The door flew open, a flash bang following it with the greatest of ease. The first two goons otuside teh vault were down, grabbing their heads and hoping for the pain to stop. The other two goons opened fire, spraying the door with hot lead. I took one to the tactical vest i was wearing, and i felt the sharp pinch of the one that caught me across the shoulder. Didn't make full contact, grazed across the top of my shoulder and went whizzing into the hallway.
Two more incredibly loud blasts from the shotgun i was carrying ended them. The other two goons who were rolling around on the floor died ugly, their throats opened and blood everywhere. I planted the charge on the door and took cover, i didn't have a lot of time, and i knew that this was the last opportunity i was going to have to get back what was taken from me.
The vault door blasted clear of its hinges, opening the darkened room. I checked the fiber optic cam i'd set in the hallway, and i saw the trouble coming down. There were 8 of them, plus Marsden. Full tactical gear, assault rifles, the works. This was going to get ugly fast. I slipped into the vault, and hoped to god this entire thing hadn't been a wild goose chase.
She put her hands up, covering her face. She was alive, my heart started beating again.
"Please don't hurt me, i don't know why you're doing this, i don't know anything, i'm not special!" she screamed at me, her chest heaving with sobs as she tried to cover herself up. "Please let me go!"
"Fiona, you're going to be fine, you're almost out of trouble, but i need you to pull yourself together." My voice wasn't my own, the synthesizer wasn't the best, so i sounded like the tin man gargling buckshot, but it was necessary in my line of work.
"Who are you, why are you doing this?" She looked up at me with abject horror. I couldn't blame her for that, I would have run the other direction if i had seen me coming into a room that i'd just blown a hole in. The mask hid my face, and the synthesizer stole my voice, and i was hoping that now we could move.
"I owe a debt, a debt that i don't think i'll ever be able to pay back, but that's not here and now, here and now is getting you out of here before the bad guys get here."
"You're not the bad guys?"
The laugh caught in my throat, and i know the sound startled her, i could see it in her eyes. "Fiona, I'm the worst guy, but today, I have the privilege of being your worst guy. Stay behind me, and do exactly what i tell you to."
Two goons tried to enter the room behind me, between the way out for her. The shotgun quickly stifled their ambitions and served its purpose in warning off the rest. I heard them come to a quick halt outside the door.
"Hammer, you're a dead man."
"We all are, act accordingly." I tossed back at him. I loved that movie. The shotgun was stowed with its tactical sling, and i pulled the heavy revolvers out of the holsters. 12 bullets, 7 bad guys. These were heavy slugs, custom made, something in the .50 caliber range. "I would have left you alone if you hadn't taken her."
"And if you hadn't decided to do something stupid, i would have left her alone."
"So we're both assholes, and both equally deserving of death."
"That's about the long and the short of it, see you in hell."
I saw the grenades bounce into the room, i knew the situation had gone from bad to worse. Then i heard the noise of thunder, and the angels spoke to me
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WE'RE TRYING TO REPAIR OUR VESSEL, PLEASE STOP SHOOTING AT US. WE AREN'T HOSTILE, PLEASE STOP."
It hit me like a thunderbolt, a voice from beyond, and i knew that if it was the last thing i could do, she'd be safe. My pulse quickened again, and i knew that i had to move. My head was pounding, but i crossed the room and managed to snag both grenades before they went off. I tossed them back into the hallway and it felt so strange. The grenades should have gone off, but they didn't forever. Finally, i took a breath and the room exploded.
"How did you do that?" Fiona asked me, her voice quaking with terror.
"Do what?"
"Move so fast?"
"What?"
I didn't have time to think, Marsden had to go down. I was through the door in a flash, my pistols in Marsden's face. "You should have known better, you don't touch a man's family, especially when it's the last of his family."
"Fuck you, you're a tool, not a person, you don't get to have a normal life, henchman."
The hammers dropped, and the bullets flew. Something happened that i couldn't explain, i could see the smoke from the end of the barrels, and i saw the tiny projectiles screaming out of them at faster than the speed of sound. I saw the way the air displaced around them, and i tracked them right up until they made contact with Marsden's stupid looking face.
The first bullet struck him in the cheek, under his right eye. I watched the bullet penetrate his skin, opening up the bones and the musculature. It was the most amazing thing i'd ever seen, at least up to that point. The other bullet struck through his eye, and they shattered his skull, spraying tiny bone chips and bits of white and grey brain matter out the other end. Marsden wouldn't threaten Fiona again.
She was free, but not secure yet, we had to get out of this house...
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