Ultima Ratio

Chapter 27: Closing Sale

Akira shouldn't have been surprised when Danya didn't dodge a single shot, opting instead to soak in each laser and bullet that hit her, dramatically flinching at every impact. The only ones she avoided were aimed for her face, and she would exaggeratedly swing her head to avoid them while pretending like she wasn't in control of her coincidental movements.

"And she was making a fuss about keeping a low profile," Elodie muttered with reserved bitterness.

Navin's light exhale that followed sounded strangely like a chuckle.

After half a minute of constant shooting, the hostiles finally stopped, and they all stared at Danya's hunched figure as she swayed on her feet. When her posture steadied, they gripped their weapons tighter; when she let out a lone, low laugh, some took a step backwards. And when she slowly raised her head, they all froze at her menacing smile.

"Well, we did ask for a good distraction," Akira said as the resumed gunshots harmonized with Danya's cackling.

With the hostiles sufficiently occupied, Akira waved Navin through the doorway, then watched him slink up the stairs along the west side of the building until he disappeared onto the floor above them. While his large figure attracted some attention, it was only from young civilians in the crowded market, and they obediently nodded at Akira's finger pressed to her lips.

"In position," Navin quietly reported a minute later.

"Copy," Akira said as she and Elodie fell back a meter, both drawing their guns and deploying their helmets from under their civvies. "Aegis Two, go ahead."

"Gladly!" Jivan exclaimed.

A beat later, an explosion echoed within the hall of stalls, sending a rippling rumble throughout the building. Angry shouts sounded from the main market, coupled with Jivan's gleeful laughter over the comms.

"Aegis Two, start moving," Akira reminded them as heavy footsteps approached the doorway.

"I'm going, I'm going!" they said.

Jivan made another comment in annoyance, but it was drowned out by the startled yells from the first hostile that ran into the hall. Soon after, they were sprawled out on the ground, downed by a stunning shot from Akira.

Elodie hit the hostile immediately behind them, but the third used their unconscious friend as a shield, holding them upright to rush Akira. Akira lunged to the side just as the sound of a firing bullet rang past her, but the deafening noise still left her ears ringing as she sprung back to her feet.

But she couldn't spare any time to regain her lost sense. The third hostile had thrown their human shield on Elodie and had their gun aimed at Akira from a meter away. Dodging would either put her too close to any incoming hostiles or too close to a disoriented Elodie, so Akira raised her right forearm in front of her head.

"Shield," she ordered, hoping her earpiece understood the new command.

Izzy's last-minute addition to her arm worked. In less than a second, two thin metal rods emerged from the sides of her forearm, ripping through the wrist of her clothing and pivoting around her elbow until they reached her shoulder, leaving a rounded metal shield in its path. Akira heard a muffled gunshot and the resulting reverberations in her arm just before the shield completely formed, but she already had her left arm raised with her backup gun in hand. Even though she only had the hostile's feet to aim with, she saw their body collapse to the ground a second later.

Akira retracted her shield just in time to see the fourth hostile fall from one of Elodie's shots, giving Akira enough time to aim and shoot at the fifth one behind them. Once they joined their comrades on the floor, the doorway remained vacant.