[Lumina Lane | 1515 Central Time, Day 1]
Mendez emptied the rest of his Uzi's magazine at the advancing Blackpoint mercs as he strafed towards the alleyway.
click!
Well, time to bug out, thought Mendez as he ducked into the alleyway, where he was met with Foy and Sui.
"Let's get a move on, shall we?" beckoned Mendez.
At the end of the alleyway was an opening--and a dead end. There is no other way out of this opening other than the alleyway they came from, which must have been flooding with Blackpoint mercs by now.
They were trapped. Unless...
"Stairs!" pointed Sui at an emergency fire escape perching from the side of the buildings that hugged the alley opening. The fire escape lead all the way to the roof, which is much better than being trapped inside this deathbox of an alleyway.
"Right, then. Sui, you go first," instructed Mendez as he checked over his shoulder. He could've sworn he heard shouts along the line of "this way!" and "we got them now!" behind him. "We'll buy you some time," he said as he readied La Mutilar yet again.
As Sui went for the fire escape ladder, Mendez leaned against the corner around the end of the alleyway, Foy opposite him.
Footsteps. On a sprint. Must have been more than one of them...
Within seconds, Mendez saw a Blackpoint merc pop out of the alleyway...
...before he was grabbed by Foy from behind and taken down into the ground!
But just as Foy was putting the merc on a chokehold, another merc appeared out of the alleyway!
BANG!
This time, it was Mendez that took care of the merc. With La Mutilar, of course.
Mendez peeked around the corner. No one else was behind them, but judging from the sounds the rest weren't far behind. At least there is a breathing room for now.
Mendez noticed the MP5K submachine gun lying on the floor. He also noticed that Sui has reached the top of the ladder, and that he has no gun.
"Sui!" beckoned Mendez as he threw the compact submachine gun at Sui. "Give us cover!"
Unfortunately, Sui didn't manage to catch the gun, causing it to land on his feet instead. At least it didn't tumble off the fire escape.
Shrugging the minor mishap, Mendez went for the ladder next. As he made his ascent, he saw Sui looming over him, apparently taking aim at the alleyway they came from.
Sui fired away as Mendez went for the ladder.
By the time the eight-round burst was over, Mendez had already reached the top of the ladder. Looking back, he saw no new downed Blackpoint mercs other than the ones he and Foy dispatched earlier. In other words, Sui's shots hit no one.
At least it makes good suppressing fire, he thought. At least Sui prevented the Blackpoint guys from making a move against the trio.
Now it's Foy's turn. However, three Blackpoint mercs show up from the alleyway, firing at Foy as he climbed the ladder!
BANG! BANG!
Took two shots this time, but Mendez got one of the trio Blackpoints gunning for them, all while Sui managed to force the rest into cover with his wild spray.
Mendez looked down. Foy was two rungs away from reaching the top...
...until two bullets ricochet millimeters off his hands...
...causing him to lose his grip entirely!
"Oh, shit!" exclaimed Mendez...
...as he caught Foy's left hand with his own left!
Looking up, Mendez saw the mercs popping out of cover to shoot at them again!
It's much harder to aim now, with his left hand being occupied...
BANG! Miss.
BANG! Another miss!
BANG!
Hit!
Mendez was about to shout at Sui to give him a hand, but noticed that Sui had grabbed Foy's hand as well. That's a relief.
There's one Blackpoint merc left now. Foy was already slouched over the fire escape now, Sui was still helping him up. Mendez has enough time to take aim now...
BANG!
Square on the forehead.
How many more of these Blackpoint lackeys? Four?
Doesn't matter, thought Mendez. He then shifted to Foy.
"You hit?"
"Hopefully not."
"Let's go then."
As the trio made their way on the fire escape, two more Blackpoint mercs appeared on the opening below them!
Bullets ricocheted millimeters off Mendez' feet as the mercs fired at the trio!
Mendez let loose a blind shot at the mercs' direction; it's the only one he can muster, since La Mutilar is now out of bullets. Sui behind him also let out another burst from his MP5K as they sprinted to the roof.
Once they got to the roof, Mendez saw their next route: a rooftop doorway at the far end of the roof leading into the building they were on.
Mendez reached for the door--
--before the door swung open right on his face, revealing two Blackpoint mercs from behind the doorway!
Stunned, Mendez was knocked off his feet, the merc standing in front of him with a submachine gun on hand...
...before the merc was hit in the head with a flying MP5K--Sui!
Momentarily dazed by the flying submachine gun, the merc stumbled to his right side, before finding himself wrestling with Sui for his gun--all while Foy rushed in and tackled his partner into the stairwell beyond the door!
Mendez regained his senses. Sui has now lost the struggle, getting knocked on the floor with the merc taking aim at him...
...before Mendez sprang into action and parried the gun away from Sui!
It was Mendez against the merc for the UMP-45 now, with Mendez headbutting the merc...
..snatching the gun away from him...
...and swinging the submachine gun hard like a baseball bat against the merc, knocking him off the roof!
Wait, weren't there two more of these guys? thought Mendez...
...as he turned around and spotted the two mercs from the opening below arriving at the roof from the fire escape!
Mendez flipped his grip on the UMP-45 and squeezed the trigger at the arriving mercs.
Gone. Both of them.
But what of Foy?
After helping Sui up, Mendez took the stairs to check on Foy.
There he saw Foy on top of the merc he tackled earlier, delivering a finishing punch to his face. Lights out.
Kneeling up, Foy looked at both Mendez and Sui. Mendez had already regained his normal breathing flow, while Sui was visibly exhausted as he struggled to catch his breath.
"That's got to be the last of them," said Mendez at last. "Nice one."
"Hey, thanks for saving me back there," said Foy. "I thought I'm a goner when I slipped from that ladder."
"T'was nothing," replied Mendez. "Saved my ass back at the warehouse, so I guess we're even."
"Shit," panted Sui as he leaned against the wall, his body on the verge of giving up from all that life-threatening scenarios piled on top of one another. "What now?"
"Now we get to Becks. Took Morgan to a safe house while we get their attention earlier," explained Mendez as the trio descended the building.
"Wait, so you are planning to kill them all back there," said Sui. "I thought we're supposed to make some tactical retreat. You should know I almost got myself killed--"
"Sui," said Mendez with a calm but stern voice, which promptly smothered Sui's rant. "Now's not the time. You got grievances on how I run things, take it up to me when we're in the clear. Not now."
"Fine," Sui was taken aback, but agreed nonetheless. "And where is this safe house, exactly?"
"Al Retro Road," answered Foy. "Apparently, it's Becks' place."
[420 Al Retro Road | 1525 Central Time, Day 1]
"You sure no one's following us?" asked Becks as he approached the apartment building that serves as his home.
"Relax Becks, I'm pretty sure there's no one," answered Morgan. This is the 10th time he has asked that question since they escaped the shootout. "Don't worry about it. You're not the one with the cafe blown to smithereens, remember?"
"And I'm not looking to add my crib to that blown-up-to-smithereens list, Morgan," Becks took a brief pause. "Are you gonna be fine, though?"
Morgan's answer was blunt, but her tone remained calm and collected. "I know for a fact that things are not fine now. All those years building a cafe of my dreams, boom. Just like that."
"Well, least you're still here. Alive," answered Becks. "More than I can say to those fools that tried to put you down. Man, you're lucky you got Mendez."
"Oh, you've got no idea. I'll tell you all about it once we're inside."
[Unit 202, 420 Al Retro Road | 1527 Central Time, Day 1]
It was a small yet cozy place to live. First thing that caught Morgan's eye was the bed hugging the right side of the room facing the front door. To Morgan's right mounted against the wall was a small TV. To the bed's right directly in front of the door was an opened oaken wardrobe, which showed a colorful display of Becks' basketball jerseys and hoodies. Directly beside the wardrobe was an L-shaped desk attached to the wall, which was littered with stacks of automotive magazines, empty pizza boxes, and Chinese takeaways. Next to the desk was a door, which led to...
"Bathroom's right here," said Becks as he pointed towards the door beside the L-shaped desk. "And uh, sorry for the mess."
"So what do we do now?" asked Morgan as she sat on Becks' bed.
"Now we lie low, wait for Mendez and the rest of the crew," answered Becks as he sat on the chair next to his desk. "You uh, gonna tell a story about Mendez?"
"Ah yes, about that," Morgan cleared her throat. "Remember when I told you about Mendez pulling me out of a dark place?"
Becks nodded.
"It was a dark place indeed. It all started after I applied a thousand times to the hospital, all those thousand time they said I was still too sick to work. I didn't know where to start with all that coffee-brewing business, and even if I did, I knew that my body wouldn't be able to keep up back then. It was a lot of work, way too much for one person with a fragile health condition to handle. No one wanted to help me, not when they have to make that big of an investment.
"So there I was, sulking at a bar, being a miserable drunk, ready to drink myself to death. But that day, I wasn't the only person at the bar."
Becks scoffed. "Let me guess: Mendez?"
Morgan nodded. "You should know it was pretty annoying when he chimed in at first. Said something along the lines of 'you've had more than enough to drink'. And that's when I told him everything--after I'm done with my crying.
"He didn't interrupt, not even once. And then once I've told him my cafe plans, he paid my tab for that day and told me he'd think about it."
"Which he did."
"Which he did, and it was crazy how much he'd done for the cafe. The investment, the supplies, the equipment, the staff--all I ever did was pick a pretty spot."
"And, you know, actually run the cafe," said Becks. "Say, you ever thought he did all that purely out of kindness? Not because, you know, he had a crush on you or something? I mean, you know how far some people are willing to go, and I can see Mendez being one of those people."
"Ah, fair point. But you should know he never asked me out. And believe me, I once actually asked if he had a thing for me."
"It was a 'no', wasn't it?"
"That, and he used to be in a relationship years ago, which ended when the lady passed. Said he wasn't entirely writing off being with someone again, but he made it clear that it wasn't going to be me."
"That prick with a girl by his side, who woulda thought," mused Becks. "Speaking of his past, you said you knew who he was."
Morgan nodded yet again. "Lucio Fernandez, right?"
"Holy shit, yeah," replied Becks. "Must've been shocking knowing that good guy at the bar used to be... well, whatever the fuck he used to be."
"Oh yeah. Kicked him from the cafe when I found out. Well, I didn't really find out, he told me about it."
"No shit?"
"I mean, wanted by one of the biggest paramilitary organizations in the world? Formerly one of the deadliest persons on the planet, who I believe has made a lot of enemies in addition to those looking for him? I thought, what if they found out he was taking shelter in a cafe down in San Laureola? What's gonna happen to me then? To the cafe?"
"Obviously you had a change of heart, because y'all seemed all good when I saw you back at the cafe."
"One day I was walking back to the cafe when a couple of men tried to rob me, shoving me into an alley and pulling a knife against my throat. That's when he showed up."
"Of course he did."
"That's when I knew, he was just trying to start a new life. Turn over a new leaf. He wouldn't put in all those investments and effort if he was still the man he used to be. Not to mention, saving me from that alley. I know he still has some money back then, enough to completely forget about all those money he'd spent helping me open the cafe. But he still stuck around. You can't just kick someone like that to the curb, not after everything he's done for you.
Becks paused for a moment, taking in Morgan's story.
"I mean, why did you stick around with Rock?" Morgan asked in turn. "You guys just met, right?"
"Well, you were right when you said I pointed a gun at his head first," said Becks. "But yeah, he saved my life. Normally I'd call it even right there and then since he'd beaten the shit out of me five minutes earlier, but then he hired me. Paid me up front. Treated me decent. Watched my back. Things none of my previous employers ever did to me.
"And so far, money I've made working with him's the best it's ever been," closed Becks. "So yeah, I plan to stick around."
"He does have that effect on people, doesn't he?"
"You see that big guy that came with us when we bailed you out?" said Becks again, referring to Foy. "Mendez only met him today. I swear Mendez must've made something click between him and that Foy dude, otherwise he won't follow him all the way out here."
"All that mess," remembered Morgan. "I hope Rock's okay."
"Well shit, good news," answered Becks as he checked his phone. "He's on his way here, and he's got a new member to the party."