Here's my new story, hope you all enjoy I'll plug my Discord and let you all get to enjoying for now
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I put my work phone down just as Aegis snapped, "What do you mean? What's going on? Do any of you see anything?" His tone was sharp, but I could hear the underlying frustration—he was trying to get a grasp on the situation, but he didn't have enough information yet.
Panic laced my voice as I responded, pushing urgency into my words. "It's bad. My senses rarely go crazy like this—I'm sure we have to do something, or we're all going to die."
Karina started scanning the surroundings, her head snapping between the mirrors and the dark expanse of the highway. Before Aegis could fire back, she hissed, "Shit. He may be right—the two cars from the beach. They're tailing us."
Aegis cursed under his breath, his grip tightening on the wheel. "Fuck. Since when?! I swear they weren't on our asses a minute ago." He pressed down on the gas, and the SUV lurched forward.
But it was no use. The black sedans kept pace effortlessly.
[Remember the cars tailing us are modified—professional vehicles. Even the slightly slower one is faster than this run-down SUV.]
"Shit," I muttered, my mind racing. "They were armed, too. Fuck. Where are we? How long until we get to the city?" I slid down as far as I could, pressing my body close to the floor of the car. The less of me exposed, the better.
Aegis' voice was clipped, tense. "We're by the Hudson, not far from Yonkers. One more hour—no, a bit less, and we'll be in the city properly."
A second later—
BANG BANG BANG
Gunshots.
BANG BANG BANG
More.
BANG BANG BANG
The back of the car rattled violently as bullets tore through it, shattering the rear window. Glass rained into the cabin, glittering in the dim light.
"Fuck, this isn't good," Karina muttered, her head ducked low. "I can't get a clean shot off if they're loading us up with bullets every second. Stick my head out, and I lose it."
[The highway is a deathtrap, given your shitty car. You need an alternate route—now.]
"We have to take the next exit," I said.
Aegis shot me a glance, waiting for an explanation, even as his hands stayed locked on the wheel.
"If we stay on the highway, we're nothing but moving targets. If we take the exit, we can lose them in the local streets. Tighter roads, more obstacles."
He hesitated—only for a second—before he twisted the wheel hard, sending the SUV skidding onto the exit ramp. The tires screamed, and my body staggered from the sudden shift.
The gunfire lessened slightly, but I knew we weren't safe yet. Not even close.
"The danger's lower," I admitted, pressing a hand against my racing heart, "but we're still not in a favorable scenario. If this keeps up, we're going to die."
"Great way to deliver good news," Karina muttered.
She twisted in her seat, lifting her gun to take aim, but the second her eyes locked onto the sedans, she flinched.
I saw it happen in real-time—her pupils contracted as she tried to focus, then she immediately recoiled, throwing an arm over her face.
"Those fuckers!" she spat. "They both have some kind of blinding high beams—it's fucking up my vision. I can't see shit!"
[They did their research on us. That means they came prepared. That means they have a counter for every single person in this car.]
Within moments, another volley of bullets tore through the air.
BANG BANG BANG
"Shit!" Aegis barked as the SUV jerked violently to the left. For a split second, I felt weightless, the car teetering on the edge of control. Aegis gritted his teeth and wrestled the wheel back into submission. "They got the rear left tire!"
[Well, that wasn't part of the plan. Then again, it's hardly unexpected when you have a firing squad behind you.]
I stayed low, pressing against the floor as more rounds peppered the vehicle. The SUV was slowing, and not by choice. We had minutes, maybe even seconds, before this turned into a bloodbath.
"We need to get out of here," I said, controlling my voice. "We're sitting ducks in this car. And now that we've lost a tire, we definitely won't be able to lose them."
Aegis snapped his head toward me. "Are you crazy?! This car is the only reason we're still alive! We need an escape vehicle!"
"Which is exactly why we can't just keep driving. Do you think they'll let us limp away? They'll tear this thing apart with us still inside." I met his glare head-on. "I'm not saying we ditch the car—we use it as cover. We make a stand. That's the only way anyone is getting out of this alive."
He let out a frustrated breath, gripping the wheel tighter. "And what? Just fight them head-on? We're outgunned."
"We don't need to fight them all. Think." I pressed forward, injecting just the right amount of urgency into my words. "They've tracked us too precisely. That means they have a scout—specifically someone with a long-range tracking ability. They are extremely rare, but it's the only explanation. If we take him out, we cut off their eyes. Without him, they're fighting blind."
Aegis's hands twitched on the wheel, his mind working through the logic.
Karina, still hunched low, spoke up, her tone sharp with stress. "And how the hell are we supposed to know which one of them is the scout? We gonna stop and ask?"
"We will work through it as we fight," I say, my voice steady despite the chaos brewing. "We have two scouts, and long-range trackers are extraordinarily rare. I'm sure we can figure it out." My eyes scan the area ahead, locking onto the massive industrial skeleton before us. "That freight yard—it's perfect."
Aegis turns as the car continues to crawl forward, understanding that time is running out. It's a miracle the vehicle is still moving at all, its battered frame groaning with every inch it claims.
"This place looks abandoned," Aegis says as we pull in, his voice edged with doubt.
"That only works in our favor." My mind races, assessing angles, elevation, and possible vantage points. I look at Karina. "You take the high ground. It gives you the best chance of survival as a sniper since we will be covering you. The containers and that watchtower over there will provide sightlines." I motion toward the steel maze of the freight yard, my thoughts already mapping possible trajectories of incoming fire.
"We will hold the front." I glance at Aegis, "With his power to reinforce matter through contact, we can keep the enemy distracted while maintaining cover." I pause, calculating. "They won't risk anything too destructive; they'll want the briefcase intact."
Aegis nods, already maneuvering the car into position, turning it vertically against the freight yard's backside for maximum cover. The vehicle, despite its beaten state, will serve as an improvised barricade.
"Alright, cover me well," Karina says, already in motion. She makes a run for the watchtower, her boots light against the pavement. "Don't forget your earpieces!" she yells before disappearing into the shadows of stacked metal crates.
Aegis and I quickly insert ours, muting comms for the moment as we exit the vehicle and take position behind it.
"Wait—before we move," Aegis says, "can you hand me my mask?"
I fumble through the debris of the car's interior, my fingers skimming over empty casings, a half-crushed energy bar, and a knife slick with dried blood. "I can't find it. The car's a mess, and it's dark in here."
"Fuck it," he mutters. "Forget it."
I slip out, feeling the cool night air against my skin. Aegis presses one hand against the vehicle, and instantly, the battered metal takes on a silver sheen. I touch it—solid. No bullet is making it through that.
[His power is just as described. Good.]
But it's not just the car. His clothes shimmer, hardening. He's reinforcing himself, too.
"I'll need your gun if you're handling defense," I say.
Without hesitation, Aegis tosses it to me. I catch it smoothly, fingers wrapping around the grip.
[Glock. Standard. Fifteen rounds. Simple. Efficient. Dont worry, I'll handle this.]
With my right hand, I raise the gun to his head.
Aegis stiffens. "What the hell are you doing, kid?"
My voice remains calm and steady. "It seems this will be your last mission. I'll tell you a secret, Aegis. The reason I don't carry a gun isn't because I can't afford one, or because this mission wasn't supposed to require one. No, it's much simpler than that."
The barrel of the Glock rests against his skull. The air stills.
"It's because people tend to expect less from those they don't see as a threat."
"Goodbye, Aegis."
His eyes widened as he attempted a last-second lunge. "You piece of—!"
BANG.
A single gunshot. A moment frozen in time.
And Aegis falls.
Quickly, I dumped off a few bullets directly in front of the freight yard before placing the gun from my gloved hands into Aegis's.
"What the hell—was that a gunshot? Are they here already?" Karina's voice crackled through the earpiece, sharp with panic.
I didn't answer immediately. I had already started my run after all, so instead, I glanced toward the freight yard's entrance, where two cars screeched to a halt, their occupants already pouring out, guns raised, right on schedule.
[Good there, acting as expected.]
I vaulted over the fence without breaking stride, my breath steady, my heart unshaken.
"Get to high ground," I ordered Karina over the comms, unmuting for just long enough to deliver my line. "They won't expect you. Aegis and I will hold them back."
I ran.
I ran fast.
Time was a currency, and I had already budgeted how much Aegis and Karina were worth.
[Thirty seconds passed. Right about now, Karina should be engaging.]
"Jackal!"
BANG. BANG. BANG.
The shots cracked through the night, clean and efficient.
"Are you there? Are you alive?" Her voice trembled, desperation creeping in.
I clicked my comms back on. "I'm alive."
[Not that she would be for much longer.]
"Thank God—" A shaky inhale. "I saw what happened to Aegis. I tried to get anyone, but the second they saw me, they all focused on me. I need backup. Four of them. Heavy firepower. A light-based power user… Are you injured?"
I could hear the hope in her voice. The expectation that I'd come for her.
[She still thinks you're on her side.]
"No," I answered, weaving through the industrial maze, shadows swallowing me whole.
Sirens in the distance.
[Police ETA is around thirty seconds, and she won't even last thirty.]
"You're coming, right?" Karina's breath hitched. "Is that you—coming up the tower?"
"Jackal?" Her voice wavered. "Why aren't you answering? You're close, right? I… I think I hear footsteps."
A long, deafening pause.
Then, a sharp inhale, realization hitting her like a gunshot before the real one ever comes.
"Oh… no."
Her breath shudders. She finally understands.
"You… you were never coming, were you?"
BANG.
The last gunshot echoed abruptly.
I pulled the earpiece off and pocketed it without a glance. No more distractions.
Ahead, the freight yard ended, spilling into a residential district—tight alleyways, blind corners. Perfect.
I reached into the inside of my jacket, fingers brushing against the rough fabric of three ski masks—mine, Karina's, and Aegis's.
Without hesitation, I plucked out the two that weren't mine and let them drop to the ground. They landed in the dirt, useless now, just like their owners.
Then, with a deliberate motion, I pulled my own mask over my face.
[Symbolic, isn't it?]
[You're the only one who gets to wear it. The only one who mattered.]
Of course.
They had asked why I had taken my mask off earlier, as if it had been out of character for me. It hadn't been.
It wasn't just to lead Aegis to do the same.
It was because dead men don't live to tell any tales.
And now, although I was struggling to survive,
I was here. Alive. Running.
Karina and Aegis were not.
They were somewhere else.
It hadn't mattered if they saw my face. It never mattered if I trusted them.