Chapter 35: Caught up
Elsewhere, beneath the cold glow of Gregor Naught's towering skyline, another battlefield refused to surrender to silence.
The air trembled beneath the relentless clash of steel and electricity as dozens of Gregor Naught Defence Force soldiers formed an ever-tightening circle around a lone figure.
Champagne.
Even after everything that had happened beneath the bridge... even after the disastrous battle inside the tunnel... he was still standing.
His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.
Sweat rolled down his forehead, disappearing beneath the collar of his torn coat.
Small cuts covered his arms and face, while bruises darkened his ribs beneath shredded clothing.
Yet despite the exhaustion weighing heavily upon him, the fire burning inside his eyes hadn't dimmed.
It only burned hotter.
"Move!" a commanding voice barked.
The encirclement tightened.
Rifles locked onto their target.
Shock batons crackled with blue arcs of electricity.
Champagne slowly turned his head, studying every soldier surrounding him.
Too many.
Far too many.
Still...
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"If you're going to arrest me..."
He lowered his stance.
"...come earn it."
The soldiers charged.
"NOW!"
TRUDGE! TRUDGE! TRUDGE!
Champagne vanished.
FWOOOSH!!
A violent gust exploded through the street as his body became little more than a blur.
One soldier swung.
He hit nothing.
Another fired an electric round.
It struck empty air.
Champagne appeared behind them like a phantom.
WHAM!!
One guard flew sideways into an armoured vehicle.
BOOOM!!
The metal door caved inward.
Before anyone could react—
BAM!
Another soldier was struck in the stomach.
He folded instantly before crashing across the pavement.
Champagne kept moving.
Faster.
Faster still.
To the ordinary eye, it looked as though dozens of identical figures were dancing through the battlefield.
Every step created another opening.
Every strike sent another body flying.
The Defence Force struggled to keep track of him.
But time...
Time was no longer on his side.
His breathing grew heavier.
His legs felt slower.
His muscles screamed from overuse.
Where are you, Brandon...?
That had been the plan.
Brandon was supposed to break through.
Together they would regroup.
Together they would escape.
But...
He never came.
A feeling deep inside Champagne's chest told him exactly what that meant.
Something had gone horribly wrong.
That single moment of hesitation was all the Defence Force needed.
A launcher emerged from behind an armoured shield.
"Fire!"
BZZZZTLE!!
An enormous electrified net erupted into the air.
Champagne looked up.
Too late.
The glowing cables wrapped around his body before he could accelerate away.
ZZZZZZZT!!
Thousands of volts surged through the reinforced mesh.
Champagne gritted his teeth.
"RRRRAAAAGH!!"
His muscles tensed violently.
Veins bulged across his neck as he fought against the restraints.
The pavement beneath his feet cracked.
For a second...
It looked as though he might actually tear the net apart.
Several officers exchanged nervous glances.
"He's breaking free!"
"Hit him again!"
Another launcher fired.
BZZZZTLE!!
A second electrified net slammed into him.
Then a third.
ZZZZZZT!!
The combined voltage overwhelmed even Champagne's monstrous endurance.
His body convulsed.
His legs finally gave way.
He crashed onto one knee.
Then...
Ten heavily armoured soldiers rushed forward simultaneously.
GRAB!
GRAB!
CLANK!
Suppression cuffs snapped shut around his wrists.
Reinforced restraints locked around his ankles.
One final surge of electricity pulsed through the bindings.
Champagne lowered his head.
Not in surrender.
Only because his body could no longer obey him.
A squad leader stepped forward and exhaled slowly.
"...Savage contained."
The battlefield finally fell silent.
* * *
Across another district, hidden among the narrow backstreets and abandoned warehouses, the night's chaos continued.
Moonlight barely reached the cramped alleyways.
Shadows stretched across rooftops.
The silence felt unnatural.
Then—
SWOOSH!
A blade flashed through the darkness.
Fah-jin leaned sideways just in time.
The knife sliced harmlessly past her face before embedding itself deep into a brick wall.
"Above!" she shouted.
Wasabi was already moving.
She launched several compact drones into the air.
WHIRRRR!
The machines darted between rooftops, scanning every direction.
But they found nothing.
The assassins were too good.
Too quiet.
Too disciplined.
Then the darkness moved.
Not one figure.
Not two.
Dozens.
Black-clad killers emerged across the rooftops like ghosts, their movements perfectly synchronised.
Without a word...
They attacked.
FWOOOSH!!
Fah-jin raised her rifle.
POW!
The first shot struck an assassin square in the shoulder.
He disappeared over the edge of the building.
POW!
A second bullet forced another to retreat.
POW!
A third shattered the weapon of a sniper preparing to fire.
But for every attacker, she stopped...
Two more appeared.
Steel flashed again.
CLING!!
A curved blade struck Fah-jin's rifle with incredible precision.
The weapon spun from her hands before clattering across the alley.
"...Damn."
At almost the same moment—
PANG!!
An explosive throwing knife detonated beside Wasabi.
The shockwave ripped through her equipment belt.
Small gadgets scattered across the ground.
Smoke pellets.
Tracking devices.
Signal jammers.
Everything she'd relied upon.
Destroyed.
She reached instinctively for another device.
Nothing.
She was out.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the mouth of the alley.
TRUDGE!
TRUDGE!
TRUDGE!
Police units poured into the narrow street from both directions.
Floodlights illuminated every escape route.
Weapons were already aimed.
One commanding officer raised a hand.
"Drop your weapons!"
Neither of them moved.
The assassins had vanished as suddenly as they had appeared.
Their job was finished.
The police slowly advanced.
Fah-jin exchanged a glance with Wasabi.
No ammunition.
No gadgets.
No escape.
"...Looks like we're done," Wasabi murmured.
Fah-jin released a tired laugh.
"...Yeah."
She slowly raised her hands.
Within seconds, suppression officers forced both women to the ground.
CLANK!
Energy restraints locked tightly around their wrists.
The rebellion had just lost two more members.
* * *
Not far from the ruined tunnel entrance...
Three barely visible silhouettes staggered through the darkness.
Their camouflage flickered violently.
Like faulty holograms struggling to remain active.
Zachia.
Wei-Wan.
Avenor.
Each step grew heavier than the last.
Their energy reserves had been completely exhausted.
"We..."
Avenor struggled to breathe.
"...can't maintain it..."
Wei-Wan's analytical eyes searched desperately for another route.
Another possibility.
Another calculation.
There wasn't one.
A calm voice echoed from the darkness ahead.
"I was wondering how much longer you intended to run."
The three froze.
A lone woman stepped into the moonlight.
She wore an immaculate black business suit that looked absurdly elegant amidst the destruction surrounding her.
Long black gloves.
Perfectly polished shoes.
Rectangular glasses resting neatly upon her face.
Her expression remained composed.
Almost bored.
In one hand she held a slim metallic device no larger than a television remote.
Shinsei Voss.
Director Cassian Vanderbi's personal secretary.
She pressed a single button.
BEEP.
A low-frequency pulse rippled invisibly through the air.
WHOOOM...
The camouflage surrounding the trio collapsed instantly.
Their disguises shattered like broken glass.
Avenor gasped.
Wei-Wan's eyes widened.
Zachia clenched his fists.
"What... did you..."
Shinsei adjusted her glasses with effortless grace.
"A customised frequency disruptor."
Her tone was calm, almost conversational.
"It temporarily interferes with abilities based on optical manipulation."
The three rebels tried to move.
Their exhausted bodies refused.
One after another, they dropped to their knees.
Shinsei regarded them with quiet indifference.
"So this..."
She looked over each of them.
"...is the rebellion that caused Director Cassian so much trouble."
She tapped her communicator.
"Capture confirmed."
Moments later, transport vehicles rolled into the area.
The rebellion's final free members had fallen.
---
Deep inside the devastated tunnel, silence finally reclaimed the battlefield.
Smoke drifted lazily through broken concrete pillars.
Burning vehicles illuminated the darkness with flickering orange light.
Director Cassian Vanderbi walked alone through the destruction.
His polished shoes clicked softly against fractured asphalt.
Tap...
Tap...
Tap...
A cigarette rested between his fingers.
Its ember glowed brightly each time he inhaled.
He quietly hummed an old melody to himself.
A forgotten tune.
Gentle.
Almost comforting.
The contrast between the peaceful song and the devastation surrounding him was deeply unsettling.
Several minutes later—
VRRRRMMMM...
Headlights pierced the darkness.
A sleek black luxury vehicle rolled into the ruined tunnel before stopping a few metres from the Director.
The passenger door opened.
Shinsei stepped out.
In one hand she carried a slim holographic tablet.
In the other...
A perfectly ripe pear.
She took a casual bite before approaching her superior.
Without saying a word, she reached toward him.
Plucked the cigarette from between his fingers.
Then tossed it onto the ground.
Tss...
The burning ember died beneath her polished shoe.
Cassian frowned.
"...I was still smoking that."
"I know."
Shinsei answered without the slightest hint of apology.
"It's bad for your lungs."
Cassian sighed quietly.
"I've survived battles against monsters."
"You still won't survive lung cancer."
"...Fair point."
She activated the holographic tablet.
PING!
Blue light blossomed into the air between them.
Eight prisoner profiles rotated slowly before their eyes.
Daito Greyhell.
Brandon.
Champagne.
Wasabi.
Fah-jin.
Zachia.
Wei-Wan.
Avenor.
Every face was marked with the same status.
CAPTURED.
"All troublemakers have been secured," Shinsei reported calmly.
Cassian studied the holograms for several moments before giving a slow, satisfied nod.
"...Excellent work."
He reached over, casually took the pear from Shinsei's hand, and bit into it.
Crunch.
"...Mission complete."
Shinsei merely adjusted her glasses before opening the rear passenger door.
Cassian climbed into the waiting vehicle.
The door closed with a soft click.
THUNK.
Moments later, the engine purred to life.
VRRRRMMMM...
The black sedan turned smoothly, leaving the shattered tunnel behind as it disappeared into the sleeping city.
Its destination was already waiting.
Iron Bastion.
The fortress where the rebellion's nightmare was only beginning.
to be continued.....