@LooThrough the empty streets of the city, Donny manoeuvred the large SUV around abandoned vehicles on the road. One after the other Danny skillfully manoeuvred around them but we were me with a wreckage. A semi-truck, laid on its side, was in the middle of road along with it's trailer.
Donny slowed down to a stop a metres away from the truck. It didn't seem like there was an accident, more like someone put it there in that position. We exited the SUV and cautiously walked up to the truck, our guns in our hands. I slowly walked around the truck and there was nothing on the other side. "It's clear," I shouted back at my team. I walked back feeling less worried and someone shouted, "RPG!"
I didn't react fast enough. I then found myself on the ground, laying on my chest. I turned to sit up, I was bewildered. My ears were ringing, I was pain. I was lost in my mind for a few moments. Donny called out to me, while they were shooting back at whoever attacked us. He then shouted, "Grenade!"
It exploded and blow up the truck. The shockwave from the truck blew Donny and I away. He flew back a few metres, while I slid back on my back. He came over and picked me up. Amidst all the fire we were under, he carried me back to the SUV while Mary and Tarius provided us cover fire. He threw me in the back seat, Mary jumped in to take care of me, Donny rushed into the driver's seat and Tarius got back in.
Donny floored it. Got the SUV around the burning truck while we were being shot at. I while was still out of it. Mary looked at my back and began treating my blast injuries and severe burns. It was agonizing, part of my suit melted into my skin, I was groaning in pain and breathing hard. The suit didn't automatically repair itself, so I had to take the upper part of my suit.
Mary had the chance to bandage me, while the nanites of the suit stuck in my skin moved in large pieces. Immensely more painful than the blast. The squelching sound made by the nanites, made Mary a bit nauseous. She may have seen and had dealt with a lot of battle injuries but was far worse than those and she felt like vomiting.
When we had thought that we were safe, the rear windscreen shattered and bullets flew through and damaged the seats, barely missing us. I put the nanites back on and peeked over the back seats. There were six vehicles on our tail, with armed people shooting at us. What was going on here? I asked myself under my breath.
"Donny, can you lose our pursuers?"
"I am trying but those drivers don't make it easy. You got any other idea to get rid of them, Captain?"
"Yeah, I do!" I told Donny. "Mary, you and I are gonna have to shoot back. We have to immobilise their vehicles!"
"Roger that Captain!"
We took our pulse rifles and started firing the electric rounds. We shot the closest vehicle behind us and nothing happened. The rifles weren't powerful enough to disrupt the functions of electrical components of the engine. We drove past a billboard that displayed a news broadcast. We were the main topic of the news.
The news broadcaster, who was a woman, dressed in a pink dress announced that we were terrorists who caused all this havoc and allowed the demons on the city. The message from her was what caught our attention. 'Wanted dead or alive' the headlines displayed. Mary and I looked at each other confused. I saw a lever in the trunk and I pulled it.
The panel behind our seat flipped over and give us guns. From a couple of rifles to pistols, ammunition and grenades. I took two of the assault rifles and I handed one to Mary. I gave her some of the magazines. We loaded the rifles and turned off the safety.
"Mary, don't kill anyone. We are trying to immobilise their vehicles not to cause casualties. Shoot the engine through the bonnet and the tires!"
She nodded and we fired back. We took out the first car behind us. It skidded off the road and crashed into an abandoned sedan. Five more to go. The next one lost control and flipped over, rolling. Then a truck rammed through it, it was heavily armoured, the glass was bulletproof and tires as well.
Donny focused on the road, avoiding all obstacles, however the road ahead was damaged leading to a fall into the underground river we fell into a few days ago. He swerved the SUV right into an alleyway just before the drop. We entered the alleyway and when I looked back the truck turned into alleyway as well. Donny kept on driving, then stopped abruptly. I flew into Tarius's chair. I looked up ahead and another car turned into the alleyway.
They pursuers stopped at both entrances of the alleyway.
"What do we do, we're surrounded?"
"We use the doors as cover, while we protect ourselves,"
"I thought you said no casualties Captain!" Mary exclaimed.
"I said that but I never said we can't immobilise them. We are in a dangerous game of cat and mouse. The demons are the ones using pawns to kill us. It's either them or us,"
Everyone reluctantly agreed. Mary took up the gun I gave her. I lowered it for her and shook my head. I too out my pulse rifle and shoot first. The first person I shot get electrocuted enough to knock them out. Mary understood that the guns would kill them.
The others that had surrounded us took cover and unloaded the magazines on us. We ducked to take cover. We were pinned down again. We took any chance we got to shoot back but we were severely overwhelmed. You could hear bullets flying, ricocheting from walls, metal on metal contact, the sound of people shouting, screaming, getting electrocuted and sheer destruction.
The SUV Couldn't take anymore of this punishment. Amidst the chaos, we heard a whirring sound. I took a quick look and I saw a man handling a gatling gun. The chance of us surviving in this SUV became slimmer. The rapid firing began and we counted our luck for the last time.
We were under a siege of heavy fire. There was nothing else we could do. The radio in our suits suddenly turned. "Get ready," a familiar voice said over the radio. We were confused. The gatling gun stopped firing and we took our chance to shoot back, while we were still being fired upon by the participants. The voice chimed in over the radio again, "Door to your left, quickly,"
A door to our left opened. I told the team to run into the building through door. One after the other they ran into the building leaving me behind while I provided them cover fire. I grasped for Titan Slayer, my blade, to appear in it and cut the SUV in half.
I kicked the front part of the SUV to the shooters ahead and I pushed the other half into the shooters behind me and ran for the door. As soon as I went through it I closed the door behind me. I fell on to my ass after doing that. Relieved that my team was safe and still alive, with minor injuries.
"Looks like you got yourselves into a pickled," The familiar voice said, then chuckled.
"Do we know you?" I asked the voice, feeling a bit breathless.
"You already forgot about me. Remember, I'm the merchant and I brought you back to my shop."
I looked back and saw the same cloaked figure we saw a day ago. I looked around and saw the items in the same place I remembered them. The same items, weapons and trinkets and other stuff. We were befuddled at the fact that this merchant saved us. Why ? You and I deserve that explanation.