[Jack_Spade]

Isaint enjoyed a second to catch his breath leaning behind a concrete column and wondered about the state of his ribbs. Dimly he was aware of the people who had gone to ground beneath flimsy plastic tables.
His fingers shook a bit when he removed the almost empty magazine and exchanged it for the other, full one.
'Have to do something about that muzzle flash. With a mental command he closed the gas vent and used his new myomeric back pack's search function. There. It had found the suppressor he had acquired for his trusty Ruger. Thankfully, the identical caliber meant it also fit the Crockett.

Despite the punishment he had gone through, the poncho still worked. Wearily he got on his feet. Time to act like a sniper again.
<<Thanks for the cover fire. I'm resupplied and ready to return the favor. The Roadmaster should be no longer road worthy. Has anyone anymore IR-Smokes ready?>>


Since it seems like I wasn't shot this round, round 6 consists of readying gear:

Ini round 6: 15+4d6 27

Ini 27
Simple action: Remove Magazine
Simple action: Insert Magazine

Ini 17
Free action: Command Weapon to deactivate GasVent
Free action: Instruct myomeric backpack to retrieve suppressor
Complex action: Retrieve suppressor

Ini 7:
Complex action: Install suppressor
Free action: Contact team

Attribute Boost AGI ends:
Resist Drain: 14d6t5 6
No Drain

[adamu]

Bullets whizzing above and all around the tiny shelter Al was squatting behind, Al listened to Isaint and watched as laterally as a lead element of the troopers pincered left and approached the ruined Bulldog.

<<Nothin' that fancy>> he replied to the team at large <<but do ya one better - jist keep yer heads down till that hombre at our two o'clock approaches the van - ol' Al gon' do his thing an' you'll know when ta make break for the buildin'.>>

He'd figured they'd check out the van, try to confirm their kill so they could go home. But they weren't taking any chances - concentrated fire had already driven dragon lady off the top of the overturned vehicle and now as they got closer they sprayed it with rounds that punched through the wreck's armored hide like wet tissue. Then one approached close enough to toss something through the shattered windshield. He immediately turned to get a bit of distance.

Al didn't give him the chance, fingers flying across his Fairlight's touchscreen, entering the code that detonated four kilos of plastique, and with it the van's fuel cell and the trooper's grenade. The man was vaporized as the fireball shot skyward, bright enough to dazzle Al's eyes right through his closed lids and past his flare compensators. The blast's pressure blew out a hundred car windows, knocking the other nearby troopers off their feet and Al was racing for the entrance to the service area's main structure, dozens of car alarms screaming in his wake.

[Aria]

eTher shook her scaled head in a vain attempt to stop the ringing sound

~well that got their attention~ and the amusement is clear in the mental voice that fills the runner's heads.  Indeed, it has got everyone's attention, even the most oblivious of wage slaves is now aware that the shit is hitting the fan outside and there is a mad scramble to get away...except nobody seems to be clear in which direction to go except for away from eTher's sinuous form.

~my people are nearly here, let us find somewhere to conceal ourselves until they can intervene...unless you prefer to engage the foe and lead them away from William and myself?  I sense your doubt but let me make this clear...the boy stays with me!~ there is no doubt about the nature of her resolve, although it is easier to dismiss the voice in your heads when she reforms into a naked and vulnerable looking young girl, one badly burnt at that with her arm hanging uselessly at her side...

[Jack_Spade]

Isaint called the team: <<You heard the scaly lady. There's a small army out there that just got organized again. I'd suggest you get in here and we pull back to a more defensible position where their numeric superiority is neutralized. I'm preparing a little package to hopefully slow them down.>>

While he composed the message, Isaint had recovered a roll of ductape from his backpack and began to bundle his three remaining flash bang grenades. When he had finished he stuck a small sensor tag to the package. With a swift movement, he half threw half slid it into the entrance area.

[adamu]

Diving across the building's threshold and behind some pleather-upholstered seating, Al heard the voice ringing through his mind again and poked his head up in time for the money shot. Much as he hated getting shot at, there weren't many bad situations couldn't be made at least a little better by pretty naked ladies. Of course that fact that a few seconds earlier she'd been a giant lizard took a lot of the fun out of it. Some things you just couldn't unsee.

Staying low, he made his way to where Jack had gone to ground with William. She wanted to stick by William, more the merrier, but she was late to the party. Al and his mates had been by the boy's side from the start of this mess.

And the only mistake they'd made was leaving him with her.

[obidancer]

The Frenchman felt the heatwave from the van's blast. When he peeked around the concrete block he was taking cover behind, he saw Al was ready to follow Jack and the kid. To his second surprise, the Drake had recovered her Human form and he didn't look good.

The Frenchman removed his coat, ran low toward eTher to cover her with the coat and took her with him inside the building. Yeah, he was a sucker for damsel-in-distress looking chicks.

[adamu]

As the goateed assassin ushered the girl through the doors, Al shouted from under a synthwood table, "Dammit, Frenchie, few enough pleasures in this here dirty business, you gotta go playin' knights o' the damned round table!"

[Jack_Spade]

"Ok guys and gal. This is it. The whole thing has gone to shit for the third time... Are you kidding me - where is the rest of the family? Is he... is he the only other one who made it out of the car? By the saints..."
Isaint fell silent, deflating visibly before talking again with renewed resolve but also a definitive note of melancholy in his voice.
"If that reinforcements are indeed on their way you should take William back to one of the kitchens with a walk in freezer or similar heavy stainless steel appliances. It's his best chance if they start bombing this place.
We others need to establish a defensive perimeter further down the food court - quickly."

#216

[adamu]

Al was deeply opposed - right down to his bones opposed - to letting William out of his sight again for even a moment.

But he also respected Isaint's judgement. And knew they'd only win this by acting together. By making their whole greater than the sum of their parts.

So he compromised and pushed his way through a screaming crowd to a position behind a food oounter right next to the door William was being whisked through.

On his way past Isaint's spot, he answered, "Limo's full o' charred corpses." And added in a quieter voice, "Couldn't tell who none of 'em were."

Then he was behind his counter - all the way behind it. Reckoned he'd hear some people dying before the bandits ever got this deep in.

[pistolgrip]

Jackhammer was still looking for a place to stash the kid and throw back some serious fury when Isaint burst in and started assessing the situation. That guy had to be ex-military the way he handled things. Jackhammer nodded and moved forward, shouldering through crowds of panicked people and ill-placed furniture to find the biggest restaurant in the place and make for the kitchen. He couldn't move too quickly without tripping over something, and carrying a mostly helpless kid, he really didn't want to squash him between a plasteel chair and 140kg of armored ork. He found a freezer and did a quick sweep to make sure there weren't any absurdly coincidental threats, then dropped William inside. Jackhammer then set about the task of finding spare aprons, table cloths, or anything sufficiently fabric-like and tossing them to the kid. He wasn't sure how much cold the kid could handle, and he really didn't want to have to thaw him out later.

[obidancer]

Wouldn't those Knights slay the dragon instead? He answered Al quizzically.

He reloaded his guns and looked around the hall. He picked a counter opposite to Al's spot where they could cross-fire at the incoming army but minimize the risk of friendly fire. Not that the Frenchman counted on missing, but one was never too cautious.

It's gonna be an interesting few minutes... ISaint, just remember I need you alive for that beer you promised. Jack, Al, you'll be more than welcome ti join us at this table. So, don't catch any bullets with your teeth, and Al, ask your Voodoo god to give us a bit of your immortality too.

[Jack_Spade]

Isaint went to complete the crossfire by positioning himself across the restaurant William had gone in with Jackhammer. It wasn't the best cover since he only had a hotdog stand cower behind, but it left him enough room to change position in a hurry.


Small unit tactics Crossfire check: Surveying the room
SUT Crossfire: 1514d6t5 3 [15d6t5=6, 2, 3, 4, 2, 6, 6, 4, 1, 4, 4, 2, 1, 1, 3]
SUT Crossfire: Positioning: 1514d6t5 4 [15d6t5=1, 1, 4, 6, 2, 2, 4, 6, 2, 5, 3, 5, 1, 2, 1]
No dice, unless you lot manage to create a few more teamwork dice for me (INT+SMT or INT-1)

Edit: Forgot my wound penalty, but it doesn't change the result

Again he tried his best to help his team mates to position themselves optimally for the engagement, but he wasn't entirely happy with the result.


To the Frenchman he called: "Sure, if we make it I'll personally organize a keg from Bavaria. Afterwards I might even tell you my name."

[adamu]

Al shouted back to the Frenchman: "It's gods, kemo sabe, as in plural. Reckon ol' Al's in good with most of 'em. 'Cept fer the spider-lookin' one. Got no truck with him. But anyhoo, how'dya know I ain't had 'em make ya immortal already? Yer still breathin', ain't ya?"

[obidancer]

The Frenchman smiled. In this moment of tension, it was good.
I should have known one god was not enough for Good Ol' Al. And here I though I was just too pretty to get hit....

Between fully armored Jack and ISaint and Al's Heavy Jacket, the Frenchman felt indeed a bit out of place with his Berwick Suit on, but that was also what gave him his class, and who knows, maybe it was making people think twice before shooting him down. That or Al's Gods. Whichever.

[adamu]

Sitting on the greasy floor behind the counter, Al shook his head and grinned. Damn frogs and their prettyboy ways.

It was getting quieter by the second as more and more people streamed steadily out any exit they could find.

And the less he could hear, the more he could smell. Realized he hadn't eaten anything since that weird underground hotel they'd holed up in. Reached up and forward and grabbed a fresh soyburger off the little slide the kids in the back pushed them down for the counter girls to grab.

The new BBQ flavor. Maybe it was his lucky day after all.