Confrontations: A Wolf Pretending To Be A Sheep, Part 4 - Gun To Gun, Part 3

"Three Down... Three To Go.," Aaron thought, his back against the end of the sofa while shots boomed all around him in the small room. Looking at the scans of the room and the positions of the three remaining shooters left he couldn't help but remark to himself as he brought up a detailed analysis of their weapons., "Yet Another Model I Can't Find Any Record of."

Aaron had an extensive database of firearms at his fingertips even those that were still in development but whoever these people were who were targeting him, They were using weapons that weren't on file anywhere... Even the knives and grenades they had on them were of a design Aaron couldn't find a trace of in any database he had access to which meant that they shouldn't even exist but the proof against that argument was pretty much undeniable at this point and what was even more incredible was that not only were the weapons apparently untraceable but they didn't contain any parts that were made in either The Union, The AEU, The HRL, or any of The Other Known Powers.

"Apparently, There's A New Group Looking To Make A Move Here In New Beverly But Are They After Me or Is It A Case of Mistaken Identity?," Aaron could ponder this and any other questions he might have later when all these assholes were dead because one of those grenades of unknown design I mentioned earlier was sailing across the room and about to land in his lap.

Luckily Aaron had already scanned the device and knew just what it was and what kind of threat it posed but he also knew just how to deal with it., "First Illegal Nano-Machines and Now A Respiratory Igniter... They Aren't Pulling Any Punches."

The sound of frantic yelling in what sounded like Arabic to Aaron ensued seconds later, Aaron having kicked the grenade back across the room before it could explode. Instead of the ear-shattering, room-shaking explosion like one would expect from a grenade their was only a dull pop followed almost immediately by bloodcurdling screams.

While those fuckers die an excruciating and violent ****, let me fill you in on a few things about warfare in The 22nd-Century. By The Year 2174, Mankind has developed any number of heinous and violent ways in which to kill one another, most of which are illegal now but apparently these guys either missed the memo or just flat out don't fucking care.

Before we cut back to the action let me explain what a Respiratory Igniter is. Its name pretty much says it all but for the rest of you I'll give you the cliff notes version. A Respiratory Igniter despite being labeled as a grenade is not actually an explosive in that it doesn't explode but instead releases a colorless, odorless gas that when inhaled generates an intense exothermic chemical reaction within the lung tissue that very literally vaporizes the lungs within a matter of moments but as you can imagine it is a terrible way to die.

Now back to The Carnage.

The deafening screams rapidly devolved into ghastly gurgling and sputtering as two of the Men fell to the floor dead with a wet thud, a torrent of blood pouring from their mouths and through their chests.

Ordinarily Aaron might have felt pity or at least remorse but their deaths were no less gruesome than the one they had planned for him. Their pitiful deaths didn't affect him at all, Instead he was more concerned with why the other Man wasn't dead as well until Aaron took a closer look at the scans and found that..., "Damn! He Was Carrying A Gas Mask. I Guess I'll Have To Kill Him Myself."

After adjusting his Tec-9's output, Aaron was about to put several rounds through the hallway wall the last gunman was using for cover when a voice from the doorway caused him to freeze. None of the gunmen at the other end of the room could easily get to him but his position was in clear view by anyone approaching from the hall., "I suggest you drop you guns Unionist Pig before I decide to blow your damn head off."

It was the worst attempt at a Union Accent, Aaron had ever heard in his life and he had attended speech analysis therapy for almost two years in an attempt to track down where his own peculiar accent came from with no luck but he learned quite a few things about linguistics and as Aaron sometimes said., "Knowledge is never a fruitless endeavor... Whatever it might be... Everything is useful to someone at sometime."

Aaron could make out a subtle undertone in the Man's voice... Something he was sure he would prefer to hide., "There's An Iranian-Islamic Timber To His Voice. Mercenary Perhaps... Why Else Would Someone From The Congress Want To Kill Me? What The Hell Is Going On Here?"

Aaron still had a few moves left to play so he decided to play for time and dropped his guns.

"Very good my young Unionist friend now we can have a talk like civilized gentlemen."

Aaron snorted., "I'd hardly call trying to kill a Man you've never met before... Civilized."

The Man leveling the gun at Aaron smiled widely, He was dressed like all the others he had seen so far with the exception of The Woman who played hostage for her partner earlier. He was dressed in dark fatigues, military-style boots, and every inch of visible skin was covered in dark black paint.

"It depends on your point of view young Man. I think being the only one holding a gun is quite civilized."

After a few moments, Aaron's face contorted into a sickening grin as he replied., "I guess its like you said... It depends on your perspective. Right now being the last Man standing while you and all your pals lay dying and rotting seems pretty civilized to me.," Aaron didn't even try to rein in the malice in his voice or the contempt that flooded into his words.

"I Guess I Pushed The Right Button... Go Ahead... Close The Noose.," Aaron smirked inwardly as he saw the Man's Dark face turn bright red with anger under the thick layer of black face paint.

Just when Aaron thought The Angry Gunman's head might explode he suddenly broke into a vicious smile., "Wasn't Expecting That."

Aaron could barely stop the smile that threatened to show on his lips from forming as the gunman raised his weapon and aimed it at Aaron's chest.

The gunman didn't take his eyes off of Aaron even when he yelled inside the room., "Josef! Are You Still Alive In There?"

"Thanks To You Arrid and The Most Generous Mercy of Allah!," The remaining gunman at the other end of the room from Aaron yelled back in response.

Arrid's smile only deepened., "Once I Put This Impudent Dog Out of Our Misery We Need To Clean Up and Withdraw... We've Been Here Too Long Already!"

Aaron was calm as he inspected his nails, seemingly uncaring of the fact there was a gun pointed at him and the Man holding it was about to kill him.

"Time To Die Unionist Dog!," Arrid yelled in anger before firing three shots at Aaron but with a flash of red and three small puffs of steam the bullets simply evaporated as they passed through the doorway.

"WHAT?!!," Arrid exclaimed angrily in shock then without thinking he reached out with his other hand.

"There It Is.," Aaron thought watching with indifference as the moment he had planned for arrived.

If Arrid had just taken a moment and thought about it he surely would have realized how big a mistake he was making before the point had to be made for him. Reaching out, the sound of sizzling meat and the sickening smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Arrid had the look of a Man who had just experienced the impossible, Looking down his face contorted in horror and his mouth opened inhumanly wide, a ghastly scream issued forth from his lips as he looked down and saw a cauterized and smoking stump where his hand once was.

Arrid cradled the stump, sobbing violently.

"What's Happening!," Josef screamed from cover at the other end of the room. Aaron stood up in clear view, leaving his guns where he had put them on the floor.

"This is the price you pay...," Aaron stated coldly as he calmly adjusted his tie., "... When you decided to foolishly piss off your betters."

Arrid just managed to look up from where he was bent over still cradling his now handless arm and though he was still in an incredible amount of pain, his anger at having been dealt such a blow by a mere child kept him standing though just barely. Aaron, still adjusting his tie smiled spitefully at Arrid with a venomous gleam in his eyes like a Cobra about to devour a Rat.

Just then there was a commotion and when two Men appeared from Arrid's left Aaron's smile grew., "The More The Merrier."

"By The Gods Arrid What Happened?!," One of the Men asked frantically, seeing that Arrid was missing a hand which for all intents and purposes appeared as if it had been sliced off by some incredibly sharp blade. The end of the stump was perfectly, almost impossibly smooth even though bone and muscle and arteries were clearly visible and identifiable to even a layman's eyes.

There was no blood, no tearing... not even any singeing of the flesh. As impossible as it sounds, The wound made it look like the hand had been cleanly sliced off without traumatizing or otherwise damaging the surrounding tissue.

"Oh Your Boss just tried to put his hand where it didn't belong.," Aaron spoke without emotion. The two newcomers who hadn't noticed Aaron yet looked in his direction. Aaron was standing there in plain sight and looked like he was about to go for a walk, That's how eerie he appeared.

Seeing Aaron stand up Josef broke cover and was about to kill him when he first stood up but he found himself frozen with fear., "What Is This?," Josef wondered as Aaron stood before his enemies without fear like some sort of Anime Protagonist. In time, Josef came to believe he could see words in some language he didn't understand hovering around Aaron like some warning that he was not someone to be messed with and also at the same time Aaron appeared to give off a chilly aura.

The two Men were instantly incensed by Aaron's disrespect which was clearly evident from the veins throbbing in each of their foreheads. They rushed at Aaron while Arrid tried to warn them., "Azziz! Farouk! NOoooooooo!"

Aaron let out a short whistle and tapped the side of his leg, causing several horizontal bars of red light to appear across the doorway. Azziz and Farouk rushed headlong into their Deaths, being decapitated and then cut to pieces before the two Men disappeared in a flash of red light and a sizzling crackle of air. Arrid stumbled backward against the wall, staring wide-eyed at Aaron like he had just witnessed a Demon crawl up and out of Hell to claim his soul.

Josef who had been too stunned to even blink, grabbed for his gun and nearly fell backward when Aaron's head whipped in his direction and gave him a sinister smile that sent a chill up his spine, causing his teeth to chatter loudly.

The Chilling Aura that exuded from every pore of Aaron's body, and from his mouth in puffs of white fog, and from his eyes as a cruel golden light was that of **** herself and it filled Josef and Arrid with a paralyzing dread, the same dread that an animal experiences in the presence of its Predator... They knew they were going to die and that there was no way to prevent it.

"I. Haven't. Forgotten. About... You Little Mouse.," Aaron's voice rippled across the room like thunder as he raised his right hand and pointed his index finger directly at his chest, causing him to experience a strange sensation... Like his heart had been pierced by a spear of ice. The feeling was so real that he looked down out of reflex, Meanwhile Aaron flicked his wrist and something long, thin and glinting like polished metal trailed down from his sleeve to the Tec-9 laying on the floor and in an instant, The Weapon flew into his hand.

A second later, Josef collapsed to the floor his head no longer on his shoulders but all over the room like the pulp from an exploded juicer. It really was a horrifying sight. Aaron didn't hesitate as he turned to face Arrid who wore the look of a Man frightened out of his wits. Truth be told Arrid would have ran but he was so scared that he had forgotten how his legs worked or that he still held a gun in his hand... Not that it would've done him any good even if he still had the ability to raise his weapon and pull the trigger.

As Aaron turned he moved with robotic precision, no wasted effort, merely twisting in place, his arm still extended. As he met Arrid's frightened eyes, Aaron squeezed the trigger twice and Arrid's head literally exploded in a haze of pink mist, painting the wall behind Arrid a deep red.

Aaron Bent down and picked up the Blake-Kenner from the floor and was heading for the door when he heard something approaching, Aaron made a quick check of his weapons and reloaded while bringing up the real-time scans from his Satellite and what he saw caused him to chuckle. There was a group of six heavily-armed Men coming down the stairs after him. Aaron slowly walked toward the door and quickly peaked out before just as quickly withdrawing. Several shots tore through the door frame where he had been standing a second ago.

Aaron observed their progress on his scans and as soon as they were all in the hall he put his fingers in his mouth and made a long, ear-piercing whistle almost like a train pulling into a station. The Man leading the squad stopped and held up his fist, causing the other five Men behind him to also stop. They surveilled the area and were about to resume heading toward Aaron when several points of red light appeared on the wall to their left. Before they even realized what was about to happen it was already over. A series of thin red beams shot out of the wall and moved in what appeared to be a carefully orchestrated pattern for maximum effect and in less than a second the six Men were literally cut to pieces and vaporized before they could hit the ground.

Aaron stepped into the hall with a gun pointed in either direction. Looking down the hall with a cold expression, Aaron saw a series of ruby-colored beams at varying heights and the hallway was filled with rapidly dissipating red steam. Aaron knocked on the wall three times and the red beams disappeared.

The situation took a turn for the bizarre as Aaron danced in place, doing what could only be described as a Jig while alternately twirling his Tec-9 horizontally and vertically. As he came to a stop facing the end of the hall, he threw the Tec-9 out in front of him. Drawing back his hand, There was a flash of silver and The Tec-9 stopped in mid-air for just a split second before flying back into his hand.

Smiling Darkly with his guns at his side, Aaron walked up the stairs to the fourth floor.

Body Count:

For Those of You Who Are Interested In The Number of Bodies Dropped By Aaron But Don't Want To Go Too All The Trouble of Pulling Out A Tally Sheet and Keeping Track Yourself:

• 10 Confirmed Kills
• Unconfirmed Kills: None