Deadman

There was a good chance the Widows were on to us, but even in spite of that we took every precaution we could to keep the potential of surprise on our side. We didn’t want to take any vehicles, and didn’t have enough bloodmanes to carry everyone, so we rode in the trunk of a routine patrol that passed near our target, and got out within a short enough distance to walk there by nightfall. I was wearing my usual kit, and Deux had his pistol at his side along with about a dozen small knives on his waist. The Rens had their usual bows and arrows, along with swords and the occasional pistol. Our goal was stealth, and I was certain that the Ren rangers would be useful for that. I’d never known a bow or sword to need a silencer. As we walked we fell into a good rhythm. Either Shayera or I would take the lead, scanning for threats and shifting between us as we moved. This was the best opportunity for the Rens to make a move on me, but nothing like that materialized, and even if it had, Deux stuck close behind me the whole time. He was cracking jokes, sharing smokes, and before long he managed to drag smiles out of every single one of the rangers except Shayera, who kept things all business until the Widows camp came into view. It was night, so Deux and I had the best view of everything with our night vision. I took out a pair of binoculars I’d bought off of Bill, and took a look. From a distance, everything looked normal. It appeared as a typical Kaijin encampment. People wearing leathers, animal furs, with mostly spears, and a few guns scattered about. For a few moments I thought maybe we’d been fooled, but then I managed to pick a few things out. For one, everyone in the camp was a woman, which was highly unusual in a Kaijin camp. I then noticed on closer inspection, that everyone was far better armed than they appeared to be. Finally, I realized that there was absolutely no exterior defense as far as I could see aside from a few people patrolling. The road leading to the settlement in particular was eerily free of obstruction, while the rest of the settlement had only what protection was offered by nearby trees. I handed the binoculars to Deux, who after looking for a short period, pointed out a large structure at the far end of the, as well as several other structures. “The building in the back there, it looks like it could hold several buses. And look at those roofs there, there, and there. It’s disguised as junk, but I know gun placements when I see them.” I nodded, and handed the binoculars to Shayera. There was still a bit of light, and so I felt she could probably see what she needed to. She looked through, and nodded before handing me the binoculars. “Thoughts?” I asked. “You sure you don’t just want to make our decisions for us?” “Not unless you make a bad one.” “We’ll disable the gun emplacements, while you determine whatever the trap on the road is, and disable their buses so they can’t retreat. The Khan’s force should be approaching close enough for them to take notice soon.” I nodded. “Good plan. You have a way to take out the nearest guards?” She nodded, took up her bow, gestured for her men to follow, and disappeared into the foliage. While they moved that way, Deux and I slid up the side of the woods to get as close to the largest building as we could before needing to break cover. As we moved I heard the occasional whistle of an arrow, and would be able to look over and see that another guard down and being dragged away. The Rens were efficient, and were much better at taking out human targets than I expected them to be. As far as I knew, up until the point when Atlan and I had encountered them, they’d only ever had combat with the Ursans. I started to suspect that the Khan had been using them for this type of job for quite some time. Deux and I waited at the edge of cover, for a guard to pass by. I moved to grab her, but before I could even take a breath, he’d whipped out of the bushes, covered her mouth, and yanked her back, placing his revolved against her temple. He held a finger up to his lips, his usual smile still sitting on his face as if this was just another day. “Yell, and I kill you.” The woman, disoriented, still managed a slow nod, her eyes wide with terror to see the two of us looming over her with weapons ready and sharp teeth on full display. “The entrance to the camp is unguarded. Why?” asked Deux, then he slowly removed his hand. “M-mines. We’ve mined the road to hell. Have a back entrance that loops around so we can still get in or out.” Deux nodded, placing his hand back over her mouth. I drew a knife from my boot and went to quickly slit her throat. Deux moved a hand to grab my wrist before I could, and shot me a look. “We can’t risk it,” I said. “All you just did is let her know it’s coming.” His smile dipped, and he took the knife and slit her throat himself in a smooth motion. “You’re right. I’m just not used to this kind of work.” He cleaned the knife and handed it back to me. I looked around and saw a Ren nearby, I went to start moving toward him, but before I could Deux was already halfway there. In his Undertaker outfit he was practically invisible and I didn’t hear a sound while he moved around guards, and over to the Ren who actually jumped a bit when he reached him. They exchanged a few words, then Deux moved back to me, having been away less than a minute. “I let him know what was up. He’s going to inform Shayera, and they’ll send someone to notify the Khan.” I nodded. He may not be used to the work, but he was a natural, and was doing a much better job of coordinating with the Rens than I was. We began to move to the building, I followed his lead, though I didn’t have much of a choice at the pace he was moving. Deux was the fastest deadman I’d ever even heard of. I myself was quick on the draw, and could react faster than any human I’d ever met, but I’d seen him duck bullets and dodge blows he had no right to be able to avoid. Assuming his guard was up, that is. We made it to the wall without alerting any of the guards, and now that I was closer I could tell it was a partially rebuilt garage. We crossed over to a high widow, and Deux motioned for me to kneel. I sighed, and let him stand on my shoulders, then I stood up to allow him to peek inside. He looked around, slid the window open silently, then moved inside, he reached a hand out to me, when suddenly a light shone on me. I dove, and raised my pistol just as someone opened fire on where I’d been standing. I looked to see a guard holding an assault rifle and pointing it at me. “Well if it isn’t the Khan’s pe-.” I froze her and shot her in the head before she could continue speaking. It was never a good idea to gloat before the other party was dead. Almost always better to just keep firing and save the conversation for later. Unfortunately, with the gunfire, an alarm was raised. I heard yelling from inside the building, and Widows began pouring out of all the structures and onto the grounds. I knew that the Rens and Deux were still working on their end of the plan, and would be found quickly if I didn’t do anything. I took my pistol and started shooting. Deux was the expert at sneaking, but I had always been excellent at attacking from the front. Best for me to shine in my way so that he could keep shining in his. I emptied my magazine, and replaced it before anyone had figured out where I was firing from. I holstered my pistol, and took up my shotgun. Since my goal was to distract, it seemed the best idea for me to make as much noise, and be as obvious as possible. I ran up on two Widows with pistols, froze and blasted them. Then I bashed a third one's skull in with the butt of the gun before popping in two more shells and repeating the process. I was able to keep them off guard, but it wasn’t long until I started taking stray rounds, and found myself surrounded. Suddenly, a grenade landed in front of me. I moved to kick it away, but rather than exploding in fire I found myself suddenly blinded and disoriented. I felt hands on me, and swung around, attacking wildly. I punched, kicked, and bit, feeling ribs, and skulls break, and tasting blood and flesh. There were no hands on me for just a moment, then a dozen rounds from an automatic rifle slammed into me, and I lost consciousness.