Post by Lt. Brookman on Dec 15, 2005 10:35:59 GMT -5
‘Your target is somewhere in that club. Go in and silence him, I don’t care how, just keep his mouth shut from flapping any more sensitive secrets.’ I listen to Krieger talking in my earpiece. I tap the earpiece once in acknowledgement and dig my hands into the pockets of my long coat. Next to me Heinkel is humming a soft tune to herself as we move through the dimly lit streets. ‘Just be careful, he has company with him. Kill them as well, I don’t want to take any chances.’ Heinkel sighs at the worried inquisitor’s remarks. ‘You worry too much,’ While she is answering the other side of the vox relay, she’s looking at me, making it look like we are conversing. ‘so just sit back and kick back a drink or two.’ I nod in reply as we pass some locals. They shoot a glance at us but pay no further heed.
We seem like an nasty and odd bunch, both of us wearing long coats flapping in the weak evening. Under my coat I keep two handguns, both a design from the hands of that Squat mechanic himself. Squats, funny that those are still around. Pity, they are pretty good with technology. As for Heinkel, she carries no handguns, instead she carries a sword over her back, a slightly curved blade made from some sort of mono-filament material, something that can cut through most soft targets. ‘Guns are noisy and they are easy to use.’ Heinkel told me back then. ‘Guns are easier, have longer range and don’t leave such a mess.’ I told her afterwards, as she was cleaning the blood from her clothes. Still, we are stuck to each other, in a good sense. We’re partners. ‘Where a gun fails, a blade will do the job. And visa versa!’ We’re put on most important things that Krieger can get his hands on. And now, we are off to kill an informant that talks too much to the wrong people.
We reach the club. It’s quite a classy place compared to the standards of this world. ‘Den of the Cudbear’ is illuminated by flashing lights and neon signs. Krieger hates these places, otherwise he’d do it himself. A small club where the rich and seedy can gamble, drink and do whatever they desire for the night. To get in, you’d need to be rich, well known in the underworld or be a member of one of the large syndicates. We step up to the bouncer and stare at the closed door with slight annoyance. ‘You guys Exchange?’ The bouncer asks after eyeing us for a moment. ‘Yeah, you know what’s best for yourself, so open up.’ He gives a nod and the doors slide open. We both wear our normal outfits which fall in with the ‘livery’ of the Exchange, one of the bigger and more feared syndicates on this planet. Next to easy access to certain establishments, we also don’t have to hand out our weapons at the desk in the hall. Several pict screens line the hall and display the entertainment provided. One shows scantly clad girls dancing while chained to poles, the other shows a dance chamber of sorts, where people dance to colours flashing from the corners of the room. ‘Found him,’ Heinkel pulls me over. ‘He’s playing cards with some other geezers.’ I study the live pict feed and see that our target is sitting by a table playing cards with three other men. No other occupants are in the room. ‘A private game in room 5, no spectators and no other tables in use.’ I unnecessarily remark. ‘There is a balcony that’s gives you easier access to that chamber.’ Krieger remarks through the earpiece. He must be using a floor plan or something similar handy.
I glance round the corner. Just one guard, almost too easy. But, I’m not the person to disarm or disable somebody quietly. I jerk my head into the direction of the guard once, signalling Heinkel to take care of him. She casually passes me and paces towards the guard. She pulls a smoke from her pocket and lets it dangle in her mouth, almost playfully. ‘Hey there, got a light for me.’ The guard eyes her for a moment before flashing a smile and rummaging for a lighter or match. Too bad he didn’t find that light. A blade springs from her sleeve and is in her hand in a second. She slashes across the guards throat and quickly steps back as the man grabs his throat while emanating wet gurgling sounds. The guard doubles over onto his knees, staining the ground with his blood. Heinkel steps forward and slams the blade into the back of the guard’s neck. Crunch. That must’ve hurt. I step from the shadows and pull the twitching corpse into a restroom. I pull the blade from the neck free with a squirt of blood and wipe it on the corpse’s tunic. Heinkel opens the door and beckons for me to come.
We enter the dimly lit balcony room and look down at the table. I could just shoot them from here, but that would be too easy. We’ve got to let him know who wants him dead. ‘Get his attention.’ Heinkel reaches inside her coat and pulls out a small mirror. I raise an eyebrow at the item. She was never a vain person. She aims with it for a moment and then lets the light fall into the face of our target. Annoyance crosses his face as he looks left and right to see the source. He then turns back to the table. ‘Let’s try that again.’ Heinkel shines again, this time fixating longer. Annoyance crosses his face again, looking left and right to find the culprit. Heinkel shines into his face again, drawing his attention to the balcony. He looks up at us, his mouth flapping like a fish gasping for air. He points a finger at us, making the others sitting at his table look up and follow his gaze. ‘Oh shit! You!’ Heinkel flicks the mirror back into her coat. ‘We warned you Vigo, not to double cross us. It’s time to pay for your mistake.’ One of the leading figures snaps his fingers. ‘I don’t want to die!’ Vigo squeals as I grab hold of the rail.
I vault over the rail and feel my coat flapping as I drop, ending my landing hard in a crouch with my arms slightly spread. Looking up I see my target staring back at me with wide eyes, fear radiating from his being. I reach for my gun with my right hand as my left pulls open the coat. ‘The Inquisition does not negotiate with sinners and the faithless.’ I pull out a heavy calibre pistol, my mind reading the side scripture as I aim it at the rat. “Iron Forge Arms. 13mm.” My left hand instinctively pulls out it’s twin, keeping it lowered for now. The door on the left bursts open and five bodyguards barge through, holding small and easy to hide guns in their hands. I aim both pistols at the intruders and start snapping off shots at them. The rat and his new found friends exit through the door to my left. Behind me Heinkel lands, rolling to her feet in a fluid motion. ‘Go!’ I shout backing away to the door to our right. We enter another room with card tables and guards. A las bolt explodes into the wall next to my head, shredding the wood. A splinter bites into my cheek. Heinkel darts forward, pulling the sword from the scabbard in a single fluid motion, hacking off the arm of the gunman in a shower of blood. I aim at the screaming man’s head and fire a shot, seeing the head snap back violently as the round hits home. Wounded men are sometimes twice as dangerous and careless as a sane man. A table is kicked over and a guard fires his gun from behind it. I aim both pistols at the table and pump several rounds into the thin surface. Next to me Heinkel hacks her way through two other guards, making a bloody mess of herself and the room. ‘The target!’ Krieger shouts into my earpiece. ‘He’s not far, giving chase.’ I reply as I back pedal from the butchered guards.
He had given us quite a chase before he entered a long and winding alley. He was alone now, his new found allies all dead or dying. ‘Stop running, don’t make it so hard on us.’ Heinkel tells him but he pays no heed. I aim with my left gun and put a round in his right knee, letting him fall forward with a scream. I slide the gun in my left hand back into my coat and eject the clip of my right gun. I pull a single round from my pocket and load it, letting the slide click forward. I lean over the wounded wretch, eying him with disgust before grabbing him by the chin, pulling him close. It almost seems romantic… I press the pistol against his forehead. ‘May this lost soul find absolution in Your embrace or forever be damned to suffer.’ Heinkel recites behind me. I pull the trigger.
We seem like an nasty and odd bunch, both of us wearing long coats flapping in the weak evening. Under my coat I keep two handguns, both a design from the hands of that Squat mechanic himself. Squats, funny that those are still around. Pity, they are pretty good with technology. As for Heinkel, she carries no handguns, instead she carries a sword over her back, a slightly curved blade made from some sort of mono-filament material, something that can cut through most soft targets. ‘Guns are noisy and they are easy to use.’ Heinkel told me back then. ‘Guns are easier, have longer range and don’t leave such a mess.’ I told her afterwards, as she was cleaning the blood from her clothes. Still, we are stuck to each other, in a good sense. We’re partners. ‘Where a gun fails, a blade will do the job. And visa versa!’ We’re put on most important things that Krieger can get his hands on. And now, we are off to kill an informant that talks too much to the wrong people.
We reach the club. It’s quite a classy place compared to the standards of this world. ‘Den of the Cudbear’ is illuminated by flashing lights and neon signs. Krieger hates these places, otherwise he’d do it himself. A small club where the rich and seedy can gamble, drink and do whatever they desire for the night. To get in, you’d need to be rich, well known in the underworld or be a member of one of the large syndicates. We step up to the bouncer and stare at the closed door with slight annoyance. ‘You guys Exchange?’ The bouncer asks after eyeing us for a moment. ‘Yeah, you know what’s best for yourself, so open up.’ He gives a nod and the doors slide open. We both wear our normal outfits which fall in with the ‘livery’ of the Exchange, one of the bigger and more feared syndicates on this planet. Next to easy access to certain establishments, we also don’t have to hand out our weapons at the desk in the hall. Several pict screens line the hall and display the entertainment provided. One shows scantly clad girls dancing while chained to poles, the other shows a dance chamber of sorts, where people dance to colours flashing from the corners of the room. ‘Found him,’ Heinkel pulls me over. ‘He’s playing cards with some other geezers.’ I study the live pict feed and see that our target is sitting by a table playing cards with three other men. No other occupants are in the room. ‘A private game in room 5, no spectators and no other tables in use.’ I unnecessarily remark. ‘There is a balcony that’s gives you easier access to that chamber.’ Krieger remarks through the earpiece. He must be using a floor plan or something similar handy.
I glance round the corner. Just one guard, almost too easy. But, I’m not the person to disarm or disable somebody quietly. I jerk my head into the direction of the guard once, signalling Heinkel to take care of him. She casually passes me and paces towards the guard. She pulls a smoke from her pocket and lets it dangle in her mouth, almost playfully. ‘Hey there, got a light for me.’ The guard eyes her for a moment before flashing a smile and rummaging for a lighter or match. Too bad he didn’t find that light. A blade springs from her sleeve and is in her hand in a second. She slashes across the guards throat and quickly steps back as the man grabs his throat while emanating wet gurgling sounds. The guard doubles over onto his knees, staining the ground with his blood. Heinkel steps forward and slams the blade into the back of the guard’s neck. Crunch. That must’ve hurt. I step from the shadows and pull the twitching corpse into a restroom. I pull the blade from the neck free with a squirt of blood and wipe it on the corpse’s tunic. Heinkel opens the door and beckons for me to come.
We enter the dimly lit balcony room and look down at the table. I could just shoot them from here, but that would be too easy. We’ve got to let him know who wants him dead. ‘Get his attention.’ Heinkel reaches inside her coat and pulls out a small mirror. I raise an eyebrow at the item. She was never a vain person. She aims with it for a moment and then lets the light fall into the face of our target. Annoyance crosses his face as he looks left and right to see the source. He then turns back to the table. ‘Let’s try that again.’ Heinkel shines again, this time fixating longer. Annoyance crosses his face again, looking left and right to find the culprit. Heinkel shines into his face again, drawing his attention to the balcony. He looks up at us, his mouth flapping like a fish gasping for air. He points a finger at us, making the others sitting at his table look up and follow his gaze. ‘Oh shit! You!’ Heinkel flicks the mirror back into her coat. ‘We warned you Vigo, not to double cross us. It’s time to pay for your mistake.’ One of the leading figures snaps his fingers. ‘I don’t want to die!’ Vigo squeals as I grab hold of the rail.
I vault over the rail and feel my coat flapping as I drop, ending my landing hard in a crouch with my arms slightly spread. Looking up I see my target staring back at me with wide eyes, fear radiating from his being. I reach for my gun with my right hand as my left pulls open the coat. ‘The Inquisition does not negotiate with sinners and the faithless.’ I pull out a heavy calibre pistol, my mind reading the side scripture as I aim it at the rat. “Iron Forge Arms. 13mm.” My left hand instinctively pulls out it’s twin, keeping it lowered for now. The door on the left bursts open and five bodyguards barge through, holding small and easy to hide guns in their hands. I aim both pistols at the intruders and start snapping off shots at them. The rat and his new found friends exit through the door to my left. Behind me Heinkel lands, rolling to her feet in a fluid motion. ‘Go!’ I shout backing away to the door to our right. We enter another room with card tables and guards. A las bolt explodes into the wall next to my head, shredding the wood. A splinter bites into my cheek. Heinkel darts forward, pulling the sword from the scabbard in a single fluid motion, hacking off the arm of the gunman in a shower of blood. I aim at the screaming man’s head and fire a shot, seeing the head snap back violently as the round hits home. Wounded men are sometimes twice as dangerous and careless as a sane man. A table is kicked over and a guard fires his gun from behind it. I aim both pistols at the table and pump several rounds into the thin surface. Next to me Heinkel hacks her way through two other guards, making a bloody mess of herself and the room. ‘The target!’ Krieger shouts into my earpiece. ‘He’s not far, giving chase.’ I reply as I back pedal from the butchered guards.
He had given us quite a chase before he entered a long and winding alley. He was alone now, his new found allies all dead or dying. ‘Stop running, don’t make it so hard on us.’ Heinkel tells him but he pays no heed. I aim with my left gun and put a round in his right knee, letting him fall forward with a scream. I slide the gun in my left hand back into my coat and eject the clip of my right gun. I pull a single round from my pocket and load it, letting the slide click forward. I lean over the wounded wretch, eying him with disgust before grabbing him by the chin, pulling him close. It almost seems romantic… I press the pistol against his forehead. ‘May this lost soul find absolution in Your embrace or forever be damned to suffer.’ Heinkel recites behind me. I pull the trigger.
