Without thinking, Mark and I quickly got down to the floor, blocking the view of Lana under the table. The man that had just yelled was currently walking into the dining area with an assault rifle that he was haphazardly pointing around.
Mark, without looking towards me, whispered a comment. "He is acting erratically."
I scoffed, barely able to hold in a sarcastic comment. Hissing back with a whisper, I responded. "No shit, he is holding an entire restaurant hostage."
Mark shook his head, continuing to whisper. "That is not what I mean. I just did a background check on him and he has no criminal history. In fact, he has had quite a successful life with no financial or health issues."
I really stopped and considered what he just said. Was that really the case? Why would this man do this? "What are his vitals?"
Mark's eyes flashed as he scanned the man. Although more accurate and in depth results can be acquired from a closer distance, he is still capable of doing a medical scan from a mere 20 feet. "Highly elevated. Significantly above what they would be even in such a situation as this."
I sighed, still whispering. "Something is wrong. Drugs? Coercion? We're missing something."
Mark nodded. "Indeed. He doesn't show any known symptoms of drug use. Shall we apprehend them?"
I shook my head, immediately rejecting the idea. "Not yet. Let's get a better understanding of the situation first. Scan the room and hand me your spare."
Mark nodded, not speaking any more as his eyes flashed repeatedly. He reached behind his jacket and pulled out a handgun. It was fingerprint locked but fortunately, my fingerprints were also registered on the lock.
I slipped the gun into my waist belt and pulled my sweater down over it. "How many?"
Mark's eyes stopped flashing. "There are three hostiles. One is located by the door, one is by the kitchen entrance, and the last is in front of us."
I nodded. "Weapons?"
Mark moved his hand towards his second handgun before responding. "Two assault rifles and a shotgun."
I followed his lead and got ready to engage. He must have noticed something I hadn't. "I'll take the one in front of us and get everyone to a safe corner. You handle the other two."
Mark nodded. "I agree, this is the optimal course of action. I shall count us off. 3… 2… 1… begin."
Curling my toes, I set my feet and then pushed off the floor, rolling towards the man who's back was turned to me.
He reacted to the commotion, quickly turning towards me with his weapon raised. By the time he was facing me, I was already on one knee and aiming at him.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
I unloaded three shots from my clip, aiming for his chest. All three bullets hit true. Luckily, he was a stationary target. I'd have probably missed if he was moving. I reached my left hand out towards Mark. "Syringe."
Mark nodded as he popped to his feet. He needed to move quickly before the other assailants round the corner. He reached his left hand into his jacket and pulled out a syringe similar to what I had used to treat my wrist earlier. This one was filled with a much stronger recovery agent. It could easily stabilize the loss of a limb, let alone a few gunshot wounds.
He tossed the syringe over to me and I caught it with my left hand. I barely felt it hit my hand due to the brace but I managed to close my fingers around it. Unfortunately, it couldn't be that easy.
The syringe was pretty heavy. Adding onto the weight behind the toss, I felt a sharp pain exploding from my wrist. "Agh!"
I dropped my gun as I clutched my wrist. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mark stop and look towards me. "Complete the objective. My pain can wait."
Mark nodded and proceeded to position himself behind a booth that was at the corner of the dining room, closest to the door. Fortunately, the other two assailants had yet to enter the dining area.
I took a deep breath, releasing my left wrist. Still on my knee, I didn't even have to bend down to pick up my gun off the floor. I quickly holstered it in my pants again before standing up and slowly approaching the man I had just shot.
I shook my head as I used the injection on him. His breathing was shallow and he was barely conscious, looking at me in pure horror. Apparently the gunshot wounds were enough to snap him out of whatever was making him act like this.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time I'd had to shoot someone but it still bothered me. Even though designing weaponized androids is kind of my job, it still didn't feel good to hurt people with my own hands.
Within seconds of the injection going in, he fell unconscious due to the painkillers and his breathing stabilized. He was no longer in mortal danger so I could now heave a sigh of relief.
*Boom* *Boom*
I then heard two gunshots go off almost simultaneously. My eyes immediately snapped to Mark's position. Quickly scanning him up and down, I noticed something off. Blue liquid was dribbling out of his sweater that was under his jacket, right where a man's stomach would be.
I almost wasn't able to believe it. He'd be shot. How could I let this happen?
Mark immediately noticed my distress. "James, I'm fine. Just some minor damage."
Hearing that, I returned to my task. "EVERYONE GET TO THIS CORNER!"
Every single person in the dining area snapped their heads towards me. I could see the light of hope in their eyes. It filled me with confidence and numbed the persisting pain in my wrist slightly.
Against my expectations, they all hesitated, not sure if they could trust me. Despite the showing I made earlier, they were all frozen in this terrifying situation. I doubt anyone here has ever been taken hostage.
Fortunately, all it took was one person. One man stumbled to his feet and rushed past me. This seemed to work wonders on everyone else as they all got up and scrambled to the corner.
I smiled, happy that I was able to help these people. "Flip those tables and stay quiet."
The first few people to get over there quickly complied and started positioning the floating tables near that corner of the room into a perimeter. Everyone swiftly crouched and remained quiet behind those tables.
*Boom*
A sigh quickly followed the gunshot. Fearing the worst, I rushed over to Mark's position. Again, I looked over him. It appeared that he wasn't shot this time.
I tilted my head. "What happened?"
Mark shook his head, looking disappointed. However, he still moved forward, taking out another syringe. "I was able to incapacitate the first one with a shot to his left lung. However, my second shot was off target and killed the last assailant instantly."
I sighed in relief as he injected the incapacitated man with the syringe. "It's unfortunate but what's important is that everyone is okay. Do you have any painkillers?"
Mark nodded and rather than tossing another syringe to me, he walked over and handed it to me. "How shall we proceed from here?"
I shook my head, not happy with this headache of a morning. "I'm gonna make a call. Try to stall the police if possible."
Taking out my phone, I selected a contact and immediately dialed the number. It didn't even ring for a second before they picked up.
The voice spoke frantically. "James, are you alright?"
I chuckled. "Yes, I'm fine. The situation has been handled but I need a tactical unit ASAP."