The Freelancers

by OverHeart

Chapter 49 - Confrontation

“That building there, that the one?” Star said, pointing at a large building ahead of them. “It’s got a pretty big tower on it.”

“Must be, looks like a comms antenna, the kind a runner would be interested in.” Snowy said stoically. “Hopefully we’ll link up with the others and get this done and over with.”

“Weapons at the ready, I don’t want to be caught by surprise.” Lucky declared suddenly, unholstering her own sidearm. “Matterhorn, project a barrier for us before I open the door, we should assume that any and all ponies we encounter from now on will be armed.”

“Of course.”

He took up a position near the door, and projected a glittering barrier of azure magic in front of him and willed it to curve into a rough semi-circle. Matterhorn could easily stop a bullet from a low caliber weapon outright with a little effort, but he figured it would be easier, and not to mention safer, to bounce the bullets off his barrier instead of trying to show off.

Lucky gripped the door’s handle with her magic and jiggled it slightly, hoping to provoke a reaction, and to her surprise a gunshot rang out, followed by a dull thunk as the round bounced off the glittering barrier in front of her, putting a small crack in it that quickly patched itself up.

She then ripped the door open with a sudden and precise tug, accidentally breaking the fragile and rusty hinges into small pieces in the process. Inside was a gray stallion, brandishing an old service revolver in their direction. Behind an overturned metal folding table were another two ponies, huddled together behind their only form of cover, seemly unarmed.

“I knew more of you would show up eventually, you here to cause more trouble for us?” Gray growled. “Well I’m not going to let you!”

He squeezed off another series of shots, emptying the revolver entirely, which again barely made a dent in Matterhorn’s barrier.

“We’re not here to fight you, we’re Access and Sheet Rock’s backup. Surely they mentioned us?” Star said from over Matterhorn’s shoulder. “Let’s just talk!”

Gray turned to Bulwark. “You know these ponies?”

“No, none of them.”

“Sorry, looks like you ponies better leave.” Gray warned, hurriedly reloading his weapon for another shot. “Real slow, no sudden movements.”

Star stepped forward and directed her attention to the two ponies still behind cover. “I was at that hideout of yours, I saw what Riot did to your home. I promised I’d help both of your friends, and I’d really like to help you two out too.”

“I hope you have something to offer other than your word. You have to understand, we’re sprawl ponies, talk is cheap.” Bulwark said gruffly.

“Look, your friends have been spending a lot of time trying to get you ponies back, and we’ve spent more than enough time and effort supporting them through that.” Matterhorn remarked, entering the room with his barrier still raised. “In fact, our first meeting with them played out a lot like this one, but they eventually saw reason when they were offered support in return.”

“Except that this one wont end happy if you don’t listen to what we have to say.” Lucky added. “One gun versus a super soldier, not a good match up at all.”

“Explain, now.” Bulwark ordered.

“My friends here have a vested interest in removing Riot from the picture, permanently. He’s destroyed your home, ransacked your hideout, turned friends against you, and worse yet, he’s turned other ponies to his service with threats of violence.” Star said. “All you have to do is put the gun down, calm yourselves, and I’ll explain as best as I can.”

Gray lowered his weapon and looked over at Bulwark and Scarlet who nodded in agreement. “Fine, start talking.”

Star took the lead this time around, and described the events of the past little while to Gray, who still looked skeptical even after her brief rundown. Her explanation was remarkably concise, and when she got to recent events, namely the assault on their hideout and Riot’s treatment of Chilled Coffee, there was a subtle change in Gray’s expression.

He realized that Star’s tone was likely genuine, given how passionate and precise she was with the finer details, he felt like it was unlikely to be a lie.

“You two, are you able to have Access or Sheet Rock vouch for these ponies?“

“If i wanted to harm you, I’d have done so already.” Matterhorn remarked through a barely concealed smirk. “You’re fortunate to have seen reason, most wise of you.”

“Just stay where I can see you, the rest of you are free to do as you please.” Gray barked. “Just don’t make any sudden movements and we’ll get along just fine.”

Lucky and Star walk over to where Scarlet and Bulwark had been hiding, and start to introduce themselves with the hope that it’d make things a little less tense. A confirmation as to the group’s identities arrived from Sheet Rock almost as soon as Scarlet had requested it, though it sounded like things weren't going too well on their end.

A low rumble echoed throughout the area and the lights flickered for a moment, followed by another low rumble. Gray became visibly nervous, even more so than he was before.

“Bring any more friends with you?”

“No, just us.”

“You sure? I don’t like being lied to, especially not by the likes of you.”

“The likes of me?” Matterhorn growled, stepping closer to Gray. “Don’t mistake my restraint for friendliness, we’re here for a specific purpose, which is to deal with your boss.”

“Your best chance is to cause enough noise and draw him out, but short of leveling the place I don’t think he’ll play by your rules.” Gray offered in an attempt to cool their tempers. “Besides, once your friends do their job, we, and by extension you, wont have to deal with him anymore.”

Another rumble came from above them, louder this time, followed by an eerie silence that was soon shattered by a loud explosion high above them. Rubble quickly fell from the now destroyed ceiling, pieces of which fell onto the buildings below, damaging some and outright crushing others.

“Matterhorn, outside, now!” Lucky ordered. “Find out what the hell is happening, I’ll deal with things here.”

He nodded and hurried outside. The rumbling noise they heard was the sound of blasting charges, the kind used to breach bunkers and armored structures. There were huge holes in the ceiling, from which heavily armored troop carriers rapidly descended, pouring into the area, too many to count accurately with the naked eye, but if he had to venture a guess it was at least a squad’s worth perhaps more.

It wasn’t clear who they were or what they wanted, but as the gunfire and the exchange of hostilities between them and the area’s inhabitants nearby started, Matterhorn surmised they weren’t here for peaceful reasons. This was especially evident when heavy gunships entered through the blasted out holes in the ceiling and began firing their auto-cannons almost indiscriminately into the buildings nearest them.

“I recognize those gunships.” Gray said, stepping outside. “Those are Equi-Tech’s automated hunter-killers. Their target is likely Riot too, but it looks like they’ll cut down anyone that isn’t wearing their colors.”

“Do you have an evacuation plan? If so, you might want to get everyone that’s on your side out of here!”

Gray nodded. “The ones that want to stay out of Riot’s incessant need for violence will make their way to a safe spot further underground until the fighting dies down. With any luck they’ll survive the assault, what’re you going to do?”

“Nothing.” Matterhorn said darkly. “Your internal issues aren’t my concern, we’re here for one reason and one reason alone as I’ve already mentioned. Though right now, the welfare of our mutual friends takes priority.”

“Understandable, besides it’s not realistic to go up against a hunter-killer squad and expect to live.”

“We should probably keep our distance then and hope they don’t come this way.” Matterhorn said, nodding in agreement. “I am sorry, by the way, the ponies I work for wouldn’t want us to get involved.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.” Gray said blankly. “I’ll start coordinating evacuation efforts, I suppose you’ll have your own business to attend to then?”

“It never ends, does it?”