INTLD1: Calmest night in the Sub Levels
Sometime before the ambush op. Sub level Anagora. Time, undetermined.
The slam of a cup echoed across the pub, stirring Eliza awake from her meandering thoughts. "Come on! Stay with us, will ya?" Amyé jabbed at Eliza, both figuratively and literally with the handle-end of a combat knife.
"Blegh?" Eliza froze as her eyes stuck to the knife. Amyé grumbled, sliding it into a hidden sheathe on her belt.
"Come on, you'll need some personal protection down these parts," she said, her eyes glancing around. Eliza did the same, taking note of the lively pub they were in, filled with dozens of occupants, most keeping to themselves.
The bartender was keeping a close eye on their group, Eliza thought, as she watched his gaze skim over them. But before she could form any more thoughts, three figures sat down at their booth.
Even more drinks were slammed down, as Claire and Quinn shimmied their way into the opposing seats, with Riharia grabbing an empty chair nearby and placing it to the end of the table.
"Drink up!" Quinn bellowed at Eliza and Amyé, the latter immediately caved to his demands, downing one of the drinks as the three others quickly snatched their drinks, ensuring that Amyé didn't have all of them to herself.
Eliza faltered for a moment, before slowly extending a hand out towards one of the cups. Claire pushed the cup she was reaching for directly into her grasp. "Please, it'd be rude not to drink some, just relax, you know?" she said, her voice calming Eliza's nerves.
She nodded. "Yeah, you're quite right about that, I suppose…" she trailed off, taking careful sips of the beer. It tasted strong, and Eliza was barely able to hold in the taste. Looking at the rest of their party, Eliza saw all of them just down it; something that she wasn't exactly surprised at.
Riharia placed her drink down. "Drink as much as you like, we get paid a fortune compared to our rates in the past."
"Oh, you do?" Eliza asked, interested for a moment. Amyé was downing another drink.
"Hundreds of thousands of Standardis, still not enough for an apartment on the surface…" Claire said, shaking her head. "Still, better than the gouged prices that Clandestine paid us for."
"So you joined Kazuki for the money?" asked Eliza. This attracted the eyes of all four. She held her hands out. "Hey! Hey, I'm not saying that…"
"Sure sounds like it," Quinn said with a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Shut the fuck up." Claire smacked Quinn across the back, saying, "I'd expect the kleptomaniac to know when to shut up."
"Ugh, tell me about it," Riharia trailed off, her soured face contrasting the bright crimson hair she had. "I had to deal with him since we were kids."
"And you'll keep having to deal with me till the day I die!" Quinn quipped, before twirling his finger in the air, showing a keychain…
"Huh?" Amyé and Riharia said at the same time, glancing at the keychain. There was a small holopad attached to it. Eliza squinted her eyes, the words 'Medical Exam Journal of 4920'.
Claire's head twisted towards Quinn, as her hand snatched the keychain from Quinn. "Asshole, keep your hands to yourself," she said, burying the keychain deep into her coat pockets.
"Pah, you still got that old med book?" Amyé interjected into the brewing argument, adding more fuel to the fire as Eliza pushed herself against the wall… Amyé's breath stank of alcohol already, her freckled face red.
Quinn nodded and joined in on the beratement. "Yeah, look at you, thinking you can get into med school."
"Quinn…" Claire started, "You really are thinning my patience, aren't you?" She had a slight smile as her head cranked between the two, a vein bulging on her forehead.
She should stop this, Eliza thought, before it turns into an all-out brawl here… She glanced around, still feeling an air of discomfort at this setting. There was nothing out of place, though her mind knew that the vast majority of people in here must have the ability and guts to kill…
"Hey, we shouldn't be fighting here…" Eliza trailed off, gesticulating to try and calm Claire down, whilst shaking her head at Quinn and Amyé.
Riharia snapped back. "It isn't any more than just some banter, come on Lizzie, you have that on the surface, right?" She was slightly drunk, and her words had caught the attention of a few more prying eyes.
Eliza felt her heartbeat rise, her muscles freezing as she shook her head. "Aha, ha, from the surface? Ah, uh… Never could be me!" It was an absolutely horrendous presentation, and she knew.
But to much of her amazement, it worked! The other four burst out into sniggers and low laughter. "Pfft, cathing hell, maybe Kaz hired you for your humour?" Riharia suggested.
"So bad that it…" Amyé looked towards Claire, then Quinn, then at Eliza. "What was it again?"
"Integer overflow?" Eliza proposed an answer.
"Yeah… that…" Amyé continued, before muffling her voice to low confusion. "What the fuck is an integer?"
Still, Eliza's limbs were frozen shut, her slight shaking catching Claire's attention.
"Hey, relax for now, nothing bad is gonna happen," said Claire. "Like, literally, you surface-dwellers really think it's just twenty-four-seven slaughter down here?"
"Well… it's a bit hard to not think that given the… yeah… We do, I guess?" Eliza placed a finger to her chin. She placed her drink down after a small sip, watching as Amyé slowly dragged it over to her side.
"Pah, tell anyone on the surface that it's even worse than that!" Quinn shouted out loud. "Tell them that the people down here will skin you alive if you look the wrong way."
"Well, that is true in some cases," said Claire, giving no respite to Eliza's mind. Yet her eyes skimmed towards Riharia… and more intently: the figure behind her.
She was happily humming as she glanced upwards, at a towering figure, clothed in thick make-shift armour. The group fell silent as eyes pried towards them again. The mood shifted on the faces of the four.
"Oi, you got a surfacer, don't you?" asked the man, his eyes bloodshot and staring directly at Eliza.
"Yeah, got a problem with that, fatass?" Amyé snapped at the man. Riharia, Quinn and Claire remained motionless, though Eliza could tell that they were prepared for anything, even if they were slightly tipsy.
"We don't accept you surfacers, not in this bar, not in this district. Get her the fuck outta here if you know what's best for all of us," the brute said, hands on his waist.
Now it was time for Riharia to butt in. "Hey, let's not overstep boundaries here, we're just out for a drink, no harm in that, right?" She glanced towards Eliza, winking.
Eliza let out a hoarse cough. "Yeah, yeah! We're just out here for a drink," she said, trying to mimic the Sub Level accent. The man's eyes narrowed even further.
Eliza's eyes scanned towards Quinn, whose hand was slowly trailing down his side. She could barely hear the lifting of steel. Fuck… what the fuck does she do now?!
"Get out," the man repeated himself.
"How about… no?" Claire suggested, looking up at the brute. She had a completely neutral face, painted over with complete professionalism. "In fact, I cannot guarantee your safety if you continue, right, barkeeper?"
Eyes snapped towards the bartender. He was slightly shaking, a middle-aged man who opened his mouth.
"NOT A WORD, OLD MAN!" the brute shouted at the bartender, who shook even harder - his mouth slamming shut.
"Seems like we'll be doing this the hard way. Lads…" A dozen people stood up, most were hardy-looking, as if they had to survive decades down in this waste… No, they definitely did, Eliza thought.
But looking at the people sitting beside and opposite her, she could see a lifetime's worth of experience in their eyes.
"We'll be escorting that lady outta here if you don't mind." The man leaned over Riharia, slowly extending a hand out towards Eliza.
She saw the hand grow larger, covered with stitches and scars. And then: red. All she saw was red. Her gaze went dazed. Riharia had just sliced into the brute's guts, as a bullet from Quinn sent him back.
She cowered downwards, as figures moved all over… The four were immediately thrown into action. Loud bangs filled her ears, as she cowered under the table, pressing her legs against her chest. Shouts were heard, and more violence filled the room. Her face froze as a body fell onto the floor, eyes open. It was one of the goons, dead eyes staring at her bloody red eyes.
She stayed there as more and more noises filled her head. It was sickening, she couldn't think. All she could do was stay put… and eventually: the noises slowly stopped. The table above her was ripped out from over her head. Claire… IT'S CLAIRE.
"Cla—"
"—We need to move, now!" Claire shouted at her, extending a hand out towards her. Eliza sheepishly grabbed onto it, feeling Claire pull her up as the three others were some of the only people left in the bar… alive.
Her head glanced over at the carnage. There were a lot of dead bodies… she did her best to avoid their open eyes and wounds… A few people were frozen in place, sitting down as they glared at the group. And the bartender? He was rock-solid behind the counter, his head peering over the top of it.
"I think that's the last of them!" shouted Quinn, looking over at Claire and Eliza, before reloading his pistol with a magazine he snatched from a corpse.
Riharia nodded. "Hope so."
"COME ON, IS THAT ALL THEY HAVE?!?!?" Amyé shouted, much to the dismay of everyone present.
"Fuck… Sorry about that, Liz, the alcohol's getting to me…" Claire admitted, still holding onto Eliza, supporting her. Before long, it was Eliza supporting Claire. The rest had a much similar reaction, they looked smashed. Were they drinking DURING THE FIGHT? She wondered.
The door at the other side of the pub smashed open, half a dozen men with knives charging in, screaming and shouting. Claire pushed Eliza to the side, as one of them tackled her to the ground - out of view. She could see glimpses of the rest, barely holding on against the new, fresh arrivals. But they were holding on… Fuck… what does she do now?!
A figure emerged from around the booth, eyes locking onto Eliza. They clambered over the debris and dead bodies, extending a hand out to Eliza. She fought it back, slapping it away as she pressed herself against the wall. Then: a flash of light. The entire pub was filled with a flash of light.
And then silence. Only one attacker remained, the one directly on her. They looked back, as a rush of footsteps echoed and bounced across the walls.
"CLEAR!"
"CLEAR."
Eliza froze at the voices, as the man grabbed hold of her, pushing her in front of him as he dragged her up. She tried to fight him, but her determination was no match for her strength. She kept fighting, though, shaking and moving around as she saw a dozen muzzles pointed towards her. Lights were blaring through the windows: shuttles. Her eyes scanned towards the floor.
The fresh criminals that just arrived. Well… She had no words for it. She felt her stomach churn, they had entire parts of their bodies missing. And her entourage? They were fine… thank fuck for that, she thought, trying to stem her mind from the situation at hand.
A voice bellowed from behind her. "LET ME LEAVE OR SHE GETS IT!" Eliza felt a knife slowly prod at her neck. She froze, not wanting to risk it.
Just as quickly as the words left their mouth, Eliza felt their grip loosen. Her ears caught a whizzing bang. She continued to be kept frozen in place in fear, her eyes slowly looking down. Two figures approached her, her eyes slowly meeting them.
One was large… taller than the other. They had full combat gear, the other one stepped forward, ripping their combat helm-mask off. A familiar face was present. Kazuki. Dead golden eyes stared at her as he placed both hands on her shoulders.
He said something… but she couldn't make it out. "WHAT!?" she shouted, squinting her eyes as her hearing slowly came back.
"—ou okay?" he asked. Silence filled her ears after that… Everyone in the room was scanning around, taking point at all possible points of entry. Then she heard a gushing sound…
"I'm good, thank you," she said quickly, Kazuki distanced himself, before tugging at her arm. She took one glance backwards, seeing the person who held her hostage choking on their blood. An entry and exit wound were present on their neck…
"He'll die slowly, don't worry," said Kazuki, continuing to drag her. She tugged back. Kazuki's head twisted towards her. "Something wrong?"
"I… what…" she trailed off, not even sure of why she just did that. The tall figure that followed Kazuki patted her on the back, nodding for her to just follow. She complied, as Kazuki took a step towards a few operatives beside the door.
They took their helm-masks off… One of them was Lilly, and the other was someone she hadn't met yet. Purple hair, scars and fair skin. She could barely hear what Kazuki said to the two.
"Alert Martinez of the situation. I'll see Eliza off. You two will lead your units on a manhunt," Kazuki ordered them as Kazuki turned towards the bartender. "Who were they?"
"Uh…" The bartender trailed off. Eliza stood by the doorway, as she turned back. The tall man kindly stepped to the side, allowing Eliza to peer back into the carnage. Claire was tending to the other's wounds, efficiently and effectively rendering any damage to them to be null in a matter of seconds.
Kazuki slipped his hand into his pocket. Eliza expected him to draw a gun out, or some form of weapon… But he didn't. Instead, he flicked over a slab of Standardis. "Few million. Ample compensation."
The bartender's eyes gleamed at the sight, cradling the slab of money, able to fit nicely within his hand. "Ah, yes… my memory does recall them," he started, "A gang from the old Pinkerton syndicate."
"Tch…" Claire could be heard scoffing at that name. The three others exchanged glances with one another… Eliza was none the wiser to what they were talking about.
"Good. Persephone, lead your men and hunt them down. Lilly, you will assist and reinforce when contact is made. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Arbiter, yeah." Persephone shrugged it off, walking and shimmying past Eliza through the doorway.
"Come on, we should get to the shuttle, it has heating," the large man beside her said.
"Right," replied Eliza, following his directive as she heard the last whispers from within the establishment. The air was cold outside, with the Sub Level stretching far up with numerous platforms and artificial lights.
"You'll get her killed one day…" said Lilly, Eliza paused for a moment upon hearing that, before she continued to walk. Her ears stretched to their limit.
"She won't die."
"Or vice versa… Maybe she'll get you killed."
In the confusion of it all, Eliza stepped away. But her mind could only hear one murmur, a possible word that she denied. "Maybe."