As he slipped the loose ammunition into his pocket, he watched the ammo counter on his phone, concerned about inventory space. Fortunately, the .357 ammunition created a new tally and seemed to be separate from his 9mm stock. He paid out the 400k price tag for his purchase and made certain to insert a full magazine in both the gun and the holster before he turned to leave. As he moved through the parking lot, Jimbo opened the door behind him and shouted.
“Hey kid, hang on!” He trotted over, causing Kurt to reach for a gun. He held the butt of his Maxim 9, but didn’t draw it as Jimbo approached. “Peace, truce is still on. Here, just in case.” Jimbo produced a business card holder. As he pressed a vibrant red button on the top of the thin black plastic device, it spit a navy-blue card with silver lettering into his hand from a slit on the side. He took it between two fingers and handed it to Kurt. “We don’t need to be enemies.”
Mimic
Yojimbo
Kurt looked up sharply at him. Jimbo was smirking over his shoulder as he walked away. “You never know kid. You never know.” He left with a casual wave, turning a corner and disappearing. Kurt stared after him until he was around the corner, despite a call coming through on his phone. Thinking about it for a moment, Kurt slipped the card into his pocket, and noted that it added Jimbo to his contacts list. Eyes narrowed as his brain raced at the new information, Kurt thumbed the answer button and heard Gadot’s voice.
“Hey, Kurt. Are you on? We have a problem.” She sounded tense, and Kurt’s attention was drawn from the corner to the call.
“Yeah, I’m in the cluster right now. What’s up?” He looked around as he spoke, being careful not to interact with his wrist.
“OK good, Jimmy is getting on soon too.” The sound of a car door slamming came through the line, followed by a high powered engine roaring to life. “The Ursa have shut their doors. No communication with anyone, in or out. All their forums have been placed under an admin lock and none of their players are answering any communications.”
Kurt frowned in confusion. “What does that mean?”
Gadot paused for a moment. “I keep forgetting you’re new to this. Well, for us it means the meeting is off.”
“Was the meeting important?” Kurt sat down on a nearby bus bench as a GoonStorm patrol rolled past with bored expressions on their faces.
“Mmm…yeah. I think this shutdown means they intend to just hole up for a while until things calm down.” Gadot sounded unsure of herself, something Kurt had not heard in her voice before. “I don’t think they’ll go to war at this rate.”
His eyes narrowed as he watched a clearly bored GoonStorm patrol waiting for a light nearby. “You know what…I might have an idea.” He stared at the Hummer and the player on the gun while they turned a corner only to get stuck at another red light. “Yeah, get Jimmy and meet me at my safehouse. I’ll tell you all about it there.” Kurt disconnected the call without waiting for a reply. “You know…after I make this idea into an actual plan.”
A text projected from his phone from Gadot. “I don’t know where your safehouse is dingdong!” Chagrinned, he sent a waypoint attachment, noting that it moved as the safehouse did with an appreciative smile.
As the details required to change an idea into a plan trickled into place in his mind, Kurt zoomed in on one of the GoonStorm NPCs and took a quick picture. He was careful not to make any obvious motions that would identify him as a player, causing him a lot more trouble to get the picture than he had planned. It was angled strangely and the edges were blurred, but it would serve his purposes. He had also been sure to photograph only the NPC, and left the players out of the picture entirely, not wanting to notify them of his activity or proximity with a privacy request.
The light changed and the GoonStorm vehicle pulled away, allowing Kurt a moment of security to pull up his map and search for a nearby clothing store. He had to swipe through a sizable list to find the specific armed forces surplus store he was looking for, and when he marked it on his map he was disappointed to see that it was across town. Taking a good long look at the cars going past him on the road, he thought better of using his new bright yellow off road VW Beetle and instead flagged down a passing cab.
Paying the cab fare annoyed him slightly, but at least he could pay with dirty money. He entered the shop and wasted no time in finding the outfits he was looking for, having the shop keeper guide him to the correct section. He guessed high on the sizes for Gadot and Jimmy to ensure they could be worn even if the wrong size, and made sure to buy boots and helmets to go with the outfits. Paying for everything with his dirty money stash, he loaded it all into a yellow cab and instructed the driver on getting to his next destination. He looked up items he would need for his plan and made a few quick shopping stops.
After loading up a new shoulder bag with some accessories and clothing, he directed the taxi cab driver to his safehouse. Kurt quickly discovered that it was wise to project where his safehouse would be going to next and intercept it, as opposed to chasing it down. Jimmy and Gadot did not have the luxury of that discovery, and the knock on his safehouse door was accompanied by a colorful phrase shouted at loud volume and directed at Kurt’s theorized lack of intelligence. As Kurt opened the door for them, Jimmy was already in the middle of a conversation with Gadot about his friends’ poor judgement.
“Yeah, you should have played the fantasy game with us. His house was in a fricking tree. He didn’t even play an elf, just an annoying bastard.” Scowling in irritation, Jimmy shoved past him, carrying his new BAR over a shoulder and wearing his M60 clipped in place on his back. “Lovely place you got here. Only took half an hour to chase it down.”
Gadot looked around as she entered, nodding in approval. “I dig it. Good to counter campers, would be awesome if you can lock down some turf too. Couldn’t have been cheap though, how much dosh you blow on it?”
Waving a hand dismissively, Kurt started walking towards his gun rack. “It was ten mill to start, then I dropped another mill for an upgrade.”
Jimmy laughed and dropped into a seat as the train rumbled to life, kicking his booted feet up onto a seat across the center. “HA! My safe house cost 500k dude. You went straight for the top shelf, I am impressed.”
Kurt grabbed the drum magazine for his Glock and frowned briefly. “Yeah. Totally on purpose.” He tossed a look over his shoulder as he began to slip Ratshot rounds into it.
Sitting cross-legged on a nearby bench seat, Gadot looked up at him with her head cocked to the side. “You said you had a plan to deal with the Russian problem?”
“Pretty sure I said ‘idea’, but close enough.” Kurt kept at the process of loading his drum magazine, getting a bit tired of how many shells it took. “All we need is the Ursa pissed off at GoonStorm, right? Seems like that wouldn’t take all that much effort.” He turned and set the magazine down. “So we steal a GoonStorm patrol vehicle and go hit the Russians.”
Jimmy looked at him incredulously for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Yeah, easy as can be.”
Gadot kept her gaze on the floor of the train car, swaying slightly with the motion. “That…could actually work. I know of a few of their fronts, close…ish to the border of their turf and GoonStorm’s. If we did it right, it would look like a GoonStorm hit and they would HAVE to retaliate.” She leaned forward, brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes and setting down the long-barreled rifle she carried. “We need to do this very carefully though.”
Kurt grinned as he scanned the rifle.
Styer Scout
Marksman rifle. Primary/Secondary. Weapon drops upon death and can be collected by any player in the vicinity.
Caliber: 7.62 x 51
Rate of Fire: Bolt Action
Capacity: 5 rounds
He nodded appreciatively. “Well, that’s where the plan comes in.” He laid out his makeshift plan for them, and they spent about half an hour ironing out details and making small improvements. They fought briefly over who would b
e bait, but Kurt’s objections were quickly discarded and he was outvoted. Not having any time to waste, they set out immediately after coming to a consensus on what exactly they would be doing.
Each of them were dressed in their new GoonStorm uniforms covered by baggy sweatshirts and sweatpants as they exited the train car and cautiously moved up to the street level. Kurt had gotten Jimmy a long-sleeved shirt to go under his own custom armor and give it the appearance of a GoonStorm uniform if not inspected too closely, but he and Gadot had to wear standard flak jackets. A warning had popped up telling Kurt that his new bulky flak jacket could not be used at the same time as his already equipped vest. It would operate as clothing, but appeared to have no armor rating.
Jimmy leaned around the corner, aiming his BAR as he checked the streets. “OK, clear. Get to your positions quickly, we don’t know how long it’s going to take Kurt to hook one of them, but I’m guessing…not…you know, long. Not long.” He looked back at them, his lips pursed. “Just go.”
Gadot’s attaché arrived and handed her a black duffel bag which she shouldered before tipping Jimmy and Kurt a quick nod and jogging across the street to get in position. She ran down an alley out of sight as Jimmy raised an eyebrow at Kurt. “You haven’t been shot at with a 50. Cal machine gun yet, right?”
Kurt slowly shook his head. “Not yet, why? Anything I should be aware of?”
Turning and walking away with a wave, Jimmy laughed again. “Haha! You’ll love it, don’t worry!” Hustling to move across the street, Jimmy vanished down the same alley as Gadot.
Gadot came through with a coms request from his phone, and as Kurt opened it while walking to his bright yellow vehicle, he could hear Jimmy in the middle of a sentence. “…to pieces for sure. It’ll be good for him though. Important learning experience.”
Starting his engine, Kurt frowned at the loud buzzing rumble it created. “I still don’t see why I have to be bait in my own car. Its brand new, I don’t even have any armor upgrades yet.”
“Yeah, that’s why. We’re almost certainly going to lose the bait car, so no point wasting one of our good expensive ones. Besides, yours is the most obviously player owned vehicle. No way they won’t take that bait.” A series of metallic clicks was audible over the coms line from Gadot, followed by the recognizable sound of a bolt action sliding into place. “I’m ready.”
“Oh. Ummmm, yeah, I’m not.” Jimmies footsteps increased in pace. “Like one minute dude, I’m fine. Just go.”
Driving away from the curb with a sigh, Kurt began looking for a nearby GoonStorm patrol. He cautiously approached corners, peeking around them and trying to stay hidden behind other vehicles or buildings. After making a few laps around the neighborhood their trap was set in, he began to become frustrated.
“Just my luck, looks like there’s no Goons around.” He leaned over the steering wheel a bit, looking both directions at an intersection before turning to drive down a different road.
“Just be cool. Ice water for blood my man, just like the old days.” Jimmy sounded tense, but maintained his usual sense of casualness.
As Kurt nodded to himself, he drove past an alleyway that had a GoonStorm vehicle sitting parked at the entrance. He saw them through his side window as the gunner on top shouted and pointed directly at him. Eyes widening on their own, Kurt floored the gas pedal and fishtailed into traffic. His car skidded against an NPC vehicle, earning him a few loud curses from the inhabitant before the sharp hammering sounds of the 50. caliber machine gun behind him drowned everything else out. Car windows around him shattered as rounds slammed into the vehicles surrounding him and civilians began to scream.
He leaned on the accelerator and spun the wheel to get him out of the traffic crush beginning to form around him, darting down a side street as he ducked down in his seat. The gunner got a fix on him just before he slid around the corner and several high caliber rounds smashed into his vehicles cabin, rattling across the roof on the passenger side. Shards of glass and metal spun around him, mixing with fluff from his passenger seat in the air as time seemed to slow momentarily. He swerved instinctively to avoid the machine gun fire, directing the car’s front end into a nearby fire hydrant.
His vehicle bounced off the hydrant and skidded to the side as a jet of water launched into the air next to him. He sat behind the wheel and shook for a few seconds, his eyes wide as Jimmies voice came into his ear again. “Ice water Kurt. You got this, just bring ‘em in.”
The steel in his friend’s voice brought him back to the moment, and the traffic jam they had caused around the corner gave him enough time to shake off the shock. He shook his head briefly, throwing the car into gear and flooring the accelerator again. He eased off the gas as he took a corner, checking the map on his cracked and bullet riddled windshield.
“Twenty seconds.” Kurt tried to sound tough, but couldn’t keep some of the fear out of his voice as the Hummer found him again, its massive machine gun opened up and the rattling crack of bullets sinking into his car caused him to flinch. He spun the wheel, turning down the street he needed to use to get to the ambush site while thick black smoke began to pour from his engine. “Can’t take any more hits.”
Another burst of gunfire smacked into the car’s exposed engine as he made the turn into the alleyway, causing bright orange flames to erupt from the exhaust pipes. Kurt slammed into a dumpster that had been rolled into the middle of the alley, sending it skidding onto its side as its contents flew all over the alley. He opened the door and jumped out, making sure to grab the GoonStorm helmet off the seat beside him before he went. Darting behind the dumpster as his car became fully engulfed in flames, he pulled up his equipment screen and swiped to the vehicles section to see the cars picture overlaid by a red x and the word ‘destroyed’. A small tab next to it was greyed out, and said ‘insurance’, causing him to mentally kick himself a little. He did notice a new skill, which brightened his mood slightly.
Secondary
Combat Driving Rank 1. (Mobility)
“Innocent men, women, and children are being killed out there…in the kind of numbers we only expect to see during a war.” -Red Asphalt, 1989.
Operation of a motor vehicle while under attack is a normal part of any criminal endeavor. Decreases the perceived effect of an attack on players vehicle by 2%. Increases the effectiveness of all vehicle modifications by 1%.
The GoonStorm patrol entered the alley, the gunner happily spraying down Kurt’s already dead car as he hid behind the dumpster. A single sharp crack was heard over the sound of the machine guns rattle and the gunner slumped dead. Four people exited the vehicle then, a single player and three NPCs following his shouted orders to cover the alleyway. All of them had their rifles pointed up, looking for the sniper that had taken out their gunner. None of them saw Jimmy coming.
He kicked open the small metal gate behind them and stepped into the alley, BAR held up to his shoulder as he walked. Jimmy opened fire on the NPCs first, taking down the two on the passenger’s side with a controlled burst. He took a few steps and assumed a shooters stance as the remaining two Goons turned to face their new threat. Neither of them were able to take a shot, as Jimmy fired a single round into each of their faces, avoiding the bulletproof helmets.
Gadot was behind Kurt suddenly, slipping a hand under his armpit and hauling him to his feet. “You good? Shake it off man, you’re up.” She had removed her baggy sweats and was already wearing her GoonStorm fatigues and helmet. “Coming out?!” Gadot shouted around the dumpster to Jimmy.
“Yeah, clear!” He hurriedly removed his own sweatshirt and retrieved the helmet he had hidden by a nearby doorway, awkwardly strapping it to his head with a grimace.
Kurt shook his head as he stepped around the dumpster towards the GoonStorm Humvee, noticing the face Jimmy was making. “Oh, that’s right you hate the Goons helmets.” He paused at the passenger side door, confused. “But you wore a bulletproof mask yesterday, why do you hate these?”
/> Jimmy shoved his way into place on the mounted machine gun with a grunt, leaving his guns on the backseat of the Humvee. “Goons wear these helmets ALL the time, no matter what. NPCs don’t get headshots, or crits of any kind, ever. So they just wear them because they know other players hate them.” He opened the machine guns breach with a tight-lipped smile. “I only wear skill shot stopping gear when I know for sure I’m going up against other players with appropriate skill levels, like the officers we faced down yesterday. It’s a small distinction, I admit.” Slapping the breach closed and cocking the gun, he slapped the roof above Gadot in the driver’s seat. “Ready!”
As Gadot reversed out of the alley, two other GoonStorm patrols pulled up nearby. Kurt breathed out his nerves as he rolled the window down and leaned out with a wave. “Sorry guys, we got em already!” He shouted to be heard, swiping up his map and nodding at the encroaching sirens. “Follow us, we’ll lose the Heat and then I have a mission for us after. It’s sensitive, so turn your coms off.” Seeing confusion in the faces of the GoonStorm players, he scowled at them. “Standard formation, on my vehicle, coms off! Let’s move!” He waved an arm in the air, finishing the gesture by pointing his hand in in the direction they would be driving.
Slapping the side of the door, he leaned back in his seat and looked nervously at Gadot. She was suppressing a smile. “You really are good at this Kurt, don’t sweat it.” With that, she drove out ahead of the other GoonStorm patrols and turned to avoid the incoming police. They drove into a nearby parking structure and climbed a few levels until they were out of sight of the streets. As they parked in the middle of an empty level, the other GoonStorm patrol vehicles pulled up behind them.
The Life- Illusion Page 17