The Life- Illusion

by Lincoln Greene

  Turning a corner that hugged a skyscrapers lower level, Kurt came face to face with the white motorcycle. Kurt dodged the bike as it charged him, cutting into a nearby alley and making a sharp sliding turn to exit it. The bike clung to his rearview mirror like lichen, unshakable. He drove past a train station above ground, causing him to take a quick double take, staring at it in his mirror. Apparently the subway came above ground in certain parts of the city, and this station housed a boarding platform directly before a tunnel that sloped under the road he was driving on. The biker in white sprayed down the back of Kurt’s Ferrari with his P90 again, the rattle of bullets bringing Kurt back to the reality of his situation. He dodged again, cutting into a nearby parking structure and starting to climb the ramp nearest to him. Tires chirped as he cut the wheel, taking the corners quickly in an attempt to lose the bike. He only rose one level in the parking structure, before turning and racing towards the other end of it, where a second ramp led to an exit. Kurt glanced at his phone as a chime notified him he had survived fifteen minutes and been awarded the first chunk of the pot. He took the exit and turned back towards the subway station, glancing around him before revving the car up onto the platform and then bumping down onto the tracks leading underground. Turning to glance at the parking structure, Kurt uttered a curse beneath his breath when he saw the white motorcycle emerge and head straight for him.

  With a roar, his engine revved and sent him shooting down the darkened tunnel. There were safety lights, but those provided very poor illumination. Kurt hadn’t realized his headlights were smashed out until he tried to flick them on and nothing happened. He sighed when he remembered using the car as a wrecking ball against the motorcycle gang and nodded his head sadly. Focusing on the dark tunnels ahead, Kurt pressed the gas and held tight to the wheel to counter the constant bumps of the tracks under his wheels. The light from the tunnel entrance suddenly darkened slightly behind him, and Kurt glanced at his rear view mirror to see the motorcycle bouncing along the tracks behind him.

  Neither player could navigate well on the tracks, so when the tunnel opened up with a gravel bed, Kurt dodged to the side and gunned his engine with a spray of small rocks. The biker answered with another magazine of rounds from his chromed SMG, and Kurt was hit in the back a few times before he ducked across the center console. He kept his foot on the gas, ignoring the pain and trying to stay off the tracks. His wheels bounced, and he jerked the wheel too sharply, skidding against the wall and throwing sparks behind him. He vanished down a dark tunnel, allowing the car to rise slightly up the walls as he ran from the biker, taking turns at random and using the flashlight on his Glock to navigate. While he never managed to shake the white and chrome motorcycle, Kurt managed to stay far enough ahead of it to avoid the wasp sting bullets from the FN 90.

  Navigating the tracks became difficult quickly, as they looped back on themselves and cut across one another often. Kurt quickly became lost, with no idea how to get back to the surface. He didn’t care much, as his main goal was running out the clock. This became somewhat more difficult as more vehicles found their way below ground with him. The first time he encountered the APC, they drove past each other on opposite sides of a subway platform. A flame thrower sprayed molten fire across the passenger platform at him and Kurt accelerated away, leaving the liquid fire as a hopeful deterrent for the motorcycle following him.

  Within moments he was being chased by a dune buggy as well. Remembering the kind of havoc he and his friends had caused with something similar, Kurt slammed on the brake and allowed them to smash into his rear end, before turning in his seat and spraying the stunned occupants with a full drum magazine of incendiary rounds. Leaving them screaming and on fire, he raced down the twisting tunnels trying to avoid his enemies and lose those in pursuit. It didn’t take long for him to realize the underground was a losing battle, as more and more vehicles began to hunt him on the tracks. But it was the shining white motorcycle that brought him the most frustration, appearing on the tracks behind him once again.

  Sitting up with a glare at his rearview mirror, Kurt used one hand to load his Glock with a magazine of incendiary rounds. He whipped his head around, steadying the wheel with his left hand while seeking the gleaming motorcycle with his right. Kurt lit up the tunnel, his focus on the biker, seeking the swerving vehicle as his opponent desperately dodged and weaved across the tracks. Realizing he wasn’t going to hit this man, Kurt stomped on the brakes again instead, causing the bike to swerve into his back end and clatter across the tracks. The biker surprised him though, launching into his backseat and whipping up the SMG to point at Kurt’s face.

  Kurt ducked down, scrambling at his door and falling sideways out of the car, raising the Glock and desperately squeezing the trigger as the Biker dove into the front seat in pursuit, both men’s weapons tearing the interior of the car to shreds. Kurt’s Glock made a solid click, and the magazine fell loose, collapsing against his chest into silver dust. He lunged backwards, rolling under his open door and giving it a solid kick. The Biker grunted in pain, and Kurt slammed both of his feet into the door again, clicking it shut this time. He rolled under the car, scrambling to get a fresh magazine for his Glock into the gun. The tower mag clicked into place, and with the flick of a finger, the slide release clicked shut. Kurt gave a grim smile and unleashed the full auto pistol into the underside of his own car, suddenly happy he hadn’t upgraded it with ballistic plating.

  Without warning, the car was ripped off from the top of him, and the heavy metal underplating of an armored vehicle passed by overhead, inches from his face. Kurt rolled over after it was past, watching wide eyed as the heavy APC shoved his crumpled car with the Biker still inside down the tracks. He shook his head and scrambled to his feet, darting over to the white and chrome bike and hauling it up. As he was about to hit the kick starter, he noticed a blinking red light directly beside it and crouched to hurriedly inspect it. A quick scan identified the long block of clay as C4 plastic explosive, and Kurt backed away from the bike immediately. For good measure, he put a magazine of fragmentation rounds into the gas tank from a safe distance, a grim smile on his face as the bike went up in a small but fiery explosion, lighting up the tunnels around him for some distance. In the light of the fire, he was able to see a utility door tucked away into an alcove.

  As he crouched to pick the door, he could hear the APC rumbling down the tunnel towards him again, likely drawn by the explosion of the bike. It was too wide and bulky to turn around, so the driver had just reversed the entire way back, bumping up against the concrete walls as he came to a stop blocking the alcove Kurt was hiding in. The team piled out of the large back door and started spreading out in the tunnel.

  “Where’d he go?!” One of them was clearly upset.

  “Shut up, he’s hidin’ around here somewhere.” Sounded like maybe the leader. “You’ll scare him off!”

  Kurt shook his head and held his breath as the lock pick gun completed its work, popping the door open with a loud snap. He ducked inside and turned to wait, Messenger pointed at the door. The rumble of the APC being moved was audible through the door, and the men hunting him approached noisily. “He musta ducked in here!” Kurt rolled his eyes and waited, as a hushed grinding sound emanated from the lock. The moment the door unlocked, he stepped forward and yanked it open, firing the Messenger into the people clustered in the doorway. Three of them fell to black smoke, looks of shock on their faces as their friends scrambled around the back of the APC for cover. A small smile on his face, Kurt closed the door again, listening intently for the solid click of its lock before turning and walking away. He pulled up his map and started moving through the basement of the building, a vague goal in mind as he fished out the ECM device he had looted from Clancy.

  Turning corners and following the signage on the walls, Kurt eventually found the utilities room and smiled as he reached the main power box. He pointed the ECM device at it and hit the button, causing an eruption of sparks as t
he lights all around him flicked off and left him in complete darkness. Following his map to the lobby stairs, Kurt cautiously approached, the flashlight on the Glock his only source of light. He peeked out of the lobby staircase to see a minor war taking place in front of the building. The various gangs and crews had figured out that he was inside and were engaged in a battle for control of the doorway. One of the gunners on a technical fired a flare gun into the air, a silver streak that burst in the air with green smoke. An answering flare was visible from across the top of the buildings in the distance, reinforcements en route.

  He began to sneak across the lobby, using the central security desk as cover and moving towards the main staircase at the back of the lobby. Before he could make it, angry shouting and the tromp of booted feet sounded from the stairwell behind him. With a sigh, Kurt turned and faced the doorway, his back to the security desk as he leveled his Glock and the Messenger at the door. It blew open, caution not on the mind of the responsible Hound with the heavy boot. Accuracy was not much of a concern, as Kurt emptied both of his guns at the crew clustered together in the stairwell, causing them to drop into piles of dust, gear, and thick black smoke. He turned and headed back up the stairs, satisfied to see another block of players removed from the enemy icon. As he was ascending the broad marble stairway, a series of loud explosions rocked the foyer behind him and blew out the floor to ceiling glass windows. The Harrier had made its return and laid waste to the gathered vehicles and players, with a lazy hovering fly by and a rocket barrage. More vehicles began to pour into the park out front of the building, blasting away at any and all players as groups attempted to lay claim to the area out front. Kurt continued his trek up the stairs, watching the drama unfold as he slowly walked backwards. A single half ruined technical with no gunner sped towards the building front, making a mad dash for the partial cover of the lobby. It ramped on the steps leading up and skidded across the lobby on only two intact tires. The technical slammed to a stop against the security desk and Kurt raised his Glock to fend off the player who emerged from the ruined vehicle.

  The door fell off as it opened and a hulking figure in heavy overlapping plated armor stepped out, hefting an M60 machine gun in his arms. “You better not shoot me dude.” Kurt could hear the smile in Jimmy’s voice.

  He stepped over to his friend, quickly grasping his forearm. “Damn it’s good to see you brother.” He breathed out the last few minutes, leaning against the beat up truck. “You weren’t kidding about this mode.”

  Jimmy flipped up his wrist and shrugged. “You’ve done well. Not the best move going underground, but you made it further than most Foxes do.” He climbed up into the back of the truck, hauling on its minigun and facing it towards the doorway as more vehicles arrived out front. “Let’s see if we can’t get you past that thirty minute mark, huh?”

  “Right, I’m heading upstairs. You ok with the whole last stand scenario?” Kurt started moving towards the stairs behind the security desk. The minigun spun up and began to spit fire and lead as Jimmy swept the area out front of the building. He focused on a rival technical, shredding the metal and occupants within seconds.

  “I think you know that’s a stupid question.” He turned the minigun to the door Kurt had come through, turning several emerging players into piles of silver dust. “Gadot said…and I’m quoting here, ‘I’m not losing a vehicle for that jackass.’ But she IS around here somewhere, she went to go find something to help.” He took a high powered sniper round to the faceplate, a puff of stone dust rising into the air as small chips were thrown free. “Sonofa…”

  “OK you have fun!” Kurt cheerily waved over his shoulder as he climbed a few steps to the sound of Jimmy’s minigun raining death and destruction across the city streets outside the building.

  “Hang on, you’ve got a Smerch after you dude.” Jimmy still clung to the minigun, but his mask was twisted to face Kurt.

  He stumbled to stop, taking in the scene out front of the building as more vehicles began to pour in. They didn’t seem to be fighting with each other anymore. “A what now??”

  “A BM-30 Smerch; dedicated large, and I mean LARGE rocket launcher platform on the back of a fairly impressive truck. I’m just letting you know there’s pretty much nothing I can do about it if that thing comes for you. I’ll hold the lobby as well as I can, but if the Smerch comes calling you’ll have more problems than you might think. Good luck dumbass!” With that, he turned back to his task at hand, roaring a challenge before raking the area in front of the lobby with the minigun.

  Turning away with a nod, he started running again, taking the steps two at a time. He emerged from the lobby onto the second floor, an area with bay windows that spanned the circumference of the building. The building seemed to have its own small food court, a trio of small restaurants tucked into the central pillar. As he jogged past them in search of the main stairwell, movement from outside the window caught his attention. A long bodied APC with six oversized tires lurched into view as it smashed through the railing of the parking garage directly beside Kurt’s building. It sailed across the short distance and blasted into the food court, ramming its front end into the tiny sandwich shop Kurt had just passed. He turned and ran when the back ramp dropped to the floor with a sharp metallic bang.

  Kurt began taking fire as he turned and ran through a small coffee bar, ducking behind the counter and shouldering through a door marked as a fire exit. He grimaced as he watched his dot on the map make a huge flared impact when the door smashed against the wall but shook his head and kept running. Only making it a couple of floors up, he flicked on his flashlight again and turned to spray downwards at the door behind him as it banged open.

  Standing in the doorway was a heavily armored woman, wearing a grim faced steel ballistic mask similar to Jimmy’s. She shrugged off his fragmentation rounds and lifted a monster shotgun at Kurt, unloading twenty rounds of steel buckshot in his general direction. Kurt saw her raise the shotgun and fell, allowing himself to tuck into a corner of the concrete and metal stairwell as the blasts rang out and the steel shot bounced all around him. Scrambling to his feet as she moved aside to reload, Kurt darted up a few more floors before bashing open a door and barreling onto the fifth level of the building.

  He entered what looked to be a floor wide copy center, dark and cramped with no windows. His weapon mounted flashlight swept across several open office units, full of varied paper based business machines. Kurt shook his head briefly as he ducked into a nearby room, taking a moment to pull his map out wider and get an idea of the floor plan as he clicked off his gun’s flashlight. While he was looking at the map, the stairwell door opened, and a series of hollow thumps sounded followed by thuds in several rooms around him. Kurt dove for the back door of his own room, diving out of it and landing behind a large copy machine set back against the blacked out window as six small explosions ripped through the floor. They were contained by the rooms the grenades went off in, but the sheer chaos it caused gave Kurt the perfect opportunity to relocate. He scrambled around the circular outer hallway, approaching the stairwell from a new angle and peeked around a doorway. His vision was limited by the dark, but his enemies were all using flashlights, creating an advantage for him. Various emergency exit signs cast enough dull red light for him to see to navigate.

  “Spread out.” The woman seemed to be in charge, her armored mask turning to face each of her team as they moved to follow her orders. “Find him, and I don’t care who brings this guy down. He’s dangerous, just kill him.” Her braided hair swung slightly as she turned her head back and forth, following the beam of light thrusting from the automatic shotgun she carried.

  Kurt felt strangely proud at her assessment and decided he should live up to his reputation. The Messenger gripped in his hand, he started moving around the hallway again, keeping ahead of the search party. Each of them was much louder than him, wearing heavy gear and carrying large weapons. They would invariably bump into displaced copy machine
s or tread too heavily, giving away their positions with map blips. The floor was roughly circular with two main looped hallways creating a walkway past several office areas, wrapping around the center pillar where the elevators and stairwell lay. Kurt allowed the searching team to spread out and watched them on the map closely as they hunted him. He kept low and moved with light footsteps, staying tucked into the darkest areas and dodging flashlight beams as he picked his first victims.

  A duo was moving slowly, performing a sweep of the outer ring of offices. One would step into the office as the other held the door and covered their back. Kurt slipped up close, moving only as the flashlight beam was pointing in the other direction. He stepped up and fired point blank into the door guard, stepping into the doorway just in time to catch the player in the room as he turned back at the shriek of a gunshot. Neither opponent managed to get a shot off, and Kurt was moving again, slipping past the responders and ducking into a nearby office to hide. He switched to the Glock and quietly loaded a drum magazine of incendiary rounds, stepping back into the hallway and spraying down the cluster of enemy players who had come to see what happened to their friends.

  Rapid fire shotgun blasts caused him to duck and run through a nearby office. The armored woman followed closely, what was left of her team rallying to her. Kurt’s health and armor took a sharp dip as he felt a load of steel buckshot sink into his back, but he did his best to ignore the pain and kept running as the empty magazine fell from the bottom of his Glock. He ducked into an inner office, turning sharply and heading through the office directly next to it before doubling back into the hallway he had just left. Returning to the office he had ambushed the players in, Kurt slid down behind a desk and listened as boot falls and shouts filled the offices around him. The armored woman seemed to be trying to marshal her remaining troops.