An educational spanking.
When we returned to the base, we gave the prisoner to our information extraction specialists, who promised to do everything as soon as possible. Not wanting to waste time, I decided to get busy cleaning my equipment, so I went to the armory.
I was interrupted from the meditative process of polishing my gun's frame by Ron's call: since he was our supervisor, the information came to him first, and then to us. Bureaucracy and paranoia, but what could I do? I hope Ron gives us some good news.
"Got what we need, Ron?""
"Almost. We're just finishing up. The guy knew a lot, though not everything. But the information we were able to get will allow us to give the Animals a pretty good spanking: we know where Sasquatch is and the approximate number of her guards."
"Eh... Too bad we didn't have a lot of time, we could have caught another one. By the way, did you find out where they got that weird MANPADS?"
"It didn't turn out to be that complicated. Knowing that we could call in air support, they decided to use the MANPADS. But it costs a lot of money, and so do the missiles, so they hired some brainiac from Sixth Street, an ex-military technician or some shit, who modified the homing system so that it would give off a constant fake scannings. Simply put, a decoy that was supposed to keep our birds at a decent distance."
"Ugh. Smart fuckers..."
"What did you expect? They develop new tactics and tricks. But that's not our problem anymore. Our specialists have already managed to come up with some countermeasures, thanks to the trophy we got. Now our birds will be able to work as well as they did before."
"Okay. So, whoa... I'll be able to start the educational beating in the next couple of days?!"
"Yes, Marcus. Huh... We have all the information we need. All that's left to do is finalize the plan and you can get started. Really... Do you only want to involve the Archangel units?"
"You know yourself that they are the only ones trained and equipped enough to storm the Sasquatch base. If we use others, there will be heavy casualties."
"Okay, I get your point. Well, good luck then."
I said goodbye to Ron and then summoned all the Archangels that were on shift today to go over the data they'd received and then make revisions to the operation plan. It didn't take long, just a couple of hours, and there it was, our fully prepared plan. All that was left to do was to wait for the day of the operation.
Here it was, the day when I could kick Sasquatch's ass, how long I had waited for it. I went to the armory and put on my heavy assault kit: body armor, extra attachments, and a tactical off-loader. Checked that nothing got in the way or rubbed anywhere, and then filled pockets and pouches with everything I needed: first aid kit, grenades, extra mags and other stuff that might come in handy during the mission, just little things. Now it was time to do last minute check of my weapons. An inspection of the assault rifle revealed no problems. I chose the good old "Pozhar" as my backup weapon, remembering to bring some buckshot rounds for it. Bringing a handgun against the Animals makes no sense, too thick-skinned, while the buckshot will sweep away anyone within a short range. Last but not least were the melee weapons: the baton and knife.
Fully equipped, I went to the briefing room: it was necessary to discuss the details of the operation before the flight. Everyone involved knew what had to be done, but it never hurts to go over it again, just in case.
Toward the end, Ron asked if there were any thoughts or ideas, but other than some banter from me, nothing came out. Laughing, we left and went to load into the "carriages" that were already waiting for us with their engines warmed up, so immediately after loading the four TT birds flew out of the hangars toward the Susquatch's base.
According to the plan, thirty seconds before entering the sentry's sight, there would be an attack by our netrunners, whose task was to take out the guards, and the security system as well. And as soon as we crossed the invisible boundary, the vengeance operation started at once: the pilots went down and we were already opening the side doors, getting ready to disembark.
When the optimum altitude for the jump was reached, we left our iron coffin one by one. We quickly formed a line on the ground: the Private went first with his shield, followed by me, the medic brothers with Rico behind us covering us from the back. When we reached one of the base entrances, we positioned ourselves on each side of the door.
"Manfredi, take down the door, I'll throw a grenade in there. After the explosion, Private and I go first, you follow us."
The response to me was a nod. The next action happened in an insanely short period of time: Manfredi aims at the lock, shoots and then kicks the door open. I wanted to be surprised: the door came off its hinges so easily. But, remembering that every moment is worth its weight in gold, I didn't waste a second and threw a grenade into the room. After the explosion, we burst inside. Not far from the entrance lie a few corpses, and a couple of the lucky ones that were only wounded after the grenade, but we solved the issue very simply: after a shot to the head there are usually no survivors.
Thanks to the element of surprise, we were able to make it about halfway without any big problems, killing all the enemies that were not ready to give a serious fight back. Except that the Animals are considered one of Night City's most dangerous gangs for a reason. Slowly, confusion was replaced by anger and rage. The strength of the resistance we encountered started to increase, but the rate of advance was dropping. Even so, they were all already doomed: we had managed to outnumber at least half of the enemies, and the only thing that held us back was the understanding that too much haste could result in unnecessary wounds and maybe even cause casualties.
And so, after a while, we hit a kind of gridlock in front of the main hall, where Sasquatch was located. That crafty beast had managed to set up a bunch of turrets and arm her soldiers with machine guns, and that combo, kept us from moving forward. Even Private's shield could not withstand such intense fire: in our first attempt to break through the enemy's defenses, shield got badly damaged, barely holding and now useless to us.
"Any bright ideas? Cause it's not really clear what we should do next."
The members of the team expressed various ideas, from throwing smoke grenades, to waiting for help, but nothing worthwhile was said. Only when I raised my head to look up in despair did I notice the pipes above us.
"You guys see the pipes? What do you think they're for?"
"Probably part of the heating system or maybe a simple water line. Let me check." - Rico raised his scope and, turning on thermal mode, started examining the pipes.
"Yes. The ones on the right are part of the heating system, and the ones on the right are water pipes."
"Then this is what we are going to do: Rico, try to hit the heating pipes exactly above the machine gunners' heads while we distract them. That should boil them alive, and if it doesn't, they'll get burns so bad they'll be unable to fight for a very long time. Then we go for a breakthrough while the enemy is confused. Start on Rico's signal."
Everyone took their positions and at Rico's signal began to divert the enemy's attention, providing him opportunity to make a shot. After a couple of seconds, boiling water poured down on the enemies from damaged tubes above, causing their screams to be heard probably throughout the city. We took advantage of this and were able to neutralize the turrets and move on. We were also hit by boiling water, but we weren't badly hurt, thanks to our armor. And after walking through the door to the back of the hall, I could finally see Sasquatch.
That big bitch had gotten even bigger since our last meeting. She had a hammer in her hands that was just insanely heavy: even that mountain of muscles couldn't hold it with one hand. When she saw us, she went into an indescribable rage.
"Y-y-you! You fucking bastards! How fucking dare you! I'M A FUCKING SASQUATCH! I'M THE ALPHA! I AM GONNA KILL YOU ALL FUCKHEADS!" - yelling loudly, she led her surviving subordinates in a suicide attack.
We opened fire, emptying our magazines one by one, but, driven to madness by desperation, the Animals continued to attack. I saw the guy, shredded by bullets, keep crawling, grimacing. I saw a girl who had completely lost her mind, swinging an axe, not caring whom she was killing. I saw true, untainted rage.
Fucking hell! I wasn't ready for that! My gun was out of ammo, and the Animals wouldn't stop, so I had to take out my shotgun and keep firing,firing and firing. Shit... Instead of buckshot, there were slug rounds in the chamber. They weren't strong enough to hold off my enemies, and a wave of beasts in human form came at me.
A hit with a tire iron knocked the shotgun out of my hands. I had to counterattack with the jab. I hit the enemy in the throat, incapacitating him temporarily. But I don't have time to finish him off: another one comes at me and knocks me to the ground. The new one starts beating me with his bare fists, ripping the skin off them. My helmet is soon covered in blood, but thankfully not mine. Yet something had to be done! And quickly! So recalling that I had a knife, I pull it out of the sheath attached to my hip and strike the unprotected side of my enemy with it. The knife went in to the hilt, which made my opponent stop hitting me in pain and shock. I, on the other hand, without losing such a great opportunity, start stabbing him over and over without stopping. Twenty-seven stabs... just to make sure he is over. The enemy collapses onto his side and falls to the floor, next to me. But I don't have time to get up again: another one of the Animals comes at me. He strikes me with a Tomahawk, which I don't have time to fully dodge, just shift my body a little bit, but it was enough to hit me not fully in the head, but just tangentially, ripping the facemask off my helmet.
"Scum!" - the heightened adrenaline in my blood caused the insult to burst out of my mouth. Then with a swift movement I hit him with the hilt of the knife right in the face, breaking his nose. Tossing the knife aside, I took out my baton, using which, I began to beat him on the head without wasting time. The blood splattered on his face, but I didn't care, I just kept hitting him until his face was a bloody mess. I kicked the corpse away and lunged at the next enemy, activating all my chrome.
Time slows down, but my over-energized, adrenaline-fueled body doesn't notice. I use my baton to break the arm of the axe-thrower. I took out the knife that had somehow gotten stuck in the other "Animal," finishing him off. I hit the axe-wielding man in the eye. The grimace of pain and horror on his face gives way to confusion as he realizes there is no more light. A blow to the chest knocks him to the ground, and I step on his head and press it into the floor, crushing his skull into a fine dust. After a while, there are no enemies left around me, and I was able to look around. My guys are alive, but they could use a little medical aid.
Just as I was about to rush over to them, the walls began to explode, creating passageways inside, through which the Archangels from the other squads started to rush in. They assessed our current position and used fire to separate the rest of the enemy from us, then began to finish off the rest of the Animals. The course of the battle had changed dramatically-the initiative was now on our side. My team took a breather and went on the counteroffensive with renewed vigor.
After a few minutes, I could find the Sasquatch and acitivating my chomes fully rashed toards her. The clumsy pile of muscle tried to hit me, but thanks to my quickened reaction time, it was easy to dodge and hit her back. The blow landed on her knee, and the force was enough to break it, causing her to start toppling over. I took the opportunity to stab her in the back of the knee with knife in my other hand. The knife gets stuck there, and without making any attempt to pull it out, I make a sharp U-turn, kicking right at it.
The response was a loud scream, followed by the sound of a fallen human body. Sasquatch let the hammer out of her hands, now holding on to her knee with the knife sticking out of it. I approach her from behind and with all the force I can muster I strike her with the club, which was not enough, so I have to punch her repeatedly until she loses consciousness.
Seeing their leader fall, the Animals lose all motivation to fight on. Some dare to run, but well-aimed shots kill all who risk it. The rest, seeing that more and more people of TT enter the hall, give up. It was amazing to watch the "Animals" show signs of having the rudiments of reason and doing something without being guided by instincts. Though... Perhaps I was hasty, for imprisonment can be much darker option than death for them.
I give the order to tie up all survivors over the intercom. Then we will decide what to do with them. When the prisoners were done, I decided to call Ron.
"How'd it go?"
"Fucking hilarious. I'm covered in blood again, and I can't get it off easily."
"Ha. Well, that's not the biggest problem. We got a pretty good laundry service, I think they can handle it. You better tell me what else you got in there."
"Got a bunch of Animals alive, and we got Sasquatch too."
"That's good, that's really good. I guess even a piece of crap like that can do some good."
"Jeremiah decided to use them as his personal tame animals after all?"
"Well, yeah. They're Animals."
"Stop ith your jokes, you've got classic dad jokes that make everyone but you feel ashamed."
"Ha ha ha."
"Okay, I'll wait for the truck. In the meantime, I'll go get this bunch of two-legged cattle ready for transport. By the way, I hope you don't mind if I do a little work on Sasquatch's discipline."
"Hmm. Marcus, I certainly remember that you like strong women, but Saskwatch sounds like overkill to me."
"Fuck you, you old pervert. I meant I'd beat her up a bit to make an obedient dog out of a rabid dog. Besides, she still owes me for the concussion."
"Ahh. Ahem. Well, I don't think that won't be much of a problem. The important thing is that she can work for the benefit of the company in the future."
"Okay. If anything happens, I'll pay for the dental implants out of my own pocket. Okay, bye Ron, I'll see you at the base."
"Yeah, I'll see you at the base. Just don't you dare come into my office without wiping your shoes! I have carpets!"
"Yeah. Thanks for the idea."
With a smile and a baton in my hand, I walked toward Sasquatch, who had been brought back to consciousness by the medic brothers. Well, it's about time for me to start some discipline trainings with Animal Alpha and may Green Peace forgive me for this violence.
Hey guys. Sorry. I have misplaced chapters. Will fix it.