Mr. Hawk and Jack were searching the abandoned buildings of the industrial complex. The light from their comm-pads guided them. For nearly 2 hours, they moved around the abandoned location without finding anything. The place was huge.
Jack Looked at Mr Hawk. "This is useless. The place is too big, we need more people."
"I have to agree with you on that, Mr Reed," Mr Hawk answered, frustrated.
Jack grabbed his comm-pad, and he was about to make a call when Mr.Hawk placed his hand on the big guy's shoulder. "Look over there, Mr Reed, I think we have a lead." The investigator used the light from his com-pad to point at an abandoned building.
Jack pointed his light at the building as well, but all he saw was just another empty building. Are you getting tired, Hawk? There is nothing there."
Mr Hawk starts walking toward the empty building. "Exactly, Mr Reed. There is nothing, not even trash or debris, unlike in the other empty buildings. Remind me again, what happens when a sky-Car lands?"
Jack thinks for a second. "They create a draft of air. The bigger the vehicle, the stronger the draft." Jack takes a second look at the space. As Mr hawk said, there was nothing, not even dirt. He follows the investigator's lead.
Jack and Mr Hawk stopped when they noticed a caravan of vehicles arriving at the outskirts of the complex from the skies. The vehicle markings showed it was the Berant City Police Department. They were moving in silence. Without sirens or lights, they moved, trying not to alert anyone.
"It appears Detective Lopez found a lead that took him here. This confirms that the industrial complex is the right place." Mr Hawk used his comm-pad with a few taps and swipes, and he sent a message. The police caravan changed direction and started to move to their location. The headlights from the vehicles illuminated the area.
A few minutes later, the caravan landed in front of the empty building. Detective Lopez steps out of a police vehicle. "How exactly did you two get to this location?"
Mr. Hawk answered with his professional tone. "We followed the L.B.C. paint of the ambulance. But more importantly, I believe there is a hidden entrance on that building."
"What makes you think that?" Detective Lopez asked while looking at the building.
Jack answered this with a question. "Detective, when have you seen an abandoned building with a clean interior?"
Detective Lopez looks at the space. "If there is something there, it has to be underground. Give me a sec, I will order a satellite scan." The detective takes out his comm-pad and starts to make a call.
Without warning, a laser shot flashes. Before he could finish his call, the detective was hit on the shoulder. As he falls to the floor, Jack screams. "Shooter, take cover!"
Mr Hawk and Jack picked up the detective from the ground and moved behind the vehicles of the police caravan. A group of men came seemingly from the shadows; they appeared to be a sizeable group. The police officers, taken by surprise, could only find cover behind their vehicles.
Some of the officers were able to shoot back. But the attackers were covered head to toe with tactical gear. Police guns could only scratch them. Jack grabbed Detective Lopez's gun and tried to shoot, but the gun had a biometric lock.
From one of the vehicles of the caravan, a special tactics unit came out. Having stronger weapons, they engaged the unidentified attackers. The flash of laser fire illuminated the dark buildings of the industrial complex as the firefight intensified.
Inside the blacksite, Mark was regaining consciousness. Melly breathed a sigh of relief when the young man opened his eyes. Mark, being a bit disoriented, started to get up from the floor.
"Big Brother, are you ok?" Melly spoke into Mark's mind.
Mark takes a deep breath, trying to get his bearings. "I'm OK, Melly, ...I'm OK." He slowly gets up. Looking around, He is still in the lab where he found the relic. Looking at the minimap, he saw very few red arrows remaining in the area around him.
What is going on? Are they looking for me or not? Confusion was evident on his face.
Regaining his senses, Mark decided to move first and get answers later. "System, are you online?" Mark thought to himself while moving towards the facility control room.
"Who is System?" Melly asked. Mark forgot about her abilities.
The young man answered her question using his half-truth method. Melly, the System is a friend of mine; she will help us escape.
The pale blue screen presents itself. "System is online." The screen changes to display a new message. This message brings a smile to Mark's face. "Emergency repairs have been completed. Access to the system inventory has been partially recovered.
Mark calls for the home screen. As he saw the Inventory letters in a yellow bold font, he knew his luck had begun to turn for the better. Without delay, he mentally tapped into his inventory tab. Opening the list, he saw the number of objects contained in it. Even though most of the list was grayed out. Seeing the names of the objects gave him hope. Maybe in the future they can be recovered with more repairs.
As he reached the secret staircase, he opened the panel and went in. The young man decided to slow down on the staircase. The lack of maintenance made the structure complain in the form of metallic sounds. Reaching his desired level, Mark placed Melly on the floor by the stairs. He wanted to avoid putting the girl in Danger.
"Melly, I'm going to scout ahead. You should be safe in this room until I come back. If you feel danger, let me know. I will come running. In the meantime, use your ability to keep people away." Mark unfolded the blankets and covered Melly's shivering body.
"Can you hurry up?" Melly asked with a melancholic tone.
"I will do this as fast as I can," Mark reassured Melly.
Mark pushed the panel, sticking his head out. The young man looked around. The hall was deserted. "System, hack the cameras of this level, loop the feed as you did before." Knowing he was about to spend 2,000 TP, Mark saw no other way to push forward.
"2,000 TP has been deducted from your account. Your current balance is 53,639 TP. Your bank balance is 0TP." The system kept an accurate count as always.
Mark stepped into the corridor. There was a quiet stillness that felt unsettling. The young man used a mental command to open his inventory. He navigated the list with ease. He selected an item with the name Mirmidon combat armor. As soon as the mental command with his selection went through, a suit of armor started materializing around him.
It had been a while since Mark used this particular armor. While he had more advanced choices in his inventory, they were not available at the moment. "Beggars can't be choosers, I guess," Mark said to himself while walking to the control room inside his armor.
His powered armor was black. It covered his entire body. Only his face could be seen through the visor in the helmet. While the armor offered good protection, it was not bulky, allowing the young man to move freely.
With a steady pace, he arrived at the corner of the hallway. The young man saw two red arrows on the map; these were moving along the next corridor. Mentally tapping on the arrows, Mark saw that they were surrogate units, just like the Doctor. He could now shoot without remorse.
A chrome rifle materializes in his hands. Pulling the trigger, no visible light came out. The only sound heard was the surrogate units hitting the floor. Mark moved quickly, but silently. Closing the distance to the control room, he saw three arrows inside. Again, he tapped on the arrows. This time, two of them were surrogates, one was not.
Mark tried to find a way to avoid the fight. "System, how many points would be needed to take control over the facility?"
The system calculated and presented the option. "Without access to the control room, it would take 732,630 points. Within the control room, it will take 73,263 points. With access to a terminal inside the control room, the amount is 7,327 points."
There was no choice for him. He had to get in, but a firefight runs the risk of damaging the computers and terminals. The young man decided to change his current weapon, as it was too strong. The weapon dematerialized with a mental command. Mark looked for more suitable options. As he found the perfect choice, a smile drew on his face.
Outside, the firefight took a turn for the worse. While the tactical squad was able to take down a few of the attackers, their numbers were too few. They were being overwhelmed. One of the attackers moved through the vehicles of the caravan, reaching the other side.
As the attacker was about to shoot Mr Hawk and the unconscious detective Lopez, a mechanical arm punched the armored figure from behind. The attacker fell to the floor, but Jack kept hitting. The helmet of the attacker fell, revealing a mechanical construct inside. "They are droids!" Jack screamed.
Looking at the rifle, Jack picked it up and pulled the trigger. As the weapon fired, Jack screamed. "Eat these tin cans!" He started shooting back. The big man moved forward, shooting the attackers who were taken by surprise.
Following Jack, Mr Hawk managed to secure a weapon for himself and also return fire. One of the men from the tactical squad, hearing Jack's words, began firing an anti-droid rifle. This tore holes in the attackers. But still, the police were being pushed back.
The sound of flight engines came from above. Laser fire started raining down. Three light mechs painted in the police colors descended upon the attackers. With renewed morale, the officers started pushing back. Using the weapons of the fallen attackers, they were gaining ground.
Inside the blacksite, Mark was preparing to enter the control room. The young man adjusted the settings of the armor. As the color of the visor changed to a deep yellow, his face was no longer visible.
With a bulky rifle in hand. He went in. Because of the size of the weapon, it was impossible to sneak in. Instead, he took a guns-blazing approach, hoping to take them by surprise. If not, the young man was confident in the sturdiness of his armor.
As he ran toward the terminals in the back, the two armored guards started shooting their guns. Mark used his reflexes to evade most of the shots. Some of them hit the power armor, but caused no damage. Lifting the bulky rifle, the young man pulled the trigger twice, once for each guard.
Two purple projectiles came out of the weapon's muzzle. Hitting each guard on the chest, the projectiles shatter. Releasing the content inside, a purple goo that started to expand, encasing the guards and preventing their movements.
The third person in the room was a woman in her early twenties. She was wearing a lab coat, a green skirt, and rimmed glasses. Her brown hair was arranged in a braid. As soon as she saw Mark, the woman extended her arms as if to block his access to the system with her body.
"I will not allow you to kill these people, you monster!" The woman screamed.
Mark, confused by the situation, stops and looks at the woman. Behind, the young man sees that she was trying to hack the system controlling the cell doors. She was having a hard time.
With slow movements, he gets close. Her trembling body did not move, but she closed her green eyes. This told him that even though she was terrified, she had the resolve to save the people in the cells.
Mark stands in front of her, extending a hand. The young man touches the console. With a mental command and 7,367TP, the young man took control of the facility.
He then turns and starts running for the secret stairs, leaving the woman behind. As he ran, he instructed the system to release all the people in the lab's cells. While he was leaving the control room, the woman screamed something at him, but he ignored her.
In haste, Mark ran at top speed through the corridor and turned the corner. Before reaching the secret stairs, he de-materialized his armor. The thing would only serve to scare Melly.
Once on the stairs, Mark is greeted by the girl. "Where did you go? I was getting scared."
"I'm sorry, Melly, I came back as fast as I could." Mark apologised as he was folding the blankets to make the improvised harness once more.
With careful steps, he went back to the floor he came from. It took him a few minutes, but he finally reached the upper lab level. The moment he exited the secret stairs, he started seeing people exiting their cells. Melly got scared and started using her ability.
Mark tapped her in the head. Melly, don't worry. They are like us, look at their clothes." This succeeded in calming the girl.
Mark arrived at the cell his grandfather was held in. Once inside, he turned on the lights. His grandfather was still unconscious. But the vials that were on the table had vanished.
"Who is that man?" Melly asked. Looking at the unconscious man.
"That is my grandfather, Melly. We have to take him with us." Mark's response eased Melly's' worries.
A message from the system distracts Mark. User, the Berant city authorities are trying to enter the facility. They have eliminated most of the enemy forces. Shall we grant access to the underground facility?
Mark saw his luck was indeed changing for the better. "That is the best timing ever. Give them full access."
As the police entered in full force, they started finding people on the levels. One by one, they were all taken outside. Mark remained by the side of his grandfather. He instructed Melly to keep her abilities a secret until he could take her home with him.
Jack and Mr Hawk helped the police department in neutralizing the unexpected threat that surfaced from the abandoned industrial complex. By doing so, they help liberate the kidnapped people inside the black site.
Mark, his grandfather, and Melly got rescued; they were taken to the hospital nearby. As they were getting into an ambulance, the system prompted a message. " Your Daily bonus today is 17,804. Your balance has been updated. Your current balance is 64,116TP. Your bank Balance is 0TP.
With this message, Mark knew it was all over, at least for now.