A bullet flew through the inside of the van and bounced off the reinforced windshield before embedding in the passenger side chair. Burnout fell against the edge of the door, the guardian I'd bought her tumbling out of her hand and onto the asphalt. 

"What the fuck just happened," shouted Dust. 

I dropped my own pistol and rushed over to Burnout, grabbing her before she slid out of the van. "Burnout's hit." I pulled her in and slid the door near her shut. My gaze rested on her face and my stomach dropped. "Shot in the head. No, no, no…" 

The van accelerated hard, the engine being pushed to its limit. "Drek! She was just getting to-" the steering wheel creaked. "Get her stable and fix the damn turret!"

"I'm on it, Dust." 

I propped Burnout up as best I could and took a look at the wound. The bullet had dug a deep gash across her head and through the skull. Small splinters of bone were pressed into Burnout's brain matter and cerebral fluid intermingled with blood matting her hair against her head. It did not look good, but at least she was still breathing. It was a small mercy.

I pressed my lips against her forehead, leaving a small kiss. "Burnout, hey I'm gonna leave you right here. I'll be back to get you help as soon as I can." Once I was sure she was as okay as she could be I stood up. "Dust, turret should be working in five. Try and keep steady, alright?"

"I'll do as best as I can." I heard the roar of her shotgun, she must've fired out her window. 

I looked at the warped barrel on the turret and then to the cabinets on the inside of the van. As quickly as I could I removed the damaged barrel and let it clatter to the floor. There were intermittent shotgun blasts from Dust as I worked accompanied by the sound of sirens. More bullets hit the van's armor as I installed a fresh barrel.

"Turning right!" I braced myself and Burnout as the van turned and nearly went onto two wheels. "Almost done back there?"

I stood up and grabbed a box of ammo. "Yeah, just gotta get the ammunition in."  I fed the belt into the turret then clicked the box into place. "You're clear to fire away." There was a ringing sound as the turret flipped up and onto the top of the van.

I looked up front to see Dust plug herself into the targeting system for the turret, but the ringing continued. It turned out to be a commlink, one of the burners and it was in burnout's pocket. The turret whirred and fired, shaking the whole van. I pulled the small device out from her pocket and picked up.

"Hello?"

There was a sound like someone scribbling on paper. "You are not the runner I gave the patches to. Who are you? What has happened to them? Their vitals experienced a sudden drop." The turret buzzed again. "Was that gunfire?" What was presumably a Lone Star vehicle crashed into something. "And a car crash?"

Whoever the woman on the phone was she knew about Burnout and the patches. "I'm one of their partners and yes it was gunfire and a car crash."

"Another runner. Noted. As for your partner, what is happening with them?" The turret fired once more.

"They're stable for now. Who are you?" 

The woman had offered up that she was involved with Evo Corp by mentioning having given Burnout the patches. She didn't reply for a few moments, long enough for the turret to swing back down into the cab.

"Another ammo box, Trix," said Dust.

I picked up another box magazine when the woman finally responded, "Sylvia. You are being pursued by Lone Star, correct?"

I reloaded the turret. "Yes, we are, what can you do about it, Sylvia?" The turret flipped back up.

"Thanks, Trix!" Shouted Dust.

"There is a barricade set up for you several blocks down your projected route. It would serve you better to make a left and head to the following address, Trix." My personal commlink pinged.

I pulled it out and saw an address contained in a new message. "And why should we trust you?"

"What choice do you have?" I could almost see the smirk on Sylvia's face as she disconnected.

The bitch was right. "Dust, change of plans. There's a barricade up ahead, head to this address. It should be on your console now." 

She looked back at me. "Trix, who was on that call?"

"If I'm connecting the dots right, the mind behind Banshee." 

"Drek. Alright, fine. I'll get us there." The turret buzzed again. 

I knelt back down next to Burnout. The wound on her head had stopped bleeding, but her brain was swelling. It pushed against the edge of her skull. None of what I had on hand would really help with this. 

"Wish we had the funds to keep Doc Wagon on call. What I'd give for a High Threat Response team right now." I threaded my fingers between Burnout's. "Please be okay." I pressed my forehead against the back of her hand.

Against the backdrop of sirens and heavy weapons fire I sat there with Burnout. She was breathing evenly, despite the injury. I squeezed her hand and remembered the terrified kid I'd met years ago. How I saw in them what could have happened to me had I not met who I did back then. My thoughts drifted back to when they first went under the knife for their augments. It was a scary process, especially the first time. They came out of it well, they said it felt good. The turret had been quiet for some time, the van slowed.

"Hey, we're here," said Dust.

Dark_Sun_Morrigan

I want to apologize for the delay on releasing this chapter and for it being relatively short. I've had a rough couple days and I just really want to thank everyone for reading. I may be moving the upload schedule to once every three (3) days. Thank you for your patience and support.