[adamu]

<<Amen ta that. They's goin' fer the supports - roof gon' come down on us any second.>>

Al looked at his comm and quickly synced his flare compensation to Isaint's flash pak.

<<I'm goin' through the kitchen after William, but the wall on your side comes down in three, two, one...>>

And then Al broke for the kitchen doors, muttering "Nadja Daviar in a red thong," into his commlink. No time to admire his handiwork, he had to be satisfied with the sound of the muted whump that took out the wall as he dove through the back service doors into the larger food prep area.

[obidancer]

The Frenchman did what was required to bring down the vehicles and it seemed to work, until a rain of bullets came flying in all direction. He quickly noticed somehow he wasn't directly targeted and wanted to use this small advantage to get in position for a couple shots that could count. He moved around the counter, ready to aim at a armored clad man when it came to he heard iSaint's warning. A quick look at the columns and the damage they had already taken confirmed it.

The Frenchman was the closest to Al, and he could dash across the room and try to get the the hole Al was about the make, or make sure l would make it in one piece inside the kitchen and follow suit. He stood up fire some suppressive shots to cover Al and yielled I'm right behind you l'ami. before breaking through the kitchen door as Al did.

[Aria]

[Thursday June 18th, 2076, ~13:48, Motorway Services, M40]
 
As the runners stumble from their respective refuges Isaint is rewarded by the uncanny AR sight of himself viewed from above as he exits…the view zooms in and he rapidly becomes aware from the downdraft that it is the drone moving physically closer rather than a camera change…the Nimrod tilt wing came to a hover a few meters away, the barrels of its high velocity machine gun gently rotating…
 
With a horrendous shriek the building behind the group collapses in on itself, entombing anyone unlucky enough to still be inside.  Smoke and flame leap into the sky and the Nimrod is buffeted by the unexpected turbulence…
 
Coughing and panting, well all except Al, the rest of the team struggle out through the kitchen to emerge into the summer air.  eTher, somehow nude once more, stands, like some demented fire goddess, sparks flicking through her wind tossed hair, her arm carefully encircling William, to await her Knights…
 
“Go, you have done your duty and more, now it is time to fade away before the authorities arrive with their awkward questions.  I will take care of William now, and my Knights will look after us both.  There…”
 
And sure enough two combat transport choppers hove into view coming from the west, flying nape of the earth, two more Nimrod gun drones in close support
 
***
_#85
 
 
 
 

[adamu]

"Duty an' more, huh? Jist make sure the check is inna mail, chica. Though I'll admit I'd prefer a few answers to cash, when we got some time." Like, where were your precious knights in shining armor when the rest of the family needed them? he thought.

He looked around to make sure Jackhammer had made it clear, and also saw that French had come out the same way he had, and gave the guy a nod. "Looks like she din't appurciate yer fancy jacket none," he said with a grin. He had his eyes take plenty of pictures of her for later - just in case he ever managed to get the giant lizard image out of his head - then winked at the kid and walked past her. He gave a loud whistle, and by the time he'd joined Isaint at the stolen car Spike was bounding up.

The whole place was still a combat zone, and time was as scarce as answers. "Road don't look particular hospitable. Ol' Al's thinkin' of hoofin' it out over the fields. Oxford ain't far, an' if'n you'll recall, I left a clean Beamer there. But we gotta meet up, see if whatever's stored inna Frog's head can shed any light on what the hell went on here." He dropped his spent smoke to the ground and stamped it out, as if it's tiny ember made a difference in the conflagration surrounding them. "Help us figure out who ta kill first."

[Jack_Spade]

Isaint shook dirt from his mask but put it on again immediately since the collapsed building still spat out plastcrete dust like a miniature volcano.
Ignoring the drake for the moment Isaint walked over to William and laid a hand on his shoulder. In a low voice he said: "I'm sorry for your loss. If you need help or just want to talk, give me a call." After that he gripped the boy's hand while passing a small Stealth RFID chip. In a whisper he said: "Activate it if you are in danger."

Than he turned to eTher: "I'd say thank you for your help, but I think we are quits in that regard. Take good care of William..." He left the 'or else' unsaid.

Turning back to the rest of the team he said: "I've got my bike and a transport drone, I'll meet you in Oxford. Jackhammer, I understand if you want to terminate our partnership now and get away as fast as possible.
In that case I wish you luck. Keep the Ruger as a memento."

[adamu]

"Yeah, Jack, reckon I'll unnerstand too, if'n ya decide this sorta show ain't quite yer cup o' tea...but I won't like it none. Ya bring a whole lot to the table young Paduan. An' there's been a whole lotta nasty in this here business that jist don't sit well with ol' Al. Love ta have ya on board to help run it all down. Yer call, amigo."

He nodded at Isaint and French, adjusted his shoulder bag, and turned to go. "Anyone else wants ta come 'long overland, gotta go now, afore some trigger-happy corp cowboy notices us, or else this here little pick-me-up," he showed them the back of his hand with the patch on it, "poops out an' I fall asleep where I stand."

And with that, he and Spike were off. They took advantage of what cover they could, making their way to the the back side of the parking area where it ran up against the adjoining farmland in the direction of Oxford.

[obidancer]

The Frenchman dusted off his suit. Chaos was surrounding them with the arrival of eTher's boys. He picked up his greatcoat while watching her William take up flight on the helicopter, A weird feeling inside of him. Out of everyone why had eTher be so inclined on saving the teenager? He may never know, but for now all that matter was that he and his remaining companions where still in one piece and they all had a chance to escape.

I probably don't have the right shoes for it, but I'm gonna tag along Al. ISaint, maybe use that transport of your to give Jack a ride back to Oxford. And Pal, don't disappear on me, I'm counting on the beer.

[Jack_Spade]

"You can take my bike. I'll take my drone - time to test the valkyrie module, otherwise I'll probably fall from the saddle once the little pick me up runs out. You have my commcode. I promised you a beer and a follower of St. George keeps his word.
Four different ways of transport should be enough for at least some of us to make it to Oxford."
Isaint shrugged. "Add to the beer a nice bed and a few hours of sleep. See you there." With that, Isaint tossed the Frenchman the little recognition chip, so he could start the Mirage without his authorization.

#224

[pistolgrip]

Jackhammer remains silent until the helicopter is away, scanning behind him for traces of hostiles. Then he turns to Isaint and Al.
"This isn't what the trids showed. You people have a terrible line of work. I just..." He pauses, taking off his helmet and rubbing his eyes. "I'm taking some time off. Straighten things out with Madezyn. Check in on the folks. Do a lot of drinking."
He takes out his commlink, looks at the burning, collapsing building behind him, and hurls it in. "I won't be in touch."
With that, Jackhammer jogs off into the distance, disappearing behind some buildings as the sound of sirens wailing in the distance becomes audible.

[Jack_Spade]

Isaint shook his head sadly: "Well, I can't blame him for wanting to stay low, but that's just impolite. Time to be away. Oxford in an hour at the tavern we first set up shop. See you there Frenchman."

With that Isaint stalked away towards the small cops of trees behind the parking place. A few minutes later a VTOL Drone with the Doc Wagon logo went upwards and away towards Oxford.

[Aria]

Epilogue
 
[Monday June 22nd, 2076, Somewhere in Wales]
 
William wearily rubbed at heavy eyes but brightened immediately when eTher came in to the small apartment.  The last few days had been hellish, the repeated grilling by the Security Services about the events leading up to the attack…he hadn’t been able to offer them much, the whole time was a blur of chaotic images, fear and bone aching fatigue…but eTher made up for all that…he could still feel her arm around his shoulders and images of her naked body still haunted his waking moments, much darker images filled his dreams…
 
“How are you William?”
 
“Errr…fine, doing ok, yeah…errr, you?”
 
eTher’s benign smile sent flutters through William but he squelched them as ‘Tasha walked in.  She looked wan, the fight knocked out of her…being dead will do that to you, William mused.  She’d been changed more than him by the whole experience, particularly the connection with Goodnight and what those Flowers did to her, but he kind of liked it…she was more grown up, and certainly much less of a bitch, long may it last!
 
eTher had explained that it had been necessary for the family to die to stop others looking for them.  He’d been selected to be the believable witness left behind after the tragedy.  He was angry about being put through that, thinking his family was dead, but the way eTher explained it…it had been the only way right?!?
 
So here they were, new lives, new identities…it would all be more exciting if he wasn’t so damn tired…but eTher being here made up for it all, more than made up for it!
 
***
_#86
 
 
 
 

[adamu]

[Thursday June 18th, 2076, ~15:55, Oxford]

The trip back to Oxford had been a lot easier than he'd thought. Breaking across the adjoining fields along a line of trees the demarcated the boundary between two farms, he and Spike had made the next service road before his patch wore off.

It was a hard crash, literally like getting kicked in the head and the stomach at the same time. The world spun and he just about collapsed. But if he was going to crash in the dirt by the side a road, it'd be with a gut full of good beer, not because a bunch of corp assholes had kicked his ass. No, he'd stay on his feet just to spite them. The ones that were even still alive, he chuckled to himself.

Speaking of still alive, he still didn't know what to think about William's survival. If they were indeed dead, he'd seriously overestimated eTher. And overtrusted Silk.

But there wasn't anything he could do about it in a barley field.

He hid out in a ditch near a cattle crossing, where vehicles would have to slow down. And didn't have to wait long before an open truck piled with beets lumbered by. An hour later they were on the outskirts of Oxford. Busses were running, but he liked the Remington 990 in his hand better than the Defiance in his Beamer, so that was out. So it took an extra hour to work inconspicuously through back streets until they got to the outskirts of the university area where his car was parked. Which meant he was late for the pub.

He threw the shotgun into the trunk, thought of a quick nap, knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway, and fired up the car. And realized that, for the time being, it was his home. Shit. Everything he owned had gone up with the garage. Well, he had the boat. He'd fetch that later. And he had the Elite in the storage unit behind the Prospect. That should be more than enough to set him up right. He called Horace while he drove, asked him to shift the car through Chastity, and reminded him to take the hunting rifle out of the trunk and hold it for him. Usual fees applied. Of course.

Then he was there, parking the dull gray BMW 400GT across from the place Isaint had named. Left Spike inside - best anti-theft system you could buy. His face was practically black with the accumulated much and grime of the last two days, and he used water from his canteen to wipe it to something resembling not-freakish. Nothing to do about the clothes, so he just made sure there were no obvious bloodstains and then strode in to find French and Isaint.

[Jack_Spade]

Isaint enjoyed the flight as well as you can enjoy any flight in a coffin shaped contraption without windows. At least the autodoc of the Valkyrie system knew what to do about his bruises.
It was tight with all this gear inside, but Isaint had disrobed far enough to not lose his armor to the sharp sheers of the autodoc's snake fingers.

The clock on his chemically induced persistence was ticking down. And he felt the pain getting stronger. His bio-monitor indicated that the system had administered a counter agent so his body would be able fall asleep and recover naturally. Before he went to sleep he managed to instruct his agent:
<<Susi, full matrix defense and overwatch with your cluster. Instruct autopilot to evacuate if threats are indicated.>>
<<Frenchman and Al from Isaint: Just got drugged by my autodoc. Will need an hour before I can join you.>>
Then sleep came over him.

A full hour and a half later he dragged himself into the tavern. He wore his jacket without the backpack or other armor gear since that was the only clothing part that didn't reek horribly or was coated in dust and grime. His face was clean shaven again and resembled slightly a minor b-movie celebrity, known for his great zombie killing skills with a chainsaw.

The magic couldn't disguise the bags under his eyes, indicating that one hour hadn't been nearly enough to regenerate his strength.
Weary to the bones, Isaint flopped into a seat, indicating the server to bring a genuine Guinness.
He didn't talk for a while, just enjoying his beverage.
Finally he said in a raspy voice: "...and than there were three. You know, I should have known it would look like that when we first met three days ago. I mean Al, you are a crazy motherfragger - no offence - but you are a reliable one with good work ethic. And to that I drink.
Frenchman, I know we had a difficult past, but I know too, that you are a survivor like me and a professional. I'd like us to stay on the same side. It was a pleasure to work with you even when the situation was not. And to that I drink too.

I am sorry that my personality clashed this hard with our guide Goodnight. She was a crazy bitch, but she knew her stuff. Goodnight, wherever you are, I wish you and your sister the best. May you find serenity and peace.

We lost other men and women under London and I intend to return there and show the House of Flowers that there are people you don't provoke with impunity.

Finally, I raise my glass to William and his dead family. I'm filled with sorrow for his loss. Even though we technically succeeded with our mission, this wasn't how it should have ended.

Prost."

#226

[adamu]

Al raised his (third) glass with Isaint. "Yeah, them sisters, they was somethin' special, no denyin'. Reckon I'm better fer havin' known 'em. They was both ablaze with life, an' that's a good thing even if it do cause a few fires."

He slammed the stein down onto the coarse wooden tabletop of the ancient Oxford watering hole. "Now, I'll tell you two straight, I still have a hard time believin' Silk betrayed me, or that eTher was as stone stupid as she done come off. So part o' me remains hopeful that we's all been subjected to some form o' bamboozlement."

A cigarette appeared in his mouth, although his hands appeared not to have left the tabletop. Then one of them was lighting it with his big silver Zippo.

"But with evidence suggestin' the contrary, until proven otherwise, I reckon we got folks ta kill. An' the first step ta figurin' out they are is right there in Frenchie's head."

[Jack_Spade]

"A good suggestion. But we'll need a bit of prep-time for that. I have to restock my gear and ask some questions. Not to mention we'll need to recruit a new spell slinger and ideally another decker. I trust my Susi, but a real professional will make our mission a lot easier.

Say Frenchman, do you still have contact to that shaman who gave you astral support in Istanbul? Getting through that elf's army of spirit was really annoying."
Isaint said quizzically.