(Here's another one, hope it's a good one.)
The Gunslinger leaned against the corner of the shop. Red Zeta Six, as his code name was, surveyed the building that held the supposed turncoat. Who it was, he didnt know, nor did he know the source of the information. He only knew that there was a supposed traitor inside the Hector Carthage building, and it was the job of him and his team to silence the person once and for all.
In doing that, his team was one of the best.
Oh, not the best, not like the near-legendary Green Theta Five, who had an almost psychic ability to root them out. No, he was merely good at it. Hed been sent on these missions fifty times before, each one resulting in his renown within the Malta Operatives growing. Heck, people were fighting each other to get in his command, because they knew theyd see action. If not against traitors within the organization, then against MHIs that invariably would run afoul of them.
He looked over at a formation of Nemesis minions in a nearby parking lot. Rank amateurs, he thought to himself. They look all nice and fancy in their Cossack uniforms, but theyd probably wet themselves in a real fight. He shook his head and took a sip from his water bottle as one of the Warhulks surveyed the formation.
He was so wrapped up in his mental bashing of the Nemesis soldiers, he almost missed the gentle tug on his sleeve. He looked down after a few seconds, to see a small girl, maybe five or six, looking up at him with a big smile. Mister? she said to him, handing him something.
Red looked down with a little surprise, looking in her hand. In it was a small red rose, the perfect size for a child her age, but tiny compared to his hand. It looked hand-crafted, with great attention to detail, he noticed. Whats this for? he asked, as the earpiece in his ear silent informed him of the Malta forces arriving in position.
Just because. was the response, before she skipped off with a smile.
He blinked as she left, looking at the small rose in his hand, almost missing Black Epsilon Two as he walked up. What was that all about? his executive officer asked him.
Huh? he said, a little startled as he snapped out of whatever he was thinking of . Oh, it was nothing. No idea who that was.
Black chuckled a little. Well, everyones in position, were ready to begin in fifteen seconds. You ready?
Red just nodded. Yeah, Im ready. Go in fifteen. Any MHIs present?
No, but you know these goody-types, theyll get involved anyway, they always do. Black responded, heading off to the building, talking into his own earpiece. Team 1, drop. Team 2, maximum force if needed.
It was in that instant that Red realized that the girl was heading into the same building that was going to be the scene of much carnage. He blinked, and for the first time in his long career with Malta, hesitated for one or two seconds. As he saw the team disappear into the building, he heard the call of MHIs, inbound! over his earpiece.
He drew his pistols, charging into the building.
~ ~ ~
Prismatic Night walked down the hallway, glass crunching underneath his boots, shaking his head. Of all the times hed fought against Malta, this battle was by far one of the worst, with a lot of collateral damage. They were fortunate theyd managed to evacuate the building, based on an anonymous tip that there was a traitor from within the Malta Operatives hiding within the building. Sure, the Warshade he was host to had fought far worse, but that was on a galactic scale, not local like this.
He saw Ragnaroks Blade standing in one of the main rooms of the building. She looked over at him, walking over. The building is clear, thats the last of them.
He nodded. Any signs of the person we were supposed to protect?
Negative, nothing. Every one of them fought us until the end. Malta medical transporters got them out, of course. she said. Hopefully when their lumps heal, theyll think twice about coming back.
I highly doubt that. They are, if anything, persistent. He looked around, surveying the damage. Get in touch with Paragon City Construction, looks like Gabriela has some work to do.
Right away. she said, walking down the hallway.
He looked around, a sparking light fixture causing him to duck a little. A team member, Shocktastic, chuckled a little. What, a little electricity spook the mighty Prismatic Night?
Quiet. he responded, though he couldnt suppress a little laugh. Did you find anything?
Nothing. Either our tipster was inaccurate, or he got away before anyone got here, one of the two. was the reply. In either event, this might have been
hey, whats this?
Prismatic looked over into a side room, partially blocked with rubble. Calling upon the Warshades strength, he moved the rubble and looked inside, where he saw two Malta Operatives that hadnt teleported away. The first one he saw, he had to turn away, a grisly sight. The second one, a Gunslinger by the looks of it, had the first one by the throat. The Gunslinger had a fatal wound to the chest, while the first one had half his head shot away, including the medical transporter chip that most Operatives had embedded in their skulls.
Shocktastic noticed the team leader looking inside. Not pretty
wonder why they didnt medi-port out?
The Warshade pointed at the first one. He never had a chance to, his chip's blown clean away. This one, though
, pointing at the Gunslinger, I have no idea on.
A soft voice behind them, which neiter of them expected, and caused both of them to gasp in surprise, said Allow me. as Lightsight drifted forward. A former Seer from Praetoria, she had a formidable mental arsenal at her disposal.
The two men parted to let her drift into the room. She looked up, her visor concealing the eyes, but the sorrow upon her face was very evident. He had nowhere to go.
Huh? What do you mean? Prismatic said.
He could not go back, or forward. He was stuck in the moment, one he could not leave. the Seer said softly as she drifted out of the room, Shocktastic following behind, rattling off his usual hundred questions.
Something caught Prismatics eye just as he turned to leave. Looking back, he reached down to move a rock aside.
Clenched in the Gunslingers hand was a small red rose.
(Disclaimer: If anyone has any characters by the names I've used, I humbly apologize, they were merely the first ones I could think of.)
Info threads are tasty, the last official one mentioned to hold off on said purchase so they can figure out what the issue is.
