"Where the fuck are we?" Eiger voice question we all had. Especially since she did forgotten about batteries for her nightvision goggles and we all could see for shit noe way or another.
"Looks like either abandoned part of the complex or this was already existing before Vauclair moved in and simply did not converted this part for his lab. Unless you'll find plushy handcuffs and other kinky stuff then it would mean we got into Audran's bedroom which actually terrifies me as an idea."
"Smell like shit and dead people so...maybe?" Blitz picked up, snapping a nervous chuckle.
Alright, enough cracks.
Breaking and lighting up glowsticks, we got ourselves some light.
"Check this out..." Eiger pointed at the marking on the nearest wall. Raketensilo.
"Missile silo?"
"Uh-huh. Explains a lot since it's not easy to find an underground bunker big enough to park a dragon inside and experiment with radiation without turning neighbourhood into Chernobyl." Eiger agrees, strangely relaxed.
"Alright, first things first. We need to find a way out of this dump and back into main lab complex. Then we find Audran and the wyrm and we shoot the fucker in the face."
"You really caught on that shooting in the face thing, Rai." Glory made an observation.
"Rolls off the tongue nicely. Like few other things."
"Like what?"
"Like 'I'll tell you when we're alone and not racing to stop the dragon from burning down our home'." I reply and I swear, Glory pouted for a moment.
We moved and I swear I'll smack Blitz for chewing gum so loudly-
"What? I don't have any gum, man!" Blitz squeaked, apparently I was talking to myself loudly again-Hold on. If it wasn't him chewing then what is making that sound?
Out of reflex, I've pulled backwards, spreading arms nad stopping the rest, at the same time the orange light of my glowstick barely outlining a huge sting ramming into my stomach! Feeling like meeting new Mike Tyson the hard way, I've managed to gasp at the scorpyrine that attacked me, before a broad blade flashed and buried itself in the carapace of the scorpion's mutated cousin.
"Rai, get up." Glory's voice made me realize I was actually laying on the ground. Metal hands grabbed me and plifted back onto my feet but not for long. The hit in the stomach and the fall made me double over and just puke my guts out. Goodbye chinese food, you'll be missed.
"I'm okay! Okay...I'm good now." I've managed to utter, getting up on my feet again. "That axe was a good idea, D."
"Yeah, never used one before but damn if that ain't fun to use." Shaman grinned at me. I didn't had to see it, I just knew he did.
After more stumbling in the dark, we've managed to find a generator and even got it working, earning ourselves an illumination from old, sodium-vapor lamp bathing us in blurry, yellow light.
Luckily, turns out I did not puked on my boots or clothes earlier. Not that it would any worse to it anymore, I'll gonna have to burn these when this is over.
Nearly falling into the hole in the floor if not for Eiger's reflexes, I've also managed to spy through it on the whole group of goons sent out by Audran to *ambush* us. They seemed very eager to do so with alternative of facing Audran's wrath.
They really should have got their priorities right by now, with number one is 'Get out of Rai's way'.
What a coincidence that apparently, these mooks were hiding out just above me and the whole I spied onto them was surronuded by cratering charges.
It taken me eight shells and one leg wound but I got the necessary keycard from the mouth of firedrake wandering in the corner of the adjent room. And now...
"Blame it on the boom boom..." I've hummed to myself, feeling ground shaking as I've just detonated large hole above the heads of the squad ambushing *me*.
Throwing the detonator away, I've peered over the hole and fired at one of the guards, somehow still alive, if barely.
"No way I'm breaking my legs with a drop like that..." I've mused loudly at the carnage below, the dead drop surely would put out of comission.
Luckily, there was a vent hatch nearby, leading below in a bit gentler manner.
Skulking around as it happens without a map, somehow I've found myself in posession of container of nerve gas agent. Then I've walked into ventilation system room.
"Now what are the odds, huh?" I've smilled innocently at my friends who got what I intended on doing.
"Whe we have a moment, Rai..." Glory asked me in undertone, while others were away and I was attaching canister to the emergency ventilation shaft. "You told APEX that Raidan isn't your real name...Would you tell me what is it? Mine's...Gloria, if you haven't figured it out already. Though nobody used it most of my life, I was Glory since becoming homeless."
"It's quite cute name, love. Both are, really." I've smiled at her. "And my full first name is Raiden. My dad...He was a fan of japanese culture and made sure to name me like one of the heroes from very old game he liked as a kid. Raiden means storm by the way, so I guess the old man was onto something."
Glory smiled, slowly turning it into grin.
"I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think it fits you very well. A storm...You are one, Rai." Glory bit her lip, looking fondly at me. "Thank you for trusting me this much."
"You earned that, Glory. I'll tell you anything more you want to know, when this is over."
"Well then, another reason for both of us to come back in one piece." She winked at me.
Pinging sound and a pop-up from the internal detector that all of the toxin that was dispersed have also been vented out.
Quick, sweet and deadly.
It may looked a bit drastic but I was in bit of a rush and I'm sure that fighting another two squads of these hired guards would have taken me more than ten minutes!
Though looking at their twisted bodies as we passed through, I felt some guilt prickling me.
There was something large and feral waking up just in front of us. In the barely lit chasm we've sneaked into, dragon's body was chained down but barely. The giant wyrm tossing harder and harder. In the distance, I saw Audran shouting out orders to his men who were busying around the dragon.
He was so absobred he haven't noticed us yet.
We've managed to sneak up on closer, just enough for me to reach into the auxilary port connected to the network.
"The machinery dragon is connected to must be a part of this. Cover me, I'll try to shut down their procedures and interrupt waking up the dragon. Then we kill Audran. Clear?"
Whole squad nodded to me and I've left it all in their hands, connecting myself to the local Matrix. With AI gone, I was the apex predator now.
I was apex predator of this network.
Running at full speed, I have kicked and punched out with my malware, destroying IC after IC, shutting down remotely pumps filling the dragon with Panacea. All the while, I've had a terrible feeling of dread hanging above me.
Jumping into well and back into my own body, I hoped I still had body to come back to.
Feeling like falling into cold lake after running out of sauna, I've taken a deep breath, coming back to the meatspace. Only to hear a click of pistol being cocked.
Slowly moving my head up, I've stared at the barrel of fifty-cal pistol held by Audran who had the nastiest grin I could imagine.
"Fuck, you're even uglier upclose than I remembered." I've managed to squeeze out through my throat.
"It's over." Audran growled and riased the gun a bit to shoot me precisely in the eye. But then an angel blew it's trumpet, calling for Audran's judgement day.
"Now Glory!" I've cried hurling myself to the side, painfully ripping off the pin out of my jack-in socket at the same time. I have managed to twist my body and fall behind some box before I heard Buzzsaw going off.
Then, peering from above the cover I promptly saw a beautiful sight: Glory using up all of the ammo she had left to perforate the nasty fucker one and for all. The look on Audran's ballsack of a face was priceless, his own Vindicator still on his back.
Glory just let it rip and Buzzsaw ripped and torn.
I couldn't but cheer, seeing this huge psychopath falling onto the ground.
Rest of the guys weren't idling either, Eiger and Blitz raining lead left and right at the squad of Audran's goons that were too stupid to realize it was over.
Taking a deep breath and glancing at now relatively docile dragon, no longer pumped full of toxin, my attention is brought to coughing coming from Audran's direction.
"Idiots...We had forty...years preparing to make a difference and you blew it!" Orc spat at me, between gurgling on his own blood. If not for him being half metal and plastic, he'd be already pissing with the angels.
"You know Audie, you blew it. Because we are just a low life, measly shadowrunners, ay? Then how come we've dismantled your great plan? Maybe..." I've taken a knee next to him "Your plan wasn't so good afterall? Maybe, it would've been smarter to stop and think a bit instead of sitting here with Vauclair and wanking each other off."
"This world is going to hell anyways...It's just a matter of time when somebody...something worse will come over the dragons..." Audran tried to keep it up but there was too much blood in his mouth already.
Standing up, I've unholstered my revolver. Cocking the hammer, I've aimed at his face.
"This is for Monika Schafer. For Paul Amsel. For Kami...For Gunari's niece, and everyone else you've hurt in Kreuzbasar. Because this is just that, a small time revenge without looking at the great picture that doesn't concern me. It's not my paygrade, mate. I just want a little sun to shine, and little else." I've finished and let it out at him, five geysers of blood spurting out and Audran finally stilled.
I've taken a breath, feeling like I was holding it forever. My hand slumped down and numb.
And then I feel delicate, cool fingers holding my face. I open my eyes and see Glory staring at me with a smile.
"It's over, Rai. We've done it." She told me, and given me a kiss. Small, gentle one, but it was enough.
"...Right." I've managed to mumble and look around. "Let's get outta here-The dragon's still here."
"Y-Yeah, I was about to ask about that but didn't wanted to ruin your moment, boss." Dietrich grinned and Glory, I swear I saw it, rolled her eyes.
"She did prattled on something about sleeping for another era and waiting...You know that saying, D?"
"Never trust a dragon? Oh yeah. Besides...that is a dragon down there. I have duties, Rai. Shaman reminded of who his idol is.
"Well, Dragonslayer have been very accomodating to us so let's pay him back the ultimate offering...Do the honors, D." I've pointed at the button at the console operating entire life support system for the dragon's body.
"Let's end this. Afterall, Firewing was tortured enough after forty years of un-death and she did racked up a kill count that demands her death..." Dietrich given one long, respectful glance at the battered body of a wyrm and pushed the button that sent massive energy spike into it's head, killing the body at last. "That poor woman upstairs will die soon too...Give me your gun." Dietrich asked without leaving room for discussion. Lowering the pod from floor above, I've allowed him to approach the terrorized husk in the containment cell. "Dragonslayer...I offer you Firewing." Shaman spoken clearly and pushed the locks on the container, pulling the glass down and leaving nothing between him and dying soul of a dragon.
The shot echoed across the now silent chasm, the tortured body finally slumped down and stilled.
Wordlessly, Dietrich returned the now empty gun to me and ran hand against his face.
"It sure didn't felt like slaying a powerful wyrm..." Shaman sighed. "Let's get out of here."
"Hold on, I'll set this whole joint to self-destruct. Every villain always has this feature built into their secret lair." I've retorted, running up to the console and quickly finding the proper command. "It's set, let's go people!"
We've managed to get outside and just over the fence of the mansion when the ground shook and the whole estate seemed to sink a bit.
"I don't want to be the real estate agent who'll have to try selling this joint." I've quipped and earned myself a row of chuckles.
As we boarded into the van, only stars were witnesses to our victory.