(Previously: Axe shoots at Vecto but Vecto blasts a chuck of the building where the assassin is. Axe moves out of the way in time and loads different ammunition.)
"That should do the job," Vecto said, turning away.
"Dude, you just blew up the whole side of the building!" Chais kept his distance, looking for the one who had shot Vecto.
More bullets struck Vecto, this time in the back. Vecto was annoyed now and spun around, changing to rapid fire, spitting chains of bullets at the building. Axe sprinted alongside the shattering windows, sniping him along the way, running as ammo flew by.
Vecto stopped. He was covered in bullets that were now releasing gases in the air.
"I'd stay back if I were you," Vecto said to Chais, motioning him to step away even more. The gases swarmed around Vecto, blocking his view. And then the small particles ignited, creating miniature fireworks around Vecto. Yet Vecto's shield withstood the firepower. He emerged from the chaotic flames only to see a rocket launcher headed for Chais.
"Watch out!" Vecto yelled. He tackled Chais to the ground and expanded his shields to protect him. The launcher impacted the shield, forming a mushroom-effect explosion, destroying the particle-bound pavement and ground underneath them. Chais slid down the crater, gripping his throat. He couldn't breathe in the shields. He looked down to see skin flaking off his hand. Even the ground was disintegrating into loose particles. At last, the shield contracted to Vecto, and Chais took a swallow of fresh air, leaning up from the rocks that were still tumbling down the crater.
"What in blazes kind of shield d'you got?" Chais asked, coughing. "That thing just suffocated me!"
"Be grateful I saved your life," Vecto said, scanning the building for movement as he marched up from the crater. He locked on to his target and activated his gun's main teleportation disc. A missile shot out from the flat disc inside the gun, streaming the attacker's way.
* * *
"His shield's still up?" Axe was taken aback. Seeing the missile coming, the expert assassin tossed flares out the window to blow it up. Axe then ducked as the projectile exploded and sent shrapnel flying overhead. Time for plan C, the killer thought, keeping low, reaching back into a case.
Axe ejected the current magazine and slid a single shell through the back of the sniper rifle, then stood back up in the smoke and fired at Vecto's chest.
The bullet struck his shield. Vecto looked down as the bullet created a dimensional rift to phase through it. It passed through and blew up inside.
Axe nodded in victory, but the smoke inside Vecto's shield cleared enough to show the robot still there.
"Multiple shields." Vecto's voice echoed around the assassin. "Give up."
In a desperate attempt, Axe reached into a dark bag and lifted a nuclear warhead missile launcher in the air, aiming it at Vecto.
(Can Vecto withstand another nuclear blast? What will he do? Find out more in the next installment of Vecto: Vengeance!)
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Alpha Squad - Vecto: Vengeance
Science FictionVecto: Vengeance was published Nov. 18, 2014, by start-up company Vic's Lab, LLC. It was edited by Paul Witcover, who has worked with Del Rey, Tor, Tokyopop, and DC Comics. You can buy this book from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, etc. (ebook or p...
