The Freelancers

by OverHeart

Chapter 29 - Escape

“Say Matterhorn, why do they call you that?” Access asked awkwardly. “That’s not your real name is it?”

“No, it’s a code name.” he stated simply. “As for why they call me that, it’s because of my grasp on matter conversion magic.”

“Uncommon for someone to be talented with magic these days.”

“I’ve seen, and fought, many mages in my time.” Matterhorn chuckled. “You’re lucky your chosen profession keeps you out of immediate harm.”

“That was the idea, until we dug into this can of worms.” Sheet Rock added. “Are we ever going to know your real name, in our line of work trust is paramount.”

“That’s complicated.” Matterhorn admitted. “Technically, I don’t have one, as my serial number is my ‘name’ in a sense. It’s programmed into us from birth and we’re only given a code name once we’re assigned a post.”

“You’re very forthcoming with that information, that isn’t the sort of thing I’d tell someone so freely.” Sheet Rock said suspiciously.

Matterhorn shrugged. “It’s as you say, trust is paramount. So I’m willing to tell you whatever I must to make you trust me. It’s important.”

“Okay, why don’t you have a name?” Sheet Rock questioned. “Your parents forget to put that on your record when you were born or something?”

Matterhorn fell silent and the atmosphere became awkward. He was willing to tell them anything, except the answer to that rather personal question. Sheet Rock and Star hung their heads and they only uttered a knowing grunt.

“It’s fine, you don’t have to say it. I’m sorry.” Sheet Rock said apologetically.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Above them, a low rumble echoed from an unknown source and soon after, a large, bulky, heavy VTOL thundered through the skies. They weren’t far from where it would touch down, and their mood brightened somewhat when the thought of safety crossed their minds.

The aircraft flew unusually low over the tall warehouse buildings and circled overhead for a short while before it would continue on to its destination.

“Looks like our ride’s spotted us.” Matterhorn said thankfully. “Not a moment too soon, actually.”

“Why?” Star asked.

“Something doesn’t feel right. Something’s not right. This was far too easy.”

“Can you be more specific? You said it yourself that security would take care of anyone trying to get in here.”

“That’s only useful against the dregs of society, no offense. The real problem is if those thugs show up again.”

Matterhorn had an uncanny ability to sense danger, it kept him alive up until now but it wasn’t specific. He’d only know that something was wrong but not exactly what would happen and it often caused some friction between himself and other agents when they didn’t believe him.

He became restless very rapidly, clawing at his helmet like a fevered addict. Something was very, very wrong, but he couldn’t put his hoof on why or how. They were surrounded on all sides by security drones and even the industrial synthetics could put up a fight if they wanted them to.

There was no conceivable way that they could be ambushed, and yet his instincts were going wild, he pulled off his helmet roughly, and his mane was drenched in sweat as if he’d been in some kind of cataclysmic downpour.

He noticed he was being watched like he was a mad pony. “What are you three looking at?”

“Could have sworn you were a realistic looking machine until the facade cracked.” Sheet Rock joked. “Now you know how we’re feeling about all this.”

Matterhorn chuckled. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but no.”

The crew approached a small, plain-looking warehouse that sat a little distance away from the others, and in the courtyard was their ticket out of the city and to safety. Two ponies popped out of the aircraft, one approached Matterhorn when he jumped out the van’s side door with the other motioning for everyone else to jump out.

“MU-4844, where is your helmet?” the mare chided. “You know the rules, yes?”

“For once, Lucky, could you be less of a hard ass?” Matterhorn rubbed his temples. “Better yet, where’s YOURS?”

“I’m not an agent, you are, do as you’re told.” Lucky growled angrily. “This reflects on my performance report, and I wont have you destroying it.”

“Oh yes, little miss perfect.” Matterhorn mocked. “How does it feel to know the director gives more attention to her agents than she does to her handlers?”

Snowy turned to the little argument behind him and went to speak, but Pilot Wings was quick to jump in before he got involved.

“Ignore them, they butt heads all the time.”

“Is that… normal for them?” Snowy remarked.

“Oh yes. They paired the most hot-headed agent with the most hot-headed handler.” Pilot Wings confirmed. “I’m just a simple pilot, but even I know that was a bad move by command.”

Snowy turned back to face the two Unicorns, who by now were literally butting heads and their argument had gotten noticeably heated.

“You and your friends might want to board the aircraft while I go calm them down. There’s space in the cargo area for you all, if you’d please take your seats.”

Pilot Wings galloped off to break up the two warring colleagues, leaving the rest of the crew a little bewildered. They boarded the aircraft and sat down in the seats opposite where their van was now tied down securely with thick straps.

“Do… we act like that?” Access asked with an eyebrow raised at the situation unfolding before them.

“We have our disagreements, but those two take that to the next level.” Sheet Rock offered. “It’s a wonder how they get anything done at all, even with all their backing.”

It looked like Pilot Wings had calmed down the pair of them, and they trudged toward the aircraft with what passed for frowns on their faces. Matterhorn however, did not get into the cargo area with them, instead he joined Pilot Wings up front.

“I’m sorry if Matterhorn was too abrasive when you dealt with him, he has a bit of a reputation for being a bit high-strung.”

“We’re grateful for the assist though.” Snowy added.

“I’ll be honest with you, our decision to help you was one born of desperation.” Lucky declared. “We’ve been following a certain group of ponies, who have been in the employ of the big four in some capacity for a while.”

“The ones that attacked our hideout? They didn’t look like your run-of-the-mill corporate thugs though.” Access remarked.

The aircraft roared to life as it rose into the air. They’d soon be on their way and Lucky pointed to some headsets that hung above their heads, as it’d soon be too loud in the cabin to talk without them.

“Very astute, they aren’t. We only know of their leader, a maniac of a Unicorn named “Riot” for his unending thirst for mayhem. We don’t really know anything about him, why he works for the big four or even why he tolerates the presence of his hired help.”

“So that’s his name.” Access snarled.

“The fact he’s a madpony aside, why do you care?” Sheet Rock added.

“The organization I’m a part of has a vested interest in removing rogue elements from society. No corporation or social class should have the power they wield today.”

“It seems you’ve failed.” Star pointed out. “Our lives are dominated by the big four, at least mine was.”

“Greed overtook common sense so I’m told, now we have to deal with the consequences.” Lucky admitted. “I wont go into too much detail, as our leader will want to give you the hard sell herself. She’s nothing if not passionate.”

The aircraft soared through the skies of Canterlot, past other low-flying aircraft and out of the city’s borders to small unassuming compound dotted with small gray cuboid buildings. In the middle of all these buildings was a resplendent estate surrounded with wrought iron fencing, a strange sight to the decidedly urban sprawl ponies.

To think there were ponies living and working this far outside of the city, but the look of the guards that roamed the estates grounds as they drew closer, armed with weapons they’ve never seen before sealed just how serious this organization were about their aims.

The aircraft came to a hover as it aligned itself to a large hole in the center of the compound, which it descended into after the doors retracted to allow access to the depths.

“Just a warning before you disembark. The director can be a little exuberant due to her relative isolation.” Lucky warned. “She enjoys having guests in this day and age, you see.”

They all nodded as the aircraft touched down on a large underground landing pad, and very eager to leave the stuffy environment of the cargo space, hopped out onto the tarmac where a tall navy blue synthetic, the eponymous director, stepped out of a small access way surrounded by armor-clad soldiers.

“Hello.” a strangely familiar voice calls from the synthetic’s mouth. “It seems introductions are in order, I am Director Luna. Head of this organization we call “The Crown”. I was expecting more of you?”

“Wait… THE Luna, as in… Every one of our sources say you’re dead!” Star said in disbelief.

Luna chuckled. “Surprised? Dead is a relative state of being. This synthetic body may not be alive, but I most assuredly am, please follow me, won’t you?”

Author's Note:

This will be the last chapter of The Freelancers I'll likely post this year, with posts recommencing after Christmas.

As i mentioned in a blog post, i have a single chapter side story in progress which i wont spoil the plot for, but i'm sure you'll find it pretty interesting if you've liked The Freelancers so far.