"Well this is kind of a tight fit." Spencer complained as he edged deeper into the shaft.
"It wasn't designed in mind for two people to hide, so yes. Now get further in here." Gabriel hissed trying to pull Spencer in deeper.
"I would but I'm kind of uncomfortable with that wood in your pocket. Flattered, but butt still uncomfortable."
"It's my fucking gun and I'm about to shoot your ass with it if you don't get in." Recognizing the threatening tone, Spencer quietly pushed himself in.
For a moment silence complete filled the shaft as both men stood still waiting for the enemy. Which lasted a bit less than a minute before Spencer broke it.
"Can I have the gun?" Spencer asked suddenly.
"No, there's only one and I shoot better."
"True, but I don't die from enemy bullets."
"While wasting the remaining few bullets we have? Forget it."
"Ok time for a compromise. How about I hold the gun and you posture me from behind."
"You got a stray bullet left in your brain or something?" Gabriel stared at the back of Spencer's head in disbelief.
"Then how about we have one hand each?"
"My gun is not a bloody wedding cake knife." Gabriel shot back.
Drily rubbing his eyes Gabriel mutter to himself. "I should have let Vela do the supplying."
"Eh dunno if that's a good idea. She's gonna stock on all those protein bar crap. And you'd miss time with me." Spencer quickly remarked back.
Gabriel sighed in exasperation.
"Just shut up you moron what part of ambush do you understand?"
"You been doing half the talkin-"
Gabriel shoved his palm over Spencer's mouth just as footstep could be heard from the distance. Lights flickered through the dark colliders. The idiots brought flashlight and were actively speaking out loud. Gabriel could identify four distinct voices. He waited calmly, arm raised, and gun pointed. Anticipating for the first targets to appear. As the lights became brighter, he could almost feel his heart slowing down and time slowing with it. He gulped down a dry mouth.
When the first figure appeared, Gabriel's trigger finger hardened but did not pull. It waited, waiting for another target to lie within his sight.
And when it did, the first two shots were fired in rapid succession. The first perfectly dug its way inside of the first thug's right temple and the second straight above the other thug's ear. Both dropped dead without as much as a scream. Immediately shouts of alert was traded between the remaining two.
Without a wait Gabriel pushed Spencer out of the shaft.
Spencer stumbled naked in the light drawing all attention and bullets on himself. Gunshots muffled all other sound and fires lit up the dark tunnel to a different kind of blind. The distraction only lasted a moment, but it was enough. Taking the confusions to his advantage Gabriel emerged from his hiding and fired calculatingly with deadly precision, each shot landing on their target. The two victims both fell back with bloody gory firing up all the way to the tunnel's ceilings.
Gabriel shot the two fallen bodies again for good measure and then gave a kick at the bleeding body of Spencer.
"Get up Spencer." He said coolly.
"Oww. You really gotta warn me on these stuffs." Spencer groaned. "Not dying from bullets don't equal not being hurt from bullet. These really really hurts." He tried to poke out few bullets out of his body. A few did while the others stayed put. He groaned some more.
"Then you would resist the push." Gabriel dismissed casually and began stripping the dead bodies of the first two that were killed.
"Hey, I'm a reasonable man with reasonable standards. If you explained to the necessities of your action" Spencer paused dramatically. "OF COURSE I WOULD RESIST THE PUSH! Grow some compassion. Can't see with my left eye. Think I got a bullet lodged in there.... Ehh whatcha doing there?"
Gabriel was crouched in front of one of the corpses. Trying to undress it. "Taking their clothes." Gabriel replied shortly.
"New hobby of yours? Sexy, nothing says kink more than wearing the clothes of your defeated enemies." Spencer commented with a hint of sarcasm.
"It's for disguise you moron. Four of them here probably means a munch of them at the exit." Gabriel threw the clothes and a hat towards where Spencer's voice was coming from. Spencer caught them with ease and inspected them.
"What about the face. They didn't exactly come with stormtrooper masks." Spencer asked while trying to fit in the clothes which were slightly smaller than his own. "And I want a refund, this one is kind of a tight fit. Now I know it's a disgrace to ask for larger size of pants, but my perfect ass might be a bit unintentionally seducing with this on."
"Here." Ignoring the last statement Gabriel threw something black at Spencer. Spencer hiss when he caught the object as it dug into his hand. It a dagger their latest victim had been carrying. "Carve your face off when someone comes. They know how you look." Gabriel said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Spencer eyed the dagger uncertainly. Clearly unwilling to have his face curved off. "I ain't some ragdoll you know, and my face is too beautiful to carve off. What if some creep finds it and keeps it as his personal cult goddess?"
"How do you come up with these things?" Gabriel sighed in astonishment and in exhaustion.
"I speak only from experience. And even if I do carve my face, what about you?"
"I am going to be carrying you on my back. Keep my face down. You will be the injured teammate that painted blood all over my face and also the distraction. We tell them the target fled the other way towards the last station." Gabriel explained.
"Can't we switch roles?" Spencer whined.
"I'm older and greying. Show some respect for your elder." Gabriel also finished wearing his own set of disguises.
"Pulling the age card between us? Not cool."
"I also have the card that says, 'my face doesn't grow back you freak'."
"Now you're just being mean."
"Well then you should have folded at the age card."
* * * * *
"Help-!" Gabriel yelled at the top of his lung when he saw the remaining of the gangs at platform. He had to draw as much attention as he could from as far away as possible. "We got ambushed! Those bastards killed two of us and ran to the other side."
If Gabriel's shouts hadn't, Spencer's blood did catch their attention. Spencer laid on top of him, arms' limp and face dripping blood everywhere. Colorful display among the greyish white tunnel decor.
"Damn bastards!" "Those fuckers ain't gonna get away that easily." Without even checking Gabriel and Spencer they ran towards the tunnel yelling insults.
"That surprisingly went nicely. Didn't even need to use my impeccable acting skills." Spencer rubbed his chin as his face slowly began to grow back.
"Didn't expect much from the group that had been double crossed by you."
Spencer scowled at Gabriel's words. "Hey I resent that."
"Good, remind me to say it again later."
"Your words hurt me Gabe." Spencer jumped off Gabriel's back a gave a quick stretch. "So, what's the plan now?" He asked.
Gabriel climbed up to the platform, remaining alert for any potential residue gang members. "We lay low and then head to the aviation port." He finally said when the coast was clear.
"Boring. How about sneak and slowly kill them one by one? Stealth action." Spencer made a quick Kung-fu motion with his arm.
"You don't do stealth. Hell, you don't even do subtle."
"I know, I'm shiny star of brightness."
"I'd say blight."
They continued their meaningless chatter as they made their way out to the street. There were no enemy to be found and with it their posture relaxed.
So when gunpowder cracked the air, Spencer acted too late. Spencer still managed to flexibly push Gabriel away when he heard the sound; but was a moment too late. Pain seethed through Gabriel's abdomen as he fell to the ground. He looked down and saw the redness pooling and dripping through the gaps between his fingers.
"Fuck." He said, or perhaps Spencer said it, he wasn't sure.
Spencer tried to cover Gabriel as he dragged him off the line of fire while Gabriel returned fire at where the bullet had come from. But with the shaking of his hand, Spencer shouting and obscuring his visual field, and not knowing where his target was; he'd be fooling himself if he thought his actions were anything more than a waste of bullet.
"To the... to the empty building on the left." Gabriel croaked in Spencer's ears. The pain was intensifying. He knew the bullet type. It was a hollow point. Right now half his guts should already be porridge. He could feel the pain like it was fire in his veins.
He wasn't sure what happened next, perhaps he had blacked out for a moment, when his focus returned he was in the building with Spencer by his side. His mind was surprisingly clear, most likely due to his internal stim-pack kicking in from the danger. It would last at least 5 minutes, 10 minutes at tops. He would need to make his final stand before then.
"Barricade all entrances." Gabriel ordered before anything else. He took and semi-siting position and ripped the lower side of his shirt to create a makeshift bandage. He couldn't afford to lose more blood.
However, Spencer remained bolted to his position, fixating on Gabriel's blood. "I really hope that's red oil and not blood."
"Yeah it's fucking oil." Gabriel snapped sarcastically. "Now get something to barricade the entrance but leave one of them half open."
"To play them to only come from one side." Spencer grimaced at Gabriel tying the bandage around his waist.
"Yes, and we can-" Gabriel gave a strong tug on the tied clothes over his wound. A jolt of pain made his teethes crack shut. "Use them as an escape later." Gabriel sighed out. The pain was still there.
"Gabe you are going to be alright, right?" For the first time there was a genuine look of concern and guilt in Spencer's eyes.
It reminded Gabriel how much Spencer was closer to a child than to a mercenary. Spencer probably didn't even dream that this could happen. He acted without considering or understanding the consequence. The most disfigured form of innocence Gabriel reckoned. And also, something Gabriel could not be reproach.
"I had worse." It wasn't a lie.
"Not really an answer."
Gabriel huffed impatiently. "Yes I am going fine, now shut up and keep blocking the doorways."
Finally Spencer listened. He had blocked the doors with as much debris he could find while Gabriel tried his best to stand. When Spencer returned to Gabriel, Gabriel was already feeling the drugs wearing off. He took slow deep breaths to hold onto whatever grasp of consciousness he had left.
Unknowing of Gabriel's situation Spencer's eyes were glued on the wound. Gabriel sighed and was about to say another word of reassurance when Spencer suddenly turned towards one of the barricaded doors.
"That sound..." Spencer's eyes went narrow before opening wide. "Shit take cover!" He yelled. Gabriel and Spencer both jumped down as an explosion occurred from behind flinging away all blockages effortlessly.
Dust danced in the air as both Spencer and Gabriel groan from the ground. Spencer was about to get back up and face the intruder when he felt cold metal against his neck.
"I'd stay down if I were you." A raspy voice said. "You idiots really thought you could screw me over twice and get away safely? I will have your heads as trophies and skins as carpet."
"Vincent..." Gabriel groaned. Both in the intensified pain in his stomach and the appearance of the new figure. He was starting to lose it.
"Yes, me." Vincent said snidely from above.
With Vincent's attention towards Gabriel Spencer stirred quietly looking for a chance. Only for the gun on his head to make the signature loading sound.
"Uh-uh don't even think about it. I've got enough guns all around to turn you and your buddy into a pretty little red stain on the floor." Vincent pressed his gun harder on Spencer.
Spencer's body froze but his mouth went on taunting Vincent. "Well then shoot me, what are you waiting for? Me to get wet? Or some other kind of foreplay? I'm fine with filming for personal use but if a camera crew comes in you know I'm leaving."
"Always the talkative one." Vincent lightly tapped Spencer on the cheek with his gun. "To answer your question, it's because you gotta cherish moments like these you know; and honestly, guns aren't personal enough. I got a knife back at my place that needs some human greasing."
"Psychotic fuck." Gabriel snipped.
"That's rich coming from you." Vincent turned towards Gabriel; his gun still pointed towards Spencer. "Weren't you in the white skull division from eternal fire back in the day? I heard you folks got off killing kids."
Gabriel made no response. Only grating his teeth.
"Yeah, didn't think you would have anything to say to that. Now if you may-"
Before he could finish his sentence, windows shattered from behind. Outside was a swarm of drones covering from all side and all heavily armed.
Floating on one of the drones was Vela. Her legs crossed and arms folded casually. Fingers stretch and taping on a hologram screen. "Sorry I'm late to the party. Wrong address and a proper girl needed some chaperons to make her feel safe."
Instantly Gabriel could feel relief washing over him. She had made here in time. If Vela was here, with that much preparation, they should be safe. His body relaxed as the pumping adrenaline started to subside and slowly his mind began to drift. He could hear voices and gun fires, but he couldn't pay attention to any of them.
"What the fuck-"
"The bullet just went past her!!"
More bullet fires.
"It's a hologram you morons! Turn on your thermal cameras! She has to be near somewhere controlling the drones." Something like Vincent's voice barked.
"God damn it-!"
Yells, screams, bloods spraying. Then everything went black for Gabriel.