In order to take an outsider into our hideout, I would have to lead them thru a set path with weapon defences all over the place. Into an iron door we went and down a long hall I led the green haired girl. All was fine and dandy until a turret scanned her before I could get in front.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" An annoying automated voice came on.
I angrily executed a small EMP into the hallway and temporarily fried the turrets and cameras. They would eventually boot themselves back up.
"Still got some kinks to work out." My voice changer was still on.
At the end of the long hallway was a vending machine with no other doors or entry ways.
"We came all this way for a drink?" The girl asked.
"You don't fancy one?" I flipped a coin and caught it, seeing her unimpressed face.
"I guess..." She shrugged and looked at the ground.
I put the coin in but instead of just choosing one drink, I clicked a few buttons in quick succession. The girl looked at me confused as I hit the side of the vending machine twice afterwards.
"You've caught us at a good time. This is a Red Letter Day." I smirked as the vending machine swung open like a door.
Inside I went and she followed suit quickly. On the other side we emerged from another false vending machine that was between two real ones. It closed behind us and we were back in the hideout.
"Long time no see, numbskull." Toxic appeared and I rushed over to him for a bro hug.
"Toxic!" I held out my hand and clapped my palm against his.
When I caught it tho, there was no satisfying slap. I instantly looked and pushed back his hoodies sleeve. Not only did Toxic have his metal arm back but it was reforged out of Blakmetal.
"No way! That arm is gonna be a hundred times stronger than your last one!" I was excited.
"No doubt about it." Toxic smirked then quickly peeked behind me and pulled me closer.
"Who's the new chick?" He whispered.
"I saved her from some cock thistles that tried to take advantage of her." I explained.
"Good. Don't hog her tho. She is my colour after all." Toxic smirked.
I simply chuckled at his humour and patted his shoulder before turning back to the girl. I opened my mouth to speak but before I could, Sinon stepped aggressively out from my bedroom.
"Where the hell did you go??" Sinon demanded an answer.
"Sinon, I-"
"And who the hell is this bitch??" She was fuming.
I didn't want her to take her anger out on the girl. Especially after what she had just been thru.
"Baby, I know you're mad but-"
"Mad?! I'm furious! You left in the middle of the night without saying a word and you come back in the morning with some girl you just met!" Sinon went off.
"Mad or not, this girl was in a bad place when I found her. Just like you, bad men tried to take advantage of her. You could at least show some respect for the good deeds I try to do." I crossed my arms.
"You call letting a random into our secret hideout a good deed??" Sinon was baffled.
"If I recall correctly Sinon, a shockingly similar conversation arose the day I met you and your friends. So just like you told Kirito before, I would appreciate if you keep those feelings to yourself!" I was annoyed.
Sinon just scoffed and grabbed her car keys as she stormed into the garage.
"Shino, wai-" I was cut off by the sound of her revving her GunBunny.
She began to drive out and I held my hand out to try to stop her, but Toxic grabbed my shoulder.
"Let her go, K. She needs to clear her head just like you." Toxic assured me.
I let out a sigh and nodded solemnly.
"Wow! You have so much cool tech!" The girl marvelled at the room.
"Yeah... We're kind of known for our technological expertise. It's not that special." I shrugged, still thinking of Sinon.
"I think it's special! Not only do you have tons of computers in this room to communicate like a server or network, but you also have Artificial Intelligence to run the whole thing!" The green haired girl seemed to know a lot more than she let on.
"Why... Yes! Precisely!! Normally it would be difficult to monitor an entire server network while out in the field, but I have Toxic here and other A.I. programs to seek out bugs before they cause major issues!" I was fascinated by her knowledge.
"That's amazing! I can't believe- Ahem... right, heh. My name is Shirley. It's nice to meet you...?" The girl recollected herself and held out her hand to me.
"You can call me K." I smiled and shook her hand.
"K, A, Y? Or like the letter?" She asked.
"Just like the letter." I nodded.
"Oh, sorry." She smiled nervously, not meaning to misspell my name.
"A-Okay, just call me K." I winked with a smirk and Shirley giggled with a blush.
"Ugh... what was all the yelling about?" Lizbeth emerged from the spare bedroom.
"Right... Sinon and I had a bit of an argument." I hung my head.
"Really? I thought you two hardly ever had those." Liz rubbed her tired eyes.
"We don't, but she wouldn't listen to reason this time." I explained.
"I'm sorry if I caused an issue." Shirley felt bad.
"There's no need for you to apologize. It's not your fault, you're just caught in the middle of it." I told her.
She gave an honest smile back as someone entered the room.
"Alright. The power armour is fully repaired and I have the diagnostic results for your arm Toxic. I'm sure you and K will want to... Oh! Who's this lovely lady?" Nell came out and typed on a hand held hologram screen.
"This is Shirley. She's a bit of a techy just like us." I peeked back at her with a sure smile.
"Is that right? You should recruit her like you did me." Nell continued to type away.
"That sounds good in theory but one would need the proper train-"
"That's a great idea!" I cut off Toxic.
"What??" He was confused.
"I'm with Nell. If we recruit Shirley here to our team, we will surely have a better time." I nudged the green haired girl as I rhymed her name.
She giggled as I spoke with Toxic.
"Doesn't that break protocol?" He asked.
"We broke protocol for all our friends. Besides, I'm sure Shirley could learn a thing or two from joining us." I assured Toxic.
"If you say so..." Toxic shrugged and returned to his computer setup.
"Okay, first things first is a callsign. Before we can get out in the field, you'll need to be known as something." I turned to Shirley with an ecstatic smile.
"Hmm... What about crystals? I like those." She smiled.
"Me too!! I know all kinds of crystals! Normally I would say your green is an emerald but Toxic kind of has that one already." I shrugged.
"Guilty." He holds up a peace sign.
How about... Callsign: Jade?" I matched an even better green to her hair.
"I like it." Shirley smiled.
"Alright Jade, let's test your strength." I held out a black P320 handgun and she took it with a determined smirk.
I winked at her and led the way as I grabbed my Lexus car keys.
"Woah, woah. Where the hell are you going?" Toxic turned to me in his chair.
"To deal with a new organization of assholes under the name: DethSec." I informed as Shirley stood next to me.
"Sinon is not gonna like that." Toxic shook his head.
"Relax bro, It'll be fine." I assured him and took Shirley to my car.
We got in and I started up the loud engine with a roar.
"Welcome back, Wolf." I.K.R.S spoke.
"Woah! Is this a Lexus??" Shirley was star struck.
"Oh yeah! Custom A.I input and all!" I was proud.
"That's so awesome!!" She exclaimed as I pulled out thru the hologram wall.
I turned onto a straight main road and floored the gas with a burnout. The acceleration of the car forced Shirley back in her seat until we were smoothly cruising at high speeds.
"You've got a lot of power in this thing, don't you?" Shirley asked as she held onto the roof handle.
"Damn right. This car is like an extension of myself, the same way a sword would be." I explained with a smile.
"Does this extension have tunes?" Shirley asked and leaned closer to the centre of the dash, realizing that the entire system was hologram screens.
I pointed my index finger and pressed on a hidden music play button closer to my side of the car. As soon as I hit it, the car rumbled to life with bass. I smirked, shifted up and put the pedal to the floor.
"I like your style, but I think this mission entails a different tune." Shirley smiled and scrolled thru my music until she found something that caught her eye.
When she pressed play, I heard the beginnings of an epic rock guitar and the build up of authentic acoustic drums. It seemed she found my metal playlist.
"Bounce on the devil, Put the pedal to the metal!" I growled with a chuckle and shifted down, swerving the car into a right drift.
Shirley let out a scream of excitement as the cars ass end kicked out. I shifted back up and straightened out just to shift back down, allowing me transition smoothly into a left drift. I followed the main road onto a highway leading to town square. I took the very next exit and hid my car in an alleyway. Shirley and I stepped out as I put my skull scarf over my mouth. I gestured forward with my head and initiated my ski goggles.
"Keep your head down and stay behind me." My voice changer activated.
Shirley tipped her hat brim down as I pulled a black hood over my head. We converted covertly into concealed city camouflage. Many other players wandered the town square and shops as the two of us searched the surrounding area. I pressed my goggles and the HUD displayed itself before my eyes. I pressed it again and it analyzed each player's ID in the central area. Upon scanning the perimeter, I noticed two shady players looking around as they stood closely next to each other.
"This way." I took the wide left flank and proceeded to sneak forward towards the two players.
I started to hear their chatter as I creeped closer behind them.
"You got the thing, right?" The first guy asked.
"Yeah, I got it. This chip has enough processing power to make even colossal robots come to life." The other guy held the chip in his hand.
I, now standing directly behind both of them, cracked their skulls together forcefully and caught the airborne data chip as they dropped it. I turned to Shirley behind me with the data chip in my fist.
"Easy as-" I was cut off when a bullet suddenly grazed my shoulder.
"K!!" Shirley screamed my name for the first time.
In fit of anger, I quickly drew my Deagle and aimed to a scope glint on the roof of a distant building. I fired with a growl and watched lens shards reflect as they fell off the building. The crack of my gun was loud as it echoed throughout the town square.
"Give us the chip!" One player yelled with his friend next to him.
I dusted them both with two rapid bullets and turned to Shirley as I started run.
"Move!" I urged and led the way.
We sprinted away as other players chased us in pursuit. I looked ahead and in front of us was two more goon players armed with higher caliber weapons. I frantically looked around and peeled and alleyway to the right.
"Go!!" I pushed Shirley and chased after her as bullets flew past just behind me.
I opened my wrist device and displayed the map as we traversed thru the narrow alley paths.
"These alleyways are the quickest way around the city. We can use them to get back to the car." I spoke quickly as a route was set.
Shirley ran up ahead as I forwarded the data to my cars GPS.
"K?" Shirley stopped.
I slowed up and before us was a large burley man at the other end of the alleyway. I closed my wrist device and clenched my teeth.
"Get moving. I'll take care of this." I growled and stepped forward, sending Shirley thru another series of alley paths to the right.
I cracked my knuckles and prepared for the worst. The big man ran at me and threw a wild haymaker. I leaned back far and fast, ducking and dipping underneath a few more of his advancing punches. I leaned back up and caught his fist. He jolted for a second in shock before attempting to throw his other fist. I forced it away with my palm and snapped an intense straight punch into his face. His head turned but he just shook it off and snarled at me. He twisted my hand and tossed me into a wall, forcing me to bounce off and hit the ground. I got to all fours and pushed myself back to sit against the wall.
"That's gotta hurt..." My voice was faint and out breath.
The huge muscly man stepped forward and sent his heel towards my head. I leaned quickly out of the way and drew my Deagle up at him. When I fired, the red game grid ripped thru him and displayed a hole right in his crotch. The big man froze and gasped deeply.
"But that's gotta hurt more." I finished and stood up as the player screamed about his missing dignity.
I took a few steps, turned back and put a bullet in the back of his head. I speed reloaded my Deagle and rushed down Shirley's last known path. I navigated the alleys quickly until I came to a fork. I looked down both paths and tried to make a judgment call.
"Gotcha, you little bitch!" I heard a deep voice grunt.
"Leave me alone!!" Shirley screamed from the left.
I dashed over and found Shirley being held against another burley man with an Assault Rifle. He pulled her in close and chuckled with a pervy smile.
"Unhand her, you roid monger!" I shouted with my Deagle at the ready.
"You wot?" The big man took a hand off his assault and put a pistol to Shirley's head.
Shirley saw this opportunity and slapped both of his guns out of his hands. She spun and backed off, pointing the P320 at the big mans head.
"Do it." I told her.
The burley man drew a knife and chuckled maniacally.
"Come on back, darlin'. We have so much left to do." He smirked and began to slowly walk forward.
"Shoot him!" I commanded.
Shirley's hands were shaking and she involuntarily dropped the pistol.
"I can't..." She mumbled as it hit the floor.
"Ha ha!" The big man lunged with his knife.
I scoffed and popped him in the head, stopping him dead in his tracks. Shirley gasped and scurried off as fast as she could.
"Shirley!!" I yelled but she disappeared in a flash.
I looked back as the big mans corpse exploded into triangles. I looked in my off hand and in it I held another DethSec data chip. I hoped this would bring me closer to some kind of clarity.
I eventually found my way back to my car, but upon entering I noticed that Shirley was inside. I guess she remembered where we parked. I started the car and she stared out the window as I reversed out onto the streets. The whole ride home, Shirley was silent. She didn't say a word as the streets flew by. I pulled back into the hologram wall and she got out without a word either. We entered the main computer room and it was dead quiet. No one but Nell with his back to the door and music in his headphones. He worked tirelessly on a car and didn't even notice we were there. I slipped away and opened my bedroom door to enjoy some peaceful alone time, but Shirley stormed past me first.
"What are you doing? You can't just waltz into my room like you own the place." I whispered to her in the dark room we just entered.
"I'm sorry but I couldn't wait. I needed to talk to you..." Shirley shyly shuddered.
"Okay well, what's troubling you?" I asked openly.
She opened her mouth to talk about it but then she was overcome by visible anxiety.
"Do you mind if I sit first?" Shirley gestured to my bed and asked.
"Sure." I nodded.
Shirley slowly sat down on the soft bed and held her arms close. She trembled uncontrollably, making me see that she needed someone to comfort her. I approached and sat gently next to her.
"I wanna thank you for saving my life back there. I have always been considered weak amongst my peers... I forgot what it was like to have someone believe in me. I guess with you guiding me, I thought I could do it. Turns out I was just a failure... again. Just like everyone said I was..." Shirley hung her head and began to cry.
"Hey. You're not a failure, and you're not weak. Just because you don't have strengths on the battlefield doesn't mean you can't be a valuable asset to the team." I patted her back softly.
"You really think so...?" She wiped away her tears.
"Of course. You have many other talents you can put to use." I smiled genuinely.
"Thank you so much, K.. That means the world to me..." Shirley looked up at me.
"It's no problem, really-" Just as I finished, Shirley's lips were against mine and she pushed me softly down in the bed.
She straddled me and held me down, kissing me intimately as she ran a hand under my shirt up to my bare chest. The heat, the placement, the resonance of the soul. It calmed my brain and soothed my spirit even when I knew it shouldn't have. I was at peace in my mind and forgot entirely where I even was. Shirley continued to make out with me as a silhouette stood in the doorframe.
"K..." A soft voice spoke.
I snapped to attention and my eyes met Sinon's. The once peaceful feeling that caused my brain to float was suddenly flooded with devastating realization. Sinon covered her mouth as tears erupted from her eyes. She rapidly opened the menu and I pushed Shirley off me.
"Shino!" I yelled but she disappeared in an instant.
A single tear hit the floor where she stood and a bitter silence filled my head. Dark, depressed, inner evil... it all came flooding back like a blackout. On my knees I dissociated and felt an utter numbness throughout my body. I was broken once again.
"K, I-"
"Get out." I cut Shirley off.
"K please, I-"
"Get. Out." I ordered sternly.
She hung her head in silence and went for the door. There I sat in my own silence, deafened by the ear piercing nightmares of my crippling sanity. There I was on my own. There I was alone.