Ambush!

As the doors slide open, you see a rectangle shaped room, with two doors - one on the left and one right ahead. But more importantly, there are five men with guns pointed at you. Three humans with pistols, an orc with a submachine gun and a troll - about your size - with a shotgun.

This could be bad.

Your eyesight is blocked by the titanium visors dropping down to shield your eyes but you don't need them now - your inbuilt radar is pinging the room and as you dive forward, the gyroscope in your brain works in tandem with your head computer and Smartlink, constantly updating the relative positions of everyone. You merely need to place the targeting reticule over the fuzzy images and think a command, and your guns do the rest.

An orchestra of destruction opens up. The thugs seem to be unaugmented, as they all shoot at where you just were, instead of where you're going to be. You're not making the same mistake. A left-hand burst drops Thug #1 while a right-hand takes out Thug #2. A cough from your shotgun splatters the brain matter of Thug #3 against the wall, while your grenade launcher goes THUMP and the 40mm miniature grenade leaves only a gaping hole in the place of where the trolls stomach used to be. A double-tap from both of your guns hits Thug #5 in his thigh and belly. The orc drops his gun and wails but a shot from Fox silences him forever.

So okay, it wasn't as bad as you feared. Unaugmented opposition poses little challenge.

You get up and your Biomonitor helpfully advises that you have multiple lacerations on the backs of your legs, though they are only superficial thanks to your dermal sheath and your blood circulation control has already shut off blood flow to the surface area.

"Man, this VR thing is sweet!" You can't help yourself and laugh out loud. That was freaking awesome! You only wish there had been more thugs, so it would've been more like a scene from The Matrix or something.

"Yeah, don't get sucked-in too much, big guy. It sucks when you're on the receiving end", Fox states coolly as she gingerly steps over the bodies.

"Wait, what? Are you another player?" You ask, surprised. They never said anything about other players!

"Yeah I am and so is our target. Turns out, you can't log-out when you're interacting with other players, so we're stuck here for good until we flatline this asshole", Fox explains, getting ready at the door.

Huh. Well, fighting actual players just makes the experience better, you surmise. You reload your guns, a nod to the Fox, take a running start and burst through the door in a hail of gunfire, plastic bits, and noise, the door frame awkwardly hugging your massive shoulders as it tags along for the ride.

Your flying is abruptly cut short, however, as a shotgun blast takes you full on the chest. You somersault as you come down on the floor, your guns scattered and the door frame flying away in pieces.

The room had been shielded with a radar jammer, so you hadn't been able to scan it beforehand. Thus, not only is Mr.Big present, with a shotgun in his hands but a mean-looking duo - an orc and a troll - wielding nasty looking machetes.

"Thought I was a pushover, did you? Who sent you, answer me!" Mr.Big shouts as he cocks the shotgun. The blast didn't actually penetrate your skin, thanks to your reinforced kevlar vest, dermal sheath, and naturally hardened skin but it definitely got your attention. You don't answer but take in your adversaries.

Mr.Big is a large guy, around 190 centimeters or so and proportioned like a Greek statue. The orc is bald and tattooed all over with some tribal stuff that you don't have a clue about. But his left arm is obviously cybernetic. The troll is even larger than you are, is covered in dull gleaming metal-looking suit and the dreadlocks he's sporting wave slowly even though there is no breeze. No way to tell how augmented they are, except the hard way of course.

"Speak now or I'll fucking blast your head off, asshole!" Mr.Big shouts again and levels the shotgun at you. You don't give him the chance but instead lean back and tuck into a reverse roll. The shotgun pellets fly harmlessly over you and by the time you get back on your feet, your mono-blade is in your right hand.

The machete-duo lunge at you, **** in their eyes. This is going to be tricky, as their blades could be monofilament ones, like yours, meaning that there is no parrying. Those things will cut through almost anything. And Mr.Big strikes you as the kind of guy to indiscriminately shoot into a melee. Your reaction booster and fly-by-wire system help you out, however, as you dodge first the troll, then the orc. You realize that the shorter arms of the orc mean he has to get pretty close to you, while the troll is staying slightly farther away. They are definitely augmented, as they keep up with you, but not enough to really lever the two-against-one advantage. But your superior speed just lets you dodge them in the nick of a time.

In the background, you subconsciously track Fox as she gets in the doorway, takes careful aim and shoots Mr.Big. Dodge the orc. Dodge the troll. The second bullet from Fox hits the boss man and he drops the shotgun, his shoulder a bloody mess. Dodge the orc. Dodge the troll. A third bullet hits Mr.Big, this time striking his neck and the big guy goes down.

Time to finish this. You deliberately dodge the thrust from the orc a microsecond too slowly. As the orc smells victory and leans into the thrust, his blade cutting your vest, the tip starting to sink in your augmented flesh even through the sheath, your longer arm grabs his shoulder. He sees it coming but doesn't manage to jerk back in time, and your inhuman strength allows you to push to the side, just as the troll is making his thrust. Instead of skewering you, he cleanly pierces his friend, almost cutting his head off. The half-second surprise lets you step forward and stick your own blade into the trolls unprotected throat. His eyes grow large and, defiant even in ****, his left fist socks your right temple, giving you a fair ringing in your head.

You pull back, wipe your blade at their clothing and put it away. You retrieve your guns and holster them, then join Fox at the soon-to-be-corpse of Mr.Big. The rogue crime boss is awake and trying to speak, but only manages to gargle pink blood.

Fox spits on him. She spends a few moments looking around the place and lets out a victory shout when she finds her lost equipment. Quickly she dresses in sleek knee length boots and a black leather skirt with slits up both sides. A lightly armored corset with a leather bikers jacket rounds out the outfit. A studded belt with pouches goes on last. She throws away the pistol she had been using and almost too quick for you to see, slips a compact pistol in one of her boots. Watching her reverse-striptease is surprisingly erotic, and you truly hope that she's feeling grateful after you make your escape.

Just then the cargo elevator is called down. Which can only mean that more thugs are coming. Both of you are a bit banged up and the mission is completed, so you call out to Fox and ask about the best way to escape.

"If they have everyone coming up both stairs and lifts, then we gotta go to the roof", she answers quickly, showing off a nifty looking crossbow pistol.

The two of you barrel through to the roof. The two guards are looking outside, meaning that they don't even realize the danger before **** is upon them. Fox puts her compact pistol in good use, and you take care of the other one with your **** rifles. While you close the door and kick off the handle, hopefully slowing pursuit for a minute, Fox shoots a grapnel bolt across the street, hitting a lower building. She attaches the other end to the edge of the massive AC unit on the roof and with a shout at you, uses the crossbow pistol itself as a handle, sliding down the almost invisible wire.

You hope that the wire is certified for heavy loads. You grab the rifle of a dead guard and rip the sling off of it, throwing it over the wire and wrapping both ends around your wrists. You then take a deep breath and jump off the roof. The street is completely abandoned below you, which makes sense as Mr.Big would have called everyone to him once you cleared the ambush. More alarmingly, there is no safe place to land and the wall of the building is approaching rapidly. Fox, like a circus acrobat, vaults herself - feet first - to the air and just clears the edge of the roof. You, however, don't think you would be able to do the same. However, hitting a brick wall doesn't sound too enticing, so you're willing to try -

but then the wire comes loose on the brothel end, leaving you falling towards the building but now on a far more unfavorable angle.

"Oh, shiiiiiiiiii-"