The Vanguard Vixen

Allies

Eleven seconds.

That's how long Turana ran before she realized she was going the wrong way.

By the time the internal underground navigational system she had ingrained into her brain kicked in, she couldn't tell where she was, or how far from the center she was.

She jogged forward to check for the tunnel markings so she could start to find her way back, only to come face-to-face with an M48.

No, not an M48.

It certainly looked like it, but Vivian's gun had modifications beyond what this one had. Under normal circumstances, Turana would have charged the holder, but when she saw who they were, she stopped.

"I thought you were on our side?" She asked.

"I'm on Vivian's side," Commander Adrian replied. "The farther you two are from her, the better off she is."

Turana snuck a glance above at the wall.

C3

Adrian noticed.
"Your friends will be fine, the ones that are important to us at least."

"Lewis won't leave here without me," Turana said, simultaneously taking a step forward.

"One more step and it's a bullet to the leg," Adrian warned. "And who says you aren't already with Lewis?"

The statement clicked together in Turana's mind.

"He won't fall for it," she told Adrian. "He's smarter than that."

"Maybe." Adrian shrugged. "Maybe not. But she will stay long enough to get what we want. By the time he realizes who he's with isn't legitimate, it will all be over."

"And what if he takes her to Vivian?"

"Vivian is halfway across Vanguard right now. I don't think he will last that long. The Colonel isn't a very patient woman."

"Then you should know, neither am I."

Turana moved, but Adrian's finger on the trigger was quick too, and the bullet grazed her right thigh. Turana grit her teeth and attacked, landing an elbow to Adrian's jaw and then kicking the gun out of his hands. She raised her knee to get him in the gut which he easily sidestepped, instantly grabbing a hold of her leg and slamming her into the wall. He pressed a thumb firmly into the bullet wound in her thigh and she screamed, unable to ignore that much pain.

"I'm a Commander in the Vanguard Army," Adrian growled at her. "You're just an expendable duplicate."

Turana struggled against his weight, which was almost twice hers. Her knee came up again, this time a little lower. With an angry grunt, Adrian punched the side of Turana's head hard, and then backed away, hands over his crotch.

Turana's vision was blurry around the edges after that punch, which had bumped her head onto the concrete wall. Her fingers reflexively went to the back of her head and returned slick with blood.

Adrian was still groaning in pain by the wall, and he didn't see Turana coming. Or at least that's what she thought.

He went for her thigh again. Although Turana saw it, she couldn't move her leg back in time and his boot connected, dropping her onto the ground. Turana could now taste blood in her mouth, and the pain in her leg was dizzyingly high. She struggled to get to her feet, but another kick from Adrian, this time to her head put her down.

Her muscles refused to cooperate when she tried to stand up, and she fell back down. Adrian hobbled over to where she was and pointed an accusing finger at her.