The Book of Zar, Part 4

We moved from the metro line up into street level, with snow shoveled out of the way of pathways. Various motor vehicles drove to and fro on the streets, and the sidewalks were lightly populated with pedestrians. Our weapons concealed underneath thick coats, we crossed the street and into an alleyway, next to a skyscraper, where I pointed a scrambler at a security camera and “disabled” it by showing it looped footage, edited previously by our client to allow us easier entry. Then we approached the building. I took out an electronic lockbreaker and placed it on the door, where it hacked the electronic lock and afforded us entry. As the two others with me entered the building, I could not help but notice an unmarked vehicle parked near the curb, which had a Sangheili driver. He glanced at us a few times before taking a nap. I found his presence on a Zarid world somewhat peculiar, but dismissed it. For were we not as well on this planet? In any occasion, we slipped past security and entered a service lift, all the while I disabled security cameras.
The lift doors opened, a chime ringing out, and we stepped into the corridor. This floor of the skyscraper was largely vacant, full of unused office space and bare cubicles. I was not sent to the Zarid Alliance often since it is rather distant from any of our bases, but money was to be made there and in the other nations beyond the rim, in the wider galaxy. And the Zarids, like the Erdellians and the Ukhno, do not shy away from underhandedness.
This Zarid office building was typical of their stone-cut kind: the structure was built out of jagged stone, wall and ceiling lights in a cool blue hue illuminating the interior. It was evening, though, and many of the lights were turned off. The floor was also made of stone, but colored in various hues, mainly as helpful guides. I noted an exit sign near one door, with the figure of a jagged-looking individual making a running movement towards an open door with three triangles pointed in that direction.
I was not alone. Verth and Thon were assigned to be in my team, as per my request. Thon jogged towards one of the corner offices.
“Easy, Thon,” I said. “Keep our presence subtle.”
“Of course, of course,” he said. He stayed in the shadows.
“You know, you can still take the shot,” said Verth, who was walking next to me. “Your good arm still works, no?”
My left arm was in a sling. I had dislocated my shoulder during a sparring match with a fellow named Suta. I underestimated his skills in swordsmanship much to my peril. Anyway, I was in position to shoot any beam rifle at anyone. Luckily my Erdellian shotgun was not so particular about two-handed shooting, although reloading it one-handed would be a challenge.
“Who are we dispatching this time?” asked Thon as he opened the door to the office, a bare desk before us.
“You really were asleep at the briefing, huh?” Verth responded. “It’s a Zarid business magnate, I can’t pronounce his name. He’ll be the left-handed one in the purple cloak. Shoot him only on command.”
Thon set up his position, finding a chair and putting it before the desk. Sitting down, he placed an old beam rifle rest on the table and then mounted the rifle atop the rest. Then, looking down the scope, he waited. Verth took out a rangefinder while I placed my shotgun on the table to free my right hand. Then, I gestured to Verth for the rangefinder, which he gave me. I looked across the way to a skyscraper less than a quarter of a kremla away from us, right before our very eyes. It was a mixed residential-commercial use building. Shops, businesses, and offices lined the first three floors of this eighty-story structure, while the rest were devoted to residences fit for a small family.
“This is going to be the deadliest house party in Zarid history,” said Thon humorously.
“Only if you can shoot straight, brother,” said Verth. The two of them chuckled as I spotted the unit where the aforementioned party was happening. A small gathering of Zarids, Ukhno, Erdellians, Fawnd, and Exe-Mac populated one unit’s living room, with a Zarid and an Erdellian speaking with one another. The Zarid had on a purple cloak. The other one looked familiar though.
“Is that our bloody client?” I asked.
“What?” uttered Verth, who looked through his own binoculars. Thon looked down the scope. “Oh my stars, you’re right. But what is Wyte Tyne doing here, anyway?”
“I don’t know, but he’s either very dedicated to seeing work done, or he’s incredibly foolish,” I responded.
“Or brave,” added Thon.
“No, just foolish or insane. Do you have the target lined up? Remember, purple cloak, left-handed.
“I know, I know,” said Thon. “I have the target in my sights.”
“Take the shot.”
I looked through the rangefinder, catching sight of our target. A flowing purple cloak draped the Zarid on the left, who leaned against the stone railing of the balcony. He spoke leisurely with our client, who had a dark green shawl and a jeweled circlet. Then, Thon fired. The beam passed straight through the target’s head, who promptly collapsed. Our client was thoroughly shocked, glancing over towards our direction several times as he quickly crouched down into cover.
“Good shot, kill confirmed,” I said monotonously.
“The damn fool exposed us!” Thon exclaimed.
“Maybe he didn’t!” Verth added.
“I take no chances. Let’s go. Now.” I grabbed the shotgun.
As the three of us started for the exit, however, we heard a chime, and noticed the lift doors opening without us being there. Then, from it, stepped that familiar Sangheili from the unmarked vehicle outside. He dual-wielded old plasma rifles. Then, an Unggoy in white armor stepped out, holding a fuel rod gun.
“Woaaaaaaahhhh!” he yelled. He aimed it at the ground we stood and fired.
“Cover!” I shouted as I pushed Verth to cover. Thon also fled, but alas, he was slow. As the shot impacted, unleashing a fierce green blast and intense heat, I heard blood-chilling screams of pain and agony as I saw Thon’s body flung like a doll halfway across the office space. He landed some distance away. His legs were gone and his breathing was uneven, ragged. Then, it stopped. I could not have time to ponder his passing before another shot rang out, and the two of us fled more.
I moved from cover and raised my shotgun. The Sangheili fellow raised his plasma rifles, but I was slightly faster, and I fired a blast of superheated Erdellian plasmashot. The plasma pellets slammed against the Sangheili shields, which broke quickly, and he was killed.
“We got a man down!” the Unggoy yelled as he dropped his fuel rod gun, took out a plasma pistol, and fired wildly at us as he dove for the safety of a column.
More Sangheili, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar appeared from the lift, along with Zarid agents from the Bureau of National Security, as indicated by the plasma-resistant body armor and silver badges on their arms. There clearly was one in charge, though. A Sangheili clad in purple armor, whose face was very familiar with me.
Kai ‘Kalar.
I could not raise my shotgun at him since I was promptly greeted by a wall of incoming fire. I ducked out of sight and into cover, where the fire narrowly missed me and Verth.
“Thon’s dead, we have to get out of here!”
I glanced over to the window, and I recalled a rather deep river flowing not terribly far from the skyscraper. Perhaps we could make it?
“We have to try the window! Aim for the river!” I yelled.
“But it’s below freezing outside!”
“We either get shot here or freeze out there, choose!”
“Fine! Let’s go!”
I took out the one plasma grenade I could smuggle into the Alliance, and threw it towards the group near the lift.
“That’s a grenade!” yelled a Zarid voice. Then, an explosion, and clamoring.
Verth and I used this opportunity to run for the window, where I shot it out with my shotgun. Verth sprayed a burst of fire from his plasma rifle, but such an action was returned fivefold to us with a hail of fire from our enemies. Carbine shots repeatedly landed on Verth, who obstructed me from the fire, although a carbine shot hit me once in the head, concussing me somewhat despite my shields holding.
“Where are you going, Zar?!” yelled a Sangheili voice. Was that Mik ‘Mutuk? “Where are you going?! No, come back here! I just need a moment to talk to you! Come back!” He fired at us again.
Then, we leapt from the window. Verth and I screamed as we made our way down. Admittedly, I was desperate, and resigned to death about halfway through the jump. I failed to fully appreciate the drop, but once I was almost finished with it I found the prospects of landing into freezing cold water to be… unenviable.
We landed in the river, the icy-cold water stabbing me like a thousand lances piercing my skin. Luckily our shields were strong enough to withstand the force of impact, although they were broken. Blood poured from a wound I received in my side. It was nonlethal, but still quite painful. I grunted underwater as Verth looked far worse than I. He was covered in wounds and fading in and out of consciousness. I grabbed him and swam to shore. The bitter cold sapped my strength, and I could barely muster any of it, but thankfully I managed, pulling the two of us to the chilled beach of the river front, the sand covered in soft, fluffy snow. Purple blood stained it heavily.
“Verth, Verth, are you okay?” I asked. Police sirens wailed in the distance, but were fast approaching.
“Ah… I don’t think…”
“No, you can, just come on, come, get up on your feet…”
I propped Verth up onto his feet, bringing his arm around my shoulders as we hurriedly walked along the beach towards an underground metro station, where we would disappear into the maze of tunnels. Our hideout was within that maze, and we just needed to retreat there until we could be extracted by other Banished operatives.
The sirens came closer.
“Zar, I don’t… I don’t think…”
“No, no, you can make it, just stay awake…”
We went into the metro, stumbling down stairs and passing by bewildered passengers, who promptly fled from us after I brandished my shotgun. We made our way through the metro station until we found a platform to go along the tracks from. Unfortunately, a pair of local police officers managed to catch up with us and attempted to apprehend us. “Armed police, halt!” they said, holding native Zarid plasma carbines.
I turned around and fired off a blast at them. One of the officers was killed, that Zarid’s lithoid body shattering into hundreds of pebbles and stones, with the other shooting at us with his weapon. The plasma bolts splashed against our now reconstituted shields, and I fired again, killing the other officer.
“Oh, you shot their police, they’ll definitely come for us now,” lethargically joked Verth.
“See, you still have a sense of humor, you will live,” I responded in encouragement.
“You will live…”
We entered the tunnels, melting into the shadows. The hunt for us was not over, however. We were still stuck on this planet with Kai, Mik, and their friends, and well… they did not seem terribly amenable to negotiations.
Category:The Weekly