Confrontations: A Wolf Pretending To Be A Sheep, Part 1 - There Will Be Blood!

Aaron had been lost in memories of the past for much of the ride home and he would've probably still been thinking about the past if not for a loud noise that shook the entire car followed by a Woman screaming that brought him out of his currently introspective mood.

Aaron found himself inundated by the contents of dozens of shopping bags which had been thrown haphazardly about the back in the commotion. There were bras and panties and toys galore but Aaron couldn't be bothered with that at the moment because Sydney was frantically screaming at him from The Driver's Compartment., "Get DOWN and Stay Down!"

Brushing aside a pair of crotchless underwear that flew into his face, Aaron screamed., "WHAT'S GOING ON?!!"

"We're UNDER ATTACK!," Sydney yelled back, Not that Aaron needed her to tell him that... There were explosions, grenades most likely, going off all around them and the car was being pelted by a combination of small arms fire and high-velocity rifle rounds.

"Gloves Off, Gog Give Me A Report NOW!," Aaron demanded through the link and within a fraction of a second, Aaron's senses flared with information. It was like he was staring down at a square of six city blocks from high above before his view narrowed to the immediate area... He could see everything, inside every building. The buildings weren't solid structures but a series of partially transparent multi-layered frameworks that became separated into multiple screens inside his head when he focused on them. Each screen was a panoply of information detailing wiring, plumbing, the placement of every piece of furniture in each apartment as well as their relative dimensions and constructions materials, and so much more.

Everything with a heat signature pulsed with red light and anything large enough to be a threat was embedded with detailed biometrics from something as simple as height, weight, and relative size and density to the more complex information like molecular modeling and biochemical breakdown analysis.

Every bullet and explosion was meticulously logged and analyzed for speed, power, trajectory, composition, and compared to an arms database containing every weapon of every type ever made to provide as much information on each threat as possible.

Aaron should've been scared and who could blame him... The only thing standing between him and certain **** was the reinforced armor plating and **** fields that made The Rolls practically impenetrable but with the onslaught not letting up for even a second since it began roughly fifteen minutes ago, Aaron estimated that the **** fields would fail in another twenty minutes and the armor three minutes after that. That is if they stuck to their current armaments and barrage tactics.

While Aaron was taking in and analyzing as much information as possible to get a grasp on the situation, Sydney opened her door and using it as a shield she encrypted the driver controls so that even if she went down there was no way they could open the passenger compartment from the front. Twisting a section of the door grip, several heavy plates of armor slid down from the bottom of the door and embedded themselves into the ground to further secure her position from fire while behind her a section of The Rolls between the driver and passenger compartment slid out to reveal a weapons rack containing an assortment of Knives, Guns, and Explosives as well as other useful Gear.

The Snipers covering the rooftops immediately took aim at Sydney and surely would've killed her if not for an independent **** field generator equipped to the door which protected her from fire while she outfitted herself with the necessary gear to launch an offensive of her own.

Like The Primary Defense Fields, The ones protecting Sydney from incoming fire and explosions wouldn't last forever and their limited power was steadily dropping with every impact so she quickly changed into some lightweight tactical gear. Luckily, She didn't have much to take off anyway so it didn't take her long to slip into the skin-tight bullet and fire resistant body suit, a pair of fractal-soled combat heels, and night vision goggles. Next, She picked out a pair of matte black Taurus Ex Fives which she secured to each leg with a thigh holster followed by a pair of Taurus S-Fours in horizontal holsters slung under each arm. She took a belt containing several spare magazines in a fast-deploy arrangement and fastened it around her waist to which she attached a couple of grenades from the rack followed by a Serrated Anti-Material Crosser-Veicht Combat Utility Knife in a sheathe, tucked in the small of her back.

"The Kid Must Be Freaking Out Right Now...," Sydney thought., "... The Boss Will Kill Me or... Worse If I Don't Get Us Out of This!"

Getting ready to strike back Sydney grabbed a gas mask and slipped it over her nose and mouth before grabbing a set of compact Taurus XL-9 Sub-Machine Guns and two Flash-Frags.

"Guess I'm Not Gettin' Lucky Tonight.," Sydney sighed wistfully, looking at several metal cylinders containing an assortment of combat condoms before Smiling under her mask and letting out a husky sigh followed by., "I Guess I'll Just Take My Frustration Out On You Sorry Fucks... Let's PARTY!"

Sydney braced herself against the reinforced door then hurled The Double F's as hard as she could up and over the door and into what she hoped was the center of the squad of attackers firing at the car from cover. Aaron winced as the aerial view the Satellites Gog had hacked lit up like the surface of the sun for just a moment but less than a fraction of a second later automatic filtering algorithms compensated restoring normal optics. Aaron blinked several times.

Meanwhile, Sydney activated her Night Vision Goggles., "Thank Goodness For The Anti-Glare Visor or I'd Probably Be As Blind As Those Poor Fucks Right About Now."

Since Sydney didn't know who the enemy was... Only that they meant business... She had to hurry before they recovered. Brandishing her Taurus Sub-Machine Guns she quickly set about taking out the combatants behind The Rolls which were less effected by the retina-searing flash than those at ground zero.

Sydney had to be careful with her aim as The Hyper-Velocity Rounds tore through everything in their path with equal brutality be it metal, concrete or flesh but luckily for those who might be in the buildings around her she was an Expert Markswoman and she had adjusted her weapons before breaking cover so that the energy of each shot dissipated after only 30 or so feet, impacting harmlessly with anything outside that distance further reducing the risk of unintended casualties.

Sydney tore through the enemy's back line, taking down two rooftop snipers and three stunned gunmen with a hail of gunfire before they could recover. She quickly dove behind a parked car, narrowly missing a bullet that grazed her cheek.

"You Guys Sure Know How To Show A Girl A Good Time!," Yelled Sydney from behind the car she was using for cover., "But It's Your Turn To Get FUCKED!"

The Scary Blonde Commando pulled the pins on a couple of the canister-type grenades that she'd taken from the weapons rack and rolled them in the direction of her remaining foes from under the car.

"1... 2... 3... 4...," Thought Sidney. By the time the two canisters cleared the car, They burst in an omnidirectional spray that rapidly blanketed the area in thick black smoke. Sydney could hear the sound of violent coughing and sputtering from three different areas out in front of her., "I Guess The Combination of Smoke and Tear Gas Are Working... Here We Go!"

Sydney slapped The Sub-Machine Guns against her hips and planted her hands on the trunk and vaulted onto the roof, grabbing her weapons she swept the area with a spray of accelerated kinetic slugs that tore through everything in their path without resistance. At least three Men wearing dark fatigues lost their lives, winding up cut to pieces on the ground... Their horrible screams fading fast as their blood bathed the ground while two more escaped thanks to a deflection shield.

"FUCK! SHIT!," Sydney cursed as she cartwheeled through the air, tossing several grenades toward her foes before landing gracefully and ducking into an alley for cover. Seconds later a series of thunderous explosions rocked the entire street and the sound of dreadful screaming ripped through the night air. Sydney quickly peaked out and then grabbed her guns and rushed toward the screams, quickly silencing them with a methodical three-round burst to the head or heart.

Sydney crouched behind a car and assessed the situation., "Twenty-One Down and A Fuck-Ton To Go! Shit... How Many of These Assholes Are There?"

Sydney made sure there were no more enemies and quickly made her way to The Rolls, taking down five more gunmen in hidden positions on both sides of the street. Sydney opened the Driver's side door and found that her offensive had allowed the shield generators to regenerate 47% of their expended energy reserves. She made sure everything was still secure and checked on Aaron who seemed, eerily calm as he sat in the back with a strange expression on his face. Sydney chalked it up to shock and pressed a Button on her door, The Wind Shield and The Window of her door quickly began displaying information on enemy location and number.

"If Only This Wasn't Such A Populated Area I Could Just Nuke The Bastards and Call It A Night. FUCK The Boss Is Gonna Have My Ass...," Sydney thought, planning her next move based on the information being provided by The Rolls' onboard systems., "... On Second Thought... Maybe Her Tearing My Ass Up Wouldn't Be Such A Bad Thing. Hehehe." Sydney clicked the selector on the side of her Sub-Machine Guns and took aim, sending several five-round bursts down range and was about to charge them when she felt a sting in the right side of her neck.

Aaron saw it through the aerial view but there was no way to warn Sydney in time. The round hit her and she fell to the ground, Her last thought before losing consciousness being., "Maybe If I Save Her Golden Boy Vivyan Will Let Me Take Him For A Ride..."

Aaron gritted his teeth and hissed., "Gog, I Want A Complete Information Blackout.... Wi-Fi, Phones, Radio, Television, Everything! Task Three of Apex's Private Satellites To Give Me Eyes On Everything Within A Thousand Square Miles and I Want Six Additional Layers of Quantum Adaptive Encryption... Also Give Me A Thousand Extra Dummy Barriers and One Hundred Military Grade **** Barriers... I Want Anyone Trying To Hack Us To Pay Dearly For The Attempt."

Aaron raised his arm and tapped the seat beside him with his elbow, and the backrest immediately lowered revealing a selection of lethal goodies in the form of Guns, Knives, Explosives and a few other useful odds and ends.

Aaron took out several small handguns, The first was a compact Liter 7 with a ten shot magazine... The next was a larger Marcovsky-Bendu with a 13 round clip...

"Thirteen. An Unlucky Number... For Them.," Aaron thought.

Next, Aaron looked at a Myer-Brand C6-8 Machine Pistol which was larger than the first two and it had an extended magazine, holding 38 rounds. Aaron was familiar with all the weapons he'd seen so far. Few people would suspect that Aaron was actually an extremely proficient Marksman and was self taught in a wide range of weapons. It was something he didn't want anyone to know... First off, Because their ignorance gave him an overwhelming advantage and Secondly, Because he detested such implements of ****.

Aaron found himself thinking back to The Marksmen Training he had adopted during his Regular Conditioning Regimen in Knowhere and The Shooting Range he had designed for his Gym:

Aaron was dressed normally minus his jacket which rested on a chair near where he stood behind a wide rectangular work station which had an array of handguns on it along with various parts, tools, and a litany of other extras along with one of the high performance laptops he had built for his personal use. In front of him more than a thousand yards away sat his target, roughly the size of a manhole cover and circular with a series of thin concentric circles making up its inner perimeter. The distance between each circle gradually diminished the closer they got to the center until the lines practically touched.

Aaron donned a pair of noise cancellers and then picked up a standard sized Brenner-Ingval 297 Handgun from the table. He examined it for a moment then slapped in a fresh clip and pulled back the slide before taking aim. Aaron stood in a way that most minimized his profile, holding the gun in his right hand, He looked down the sights and squeezed the trigger... Putting his first bullet dead center between the outer most rings at the 12 O'clock position then taking a slow breath he put one in the next ring then the next and the next until he made his way to the center of the target.

Each shot was in a straight line down from the first and perfectly spaced. Aaron hit the bulls-eye dead center, drilling a hole straight through it then his next two shots were put through the hole made by the first bulls-eye.

Aaron ejected the magazine and deftly removed the gun's slide, placing them on the table in front of him before lowering his head and pinching the bridge of his nose he sighed., "No Wonder These Things Are So Prevalent In Human Culture... Maybe If They Were Harder To Use."

"Gog, Give Me A Series of Moving Targets... Varying Sizes and Vectors, Random Pattern.," Aaron spoke aloud.

"Right Away Father!," Gog chirped happily through their link.

Instantly the singular target disappeared and in its place appeared a series of over fifty targets of various sizes, moving at varying speeds and in strange unconventional manners, while others seemed to appear and disappear randomly.

Aaron picked up another weapon he had prepared and began firing. Aaron spent the next three hours practicing not only accuracy and speed but the smooth transition from one weapon to another.

Aaron had taken out thousands of targets and changed the parameters an additional six times but it still wasn't right, eventually he called a halt to the exercise.

"I Thought I said make the targets random, unpredictable?," Aaron growled.

"I Can Assure You Father They Were!," Gog defended.

"No, I can assure you the targets and their movements were anything but unpredictable."

"I Don't See How That Can Be Father!"

"Let Me Show You.," Aaron hissed thought the link., "Give Me Parameter Set Two."

As the targets reappeared, Aaron turned his back to the targets and readied his weapon, effortlessly sniping targets from over his shoulder or from behind his back. Every shot was not only a hit but a bulls-eye straight through the center... course and speed seemed to have little effect on Aaron's ability to destroy the target with a single shot. Even the disappearing targets posed little problem because even without looking Aaron managed to destroy them as easily as the rest, taking aim and firing a split second before they reappeared.

Aaron repeated all of the other parameter sets and even increased their speed but it didn't hinder him at all.

"Too Easy."

Cradling The Gun in his hands, Aaron lamented the fact that it had ever been necessary for Mankind to ever create such tools and then to use them to take the lives of their fellow Man but despite his own personal views he saw the exigency in acquiring and honing such skills in the dangerous World he lived in but necessity didn't make what he was about to do any easier.

Aaron sat the gun aside and looked down at his hands which were shaking., "Is There Really No Other Way?!," Aaron's inner voice wasn't fearful but mournful.

"Father...," Gog hesitated., "... I Feel I Must Discourage You From The Course of Action You Are Planning... The Girl Is Lost and No Longer of Any Consequence. Your Safety Must Be Preserved... Wait For Help To Arrive. PLEASE!"

Aaron's hands immediately ceased shaking, becoming as still as stone. Seconds later Aaron's voice resounded through the link., "You Are The Sum of All My Memory... All My Experience... And All of My Thoughts and Yet You Do Not Even Know Me."

Gog winced, Aaron's dreadfully calm voice cut into her like a knife.

"I Will Not Cower Inside of This Armored Coffin Waiting For **** To Take Me. I Have Known For As Long As I Can Remember That I Am Living On Borrowed Time... I May Die Today or Tomorrow or Years From Now But I Will Not Live My Final Moments In This World Afraid To Die. **** May Indeed Take Me But I Will Greet Her With A Smile On My Face and No Regrets. If **** Wants Me Let Her Work For Her Prize.," Aaron's words were as hard as steel and as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel as he continued., "Never Suggest Such A Thing To Me EVER Again!"

While Aaron looked over what was available and quickly evaluated his options Gog quietly sobbed on the other side of her link with her Father. He could not have hurt her any worse if he had taken a sledge hammer to all of her servers.

While Aaron had been conversing with Gog, One of the enemy stepped out of the shadows of one of the buildings and waved his hand in a circle above his head and all fire immediately ceased. The Enemy was covered from neck to toe in dark fatigues bristling with an array of Guns, Knives, and Grenades. The imposing figure was tall and well-muscled, a Man according to his build and his face was covered in black paint. He approached The Rolls cautiously, An **** rifle at the ready.

He scanned the street then bent down near where Sydney had fallen, He slid his **** rife behind him using the shoulder strap but placed his left hand on the gun holstered at his thigh as he examined Sydney.

He pulled a small dart from the side of her neck and looked at the gleaming tip with a toothy grin., "Not So Tough Now Are You, Bitch?... You Just Wait Here And We'll Have Some Fun With You Later American Whore.," He spoke in a thick accent before copping a feel of one of her firm breasts.

He got up, his left hand still on his sidearm and began to approach the car from Aaron's side. Aaron who had removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves had strapped a Japanese G41 Tel-Nin Handgun to his right leg and an American-Made Blake-Kenner C70 to his left. Next he took a pair of matte black Chinese G31s and stuffed them in the waistband of his pants behind his back before holding up a leather bundle which drew an almost sinister looking smile from Aaron as he thought., "This Could Be Useful."

Aaron took the ominous leather roll and secured it to his leg. Next, Aaron picked up a circular device which he attached to the back of his right hand and switched it on with a hum., "This Will Definitely Come In Handy." Finding another device just like it he placed the second one in his pocket., "Just In Case."

Aaron took a few explosive charges as well as a few other useful tools and clipped them to his belt and was examining a Leo Arcavald Tec-9 which he had just pulled back the slide on when he froze...

[TAP... TAP... TAP... TAP...]

Aaron turned his head to see the Man that had checked on Sydney staring at him through the tinted glass of his door window with a big smile on his black face before straightening and stepping back. He grabbed his shoulder slung **** rifle and fired directly at the glass. Without the reinforced armored glass, Aaron would have been dead as the Man was aiming right at Aaron's face.

Most people would have been pissing themselves right about now assuming that they could retain control of their bowels that is, Aaron on the other hand was surprisingly unconcerned. In fact, He didn't even blink until the rifle had exhausted its ammo supply at which point the Man bent back down and looked into the car. Aaron's expression hadn't changed and he hadn't moved an inch.

"The Kid Sure Is A Ballsy Fuck, I'll Give Him That."

Then suddenly a freezing chill ran up The Hardened Gunman's spine and then he saw it... A smile cut across Aaron's lips as though it had been carved by a knife but it wasn't the smile of a Human Being. It called to mind notions of Demons and The Tortures they were said to inflict on their prey once they dragged them to Hell.

That's when he realized it wasn't a smile at all but a promise of terrible things to come. The Gunman panicked and attempted to pull way and reload his weapon but it was already too late.

Hell was about to descend on this Decimated City Street.

Current Body Count:

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

• 26 Confirmed Kills (Including 2 Snipers)
• Unconfirmed Kills: ?