You decide to heed Mack's command for now. Even though the situation allows for precautions to be made because of the evident risk levels, you think it's best to act upon orders until circumstances demand otherwise. You have already notified HQ the second hostile intent was confirmed. A message detailing your current predicament.
"Come on kid. Ain't got all day."
The man sitting demands, his patience thinning. You start taking your first few steps towards him. Hand in your pocket, clutching the little but seemingly important package. Halfway there, you received a reply from HQ. Time freezes as you process it immediately, forming a reply of your own in the same short period of time.
Unit SR-2 Veresk, your distress call has been received. Nearby personnel has been notified. Security is en-route, ETA 7 minutes. Please sent data concerning the assaultants so we can advise.
4 men, armed with pistols, no visible ballistic protection. Demanding package without payment. Unlikely to be the true client.
Message sent. Unfortunately they cannot formulate and send replies as quickly as you do, so now you can only wait and hope instructions will come in time. Time moves normally again, you take another few steps until you're at the man holding you both at gunpoint. You take out the object of value, present it to him, and after a good look takes it for himself. He inspects it for a moment, his brows furrowing.
"This is meant to make us rich, huh? Easy payday- wait… where's the code?"
"W-what do you mean, sir?"
"The code! The fucking code to access this shit!" he loses a bit of his temper, standing up. He is quite considerably taller than you "Think we're stupid? Which one of you two knows the code?"
"Oh, I-I think you're misunderstanding. The contents of that USB drive are not encrypted, I assure you."
"Think you're playing smart, fool?" his tolerance for this stalling is draining in record time. With a dead look in his eyes, he grasps your ponytail and pulls you closer. His other hand pointed a gun at your head. "Let's see how smart you are now. Talk, or little missy here won't be missin' this."
"Oh... I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Mack's response and sudden change in tone made the thug tilt his head in a 'is this guy for real?' fashion. It was then that you've received your reply. Time slows once more as read through it.
Situation analyzed. Deadly force authorized. Avoid fatalities if possible. Employee Mack Bell and package safety are top priority, apprehension of enemy comes second.
That is all you needed to hear. It was time to put words into action. In a flash, your hand was on the one he was holding the gun with. He barely registered it by the time you managed to move it enough to aim at his other arm, and squeeze his hand with enough force to pull the trigger and crush some fingers. In only a moment, both his hands were done, one shot, the other's thumb and index fingers broken. He dropped you and the gun, and the gunshot was the bell that set everyone off.
You had to act fast. Thankfully, you had plenty of time to analyze the environment. The coffee table right next to you is on wheels. You kick it off to one of the guys about to draw his gun at you, stalling him for a moment. As your leg was already up you reached for firearm, the SR-2 Veresk sub-machine gun with a magazine fit flush with the grip and iron sights to make it easier to conceal. You may not have that many shots, but for this they should be more than enough. Your draw is lightning, taking aim at the man closest to getting a shot at you. You let your weapon sing, short but loud notes, one bullet hitting the man's left forearm, the other digging itself into his shoulder. By now you would've needed to evade the third one's attack, but Mack wasn't just idly standing around. He was wrestling the third man for his gun, and you know he won't last long like that. The man you staggered earlier is about to take aim again, but he'll have a hard time doing so as your bullets take a few of his fingers and ring against his gun. He'll be lucky to ever hold anything properly again, aside from the gun he was just forced to let go of. And to make sure he wouldn't run off now, a bullet to his foot will keep him around for a while. You take a look at how Mack is doing, and see him already on the ground, thug standing above him triumphantly, just to have his shooting arm be drilled through by the bullet of a 9x21mm cartridge. In pain, he looks to your direction, but you've already run up to, letting your first loose right into his jaw. He could consider himself lucky, unlike the others he only got one bullet and a punch, knocking him out cold.
Now that everyone has been robbed of the ability to hold a firearm, you make sure the ones who are still conscious and standing don't run off, holding them at gunpoint. They played tough just moments ago, and probably were tough, but now they were screaming in pain all teary eyed.
"Don't move, you're under arrest."
"FUCKING BITCH! You broke my fingers!"
"SHE SHOT MINE OFF!"
"Want to lose another few?"
Like a spell, that simple threat silenced their insults, though they're still wallowing in pain. In the meantime, Mack got up and dusted himself off, taking hold of one of the pistols they dropped.
"Phew… remind me never to get on your bad side. Outstanding work Heather." taking a stance next to you, he aims the gun to reinforce the fact that you've got the upper hand now, facing the thug seemingly most capable of coherent speech right now "How did you know of this data? Why did you want it? What did you do to our client?"
"Fuck… wouldn't you want to know… fancy pants?"
"Excuse my persistence, but we are the ones with the guns, and you're bleeding rather rapidly. Without first aid, or working hands to stop the bleeding, the ambulance might not get here in time…"
"... heh, think we're done already?"
"...?"
The thug's pained but cocky grin made it seem like he's still got a trick up his sleeve. But you analyzed the situation thoroughly, there's nothing he can do. Unless…
"Arms up." suddenly said a voice from behind you two, along with the sound of a gun being cocked "Arms up, weapons down. Make me ask again, and only one of you will get to hear-"
Whack!
…
Thump!
He never got to finish the sentence, as you saw him fall to the ground just by your feet. Both you and Mack turn around to see David, smiling and holding the object he knocked the thug out with.
"And you call me old fashioned for carrying around an Umbrella."
"David! What took you so long? Me and Heather already took care of the situation."
David whistled, looking at the defeated men "Woah, and take care you did. Nice work Heather."
"Ahem, I said we-"
"Hey hey, careful with that gun Mack, you might hurt someone."
"Are… are you mocking me?"
"Guys…"
You get both of their attention so they would focus back on the matter at hand. The thug now seemed a lot less confident now that really all of them have been taken out.
"Right… so, you feel like talking now?"
Looking at the stains of blood he's leaving on the couch trying to stop the bleeding with it's pillows, he finally breaks as it fails.
"Some bloke on the black market, was looking for blueprints of some kinds. Wanted to pay us a fuckload of money, if we intercept this deal and give em to him… fuck."
"And our client?"
"Taking a swim."
"... damn it." Mack put his hand against his forehead, feeling a headache incoming "I'll inform HQ. Heather, please take it from here until police arrive. I'm going outside to make the call…"
"Mack?"
"What?"
"The gun…"
"..."
Silently, Mack gives David a nod, setting the pistol down onto the floor. Then he leaves without another word, like he wasn't about to take a loaded gun out on a public street right after an in-doors shootout.
"W-wait! Aren't you going to give us first aid? I'm still bleeding!"
"I'm still missing a few fingers!"
"I'm… feeling light headed…"
[ ] "Use the window sills for all I care."
[ ] "I can't unless I'm instructed to by a superior."
[X] "Dai? Anything we could use as bandages? And restraints..."
[ ] Write-in
------ memory end ------
Sunshine. Morning. Light knocking at your eyelids. You crack them open slowly, the rays seeming a little brighter than usual. Someone's got a hangover. Nothing you can't handle, you just need a few more moments to get out of bed.
This smooth, soft, warm bed, pressed up against your side and…
… breathing?
"Zzzzz…"
Yeah, that's right. You were listening to that radio show. You fell asleep the way you were, sitting right next to AA-12 on the couch. It seems the night might've been a little chilly, prompting both of you to subconsciously preserve body head, and so…
"Zzzzz…"
And so, you ended up like this position. Leaning against each other, your head on her shoulder and her head atop of yours, breathing into your lilac hair. She smells sweet like candy, and seems to be sleeping rather tight. Either you're that comfy or she had a little too much to drink yesterday. She's definitely comfy. Much softer than you realized…
[X] Stay like this for a little longer, at least until she wakes up.
[ ] Quietly escape her grip without waking her up.
[ ] Gently wake AA-12 up.
Eventually though she did wake up, the sunlight knocking at her eyes too. Now conscious enough to realize the position she is in…
"Hey… hm… oh, oh I… sorry, I didn't mean… um, eheh, guess I just kinda… fell asleep like... that… yeah…"
She rubs the sleep off her eyes, hiding some faint redness on her cheeks. Then she stretched, fixing up her hoodie.
"So, um… what's the plan for today?"
[X] "We'll go speak with Martha and Gustav. Hear what they have to say about our request."
[ ] "Pack out things and hopefully get out of here today. Make sure you're stocked up on sugar."
[ ] "Breakfast, book a ticket for Area S06, some shopping, and off we go."
[ ] Write-in
"... can I take the radio?"
[X] "Sure."
[ ] "If they won't mind."
[ ] "I'd rather you don't."
[ ] "Anything for you, cutie~"
And so, you started cleaning the place up off your belongings. Bag your resources, stash your gear, and have breakfast. The crackers from yesterday were already finished, and your stomach was very appreciative. Finally, with everything in order you went out, hopefully not returning to this room for another night, even if it served you well.
The townsfolk seemed less scared of you now, thought there still was the occasional suspicious look thrown your way. Even local heroes don't get all the trust, but it certainly is a boost from yesterday's morning.
Before you even start asking around, someone tells you that the village leaders are waiting for you at the bar again. At this point it might as well be considered a courthouse. Not too bad of a place for negotiations, even if not specifically designed for that. Your destination is clear now. Off to the bar once more.
You enter to see a lot fewer people inside this time. Obviously most people have too much work to go for a drink early in the morning. At one of the tables you see the duo of Martha and Gustav, hailing you over the second you're spotted. You approach.
"Good morning." greeted Gustav.
"Yes, good morning Heather."
"I hope you slept well after yesterday's misadventure. It certainly is more than we would've wanted to involve you in."
"We want you know that we appreciate your service. It's more that we would've expected. So…"
Gustav reaches under the table and pulls out a folded paper, the water resistant kind, and very likely what you think it is.
"So, we have decided that tomorrow morning, after you've helped us with a few more things today, we'll grant you the map through the mine field. I can bet you my old pa's rifle that this map is 100% accurate. We have several copies the army left behind, and we used them many times. We don't just give these maps to anyone though, they're a trade secret, so we ask that you keep this hidden, ya hear?"
You listen to their words. Tomorrow morning? That would've seemed like a generous offer, if that wasn't the original deal. When were they planning to give it to you originally? Tough to believe they wanted to trick you. Perhaps they plan to add the additional supplies you asked for, but right now it seems fishy.
"Now, we know, you're eager to leave, but these tasks should be no trouble for you. First, we've had some unexpected SF sightings at one of our further territories, and we thought you could-"
"Gustav! Martha! They're here!"
The doors swung open with force as a man almost out of breath waltzed in, clutching his rifle, eyes open wide and terrified.
"What? What is it? Who's here?"
"Sangvis! T-they're coming right at us! Dozens of them, they already killed several of our patrols!"
"God damn it! Get everyone moving, we need to send those robots to hell before they transmit back our location!"
"B-but these are different! They're faster, they move in groups, like they're hunting in packs... I've never seen them behave like that! We don't stand a chance against them…"
"... Hunter…"
You heard AA-12 whisper under her breath. Before you get to question her about it, she tells you through a Zenner connection. Seems like she doesn't want the others to hear.
"Sangvis Ferri ringleader model SP721 'Hunter', I've heard units under her command behave like that… Heather, if this ringleader is here, then she's after us."
You process the information. It makes sense, there is nothing of importance here aside from a village of humans which mean nothing to SF, no Griffin outposts or strategic positions. A ringleader in the middle of nowhere like this is most definitely after something very specific, and the survivors of that execution a few days back most certainly meet the requirements for being a target. Not to mention, you left behind a trail for them to follow hoping it'll stave them away from the Fortress of Solitude. Yesterday's radio show revealed it was successful, but you did not expect them to follow you all the way here. If there weren't a ringleader on the case they certainly wouldn't have tracked you here. The situation's not looking good, two dolls and a village of fragile humans against a ringleader and her minions.
"We'll have to retreat!"
"We can't get everyone out in time. Our fighters will have to defend the village while we evacuate, but we won't last long against Sangvis... what do we do?"
[ ] "I dunno about you, but…" Snatch the map from Gustav's hand "We're getting out of here."
- [ ] And take the jeep.
- [ ] On foot.
[X] "It's us who they're after. We'll go out there and stall their leader, meanwhile you evacuate the village."
[ ] "We'll join the frontline. With our help we might fend them off. No giving up without a fight."
[ ] Write-in
