Neon Cogs: Chapter 7-1 (Patreon)

Rebecca had never felt so naked up until now. Without the reassuring weight of her heavier guns, she felt under armed. She neither had her bolters nor did she have her black gun on her person, she didn’t even have her normal guns; All she had right now was her laspistol and that was it. “I knew we had to be quiet but did that have to mean we’re only armed with peashooters?” She complained with a pout.

Kiwi scoffed at her comment. “Who’d have guessed that the gun nut would call las pistols peashooters,” the blonde snarked while she was hooking herself up to the modified chair they had installed in the crew’s car. Rebecca couldn’t help but curse that even with her short legs, her knees were still pressed up against its hard surface.

“Bite me!” She answered back as she crossed her arms across her chest. The womans seat was armored and bolted down and she’d be dumb to kick the base.

“Knock it off you two. They’re finally leaving, look alive people!” Maine called out as he turned away from the window before reaching out for the door.

“Finally! I thought they’d never leave,” Rebecca cheered as sat up and climbed on top of the disgruntled netrunner so she could take a look. She made to dig her knees on the woman's stomach as she watched the armored cars of Pablo Silva and his goons drive off.

“Can you not?” Kiwi hissed out. Rebecca was a merciful queen so she got off the woman but not before she flashed her with a smirk. Maine merely sighed as he got off before he started stretching. They’d been waiting inside for quite some time and with Kiwi’s rig, it was quite cramped, so finally getting out was a relief. Hidden behind the rocks out in the badlands, they were safe from prying eyes.

It was a bit chilly today in the desert but nothing her jacket could handle. She rubbed her hands together while the others limbered up. Turning her attention to her boyfriend, she watched as he made the adorable way to psyche himself up by slapping his cheeks after he slung a much slimmer pack over his back. She tossed her arms around his shoulder making him stumble a bit as she teased him. “Sure you can take it Hiro~? You know things could get ugly.”

Hiro smiled back reassuringly as he replied cheekily “Don’t worry, It’s not my first time.” She let out a laugh as he winked back at her. Well that certainly got her in the mood now.

Wrapping herself against her arms, she leaned up against his reddened ears before whispering to him, “Once we complete both jobs, I’ll make sure to give you a ride you’ll never forget.~” She chuckled as she felt himself tense up and turned an interesting shade of red just before she pulled away.

“I heard that!” Pillar growled in protest as he peered out of their getaway vehicle waving her black pistol. She flipped a bird at him as she started stretching as well.

Before they headed for the warehouse, Maine pulled her aside to give her a talk. She stared up at the bigger man as he crossed his arms across his chest. There was no hint of joviality nor frustration in his face, just a calm and almost serene look. “I think I don’t have to remind you that Hiro’s life is in your hands. Don’t mess up,” He simply told him as he turned his attention to the boy trying to defend himself from Dorio’s attempt at a head pat.

This was the first time that Hiro would get a taste of her line of work and no manner of talking could dissuade him from not taking part. He trusted her whole heartedly that it almost hurt at times. “Yeah, understood,” she replied before she turned back to Maine. Was this what Maine felt whenever he took Dorio out on a job with him?

Maine nodded with a smile before he reached out and ruffled her hair. She cringed back as she attempted to fight it off but it was no use with all the mass he had had in his big meaty fist. “Just remember your first time and stop him from doing that and you’ll do fine. Kid’s raw but he has a good head up there,” he said, making her groan out at the memory.

“Damn it Maine, do you really have to remind me of that?” She asked out with a pout as she fixed her hair clips. Getting them right was always a pain and he had to mess them up.

“I do and I will keep reminding you now, go knock them out.” Miane replied as he gently pushed her towards Hiro. She rolled his eyes as she walked up to her input so she could get him before Dorio broke something.

-x-x-x-

They hid behind the outcrop they parked their car in while Kiwi did her work. The man was paranoid, she had to give him that with all the camera’s dotting the building, but she couldn’t fault him for it because of who he’d messed with. She would have praised his balls if it weren’t her boyfriend's stuff he stole. She looked to her right to see Dorio and Maine while to her left was Hiro. Falco was on the wheels while Pillar was sitting shotgun with him while they protected Kiwi.

“The cameras are all down. You have a half an hour till their netrunner figures out something’s wrong. Make it count. Fucking sloppy…” Kiwi muttered out. One Netrunner’s mistake was theirs to take advantage of. Peering up from their cover, Maine made the call and they made the mad dash for the fence surrounding the warehouse.

Without their boss around, security was noticeably lax. Even from down below, she knew the guard in the spot they picked to enter had dozed off. It made things easier as the desert shrubbery made for poor cover. They quickly made it to the chain link fence and this was where Hiro did his magic.

The familiar but slimmer mechanical tentacles slid out of his pack which snipped through the metallic fence with ease with their clawed tips. A Maine sized hole in the fence was quickly made and they filtered through. Hiding amongst the boxes as they heard the footsteps of the rotating guards scheduled to start just right now, Rebecca held her breath as she heard the man’s heavy footsteps plodding towards their position before he made a stop.

“Don’t you dare leave me here John. You know I can’t stand Rodrick and his constant yapping!” Another guard called out as the sound of a heavy door being opened could be heard from their covers.

“Yeah yeah sure.” Their guard waved off their concern before he muttered out to himself, “As if I’ll stay here while the boss is away. Time to make my escape.” They heard him walk past their position but before he could even get a chance to see the entrance they made, Hiro made sure he would never speak of it.

He didn’t have any chance to scream as Hiro’s tendril lashed out to his neck. He didn’t get a chance to scream as the tentacles clamped down on his neck before he was pulled into their cover. The slackened form of the man and rapidly staining pants was all Rebecca needed to know as Hiro pulled back his tentacle revealing a 12 inch spike coated with some shards of bones and brain matter. She felt a bit sickened at the gaping triangular hole left in the man's neck but it was a clean death.

She wasn’t given any more time to think as Dorio gestured that the coast was clear. They jumped out of their cover and made a dash for the fire exit. With their back against the wall, Hiro went back to work. Getting the door open was an easy affair even with the lack of an electronic lock when you had access to high powered lasers to simply melt the door’s latch.

Maine was the first one into the now permanently opened door and they followed in. Maine stopped her and Hiro just as they were about to bolt off down to the stairs leading down to the basement. “You know the plan. Get the target and book it.” He reminded them with a stern look while keeping his voice quiet.

Rebecca nodded as she answered back, “Yeah, in and out in 5 minutes.” There was little room for mistakes here. They were in the core territories of the 6th street, any fuck up could have them swarmed and subsequently lynched.

“Good luck,” Mained said as he turned towards his and Dorio’s target which was located in the offices in the front of the building.

“Yeah, and bring back Dorio in one piece, ok?” She called out to him.

Maine merely grinned back as he gave them a salute before he and Dorio headed for the direction of the offices in the front of the warehouse. They stuck to the shadows and it didn't take long for them to disappear through one of the many alleys of the large storage racks leaving her alone with Hiro. Turning to her partner, she gestured for him to follow her as they headed to the other direction. Right up ahead of them was a flight of stairs leading to the basement below.

The inside of the warehouse was much more cramped than the usual one’s she had to fight in. Despite their reputation as nothing more than gun toting cowboys, the 6th Street were smarter than they looked. The dimly lit corridor lined with turrets was a sight she did not like one bit even if they’re effectively blind with the camera’s on the end of the corridor slumped over.

“This will take forever. Hey Kiwi, need some help here.” She called out to Kiwi over the coms. She could already hear Kiwi grumbling all the way here as she finally picked up their call.

“Give me a sec, I just finished dealing with Maine’s problem. Disabling the turrets so stay put.” The precious minutes they had to stay put in the stairs felt almost like an eternity but, finally, the turrets sagged and went into standby mode. She could finally breathe out a sigh of relief. “There. Go straight ahead and turn right at the last corridor. You’ll find the engineering room there and that’s where she’s being kept.”

She didn’t need to be told twice as she bolted for the corridor while keeping her feet light on the floor. Hiro was hot behind her heels, keeping an eye on their back as they headed for the room where the hostage was taken. The place was as empty as it can get and the only thing she could hear was the constant hum of the nearby machinery. It was almost too easy but, as though the universe was listening, the lights above their heads suddenly turned on.

“Damn it, Hide. Multiple Guards coming down the basement. Take the supply closet to your right!” Kiwi shouted in warning, Rebecca pulling Hiro into the corridor they were going to take.

Rebecca could barely stop herself from cursing out loud as she heard footsteps echo down the empty hallway. The door at the end of the hallway was taunting them, mocking them for how close they were but how short they came. They could make a dash for the engineering room but she doubted they could kill all the guards before one of them sounded the alarm. She had a good aim but she wasn’t that good. She grabbed Hiro and quickly pushed him in the closet before squeezing himself in.

As compromising and suggestive their current situation was now with her body pressed up against his, they still had people to deal with. She heard them pass by and Kiwi fed them their conversation as they headed straight for the engineering room.

“Damn it Rodrick. You’re really going for it huh? You know the boss is going to chop your dick off right?” One of the voices called out in amusement.

“Damn bitch thinks she’s better than me, I’ll show her. Heh, I bet she’ll be begging for more after I’m done with her.'' Slurred out who she assumed was Rodrick. She felt her fist clench in rage and only Hiro’s hands kept her from doing drastic right now

“Heh, with your pencil dick? As if.” Taunted another voice. She could hear something sloshing before the sound of a bottle crashing against the door filled her coms. She felt her shake in anger as she tried to contain herself. Their target was all alone in a room with a drunk and his friends. Her mind raced on how she could put a cap on each of their heads. There were five heads to pop and just one of her.

“Well it’s your dick on the chopping block. Send us the BD after you're done with her.” Called out a third voice as the sound of a creaky door echoed in the corridor.

“Fine now, fuck off, let Mr Swabe here have his way with the whore.” Shouted the drunkard at the others. They were going to be leaving from the sound of it as she heard two of them pass by their location.

“Go choke on a dick and die you brave son of a bitch,” Shouted as fourth as he left the man to his own devices.

“Is he really lucky if the boss finds out?” Asked the third as they passed by the closet she was hiding in.

“If.” Laughed out the fourth as their footsteps got fainter.

Each word spoken only added fuel to the proverbial fire in Rebecca’s heart right now. She tried breathing deeply to calm herself down but all she could see was red right now. She clenched her fist tightly around the grip of her laspistol as she felt her fingers itch to pull the trigger. Someone was going to die and they will die like an animal.

“Damn it! damn it! Fuck!” She cursed out through a clenched jaw as she felt Hiro trying to pull her back and face him.

“Becca, Becca! I know this is fucked up but calm down before we go shank him.” Hiro tried to reason but she had no time to calm down. She was going to kill this mother fucker and with the lights turning off, he had no friends to back him up. All it’d take was one shot and she’d calm down. She quickly opened the door and slipped out of Hiro’s grasp as he scrambled for her.  “Becca! Wait!” she heard him but by then she was already at the door.

“Rebecca! No!” Shouted Kiwi but she had her mind already set at this point.

With her laspistol in hand, she kicked the door open and there she saw the fucker with a surprised look on his face as he pulling their target’s shorts off. She wasted no time as she aimed that gun right at his ugly mug before squeezing down on the trigger. There was no lag between the laser firing off the focusing lens and the man’s head. The practically instantaneous beam speared through his skull, drilling through bone, flesh and gore and flash broiled everything it passed through. There was no resistance and flesh parted before her shot and there obstructed by his body was a tall tank of propane leaning against the wall.

She had no time to scream, there was just a blinding flash of light as her shot melted through the tank. Fire bloomed from the container as the pressure wave hit her but not before she felt herself dragged back and shielded from the blast by her lover. He shielded him with his body as she felt herself deafened by the resounding bang of the explosion. She was blinded as all she could see was indistinct shapes that slowly came back to focus and deafened as liquid dripped down her ears.

She stared dumbly at Hiro as he shook her, his mouth moving but all she heard was ringing. Her vision came back soon as she saw the room bathed in flashing red lights. She tried answering back but no sound was coming out of her mouth. She bit back a curse as she finally heard something. “Rebecca! Answer me! What the fuck did you do!” The netrunner shouted in anger. “The whole fucking neighborhood’s awake and I’m now trying to fend off dozens of half awake netrunners!”

“Plan’s derailed. We shot one of the guards but accidentally hit a propane tank. Targets fine though.” Hiro called back to their shared comms as he got off her. Scrambling on to her feet, she grabbed on to Hiro, who looked at her in confusion, and checked his back. She breathed out a sigh of relief as she found no holes or signs of bleeding.

“What? I’m fine but we need to get out of her fast.” Hiro reassured her as he talked through their comms.

“I fucked up. I fucked up. I’m sorry!” She cried out in panic. Her heart was racing as she felt a bit faint at just how royal screwed they were right now but Hiro was not having any of it. Hiro grabbed her and slapped her, snapping her out of her spiraling panic before pulling her in for a kiss. She felt her fears melt away as he held him there in his hands before he pulled away.

Pressing his forehead against her, he answered back. “We fucked up. I shouldn’t have held you back and followed you there. I could have killed him just as quickly but I didn’t. I was talking when I should have acted.”

“As sweet as you two sound, we still have a huge problem. The guy’s came back and I'm trying my best not to get you two peppered by turret gunfire here.” Kiwi reminded them urgently.

Rebecca wiped away a stray tear as she tore her eyes away from Hiro and towards their target. The burnt corpse of the fucker was drapped over the latina, shielding her from most of the blast even if she was a bit singed. Hiro nodded as he went over to push the body aside and started checking on her. Hiro’s sigh of relief was a welcome sight with all the fuck up that happened in the past few minutes.

“Is there any other exit?” Hiro asked as he fixed the girl’s clothes, making sure she was decent now.

“No.” Kiwi replied and that haunting word filled her with ice, light panic following as she saw four heavily armed and pissed 6th street gangers. Rebecca quickly grabbed the door and closed it, thanking the fact that it was enough to stop whatever bullets they were using from passing through but they were now effectively trapped here in this room like rats.

“Fuck, we’re trapped here… damn it. Damn it! I should have stopped and thought things through.” She shouted as he leaned up against the barren concrete wall before sliding down. Running her fingers across her, her eyes were drawn to Hiro’s bracelet. She scoffed at the idea that Trauma Team would be enough to put down the pissed off hornet’s nest she kicked.

“You have to fight your way out. Maine’s going to try and get you but there’s no guarantee. Everyone in the building’s heading down to the basement. I’m sorry.” Kiwi added morosely as the coms on her end cut off with cursing. Kiwi was a decent netrunner but even she couldn’t fight off dozens of netrunners at once.

“Shit… there really is no way huh.” Hiro replied as he started rummaging through his pack and pulling out black glossy rocks of all things. He sat down and started carving it, chipping away at the material with his clawed tentacles.

“Fuck, what the hell are we going to do!?” She shouted in despair as she looked down at the lone laspistol she had. Hiro had his tentacles but they had limited range and the ordinance the men trying to break down their door was way heavier and longer in range.  

“Rebecca, do you trust me?” Hiro then asked as he stared down at the octagonal onyx crystal he had in his hands. Gone was the rough and raw surface of the rock and came the glossy and almost glass like sheen to it.

“What? Of course I do but Hiro, this is not the time.” Rebecca shouted half hysterically.

“Rebecca, I’ve been keeping a secret from you.” Hiro suddenly said as he knelt before her. He grabbed her hands, making her freeze in place in confusion. He had secrets but what secrets did he want to tell her that needed to be told now of all things? “I've been keeping this from you to protect you and I wished I didn’t have to tell you this right now but there’s no choice.”

“What the hell?” She mouthed in confusion as he unclasped the bracelet he gave her before pressing the carved stone on to her hands and held on them tightly. The same sensation she felt the first time touched the bracelet came roaring back but this time, it was far stronger. She felt color washing over everything as a sense of vertigo overtook her senses. She felt like she was floating atop a rocky ocean of colors but it wasn’t the sensations that took her words away but the ghostly flame that flickered to life atop their clasped fingers.

“What did… you do…” she breathed out as she stared at the ethereal fire in an almost hypnotic trance. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it as Hiro had her holding on to the stone while the fire spread down to her hands. She should have panicked when it spread, but the flame calmed her. She felt no fear as she played with the fire which responded to her call like it was a part of her. She looked back at Hiro as four shadows stretched behind him. Despite looking all the same, she felt that all four of them were different. She didn’t know why but she knew who those shadows were. Hiro’s own shadow was flanked by the visionary, the blacksmith, and that of the dragon.

Hiro sighed as he looked up to her with a sad smile. “Rebecca, you are what is called a Latent Psyker.” He answered her. She didn’t know why he looked so downcast but she knew one thing she could do. She’d burn this place to the ground till he smiled once again.