Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 50 - One by one.
Tika's POV, An hour later.
"Jenny? Come on, we're almost done. Answer me this last time. Where?"
The most broken rabbit I've ever seen. She could barely form words, but thus far she's answered all my questions without problems. Anpu just had to watch as I awaited the last response before ending this sad display.
Looking up at me one last time she replied through a broken tooth.
"Fourth and Cardinal. The executive suite on the third floor. I don't know when she'll be there, but that's where she goes after work. I swear."
"I believe you." I replied as Jax had been writing down all the information. Looking over at Anpu who stood idly by her side, I ordered her.
"Finish your job. I got everything I needed from her."
Jenny widened her eyes as Anpu didn't hesitate. I was caught somewhat off guard by how eager she was, but it was a good thing once more. Made me trust her a lot easier knowing she wasn't concerned with asking any questions. She followed every order I gave her and her ruthless attitude came to a close once she cut Jenny's voice off mid sentence by taking her into a chokehold from behind.
"Ahhhkk! Akk! Please…..please….stop! Raptor"! Jenny tried to beg but Anpu had her arm under her small neck and with one tight squeeze and a quick turn of her body you heard Anpu snap the rabbit's neck in two. The break of bones echoed throughout the room as I took a deep interest in her form as she killed.
Anpu was beyond gorgeous and watching her teeth grit and her voice growl as she took her life made me so excited and proud to be her upper. The rabbit's body shook once right when the neck initially broke, but after she was lifeless and limp in the wolf's beastly arms. When she decided to release she pushed the body off the chair and onto the floor between us to just stare at her work. Giving her a smile and a small chuckle, I ordered Jax who handed me the notebook he'd been using.
"Handle the body Jax. You know what to do with it. Anpu? We have your next assignment to discuss. Are you ready to get to work?"
"Ready and willing." She replied as she moved the hair that sometimes covered her right eye to the side of her head. With Jax picking the rabbit up off the ground and leaving the room, I proceeded to state to my favorite new member of the family.
"Good. Because I'll be joining you personally for this. I hope you don't mind, but I have some business to settle with our next target."
Anpu was present for the entire interrogation so I wasn't surprised when she asked me back.
"What did this lady do? Sounds personal."
"This lady was a G.U.N accountant. Up until she became the head of her own banking firm here in Iran. Before that however she was on the payroll. I had her falsifying transport shipments that we would periodically steal and resell for a quick and easy profit. She was also in charge of setting up buyers when we had none. But one day she decided we weren't paying her enough and decided to sell her services over to the M.E.A.F. I lost a few good friends to a very well organized ambush. One of which was my brother and I plan to make sure I get even." I replied as she then questioned.
"Why now though?"
"Why? Well after she got them killed; the M.E.A.F put her in witness protection. I lost track of her not long after that. Up until that rabbit you just killed published a new magazine for Timeshare. It's a magazine focused on telling the life stories of the planet's most famous and powerful individuals. She did one on Ajex Marano and one more recently on Raptor Voltz. That one is where I saw her picture. She had nothing to do with Voltz, but she was in the audience during one of his press conferences. That's all I needed to see to know I had to talk to that rabbit. Now that I know where she hides, you and I will be going there personally to put a bullet in her."
"Do you think she'll have protection?" I was then asked by the wolf as I took a second to admire her once more before replying.
"Forth and Cardinal is a resort for some of the M.E.A.F's investors. She obviously pays them a lot of money as thanks for keeping her alive this long and now that she runs her own private firm, I wouldn't be surprised if she had her own crew. But the resort restricts guests from bringing their own security; so chances are she'll be on her own."
"Yeah, but a resort of that magnitude is bound to be protected by the army itself. And surely it's gated off to only authorized investors. We won't be able to get inside unnoticed." Anpu stated as I smiled and informed her back bluntly.
"We're not trying to be. The resort is small and has only one way in. And believe it or not they don't have a lot of manpower there on site. A squad at most. Nothing you and I can't handle."
"A direct attack? Are you crazy? Where is the fucking place?" She asked me back as I calmly replied while grabbing her arm.
"Not within the city limits. I promise. In fact it's pretty far up north. About an hour from here. We hit the place with all we got, kill the fucking cunt, and leave. By the time we're done we'll be long gone and it'll take the reinforcements time to reach us. Twenty minutes at most if we're lucky, but that's more than enough time. I believe we have a few safehouses out that way as well; so we'll have a spot to bunker down once we're done. Don't worry about anything." I urged her as she then asked.
"Should we bring a few other guns just in case? Maybe Dusk and Byron?"
Shaking my head, I replied while letting her go.
"No. We'll be fine on our own. Trust me. This isn't going to be as big as you think it'll be. The place is small and if she tries to run she'll have nowhere to go. The resort is surrounded by rocky mountains and she's not climbing any of them without a rope and a harness."
Anpu looked like she was ready for this now that I had explained most of the situation. Sensing that she was I proceeded to explain the plan.
"We're gonna take a truck up there. Something heavy. I believe we have half a rig up in the lot. It'll be more than enough to break through those gates. Once we're inside we'll kill anyone that puts up a fight and once we locate her I'll do the honors this time of making sure I never leave a job half finished again."
"Okay, but what about our exit?" Anpu then had to wonder as I calmly replied.
"We'll have a lot of rides to choose from. We'll just take one and head to the nearest safehouse. Wait a few days and I'll have one of the guys come pick us up. Sound good?"
"Yeah. Just let me get my gear together and I'll be ready to go, but are you sure you're okay with this? You're an upper. If you get killed during this; I won't know what the fuck to do."
"I'm not some untrained punk Anpu. I know how to handle myself. I did a tour with G.U.N and another eight years working for Shader Industries as a hired gun. I'll be okay and if I catch a bullet; I have some venom flowing through my veins to handle the pain. Don't worry about me for a second. Just keep up. That's all I ask. After this you'll have your freedom to continue operating on your own. I might need you from time to time, but that would be rare. Of course you're always welcome to change your mind and stay by my side. I'd feel a lot better with you close by." I was trying to get her to fold. I wanted her to remain close. As close as possible. I'm sure the guys would agree. She was making a name for herself among our family. It would suck if I only got to see her once every few months.
"I'll think about it." She replied finally as she began to walk towards the barracks. I'm sure she was going to be a few minutes so I made my way to my room and unlocked my cage.
Inside I grabbed my vest and one of my rifles. I preferred to use a standard M4. I always liked the model and it's never fucked up on me during a fight. Easy to control and easy to use. Putting the gun down as I picked up one of my few sidearms, I attached my holster and loaded a 44. Magnum into it. Then I just got to work on making sure my armor was tight and in place. As I did I caught Ace out of the corner of my eye just staring at me from outside my room. In confusion he asked.
"What's going on? Why are you getting dressed?"
With my armor set, I began to collect some clips for my rifle and as I stowed them across my chest, I replied to the rabbit.
"I'm going after the bitch who killed Teddy."
"You know where she is? After all this time? Where?" He then asked as I closed my locker.
"Fourth and Cardinal." Widening his eyes Ace questioned.
"Are you fucking crazy? That place is M.E.A.F operated and probably has plenty of G.U.N based automated security systems. No telling how much firepower they have protecting the place and the rich fucks who vacation there. You're going alone?" Shaking my head I replied while draping my M4 over my chest.
"I'm taking Anpu with me. This is the last assignment I'll be forcing her to do before I let her go back to being on her own. "
"So you're gonna do this quietly right?" He then asked with concern masking his tone. I just stared at him and instantly he shouted.
"You can't just assault a place like that Tika!"
"They only have a few armed guards. I've got good information that the place is understaffed right now."
"That doesn't mean shit when it comes to automated defenses! You're going to get yourself and Anpu killed! Listen to me…..don't do this. At the very least don't do this the way you're planning to do this. Think for a goddamn second. I know what I'm talking about. The other groups won't like this plan one bit."
"Yeah? Well, so do I. The intel is solid. We're going to roll through the front gate, kill anyone who stands between me and that bitch, then we'll bail out before reinforcements can arrive. Anpu and I shouldn't take any longer than a few minutes to get this done once we're inside. We'll get to a safehouse and after a few days I'll call you and you can send one of the guys out to pick us up." My words fell on deaf ears as he again begged me.
"You're making this personal Tika. If she didn't kill Teddy you'd be listening right now and figuring out a way to do this without drawing a fucking army to your postion! Don't let her do this to you. You're jumping the gun. You're going to get yourself killed and I won't be responsible for it."
"You won't be held responsible. Because I'm not going to let anything happen. It's a quick and clean op and with Anpu coming along; we'll have the advantage. She's a killer Ace. Cold and methodical. Her and I together are more than enough to out gun some weekend warriors from the middle east."
"I'm begging you Tika. At the very least if you're not going to do this quietly, then please consider taking more people with you. Byron, Dusk, Gwent, anyone. Just bring some extra help." Ace begged me as I quickly shook my head and replied.
"No. I've made up my mind about this. You're in charge until we get back. Just relax and tell everyone not to worry. We'll be back before the weekend."
"Tika!" He shouted in disbelief that I was completely disregarding his advice.
Ace was smart, but he didn't understand where I was coming from right now. This was fucking personal and after waiting this long I don't plan on taking my time. This bitch dies today. Pushing past the rabbit, I made my way to the barracks to find Anpu unbagging her rifle. A few of the boys were watching her closely up until I walked in with all my gear on.
"You ready?" I asked the wolf who nodded and stood back up to show me her full set of combat armor. What she wore was completely custom and it far surpassed my own armor. She was a fucking brick house in that gear, but it all came together when she put on her mask and finished dawning a worn down and outright dirty looking duster. With Dusk a few bunks down staring at us, I wasn't surprised when we were asked.
"What's going on?"
I didn't answer. I didn't want to. I was annoyed enough so I grabbed Anpu by her side and urged her to get moving with me out of the area. Before we could leave the barracks though Ace one last time begged.
"Don't do this Tika!"
Ace followed us to the elevator and once we were aboard he looked right at Anpu to order her.
"Do anything you gotta do to make sure she fucking comes out of this stupid plan alive Anpu! Anything!" The elevator shut on his face. As we began to go up to the surface I was asked by the almost silent wolf.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Nodding only once, I replied back confidently.
"Positive. I'm not changing my mind. We get the truck, drive up there, and run down the gate. Once we're inside I want you to help me find this bitch. Here's her picture." I then handed her the picture from the magazine I mentioned. She took it into her off hand and once she registered the appearance of this cunt she asked me to be sure.
"Do you want me to kill her on sight?"
"Incapacitate. I want to be the one to do it this time."
"Okay." Anpu sighed back as she clearly had her worries for this mission now that she saw how Ace had reacted.
Once topside I led her to the truck we would be using for this. Standard size rig with no trailer. It would be enough to get us inside that fucking place. I was going to take the wheel and once we were both buckled up and on our way; I had to ask Anpu who went to work on preparing her rifle some more.
"Who made you that armor? And why the purple chrome on the gun?"
With her mask staying on, she replied back nicely enough while not losing focus on getting the said weapon ready for a fight.
"The network made it all. It's the best that money can buy and because of that I have one of the only prototypes they've ever made based on actual shield tech."
Widening my eyes and wanting to look at it closer, I questioned in disbelief.
"Are you fucking kidding? You have a working model?" She then nodded her head back and added on to the conversation by finishing off my second question real fast.
"And purple because it's my favorite color."
Still shocked, I said back to her in awe of her gear.
"When I was working for Shader, they were still finishing their first prototype and that shield was crap. Plus the generator for the barriers was a fucking battery pack more or less you had to wear. Is yours built in?"
"Weaved into the plating. My mask is also built from the same cloth. Runs on a separate system too, but can still warn me when the other is about to go down. Built in motion sensors and designed to keep me cool. No overheating in this thing."
"Explains why you rarely take it off." I chuckled as she then corrected me.
"It's part of my body actually. Part of my life and a huge part of why I'm so confident in fights. I have every advantage."
"We've dreamed of getting that kind of gear for everyone in the family. Looking at yours just makes me close my eyes to the thought of how much that would cost us to produce." I wasn't lying. If we all had that kind of shit we'd be taking over the world.
"That's not feasible. Why not shoot for something more obtainable? What if everyone could become a perfect user?"
Immediately I started to laugh and I mean I really was laughing. The idea of that being "obtainable" made me crack inside.
"If that could fucking happen we'd rule the world in a matter of months. Every PMC would fear us and dare I say, G.U.N and the M.E.A.F would question crossing paths. But you consider that to be obtainable? You can't just become perfect. You're a perfect user yourself. You know how rare that is? If only it were that simple."
"Hmmm…..if only."
She said that back to me strangely. Did she know something I didn't? Definitely not. I thought to myself as I refocused my efforts on driving. Ace was still rolling through my mind though. Fucking rabbit was typically right about a lot, but was it really worth it to turn around now and give this bitch more time to live? No. It wasn't. Killing her was all that mattered to me and once this was over; I planned on going back home and finally moving on with my life. I'd have no reason to hate anything anymore. I might even be able to fully think before acting. We'll just have to wait and see.
Sam's POV, An hour later.
"We're almost there. You ready?" Tika asked me as she had begun to pump the gas of this truck up to sixty. Getting myself ready, I took a breath and replied.
"Ready. Punch it."
"Kill everyone. No one leaves, but leave that bitch alive for me and no matter what happens, I'll do my best to have your back during this. Just stay focused and do what you do best you fucking monster."
She was hype for this moment. I could hear it in her voice alone. It kinda made me excited as well. I was hoping to get to test this armor in open combat, but before I got too distracted by the fighting I had to keep in mind that Roslin's orders reigned over hers. I wasn't going to deceive the cameras. I'd let myself be seen. I'd draw the wrong attention yet again if I displayed too much of my powers. Play it safe Sam and master will be happy. I thought to myself as I saw the resort coming into sight.
"Here we go!" Tika shouted with a laugh to back it up as we were driving at least eighty now. Grabbing onto my seat to brace for the impact to come, I turned on my senses and prepared myself to jump out of this rig the second we came to a stop. Two soldiers manned the gate and the moment they realized what was happening they both tried to run.
Tika drove into them and right through the gate at the same time. The impact alone sent me nearly out of my seat, but with a screeching turn of the brakes Tika stopped us and together we came out shooting.
Ace's POV.
"What do you want to do then?" I was asked by Dusk as I decided to hold a meeting among the rest of our group.
I explained to them what Tika had taken Anpu to do and they all agreed that it was reckless and a very good way of getting them both killed. Anpu had a much better chance at coming out alive thanks to her gear and her talents for killing, but Tika was still at a disadvantage due to the opposite. That and it was a known fact that the uppers did their best to remain out of open combat. If they were to get themselves killed; our group could quickly fall into disarray. Losing Tika in this case would cripple us, but it was already too late to really help them. They had to be at the resort right now.
"It's already too late to go back them up Ace." Byron informed me as I was carefully considering alternatives.
"If this was about the bitch who killed her brother, I would have volunteered to go with them." Mace added as we all understood why Tika jumped the gun on this.
"Do we just let Anpu and her handle this? We should at the least have someone on standby to get them out if things go south. Let's go to the airfield and….?" Sikes was about to suggest we use a helicopter so I jumped in to cut him down.
"And do what after we get them? Where are we flying in Iran that's safe from the M.E.A.F? We can't come back here. No. It's too risky. We'll have the army on us the second we get airborne. Plus whatever ground troops get called will be flying in as well. We can't go toe to toe with an attack helicopter. The ones we have aren't even fitted for aerial combat."
"We gotta do something though." Sikes replied as I nodded and looked back to Mace to order him.
"We're not going to be able to get there in time to provide fire support. Mace? Take yourself and two others along with Dexter to the closest safehouse near that location. Chances are Tika and Anpu will head there if and when they get out and I have a feeling someone will be hurt coming out of this."
"Gotcha boss. Sikes? Byron?" Mace asked the boys who immediately accepted and began to pack their things. Mace then went to grab the doctor and once they were gone Dusk asked me curiously.
"Let's say the worst becomes reality, are you ready for this?" I knew he was referring to my damn near promised spot as the next upper to our family if Tika died during this. With confident eyes going back to him, I replied.
"I'm always ready, but we need to have faith. Especially with Anpu there."
Dusk seemed to agree, but we were still worried nonetheless.
Tika's POV. Five minutes later.
The intel was right. From the moment we got here it's been on point. Only a handful of soldiers defended the place and there were only two of them left. Any other person we saw; we killed along with them, but my target hasn't been spotted yet. I'm assuming she's inside the resort, probably hiding in her room. We'd get there soon enough. Anpu made quick work of everyone she seemed to focus her attention to. It was crazy how accurate and fast she was in her motion and she also had this scary amount of confidence. She was walking right through the event, while I was busy getting cover most of the time.
What made her that confident was indeed that armor she had. There was no mistaking that these soldiers weren't prepared. The bullets they hit her with made her barely flinch, while the rounds themselves could be seen almost zapping away from existence. It was beautiful, but just how much longer could those shields hold? I wondered as we reached the main entrance to the resort. I could hear people inside screaming and when we kicked through we began to open fire on the civilians. Had to be ten of them, all running upstairs to get away from us. Soon they all laid dead on them as Anpu led the way to the first room.
I got ready to breach and with a strong kick I opened the door to be immediately shot in my back by some guy with a gun who I thought we already killed by the stairs going to the next floor. Anpu turned right after killing whoever was inside the room; to shoot this guy down in a hail of bullets.
"You good?!" She asked me as she grabbed my arm to help me stand up straight. That bullet got me a little, but it was mainly the force it had behind it sneaking up on me. As I was yanked up, I replied to her confidently.
"I'm good! Next room!"
She nodded and together we continued our entrance into the next room to execute whoever inhabited it.
As we finished up, I heard her screaming out in fear from the second floor. There was no mistaking it. Looking over at Anpu I ordered her quickly.
"That's her! Clear the rest of the floor then meet me upstairs! I'm going after her!"
I was so focused on this now. Nothing was going to stop me. Running my way past the dead bodies on the stairs, I soon found myself running right to where I heard the voice and it led me to another bedroom. That's when I found her trying to jump out the window. She froze on the window sill when I pointed my gun at her to order.
"Get down from there you fucking bitch! We have some unfinished business!"
This woman turned out to be this slim orange cat with two brown eyes. She was my own height and easily half my own weight. Her name was Jessica and she's the one who killed my fucking brother. I said to myself as I felt my venom begin to fuel my internal fire.
"Tika?" She said back in awe as my eyes were burning hot.
Not listening to my orders, I decided to shoot. Her eyes went wide as I shot her right in the right ankle.
"Aghhhh!" Her screams were amazing to hear and it made my heart feel something I haven't felt in a long time. Satisfaction.
"Shut the fuck up!" I ordered her now as she fell onto the floor to clutch her ankle.
Closing the gap, I wasted no time beating her with the ass end of my M4. The first hit was all it took to get her onto the floor and once I hit her again I began to lose my control over the venom.
"You! Fucking! Bitch!" Each word came with another smack with my rifle and after a few more I began to roar out louder in pleasure and anger. Enough so that I ditched my rifle and began to just use my fists.
I spared her no moment to cry or beg for mercy. I was killing this fucking bitch and I wanted to feel every morsel of her suffering. The venom only amplified that craving and by the time I lost full control she was long since dead from a broken neck or skull fracture. Yet I didn't stop. I wasn't ever going to stop and after what felt like two minutes I was grabbed from behind by Anpu who took me into a chokehold while growling in my ear.
"Stop! Stop! She's dead! Calm down! She's fucking done!"
"No she's not! Let me finish her!" I ordered the wolf who physically had me beaten and held in place away from the corpse which I wanted to mangle and ravage.
"You did what you came here to do Tika! It's over! We have to go before reinforcements arrive! They're bound to be on the way by now!" Anpu stated as she wasn't really choking me as much as she was holding me.
My mind was struggling to return, but once she said that I realized I had to stop and listen. She was right and she wasn't out of line for doing this, I had gone feral and I needed to stop before I got us both killed. So with a few moments of heavy breathes, I calmly begged her.
"Let me go."
Anpu released and that's when I grunted and kicked the dead woman once in the head to make it official that I was done. Grabbing my rifle back from the ground next to her, I looked back at the wolf to urge her.
"Let's go."
Anpu followed me out of the room, but that's when something happened. A loud siren began to go off. It was loud enough that I could barely hear my own voice as I ordered Anpu to continue moving. About two steps in we both widened our eyes when we began to hear something above us moving.
When we looked up we found there were four different spots opening up on the ceiling and what came out genuinely made my heart sink. There were four automated turrets and with my body frozen I panicked when I felt Anpu grab me from behind to then run us back towards the room we just left. When we reached the door the turrets got a lock on us and you could hear their guns spin up and not no more than a second later the gunfire that came our way matched no other moment in my life.
Anpu made sure she was right behind me so she could take the bullets, but there were so many they quickly went down and I saw two rounds hit her back and just above her hip. By then she grabbed me again and together we jumped out the window and onto the concrete below. I landed on my front while Anpu crashed on her side to let out a pained grunt.
"Ahhh fuck." She seemed so calm after being hit. More than I was and I'm pretty sure I broke a few ribs just now because it was really hard to breathe after taking that fall. That had to be at least thirty feet.
"Ughh!" I groaned as I rolled over to see her already getting back onto her feet. How the fuck was she this resileant? I had to wonder as she again took my arm to help me up.
"Can you run?" She proceeded to ask as I was clearly hurting now. I didn't want to turn back on the venom, but I had to if I wanted to say yes to that question she just asked. Relying on it once more, I looked at her with red eyes to reply.
"Yeah. Let's get out of here before….?" That's when my ears heard what sounded like a helicopter. Anpu instantly looked at the direction it came from and both of us began to get moving once we saw two separate helicopters flying in.
"Timing must have been wrong. They got here five minutes too fast." I groaned as our goal was the parking lot. Hopefully they wouldn't see us till we had a chance to leave.
As we ran I saw the moment Anpu's shields came back online and with some blood dripping down her ass from the wounds just above her I had to ask.
"Are you okay? You're bleeding."
She seemed to ignore me now as she took charge and looked for the nearest ride that could slip past the mess we made at the main gate. As she did you could physically see one of the choppers dropping off troops and it had to be at least another ten or fifthteen guys. The second chopper however saw us clear as day and without any warning it turned all its focus onto us.
"Stand down!" We were ordered over a loudspeaker coming from the chopper. Anpu looked back at me to shout.
"Tika!"
I broke out of my train of thought realizing that Ace was right after all of this and with my legs kicked into full gear; I went to run. We got maybe ten feet before the chopper fired a warning missile at the cars in front of us blowing them all up in one go. Anpu had to take a few steps back as I was now scared for what to do. Those cars were our ride out of here.
"This is your last warning! Drop your weapons and stand down! Or we will….!" It took me a moment to realize what was going on. Anpu just wasn't listening to that warning and instead opened fire. By the time I realized, she somehow managed to hit the pilot and the fucking thing began to spin out of control. It crashed right onto the top of the resort and when the explosion went off I heard the wolf order out.
"Come on! Run!"
She reached out to pull me. Once she yanked, I began to run with her towards the front gate. It was at that moment that the troops from the second chopper began to open fire. I felt a round hit my back once again, but this time all I could do was grunt it off and push out the gate.
Now the problem was pretty simple. The road was wide open, but everything else was nothing but cliffs and steep declines with piles of dead trees littering the terrain. If we tried to run the road to freedom the last helicopter would surely gun us down. We had no other choice but to take the chance, but I was caught off guard completely by the fact that when I reached the edge of the first dive Anpu pulled me into her side. She then took the brunt of the impact as we had to roll the rest of the way down.
I could feel my broken ribs moving around inside my chest on each and every bump, but by now my venom was driving me to never stop moving. That became even more clear to me when the soldiers had reached the cliff and began to fire down at us. I saw a few of the bullets hit Anpu's shields and I'm guessing from the roll we just endured; that was more than enough to breach them and actually began to do some damage. She took another bullet, but this time it hit her left shoulder. She didn't even flinch. Could she even feel pain? I wondered as I was also very close to catching another.
"Shit! Anpu! I shouted as I felt my boot catch an exposed tree root. Anpu immediately stopped once I had fallen over, but she did that to protect me as the soldiers had made their way down after us. She took about three of them out before the rest had to try and find cover. She then pulled me by my arm again and this time I physically watched a bullet hit her in the chest. All I heard was the thud from the impact before I began to run again away from the scene.
When she got done shooting back, the wolf picked back up her pace and easily managed to reach my side once more.
"Down! Down!" She shouted as she was referring to another drop we had to take.
Without another warning the last helicopter joined in the fight and with a single rocket it barely missed us as we rolled down again. This time the hill we went down had to easily be at least eighty feet. I could barely feel my body by the time we reached the bottom. Even Anpu had to recover.
"Where's the safehouse!?" She asked me as the chopper began to rip into the terrain with its machine guns. I caught a single bullet before the wolf found the strength to jump on top of me. I stared right into her eyes as at least three more rounds made contact with her. Each time her eyes had to shut to endure the pain and once we heard a small break in the fire she spun back up with what she had left in her magazine.
It was enough to force the chopper to back off for a minute. I remained on my back as she quickly grabbed my rifle and continued to shoot at it. Smoke formed in mere seconds as she ran out of rounds in my rifle and decided to finish it off with her sidearm she had on her hip.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
You could hear the sirens go off in the fucking thing as she managed to do enough damage to drop the thing out of the sky. When it came crashing down I couldn't believe it and just kept my mouth shut as she quickly spun back to help me up. It was at that moment I decided to order her out of feeling useless.
"I can run on my own!"
"No you can't! Look!" She urged me as I hadn't noticed I had been shot in my left leg. My venom and adrenaline was so high, my senses weren't able to pick up on everything that was going on in such a short time span. So much so, that I didn't even register getting shot again.
I was unable to form a reaction really because before I knew it she was lifting me off my bad leg and moving me further down the cliff.
"Where's the safehouse!?" She again asked as I could feel my venom depleting. I had taken too much damage. I also knew this was getting desperate. When my venom ran out, I knew the pain I'd be in. Moving would be impossible. Using everything I had left to keep up with the wolf, I finally replied.
"Should have been five miles southeast of the resort! I don't know which direction we ran, but it's an old hunting cabin down in the ravine! Only one path gets into the place unless we drop in from above; kinda like we just did to get here! We need to get there!" I said to her as I was scared I was going to wind up dying before getting there.
"You're gonna be fine! Just keep moving! I know what direction to go! But if I have to…!"
My whole body jolted when a bullet hit her square in the head. I saw it shatter just above her right eye thanks to her separate set of shields, but with a heavy and quick fall she landed on her back and reloaded her rifle just in time to spot the remaining soldiers halfway down to our position.
"Get…get down!" She ordered me as I ran for a nearby rock to reload my own gun.
Once I was good to go; I helped fight back and together I think we got at least seven of them. I only counted two left and each had taken cover to hide from our line of sight.
"Get up! Move Anpu!" I screamed at her as she was laying down still where she had fallen.
The wolf rolled onto her front side and on all fours; she crawled as fast as she could down another small hillside. Once she did that the last two soldiers appeared to begin shooting at me. I ducked most of their fire and just as I went to reload I heard a grenade go off. When I looked up Anpu had taken out one and had begun to shoot the last with her sidearm. When that last guy dropped to the dirt, Anpu limped over to my rock and asked with blood coming out the bottom of her mask.
"Are you okay?!"
Losing my ability to rationally think, I shook my head and replied.
"Not really!"
"I'm carrying you! Just hold yourself together until we can get to the safehouse! You hear me!?"
I nodded my head and without any fighting back I allowed her to carry me like I was some sort of baby. In her arms I felt like one, but I couldn't move in all honesty. How the fuck was she? I again asked myself as she was at the very least breathing really hard from all of this.
All that mattered now was trying to direct her there. The hardest part was enduring the pain because by the time we reached the place I was out of venom completely. Anpu broke down the door the very first second she could and without any thought she put me down on a nearby gray couch. My full body could lay on it and once I had I began to really lose faith. I was going to die. What the fuck was I thinking? I asked myself once in my own head before repeating to the wolf who made sure to lock up before coming back to my aid.
"Keep your eyes open! Hey!" She shouted as I used everything I had left to do that.
Sam's POV.
Coming to her side I began to look over her injuries. That's when I heard from within my own head.
"She's gonna be dead in a minute. What do you want to do?"
I knew he wasn't physically here and that she couldn't hear me, so without any thought I did the only thing I knew I could do. Putting both my hands on her chest, I heard the bird grunt out in agony.
"Agh! Anpu!"
"Shut up!" I ordered her as I used what I had learned up till now to put all my focus into keeping her breathing.
I've never done this before, but out of the sheer amount of panic I was in, I threw caution to the wind and committed to attempting it now. That's when Roslin appeared just beside me.
"She can't see or hear me so don't lose focus. If you're going to do this you need to really consider your next few steps. Don't overthink it. Just focus on the injury and your own power and try to transfer it all into her. You'll feel it immediately once you find the sweet spot, but don't falter for even a moment otherwise you'll drain yourself out at a record pace. Deep breaths. Go." He urged me as I wanted to do her ribs first.
"That's it." He whispered into my ears as I felt the exact thing he was referring to happen. It was like all my muscles and mental brainpower were being squished slowly together. It was indeed draining after a few seconds of constant use, but I could also feel her injuries getting better. What didn't help was the fact that Tika was still in a lot more pain and as I felt her ribs she cried out to me.
"Get off! Please!"
"Shut the fuck up and let me work!" I screamed at her as I for a moment did the exact opposite of what my master just told me not to do.
"Sam!" He shouted as the bird went completely silent from the lack of energy.
"I'm sorry. Please Tika. Just trust me." I begged her now as I put my hands back on her chest.
Roslin kept a close eye on me as I attempted this medical procedure. Once I was back to where I was, I watched as her face went red and she questioned in a breathless tone.
"What….what are you doing Anpu? Anpu?"
She was out of it and that had to be good for me because I don't know how much longer I can handle this. With her eyes shutting as I fixed her broken ribs, I soon focused on fixing the rest of the damage to her chest from the mixture of falls we took to get here. Once that was done I released myself from the effort I was putting in. Instantly my body felt light and my head was sore, but I had to do everything I could to get her stable. At least stable enough so I could rest and regain some of my strength to go again.
Putting one hand over the wound to her leg, and another just under her back, I went to work and watched as in mere seconds the physical shards of the bullets came out in my palms. By this point TIka was out and I was left with her body to contend with. Roslin at this moment said to me.
"She's stable now. Don't keep pushing. You're gonna be joining her if you do."
"Help me up." I begged him as I couldn't keep up.
The echidna came down to my aid and with a strong hand he helped me onto my feet to then urge me.
"Sit. Let me do the rest."
"No!" I grunted as I was barely standing at this point from the pain I was in.
"Why not?" He questioned back as I roughly pulled up my mask to place my left hand on my face. When I took it off all I saw was blood. I knew I needed some stitches after getting hit right in the head with that last bullet I took. Getting shot with a handgun was bad enough, but a rifle could still kill me if I wasn't careful. Looking back at my master with a completely blood covered face, I spit out some of it before replying.
"I already did too much. Anything more and I might not be able to cover up. She's stable and that's all that matters."
"Yeah, but your fucked up. You need this Sam."
"No!" I shouted back as I sat down and decided to turn towards my own set of venom to heal. Roslin watched carefully as the wound above my eye sealed and I could feel it doing the same for my hip, shoulder and most of the other damage I took. Some of it couldn't be treated just due to how weak I felt right now, but with enough time I could hopefully finish off the rest.
"You better hope no one comes down here for a few hours. And if I were you I'd start coming up with some sort of plan for dealing with her when the time comes."
"I know." I whispered back as I was lost in a state of near unconsciousness.
Looking around the cabin, Roslin found a small kitchen towel hanging up near a stove. Coming back over he gently took it to my face to try and wipe off the blood. It was a kind gesture but I would need a shower if I was to get clean after this mess of a mission. All that mattered though was that Tika survived.
"Are you sure you don't want me to help?" He asked right into my face as he threw the towel onto the floor next to me.
"I'll….ughhh. I'll be fine. I just need to gather myself. But actually…can you go into my pocket and get my phone? I need to call Ace and see if there's anything I can do right now."
"Sure." He replied as he reached into my jeans.
"Here." He offered it up and once I had it in my bloody hands, I gently called the rabbit up. After the second ring he picked up asking me in a worried voice.
"Anpu? What's going on? Where are you? Is Tika with you?"
Nodding my head as Roslin now stood over the bird in question, I replied.
"Yeah she's with me, but we could use some help. We're at some cabin a few miles southeast of the resort. Do you know what I'm talking about?"
"Yes I do. Mace, Sikes, Byron and Dexter should be closing in soon. I sent them over ahead of time just in case. What's your status?"
"Exhausted." I chuckled as I looked at Tika to add.
"But Tika could use some help. We got pretty fucked up. Reinforcements came sooner than she planned and we had to run. Don't worry though, we handled them. No one will be here for at least a few hours, but we need to move soon. I'm sure the M.E.A.F will be sending in some more serious troops once they can coordinate themselves."
"Understood. The guys should be with you soon. Just hold on and we'll get you two back here safe and sound." Ace stated as I again nodded and replied.
"Thank you. I'll see you soon."
After I hung up the phone, I decided to stand back up and attempt to approach my master's side. Instantly I felt my left leg buckle, but thankfully he noticed and caught me from falling. Wrapping an arm around his neck, I said to him in a sad voice.
"I'm sorry for using your gifts on her. I just….she can't die."
"I'm aware and don't worry about it. I would have stopped you from trying if it was really an issue, but I'm just shocked you pulled it off without much of a hassle. You really are a master of your own creation. More practice and it'll only get easier on your body. After even longer you shouldn't really have any issues keeping yourself together. Just mind who you do this too. Word can not get out that you're capable of such things. Keep this between your group if you can't spin a tale of your own. At the very least I have confidence these terrorists won't go public anytime soon."
"You say that like it's just them who are the terrorists. After what I just did to all those people and those soldiers? I'm no better."
"Maybe, but you're still mine at the end of it all. So remember that before thinking you're something else."
"I know." I grumbled as I released my arm and made my way over to the windows to begin watching out for my friends who I now knew were on the way to help. Checking my magazine for what rounds it had left, I swapped out the clip with a fresh one and put my mask back down to cover my face. Roslin then vanished once more and I was left with some time to recover. I was even able to use my powers again, even if it was slightly to finish off the rest of my injuries. Once it was all said and done I was left with just feeling exhausted again.
After about thirty minutes I could sense my friends getting close and once I saw the car I prepared myself for their arrival by standing up to get the door. Dexter came rushing to the door first and when I opened it he stopped dead in his tracks to stare into my mask which greeted him.
"Come inside." I urged him as the rest of the guys came inside.
"Jesus Christ. What happened?" Dexter asked as the rest of the gang was just looking me over in shock of all the blood and dirt I had on me. Lifting up my mask, I replied as they all widened their eyes at my seemingly bad looking exterior.
"I'll explain on the way back, but for now you need to help her."
I pointed right at Tika and it was then that the human ran over to begin working. Byron supported my shoulder by keeping his hand on it as Sikes asked me in concern for my health.
"Where are you hit?"
"I'm okay. I'm a user. I used my venom to fix up the damage. I'm just tired. I just need some more time to recover."
"What happened out there?" Byron then asked as they kept me in place to make sure I wouldn't tilt or fall in the slightest.
"Reinforcements arrived a lot sooner than she thought they would. The resort barely had any support, but they did have automated turrets inside. We were caught off sleeping and had to bail from the second floor. Once we got out, two attack helicopters arrived on the scene and chased us down the mountain.
"You took them down?" Mace questioned in disbelief as I smiled a little and nodded my head.
"Not without our fair share of damage taken, but yeah. By then Tika was out of venom and the pain kicked in. I carried her the rest of the way. We should get going soon. The army will be sweeping the area."
"Give me some time. I need to stitch her up before we get back in the car. You should sit Anpu. I'll look you over once we get back." Dexter stated as the rest of the guys urged me as well to relax.
"Yeah, take a seat. You need to rest."
"Tika would be dead if it wasn't for you." Mace added which got Dexter to state back from his side in confidence.
"It's a miracle actually. You saved her life, Anpu. No doubts about that. As an upper she and the others will be grateful for your actions. How you managed is beyond me, but I'm sure we'll hear some stories over some drinks once we're safely back underground."
"How long are you going to need doc?" Byron asked as I put my mask back down to let out a small grunt of pain coming from my head. Sikes put his hand on my shoulder for comfort as Dexter finally replied to the dane.
"Five minutes. Just keep an eye out. I hate this place. Too wide open."
"You're a perfect user?" Sikes questioned in disbelief as I simply nodded and listened as he then asked me.
"You took care of all your trauma?"
"Majority of it. I'm okay. I promise."
Sikes was happy to be reassured and after five minutes Dexter finished up with Tika and looked back at Byron to say to him.
"I'm done for now. I can do a lot more once we're back, but now she'll survive the trip. Can you carry her to the car Byron?"
"Yeah. I gotcha. Let me see her."
Moving out of the way and over to me; Dexter asked curiously, but with concern still in his voice.
"You got a lot of blood on you. User or not you lost a decent bit. You need to rest once we get on the road and once we get back to the bunker. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir." I replied back as he bumped my breast plate with a balled up fist to show his sign of approval. Looking to the others he ordered.
"Let's get moving. I'll text Ace ahead of time so he knows everything is okay. Sikes? You should drive."
The trip wouldn't be cramped thanks to them deciding to bring a truck. Sikes got in the front, Dexter in the passenger seat, and once Byron got Tika laying down in the back of the truck he got in the section just in front of that. I decided to get in the back with Tika just to make sure she wouldn't roll around during the trip.
Letting out a small sigh of relief, I put my head back along the trunk's window and just tried to meditate. Thankfully I was quickly transferred to my consciousness and was finally able to begin recharging my body. It felt so good to just close my eyes and relax. Please god let this drive back last forever.
Raptor's POV, The next day.
"Commander?" My attention was taken away from my paperwork as Vacus could be seen at the door to my office. She had a worried look on her face as I asked her back upon seeing her eyes.
"Yes? What is it Vacus?"
"I need to talk to you. It's important." Her voice told me it was, but I had a lot to do so I questioned.
"Can it wait? I have a lot to do before the press meeting tomorrow. Gotta prepare questions and….?"
"Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about. It's about Jenny." Vacus seemed serious and in confusion I asked while putting down the papers I was working on.
"What about her? If she's asking for a pass behind the stage just give her what she wants. Even if it's another private interview after the broadcast. If you don't she'll just find her own way past our security measures. As she always does." I chuckled as I recalled the countless number of times she's somehow fooled Zulu 2-7 to get to me. If that woman was an assassin she could have easily had a good chance at me by now.
Stepping into the office and shutting the door, the cat took a step closer before whimpering.
"Sir?"
The way she pronounced that said everything. The feelings that left her mouth could be physically seen and now I just looked at her as if she insulted me. I was that lost now as I listened to a statement I never thought I would hear.
"Jenny was found dead yesterday in Iran."
"What?" I asked her back blankly. I know I just didn't hear that. Nodding her head to assure me that what she said had to be true, Vacus replied.
"Police found her dumped in an alley. She had her neck snapped in two."
My whole reaction told the story. Instantly my eyes began to water, but what came with it was an immense amount of anger. Enough so that I growled at Vacus.
"You can't be serious? Our Jenny? Someone killed her?"
The cat knew better than to say anything else. She just nodded her head back and that left me with nothing more than tears and a broken heart. Starting to cry, I asked my friend.
"What do we know?"
She knew I was trying to stay rational as best as I could so she calmly replied.
"Not much. It happened around six last night. At least that's what the police think judging from the bodies."
"What bodies? She wasn't alone?" I questioned as she hesitated now. After a few seconds of silence she found the balls to say back to me as carefully as she could.
"It seemed to have been a targeted attack. Police found her brother and his two kids dead at the apartment he was sharing with her. The people who did this must have waited for her to get home. Once she did they took her somewhere but didn't spare the others. They were all executed. Single bullet to the head. Even the kids. Where did they take her though is still a mystery, but we have no leads going off of where she was found after. Police are doing everything they can, but for now it looks like they got away."
I was left speechless as my office door opened, but this time Zandro came walking in. He seemed surprised to see Vacus here, but once he saw my face he questioned.
"Is this a bad time? This can't wait."
Vacus looked to me for the answer and with tears running down my face as Zandro waited, I wiped my eyes and asked.
"What is it?"
"We had a situation in Iran just surface. The Forth and Cardinal resort was attacked. Everyone, including the M.E.A.F security team was killed. It was a fucking masscare Raptor. You need to come with me right now. Iran's president is on the phone and he's demanding to speak with you. We also lost two birds and the backup that was sent once the alarms were raised. We're talking a blatant terrorist attack on our soil and our people couldn't save anyone. Every civilian is dead."
"This isn't real." I mumbled to myself as Zandro proceeded to raise his voice at me.
"I need you right now. Iran is on the verge of cutting off the treaty. You need to act; right now Raptor. I'm working on getting any information I can on the attack. I'll have something for you within the hour, but you need to head to the war room. We can't waste time. Nothing else matters more than this."
I was having an internal problem right now from the confines of my own head. The urge to kill myself was creeping in from the amount of pain my heart was taking and now this? I can't do this. I said to myself as I begged for Maggie to show up. Or at the very least Yoga.
"Commander?" Vacus whispered gently as I punched my desk before raging off with Zandro towards the war room.
mT Shadow.