When we finally parked, Frank joined me in the back. While we had some time to kill, he decided to watch a recap of the latest spikeball game. Since we were going to be here for a while, I decided to check up on Reload and Tóxica.
I let out a sigh. She was working with us, at least, but she definitely didn’t make it easy. Thankfully, I knew enough about her powers to figure out her place in the plan. It was getting her to agree to her part that was difficult.
“Frank, you ready to do this?” I asked.
“You know, you told me that I wouldn’t be doing anything dangerous when I was hired. Not to be an ass, but I feel like this counts as dangerous.”
“There’s always going to be some risk when it comes to a big reward. The henches are going to be drunk and in strobe lighting, you don’t need to worry about them hitting you. And if you do get hit, or are just too scared, you can duck out in the back of the truck early. I just need you ready to drive us out of here.”
He gulped, taking a few deep breaths. “Okay, I can do this. I can do it. We’re all taking on some risk, that’s why we’re a team. We’re in this together.”
“Yeah we are, man.” I gave him a pat on the back. “Now grab your guns and let’s go crash this party.”
I had every detail of the attack planned out. I knew that club inside and out, having spent far too many nights there. It was a small spot, but it belonged to the Disciples. It wasn’t like other clubs where they just pay protection money, this entire building was operated by the Disciples. This club was Squirm’s passion project.
Club Thirst was the best place for Disciple henchmen to come get a drink. Which meant that most people there would be armed and ready to shoot. While some people in the club might be innocent, I wasn’t going to let that ruin our plan. If everything went right, we’d take down a lieutenant, dozens of henchmen, and be rich enough to afford this war.
As we approached the club, driving through the pothole riddled streets of South Rain, I thought through everything about to happen. I was never a pacifist, but I wasn’t a monster either. What I was about to do would really blur that line. I couldn’t help but wonder if I really needed to do this.
When we reached the club, I shook those thoughts out of my mind. Now wasn’t the time to worry about who might get hurt, or who I was becoming. I tightened the grip on my gun and sent a message to Reload and Tóxica.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
“Frank, floor it.”
The tires squealed as Frank shot the car forward, suddenly turning in the middle of the street. I braced myself for impact as we burst through the glass entrance of Club Thirst. The van rocked forward, caught on the sidewalk halfway into the building. The glass entrance shattered, sending forth a wave of glass that cut through the crowd.
The sudden stop threw me against the dashboard, my head smashing against the hard plastic. The people in the club were disoriented and confused, unaware of what was happening. I lifted myself back up, aiming my machinegun through the windshield, firing into the largest cluster of henchmen.
It took them a moment to realize they were under attack, but once they did, they were quick to respond. Henchmen threw themselves behind tables and on the ground, with desperate attempts to return fire. I saw Reload in the back, summoning his own pair of guns.
While the Disciple henchmen were distracted with me and Frank, Reload jumped behind the bar. He fired his own guns with reckless abandon, bullets ripping through the crowd before they noticed the attack from behind. Screams and shouts struggled to be heard over the blaring music and roar of gunfire.
The henchmen fired blindly in our direction, unable to aim through the pulsing multicolored lights. But with so many bullets being fired, some were bound to hit. I felt the occasional shot bounce off my chest, my super resistance quickly running thin.
I ignored the forming bruises as I continued to shoot into the crowd. The recoil of each shot felt like another life taken, another person I’ve killed. Whenever I ran out of bullets, I’d use [Take] on a henchmen to rearm myself. It didn’t do much to slow down their bullets, but it helped. Yet as I grabbed another pistol, I noticed an odd silence next to me.
I turned to see Frank bleeding out in the driver's seat. His chest was torn up, bullets having hit their mark. The plan involved him driving out of the club, while I’d continue shooting from the open doors in the back. Even if driving wasn’t an option, I’d keep firing from the front seat. But he was dying, and that made me forget about the plan.
I threw my gun down and grabbed onto him, trying to drag him out of his seat. When he wouldn’t budge, I realized that his damn seatbelt was on. I desperately tried to free him as bullets shot around us. When I finally got him loose, pulling him towards the back, he was barely responsive.
“Frank, don’t you fucking die!” I shouted at him, desperately searching for our Throm.
He didn’t respond. I was practically tearing through our bags searching for wherever the hell they were. I knew that Tóxica was waiting for my signal, and I couldn’t just leave her hanging.
Only after I grabbed the last bag, which was shoved in the corner, did I find our Throm. Frank wasn’t responding, and I couldn’t tell if he was breathing. The bullets piercing the ice cream truck were slowing down, but the sound of gunfire remained the same. If they discovered Reload in the back, then he’d be in a shoot out with a quickly sobering horde of henchmen. I just needed him to hold out for a minute.
I, for the second time this week, shoved a pill down someone’s throat. Frank wasn’t like the rest of our group, he was just an ordinary. While he wasn’t as durable as us supers, Throm would be a lot more effective on him. The Throm would fully heal him in a few minutes, while it would’ve taken me all day.
I wanted to stay by his side, but there was nothing more I could do. I was the leader, and that meant I was responsible for everyone. If I let myself stay there, panicking, then that could put Reload and Tóxica at risk. I needed to go out and help them.
I picked up a sawed-off shotgun and left through the back of the ice cream truck. I peeked around the corner, seeing that most of the henchmen that were still standing had their backs turned away from me.
I walked through the entrance, trying my best to avoid making noise, and saw the group firing at the bar. Where Reload was. Before I acted, I looked over the VIP section. Tóxica was supposed to be there with Squirm, transforming and killing him before he escaped. But his booth was empty, without a drop of blood left behind.
I knew that Tóxica wasn’t the biggest fan of our original plan, but I had no idea what she was up to. I figured it would be best to just let her be for now. I had more important shit to do than micromanage her part of the mission.
I walked up to a Disciple henchman, a bit shocked that they fell for what was basically the same trick twice. I placed the barrel of the shotgun against his head, firing as he started to turn. His head splattered onto the people in front of him, drawing their attention away from Reload.
By the time they turned around, though, I had already dropped half of them. Whenever I ran out of bullets, I used [Take] to grab another gun and keep fighting. Even with Throm existing, people were still afraid to die. The fact that I wasn’t afraid of a single shot gave me an advantage, their hesitation being the window of opportunity to hit them first.
After a few minutes, with shooting from me and Reload, we managed to take care of the remaining henchmen. They were drunk, confused, and terrified. Blood and death filled the room. By the time we were finishing up, most of them were just trying to escape.
I walked up to Reload, my body aching. My super resistance was getting better, letting me take a lot more abuse than before. But it still wasn’t good enough. Not only did I have bruises from the last few shots, but I was bleeding from a few bullets that grazed me.
Reload cracked a smile when he saw me. “Damn, boss, we made a mess. You think we need to pay the cleaning bill?”
“I’m sure they’re not the type to hold a grudge.” I forced myself to smile. “At least not anymore.”
“So what happened? You disappeared right as the killing was getting good.”
“Frank got hit, I needed to drag him to the back of the ice cream truck. He should be recovering, but he might also be dead. Where’s Tóxica?”
He looked over my shoulder, staring at our ride. “Holy shit, where’d you get an ice cream truck? She went into the back with Squirm and his squirmy boys.”
“Toss me a gun, we’re going to go join her.”