The shocking effects from the collar finally subsided and Dan was left on his knees breathing heavily. He had dropped his newly looted HoA rifle on the ground and tried to reach for it.
“Don’t do it,” Kate’s voice said behind him. A warm barrel poked the back of his head.
“The fuck Kate?” He snapped looking back at her.
“I can’t let you get better gear,” she said. “You’re too much of a threat with such firepower.”
“Oh so that’s how we’re going to play it.”
“Don’t argue with me,” she ordered.
Li, watching this heated exchange, hovered his hand over his pistol before Adam grabbed him by the shoulder.
“We’ll move on ahead,” Adam said. He looked down at the stealth specialist. “Get going.”
Li shook his hand off his shoulder and looked back at Dan before reluctantly leaving with the second Kodak team.
Dan slowly got back on his feet and turned to face Kate. “You really piss me off,” he seethed.
Kate’s lack of response only increased the heat growing within his body. Dan fantasized about simply activating his berserk mode and charging Kate. He would rip her head off her body and deal with the consequences later.
Because of the collar limiting his powers, Dan decided on something else.
Dan snatched the pistol off his coat and fired a shot at Kate. His quick draw was faster than any normal man. But Kate proved quicker. She sidestepped the rounds and raised her rifle, ready to open fire.
Then the world around him and Kate shimmered before Ada and her lingering trailed of multi-colored afterimages dashed in between them. In the next moment, Dan felt the edge of a blade pressed against his shoulder while Kate had a pistol pointed directly at her head.
Dan finally realized that he hadn’t seen Ada during the entirety of the brief skirmish against the Church. He wanted to demand what the hell she was up to, but Kate beat him to the punch.
“Where the fuck were you?” she demanded.
“Judith ordered myself and Natalia to hang back and see how the rest of you would handle the situation,” Ada said. Her delivery was neutral without much emotion. “She was interested in seeing how everyone would fare against the Church.”
“That fucking bitch,” Kate spat. “This is no time for her to experiment. I just lost two Kodak agents and a handful of conscripts.”
“Watch your tone,” Ada said. “Everything you say and do will be relayed back to Judith.” She turned her head and glanced at Dan. “Stand down, I’ll make sure Kate doesn’t shock you again. Within reason, of course. Go ahead and pick up that rifle you found. You’ll be needing it against our enemies.”
“What the fuck are you thinking? We can’t let—”
In a motion that Dan could barely follow, Ada transitioned from pointing her handgun at Kate to smacking her in the side of the head with a pistol whip.
“You will quiet down,” Ada ordered. “You don’t have as much authority as you think you do.”
Dan didn’t take his eyes off the heated exchange, even as he walked in the opposite direction to pick up the HoA rifle. Kate rubbed the side of her face from the blow Ada delivered and her scowl towards the Bloodknight was telling. While Ada was considered a washout by Judith, that didn’t automatically mean she held less authority than Kate. Dan didn’t bother to hide the grin on his face while watching Kate get humbled.
In his peripheral vision, Dan spotted only two conscripts emerge from their respective vehicles and meet Kate out in the middle.
Dan walked back to their little group which had dwindled significantly down to only five members. While he, Ada and Kate were mostly unscathed from the battle, the two remaining conscripts were haggard and gave him thousand yard stares. They had just survived their first battle between shard agents.
Kate turned to them and didn’t have much empathy to spare. “Let’s get going,” she said in a low voice.
The two conscripts reluctantly followed the blond. Ada briefly glanced at him and Dan swore she gave him a faint smile before she raised her katana and pointed in Kate’s direction, a nonverbal cue to get going.
“Thanks,” he said to her. Ada responded with a curt nod.
The two quickly caught up with what remained of their group. Dan kept a short distance between him and Kate as they both walked beside each other, not bothering to look in either one’s direction. The two conscripts settled themselves behind the pair while Ada stayed further back.
Dan replayed the moment of Ada pistol whipping Kate and showing her who held the real power in the group and decided to have whatever fun he could in this situation. “She smacked you like a child. So how does it feel being so powerless?”
Kate turned her head toward him and shot him a glare.
“Got nothing to say?” Dan kept his tone smooth and level. “It’s alright. I too would be shell shocked from such humiliation. Looks like nobody outside of Adam respects you at Kodak. You still stand by your decision to betray us?”
Kate’s face contorted from his digs. Whatever she planned on saying was interrupted by the shattering of glass of the car window beside her.
“Inside the shop,” she shouted.
Dan instinctively dived for the nearest piece of cover and his stomach slammed onto the hard pavement. He landed beside the blackened frameof a vehicle that had been left as a charred wreck. Tracers along with the infamous green vapor trails of radioactive rods slashed the air above him.
The two conscripts weren’t fast enough as both went down in the barrage of gunfire. Dan held his new rifle firmly and rolled. He pressed his back against the charred frame as he waited for a gap in their firing to inevitably reload their weapons.
He raised himself up and spotted the combatants inside the shop. Before he could squeeze the trigger, His ears were bombarded by gunfire from over his shoulder. He suddenly looked up and saw Kate taking shots at the shop, silencing a few of the enemies inside.
Dan didn’t consider this as backup. Instead, he could only feel a cold anger rise within him. The way he saw the situation, Kate was trying to steal his kills to prevent him from leveling up and getting stronger. So Dan did something he thought he would never do someone on the same side.
He stood up and shoved Kate aside, knocking her onto the pavement.
He took aim within the shop and blasted his HoA rifle. He felt the surprising amount of kick from the weapon as radioactive rods spilled out of the barrel and smashed into the shop. Screams and the ambient sizzle reached his ears as his rifle did its job. The Hand of Annihilation not only was a badass name for this gun, it was doing a fine job of eliminating the threats within the shop.
The gunfire ceased and the area fell into yet another brief period of calm. That was before Kate stood back up.
“Are you fucking crazy?” she shouted. “You are—”
Dan didn’t give her the chance as he slugged her across the face. He followed up with smashing the butt of his rifle against the side of her head. Kate had pissed him off long enough.
The blond smacked the rifle out of his hands. Dan curled his fists and rushed her. He grabbed the CMA rifle in her hands and twisted the gun out of her grasp, disarming her. Being this close to his most hated adversary, he smashed his forehead into Kate’s face. Kate stumbled back but didn’t lose her footing.
She recovered from the surprise attack then quickly ducked under one of Dan’s punches. Dan didn’t want to admit it, but Kate easily pinning him to the ground proved that he still didn’t physically measure up to the traitorous blond without his berserk form.
“Cut this shit out!” Kate said. “Do you want to die?”
“It’ll be a better fate than yours,” Dan spat as he struggled under Kate. “At least I’ll die fighting with a smile on my face. You’re nothing but a lapdog for Kodak who has to take the abuse on the chin.”
Her face twisted and she grabbed him by the neck with both arms. Dan’s neck felt like it was being squeezed by a hydraulic press. The world darkened at the edges of his peripheral visions and he couldn’t even take a breath.
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The pressure around his neck finally let up as Kate was dragged off of him.
Dan huffed and puffed and took another few breaths before seeing Ada putting Kate in a chokehold.
“That’s enough. Both of you,” the Bloodknight said, keeping her voice calm but firm.
Dan knew better not to start anything with Ada, remembering the way she kicked his ass earlier. That strange ability she had was also a wildcard he could’t contend with, not even in his berserk mode.
He coughed another few times, surprised that his windpipe wasn’t crushed by Kate.
“I’ll be polite about this,” Ada said, releasing Kate from her chokehold. “Judith wants Dan alive. If you do anything to jeopordize his wellbeing, you will forfeit your own life.” The Bloodknight raised her sword and pressed the blade up to Kate’s neck. The motion was so fast and fluid that Dan couldn’t help but be impressed. “Do we have an understanding?”
It was a sight to behold, seeing a Kodak agent being the peacemaker of the group. Kate locked gazes with Ada before reluctantly slumping her shoulders and uncurling her fists. She sighed. “I understand.”
Kate didn’t even bother looking in Dan’s direction as she walked over and picked up her rifle on the ground.
Ada turned toward him. In a flash, she instantly crossed the distance between them and stood face to face with him. Dan saw Ada’s afterimages trail behind her then fade away. It was that same strange ability she used.
“Maintain your composure,” she said. “We’re supposed to keep you alive, so don’t make things complicated.”
Dan narrowed his eyes at her as he stared into her silver irises. “No promises.”
“Let’s get going,” Kate grumbled.
The trio resumed their walk through the desolate streets. For the next twenty minutes, Dan didn’ encounter any more action or spotted any enemies. Aside from some creepy and grotesque artwork and vandalism on the walls and pavement, he didn’t see much that was worth a second look. The bodies of many, from regular people to Kodak agents and cultists in robes, littered the streets. Some of them dead from bullets while others were either ripped limb from limb or were charred to a blackened crisp. Dan recalled one Church agent shooting a ball of energy that hit a Kodak agent in the back, melting through his armor and killing him.
Kate and Ada didn’t say a word, not to each other and certainly not to him. Kate was a traitor and they just had a slugfest. It was just fine by him that the blond didn’t engage with him. Ada reported directly to Judith so it wasn’t like Dan had a lot to say to the Bloodknight washout. Dan would look her way and would sometimes catch her eyes wandering in his direction before refocusing on watching the rooftops of buildings and glancing over her shoulder.
The trio maintained going straight and past a street going left.
“Do we actually know where we’re going?” Dan asked.
“That’s for me to know,” Kate said.
“You’re not going to share the route with me at least?”
“Too risky,” she said. “That would mean giving you access to the map of this city. I wouldn’t put it past you to plan an escape. Your job is to follow and obey.”
Dan gave her a sideways glance and kept his mouth shut. What would be the point in arguing?
A scream pierced through the ambience of burning vehicles and distant pops and cracks of gunfire. Dan jerked his head toward the direction of the scream which came from the lane they just passed.
“Move it,” Kate said.
“I don’t think an agent would scream like that,” Dan said. “It could be a civilian.”
“We’re here to kill cultists and hunt down the suspected cult master who’s leading all of these rats,” she spat. “We don’t have time for—”
“What? We don’t have time to protect the little people? Isn’t that part of the job of a shard agent? To protect the general public from the rival shards? Look around you.” Dan raised his free arm and then pointed at the burning sedan along with the numerous dead bodies sprawled around the vehicle. “You guys aren’t exactly doing a great job.”
Dan’s ears picked up some coherence in the screaming. Help me, a young voice said. That was either a child or a woman.
“I’m going to check that out whether you like it or not,” Dan said.
“No you’re not,” Kate said, gripping her CMA rifle tightly. “We’re staying on mission and following the route.”
Dan raised his HoA rifle at her. “Make me bitch.”
The brief staredown between Dan and Kate lasted for what felt like minutes before Dan felt the familiar jolt of electricity pierce its way through his entire body. He screamed as he collapsed to his knees from the shock and pain.
He watched as Kate’s legs approached him slowly and deliberately, barely having the energy or even control over his muscles to lift his head up any higher.
“The longer you resist, the harder it will be for you,” Kate said.
“You can’t shock me forever,” Dan said in a huff. “I’m too important to kill.”
Dan stood back up and walked in the opposite direction where the screaming came. Kate wasn’t having it as the collar sent another current through his body, paralyzing him once again. He fell onto his stomach on the ground. It would have been easier to listen to Kate, but the electrifying shocks only fuelled his spite.
“You need to stop,” Kate said behind him.
Dan recovered a bit, enough to lift his head up and spot a small hill of sand on the pavement. He grabbed a handful of the sand with his glaved hand and held onto it tightly. He slowly got back up and heard the footsteps stop right behind him.
“Are you ready cut this out?” Kate asked from behind.
Breathing heavily and still reeling from the shock, Dan slowly turned his head and looked at the blond over his shoulder. He still held the sand in his hand.
“Fine, but first,” he smiled under his mask, “I’m gonna put some dirt in your eye.”
In one quick motion, Dan threw the handful of sand into Kate’s face. The blond staggered back and rubbed her eyes profusely, buying Dan some time. He pushed through with his body still recovering.
He rushed back to the lane they had passed and spotted a sinkhole up ahead. Rapid footsteps followed behind him. His heartrate spiked, wondering how Kate could have recovered from that dirty trick so quickly.
Instead, he saw Ada catching up beside him.
“Relax, I compromised with Kate and I’ll be coming along. We make it fast,” she said.
“Fine by me,” Dan said. His muscles burned as he pushed himself after the rounds of shocks Kate put him through.
The screaming and pleas for help grew louder as Dan approached the sinkhole. He squinted and saw two sets of fingers clutched the edge of the hole. Stopping short of the sinkhole, Dan finally saw the cavernous hole. He couldn’t see the bottom of this disaster, but he did see a small boy still hanging on.
He crouched down and grabbed the little kid by the wrist. With one hand, he lifted up the boy and pulled him onto the pavement.
The boy fell to his knees breathing heavily. “Thank you sir,” he said in between huffs.
Dan looked at the boy and saw his clothes were stained along with rips and tears throughout. He couldn’t quite tell thanks to the dark ambient lighting, but he hoped the stains on his shirt wasn’t someone’s blood. The kid’s hair was short-cropped and dry. He barely looked above ten years old.
“You okay kid?”
The boy stood back up and faced him. He looked up at him as if Dan was a skyscraper. “I didn’t fall down that hole. That’s the best thing that’s happened today.”
He gave the boy a polite nod.
“You don’t look scary like the other bad agents running around these parts,” he said.
“Bad agents?”
“The men with the pointy spikes and bloody eyes. And then there’s the spell-casting magicians wearing robes,” the kid said candidly. “They’re not nice people.”
Obviously the boy was referring to the Kodak agents and the Church agents and cultists battling each other on the streets. “Sounds about right,” Dan said.
“Thanks for saving me sir,” the boy said, bowing his head to him.
“No problem. Do you know where you parents are? Can you get home from here?”
Ada tapped him on the shoulder. “We don’t have time to help him out,” she whispered.
The boy gave Dan a toothy grin. “I’m okay. I always used to come to this area in the city. But mama and papa warned me not to come here anymore. Strange men in robes started showing up around these parts.”
“Church agents,” Dan muttered.
“It would appear so,” Ada added.
“Mama told me many people went missing. I was with some friends before shots were fired. We got separated and now everyone is dying and burning. I saw a magician shoot lightning from his hands and zap the men with bloody eyes.”
“Uh huh,” Dan said.
The boy continued. “Then the magician walked down the subway tunnel and I followed him. He went down a forbidden path and entered through a magic hole.”
“A magic hole?” Dan asked.
Ada chimed in. “Church agents can create portals apparently. Never saw them myself, but it would explain how they can get themselves and supplies around. It’s not a surprise that regular Kodak forces are struggling against a force like this.”
“That sounds overpowered,” Dan said. He tried imagining how much easier he and the Alpha Corp would have it if they could summon portals to transport themselves along with equipment and even entire vehicles to anywhere they pleased.
If this was what the Church of Nanotology was capapble of, Dan clearly had much more to learn about his corrosia-based abilities.
“We had numerous Kodak patrols enter our underground subway tunnels and never ehard back from them,” Ada said. “What this boy says might be worth checking out.”
The kid looked up at Ada then back at Dan. “Your girlfriend looks scary. Why are her eyes so red?’
Dan chuckled the the boy’s comment. “She’s a Kodak agent. That should tell you all you need to know.” Dan didn’t bother containing his laughter. In his current circumstances, he could use all the laughter he could get. “Well, thanks kid. Stay safe and when you hear gunfire, hide.”
The boy nodded and scurried away into the nearest alley.
Both Dan and Ada both jogged in the opposite direction, making their way back to Kate.
“I’m surprised you didn’t correct that kid’s girlfriend comment,” Ada said. “You didn’t strike me as a fan of our shard.”
“Tried to keep things age appropriate,” Dan responded. “What was I supposed to say? I’m a conscript and being forced to serve the people who kidnapped me? The kid was about to fall to his death if I hadn’t showed up. He doesn’t need to hear about my problems.”
Ada regarded him with a blank expression. “I see.”
The duo made it out of the street and reached Kate who remained crouched behind another charred vehicle.
“Took you both long enough,” she snapped.
“Dan managed to get us some intel,” Ada said. “Might be worth a detour for us to check out.”
Kate narrowed her eyes at Ada. “Humor me.”
“Dan interrogated a civilian and got his account of a sighting of portals being used in our subway tunnels. Do you know many Church agents who can just create portals?”
Kate furrowed her brow and rubbed her eyes. “A rank and file Church agent shouldn’t be capable of that. Only a cult master or above could muster up the corrosia to create portals.”
“Then this is worth looking into,” Ada said. “Let’s get going. Judith is expecting results.”
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