The World Left Behind (IC)

[Dunruffle]

With everyone situated, the SUV and box truck closed their doors and began making their way through the maze of Chicago's streets. After about ten minutes, the scenery changed from deluxe high-rises to dirty industrial buildings. Eventually the two vehicles arrived at their destination, the Ancillary train yard. Workers and various people could be seen going about like busy worker ants as armed security guards patrolled nearby.

The SUV quietly made its way to an abandoned building near the rear of the railyard while the box truck pulled into an alley just outside the main entrance. Pulling the sliding door up with a rattle, Syd stepped out of the truck and peeked around the corner of the alley. Meanwhile, Reina slipped out of the SUV and loaded her rifle. Putting a finger up to her earpiece, Reina looked upwards towards some scaffolding. "Syd gimme a minute to get in position. I will let you know when to start." Giving Otto and Tess a Curt nod, Reina swiftly clambered up the scaffolding and dissappeared into the deep shadows above. Syd silently began checking his minigun and loading a fresh drum magazine while he waited for the signal.

 

[Dakota K5]

Otto White

Interaction: Tess
----
Otto looked over to Tess as she put her feet up, combined with her mood of almost childlike excitement made Otto crack a smile and give a short chuckle at her when she asked if they were all ready for the party. Other then that the ride was uneventful as Otto watched the buildings change from affluent to industrial and before to long the SUV with the three of them parked in it's position Otto got out along with Reina and Tess. He watched and heard as Reina spoke to Syd to wait for her to get in position before it all began while Otto himself chose to pull up his shemagh and threw on his hood while leaning against the SUV waiting for the big fireworks to begin so he and Tess could get to there demolition and theft.
He looked over to Tess. "Hope you're prepared in case this gets messy." He spoke through his shemagh muffling his voice a bit. Otto for some reason had a feeling things might go as clean and easy as Javion was hoping and if Otto was a betting man he'd put it on something happening with Bill and Syd but maybe that was him just being paranoid, only time would tell.​

 

[Jack Robinson]

Zion Bill

It was almost time. Bill sat in the back of the vehicle with Syd, looking down at his feet and mumbling prayers. He could only hope the deaths of his foes were quick and painless, and that if it came down to it, he would be willing to die for the sake of his companions. He hoped it wouldn't come down to that, however. Needless death was an egregious sin, and one Bill had sworn several years ago that he would never partake in again.

They finally arrived at what Bill assumed to be their destination. Now to just wait for the signal. Wait for the signal, and offer up his final battle prayer. He pulled out his first revolver, a shiny, beautiful piece with a pearl handle and the black word "VERITAS" carved into the barrel. He began loading bullets into it. "In the name of the Father-" He pulled out his next revolver, one with a black handle and the word "SALUTIS" engraved in the barrel and loaded it -"in the name of the Son-" He holstered his revolvers and opened up the guitar case, where his rifle lay, a sleek black instrument of death with a detachable scope and silencer. He loaded seven bullets into it -"And in the name of the Holy Spirit, I ask for protection. I ask for the swift deaths of my foes. I ask for my resolve to hold firm, for my companions to fight fearlessly and without harm, and for my soul to join the Eternal Kingdom should You deem it worthy. In His name-" Bill snapped his guitar case shut and laid his rifle in his lap -"Amen."​

 

[Amaranth]

After her initial remark - and her companions' seemingly disinterest in having any kind of conversation, Tess watched in silent curiosity the change of scenery of a city she had never been on. Probably would never have thought of visiting, if it weren't for this job. Perhaps in a distant past, back when things were a little less bleak, she would've been interested in traveling around the world.

Now, it was just dirt and sand, as far as she was concerned. Nothing beautiful left to be seen.

They arrived in their destination. Tess hopped off the SUV after Otto, waiting for Reina to walk off before looking around, to localize their target, already thinking the best way to move there without being completely obvious and uncovered. Hopefully, the building would be truly abandoned, but Tess had no doubt Reina could easily take care of whomever she found inside. Now, for her, it was just to wait.

Wait until Reina was ready. Wait until Bill and Syd created a distraction. And then wait just a bit more to make sure everyone had left before she made her way to the train.

"I'm always ready." She answered Otto with a small wink and a small smile. "Besides, I do have you and our fearsome sniper to protect me." There was still a light joking tone in her voice, although she was slightly more serious now that they were ready to start at any moment.

 

[Dunruffle]

After a minute or two, everyone's communication earpieces crackled to life. "Okay I am in position. I am at the far end of the railyard past the front of the train. Bunch of workers around, looks like they hooked up a container car to the train. I guess we just take it with us. I have clear sightlines all the way up to the control room, dunno if the control room window is bulletproof so I may not be able to cover Otto once he is inside. I count about fifteen guards all over, most of them are just walking around but two are in a watchtower in the middle. Could be more lurking around but all this metal and shit is fucking with my eyes. Ready on you Syd."

With a grunt of acknowledgement, Syd hefted his minigun and stomped out of the alley and into the middle of the street. There was a pause then a shout as a guard realized someone was in front of the street entrance. A single spotlight turned on and illuminated Syd just in time to see the minigun spin to life. The quiet night was shattered as the minigun ripped through the front guard booth in a deluge of bullets. As people began to scream and alarms began to wail, Syd slowly began to advance. Firing in long bursts, Syd paused as a single gunshot rang out from the second level cargo area. Quickly spotting the brave guard, Syd simply cut the unlucky guard in half with a quick burst from his weapon. As workers ran for their lives Syd cast a glance back at Bill then continued his assault on the railyard. "Jesus Syd stop spraying so high! I swear a couple of your bullets almost hit me!" Reina scolded Syd like an overbearing sister as guards dove behind various bits of hard cover to escape the storm of bullets flying at them. At least Syd was doing an excellent job distracting, all of the guards were focused on the frontal assault to look behind themselves and notice any Intruders sneaking in. But it seemed that one guard had taken cover in the control booth and was shouting panickedly into a cellphone.

 

[Dakota K5]

Otto White

Interaction: Tess and Reina
---
Otto nodded to himself as he heard Reina call out some useful information he and Tess would be able to use as he waited for the gun fire to start which wasn't a long wait as Otto could hear the whine of Syd's mini gun all the way across the rail yard, that and the screams and the sight of running workers would have told him it was starting. He reached to his earpiece. "Moving to the gate." He spoke before dropping his hand and taking off like a bolt from a bow.

Otto was moving fast and using the workers as cover as most were to panic stricken to question why a man like Otto was among them with his face covered and any guard that could see him was to preoccupied with trying to get to the other side of the rail yard to confront Syd and Bill and this made it so Otto didn't really need to engage in any direct action as he came up to the gate in short order.
The structure of the gate was as he had assumed, with most of the surfaces that controlled the movement of the door being exposed on the outside and the locking blocks being right where the datapad had said they would be causing him to smirk. "Well at least the posh bastard can get info right." He thought in reference to Javion as Otto found a handhold and started climbing the gate to the higher locking lug. "Climbing the gate to plant the first explosive Reina, if you got eyes on please make sure I don't get shot in the ass." He spoke through the ear piece after pausing and holding himself in place with his prosthetic before climbing again. As he reached the top lock he held himself in place again as he took out the first charge, he placed it behind the lock before flipping a small switch to arm the device and made sure it'd stay in place before he jumped down from the gate and landed in a deep crouch so he didn't break anything. He quickly dropped to a knee as he got close to the second lock and repeated the action as before with placing the explosive and arming it. "C4's armed you two, heading to the control booth now. I'll detonate and open the gate whenever you get on the train Tess." Otto spoke into the earbud again informing his two partners as he looked around and saw the area he was in was now mostly deserted of both workers and guards.

Otto pulled out his FNX and flipped off the safety as he broke into a light jog to the control tower making sure to avoid any of the strangling workers who decided to hide rather then run and to take cover from any remaining guards as he didn't want a fire fight right now but this all had the effect of making it take longer to get to the control tower proper. He soon started to ascend the steps of the tower and while looking up he was able to see someone was in the tower by the shifting of someone moving in front of the light so he took his time and made sure to slink under the windows as he got to the door. He stood up in front of the door and took a deep breath before taking a step back and going forward with a big step and raised his boot up and connected with the door near the door jam and close to the handle. It knocked the door open hard and gave the person inside a rather large shock but Otto didn't really care for the cares of the other person as he raised his FNX and fired five shots at the person's silhouette, towards the chest. The suppressor made the already subsonic rounds near silent for the two of them as the loudest sound was the action of the gun running.​

 

[Jack Robinson]

Zion Bill

It was on. "Ready on you, Syd," Reina's voice chirped in Bill's earpiece. The big man walked out of the alleyway without a care in the world and started ripping men apart with his minigun. Adrenaline was already coursing through Bill's veins. He poked his head out around the corner and saw a scene of unadulterated chaos, just as planned. He grinned behind his mask. Perhaps the masks were unnecessary after all. These poor fellers were already pissing their pants. Almost casually, Bill kneeled down and aimed his rifle. He loaded an explosive round and sought out a target. He saw one guard just out of Syd's range. This young feller seemed to have taken it upon himself to be a hero. Bill felt a twinge of pity for him. He'd die not even seeing his killer. He fired. The kid's chest exploded quite literally, splattering blood and bone all over his nearby companions and surely sending the guards into even more of a panic. That's right, fellers. Big Syd ain't the only one to worry about.

Bill then turned his attention to the guard tower. Up there were two men. He reloaded. The air was thick with bullets. Bill had gotten so used to the damned things he didn't even realize a few were coming dangerously close to him. He got back behind the wall and thought about what to do next. Those fellers in the watch tower were keen-eyed. They'd have to be put down, and put down fast. One at a time. Maybe if one died, the other one would get the message and piss off. Surely these guys weren't willing to die just for some stupid old train. Then again, he'd seen greater men die for stupider causes.

The bullets weren't coming his way anymore. Bill poked his head out again. There they were, up in that tower. He didn't quite have a good angle on them from here. So he sprinted out, rifle slung around his back, two revolvers in hand. He fired them into the mass of people running around ahead of him, hitting a worker in the chest and a cowering guard in the shoulder. He then ducked behind the guard station which Syd had torn apart with his minigun. He aimed his rifle at the fellers in the tower. They hadn't seen him change positions. He offered up a prayer, aimed at the head of one of the men, and fired.​

 

[Amaranth]

She waited. Waited Reina get in position and scan the area, waited for the sound of Bill and Syd's guns, waited as Otto took off to do his thing. She watched as the workers started to scatter around, trying to get away from all the confusion, adjusting her hood to cover her face as best as she could. Tess took her gun, checked the bullets one last time, and moved, walking behind containers and moving along with workers when she couldn't hide. The process was slow, considering the train was so near, but she would rather not start any kind of confrontation, nor get any attention on herself.

As it seemed, Bill and Syd were doing a fine job of creating a distraction, though, and she reached the train at the same time Otto's voice came through her earpiece, telling them he had planted the explosives. She then watched as another worker ran past her, before Tess finally climbed up the small stairs that led to the engine of the train. Her hand extended to open the door before stopping briefly. If the train was getting ready to leave, there was a high chance of someone being inside. The engine wasn't running yet, she couldn't hear its hum, but still, better to be prepared. Tess raised her gun, taking a deep breath before opening the door.

Light shone inside, revealing the sitting form of a man dressed in clothes that indicated he was probably one of the train's drivers. An easy target, not even looking at her, and too close for her to miss. The gunshot rang through the room, uncomfortable loud, and she didn't even wait for the body to hit the ground before she walked inside, looking around the switches. Everything that should be on was on, confirming her suspicion that the train was indeed getting ready to go. She walked deeper inside, leaving the door open so she could have some sort of life.

She found the engine switch, turning it all the way, counting under her breath, before turning it back and all the way again in the other direction. The engine rumbled and came to life, almost drowning the gunshots outside. Tess couldn't hold the smile back, the excitement of what they were doing coming back again.

"Alright, the engine is running." She said through her comm. "I'll go now to the cab to see if everything is alright and to set the breaks so I can take off the manual breaks from the back. Reina, if you see someone, please cover my ass."

Tess walked back outside. She was halfway through the stairs when she saw a movement on the corner of her eyes.

"Shit." She jumped down, wincing at the slight pain that shot through her left foot, trying to aim her gun at the head that was peeking through the cab window. But she was way too slow - of fucking course -, and the bullet missed. "Fuck. Reina. Do you have any visual inside the train cab? There's someone inside, I don't know if they are armed." She was in a vulnerable position, the window just above her head, and Tess didn't like the idea of getting shot on the face if she went to check. Hopefully, Reina was in a position where she could see something with her freakish-but-awesome eyes.

 

[Dunruffle]

Otto's target jerked as the pistol rounds impacted his body. Falling to the ground in a heap, the unlucky guard's cellphone clattered as it hit the metal floor. A tinny voice could be heard emanating from the cellphone as the speaker demanded a status update. Outside in the guard tower, a guard wailed as he fell over the side and onto a metal container below. Bill's bullet had not hit the guard's head as intended, for the guard had tried to duck out of the way at the last second. Instead the powerful bullet caught the guard in the shoulder and sent him stumbling over the edge of the guard tower. Up above, Reina quickly focused on Tess as she asked for help with the train cab. Clicking through several wavelengths, Reina laughed coldly as she returned to watching the chaos. "The guy is unarmed Tess, just bust in there and throw him out. Careful though it looks like he pissed himself."

Out front, the remaining guards seemed to have gathered themselves as a guard with greying hair barked out orders to his comrades. A volley of small caliber pistol bullets hit Syd but the armored brute simply shrugged them off and continued his advance. Spotting a gated off area full of boxes and containers, Syd sprayed some more bullets towards the guards before walking over. Kicking open the gate, Syd walked inside and tore open the top of a large box. Inside was a collection of fine wine and expensive alcohol nestled in protective wrapping. Opening a small bag, Syd grabbed several bottles at random as bullets hit his armor ineffectively. The still standing guards had retreated to the second floor of the warehouse/shipping area, now armed with shotguns and rifles they had procured from their security lockers. Syd grunted as a high caliber bullet made him stumble. Quickly righting himself, Syd sent a long burst from his minigun ripping through the sheet metal siding concealing the guards. From her perch, Reina sighed in annoyance as she aimed down her sniper rifle scope. "Looks like one of them is either an ex-cop or a vet or some type. I can see him getting the guards organized but I don't have a shot on him." Reina pulled the trigger and her suppressed rifle coughed quietly as a bullet tore through two thin walls and embedded itself in a guard's chest. Suddenly a haughty voice emanated from everyone's earpiece. "It seems little miss Reina is correct everyone. You all better hustle before the plebians get their act together and start being somewhat dangerous." One could almost hear the smartass grin on Javion's face as he talked through the comms. "Syd, get behind those support pillars and lay down some suppressing fire so Bill can join you. Remember you two are acting like professional criminals. Bill there is a duffel bag in the guard station to your left. Grab that and get to stealing from the valuables in those boxes behind Syd. Reina keep any nosey guards from spotting Tess or Otto, they need to be oblivious until the train starts moving." If anyone looked closely, they could see the multitude of security cameras situated on walls and pillars around the train yard. Before they were means to provide security, but now that they were under Javion's control it gave the attackers another edge over the hopelessly outclassed guards.

 

[Dakota K5]

Otto White

Interaction: Tess and Javion
----
Otto took out the magazine from his pistol which still held nine rounds and put it into it's old magazine pouch before drawing a fresh fifth teen rounder and inserting it into his pistol giving him six teen including the one still in the chamber. He stepped forward over the body of the downed guard and fired one more round into the man's head, Otto inclined his head at the cell phone sitting on the ground before he put his hand up to his ear piece. "Javion, got a cell phone on one of these guards, he seemed to be talking to someone of note. You think I should swipe it or leave it here? Advise while I work." Otto asked Javion's opinion as he stepped to the controls of the booth and quickly found the door's switch.
"Tess, in position. Let me know when you have the train cab secured. Will detonate explosives and get the gate opened when you're moving." Otto dropped his hand from the ear piece and set his pistol down on the console next to him and waited for either Javion's word or Tess' word.​

 

[Jack Robinson]

Zion Bill

His target fell from the watch tower, his clothes burning from the incendiary round. Not quite as precise as he would've liked, but a kill was a kill. Bill did a quick survey of the battleground. A group of guards had mustered on the second floor, led by a grey-haired man who was definitely the only one out of all of them who knew what he was doing. Javion's voice buzzed in his ear, ordering him to grab a nearby duffel bag and start looting. "You got it, partner," Bill responded, "Hey, I reckon I might be able to get a hit on our grey-haired friend. Want me to give it a shot?" Bill reached into the guard station and pulled out the duffel bag. As Syd laid down suppressing fire, Bill slung his rifle around his back and made a run for the storage containers, firing his revolver, Veritas, at his opponents as he did so. He slid behind a container, holstered, his revolver, and started stuffing wines, whiskeys, all sorts of nice stuff in the duffel bag. Looking around to make sure Syd wasn't watching, Bill put a bag of fine whiskey into his jacket pocket for safe keeping. Might as well.

"Shit. They got a whole distillery down here. How's things looking for you guys?" he asked Tess and Otto over the earpiece. He propped his rifle up on the storage container and took a couple shots at the guards, sending one to the ground with a bullet through his head and blowing the hand off another. He caught a glimpse of grey hair. He pulled out one of the frag grenades he'd gotten from Otto. He looked up at the second floor. Might not clear the metal barrier and kill the men behind, but it could blow up the barrier and leave the men behind vulnerable to an attack from Syd.

"Syd, I'm tossing a grenade. Get ready to shred some poor fellers." Bill chunked the grenade at the guards, then went back to looting, not daring to watch the results of his handiwork. He wasn't a fan of watching body parts fly up in the air. It just made him queasy.​

 

[Amaranth]

"Urgh. Alright, thanks." Tess couldn't help the scowl of disgust from her face as she heard Reina's answer. Great, the cabin would be stinking of piss now. How wonderful. "Keep your eyes on the prize." She muttered to herself as she climbed the stairs to the cab, ignoring the soft throb in her left ankle. She opened the door, raising an eyebrow at the quivering mess that was the train conductor. "Lovely. Get out."

Obviously, the man stayed on the ground, muttering some nonsense that Tess had no intention of trying to understand. Javion's voice came through her earpiece, and she sighed.

"Ok, last chance. Out." The man whimpered, Tess sighed again, and the gunshot rang. She looked at the panel, searching for any sign that something wasn't quite right. Nothing. Good. Activating the breaks, Tess moved out once again, starting to make her way to the back of the train. She kept close to the machine, as out of sight as it was possible, although there wasn't anyone nearby right then. Probably everyone that wasn't in the front, trying to keep Syd and Bill away, had already fled. "I'm on my way to release the break. Just hang on in there for a little while more, Beary."

Tess chuckled at Bill's surprise, although the thought of a good drink after all was done helped cheer her up a little again. Of course, the helicopter was stuffed with good drinks, but it couldn't compare with a trophy of a well done job. "Well, if you grab me some alcohol, I'd say things are looking pretty great." Tess answered as she pulled the lever and released the manual break.

And now, back to the cab.

"Running back to the cab, Otto. If you want to start the blasting, I think you can. I'll start the train in a bit, it should give you and Reina plenty of time to enter it."

 

[Dunruffle]

Javion's voice sounded in Otto's ear as bullets whizzed by in the background. "Actually grab the phone before you leave, I am curious as to who is on the other end." Up above Reina's rifle jerked as she fired another bullet into an unsuspecting guard. Bill's grenade flew up and landed at the feet of one unlucky guard. Surprisingly, the guard picked up the live grenade and tried to throw it back. Unfortunately the grenade detonated in the guard's hand, sending a shower of gore over the other guards. As the train rumbled to life, the senior guard began barking orders and several of his compatriots began rushing back towards the train. "Shit, Otto and Tess you are gonna have some company real soon. I will try to take them out but one or two might slip through." Reina grumbled under her breath as she took aim at the approaching guards. The lead guard was the first to die, the rifle bullet punching a hole in his gut and sending him sprawling. Then the following guard was sent tumbling as Reina sent a bullet through his shoulder. Seeing his companions die right in front of him, the third guard stumbled as he ran towards a metal container. But he never made it, for right before he slid to safety Reina decapitated him with a bullet through his neck. The last two guards began firing wildly into the scaffolding, making Reina duck back and curse. "Fuck! Otto and Tess get your asses moving you have company." The two armed guards split up as an improvised Molotov cocktail set the pillar Syd was behind ablaze. One guard jumped down and warily approached the train cab with a pistol as his partner slowly approached the control booth with his shotgun trained on the door.

Lumbering out from behind the safety of the pillar, Syd sprayed the upper floor wall as he slowly began to back up. It seemed the senior guard realized normal bullets could not take down Syd, so instead he had his men take diesel fuel from nearby barrels and start making Molotovs to burn Syd alive. To make matters worse, the sound of sirens could be heard slowly getting louder. "Alright everyone, the cavalry is almost here you need to get moving. Bill focus on taking out anyone with a molotov, Syd may be bulletproof but he is not fire proof. Syd begin your retreat, I have signalled your escape driver and they should be there momentarily. Bill when Syd is out of Molotov range he will cover your retreat to the escape vehicle. Reina, get on the train. Your priority is to escape, ignore the guard captain your objective is to cover the train's escape. Otto and Tess, do whatever you need to do now and get on the train the clock is ticking." Javion's voice was eerily calm as mayhem ensued in the train yard, Reina was cursing up a storm as she climbed down the scaffolding as Syd slowly dodged the firebombs raining down around him. About 50 feet away from railyard entrance, a new box truck screeched to a halt with it's rear door already open. The driver leaned out of the window and began taking potshots at the entrenched guards, trying to help cover Syd and Bill's escape.

 

[Dakota K5]

Otto White

Interaction: Reina and Tess
----
Otto heard Javion's words through the ear piece as he scooped up the phone and slid it into a pouch on his person. He also heard Reina's warning as well as the loud report of her rifle as she thinned the heard a little. "Detonation in 3...2...1..." As Otto spoke the final number in his com piece he depressed both detonators, the C4 on the gate's locks did it's job wonderfully as it blew both locks off the gate entirely, he then went to the console and pressed the switch causing the gate to start to lumber open. "Gate's opening, meet you when able Tess." Meanwhile Otto heard footsteps outside the booth approaching as he recalled Reina's warning. He pulled out his shotgun and took a position by the door. "HELP HE'S MAKING ME OPEN THE GATE!" Otto yelled through the door, impersonating a worker or guard and then he waited. The guard approaching the booth burst in, with his own shotgun Otto observed in a flash, pointed at the other end of the control booth and like a flash Otto moved. His left arm snatched out and grabbed the barrel and pump of the guard's shotgun as Otto moved it up and away from being able to face him, as he moved Otto operated his own mini shotgun with his right hand to point forward while his foot moved and struck the guard in the leg making him drop to a knee as the guard's non trigger hand left his shotgun involuntarily to try and keep himself from falling down but it was to late as Otto saw that the man's head and face were in line with his mini shotgun's barrel and only about an inch away. Otto did not hesitate in pulling the trigger of his small twelve gauge.​

 

[Jack Robinson]

Zion Bill


Things were starting to get interesting. The grenade went off, spraying blood everywhere as guards were incinerated by the blast. Bill smiled for a moment, then stopped. He'd developed a bad habit early on in his career of smiling or laughing whenever good or crazy things happened on the battlefield. He'd almost passed out laughing one time when a stray artillery shell had decapitated five guys in a row right in front of him and then buried itself into the stomach of another without even exploding. Not really something a normal human would laugh at, but it had been hilarious just because of how horrible it was. It was then that Bill knew he'd lost his humanity for good. And he'd just been living with that fact ever since.

Orders came in from Javion. Syd was getting torched by some fellers with Molotovs. Classic little weapons, but luckily Bill could shoot faster than they could throw. He made sure his duffel bag was good and stacked with riches, then shouldered his rifle and stepped out with his revolvers cocked and ready in his hands. "Dangerous to play with fire, fellers!" he shouted. He opened fire, his revolvers singing a deep, terrible chorus as bullets soared from their heavy metal barrels. Blood squirted into the air like geysers as two or three guards went down. One man dropped his lit Molotov and ignited himself. He screamed as he burned and burned, stumbling about, begging for mercy. Bill stared at him for a moment, barely able to contain his laughter. He watched for another couple seconds, then put the poor fool out of his misery with a shot to the head.

Bullets began flying toward Bill, and one hit him in the shoulder, denting his body armor. He cursed and ducked behind cover. "Ready to cover my retreat, Syd? Things are gettin' hot out here. Course...I guess you already know that," Bill chuckled.​

 

[Amaranth]

Now all she needed to do was start the train. Finally. Entering the cab, Tess released the breaks and put the throttle into the first notch, smiling when the train truly whirled to life and began to move, very, very slowly. She used this time to grab the body on the floor of the cab and drag him out, dumping him in the floor and closing the cab door behind her. She resisted the urge to sound the air horn - as much as she wanted to, it would draw unnecessary attention.

Not that it mattered, apparently. Tess cursed when she heard Reina's warning, readying her pistol.

"Otto, Reina, get on the train, now. I can't pick up speed without leaving the yard too fast for you guys to jump on board." It was a bit of an impasse. If she continued in that velocity, anyone could jump on the train, not just Reina and Otto. If she picked up speed, she would probably be out of the yard before they could wrap up whatever they were doing. "Fast!"

Initiating the countdown until she either had to speed up or risk soldiers on board, Tess took a peek out of the window, seeing the guard that was approaching the train. She shot three times, hoping one of the bullets would find its mark, the position awkward as she tried to keep the guard in her sight while keeping herself covered.

When the train was halfway through the yard, she moved the throttle control to the second notch, before returning to position and trying to see if she had hit the guard or not. The train increased its speed, still slow enough that Tess had no doubt both Reina and Otto could easily jump aboard, but she honestly hoped they found their way soon.

 

[Dunruffle]

Reina grumbled under her breath as she jogged towards the slowly moving train. Passing under the control booth she was promptly showered in droplets of blood as Otto vaporized the poor guard's head. "Ew, I am really gonna need a shower after this." Slinging her rifle over he back, Reina pulled out her pistol as she grabbed a ladder located on the side of the train. Pulling herself up, Reina put a pair of bullets into two plucky guards trying to jump on the slow moving train. "Otto get moving I can cover you on this side. Watch out for any guards with a long rifle." Reina calmly talked into her earpiece as she put two bullets in the face of a guard above in the scaffolding. There was a crack of a passing bullet making Reina duck and take cover behind the metal siding of the train. In the back the guard leader chambered another round of his rifle and took a shot at Otto's exposed arm.

Stepping into the back of the box truck, Syd loaded a new drum magazine and promptly began dumping bullets over Bill's head. "Move." A single raspy word from Syd was all Bill got, telling him to move while the armored brute suppressed the remaining guards. The barrels of the minigun began to glow red as several bullets lodged themselves in Syd's armor plating and the side of the truck.

 

[Dakota K5]

Otto White


---
As Otto let the headless guard drop down a round from somewhere glanced off his prosthetic left arm, Otto wouldn't be able to tell if there was any real damage at the moment as his focus was now on getting onto the train and out of here. Reina's words spurred him to move as the train was right near the control booth, he was quick out the door keeping in a low crouch and tossing himself over the rails and catching himself on the lip of the train and dropped himself down on the small walk way as he dipped down low in cover from where ever the round had come from that hit his arm. "Aboard the train now, took a shot to the arm, no major damage but I'll need to do a full diagnostic when we're in the clear." He spoke calmly over the coms with his status as he did a quick and dirty exam of his prosthetic just to make sure it still gripped and could be used and once satisfied he moved to watch for any other looking to board the train​

 

[Amaranth]

"Get ready for the ride, then!" Tess exclaimed, excitement clear in her voice yet again as she pushed the control into the third notch, the train starting to pick up speed for real. This time, she didn't wait for longer than the clank of the last car being pulled to move faster with the rest of the train before increasing the speed again, the machine whirling to life as it passed through the gate. Now, the train was gaining speed constantly, and Tess couldn't keep the smile out of her face as she felt for the train's movements and sounds, indicating she could increase its velocity yet again.

If she remembered correctly, the landscape was mostly flat. She could maintain a good speed until they were farther away, and then slow down a bit to something more manageable if they suddenly needed to go up or down an elevation, or came across some unexpected obstacle. "Everything alright out there?"

 

[Dunruffle]

Reina peeked over the metal siding of the train engine. Behind them the few remaining guards faded into the night as the train quickly put distance between them. "Yeah we're all good. I hope our ride is waiting for us at the RV, those guards put up more of a fight than I expected." Standing up, Reina holstered her pistol and made her way over to the connection between the engine and the cargo railcar. "I dunno about you two, but I am curious as to what is in here. A lil peek won't hurt anyone right?" Not waiting for a response, Reina hopped onto the narrow platform of the railcar and pushed open a door. Stepping inside, Reina switched her eyes to night vision mode as she began breaking open boxes. "Shit..." Reina's depressed tone caught Javion's attention and he soon was talking into her earpiece. "What did you find Reina? Illegal goods? Priceless art? Maybe a nuke or two?" Reina sighed loudly as she reached into a large wooden box and pulled out a small parcel. "I wish it was any of that, would make me feel less scummy." In her hands the parcel was labeled as "baby formula". The other boxes contained items such as water purification tablets, diapers, dehydrated food, cold medicine, and various other humanitarian items. "Javion I know we are not good guys by a long shot but this feels shitty on a whole new level." There was a loud snort of amusement from Javion and his voice practically dripped with condescension. "Aww, is Reina growing a conscience? Here I was thinking she was my personal killer. Grow up you know I-" Suddenly Javion's voice cut off as Reina stomped out of the railcar and back to the engine. Stopping next to Otto, Reina looked up slightly and stared at him. "Look I don't care what Javion thinks, it feels wrong to take all this stuff. Tess you have a sister right? Tell me I am not the only one feeling like a bad guy right now."

On the other side of town, Syd and Bill sat in the dark cargo space of the box truck, occasionally being jostled around as the truck made tight turns and ran over bumps. Syd sat in silence, picking deformed bullets out of his armor and flicking them against the wall with small metallic pings. He listened to Reina but kept silent, obviously not caring as much but letting Reina voice her opinion.