Chapter 11: Chapter 11 – The Belly of the Beast

"How quiet can your truck be?"

"What? Why?"

This gal can be really thick sometimes. And that's the normal thick, not thicc, with two cs. However, Panam is also very curvy.

"Because I want to play the flute, and I'm scared your truck will drown out my performance. Why do you think? Because we are about to attack a gang of hardened criminals, and the element of surprise gives us a tactical advantage."

Panam looked at me wide-eyed, probably because this was the first time my jab wasn't meant to be humorous. And the second the words left my mouth, I realized I might have gone too far. Trying to salvage the situation, I told her my plan to hit the hideout.

"How about you park somewhere out of earshot, and I'll sneak up on them. I'll take these grenades and try to cause as much havoc as possible. Once everything gets kicked off, I'll give you the signal, and you'll rush in and shoot them in the back while they focus on me. Sound good?"

"Sure. Just don't get yourself killed."

There wasn't any wood to knock on, so I just looked back at the road and tried to psyche myself up. We approached the cave five minutes later, and Panam slowly approached the entrance. Once outside, I checked all my gear and my connection with Panam. Everything was good to go, so I got out and snuck into the hideout.

The entrance and path inwards were empty, except for some construction lights scattered around to provide lighting. Eventually, I saw the cave open up and an expansion on the right where the mining company had put a basic outpost. The outpost was two stories tall, with the first level being nothing but scaffolding. It must have been some kind of safety post.

A Shiv was posted behind a concrete road barrier at the entrance, probably a lookout. I used him as a base for my ping hack, which showed seven Shivs in the outpost I found and six further in the tunnel. I used my remaining ram to mark the three Shivs on the ground floor, the sniper, and one of the two in the outpost office watching everything. 

Thirteen baddies, no biggy. I just need to find a way to sneak past this lookout and start causing havoc. Scanning the scout again, I loaded the Reboot Optics quick hack. A few sparks flew out of his, and the scout quickly grabbed his head. Using this opportunity, I activated my Sandevistan and sped past him, hooking a right and hiding behind some barrels and the rock wall.

"Ah! Fuck, my eyes!"

"Hey! You alright, choom?"

I watched through the wall as one of the shivs I marked walked over from the outpost to check what was happening.

"Yeah, I'm good. That fuckin' doc in lil' China musta given me some broken optics. Next time I see 'em, I'll rip his fuckin' eyes out."

*Imaginary wipe the imaginary sweat on my imaginary forehead* Thank goodness they didn't suspect anything. After the lookout's buddy confirmed nothing was wrong, his red outline turned around and went back to what he was doing before. After confirming the guard was still staring at the tunnel, I got out of my hidey hole and went further. Leaning against a dumpster, I peeked out and saw the three guys on the ground level and the sniper on the scaffolding. 

There didn't seem to be any blind spots, which meant it was time to go loud. I removed two frag grenades from my vest and pulled the pins out with my teeth, carefully keeping my hands on the levers so they didn't explode prematurely. I started my Sandevistan again, but I also turned on my optical camo this time. While in 50% time dilation, I ran past the three-men cell on the ground and threw one of the grenades at them.

Once I made it past the three on the ground, I ran up the stairs on the right and placed the other grenade at the feet of the sniper. At this point, the group on the ground noticed the grenade, and I laughed a little as one of them was reaching for the grenade. He was probably confused by this mysterious cylinder that popped in out of nowhere. Running past the sniper, I grabbed the flashbang and threw it into the office. 

Immediately afterward, I hid behind a crate and watched the show begin. The Sanedvistan ran out, and the ground-level grenade exploded, instantly killing the guy holding it and blowing the other two away. The sniper drew their gun and went on high alert, not realizing that there was another grenade right at their feet. The second grenade went off seconds later, blowing the legs off of the sniper and flipping them off their perch and onto the ground floor.

Everyone knew what was up at this point, and the guard and the two in the office were screaming their lungs out for backup. Well, the two in the office didn't do that for long as the flashbang went off and blinded and deafened them simultaneously. Taking this chance, I got out of cover and ran for office, calling Panam.

"Show time, Panam. Going to need you to show up and start helping out."

"Already on my way. Explosions aren't exactly subtle."

I was now in the office, staring at two disorientated shivs trying to get back on their feet. I ran up, stored their weapons in my inventory, and pointed my rifle at them.

"Hey, boys! Sorry for ruining your day. I'm going to need to know where Nash is."

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The two looked up at the same time, and to my surprise, one of them was Nash!

"Well, look at that! I should buy a lottery ticket. I'm not going to lie, Nash. This is not going to be your best day. Panam is on her way over and VERY unhappy with you."

The guard, who was very bad at his job, must have seen me because the windows in the office broke and bullets started flying in. I dodged out of the line of sight and took cover behind one of the desks. Nash must have seen that as a chance since he yelled and lunged for me. Before he could get to me, I raised my right leg and smashed my foot into his face, breaking his nose. That stopped him in his tracks, but I'm not risking him coming at me again. I aimed my rifle at his bleeding face and pulled the trigger, sending a burst into his skull. I swung my rifle to the side and gave his buddy the same treatment.

Hearing a lull in the gunfire, I popped out of cover and aimed my gun at the reloading guard. I let off a three-round burst, which all missed the target. Now aware of me, the guard dove and got to the nearest bit of cover. I kept my rifle aimed at his location and fired a burst every time he tried to peek out, keeping him pinned down. While I was suppressing the guard, I heard the roar of an engine get louder and louder. Soon I saw Panam pull up and get out of her Mackinaw. I pulled up my connection with Panam and told her where the last guy was.

"Took you long enough! I'm in the office on the high ground. There's going to be a guy hiding behind some gray boxes. You mind shooting him for me?"

"I see him. *BANG* He's dead. Anymore?"

"Yeah, there should be five further in the tunnel. Get some cover before they get here."

After I said that, two Sidewinders with the remaining five shivs came barreling toward us from deeper inside the mine. I reloaded to get a full mag, crouched next to a window, and braced my rifle against the wall. Instead of doing the intelligent thing of stopping further away and moving on foot to us, the Shivs decided to park right in my line of sight, front facing me. The second the doors opened, I started unloading into them. The two who got out on my side were immediately filled with lead and dropped dead. Panam did the same with the group closer to her, putting a hole in the poor SOB that stepped out of the wrong side of a car.

There were just three left; two were in the car closer to Panam, and one was in the Sidewinder closer to me. These guys had the luck of not stepping into the firing line and took cover behind their cars and shot back. I ducked just in time to see tracers zip past my head and hear the bullets thumping into the roof above me. 

My Sandevistan and Optical Camo were back up and running, so I turned invisible and left the office. Being able to relocate in a firefight without being seen is such a broken ability. I went to where the dead sniper was and used the high ground to view the remaining Shivs. The two Shivs near Panam were pinning her down, and she hid behind a road barrier blind, firing into where she thought the enemies were. 

I wedged my rifle on a railing and took a deep breath. After I had my sights lined up on one of the Shivs firing at Panam, I activated my Sandevistan and took the shot. Slowing down time gives me more time to aim while also making it so my remaining Optical Camo will last a bit longer. 

My first burst landed right where I wanted it, and I watched the target scream in pain in slow motion. I then moved my sights to the next target shooting and did the same. I only found out the last target had noticed my location when it was too late. My Sandevistan lasted just long enough to see him aim at me and a muzzle flash from his rifle. 

Time then sped back up, and I got knocked on my ass as something hit me and threw me off balance. I crawled into cover behind a pallet of barrels and prayed they could stop bullets. Dropping my gun, I grabbed my shoulder because of the immense pain. It was like someone took a burning hot railroad spike and drove it right into my flesh.

"Fuck! I'm hit, Panam. The two pinning you down should be dead. Can you take care of the mother fucker that got me?"

"Shit! I'm on the move. Just hold tight."

The last Shiv was still shooting at me, and I could hear the bullets impact all around me and see the sparks flying from when the rounds would scrape metal. Good thing these barrels are tough, or I'd probably be swiss cheese right now. Looking at my left arm, I saw blood starting to soak into my shirt and cover my fingers. 

I opened my system and took a Bounce Back I crafted out of my inventory. No one tells you this, but having your hand covered in blood makes it very slippery. If it wasn't for the finger grooves built into the injector, I wouldn't be able to hold onto it. I jabbed the thing into my arm and pushed the button to release the injection. It was just a little piercing pain at first, but then the skin around it heated up to the point I felt like it was boiling. I watched in awe as the bullet wound closed before my eyes.

A few seconds later, but what felt like an eternity to me, I heard a slightly different crack of a bullet going supersonic. Then silence.

"He's dead, Basil! Where are you? Are you alright?"

It's finally over. Thank goodness it's finally fucking over.

 

Author's Note

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