Roguelike

Honestly, I thought he was gonna ridicule me or reject the idea for bursting out like that, but this works too.

Pavul lead me to the same meeting room we used yesterday. Chrissy and Drake were both there as well with Chrissy wearing a pink cardigan over a white shirt and a pair of jeans, and Drake wearing... well, what he always wears. The classic hoodie and suit. The only thing that seems different is his dress pants which were probably swapped out because of the bones tearing through the knee area. He didn't have on those leather gloves anymore but his hands were still bandaged up like the other few parts of his body that weren't covered. 

As I scanned the room, Pavul cleared his throat, instantly grabbing the attention of the team. The lights in the room dimmed and the projector above our heads flickered onto the white screen at the front of the room, displaying what seemed to be the layout of the building Adam and Steve were in. 

"As all you hopefully know," He says, mainly referring the hopefully to me. Obviously. "Adam and Steve are in heavy guarded area. Many soldiers, many guns, and most important, many traps." 

Right. That is what those two specialized in, huh? Not a huge fan, but as long as I don't have to deal with them, I'm fine.

"Wulf, you'll be dealing with them."

I instinctively slam my fist on the table. Oops. I blink away from the screen and look over at Pavul who was starting to get pissed.

"My bad. Bullshit radar went off. So why do I have to deal with them?" I say quickly. Honestly it was a dumb question. I knew exactly why but maybe there's a chance I get get him to reconsider?

"You are only one who can handle them." He sighs. "I and Drake will storm through front door and wipe the soldiers while Bee remain on stand-by." Pavul picks up a clicker off the podium and presses a button on it. The map of the building shifts and shows a pair of dots moving inside the building through the entrance with one dot positioned around the roof. Another circle appears away from all of the others and the simulation zooms in on it. The layout then shows an opening that leads to a x-ray of all of the vent systems. 

"It is to be expected every inch except main area and outside of the building is trapped. But, the vents are quickest way to access here." The big guy clicks a button again, causing the simulation camera to travel through the vents quickly and out of it, leading to a separate balcony adjacent but not directly connected to the audience quarters that contain two red dots inside of it. 

"That glass around them is bullet proof." Pavul points out.

"I can shoot fast enough for it to break, but thanks to those guys' quick thinking, they'll have an answer for me before it shatters." Chrissy speaks up and crosses her legs. 

"So what's all that gotta do with me?" I question.

"Well..." Chrissy tilts her head to the front of the room and eyes Pavul, to which he answers by pressing the clicker again. 

The camera zooms out and shows two projectiles shoot out from the circle on the roof, with the circle on the balcony area moving towards the audience chambers and jumping over the railing and large gap between them. The first projectile hits the glass, causing it to flash red before the second projectile makes contact as well with the circle jumping over the railing hitting the glass barely a millisecond after, causing it to break. 

I stare at the screen in disbelief, my jaw basically breaking by how hard it hit the floor. "What the fuck?"

"Told you she wouldn't like it." Chrissy purses her lips and raises her eyebrows at our boss.

"Okay, OKAY!" I speak up while waving my hands in the air. "So you're asking me, to perfectly time myself jumping into the window right after it gets hit by two bullets so I can get in there and deal with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dickhead?" My face contorts to absolutely show my bewilderment. 

"Well, yes." Pavul says blankly.

"Is this seriously the best you could come up with?!" I slam the table with both palms. 

"Well... yes." Pavul says again. "Based on all information, this is only possible to reach them."

"Okay, but again, why me?! Why not send this freak of nature?" I say motioning to Drake before looking back at him. "No offense, man." He doesn't answer. With like, anything.

"That's because..." Chrissy chirps up again, squinting and looking off into space. "How do I put this? He's pretty grounded?" 

"He can't jump." Pavul interjects.

"Hey, don't put it so rudely!" Chrissy, who I forgot to mention is sitting beside him, leans towards Drake and pulls him into her, comforting the guy by patting his head with the hand she used to pull him in like some kind of pet. "He's just not good at it! All those bones really mess with those joints, you know."

I let out a long exhale and lean forward in my seat. You're kidding. Like, dude! I could probably come up with a better plan than this! Probably not now, but you know what I mean! There's no way this is the only way! I just... FUCK! Fuck.

Closing my eyes, I tilt my head back. "If it's the only way, fine."

"Oh wait, really?" Chrissy questions. "Honestly, I thought it would take a bit to convince you, but no complaints here." She says with a smile as she lets go of Drake. "Just remember, jump after you hear the first bullet, okay? It'll be super duper quick, but I'm sure you can do it!" 

"Yeah, maybe after several tries I can." I mutter under my breath. Even if everyone did hear that, I'm sure they would that as a joke anyway. Cuz y'know. I'm just such a little comedian like that sometimes. Seriously though, how many lives would I burn just by trying to jump through a bullet-proof window? I guess we'll be finding out tomorrow, huh?

"Before meeting come to close, does anyone have thought they would like to get off chest?" Pavul speaks out to us as the projector turns off. Here's what I was talking about before. Y'know the whole Specialists anonymous therapy thing we have before missions. I know I sure as hell don't have anything to say. Neither does Drake. So...

The whole room remains silent for a moment. 

"I've got something!" Chrissy says abruptly, everyone's attention turning to her in an instant. 

"I used to be a sex worker before being hired here." She says quickly, not getting any responses from anyone for a second. 

"Called it." 

"What?"

"I mean what?" I raise an eyebrow and avert my eyes. "What made you do that anyways?" 

"Becoming a sex worker?"

"No shit."

Chrissy purses her lips and stares at the table for a bit. "Money. Isn't that why people work in the first place?" She raises her head, her eyes widened and other than that, not much emotion showing. 

Fair enough. Guess that also explains her reaction to what I said yesterday too. Still, I can't help but feel there's a deeper reason. Sure, she's an airhead, but, as much shit as I give her, she doesn't seem slutty or dumb enough to work as a prostitute. But whatever. Not my business anyways.

"Well then. I, Pavul, am ready to die."

"I, Chrissy, am ready to die!"

"..."

I sigh. "I, Vivian, am ready to die." A lot. 

...

Speaking of tomorrow, wow time sure does fly, huh? Don't worry, nothing happened between then and now. Meeting ended, I headed to bed (this time with a podcast on), woke up, and got ready. And now, time to start the day off right with a nice, refreshing, filling walk to the armory. Fuck breakfast! I don't get hungry anyways. It's mandatory we eat some candy before missions to get some energy in our body anyways. Courtesy of Chrissy by the way, shout out to that bitch. Hoping there's at least something with peanut butter though. 

The building is directly connected to the barracks and leads straight out to the military base's exit. In short, it's basically a huge garage filled to the brim with all of our desired loadouts and the staple black SUVs we're always driving. Of course, I really don't need any sort of loadout except the two pistols I always work with because I'm minimalistic like that. I also don't wear any body armor just cuz it feels so stuffy sometimes. People always aim for the head anyway. Trust me, they do. Why fire at something that'll only have a chance of being lethal when there's a 99.99% chance to kill right at the very top? 

As I enter the building, I can already see Pavul and Chrissy loading the SUV with their weapons. Forgot to mention this earlier, but these cars are specifically designed to hold as many firepower as possible and as conveniently as possible. Right above the windows? Guns. Under your seat? Guns. Cup holders? More like a place to put a couple extra clips. 

My thoughts are interrupted as I head Pavul set a riot shield in the trunk with a loud thud, making me flinch just a bit. "Vivian!" He exclaims as he notices me. He grabs something off his own armory table and tosses it to me. Without saying anything, I let the object land into my hand. Peanut butter cup.

"Eat! You are going to need the energy." He says before picking up a large black shotgun and walking over to place it somewhere in the front passenger seat. 

"Preciate it, Humpty Dumpty." I respond as I unwrap the candy and take a bit out of it, letting the sweet and savory flavor of the chocolate and peanut butter melt in my mouth as I eye Chrissy's table which was a few feet away from Pavul's. As always, it's chockful with a fuck ton of suger, spice, and everything you need to kill a guy. Even though she's gonna be focusing on sniping some stragglers, you always see her on missions carrying specifically her sniper rifle, two assault rifles, four pistols, and six combat knives. Don't ask me why she needs the other two. 

"You sure you're only bringing your usual today? Why not try something new?" Chrissy points out my two pistols resting in their holsters at my waist. 

"Yeah, like something I can barely even carry? I think I'm good." I roll my eyes and turn my head to the other side of the garage, instantly noticing our third squad member. 

Drake was leaning against his table which had nothing on it. I mean, why would he? He's basically already a weapon. What I did notice was what he had on this time. He had on an orange eye visor similar to snowboarding goggles as well as a black lower face mask that had some details that made it look similar to the face a skeleton, specifically singular indents on both cheeks and a triangular shape on his nose area. On the upper back of his hoodie was the image of a skull as well, almost placed in a way if he pulled down his hoodie over his face, it would act as another mask. The rest of his outfit remains somewhat the same other than his black leather gloves being swapped out for some thinner ones.

"What's up with wardrobe change?" I direct my voice to one of my other teammates.

"He looks cool, right? Designed it myself! Thought it'd make him a lil more intimidating." Chrissy pipes up behind me as Drake slowly trudges over to the back seat of the car. Sure is a look I guess. He already looked pretty edgy to me, but hey, whatever works. 

I open the door opposite to where Drake entered and slide into my seat. After I hear the trunk close up, Chrissy hops in behind the wheel, one arm closing the car door, another adjusting her rearview mirror, another starting the car, and the last gripping the wheel. I finish up my candy and just like that, we start moving. 

It's a quiet drive overall. A familiar one at that. Just like the drive I had to experience so many times over, all I did was look outside the window the whole time, watching us pass by cars and cars pass by us on the free way. It feels weird, I dunno. For some reason I can't fathom the fact we're going somewhere to deal with a high scale target. It feels like walking to class so you can take a final. And even though I have infinite retakes for the test, I have to get every single question right in order to pass, and I sure as hell didn't study. 

As I stare out the window, I can't help but notice this dull orange car right next to us. Weirdly enough it's actually driving at the same speed as us. Chrissy notices it as well and slows down a bit so it can take us over since we're in the rightmost lane. Y'know the crazy thing about small gestures? They can mean a huge difference.

The car slows down as well, still right next to us. Front passenger to driver and backseat to backseat. The tinted window right next to mine rolls down, a man in his late thirties staring directly at me with a pistol aimed straight for my head. 

Well damn.

BANG.