"Basil! What the hell is going on? The guys outside are freaking out right now!"

Panam came over our voice comms, confirming that the enemies were on alert. Cursing under my breath, I pulled a small black box with several antennas out of my jacket pockets and turned on the device.

"We got made, Panam. I'm turning on the jammer so that comms will be cut for a few minutes. Can you take care of the ones outside and bring the van to the front entrance?"

"Fuck. Ok, yeah. Working on it right now."

Flipping a switch on the side to the uppermost position, a green light labeled 'Jamming' flashed a few times before turning solid. I stuck the jammer back into my pocket before turning to the two beside me.

"That should buy us some time. Panam should be able to take care of the ones outside. That leaves only three inside. Violet, stay hidden. Yumi, we gotta handle the situation as fast as possible."

"Of course, Basil."

"Don't have to tell me to stay out of the way twice."

Revolver in hand, we made our way up the stairs and onto the main floor. The second we were out of the stairway, a storm of bullets struck near our location. One of the two goons sent to secure the basement noticed us. When he saw our trio, he didn't hesitate and immediately opened fire with the M2067 LMG he was lugging around. I watched as the tracers got closer and closer as the Militech soldier started using the bullet impacts to walk the fire into us.

Yumi dove out of the way while I grabbed Violet and threw her into the cover of some shipping containers before jumping after her. Just in time as well as I watched bullets create sparks and holes in the corner of the container we were hiding behind. It's going to be a problem when the machine gunner pushes closer, but our cover will hold for now.

Turning around, I pulled Violet up into a seating position. I probably shouldn't toss around someone in Violet's condition. Still, it's not like I had a lot of choices given the situation.

"Why'd the fuck you throw me!?"

Violet yelled while grimacing from pain or anger. Probably both, actually.

"Because the alternative was getting turned into Swiss cheese. You wanna take your chance with that?" 

I asked while pointing behind me with my thumb. Violet acquiesced.

"Point taken. Any game plan for how you're gonna deal with the guy?"

Other than shooting our way out? No. But before I could say anything, the other goon of the two sent to find us charged down between the crates and the shipping container. Thankfully, Yumi, ever diligent, already had her DB-2 Testera raised. She fired both barrels, sending red-hot lead into the guy's gut from point-blank range.

The guy literally flew back like in a comic book. His back slammed into one of the crates before bouncing back and falling face-first into the concrete floor, where his body stayed motionless, dead. Yumi flipped open her double-barrel shotgun, and the two shells ejected out with a smoke trail following behind.

*RATATATATATATATATATA*

"HAHAHAHAHAAA!!! Hiding like a fucking pussy!? I'm going to destroy you!"

You know what? Fuck you. It's time someone put you in your place.

"Stay here. I'll take care of this guy."

Putting my revolver away, I drew my katana before waiting for a lull in gunfire to dash out of cover into the path the machine gunner was in. The guy was big, well over six feet tall, and built more like an animal than the average Militech soldier. The man broke into a maniacal grin when he saw me standing before him with my blade drawn.

"I don't know who the hell you're working for, but they definitely didn't pay you enough."

I just kept my katana up, not responding to his taunt. Seeing me unmoving, the man sneered before pointing his LMG at me and opening fire.

I can't explain what happened next, but my body moved instinctively, and my arms shifted into the correct position to intercept the speeding bullet. The perk Lead and Steel 2 didn't slow down time. What it did do was allow me to process all the information instantly, and my body could immediately interpret it and put itself into action. 

I could see the machine gunner's eyes open in shock as I blocked the first few bullets, but that look was quickly replaced by determination, and he continued his suppressive fire. Blocking bullets was tiring; eventually, I would have run out of stamina. This would be a problem if I didn't pick the Bullet Deflect perk.

Now I'm pretty sure reflecting bullets like power weapons is physically impossible, so I'm only able to do this because of my bullshit abilities. But hey, I'll abuse whatever I want. One of the reflected rounds bounced off the ground like you could with power weapons in the game and ricocheted into the machine gunner's arm.

The guy almost tumbled over, not expecting someone only wielding a katana to have somehow hit him with a bullet. When he stopped firing his gun, I took the chance and raised my katana, handle near my head, and the tip pointed at the enemy. I crossed the distance in a split second with the activation of Flash and Thunderclap. Thrusting forward with all my might, my blade pierced the man's just and skewered him.

The man looked down at his chest only to see blood gushing out from around my katana. He tried to reach up with his hands, but his body was losing strength at an astronomical rate. His eyes rolled back into his skull soon after, and I felt the weight on my blade increase as the body no longer supported itself. Raising my leg, I kicked the guy off my katana and let his body fall to the ground.

Having dealt with our primary threat, I stowed my blade away and turned around to rush to where Yumi was still guarding Violet.

"Come on. We gotta get out of here."

Putting Violet's arm around my neck, I lifted her up, and we began moving toward the main entrance near the vehicle bay.

"Shouldn't *cough* there be one more guy inside?"

Violet was right. My Ping was no longer active, but the guy hasn't attacked us or even shown up. If he's just letting us leave, who am I to stare a gift horse in the mouth?

"Fuck him. Our focus is on getting you the hell out of here. Let's delta before the jammer runs out."

We quickly walked past the storage section of the floor and approached the entrance. Our exit was on the wall closest to the street with the vehicle entrance. When we approached the box truck parked in the vehicle bay, I heard a strange whirling noise. Before I could figure out what was causing it, the truck's driving compartment exploded, the force tossing all three of us off our feet.

"Oof!"

I was flung several feet, and my back collided against one of the steel bars holding the catwalk up top. My ears rang, and my mind was muddy from the unexpected detonation. It took me several seconds to grasp myself and push my body off the ground.

Looking around, I saw the truck's front end turned into a smoldering mess of tangled and melt metal. Yumi was thrown to the other side of the room and was in a similar state, struggling to get back on her feet. Violet was next to me, lying on her side, not moving. Crawling over to her, I flipped her onto her back and checked to see if she was hurt from the blast.

I sighed in relief when I found she was still breathing and nothing serious had happened. Other than the marks she already had from being interrogated, there were just a few more scratches. As I finished inspecting Violet, I heard what could only be described as giant footsteps.

*STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP*

From the burning wreck of the box truck, a man walked out of the hole that was now there, connecting the cargo area to what was once the driver's cabin. Now if it was just some asshole that was just a little too trigger-happy with high explosives, I wouldn't have been too worried. Don't get me wrong, grenades and bombs are dangerous, but it's still a guy at the end of the day, and I can kill those fast. But instead of Junkrat from Overwatch, what walked out from the burning debris was more like the power loader from Aliens... With a giant fucking gun.

The last Militech soldier was slotted into a Militech Centaur exosuit and was now easily over seven feet tall. The contraption had two massive digitigrade legs ending in reinforced steel hooves that looked like they could squash a man's head like a watermelon. On the other hand, the torso was relatively lightly armored, with most of the focus being on massive servos and supports that propped up an enormous gun and ballistic shield.

The gun had several copper wires as thick as a wrist running from the back and into it. The barrel was oddly shaped, rectangular instead of circular, and either side was flanked with what looked like heat sinks. Suddenly, the whirling noise started again, and the front of the barrel began shining orange. First, it was a dim glow, growing brighter and brighter until it became a blinding red.

I followed where the gun was pointed and saw that the Centaur was targeting Yumi, who was still trying to get up.

"Yumi! Get away!"

She looked at me and then at the Centaur. Noticing its charging gun just in time, Yumi dove out of the way just as a charged heat wave shot from the barrel. The rectangle of concentrated energy hit where Yumi once was, the bolt of light causing a small explosion.

Yumi turned her dive into a combat role, the adrenaline no doubt pumping full force after barely dodging death. Crouching for her roll, Yumi swung her shotgun around and immediately blasted both barrels off at the Centaur. As fast as Yumi was, the technologically enhanced Centaur was faster and brought up its shield to block the shots.

"Go get Violet somewhere safe! I'll take this guy on!"

This was the kind of emergency that I saved my Sandi for. I activated it and unsheathed my katana before the Centaur could get off another shot. Dashing forward, I tried to make the most of the nerfed Sanevistan's 8-second time dilation by cutting at any exposed wires I could see.

Unfortunately, it was difficult to avoid the mass of metal protecting the weak spots, especially with a moving, albeit slowly, target. When the Sandi ran out, I had only sliced apart one of the thick gauge wires connecting the gun and some wires powering the servos in the shield appendage. I also caught a face full of metal when time was no longer slowed down for me.

I was too close, and the man in the Centaur was too slow to shoot me, so he decided to spin his gun around and smack me with its broadside. My logic of staying close to distract the Centaur worked, but it also made me an easy target. It was actually pretty smart of the Centaur to recognize it needed a broad attack to catch me.

I was sent flying from the melee bash, finally coming to a stop when my back slammed into a wooden crate, and the air got knocked out of my lungs. This is the second time I got thrown through the air, and I'm not going to lie, I'm not a huge fan.

*vvvvvrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRR*

The whirling noise started again as I was getting myself back up. Looking at the Centaur, I saw he was charging up another shot, except this time, I could see a heat mirage radiating off the heat sinks on the gun and from the entire suit. The weapon was also distinctly not aimed at me.

When the Militech Centaur fired his heat rifle, this time, a solid red beam shot out like Cyclops' energy beam. The beam sliced toward me, melting apart steel and setting wood on fire. I jumped up just in time for the beam to pass under me, the concentrated energy so close to me I felt the hair on my skin singe slightly.

Whatever I cut on the Centaur was important because sparks started flying off the exoskeleton. It apparently wasn't enough to stop it from shooting, however, as it pointed at me and, this time, shot a three-round burst of the standard heat projectiles. I activated my dash ability and dodged the attacks, only to watch the heat waves hit some red barrels, causing them to explode and for me to go soaring for the THIRD FUCKING TIME.

As I lay there on the cold concrete floor, wondering how I got here and what cruel god decided this was a good idea, I heard the ominous sound of the Centaur on the move.

*STOMP* *STOMP* *STOMP*

"Awwwww shit. *Cough*"

I flipped myself over to see the Centaur stalking toward me. Blood was thumping in my ears, my bones ached, and my body was sore from the fighting. At least I had the solace of knowing the Centaur was seriously messed up, too. I might not have done a lot of damage, but whatever damage I did, it really screwed up the system because the Centaur was now clearly overheating. Heat mirage has now progressed to steam. Whatever hydraulics fluid inside evaporating and flowing out of any small leaks and gaps.

As the Centaur continued walking at me, I forced myself to sit up before taking out my revolver, aiming it, and shooting. Five silenced shots rang out, all blocked by the Centaur's ballistic shield.

*Click* *Click* *Click*

I looked at my revolver, eyebrows quirked. Empty already? That was only five... Ohhhhh, that's right. I fired my first shot to kill that guy tormenting Violet.

The Militech goon noticed my predicament and let his shield down, showing me his face with a grin. It pissed me off to no end seeing someone look down on me, both physically and metaphorically. It hurt my pride, and my ego wouldn't let me take it sitting down.

Maybe I could use my Sandevistan again? Nope, only recharged halfway. I guess I could toss all the charges of my grenades and get into a better position with Optical Camo. It wasn't ideal, especially given my condition, but it was the best I could come up with for now.

Seeing me take out a MaxDoc and stab myself with it, the Centaur raised its gun once again to try to finish me off before I could fully recoup.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

However, before I could enact my plan, a baseball bat flew out of nowhere and hit the Militech soldier in the side of his head. I watched in shock as Yumi charged at the Centaur before leaping into the air and grabbing onto the machine's back. The petite Asian woman grasped onto the operator's hair and began punching and clawing at the head. The Centaur caught off guard, started panicking, turning in place and trashing around, trying to fling its assailant off.

"Yumi! Pull the heat dissipation channel on the back!"

Looking at who was talking to Yumi, I saw a barely standing Violet leaning against a forklift. Yumi, like me, had no idea what Violet was talking about and looked at her confused.

I swear I could see Violet hold back an eye roll. She probably only managed it because the situation was so severe.

"The black tube up top connecting the battery to the cylinder thing! PULL IT OUT!"

Yumi focused back on the Centaur and was able to quickly find what Violet was trying to point out. With her right hand on the operator's head, she used her left one to yank on something. It didn't take long for her to be successful, and I watched as she held a black piece of tubing up in the air before the Centaur could finally throw Yumi off.

*PSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH*

The steam that was just leaking from certain spots now wholly engulfed the exoskeleton. The man shrieked as scalding water covered his face. Soon, that screaming was overcome by the sound of an explosion as something that the removed hose was connected to overheated and imploded.

When the fireball died down, I watched as the man and machine hybrid crumpled. Chunks of hardware were missing, with the rear and left side covered in black ash, some parts still having a faint orange glow from hot embers.

The MaxDoc had gotten me back in good enough shape to get back up, albeit slowly and painfully. I found and picked up my katana before walking over to Yumi and offering her my hand. She grabbed onto it, and I yanked her up. While standing, we approached Violet, who was still leaning against the forklift.

If it wasn't for her, we might not have been able to identify where precisely the weak point of the Centaur was.

"All your extractions go FUBAR like this?"

Hmph. Spunky. Despite being clearly just as tired and beat up as the rest of us, there was still a spark in her eyes that I respected.

"You always get captured when gathering intel?"

She smirked at my jab.

"Touche."

"Come on. Let's get outta thi-"

"AAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHH!!!"

We all looked behind us to see the unbelievable scene of the Centaur charging its weapon and struggling to turn toward us.

"Fucking Christ. Why won't this gonk just die already."

Violet said what was on everyone's mind as we all tensed up for the fight to continue. However, before we could get back into it, a silenced shot rang out, the initially quiet sound getting louder as it reverberated within the warehouse walls.

The Centaur operator's head snaps to one side, and the gun drops. The charged shot then discharged directly into the ground, causing an explosion at the feet of the exoskeleton. The barrel of the gun and the left feet of the Centaur blow up, and the monster finally dies and keels over.

Looking over at the source of the gunshot, I saw Panam crouching in the entrance, sniper rifle in hand, smoke coming out of the barrel. She lowered her gun and stood up, propping the door open and making an ushering motion.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Violet pushed past me and Yumi, shambling toward the exit.

"Don't have to tell me twice."