You've all waited for this long enough, so I won't say much here. Let the heist begin!
Chapter 16: Earning Our Pay
Six. Hours.
Six BLOODY hours.
She'd spent a fourth of the day doing nothing but stare blankly at marble and cement, waiting for an interview that would probably take 10 minutes! Absolutely unacceptable for a hardboiled outlaw like her!
"Would the next customer please come forward?"
FINALLY. If she didn't get called, she would have-!
… Would have done what, exactly? Not much really. What the hell could she do against people like this?
She didn't know anyone who could. Nobody would go after one of the scummiest criminal banks in Kivotos, right here in the heart of the Black Market.
"Holy shit, she's still there. I ALMOST feel sorry for her… Not!"
She chuckled alone in the tiny room, her satisfied laughter reverberating off the cramped walls. It's been three days since the Abydos girls booted the Helmet Gang out of their district and two since they stomped them out of the desert. Her team was personally taken apart by the Sensei and then blown apart by Problem Maker Number Whatever, the cracks running along the shell of her helmet and the lenses of her goggles a souvenir of it all. Pissed off by their utter failure, Kaiser then picked them up and forced them to work off their debt by carting them off to wherever they felt like.
Being assigned to a boring ass job like this with barely any pay seemed like it would be hell, but her shift working the security cameras today had an unexpected boon.
Who could have expected that the arrogant blowhard who took her group to the cleaners was going to suffer through an entire day at the Stygian Bank?
"Doing the crime if we've got the dime? Looks like nobody's paying you any dimes, ya dingus!"
Yes it was petty and almost seemed pathetic, but at least she was working off her debt to a shitty company like this instead of just wasting away in the middle of a bank!
"Ahhh… I hate this job, but I hate it less."
Honestly, if she was getting paid for this, she'd almost think it bearable. Whoever actually got this gig would be bored out of their mind, but so long as you paid attention you had it made.
After all, this was the most heavily guarded bank in the Black Market. Like anyone would be so dumb as to try and rob iOH WOW that was a big hit on her head. And wow it was hard to breathe when you were getting choked out.
As she expired, her last thoughts were that her job really did suck ass after all.
"Camera room secured. For now, the building is ours."
I exhaled in slight relief as the Helmet Ganger guard finally went limp, the same combination of slamming the back of her leg and choking her out proving effective once more. I then set her down in the corner of the room, away from prying eyes. Fitting, as now we had eyes on the entire bank.
"Phase 1 is complete. Now moving onto secondary recon. Numbers 1 and 4, rendezvous here once you're ready."
Shiroko followed me into the camera room while the others were securing the outside, moving as swiftly and stealthily as she could. Despite how much she had been looking forward to it, she wasn't raving like a juvie getting his hands on a lasgun for the first time before getting disciplined. She was acting like a Valhallan who was let loose upon the greenskins like a bloodhound: It was a job they'd like doing, but it was a dangerous one nonetheless, one that had to be done properly to really enjoy it. She treated it like the mission it was and took it seriously.
When she said that she memorized everything about her bank robbing plans, she wasn't joking. Using what little information Ayane was able to hack without risking ourselves as well as the list of emergency exits, the little wolf girl was able to devise a route for us into the back areas that held the least resistance and most blind spots of the cameras. The few guards that we met, Helmet Gangers with headgear and arms in poor condition, were swiftly taken out with little effort or noise. They were not security experts, and they never caught on to us slowly creeping up on them until we took them out by liberal application of choking or precise blows to exposed areas.
Of course, common sense would also have us restrain those we assailed, and how would we do that if we didn't bring anything to bind them with?
Simple. The Abydos girls and I didn't. Hifumi did.
That bag of hers wasn't just for show. She was used to bringing all sorts of random odds and ends whenever she or her friends ever needed something, and the fates decreed that today, she would bring rope and handkerchiefs aplenty. That familiar foresight almost, almost made me smile in nostalgia, until I remembered that she was going to help us rob a bank.
"We're here at the breaker room," our debatably willing yet still incredibly helpful accomplice sounded off to us, her voice muffled by her paper bag. The image of her robbing the place with it brought me no humor. After all, I was the one with bloody dog ears on my face. "We've unscrewed the control panels. Just tell me what to cut." Because of course she had a screwdriver and a wire cutter with her, why wouldn't she?
"Hold position. Discuss it with Ayane." Nonomi was looking after Hifumi, while Hoshino and Serika joined us while throwing their own unconscious gangers along with their captain. So they went from working out in the desert to being armed security, probably without pay for their failure.
I'd say crime doesn't pay, but our current endeavor was about to disprove that assertion.
"We might have a problem." Not a phrase I ever liked hearing, especially while on a mission. I held my breath as I tried to see what Shiroko found on the cameras. "Center row, overlooking the teller areas."
My eyes gazed over the rows of screens until I found the one Shiroko was looking for, and cringed in displeasure and bafflement when I figured out why she called me.
"Apologies for the short delay. Rikuhachima Aru, was it?"
Her eye twitched at the demonstrably inaccurate summary of her time here. "Short- I was here for six hours with nobody else in front of me! We've been here for so long that my associates have fallen asleep on the couch!"
She whipped her hand out towards her crew's sleeping forms, with Haruka still cradling her shotgun, Mutsuki bundled up incredibly comfortably and Kayoko sitting with her hands in her pockets and her hood up.
Her righteous indignation faded away immediately as his LED eyes went from the inviting circles to narrowed lines. "As someone asking for help from our bank, the least you can do is wait. Not that you're in much position to argue, part of the delay came from sorting out the absolute catastrophe of your financial documents." She cringed at the teller's point as he turned to the guards. "Alright, go ahead and wake up those bums- I'm sorry, the customers. It's rude to use communal seating that way."
She would have bristled at such casual disdain for her friends, but he had a point about rudeness, and it was partially… Well, considering the past few days, almost entirely her fault that they were spending so much time here anyway.
As the guards forced the rest of the crew awake, to Haruka's usual stuttering apologies, Aru gulped as the teller looked back to her. "Now that your… "employees'" deficiencies have been addressed, let's deal with yours, shall we? This might take a while."
She gulped. She should have known that waiting on the couch was just the start of a very long and very bad day.
The idea that every force in the universe was looking towards me for entertainment solidified even more when I laid eyes on Aru and the rest of Problem Solver 68 still dealing with financial bureaucracy. Because breaking into this golden goose nest wasn't hard enough, was it?
"So, what did you find?" Serika followed my gaze towards the screens and had to bite back a screech from what she saw. "Those stupid problem makers?! What the hell are they doing here?!" Her efforts managed to reduce her outburst to a remarkable approximation of a feline hiss, but to be fair, I'd feel a little catty myself with this kind of luck.
"Problem- Confirm, are you telling me Problem Solver 68 is there?!" Ayane was just as dismayed as I was. "We knew that they were going to the bank, but I can't believe they came just when we arrived-!"
"I don't think so," I sighed, taking in the figures slumbering on the leather couches. Correction, formerly slumbering on the couches, having their arses kicked into forced awakening shortly after Aru got her turn. "Judging from their state of alertness, it looks like they've been here for quite a while." If they were here for more than a few hours, I wouldn't be surprised at all. I'd feel more sorry for them if they didn't seem to exist to give me a headache. They might actually have an inkling as to who we were under these masks!
… Alright, maybe not Aru or Haruka, but Mutsuki might, and Kayoko definitely would!
"Huh? Problem Solvers? Who are they?" Such casual obliviousness would certainly hurt Aru more than any bullet would, but Hifumi's ignorance didn't need enlightening.
"Don't bother with the name," Serika growled from behind me. "It doesn't fit them at all."
"So what's the plan?" Shiroko queried from behind me. With a sigh, I gave the only answer she wanted.
"Nothing's changed: Blackout, break-in and blind 'em to finish. Confirm your targets and take your positions." I considered for a moment, then belatedly added, "As much as possible, keep them out of your crosshairs. Perhaps they'd be less inclined to make things difficult for us if we do."
Alone amongst the sea of excited affirmatives was a single, nervous voice. "This is really happening, isn't it?"
Hifumi barely sounded any less dazed from asking the question than the first time she did, as though a single no would be enough for her to wake up from this terrible nightmare. No matter how many times she said it, however, I didn't admonish her.
I thought the same, now and for centuries pretending to be a Hero of the Imperium. The only difference between me and her in that regard is that I didn't say it out loud unless I was only talking to Amberley. And despite all those complaints, she was still here.
"It'll be alright," I told her, and myself. "Just follow our lead, do what comes naturally and go with the flow. It'll be over before you know it."
"… Thanks Se- no, Nine," she said honestly. "That does make me feel better."
"It's not gonna be Nine anymore!" Nonomi added cheerfully. "We all have new codenames, remember?!"
Hifumi and I would rather forget, and frankly, between the two of us, I didn't know who wanted that more. In fact, the girls didn't even tell me the new codename they cooked up for me. I could only pray that it'd be better than reminding me of the blasted Ciaphas Cainine, but I felt like that little request wouldn't be answered. "And we'll break them out when we break in." Might as well find out my ridiculous appellation when I'm at risk of dying. Perhaps then I'd leave this plane of existence before I could comprehend it, or better yet, before I ever hear it.
As we stood before the door to the main banking area, feeling the same state of resigned serenity I had before I was forced into any other battle, I steeled myself and gave the order. "Close your eyes and get used to the darkness. It's time."
The five seconds we used to cut off our sight in preparation for that door opening felt like an eternity. Terrified as I always was and needing assurance, I brought my left hand close to my heart, thumbed my palm and formed the aquila. It was the first time I ever did so in this world. Might as well ask for the Emperor's assistance when I felt he was watching, especially when I needed it more than ever for an operation like this.
"Alright," I said with an air of finality as I drew my pistol. "We're going dark. Let's do this."
The aquila was still on my chest as I gave the order. It was gone a second later, as I gripped my pistol with both hands when the lights went out, and then kicked open the door to begin our heist.
The conversation that followed was agonizing as her failures were thrown into her face, and her excuses sounded pathetically weak even to her.
"So to summarize: You're taking time off from GEHENNA ACADEMY of all places, your employment is suspicious, you're way behind on paying your obligations, you have barely any income and you're spending a lot despite that… And you're trying to take a loan from us anyway. Is that right?"
"… Yes?" She said weakly.
He rolled his eyes, his voice box emulating the impression of a tired sigh. "Secure some employment first before you come back to us. Maybe part-time? Get some early morning labor? Better than whatever you have right now."
The audacity! She should just smash everything and rob this bank right now! They're nothing compared to her and her friends, they can empty their vaults and get out easily!
… Or not. Robbing the most heavily guarded bank here and incurring the wrath of the entire Black Market? There's no way she could do that. But what could they do now?
'This is so pathetic… I wanted to become the greatest outlaw in all of Kivotos, but look at me now…'
The loan… her business… Everything she touches ends up a mess.
'I just wanted to be a hard-boiled outlaw. A true, free spirit not bound to anything… Not even fear.'
'That's all I ever wanted.'
"-re you listening to me?! HEY!"
The sensation of cold metal rapping her arm made her yelp as she suddenly remembered she wasn't alone. She gulped in embarrassment and indignity at seeing the displeased robotic face of the teller. "Your application has been rejected. Now run along."
She saw it coming, but it still came in like someone smashed her heart in. She couldn't let this happen! What other chance did they have left?! "W-wait!"
Any (likely futile) pleading she was about to do was interrupted when the lights suddenly went out. The loss of vision was quickly followed by a hail of gunfire. Frozen as she was, she couldn't even move until she was forcibly dragged down to the floor with a squeal coming out of her mouth.
No relief would come, only a blinding, deafening burst that was murder on all of her senses. Panicked and afraid, she could do nothing but plant her head in the proverbial sand until she could hear and see again.
She wasn't sure how long it took for sight and sound to return, but when it did, she risked looking up once more.
Before, overcome with fear and despair. They were gone now, replaced with awe as six masked robbers stood, undaunted, in the middle of the most heavily guarded bank in the black market.
The ideal heist was always a complete stealth op. In and out without anybody noticing. Failing that, the typical one would consist of breaking in, clearing out all initial threats, controlling the citizens while getting the bounty before leaving.
These were not normal citizens. Everyone here, even the non-students, were armed and far more durable than the average human. More than that, because they were willingly conducting business here, they were more than likely criminals. No holding hostages to delay law enforcement when there was no real "law" around here, and the Market Guards probably gave a tinker's toss about any of them.
Which was why we scoped out security first, then used the intensified blindness of the lights coming back on and the flashbang to confirm all potential threats still left, which we left to Nonomi to sweep up with her minigun.
Clearing the room with a hail of lead in a normal bank just lost you your bargaining chips and got the Arbites to stop holding back. Here, it was a necessity.
Of course, that didn't mean we could clear out everyone. Not everyone here was durable or dumb enough to stay standing when the bullets started flying, so a good number of people, whether animals, robots or students, were still conscious and liable to cause a problem if we didn't act quickly. Controlling the rest of the crowd and saving our ammo for our escape was far more preferable to wasting bullets and time on neutralizing everyone here, and risking ourselves (especially me) getting hurt in the process.
And the best way to grab everyone's attention without drawing their ire? Confuse the hell of them, just like I did with the rabid members of the eventual 597th. At the very least, I wouldn't be alone this time.
"You ready, Arona?"
"Just like we practiced, Sensei! This is gonna be fun!"
Certainly not for me. I can't believe she found a way to help with this heist. Allowing a childish mind like hers to assist me in robbing a bank was probably going to bite me in the fundament at some point, but frankly, I was too resigned to care at this point. No point in stopping the ridiculousness, might as well hit the gas, blow past stupid, and hope I end up somewhere sane on the other side.
I formally announced the beginning of our grand heist. Or rather, the feminine sound echoing out from my smartphone did it for me.
"This is a robbery. Please throw down your phones and weapons, and stay on the floor."
Arona used my phone to substitute my voice with pre-recorded samples from language courses and a bevy of other digital sources. Now, the sheer absurdity of a "masked dogman" asking you to eat dirt using a voice that would be pleasant to hear almost anywhere else had everyone's head spinning in utter bafflement. Even the tellers, who all had silent alarm buttons under their desks, were gormlessly staring at us with digital eyes.
My initial proclamation was supported by a far more terrifying ultimatum, the whirling barrels of Nonomi's minigun.
"Or else~!"
Her sugar-sweet tones told all of just how willing she was to give a repeat performance, and was enough to discourage most from trying to be a… Well, "hero" fits anyone here about as well as it did me on a regular day. A reckless idiot was better, which matched what most people thought heroes were in my book anyway.
"B-bank robbers?!" That familiar troublemaking voice sounded from the floor, and who else was it but Aru, looking like Roboute Gulliman himself was making his presence known to her with the way her eyes seemed to transform into stars. Bar none, the most disturbing sight in this entire room.
"You and your stupid voice ain't worth shi-!"
Several bullets were enough to demonstrate my gratitude towards the face masked agitator for the interruption. I stunned her with a few body shots, then shot her submachine gun to disarm her. I purposely didn't knock her out with headshots. I decided to make my case more poignant by using that little trick I learned from the Catachans again. Learning that little maneuver was worth all the pain and experimentation of finding out how to do it, clearly.
I jammed my foot into the back of her leg as I did before, but I didn't silence her, instead letting her scream out in agony. I then grabbed her arm and forced her body down, threatening to stretch it beyond what would be healthy.
"Stay down."
"Sc-screw you!" Despite the pain she was clearly in, she refused to look weak. "Why should I listen to a canine pansy like YAAAAAAGH!"
I stretched her arm out just a liiiiiitle bit more. I wondered why this was so effective when these girls could take bullets and tank shells. Were my shots enough to drive down her warp based protections? Were the insides of their bodies less protected by the war as the outside? Or perhaps it was limited to joints or other vulnerable areas?
"AGHHHH, STOP STOP STOP STOP!"
My scientific pondering was interrupted by my victim begging for me to release her. I didn't of course, not even when she was repeatedly slamming her free hand on the ground like it was prime-time show wrestling. Unfortunately for her, this wasn't scripted drama disguised as sports, this was real, and I didn't quite have an incentive to stop yet.
"You made a big mistake doing that, girl," Hoshino began with a grin, and I suddenly became incredibly nervous. "The big dog here isn't your average muscle. He's got a heart as black as his fur, with crimson eyes as red as the fires of the underworld. He won't say a word as he makes you feel like hell on earth!"
"This is Garm, the Black Canine of Hell!"
Whispers began going around as my eyes twitched within my mask. What the hell was this?! The name thankfully wasn't headache-inducingly awful, but when did you have the time to craft my outlaw backstory?!
"You can let go now!"
I snapped my head in surprise towards the interloper and found myself looking into Hifumi's eyes. The way her yellow orbs seemed to shake as she looked at me was singularly unpleasant.
"Just let go of her."
Looks like I went a little too far in my little act, and after a moment of silence, I let her arm drop. The ganger held her nearly broken limb in relief, relief that was quickly lost when she found me staring wordlessly at her. She quailed back and scampered off, abandoning her weapon and her phone in fear like the rest of the crowd.
"Makes you wonder, huh? Why would a big guy like him listen to a little thing like her?" she continued, and now Hifumi was looking at Hoshino in concern. "Because he can only respect someone who's just as bad as he is, maybe even worse. Look into her eyes and you'll only find empty orbs, lighting up only when she achieves her desires for conquest! Make her angry at your own peril, or you'll be next on her list!" She whipped her hand towards her as though she was a ringmaster presenting a beast at the circus shows. "She's our terrible leader… FAUST!"
The whispers shifted focus from me to the poor bystander we conscripted here, and I suddenly realized that our previous exchange was all the proof they needed to believe Hoshino's painfully overplayed yarn. Snapping my head towards her as though I was offended by the interruption of my agony-inducing fun, the tense silence of my boss daring me to defy her, and my slow, "reluctant" acquiescence of her orders. For all intents and purposes, she was the one who held my leash, free to let go of it and allow me to run wild on the rest of them at her whim.
Hifumi was clearly acting out her part well. The color and light had indeed drained from her eyes, surely a sign of latent sadism and certainly not because she lost all her hope in a decent, logical world, or so the rabble here would think. She followed my advice and, knowing resistance wouldn't do any good, let the beginnings of a reputation, just as inaccurate as my own back in the Imperium, rise. The Emperor strike me down, I just had to pity her for that, especially since I inadvertently made it happen.
"We're the Masked Swimsuit Gang!" Nonomi declared. "And if you don't follow what we say, you'll have to answer to all of us! And especially to me~!" She whirled the barrels of her minigun to emphasize the point again. "By the way, I'm Christina! Nice to meet you all!"
"Nobody cares!"
Serika's growl did make Nonomi slump a bit, but that didn't matter. The crowd was ours now, completely drained of spirit and putty in our hands. Between my lethal silence, Serika's tired patience, Hifumi's new undeserved reputation and of course the guns in our hands (especially the big one), nobody was willing to make a stand. They all complied, throwing away their phones for fear of facing our wrath.
"Dammit, so much for hardened criminals! Security! SECURITY!" The teller's eyes literally narrowed into slitted lines, shouting for the guards while trying (and failing) to subtly sound off the alarms via the usual button under the table.
"Sorry bud, security system's down," Hoshino mused as she leaned on the desk and casually pointed her shotgun at his face. "Cameras, silent alarms, distress calls to the outside… You're ours now, and that won't change until we say so."
Ayane really was terrifying. The power being cut gave her a window of opportunity to plug herself into the system, allowing us a few opportunities for her to sabotage it. She could do it from an entire district away after mere minutes of preparation. So long as she didn't do anything too overt, nothing could be traced back to her. Sure, if she was perfect, she could just hack the files out without us having to do any of this, but this opportunity was good enough for what she had.
The teller literally went cross-eyed, x-marks replacing his narrowed slits, and the way he went stiff as a board probably meant that he realized that he was truly frakked.
"Alright then. You over there." Shiroko, silent after her first call, then made her way to the now petrified teller. "Take me to your vaults. Give us a hundred million yen, cash only, in one bag. Hit us up with all the transport logs of the past month." Her expression didn't change as she thrust her face right beside her mark's artificial display, making him beep in fear. "I've memorized the structure, security and personnel of this entire building. Don't try anything stupid, or else."
"Y-yes, ma'am! Right away!" Needing no further encouragement. The teller led Shiroko to the rear of the bank, leaving the rest of us to deal with the crowd. It was almost easy. Most of the hapless fools who came here were sufficiently cowed by our show of force and divested themselves of everything we asked them too.
"Almost", because there was one group in particular that I had to keep my eyes on, even though I felt my soul leave my body every time I did.
I could practically feel the gigawatt-smile radiating off a certain shortsighted wannabe outlaw, and actually seeing it didn't make me feel any better. Aru wasn't a threat, and given that Haruka was confused and passive, her boss didn't ask her to act against us. The few glances I sent their way were only done to keep an eye on Mutsuki and Kayoko. Seeing that little imp making a resounding effort not to burst out laughing like I had my pants down, and the utter befuddlement on the only sane person there made a small part of me die on the inside.
They knew who we were and what was happening. They knew, and probably because they just had a long and probably fruitless day here, they were letting this happen.
Throne above, even when they were helping out by trying to be "cooperative" they were giving me a headache and psychologically destroying me instead. Since none of them seemed motivated to interrupt us, I made a point of checking on them as little as possible.
Especially when Aru was starting to tear up. I knew in my heart of hearts that it wasn't because she was scared out of her mind, but for my own sanity, I pretended it was. I had centuries of practice lying to others, why couldn't I lie to myself every now and then?
. Unthinkable. Unbelievable. Here she was, caught in the middle of a bank robbery. She ought to be scared out of her mind. She would be on the verge of bawling if she were younger.
And yet, she could only feel overcome by adoration by what she saw.
'I can't believe it! Six people facing the most infamous bank in the black market… And they've basically taken over it in five minutes flat!"
This was what she was striving for: Facing impossible, insurmountable odds without a hint of fear.
'How could they bring themselves to do this?! How are they going to get out?! What if they make the Market Guards angry?! Ohhh, I can't wait!
'It's… so beautiful…' she could feel a tear rolling down her cheek at how incredible it was. Seeing them dismantle this blasted bank that made her wait an entire day just to kick her and her friends out onto the curb was pure catharsis.
She felt like a kid watching television, cheering on her heroes to the end.
("Uhh… Are we just going to sit here?")
("Are you kidding?! Watching this play out is the best thing that happened to us all day! Look, even Aru thinks so too! Plus, what is WITH those dog ears?!")
("… You guys know that they're…")
("That is absolutely the best part! Seeing them walk all over the Stygian Bank in stupid costumes like this makes this so INCREDIBLY entertaining!")
("…Alright. Just seeing if you knew. I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole if I can help it.")
("Huh? What are you talking about?")
("… We'll tell you later, Haruka.")
The wait for Shiroko to come back was agonizing. Anything could go wrong in an instant. Our time could run out. The silent alarms could actually go off if Ayane couldn't keep their systems locked down. Aru could start bawling at this farce and Mutsuki could fail in holding back her laughter, destroying what little dignity I had left. Every second seemed to stretch into eternity until finally, finally, two figures returned from the bank vaults.
"Blue, reporting in."
I turned to see Shiroko with the poor teller forced to carry a bag far heavier than her own. "Wow Shi-Blue. You got the goods?"
"The eagle has landed." The usual stoicism of her reply was marred by the undeniable sparkle in her gaze and the grin on her lips as she held out a whole folder of files, topped with the very one that we needed. "We're good to go."
Oh, thank the Emperor, one step closer to a world of common sense… Fine work, Shiroko. Hoshino strapped the moneybag to her back, while Shiroko kept the most important loot, the papers, in her own bag. Hoshino spoke for all of us as she waved us over to the back doors. "Then it's time for us to mosey on out!"
"Whew, good thing you all held back this time… Thank you for cooperating everybody! Have a nice day!"
Hifumi's polite farewells certainly didn't match the image of a feared bank robber, but Ayane's follow up blackout, her terrifying reputation and the fact that she dared to rob the place with a paper bag mask made everyone crap their pants as we left. Good riddance to them but poor Hifumi received another boost to her infamy once again. Ah well, better her than me.
We got what we came for. I could only hope we could get away with it.
As quickly and easily as a day at the grocery store, the Masked Swimsuit Gang held down an entire bank filled with criminals, forced their teller to retrieve what was surely a princely sum from within their vaults (to great catharsis on her own end, she should add!) and then left with nary a care in the world as the lights briefly went out once again. The blackout was shorter this time, but gave enough time for the daring outlaws to make a smooth escape.
"SECURITY! SECURITY! GET THOSE ROBBERS NOW!"
As the teller screamed deliriously into the intercom, she could only laugh. "Oh man, they're really going to do it!" she cheered as she finally stood up, armed and ready once more. "I have to meet them!"
"… Are you really sure about that, boss?"
The exhausted whisper of her section chief droned on from behind her, and she looked to see her standing with her hands in her pockets as she always did, her pistol already back in place in its holster.
"100%! I have to see where this goes!"
With a resigned sigh, Kayoko glanced around before returning to her once more. "I don't know exactly how it'll go, but we can go out the back now if you wanna catch up. I have an idea."
We slipped back out the way we came in and made sure to bomb the gates for the vehicle exits, while Ayane raised the bollards for the underground parking before the second blackout came. It would only last for a short while, but now all their vehicles were delayed in setting out. All we had to do was cross the bridge dividing the Stygian bank from the rest of the black market, slip back into the maze of winding streets, and make our way back to the train station with our masks off. Then, we were home free.
If only it were so easy.
"Careful everyone! Market guard forces are incoming!"
Of course. "How did they respond so quickly?! The power just came back on!"
"There were a few squads doing routine patrols nearby! Most are just temporary gang contractors, but one is an armored battle group.!"
I knew everything was going too smoothly there. The crux of the robbery starts here.
"Remember girls. No powers unless absolutely necessary." Using their signature abilities would instantly give them away, and that would render all this effort (and humiliation) pointless. This would, naturally, make the upcoming battle harder, but that was par for the course for me.
Look on the bright side, Cain. Think of this as a training exercise for them to not rely on warpcraft and fancy gadgets, and you not to rely on your technological advantage. Just good old-fashioned soldiering and tactics!
I absolutely hate today.
"They're coming in fifteen seconds!"
Nothing for it then. We just have to move fast and hit faster. We continued to dash through the bridge as I dreaded the coming firefight. The four members of the FTF were ahead, while Hifumi and I took the rear. As a squishy normal human and an unfortunate tagalong, nobody complained about putting themselves between potential enemies and us, and who was I to complain about that?
"Ten seconds!"
"Grenades. Bombs and bulletstorms." We know they're coming, they don't know we know, which meant we could lob a few frags at them to give us a leg up. The "gang", excepting Nonomi and Hifumi (our minigunner, and a girl who brought Trinity-marked smoke grenades while she was trying to keep a low profile) fingered their explosives while taking cover behind messily parked cars, road cones and barriers. We could hear the telltale sounds of footfalls coming in, both those of shoes hitting the pavement and metal clanking on the ground. It wasn't enough to shake the bridge, but there might as well have been an earthquake with how much my heart was hammering in my chest.
"HERE THEY COME!"
The first squad came in, with both blockhead units marked with Kaiser PMC's emblem and monochrome-clothed, ebon-helmeted students coming in. I wasn't surprised to see the students in front, with them being less valuable (and possibly more durable) than what could either be company property or other employees. The gas-masked helms and their role at the forefront suddenly made me think of Death Korps Kriegers in skirts, and I really didn't need such a disturbing image in a firefight like this.
"Targets: Five masked students and a canine! Fan out and search!" The mechanical voice of a blockhead sounded out from the back, which was thankfully enough to banish the image from my mind.
As the units got to work trying to find us, welcomed them with a bundle of frags, the unwitting, cramped squad blown every which way by our successful first strike. A few of the students were even blown off the bridge and into the river below. That ought to wash the dirt off of them at least. The second wave coming from behind them took cover further away from us, hesitant to leave themselves open for more fire.
"Christina, your turn," my phone sounded out to her. She complied quickly, climbing up onto another car and unleashing a hailstorm of bullets with relish.
"Outta the way! The Masked Swimsuit Gang is here to playyyy~!"
She was having far too much fun with this. If only I could feel that way. Best I could do was get this over with quickly as I had Arona queue up another inappropriately polite command on my phone. "Move up." With the stragglers forced into cover and the fear of bullets coming for them, we hoofed it as close to them as we could, before I lobbed another grenade their way.
The explosion neutralized a few guards and automatons, and flushed the rest out into our firing line, fearing another bomb coming their way. We were ready while they weren't, and despite being on the move, we quickly gunned them down. Hifumi, bless her, didn't hit a single mark from what I could tell, but it was the thought that counted, and besides, I had zero takedowns on my end. I was basically stunning and softening our opponents up for everyone else to deal with properly.
"I'm done for now!" Her barrage finally ended, Nonomi threw the drum magazine away into the river as she dismounted the car and loaded up for the next round of rotary fire.
This seemed to convince the last straggler that it was safe to come up, because it forced itself into the open with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher in tow. Before my mind could think up an order or a curse, my hand moved faster and unloaded a few shots into him. It wasn't enough to take the metalhead down or even stop it from firing, but the impact threw off its aim, the explosive munition soaring upward and lighting up the sky instead of us. Shiroko followed my shot with a burst from her own rifle and took it down post-haste.
"Good reflexes, Garm."
"Not good enough." None of us stopped running, but I couldn't help but cluck my tongue at the eye-catching black cloud that resulted from the detonation. Damn thing was practically a glorified signal flare now.
Hoshino could only chuckle at our predicament. "Bah, the guards already knew we were here anyway! Now, everyone does!"
Joy. A potential audience. Just what we needed. "Let's just hope we get out before they come to watch." If my rising fame was any indication, there's a very good chance they'd be coming in to see this firefight for funsies, and if the guards tell them that we have their money on hand, we could have an entire district gunning for our heads. I didn't like those odds on a regular day, let alone one where all of us were on a handicap.
"SNIPERS, TAKE COVER!"
I immediately dove for the nearest road barrier the moment Ayane shouted. Hifumi was shocked by my reflexes, but was miraculously unharmed by the bullet whizzing in front of her face as she turned to look at me, prompting her to immediately follow my suggestion and scramble for cover. Hoshino acted just as fast, but instead positioned herself in front of Nonomi, taking shots that would have perforated the head of even a helmeted guardsman. "Owchies, you gotta move faster, Christina, getting sniped hurts for little ol' me!"
She sounded less like she'd been sniped and more like she'd been disciplined with a ruler at the schola, not least of which was because she was still talking at all instead of her head being splayed out on the pavement. Most old people, or young people for that matter, wouldn't have enough mouth or brain to chastise their fellows after being headshot like that.
"I'm so sorry, Sleeper, thanks for protecting me!"
"No problem, just do better!"
"Suppressing to provide heavy cover."
A dark, electronic voice cut through our chatter, signaling brand new arrivals. I peeked out from behind my spot and grit my teeth in dismay.
Being delayed by heavy front units while somebody could scope you out for a headshot was never a fun time. That thought was only strengthened as I saw exactly what said units looked like. Bigger in both height and mass than the regular automata, they were the size of an Astartes warrior and the shields they carried nearly matched them in height. And just like Astartes, their weapons were upsized as well: The guns in their hands would have counted as uncomfortably heavy rifles in the hands of a punier specimen, but their mechanical parts allowed them to wield them one-handed like an autopis- a submachine gun with ease, doling out a spray of automatic fire to keep us at bay. Even worse, as they planted them down a screen of blue energy powered up in front of it, and I couldn't bite back a curse.
"They have frakking power shields!" I quietly bit out. And they knew how to use them properly too. They spread in two alternating rows, two in the back and two in the front. It was wide enough for the snipers to have a clear shot, while their power fields extended out from the shield to completely prevent a breakthrough. Clearly, it was only a one-way deal, as our bullets uselessly smashed into the barriers while theirs passed through as though it didn't exist.
Shiroko lobbed another grenade towards them, but they were clearly made of sterner stuff than the average robot, as they managed to shrug it off. Clearly, antipersonnel frags wouldn't do much to armor like theirs.
"Those defense systems reinforce their entire bodies, Sensei, not just the shields! They have enough power for a minute of operation!" Arona explained, which was nice to know in an extended fight, but we would LOSE an extended fight as more reinforcements came in!
"Dammit, what can we do against these guys?!" Serika growled as another bullet pierced through her car cover, causing it to sound its alarm. "LIKE IT WASN'T STRESSFUL ENOUGH ALREADY!"
I racked my brain for an idea when I looked towards the cowering Hifumi, masked and covered. My mind suddenly fluttered back to her weaponized plushie, warp-enhanced enough to knock out a student. If she landed another headshot on them…
Throne, I can't believe I have to put my faith in juvie warpcraft based on throwing stuffed toys to win the day. Kaiser didn't have any information at all on Hifumi. Let's just hope we can keep it that way. "Faust, can you toss another plush their way? They don't know you like they know us."
"I'll try!" Despite the fear in her eyes, she answered my call without hesitation, sinking her hand into her bag and taking out a "normal" edition of her favorite plush toys, which was thankfully less disturbing to look at since it lacked the ice cream practically being forced down its throat.
I readied another flashbang, the last one that I had, saving my other three for frags. "Aim for the one beside Sleeper, then go back into cover as we do the rest!"
"Got it!"
"Bang, out," My phone announced as I threw my flashbang, alerting the others to take cover. The shielded units stopped firing and hid behind their barriers, allowing Hifumi the chance to stand up and hurl her plush projectile at them. It arced over the shields and made another magnificent landing on her target's head.
To my great amazement, my plan actually worked even better than I thought. The robot's head was smashed in, and it let go of both its gun and its shield as it joined the plush in clattering to the ground.
We didn't need any other signal. Hoshino practically blurred into the new opening and jammed her gun into the bot's fellow on the frontline, unleashing a full blast on its head. With the way opened up, Serika, Nonomi and I filled the gaps between the shields with lead, and the sudden presence of enemy fire caused the unseen snipers to scramble back into cover, or whatever it is they did. They weren't shooting back at us, and that was good enough for me. Shiroko, meanwhile, used her athleticism to mount the cars and in a daring maneuver jumped over the shields, which would have basically made her a clay target in a shooting gallery for a group of snipers… If they weren't obliviously cowering in cover. She landed swiftly behind barrier bots, potted them with a few cursory shots and moved on forward. This clearly wasn't in the shield units' protocols, because they were torn between protecting the front and going for her. The "indecision", or whatever it is such things felt, made them easy pickings. One turned around to try and deal with Shiroko, and it was swiftly dealt with by the rest of us, filling its rear end with lead. The one that still protected its front was now left open from the side, and it met the same fate as its comrade in eating a point-blank bullet feast from Hoshino.
We didn't even need to help Shiroko deal with the snipers. Quick as she was, she got to them before they could mount a resistance, firing off precise three-round bursts that took them down with nary a problem.
"Wow, we really just took them all down with the help of a stuffed toy." Serika's bewilderment matched mine. The sense of accomplishment I felt was marred by the depression that came from how little it made sense, but I was still alive. Best not look a gift horse in the mouth.
"We can think about that later. Keep moving!" As we stepped over the disabled robots, I made sure to pick up the stuffed toy, as hideous as it was useful in its owner's hands. "Here you go, Faust. Good show."
"Thanks. I just wish I didn't have to use it this way…" She groaned as I returned it to her.
"You too, Blue. Great athletics."
"Thank you, Garm." I had to admire her restraint, the grin on her face and the lights in her eyes told us all she was having the time of her life, and yet her voice was barely any lighter than it usually was. "I worked hard for it."
Don't I know it. Clearly, her hobby with biking paid dividends on her leg strength. "Well, keep using it, we aren't out of the woods just yet!" I turned to Hoshino, as she experimented with the shield. "Think you can use those?
She grimaced and shook her head. "Too big for me to use it properly while carrying all this stuff. Plus, I can't find the power switch."
"The shield seems to be connected directly to the robots, with the energy barrier powered by their own generators. They seem to cut power to all systems aside from shooting and defenses when they use the barrier."
That explained things. Their turning was even more sluggish than expected from giant robots with shields. If this bridge weren't so narrow and they weren't covered by snipers, proper use of cover could have you dodging past them like a field runner.
"You might give Kaiser ideas if you used a shield and shotgun anyway." While that loadout was by no means unique to Hoshino, having glimpsed law enforcers making use of them as they rounded up delinquents after retaking the SCHALE building, we didn't need anything narrowing down the list of suspects. "Leave it then. Let's move."
I've crossed bridges with armies before, and while this wasn't anywhere near the longest bridge I've crossed, it was starting to get close to the top bridges that FELT longer than they actually were. Unable to use my favored weapons, having to adapt to fighting greenskin tough (if not smart) schoolgirls accompanied by automatons while trying to keep our cargo and our identities safe, with the slightest mistake spelling doom for us (and especially me) even if we survive?
Let's just say it was very trying.
"GET DOWN NOW!"
Which was only exemplified when I heard Ayane scream. I didn't bother with clarification, I simply hit the dirt while dragging a squealing Hifumi down with me, and was rewarded by not having my body reduced to charred cinders by a tank shell.
Yes. A tank shell. Because of-frakking-COURSE they'll bring a tank to secure a bank around here, an ominous black thing gingerly parked at the other end of the bridge, as though taunting us with how close we were to victory. And if you had a brain, they wouldn't be alone, because an armored car drove in at its side delivering a full complement of black automata. Rocket launchers, assault rifles and shielders either came out from within or walked from behind the tank. And to top it all off, a hatch opened up on the roof of the car to reveal a turret, its machine spirit empowered to automatically seek out foes without guidance.
It was a wall of fire deadlier than the one I faced upon my arrival, with shields in front forming a staggered power barrier covering those in the back. The moment an opening presented itself those launchers would unleash their payload upon us
"AGHK!" Serika took a few hits before she could take cover, and growled in frustration. At least she didn't unleash her flames, but she did ask the question of the hour: "Dammit, what are we going to do now?!"
And wasn't that a problem? As we were now, we didn't have the tools to merely charge the fools in front of us like we did when I arrived. I was facing a bunch of school bullies with guns that were terrible shots and all lacked discipline, and they had the fear of the Emperor put into them by my chainsword and blinded by a flashbang.
We were facing soulless machines here that knew how to take a formation and aim properly, backed by a tank, while I wasn't armed with my favored weapons, and my students were handicapping themselves.
"I can hack the turret, but I don't know how many of them I can take out before it gets destroyed," Ayane said forlornly. "It definitely won't be enough to deal with the tank…"
"It's a start." Between our explosives and the surprise of a mechanized gun emplacement shifting targets, we might just be able to move up and do something…
My stomach fell even more when Ayane's focus suddenly changed into desperate cries "Two cars have managed to leave the Stygian Bank! They're heading for you now!"
Emperor above, was it over? I knew there was a reason those rocketbots weren't using their heavy ordnance: They were waiting to pincer us between their allies. We'd have to use our grenades on those waves to ensure they wouldn't be a problem, but those up ahead might push their way towards us. Did we really get in over our heads? Will we have to reveal ourselves? Would that even make a difference?
"… I might have something."
My head snapped towards Hifumi rustling through her bag, searching for our apparent salvation. The answer came in the form of a disc-shaped object with layers of blue, yellow and black circular bands at the center, all surrounding a single word in bold typeface: FRIENDS. She pressed a switch, and red lights turned, suggesting it was primed.
"Use all your grenades on the cars. I think this will be good enough if I manage to land this at the center."
A risky move, trying to land a shot like that with all this fire going around. I was going to ask if she was really sure about this when I looked at her again. Her eyes were more determined than I'd ever seen her, even while her hands couldn't stop shaking.
Scared out of her mind, yet realizing this was the only path she could think of to forge on ahead. I didn't need to ask anymore. She wasn't sure it would work at all. But it was the only way she could think of that could work. Wasn't that familiar?
In my experience, hearing other people support you in your insanity did provide a small bit of assurance. Not much, but every little bit counted.
"… Wait for us to deal with the cars before you move up. They might be tempted to move closer to box us in, and the shock from the explosion should be enough to give you a little breathing room."
I could see her brightening up at the apparent faith I had in her while the rest of the girls readied the explosives. "Well, if our brave leader is stepping up to the plate, who are we to question it? You can do it, Faust!"
I'd say Hoshino's use of our tagalong's criminal appellation actually made that cheer a little less effective, but the adrenaline surging through Hifumi made her ignore it entirely, gripping the disc tightly with both hands as we awaited our fate.
The whirring engines of the two cars soon arrived, parking on either side of the bridge a few meters behind us. As I expected, I could hear the mechanized steps and the tank's wheels close in to accompany them. As the new vehicles stopped to allow their members to disembark, we didn't let them.
Nonomi unleashed a hail of bullets at the doors, preventing the occupants from leaving. The rest of the FTF and I then lobbed our grenades towards it, the explosions completely destroying both vehicles and sending the guards off into the river or (probably, given their durability) passed out on the pavement.
As the soldiers on the other end halted, Hifumi took a deep breath and charged out, intending to toss her disc towards the squad. Just like last time however, she overstepped, making her fall flat on her face.
And once again, just like last time, it allowed her to evade, not just bullets, but the barrage of rockets that harmlessly sailed above her head, flying past us until the detonation timer within the charge forced it to explode and send more students and robots into the drink.
As for Hifumi's disc? It landed right in the middle of the crowd before it seemed to burst with light. I peeked out from cover to see what it did, and couldn't help but crinkle my eyes in complete bafflement.
Out popped a holographic projection of Hifumi's idol, Peroro. Its grand contribution to our cause? It started dancing, waddling and swaying every which way with its vacant, slack-tongued expression. It was a lightshow, a glorified distraction.
Or so I thought.
As though the accursed thing was marked for death and had insulted their mothers, the entire squad completely ignored us and set upon the mascot with a vengeance, as frenzied as if the Khorne himself had personally touched their circuits. By Holy Terra, the damn turret swiveled around and started filling the hologram with lead, while the tank was using its machine gun to try and ruin it up close!
No… That wasn't a hologram. It was actually taking fire, flickering as bullets smashed into it! It was the opposite of Kayoko. She personally terrified all into running away from her. Hifumi transformed the hologram from a simple projection disc into a hard light construct that forcibly entranced all those around it into trying to destroy it!
No other opportunity could come by now. I rose out from cover, the rest of the squad following me. "Take them down."
My phone's pleasant voice wasn't exactly a commissar's call to action, but the opportunity was encouraging enough. We bolted for the now distracted machines, the rest moving ahead as I swiftly picked up Hifumi and moved her into cover. They parted the center to let Nonomi have first blood, or oil as it were, as she whirled her barrels once more, while Ayane's efforts to subvert the turret were audible even through our comm-link, fingers flying over the keys as she took it over.
The mighty, aggravating image of Peroro eventually flickered into static and died down, releasing the robots from their enforced madness with a single second of utter confusion before they faced ahead once more.
That was all we needed.
"HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Nonomi growled and filled the shielded units' backsides with lead, joined by the now controlled turret. The constant barrage punctured a few metal shells and took them down, or kept them staggered or forced into cover until Nonomi ran out of bullets in her drum magazine, and the barrels of the turret overheated. Our minigunner then took cover, while Ayane retracted the abused weapon. We didn't need it anymore once we closed in.
It was an absolute massacre. We fell upon the machines like a pack of raptors, filling them with lead up close. Shiroko's accurate bursts and Hoshino's point-blank shell spreads tore through the shield bots, while Serika switched to full auto and let it rip upon the infantry. They couldn't take down everybody, but that was fine. I used my pistol to stun any stragglers. As the girls started needing to reload, I had to take their place to keep our enemies off-balance. I decided to go into melee range, using the lack of distance to enhance the power of my shots. I shot one twice to daze it, then used the opening to jam my pistol into the head and unleash a coup de grace. I twisted my body to quickly pepper another with shots, then blasted its neck. I then dove into cover while letting Serika take my place once more, spewing out more bullets from her rifle and finishing off the rest of the bots.
Which only left us with the tank. With no more of its allies at risk, it was ready to unleash its anti-infantry machine gun at us. But it was too late.
Shiroko threw away her gun, rolling on the ground and picking up one of the fallen rocket launchers. The weapon was long and had to be mounted on her shoulder, but it was unused, loaded and ready to fire. Shiroko sank to one knee, steadied herself as much as she could, and let it rip.
How lucky we were. The bots carried a weapon strong enough to deal with their own tanks, the charge punching through the armor, and then detonating it from within with a magnificent explosion, the shockwaves nearly blowing us off our feet.
For just a second, we were completely still. We were caught up in that surreal sensation, that odd serenity that came after finishing something insane, before we realized that we had done it.
We had broken through.
"Holy crap," Serika said dumbly. "That… That just happened."
Much as that was a call for celebration, I knew we weren't safe just yet. I quickly ran back to where we left Hifumi, finding her breathing hard in exhaustion.
"Did we do it?" She said worriedly.
I nodded, smiling at her from beneath my mask. "We did, thanks to you. Well done."
I didn't have to remove that paper bag from her head to feel the tired smile behind it. "Hehe… Great…" I took her hand and pulled her to her feet, and she forcibly steadied herself as I gave her back the disc. She sighed in relief. "Well… At least it didn't get damaged. It'll be a while before I can use it again, and it takes a lot out of me if I use it too much…"
"Just one ought to be enough," I told her firmly. "We'll need you to guide us out of here once again."
She nodded as she gripped the bags she was holding. "I can. We have to run now, right?"
I was about to agree when I eyed the vehicle beside us. I could feel a satisfied grin welling up from within me as, just like two days before, our enemies provided an avenue for our salvation.
"Why walk when we can ride?"
Our escape wasn't over yet. Crossing that bridge was only another step in our getaway, and we still had to board a train and get back to Abydos.
But God Emperor as my witness, stepping on the gas and riding through the other side of that bridge felt like finishing a trench run through No Man's Land with the Kriegers: It was just one step, but it was a long and dangerous one behind us.
Even with a hijacked vehicle, we still weren't home free. We had to fake a patrol route around the district, edging our way towards the train station while avoiding suspicion. Tinted windows, the Kaiser logo outside our car, constant updates from Ayane about the state of the district and Hifumi's directions kept us away from prying eyes and on the down low.
The bad news? The district was getting chaotic, with market guards flooding the area and students panicking all throughout. They were even tightening security around the train station.
The good news? Tightening security meant that they wouldn't notice a car or two heading for the trains… ours, for example.
We were on the edge of our seats the entire time: We didn't dare talk if we didn't have to, as though a stray word would give us away and end everything. I could feel my palms sweating under my gloves as we drove. Every time we neared another car or Market Guard patrol it felt like none of us could even breathe.
"There should be an empty lot nearby. You can hide the car there and prepare for exfiltration."
Closer and closer to freedom. Just one final push.
"We can find a way to get rid of the money there too."
Hoshino's determined proclamation was met with mournful sighs from Serika and Nonomi. Not from Shiroko though, confirming for me that this whole robbery obsession was less about money, and more about just wanting to rob a bank. The thrill of the heist, in other words.
"We've already had this conversation," I reminded them patiently as I turned the corner. "We can't actually use this money. We just got it to hide the fact that we wanted the Abydos papers."
"I know," Serika answered me, no less disappointed than the first time I told them. "It's just… Dammit, it just feels like we've been working hard just to make things HARDER for us! And now that we have all our hard-earned cash back, we can't even use it! It's just…" She growled in powerless frustration. "… It just feels so pointless."
Serika's dismay weighed heavily on everyone. Nonomi shared in her junior's displeasure, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Shiroko was neutral in the conversation, simply content with pulling off the heist, but she too had a sympathetic frown on her face. Even Hifumi and Hoshino, who were just as against using the money as I was, couldn't help but feel sorry for the little cat girl.
And I could hardly fault her. I already disliked putting my life on the line when I was forced to, learning that I was basically bankrolling efforts to put a bullet in my head certainly made me furious. How much more did that apply to the students fighting for their entire district, wondering if their struggle would ever end?
But fortunately, taking care of morale was part of my duties, and somehow, I managed to get good at it.
"Is it really?"
My simple question managed to replace the dismay with confusion, and I didn't have to look at the mirror to feel all their stares upon me. I drove slowly and didn't look back towards them, the past few days already giving me ways to ease her fears.
"Way I see it, using this cash seems more pointless," I mused to them. "You'd regret it. You'd feel guilty about using it, and the thought of what you did and the fear of being found out would eat into you until you did something wrong. Deep in your heart, you know Hoshino and I are right."
I had no real moral compunctions about using stolen money. You could argue it was theirs by right, but deep down, these girls were too good to use it without feeling anything. Ideals and beliefs like justice and righteousness could make you do rather stupid things, true, but such things could push lone soldiers to move mountains, as I saw so many times over my centuries of battles. Every now and then, I could feel it myself.
These girls could fight on because they felt that they had right on their side. They needed every strength they could get, and any doubt in their cause could be a fatal misstep.
I could feel Serika in particular shifting uncomfortably at the assertion, knowing I hit the bullseye. I knew it was discouraging for her, hearing that every path seemed like a dead end, but I wasn't about to chastise her understandable feelings without a little encouragement.
"Besides, all that money became the catalyst for today's robbery. Maybe we won't use it to pay for the debt. But we're using it now to hide the evidence we found of their wrongdoing, which can be used to free your district entirely. That's more than anything that cash can pay for, isn't it?"
Honestly, I wasn't sure of that myself. Actually using this evidence would be a headache and a half, because throwing around my extrajudicial power to use it would just undermine all our efforts to keep our identities hidden, but it was technically true.
"But no matter what it was used for, because of all this money you earned through your efforts and paid to Kaiser, Abydos is still here. Think about how many people who can still live there thanks to your efforts. Remember how happy and proud they were at seeing the rest of the city finally notice their plight. Imagine just how their lives would be uprooted if you didn't bother fighting for them. And because of how hard you've worked, you've taken another huge step on the path to saving them."
Telling the soldiers that they made an impact on the lives of citizens and protected mankind was as basic an adage as they came, but concrete evidence of that fact always made it more poignant, and the girls were able to witness it more and more over the past few days. Such things definitely struck a chord with everyone here, and I could finally feel the dark cloud hanging over them pass us by.
"… I guess you could see it that way." Serika tried to sound like she was accommodating, but her voice was enough to let me know that I had succeeded.
"Man, you really have a way with words, Sensei." Hoshino said with the same warmth that I heard from her last night.
"So I've been told," I said with my usual modesty. "Keeping spirits up was part of my job after all."
"So this is what the Sensei of SCHALE is like…" I could hear the awe in Hifumi's voice. "No wonder you were able to rally your students to face down armies at your side."
"I get good results from good people. Don't forget that you're one of them. You're an incredible boon to us, Hifumi."
This wasn't just my usual dissembling. She was genuinely pivotal to all of today's efforts. Between her guidance and her performance throughout the day, she was clearly far more than just an ordinary student, no matter what she might say.
I might have judged Hifumi too harshly for coming here for a mere toy. I was hardly a saint back at the schola, merely one who knew how to hide his mischief, including deeds that would've had me suspended, expelled and possibly even executed depending on my teacher's mood if I ever got found out… And if Hifumi had her way, well, that was basically a taste my school life in a nutshell.
I wasn't much better even as an adult, seeking cheap thrills in bars, bordellos and other disreputable places. Such misadventures included nearly being an incubator for a genestealer invasion due to not looking hard enough at the bordellos, and almost having my soul stolen by a Slaaneshi witch that haunted me for decades after, and despite that it took quite a while for me to swear off such pleasures (because I met Amberley) and bars continued to be a vice for me until I couldn't find the strength to move about and try them. I even got others caught up in my madness sometimes. Yanbel always told me he used his automated legs the most after I introduced him to the wonders of gambling.
"Did I help out too Sensei?!"
"Yes you did," I thought honestly, but warily. That excitement did not bode well.
"Heck yeah! I'm an amazing criminal too!"
"Refrain from that please. For all our sakes." Emperor help me, if I just inducted a childish AI into the way of crime I was going to bang my head on the nearest desk until I never woke up.
"O-oh…" I could practically feel the embarrassment radiating off of her. "It's alright. You helped me out first after all."
"Hehe, you've awakened to a new calling today! All hail Faust, our great leader!"
Hoshino's metaphorical, and then literal, pat on the back was (un)surprisingly not well-received by Hifumi, the grin on her face not matching the blank void in her eyes or the broken laugh coming out of her mouth, all of which went unnoticed as the rest of the Masked Swimsuit Gang cheered.
I finished the last turn already, so there was no harm in looking back at her. Our eyes met, and after seeing the robber mask on my head and the dog ears sticking out on top, the sorrow in her gaze was alleviated as she took solace in the fact that she wasn't alone.
Yes, this would haunt both of us for years, one way or another. I wasn't the only one with skeletons to hide around here anymore, even if I did have far more than she did.
After parking our armored transport, all of us swiftly exited the vehicle with our ill-gotten gains. "Right, so how are we doing this? Maybe we could just start a fire?"
"I have matches!" Hifumi spoke up, because of course she did.
"That could work…" There was certainly enough wood around, plus a few barrels and oil to make the flames ignite. "Might take a little time to set up…"
"Everyone, be careful!" Ayane voxed out to us. "There's a group heading your way!"
Emperor above, what now?! "Who is it?" I groaned as I drew my pistol. Damn, I didn't really want to draw any eyes on us. We had to deal with this quickly!
"It's-!"
"I can't believe it! You were right on the money, Kayoko!"
My eyes widened behind my glasses as our pursuers turned out to be Problem Solver 68. How in His Holy Name did we keep running into these clownish delinquents?!
"This place is out of the way and not many people know about it, and it's near the train station. If there's anywhere they'd end up before making a clean getaway, it'd be here," Kayoko mused lazily as she stuffed her hands in her pockets. That expression changed when she laid eyes on me again, and I swear I could feel my dignity crumble away when pity seemed to dash across her orbs.
I knew she was the most dangerous of this lot. She guessed exactly where we could end up out of anywhere near the train station. But why exactly are they here? Are they here to bolster their funds? Did she tell her boss about our identity so they could finish their job?
"So why are you here then?" Shiroko entered the conversation with a neutral voice, not making any other move to attack other than drawing her gun. Not exactly a peace offering, but in a black market within Kivotos, that was less a threat and more of a general "how-do-you-do."
"I just…" Aru gulped as she laid eyes on us before coughing into her hand to try (and fail) to regain her composure and dignity. "I just wanted to tell you how amazing you were!"
It took a monumental effort of will not to cringe into my insides after hearing her praise. "You went to the most notorious bank in all of Kivotos and brought it to its knees! You got in and out in five minutes flat! Whether it was rowdy criminals, security guards or the Market Enforcers themselves, nothing could stand in your way! You got in, fought the black market and WON!" A tear actually streamed down her eye, like she was an ecclesiarch witnessing the arrival of a Saint or even the Emperor himself! WHY?! "That skill, that resolve… Criminals like you only come once in a generation! You're an inspiration to outlaws everywhere!"
Her entire body seemed to radiate childish glee and awe, every idolizing word and the admiration behind them pulverizing my sense of dignity and rationality like a Space Marine with a Thunder Hammer. Hifumi was equally trying to remain stable, while most of the FTF here was just utterly confused.
Except for Nonomi. She was preening over the attention, enjoying this madness for what it was.
"S-So please… Tell me who you are! I want to know who it is that inspired me so much!"
… No. Ohhhh no. She asked for an introduction. That only meant…
"You want to know who we are?! We can oblige!" Reveling in the moment, Nonomi balanced her firearm on the ground by its barrels, placing her other hand on her heart. "We… Are the Masked Swimsuit Gang!"
Silence followed. The declaration of our title had everyone (except me, still as a statue, trying to pretend none of this was happening) staring at our green-masked minigunner in silence.
"The Masked Swimsuit Gang…?" Aru began in confusion.
"Ah, we're supposed to have swimsuits and masks, but we kinda rushed this job so we couldn't put on swimsuits," Hoshino cheerfully handwaved, as though the name was worth justifying. No, no it isn't.
"Masked Swimsuit Gang… That name… is so… so…" For a brief moment, I thought that such an absurd name was enough to make Aru realize just idiotic this all was, that a smidgen of rationality existed within. The hope died when her eyes lit up. "SOOOO BADASS!"
… There was no stopping her. There was no stopping any of this. Hell with it all.
I tried not to gaze brokenly off into the distance as Nonomi began a grand tale, unheeding of the utter confusion of her companions. "We're pop idol superstars by day and swashbuckling vigilantes of justice who fight bad guys by night!" She then flashed her forefinger and middle finger at Aru before using them to frame her eye. "I'm Christina~!"
Aru reeled back as though she had taken a blow, overcome with awe. "Amazing! You even have a gimmick!"
"Bwahahaha!" Having caught her bearings and realizing how much fun she could have, Hoshino rattled off a suitably maniacal laugh. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! Forsake mercy and walk the path of chaos! That's our motto!"
HOW do you keep coming up with this tripe?! Do you spend the time you should be sleeping on fantasizing hack fiction like this?! Then again, "walking the path of chaos" seemed about right, considering how much I could feel all the Ruinous Powers splitting their sides at my expense. The next ecclesiarch I meet is probably going to scream for me to be purged the moment he looks at me. You know, aside from the fact that I'm supposed to be dead and he'd consider me a spawn of the warp just for existing.
"H-holy smokes…"
As Hoshino and Nonomi continued to entertain the childish delinquent, I looked ahead towards her companions. Kayoko was trying hard not to crack her head with a facepalm, Mutsuki was teary eyed from trying not to laugh at our disguises, her childish boss and this entire situation… And Haruka was, as usual, eternally confused.
"Thank you so much for indulging me," Aru finally said. "I… I just want to tell you that I'm going to keep working hard and someday, I'm gonna become an outlaw like you! A truly free spirit that won't be held back by anything! Not by rules, not by laws… Or my own fear!"
Something inside me went still at that. Instead of trying to ignore everything, I found myself inexplicably drawn to the beginnings of determination coming out, just like when she found the resolve to face us.
Between her, and the way her friends seemed to take pride in their leader…
"… Then find your own path."
Nobody expected me to speak. Problem Solver didn't, gobsmacked that I actually spoke. Even my own comrades were completely on the backfoot at my words, especially since they were spoken in a dark growl. Aru was naturally more surprised than them. almost seeming afraid at the fact that I spoke.
"You… I didn't think you would speak…"
"I found you interesting enough to talk to," I intoned back. "Not something I expected. Somebody who'd spend so long at a bank while your comrades ended up sleeping doesn't seem like the type to chase after us just to thank us."
Shame crawled over her, and she looked away. "I… I didn't think we had a choice. We ran out of money from a job we botched…"
"And you didn't think there was any other way? As far as I can see, you could've pulled off what we did."
Between Haruka's fanaticism strengthened durability, Kayoko's smarts, Mutsuki's cunning and her use of explosives and the potential I saw within Aru… They really could have. It would've been far more chaotic than our own relatively methodical break-in and escape… But they could've broken that bank.
"Y-you think so?" Aru questioned me with disbelief and even a little hope.
"If you wanted to. Did you want to rob that bank? Did you want to do that job you failed at?"
"Tell me, Aru. What exactly do you want to do?"
It was the same question I pounded into her yesterday, and I did the same now. Her memory of it was as crystal clear as mine from the way she stilled. But it seemed she was so caught up that she didn't connect all the dots.
"If you can't figure it out, maybe I can give you a taste."
I looked at Hoshino, currently holding the moneybag. Realizing what I wanted to do, unsure of the reasons behind them yet trusting them anyway, she handed it to me.
And then, I threw it over to Aru.
"Wh-wha?!" Serika nearly cried out in surprise, while Aru stared at the bounty I gave her as though it was one of Mutsuki's duffel bombs instead.
"This money…?!" She looked at me, utterly lost. "But why? You went through so much for this!"
More than she knew. That money was the result of the Abydos' girls' blood, sweat and tears, with my contribution a mere fraction of their hard work. But having it with us wouldn't help us.
"Did we?" I said rhetorically. "You're mistaken about that one."
"It's not about money. It's about sending a message."
I stared straight into her, and she was enraptured by both my gaze and my words. "It's one thing to get a hundred million yen out of a bank in five minutes flat. When that bank is the black market's Stygian Bank, it's another thing entirely. Even if we didn't get a single coin out of there, the fact of the matter is, we walked into the most heavily guarded bank in this black market and they couldn't stop us from walking out. Nobody will forget that."
"Money can be stolen. Gold can come and go. But the legend we forged here is worth more than any haul that bank could have."
I would know. My reputation came with blessings and curses alike, and money was the least important among all of them.
As she took in my words, I looked past her and into Kayoko's eyes. She and Mutsuki knew damn well who I was, and I didn't bother thinking otherwise. What they did with that information would hopefully be to our benefit, especially with this little boon.
"If you don't like what you're doing now, use that money to change that. Not all at once… Don't want people to wonder where you got it. Don't just think of how your actions will affect you now. Think of how they'll affect other people and other places in the future, and how those dominos will fall on you."
"Figure out the answer to my question. Maybe you'll find yourself a step closer to us someday."
Just to ensure people knew the pecking order around here, I turned to my supposed boss. "Shall we?"
"O-oh! Right! Let's go, everyone!"
Just like before, the FTF and Problem Solver 68 parted in silence due to my actions. It was quite a few minutes before the very obvious question came up.
"Sensei…" Serika hedged, trying not to sound frustrated. "Why did you do that?"
"We weren't recognized by Aru. Kayoko definitely caught on to us, probably Mutsuki too. That should hopefully convince them to get the hell out of Abydos."
That was the logical answer I gave, and much as Serika didn't like it, she at least understood it.
It was a poor excuse for an answer, I knew. She wasn't satisfied by it, and neither was I.
Out of everyone here, the one most surprised at the fact that I opened my mouth and helped them out was, without a doubt, me.
The real answer to Serika's question?
I don't know.
"Sensei," Arona asked worriedly from within my head, "are you alright?"
"... Let's just get out of here. I've had enough of the black market."
Prosperity can never be taken for granted in the world of business. Opportunities and pitfalls can come without warning, and it was his duty to respond to them appropriately.
Today, the luxuries of his opulent workplace provided no comfort as he was informed of what happened in the black market. His desk creaked as his steel hands pounded into it with anger.
"Preposterous! HOW did this happen?!"
He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Just one day after those inappropriately named "Problem Solvers" were defeated, skyrocketing the popularity of that damned Sensei, the Stygian Bank just was hit by a group of random students and a bloody dog! Their Market Guards, manned and armed by Kaiser itself, were blasted away and turned to scrap, and they couldn't stop a ragtag group from waltzing into their establishment and then strolling out with an eye-bulging 100 million yen in five minutes flat!
Even worse, they had no information on these fools! They cut the power and left the systems vulnerable to hacking, cutting off all security such as alarms and CCTVs! Their bots were far too damaged to get any clear footage, and there was even a moment in the confrontation where their battle cameras completely went to static for no reason at all!
The only information they had? Their names. Hushed whispers and panicked cries began spreading through the district, uttering the names of the robbers and tempting him to drop his head onto his desk at the sheer stupidity of it all.
They were called the goddamn MASKED SWIMSUIT GANG!
The money was nothing to them. Debilitating as it was, they could recover the money soon enough. But a group of idiots with a similarly ridiculous name humiliated Kaiser and won. Damn them all!
"You look like you're in a tight spot."
Like the day couldn't get any worse!
He tried not to let his servos flinch as the mysterious ebony figure came in, his twisted face still just as amused as ever even with egg on his face once again. He groaned. "I suppose you're already aware of what happened."
"Five students and a dog robbed a bank under your protection and you could do nothing about it. So I've heard." If anything, the bastard only smiled more! "Incredibly fascinating how strange things are nowadays."
"I'd prefer it if the interesting things didn't affect our bottom line," he ground out bitterly. "Who knows how much it will take to recover from this?"
"Money and power can't solve anything," the man advised. "Then again, that's all you people want, so I suppose I can't fault you for obsessing over the setback."
Oh, how he wished he could shoot this him. He wasn't the only one in the company who thought that way either. But truthfully, he could sic an entire battalion on the black enigma and it would do nothing but leave him with a destroyed pile of machines and mechs, wasted money and possibly a target on his back.
He was a monster. All of Kaiser knew it, and all of them were at his and his group's mercy. But that would change one day. Mark his words.
"But you are right that this would inconvenience us, so here's a little tip for you. The Gehenna Prefect Team is moving for Abydos to go after your most recent hires."
Those pathetic Problem Solvers? "Why would the Prefect Team go after those fools?"
"It's a ruse. They're really after the true thorn in our side."
Quite literally, his red eyes lit up in understanding, and he could feel malicious satisfaction thrumming through his systems.
"Well, well. I can't believe we can have law enforcement do our job for us," he chuckled. "So what's the plan?"
It was the monster's turn to smile, his cold flaming lips cracking into an expression that turned all of his excitement into terror.
"Simple. Make Abydos' end inevitable."
By the time we got to the station, we had unmasked ourselves already. I was finally free of those blasted dog ears, replacing my headwear with a cap instead. Just to make sure we weren't too suspicious, we bought our tickets separately, going into separate cars. By chance, it was just Shiroko and I in the car, having gotten on before the rest and lucky enough to find a place surprisingly isolated from others.
It was a long day, and I didn't realize how anxious I was until I got onto the train and subconsciously let out my breath.
"It's finally over…" I leaned back on the seats, the views of the black market transitioning into the white skyline so common in the rest of Kivotos.
"It is. We really did it, Sensei." Shiroko had let her hair loose once more, the excitement of her long dream of heist giving way to satisfaction that we pulled it off. "Thanks to you, we managed to finish it off amazingly."
"Thanks to all of us, especially you." She was the one who came up with the idea and worked with me to suggest most of it. And… These silly masks too, I suppose.
At least I'm finally free of my blasted costume. If I never see it again, it'll be too soon. I just need to discreetly dispose of them and…
"I had a lot of fun today, Sensei. It was the most fun I had in a long time."
She beamed at me, so sincere and so bright, filled with gratitude and contentment. More than any other time I'd seen her, she looked just like a normal girl. Well, a normal girl with wolf ears, but this was Kivotos after all.
Tired as I was, I could only roll my eyes and smile in return. "Well, I'm glad you had fun then, Shiroko."
At least one of us had a good day. As usual, behind my smile, there was only resignation in my heart.
If that ridiculous mask and those accursed dog ears ever even TOUCHED a garbage can, somehow, some way, Shiroko would find out and be absolutely crushed. Best I could do was to keep the bloody things under lock and key and hope I never have to use them again.
There is absolutely no way I'll ever have to use them again.
… Say them enough times and believe it hard enough, and even your most delusional wishes can come true. Surely so.
Sadly, past life experiences have made it very difficult to believe.
GARM THE BLACK DOG WILL RETURN
*Chapter 16: Earning Our Pay, END*
Edited, as per usual, by Doc43Souls.
So how did you people like my little adaptation of Payday in Blue Archive? An entertaining romp, I hope. I tried to make the beginning a little more strategic instead of just busting down the front door. I also emphasized Hifumi's role in the escape, as well as the competence of the Market Enforcers, compared to the handicap placed on our heroes- Sorry, I mean the Masked Swimsuit Gang. Their exfiltration was also a little more complicated, while also allowing Cain and Aru to meet again as her group caught up.
Isn't it fun that Cain gets to not only see, but CONTRIBUTE to the birth of a new legend based on misunderstandings? The pain is always fun to watch. Not for him though, because he also got a reputation.
And yes, he's coming back. Somehow, someday, he WILL return.
Next time, the gang is back in Abydos again for a surely relaxing time. Surely after today, things should slow down, right?
Right?
Well, we'll find out next time. See you then!
