25th Dec'19
7:15 PM
\"For fuck's sake! Is this...their doing? We're dealing with terrorists here?"\ Slipper asked no one in particular since all the people in the party were of the same mind.
\"We'll know soon enough."\ Tom, too, was baffled since it all seemed like a big fucking coincidence and not at the same time.
At the same time, the cops who were dispatched for the ongoing chase were now redirected towards the explosion without anybody raising a ruckus. The cops were also tensed as they tried to get in touch with their families and loved ones.
Mayhem was one of the words that could describe New York City right now. After 10 minutes of the explosion, gangs and thugs littered the streets of the city. All the efforts of the cops were in vain as the building that exploded was none other than the NYPD's.
On the road of the city, both a grey SUV and a Tesla moved slowly together. The view was one of the worst Harry had ever seen; it was like a war was happening.
\"Boss, we need to move away from the roads. As we are now, we'll draw unnecessary attention. They are not following us anymore"\ Fax reminded the weary Tom who looked everywhere in exasperation.
\"Yeah...speed up. Before that, give me my kit."\
The slowed Tesla and SUV both maintained their speed. The back glass of the SUV opened, and a brute with blonde buzz-cut hair handed Harry a big black bag.
"What's up, kid? Name's Slipper."
"Hi, name's Harry. I-I don't have a code yet."
"You do."
"Bouquet?"
"Ahaha... nah, that's something else. Anyway, see you guys at the shop."
After getting his kit, Tom put the car in autopilot and started checking the gun. It was an M4 carbine, a standard US Marine assault rifle with an effective range of 500m. The pistol similarly was a GLOCK 22, the latest issue for the cops in the US.
"Tom?"
"Yeah?"
"What's my code?"
"...Don't worry about it."
"Yeah... right."
Tom then put on the military vest and started placing extra mags in their position. He also took out another vest and gave it to Harry.
"Put it on."
As Harry wore the vest, Tom gave him a handgun, the Glock which was in the holster.
"Take this."
"I am... not that great of a shooter."
"And I don't dance very well. Now take it."
Taking the gun, Harry directly put it in the holster Tom provided.
"Is my aunt and cousin home yet?"
\"Stem?"\ Tom asked the one in charge of communication between the teams.
\"They were taken to a safe house the moment you guys were attacked. They are safe."\
\"Hunter, bad news,"\ Fin's concern broke between their conversation.
\"What happened?"\
\"The cameras have been shut down. We're blind. There is smoke everywhere in the city; the drone will be useless too."\
\"It's alright. Keep your eyes on the news and inform everyone of any developments."\
\"Alright."\
While both Tom and Fax drove on the streets, they saw multiple gang personnel engaged in shootouts with the police, and many civilians running around in panic. In night time the gunshots sounded and felt like firecrackers, very loud firecrackers.
"Hey Tom, why don't we dump the car?"
"We'll get jumped by our friendly neighborhood SUVs; that's one reason. Another one being we'll be open to fire by everyone."
"Can they still see us?"
\"Fin?"\
\"No, they should not be able to. Last I checked, you guys were outside their vision. They are relying too much on the tracker or possibly something else."\
"Okay, time to dump the car." Hunter, or Tom, made the decision.
Accelerating the car to its limits and avoiding any pedestrians and stranded cars, Tom made excessive turns, possibly trying to put some distance between them and their enemies. Tom's mind also raced to find some new tactic to deceive the guys on their tail. Finally, after 5 to 7 minutes of reckless driving, Tom finally spoke, and Harry wished he had kept his silence.
"I'll slow the car; jump out on my 3rd count, okay?"
"What?"
"3..."
"Wait a minute!" Harry became worried and slowly tried to open the door, which they did not.
"Huh? The doors won't open."
"...2 - what?"
\"Of course, they won't open; the car's electric. Wait a minute... All done; now try again."\ Fin's voice stated the obvious.
Harry tried again, and the doors this time did not help him and slowly opened.
"Fuck..."
"Now, at the count of three."
Tom put the vehicle in autopilot and took all the tools he had in the car.
"3...2...1, jump!"
Both of them jumped from the moving car. As Harry was rolling on the ground, he was also cursing the heavens for this bad day.
What the fuck have I done to deserve this? Nothing! Absolutely nothing, fuuuuck!
Huffing and puffing, Harry got off the ground. He had taken his medicine not that long ago, but now he felt that maybe he should take another one.
"Let's go; there's no time to waste."
Where does he get this much energy? Maybe I should ask for some of that stuff... Hmm, perhaps later.
Harry and Tom started running toward the direction of the explosion, and Harry couldn't help but ask.
"Why are we moving towards that?" Harry referred to the blasted building and multiple choppers that were rotating above it.
"The more the chaos, the more invisible we become. The area around it will also be clustered by cops, hence more protection for us."
"Why didn't we take Fax and Slipper's car? They didn't have any trackers."
"There must always be a mobile-friendly available in case of multiple hostile and rescue operations for support and distraction."
"That seems like a textbook quote."
"It is."
"They will think you are in the car, hence we are on foot. We have provided them with three distractions: the autopilot Tesla, a car going in the opposite direction and a phantom car in which we could be. Let's see how they deal with it. We'll respond appropriately; till then, we move towards our destination without any delay."
In the warehouse...
"The pattern is too tame..." Eagle-1 spoke under his breath, his voice filled with suspicion.
He was looking at the map which showed the live location of the Tesla. It was slowing down sometimes and subtly changing its course, driving like it was nobody's business.
It's on autopilot!
\"This is Eagle-1. Units close to Rabbit, intercept the target, I mean... ram into it! Over."\
\"Unit-6 copy. Over."\
\"Unit-7 copy. Over."\
\"This is Unit-9. The support vehicle, 'grey SUV,' is behaving suspiciously. It's trying to move opposite to Rabbit. Over."\
\"Eagle-1 to Unit-9, stop it! Look for Rabbit there. Over."\
\"Eagle-1 to Units-1, 2, 3, 4, you will see an area covered in red on your screens. Check it out for Rabbit. Over."\ The area covered in red was where the car had started showing tame behavior.
If they were on foot, they would still be around it; otherwise, in the grey car or another mode of transportation. Where are you, Rabbit?
\"This is Unit-9! We are taking heavy fire, need assistance! Over."\
\"Eagle-1 to all stand-by units, provide support to Unit-9. Over."\
\"Unit-5 copy. Over."\
\"Unit-8 copy. Over."\
\"Unit-10 copy. Over."\
\"This is Unit-6. The car's empty, no sign of Rabbit. Over."\
"Team C, ask the birds on the site to report about Rabbit. Focus on the red area." Eagle-1 ordered the people sitting behind him.
After a few minutes, another option was cleared.
\"Unit-9 to Eagle-1, they have abandoned the SUV . Two hostiles were present, both escaped. No sign of Rabbit. Currently in pursuit! Over."\
\"Unit-9 and 10, pursue the hostiles. Do not let them provide assistance to Rabbit. Shoot on sight. Over."\
\"Unit-9 copy. Over."\
\"Unit-10 copy. Over."\
\"Eagle-1 to Units-5, 6, 7, 8, form an outer ring around the red area. Intercept any suspicious vehicle. Over."\
\"Copy"\ x4.
Drinking a glass of water to alleviate his sore throat, Eagle-1 looked over the screen to the image of Thomas displayed on a screen.
No criminal record, no family, no link to any organization, a fabricated past, and working for the monster... Who exactly are you?
"Team B, contact all friendly overseas organizations and give them Mr. Andrew's information. See if someone recognizes our friend here."
"Yes, sir."
"Angel, did you find anything?"
"Yes, a faded link is left. We are looking into it." Angel, who was working with Team A, replied.
"Well, look faster. We have much to do."
"Sure."
If their technical support is taken care of and we provide enough 'encouragement,' they will be forced to look for the 'monster,' and he will provide help without delay. And then... then we will win. Who would have thought he was so much human?
"We have got two hits! The birds said that they saw two men running by the alleys around the 45th street. They matched the description," a guy sitting on one of the chairs suddenly spoke; he was with Team C.
"Which direction were they heading?"
"Uh, they were headed towards the 46th road?"
"The 46th?" Eagle-1 sighed in relief as they had crossed the red area but were still very close to it. Looking closely at the map, Eagle-1 finally saw something he was missing.
"Of course!"
\"This is Eagle-1 to all units, Rabbit is moving towards the explosion site. Stop them. Do not kill. Repeat, do not kill. Over."\
\"Copy"\ x8.
That was when Eagle-1 noticed that two of the units did not respond back.
\"Eagle-1 to Unit-9, 10, come in. Over."\
\"Unit-9? 10?"\
Looking at the stationary GPS signal on the screen indicating unit-9 and 10, Eagle-1 sighed. It always saddened him a lot when he lost men under his operations. It reminded him that they were always playing with their lives at stake.
"This is Eagle-1 to all units. We have lost Unit-9 and 10. Cease communication with them immediately. Capture Rabbit, and let's wrap this operation up, people. Over."
"...Copy." x8, with some silence, one by one, all units responded.
\"Boss, we took down 4 of them, but Slipper got hit. Some gang members ambushed us while we were engaged."\ Fax informed Tom.
\"What!? How much?"\ While running, Tom skated to a stop in an alley they were going through. Putting his hand on his earpiece he listened closely.
\"Not much blood. The wound is not fatal, but he's out cold. He'll be fine."\ Fax reassured the team.
\"Stem, hide the van and go assist Fax."\ Tom ordered Stem.
\"I'll be there in five."\ Stem also complied.
\"Fin, coordinate everyone's movement and be aware of surroundings when Stem is not there."\
\"Already on it."\
"Fuck..." Tom cursed under his breath and continued running, while Harry felt he was better off dead.
"Wa-it...wait a moment ha...ha...ha, i can- i can't run anymore."
After a few minutes, Harry gave up and fell on his knees. They had been running for 25 minutes straight. His body was in immense pain, like never before. Well, truthfully, he had never pushed his body this much... ever.
Taking a pill out of his jacket's inside pocket, Harry threw them in his mouth and chewed on them. This was the last one; the rest were at Emma's house. Tom, looking at Harry's condition, cursed his ill-ridden body. A boy his age should be able to run a marathon without any prior training, but here he was at death's door while running? No! Jogging... They were barely even jogging.
"Alight, 5 minutes. It's all I can give you."
"Thanks... I'll take it. Huff."
While Harry collected his dispersing lifeline, Tom moved around and surveyed for any hostiles. Unfortunately, for them, this included not only those after them but also the thugs and cops alike. Who would think that two men wearing vests and carrying firearms were innocent citizens? In these kinds of situations, the protocol was to shoot first, then ask questions, and Tom was very aware of these protocols.
While they were resting in the alley, they heard the skidding of two cars and got alert. Switching to single action on his weapon, Tom got into a combat position, resting the rifle on his right shoulder and looking through the red dot scope. Harry also took out his Glock and got ready for the fight. If his knowledge of gunfights from movies was accurate, he was surely going to get shot once or twice, at the very least.
The alley they were in was a convergence point of three alleys, so they had to cover at least two entry points and had one way to retreat if the enemies came from two alleys at the same time and two retreat paths if they came from one alley.
Tom looked straight ahead, supporting the weapon on a dumpster. He had covered his body; only his head was exposed, focused on reaping the life of his enemies. Meanwhile, Harry was near his foot, sitting down by the dumpster, covering their escape path if someone came from the back. They had retreated to the alley they came from and were covering it.
A few seconds passed with no sound but Harry's heartbeat, which was going through the roof. Talking about death and feeling it so close were two very different things, Harry learned.
Bang-swipe... thud.
The sound of a bullet and a body dropping echoed in the alley, and that started the light show.
Tom had killed one of theirs, and they responded by raining gunfire. The loud sounds overwhelmed Harry, who was not accustomed to such. He felt as if each bullet was hitting him instead of the walls or the metal cans.
Harry looked at Tom, who seemed unconcerned and as if waiting for something. That something happened when it was their time to return fire, but Tom seemed unmoved again, waiting for something. Harry was confused, so he gestured with the handgun to return fire. Tom only nodded slowly to his gesture.
"There were two vehicles, max 8 people. I killed one, but only two are firing. What do you got?" Tom asked Harry in a hushed voice.
"There are two to four people per vehicle... what's the point?"
"No, they are very organized. Remember, two cars chased after Slipper and Fax when they were on foot, but he said he killed 4. They have two people per vehicle, no more."
"So the fourth man?"
"He will come from the back. Keep your eyes peeled."
"But if you know that, kill him or something."
"He will likely attack when I'm returning fire, so you have to return fire. I'll shoot him. Got it?"
"How do I return fire?"
"Shoot at anything. Accuracy does not matter right now. Shoot two bullets and wait for their bullets, and repeat. Remember, there are two of them."
Taking a deep breath, Harry collected his waning strength and tried to peek through the dustbin. Yanking Harry down forcefully, Tom explained why it was a bad idea to show your head to your enemies when they had their guns trained on your position.
"The gun! Genius! You shoot from the gun, not your head, did you learned nothing from the first guy i dropped." Tom rebuked Harry in a hushed voice.
Keeping the gun over his head this time, Harry waited for the input.
"Now!"
Well, that was the signal, and Harry shot his live rounds, fully expecting them to be headshots.
Bang, bang.
Bang, bang.
As Harry was busy returning fire, the prophecy that Tom had spoken finally came true. A shadow crept in the chaos from behind. Tom had to take the shot before the enemy realized who was returning fire.
Bang...thud.
Another body dropped.
Due to adrenaline, Harry didn't realize the event just now; he was too focused on his task. Tom also didn't disturb him and slowly approached the two assailants from the front while also returning fire so they wouldn't be able to see him coming. Harry finally noticed him approaching them while hugging the walls. He got braver and stuck his head out, trying to fire accurately on one side, blinding their enemies.
Tom had long since realized that their enemies were biding their time, and he didn't want to wait around to see what for.
Bang... splash... thud.
Bang... Bang... thud.
Shooting one in the face, another in the leg, and again in the head, Tom quickly finished them both off.
Taking one of the radios off their chest, Tom ran to Harry, and they continued on their journey.
"Let's not waste any more time. There are more coming."
Choosing not to say anything, Harry also started running, while his thoughts were in chaos...