All Out War

My AV departs, and I stand in front of the precinct. I used to be so proud of this place. I mean, I hated the people, the red tape, the bullshit politics, basically everything... But I still felt joy when I looked at this building. I feel no joy now. The usual hustle and bustle of the area is gone with the imposed lockdown. The various police officers that used to litter the steps have been replaced with the black masks and gear of the Purifiers. The AVs that would zoom overhead replaced with drones carrying heavy weapons.

I feel like the centre of attention as I slowly approach the building. Under my usual coat I've been given a hooded jumpsuit that should resist any ballistic or stun weaponry. Resist, but not make me immune. The face mask I don will help with any gas attacks, and my earbuds allow me to communicate in person and over calls while also preventing sonic attacks. I'm as much of a walking tank as I can be... But that doesn't feel the case with dozens of rifle barrels trained on me. Not to mention the mortars on those drones.

"You shouldn't have come here, Baker." A familiar voice rings out to me. Peters. I put him in the hospital when he grabbed my arse in the locker room. Never went back in that room. Maybe I'll leave him there when I'm done. "We have the authority to put you down permanently, no stun rounds."

I laugh at his need to point that out, as if I expected them to try it. "I'm giving you all one warning. Step aside. The Chief's going down, but any of you can just walk away. No harm, no foul." I yell to the crowded steps. "Of course, if you don't... Well, Peters can tell you what happens to people who cross me. And he didn't make me even a fraction of how goddamn furious I am right now. Make your choice. It's your only chance."

I look around at the Purifiers, none so much as budge. I sigh, but I pretty much expected that. Some people are just too brainwashed to be talked down. I raise my arms to the side, giving the signal. Slowly, the giant drones flanking the entrance begin to turn and face their former masters. I tried to warn them. The mortars fire in sync, blasting holes in the densely packed formation. Purifiers are blasted away left and right, a couple try to target me, but with all the chaos, they can't even get close. I notice Peters has taken the initiative to rush me with what I've learnt is called a 'blade of repentance'. Dumb name. I swat the stab away like it's nothing, he doesn't have the control to fight properly after sprinting like that. I grab his face and push his head directly into the concrete. I think he's still alive. I don't care to check.

"Good job with the drones, Lux." I tell her via our call, making my way through the panicking cult, too preoccupied with the floating tanks to even look at me. We found out they were borrowing them from Neurocorp but hadn't changed any of the access codes on them, sloppy. Lux had control before I even stepped foot on the ground.

"That was the easy bit." She replies, observing my advance from a spy drone. "The precinct itself is on a separate system now, I can't get access. You need to get that chip I gave you into Ludd's computer, that'll give Prometheus a backdoor to his files and let us bring down the whole operation. Then it's a straight shot towards Azure."

I dodge a slash from a stray Purifier and kick them back down the stairs. "Assuming the old man doesn't break a hip on a file extension or something." I joke, finally reaching the door. The main floor of the precinct is divided into three areas, the entrance, which the drones have helped me with, the foyer, and the office. That third one is where I'll give Prometheus access and be able to use the lifts down to the detention block.

"I assure you, I'm far more nimble in this form." Prometheus chimes in. "Given our acquaintance's capabilities, I'm starting to wonder if you'll even need to use those prototypes at all." Well, the protective clothing has stopped a couple of shots in the crossfire already, but all these weapons definitely feel like they're just dead weight.

I enter the foyer, a large two-storey room with a desk in the centre and stairs at the far end leading to the office as well as the balconies that wrap around the far half of this room. At least, that's what it usually looks like. What I see now are the balconies loaded with Purifiers, barricades littering the ground floor, and turrets set up on the usually ornate ceiling. I guess those weapons have a point after all.

I throw myself behind a pillar as the first round of gunfire soars past me. Time for my first trick. I pull a grenade out of the belt hidden under my coat, pull the pin, and blindly throw it around the pillar that's keeping me alive. The hypersonic grenade sings in a frequency that brings a halt to the flow of bullets, fortunately blocked by my earbuds. I peek round cover and pull the gun from behind my right shoulder. I pull the trigger and hold it, charging up, until I release the trigger and, with it, unleash a massive concussive blast, blowing away people and cover alike. I then do the same to the balcony on either side of the room, bringing them crashing down. The turrets get a lock on me at this stage, but I pull a couple of tiny spheres from my pocket, no larger than a marble, and toss them into the air. The nanodrones seek the electrical signatures of the turrets and latch onto them. The resulting EMP knocks out both the turrets and the parasitic drones.

I walk out from cover, checking my equipment. The concussion rifle's spent, three full-power blasts in a row killed the power supply. I've got a few more nanodrones and two more hypersonics. I guess I'm reliant on the final tools in my arsenal. I've come to call them 'Shock' and 'Awe'. Two sidearms that don't fire projectiles, they target the person's bioelectricity and overload it, shutting them down non-lethally. I guess they were meant to replace the Snapper. I just hope they actually work. Only one way to find out.

I open the door to the office. This place doesn't seem as fortified, I guess they didn't think I'd get this far. Stupid fucks, they have Azure, and they thought I'd be stopped by these thugs. Idiocy. I see a similar number of people in here to the previous room. Easy. I throw in a hypersonic and walk in. I march down the centre, seeing Purifiers struggle to even stand under the effects of the soundwaves. Each one I see I blast with Shock and/or Awe and watch them fall to the ground like sacks of potatoes. Occasionally a Purifier focuses enough to get a shot off. Any that do become my next target. They don't get a second shot. I reach the glass door to the Chief's office and look back at my work. **** bodies litter the room. I smirk at my accomplishment and kick in the door.

"I'm at the Chief's station, applying the chip now." I let the others know, slapping the device on the side and watching the screen fizzle until it returns to clarity. "You've got access, Prometheus, unlock the lifts, then go through the files. I need to get to Azure first." I urge him, exiting back into the main office and rushing to the metal doors next to the chief's room.

"Lifts unlocked, best of luck to you, Ms Baker." I hear him confirm as the doors open. I smack the door for the detention level and watch the doors close again.

"I'm not planning to rely on luck." I inform the AI, preparing Shock and Awe for any guards stationed downstairs and watching the floor number tick down on the monitor.

"Save your prayers for the ones dumb enough to get in my way."