The First Run - 6

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Despite Markro thinking that someone might be in the tunnels ready to ambush us, there was nothing but calm and the rush of wind past our ears. We didn't talk, but that was because there was nothing to talk about. I'd love to say that this section of my memoirs were full of action and heroic acts, all on my part of course, but I can't because there weren't any. It's like hearing stories of all these epic adventures. You never hear the bit where they have to go to the toilet, do you? Of course not, because it's mundane and essentially dull as hell. Well, that's exactly like our journey underneath the streets of the metropolis above us. Completely mundane and boring as hell.

After what seemed like a few ages, and it probably was because I'd fallen asleep after about an hour or so and woke up some time later (so really I've no idea how long it was), Markro turned to me and said 'We're nearly there.'

With one hand on the controls he fished into his pocket and extracted his Halo-Core. He plugged in a number and sent through a call request. A moment later, the girl's face appeared again.

'Hi, Markro. How are you?' Her voice was just as plastic as her face was. I didn't think she was a Mech, but can you ever tell nowadays?

'Five minutes away from the lot. Is anyone there yet?' The face disappeared for a minute as the girl went out of shot. Markro passed me the Halo-Core as we braked and took a left turning. A few seconds later, the girl's face reappeared.

'There's an escort of... oh, hello.'

'Hello,' I replied politely. The girl blushed a little, or I'd like to think so, but over a Halo call it's impossible to tell.

'You must be the guy Markro wants to join.' I nodded in reply. 'Well then, new guy, the boss has apparently said yes to you, after running a background check.'

'Wait,' I began. There was something wrong here, seriously wrong. 'How does he know who I am?'

'He's got a contact in Region 22,' the girl replied, 'a very good contact. He sent someone over there a few hours ago.'

It was disconcerting enough to know that I was being spied on. It was troubling to know that all this boss had to do was send someone to go do a little digging and without even seeing or hearing anything about me, he had already decided on my character and personality and decided to hire me. Then again, if all he had discovered was that I was in desperate need of cash, that was all the information he would have needed to gather.

'Well, thank him for me. I guess.'

'I will, don't worry. Now I must dash, I've got to start the show.'

'What sh...' I tried to say, but she had vanished before I finished the question. I frowned at the Halo-Core, now silent, and handed it back to Markro. 'We've got the escort, at least.'

Before long we came to a dead end, two large double doors at the end much like the ones we entered through. I got out and banged on the large button on the inside of the door, because apparently you needed the code to get into the tunnels, but not to get out again. I'm sure that has a usage somewhere. Maybe if you're being chased by a shadow monster that can't press buttons, so you have another three seconds chance to live. I don't know.

The doors opened and Markro sidled through them. He leapt from the Zoomus, the doors closing behind us.

'So where's our escort?' he asked.

We were in another underground kar park, with what looked like a road going through the centre of it. Apparently this was used as storage for the apartment building that we were under, for we could see several kars sat behind shimmering fields of energy, locked up tight. We moved to the one side, up against the cold wall, looking around for our escort.

Soon, two figures came out from behind one of the energy shields. They had visors in front of their faces, guns at their hips.

'Grasslea sent you?' Markro asked. He walked out slowly.

'Yeah. You got the letter?' The voice was deep and thick, like treacle. Markro reached into his coat and pulled out an envelope. He waved it a little, and then stopped. He had had a small smile on his face before, but it dropped like a dead weight.

'Hang on, you're...'

The pair of escorts went for their guns, and suddenly it clicked for me as well. There was an ambush. Just outside the tunnels, not inside.

I dived behind a pillar as one of them fired. It was yellow, which from an XF-Alpha, regardless of the model, meant that they were intending to stun, not to kill. It didn't reassure me in the least, but it's nice to know looking back on it that they had orders not to completely do us in.

'Why didn't you just let a train hit you up there?' Markro yelled out from behind a kar, unprotected by an energy field. The two hunters didn't reply, simply ducked down behind pillars themselves.

I breathed out slowly, trying to keep calm. Third time today and I'm being shot at. When you're not used to it, it's a bit like being thrown into molten metal, taken out and cooled off, then thrown in again. You'd think that the third time you go in you would be prepared for it, but you never are.

I looked over at Markro, who was motioning for me to swing out from behind the pillar and fire. Behind his kar, I saw movement, and a figure flitting to behind another pillar. I instantly saw what the plan was, and dropped to my knees. I put the gun out, locked and waiting, and when a barrel appeared from behind the opposite pillar, I let it fly. Straight under the kar, past Markro, throwing the hunter's gun wide. His hand began to dissolve and he screamed in pain.

Markro seized the opportunity and leapt over the bonnet of the kar, swinging around the pillar the opposite side to the way the gun had been pushed, and got the hunter in a headlock. I came out from the pillar as the other hunter was leaving his and fired. It missed, and his returning shot singed my earlobe. It's never been quite the same since.

I ducked behind Markro's kar, spitting onto the floor. I got up again, ready to cover off Markro from the second assassin. He was closing in on Markro, who was still busy strangling his opponent. I saw his finger begin to tighten on the trigger. I began to raise my gun but knew that it would be too late.

A blast came from the top of the ramp leading to the road outside and hit the second assassin side-on. He fell instantly, and I looked up to see who our saviours were.

Two Trovations came sauntering down, their female feline hips swinging as they walked, and their tails lashing their own backs. I've never understood how Trovations don't knock everything over behind them with those tails, but then again, I don't understand lots of things and probably never will. Like how you still always end up biting your tongue at random points, as if you've forgotten that it's there for some reason.

'Markro,' one of them said, her third eye flickering away. Her four legs moved two at a time, back to the front, then back to the front. The second one was in constant rotation, her gun scanning all the time. The little red laser dot never found a place to settle.

'Ashrore,' Markro said once his victim had stopped struggling, finally. 'What the hell happened?'

'Ssssssome goonssssss jumped ussss, but we managed to take them out,' she said, holstering her gun.

'Someone tipped them off, right from the minute I got the thing,' Markro said, rising to his feet. He looked over at me and walked over. 'You saved my skin there, Xayne.'

'I believe I did,' I replied. We made eye contact and, for the first time, I saw something there. I think it was respect. It wasn't friendship, not yet, but respect I think was down there somewhere. 'Oh, and here's your gun back.'

'Thanks,' he said, taking it and holstering it. 'Now then. Shall we get moving?'

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