Cross Ange: The Glitch In The System (Discontinued)

CHAPTER 3 : THE HUNT

With a grunt of frustration, Gaz choked the engine on the backup generator. Though he had hoped the rain wouldn't last more than a night, it had continued on and off right through the next day which meant the solar panels on the cabin roof couldn't gather any sunlight. On the other end, Cal stood and watched from where he had fueled up the tank with the diesel fuel Gaz had recovered from one of the old Libertus bases.

"Are you sure you haven't flooded it?" he asked.

"I know what I'm doing!" Gaz grumbled. The generator was a stubborn piece of junk that wouldn't even turn on unless the fuel to air mixture was just right. Finally, Gaz cranked the ignition and the generator sprung to life, the lights in the cabin flickering back on as he wiped his brow. "Told you," he bragged. "Come on let's get back inside." Together the two of them exited the camouflaged shed and were halfway back to the cabin when Gaz suddenly felt something grab his arm.

"Gramps wait," Cal said. "Do you hear that?" Gaz cocked his ear but couldn't hear anything over the wind whipping through the trees or the patter of rain on their heads. Finally, he heard it, a high pitch whine over the storm that didn't sound natural. It was then he noticed the search lights shining onto the ground from overhead as he looked up and to his horror saw a military grade Mana transport flying towards the beach.

"Run!" he ordered. "It's rush hour!" Cal's eyes shot open with alarm as he and Gramps both took off running for the cabin. As part of Gaz's training, he had subjected Cal to numerous drills and rush hour was a worst-case scenario. It meant that someone dangerous had found them and was launching a surprise attack. Upon reaching the front door, Cal rushed to the garage and flipped the fuse switch to shut off all power to the cabin. Gaz meanwhile retreated to his bedroom. From under the bed, he pulled the laptop and a silver case before typing in a quick message.

Alektra, I've been compromised. If anything goes wrong don't worry. I'll make sure the evidence connecting me with Arzanel is erased. I'm sending Cal. Whatever you do don't tell him anything about his past. I don't want him going down the wrong road if he ever found out. I'll try and go into hiding but if they get a hold of me. I'll use Plan B. Good luck. And thank you. -Gaz.

Once Gaz had sent the message, he opened the quarantined file and the virus was let loose to completely scramble the laptop's memory. From the silver case he pulled an assault carbine, an MP5 submachine gun and a harness that carried dual semi-auto pistols, the latter of which he latched around his torso. The final thing he grabbed was a small remote and the instructions he had written for Cal before returning to the living room. Cal was already waiting for him, a hunting knife hanging from his belt and his hunting crossbow in his hands.

"See anything?" Gaz ordered as he passed Cal the SMG.

"Nothing," Cal confirmed. Chances were that they would land on the southern beach before making their way in for a frontal assault. Gesturing to the table, Gaz took position behind the couch while Cal quietly turned the table on its side to make a barricade. Gaz adjusted the sight on the gun and night vision gave him a clear view of outside. 'Come on you bastards,' he dared them. 'You're not getting my boy without a fight.'

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Looking through a pair of night vision binoculars, Dutch could clearly make out the cabin where the target was hiding. Lights were off but that didn't mean anyone was home. If anything, Gavin probably expected a frontal assault and was waiting for them to barge in. All around him, the 20-man squad dressed in black tactical gear hunched down among the scrub. He couldn't have asked for a better day than this. With the rain and the wind, they had plenty of cover to move in for an assault.