The briefcase sticking on his magnetic strap. Gaston kindly accepted the spare rifle and the belt of magazines that they had and waited for Falsal to enter the airport.

“Contact, looks like Riley is keeping them away.”

A man in full gear was manning an exoskeleton suit. It was a Lancer unit with two .50 cal on both of its arms and kinetic shielding.

“Riley, do you copy?”

“Bruna, I copy you. Saw your blip on my display. Thought you were escorting Diable.”

“We canceled. We’ll be entering your sights, you can recognize Falsal’s car.”

“Might shoot him.”

“Fuck off, Riley.”

“Don’t tarry. I might get blown to pieces. They’re drowning me in lead. Kinetic shields are down 70% percent.”

“Roger that, we’ll peel some of the gunfire.”

Falsal stepped on the gas pedal. He drove haphazardly on the airport while dodging the incoming lead. Gaston lowered the window and positioned himself in a firing position.

“Let us aim at them!”

Bruna mounted her rifle on the window. The two waited for their aims to align before opening fire. Gaston shot a 40mm grenade on their shielding. Then fired two burst fire on the ones targeting Riley’s unit.

The car rammed on their defense line. The two of them didn’t waste time as they shot rounds after around. The enemy wasn’t totally incompetent, they tried to disable the car, but Riley had his shoulder-mounted mini-missiles fire accurately on their feet. Although they were outmanned, they were not outgunned. Gaston’s shot also found its way on every target. They were barely alive because of their combat suits.

The enemy units started firing at them accurately. The car held on with its anti-energy deflectors. Gaston fired accurately. The recoil barely affected his fire.

Falsal didn’t hesitate to ram their cover and headed straight to the back of the plane. They dismounted the car and secured the perimeter. Bruna kept firing while Falsal took his rifle and shot with a scope.

Gaston positioned himself. Each of his shots find its way on the unit fighting them. The fight was fast and dangerous. Gaston could see the bullets whizzing by and the kinetic weapons grazing the rampart of the plane.

It was then that one of them deployed a kinetic shield. The enemy unit started rushing down and tried to tackle Riley. Falsal didn’t let them. Their team moved up with a concentrated fire. Seeing this, Riley retreated backward while emptying his mini-missiles on their left flank.

One of the exoskeleton-equipped units charged. Gaston broke from cover, signaled Bruna, as she kept the others pinned with Riley.

Gaston intercepted the charger by tripping him and then punching straight on the side of the charger’s neck. Gaston felt his exoskeleton groan as he held onto the elbow of the charger and threw the man off the rampart. He noticed that there was a bracelet on their wrist and ripped it apart.

He retreated back to the plane while switching back to his rifle. Gaston scanned them before calling Bruna out.

“Are they coming?”

“They are. Just keep them occupied. Three minutes. They still need to come here.”

“Roger that.”

Gaston went back to cover and breathed out. He shot methodically while making full use of his exoskeleton-reinforced limbs to disperse the recoil. Each shot landed on them. Still, Gaston knew that it wouldn’t take long for them to get better.

The fight went on. It was an exchange of gunfire. Riley had to reload and Gaston had to fill in his spot while keeping the enemies pinned down. Falsal, who had gone prone, managed to take down enemies with his rifle.

It was getting tiresome so Gaston switched to anti-material rounds and directly shot their commanding officer on the side. Seeing their officer down, the group dragged him away while keeping their fire.

Killing them would make them persistent. Wounding them would give them the idea that they could still save their comrades. Quiet professionals they might be, but Gaston believed that no one could resist the cry of their friends asking for assistance.

Gaston popped a 40mm grenade on the launcher and then fired it on the retreating figures. The ones who remained to fight them kept their fire.

It was then that Gaston saw a convoy rapidly approaching. He saw Lemmy on the mounted gun. He shot on the ones who got themselves flanked and then rammed on their cover. The rest of the crew immediately dispersed and had their hammer. Lionel and Linda walked in the plane first. The rest cleared the perimeter.

Lemmy dismounted the armor-plated Humvee and stood next to Gaston.

“The back of the plane is a mess.”

“Falsal’s a good shot.”

“Eh, he looks like a pretentious fool. But he knows his guns. Riley looks shot up. Probably got bruises underneath that armor now.”

“Putting armor on him. Didn’t see that before.”

“Lionel got the idea after his visit on berlin. It suits the big man anyway.”

“It does.”

Gaston checked on his magazine. He only had four rounds left. He put the magazine aside and reached out for a new one on his belt and reloaded it.

“Anyone injured?”

“Nah, we expected trouble. The city forces got to them first so our escape was far easier. They tried starting shit in this city which Lionel expected them to do.”

“Are they desperate?”

“No, but if anything they want us back in South Africa as fast as possible. This city’s a business center and if they did more than this. Then they will have the scorn of every business magnate from here to Wall Street. It’s a mortal sin now to these capitalists and it gives them reason to ‘donate’ some of their money to armed groups to find them.”

“That’s what I’d expect.”

Lemmy looked ahead and snorted to himself. He rubbed the back of his head and then turned to the crew.

“Then again, if they want a fight, then they’d better be ready. Anyway, nice shooting, you three. And Riley, get your ass checked. I don’t want you turning into a sponge. Come on people, we are leaving.”

The plane made its preparations. The local garrison came and watched the runaway as the modified Hercules plane took off and left the airport.

With the plane up above the clouds. Gaston withdrew his exoskeleton back to his spine and then felt energized as the plane left the area of disruption.

Gaston could feel himself breathing SPARTICLES once more. That familiar feeling of strength was invigorating and addictive. The rest of the crew had a euphoric look on their faces. It was the look that all those who are disrupted get.

Power was addicting. There was no better cure for their fatigue and sleepless nights other than drinking that sweet ichor that gives them powers.

But unlike them. Gaston could still feel that power. When he regained the power, he did not have much expression. Lemmy, who was experiencing the euphoria, suddenly reached into his pockets and injected himself with a calming serum. His expression went back to that calm and grumpy face. He stared at the crew and then barked at them to calm themselves.

Bruna shook as she injected herself. Her face was beet red and there was a blush on her usual cold face. Gaston leaned forward and adjusted himself. Bruna sat down and rubbed her forehead. The rest of the crew sat down as well. Inhaling and exhaling, processing the ichor in their bodies.

Being deprived was dangerous. Some Breakers who got disrupted for months once they were inhaling the ichor in the air went on a state of high that would land them in a state of semi-paralysis.

A drug was introduced to disperse the ‘first state’ and then it was up to the breaker to relieve themselves of it. Gaston had that syndrome once, but after the Golden Gate incident. He had been able to keep that state in line. What it all brought back to him was the feeling of dread and misery. For a moment he thought back to that field. Man versus monsters. Monsters versus man.

Gaston broke his trance and settled down. He was about to take a rest when Linda called him to the cabin where Lionel was staying.

Lionel sat relaxingly. Gaston had always felt unnerved at the sight of Lionel’s dull eyes and always assured expression. Like the man considered everything and was rather amused how it was playing out just the way he hoped it would. Linda was holding a tablet as she explained his schedule. To these two it was only a slight adjustment to their schedule as if it was nothing more than a slight hindrance to their plans. It made Gaston wonder if all the ‘friends and relatives’ of Lady Romanov had these kinds of maniacs. Then again, all of those who are in the position of power had a loose screw on their heads that allows them to be in that position. To easily look at everything as if they are pawns on a chessboard.

“Ah, thank you for your work, Adjutant Gaston.”

Gaston sat down. Lionel’s perpetual smile staring him down.

“So who’s manning the plane?”

“Leonid Mosley. You know him.”

“Hmm, didn’t think he’d fly a plane. If anything I’m surprised that you aren’t using a split-realm cruiser for your business.”

“I’m old fashioned and do you know the price of landing one? You can’t even imagine the amount of money to maintain the ichorium-based engines and the salary of the people who are driving it.. She can afford the fees, but I cannot.”

“You do have one, right?”

“I have, when it needs to be brought out. Besides, I like this plane. It has comfort and a good storage unit. Anyway, you have done enough work for a day, Gaston.”

Gaston settled down on the seat. Linda relaxed as she edited the schedule to her liking. The flight continued on. They spoke about how the deals went and how they’ll be moving on from now. It was going to take about six to seven hours before they arrived so Lionel took the time to invite Gaston to a treat.

“Those folks seemed like they were breathing SPARTICLES well.”

“You think so?”

“One charged with reckless abandon. The others managed to resist the bullets coming their way. They didn't go down easily and they had this.”

Gaston took out the bracelet that he ripped away from that charger.

“Know what this is?”

“You have fast hands,” Lionel took the bracelet from him. “It is the cuffs that they have been developing recently. It allows them to resist the effect of the disruption. Think of it as a shielding that allows them to be whitelisted by the disruptor. Oh my, I guess we aren’t the only ones paying them handsomely.”

Gaston leaned forward. “You think that the city allowed their attack?”

“Someone did. But I expected that they would have done the same. Credits run this world so it isn’t that surprising that someone can be brought.”

“Another chain to deprive the breakers, eh.”

“More like they want an assurance. I can imagine them cuffing Breakers all over the world. It’ll be their identification card, license, and without it. I doubt they’d be able to roam freely. And with that dangerous display in Japan, the very center of technology of our current world. I’d say that there is a high chance that it will be passed. Regulation is everything and it wouldn’t be long until then.”

“How unfortunate.”

“Is what you’d expect. Being stronger means that you’d be resistant, but at the same time, can you not feel the dilemma in this? A part of humanity is somewhat reliant on the ichor and it makes you ask what humanity will do once we run out of that sweet ichor.”

Lionel grinned. “And now we have a technology that could allow us to travel through the split-realm without the use of ichorium-based engines. Humanity seeks to reach the stars, Gaston. And what the cult has could allow us easy access to those stars.”

The worst part of it all was that the cult showed a technology that made men greedy. Technology that could allow them to be one leading humanity to a future of their choosing.