Oh it had been one of those days. One of those days that you couldn't think could get any worse but it does. Oh it had been one of those days for Max Sandler. First the virus, the virus that corrupted the data that it had taken the team a month to get. Then the word, the word on the street that a certain Corp. wanted their heads on a chopping block. to top things off Max got an eviction notice for his apartment, and he wasn't to surprised when he called to find out his girlfriend felt content to let her answering machine break up with him. Just when Max thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, the Corp. found them. The Corp. also picked a bad time to attack. A bad time for Max anyway. Eagle Eye, their beloved team leader was out picking up food, while Charles, their mage, was out gathering magical materials. To top it all off Doug was out trying to make a deal to give them more time to complete their run. As another spray of bullets went over the makeshift barricade Max thought of how useful the Dwarf's gyromount arm could be about now. The only thing that had gone half way right was that Janice-aka-Dataslicer, the team Decker was out making a deal with a friend of hers, seeing if they could salvage the data the virus got.
As another burst of autofire racked his apartment(One of the perks since he was being evicted.) Jenny Baker leaped over the barricade, landing next to Max.
"How many?" Max asked the ex-mercenary.
"I count half a dozen, maybe more." Jenny replied
"Oh great."
"I'm going back out cover me"
"Wait I minute, you have the bigger gu..." Max tried to object as Jenny vaulted back over the barricade, her Ingram chattering. Max rose over the barrier, sending two quick bursts from his H&K 227 into the seemingly more active areas. Jenny disappeared, and Max vaulted over the barricade, and hit the floor at a run. His H&K chattering, his aim enhanced by the smartlink that let him and his gun seemingly act as one.
Suddenly all was quiet. The room Max was in was dark very dark. Suddenly Max whirled bringing his H&K in line with the man holding the Predator. The man he realized he recognized. The man who then shot him, and who he then shot. The adrenalin running through Max must have killed the pain of the bullet, for he felt the pressure of the impact. It must have done the same for the other man, for Max had seen the spray of blood where his H&K rounds had hit. They both ran across the room, their search for cover only preoccupied with shooting at each other. The glow of the red targeting hairs that was in both men's eye's casting an erie faint red shadow on the room. Max found cover and dived behind it, the other man having the same luck, and doing the same thing. Max sent a mental command to his H&K, causing the near empty clip to drop. He then loaded a fresh one, knowing the man on the other side of the room was doing the same.
"Been a long time Zack!" Max yelled out, "So it's Ares that wants our heads on the chopping block then!"
"You must've really gotten behind on the times since you left he company!" the man named Zack yelled back, "Or you would have known Renraku extracted me two months ago! They're the ones that want your heads!
"You always were a pain in the ass Zack!" with that Max swung out from behind color, as did Zack. Both faced each other, weapons drawn. Both shot each other, Max taking two bullets from the Predator, and Zack taking the stream of the H&K. Both men were blown backwards and down from the force of the rounds, and both men grabbed their guns and looked at the red crosshairs in the other's eye. Then the sounds came, the sound of rotors from outside, and the sound of Jenny approaching from within. The two both sat in a pool of their own blood, their weapons never wavering.
Then Zack spoke, "You know Max, we have two options here. We can both let the other leave, and we both end up alive. Or we can opt not to let the other leave in which we're both going to end up dead. Up to you Max, do we leave or die?"
"We leave." Max said.
"I knew you'd say that Zack replied. Zack scooted toward a window, while Max scooted toward a door. Both left a trail of blood behind them, and neither took their gun or their eyes off the other until Zack was through the window, and being picked up by the helicopter. During this time Jenny came through the door. Max had no idea how long she'd been there.
"Jesus Max," Jenny said looking down at the man covered in blood, "Who was that."
"That my dear was Zack Sandler, my beloved brother." Max replied.
Oh it was definitely one of those days.
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