In the unreal light backwashed from the low clouds stood a shadow within a shadow. Motionless, Suzie watched the alley below through the hi-res enhancement of her helmet’s HUD. A group of men stood restlessly. Waiting.
Subversive Downtowners were being supplied with money and weapons and a splash of ‘training’ – just enough to know what end of the gun to point at the enemy and how to keep it in working order. DarkNight were the ones backing this latest ‘urban project’, expanding lately to include street gangs, promising bigger and better weapons than their rivals. Little white lies, she mused. All this resulted in trigger-happy-people causing more problems for the already overtaxed Shivers and bringing in more Operatives to deal with the situation; this suited DarkNight fine.
Below, Ziigla, the squad’s Xeno, peeled away from the shadows, its skin pigmentation having matched perfectly with the gloomy surroundings. As it stepped forward, it looked as though part of the alley had moulded into a streamlined, muscular figure. The camouflage helped to blend his movements even as he attacked. With expert precision, his blows crippled gun-hands and broke limbs, causing the unwitting victims a world of pain without the release of death. Weapons clattered to the sodden ground while Ziigla moved between them as though they were rooted to the spot.Six armed men entered the alley, their carry bags packed with more weapons. They found their customers nursing incapacitating wounds. Ziigla was nowhere in sight, though with the aid of her IR scanner, Suzie could still make him out crouching in the shadows. Movement in a window drew her attention to Hale, the squad’s human member, levelling her recently acquired Brow Beater.
Suzie smiled. Everything was going as planned. The two were in position and were more than capable of disposing of the DarkNight operatives, despite the restriction of taking as many as possible alive. Now that everyone was ready, she started the camera rolling before raising her own weapon.
Two whispers, punctuated by the explosive spray of gore, skull and helmet fragments – curtsey of her HESH rounds – and the two operatives were disposed of. So much for the Deadly Duo, she thought as she switched off the recorder and slung her rifle, leaving the stunned DarkNight operatives waving their weapons at shadows, one or two filling the Xeno’s body with lead as it slid to the floor.
SLA were getting close, too close. She knew their methods, after all, she had worked for those losers for a good few years until DarkNight had made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. In the safety of the shadows, she reviewed the footage on a display screen on the HUD, smiling with the knowledge that DarkNight would pay her handsomely for it. She looked forward to seeing the pirate broadcast that would show SLA’s incompetence.
Yes, she thought, being a Guardian Angel was going to be a lot of fun.
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