Mercenaries’ Tale – 3.05 Rail Roaded
A tunnel led into the base of the central tower block, four monorail tracks leading into the building. The tunnel opened out to reveal the train platforms, one either side of the tracks and a third in the middle of the large room, gantries leading to each platform. On the left most platform waited a group of 15 heavily armoured Salmanic guards, all wearing the same blue and silver ensemble typical of Salmanic security; bulky metal plates knitted together to protect the entirety of their anatomy with a streamlined helmet that covered the face. They were all hiding behind a makeshift barricade of benches, bins and whatever other furniture they had dragged over to this spot. Each of them had their machine guns drawn and pointed at the tracks, ready for when the train arrived.
Eventually, the monorail could be heard entering the tunnel, its breaks screeching loudly as they were applied. A few minutes later and the train rolled up serenely next to the platform, coming to a complete halt.
The guards waited.
Everything seemed quiet. No movement could be seen through the windows. The guards began to become nervous. Minutes passed with no activity. Were the targets laying low, waiting for the security teams to make the first move so that they could turn the ambush around? Any such tactics felt like they would simply be delaying the inevitable seeing as how out numbered and out gunned the group was…
Eventually three men were chosen to approach the doors and force them open, two to do the work whilst the third kept a gun at the ready just in case. It wasn’t a particularly difficult a task, the armoured suits’ equipped with systems that enhanced the wearer’s strength. The door offered little resistance as the two guards pried them apart. They did noticed the slight tug of a string, the tinkle of a pin falling against the door frame followed by the blooming heat and following impact of shrapnel as a grenade stuck to the back of the door exploded, taking the three guards with it.
“They’re not on the train-!” one of the guards managed to cry out before a high velocity .54 sniper round entered one side of their helmet and exited through the opposite side accompanied by blood, sinew and fragments of skull. Parkinson was laying down covering fire from the mouth of the tunnel as his friends ran towards the central platform. Thad had stopped the train long before they reached the platform, Tupper trapping the door whilst everyone sneaked out, Thad setting the empty cart to automatically arrive at the platform. The group of mercenaries and New Dawn agents were now making a break for it, clambering onto the central platform and rushing towards the gantry. They needed to reach the far platform and the entrance to the rest of the building situated there and the gantry offered the most cover to do that without getting shot.
Kate sprinted up the stairs and practically threw herself behind a bin that stood in the corner of the gantry. She had a good view of the guard’s platform from here, their cover meaning little from her vantage point. Rifle swinging into place, she set to work picking off those below in order to give Parkinson a chance to catch up with the others, those with the rebel sniper in their sights finding death raining down on them from above. Another skull was penetrated, followed by the throat of the guard beside them having a fresh hole blown through it. The two men collapsed into a heap, those surrounding them getting the message that the people on the rails were the least of their worries. Some of the guards opened fire on the red head, others backing up towards the doorway for better cover.
Thad was halfway up the stairs when the enemy fire changed its focus, the Gentleman ducking down in an attempt to avoid being struck by stray bullets. Gratin, Annie and Harper were behind him, Doug and Tupper taking up the rear, the whole group slowing once the threat of being shot was upon them. Kate huddled as closely to the bin as she could, aware that it wouldn’t last against sustained fire for long. She rummaged in her coat, pulling out a smoke grenade which she rolled towards Thad, The Gentleman nodding at her with understanding. He pulled the pin and threw it as hard as he could towards the enemy’s platform. The canister began to spew smoke as it spun threw the air, bounced off of the roof of the train and landed behind the barricade situated on the platform. The smoke plume rose up, engulfing the group huddling behind the benches. The gunfire slowed, the shooters no longer sure as to where their targets were, the thick smoke blinding them. Thad made the most of the opportunity, leading the others up the rest of the stairs.
Harper stumbled, tripping over her own feet, causing Annie to hesitate and turn back to grab the Scouse. It was a ruse, Harper sucker punching the southern belle in the gut and following up with an uppercut. Annie stumbled backwards into the railing lining the stairs, Harper pressing on with the attack. She struck Annie’s shoulder wound, causing the other woman to cry out in pain, before pulling Annie forward and into a tight hold, one arm around Annie’s throat threatening to choke her out. Those following up the stairs paused at the sight of this, Harper beginning to laugh.
“Fucking put your guns down or I snap her neck!” screamed the scouse, gleeful at having turned the tables on her captors. She failed to keep track of what was happening behind her, Thad turning and charging back down the stairs, snatching up a fistful of Harper’s hair as soon as he was in reach and yanking it backwards.
“Let her go!”
“Ack!” Annie slammed the elbow of her good arm into Harper’s gut. The body armour Harper was wearing bore the brunt of the blow but her grip weakened enough for Annie to slip out, Harper more preoccupied with Thad. She reached up and grasped his wrist, turned and flung him over her head and across the railing, Thad’s skinny frame barely being a challenge for Harper’s more muscular body to lift. He was sent sprawling onto the platform below.
“Thad!” Annie called, launching herself over the rail to check on him, barely thinking through the action. The path clear, Doug charged the Scouse, tackling her around the waist and slamming her into the stairs. He then gave her a right hook for good measure, stunning her.
“Guys?!” this came from Kate, the red head very aware that the smoke was beginning to thin.
“You go on without us, sugah! We’ll catch up!” Annie called back, helping Thad up. Tupper was hesitating at the bottom of the stairs and Parkinson had caught up with the group. He pressed himself up against the train and smashed out the window beside him. He aimed his rifle and shot through it, firing on those he could see on the other side of the carriage, splitting their attention once more. Tupper took this as a cue, saddling up besides Parkinson and chucking a grenade through the train, the resulting shouts and explosion thinning out the opposition further.
Doug nodded in thanks at the men, hoisted Harper to her feet and forced her forward, pinning an arm behind her back. Gratin hurried up the stairs to meet Kate, Doug and Harper not far behind. Once the four of them were all on the gantry, Kate took off at a sprint to the other end, raising her rifle to open fire just as reinforcements arrived on the empty platform. The moment one stepped over the threshold, a bullet greeted his chest, piercing it. She then readjusted her aim to shoot through a calf belonging to someone that was attempting to use the doorway for protection but had failed to properly conceal their leg. He lost his balance as the bullet cut through his tendons, his head falling into view and was quickly made home to hot lead.
The boys and Harper soon cleared the distance and began to descend the stairwell, Doug handing Harper over to Gratin, the Mage producing a flame to dissuade her from fighting him as she had done with the others. Doug drew his new gun and flung himself over the railing, landing heavily and opening fire. Laser blasts arced through the air as Doug adjusted his aim, forcing the guards back further into the corridor as wall tiles exploded around them. The others beginning to descend the stairs, Doug began to rush forward, finger firmly holding down the trigger until his weapon began to overheat. Once the laser blasts ceased impacting the wall, a guard stepped out intending to return fire only to be surprised when a bionic fist wrenched his weapon from his hands and used it as a club to beat him around the skull. Stunned, the guard found himself being lifted and thrown into his comrades, the mad mercenary with the scar turning his attention onto the men around him.
Doug punched another guard in the jaw, followed up with an elbow to the throat and a knee to the crotch before grabbing the dazed man and using him as makeshift cover as the rest of the Salmanic troops prepared to open fire, Doug following suit as soon as his own weapon had cooled down enough, the deep rumble of laughter escaping his lips like a war cry.
Kate jumped the railing once halfway down the stairs and ran for the door, pressing up against the wall in order to cover Doug’s blind side.
There weren’t many guards here, only five and they were dispatched swiftly Doug and Kate fully aware of the importance of moving quickly unless they wished to be swamped with security. The guards dealt with, Gratin drove Harper into the corridor to take cover in the relatively safer space. Doug scouted ahead to check they weren’t about to run into more men, the soldier running to a t-junction and glimpsing around the corner, signalling that it was safe. Kate glanced back towards the others. Parkinson was laying down covering fire as the other three rushed across the platforms and tracks towards the mercenaries.
“C’mon! You can make it!” Kate cried, urging them forward. It really looked like they would up until the security shutter dropped down in front of Kate’s face, blocking the exit. It was flimsy, consisting of sheet metal. Kate was sure that Doug would easily be able to rip it down but there wasn’t time; more guards were emerging from the far exit and looking up, Kate spotted windows leading into a control room, a man visible within talking into a radio, no doubt calling more reinforcements. This place would soon be swarming with more security.
Annie looked around desperately, eyes settling on the far tunnel leading out of the complex. Her features settled into a grimace as her gaze locked back onto her old friend.
“Don’t you worry about us now Katie, we’ll be fine! We’ll just go for plan B!” she told her, “you make sure you and your friends get out safe now, ya hear!”
“But Annie, what are you-”
“Ah said don’t worry about us! There’s more than one way to skin a cat! Get outta here!” the southern belle scolded the red head. Kate steeled herself and nodded, a determined look on her face.
“Fine, I better see you again after this!”
“You know you will sugah!” Annie laughed and turned her attention back to the task at hand, waving the boys towards the only other exit available to them.
“C’mon boys, we need air!” she yelled, breaking into a run, Thad and Tupper following. Tupper gave Kate a thumbs up as he passed and Thad gave her a respectful nod, which Kate returned before turning back to her own group and catching up to them.
Her eyes narrowed with purpose as she marched straight up to Harper whilst drawing one of her pistols, her rifle on her back once more. Before Harper had a chance to realise what was happening, Kate had grabbed her, rammed her into the plain beige wall behind her and had the barrel of a gun pressed against her face.
“The hell do think you’re playing at?”demanded the redhead in a sharp growl causing Harper to chuckle.
“What? You think I’m gonna just play nice and let you drag me around?” she used a singsong tone as she mocked the very idea of her cooperating. Kate wasn’t amused.
“You might just have gotten Annie and the boys killed!” she stressed.
“Good!” sneered Harper, “they deserve it.”
Kate replied via pistol whip, the butt of the gun slamming in Harper’s cheek.
“I swear to the gods that if any of my friends get hurt because of you-”
“You’ll what? Shoot me?” Harper’s cheek may have stung from the blow but she otherwise seemed unfazed, the scouse refusing to show any weakness to the redhead, “I’m so scared!”
Kate’s eyes narrowed, the pistol withdrawing. Harper tried to hide it but Kate could see a hint of relief wash over her, the scouse relaxing somewhat. That relief was replaced by alarm when the pistol went off with a bang, the bullet embedding itself into the plaster a mere inch away from her ear. The scouse stared up into Katherine’s face searchingly, a cold fury behind the teal orbs on full display.
Blaise rarely got angry. Not properly at least. Doug flew into a rage easily on the battlefield and when he did, it was like wildfire engulfing everything around him. When Blaise felt rage, it was like lightning; focused, precise and over in a flash.
Kate took a step back, allowing Harper to slide onto the floor in shock over nearly having her brains blown across the wall.
“Keep playing with us and the next bullet will be in your head,” the redhead coldly stated, “now where the hell are we going?”
The other woman cleared her throat and glanced around as she got her bearings.
“…The entrance to the parking bays is on the third floor. The stairs to the central atrium are just around the corner…” she paused, considering something. Gratin choose this moment to saddle up next to Kate, his focus entirely on Harper.
“I sense a truth to what she is saying but there is an underlying layer of spite. She is withholding something.”
“No surprise there!” added Doug as he pulled a fresh cigarette out from his jacket and lit it using the dying stump of his old one. Kate raised her pistol to be level with the Scouse’s head.
“She’s a liability. I vote we get rid of her and find our own way out.”
Doug took a thoughtful drag as he approached, coming to a halt on the other side of Kate, the trio all now arranged in front of the treacherous security guard.
“…You’re not wrong. Her games are gonna get old real fast…” the soldier wasn’t even looking at Harper, more interested in the smoke ring he leisurely released into the air. Gratin merely nodded but it was enough of a prompt for Kate to readjust her aim.
“Alright!” Harper blurted out, realising any good will she had earned with these three had expired the moment she started threatening to leave them at the mercy of a Salmanic firing squad.
“The central atrium is where the main stairwell and elevators for the building are! It’ll be swarming with security coming down from the barracks to catch you lot! The quickest way to the parking bays is through the atrium but it’ll also be the most dangerous!”
“Is there another route up?” asked Kate, her arm hanging perfectly suspended in the air level with the other woman’s forehead.
“Yeah. There are fire escapes and secondary elevators in the corners of the building. They’re normally kept clear so there shouldn’t be too many people around,” there was a pause, Kate glancing at Gratin for confirmation.
“…I’m more confident that this statement isn’t a trap,” said the mage after careful consideration. Kate nodded and lowered her pistol, Harper sighing with relief. It looked for the moment like she had managed to talk herself out of being shot.
Gratin became distracted, tilting his head this way and that as if he were keeping track of a fly.
“My friends, I sense that we will soon have company if we do not leave this place,” his two companions glanced at each other and steeled themselves, Kate holstering her pistol and swinging her rifle back into her hands whilst Doug checked his Kleimaster laser pistol’s battery pack.
“How many goons?” asked the soldier.
“Ten or so are descending the stairwell. More are moving around the upper levels,” came the reply. Doug nodded and holstered the Kleimaster so he could roughly grab Harper’s arm, dragging her to her feet.
“Better not hang around then. C’mon Ms Tour Guide, get guiding!” he pushed her forward, Harper staggering as she gained her footing. Rubbing her arm, she glared daggers at Doug before stamping off in the direction of the nearest fire escape.
They made it halfway down their corridor by the time the security teams reached the t-junction, the mercs becoming alerted to their presence when a bullet sailed past their heads and impacted the lights above them. The trio were quick to act, Gratin hurling a couple of weak fireballs at their pursuers in a bid to force them back into cover, Doug grabbing Harper and dragging her towards the next bend in the corridor whilst Kate fished another smoke grenade out from her coat and threw it towards the guards.
The fireballs were successful in their attempts to drive off the enemy, the Salmanic Troopers ducking back into the entrance to the atrium’s stairwell. When they peaked back out it was to find a thick smog blocking their view. Once certain that more magic wasn’t about to be flung at them, they left their protective alcove and pressed forward, through the smoke, only for the first to break through to the other side to suddenly find a .51 calibre bullet ripping through their vital organs.
The trio had managed to reach the far end of the corridor only to find that it split in two again, to the left was a stairwell and to the right an alcove containing an elevator. Kate was currently kneeling in the alcove, aiming her rifle at the dissipating smoke as she covered the group’s rear. Doug approached the stairs, jogging a few steps up before noticing movement above them. More troopers were descending the stairwell. Swearing, he backed up.
“This way’s no good! They’re coming to meet us!” he warned.
“Try the lifts!” Kate suggested, Gratin making his way over. He was grasping Harper by the arm, guarding her as Doug attempted to scout ahead. The lift had a keypad instead of a call button, the doors requiring a passcode to open. The mage looked to the prisoner expectantly.
“What? This goes down to the basement levels. I don’t have clearance for that!” she protested. This caused the mage to grunt as he realised she was speaking the truth.
“This is also a dead end,” he announced to his friends. Kate selected another grenade from her coat, this one explosive, and threw it towards the smoke, the resulting explosion killing three more security guards. Doug used this distraction to dash over to the alcove where he inspected the doors. They didn’t appear to be especially reinforced. He took a deep breath, rotated his left shoulder in a bid to limber it up and nodded.
“Right, stand back,” he told the others, Gratin complying and dragging Harper with him. Doug kissed his bionic fist for good luck and then proceeded to punch with his full might the point where the elevator doors met one another. The first punch created a small dent which a second and third expanded, the fourth warping the structure enough for him to be able to pry his metallic fingers into the resulting gap between the two doors. From there, he began to push, slowly widening the gap. It took a lot of effort, both the door and the bionic arm making screeching noises in protest. Doug’s face was beginning to turn red from the strain, sweat forming across his brow.
Kate was now exchanging gunfire with the troopers at the end of the corridor, the gunslinger forced to take cover behind the wall as machine gun fire ripped up the floor tiles next to her and the plaster behind her. One wrong move and she was a goner. She was also becoming aware of the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps on the stairwell. Soon they wouldn’t have any cover at all.
Realising this, Gratin abandoned Harper for the moment to approach the red head, placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Mistress, I can buy us some time but I require your assistance,” he stated, his tone as steady as ever. Kate was surprised but nodded all the same.
“What do you need?”
“You felt something very specific before, outside when the meatbag declined Ms Harper’s offer of amnesty,”
“I- Gratin! Wha-”
“Please, do not protest. You do not have to explain yourself, only focus on that feeling. It is important!” he stressed. The red head considered complaining further but ultimately decided that Gratin wouldn’t start pestering her unless it was indeed important. She closed her eyes and thought back to the moment; the weight of Doug as he leant on her, the surprise as he told Harper to fuck off, the subsequent swell of emotion and skip of her heart as Doug gave his little speech…
She suddenly felt a burst of warmth fill her being which travelled out of her, through the point of contact with the mage, one of Gratin’s arms springing up and pointing at the stairwell. Harper was alarmed as a torrent of flame sprouted from the mage’s hand and swept upwards, engulfing the stairwell and rapidly climbing the structure. The sounds of screams sang out, a body falling over the railing and crashing onto the floor completely ablaze. As the flames died down, Kate began to swoon, Gratin catching her before she hit the floor, the redhead completely out of breath as she blinked up at him.
“Faust, that was a rush!” she uttered.
“I hope I did not take too much but these were dire circumstances-” Gratin began as Kate forced herself back onto her feet. She was a little unsteady but was recovering from the energy donation quickly.
“It’s fine, just maybe warn me next time?”
“I shall,” said Gratin with a bow.
“Not to interrupt or anything,” Doug interrupted, his voice strained, “but I dunno how long…I can…hold this for!” the elevator door was now open far enough for someone to squeeze through. The mage approached, he and Harper staring down the long shaft, the lift currently eight stories down. It was a long drop.
“Yeah, don’t think that’s the route to safety, ta!” Harper sarcastically summarised. Her concerns granted her a shove from Gratin, the security officer yelling out in alarm as she lost her footing and teetered forward into a fall.
She landed softly onto a green, semi-translucent platform that filled the shaft. A moment later, the mage hopped down onto it. Harper glared daggers at him, sticking her middle finger up at him which only appeared to amuse the mage, much to her chagrin.
“Oi Red, c’mon! Let’s go!” the soldier called to Kate, who was in the process of shooting those that were rushing down the corridor towards them. She let off two shots, turned on her heel and dived into the shaft, Doug following suit, the doors slamming shut behind them. Using his powers as a blowtorch, Gratin then sealed them tight before concentrating on safely lowering the platform towards the floor.
Post by Sam | September 10, 2022 at 12:01 am | The Mercenaries' Tale | No comment
Tags: Allan Parkinson, Annie Stone, Blaise, Doug McCracken, Gratin, Jessie Harper, Kate O'Donnell, monorail, Power Plant, Salmanic Incorporated, Thad the Gentleman, the Mercs, Tupper, vehicles and transport