The Last Dainv-Chapter 133

The Last Dainv-Chapter 133

The Chinese man wore a dark gray tangsuit. His eyes went up and down Ollie, and then quickly glanced behind. The diagonal scar across his face made for one of the meanest looking villain Gale's seen so far.
"That would be me," the Chinese man said. "Mark Andrews the name, and only friends call me Needle. Last time I checked, we're not friends, Glory."
Around them, the silver lion badged men adjusted their guns in the cramped space of the basement. Gale counted at least 10 here, but more outside the cabin. The ten inside the basement all held Attuned level signatures. The rest were Awakened. Needle himself gave off the signature of a Resonant.
Gale's hand moved to his pocket, trying to take hold of the storage box. A fight was just what he needed after reading through that journal.
"Easy there, tiger," Ollie said, eyes glancing back at Gale's hand. "Not the time."
Kyle and Clyde stood still along with Rachel, all having their hands up.
"Interesting timing," Needle said. "This area is off-limits. Particularly to Path members."
"We were just leaving," Ollie said, putting on a smile. "No harm done."
"No harm?" Needle said. "My seal was broken. Containment breached. That's quite a bit of harm."
Ollie stepped forward, hands above his head. "Look, we didn't know. We found coordinates, followed them here. Typical curiosity. Nothing personal."
"Ah, curiosity." Needle sighed. "Famous last words in our line of work." He looked to the duffle bags Clyde and Kyle held. "Put everything down. All of it."
Ollie nodded back to Kyle and Clyde. The twins waited too long, causing one of the men pointing guns to aim down his sight at the two. That was enough to get the two to put down their bags.
"Now what?" Ollie asked.
"Now you walk away," Needle said. "Empty-handed but alive. Fair trade, wouldn't you say?"
"That's it? We leave all this, and you just let us go?" Ollie smiled.
"I could kill you instead," Needle said. "Would you prefer that option?"
"First option sounds great," Ollie said. "Just making sure I understood the terms."
Needle walked over and looked through the items, then eyed the group's pockets one by one. "Your pockets too. Empty them."
"Seriously?" Ollie asked.
"Do I look like I'm fucking joking to you?" Needle said.
Ollie sighed, emptying his pockets and valuables. From his watch to his wallet. Magazines with blue etches, a piece of paper, and a black vial that showed bits of purple liquid with white grains inside.
"Dust in a fancy container." Needle's eyes lit up at the vial. He picked it up, turning it in his fingers. "This alone would fetch five figures."
Kyle laughed. "This guy's just like us. Taking other people's shit."
"Shut up, Kyle," Ollie hissed.
"No, no. He's fucking right. We're all vultures trying to eat as much of the same corpse. Chasing shit we don't know just to live another fucking day in this shit." His eyes settled on Gale, who'd stayed quiet. "Your turn,
hunter
."
Sounds like everyone in the spotlight basically already knows who he is. Goddamn asshole. Gale pulled out the contents of his pockets, handing over the phone and the storage box.
Needle looked at Gale's chest. "What's that? Let's see it."
Gale handed it over. Let him try to open it. To him, it's just a metal box, wallet-sized-but-bulky-and-heavy-for-its-size box.
"What's this?" Needle asked, holding out his hand, turning around the metal box and putting it closer to his eyes. His fingers ran along the sides and corners of the box. "What does it do?"
"It's just a box," Gale said.
Needle shook it near his ear. "Empty?" He tried to open it, looking for seams or buttons. Nothing happened. "How does it work?"
Gale saw Ollie grin, but caught himself and put on a blank expression immediately. Needle would need to put essence in it, and knowing these people used something outside of essence, he wouldn't be able to open it. That was the theory anyways, stupid Guide never telling him anything
useful.
"It's nothing," Gale said. "Just a paperweight."
Needle looked up at Gale's face. "A paperweight you carry in an inside pocket? Through a zombie-infested underground facility?"
"It was a gift," Gale said.
"From whom?" Needle asked, still trying to pry open the box.
"My dad. Before he disappeared."
Needle stopped moving his fingers, looking at Gale for exactly 3 seconds before saying, "Ah, now it makes sense. Sentimental value. The one thing I've never understood. Keep it."
Gale caught the metal box that Needle threw with one hand. The interface opened up immediately in front of him. He just needed a signal from whoever's older than him to call the shot.
"Leave," Needle said.
"Wait," Ollie said, before moving, pointing to their confiscated weapons. "We're going to need those."
Needle laughed. "No, you're not."
"Every Path weapon has a tracking signature," Ollie said. "You take those, and within hours the Path will know exactly where you are. Is that what you want?"
"You think I'm stupid, Glory?" Needle closed in on his face.
"I think you're practical," Ollie said. "Why create problems you don't need?"
The twins nodded in unison.
Needle stared at Ollie for a long moment before spitting on the already dirty floor.
"Take your fucking guns and get out." He snapped his fingers, and one of his men brought over their weapons. "But if I see any of you here again, it's not going to end with red shit on the ground."
"Let's go," Ollie said, walking towards the ladder leading upstairs. "Before our friend changes his mind."
Gale followed, walking closely to Ollie through the 10 men staring at them as they passed by the parted path. The twins followed, and Rachel had taken up the rear.
Ollie looked to Rachel and twitched his lips. The twins also caught that. It was a sign. Some kind of sign. Why weren't they using sign language? He could ask that question later. Something was about to happen, and Gale braced himself, eyes hovering on the Weber.
The temperature took a sudden turn, increasing multiple degrees. Rachel literally exploded, controlling it enough so that the fire only hit the area away from the exit where the group was. Half of the whole cabin was destroyed, exposing the area to the snowstorm. Debris flew everywhere, falling down from the sky. The 10 men and Needle in the basement had already jumped away onto the clearing, falling back to the 20 other men outside.
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Gale moved. Breath of the Void went inwards. Patterns, shapes, and lines bloomed across his body and face as the tendrils went inwards. The world flipped. White snow turned black. The dark greens still uncovered by the snow flipped to a neon magenta.
Weber came out of the storage, materializing in Gale's right hand. In one motion, he lunged halfway across the clearing to where Needle stood and sliced upwards, blade hitting his left arm just at the elbow joint. Clean cut through bone and muscle. Blood sprayed white against the black snow.
Needle's face showed no expression as his eyes tracked his arm as it flew off of his body. Three needles appeared on his right hand, stabbing them into the stump, and the bleeding stopped.
"Impressive," Needle said. Right hand blurred. Needles flew at Gale's neck.
Gale twisted mid air. One needle hit his jacket. Another cut a thin line through his cheek. The third missed.
On the other side of the clearing south of the cabin, Clyde fired his long gun, creating a shockwave that shook the treeline. Six Silver Lion men flew backwards, their bodies being blown away and landing on the soft snow. They got back up immediately and fired their own ARs.
Bullets homed in on Clyde, blue streaks barely visible against the snowstorm. The familiar high pitch of the grey marble blocked all oncoming bullets as Ollie used himself to block the volley. Nine shots from the deagle, one Silver Lion incapacitated; his blood painting the snow.
"Fuck," Ollie shouted. "We need a better plan!"
Needle whistled, clear even against the multiple ARs barking at the same time. He pointed at Rachel. "Five of you. Get the girl. She'll make a good ransom."
Five attuned men ran toward Rachel. Her arms ignited and were engulfed in fire as she ran for the trees, glancing back at the clearing. "Gale! Don't die!"
"Bitch, what about us?!" Kyle shouted as he had already taken cover behind a tree on the treeline.
"Shut up! Focus!" Clyde shouted, dropping to slide to a nearby tree near Kyle.
Rachel disappeared into the trees as the five men chased her. Fire flared from the direction she ran to, and pine trees fell, shaking the leaves of the treeline.
Kyle threw his dagger at the nearest man. The blade cut through a man's throat. Dropped to the snow. A fist hit his ribs the moment he blinked to his dagger, sending him flying 20 feet into a tree that cracked from the force.
A shockwave bullet followed, hitting the man square on the shoulder. The man's chest caved in from the bullet, launching him until he hit a tree on the other side of the clearing.
Taking out another dagger from his jacket, Kyle threw it toward a tree beside Clyde. It arched, not exactly hitting where it should as it landed on the snow. He blinked again just before the homing bullets peppered his original location.
Ollie floated onto the trees, blue glow outlining himself. His deagle fired from the top of the tree branches on the treeline. Bullets homed in on the Silver Lion men, but a specific man had multiple grey marbles orbiting him and acting as a shield for his team.
"Fuck!" Ollie shouted. "Clyde, take out the marbles!"
Needle's eyes traced Ollie through the air. Right hand became a blur. Twenty needles flew forward, all hitting Ollie's own grey marble. It whined at a higher pitch every time a needle struck it until it glowed too hot and then shattered after the 16th needle. One missed while the remaining 3 hit Ollie on the thigh, shoulder, and stomach.
Gale saw his chance. He lunged again, swinging down mid air.
Needle sidestepped casually, like water moving around a rock. His hand blurred again, and numbness permeated Gale's arm. Another needle hit his leg, causing him to slightly stumble before regaining his footing. There were no fucking obstacles here to use the movement of Dainv Combat Arts. Just a plain clearing, no rocks or walls to do anything.
Clyde fired three consecutive shots from behind the tree. Shockwaves knocked down four Silver Lion men like bowling pins, only for them to get back up. One man rolled forward while Clyde was reloading.
A volley from a silver lion's AR went to Clyde. But before it hit, a dagger flew by. Kyle blinked and then threw his dagger again while putting his hand on Clyde's shoulder. The two blinked away, unlucky as Clyde's thigh took one bullet. Blood spurted out.
Kyle threw his dagger at the shooter, going through the man's eye. Blink. The pistol was already aimed at another man, bullet hit centre mass, but the Silver Lion with the grey marbles blocked the shots.
Needle appeared behind Kyle. Three needles dug themselves into his back, knocking him forward and incapacitating him.
While all that happened, Gale pulled out the needles from his leg. Distort activated. Outline still visible on the piled-up snow. He pounced as Needle stuck the needles onto Kyle's back, tackling him down to the ground. They rolled in the snow, Gale pinning the remaining arm on his knee. Weber created a line of blood on the man's neck as Distort released, bringing him back into view.
The whole fight had only lasted seconds.
"Stand down!" Needle yelled. "Everyone stand down!"
The remaining Silver Lion men lowered their guns slowly.
"This is how the Path operates? This is your honour?" Needle glared up at Gale. "I kept my word. Let you walk away. And this is how you repay it?"
Gale pressed the blade closer, not bothering to talk.
"My men died," Needle spat. "But none of yours did. The hypocrisy of yours, hunter. Your god complex disgusts me."
Tendrils fed him the surrounding data. Kyle groaned as he tried to stand up, failing. Clyde put pressure on his bleeding leg. Ollie stirred at the tree he fell from. God complex, it didn't matter. The people he chose to team with were hurt, but killing someone of Needle's rank might cause issues. Better wait for Ollie.
"We're taking our stuff back," Gale said.
"Wasn't your shit in the first place." Needle glanced at his severed arm lying in the snow. "Take it. Better than fucking dying in this shithole."
Gale eased the pressure, causing Needle to cough.
"I'll need medical attention," Needle said. "Or did you plan to finish the job?"
From the tree line, Ollie groaned. He pushed himself up, swaying. Blood ran from his hairline. He tossed something toward Gale. A syringe gun, or at least that’s what he assumed. First time being able to hold it like this.
"Jab him with it," Ollie said.
Pressing the syringe gun to Needle's neck, he pulled the trigger. A slight green glow spread from the spot he jabbed.
"Thanks," Needle's face relaxed slightly.
Another boom from the tree line shook the trees before Rachel came out into the clearing. Three Silver Lion men were still chasing, two missing. They all stopped when they saw the scene. Her fire flickered against the wind, dissipating as she took in the scene.
Ollie stumbled toward Needle, blood still running down his face. He kept his gun aimed at the one-armed man but wore a grin that didn't match how bad things were. "Should've fucking known. Tangmen, right? Fucking Jiuling crazy battle-hungry bastards never change."
"Half Tangmen," Needle said. "Half Wudang. Not that a Path pig like you would understand the distinction."
"Pig? You bet your ass I am." Ollie laughed, crouching down next to Needle, still pinned by Gale. "New deal. We take everything we've got, and you walk away with your life. We'll drive you to the nearest town when we feel safe enough to drop you off. Deal?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really," Ollie said. He turned toward the twins. "Hey! Stop pretending to be dead. I know you've got your own syringe guns."
Kyle groaned loudly from his position against a tree. "Fuck you."
Clyde sat up. "This wasn't worth it. We'll be out of commission for months. These syringe guns only do so much."
Both men pulled out the same looking syringe gun that Ollie had given Gale. They put them both to their necks, squeezed, and hissed. The green glow spread from the veins it stabbed.
"Should've just let them keep the shit," Kyle grumbled.
"And miss all this fun?" Ollie turned to Gale. "You still good?"
"Yeah. Better than I should be," Gale said. The ring on his finger had gotten warmer, almost making him sweat in his jacket. The cut on his cheek had already clotted and the punctures where the needles had landed were getting less numb by the minute.
Ollie nodded, then looked toward Rachel as she walked up from the treeline. "Rachel, grab Needle and his arm. We need to move before his friends decide to get brave."
Gale stepped forward. "I'll take him."
Rachel softly picked him up from the snow piled forest floor. "Rest. You've done enough."
She picked up Needle, gently putting his right arm around her shoulder and then bent to pick up his arm from the snow.
"This way," Ollie said, pointing south. "Car's about two miles that way."
The group moved slowly through the trees, Kyle and Clyde helping each other while Rachel helped Needle. Gale walked beside them, tendrils taking in the signatures of the remaining Silver Lion men that followed him at a distance.
"Your men are following us," Gale said to Needle.
"They're loyal," Needle said. He turned his head to look back. "Stand down! Return to base!"
The men paused, stopping in their tracks.
"That's an order!" Needle yelled. " to Samantha!"
That did the trick as the men turned east and walked single file, trudging through the snow.
"Thank you," Rachel said quietly to Needle.
No response from Needle.
"So," Kyle broke the silence. "Anyone else notice we almost died for a bunch of old papers and some glass tubes?"
"Worth it," Ollie grumbled. "Those tubes alone can help me with our version of Project Threshold. The others probably cost about…"
"Save it," Clyde said. "I don't want to hear about how much money we'll make. I want to hear about how you'll pay our medical bills
and
how much we'll get from selling this shit. This was off the Path's books. We got no hazard pay for this."
"Thought you were on a Path mission. What the fuck, dude?" Ollie sighed. "Fine. I'll cover it all. Happy?"
"Ecstatic," Kyle deadpanned.
After what felt like hours, they reached the clearing. A black SUV and a sedan were parked side by side, covered in thick snow.
Rachel went up to the car and threw a palm. A burst of fire blew off both cars' snow.
"You two riding with us or taking your own vehicle?" Ollie asked, looking at the twins.
"Our own," Kyle and Clyde said at the same time.
"Suit yourselves," Ollie shrugged. "Just don't bleed out on the highway."

Chapter 133