hell are you?: I asked, standing to the side of the doors. While I could see the center doors were almost cut in half, the other sets looked like swiss cheese.

:Just look for the door with the big hole in it!:

:I can't get to you without being shot!: I watched as he tried to smash open the bottom of the door, but it just would not budge.

"Grind!" A muffled voice cried from inside.

The big gun started firing again, I really hated that thing.

Suddenly, I saw movement at the corner of the building. I took cover behind a nearby drop-mailbox.

:Xander, hurry up!: I called to warn him as I aimed at whatever was about to come around the corner.

=H=H=

++Xander POV++

:Xander, hurry up!: Cordelia screamed, she was close enough now that I could hear her through the hole in the door.

I was now on my back, kicking at the door. It wouldn't be so bad, if I didn't have to worry about having my kneecaps shot off.

After slapping in another clip I held it over my head, and fired. I realized I was getting way too low on ammo.

:Cordy shoot the hinge on the side of the left door!: I decided it must have some kind of locking mechanism, there was no other reason for the door not to open now.

:I don't want to shoot you by mistake!:

:Just fucking do it!: I didn't want to curse at her, but I was running out of time.

Thirty seconds later, three shots hit the area and I put my boots to it. With a hard shove, the door finally gave.

:I'm coming out now Cor.: I emptied one last clip over the ruined bookcase and started to crawl out.

=H=H=

~~Cordelia POV~~

:Just fucking do it!: Xander's aggravated voice came over the comm.

A Drone peeked around the corner, gun ready to fire. Too bad for him, I already had him lined up. Seven shots... Chest, throat, face, dead.

With the Locust bleeding out in the snow, I did what Xander wanted. I aimed for the tarnished brass hinge on the left door and squeezed off three shots. Without even looking to see if it worked, I turned and aimed back at the alley.

:I'm coming out now Cor.: He replied shortly after, as the Grinder stopped shooting again.

I would have been relieved, except I knew there were probably more in that alley.

:Those things are going to pour out of that alley any second.: I told him sourly.

I saw a helmet of some kind peek out from the same spot. I put two rounds against the wall in front of it and it pulled back.

:Move it Xander!: I glanced over, and saw he was coming out feet first, from his belly up was still inside.

"Uh-tak!" A scream came from behind me.

I turned and saw several Locust spilling into the street from the left, probably from the alley I'd come out of earlier. Out of options, I took the other side of the mailbox, and hoped for the best.

:Dammit Xander, we're out of time!: I flicked the switch back to auto and opened fire.

=H=H=

++Xander POV++

:Move it Xander!:

I ignored her as I gritted my teeth and wriggled out of the hole, trying desperately to stay as low as possible.

The only things I had going for me were the fact that the Grinder was too stupid to aim low, and the Grenade guy had gone through the alley.

"Grind!" The fire started up again.

They were definitely better then Boomer's though, at least they knew how to aim.

:Dammit Xander, we're out of time!: Cordy's voice was suddenly frantic.

Now that I could reach it, I used the bottom of the other door to help pull me out more easily. Within twenty seconds, I was finally free.

"Cordy, I'm out!" Looking to my left, I could see her on one knee, next to a mailbox. She was shooting at something down the street.

"Get over here then, you dweeb!" She replied, not bothering to turn around.

I rolled over to her as quickly as I could. Every movement was pain to my beaten body. As I cleared the doors, my last roll brought my face into contact with with Cordelia's ass.

If only, I thought to myself as I got to one knee as well, only facing the other direction. "How are we doing Cor?"

"Oh I don't know Xander, lets see... They're coming out of the alley you were in. They're coming out of the alley I was in." She stopped to reload before continuing. "And any second now, they're going to break down those freaking doors. Any other stupid questions?"

I didn't have time to come up with any, since a Mohawk in the alley was getting ready to take my head off.

=H=H=

~~Cordelia POV~~

I heard Xander shooting at something, probably in the alley I'd had to turn my back on. I was worried, because he didn't have any cover to hide behind.

"I think it's time to get out of here!" I had to scream to be heard over our combined gunfire.

"Which way are we heading?" Xander asked.

"Back the way we came, it's the only place they haven't come from yet!"

"Fine. Get ready to go!"

"But-" I was almost out of ammo, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to cover him.

"Cordelia, just go!" He ordered stubbornly.

Knowing he wasn't going to budge, I took off for a parked car across the street. It would give us at least partial cover, before we could make it to the alley entrance we had come through earlier.

After reaching the car, I took stock of the situation. There were at least fifteen cars between me, and the Locust that I'd been firing at to the right. I didn't think they'd noticed I'd moved yet.

The doors Xander had crawled through were literally falling apart, the Locust inside would be in the street any time now.

To the left was the alley that Xander had been in, he was shooting at the far side of the entrance, trying to keep them at bay. From where I was, I could see at least one of the bastards hiding against the wall.

:Xander go!: I watched as he cut to my right, trying to stay out of my line of fire.

I shoved the snow from the hood of the car, leaning against it, I looked through the small scope. I aimed for the red eye of a Helmet that had come partially out of the alley. He was trying to shoot my now-retreating boyfriend in the back.

I let off four rounds, the first two hit him in the face, but the others missed as he was knocked to the ground, hopefully dead.

Xander slid across the trunk of the car, and landed next to me, almost falling on his butt behind cover. After recovering with as much dignity as he could, he switched clips in his Lancer.

I let out a giggle at the classic Xander move. I definitely needed it, I still couldn't believe he'd made it out of that hotel.

Just then, the sound of wood snapping and breaking came from the hotel. Peeking over the hood, I watched the Grinder push his way through the door he'd shot apart.

Once he was out, he stood there, looking back and forth stupidly. Shortly after, arms appeared behind him and he was shoved forward.

The fat Locust had been blocking the others from getting out, what an idiot.

=H=H=

We kept low as we moved to the right toward the alley that would hopefully get us out of here. I looked down the length and it seemed clear, but I wasn't happy with it at all.

Unlike the one I'd been in earlier, it was narrow, and lined on both sides with high fences and no cover. If we got caught in there, we'd really be in trouble.

"Take it slow Cordy." Xander whispered to me as he kept an eye out for any Locust behind us. The ones that were still alive didn't seem to realize that we had slipped down this alley, and we both wanted to keep it that way.

I reached the end of the alley, and peeked my head out. After seeing that the street was clear, I waved Xander forward.

"We good?"

"Yeah, I don't see any of them around." I replied, looking back down the alley and saw we weren't being followed.

We went out into the street, and I crouched behind some cars so we hopefully, couldn't be seen. My nerves were shot, I was half-expecting the Locust to come tearing down that alley any moment.

I looked up at the sky, and realized it was starting to get dark. I couldn't believe we'd been doing this all day long. Then I noticed Xander was standing next to me, it looked like he was keeping watch.

I grabbed his hand and he looked down at me. "Sit." I ordered.

He did so with a grunt, I wondered just what he'd gone through to save me today.

"Are you alright?" I asked, as I sat down next to him, worried. While Mongo had smacked me around some, Xander looked like he'd gone through hell.

"I'm okay Cor." He said, before gently putting his arm around my shoulders. "Listen, I want to go back to that house you were in."

I was betting he wasn't sure how I'd react to his suggestion. If I didn't already know how badly we needed the things inside, I'd probably be annoyed with him.

He sighed. "I'm down to a clip or two and-"

"We need the ammo." I interrupted. "Plus, you want to check out that generator thing, right?"

"Yeah," Xander got to his feet, using one of the cars for leverage. He held out his hand and helped me up. "Lets just get this over with."

As we headed toward that house, I couldn't agree more.

=H=H=

++Xander POV++

We carefully made our way through the snow, and I finally got a good look at the rifle on her back. The bayonet on the thing was sick, I'd have to ask her about it later.

As we reached the end of the next alley, we heard heavy steps crunching through the snow in the street. We ducked into a yard, and waited for the patrol to pass.

"Where are they all coming from?" Cordy whispered to me.

"It's got to be because of that fight I had earlier."

She nodded. "That makes sense, we always hide or get out of there in a hurry."

I gave her a nod, as we waited for the Locust footsteps to fade out. Afterwords, we slowly got to our feet, both of us looking forward to some much needed rest.

=H=H=

After dodging the Locust patrol, we made quick time getting to the house of horrors. I was kinda worried the large group of them we'd run into earlier were on their way here.

"We gotta make this quick Cor, we grab whatever we can and get out."

As we reached the steps to the still open rear door, she stopped me. "I'm going to wait out here and keep watch."

"Got it, I promise I'll make it quick." I didn't blame her, if I'd been through what she had, I wouldn't want to go back in there either.

When I made my way down the stairs, the first thing I noticed was the smell. The Gear I had chainsawed almost in half lay there, I must have cut into his intestines in the process.

:This chainsaw made a helluva mess.: I muttered as I stepped over the body.

:Xander, I don't want the Locust to drag him away.:

:I'll get his head, don't worry.: I looked around the room, trying to decide where I should start.

:No, I want to bury his body.:

I couldn't believe I was hearing this. :I don't have time for this crap Cor.:

:Just hide him somewhere, he was scared to death of that guy.: She insisted.

:Fine.: I told her and looked down at the body. No matter how I did this, it was going to be a fucking bloodbath. Looking around the room for somewhere to stick the body, I saw another door. Opening it, I realized it was a closet, good enough.

I started yanking out anything on the floor into the room. Pretty soon I had an empty closet and a pile of shit around me. I grabbed the corpse by both his arms and tried to hold him together, as I dragged him toward his temporary tomb.

:Did you find a place to put him?:

:Yeah Cor.: I managed to jam the body into the closet. As it hit the ground, it was like I had cracked open an egg, his insides just spilled out across the floor. I gagged at the smell and quickly shut the door

:How's it looking outside?: I asked, trying to get the image out of my head.

:Clear so far.: She replied tiredly. :I just don't know how long it's going to last though.:

As I started rifling through the room, I could tell she wanted away from here bad. Unfortunately, most of the stuff looked to be from the previous owner, like Mongo had just shoved it aside for whatever he had brought.

I came to a desk with a pistol on it, and what looked to be parts of different guns scattered around the top. The scary part, it looked like he'd been making some bombs too. There were also a few textbooks sitting there, one was open.

Reading the page, I realized it was some kind of manual for fixing different guns. Flipping it closed, I read the cover.

[Gear and Locust Arms/Armor Guide: Repair and Modification]

Setting it aside, I quickly checked out the other two.

[Gear Technical Guide: Standard Issue Electronics Repair]
[Gear Survival Guide: SERE - Basics on the Run]

:Jackpot.: These things could make our lives a lot easier.

:What did you find?: Cordelia perked up.

:Stuff that's gonna help us out big time Cor.: I looked around trying to find some kind of bag to stuff these things in. :I'll explain when I get outside with you.:

Finally finding a small gym bag in a drawer, I shoved the books, pistol and the gun parts on the desk into the bag. I avoided the bomb stuff, not wanting to take any chances. That done, I looked to see what else I could find.

Opening a cabinet, I found different sized black boxes with blue rectangles on them. They were the same style as the Gear armor. Opening one, there was a label on the inside of the lid.

[Gnasher Ammunition - 32 Slugs]

Taking one out, I saw they were for the shotgun. Gnasher? Weird name. I'd have to figure out what the slugs would do later. I started opening all the boxes up and dumping them into the bag.

:Xander, what the hell is taking so long?:

:Found a bunch of ammo for the shotgun and other stuff.: I told her, as I went over to get a good look at the generator.

:You found Perth's gun?:

:Who?: I asked confused, and then it hit me. :Right, I forgot all about it.: I got up and started to search around the floor and under stuff for it. As I did, I got a good look at the generator, the thing wasn't that big, but it was going to be a pain in the ass to move.

:Cor, we're not gonna be able to move this generator today, not with all the Locust running around.:

:Whatever you can do, do it fast Xander. I can see a Butcher coming down the alley right now.:

:Shit,: Since it had taken them so long to show up, I thought we'd be in the clear. :Left or right side of the alley?:

:Left side, why?:

:The house at the left end of the block is where I fought the Locust. They must have got all the bodies there, and are coming this way to finish the job.:

:I'm going to wait until he's in the house before I kill him.:

What the hell was she thinking? :That's-:

:A good idea.: She cut in. :It'll help muffle the noise of the shots.:

I couldn't fault her logic, plus it would give me extra time to at least try and camouflage the generator. I grabbed random stuff off the floor to pile on top of, and around it. The rest went in front of the closet door. In the process, I found the Gnasher under a cabinet.

After checking to see it was loaded, I tied the Lancer to the gym bag, and slung it across my shoulder. All I could do was hope what I'd done would be enough. :Cordy, how are we looking?:

=H=H=

~~Cordelia POV~~

:One's almost here, a second Butcher's on his way, same direction.:

:I'm on my way up now, why don't you shut the door and we'll go out the front.:

"Hun-ger."

I heard Xander enter the kitchen behind me. "Too late for that."

"Hun-ger." The second one echoed in kind.

"You wanna take them out, or just make a run for it Cor?"

I had to think about it, was saving the body of the Gear worth it? Considering the condition we were in, no. "Let's just get out of here."

"Hun-ger."

The first Butcher passed through the gate and I saw it was dragging a body behind it. I got a better look and saw it was a Helmet with a piece of wood sticking out of it's chest.

I snickered, as I stood up and turned to Xander. "You staked it?"

"Yeah, I figured I'd do it the old-fashioned way for a change." He replied seriously.

I had to wonder how bad it had gotten in that house, that he had the chance to stake a Locust. I'd ask him when things settled down.

We turned and headed for the front door, leaving the Butcher to try and drag the body up the steps. Thank God all the 'Boomer type' guys were so stupid.

With the front door shut and locked behind us, we looked up and down the now quiet street. He wrapped his arm around me as we stood there catching our breaths.

I snuggled into his side and just enjoyed the feeling. I knew it wouldn't last, at least for now. "Are we heading back to the house?"

"Not tonight, it's gonna be too dark to even see soon." He pulled back and turned to me. "Remember that house with the trap door you found?"

"Yes." I hated being reminded of that, we'd lost all that stuff...

"It's only a couple of blocks away, we won't have to worry about the light if we're there."

We headed toward the house, hoping to get some much needed sleep. While I was looking forward to the rest, I still had a lot of nagging thoughts. I just hoped I could put them aside for the time being.

=H=H=

I watched as Xander closed the trapdoor, and slowly made his way down the ladder. The opening was too small to fit a mattress down there, so we'd gathered a bunch of blankets instead. It would have to do for the night.

"When we get back to the house, we are definitely taking a week off." Xander told me as he knelt down to untie his boots.

After he pulled them off, and crawled in next to me, I couldn't help but ask... "Do you think he's still alive?"

"I doubt it, most of the Locust were after him."

"What if he goes to the house?"

"He's probably hurting as bad as we are, and like I said, that's if he's even still alive."

I sat up, I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but I didn't believe it. "You want to take a week off, how are we supposed to relax in the house with him running around?"

"I don't think he's-"

If it weren't for the fact that I knew how much he was hurting, I'd smack him. "Xander, he knows where we live. What stops him from burning the house down with us in it?"

He rubbed his eyes as he tried to get comfortable in the mass of blankets. "I know Cor, I don't like it either..."

"So let's do something about it. Let's find that bastard."

Xander sighed loudly. "We're in no shape to do that Cor."

"I'm telling you right now, I'm going to find him. With or without you." I couldn't let it go, not after what he'd done to us or what he could do in the future. I wasn't going to be afraid to live in my own freaking house.

"Fine, let's get some sleep, and we'll look for him in the morning." He said simply.

After blowing out the candle, I laid back next to Xander, I felt a really bad about pushing him. I didn't want to do it, but how could we ever feel safe with that creep still running around? When this was over, we had to find a way to make things right between us.

=H=H=

{{Mongo POV}}

"Fuck." I grunted as I jammed a ripped sheet into the bloody hole in my armor. There was a fifty caliber bullet buried in my shoulder from a Boltok. If I hadn't been wearing the armor, I wouldn't have an arm anymore. Because of her.

My left arm already had limited movement from the burns, now, it was all but useless. Shit, if I hadn't been near that pond, I would have burned up. Because of her.

I was really missing my cigars too. All that nigger, Burton had to do was hold on to them. Instead, he falls out of the copter because of one little mortar. Because of her.

"Stranded bitch." She was a defiler, Perth had never once questioned an order from me. Followed me around, treated me like a pro thrashball player or a vid star. In five minutes, she had turned him against me.

Once I got myself fixed up, that whore, and her fag boyfriend were gonna die for this as painfully as possible. If they were still fucking alive.

That firefight had gone on forever, who knew the little bastards had it in them? Better hope they didn't make it.

I smiled as I stuffed more of the torn linen into the wound. At first light, I was gonna get back to the warehouse, gear up and kill 'em both.

=H=H=

A/N: SERE = Survival - Evasion - Resistance - Escape

=H=H=

END