Virtue Among Thieves: Chapter 3 – Raising the Stakes and Score

Chapter 3 – Raising the Stakes and Score

“What are you saying we should attack Site Seven-Nineteen Forty-Seven?” I ask while trying my best not to yell.

The Hydra Roundtable told us to come all the way out here to a dinner and gas station that’s in the desert in the middle of the United Chimaera States for a top-secret mission. My friends and I already have our masks on, and everyone else at the dinner is dressed up in suits with snake masks on.

“Why shouldn’t you?” the man sitting with us in a snake mask with a voice distorter says.

Taken aback by the question, I think about what to say next before saying, “What do you mean?”

“You joined our organization to make a difference and for the life you once lived, didn’t you, Cowboy?”

“Yes.”

“In light of recent events, we think that you need to steal certain records on the secret organization associated with the one that has the dragon emblem on it.”

“And the information is most likely in Site Seven-Nineteen Forty-Seven?”

“According to our sources, it is.”

“They were inside sources?”

“Insofar as they heard rumors from their official offices.”

“So these sources aren’t insiders of the Site?”

“Nope. Even our friends in the highest places of power can’t get their foot in the door. It’s only for those who are chosen to be there, and even their names are kept off record.”

“And we have no way of getting in other than the front entrance?”

“Yep.”

“So, what are we going to do? Charge the facility and hope no one kills us from point A to B?”

“Yes, but we have military uniforms and a military vehicle for you for that.”

“It’s better than nothing, I guess.”

I look over to my team, who are watching me.

“You seem unsure about doing this, Cowboy.”

“It’s a big step up from what we usually do.”

“Given what you found in the cult of the Pale Green Horse, we need to make a major strike against this rival of ours, expose them, and bring them to justice, and this is our best shot. You and your team are in our top five most trusted teams, so we know you won’t disappoint us. So, what are you waiting for?”

Again, I look over to my team and wave them over.

“Looks like we’re doing this raid on Site Seven-Nineteen Forty-Seven. What do you think?” I ask.

“I think it’s going to be our most exciting heist yet! I don’t know what you’re so worried about, Cowboy. We’ll be fine,” Kelly says.

“If it means getting at this dragon group, then we have to take the chance,” Al says.

“Agreed. We have to go in there and expose the truth and whatever secrets our rival may have,” Suzuki says.

I throw up my hands and say, “Okay. Let’s get this done.”

My friends and I put on our military disguises, keep our masks in our bags, and make sure we’re fully loaded before heading out. Once ready, we get in the heavily armored Humvee and head out to Site Seven-Nineteen Forty-Seven.

Along the way, Kelly asks, “Do you think we’ll find aliens there? This is the secret area where it’s rumored they’re being experimented on after all.”

“I don’t believe in aliens. They’re just demons in the fleshy forms,” Suzuki says.

“Could also just be some government-made creatures or altered humans,” Al suggests.

“They’re going to be the least of our worries. We have no plan or insiders for this job. We’re just flying by the seat of our pants,” I say.

“That’s what makes this the most exciting job of our entire time with the organization. I can’t wait to see what kind of chaos we’ll cause!” Kelly says.

“Keep your temper, Slav. We need to be more on guard than we were in the past,” Suzuki says.

“Yeah, yeah, I will.”

Site Seven-Nineteen Forty-Seven is in sight. It has large concrete walls around it, multiple guard towers, and only one gate. Going up to the gate, we see a guard post that doesn’t even try to check our IDs or listen to our excuse for being there.

Instead, the guard points his gun at me and says, “Turn around, or I will shoot you!”

Kelly shoots the guard with her machine guns loaded with non-lethal rounds, and then says, “Yup. There was no other way this could’ve gone.”

We put on our masks, and then Kelly gets on the mounted gun of the Humvee, filled with anti-tank rounds, and blows a hole in the gate, giving us a way in.

“Woah! Let’s see some aliens, boys!” Kelly yells out.

Leaning out of the window are Suzuki and Al, each armed with light machine guns loaded with non-lethal rounds and having a rocket launcher beside them for heavy armor. Now that we’re past the gate, we see that the area between it and the main facility is a stretch of empty land, a big problem for us since jets and helicopters are being deployed against us. Al and Suzuki switch to rockets as they and Kelly fire at the aircraft to give us cover and take them out of the sky. Another unfortunate part of this road is the mines scattered around it. There is a faint trail of tire marks in the ground, so I try to follow them while avoiding fire from the sky.

“I knew this would be insane from the start,” I say out loud.

“That just means we need to be insane as well!” Kelly says as she kicks the Humvee’s radio to play one of her favorite metal songs loudly.

“This music is just making my ears bleed. This is why I never allow her to play her music in the car,” Suzuki says.

“Shut up, Byakko! You just need to improve your taste!”

A loud shot rings out and hits Kelly in the head, forcing her down into the Humvee.

“You okay, Rosebud?!” I ask.

“Yeah, the asshole grazed me. I’ll send them back a bullet with their name on it,” Kelly says as she grabs the anti-materiel rifle.

Using the rifle, Kelly snipes at snipers in the distance and also hits the pilots of the helicopters. In this case, we’re allowed to switch to lethal rounds, given the intensity of the situation and importance of the job. Getting closer, a squad of four tanks lines up and fires at us from a distance. My friends fire at them with explosives of their own as I continue to try to avoid fire and mines at the same time. Suzuki, Al, and Kelly each manage to blow up a tank after hitting them several times. After they all focus their fire on the last one, we seem to be in the clear until we hit a bunch of mines near the facility, and it seems like no matter where I drive, I’m always hitting a mine.

Our Humvee is all but destroyed now, so I steer it as best I can into the facility, where we are immediately met with small arms fire by guards armed with some kind of laser weaponry that fire red beams of heat at us. Anticipating it, my friends already fire back and use what little cover we have in the Humvee to clear out the guards. Seeing that the Humvee is on fire, I tell them to get out, and we manage to just get out as it blows up.

“There goes our only sure way out of here,” I say.

“I wouldn’t mind using one of the helicopters to get out of here if they have any left,” Kelly says.

“Do you even know how to fly one?” Al asks.

“I can try.”

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes. Let’s head into the underground,” I say.

Going to the elevator, we see that it’s locked down. We blow up the doors and then rappel down.

“Did you see those laser weapons? There have to be aliens here! I just wish I didn’t blow them up so I could take one home with me. I hope they have more below,” Kelly says.

“Focus, Rosebud,” I say.

“Yes, sir. This is the best time I’ve ever had in my life!”

Reaching the bottom, we cut through the elevator, blow open the doors, and are met with more resistance, armed with laser weapons. Not wanting to take half-measures, Kelly and Al use the last of the explosives we have on them, letting us easily clear them out. Moving forward, we’re surprised to not find any more guards and just find scientists running away from us.

“Is that really it? No more guards?” Kelly asks.

“You tell me. We just faced a swarm of aircraft, snipers, tanks, and two groups of guards with laser weapons. I hope that was all of them,” I say.

“Yeah, but where are the…aliens…”

Turning a corner, we find a testing and experimentation area filled with people in cages, restrained patients having surgery done on them by machines, and people in tubes, some of which look like full-fledged stereotypical aliens with big heads, black eyes, and grey skin.

“Woah. Do you know what this means?” Al asks.

“They’re turning people into aliens!” Kelly says.

“No. They’re making people look like aliens. Don’t you see how artificial this all looks?” Suzuki says.

“Eh, kind of. Let’s find proof to see who’s right.”

“There are a lot of shipping manifestos and written journals here out here in the open,” Al says.

“Who can blame them for just leaving it out? We got through a lot of security to get here,” I say.

We fan out and collect all the information we can, much of it having the dragon emblem on them, and mentioning the name Paradox Collective and The Malefic. We also find receipts and agreements with the Slav Federation and Zeitloses Imperium to ship slaves and researchers from their concentration camps over to this facility. Additionally, we find blueprints for different kinds of UFOs and plans to use them and the experimented-on people to make people think aliens are real at certain times to get their minds off of important events in the world. Before we can delve deeper into the files, we hear an alarm saying that the self-destruct sequence has been activated.

“They even have a self-destruct button. These people really are cartoon villains,” Kelly says.

“Let’s hurry and get out of here!” I say.

We run through the facility, going in the direction of the researchers, and find them boarding a subway train. Forcing our way onto the train, the scientists hold up their hands and speak broken English at us.

“You think these people will face justice, given their background and probable government protection?” I ask.

“They won’t, or they’ll be killed anyway,” Al says.

“We’ll be the arm of justice then,” Suzuki says.

“Agreed.”

“Can’t argue with you there,” Kelly says.

The four of us fire into the group of scientists as we make our way to the front. Meanwhile, the facility behind us has exploded. The flames of the explosion are starting to consume the train, so we keep pushing through the scientists, making sure the flames consume them as we make our way to the front. By the time we get to the front, there’s no one left in the train but us, and yet the flames are still catching up to us. To gain more speed, we detach the other trains from us and crank up the acceleration crank.

We hold on as the train escapes the flames, plunges through the concrete wall, hits another train, and then our train flies out of a tunnel and lands on the city streets of the Jewel of the Desert, Sin City.

Stumbling out of the train, I ask, “Is everyone okay?”

“I’m beat up, but I’ll survive,” Suzuki says.

“I could use a drink or several after all that,” Kelly says.

“I second that,” Al says.

“We can’t hang around here. Let’s move.”

My friends and I find a dark alley in the city to change clothes, just as the authorities arrive on the scene. We find a hotel to hide out in and inform the Hydra Roundtable of our success. We pass off the bags of receipts, journals, shipping manifestos, and more to a courier of theirs, receive our payment, and use it to enjoy our time in the city, eating, drinking, and gambling. After all we’ve been through, we more than deserve it.