Zone Of The Enders Fan Fiction ❯ Zone of the Enders: Triad 2177 ❯ Tough Guy ( Chapter 6 )

Miryhn pulled the car to a stop in the alleyway a block away from an old storage hangar. He looked over at Ester and shrugged.

"What now?" he asked with a smirk.

"Here," Ester said, handing him a handgun from inside her coat.

Miryhn stared at the handgun and looked up into her face. "This is what you meant by 'covering' you?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"What else did you think I meant?" Ester said, rolling her eyes.

"I can't take this gun, it's all part of my-" Miryhn started to say.

"Screw you and your 'promise' or whatever, I need you and your help this time and badly," Ester interrupted with an angry look.

Miryhn looked down and sighed.

"Take the gun because all the guys in there will be carrying stuff twice as powerful. I know you can fend for yourself with just a handgun, Miryhn," Ester said, tossing the handgun up and down in her hand.

"Yeah, I can, but-" Miryhn started to say again.

"Stop making excuses. Either you're in or you're out. If you're out, I'm out too," Ester said firmly.

Miryhn hesitated and sighed again. He snatched the handgun from her and slipped on his sunglasses again. He cricked his neck each way and tucked the gun into the back of his belt.

"I knew you'd see it my way," Ester said with a smirk.

"You could say I see it your way now too," Miryhn said, smirking back.

"What?" Ester said, puzzled.

"Never mind, I'm in. What's the plan?" Miryhn replied, laying back in the car seat.

"I'll go in the front, you go in the back. Cover my exit and I'll come out with Tarver at gunpoint. Trust me, I always was the stealthier one," Ester said, pulling out another handgun and checking the magazine.

"You may have been stealthier, but I was always the better shot," Miryhn said, looking forward.

"No time to reminisce, we gotta get going before time runs out. We have probably fifteen minutes," Ester said, checking her watch. "I'll be in and out in less than ten and them BAM! Twenty-five grand for each of us!"

"Sounds good, now get going," Miryhn said with a sigh.

"Roger that," Ester said and climbed out of the car. "Oh, by the way...if I don't come out in ten minutes, just get outta here. More than likely I tripped something and there's no use both of us getting shot to hell over it," she added before slamming the door shut.

Miryhn replied with silence. He shook his head and sighed again.

Miryhn pulled the car around to the back fence surrounding the hangar. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a long shadow over the back of the building. He examined the clearing behind the hangar closely and saw only two sentries patrolling casually. They were dressed like normal employees of the seaside airport Tarver set us shop in. However, since the employees were required to keep clean-shaven, the two sentries with goatees were a dead giveaway.

Miryhn drove the car around the corner to where the chain link connected to a normal brick wall and parked it. He took a moment to breathe a deep breath, adjust his sunglasses, and whipped out the handgun Ester lent him. He got out of the car in what seemed like one motion and shut it again casually, oblivious to whether or not any guards heard him. He pressed against the brick wall and peaked carefully around the corner. No one had heard him, the coast was clear.

Miryhn whipped around the corner and ran along the chain link fence in a low crouch. Stacks of steel I-beams were convenient cover as he made his way to the chain link fence's gate. A crude padlock and chain locked the fence shut. Miryhn grimaced, shook his head, and shot the padlock off. He stepped back a few steps and ran at the gate, kicking it in with a loud metallic squeal. He walked in casually and glanced left and right.

The yard of the back of the hangar was an assortment of building supplies and shipping cartons. I-beams were stacked left and right, shipping containers were set in neat symmetrical rows, and the shadow of the hangar blanketed the whole area. There was perfect cover everywhere.

Miryhn dashed behind the closest shipping container and moved along it with his back to it. He peeked around the corner at the end of the side of it and saw one of the two guards casually walking along, humming something to himself. Miryhn smiled and walked up behind him in the same casual fashion. He threw his forearm around his head and pulled him closely in a choking fashion. He jammed the handgun into the side of his head and wrenched the guard around until he stopped flailing. He let off for a moment to grab the guard's gun and toss it aside, and then regained his choke on him.

"Got any alarms on you?" Miryhn said, pushing the handgun around into the guard's skull.

The guard replied with a few low moans of distress.

"Hey? You deaf?" Miryhn said, raising an eyebrow.

The guard whelped and jerked around again.

Miryhn grabbed him by the side of his face and pushed him into the container next to them. As the guard hit it, Miryhn raised his gun and shot the man in the leg. The guard howled in pain and collapsed. Miryhn looked around, peeked around the corners of the containers, and walked back to the guard, now paralyzed in pain. Miryhn knelt down, grabbed the man by the chin, and reached into his left ear. He pulled out an earplug.

"Who do you work for? What do you want?" the guard said in between cringes of pain.

"Oh my God, I should just shoot you again for being so stupid," Miryhn said, shaking his head. He held up the earplug to the guard's face, "Your disguise is just a little too elaborate with this, isn't it?"

"Boss said we had to blend in. This is an airport after all and airport employees have to all wear earplugs," the guard replied in between fits of pain.

"You dumbass...Never mind, you're not worth it," Miryhn said, tossing the earplug back at the guard and standing up. "No wonder no one heard me coming in."

"What do you want from us?" the guard asked.

"Like I'd tell you. Where's the back entrance?" Miryhn said, aiming the handgun at the guard again.

"On the wall in the second division from the left. Two guys guarding it," the guard said, gripping his leg tightly again.

"Thanks, goodnight," Miryhn said and kicked the guard in the head. The guard's head whipped back into the container hard and nodded back down, now unconscious.

Ester looked down from the suspended catwalk high up in the hangar. She crawled carefully and looked to make sure no one was within eyeshot. She looked back up and approached the middle of the catwalk. She stood up after reaching it and took a long look at the whole hangar. Row after row of metal shelves with old spaceship and jet parts stacked on them were all she could see going to one wall. In the other direction were more shelves, but they ended at a tall aluminum wall across the division of the hangar and the end section. She sloped her brow in curiosity and decided to continue. She got back down and crawled towards a different walled-off section along the back of the hangar. Her information dictated that that area was Tarver's private office.

As far as she knew, at the moment, Tarver was enjoying his own "private time" with no guards around him. Ester figured it easiest to drop in his office, take him hostage, and walk out with him at gunpoint to meet up with Miryhn. The plan was simple enough, but time was nearly up.

When she reached the end of the catwalk, she peeked over it carefully. She could see in the top of the walled-off section and saw the top of Tarver's head sitting quietly. She smiled and got to her feet. She estimated it was about a twelve-foot drop, but the easy chair in the corner of the office could break her fall. She took out her handgun and lined herself up with the chair carefully. She counted to three under her breath and leapt off the catwalk.

She landed feet first in the easy chair, making her stumble over a little and almost land on her side on the floor. She put a foot on the arm of the chair to steady herself and raised her gun to the other man in the room. He stared back in complete shock from behind a canvas and easel.

"Fucking nutta'! Who the hell are you?" the man said in a British accent. He wore a blue business suit and he had well-managed brown hair in addition to a thick brown beard.

"I'm here for the price on your head, Tarver Urenbach. Put down whatever is in your hands and come quietly," Ester said firmly.

"You didn't have to come fly'in down like a scream'in banshee after me head," Tarver said, dropping a paintbrush and putting his hands up.

"His 'private time' is painting?" Ester said to herself. Curious, she hopped off the chair and walked around to the side of the other side of the canvas. A beautiful picture of the open sea was painted on it.

"Young lady, first you point a gun at me and tell me to get going, now you're taking your time admiring my work?" Tarver said, hands still raised.

Ester shook her head and smiled. "Sorry, I just like good art," she said with a chuckle. "But enough of this, let's go," she added, her face turning serious again.

Tarver shrugged and walked toward the door. Ester grabbed him by one hand and twisted it behind his back. She pointed the gun at the side of his head and led him out the office door. She kept him in front of herself as she moved slowly with him towards the back door.

"Hey! Boss, what's going on?" a guard said, noticing.

"Stay back, this young lady means to shoot me if you try anything," Tarver said in a mocking tone. The guard chuckled and waved to the other guards. Soon a number of them started to get in closer.

"Shuttup or I will shoot you," Ester whispered at him.

"Oh? Then how can you turn me in if I'm dead?" Tarver said, a sly grin on his face.

"You don't die from being shot in the groin, stupid," Ester said, sneering.

Tarver's expression softened and he turned his head up.

"Now shuttup and keep moving this way," Ester said, yanking Tarver in the direction she was moving.

"Go right ahead out that door," Tarver said with a chuckle.

"You're trying to set me up, aren't you? Won't work, I have my backup waiting just outside this door," Ester said, grinning.

"I doubt that," Tarver said, still grinning dumbly.

"Stop being so obscure, what are you talking about?" Ester said, stopping in front of the door and reaching back with the gun in her hand to pull the lever. Just as she reached the lever, the door flung open and a guard with a lead pipe swung at the side of her head. Ester was knocked backwards and she rolled to a stop a few feet away from Tarver and the door. She cringed and shook it off, but she had dropped her gun. She looked around frantically and saw it had landed behind her.

"Hold it right there, lady, or you'll get hurt real bad," the guard with the lead pipe said.

"I hate it when this happens," Ester said, getting into a martial arts stance.

"Oh? Little lady knows how to crouch the tiger and hide the dragon, eh? Well, come on!" the guard said arrogantly.

Ester charged at the guard, ducking his swing and tossed him over her shoulder. As he landed, Ester backflipped and landed heel-first on his spine. His back popped loudly and the guard screamed in pain. Ester looked up and saw several guards getting into position behind the shelves with machines guns loaded.

"I hate it even more when this happens," Ester said with a sigh.

The guards opened fire and Ester backflipped three times, picking up her gun in mid-flip. She leapt behind a stack of I-beams and checked her weapon.

"Where is that moron? I thought he had the exit covered!" Ester said with a few curse words after. She peeked over the stack of I-beams and started to return fire.

Miryhn casually strolled around the corner of a shipping container and spotted the two guards at the rear exit. Just as the two guards noticed him, Miryhn leapt in an arch backwards, firing two shots in midair. He landed on his side and quickly got to his feet. Peeking around the corner, he saw that he had shot one guard in the shoulder and the other grazed the left side of his head. Miryhn cringed and leapt out again, this time firing four more shots. He skid to a stop behind the adjacent container and looked around the corner again. This time he had accurately shot both guards two times, both incapacitated at the least. He checked his magazine and saw only three bullets left in the magazine. He slouched on the container and cursed to himself. He shook his head, adjusted his sunglasses, and charged around the corner.

Miryhn suddenly heard a grunt and the sound of bone being crushed. He crept up and opened the back door slowly, seeing a guard watching carefully from behind a cracked pair of doors. Through the crack, he saw Ester for a moment before she backflipped out of the sight. Miryhn crept inside the back door slowly and suddenly, inside the hangar, a firefight broke out. The guard watching through the crack in the doors leapt back and Miryhn grabbed him by the neck. He shot the guard in the back and charged out the cracked doors. Holding the guard's body as a human shield from the machine gun fire, he ran in the opposite direction towards Ester. The guard jerked and jolted with each round fired at him and Miryhn dropped him to the ground and leapt behind Ester's cover of I-beams.

"Where in the hell were you?" Ester screamed over the gunfire.

"Taking my time. Remember, I'm not the stealthy one," Miryhn replied, sticking the gun over the I-beams and firing the last three shots blindly.

"You idiot! I almost got killed!" Ester yelled, handing him another clip.

"Before we get into that, mind telling me why ecological terrorists have assault rifles?" Miryhn said, slamming the fresh clip in his gun and pulling the top back.

"I don't know! What's the difference?" Ester said, reloading a fresh clip as well.

"Just wondering, never mind it for now. How are we gonna get out of this?" Miryhn said, aiming from the side of the I-beams and shooting. After two shots, the spray of bullets moved towards him and he jerked back behind the I-beams.

"Easy, cover your ears!" Ester yelled.

"Do what?" Miryhn said in surprise.

"Cover 'em!" Ester screamed, taking out a hand grenade.

Miryhn cringed in shock and threw his hands over his ears. Ester yanked the pin out and tossed the grenade over at the guards as far as she could get it. The grenade went off followed by the screams of several guards. The machine gun fire subsided.

"Now! Go!" Ester said, jumping to her feet and dashing behind some crates. Miryhn followed immediately.

"Cut them off in the Frame section! Go, now!" Tarver yelled.

Miryhn and Ester kept running until they reached the far side of the hangar. No guards were in sight, so Miryhn leaned on a crate to catch his breath. Ester stopped beside him and leaned on her knees.

"Since when do you carry explosives?" Miryhn said in between heaves.

"Since I started dealing with the 'big fish', man!" Ester replied with a thumbs up.

Miryhn shook his head. "You keep pushing it, Ester. Someday you'll get yourself killed doing this," he said, looking at her.

"That's why I asked for backup," Ester said, pointing to Miryhn.

"This isn't going to be anything permanent. I'm happy with my normal occupation, thank you," Miryhn said, standing up and checking his clip again.

"Oh, come on, isn't this fun?" Ester said, standing up as well.

"Yeah, real fun. I like being shot at with freak'in assault rifles carried by eco-terrorists all the time," Miryhn said sarcastically.

"I hope so, 'cuz here come some," Ester said before dashing behind some crates.

"Damn! Where do they keep coming from?" Miryhn said while following her.

"Beats me, but we gotta find a way out of this shit and quickly!" Ester said, shooting two guards at the end of the aisle of crates they were in.

"This way!" Miryhn said, juking down a side aisle from the one they were on.

"Hey!" Ester yelled, following him.

"Something's over here and it's big. Might be a LEV or something we can escape in!" Miryhn said, charging down the aisle towards a large, tarped object.

Approaching the end of the aisle, two large metal platforms with stairs at each end sat in front of two large objects. Both the one they saw and another had tarps on them.

"Go right, I'll go left," Miryhn said before running off to the left set of stairs.

"Miryhn, wait, don't go that-" Ester started to say.

Ester's words were interrupted with a loud gunshot. Tarver stood on some crates with a large, metallic shotgun. Miryhn wailed and hunched over on his left leg. There was a wound on each side of his right leg and several bulletholes in the floor from the shot spray. Miryhn raised his gun and aimed it at Tarver with a hard cringe on his face.

"What's wrong, wanka'? Run outta your 'ero-juice?" Tarver said mockingly as he pulled the grip back, ejecting the empty shell from the barrel.

"I'm no hero, mister," Miryhn said weakly.

"Go ahead, shoot me. Loose that fifty grand," Tarver said, holding out his arms.

Miryhn shivered and limped forward. Tarver laughed and started to dance around, begging for Miryhn to dare and shoot him.

"Miryhn! What are you doing?" Ester yelled from atop the metal platforms amidst a firefight with a handfull of guards.

Miryhn lowered his head slightly and strengthened his firing arm. With a sneer, he fired twice at Tarver, one shot missing entirely and the other into Tarver's right arm. Tarver dropped his shotgun and gripped his arm with the other hand.

"He shot me! The bugger shot me! Kill 'em both, now!" Tarver yelled loudly.

Miryhn cringed again and limped as fast as he could up the set of stairs. He limped across the platform, firing the last of his clip at the guards filing through the aisles of crates.

"Miryhn, they're LEVs! Get in the left one, quick!" Ester yelled, having already opened the cockpit to the right LEV.

Miryhn nodded and quickly hobbled over to the side of the cockpit to the left object. He threw the tarp off the cylindrical protrusion and almost fell backwards in surprise.

"Ester, this is an Orbital Frame!" Miryhn said, turning to the other way.

Ester was already in the LEV and was hoving backwards out a large open window in the hangar.

Miryhn sneered again and hammered the side of the cockpit. The segmented canopy opened and he threw himself inside, the canopy closing immediately.

"Alright, alright, what now, what now?" Miryhn chanted in a panic.

The board in front of him came to life, several displays lighting up at once. Miryhn took off his sunglasses, put them in his breast pocket, and stared in awe.

"Good morning, I am ADA. Please log in your Runner name and passcode," a computerized voice said.

"Screw that! Go, now!" Miryhn yelled at the top of his lungs.

"'Screw that' and 'go,now' are not a valid Runner name and passcode. Please re-enter or exit this Frame," ADA replied.

Miryhn growled loudly and gripped the two half spheres on each side of the cockpit tightly. Green lines ran out of them and through small veins in the cockpit instantly. Miryhn pinched his face hard and kept tightening his grip, making more lines pulse more frequently through the veins. Suddenly, the Frame began to start up.

"I detect you are using the manual control override system. It is putting a great tax on your already exhausted physical state. Why are you doing this?" ADA said.

"I gotta get outta here whether you're helping or not!" Miryhn yelled as the Frame began to stand up.

"Performing the manual override is not recommended, you may pass out," ADA said.

"As long as this thing is moving when I do it," Miryhn replied, commanding the Verniers to fire.

The tarp covering the Frame fell off, revealing the Frame in its true form. The whole Frame was blue with armor sections colored white. The helmet was black with the glowing green eyes of the Frame showing out each side. The front of the helmet was the same shape as Jehuty's, but the visor continued off the sides and went back about a foot or two. The shoulders had a glowing light at the very tips, but an extra armor pauldron was on top of each shoulder. The forearms each had a short blade that flipped outward. At each side of the waist was a longer sword, but in a sheath patterned by the Frame's energy lines.

"Take-off within this building is not recommended, the people below may be injured," ADA said.

"I don't care! Go!" Miryhn screamed at the top of his lungs as the Frame leapt up and took off at full speed. It crashed through the roof sending sheets of old metal and support beams crashing to the floor below. The Frame streaked upwards for a moment and then leveled off, cruising at a high altitude. Miryhn's grip faded and the vein pulse diminished to a normal speed. He slouched in the seat, but as his legs moved forward slightly, the wounds on his right leg surged with pain. He cringed tightly and reached down to his feet. After removing his shoes, she took off his socks.

"I am still unable to calculate the logic of this situation. I do not understand who you are and why you hijacked this Frame," ADA said.

"My name is Miryhn. I hijacked this thing 'cuz I needed a ride outta that sticky situation," Miryhn said, tying his socks tightly around his wounds.

"You were being pursued by those people? Why?" ADA asked.

"Why do you need to know anyways? Just shuttup and keep this thing in the air," Miryhn said, rolling his eyes.

"I am still calculating that situation," ADA replied.

"Whatever, sheesh, you talk too much. Look, I'm kinda drowzy after forcing your lazy ass in the air, so just keep this thing flying and head to Harpersville Spaceport, ok?" Miryhn said, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes.

"I can fulfill your request, I understand your body has just experienced a very taxing experience. I shall disregard your hijacking, as well, it is irrelevant. I shall awake you when this Frame arrives at that location," ADA said.

"Yeah, yeah, good, whatever," Miryhn said softly, unmoving.

"Please wake up, we have arrived at the destination," ADA said, flashing a bright light on the panel in Miryhn's face.

Miryhn winced and opened one eye. "Seriously? How long was I out?"

"About twenty minutes and thirty-seven seconds," ADA replied.

"Sheesh, can't even let a man sleep can you?" Miryhn said after a yawn.

"The distance was not that far to cover. I even went at minimum cruising speed for your sake," ADA said.

"Hey, thanks. I appreciate the effort and all," Miryhn said with another yawn.

"I appreciate the praise. It is my duty to serve the Runner as best I can," ADA said.

"Well, I'm feeling a little better anyways, put it on A.I.-assisted control," Miryhn said, gripping the half spheres.

"Affirmative. Switching control modes," ADA replied. With a beep and a click, Miryhn was back in control of the Frame.

"I have to hide this thing somewhere for now. I'd rather not have my employer know about it," Miryhn said, leaning over to see below.

"You speak and act as if you have operated a Frame before. Your ability to manually override my systems and link directly to the operating system is not typical of even LEV pilots. Do you have prior experience as a Runner?" ADA asked.

Miryhn laughed as hard as he could. "Didn't I tell you you talk too much? Quit asking questions," Miryhn said with a small smile.

"If you are my Runner, then please say so. The evidence seen so far is enough," ADA said.

"Alright, if it'll make you happy, yes, I am," Miryhn said indifferently, rolling his eyes. He turned his attention back to looking down at the spaceport.

"Then I shall register your name and DNA signature. You are now the registered Runner of this Frame," ADA said.

"Damn, where am I gonna put...huh?" Miryhn said, suddenly noticing what ADA said.

"You said you are my Runner, I have registered you. You may now operate this Frame as you desire," ADA said.

"Hey, wait a minute, I just said that to make you shut up. I was pulling your leg, I was bluffing!" Miryhn said, raising his voice.

"I have no legs to pull and I have no sense of sarcasm or mistruth. Your words were interpreted as the truth," ADA said.

Miryhn growled loudly. "I can't have an Orbital Frame! I'm not a Frame Runner!"

"Please do not argue with me. You may not unregister unless proper clearance can be inputted for a different Runner," ADA replied.

Miryhn's head dropped. He sighed deeply and lifted his head up. "Ok, whatever, we'll discuss this later. Right now I have to stash you somewhere and go get patched up at Doc's," Miryhn said, leaning over to see down again.

"This Frame's name is Masamune, I forgot to mention," ADA said.

"Masamune, eh? Interesting," Miryhn said, half interested. He took out the empty handgun and held it up. He placed it on the side of the cockpit and took out his sunglasses. He looked at them, then at the gun, then around the cockpit. He shook his head again and put the gun back in the back of his belt. "Ester, why is it that you ended up leaving me three 'presents' today instead of just one?"

Miryhn stashed Masamune in an abandoned, fallen-in hangar on the north side of the spaceport. Marked for condemnation, no one would bother going in.

"Ok, just stay here and don't let anyone near you," Miryhn said, opening the canopy.

"Before you leave, take this," ADA said, opening a compartment under the displays. A small black object was inside it.

Miryhn reached in and carefully took it out. It looked like a cell phone. "What the hell is this?"

"The control unit for this Frame. Without it, this Frame is completely non-operational except to the Runner. A simple security measure," ADA said.

"I thought I said a moment or two ago that I'm not the Runner. But right now I have no time to argue," Miryhn said, rolling his eyes and pocketing the control device. He hopped out of the cockpit and winced as he landed on his right leg.

"With it, you have remote access to my systems as well as remote control ability and-" ADA said, interrupted by Miryhn closing the cockpit.

"Damn that thing talks too much," Miryhn said, hobbling out over some debris on the floor.

"Need a favor this time?"

"Yes, I need a favor," Miryhn replied, laying on the table.

"You know, I lost count of who owes who how many favors lately. Let's just start all over, ok?" the doctor said, reaching for his tray of tools.

"Doc, that'd be the best. I lost count too," Miryhn said with a chuckle.

"So what happened this time?" Doc said, inserting a probe into the left wound.

"I got on the wrong side of an eco-terrorist. He nearly blasted my leg off with a shotgun," Miryhn said, cringing at the times Doc pried into the wound.

"Oh, so Ester got you to go with her? That granddaughter of mine..." Doc said, pulling out the shot pellet lodged in the flesh of the left wound.

Miryhn cringed harder as Doc pulled it out and wailed when he sprayed the disinfectant into the wound. "Yeah, I went with her. She nearly got me killed too."

"Well, she came by only a little while ago. She had a nasty gash on the side of her head, but she was fine otherwise. You did a fine job protecting her," Doc said, examining the right wound.

"Yeah, thanks," Miryhn said before cringing again. Doc moved his probe around in the right wound to look for any pellets.

"Well, it looks like you'll be just fine. Keep the bandages on for a few days and replace them when they get soaked," Doc said and sprayed disinfectant into the other wound.

"Thank you, Doctor Ricdeau, I have no idea what I'd do without you. There's no reputable doctors on Ganymede," Miryhn said as Doc wrapped his leg tightly with bandages.

"Well, neither are there on Mars," Doc replied with a chuckle. He pushed his long, black hair back over his shoulder, adjusted his small glasses, and handed Miryhn a pack of gauze and bandages.

"Tell Ester that I might be gone a little while. Something big has just dropped in my lap and I gotta deal with it before Jim makes us leave in the drop of a hat," Miryhn said, getting off the bed and to his feet.

"She apologized for everything that may have inconvenienced you, but I can't deliver that message. She already left for a bounty on Antillia," Doc said, leaning on the door to his small clinic a few blocks from the spaceport.

"That's too bad. Well, it's getting late, I'll see 'ya around, Doc," Miryhn said walking out the door.

"I'll be in touch if I need you to make up that favor I just did for you," Doc said with a smile.

"I'll be happy to do it," Miryhn said over his shoulder.