Mercer follows along with the conversation going on inside the church while the Roadmaster pulls closer, watching the various hoodlums watch him. The remaining standing Hunter messages him, telling him that the church is secure. Secure from what? There's still a platoon of gang members lined up outside, ready to breach! But they keep not breaching, and Mercer finally comes to the conclusion that the gangers must be in communication with this Achak fella.
As the van rolls to a stop, Mercer mentally flips off the jammer and notes that the gangers seem more relaxed, and that none come to "greet" him - the "stand down" order must have been given, and Mercer given clearance to be here. Apparently the gangers had some respect for the church, and thus the religious nuts protecting it. He wasn't going to look that gift horse in the mouth. Still, best to tone down the party favors lest he push some itchy trigger finger over the edge, so he leaves Vera and the assault rifle in the van and steps out with Yoki slung over one shoulder and across his back.
He gets another message from Achak, confirming that Mercer was watching the conversation in the church unfold.
<< @Achack [Mercer] Five by five. >>
Mercer knew from the camera feed that Achak was freaking and he wondered how much of his message would register. Nothing for it now but to get there where he was more than a disembodied voice.
<< @Achack [Mercer] I'm coming in now.>>
Aside from the gangers, the street is eerily empty. The gangers have largely left the other van, so Mercer mentally tasks the drone that he'd parked there to drop the flag ARO and return to the sky to keep watch over the church. As he enters the church, he sends the drone there to join its mate and removes his ballistic mask and his hat.
He nods to the female ork kneeling near Ikiryo and offers a "ma'am" by way of greeting. He notes the priest fretting over the ruin that the altar had become and gives him a curt nod, "Father". He bends over to disarm the large troll, careful to stay out of the way of the medkit the ork set up on him. He moves to the other fallen as he talks, making sure that their weapons are out of easy reach.
"Ashak, Aytchak - I'm sorry son, but I have no idea how to pronounce your name. No matter. Look, Jawless here is our link to whatever group has been disappearing Hunter teams, so keeping him alive is a necessary evil. The others are civilians who almost certainly had no idea who they were really working for. Let 'em loose or let the law deal with 'em, but I don't kill Clean folk if'n I don't have to, and the Stake I know doesn't either."
"That said, I don't like bein' lied to. I didn't catch your name, missy, but you claim this is your first job with Ikiryo, and maybe that's true. But you seem to be under the misconception that this is all gang related. That's fine, maybe you'll sleep better if I let you keep believing that."
He rounds back on the mage as she works on Ikiryo. "What's done is done. You've got a good head on your shoulders, makin' right and saving your chums" he looks at the invisible man's corpse " - well, most of 'em" he remembers the gangers shooting the decker in the van "- one of 'em. World could use more people like you, but what the world needs takes a backseat to what I need right now, and I need to know what else y'all had planned cause I doubt it took a whole week's planning to set up a simple ambush."