I was confident in our abilities. Even against dozens of henchmen, Reload and I should be able to handle them. But that didn’t mean we would be able to handle one of the lieutenants, especially with whatever plans they had ready.
Even though I took out the cameras, I didn’t want to risk them having some way to hear our plan. I ran through the wild bullet storm, stray shots tearing at my arms, rushing to the stairwell door. Once I reached the door, I pressed myself against the wall, desperate to avoid any more damage.
Reload pulled the pins to the grenades as I pulled the door open. He tossed them in, surprising the henchmen that were waiting on the stairs. I shut the door and ran, barely getting enough distance to avoid being knocked over by the concussive force.
For just a moment, the shooting stopped, the second floor henchmen thrown off by the explosion. We stormed in, ignoring the human remains splattered across the stairwell. But when I reached the door that led to the backroom, I couldn’t get it open.
Reload took over and was trying his best to kick it down, but it refused to budge. It was hard to tell through the blood and gore, but something was different. I used the sleeve of my jacket to wipe off some blood, only to find metal instead of wood. There were barely any scratches from the grenades, the door near indestructible.
That was when another round of gunfire started. More henches started swarming into the stairwell, firing at us. I panicked and ran down the stairs, desperate to avoid death. Even as I ran, I could feel bullets tearing through me.
I barreled down the steps, with Reload in tow. Before we hit the bottom, I noticed something laying on the middle of the stairs. Well, I noticed what was left of someone laying on the stairs. It was a henchman who was somewhat intact, the bottom half of his legs blown off.
I kicked the henchman down the stairs as we ran, watching him crash against the wall. When we reached the bottom, out of sight from the horde, I grabbed a Throm from out of my pockets. After I made him take it, I dragged him to the piece of cover that Reload was using.
“Why did you save that schmuck?” Reload asked.
I looked at the hench, his legs already starting to grow back, muscle wrapping around newly formed bone. “Figured we’d be better off with a hostage than without. Doubt that a hench will be worth much, though.”
We aimed our guns at the stairwell, ready to lay waste to anyone who dared walk down. But as minutes passed, nothing happened. We could hear footsteps from up above, and we heard noises coming from the stairwell, yet they weren’t making the first move.
I took my phone out, turning on the flashlight feature to look around the room. The basement was a damn near armory, with more weapons than I ever remember seeing here. Only a few weapons here were beyond Reload’s capability, and it was clear that the Disciples were stepping up their game.
“Boss, what’s the plan?” Reload asked.
“We’re pinned, our super resistance is low, if not gone, and we don’t have any backup coming. There’s at least one Disciple lieutenant on their way here, if they haven’t arrived already.”
“Are we fucked, or are you building up to some big reveal?”
“No, we’re pretty fucked. They caught me off guard here.”
Reload didn’t respond, just chuckling as he went back to aiming at the stairs. I continued to search the room, desperate for anything that could help us escape. There was a small safe full of cash, overflowing gun racks, and whatever random bullshit they stored here. If we were going to get out of here, it wouldn’t be because of a dusty pool table.
The henchman I dragged along was still unconscious, his legs still working on turning stubs into feet. There really wasn’t much we could do with him. He’d be a shitty meatshield, and one ordinary isn’t worth more than killing us.
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That was when a dark thought crawled into my mind, as if the devil himself was whispering into my ear. It was a last resort that I hoped to never use, something that had haunted me for years. I put back the Throm that I was in the middle of taking out, forcing myself to find another solution.
We couldn’t just walk out of here, the stairs likely covered from a dozen different angles. What we needed was to clear out a path, some way for us to escape before their reinforcements arrived.
“Hey, they haven’t shot through the ceiling,” I commented.
Reload looked up. “Guess so. Why does that matter?”
“I’m going to make a guess that the basement is more sturdy than the first floor. Make me an explosive strong enough to clear out the first floor, we’ll use that to make a path out of here.”
“Got it, boss.”
Reload reached behind his back, pulling out what was just an oversized hunk of metal. I put my phone away as he struggled to hold the bomb. When he handed it to me, the weight nearly took me to the ground.
“Holy fuck, what is this?”
“Beats me.” He shrugged. “It was unnamed on the War Thunder forums, but it should work.”
“How do I make it go off?” I inspected the heavy slab of metal. “Is there a button, or do I need to win a marathon?”
“Pretty sure it’s an impact bomb. If you throw it or drop it, then it should go off.”
I made sure to tighten my grip on the bomb. It was like carrying a misshapen baby made of titanium, and I wasn’t going to drop another kid. I heard a groan come from my side, and I turned to see the henchman waking up, his head in his hands.
“Hey, buddy,” I waddled over to him. “How you feeling?”
“My head’s killing me.” He tried to look at me, but his eyes struggled to see through the darkness. “What happened in the fight?”
“Shit went sideways. Quarry pulled up and dealt with those assholes, though. We put you here to heal. Our orders are to clear this place out, it’s too compromised to stay.”
“Damn, you couldn’t have put me on the couch or something? And why is it so dark?”
“You were one of the lucky ones, a lot of people are worse off than you. The fuse box was broken in the fight, but someone’s working on it. Now get your ass moving, there’s a bonus if we’re done in an hour.”
“Word? They must be getting even more serious about security.” He stood onto his feet, struggling for a second to catch his balance.
I gently passed the bomb to him, which he barely managed to hold. “Man, maybe we need two people for this shit. It’s heavier than a motherfuck.”
“Quit your bitchin' and do some damn work.”
I waited with bated breath as he lumbered towards the stairwell, the only source of light. Even though he was straining, he still managed to get up the stairs. My chest tightened with each step he took.
Reload and I quietly stepped back, getting distance from the stairwell. I crawled underneath the pool table shoved in the corner. Reload followed suit, causing us to huddle up. It wasn’t necessary, but I wasn’t going to get hit on the head by a loose brick.
“Hey, so I’m only now thinking about your request,” Reload whispered to me.
“You literally handed me the bomb, what do you mean you’re only now thinking about it?” I whispered back, watching the henchman disappear from sight, nearly reaching the top of the stairs.
“When you said you wanted something to clear through the first floor, did you mean something that would take out the henchmen, or something that would destroy the actual floor?”
“Reload, please don’t tell me what you’re telling me.”
To his credit, he never did tell me what I knew he was telling me. I heard the gunshot crack through the air, likely shot by an overzealous henchman who wanted to claim a kill on a super. There was a big superstition that any ordinary who kills a super has a higher chance of becoming one themselves.
But whatever motivations that henchman had, all of them disappeared a half second later. Whatever doomsday device Reload summoned went off. The entire world went black, shockwaves of the explosion pinning me to the ground.
The building was torn apart, and whatever remained started collapsing. The ceiling above us struggled for a passing moment, before it tore in half, falling onto us. I could hear the tearing of wood and brick, deadly chunks of debris crashing all around us.
After a few seconds, I realized that I was still alive. When things get bad, it can be hard to remember that you need to take control. I fumbled in the dark, desperately searching for my phone.
When I turned on the flashlight, I found Reload lying unconscious next to me. We were in a small pocket of safety, crushed brick and wood encasing us underground. I looked up to see that the pool table was keeping most of the debris off of us, but the wood legs were already creaking from the weight.
I put my phone on the ground and placed a hand on Reload’s neck. He was still breathing, and I couldn’t see any serious injuries on him. The force of the blast had knocked him out, but I wasn’t going to use a Throm on him.
When you took one, it would heal all the injuries you currently had. But until that Throm finished, you couldn’t take another, and the original wouldn’t heal any new injuries. Considering the situation we were in, it’d be risky to give him one for just a few minor injuries.
After my third message, he finally began to stir. The second I had an inch, I moved straight to taking my mile. I shook him until he was wide eyed and awake, confused while looking around our soon to be tomb.
“The hell happened?” he asked.
“Your bomb collapsed the building onto us, dumbass. Make something to help support this hockey table before we die.”
Reload was dazed, but he followed my orders. He made four metal bars that I was able to stand up alongside the wood. I had no idea how long it would last, but at least it was more sturdy than the wooden legs that were propping it up before.