The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[Fappy]

"Hey Mr Bennie ya reckon they'll put a personal hit out on me for what I did to the body? You saw it TELL ME that wasn't impressive!"

Bennie sneered, "SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING!" Once Warren was safely inside the crawler, Bennie slammed his foot down on the gas and barreled down the hill. Though most of the opposition had been blown away, a few remained firing at them as they spun around the side of the compound. Just as they had broken line of sight, a stray bullet ricocheted off the crawler, flying between Aesop and Warren and took a chunk of flesh off Bennie's right triceps. "SHIT!" Blood poured over his fingers as he clutched his wound. He was lucky it had only grazed him.

After putting several blocks between them and the bandito HQ, Bennie turned his head, "Everyone better be okay, 'cause I ain't stopping this crawler until we're clear out of this piece of shit dome. Get your masks ready." Steadying the wheel with his good arm, Bennie reached into his pocket and yanked out his old bandit scarf: a plain white bandanna with a the silhouette of a slender woman, sitting crossed legged in black. Some say it was an old trucker motif from the old world.

Pixie had picked it out for him.

His mask and bandanna in place, Bennie checked those of his comrades, "We'll rendezvous with the other two at Proto Dome. Hope none of y'all have a problem with that." A few shots were fired their way as they flew through the city, but none of them had any hope in reaching their mark. The Santiago family had been shaken to its core. Bennie had no clue what the future had in store for this city, but he knew it wouldn't be pretty. They'd best get the fuck out as soon as possible.

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"I ain't never met a trustworthy person who didn't like some good bacon in the morning."

Elizabeth plopped down at the table in anticipation, "So, is this your... home? I mean no offense, but it seems rather drab. It could use a bit of a lady's touch." She mused. "And the floor's freezing!"

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Tsubaki's heart-rate steady and her breathing controlled, she calmly spoke into the radio, "Pull out now, Spunk. Harvey, lay down cover fire---" She paused a moment as Jun fired another shot from his rifle. "Lay down cover fire until Spunk is clear. I will---" The sound of heavy footfalls started echoing from below. They had enemies inside the abbey. But how? "I'll cover you!" She shouted towards Jun as she lept to her feet, grabbing her carbine off the floor beside her.

Crouching low, she proceeded down the stairwell, the footfalls getting ever closer. She emptied half her clip into a group of three of Vasa's bandits as they rounded the bend of the spiral staircase. Their bodies toppled backwards and down the stairs. Looking back up towards Jun, she shouted, "More are on the way up! Is Spunk clear!?" An ambush like that wouldn't work twice. They needed to get clear of the abbey and they needed to do it now.

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Carthage screamed out in terror as the crawler in front of his erupted into a fireball, sending out a shockwave that shattered the glass of his vehicle. Deafened and in shock, he stumbled out of the moving vehicle after one of Vasa's troops jumped out, rifle at the ready, "Wh-what is happening?!" He muttered under the roar of gunfire. As his wits returned he noticed a group of noble soldiers engaging some of Vasa's. "Oh no..."

What was happening? Had he been double-crossed?!

Bullets flying in every direction, he scrambled for cover by a nearby storefront.

Would he die here?

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"Well, the fact that you can joke speaks volumes about your recovery in itself. However, we'll see how you fare once you have some solid food in you."

"Aw, he was jokin'!?" Pixie giggled.

"Meredith, I have received word about the whereabouts of our missing guests..."

"Is that so?" Pixie got to her feet and approached the Gentleman; her carefree demeanor all but discarded.

"... This 'Metal' did indeed make the Bengali dome his destination. However, they did not remain there long. It would appear that the Lady Josephine did not survive the flight from the Iron Maiden..."

Pixie's plane expression wavered but for a moment. That was... unfortunate news. Perhaps she should have dropped Josephine off when she had the chance. She was a good woman. She didn't deserve her fate.

"... My men in the field are asking whether they should move in and attempt to pin-point the location and recapture Elizabeth, or else wait and see who else might come calling."

Pixie shook her head, "No, we can't wait fer someone ta' come scoop 'er up out from under 'ar noses again. Tell 'em ta' use whatever means necessary ta' bring Elizabeth back unharmed. Yer welcome ta' disagree, but I reckon they should kill Metal on sight. If you'd rather interrogate 'im first ya' better fuckin' invite me ta' the party. That work fer you?"

 

[The Funslinger]

"So, is this your... home? I mean no offense, but it seems rather drab. It could use a bit of a lady's touch."

Eddie chewed thoughtfully as he set Elizabeth's plate in front of her. "Nah, it's not really my home. It's more like... I dunno, my lair or some shit. I don't really have a home. I just bounce from dome to dome, and rent rooms."

They were both fairly hungry and breakfast disappeared quite quickly. As they were finishing up, Eddie asked, "so with everything that's going on, you ever thought about learning to defend yourself? How to shoot, or something?"

======================================================

"Pull out now, Spunk."

"That's something I'm well practiced at, ma'am," said Bryan as he wiped his swords on the shirt of a fallen man, put them together and sheathed them with practiced efficiency. Turning, he dashed between two buildings as bullets filled the space he had just occupied. The two squat buildings he went between were storage units, and crates littered the alley. Leaping atop the nearest crate, he kept running. Hand on the wall, his feet followed. Five steps along the wall's surface carrying him further up, Bryan twisted and pushed off, catching the edge of the building opposite with his hands and hauling himself over the edge. Crouching atop the building's flat roof, he drew his pistol and watched. He could hear the footsteps and see the sounds of the men making futile efforts to follow him. None of the eruptions of colour made it more than halfway up the building's wall at first. Then by pure luck, one man's head did clear the edge of the wall somehow. Bryan reasoned he was standing on someone's shoulders. He fired twice and the man fell back, with a gout of blood erupting from his neck. Chances were he was safe where he was, but regardless, he turned and ran and jumped onto the next building. And the next.

"More are on the way up! Is Spunk clear!?"

"No need to fret, Tsu," Bryan responded as he loped over the rooftops, looking for places to ascend. "I'm clear and dandy. Any orders for me?"

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"We'll rendezvous with the other two at Proto Dome. Hope none of y'all have a problem with that."

"So long as it ain't here, man," said Ruffles through his teeth as he tried to keep pressure on his ribs in a vain effort to keep the crawler's movement from jarring him about. Taking one hand away from his side, he pulled up his mask and inhaled.

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Whiskey stood on the balcony, watching as her mother and Millie walked out onto the street below. As she'd expected, they were greeted by men in suits wearing komodo dragon bandanas who just seemed to materialize from the shadows. She'd known when she'd spotted that first sniper on the adjacent rooftop during her trip out for a smoke. Subsequent trips had revealed two more.

The message was clear. Time to get moving. The letter had been planted according to her instruction, and now there was no holding it off any longer. She took a long drag that seemed to consume the entirety of her cigarette in one go. Stubbing out the butt, she flicked it off the side of the balcony, where it landed satisfyingly in the hair of one of the Wilkes-Vines goons and headed back inside.

Riding the elevator straight down to basement level, Whiskey came into the underground parking area and found her quad bike. Pulling on her jacket and the riding helmet that contained its own breathing filter, she mounted the vehicle. Fifteen minutes later, Whiskey was heading south through the Ashlands at a good clip.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"That work fer you?"

"I was rather hoping that there'd be no need for anything like that." The Gentleman said, amused by the thought that for once he would be the one arguing against violence. Metal has no allegiance to our true enemy other than a paycheck, and even that doesn't seem to have stretched very far; and it just so happens that we may now be in a position to pay him a great deal more. Now, I wouldn't expect you to welcome him into the fold with open arms, after he helped scuttle your ship and kill members of your crew, but the man is undoubtedly talented. If we are able to recover both of them alive, Metal could prove to be a valuable resource in time, something which, at the moment, we are in short supply of."

From Meredith, The Gentleman looked to Florian on the bed, with an expression on his face that looked oddly like respect.

"Perhaps we should let the Padre decide Metal's ultimate fate. You did come face to face with him after all, and lived to tell about it. You have a perspective on the man that we all sadly lack. In any case, it's all moot unless we can actually recover them both. I'll tell my men to move in, but it will be a slow process. I wouldn't be surprised if Metal has a dozen escape routes from wherever he's hiding, and I'd venture that there's no use even stepping foot inside his base until we've got him utterly surrounded. It would not do to have him slip through our fingers with Lady Elizabeth in tow."

 

[Evrant-Knight]

"Right, though anyone who might help will probably be quiet or angry when we talk to them. Um, I should say despite working with bombs the past week or so, I don't actually know the names of stuff, when we look at the crawler I mean. Um, does that make sense?"

"That mostly made sense Hannibal. I could see where you were trying to go with that particular point. Whilst knowing the names of all the different chemicals and substances that went into the bomb would be useful, as it could help us track down its point of origin, not exactly what we're looking for on this occasion." Viola said in a friendly sort of way as they made their way towards the Crawler wreckage. It looked as though it had sustained extensive damage both inside and out which meant anything of value inside would mostly likely have been destroyed, or at least damaged beyond use.

"Actually, given the state of this thing, I doubt as though we'd get anything useful from it, aside from a load of scrap metal. Instead, let's go around this marketplace and ask some of the sellers if they heard anything related to Gorgon. Just stay by me and act natural Hannibal, don't want to blow the opportunity too soon."

They then entered the marketplace that was in the center of the area; it looked as though many of the stalls were still trading despite yesterdays incident. A few of the traders looked a bit wary, and there was even a few guards on hand dotted about the place.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Asad fired a number of controlled bursts at the scattering men below, killing a number of guards in the process.

Nothing fancy like Bryan or Jun, but the results were the same. With an emotionless look of tension on his face, Asad knelt behind cover as he replaced the empty magazine of his rifle, before rising once more to lay down more covering fire.

As he saw Bryan dashed into an alley, Asad continued to fire off small bursts until the current mag was spent. "Spunk is out, commencing withdrawal." He stated clearly into his mic.

While the man clowned around in his down time, during battle he emoted very little. There was a time and place for jokes, this wasn't one of them. Hunkering down once more, he loaded his rifle with a fresh mag. Reaching down, he pulled a flash grenade from his belt.

"Eyes closed Grump, flash out." He waited a few moment before tossing the grenade over the side of the building, counting to three before made his retreat, just as he heard the tell tale sounds of detonation, as well as the cries of blinded men.

As he reached the bottom of the metal spiral staircase, he made a beeline for the rear exit, making his own exit into the alleys.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"SHUT UP AND KEEP SHOOTING!"

"WITH FUCKING WHAT I'M EMPTY!" Aesop looked around for another gun as they escaped the compound when suddenly a bullet flew in between him and his fellow killer Warren, right over the head of the hooded kid who had saved him, tearing some meat off of Bennie's arm. "FUCK MAN!" Yelled Aesop as he saw their driver shot in the god damn arm. He could still drive with one arm though which was good.

"Hope none of y'all have a problem with that."

Aesop laughed creepily as he stared out the window at the various bullets occasionally aimed at their crawler. "Fuck no man." He kept laughing for a while before stopping abruptly, sounding more serious, like the Aesop Ruffles and Warren saw before the mission. "Hey you okay Jake?" He patted his shoulder from behind softly. "You don't look so hot." He looked around at the crew, correcting himself. "Okay none of us do." Stopping from his psychotic tangent, though he acted the total opposite of self aware, he said, "I mean, my ribs hurt like hell, well they did. I mean they still do, but I don't feel it but- fuck it I'm rambling. Maybe I should drive. I can use both my hands, take a rest big guy, once we get out the dome I mean."
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"Actually, given the state of this thing, I doubt as though we'd get anything useful from it, aside from a load of scrap metal. Instead, let's go around this marketplace and ask some of the sellers if they heard anything related to Gorgon. Just stay by me and act natural Hannibal, don't want to blow the opportunity too soon."

"Scrap metal actually has a lot of use to a smuggle-sorry, hard to tune it out sometimes." He almost laughed. "I'll stay with you yeah."

Looking through the marketplace Hannibal had a quick glance around. Speaking surprisingly subtly, given his personality, he said to Viola, "These guards don't seem very, um, concerned. Is it just me or do they look really laid back? Considering how many people died and that a car exploded not far away."

 

[Terratina.]

Aim.

Inhale.

Hold it.

Shoot.

Orders were processed and the enemy sniper on the roof had been taken out, accompanied by a spent bullet casing being ejected; thankfully the Commander was on the other side so no collision happened. Energy, or rather, high-powered gas from the firing of the cartridge itself powered both the ejection of the case and the piston was forced back, re-cocking the gun. Soon enough another cartridge was in the chamber, ready to be fired.

Aim.

Inhale.

Hold it.

Shoot.

It carried on like that for a while, the buzz of the Commander's orders drowned out by the noise of gunfire... And footsteps? Was something happening? Just for a while there, everything was so simple. Like a puppet on a string, all he had to do was go through the correct movements. Again, and again, and again. The soldier was just about to reload his weapon when his leader began to shout about covering. He noticed that the enemy was nearby. His brain changed gears.

"More are on the way up! Is Spunk clear!?"

"Yes Commander!" The soldier replied.

'Harvey' then lobbed a flash grenade, having been warned, Jun closed his eyes. '1, 2, 3...' Only after it had denoted did he open them. With the enemy dazed, it was a perfect opportunity to retreat. However, that decision technically wasn't Jun's to make. Still, he got up, slung the sniper rifle, and got ready to go, drawing his pistol. As he approached the Commander, he joined in with her and fired into the crowd of enemy soldiers.

"Engage evasive maneuvers?" He said to her, with utmost seriousness.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Florian sat in silence as the others talked their tactics around him. She hadn't made it. How? Josephine could have died any number of ways, he'd been so focused on just driving straight ahead when the bullets had started flying, it could have been then. Or maybe when the crawler had thrown him out, she could have been sent flying as well. She was hurt on the maiden, he remembered that, head wounds could take their time killing sometimes.

Suddenly people were looking at him like they expected him to say something. Had he been asked a question?

"Are we sure waiting wouldn't serve us better? We can barely look after ourselves right now, add dragging around a hostages to that, one of them a very dangerous one. That could get very difficult very quickly." He felt like an idiot, sat there cross legged on the bed like a child as the adults all talked business.

"She will see this as a hostage situation as well, however well you treat her." He said to the captain. Unless you want to tell her the truth? It was the only long term way Florian could see. They couldn't keep Elizabeth with them forever, eventually she'd find her way back to Dio. Unless an alternative presented itself.

***​

The occupants of the crawler went on in silence. Each of them looking at Carthage like something that had stuck to the bottom of their shoes. The occasional cough or sniff breaking up the silence.

Then the explosion broke up the silence, along with another crawler.

"MOVE!" Erik roared as the vehicle screeched to a halt. He threw the door open and himself out, weapon at the ready, his men filing after him as Carthage was lost in the shuffle. The whole street had been thrown into a chaos as shots seemed to come out of nowhere. Then there was the screaming madman with the swords, who the hell used swords these days?

Either way it was something Erik could handle at least. He turned to Vasa, who was still sat down. Vas gave him the nod and Erik was off like a dog on the hunt. Maybe he'd finally get to use his shotgun.

The others had stayed behind and formed a perimeter around the crawler as some of their number frantically tried to guid the driver out of the kill zone. All of it in vain it seemed as Vasa wandered out of the crawler to take in the scene, casual as can be. It would have been insufferable if his men weren't so scared of him.

Everything seemed in order, his escort was scrambling to intercept the ambushers where they could find them. Though they weren't handling themselves very well. Cut down by swords of all things, how shameful. Had Erik allowed his men to get soft? This was interesting either way. An attack by the nobles? His eyes darted to Carthage.

"Keep him." Vasa said and his men were on the young noble, one of them locking his arm in a vice like grip.

A bullet zipped past Vasa, sparking off the crawler. Sloppy shooting. If they were aiming at him they weren't trying very hard. No... maybe they aren't...

The comm in the collar of his shirt was buzzing away like a mad bee. It seemed the gun in charge of the plain clothes scouts he'd had positioned was panicking and waiting on orders. Honestly, it was so hard to find good help these days.

"Hang back. Let's see if we can spot their tracks." He patted the nearest man in the family colours. "We are falling back. Order the regroup."

Two figures were moving up above at the abbey. Were these their friendly snipers, leaving so soon? "There you are." Vasa gripped the handle of his cane as he observed the intruders making there escape. Here I am. Come along now.

 

[Fappy]

"So with everything that's going on, you ever thought about learning to defend yourself? How to shoot, or something?"

Stuffing the last bacon strip into her mouth, she took a moment to chew, swallow and clean her moth with a napkin before replying, "Well, no, not really. My older brother, Shamus... he's made a hobby out of shooting, though I have never accompanied him. In fact," She trailed off for a moment, her eyes downcast. "He has spent a great deal of time shooting with Lord Basilio. They've been friends ever since he and my late sister married." After a brief moment of silence she met Eddie's gaze once more. "Why ask? Are you offering to teach me?"

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The pain in Bennie's arm made it hard to focus on the conversation behind him, not that it was really anything worth fretting about. This Aesop guy was clearly off his rocker. Warren didn't seem much better.

"... I mean, my ribs hurt like hell, well they did. I mean they still do, but I don't feel it but- fuck it I'm rambling. Maybe I should drive. I can use both my hands, take a rest big guy, once we get out the dome I mean."

"Absolutely not," Bennie muttered, clutching the wheel as they can around a sharp turn. Shortly after, they'd found their way in an access tunnel and were well on their way out of the dome. After putting several miles between themselves and hell itself, Bennie stopped the crawler and ordered everyone into different seats. Cameron would drive while Vergil sat shotgun. Bennie and Ruffles would take the backseat where he could tend to both of them with the limited medical supplies they had on hand. Aesop and Warren sat across from each other in the flatbed of the crawler with their prisonder between them.

"Keep 'er steady, Cameron." Bennie asked as he finished dressing his wound. Looking over Ruffles, he asked. "It's yer ribs, right?" He winced as he pulled up Ruffles' shirt. His midsection was covered in bruises. "God damn, Jake. What the fuck was Pixie thinkin' sending you out here?"

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Pixie bit her thumb as she listened to the two men give their input. They both made good points. As much as she'd hate to admit it, she knew she'd made this personal. She wanted Eddie dead for what he'd done to her Maidens. Again, she'd allowed her personal grudges to blind her to reality.

Florian was right, they couldn't harbor Elizabeth now. Not when they couldn't protect their own people.

"She will see this as a hostage situation as well, however well you treat her."

"I should'a told 'er the truth," Pixie muttered under her breath. "I didn' think so at the time, but now I'm convinced... Dio means ta' harm 'er an' I don' reckon 'er bein' privy ta' the truth would'a actually endangered 'er further. Fuck..." Pixie paced over to the back of the room. Her arm outstretched, she leaned against the wall with her head bowed and back turned to the rest of the group. "How 'bout this. Gents, you 'ave yer men locate Eddie's hideout an' make sure no one fucks with 'im. If anyone comes gunnin' fer 'im yer guys put 'em down. If he moves 'er ta' Boomhower we'll know before Basilio an' we can intercept them if necessary."

She sighed with frustration as she turned and brushed by the Gentleman and Carlos, "Fuck this, I need ta' get some food in me before I headbutt a wall 'er somethin'." Pixie entered the kitchen and served herself. She hadn't eaten anything since the party and even then it was only appetizers.

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"Sweet kid."

"She is," Cranston mused. Stepping out from around the corner, he towered over Lilith. "Calling the Captain soon. Want to join me?"

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"I'm clear and dandy. Any orders for me?"

Tsubaki backpedaled up the stairs as Jun covered her with his sidearm, "Spunk, Harvey, lose all pursuing hostiles and regroup at the rendezvous!"

"Engage evasive maneuvers?"

Tsubaki took her finger off the radio and grabbed hold of the rope they'd fashioned on the bell's arch, "Affirmative." Throwing it over the side of the railing, it unraveled as it tumbled down the bell-tower. After a quick tug to ensure it could support them, Tsubaki let her carbine hang by the shoulder strap and lept over the railing. Fortunately she'd remembered to wear gloves, otherwise she'd have singed the palms of her hands off while repelling down to the ground floor.

Landing in a crouch, Tsubaki quickly shuffled forward to give Jun room, "GET THE FUCK BACK!" Tsubaki shouted at a group of nuns nearby. "I SAID GET THE FUCK BACK!" She repeated as she grabbed one of the nuns by the back of the head and shoved her into a nearby pew. "LET'S GO!" She barked over her shoulder to Jun as he came up behind her.

This was strange. The men they'd encountered on the stairs were not in uniform nor were any of their comrades present inside the abbey. Kicking open the front door, she and Jun checked their corners before fleeing into the nearby alleyways. No resistance outside either, "Keep your eyes peeled," She whispered to Jun. "They may be trying to track us."

 

[The Funslinger]

Bryan was running, gun in hand, ready to make the leap to another, somewhat shorter building. Leaping from the edge, what happened next was a blur. A man hiding at the top of the building's fire escape reared up and grabbed Bryan's legs. Bryan's momentum carried the man off the fire escape and they both plummeted. Bryan caught the lip of the adjacent building's rooftop just barely as his body slammed into it and his pistol went spinning away. The weight at his legs disappeared and he heard a crunch from the street below.

As Bryan straightened up, the rooftop door slammed open and a huge, burly man came out. In his hand was a knife the size of Bryan's forearm. Bryan thought about going for his swords, but he suspected that in the time it would take to draw them, the man would have crossed the distance between them. Instead, he swayed in anticipation on the balls of his feet. Letting out a berserker's bellow, the man with the knife charged at Bryan.

Bryan ducked to the side, under the man's none-knife wielding arm, caught his shoulder and spun his assailant in a 180. The momentum took the man over the edge of the building and there was another distant crunch.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Bryan said, dusting himself off. Rather than take the building's stairs and risk running into more goons, Bryan found this building's own fire escape and clambered down its support structure. The sound of his boots hitting the ground caused three armed men in the alley to turn.

Their guns were holstered. They drew their guns and Bryan pulled out his swords, sprinting as he did. Moving his feet to the wall, he ran along it, and pushed off it into a kick that shattered the jaw of the nearest man and sent him flying into his comrades. Bryan followed them to the ground, slashing their throats with his blades.

Wiping his swords off and sheathing them, he took a magazine fed pistol from one of the bodies to replace the one he'd lost and sat down in the alley. Taking his hip flask out from his inside pocket, he took a swig before thumbing his radio.

"I swear I'm a feck'n country mile from where I started," he said. "The bleeders are still coming after me. How's everyone else?"

========================================================

"Why ask? Are you offering to teach me?"

"Well, I ain't got the time to really teach you," Eddie replied as he put the plates in the sink. "But I guess I could make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot. If you're interested, pick a pistol from my armory, and I'll show you the ropes."

=======================================================

"God damn, Jake. What the fuck was Pixie thinkin' sending you out here?"

"Well it ain't the first time," replied Ruffles. "But I guess a heist and a raid on the banditos are two different things. I think--" he grunted at Bennie's examination of his bruises. "I think it's 'cause I'm one of the senior members in terms of being on the crew. I don't know..."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

The Gentleman nodded at Florian.

"I will tell my men to hold position."

When Meredith left the room, The Gentleman followed her, signalling for Amy to stay with the Padre.

"There is also the matter of how best to deal with Father Austin." he said, as the both of them plated up a fried breakfast.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Aesop sat opposite Warren, with Randy in between them. He kept softly nudging the traitor's head with his foot, toying with him. He was grated by the Bennie's words. Who the hell was he to judge? He knew knew the story, Bennie got a bunch of Maidens killed. Aesop killed the man who was after the woman Bennie had possibly loved once. Mother fucker should be grateful, maybe he went overboard, just a bit, but he did what needed to be done. Who was this man to judge? This man who ran away from responsibility like...

Like Aesop.

"We're gonna make you squeal like the pig you are Randy!" Aesop kicked Randy sharply in the ear. "*****." He looked over at Warren. "Wonder why we're back here?" He said, rhetorically. He knew. Bennie didn't like them. This man who had abandoned the Maidens, after letting them get killed, was now suddenly the loved and adored boss? Fuck this guy.

 

[Fappy]

"But I guess I could make sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot. If you're interested, pick a pistol from my armory, and I'll show you the ropes."

Elizabeth tapped her fingers rhythmically on the counter, considering his proposal, before nodding, "I suppose it couldn't hurt." Getting to her feet she wandered down into Eddie's armory and picked herself out a modest pistol. A 9mm glock. It felt... right in her hands. Several minutes later she returned to the kitchen. "How about this one?"

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"I think it's 'cause I'm one of the senior members in terms of being on the crew. I don't know..."

Bennie grimaced, "Well, let's be glad this was the worst of the damage. Assuming our other two boys made it out, I'd call the operation a success." Glancing over at Aesop he add. "Mostly."

45 hours later...

After a long trek from Boomhower, they settled down in a rundown inn on the outskirts of Proto dome. Parker and Brock met up with them shortly after their arrival. Though they'd both been gravely wounded, they'd survived. With five Maidens dead and Boomhower now a blackhole, Bennie was starting to rethink his "operation success" statement from earlier. Randy had been mostly ignored. It was Cameron's job to keep Aesop out of the same room as him. Ruffles was still in bed, but his recovery was going as well as expected.

"Thanks, Gordon." Bennie barked to the old Maiden contact as he opened the frontdoor with his shoulder. The radio equipment he had in his arms was obscenely heavy.

Probably should have brought Warren along.

After placing the equipment into the passenger's seat as gently as possible, Bennie hopped into the crawler and drove back to the inn. Upon arrival, Brock helped him bring in the equipment and set it down on the table in Ruffles' room. Bennie wiped some sweat off his forehead and chuckled, "God damn, this shit's legit. This everything you need, Jake?"

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"There is also the matter of how best to deal with Father Austin."

Sitting down with a tall glass of orange juice and a plate piled-high with bacon and eggs, Pixie opted to chow down a bit before addressing the Gentleman. Just when it looked as if she were about to speak, Carlos strode in and filled two plates to take to Florian and Amy, "Don't mind me." He muttered as he skipped past the pair, plates in hand; Pixie's eye following him all the way to Florian's room.

After a long swig of juice, Pixie wiper her lips with her over-sized t-shirt sleeve and grinned, "I reckon we go in hot an' take 'is head. But," She gave him a knowing look. "I don' s'pose that's what y'all had 'n mind? Look, I'm all fer subterfuge, but I reckon that'll only get us so far with this psycho an' 'is 'Brady Bunch' cult. We need 'is head ASAP if we're gonna minimize collateral damage." Her last words didn't come lightly. He knew what she was driving at. It was clear she'd intend to save as many of his children as she could. Whether or not the Gentleman had the same reservations remained to be seen.

"'Smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'" Pixie mused. "Reckon that haul we jus' brought in can buy an army. Whadda y'all think?"

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Carlos placed Amy's meal on the table before helping Florian get propped up so he could eat off his lap. Sitting down across from Amy, he chuckled, "I haven't seen her this on-edge in a long time. She's lucky to have you two, you know that? If there's anyone I know in this world that can get shit done, it's her." He stuffed a bit of egg into his mouth before continuing. "But she was never any good at anything without help. Moral support if you will. Never met anymore more hard on themselves than she is." His last words came with a hint of sadness.

 

[The Funslinger]

"How about this one?"

"That'll do nicely," Eddie replied. "Not too much kick, and a decent amount of rounds in the mag."

Once they were in the shooting range and Eddie had hung up a target sheet, he set up a collapsible table and set a box of rounds on it as well as a spare mag that he showed her how to fill. Taking the gun from her hand, he said, "this switch releases the gun's magazine. It's in easy reach of your thumb. One thing I want you to bear in mind is that you must never, ever point your gun at anything you aren't fully prepared to shoot. Even if you know it's empty. Because one day, it won't be and someone will get hurt."

When he was satisfied with Elizabeth held the pistol, ("don't fire one handed until you can actually hit the target more often than not,") Eddie let her slot in the magazine and try firing. Given the enclosed space they were in, he gave her a pair of ear defenders first.

Initially her shots went wide. "What I want you to do is breath in," he said. "Hold it, and then when you want to shoot, breath out as you squeeze the trigger."

After a few more tries, about half an hour later, Elizabeth was getting the shots at least close to center mass more often than not. "Good," Eddie said. "Hopefully you can talk your father into letting you get some more instruction and practice and whatnot. I'm sure someone can teach you how to take that gun apart and clean it, too. If he objects, well..." he smiled, "he can't take the gun off ya if he can't find it, can he?"

======================================

"God damn, this shit's legit. This everything you need, Jake?"

Ruffles got up off the bed he was sitting on. His jumpsuit had been consigned to the bin. Fortunately, the blood hadn't stained his T-shirt, and they had found a pair of faded old jeans for him to wear.

"Yeah, and then some, Benjamino. Just put it on the floor. I can have you and Pixie phone-fucking each other inside twenty minutes. Then I'm going for a walk, 'cause I tell you what, Carmine, I ain't no god damn invalid. Seriously, I'm fucking stir crazy up in here." He gestured to the small writing desk in the corner where he's field stripped his glock, cleaned his engineer's goggles meticulously and assembled some metal odds and ends from his tool bag into a faux perpetual motion swing that didn't seem to be slowing down even after fifteen solid minutes.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"You know you don't need to keep a fucking watch on me forever C." Spoke Aesop to Cameron as he leaned against the wall, softly punching his knees.

"Can you promise you won't kill Randy?" She asked. Aesop merely smirked a little, giving her his answer. "Then no, I can't let you out my sight."

"Christ C," he said, sitting on the floor now, his back still leaning against the wall. "Can'cha let me go for a piss by myself..." he then softened his tone. "What's wrong? Come on you haven't said anything to me. Fucking no one has, not even Ruffles. Did I do something bad?"

"Are you serious?" She stayed silent for a while. "Aesop, we had to convince you to change your clothes and wash the blood off yourself. What happened to you?" She looked disturbed by his lack of self awareness.

Aesop merely chuckled and said, "I became useful." He looked sad for a breif moment and said, "it... took me killing one of our most valuable maidens but... I'm useful now!" Unlike the past 45 hours however, this time when he spoke of his own usefulness his façade wavered, his smile clearly fake, as he looked down at the ground before bringing his knees up to his chest. "For fuck sake." He wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his forehead against them. "I can't... we needed him we NEEDED HIM AND I... I shot him in the face."

Cameron's expression softened as she spoke, sitting next to him against the wall. "You didn't have a choice, I mean-"

"You were all, LITERALLY, right the fuck outside. If I had stalled for like a minute he'd still be with us, and then..." the cogs in his head that had been jammed with thoughts of murder suddenly began to turn again.

Gjallarhorn Protocol.

"Wait there was something important. I need to tell Ruffles something." He stood up and left, followed after by Cameron, as he knocked on Ruffles' door.

"Ja-Ruffles, I just remembered something. I should have thought of it earlier but I was kinda... yeah fuck it, its about Silo."

 

[Terratina.]

"They may be trying to track us."

"Roger." He replied as he reloaded his pistol.

Of course they would be trying to track a team that had suddenly attacked and had taken out a number of their men. Jun wasn't impressed by the bout of shouting earlier. That wasn't needed, as well as the fact that a commander should not behave in such a way during a mission. A small flame of anger began to melt his icy calm. Jun actually didn't need to reload his gun - just a waste of a magazine, really. Still, he needed to keep his hands busy. Didn't want to do anything he would regret. Nevertheless, he now looked forward to the end of the mission as much as he did with the start. In and out, quick, simple and clean - that was the plan. Even so, reality had a habit of complicating things. With their enemy's retreat, they could no longer escape under the cover of a fog of blood and death. Part of him both wondered and awaited how the great Commander would deal with this obstacle.

Poor Tsubaki, Jun was a harsh judge.

 

[Dogmatic99]

The shower of blood was falling low as the sounds of gunfire faded away. Even Erik was left to come padding back to the convoy out of breath and weapons unused. Vasa couldn't help but share in his old lieutenant's glum spirits. It was never a joy being outpaced by this younger breed. A pity he couldn't bow out gracefully but some men weren't made for working in the quiet roles of the world. Looking back on things it would have been better for Erik to have died a long time ago. But if Vasa could choose who lived and died with 100% certainty then life would be a lot different and a lot easier.

With any hope of catching their attackers dashed the remaining hussars piled back into their convoy, leaving a few men behind to make sure the dead were cleared away and their gear not mislaid. Yet again their crawler was left in silence, with Erik glowering and Carthage shaking in his boots. Most shameful of him.

"It seems our chance at talking will have to wait, Mr Carthage." He said looking to the noble with a worrying amount of suspicion in his eyes.

Yet Carthage's fate would have to wait as Vasa set about issuing commands and his underlings busied themselves on the radios as the Bejic family went on the defensive and their territories went into lock down. Everything went along in the crawler as if the occupants were just highly strung businessmen trading in carbon instead of bullets. Except for Erik of course who was eyeing Carthage like he was deciding which bone to break first. It hadn't been a good day for him.

***​

"-I don' reckon 'er bein' privy ta' the truth would'a actually endangered 'er further.
Florian nodded. Letting Elizabeth stay in blissful ignorance may have seemed like a nice idea but that wasn't the world they lived in. Maybe letting her know would have saved Josephine...

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Whadda y'all think?"

"I think the job could be done with as little as dozen well-trained men, with the element of surprise and not a single moral qualm between them." The Gentleman replied "You understand, however, that should such an assault be compromised, Austin will have no qualms about making us butcher our way through every last member of his family to get to him. The blame would not be on him, in his eyes. Beyond that, we still don't know how many of your men he holds captive. We also can't say for sure that killing Austin will be all it will take to scatter his supporters. No matter what he may call them, there are plenty of adults in his ranks, adults who may have been groomed to assume command. Even a man as deranged as Austin must be aware of his own mortality, to have lasted so long. Finally, such an approach risks damaging the Maiden even further. There's a significant risk that, if we back Austin into a corner, he will conclude that if he can't have his prize, then nobody else can either."

The Gentleman paused to take a bite of his breakfast. He ate slowly and sparingly, cutting the bacon into almost perfect squares. When he chewed, the action was barely visible on his face, as if he were in fact absorbing its nutrient via some sort of osmosis.

"What Amy and I propose will take longer, granted, but in the ways that matter it is far cleaner. While the Maiden is grounded, Austin will have to restrict his foraging locally. He may be looking to replenish his numbers after the fight on the Maiden. Even if that is not the case, I think if we dangled a treat in front of him, he would snap at it.

There's a small town not 50 miles from the crash site. I say 'town', it's really more two lines of dilapidated buildings, either side of a dusty, little used road. It's an ideal place for certain people to do business, and it just so happens that the small brothel on the edge of the town is home to a couple of Amy's sisters, aged 19 and 23 respectively. If the Good Father ever were to hear of such a place, and of children who are his by right being forced to satisfy the most base desires of filthy pretenders, I think he might be inclined to pay a visit."

The Gentleman chewed and swallowed again, his eyes never leaving Meredith's face.

"The plan is not without collateral I'll admit. To put it bluntly however, no-one that Austin kills is going to be missed, and for that bargain we will have two skilled operatives inside Austin's family. From there, they can discover valuable information that we do not possess. They will see who is in Austin's inner-circle. Who is loyal, who is ambitious, and how many in the rank and file really believe in the man's insanity. There need not be an epic struggle for the Iron Maiden. There need not be the blood of one more child spilled. There need only be a series of unfortunate accidents, and you can take to the skies once more with Austin's head, and the heads of any others that needed taking, swinging from the prow of your ship like the pirates of old."

=========================================================================================================================

Amy flashed a glowing smile at Carlos in thanks for delivering her's and Florian's breakfast. When he began speaking, she studied his look and tone with care.

"What about you?" she asked, quietly. "The two of you seem to share a bond that defies explanation. Are you not part of the support she needs?"

 

[Fappy]

Elizabeth was surprised how quickly she'd taken to what she'd previously thought to be a distinctly male hobby. Though she'd approached it with trepidation, it didn't take long for her to notice her gradual improvement. It felt... empowering.

"Good,"

Elizabeth looked up at him with a genuine grin.

"Hopefully you can talk your father into letting you get some more instruction and practice and whatnot. I'm sure someone can teach you how to take that gun apart and clean it, too. If he objects, well... he can't take the gun off ya if he can't find it, can he?"

Elizabeth giggled, "If a young lady learns anything while under the roof of a stern father it's how to keep them ignorant to the dark truths their daughters hide." Turning back towards the target, she emptied the spent magazine and slotted a new one. This time her shots all met their mark, more or less.

Having spent the magazine, she surveyed the target from afar. Her lips curled into a mischievous grin. If only Shamus could see her now.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Yeah, and then some, Benjamino. Just put it on the floor. I can have you and Pixie phone-fucking each other inside twenty minutes. Then I'm going for a walk, 'cause I tell you what, Carmine, I ain't no god damn invalid. Seriously, I'm fucking stir crazy up in here."

Bennie opened the window and dismissed Brock with a subtle nod. Leaning against the wall, Bennie lit a cigarette and took a deep drag before exhaling it out the window, "I hear ya', Jake. I'd be pullin' out my hair if I were stuck in bed, too... had I any," Bennie mused. "But yeah, I reckon you're fit for a simple walk. Just try not to get yourself beat up again. It's just plain sad seeing a brother laid out so easily." After a teasing chuckle, Bennie flicked a fresh cigarette out of the pack and offered it to Ruffles. "Sure you don't want to be around for the chat? Would be kind of weird reportin' in for an op I wasn't originally a part of, ya' know?"

Though his point was fair enough, Ruffles could detect a hit of anxiety in his voice. It had been a long time since he'd spoken to her, after all.

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Pixie continued digging into her meal as the Gentleman gave his bid.

"... There's a significant risk that, if we back Austin into a corner, he will conclude that if he can't have his prize, then nobody else can either."

She shrugged. She'd give him that one.

"... If the Good Father ever were to hear of such a place, and of children who are his by right being forced to satisfy the most base desires of filthy pretenders, I think he might be inclined to pay a visit."

Pixie sighed heavily; her meal all but done now, she had little more to do than meet the Gentleman's unwavering gaze. It was a solid approach, but something didn't sit right with her. He seemed to be making a lot of assumptions about Austin's character and how he'd react to the plan. Pixie never was one to go into a battle thinking she had all the answers.

"... There need not be the blood of one more child spilled..."

She scoffed.

Yer full a' shit.

"... There need only be a series of unfortunate accidents, and you can take to the skies once more with Austin's head, and the heads of any others that needed taking, swinging from the prow of your ship like the pirates of old."

Pixie crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. After taking a moment to consider his proposal, her expression hardened, "You said Amy came up with this plan, but I reckon you've had quite a bit'a input since it's original inception. There's a certain... 'Gentleman stink' to it. I never took 'er ta' be the ruthlessly methodical type, but then that shows 'ow much I actually know the girl. She is yer protege, after all."

Her eye diverted from the Gentleman's and began idly surveying the empty glass in her hand. Pity, it was really good orange juice, "Here's my problem with y'all's plan. It's a long haul. I don' 'ave any problem with y'all infiltratin' 'is cult, but when I'm ready ta' take my baby back you should be damn well sure I'm gonna go after 'im right then an' there. Time's the kicker, Gents. I reckon morale's gonna be lower'n it's ever been in the comin' weeks an' I need my Maidens ta' know we're not finished. They need ta' know we're doin' everythin' we can ta' get back on 'ar feet. Sittin' 'round waitn' fer Amy's girls ta' do their job fer 'em ain't my idea of a victory, an' it sure as shit ain't theirs either."

She leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm, "Then there's Austin. Whadda ya' think he's gonna do with all the time we'll give 'im? He's not gonna float 'round with 'is limp dick in 'is hand, I'll tell ya' that much. He'll hurt someone... he'll hurt 'em bad." She closed her eye and sighed. "I can' let that happen. I know yer all about the bottom line, Gents, but if I can stop 'im from usin' my Maiden to spread death 'n chaos I won' hesitate ta' take 'im on. Even alone, if that's what it takes. By all means, 'ave Amy's girls do their thin', but know I'm gonna jump down that fucker's throat the first chance I get. There's no arguin' that point, Gents. I respect yer council, but this is my Maiden we're talkin' 'bout. These 'er my people. We're gonna do it 'ar way."

Getting up from the table, she glanced down the hall to where the radio was setup before meeting the Gentleman's gaze once more, "Understand I won' let that fucker hurt those kids any longer than I have to. If it means I have ta' get my hands dirty, well, fate's a cruel *****. It'll be a fuckin' act a mercy puttin' 'em down, I reckon. That psychopath calls 'imself a father?" Pixie scoffed. "Makes me fuckin' sick."

She let out a long drawn out sigh and stretched her arms up over her head, "Anyway, I gotta take a call with ol' chrome-dome. We can continue this lil' discussion later if ya' really wanna try my patience."

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"What about you? The two of you seem to share a bond that defies explanation. Are you not part of the support she needs?"

He shot her an awkward look before turning his attention towards the food on the table. He wiped his hands on his hips, nervously, "N-no, no I'm not. Not in that sense anyway. It's uhhh," He grinned stupidly before immediately banishing it. For a conman he was being uncharacteristically transparent. It appeared Amy had struck quite a nerve. "It's complicated. I can never be that for her. I..." He frowned. "I've said too much."

Looking for an escape route, he glanced around the room. His eyes settled on the coffee brewer on the counter nearby, "Coffee anyone?"

**********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Tsubaki led Jun through the twisting alleyways, and though he'd likely assumed they'd lost themselves in its labyrinthine design, he'd be wrong. Glancing back at Jun, she could tell as much on the expression he wore.

"Oh ye, of little faith."

Though he may not have been able to tell, she was leading them right to their designated escape route. Having studied the city's grid for the past two days, Tsubaki knew every twist and turn within a five-mile radius of the warehouse. The pair kept up a decent pace and made sure to take their strides in relative silence.

As they turned one particular corner, Tsubaki could hear one of their pursuers bang against a trashcan while moving into the alley, "Down." She commanded, turning on her heel and placing a hand on Jun's shoulder as she brought her carbine to bare. Firing a short, controlled burst, she caught one of Vasa's men in the shoulder. "Let's move!" She barked, pushing Jun ahead of her.

They were upon it now. Pulling a smoke grenade from her vest, she looked to Jun and signaled for him to get his ready as well. Upon arriving at a small side street that divided two alleys, Tsubaki gave the signal and they both let loose their grenades, covering the entire area in a thick, dark cloud. With lightning fast precision, Tsubaki knelt down in the center of the street and pried open a manhole, ushering Jun inside before following suit. Their pursuers stumbled into the cloud, blind and disoriented. By the time they'd thought to check the manhole Tsubaki and Jun would have been long gone.

Trudging through the putrid sludge, Tsubaki double checked her gear. Everything was accounted for.

"---zzztttt-----The bleeders are still coming after me. How's everyone else?----zzztttt------"

Being underneath several feet of concrete tended to disrupt radio frequencies. Tsubaki fingered the radio on her vest and replied, "We've made it into the sewers and have lost our pursuers. Heading to the rendezvous. What's your status, Harvey? Over."

 

[The Funslinger]

"Sure you don't want to be around for the chat? Would be kind of weird reportin' in for an op I wasn't originally a part of, ya' know?"

Ruffles took the cigarette with a small smile. He'd been pacing around the room ever since Bennie arrived, and now he was leaning against the window sill. As he lit the cigarette, he said, "I guess I can stick around to see some of that famous Carmine smooth talking in action," he said.

"Ja-Ruffles, I just remembered something. I should have thought of it earlier but I was kinda... yeah fuck it, its about Silo."

There was a pause. Ruffles and Bennie looked at each other.

"Yeah man, come in."

===========================================================================

"If a young lady learns anything while under the roof of a stern father it's how to keep them ignorant to the dark truths their daughters hide."

"Fair enough," Eddie replied, setting a shoulder holster on the table for her as he retrieved his coat.

"Guess I'll just take a look at this and we'll get going," he said, pulling out the letter. Slitting the envelope's top with a thumbnail, he pulled out the small sheet of paper. As he read, his eyes widened. When he was done, the paper floated out of his hand and onto the table and he was too dumbstruck to stop it.

Spoiler: Whiskey's Letter

Eddie,

I know you're alive. I can't tell you how glad I was when I found out. It was like one of them sappy novels where the characters are always bitching about holes in their heart what can't be filled and shit.

But he knows you're alive, too. They're taking Millie away from me. I need your help. We gotta make the first move before they kill you, and we gotta get her back. Meet me in the wheat field in The Bread Basket. We gotta talk.

-Whiskey

There was no mistaking the handwriting, and there was no mistaking the little lipstick kiss mark she'd left on the corner of the paper.

"I... I have to go," said Eddie. "It can't wait, I can't take you back right away." He was walking now, and Elizabeth had to follow to hear him. "You can... you can come with me if ya like, or you can wait here, or if you can drive, you're welcome to a crawler."