Messer's Retrieval Squad
The secret to surviving a retrieval squad with your freedom is to stay out of populated areas and keep moving. Fighting back either gets you killed, or raises the bounty on your head. When all of that fails, it's good to have more than one exit strategy and a few tricks up your sleeve. And never, ever trust your contact to be the stand up guy he claims to be.
The two men crowding the entrance to the local pub were a bit too obvious, which means they were the distraction. The beads of sweat running off Cal's forehead were a clear sign he had informed the squad of his meeting this afternoon and that it was almost time to spring the trap. Messer had seen too many of Cal's type back in his days in the Alliance and almost felt sorry for the little worm. Messer hoped that Cal had lied about his four kids. They would probably miss him a lot.
Lucky for Messer, the pub was crowded, and no one could move through the patrons quickly without giving themselves away. By the worried glint in Cal's eye, he could tell they were getting close. There would be at least two of them; the fifth member of the squad would be out of sight, waiting in case he got away.
The server came over to the table carrying the Ixian Sap Ale; its bottle buried in a bucket of ice and set the bucket to Messer's right. "Just like we agreed," Messer thought to himself as he slipped the server two extra gold coins. Messer stared at the reflection in the bucket as he reached for its contents. That's how he noticed the hard faced man and women slowly moving toward him through the crowd.
"Ixian, huh?" Cal managed in a surprised but nervous voice. Clearing his throat he added, "You're going to spoil me Messer."
Messer Smiled slightly. Using his name confirmed who he was to the approaching squad members. It was subtle enough to those that had never had the need for anonymity, but it caused Messer to level a deadly smile to Cal. Cal's pasty face crinkled in a forced smile. He looked as though he could lay an egg.
The retrieval squad (most likely heavily armed) was undoubtedly secure in the thought that their quarry was unarmed. The guards at the space port were thorough and local law prohibited any weapons other than small knives and stunners. Law enforcement was the only acceptation and Retrieval squads fell under that category. Messer's stunner was holstered at his side for everyone to see. They must believe this will be a walk in the park for them.
Messer's right hand missed the bottle and dove into the ice of the bucket and close around the grip of the pulse pistol he had bought from the owner of the restaurant and paid to have placed on the table for him.
Messer's left hand fell to the grip of the stunner at his side. In one fluid motion he drew both weapons and stood. The barrel of the stunner pointed directly between the Cal's eyes. Even at this close range, the stunner wouldn't kill Cal, but the negatively charged ions it delivered would send him sprawling to the floor, unconscious and with a nasty burn on his forehead.
Messer turned his head toward the rear of the room as he leveled his pistol at the face of the first squad member that had been behind him. He fired both weapons and threw himself forward, crashing through the next table and forcing it to upturn. The table gave him some cover from the second squad member, even if only for a moment.
Time seemed to slow for Messer as his plan came into play. He barely registered the scream Cal let out as he took a close range stunner shot across the bridge of his nose and onto his forehead. Nor did he take much notice of the pitiful, wet sound the body of the other man he'd shot made as he hit the floor after the blaster bolt passed through his eye, removing the back of his head. Messer was trying to listen for the movements of the other assailant that was now less than three meters away.
Without proper cover and lacking any backup (for the moment) there was only one way to distract the shooter. Messer raised his pistol and shot the base of the large chandelier overhead. The base burned to a molten crisp, showering the tables around with bits of burning metal and sparks released from the severed power strands in the ceiling. The chandelier itself came crashing down onto a table just to Messer's left, between him and his assailant.
This bought him a few more seconds. It wasn't much, but it was time enough to slide under the table to his right and began moving in a circular pattern that would lead him to his opponent's right and very near the stairs to the second level.
The sound of a scuffle came from the front of the bar. A pair of spacers on shore leave were trying to get out of the way of gunfire. They found their way blocked by the goons near the door. The mass of customers trying to get outside to relative safety made it impossible to turn around, so the pair decided to go through the fellows from the retrieval squad. The first and largest of the spacers (the one wearing the Centauri Novas jersey) grabbed the first goon and threw him against the wall just to the side of the door. This caused the squad member to lose his grip on his pulse rifle and his breath. He fell to his knees. The spacer's foot came crashing down on the top of the goon's head, forcing his face to the ferro-crete floor. He didn't move again.
The second spacer (slightly shorter and wearing a shirt with palm trees and a hula dancer on it) ducked low and brought in a devastating upper cut to the squad member's crotch. As the goon bent over and the air exploded from his mouth, the spacer stood rapidly and with both hands, palms up, brought the heels of his open hands crashing into the face of his opponent. The goon's head snapped back and he fell backwards not getting back up.
Messer smiled knowing those team members would not be able to help corral him. Suddenly he took a grazing bolt of polarized laser fire to the shoulder of his great coat. It's only what he deserved for allowing himself to loose focus that way. The woman chasing him would not be so careless now, and he'd just killed her partner. She will want him to feel some of that pain.
More laser fire tore chunks of table and floor away seeking to take out his leg or arm. She wanted him alive, but he didn't need both legs and arms to live. She was good, but no trelk from a back water planet was going to take him down. Not today at least.
Messer stood and ran flat out for the stairs, firing a salvo of bolts from his semi automatic pulse pistol as he went. He heard the return laser fire as he tried to shield his eyes. Chunks of ferro-crete exploded around him as those shots hit the stairs and wall he intended to use for cover. He felt something hit his boot and smelled the burnt and melted leather. He didn't register any pain, so it must have been another glancing blow. "She's too damned good," Messer thought to himself.
He ran up the couple of stairs that lead to a landing, still firing. Then, twisting himself to face the room he'd just left, he threw himself backward onto the floor. His momentum slid him an extra foot or two on his back, firing one shot after another, first with his pulse pistol then with his stunner. The stunner was nearly useless at this range, but caused a great deal of flashing - strobe like effect. It at least could help mess up her damned aim.
He stopped firing and flipped himself onto his stomach once again and in one fluid motion leaped to his feet and dodged onto the second flight of stairs. The wall the stairs were built into gave him the cover he needed. The bitch would have to run up the stairs to catch him and he'd have the high ground. He continued up the stairs until he reached the roof access hatch and pulled himself up and out.
Just as he got into position to defend the roof from anyone coming out of the hatch, he heard; "This is Xendra, he's heading for the roof."
Damn! He'd forgotten about the fifth member of the retrieval squad. The hair on the back of his neck began to stand up. At the last possible second, Messer dove to his left behind the environmental processor for the bar. Of course the shooter would be to the west. The sun would set behind him and there would be no glare to mess up his shot. The polarized laser blast hit the tails of Messer's great coat before it hit his leg. There was a bit of luck. The refracting, armored weave inside the lining of his coat used up most of the bolt's energy. There was enough left over to burn a hole through his pants and scorch his skin, but the energy wasn't potent enough to burn a hole through his muscle or bone. He could still move his leg.
Before he could recover, another shot (this one coming from Xendra while she climbed from the hatch) caught him in the chest. The ablative material and refractive weave was enough to stop the laser blast, but the force and heat of the blast still managed to register in his mind.
Without a second's thought, Messer's training once again took over. He fired three times at Xendra. She moved just in time to take the shots in the shoulder and arm, instead of the chest, but she fell through the hatch with a scream. Messer gritted his teeth and swore. If she died, the price on his head would go up for sure.
He turned and remained crouching behind the environmental unit, attempting to peek around the corner in the direction of the sniper. He'd probably moved by now to get another shot, but Messer couldn't tell.
In fact the sniper had moved and was on the next roof top to the right of Messer's position. He was lining up a shot that made the environmental unit's cover useless. He had Messer in his sights, his finger curling around the trigger, preparing to fire. His hesitance cost him. He never heard the person behind him stalk up to him or raise her riffle. The butt of the riffle swung down and crashed into his head launching him fully into unconsciousness. Checking his pulse and smiling, she activated her comms device and said, "Akkori to Van. Messer and I need immediate dust off."
"Roger that Akkori , I just picked up the boys and we're heading your way. The port authority won't like a shuttle hovering over a crime scene, I suggest we get the hell out of here and shake this mud ball ASAP."
"Confirmed Van, radio our ship and tell them it's time to go."
Messer stood watching the shuttle lower itself over the bar to pick him up. He wasn't surprised to see Akkori leap from the roof of a nearby building and join him for the evac. As he jumped over the ledge and landed on the deck plating of his customized shuttle, he knew that he would have to pay this world a visit again soon. He and Cal had unfinished business.