Chapter 34:

Jail Break (1)

Into the New World... With a Gun

--Gatix--

“Agent.”

“Hmm?”

“I'm detecting the presence of Ms. Queen's signature nearby.”

I grinned. “I guess that means we're about to get the show on the road.” The door swung open, and the four buffed-up mages that stepped in were no surprise. “I was wondering when the death squad would arrive. Time to get rid of the bait, eh guys?”

“Look at that.” One of the mages turned to the others. “Seems like he's all but figured this out.”

“A pity he couldn't free himself in time.” One of the others replied with a chuckle.

“Now, why would I free myself?”

“Misguided notion to save your queen, I would suppose. Then again, loyalty never was strong among your kind.”

I scoffed. “She can take care of herself.”

“We'll know within the hour.” The mage's spear started to glow as he pointed it forward.

“Hey Nev, think I'll be able to survive that?”

“Possibly, but based on the energy signature, whatever projectile gets launched may be able to inflict some damage.”

“Guess it's my turn to get out of here, then.” I'd been kept inside the stone cocoon since I was captured. The alchemist must have told them about the world of hurt lying in wait if I could access my weaponry. Preventing me from using my arms would have been the solution they came up with. Smart, except they didn't see me sliding my finger around Fang's trigger as the stone started to encase me.

A little insurance policy, so I guess it is time to cash in. Squeezing the trigger created a soft popping noise. Two more shots resulted in the same, but the fourth? This adventure is the first time I've seen actual magic, much to Nev's denial, but a lifetime of reading fantasy novels has taught me one thing. Magic, more often than not, behaves similarly to a water container. If you punch a little hole, whatever force held the magic together would disperse. Ms. Queen would kill me if she learned I bet my entire plan on a theory, but it paid off. The fourth shot punched through the stone shell, and I fell to the floor in a shower of rocks.

“He's free!” The first rule of hearing those two words? Make yourself scarce, which I did by leaping sideways when my feet touched the ground. A green sphere flew past my head with millimeters to spare, the hole it blew in the back wall giving me cause for concern.

A few blasts from Fang would have dealt with my enemies, but a semi-blue sphere formed to protect each mage from my attacks. “Dammit!”

“A localized shield emitter.”

“Magic shield, Nev.”

“Magic does not-” A twist to the side dodged another green sphere, but I didn't see the one coming from the attacker to my side. The force of the attack was strong enough to send me crashing against a wall, red lights filling my visor almost immediately.

“Moderate damage. Suit still functional.”

“Good.” A green sphere exploding to my side threatened to cover me in rubble, but I managed to squeeze off two more shots. I dodged an attack that threatened to knock my footing away, but another slammed into my chest and blew me back against a wall.

“You won't be able to take-” A sphere exploding against the roof covered me in debris, with a large piece slamming into my shoulder and throwing me off balance. “Nev-” My head snapped back as another sphere slammed into it, the force knocking me off my feet and throwing me through the air.

“Damaged detected.” The flickering visor emphasized his point. “Spinal motors running on sixty percent.”

“Seems like the ferocity of the dread knights are but a myth.” A couple of the mages laughed at the quip.

Damn shield... wait...

“Nev? Overload my left glove.”

“Overloading.” My visor gained another red light, which I ignored.

“Think Donkor might have been exaggerating?” A mage asked.

“All that time hiding in a basement must have hurt his skills,” replied another.

“Say it's time we finish this and report back.”

“Overlorded,” interjected Nev.

“Fire!” I briefly heard something zapping before a chorus of pained screams cut off their laughter.

“Shield emitters overloaded. Electro glove destroyed.”

The damage my suit had taken was evident when I stood up. Everything moved slower than before, especially the neck motors, but the visor still worked. I could see the two nearest mages lying on their backs, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes as one of the others kneed. His eyes watched me every moment, but I could see he was down for the count.

Only one remained on his feet, but he was using his spear to stay upright. “What... did you do...”

“Just a little insurance policy.” I stepped closer. The mage on his knees tried to point his spear, but a blow to the nose solved that problem. The momentary gap in my attention proved to be the chance the standing mage waited for: his spear flashed and a white beam shot out. Instinct made me dive out of the way, but I still felt a sting in my shoulder as it passed through like a lance of light.

“Suit exterior breached.”

“Damn.” I stepped to the side when the mage adjusted his aim. The spear emitted two smaller beams, which struck me against the chest. Splitting his beam must have halved the power because it didn't slice through the metal, but I could hear shrapnel falling to the floor. It wouldn't be long before it got through.

C'mon... I unclipped Fang as I dropped to my knees, the mage yelling as a spray of red liquid burst from his shoulder. Intending to finish the fight, I squeezed the trigger again, but I heard the one noise every gunman feared.

A click.

What?!

I squeezed the trigger thrice more, but Fang refused any further communication.

Shit!

I watched as the mage pointed the spear again, his face contorted in both pain and anger. I threw Fang as hard as possible. Unfortunately, the weapon flew harmlessly over the mage's head.

But, when in doubt, find something larger, and throwing Fang bought me enough time to wrap my hands around the largest object in the immediate vicinity. Of all the things the mage would have expected to come in his direction, the unconscious body of a comrade would be low on his list. This time I didn't miss. The impact was strong enough to knock him off his feet and send the spear clattering over the floor.

“Now...” It took three steps to cross the distance. His yelp as my left hand wrapped around his collar was most amusing. “What did you say about exaggerating?”

***

“Hey, Nev.” I felt the splinters flatten beneath my feet as I walked out of the room and gripped the barrel of my primary weapon. “Time to work.”

“Ms. Queen's signature detected, three hundred meters south of your current position.” The indicator inside my display reappeared as he spoke.

“Appreciated.”

“Agent, I propose you hurry. I am getting strange fluctuations in her signature.

“Could your sensors be damaged from the fight?”

“I propose haste all the same.”

“Roger that. Set Scythe for short-range firing.” I gripped the weapon with renewed purpose as I trudged forward. Several gasps filled the air as I passed the corridors, with several mages suddenly finding something else to do. Some part of me wanted to lay waste to everything I saw, but if Ms. Queen's suspicions were correct, only a part of the Order was out for her blood. It would be wise not to upset a magic society that's already proven it can stand toe-to-toe with the magical science of big guns any further.

“Incoming!”

BANG.

“Any more?”

“Three behind-”

BANG.

Thank you, Wolani order, for connecting everything via narrow corridors.

“Agent, hurry!”

“What's wrong?”

“Ms. Queen's signature. It's fading, rapidly.”

“Shit...” My jog had now turned into a run. Twice more the mages attempted an ambush, and twice more Scythe protested their actions.

“Nev?”

“She's still there, but not for much longer.”