CHAPTER 427: CAPTIVE.

A flash of light illuminated the corridor, and two bolts passed her on either side, piercing each of the guards. The lightning spread over their skin and seeped into their bodies, turning them into trembling stones that barely remained standing.

Rose fired a shot, then another, both of which bounced off the guard on the left. Subdermal armor, one strong enough to deflect bullets at such a close range. Not slowing down, she slammed her shoulder straight into him, and as he staggered back, she swung the butt of her rifle, striking him in the jaw. A low swipe robbed what was left of his balance, and just as his head bounced off the floor, a long barrel found its way to the back of his throat.

BLAM BLAM BLAM!!!

With each shot fired, a new splatter spread over the carpeted floor. Not slowing down, Rose rolled away from the corpse and aimed at the second guard. Three of her comrades already had him pressed to the ground, completely paralyzed. With no hesitation, one of them drove his rifle into one of the big guy’s eyes and fired. The man went completely limp the next moment.

"Whoa there! Careful now!"

Standing at the center of the mess was the lanky man, his hand raised as several rifles aimed at him from every direction. From the looks of it, he had tried rushing back into the room he just came out of, but was stopped by the others.

"Who are you people?" He asked. "How in the world did you make it here?"

Though she had heard the voice before, being close to its source somehow had a different effect on Rose. Her heart sank, and her blood grew chillingly cold, causing her entire body to freeze in place.

He was right there, standing only a few feet away. He appeared a little shorter than she remembered, maybe because she had grown taller since. His blonde hair was gone, and the ink had spread from the left side of his face to the rest of his head. The eyes, however, were still the same. Rose recognized those eyes, and she recognized the face as well, even now that it looked like a charred skull.

Once a Sergeant of the notorious Black Skull gang, now one of its lieutenants. Mechael Andrews, a.k.a Jason.

Another tremor spread through the ceiling, snapping her out of that state. The cold was banished by a wave of unbearable heat. Heat born from hate fuels the fires of rage.

"Oh? Are you thei-"

Rose stepped toward the man and slammed the butt of her rifle into his stomach, knocking the air out of his lungs. As he bent down from the pain, she moved behind him and kicked the back of his knees, forcing him down to the floor. The barrel of her rifle touched the black surface of his bald head a second later.

[Wait!] A hand shot out and grabbed the rifle, quickly pushing it away. [Calm down! This isn’t what we came here for!]

The voice belonged to Ben. Though his face was covered by the power suit’s helmet, Rose could still imagine the kind of expression he was making.

[I know how you feel, but not now.]

The words had a hard time reaching her, but seconds later, she gathered enough willpower to remove her finger from the trigger and pull away.

[Cuff him.] She said.

While the others formed a perimeter around them, two lowered their weapons and went about restraining their target.

"I... see... I see..." The skull-faced man chuckled a he coughed. "You... you aren’t with Kent, are you?"

[Shut it.] Lu said as he moved to gag him.

"You... you were a little surprised by the noise..." Despite the rough way he was being handled, Jason quickly settled his breathing and continued. "Don’t tell me it’s not one of you who caused it. Oh, the messaged didn’t go through? Did you jam the whole place? Or did you shut down my NIM?"

The continuous ramblings were starting to get on Rose’s nerves, so she turned to the captive and slammed the butt of her rifle to his jaw, sending him rolling to the floor.

[People don’t really need their mouths to speak these days.] She said. [Keep talking, and I will rip off yours.] Turning to the ones handling the restraints, she practically growled the order at them. [Gag him.]

"You’re... you’re making a really big mistake." Jason chuckled. "You... You have been causing a lot of trouble for us lately. Do you seriously think you can keep getting away with this?"

[I told you to gag him!]

Egged on by the leader’s threatening voice, Lu quickly went about placing the gag, but the skull-faced man craned his neck and evaded it, continuing to laugh as he threw in one more threat.

"Oh, I can’t wait to see it." He said. "Your faces when we pull you apart like an old watch."

Clutching her rifle, Rose contemplated hitting him one more time, but then she heard it. A loud crash, this one coming from the lower floor. In her mind, she imagined the front door being torn out of its hinges as something, or someone, rushed inside.

[

Bruno: We got company.

]

No sooner had that message arrived than the sound of gunfire filled the mansion. Time was already running out.

"It’s no use."

As she was about to give out new instructions, Rose heard the ear-piercing voice of the skull-faced man.

"You think we weren’t prepared for this? After everything you put us through?" Jason said. "You aren’t making it out of this mansion, even if you have that Ghost backing you up!"

Glass shattered, drawing everyone’s attention to the far end of the corridor. Something slammed into the floor, having crashed through the nearby window. It rolled up once, then vanished. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl, and though she was clad in a sealed power suit, Rose could have sworn that she felt the faint gust washing over her. In the corner of her eye, she saw a hulking figure swing its arm at one of her crew members.

[Be-]

Before she could shout a warning, the monster’s fist connected with the oblivious Ben. An instant later, his body slammed into the wall at the end of the corridor.