Chapter 100: The Victor
“Ugh—”
Meredith hit the ground hard and struggled to rise.
“Fuck!”
She craned her neck to take in the situation before rasping at Arthur.
“Give me a gun! I’ll kill every one of these bastards.”
“Gun? Don’t have one! Leave this to us.
All you need to do is make sure you don’t get lost when it’s time to run...
That is, if you can still walk on your own.”
Arthur ducked back behind cover, sliding bullets into his gun.
“You think I’m the one dragging us down?”
Meredith glared at him, anger flaring—then was quickly silenced by the hail of bullets screaming overhead.
Arthur didn’t push it further. Once reloaded, he leaned out and fired at the enemies pouring in.
It wasn’t going well. As Militech elites, the enemy all wore Subdermal Armor. Arthur’s gun was limited; almost none of his shots could bring a man down in one hit.
He found himself missing the Achilles Regina had given him. Its electromagnetic thermal rounds left nothing behind but a steaming, molten hole.
Meredith, watching the fight from the side, soon caught on to his predicament.
Several of the men he’d dropped were already getting back up.
“Time to retire that water pistol.
Shame, really—it suits you. Neither of you pack much punch.”
She tried throwing his own brand of mockery back at him.
“Is that so? If not for these weak arms, a certain wildcat would’ve already ended up as canned meat.”
Arthur’s sarcasm didn’t slow his hands as he emptied another cylinder.
“Maldita sea, damn it!
These guys are insane—fighting like they’ve got nothing to lose.
I think... we’ll have to fall back while fighting.”
Jackie shouted over the chaos. Without rifles, their firepower wasn’t enough to hold them back.
And indeed, the enemy fought like madmen—reckless and relentless.
“Alright...”
Arthur answered Jackie first, then turned to Meredith.
“So what the hell did you do to them? If I’m not mistaken, you’re supposed to be colleagues.”
“Hmph!”
She snorted, then spat curses through clenched teeth.
“Because those useless dogs know—once I crush their boss, they’re next...
Every last one of them will die...”
The murderous aura around her was unmistakable. This woman was no ordinary executive.
Arthur raked the area with fire before his eyes caught on a stationary crane.
Solid cover, with a whole row of machines behind it—perfect for maneuvering.
“How’s your leg? Can you make it behind there? We need to pull back a bit.”
He looked down at Meredith, slumped against a concrete pillar.
At his words, she tried to push herself up—but collapsed back with a pained grimace.
During the crash, the airbags had gone off, but she hadn’t been seated properly. The impact had thrown her badly.
“Damn it! I can’t move!”
She slammed her fists against the ground, tore off her high heels, and hurled them toward the doorway.
“Perfect. You killed all of them. Big achievement.”
His mouth didn’t stop even as his hands worked. He bent low, scooped her up, and hurled himself toward cover.
Midair, he twisted, taking the impact on his back.
Arthur wasn’t one of the Animals’ steroid freaks. His back slammed into the ground, and Meredith’s weight crushed his chest. His vision went dark—he nearly blacked out.
“Fuck!”
Meredith scrambled upright, dragging Arthur up with her.
“You alright?”
If his ribs hadn’t been reinforced with iron, the answer might’ve been no.
Arthur shot her an annoyed look.
“Stay here.”
“Yeah, sure. Like I can just sprout wings and fly away.”
She jabbed her finger at her foot.
“This thing’s busted. Where the hell am I supposed to go?”
As Arthur and Jackie fell back, Militech troops surged in.
Inside the factory, the enemies spread out, pressure mounting on the two of them.
But there was one advantage—moving around the row of machines gave them more firing angles.
Meredith wasn’t faring much better. Forced to crawl across the dirty floor to dodge bullets, she looked a mess. Still, with Arthur and Jackie covering her, she was shaken but unharmed.
Gradually, the momentum shifted. The enemy’s firepower was all noise, unable to inflict real damage.
Until Arthur’s final bullet froze the fear on the last man’s face.
“These bastards... what a pain in the ass.”
Jackie stepped out, pistols in hand, scanning the corpses for anyone faking death.
Arthur didn’t answer. Instead, he found Meredith in the corner, completely disheveled.
Dust clung to her golden hair, streaks of gray staining her black clothes. Crawling across the floor had ruined the sharp image she once had.
Arthur crouched and checked her ankle.
Her left foot was fine, but her right ankle was swollen and red—nothing like the elegant impression she’d left when they first met.
“Fractured or dislocated... but nothing too serious.”
It wasn’t mockery—compared to what they’d just faced, a twisted ankle was a decent outcome.
“Thanks.”
Her voice was low, but firm.
“You saved my life!”
The sudden gratitude stopped Arthur’s sarcastic reply before it left his mouth.
“Rest. I’ll find us a car.”
He stood, then glanced back at her.
“So... should I take you to the company first, or the hospital?”
Meredith froze at the question.
Her injuries came first, of course. But if she went to the hospital now, that father and son might escape. The thought gnawed at her.
After a moment’s thought, she looked up at Arthur.
“Do you have business of your own?
If not... then help me finish things at the company first. We’ll go back there.”
Even injured, she carried herself like the victor.
The evidence in her hands was enough to bury those two bastards.
All she had to do was go back and lay out the evidence.
But with her ankle ruined, she was nearly defenseless. If she collapsed now, right at the moment of victory...
She’d end up the most pathetic loser.
Author's Note
Comments (0)
Please login or sign up to post a comment.