Guns
for Hire - Script
Twelve
Forlorn Hope , Night City
00.11am 08/05/2015
Back
in the Hope Alex opened the envelope retrieved from dumpster mans body &
reluctantly handed over by Mariusz, not suprised that it had already been opened,
she dropped 20K in new bills on the beer stained table & gestured towards
Godiva to bring over a pitcher of beer. Leaning forward Gonzales scooped up
the money, sniffed it, licked it & then ran it between his fingers,
"If
its counterfeit its a good one, good enough for Godiva anyway" nodding
towards the bar.
Forlorn
Hope , Night City 1.16am 08/05/2015
"So
that's the deal then" said Price, I've pretty much spent six month nursemaiding
Reece & his crew, feeding 'em bullshit, pills, cash, whatever was needed
to get their arse's into gear. Tonight somebody seems to have decided that it
was the end of the road. From the line that Beavis spun before he croaked, Bergusson,
or at least his paymaster at Militech, was the fucker that blew me out. I'm
not sure how many of Reece's stooges got hit at the motel but it looked pretty
messy, if Reece survived I'm sure he'll be pretty pissed if I role up all shiny
& bright to collect my kit before riding off into the sunset, I know how
I'd react anyway, what kit I left behind isn't irreplaceable but its mine &
I want it back"
Whilst the others discussed the options Skinpin leant back in his chair &
eyed up Price, she was definitely a looker, short, petite even, cute ass, but
from the way she sounded off she could definitely handle herself, come to that
he wouldn't mind handling her himself, maybe that was something he could work
on, leaning across the table Skinpin started to turn on the charm, whilst Price
didn't respond in kind, he reckoned it wasn't out of the question but decided
that maybe now wasn't the best time for it.
Over
the next couple of hours Price sketched out the Skulls current bolt hole, a
derelict industrial estate some fifteen minutes or so inland of Santa Paula,
Santa Paula itself being 200 miles South of Night City. After describing the
potential, or lack of, resistance that they may encounter advantage was taken
of the Hope's ability to replenish, for the right price & no questions asked,
munitions, Semtex & the like. Gonzales also picked up a set of night vision
optics & collectively several light weight gas masks were purchased.
Leaving
the Hope Price collected the S-MAX & with no where else to stay took advantage
of Vrastens offer of dossing down for a couple of hours shut eye at Vrasten's
cramped apartment, Skinpin, grinning offered to share mattress's, Alex, for
the moment, declined his generous offer.
Whilst
Skinpin showed Alex where to stash her ride in the lock up beneath the apartment
complex, Vrasten, using the second & last of the alias's previously prepared
by Gonzales, dialed one of the numerous car rental outfits listed on the Dataterms
in & around the city, aiming for something low key but functional, his hire,
despite the funds available in the false account, was at first turned down,
the snotty kid on the other end of the line advising that they were unable to
deliver to the warehouse district suggested by Vrasten as cars tended not to
come back in one piece, Vrasten didn't push the matter & agreed to collect
am that morning.
City
Cars , Night City 8.48am 08/05/2015
Whilst
Gonzales, Mariusz & Skinpin sorted out their kit, Alex, shaking off the
previous late nights drinks, gave Vrasten a ride over to City Cars depot, despite
the urge to open wide the throttle & maybe see how nervy the ex cop would
get Price took it easy & gently eased the S-MAX into one of the bays outside
the hire company's collection point. Handing Alex back her spare lid Vrasten
ambled inside & patiently waited in line, false ID & credit card at
the ready. Handing over the bogus ID Vrasten waited patiently for the hire contract
to be processed however it quickly became apparent that something was amiss,
nervously the contracts clerk glanced up at Vrasten & then down at something
being printed of below the counter, politely the girl advised Vrasten that the
hire had been rejected. Feigning innocence, Vrasten was shown a black &
white printout of an ID card, clearly Vrasten, but with false details, it was
that used by Vrasten to hire a Lexus from Rent-a-Robot in Pacifica a couple
of months earlier.
Sat
astride the S-MAX Alex tapped impatiently on the tank & considered blowing
Vrasten out, before she could reach a decision however Vrasten turned &
came out of the reception just as a boxy grey metallic MPV pulled into the pick
up point, throwing his jacket across the seat Vrasten, red faced, walked over,
"Bit
of a problem, seems they were a bit worried that I might not bring back clean,
bastards demanded a pretty hefty deposit, mistaken identity if you ask me, anyway
its ours for the next four days"
Interstate
101, 9.27am 08/05/2015
With
Skinpin perched behind her on the fanny pad Alex bimbled along through the Night
City traffic with Vrasten, Mariusz & Gonzales following behind in the hire
car, fairly quickly however Alex left the the others behind stuck in traffic,
hitting the freeway Alex tucked herself in behind the bikini fairing, dropped
the S-MAX into the power band &, hoping Skinpin was really paying attention,
red lined the S-MAX all the way up to 167mph, behind her Skinpin, unheard, screamed
long & loud.
Interstate
101, 10.53am 08/05/2015
Cursing
the traffic Vrasten guided the MPV along the interstate, beside him Gonzales
kept up a continual barrage bemoaning Vrasten's inability to keep up with Price
& Skinpin, muttering under his breath, Vrasten glanced in the mirror just
as Mariusz pointed towards the front windscreen, glancing ahead Vrasten piled
on the brakes as the tail lights of the traffic ahead ground to a halt. Fishtailing
the MPV slid towards the stationary vehicle ahead, Vrasten realising he wasn't
going to stop in time spun the wheel & ploughed through the warning cones
coming to rest in the closed off inside lane, meekly glancing across at the
driver of the car he'd only just managed to avoid Vrasten was rewarded with
a look his mother would have been proud of,
"I'll
take it from here then yeah" queried Gonzales.
Paraiso
Taqueria, Interstate 101, 1.32pm 08/05/2015
Pulling
off the freeway some twenty miles outside of Santa Paula Gonzales eased into
the car park of the diner that Alex had mentioned before they'd left Night City
that morning, the Paraiso Taqueria,
"What
the fuck is he doin' now" muttered Mariusz nodding towards Skinpin who
was walking around the parking lot "he's walking that fucking pretend dog
of his again isn't he, I swear, he is seriously dazed n' confused, I mean he's
almost got me convinced its real"
Later, over hot chille pizza, the five considered their
next move, after discussing the options Alex locked down the S-MAX behind the
diner & all five piled into the hire car & with Price driving headed
back onto the 101.
Nursling
Industrial Estate, off Interstate 101 2.49pm 08/05/2015
Turning
off the main interstate the MPV was guided along a weed covered track which
Alex had said ran into the hills beyond the Nursling estate. A mile or so later
all could see a number of mixed industrial units over the top of the waste ground
to their right, driving slowly passed the site entrance little could be seen
other than a rust stained water tower poking above the abandoned units. Spinning
around a quarter or mile or so further along the track they cruised back towards
the estate entrance only to see a dirt covered pick up coming off the estate
ahead, letting it pull out in front of them they quickly agreed they should
tail the wagon & see what happened.
Ahead
the blue Dodge turned onto the interstate towards the town of Santa Paula, keeping
her distance Alex kept their quarry in sight but hopefully far enough back for
for them not to be picked up, apparently unaware of the tail the Dodge's driver
weaved its way through the outskirts of the town before finally pulling into
the lot of a 24/7 Kwikmart, pulling in a free space on the opposite side of
the parking lot all five watched as two figures got out of the pick up &
headed through the doors of the mart.
Kwikmart,
Santa Paula, 3.17pm 08/05/2015
"Don't
recognise the skirt" said Alex, "but the big fucker's definitely one
of Reece's goons, guess I might as well see if I'm still on the Christmas card
list"
With
that Price, accompanied by Skinpin, stepped out of the MPV & headed for
the Kwikmart doors.
Kwikmart,
Santa Paula, 3.18pm 08/05/2015
Watching
Price & Skinpin disappear into the 24/7 Gonzales took a detonator &
as well as a pack of plastic from his kit bag & set to work shaping the
charge, grining at Vrasten & Mariusz, Gonzales spoke,
"Just
going to leave our friends a birthday present, back in a minute"
Vrasten, under pretense of inspecting the damage to the front of the hire car,
watched Gonzales circle the pick up from the rear, walk around the off side
& then back past the drivers door, tensing, Vrasten watched as Gonzales
stopped opposite the drivers window.
Glancing
in the dirt smeared drivers window Gonzales was taken aback to see a woman hunkered
down on the bench seat, caught in the act, the window was slowly lowered to
reveal an ominous black barrel , from inside he heard the unmistakable priming
of a pump action shotgun being pumped, nervously Gonzales spoke,
"Just
checking Miss, I notice you aren't displaying a valid parking ticket"
"Fuck
off shithead"
Realising
he was on thin ice, Gonzales smiled, turned & scuttled away, as he passed
the back end of the pick up however he tossed the package from under his arm
into the back of the truck, wincing he kept walking hoping Miss Shotgun hadn't
noticed the crude delivery.
Across
the lot Vrasten relaxed & let his hand casually slip away from his shoulder
holster.
Kwikmart, Santa Paula, 3.19pm 08/05/2015
Inside
the 24/7 Skinpin & Price quickly located their quarry, without hesitation
Priced lead Skinpin in full view of the Skulls as if they weren't there, instantly
the gorilla hollered across the store towards Alex, spinning, Alex was surprised
to see the ape man fleeing out of the store with the woman in tow rather than
charging towards her & Skinpin, caught out Price & Skinpin took off
after the pair but as they dodged passed the startled trolley boy ape man &
his mate ripped open the pick up truck doors & through themselves into the
cab, immediately the Dodge's 4.2L V8 roared into life & the truck, tyres
squealing, bounced over the kerbed sidewalk & onto the concrete road.
Kwikmart,
Santa Paula, 3.20pm 08/05/2015
Inside
the hire car Mariusz watched as Skinpin & Alex turned from the fleeing Dodge
& ran towards the MPV, before they got even half way the everyday sounds
of Santa Paula was ripped asunder as Gonzales remotely triggered the package
he'd thrown into the back of the pick up.
"Oops"
said Gonzales
Casually
Vrasten drove the MPV out of the Kwikmart parking lot &, as sirens wailed,
headed in the opposite direction to the burning wreck.
Nursling
Industrial Estate, off Interstate 101, 8.54pm 08/05/2015
Having
spent the remainder of the afternoon hanging around the Paraiso Taqueria watching
a rerun of the Night City Raiders lose out to the Minnesota Twins as well as
the occasional live ocal news report into the unexplained explosion earlier
that day that had killed outright the driver & two passengers the five now
sat waiting in the MPV some quarter of a mile past the entrance onto the Nursling
estate. As darkness fell they headed back towards the estate on foot, splitting
into two groups Mariusz & Gonzales headed for the sub station & water
tower whilst the others circled around to come at the Skulls from the South.
Reaching
the fence Mariusz cursed,
"There's
no fucking holes in it, I've got nothing to cut it with, its eight feet high
& topped with razor wire, fuckin' bingo"
Muttering
they cut South hoping to find away through, fortunately some 130 yards along
the its line they found away through & backtracked towards the water tower.
Round
the back of the estate the fence was pretty fucked up, it had been ripped down
by the Skulls so as they could dump all there shit on the waste ground away
from the unit they were dossing in, slipping through the broken fence line the
three hunkered down behind the debris to wait for the lights to go out.
Nursling
Industrial Estate, off Interstate 101, 9.11pm 08/05/2015
Some
fifty yards from the water tower the night was suddenly illuminated for Gonzales
& Mariusz as a pair of headlights came towards them from the road, throwing
themselves into the ditch inside of the fence line the two waited as a UV went
passed before disappearing behind the buildings, quickly they scrabbled out
of the ditch & sprinted to their goal Whilst Mariusz went up the water tower
ladders Gonzales pulled open the broken sub station door & gazed around,
Alex had said the Skulls had hot wired the power supply, but shit, there were
spliced cables every fuckin' where, after pulling a couple of sparking cables
free Gonzales realised he was either wasting his time or liable to fry himself
in the process, radioing the others to tell them to get ready he pulled the
pin on a frag grenade.
Nursling Industrial Estate, off Interstate 101, 9.14pm 08/05/2015
Behind
the warehouse Price, Vrasten & Skinpin could see light spilling out of the
personal door at the back of the unit, the main door to the old garage facilities
were shuttered, Price had a had a quick shufty at the door she new to be part
way along the East elevation however that was locked & from memory blocked
on the inside behaind work benches.
Waiting
for Gonzales to cut the power they were surprised when a vehicle suddenly swung
around the front corner of the warehouse, trying to make themselves smaller
they watched as it pulled up near the open door, two figures climb out &
walked through the open door, Price recognised the driver, it was Reece.
As
the pair stepped inside the doorway Vrasten tapped Price on the shoulder,
"Mariusz's
up the tower"
Then
the lights went out.
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