Cyberpunk: Spartan Walker

John took out his MA2B to cover Kelly. Fred and Linda walked in, took off their protective suits and put on their helmets.

The target is moving, Linda reported. Mark 270, rise ten meters, stop at twenty. Thirty-five meters. I think that's the top floor.

Sam walked in, closed the door and locked it. Things are normal outside.

There was a click sound. Kelly said, The door is open.

John, Kelly and Sam took off their protective suits under the cover of Fred and Linda. John activated the motion and heat sensors on his helmet. He raised his gun and said, Action.

Kelly opened the door, Linda walked in and immediately moved to the right, while John protected the left wing of the team.

Behind the reception desk in the lobby sat two guards. Opposite them sat a man without uniform, apparently waiting for the orderly to take him to where he should go. There were also two men in uniform standing at the door of the lift.

Linda raised her gun and killed the three people in front of the reception desk, while John killed the two next to the elevator.

There were five muffled sounds and five bodies fell to the floor.

Fred came in, inspected the bodies, and dragged them all behind the stage.

Kelly walked to the stairwell, opened the door, and made an all-clear gesture.

With a ding dong sound, the elevator door opened. They immediately turned around and raised their guns. The elevator was empty.

John took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart, and motioned for the team members to go up the stairs. Kelly acts as a pioneer. Sam protected the rear wing. They walked quietly to the fourth to fifth floors.

Kelly walked up to the landing of the fifth floor, pointed the gun in and then up.

John detected a vague thermal energy response on the twelfth floor. They'd better find a better offensive route where they won't be spotted.

John opened the door. Looking through the doorway, no one was inside.

He walked to the elevator door and carefully pried it open. Then he turned on the cooling system on his black clothes to shield himself from thermal energy reactions. The other team members also performed the same actions, gradually disappearing from John's thermal energy response display system.

John and Sam climbed up the elevator cable. John glanced down, thirty meters high. If he fell, he wouldn't die or break his bones, but he would likely suffer internal injuries and would certainly hamper their entire mission. He clung to the cable tightly, not looking down again.

They climbed to only three floors away from the top floor, stopped, and climbed to the elevator door. Kelly and Fred also climbed up and moved to the far wall, each occupying a corner to form a crossfire. Linda came up last. She climbed directly up to the elevator door, crossed her legs and clamped the cable, hanging upside down, ready.

John held up three fingers, then two, then one. Then he and Sam quietly opened the elevator doors.

There were five guards standing outside the door. They wear light armor and helmets and carry old-fashioned HMG-38 rifles. Two men were turning around.

Kelly, Fred and Linda opened fire. The walnut door panel behind those guards was instantly filled with bullet holes and blood stains.

The team entered the room quickly and lightly. Sam disarmed the guards.

There are two doors here. One opened onto the terrace, the other had a peep-glass. Kelly checked the terrace, then whispered through the intercom on their helmets: This overlooks the street below. Nothing unusual. John checked the tracker. The blue light spot shows: the target is behind the door with the peep mirror.

Sam and Fred ducked to either side of the door. John couldn't get any information from the heat or motion sensors. This wall has a shielding effect. There are too many unknowns and too little time.

The current situation is less than ideal. They knew there were at least three armed men inside—the ones who had brought the boxes up—and probably more guards. To make the situation even more complicated, they must capture their target alive.

John kicked the door open.

He glanced inside, taking in a panoramic view of the entire room. This is a richly decorated room. The wooden wine racks opposite are filled with amber-colored high-end wines, as well as a bar counter. A huge round bed took up space in the corner of the room, covered with shiny silk sheets. There were stark white curtains on all the windows - John's helmet automatically ran a light compensation program. There was a red shag carpet on the floor. The box filled with cigarettes and fine wine was placed in the center of the room - it was a black steel box, vacuum sealed.

There were three people standing behind the box, and another person crouched behind them - Colonel Robert Watts, who was the luggage they were looking for.

John's current angle was not very good. If he missed the shot, he would probably hit the colonel.

But the three people on the other side didn't have this concern. They opened fire.

Bullets whizzed past, and John leaned over and jumped to the left. Three bullets hit the right side of his body, knocking him out of breath. One of them penetrated his black tights. John could feel the bullet passing through his ribs, like a red-hot steel knife piercing him.

Forgetting the pain for a moment, he rolled over and stood up. Now there was nothing in his range to worry about. He pulled the trigger, and a three-shot burst hit the middle guard in the forehead.

Sam and Fred climbed through the door together. Their silenced weapons burst into flames, and the two remaining guards fell to the ground.

Watters was still hiding behind the box. He waved his pistol and shouted: Don't move! My people will be here soon. Do you think I will wait to die alone? You are all dead. Put down your weapons.

John crawled behind the bar and squatted there. He really hoped that the pain in his abdomen would disappear soon. He gestured to Sam and Fred—raising two fingers, then pointing to himself.

The two teammates fired in Watts' direction, forcing him to crouch down.

John leaped from the bar, pounced on his prey, and snatched his pistol. He was so strong that he broke Watters' index finger and thumb. John wrapped his arms around his neck, strangling the struggling man until he almost passed out.

Kelly and Linda came in. Kelly took out a syringe and injected Watts with enough synthetic morphine to keep him quiet for a day.

Fred ran out to spy on the elevator. Sam squatted by the window, observing the street below.

Kelly walked over to John and rolled up his protective suit. Her gloves were slippery with blood. The bullet is still inside. She said biting her lower lip gently, her eyes full of worry, The internal bleeding is severe. Keep this position. She took out a small bottle from her belt and inserted the mouth of the bottle into the bullet hole. It might hurt a little. (End of chapter)