Chapter 11 (Updated 07-05-2024)
Both Dan and Allen moved their asses and dived behind a few abandoned vehicles. The hammering of gunfire continued as the vehicles got hit. Dan’s back was pressed against the passenger door of the car. He could feel it rocking from the bullet impacts.
Dan attempted to poke his head out, only to flinch from bullets impacting the hood of the car.
He looked across and saw Allen lying prone on his stomach.
“Hey kid,” Allen said through the channel. “If you wanna live, do as I tell you.”
“You got it,” Dan replied.
“Stay put for now. I’m gonna break off and kill these assholes from a different angle.”
With that, Allen spun the barrels of his minigun. As soon as he rose, he lifted his minigun and shot a hellfire of rounds at the gunmen. The shots hitting Dan’s side briefly stopped, and Dan looked to see where Allen was shooting. Dan saw his teammate firing at a position above them along the rooftops of the buildings ahead.
Allen ceased fire and began running. The brief quiet was soon overtaken by more gunfire as their enemy shot again at Allen, but the agent had already slipped through an alleyway.
Dan got his two pistols ready and got up from his position. He briefly spotted the silhouettes of multiple gunmen along the rooftops of the buildings to his left and opened fire, squeezing both triggers.
He hopped on top of the roof of the car and tried to push forward. For a split second, Dan saw the distant muzzle flashes from his enemies and he quickly dived back down to his original position. As long as they held the high ground and Dan lacked long range firepower, he had no chance of taking them out from this distance.
The enemies on the roof continued hammering Dan’s position. He watched a round shatter the glass window of the car and bury itself into the road behind him. The bullet shot up dust and debris and left a sizeable pothole in the pavement. Dan wasn’t eager to know what it would feel like getting hit by a bullet that powerful.
The gunfire stopped abruptly. Dan looked up at the row of roofs, only to see a sedan fall to the ground from where it’d smashed into the side of the building. Dan watched the streets and noticed Allen picking up another car and tossing it at the rooftops. This time, the vehicle flew above the edge and landed on the roof. After that, the gunmen didn’t fire again.
They fled the scene.
Dan stood in awe of what he’d just witnessed. Allen was so strong that he’d hurled multi-ton vehicles across the street in an upward arc. Truly monstrous strength.
“It’s safe for now, kid. Thanks for keeping them busy,” Allen said through the channel.
Dan hopped over the damaged hood of the car and ran over to his teammate. He stopped beside Allen and was about to express his amazement at the agent’s strength until he saw Allen’s facial expression.
Allen, even with half his face covered up with his mask, had serious eyes, hard lines drawn around them.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s our enemy,” Allen said, glancing over at Dan. “The people who were shooting at us were just regular men. And yet they had heavy-hitting firearms that only agents are allowed to carry.”
“You serious?” Dan said.
“Have you ever seen an assault rifle that could pack enough punch to rock a car back and forth? Or shoot up concrete and dust like mini geysers?”
Dan thought back to how hard his position was getting shot up by the gunmen. “No. I haven’t.”
“Yeah. Only the shards are allowed to possess that kind of firepower. That shit has no business being in the hands of a mere resistance group. Yeah, these guys are definitely stealing more than just medical supplies and drugs.”
“So in other words, this mission might be a bit tougher than we thought?” Dan said. He glanced down at his dual pistols. “I mean, whatever shit they got is better than what I have.”
“Afraid so. Oh well, more fun for us,” Allen said. “Let’s keep moving. And be on your guard. Stealth probably isn’t an option anymore now that they know we’re here.”
The two continued moving through the streets. Dan looked around and saw more of the same old, dirty buildings along with more garbage and debris littered across the sidewalk. The only difference between here and Dan’s hometown was the occasional splash of color from the neon signs and giant banner ads.
Dan looked down at his feet. During the firefight he wasn’t able to do much against the superior firepower of his enemies.
“Sorry about back there,” Dan said.
Allen jerked his head towards him. “Come again?”
“I couldn’t really do much against those assholes on the roof. I only had my pistols to work with and was hitting nothing but air.”
“Oh shut up, kid. You provided the distraction I needed to get them off my back. If you hadn’t been there, I would have been shot at while I was lifting those cars. Not every battle is determined by who can shoot who. Sometimes, opportunity and luck play a factor. I could have died back there if it wasn’t for you. Plus, I managed to gather up some more intel on our enemies. I’ve already contacted Jane and told her to watch out for rebels with decent firepower.”
“Thanks, Allen,” Dan said.
“Besides, we’re allowed to loot weapons from our fallen enemies. If you don’t get enough credits after this mission is over, you can at least keep whatever gear you manage to find.”
Dan’s heart rate went up at that news. “Oh hell yeah. That’s sounds awesome. If I can, I’ll try to get myself an assault rifle and a grenade launcher.”
“That’s the spirit, kid. Now let’s keep moving. We need to complete our scouting of this area.”
Dan smiled in anticipation for the upcoming battle.