//------------------------------// // 43: BONUS 5: Dinnertime: The Heist. // Story: Honor the Dead // by BinaryTroll //------------------------------// Honor the Dead by BinaryTroll Pre-read/Edited by Chapter 43: BONUS 5: “Dinnertime: The heist.” -------------- A few hours earlier “Alright Shyv, you're thermite.” I said, pointing to her. She looked at me questioningly. “What's a thermite?” I rolled my eyes and pointed at Vi. “Alright Vi, you're the drill.” “I prefer to be drilled myself.” She replied with a devilish grin. Finally, I pointed to Joel. “We're going to gun down anybody who comes after us.” I glared at him, daring him to comment. He raised an eyebrow. “You mean I'm going to gun down anybody who comes after us.” I groaned. “Fuck it, whatever. Shoot to wound, not kill. I don't want the princesses to get on our cases.” Joel shrugged. “Fair enough.” “Alright then, any questions?” Shyv raised a hoof. “What's a thermite?” I sighed. “Fe2O3 + 2 Al. It produces a brief burst of high temperature when lit. Basically, I want you to burn through the wall.” “Why didn't you say that in the first place then?” She asked. I threw my hands up. “Doesn't matter! Lets just go!” Joel pulled this new goggles over his eyes and adjusted his bow tie. He sprinted to the edge of the roof of the building we were standing on and leaped off, yelling; “Geronimo!” Shyv quickly followed suit, taking a powerful flap and soaring into the air, yelling; “Allonz-y!” Vi morphed into a gunmetal gray unicorn wearing a fancy looking suit and climbed down a small hatch behind me, muttering; “Fantastic.” I stared after where my friends had jumped off and sighed. “Oh for god's sake.” I sprinted forward and front-flipped off after them. The instant I hit the ground, there was a beep from one of my many pockets. “The fuck was-” Music began to play.“That?” I grinned. I must've accidentally hit my iPod. Fuck it, why not? I've missed music. I sprinted into the building, pulling my hood up over my face. Shoulder charging the door, I burst into the room, Luna and Celestia at the ready. Joel was standing over a pair of ponies who were lying prone on the ground with their hooves tied. He showed me a key. “Got access to the upper level window control.” “Excellent.” Together we smashed down a pair of flimsy wooden doors and continued further into the depths of the building. A pair of security guards were waiting just inside the doors, swords at the ready. I jumped forward and kicked the first one in the face, knocking his hat off his head and staggering him. Spinning around in place, I brought my heel up and smashed it into his temple with a loud crunch, knocking him out cold. Joel finished disposing of his partner in a similar fashion, bringing his heel up and slamming it down on top of the guard's head, making him collapse onto the ground. Behind us, I could hear an alarm wailing. “Let's get this over with, fast.” I said. Joel nodded in reply and blazed off with staminup level speed. I tried to keep up as best I could, which was pretty badly considering the speed he was running at. A crossbow bolt streaked past my head, almost taking my ear off. I spun around quickly, noting a trio of guards in the room behind me, each armed with a crossbow. To avoid getting a hole in my chest, I vaulted over a nearby desk and ducked behind it, just as two more bolts whistled over my head. I sheathed the sisters and pulled out my FAMAS. As I emerged from cover, I sighted down the iron sights and sprayed the floor in front of the guards, the recoil and bullet spread hitting one in the ankle. That should slow them down. I sprinted for the next doorway. Two rooms away I reloaded my Glocks, catching the magazines and storing them away for later use if I could get more shots for them. Six guards lay on the ground in front of me, each clutching various wounds in their legs. Vi stood behind me, magically picking the lock a door to upstairs. I heard a shout from outside. “Move in! Go go go!” More guards. Great. Two crossbow bolts sped through the doorway, accompanied by one blue-haired human. “Sup Wards?” I asked, watching as he plastered himself to the wall beside the door. He ejected a magazine from his FAMAS and loaded another. “Help?” I sighed good-naturedly and shook my head. “What, can't deal with a few guards?” He scowled. “Fine. I'll do this myself.” I yawned and leaned casually back against the wall. “Go for it.” He dived back out the door, firing wildly. I groaned and went over to check on how Vi was doing. “You almost done?” I asked, looking over her shoulder at the thick metal door. A small green glow was coming from the lock. She didn't reply for a few seconds. Finally, with a flourish, she kicked the door open. She turned around and grinned. “Done.” I stuck my head around the doorway. “We're in!” I called. Edward punched the last guard in the temple with a meaty crack, before spinning around and jogging back towards me. Music was still blaring out of his iPod for some reason. I led the way through the door, Glocks raised. Vi was in the center, revolver at the ready. Edward took up the rear, constantly darting away to knock out a guard or two. I found a fire escape and ran up it to search for the window lock and the shut down for the automatic fire quenching systems, leaving Edward and Vi to secure the room just above our objective. Outside I grabbed another hoofful of fire rubies we had stolen in a raid a week ago and shoveled them into my mouth, barely managing to contain the flames I was building up in my spark pouch. At this point they were past white hot, and they threatened to suffocate me if I wasn't careful. I gagged slightly at the taste, although I managed to keep my mouth closed. There was a loud hiss and the window below me popped open. I dove in, taking care not to clip my wings on the frame. Fortunately, there was something to cushion my fall just inside. “Ow.” Edward groaned, slowly picking himself up. I almost said sorry, before remembering the superheated fire waiting in my spark pouch. “Why is it always me?” He complained. “Joel's the one with jug, how come he can't be the one who gets beaten up all the time?” I tapped him on the shoulder and gestured towards my mouth. He pointed towards the center of the room. “Over there.” I nodded and quickly cantered over, eager to spit the flame out of my spark pouch. It itched. I opened my jaws and let a white hot inferno burst forth, burning through the thick metal in a matter of seconds. Tiny glowing particles of magma dripped into the room below me. Speaking of the room below me... “What the hell is this?” I screamed back to Edward, who was kicking a pair of guards out the window, yelling 'SPARTA!' for some reason. He looked over and flinched. “Um Shyv, your hair... uh mane, is on fire.” He shrunk back a little further. “Again.” I couldn't care less. “A FUCKING MEXICAN RESTAURANT?” He smiled guiltily. “Yeah...” “All this to get into a fucking Mexican restaurant!” Edward nodded slowly. “When you say it that way, it makes this sound like a stupid and dangerous idea.” I scowled. “That's because it is.” “I've heard they make exceptional tacos here.” Joel added helpfully. I groaned. “Well, theres nothing we can do about it now. Lets get this over with.” Edward stood up a little taller. “How about we find a dragon cave after this is done and get some food for you too?” “That sounds even stupider and even more dangerous.” I muttered. The next morning I sniffed my soot blackened coat and sighed. I'm never going to get the bloody thing clean now. And I smell like a miner too. “Fuck my life.” I muttered. “Oh cheer up.” Joel said elbowing me in the side. “At least I'm clean!” I wrung out some soot from sleeve and threw it at him. It bounced off his jacket, leaving his clothes as pristine as ever and a dirty black smear on the library floor. “And fuck you too.”