Hacking the Sun [Old Version]

Chapter 17 The Woodsmen

Gun against his scalp, Dexter's feet rooted into the ground. The Azarean female loomed in the corner of his eye, a cold and calculating demeanor with an undefinable expression behind a lens. She hadn't killed him yet, which could only mean one thing. 

His thoughts were a loop of his last exchange with Jessica. Though it could have and probably should have been different, he was grateful. 

A deafening bang accompanied a liquid sensation on his cheek. He flinched over his right shoulder, where the Azarean female collapsed. Meters away from her fallen body stood Ike, alive with a smoking barrel in his grasp.

"Run, shit-stain!" he yelled and commenced firing at the male agent, who'd begun a sprint. So quick, he dodged the bullet and grabbed Ike's arm like a lunging viper. He shoved him and dented the hood of the nearest car before tossing successive body shots the eye could barely follow. Ike somehow took the brunt of them before blocking his taller opponent's fist and punching back.

The alien swiped the bruise on his face as if it were cosmetic.

Meanwhile, Ike rolled off the hood of the car and set some distance between them. He assumed a fighter's stance and wasted no time advancing with successive jabs. Rigorous breaths escaped his every exertion, but nothing made contact.

The Azarean dodged like a slippery worm, swerving out of his opponent's reach, no wasted motion. Ike tired himself into the Azarean's grasp. His entire body was lifted then slammed onto the roof of another car. Broken glass hit the street, and dry cackles escaped his lips.

With control of his nerves, Dexter scrambled and picked up the dead agent's pistol nearby. He brought its holographic sights to bear on the agent. Aware of this, the agent left Ike's bloody face on the car hood, stole his magnum from the ground, and pulled the trigger. All in the time it took to blink.

Dexter's pistol flew out of his hand; Ike's magnum burned into flecks, and before Dexter could even register the pain in his palm, the Azarean kicked him with enough force to dent the car behind him. But an arm seized the agent from behind.

Ike heaved the Azarean's collar and tossed him onto the car hood, switching places. He accompanied his next flurry of punches with loud, begrudging moans.

***

Down the highway of scattered vehicles and scared citizens, Jessica skated at high velocity across numerous obstacles. She moved faster than the viral signal transmitted through Babel, which quickly transformed static traffic into a rising tide of metal over the superhighway. Mid-focus, Monarch's voice returned.

"Asgard is splitting off! Without a specific target to follow, they're scrambling. Now's our best window: all units, disperse and meet up at the rendezvous. J1182."

Per Monarch's observation, the Asgard airships en route had abandoned their formation to swerve in sundry directions. Like fledgling birds in the sky, they split their attention for every offroad car and its potential suspects, and there were many.

"Dexter!" Jessica called, breaking near the fiery wreckage. She found her friend shaken, sitting against the car where the agent kicked him. The agent was nearby, squaring off with Ike, Ike who had drawn a knife only to sweat bullets in front of his opponent. The fire in his eyes may have stemmed from fear.

"Jessica?" Dexter moaned. He was tiredly gawking from his sorry position, where surprise impeded his effort to rise. Jessica crouched and carefully wrapped his arm around her neck. 

"We're leaving, Dex!"

"Now's your chance!" Ike shouted. His fist landed in the Azarean's hand, and the ensuing enemy counter pinned him to the ground. He had no hope of escape then, no purpose aside from distraction.