The guard had Dedrick pinned to the ground and was about to shoot him in the head. However, the moment he pulled the trigger, Dedrick rolled onto his side, dodging the shot by mere inches. With astonishing agility, he sprang to his feet and delivered a swift kick to the guard’s face, sending him crashing onto his back. Without giving him a chance to recover, Dedrick lunged at him and struck him in the chest with such force that the guard let go of his shotgun. Without hesitation, Dedrick grabbed it and, using the weapon’s stock, delivered a sharp blow to the guard’s head, knocking him unconscious instantly.
Now, armed, he turned toward the chaos unfolding in the warehouse.
—Damn it, damn it, damn it! —Andreas shouted, jumping side to side to avoid the laser beam Kraft was firing at his legs.
Dedrick ran toward him and positioned himself at his side.
—You better finish this —he said, reloading the shotgun and handing it to Andreas—. I’m going for the safe… so… kill him. I trust you.
—W-WHAT? —Andreas stammered, but Dedrick quickly moved away, leaving him alone with the shotgun in hand and those words echoing in his mind. Fear gripped him; facing Kraft seemed like an impossible task. But if Dedrick trusted him, he had to try.
He took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the shotgun, and aimed at Kraft. He fired multiple times, but his enemy dodged with incredible speed and countered with a barrage of laser fire. Andreas kept running and shooting, but soon realized something: Kraft’s weapon could slice through anything in its path. He could use that to his advantage.
Positioning himself strategically near one of the cages where the girls were held captive, he shouted:
—Hey, over here! —he taunted, waving his arms to get Kraft’s attention.
—YOU LITTLE SHIT! —Kraft roared, aiming furiously at him.
Andreas glanced at the girls and, just as Kraft fired, he yelled:
DOWN!
The prisoners obeyed instantly. Andreas began running, ensuring that Kraft’s shots struck the cages. One by one, the lasers sliced through the metal with ease, freeing the girls as he moved.
When Kraft’s ammunition finally ran out, he froze in fury upon realizing what he had done.
—YOU SON OF A BITCH, LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO! —he shouted, enraged, before charging at Andreas.
Andreas barely managed to dodge, but before he could react, Kraft ripped a metal bar from a broken cage and hurled it with force. The bar struck Andreas’s leg, sending him to the ground and making him drop the shotgun.
In an instant, Kraft was on top of him, gripping his head with both hands.
—To think I trusted you… saw a future for you in this… but you couldn’t last a day without betraying me —his voice was pure rage—. At least, you won’t be leaving here alive.
Andreas struggled, but it was useless. He felt an electric current run through Kraft’s skin as he applied pressure to his skull. The pain was unbearable; if he didn’t do something, his head would be crushed in seconds.
But then, a sharp noise interrupted everything. Kraft’s body froze, his eyes widening in shock.
A metal bar had impaled him from side to side.
Stunned, he turned his head and saw a group of girls holding the bar firmly, their eyes filled with hatred and determination.
—YOU BITCHES! —Kraft gasped, blood spilling from his mouth.
—You won’t be calling us that anymore! —one of them spat, and together, they shoved the bar deeper, tearing through his body.
Seizing the moment, Andreas crawled toward the shotgun. He took a deep breath, smacked Kraft’s hands off his head, and stood up. He aimed directly at his bloodied face.
—See you in hell, bastard.
He pulled the trigger.
Kraft’s head exploded in a rain of blood and bone fragments.
His lifeless body fell to its knees before collapsing completely.
One of the girls, still trembling, approached Andreas and hugged him tightly.
—Thank you… thank you so much… —she sobbed.
The others, realizing it was over, smiled and began expressing their gratitude as well.
At that moment, Dedrick emerged from the office, dragging the safe with broken chains wrapped around it.
—Do we have a blowtorch? —he asked, straining.
—Uh… no —Andreas replied, still processing everything.
—Well… —Dedrick shrugged—. I see you finished off that asshole. Good job. I knew you could do it.
Andreas smiled, slightly embarrassed.
—Heh… it wasn’t much, I just—
Before he could finish, a powerful light illuminated them from outside. They turned their heads and saw a police hovercraft floating by the window.
—FIRE! —an officer shouted.
A hail of bullets shattered the window, forcing them to dive to the ground.
Dedrick reacted quickly, pushing Andreas aside to avoid the gunfire.
—We have to go! The place is surrounded! —he yelled, pulling the safe with more force.
Andreas looked at the girls, who were paralyzed with fear.
—Stay together and don’t make a sound! —he instructed before running after Dedrick.
They rushed through the hallways, but before reaching the stairs, a cop appeared out of nowhere. Without hesitation, Dedrick shoved Andreas into a dark room.
—Find a way out, I’ll see you outside! —he shouted before disappearing into the shadows.
Andreas ventured into the room, feeling the darkness swallow him whole. The air was thick and stale, as if no one had breathed there in years. The floor creaked under his feet, coated in a fine layer of dust and accumulated grime. A faint metallic and slightly rotten smell lingered in the air, reminding him that this place had been part of Kraft’s operations… and likely the scene of terrible things.
The metal walls were covered in scratch marks and dents, some stained with dried smudges Andreas preferred not to analyze too closely. There were a couple of collapsing shelves, with rusted metal crates haphazardly stacked. Among them, he could make out loose handcuffs, broken cables, and torn fabric.
The eerie silence of the room was only broken by the faint hum of a faulty electrical system and the distant echoes of gunfire and shouting outside. The only source of light came from the slits of a poorly closed door at the back of the room, casting weak blueish streaks into the gloom. Andreas squinted, trying to adjust to the darkness, but he could barely make out blurry shapes.
Deciding he needed better visibility, he activated his holographic flashlight. As soon as the bright beam illuminated the room, it revealed someone else inside.
The girl he had locked eyes with hours ago.
For a moment, neither of them moved. Then, she bolted.
—H-HEY, WAIT! —Andreas shouted, running after her—. Don’t run, I won’t hurt you!
But before he could reach her, one of Kraft’s guards appeared and grabbed her by the throat.
—L-LET ME GO, ASSHOLE! —she screamed, struggling.
The guard sneered.
Andreas didn’t hesitate. He raised the shotgun and fired.
The guard’s helmet wasn’t enough to stop the blast; the bullet shattered his head instantly.
The girl dropped to her knees, panting. She glanced at the lifeless body, then at Andreas.
—Thanks… —she whispered.
—You're welcome… We better get out of here. Are you coming with me? —Andreas said, trying to sound friendly.
The girl didn’t respond immediately. She just looked at him with a difficult-to-read expression but finally nodded and began following him in silence.
Andreas moved cautiously through the dark room, looking for an exit. His holographic flashlight illuminated specks of dust suspended in the air as they passed by old, broken furniture and the remains of damaged equipment. Then, as he scanned the perimeter of the room, he noticed a window. He approached it and peeked out, making sure the area was clear.
The street was deserted. No signs of guards or police. Even better, the window wasn’t too high from the ground—they could jump without much risk.
—We’ll have to jump —he announced, pushing the window open before climbing onto the frame. Without hesitation, he leaped into the void, rolling upon landing to dissipate the impact before standing up. He dusted off his clothes and looked up at the girl.
—Your turn! I’ll catch you —he assured, extending his arms.
—Not a chance. I can do it myself —she replied with distrust.
Andreas raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by her attitude, but decided not to insist.
—If you say so… —he said, shrugging.
The girl took a deep breath and jumped, but instead of rolling upon landing, she hit the ground stiffly, collapsing onto the floor with a pained groan.
—Told you —Andreas said with a teasing smile as he approached to help her—. You should’ve listened to me.
—Tch… Shut up —she muttered, rubbing her leg before reluctantly accepting his help to stand.
After walking for a few minutes through dark alleyways, they finally reached the area where Dedrick was waiting, leaning casually against his car while smoking a cigarette. As he saw them approaching, he exhaled the smoke and dropped the cigarette butt, crushing it under his boot.
—Took you long enough… —he said lazily—. The building got surrounded, and the cops left.
—Wow, they were quick —Andreas replied sarcastically.
Dedrick smirked, noticing the presence of the girl, and let out a small chuckle.
—And who’s she?
—Eh… just one of the girls who escaped from Kraft —Andreas answered casually.
Dedrick tilted his head slightly, eyeing her with curiosity.
—Oh yeah? So, tell me… what’s your name?
The girl didn’t reply. She simply looked at him warily and crossed her arms.
—Silent, huh? Well… —Dedrick sighed and shrugged—. Andreas, we need to go. Get in your car.
He got into his own vehicle and started the engine without giving it another thought. Andreas turned back to the girl, who remained standing in the same spot. Her dark eyes darted around, as if searching for a destination that didn’t exist.
—Hey… You don’t have anywhere to go, do you? —he asked gently—. You can come with us if you want.
The girl looked at him in surprise. Her lips parted as if she were about to refuse, but then she hesitated. Finally, she nodded.
Andreas smiled and quickly opened the door to his vehicle. However, the moment he looked inside, he realized a small detail he hadn’t considered.
—Oh… uh… damn. There’s only one seat —he muttered nervously.
Before he could suggest a solution, the girl snatched the keys from his hands and got into the vehicle without hesitation.
—I’m inside, you’re outside —she said indifferently before closing the door and starting the engine.
—What!? Wait, you can’t do that! —Andreas exclaimed, banging on the window.
However, his protest was ignored as the vehicle began to lift off. Andreas’ eyes widened in horror, and with no other option, he jumped and grabbed onto the roof supports, clinging for dear life as the vehicle’s thrusters propelled it forward, following Dedrick’s car.
—WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! —Andreas shouted as the wind whipped his face.
—Driving! —the girl replied casually from inside.
—SLOW DOWN, DAMN IT! I’M GONNA FALL!
—Then hold on tight! —she said, completely unconcerned.
The vehicle suddenly ascended sharply, making Andreas’ stomach churn.
—I’m gonna puke! —he groaned, gripping even harder.
—Don’t you dare do it on my car! —the girl warned, amused.
—YOUR car?! This is MY car!
—Well, I’m the one driving it now. So technically… it’s mine.
—WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT?!
Every time the car swerved, Andreas felt like he was about to be thrown off. The wind roared in his ears, his fingers ached from holding on, and his face was frozen from the sheer speed.
—Just… land it… slowly…! —he begged, feeling increasingly nauseous.
—Hmm… I’ll think about it —she replied with a smile that Andreas couldn’t see but definitely heard in her voice.
Arrival at the base...
Finally, both vehicles landed inside the building where Dedrick and Andreas usually hid. Dedrick stepped out of his car calmly, and upon seeing Andreas still clinging to the roof of his own vehicle, he raised an amused eyebrow.
—Hey… what the hell are you doing up there?
Andreas, his face pale and his stomach in turmoil, barely managed to answer.
The car door opened, and the girl stepped out casually, revealing the reason why Andreas had ended up in such a ridiculous position.
—So that’s why he’s up there… —Dedrick muttered, stifling a laugh.
Meanwhile, Andreas let himself drop to the ground and rushed toward a trash can, where he promptly threw up.
—Next time… you ride on top… —he mumbled between retches.
Dedrick burst into laughter at the scene, lighting another cigarette as he watched Andreas struggle to regain his dignity.