Not Exactly A Rooftop Romance Scene

Harbinger continues his briefing as we break into what seems to be the principal’s office. “We took a back entrance from the shack, as the school’s entrance is heavily guarded.” Harbinger signals me to investigate a technical box with numerous circular indentations and small silver switches. Confused, I look to Harbinger for guidance.

I follow Harbinger’s next command, “Still got that gizmo Val gave you? Plant that hacking device directly onto that box to connect Val to the system. She can listen in on all the rooms through the school’s intercom system.”

Harbinger continues, “Her remote hacking skills are second to none, but the school’s digital infrastructure is simply ancient. Normally, old equipment would be laughably easy for an expert hacker to exploit. However, all of the school’s equipment is connected through an intranet, an obsolete technology of over 75 years past. We need boots on the ground here to give her access to the audio and visual surveillance equipment installed in and around the school.”

As I finish connecting the hacking device to the PA system, I get a voice of acknowledgement through my radio system, “Thanks newbie~! Not so useless after all!” being Val’s playful, standoffish way of telling us my work is successful.

With our primary objective complete, Harbinger leads me out of the room, and we make our way to the second floor. “Our team operates with maximum efficiency in mind. We keep our ops only as complex as necessary, and we act only when the complexity of a given situation necessitates it. We do the dirty work in the field so our backline can support us from afar.”

When we reach the upper floors, Harbinger raises his arm, commanding me to stop as we form up by a set of double-doors leading into a corridor. From beyond the doors, the lights in a nearby classroom are illuminated, implying the presence of additional guards patrolling the second floor. Our speculation is shortly addressed by Val, “I have good news and bad news. Actually, both are bad depending on your perspective.”

“Give them to me straight,” Harbinger barks, knowing that time is short. “I’ve eavesdropped on all the rooms and halls in the school, yet not a single voice is a match to Trace’s voice sample on file…”

Harbinger contemplates Val's words, then looks at me before issuing his next command. “So he’s not here. Looks like our work in this school is done, rookie. We could wipe all the guards out here to reduce our enemy count, but…” Harbinger turns to face me, expecting my input. Another test.

“We keep our ops only as complex as necessary, and we only act when the complexity of a given situation necessitates it,” I proudly announce.

“Good. Now you’re catching on,” Harbinger acknowledges pleasingly. “That’s the difference between Breakpoint and the run-and-gun skirmishes carried out by subpar, undisciplined agents and gangs.”

“Well… I haven’t told you guys the second piece of news…” Val interjects. Harbinger, looking alarmed, tells her to “spit it out.”

“The guards on the lower floor discovered the bodies of the two guards you killed. I guess they too are familiar with the time-tested ‘hide the body behind the door’ tactic,” Val informs with a mixture of mockery and apprehension.

“What does this mean for us, Val?” I question, eager to get a read on the situation. Val discloses, “The guards have regrouped on the lower floors. There’s too many of them to make your way back through the way you came. Your exit is cut off, and the guards are being corralled up the stairs to the second floor! And I don’t have a clear view of any of the individual classrooms, but I’m hearing voices up there, so you’re surrounded!”

Putting Val’s intel to work, Harbinger formulates a plan to respond to the encroaching threat in a heartbeat. “Val! Where’s the nearest door to the rooftop?”

“Umm, if you are near the stairs, then it’s the door all the way down the hall. Best start running~!”

Val is right, the hallway ahead of us is long and treacherous. A hallway with many classroom doors. Classrooms potentially filled with guards, ready to emerge at any second or cut us down with gunfire the moment we pass in front of their field of vision. How many are there, ten… or a hundred? Even the most skilled agents will succumb to the lynching of an angry mob, all the more so if said mob was properly equipped.

In an instant, Harbinger hands me three grenades. “These are tear gas grenades. I’m splitting the six of them between us fifty-fifty.”

“Did you notice the windows? They’ll have to smash or shoot out the glass to flee from the fumes,” I explain. “That’ll buy us precious seconds,” Harbinger acknowledges as he puts on his gas mask, and I proceed to do the same. “Like before, you take left, and I take right.” I nod to him in acknowledgement.

With the guards from the first floor being mere seconds away while staring down a hallway full of blind spots and enemies, it’s time to watch a seasoned veteran execute his plan of attack!

“...Here’s the plan—open this door and RUN LIKE HELL!” Harbinger screams, sprinting ahead of me.

Harbinger rips open the hallway door, and we bolt down the hall. With only six grenades in total, we cast them in different directions to maximize the coverage of the vaporous weapon, one behind us… one in front of us… and the rest into the classrooms besides us. Whatever it takes, we must mask our presence in the chaos.

As the smoke rips across the hallway, we hear the screams, coughs, and confusion as the guards scramble to combat their unknown enemy. However, we have all become one with the gas, and our objective remains in sight… the door at the end of the hall.

As we reach the door, Harbinger kicks it open, and as we pass through, I slam it shut to contain the gas within the school, maximizing its effectiveness. Harbinger ties one end of a rope to a nearby pole, and throws the other end off the roof, signalling that this is our only way out.

I had no idea what fate awaited us at the bottom. We may face an agent from a mega-corporation, or worse, my former colleagues from the major Police divisions. But this was the most convenient solution to the problem at hand. Right now, all that mattered was escaping this upper floor to elude the stampede of guards pursuing us from behind.

Following Harbinger’s lead, we zip down the rope to an unknown fate in front of the school. Have the guards at the school entrance surrounded the perimeter already? Even if they haven’t, will they spot us and chase us incessantly across this empty town until they corner us?

…

Despite his recklessness, Harbinger restored my faith in his plan, as a jeep awaited us at the ground… with none other than old man Sinclair at the wheel.

“Get in!” He yells, as Harbinger pops into the front seat and I climb into the back. Sinclair stomps on the acceleration pedal, barely permitting me a second to shut the door to avoid getting thrown from the vehicle. The jeep screeches as the vehicle dives off-road to escape the ensuing chaos from our successful operation.

As I look to the rear of the jeep for any pursuers, I catch a glimpse of the sign in front of the school, “Town of Fringe Academy. Sponsored by Paladin Enterprises.”

Paladin was my first employer… and working for them was my real first mistake.