DAYS AFTER〔M〕〔IC〕「Hoef & MidKnight」

[Dire Hoef]

《Probably because this place has running power and luring unsuspecting targets like survivors would be a great meal ticket. But that would also means...》

Rodriguez groaned softly to himself, "Just our luck.."

Darius ran the scenarios in his head, and drew only one conclusion. "This was a trap." He narrowed his eyes as he identified three people in the immediate vicinity of the door. He closed it and glanced back at Rodriguez saying, "You knock the two on right, and I'll knock the one on the left. Clear?"

"Crystal," Rodriguez readied himself.

Darius nodded and came back to the door. He slowly pulled it open, just enough to get his body through quietly. He stalked up to the guy on the left, all the while Rodriguez lined up his two shots. And when Darius had gotten the drop on the marauder, Rodriguez took that as the que to let two rounds fly. Each round landed, killing both men before they even realized they were being attacked.

Darius pulled the knifed corpse off into the shadows of the bonfire, and Rodriguez toss the last remaining two bodies into the fire; stripping all three of any valuables. After collecting ammo, keys, and any other necessary items, the pair crossed that room to the opposite end. Over there, was a double door that led into a hallway with stairs at the end. They came to the staircase, and began to scale its steps.

"We're ascending to the second floor," Darius radioed, "Jade, what're eyes see on those petrol stores?"

[MidKnight]

Jade was kneeling in a hidden position after disposing a few more bodies. She was looking down at a street opposite of the compound facility. She kept an eye out for anymore stragglers that the horde had left. She was a little surprised the horde did not see the building with lights on. The Marauders must have kept silent or turned off the lights until it passed. A few stragglers would be easy work unless they grouped together.

She listened when her radio went off and heard her Captain. "We're ascending to the second floor, Jade, what're eyes see on those petrol stores?"

She looks confused at first until she looked around and sees a general store that looked like it had better days and another building that looked like a gas station. She pressed on her radio and replied softly. "I could look around in the general store for a couple of jerry cans...then again both buildings looked like they went through a few rounds with mother nature."

[Dire Hoef]

《I could look around in the general store for a couple of jerry cans...then again both buildings looked like they went through a few rounds with mother nature.》

"Do it," Darius called back, "I have an idea to clear out these bandits." He peered around a corner and spotted a marauder standing at the corner of an intersection. He carefully aimed his rifle and took a shot at the marauder, doming him before he had a chance to react. Darius then pushed down the hallway to the body, where he saw how they had their HQ set up in the admin office. And it appeared there were only two other marauders present.

So Darius and Rodriguez took advantage of this by jumping the two marauders, and killing them swiftly. From here, Darius began to fiddle with their communication while Rodriguez provided overwatch. And what Darius heard only really confirmed his suspicions.

《Did the Gutter Boys finally get that damn cargo moved over to the Red Line? I told them to look at that lab, grab whatever they can find, and get outta there! I don't know why they haven't gotten back to me! Those asshats, they're probably partying! Or worse, those fuckers don't know how to work the radio.. Hello? Helloooo!?》

Darius set the headphones down, and looked over at Rodriguez who was expecting an explanation. He sighed and have him one, "Apparently they were here for the lab. What we saw was their extended vacation." He scoured their desks for any relevant information, and found a crude map detailing a couple caches. "Here we go.." He pocketed the map, and then positioned himself to leave. However, just as the two were rounding the corner to leave, two marauders came walking down the opposite way.

As a result, Darius and Rodriguez took cover as shots rang out; both men take either side of the hallway. Darius radioed in with a bit of a frantic tone, "We've encountered hostiles inside the admin building. Apparently, our cargo is hidden in two caches at this plant. Standby for grid reference." He fired several shots down the hallway that forced the two marauders back down the staircase. After this Darius called in those grid numbers to the rest of the team and then said, "Looks like this is about get hot. Get ready for a rumble."

[MidKnight]

As she was looking around the General store, she found several gas canisters and several hoses to cipher the pumps. Checking her corners before making a run to the fuel pump station, she made sure her surroundings was clear. She reached to one of the pumps but looked around for a hatch, she spotted one covered in dirt and debris. She uncovered the lid and it was still sealed shut. She looked around and sees a crowbar laying around. "How lucky me." She muttered softly. Grabbing the crowbar and used it to pry the seal open.

She could smell the gasoline that still lingered in the tank below the ground. She lowered in the hose to the bottom, half way through with the hose, she stopped and lowered the second one. She looked around again and finds a blanket with holes. She used it to cover the hole with the hoses and made sure it was sealed tight. She placed one hose in the canister and takes a deep breath and pushes air in the other hose. She waited a few seconds until she heard the cans being filled.

"We've encountered hostiles inside the admin building. Apparently, our cargo is hidden in two caches at this plant. Standby for grid reference."

She looked up and sees some Marauders returning back to their base when she heard the gunfire in the building. She groaned and aims her rifle up, shooting the Marauders in the back of their heads, the suppressor stayed on her weapon as she shot down at least four Marauders, two of them took cover when they heard their fellow brothers collapsing on the ground. She kept them pinned down with suppressing fire and reached for her radio, "Security detail, I got two on the road pinned down, don't let any of these bastards get back inside the building!" She flicked the switch to full auto and sprayed at one target and then at the other.

[Dire Hoef]

《Jade: Security detail, I got two on the road pinned down, don't let any of these bastards get back inside the building!》

《Christy: Taking potshots at those guys pinned down》

《Karmichael: We've got M-Killer stragglers moving in from the southwest! Taking aim and killing any that get close.》

Darius listened to the radio chatter as he mag-dumped down the hallway, spraying one of the goons. The other took a couple semi-automatic shots, and nearly dommed the Kaputan. However, after reloading, Darius retaliated with a quick spray center-mass. That did it, allowing the two operators to quickly escape to the staircase. They egressed down to the 1st floor where they were met with heavier resistance.

This materialized in the form of six fighters having taken furniture and made a hasty roadblock. They began spraying the staircase, which forced Darius and Rodriguez to cover again.

"Man, I'm getting sick of cover!" Rodriguez attempted to peek, but the suppression was far too thick for him to get any shots in. So he said, "Fuck this shit," and took a couple of grenades from off his bandolier. He pulled their pins and chucked them, their destination being beyond the roadblock.

One was on target, while other was just short. The resulting blasts did enough to damage to blow a hole in the furniture, and kill four of the six that were there. The remaining two were critically wounded, which Darius took advantage of by mercy killing them with bullets to the dom.

Darius only nodded to Rodriguez for the quick thinking, and the two moved to a backdoor of the building only quickly sparring with a marauder that got the drop on Darius. This particularly marauder was far more stacked physically than both Rodriguez and Darius combined. As a result, Darius got front kicked back into the building by the hulk. This knocked the wind out of Darius and threw him off balance, having knocked Rodriguez over in the process.

The two struggled to get up as the big guy stomped his way into the hallway, closing the door behind him.

Darius coughed a bit and sighed heavily, "We've got a big problem.. The Marauders have been juicing since we last saw them.. Our egress is going to be a bit delayed," he radioed to the team. He looked back to Rodriguez who already had his kukri at the ready.

Darius huffed as he readied his combat knife. The three stood there for a moment before Darius shouted, "NOW!"

[MidKnight]

Christy: Taking potshots at those guys pinned down

She sees the blood splatter from one target, the other started shooting randomly in multiple directions. She looked through her scope and sighs softly and squeezes the trigger. She managed to hit her target in the head and the body falls on the ground. She reached for her radio. "Good kill! Good kill! Now get the south west road and wipe out those stragglers before the Horde hears them screaming."

She reaches for a fresh magazine and ejects the other out of her rifle. She gives the magazine and hard push and pulls the slider back, loading her first round. While running to the Southwest road, she stopped and listened to her radio when she heard the Captain's voice.

"We've got a big problem.. The Marauders have been juicing since we last saw them.. Our egress is going to be a bit delayed,"

She heard footsteps coming from her left, she looked up quickly to see one of the Marauders looking rather beefy. He used his arm and throw it straight at her, forcing Jade to fly in the air about ten feet away from him. She landed on her back and slid another few feet. When she stopped and then started to groan at the pain that was in both her chest and back. "Okay...that hurt." She growled and managed to lift her up head to see the Marauder walking towards her.

Grabbing her rifle and aimed at the brute, she pulled the trigger and fired multiple rounds. The bullets hit her target but that did not stop him, more or less pissing the Marauder off. Her rifle made a click noise, indicating it was empty. "Ah crap!" She growled again, she tried to reach for her pistol but the Marauder stood on top of her, grabbing her by the vest and threw her to a wall. She screamed in pain when she felt her back hit the wall but caught herself and landed on her hands and knees. She looked up to see a leg flying in her direction, she managed to dodge the kick and landed on her side.

She grabbed the shotgun from her other side and pointed the barrel at the Marauder's knee. She pulled the trigger and a rather large bang was heard and all she had seen was blood splattered and his leg flying off. The Marauder screamed in pain as he fell to the ground while holding on to what was left of his leg. Jade gets up slowly and looked at the wounded man as he screamed, she reloaded the shotgun and aimed at the Marauder, "Oh just shut up!" and pulled the trigger, shooting his head which exploded into pieces. She looked at the shotgun and scoffs softly. "Damn I love this gun."

She placed the shotgun in her back pocket and reached for her rifle, reloading another magazine she made her way to the Southwest road. She reached for her radio, "Captain, what's your statues?" She waited for a answer but no response, "Captain? Statues report?" She waited again, "Rodriguez?"

[Dire Hoef]

PAPA ROACH // DEAD CELL

---

Darius was the first to step up to the plate. He planted his right foot, and swung inward to the juicer's lower right torso. His plan was to debilitate him and allow Rodriguez to overpower the guy, but a wrench was thrown into that.

As he lunged forward, the juicer caught his arm and snapped it.

Darius dropped his knife, but it didn't end there.

The hulking man gripped the shattered arm and used it as leverage to swing Darius into a door. His body slammed into and caved that door. Darius gasped and grunted as he dropped onto the floor, recoiling in pain.

Rodriguez took that opportunity to jab his knife deep into the juicer's knee. This caused the musclehead to fall to a knee, groaning. Then Rodriguez decked the juicer straight in the jaw several times before shoving an unpinned grenade down his throat.

He front kicked the hulk onto his back, and grabbed Darius. He heaved, slamming his back into the caved door, and busted through. He fell into what looked like an office space.

The grenade went off with a crack and a boom. Blood and viscera scattered up and down the hallway.

There was a small calm, but the gunfire from outside did not have it last for long.

Darius regained his senses and saw that his right arm was bent in the wrong direction. He growled as he ripped it back into place, and huffed.

Rodriguez looked a little worried and asked, "Can you hold your rifle Cap??"

《Jade: Captain, what's your statues?》

The Captain gave a small, but noticeable, smile and said, "I don't need it when I'm a good shot." He unholstered his sidearm with his left hand, and readied himself.

Rodriguez gave an exasperated sigh and a chuckle, "You crazy bastard."

《Jade: Captain? Statues report?》

Darius stood to his feet, lumbering a little. He slowly peered down the hallway to see the horrific splatter of the juicer, and looked back at Rodriguez with an appreciatived nod.

"Eh, it wasn't my finest work, but it was necessary," the bomber only shrugged.

《Jade: Rodriguez?》

"Yeah, yeah! We're here Jade," Rodriguez shouted into the radio, "Captain's a little beat up, but we're still around. We're making our egress now! Lay out the red carpet for us!" He then looked to his Captain and nodded out the door. "Shall we?"

Darius led the way, and exited the building.

Outside, chaos was rapidly increasing. The number of marauders was steadily rising as their little outpost went on alert. And M-Killers started to appear as the sounds of war were attracting them. They needed to find the lab, quick.

"This is your Captain," Darius radioed as he ducked into some cover, "We're continuing our objective. Close in after ten mikes. We're getting what we need and leaving. Understood?"

《Christy: Loud and clear! Jade I'm coming to you!》

《Karmichael: Understood Captain. Beginning overwatch.》

[MidKnight]

"Jade I'm coming to you!"

She listened to her radio and kneels on the ground and aims at the M Stragglers coming from the gas station. She squeezes the trigger a few times and hits her targets in the head. She waited for Christy while holding the line. She sees a few more coming around the corner, "Move it Christy!" She said over her radio, "Looks like the dinner bell has rung!" She grinned and kept firing at her targets.

She looks closely at the gas station and sees the jerry cans still sitting there. She forgot to grab them before running to the Southwest Road. She thought for a moment and takes aim, she fires a few rounds and see the cans being hit and liquid was pouring out. She waited for a moment and reached for her back and grabbed a grenade. "Hey Cap'n?" She said over the radio. "I think I got one hell of a distraction."

She pulls the pin and stood in a ready pose, with one arm to aim and the other to throw. She takes a deep breathe and exhales slowly. "This is gonna be loud." She used all her strength and gives it all in her throw, the grenade flies in the air and the handle made a click noise. She immediately turns for cover while taking pot shots at the M Stragglers that were getting closer.

"Fire in the hole!" She shouted, the grenade lands close to one of the jerry cans and exploded. The fuel manage to catch fire and followed the leaking trail that lead into the seal hatch, the fire continued down inside the pipe and in a silent moment, the ground shook and burst with a rather large explosion. What was left of the station was now on fire and in flames.

[Dire Hoef]

《Jade: Move it Christy! Looks like the dinner bell has rung!》

"I'm coming!" Christy hurried across a stretch of buildings, moving in between them with relative ease. She eventually came across two marauders who had rallied to go help their despicable brethren. She made quick work of them by dumping a magazine into one, and silencing the other with a knife.

Meanwhile, Darius and Rodriguez were making their way toward the first cache. There, the building was lightly fortified with a small barricade out front. There were four targets traversing the area of , but Darius took out three before Rodriguez cleared the front. Here, the two posted up on the small barricade on the front door and Rodriguez got to work deploying a wall-banger. Once the two were in position, he hit the detonator and blew the barricade out with a resounding boom.

The pair filtered in and took down any marauders that were in their way. Rodriguez decked a marauder before shoving a knife through his skull. He then pulled up his rifle as he led the way through several rooms. But as they cleared the penultimate room, Rodriguez was rushed by a marauder who had been camping the cache door.

Rodriguez was sent spiraling to the ground as the freak sledgehammer-swung with both hands down into his vest. The force of the impact caused him to gasp in pain, and thus cradled his stomach; discombobulated. Darius, thankfully, stepped in by emptying the magazine into the marauder's back.

Rodriguez took a minute to recover from the strike, and once the two were back on the move they cleared their way into the cache. Inside, the two fan out to see barrels upon barrels of oil. Exactly what they were looking for.

《Jade: Hey Cap'n? I think I got one hell of a distraction.》

"Alright, lets see w Rodriguez only rolled his eyes and looked around at the cache where he spotted a laptop. He came over and started typing away at it while Darius kept watch. "Looks like we got our intel on what's in this cache.. A metric shit ton of oil... And some classified material?"

Darius stopped his overwatch and walked over to the laptop to see what he was looking at.

"Okay.. If the marauders are holding onto it, then who're they holding it for..?" Rodriguez dug around the laptop, and found only one real lead: The laptop was on loan by a benefactor named Thespian Specter.

"Huh..? Thespian Specter? The fuck kind of name is that?" He shook his hand as he copied all the data on the laptop to a flashdrive, and pocketed it.

"No clue, but at least we know that what Chancy wants is here," Darius looked around at all the barrels.

"Yeah.. Anyway, let's the fuck outta her--"

The ground shook as a muffled boom was heard.

"There's our distraction," Darius smirked a little and radioed, "Good timing Jade. We've got a lead and we found the oil that Chancy was looking for. I'll call for evac, and we'll let Chancy's clean-up crews deal with this one. Everyone, it's time we take our leave."

Christy and Karmichael both converge on Jade, meanwhile. Christy waved her hand, "Over here! You heard the Captain! Let's get a move on before he leaves us behind again!"

[MidKnight]

"Good timing Jade. We've got a lead and we found the oil that Chancy was looking for. I'll call for evac, and we'll let Chancy's clean-up crews deal with this one. Everyone, it's time we take our leave."

She was taking cover behind a broken down car, rifle over the engine hood. She fired single rounds at her targets from a distance, when she heard the call on her radio, she reached up and replied back. "Aw, just when we were getting started." She joked and smiled.

"Over here! You heard the Captain! Let's get a move on before he leaves us behind again!"

"Go! I got your six!" She replied while keeping an eye on the distant targets. She followed shortly and turned to see Christy and Karmichael making their way to the Captain and Rodriguez. She looked to the east of their position and sees a Marauder with a spear in his hand aiming at Christy.

"Get down!" She shouted and rushed towards Christy's position. She reaches up and pushes her out of the way from the incoming spear. The spear hits Jade right cheek and passed by her head. Her head followed the spear's motion and forced her to fall on the ground. She felt a sudden lost of her conscious and felt dazed from the hit, her ears were slightly ringing like someone punched her in the face. She groaned at first when she sees the blood dropping from her face.

"Ka...Karmichael." She growled out his name while trying to stand. She thought she heard gunfire and a sudden shout. She looked over to where her enemies were and sees a M Straggler walking in their direction. She quickly grabs her side arm and fires multiple rounds.