Chapter 20
Arber91 and CJL13 ran towards the door, fending off the MOD officers that attacked them as they went. They neared the door, finding themselves in yet another fight, hearing the muffled sounds of a furious battle raging within.
"Damn, something big is goin' down in there. " Arber91 said, delivering a snap kick to the side of an officer's head. "If we charge in there, we might get caught in the crossfire."
CJL13 punched another officer across his face twice; leaving him completely dazed. "Game might need some help in there." CJL13 knocked the final MOD officer unconscious and walked over to Arber91. "So what do you suggest we do? Sit here until the shooting stops?"
As those words left his mouth, like a bad movie cliché, the shooting did stop. They ran over to the door, hearing nothing within. CJL13 drew his SOCOM pistol and, with Arber91, burst through the door, and into the Death Reaper Compound. What they saw shocked them.
The still smoking barrels of many high powered rifles littered the ground, as did several still digitizing MOD officers. Shell casings and bullet holes were rampant around the room. A furious battle did indeed take place here, and the last man standing was The_Game21x. He stared at them with a fire in his eyes they had never before seen. This moment was brief, as he turned around and began walking towards a lone elevator.
"Game!" Arber91 yelled.
The_Game21x ignored his cry, continuing towards the elevator. Suddenly, he quickly thrust his arms out to his sides, expelling the empty magazines from the butt of his twin pistols and quickly replaced them with two fully loaded clips from the holster on his waist. He paused momentarily at the elevator and within seconds, the door opened to him.
Arber91 and CJL13 ran towards The_Game21x as he stepped into the waiting elevator compartment.
"Floor number and Title please." A disembodied voice said to him.
"Floor Number 5, Special Forces"
The_Game21x shook his head at Arber91 and CJL13 as they ran toward him. The elevator doors closed moments before Arber91 and CJL13 reached it.
"Dammit!" CJL13 said.
"Calm down man, there's got to be a way to call this elevator...ah ****." Arber91 said.
"What?"
"Access to the elevator is controlled by a retinal scanner."
"Then how the hell are we supposed to..." CJL13 paused for a moment. "Wait a minute, if that's true, then how did Game use it?"
Arber91 shrugged and began rooting through the tool kit he always carried with him and removed a pair of small screwdrivers and began to disassemble the covering around the retinal scanner.
"I may be able to hack into this, but I'll need a bit of help." Arber91 said. "CJ, get Teuf on the line."
"Alright." CJL13 said, quickly reaching for his cell phone.
"Floor 5, Special Forces." A disembodied voice said as the elevator doors opened and The_Game21x stepped off of the elevator, looking around, seeing the spent bullet casings at his feet, abandoned weaponry and bullet holes in the walls around him. As he walked down the hall at a brisk pace, he was confronted by a lone MOD officer.
"What are you doing here?!" The officer yelled as he raised his gun to the ready.
Unfortunately, The_Game21x was much to fast for him and fired off two shots, downing the MOD officer before his gun was even properly aimed. The_Game21x continued down the hallway, determined to find someone, an old friend of his that he hadn't seem or spoken to in quite a while.
The sound of several gunshots rang out nearby, echoing throughout the wide hallway. The_Game21x was close. He held his pistols at the ready, determined to allow nothing to slow him down. He rounded a corner, drawing ever closer to the gunfire, now appearing to be emanating from a large room he was steadily approaching.
The_Game21x reached the door, holstering one of his pistols while keeping a firm grip on the other. He heard a female's muffled voice within the room, sounding as if she was taunting someone. As he reached for the door knob, he heard another muffled voice. It was weak, but immediately familiar.
The_Game21x burst through the door, pistol at the ready and his finger on the trigger, but was completely unprepared for what he saw.
CassieWagner, in all of her scantily clad glory stood tall while holding a man, decked in a white trench coat and blue jeans at his knees. The_Game21x stared, motionless at the infamous Death Reaper and old friend, Jechtshot78.
CassieWagner looked from Jechtshot78 to The_Game21x and back again, smiling widely. The_Game21x, determined to end the tyranny of the murderous moderator and save Jechtshot78 in one fell swoop, fired once.
That was the only shot he could squeeze off before he was set upon from behind by two MOD officers who had been guarding the doors The_Game21x had recklessly burst through seconds ago. The officers were unarmed, but proved to be more than a simple, easily deflected distraction. As The_Game21x struggled against them he realized the officers seemed to be more concerned with restraining him than incapacitating him. He still felt his weapon gripped tightly in his hand but couldn't raise it to the ready.
"I'm actually quite glad you were here to see this." CassieWagner said with a sick smile on her face. "You need to know that MOD will not stand for your renegade actions and will silence all who would raise arms against the cause of justice."
"Against Justice?!" The_Game21x said, attempting to stall her long enough for him to break free. "We know what you've been up to at MOD. We see what you're doing in System Wars and we won't stand for it!"
Jechtshot78 heard a familiar voice, barely conscious he looked over to see who it was.
"MOD decides what is best for the community and I am its instrument." CassieWagner said. "Unfortunately for the two of you, your existence isn't what's best for the community." She looked at Jechtshot78 and drew forth a sword from the sheath at her side. "But I've allowed you to distract me long enough. Some things must be taken care of quickly..."
The_Game21x continued to struggle against the two MOD officers, unable to break free. CassieWagner quickly drew back the sword held in her right hand, simultaneously raising Jechtshot78 up, almost off his feet. Jechtshot78 looked over at The_Game21x briefly as he began to lose consciousness and swiftly, before anyone could react, CassieWagner plunged her sword into his stomach, raising him further into the air as the sword went through him. The_Game21x could do nothing but look on in horror as CassieWagner mercilessly ripped the sword from Jechtshot78's body and dropped him to the ground, all the while staring at The_Game21x. She raised her sword to her mouth and licked a small amount of blood from the blade. In that instant, a thought flashed through The_Game21x's mind.
"This ***** is ****ing crazy."
This thought was fleeting. His anger was beginning to get the best of him. He twisted his wrist away from his back and pointed it at the stomach of the guard holding him on his left and fired. The officer let go as he reeled backwards in pain. As The_Game21x's left arm was freed, he quickly reached inside his second holster, removing his second pistol, which was quickly shoved into the remaining officer's face and pulled the trigger.
The_Game21x stood up once more, staring, enraged, at the woman standing before him.
"You know you can't win." Cassie said with a hint of laughter in her voice. "Don't you remember what happened to you the last time you tried to attack me?"
"Victory and defeat are never preordained Cassie. You'll learn that soon enough!" The_Game21x said, raising his pistols to the ready.
CassieWagner dropped her sword and drew her gold-plated Desert Eagle with a smirk as The_Game21x stared her down. In anger and seeking retribution, The_Game21x fired the first shots and ran towards her.
Arber91 and CJL13 stepped out of the elevator on floor five, arriving to the sounds of gunfire filling the hallway around them. They didn't give themselves time to figure out what was going on as they ran towards the sounds of the weapons fire.
The_Game21x fell to the ground, having sustained a bullet wound in both the stomach and left shoulder. CassieWagner stood over him, smiling in victory. The_Game21x clutched his remaining pistol with his right hand, having dropped his second pistol; he held his left hand over his stomach wound.
"Go ahead." The_Game21x said, shaking in pain. "Kill me."
"With pleasure." CassieWagner said taking aim at his head with her Desert Eagle,
She pulled the trigger. The slide flew backward...and remained there. CassieWagner looked at her empty weapon in disbelief.
"Oh, that's too bad, Cassie..." The_Game21x said, raising his shaking right hand, pointing upwards at her. "Looks like you're out."
The_Game21x fired upwards. The stunned CassieWagner's enhanced reflexes kicked in the instant the bullet neared her chin. Her perception of time greatly slowed and she leaned backwards as quickly as she could, but the bullet grazed her just slightly as it made its way upward and into the ceiling.
She stumbled backwards, off balance, just as Arber91 and CJL13 entered the room. CJL13 instinctively fired at her without a second thought until his clip was empty. Cassie's sharp reflexes allowed her to dodge many of the incoming bullets, but was hit twice in her shoulder and right arm. She staggered backward towards a nearby door, clutching her arm, blood leaking from the holes in her expensive leather trench. As CJL13 paused for a moment to reload, CassieWagner opened the door, glaring at the three of them, her teeth gritted in pain.
"I'll allow you to walk away from here with your lives today." CassieWagner said, her voice shaky, but her tone strong and unyielding. "I've already completed my mission."
With those words, CassieWagner swiftly departed the room. CJL13 and Arber91 rushed over to The_Game21x, taking in the severity of his wounds. His body was shuddering uncontrollably, his breathing labored. Seeing him in this state made them unsure of whether or not he would live beyond a few moments.
"Game...we're gonna get you out of here." Arber91 said, reaching down to help him to his feet.
"Stay back." The_Game21x said suddenly.
"Dude, we have to ..."
"I said stay back!" The_Game21x shouted.
Arber91 stood there for a moment and then complied with The_Game21x's demands. The_Game21x's breathing became calm and he closed his eyes, appearing to relax. CJL13 and Arber91 looked on anxiously, finding it difficult to do nothing but stand there as they watched him die.
"Enable Med-Hack version 1.2."
As these words left The_Game21x's mouth, his body flashed green and he winced in pain once more. Arber91 and CJL13 looked at each other in disbelief. Suddenly, blood stopped flowing from his shoulder. The_Game21x's wounds began to heal themselves. His shirt and bulletproof vest were instantly woven back, like new. A few seconds passed until his body stopped glowing and he reopened his eyes. He rose to his feet, standing strong, massaging his uninjured shoulder and taking it through the motions as Arber91 and CJL13 looked on in a stunned silence.
"How..." CJL13 stuttered. "How did you do that?"
The_Game21x remained silent, keeping his back to them as he walked over and picked up his remaining pistol. Arber91 grabbed The_Game21x's shoulder. In a move so quick even Arber91 didn't see it coming, The_Game21x grabbed his arm at the wrist and spun him around, locking his arm at his back and pushed him into a wall.
"I told you not to follow me here." The_Game21x growled.
Arber91 who never found himself in a compromising close-quarters situation unless he allowed them to do so was stunned for a moment.
"What the hell did you do just a second ago?" Arber91 grunted. "How did you heal yourself like that?!"
The_Game21x released him and turned away, walking over to Jechshot78's body, hanging his head solemnly. He looked down on his old friend and realized that, if he embraced who he was instead of running from it, he may have been able to save him. The_Game21x looked up and turned to his two confused partners.
"I was able to do that...." The_Game21x said darkly. "Because I'm a Death Reaper."
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