____
Vincent shot the vampire in the back of the head at point blank range. She was dusted without any trouble. It was her friends that were going to cause the problem. Vincent found himself in a room with an odd device hooked up to various computers and a bunch of other technical junk. The woman was seemingly the leader of this little group, and the others were just some gunners. To be fair, they were pretty heavily armed, carrying assault rifles and whatnot. In Vincent's eyes, however, a monkey with a gun is still just a monkey. Nothing special about them.
The first vampire to react, the one closest to Vincent, opened fire. Vincent managed to lean back from the line of fire and return a few shots from his SMG, dusting him as well. The other vampires all huddled near the door and began shooting for Vincent as he ducked back out into the dark hallway. The bullets made the walls look like Swiss cheese for the little the vampires could see of them. "Did we get 'em?" One vampire asked. A burst of gunfire into his chest suggested that they did not. The two other vampires took cover on one side of the door, frantically reloading their guns. They were pretty shaken up seeing three of their comrades turned to piles of dust, and so easily.
"I have an idea." One vampire whispered to the other. "I'll fire out into the hallway to make sure he's not waiting, then, I'll head out there and you provide cover fire. When we're both out, close the door so he can't see us. He'll think we're still inside, advance on us, and we'll get him. Got it?" He said. The other vampire nodded. They followed through with their plan, getting to the point that the door was shut and the hallway was dark. Now the mouse just needed to come get the bait. Something dropped on the ground below them. The two vampires looked at each other, confused. Their plan had been comprised either way. They aimed their guns down the hallway, and just before they pulled their triggers, they both exploded in a hail of shrapnel. Vincent flicked on his gun's light and took a good look. Yep, dust and clothes. Just the way he liked it. He walked toward the room, where the holes in the door leaked little bits of light onto the floor. It was almost like some sort of painting. Not that he cared for that crap, just a little observation. He opened the door, went inside, and shut it behind him.
"So what's all this stuff." He wondered, while reloading his SMG. Big shiny thing in a room, heavily armed but incompetent guards, and some sort of data feed on the nearby monitors. All that amounted to one big pile of confusing s**t that Vincent didn't particularly care for. Smashing it seemed like a bad idea, though. Knowing the vampires, it was probably rigged to explode. He didn't like people trying to make him explode. That was his job. After a moment of thought, his ears perked up as he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. They stopped outside the door and there were some muffled voices. Suddenly, there was a knock.
"House keeping."
Vincent opened the door. Takarashi and some woman were standing there, to which Vincent leveled his gun. "Easy, Vincent. She's on our side. She's a prisoner to the Vampires; she's helping us." Takarashi said, trying to make sure Vincent stayed calm.
"And you know she's not some sympathizer or ally helping them out because..." He replied.
"Because she just lead us to the most vital room in this whole place, and if anything were to happen to it without her doing it, we'd all be dead right now."
"So I was right." He rested the gun on his shoulder and signaled for them to come inside. He closed the door behind them as they did.
"Thank you. My name is Alex-" Alex began to say, before Vincent cut her off.
"That's great. Make it so this thing doesn't kill us, then." He said, pointing toward the big shiny thing.
"Not until you say please." She said, brushing past him. Vincent looked at Takarashi and merely shrugged. "It's going to take me a few minutes to diffuse the safety measures put on the device. If you two could keep us from being riddled with bullet holes, that would be great." Alex said while typing furiously on the keyboard. Vincent pointed at Takarashi for him to guard the door, while Vincent stepped off to the side to keep an eye on Alex. His gun wasn't pointed at her, but his finger remained on the trigger. She could see him out of the corner of her eye. "Still don't trust me, I take it?"
"I don't make a habit of making friends during operations is all." Vincent replied, flexing his hands a little bit."[/color]
"Well, I don't make it a habit of being kidnapped and being forced to work on furthering a weapon's ability to kill a mass amount of people. Also, their health care plan stinks."
"It's great that you guys are getting along, but can we try to keep it down so I can hear if anyone's coming?" Takarashi asked. Alex and Vincent exchanged looks and went back to being silent, save for Alex's fingers on the keys.
"Aaaand, done." Alex said. She walked over to the machine and flipped open a panel. The wiring inside looked almost alien in its design, even to Vincent. "Now, I'm not quite sure how to disable this..." She crossed her arms and tapped a finger on her lips. She stepped back and looked at Vincent. "Don't suppose you've worked with this stuff before?" She asked. Vincent walked forward, taking a close look at the circuitry. He observed it carefully, rubbing a hand on his chin.
"... I think I got it."
"Wha... really?" She did a double take as she looked at him. Vincent dug around in his coat for a moment.
"Yep, I do." He took out some kind of putty and slapped it onto the machine."C4, best stuff there is. We can go now."
"W-wait! We can't just blow this up! This is an amazing piece of technology- who knows what we could derive from it? Think of all the possibilities, of the medical applications! We could do so much good if we understood it better!" She protested.
"It kills people."
"Yes, that's true, but if we could just get this back to my department and let my team have a look at it, we could make leaps into the future of technology!"
"It kills people." Vincent replied. Alex groaned.
"... Fine. I suppose we can get there on our own time, regardless of how many decades or centuries it may take us." She grumbled. Vincent didn't protest.
"Kid, take point. Lady, you're behind him. I'll watch our six. Move." Vincent ordered. Takarashi nodded. He twisted the door knob, opened the door, and peeked out into the hallway. It was clear. He leveled his shotgun and began creeping out, signaling for them to follow.
~
The return down the darkened hallway was uneventful. Quite a few vampires had been killed at this point. Where ever the others were at this point, they must have been far too deep inside the complex to have any idea what was going on, or counted on someone else taking care of the situation. The trio managed to reach the busted elevator shaft, which, amazingly, was still broken. "Alright, up the cable. I'll make sure no one comes up behind us." Vincent said, signaling for them to get up and moving.
"I really don't think I'm in the physical condition to be able to do that." Alex said, displaying her skinny little arms. Vincent didn't want to bother talking about this right now.
"Kid, keep watch down here. You, get on my back, hang on tight, and don't let go." He said while taking a knee. She was hesitant at first, but complied. The two started up the cable. Takarashi kept watch for a minute, before turning back to the hallway. Yep, still empty. He hoped it stayed that way. He really didn't want anything else to happen tonight. He was getting really tired. he just wanted to head back to the tavern at this point. After a couple of minutes, Vincent and Alex had safely made it up the line. Takarashi did one last quick scan, then sheathed his shotgun and followed them up.
~
Considering he didn't have gloves, it was a rough climb up. Takarashi's hands were sore by the end of it, but once he was greeted by the lights of the warehouse up above, he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around to see a line of vampires with guns pointed at him, as well as Vincent and Alex, who where knelt down with their hands behind their heads as prisoners. "Set all your weapons on the floor, then come toward us. If any one of you tries anything, you all die right here and now." One of the vampires ordered. Takarashi looked at Vincent, who didn't give him any sort of signal. For once, he didn't have a plan. "I don't mean five minutes later. Do it now." The vampire growled. Takarashi sighed. He took out his shotgun and laid it on the floor, as well as the grenades he picked up. He then walked to the center of the room.
"You s**t eating Hunters have caused enough problems for us, but this time, we win." Another vampire cackled. Takarashi shot her a glare, then returned his sights to the apparent leader.
"Now what, then?" Takarashi asked.
"Now, you're going to tell me why the pulse didn't kill you and your partner here. Then, the doctor is going back to her lab and the explosive attached to our weapon is going to be scraped off by you two. And after that? Well, we'll find some use for you."
"I see." Takarashi said. He looked around the room, then up at the ceiling, and exhaled. "I have one more question for you." The vampire raised an eye brow. "Do you sparkle?"
"What-" He began to ask, just as the ceiling on the warehouse exploded. Through the gaping hole that was left, the early morning sun shone into the room, bathing the warehouse in its golden light. The vampires screamed as their flesh boiled under the sun's welcoming rays. Some tried to take cover, to which Vincent responded by grabbing his SMG from the guard behind him and blasting them. In under a minute, roughly 60 vampires had all been turned to dust. Outside, a few choppers were mulling around, and the building was surrounded by additional Hunters. Just in case.
"Guess now is a good of a time as any." Vincent said, retrieving his detonator. He looked at Alex and Takarashi, then pressed the button. There was a mild 'thump' under their feet. "Now everything is taken care of." Takarashi grinned. Quite an ending to quite a night.
~
Catherine carefully stepped around the dust, hands in her pockets. She looked around the building while the many Hunters conversed. "Gotta say boys, for two men, you do one hell of a job. Makes me wish you were still with us, Takarashi." Catherine said with a smile.
"After everything that's happened, I can officially say that this isn't my cup of tea anymore. Thanks, but no thanks." He replied. Catherine shrugged.
"Can't blame a girl for trying. As well, we thank you both for finding and rescuing Ms. Dylan. She didn't feel like working with us either, and was quite eager to get back to her lab at G CORP, where ever that may. All in all, it was a job well done." She shook Vincent's and Takarashi's hands. "Come on, Takarashi. I'll drive you back to the tavern. Vincent, I'll see you back at base. Two eggs, bacon, and a slice of toast, please." Vincent crossed his arms, and Catherine merely smiled. She signaled for Takarashi to follow. Just before he did, though, he turned to face Vincent.
"You're crazy and reckless, and you've got a real dark sense of humor, but I'm glad I got to work with you, Vincent. I wish you all the best in the future." Takarashi extended his hand. Vincent took it and shook it lightly without a word.
~
"How's your brother been?" Catherine asked as she drove along the dirt path back to the tavern, flicking her eyes around a bit in case a squirrel or something came running out.
"Dunno. Haven't spoken to him for a few years now either."
"That's a shame. I suspect he's still out raising his own little bit of hell in the world."
"Yeah. Probably. By the way, now that this is all said and done... don't bother me anymore. I had a favor to owe and I repaid it. Now I've earned my peace."
"You certainly have. Very well. You won't hear from us again." She replied. She drew near the tavern and stopped the car. "Here you are, home sweet home. It's a nice little spot. I might stop in for another glass of red wine; it's simply wonderful."
"Don't bother me anymore whatsoever, got it?"
"Oh, fine." She pouted, but smiled afterward. Takarashi opened the door to the car. "Wait a minute." She said. Takarashi turned to looked at her. She grabbed him by the collar and lightly tugged him over, giving him a peck on the lips. "Take care of yourself, alright? I don't wanna see your name in the obituaries." She let him go. He stared at her for a minute, exhaled, and hopped out. He slammed the door behind him to head back to the tavern. Catherine fired up the engine of the car, waved, and took off back down the road.
OPERATION: COLD RAIN
MISSION STATUS: ACCOMPLISHED
