The crash of the truck into the building created a loud noise, with small rubble and thick dust raining down onto the vehicle. The engine’s smoke also rose, forming an even thicker cloud around it.
"Ugh..." Lola grunted seconds later, grinding her teeth as she still felt the impact despite the "protection" she got. Pushing off one man at her side, she forced her eyes open and looked around.
"I’m... I’m alive," she told herself, checking for any major injuries.
All she saw was blood—lots of blood—on her all-black attire. Just to be sure, she ran her palms over her body before heaving a sigh of relief and leaning against the body beside her.
"Goodness," she breathed out, letting her body rest, even for a mont.
Thankfully, before this mission ca to the Order, she had trained extensively with Izu and the team. That endurance training and all the muscle soreness were clearly paying off. She didn’t rember being this agile herself.
She had already been agile and skilled before, but experience had honed her abilities without her even realizing it.
Pleased, Lola was about to relax when she heard engine noises echoing in the air.
"Over there! The gunfire ca from that side!"
She winced, knowing the rcenaries would reach her soon. Forcing herself to move, she shoved the bodies off her and turned toward the driver’s seat. To her delight, the driver... was gone.
"Where did he go?" she murmured as she crawled forward. Before settling in, she spotted a body several ters away from the vehicle. "Oh. There he was."
That was why one should wear seatbelts.
Lola shook her head to clear her thoughts, even slapping herself lightly to stay alert. As engine sounds and shouts grew closer, she scanned every possible route she could take.
"Oh, well," she shrugged, glancing down at the dashboard.
Her fingers loosened on the blood-sared steering wheel as she stretched them before gripping it tightly.
When the first group drew closer, she stomped on the pedal and drifted, spinning the truck across the street and kicking up thick smoke from the tires.
The group approaching the crash site suddenly saw the smoke, and then a truck burst out of it, barreling straight toward them.
The n in the oncoming truck held their breath, eyes widening.
For a second, ti seed to stand still, their minds struggling to register what was happening. In those stretched monts, all they saw was a woman behind the wheel, speeding directly at them.
And she was smiling.
SCREECH!
The driver instinctively swerved to avoid the crash. At the sa ti, Lola veered the opposite way. Her truck squeezed through the narrow opening, while the other vehicle slamd violently into a building.
Lola glanced in the rearview mirror, watching the thick smoke rise from the wreck. But her focus shifted quickly as another engine roared nearby.
Slowly, she looked ahead. A glint flickered in her eyes as the corners narrowed slightly.
"Ti to end this cat-and-mouse ga."
*****
anwhile, in the underground of Five District...
A muffled cry echoed through the tunnels, making the people of Gigante flinch. Their eyes darted to the captive Lola had knocked out earlier. She had given them one task, and they intended to do it perfectly.
They didn’t wait for the man to wake up. Instead, they woke him themselves and began interrogating him. As people who had never been given power over anyone before, everything they did was improvised.
That included intimidation—and slaps. One from each of them.
With an entire community surrounding him, the man eventually cracked.
"Are you... really going to tell us?" one woman asked in disbelief. She hadn’t thought slapping him would work. After all, none of them had the heart to punch him.
The man ground his teeth, gagged, and glared at them. Seeing that look, the man leading the interrogation punched him.
"You’d better talk," he warned, breathing jaggedly. "We’ve already lost almost everything."
Everything ant they only had their lives left. They had no ho to return to, no tomorrow to look forward to. All they had was tonight, and one job.
Make him talk.
The rcenary glared back, his nose bleeding from the repeated blows. That glare earned him another hit, and even the won joined in, grabbing his hair.
Minutes passed before his grunts grew louder, and thankfully, the cloth gag slipped free.
"Stop!" he shouted, bowing his head as soone still yanked his hair. "I said stop—I’ll talk!"
The shout echoed underground, freezing everyone in place. For a mont, they exchanged looks and gulped. Then, their eyes flicked to the small gaps around the tal lid above them.
Silence followed. Only the man’s coughing and spitting broke it.
When no rescue ca, the rcenary glared at them.
"What is wrong with you? Aren’t you scared you’ll be dead for doing this to ?!"
They frowned, confused. No one struck him again out of re confusion.
"I’m telling you," he warned. "The governor won’t let this slide!"
They blinked at him, their confusion deepening.
How could he not know them? Hadn’t Gigante already fallen? Weren’t they checking the underground for them?
"What are you doing here?" one of the townsfolk asked grimly. "Why are you checking the underground tunnels?"
The rcenary didn’t answer until the man grabbed his clothes and raised a fist.
"The bar!" he finally yelled. "We’re looking for a way into the underground place beneath the bar!"
Silence followed his yelling, eyes on him.
Then soone asked slowly, "You’re not... looking for us?"
"Why would I look for you?!" the rcenary snapped. "Who are you, even?!"
Another silence settled over them until a faint rumble rolled through the tunnels.
They froze, brows knitting as dust drifted down. The rumble grew stronger, followed by engines roaring above and distant gunfire.
No one moved. They just listened, minds racing as the chaos unfolded overhead.
Had they known what was happening aboveground, they would’ve realized—
A madwoman had just decided to drag an entire horde of enemies straight into the heart of the chaos.
Long Bar.
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