Abernathy merely stepped backwards a little shocked but not suddenly passed out the way someone would normally be. Also Abernathy's face hadn't exploded in a shower of blood and bone. Obviously the man was a monster of his own design.
Walter's thigh was now a mess of shredded muscle, bone, and blood. His pants were no more than ribbons.
Rick charged the man from behind and got him to the ground. Abernathy drove an elbow into his gut and brought the talons in an arc that smacked the side of his head.
Rick stumbled away confused and dizzy. A muffled "Wha?" Escaped his lips as he pulled back from Abernathy's deadly claw.
Again Rick was knocked in the head. He blinked back tears of pain that came with the shock. He couldn't focus. The targeting array and dialogue box swam in his vision.
Another solid thwack! Rick's eyes rolled back and he swung from side to side. His left eye suddenly lit up in pain. A sharp needle like pain that progressively got worse as Rick continued to face an onslaught of beatings. Pretty soon something critical was going to snap or pop and it would be lights out for the detective.
Walter was on his way to unconsciousness but still had to do something. Without Rick there was no hope for either man. He looked around and his hands tightened around the metal leg of the cheap chair he'd sat in earlier. With a grunt of effort he lifted it over himself in a haphazard arc that ended abruptly atop Abernathy's head. The thunk that came with it startled Rick a little. This gave him some adrenaline to burn off the confusion. Abernathy snarled at Walter and was about to beat the agent to a bloody pulp too.
Rick managed to force his shoulder against Abernathy's back. The two went crashing into the wall. It was the first time Abernathy struggled to recover from a hit. Rick saw it as an opening and scrambled to his feet.
Now it was Rick's turn. From a safer distance Rick's own fist extended to his enemy's face. He felt the strong bone against his synthetic skin and wondered what the man had done to himself. Rick was a mite bit stronger than most, but nothing as ridiculous as this.
Rick's fist only succeeded in turning the villain's face a lovely shade of bluish-black.
Abernathy made to charge again but Rick had just enough space to think of a counter attack in time. He grinned at Abernathy who almost paused a little put off by Rick's sudden confidence in whatever attack he had come up with.
"Time to say G'night." Rick whispered to his foe.
His left arm opened up and the fifty cal muzzle swung out. He locked onto Abernathy's chest and the round fired out suddenly. Abernathy was thrust into the wall by the sheer force. No blood spattered though. Rick had been tossed backwards by the force. His left arm passed through the field and was now completely useless.
He pulled it back and swore as he stood up. Abernathy was finally down for the count. Rick raised his arm and looked at it. Sparks popped and sizzled before fading away.
The synthetic skin had been burned in a couple spots creating blackened holes revealing the steel frame. His shoulder felt oddly numb and he rotated it. He thanked his good fortune that the EMP shut-off in his shoulder had worked properly.
Alex had anticipated a great number of threats and built it in to each limb. If they even went a half an inch into an EMP the entire limb would be disconnected from the rest of Rick's body to prevent the overload from traveling into the life support systems.
Walter was almost unconscious. He'd lost too much blood.
Rick looked around and sighed. The battle was over, but they still had to get out of there. Walter couldn't move and Rick was a dead man with that field. He went to Walter and knelt.
"Hey, Walter," Rick shook his shoulder.
"We're toast aren't we?" Walter asked in a slurred voice.
"We ain't beat yet." Rick assured. "We just need to find out how to shut down that field or open the door."
Walter shook his head. "No clue how."
Rick looked at the man's leg and grimaced. "We've got to get you out of here."
"It's bad right? I know it'll have to be amputated."
"Can you stand up if you lean on me?" Rick asked.
The two worked for a moment and after some painful maneuvering the two were up. Walter leaned heavily against Rick's right side his partner's arm around his waist to keep him up. "What a sorry pair we are." Walter murmured. "No bullets, no weapons, no way out."
Rick looked around. The computers on the other side of the room were still on. "Maybe if we could crash those computers?" He asked. Walter nodded then his brow furrowed. "How about that gun?" Rick pointed to the one lying under the two goons Walter had killed in his fury.
"How?" Walter couldn't finish the question.
"You go through the field and shoot the computers back there." Rick answered.
Walter bit his lower lip then sucked in a breath. "It's all we've got."
Rick lowered him to the floor almost against the field. Walter grimaced as he dragged his destroyed leg across the floor. He grunted as he moved inches at a time across the floor.
He made it to the gun, lifted it, and aimed at the computers. He shot the gun several times. The computers exploded in showers of sparks and circuitry. The last one blew up and started a fire. The field shut off and the door slid open. Rick waited a moment before crossing the room to Walter. He helped him up. "What about Abernathy?" Rick asked.
"Let me call Tomlin." Walter replied. "Tomlin?"
The response came through to them both. 'Riggs? Are you alive?'
"You have to give us time. We incapacitated Abernathy, he's alive, and so are we." Rick picked up the hat on the ground and sighed. He couldn't take it with him, not with the helicopter sticking out of it.
'I'll see what I can do.' Carling broke in. Her voice was brimmed with relief.
A few seconds passed.
'You guys are safe. Get out of there, their sending in a couple guys to get Abernathy. Which floor and room is he in?'
"First floor. The unnamed room." Walter replied heavily.
'We'll see you soon.' Carling said before the radios went dead.
The two men hurried limping and struggling through the doorway. They went as fast as they could. Rick was beginning to feel woozy. The blood dripping down his face wasn't slowing. His vision was blurred by the dark red liquid and they tried to hurry along.
Several times they ended up hitting themselves into a wall or tripped over a body.
The stairs were no better. Rick had to lift Walter up several stairs and then climb up them. This slowed their journey a lot and the agents coming in for Abernathy passed them by. "Linson is dead." Walter added as they rushed by without looking at them. "His body is in the same room."
They looked at Walter for a brief second without pause and nodded.
When they finally emerged there were helicopters and agents everywhere. Rick and Walter made a b-line for a group of paramedics. Carling rushed up to the two men and gasped. "What happened?" She asked gawking at their wounds and useless limbs in shock.
"We were in an all out fight for our lives." Walter answered.
"Abernathy is like a grizzly bear." Rick added. "He was ready for us, knew how to get to us, had our attacks pegged, even knew what our weaknesses were."
"Dr. Lawrence is already flying in." Carling told him. "She was worried you'd get yourself torn up."
"She's goin' to kill me." Rick murmured. Walter laughed.
"Don't forget her sister." They both shared a dry chuckle as Carling and Tomlin helped Walter to the paramedics.
Rick made his way slower and when the young woman offered to care for his wounds he pointed to his bleeding face. "Just take care of this."
She cleaned the wound and then dropped her cloth. "Is there some kind of metal plate in your face?" She asked in concern.
"Yes." Rick answered. She relaxed and brought out a needle and medical thread.
"Would you like something for the pain?"
"No. Jus sew me up." Rick replied. He was tired, and though he was in pain in a number of places he didn't want any medicine.
She worked quickly, sewing the skin above his eyebrow all the way down to his lip. The talons had carved four jagged lines through his face. He watched as the paramedics began on Walter. As the agent had assumed they were already working on removing the leg. It couldn't heal and he was losing too much blood.
They left Walter awake as they began to saw off the leg almost at his hip. The man was held down by Carling and Tomlin as he yelled out in a reaction to the new pain. Rick stood up from the bed and walked towards his friend.
He and the agent hadn't gotten off well at the start, but they'd become partners through their missions in recent weeks. Rick kind of liked him, even if he was an FBI agent. He had proven to be a decent guy.
Walter looked at him. "Jeez it hurts like a mother." Walter gasped to him. Rick nodded. The saw stopped and someone pulled away the mangled leg and dumped it into a biobag. They began sewing up veins and muscle tissue. Several hands at once weaving needles through the bloody flesh while another man poured a solution onto the jagged stump. The disinfectant was strong and Walter's eyes rolled back. He was going to pass out. Someone brought a bag of blood and inserted a needle into his arm.
Walter closed his eyes and his body relaxed as he went into a heavy sleep.