Chase in the Rain
Already on edge, and now—of all things—the sky decides to unleash a downpour. Optimistically, it's the heavens sympathizing with my turmoil, granting me some cryogenic cooling. Pessimistically, it's a sign my future's as overcast as this sky. Both are bullshit, of course, but it sure as hell didn't lift my spirits. Never mind natural phenomena; right now, I'm blatantly ignoring my father's words and wasting my time on this nonsense.
> Forward suspect detected. Forward suspect detected. Halt your escape immediately and submit to inspection!
"Hoo... they're already on us."
I caught my breath behind the wall of a crumbling old building. From the sky came engine roars like massagers vibrating my eardrums, piercing through the rain. That heavy thrum assaulted my senses in a way that oddly induced nausea.
The culprits were air-mobility vehicles circling above us, gyrojet launchers slung on their doors. They kept sweeping searchlights in our direction, blaring repeated demands for surrender.
> Failure to submit to inspection will result in opening fire! Repeat. Failure to submit to inspection will resu—
"Anyone hearing that would think I was the criminal. Bell, what's the enemy deployment like?"
I steadied my breathing and asked my bodyguard Bell, standing shoulder-to-shoulder beside me. She had long pink twintails, a black hoodie topped with a transparent raincoat-style poncho. After checking the gyrojet launcher deployed on her left forearm, her emerald eyes gleamed as she reported to me.
"Radar detects four armed air vehicles, twenty drones, and two combat walkers. The two air vehicles ahead are landing troops to encircle us."
"Not off to an easy start. But if we sit tight, reinforcements will swarm us soon enough."
I peeked out, eyeing the enemy craft hovering in the sky. The A-shaped logo stenciled on their side doors turned my stomach.
"If I use my primary armament, I can down those flies instantly, young master."
"I know. But if they give up on capture and go lethal, we're fucked."
Ludicrous as it sounds, our range of actions was constrained by their response level. Worst case, if they go, "Can't catch 'em? Fine, missile from afar it is~" we're done for. At least being a noble spares me an instant unlucky headshot. My father got a three-day respawn; for me, getting ventilated would just mean improved breathability at best.
"No choice but to take them all out at once here and shake them. Hold off on the primary until then."
"As you command."
Bell assented without objection. Even though this meant suppressing our firepower and waltzing into their encirclement. Fine for me, but she risks becoming scrap metal—yet she follows my lead faithfully. Grateful doesn't cover it.
"Then let's break out from here. If we run toward their encirclement, they'll consolidate their forces too."
I fiddled with the pistol in my hand, turned, and started moving.
We raced down the street lined with brick houses along the riverbank. The weather and late hour meant barely any signs of life. Amid the carpet-bombing raindrops, bullets rained down too, occasionally sparking to announce their presence.
Bang! Rat-tat-tat! Bang!
They weren't aiming precisely, so it seemed more about intimidation through near-misses than suppression. Cocky that we'd blunder into their trap? Probably banking on psychological pressure until the advance team blocked us, then we'd panic and surrender in the encirclement.
In the midst of it, I tilted my head to dodge a stray round. Scanning around, I called to Bell, who was sprinting ahead.
"About time, right?"
"Yes. Twenty seconds until descent from the commercial building rooftop."
Bell replied while spraying gyrojet rounds skyward mid-stride. She'd already halved the drone count by picking them off in gaps. I'd taken out three stealthily approaching ones with my pistol—my ocular implant's aiming correction let me snipe their fragile lenses without expert marksmanship.
Whoomph! One with explosives onboard sputtered and blew. As I glared at the exploding drone, a heavy metallic thud echoed from the rooftop ahead, right on schedule. I braced my legs for impact.
BOOM!
> Halt! You are subject to inspection. Cease escape immediately!
A massive object crashed from on high, cratering the asphalt. It was one of the enemies' bipedal combat walkers—a cockpit like a construction rig wrapped in armor, reverse-jointed legs planted firm, autocannon on one arm, twin grenade launcher on the other.
Black-clad soldiers followed, rappelling down the building wall with auxiliary mechanical arms. Rifles trained on us, they hit the ground and formed up swiftly.
"Drop your weapons and comply. Tin can next to you, get on the ground."
"Enough with the damn inspection. Drop the cop cosplay already."
"Hm, thought you'd be trembling in fear, but you're full of surprises. Want us to make it quick, then?"
A man who seemed to be the pursuers' leader stepped forward from the black cluster. He removed his goggles and helmet, facing me barefaced—his eyes compound like an insect's, packed with tiny lenses, disgustingly off-putting.
"Greetings, Sir William Wentworth, heir to Elson Management. In these trying times, where might you be rushing off to?"
I didn't answer. He continued undeterred, smirking.
"I get you're distraught, wandering makes sense, but keep your wits about you. You took company assets without permission, right? Return them nicely, and we'll let you go on your way."
Your company's assets? Unauthorized removal? What bullshit.
"Mind your own business what I take from my house. As you said, I'm my father's sole legal heir."
"Sigh, think that'll change anything? The tide hasn't turned— the war's already over. You know that."
"So you just covet personal property that's not even corporate-owned?"
"Why act like this when you know better? The chairman showed mercy too—come quietly while we're asking nicely?"
'Mercy,' huh? How touching. A model of restraint for posterity, a beautiful tale to echo through generations.
And while he grinned like an idiot, sure enough, troops from behind closed in slowly.
Shhhh—
"..."
Fully encircled. Thinking they'd boxed us in perfectly, the leader twisted his mouth in a nasty grin. Twenty-odd gun muzzles, two autocannons, four grenade tubes trained on us; drones overhead like crows spotting prey.
Silence broken only by rain drumming as backdrop, searchlights staging the scene like theatrical spotlights for dramatic effect.
Seems all the bastards have gathered now.
Bell nodded when I glanced her way. Radar confirmed it too. No holding back, then.
I put steel in my voice and called my faithful bodyguard's name.
"Bell!!"
"Yes! Young master!!"
She rolled up her right sleeve and thrust her arm skyward like she'd been waiting. Crimson flashes erupted, beams lancing upward like reverse lightning from earth to heaven.
Whoomph!BOOM!!
In an instant, two air vehicles overhead exploded. The brilliant flames tricked the eye into thinking it was broad daylight for a moment. The black soldiers froze, staring skyward, brains lagging behind.
Whoomph! KABOOM!!
Bell spun and nuked the remaining two the same way. Only then did their muzzles spit fire.
"Lasers?! That firepower from a humanoid frame...!"
"Open fire! Request backup fir— no, backup first!"
Panic laced their movements. But encircled as we were, their response was no less deadly—bullets poured from all sides. The walkers' heavy weapons bellowed over the rain, vomiting flame and metal.
Aiming mostly at Bell after her show. Not that I was safe right beside her.
Rrra-tat-tat-tat! Thud! Whoomph! KABOOM!
The storm of metal and powder engulfed us. Autocannon shells the size of a man's palm shredded concrete. But we weren't done yet.
Right after Bell tore the sky, we'd moved to phase two. Ocular data fed to my occipital processor; analyzed firing lines plotted evasion. I surged via neural accelerator, she via boosters—gone in a blink.
By the time rounds arrived, we weren't there.
Thud! Thud! Ssssh!
I focused on dodging autocannon and grenade arcs—easier since they targeted ground mostly. Wary of crossfire with their allies, apparently. Their encirclement positions were backfiring. Idiots.
Whoomph!
"Grahhh!"
The third laser slammed a walker, turning it orange in a flash. Two soldiers caught in it flailed aflame before collapsing.
Meanwhile, I picked off drones plummeting toward Bell with my pistol. Occasional hits staggered me, but no penetration—manageable. Bell? Unfazed under bullet curtains, snatching incoming grenades midair and hurling them back pre-detonation.
Her real threat: autocannons. And the last walker was lining one up, roaring.
"Die!!"
"Not on my watch!!!"
Splat!
The walker twitched, aim ruined by my fastball drone to its optics. I charged the staggering biped, slamming my body to topple it.
Thud!
Equilibrium wrecked, it shut down. Bipedal mechs are a money sink for a reason.
Bell and I thumbs-upped; pursuers trembled in dismay.
"Th-that twig of a noble...!"
"Retreat! Fall back to rally point—gack!"
"Think I'd let you?"
Bell shut it down coldly. Each gyrojet hit tore chunks from foes. They didn't rout shamefully but orderly retreat brought no salvation.
...
Soon, the street fell silent as if nothing happened. Rain alone stood vigil through the night.
Looking around: blood, oil, metal wreckage burning even in the downpour filled my view. The intense fishy stench grounded me here.
Accept everything, breathe easy, live safe—my choice spat in Father's face. This unfilial son defied even his dying words, twisting his second life by his own hand.
"Masterful decision to lure them in and unleash our firepower at peak efficiency. As expected of you, young master."
Bell moved to hug me but paused at steam rising from her heated frame. Rain handled cooling fine, so yeah, divine blessing it is.
Anyway, I'd cleared the first trial of this little escape drama. Thrilled to have survived the night.