Clusterfrag

For a brief second, Doc considers the fact that the team and the two gangers have a common enemy. They could spare these two, and have possible new allies in the hunt for their quarry.

Nah, Doc thinks, remembering what these men had done. Rape, beating unarmed people to death. Frag 'em.

He sees Max's signal, and in an unspoken agreement, he takes aim at the other ganger and sends a trio of armor piercing rounds at his target.

Marlowe's barrel gleams briefly in the light of the massive inferno.
(( 13P DAMAGE! ))
(( 8P DAMAGE! ))

Max takes one step with each blast of the shotgun. Two steps later, he's standing over the corpse of a troll.

(( 14P DAMAGE! ))

Doc swings out from the doorway and fires a rapid burst. The recoil hits his shoulder like a heavy weight boxer, but he's become used to it--enjoys it, even.

A pint of blood atomizes in the air and disappears a midst the flames and debris.

The human ganger slides to the ground.

Val peers over Max's shoulder, shielding his eyes from the waves of roiling fire.

"Out of the frying pan and into... you know what, nevermind."

He turns towards the rapidly disintegrating pile of pitch, that at one time was UCAS currency.

"What a fraggin' waste."

"I hear you," Doc says in agreement. What the frag are we getting paid with now?

"Come on, let's find Roman," He says, looking for signs of where the man might have gone.

Max steps up to the edge of the inferno and kicks at a smoldering wad of bills and mumbles,

"So much for our payout. Hope you guys like working pro bono."

"Frag," Doc replies, "After seeing this, I'll kill the man for free."

Max scoffs at the suggestion with,

"You say that like he might be the first man you've killed for free."

A series of gunshots manages to penetrate the roar of the flames, seeming to come from the second floor of the factory.

Doc looks at Max and mouths, are they shooting at us?

He looks for stairs leading up to the second level, and makes a beeline toward them. (( If in fact, there are stairs ))

Max follows suit cautiously, not wanting to alert anybody not hip to the team's presence with unecessarily heavy footfalls.

As Doc and Max reach the top of the stair, they witness a ganger stumble backwards, his arms held plaintively in front of him. His face is obscured in shadow from the flickering tongues of fire that lick the catwalk around him.

"No... I didn't mean... you don't have to pay me. I'll--"

His chest erupts as he's riddled with automatic small arms fire. The force knocks him back and he plummets, screaming, into the center of the bonfire.

Max crouches and lies in wait for more movement.

Doc ducks back against the wall, partly to stay hidden, and partly to let the recently departed ganger have a clear trajectory over the railing.

He checks his weapon, and gives a questioning glance to Max.

Max looks uncertainly back at Doc. This one's just gonna have to play out a bit.

The sound of foot-steps on the catwalk, moving away from the team, rings out.

Max sneaks forward in a semi-crouch with his weapon up.

Doc moves with Max, scanning the direction that the sound is coming from.

Pushing forward, Max reaches the edge of the catwalk. A narrow hallway leads to a balcony that overlooks the opposite end of the factory. A lone figure stands against the railing, seemingly oblivious of the team.

Doc moves into the hallway, and loads his Infiltration activesoft. Keeping low and quiet, he works his way down the hallway to the other side.

Max keeps low and follows behind Doc.

"I know you're back there," says the figure, without turning. "I'd imagine my sniveling older brother sent you to dispatch me. Though, I doubt he used those words."

Doc steps out of the hallway, rifle leveled at the man. He nods.

"Yeah, something to that effect," he says, eyes never wavering.

"You want to explain what the frag all of... this is?"

Having been made, Max steps out of the shadows and keeps his shotgun trained on Roman. Snorting, the elf gruffly says,

"Nice little bonfire you've got going here."

Roman turns, his hands held in front of his chest to show that he's unarmed. His face is covered with a web of scars. Both eyes are cybernetic--not the fancy kind, either. These are the older, obviously augmented eyes that vaguely resemble an insect's.

"Cloud Nine is a farce. It's a distorted reality built on a flawed premise. It's impossible to remove violence and conflict from humanity as these things are integral to us as a species. My brother was a fool for trying. Somebody had to demonstrate to him--to the world--that such idealism is nothing but fantasy and to put it into practice is sheer arrogance."

Max dissents,

"But you're the one who gave him the idea. Quite the lesson you're teaching."

Marlowe's sights never leave Roman's face.

Tyros hovers silently to the side letting his teammates do the talking. He quickly scans astral space for any magical presence in the factory.

Sinjin circles the bottom floor, skulking the perimeter to be sure the area is clear of enemies who may complicate their retreat. Skirting wide around the massive fire, he keeps to the flickering and changing shadows that conceal his form. He searches also for a second stairwell, or a ladder to the catwalk that will maneuver him behind their target.The exchange above him is clearly audible in his earbuds. He hopes the parlay will continue, allowing him enough time to find a way to flank Roman and cut his exit.

Doc stalls.

"Okay, then the remaining question is why? This still seems like quite a bit of trouble to go through, without any particular reward."

Max chips in,

"You kidding? This reads to me like nothing more than embittered sibling rivalry. Am I right, Roman?"

Roman spreads his arms wide and begins stepping backwards towards the railing.

"Remember the story of Cain and Abel?"

Max responds to Roman honestly,

"You'll have to forgive me if I'm not brushed up on my Christian mythology."

"I'll give you the short and sweet of it..."

Roman reaches the rear railing and places one foot on the bottom rung.

"Cain, the eldest, kills his younger brother Abel."

His hand strays into his coat.

Max bursts with aggression,

"KEEP YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM, DREKBAG!"