INFINITELY MORE VIOLENCE. (I am working on something big for Mask of the Dreamer... something, big surprise, violent.)
THE LOBY
The eight remaining operatives in the hotel all grabbed their ears in pain as the deafening reverberation of Old Softy hitting the top of their central com van went through their com linked headsets. They scrambled from behind the desk, only to be stopped by seven other operatives who charged for the elevators and stairs from the delivery area of the hotel, all brandishing silenced Heckler Koch machine pistols. Five more followed slowly, their heads ringing as they emerged from the wreck of the van; more crawled out, trying to recover their bearings. Within minutes the first three operatives were on the floor of the suite; seconds later they were at the door, guns at the ready.
The first two flanked the door as the third stood facing it, gun trained straight ahead. They used hand signals to count: One... two... THREE; opened the door with a second master-key card; then, all guns at the ready, stepped inside. They scanned the room from behind their gun barrels - empty. They moved into the bedroom - empty; closets, under the bed, bathroom...empty, empty, empty. Then Evan sneezed - from over the side of the railing.
They looked to one another and casually strode up, raised their guns to their shoulders, and peered over the side... and stared straight down at ground, twenty-three stories below - nothing.
For a moment they were all stumped, fingers tightening on the triggers, guns still secured with straps to their backs. One looked further down, leaned over till the barrel was in arms reach of the underside of the terrace.
Evan, concealed in the shadow of the darkened suite below, was hanging from the narrow under-hang of Lara's terrace. He smirked as he looked over at the adjacent, empty office building windows at the three well-lit killers, reached up, grabbed the barrel of the HK, and pulled the startled gunner over the side, and to the pavement below.
The remaining two leaned over further to get a better angle on him, and Lara, who had hung on to the railings of the terrace of the suite above her's, legs tucked to her chest, brought her boot heels down hard on their heads, knocking one to the patio floor, breaking the neck of the other.
The one she knocked down was mildly dazed but managed to keep possession of his gun and wits.
Lara dropped to the terrace, and produced the silenced Glock.
The stunned gunner responded by lifting his gun - click - the breach was empty.
Lara pulled her trigger as well, as the would be assassin rushed to load... It too clicked uselessly.
It took a moment for the gunner to realize this; but in that moment, Lara brought the butt of the pistol across his face, knocking him out.
"A little help?" Evan called out as Lara picked up the machine pistol and loaded the breach.
"Can you believe this one didn't even load the chamber?"
"Hmm, curious," Evan noted as she peered over the side to see him holding two machine guns with his free hand, the other twisted uncomfortably around the railing.
"Looks painful," she noted with a playful grin.
"Well, hurts more than it looks," he said whimsically with a smirk.
She reach down and took the guns, leaving him hanging for a moment "Thanks, see you later."
"Lean over further, Steel Fingers" he said with a sneer.
"Baby," she whispered and helped him up.
She checked the chambers as he climbed over the railing, "These two actually loaded the breech," she noted, "Good thing we killed them."
Three more came through the bedroom door, and opened fire on the two, emptying their clips in panic.
Evan grinned and strode right at them as Lara took cover.
The three charged him as Evan advanced.
"Good doggies," he chided and drove the butt of the HK into the firsts nose, then shoved him into the two behind him, knocking one over and staggering the third back. He quickly drove the barrel of the gun into the staggered man's throat as he stomped on the throat of his fallen accomplice.
Lara watched all this in disbelief as Evan killed the third, who had yet to recover from the blow to his face by breaking his neck, a look of amusement on his handsome face.
He looked at her and smiled, "Instinct," he said.
"Madness," she responded, "didn't you notice they were armed with pistols?"
"Really? Now you tell me? Lara, instinct is always your best friend, no matter how unreasonable the impulse seems at the time. Ask yourself, Why of all the men who hit on you did you suddenly decide I was worthy of your company? INSTINCT... trust it."
"Who are you Evan?" she asked as he picked the bodies clean of spare clips, guns, portable devices.
"I'm a killer Lara," he stated bluntly, "I'm a professional killer. I never get involved with women who aren't either 'professional' if you catch my inference, or are in the business of death. Well, the GOOD side. Mine."
"That's why you were so excited by my scar? Why you thought I might be with the Masada?"
Evan nodded and tossed her a second HK, and three spare clips. He looked down at one of the bodies and pulled off an earpiece and portable radio set up, and gestured for Lara to do the same. The two then snuck out to the main room of the suite, guns raised to their shoulders, then flanked the open door.
Evan held up three fingers, and counted down with them, then pointed to the hallway, and nodded.
Lara dropped to one knee and spun out the door to the right, catching a pair of the remaining assassins in the knees, then put two in their heads.
Evan followed out the door, as she remained in her position. He ignored the bodies and reached the hall leading to the elevators and stairs, peeked, signaled for her to follow, waited till she reached him, then dove across to the other side of the hall intersection.
Gunfire ripped up the wall on the other side as silenced 9 millimeter gunfire erupted.
Lara waited till Evan got up, and spun into the opening, both machine pistols opening up on the four killers crouched in the hall as they tried to reload. It was over quick.
Evan looked at her in astonishment. She smiled, "I just felt it."
"What?"
"Lucky," she said with a grin.
He shook his head, and smiled, "Beauty, brains, controlled homicidal impulse, and an ass to stop traffic. Lara I want to... FUCK!"
Three more killers came out of the elevators.
Lara grinned, "Your insatiable," she joked as machine gun fire sprayed the corner of the wall just above her head, "Really, you're just fantastic for my ego."
He smiled, "So are most reflective surfaces, I'd imagine," he muttered with a smirk.
Lara spun and fired at the assassins, but managed only a short bust, "Lovely," she muttered, "I need to reload; be a doll... and kill them?" she whispered, bating her eyes at him.
Evan raised his first HK and blew apart the fist assassin's gun arm, and the better part of his face as the second dove for the stairway door that was being held open by one of the bodies of his fellows that Lara shot. He turned and opened fire on the pair.
Lara reloaded as Evan fired his second gun at the third assailant who wisely ducked back into the elevator.
She tossed her gun to Evan as his clicked empty.
Over the earpiece they could hear that reinforcements of about eight more people were on their way up the stairs; that the alarm systems were long ago deactivated in the hotel, and that the security cameras revealed that the two of them were running low on ammo; and that communication with the 'special agent' on 'the island' was momentarily disrupted, and communication with anyone else was expressly forbidden till the 'issue' was resolved.
"I take it YOU are the ISSUE?," Evan sighed as the sound of rushing feet filled the open stairwell, "Here comes your fan club... I have three more fifteen round clips. I figure this crowd might be a little more heavily armed, and armored."
"Sorry for getting you involved in this," Lara sighed,"I have no idea who they are, what they want, as I said, I killed all the Solari. Not out of hate, but to save my friends."
Evan gave her a mischievous grin, "Lara? Thank you, for everything, especially THIS. I live for this." he said as he looked around the corner at the empty hall, and saw the two remaining waiting for back up - smart.
Lara loaded the other guns an handed another to Evan, then smiled and kissed him on the cheek.
He turned and looked at her as they heard the shouting of the two remaining killers debating their next move... the eight were close, two flights left to climb, and closing. Evan took the other gun in his free hand.
Lara ran to a fire extinguisher, "Watch those buggers for any signs of nadgers. I'll be right back."
Evan part listened to the earpiece commotion, part listened to the men in the hallway. Suddenly they were shouting about a camera malfunction, and the calm response, and assurance from the group on the floor that, all would be over soon ,the 'Issue was about to be resolved'.The eight had arrived on the floor. Evan took a deep breath, held it, then glanced into the hall. They were ruminating over their first move, not daring to move. He figured they weren't professionals, not like the one he fought hand to hand; and were in no hurry to die. Good, neither was he. Still, it was only a matter of time. "To think," he muttered to himself, "all I wanted was a free shot of Jagger. Some brilliant plan I naused up."
Lara poked him in the ribs, "Done bitching 'James'?," she said with a grin.
"This idea of yours better be good Steel Fingers."
"Get ready to move - fast. Toss what's behind you into the hall when the bullets STOP flying. This lot is a bit skittish, they'll empty their clips... Ready?"
"Lara?" Evan sighed, staring at the fire extinguisher in her hands, "Your idea is going to get someone's plans badly knackered. I'm optimistic... but... ah hell. You only live once."
She opened up the release valve on the extinguisher and hosed he hallway till she was all but invisible to the men in the stairs. Then dove in with the assassin in the elevator, its door kept open by another killers corpse.
The startled killer reached for her just as the panicked nine men in the stairwell opened fire at nothing in particular,hitting the man in the elevator in his gun hand as he attempted to pull the trigger.
Lara brought the heavy end of the extinguisher down on his foot, then up into his chin, breaking his jaw, and making him bite the tip of his tongue off.
The killer made to lunge at her as his blood spewed from his mouth as he screamed.
She drove the end of the extinguisher into the top of his charging head, knocking him back, then once across his face - breaking his neck.
Outside of the elevator, the gunfire ceased, and the 'cover' she had created was vanishing.
"NOW!," she shouted as she feebly tossed her fire extinguisher with her exhausted arms into the hall toward the stairs.
Evan reached behind him and grabbed two other full fire extinguishers, and smiled; stepped into the hall like a gunslinger;
then turned and looked at her impatient face and grinned wider, "I love you."
"Nutter," she muttered and shook her head.
The nine were moving down the hall, reloading as they did.
Evan whistled and hurled the two extinguishers into the chests at the first two men who were still trying to load their guns with panicked hands, searching through blurred eyes.
They went down, hard, on their backs, dropping their guns, and knocking over the men behind them.
the five left standing lifted their guns, including a massive guy dressed in police riot gear, holding a riot shield in one hand, and a Kriss Super V 45 cal in the other.
"Get the hell down you anorak!" Lara shouted to Evan, and opened fire on the extinguishers as he dove for the elevator.
The hall erupted as the compressed chemical canisters detonated, destroying everyone in the hall, and a good portion of the hall. STILL, no alarms.
Lara rushed into the hall, gun at the ready.
Evan strode out, sighing happily as he stepped to the eviscerated corpse of the big man and took up the Kriss, handing it to Lara, "A gift, for so wonderful a night."
"Does it work?" she asked as she took hold of it.
"If not, consider it a souvenir." he laughed.
"What is it?" she asked.
"A profound equalizer. Lara, meet the Kriss Super V 45 caliber sub machine gun. Gods gift to our kind. I'll teach you about it, and a world of other gifts, some you have already, others you will come to know. But now, we need to get away. These boys are well armed, financed, and doubtless... connected. WE cannot be here when the authorities arrive."
"Where to then?"
"Where else, where no one would expect you... Yamatai"