◀AT SOBEK'S MERCY▶

Pt. 4 - Bite The Bullet, Eat Lead

The sound was small, barely distinct from the city's distant hum, but it quickly grew into a rumbling noise as the van moved towards them at a quick, steady pace. Hantei couldn't see much, but he noticed the sudden bright light as Mallard stepped out from the grass, the flash from her eye mixing in with the van's headlights. The van swerved a little, but stayed on the road, the driver struggling to navigate the wrecked vehicles scattered in the way.

Knocker prepared to fire. Hantei tensed up as he raised his gun, the barrel pointed right towards him. He gave Hantei an acknowledging look, as if to assure him he wasn't going to miss his shot. His eyes narrowed as he focused, concentrating on the ever growing sound as the van got closer. The van rolled between them, and as always, Knocker's timing was immaculate. The gun fired, and Hantei heard the loud pop as the shot hit the front tire. The van steered to the side to escape the invisible shooter, and Hantei froze.

It was coming right towards him.

The headlights were blinding. The noise filled his head. The van swerved off the road and Hantei stumbled back in a frenzy, his back colliding painfully with the hood of the wrecked car behind him. He fell down, the van barreling past him. Only a few feet's difference would've left him ran over, his reflexes saving him by a thin sliver. His heart was pounding. The van crashed into the pump of the gas station, and Hantei's ears rang as the thundering sound came to a stop. He stood up, his legs trembling a little, supporting himself on the cold metal of the broken-down car's hood.

Rodent walked up to the driver's side of the van with his gun raised, but Hantei couldn't hear the conversation. The team made their way to the car, Xero and Helvetica joining Rodent at the driver's window. Hantei crouched at the back of the van, studying the lock to the trunk. It was rather simple. Hantei took out his lockpick, and after a couple tries, the lock opened with a small click. As Rodent and Xero dragged the driver out - a small, old man, Hantei heard faint chattering from inside the trunk. He couldn't quite tell what they were saying, but there was someone in there. He stood up and stepped a little further, Mallard and Knocker moving to stand beside him.

Xero restrained the man with handcuffs as Rodent walked to the trunk to join the rest of the team. "Is that it?"

"There's someone in there", Hantei told him, nodding towards the trunk.

"We can take 'em", Knocker said, gripping his gun a bit more firmly.

Rodent stepped closer to the door and turned to Hantei. "You might want to move out of the way."

Hantei only stared back, his eyes narrowing slightly. He wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't going to let himself leave his team. Not again.

"Alright, then. Don't say I didn't warn you when you run away again."

Knocker and Hantei raised their guns, preparing to fire. Rodent opened the trunk, and as soon as he did, a series of gunshots rang out. Hantei jumped back, the bullets landing into the ground right in front of his feet. Knocker fired back, but the bullet flew past the vague shadows in the dim trunk and to the back wall. 

Three Tyger Claws jumped out of the trunk, firing at the team again. Mallard ducked and shot back, hitting the leg of one of the men, drawing a sharp grunt out of him. "Motherfucker!" Knocker, in turn, shot at another, the bullet breaking through the armor and lodging halfway into the guy's chest. He stumbled, his attempt at returning the blow missing and flying somewhere into the distance. The battle quickly escalated into a full-on firefight, with loud bangs and hectic scuffling filling the previously calm scene. 

Hantei fired at one of the members, a quick-moving man wielding a katana, but the bullet whizzed past his head. He noticed a shadow in the corner of his eye and moved, just barely avoiding a hit as one of the members shot at him. Rodent fired at the man, his shot breaking through the armor and digging in between his shoulderblades. A pained shout came from him, but he kept fighting, shooting back at Rodent, hitting his shoulder and driving out a strained string of curses before he shot back again.