Outrun - Chapter 474 - Lavender (Patreon)

I twirled a pen around my finger. My thoughts drifted to the chrome I intended to make as I carefully worked through what I wanted. A universal translator was a must, but other than that I didn’t have much I absolutely needed. Maybe swap out my eye while I was at it too? My current eye was jam-packed full of features that I honestly didn’t need. 

“You get your hair cut?” Hope asked, drawing me out of my thoughts. She sat behind her desk and looked about as bored as I felt. 

“Chek. Does it look bad?” I poked at my bangs. Mira convinced me to finally get it cut while we were out shopping. I’d been meaning to, honestly. I just kept forgetting to. “I look like a sheep.”

”Heh…” Hope covered her mouth with the back of her hand, though her crinkled eyes were on full display. “It’s not that bad.”

”So it is bad?” I knew I shouldn’t have listened to them. Mira and Luna talked me into swapping out my curtain bangs for blunt ones. It was whatever. I’d just go get my hair cut once it grew out again.

She picked up her mask, and twirled it spun it on her finger like it was a basketball. “It’s cute, Shiro. Have some more confidence in yourself.”

I rolled my eyes at her. ”Right. ‘Cause that means a whole lot coming from you.”

“Damn straight it does.” She smirked at me.

I rubbed at my face, and leaned back tiredly in my chair. After spending most of the day in Nael’s clinic and then being dragged around by those two, I was down right exhausted. “Why’d we have to do this at night?”

“You got a problem with that?” Hope lifted a brow. She idly toyed with her sheer silver mask with one hand, and her chin rested on the other.

“Just saying… it would’ve been nice to do it this morning.” I was basically just killing time all day waiting for this. I couldn’t wait to see Lavender’s expression when we crashed his party and beat his face in.

She twirled the mask on her finger faster. “The Special Crimes Division was busy all morning, though, so what can we do? Heard the FSA requested their help taking down a massive pack of Dune Walkers approaching the city.”

”The army should’ve been able to take care of that themselves.” Otherwise, what was my honest tax-payer rayn that I didn’t pay going to? Dune Walkers weren’t that dangerous.

“There were Morgres and a Corpse King mixed into the horde.” Hope shrugged. “Not your average Dune Walker horde.”

Huh… yeah, never mind. A normal horde of just walkers was easy enough to take care of. Back when I worked with the Crimson Company, we shredded a massive pack of the mindless undead without any issue. There weren’t elite variants mixed into the horde though. That probably would’ve changed things. 

“Still, we could go in with a bunch of Knights regardless?” I sighed and shook my head. We didn’t need those guys from the SCD. Enough Knights sent at the problem would take care of it. 

”I don’t know what Ligh was thinking when he let those guys steal our case.” Hope’s rolled back in her chair, and kicked her boots up onto her desk. “When I told the Captain we had a bug planted on Lavender, he acted like it was a privilege we were being allowed to tag along. Can you believe the nerve of that guy?”

”Shoulda just gone to take him down ourselves.” Just one quick slice of my Jade Dagger would make it the easiest arrest ever. Not like the guy had powers of his own, and an hour would be more than enough time to strip off his suit. Granted, I’d have to get through the suit first to hit him, but that should be easy enough.

“That’s what I’m saying.” Her phone buzzed, and she pulled her mask on. “Hello? … yeah, we’ll be right up.”

”That them?” I straightened up in my seat. 

“Finally.” Hope’s legs dropped off her desk. She snagged her silver daggers, and slid them into her sheaths. “Let’s go.”

We moved through Crusade HQ up to the flyer bays on the roof. By the time we got up there, a crew had just finished refueling a Waymaker with AE3. A massive ‘Borg that looked a step away from glitching squinted at us as he sucked on a cigarette. 

The man had on a suit of padded power armor—wait, no. He had heavy juggernaut pads on over massive chrome limbs. The armor was still stained with blood like they’d just left the battlefield. “Inquisitor Hope.”

”Captain.” Hope tipped her head to the man. “We ready?”

”Just waiting on you.” He flicked his cigarette, which looked tiny between his massive hands, and moved to the back hatch of the Waymaker. His eyes flashed a bright blue. The heavy duty aerial tank’s turbines revved as it prepared to take off once more.

 A squad of Blue Crusade Borgs sat around the Waymaker. Two of them whispered to themselves quietly, and the other four looked like they would rather be literally anywhere else. I stuck close to Hope, though my eyes never left the whisperers. The last thing I needed today was to get almost flatlined by a chrome dome.

All of the people in the flyer were just as covered in blood as the Captain. A couple of them were worse, even. Before I could hope to back out of the vehicle with some half-baked excuse, the Waymaker’s hatch sealed behind me.

”Where are we going?” The SCD Captain asked.

”Karthis Apartments in Bricktown.” I didn’t even have to check my phone. I’d been keeping track of the bug I planted on the guy. I wasn’t totally sure if Lavender himself would be there, but it seemed like that was where he stored his suit and stuff at the very least. 

My bug had dutifully been sending pings to me every five minutes since I put it on him. It’d pinged around the city a few other times, ‘course, but those lined up with arsonist attacks from the madman. He always returned to the same apartment buildings on the north east side of the city. 

As for how my bug hadn’t been caught? Pinging itself only every five minutes definitely helped. Also, though, the thing was made with extremely fine clockwork mechanics rather than a fully digital design that could trigger a Bug Hound. Not to mention it was extremely heat resistant to survive the intense fires the guy constantly went through and blended into his armor. 

“Mmm.” The Captain’s eyes flashed blue again like he was talking to someone, and he took a seat to settle down. After a moment, he pulled out a cigarette and held it up to his face. His thumb flicked open to reveal a lighter which he promptly used to light up once more.

The Waymaker lurched underneath us and took off into the sky. I shared a glance with Hope, and sat down off to the side of the Special Crimes Division Knights. Almost as if in a tacit agreement to avoid setting one of the chrome domes off, we remained totally silent.

“Lavender’s on the move.” I checked my most recent ping with a frown on my face. Did someone warn him we were coming? Or was it just coincidence that he decided to start making a move as we approached?

”Where?” The SCD Captain asked in a short, clipped tone.

”Heading… toward us?” Was that right? I checked out the latest ping’s position a lot closer. Unfortunately, while delayed pings helped it remain hidden, it wasn’t the best for live tracking. 

Why would he by flying at us? That was just suicidal, wasn’t it? Wait, no, that tracked, actually. Lavender was definitely the most prideful asshole I’d ever met. That was saying something considering the way my life’s gone. He was probably thinking he could take care of us, and escape after his hunters were dealt with.

“An unidentified flying object approaching quickly.” The pilot’s voice came across a hidden speaker built into the bay of the Waymaker. “Captain?”

“Swap to airburst shells.” The Captain stood up, and moved to the door separating us from the pilots. Up above us, heavy duty machinery ground against itself as a shell was pulled out of the main cannon and replaced with an airburst one. Even though I theoretically knew how all the tech worked, I still watched it with interest. ”Permission to fire.”

“Affirm.” As soon as the pilot replied, a shock jolted through the entire body of the Waymaker. Along the ceiling of the vehicle, a heavy shell casing loudly ejected onto a rack and rolled down to a back storage. 

Was the main cannon really necessary? We were still in the middle of the city. If they missed, and accidentally hit a building or something—

“Direct hit. Target plummeting rapidly.” The pilot’s voice came back as a new round was automatically loaded back up into the main tank cannon. 

“Chase.” The Captain made the decision without any delay. 

The Waymaker dropped altitude quickly, as red and blue lights flickered to life across the windows of the aerial tank. A sharp siren wailed loud enough to peirce through the thick walls of the flyer. I checked my bug—no signal. My bug was built for fire resistance, not blast resistance. We better catch the rat this time around.

“The target entered a broken hover.” The pilot announced. “He’s regaining altitude.”

”Hit him again.” The Captain called with disinterest as if this was just another day at the office. For the captain of the Special Crimes Division, maybe this was just another day? They were the ones usually sent after the most dangerous bunch of criminals in the city. 

The tank lurched once more, and the shell dropped onto its ejection rack. Were they not worried about killing the guy? Wait, no, he survived one shot already. I knew Lavender’s gear was pretty good, but it seemed he had it upgraded quite a bit since the first prototype he stole back then.

”Crash landing confirmed,” the pilot said.

“Mmm… open the hatch.” The Captain turned back toward us, and walked our way without a care in the world.

”Buckle up.” Next to me, Hope took her own advice. I quickly locked myself to the seat a moment later as a warning light flared across the cabin.

The pressure in the entire back bay dropped as the hatch opened mid flight. Wind tore through the cabin, bringing with it rain and stealing away everything that wasn’t nailed down. Even with the intense pressure wave tearing at him, the Captain kept walking toward the ledge.

His voice tore over the sharp winds. “Frisco, Diego, with me!”

Two of the other Borgs stood up as their names were called, and joined the man at the back of the hatch. After a moment, they simply stepped off the back of the flyer and plummeted down to the city streets below us. 

“Psychos,” Hope muttered next to me. I found myself agreeing with her. I fell off of high heights quite frequently, but I had the Drop Chutes protecting me every time. These guys were just chrome and flesh taking a massive fall without even flinching. 

A dragonfly darted out through the open hatch, giving me a few of what was happening. I spotted Lavender pulling himself out of a small crater in the street below us just in time for the Captain to slam boots first into his back and crush him back into the earth. The man’s jetpack flashed with purple light, and a small explosion tore across the street.

A car veered past the massive Crusader, headlights flashing across the rain-slicked streets. The other two Knights hit the ground right after with just as much impact. The road splintered and cracked under their feet.

Lavender’s jetpack flared, and he launched forward while dragging across the ground in an attempt to escape. Before he could get far, the Captain grabbed his foot and ripped him back toward the other two Borgs like he was a mere toy.

Diego, a massive Knight with shining silver plates covering his gargantuan limbs, slammed a fist forward to meet Lavender. The arsonist’s head flicked back hard enough to give him whiplash. As if it was a ping pong match, he flew into Frisco’s waiting boot. He was unceremoniously booted to the ground hard enough to make cracks splinter up his mask. 

Lavender’s wrist flicked back toward the two of them and a purple laser flashed to life. Smoke and fire erupted across the two ‘Borgs pinning him in. Neither one of them reacted to the laser burning across their armor. Instead, they charged forward like rabid dogs to catch him before he could escape.

Frisco lunged forward with a silver longsword, slashing at Lavender. The arsonist’s jetpack flared to life, and he dodged backward—backward right into where the three Borgs wanted him. On the other side, the Captain hadn’t been idle. His arm had transformed into a heavy plasma cannon that just finished charging. His entire arm glowed with a dangerous light. 

Vwoom!

The Waymaker hit the ground just in time for a blinding light to tear out of the Captain's arm and slam into the back of Lavender. A sharp scream tore through the street, followed by a massive explosion that stirred up a dust cloud. By the time we were unbuckled and moving, the fight already ended.

The dust cleared, revealing Lavender collapsed onto the hood of a car. The combination fuel tank and jetpack on his back had exploded, charring his suit and leaving flickering purple flames scattered across the street like sticky thermite had been spilled everywhere.

Lavender himself was worse for wear. One of his arms was missing, and replaced with a purple-burning stump. It looked like he’d tried to fire his laser right as the plasma hit, causing a chain reaction that totally blew his arm off. 

“Ouch,” Hope muttered next to me.

”No kidding.” I stared at the downed man in surprise. My eyes darted up to the SCD members scattered around. That was just three of them… granted, it was also two hits from a heavy cannon. 

Could I survive a hit from the Crusade’s Special Crimes Division? I wanted to try and laugh it off and pretend I’d be fine if they came after Nightshade. A shiver went down my spine. I knew the truth, though. If the full squad came after me when I wasn’t ready, I’d end up in a situation a lot worse than him. 

Although it looked like they just sent at him without any regard for strategy, they totally neutralized Lavender’s advantages in the first move. Lavender was only really dangerous thanks to his flight capabilities and the ability to keep up range. They didn’t even give him a chance to use his strengths.

It was too bad Special Crimes was so busy recapturing criminals after the Circle broke everyone out back when they caused mass rioting in the streets to cover up the ritual. I could think of several times it would’ve been really nice to have them bring down the pain.

Frisco scratched roughly at his head, and sheathed his longsword. “I thought he’d put up more of a fight.”

”Thought or hoped?” Diego moved over, and sat down on a car with its window shield shattered. “Bet we get screamed at again for too much collateral damage.”

”Whatever. It was unavoidable.” The Captain pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and approached Lavender. Upon finding the unconscious man with just one arm, he frowned and slid them back into a pouch at his waist. “Oh.”

“Nicely done.” Hope moved over to Lavender, and peeled his cracked helmet off. “Zukes, come check this guy? I’ll call in a Medevac.”

”Chek.” Under the watchful eyes of the SCD Crusaders, I started to provide emergency medical attention. At the same time, I carefully scanned his armor and disabled every part I could touch. Something told me he wouldn’t be getting away this time.