Heavies Gamble in the Warehouse

The warehouse's atmosphere grew tenser as Dominic secured the briefcase. His fingers brushed over the Directorate insignia etched on the stolen files, and a faint smirk crossed his face—a mix of satisfaction and unease. Grayson watched him carefully, every muscle in his body coiled like a spring. Tala stood nearby, her sharp eyes scanning their surroundings.

Grayson broke the silence. “Now, Dominic. Where are the archives?”

Dominic clicked the briefcase shut, locking it with a biometric scan. “The archives … recently exchanged hands. They’ve been relocated to a secure vault under the Nihlus Energy Plant, two sectors south. If you’re serious about retrieving them, you’ll need my access codes." he paused, his grin widening. "And me.”

“You don’t even have them?” Tala scoffed, crossing her arms. “Why should we trust you? For all we know, you’re leading us into a trap.”

Dominic spread his hands in a mock gesture of innocence. “I value my life too much to cross Grayson. Besides, what could I possibly gain from trapping an angel like you?”

Before Grayson could respond, a faint hum filled the air. Tala's hand shot to her comms. “Grayson, we’ve got movement—north perimeter. Could be Enforcers.”

“Seen it.” Grayson cursed under his breath, his gaze lifting toward the drone that had appeared overhead. “Dominic, how clean was your arrival?”

Dominic frowned. “Clean enough, but nothing’s guaranteed, these days.”

The hum grew louder, morphing into the distinct thrum of hover engines. A sharp, bright red anti-collision spotlight pierced the darkness as a tactical drone uncloaked overhead. Its sleek black hull reflected the dim industrial lighting, and the emblem of the Directorate glowed ominously on its side.

“Shit! I knew I shouldn’t meet up with you,” Dominic muttered, his hand inching toward his concealed weapon.

“Move!” Grayson barked, pushing Dominic toward cover. Tala already had her sidearm drawn, her comms buzzing as she issued commands to their team.

The first shot came from the drone. A high-pitched whine preceded a burst of plasma that scorched the ground mere feet from their position. The shockwave sent shards of concrete flying. Tala rolled behind a stack of crates, firing off a volley of suppressive rounds toward the drone’s sensor array.

Grayson activated his wrist-mounted neural interface, bringing up a tactical overlay. “We’ve got two squads inbound. Tala, hold this position. Dominic, stay low and out of sight.”

“I’m not exactly looking to be arrested,” Dominic grumbled as he ducked behind a rusted support beam.

“Then stay out of the way,” Grayson shot back, his voice tight.

Two Enforcer units emerged from the north entrance, their black armor gleaming under the drone’s spotlight. They moved in unison, their plasma rifles sweeping the area with mechanical precision. The workers in the area took that as a sign to clock out of work early and scattered, some holding their tools.

“Targets acquired,” one of them announced, their voice modulated.

Grayson moved like a shadow, darting between covers. He aimed his silenced pistol at the lead Enforcer’s helmet and fired. The round hit true, sparking against the helmet’s neural interface, scrambling the screen overlay HUD and sending the enforcer sprawling.

“Nice shot,” Tala called out, her weapon dropping another Enforcer. One of their colleagues fell from the roof of the warehouse where they were laying cover fire and started vibrating in pain before going unconscious.

The drone unleashed another volley of shots, forcing Grayson to dive behind a stack of metal beams. “Tala, we need that thing down now!”

“I’m working on it!” Tala snapped. She activated her own neural interface, deploying a micro-drone from her wrist gauntlet. The tiny device zipped into the air, evading the larger drone’s sensors. With a sharp beep, it latched onto the drone’s hull and released an electromagnetic pulse. The drone spun around erratically and then deactivated crashing into the ground.

The north entrance exploded in a shower of sparks as more Enforcers in bulky armor plates breached the perimeter. Grayson cursed. “Shit! They’re bringing in heavies!”

A towering Enforcer clad in bulkier, in a reinforced armor stepped into view, a rotary railgun spinning menacingly in his hands. His mechanical voice boomed across the warehouse. “Stand down and surrender, or face termination.”

“We can’t fight them.” Tala grimaced. “Grayson, we need a new plan. Now.”

Grayson glanced at Dominic. “You said you wanted to help. Prove it. Where’s the nearest exit?”

“We can’t use my car now, hmm.” Dominic scanned the area before pointing to a maintenance tunnel at the far end of the warehouse. “There. It leads to the old drainage system. From there, we can lose them.”

Grayson nodded and engaged his comms. “Everyone, lay down cover fire. Dominic, stick close to me.”

The heavy Enforcer opened fire, streaks of light tearing through the air. Grayson rolled behind a forklift, his ears ringing from the deafening roar. Tala unleashed a smoke grenade, the thick gray cloud blanketing their retreat.

“Move!” Grayson yelled, grabbing Dominic by the arm who was clutching onto the briefcase like his life depended on it.

The maintenance tunnel was cramped and reeked of oil and decay, but it offered the cover they desperately needed. Tala sealed the entrance behind them with a manual override, her breath ragged.

“That was too close,” she muttered.

Grayson checked his neural interface, his map flickering as it recalibrated. “We’ve got about ten minutes before they breach that door. Dominic, if you’re lying about this route…”

“I’m not,” Dominic replied, his voice surprisingly calm. “But you’ve got bigger problems. That heavy Enforcer? He’s not going to stop until he finds us.”

Grayson smirked, his adrenaline still pumping. “Believe me I know all about them. This might take a while.”

As they moved deeper into the tunnel, the sound of Enforcers searching above echoed faintly. Tala glanced at Grayson. “What’s the plan now?”

Grayson’s expression hardened. “We head to Nihlus. If those archives are there, we need to get to them before those idiots up there catches up.”

Dominic arched an eyebrow. “And if they’re not?”

Grayson’s smirk returned, but his eyes were cold. “Then you and I are gonna have a long talk.”