Robbery (2)
Fifth hour of the shroudphase,….
The slums slept under the choking blanket of the fog. Only the faint glow of security drones lit the cracked streets.
A battered garbage hauler hummed quietly as it crawled its way quietly out of the slum district, slowly heading towards the Estates.
Back in their tiny home in the slums, Coin watched this feed from multiple drone angles spread across multiple streets. He moved the joystick in his hand carefully, his eyes focused on the moving truck.
In a hidden compartment of the truck sat a figure clad in black combat armor. A fog filter mask covered half his face, leaving only blank gray eyes that peeked out of dense gray hair.
Coin's eyes occasionally glanced at this figure through the monitors, his eyes betraying deep unsettlement.
He had seen that look before, those empty eyes. It was hard to tell whether the thing sitting in that compartment was still his brother, or something else entirely. Even now, watching through half a dozen angles, Coin couldn't shake off the feeling that Cash wasn't breathing.
[Approaching checkpoint one]
A drone stationed ahead sent a warning ping to Coin, prompting him to tear his eyes away from his brother.
Coin sent out a command, ensuring that the masking protocols protecting Cash were still active before he turned his attention to the joystick.
The garbage hauler rolled to a sluggish stop at the entrance to the Estates where multiple protective barriers had been set up. Two armored protectors, wearing fog masks ambled closer, each clutching scanners.
Their scanners buzzed as they lazily circled the truck.
Inside, the black armored figure didn't move. His hands remained motionless on his knees, eyes fixed forward. No sign of him was registered on the trucks bio metric sensors, Coin had done a thorough job with his masking protocols.
The scanners' lights swept once, twice, then blinked green.
"Let it through"
The protectors backed off the truck. Allowing the truck entry into the luxury district.
Coin didn't let himself breathe, he kept his eyes on the monitors , processing multiple feeds at once.
The Estates had way more protectors patrolling its streets than the slums. Coin was careful not to let anything slip. He guided the truck along the planned route, careful not to alert the inspection drones overhead or the patrolling protectors.
Finally, the truck drifted to a stop at the end of a narrow alleyway, two blocks from the Woodland Mansion.
"Checkpoint clear."
Coin muttered under his breath, switching the monitor to thermal. The route ahead glowed empty, no patrols, no motion signatures.
Coin sighed. Next came the hard part. On the monitor before him was the thing that was supposed to be his brother, the same frame, the same scars, but none of it looked familiar anymore.. The eyes were cold, empty, fixed on nothing.
Their father had called it Wraith, because that was all it was now. A remnant. A ghost wearing his brother's face.
Inside the compartment, Wraith stirred for the first time since the trip had begun.
It turned its head, slowly, to face the camera, staring directly at it. His blank gray eyes were fixed directly at it, almost as if he could see Coin who was hundreds of miles away, through the camera.
"Begin mission."
The instruction was received. Wraith moved.
The compartment door opened silently, cold air and fog bled in.
Wraith stepped out. The pavement was damp. Noise levels low. No movement ahead.
He took out his rifle from the compartment right as the comms clicked faintly in his ear, Coin's voice seeping in.
"Second rooftop. North-east corner"
Acknowledged.
He moved.
His boots touched the concrete without any sound. Every step measured. Every breath timed to the rhythm of his internal clock. The world around him was soundless except for the faint hum of surveillance drones spread around.
A wall. Three point six meters high. Surface: concrete composite. Grip rating: medium. He climbed, No hesitation.
Movement. Two protectors, fifteen meters ahead. He waited. Their steps were uneven, fatigue. Weapons held loose, force guns. Two force mutants.
Weakness, body.
"Two protectors ahead, one o'clock" A late warning came in through the comms.
Wraith's body disintegrated into a pool of nanites and crept up in between the protectors.
The fog muffled all sounds. The nanite pool reformed quietly behind the first protector.
One motion. His knife pierced through the armor seam, aimed directly at his heart. The body went still before it hit the ground.
The second turned. Too slow.
The bloody knife cut through his throat. No noise, no delay.
Coin's voice echoed faintly in his ear.
"Clear. Proceed to destination."
Wraith obeyed.
The rooftop was three storeys high.
He leapt. Landed. Stabilized.
Wind velocity: Low. Visibility: thirty six percent.
He looked out unto the Woodland mansion compound.
Thermal readings indicated seven moving heat signatures below, non-human, mutants.
One in particular burnt unusually bright.
He lay prone against the concrete ledge, rifle raised. The weapons optics adjusted automatically.
"Stand by"
Coin's voice flickered in the comms, steady and precise.
"Turret control sequence has begun. Do not engage until synchronization completes"
Acknowledged.
Wraith's eyes tracked the patrol on the compound. The mutants moved irregularly, no definite pattern.
The four turrets scanned the compound in wide predictable arcs.
"Synchronization: ninety-three percent.", Coin's voice continued. "On my mark"
Overhead, the hum of distant machinery rose as the turrets begun altering their rotations, their barrels turning to target the patrolling guards on the compound.
"Mark"
The turrets roared to life, rotating. A burst of fire cut through the fog in precise intervals. Four mutants dropped instantly, killed on the spot.
The remaining three reacted instantly. There was a surge of bright red flame as a mutant threw out balls of fire at the turrets, taking down three. The fourth overloaded and detonated in a loud bloom of sparks.
"Turrets down," Coin said. "Clean up"
Wraith adjusted his scope. Range: four hundred meters. Wind drift: negligible.
He squeezed the trigger once. A quiet round exited the barrel, blowing half of the first's target's skull away in bits.
Second shot, through the chest of the second target, leaving a gaping hole.
Third, another head shot.
All targets offline.
Silence returned.