Axel reloaded his rifle, completely comfortable as the company car swayed this way and that in wild fishtails and drifts as his partner Jace sped after their quarry. Their mission as part of the secret services was to take down a well known kingpin who had the backing of even the president of their country. The man, Yani von Steiner, was like a king in his own right with the heaviest hand in politics and society. And he was going to have armies from all over the world coming to take down their country because of his foolish actions. The best thing to do was to take him out before anything got too hectic. All in all, it was a two team assassination mission because there was a leak in the system. They had caught the person but it took forever to get the information of Steiner's whereabouts or even his plans out of the guy.
Axel heard Jace curse and felt the car tilt dangerously to the side. Already reloaded, he looked up into the rear view mirror to see the tight knot in Jace's forehead. It seemed that Steiner's driver was good at playing that good old Tetris racing game the way they weaved in and out of the six-lane traffic. Axel braced both booted feet onto the backs of the front seats, reaching forward to open the sunroof of the company car.
"Come on, Jace," Axel grunted, finally hitting the button. "They're almost to the border."
Axel was nearly thrown back as Jace shifted gears and plowed through traffic. Jace, he knew, was the best driver they had in the organization. His uncanny accuracy and calculating mind allowed the part Asian man do the most ridiculous stunts with any vehicle.
"Get ready," was the only warning he had. Quickly, Axel affirmed his footing and stood atop the shoulders of the seats and climbed so that he was half out of the sunroof. He held the rifle ready, locked and loaded. The car swerved violently to the right, balancing precariously on those two wheels. Axel waited, the car suddenly lurching to the left and somehow by whatever magic Jace was working, ending up sliding along its nose until it tipped and flipped over the dark sedan they were chasing. The top of the car was glass -- a new thing rich people liked to slap on their cars and the worst mistake Steiner could ever make.
The man looked up, eyes widened as Axel took aim, an evil grin spreading across his features. The green eyed operative fired the bullet, only able to see the projectile pierce the man's skull between the eyes when he felt his stomach slam into his spine.
"What the--," he started, never getting the chance to finish when after a blinding, suffocating moment in time, he felt himself free falling backward and landing harshly on a sharp edge. He cried out from the shock and pain of the impact. What little air was left was forced out of his lungs when some ungodly weight slammed into him, both obeying gravity after a moment and rolling off whatever he landed on and hitting the ground with a doubled, resounding thud. It was a task to roll onto his side, coughing as he tried to get the air back into the lungs it was smashed out of. His chest and back hurt like hell and moving was a task.
What the hell just happened? It was like all of the strength was sapped out of him and life sucked him in and spewed him out like a three year old would upchuck vegetables.
Literally.
Finally flopping partly onto his stomach, he gave in to the gray that ate into the corners of his eyes. He just needed a minute...
Jace landed with an unintentional 'oof' leaving his lips as the air rushed out of his lungs. He was grateful for whatever soft thing he landed on, but he couldn't keep his balance as both he and the cushion rolled over the edge of...something...and landed on the ground. Jace took a moment to gather his wits and got to his feet, staggering as he fought for his footing. He blinked and looked around to find himself...in an alley?
The sound of coughing brought him out of his incredulity. Without a second thought, he rolled his dazed partner over and sat the other man up. It seemed that Axel had been his cushion all along, judging by the other's obvious battle to take in oxygen. Axel's coughing fit had subsided and fell limp. Frowning, Jace checked for a pulse, silently relieved to find one, albeit elevated. But staying in an alley in broad daylight wasn't the best thing to do in unknown territory.
Returning his attention to the walls that created the alley, his frown deepened. Brick walls? He looked around to see various trash cans and the big dumpster they both fell off of. He knew what they were, but it was surreal to see the authentic ones. There were garbage disposals everywhere on the streets. Not...obsolete trash cans that needed people to empty manually. Just where the hell were they? The dark haired part Asian awkwardly shed his work jacket and laid it out under his unresponsive partner before laying the other man out. Getting to his feet, Jace made his way cautiously to the mouth of the alley. He drew one of his handguns, holding it off in front of him like any cop would. What he saw at the opening made his arms limp and his eyes widen.
The place was practically massacred. Buildings were torn asunder, some still standing, others gutted and abandoned. Car bodies, ancient models like Dodge Neon and Infiniti M's looked either old or fit for scrap metal. Jace had thought about taking a step further when a growl sounded from his right. He only had time to glance in that direction when a set of jowls opened to tear him apart. Three shots through the back of the beast's throat had it disabled, but not before getting its bodily fluids and bloodied parts all over Jace's uniform.
"The hell was that?" he muttered, brows furrowed and eyes wide. On the ground, still and unmoving was the body of a rather large dog-like creature. At least...without the head in one piece, that was what it looked like. Jace tore his eyes away form the mangles corpse. Just where the hell did he end up? Some ancient reenactment of some ancient post-apocalyptic....something?!
He cursed and took a cautious step out into the open. Down the deserted street looked to be some rundown motel. There should be some mattress or something there. Hell, it looked as seedy as the old 2010 published books said they were. But it didn't matter; it was shelter that he and his partner needed.
Determined, Jace turned back and slung his partner over his shoulder in the fireman's carry, using the tip of his shoe to kick the jacket up and into his grip. Looking around to see if anything was left behind, he spotted Axel's rifle atop the large dumpster. Jace, for a few seconds, heavily debated leaving it there but decided against it knowing that Axel would have something akin to a-- no, it would be a fit -- if he didn't haul it along. With an irritated sigh, Jace slung the rifle over his free shoulder and quickly but warily made his way over to the only thing that looked like shelter in this practically renaissance looking city. Hopefully after getting settled he could scout around for information.
[I apologize for the book lol but I figured why not show what happened before they got sucked in, eh?]
