[dcs_p]Luckily for Jasmine, the backup plan worked. No sooner than the bald man had
returned to his feet, Jasmine heard the familiar jump jets of the Longinus battle
armor. The bald man struggled to hurry, but was slowed by his injuries. Before
he could retrieve the briefcase, the battle armor entered the room from the floor
and began shooting the man in the back. Withering under the high powered
attack, the man dropped to his knees as his chest was steadily torn apart.
Ending their rain of fire, the Longinus battle armors landed safely on the computer
room floor. Scanning the premises for heat signatures, they discovered five
bodies. Fearing the worst, Ryan and John cautiously approached each body.
They walked slowly through the room, scanning it over many times and pushing
through the wooden tables that populated the area. After discovering the two
bodies near the back of the room, the two armored troopers approached a third
body near the front of the room. Getting some signs of movement, they realized
this small figure was Jasmine and that she was still alive.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Are you two going to just stand there or will one of you help me to a hospital?”
she said as she mustered a weak grin. “The data disk is in the briefcase near
the door. I think we might want to take it with us if we are leaving.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Glad to see you’re still alive, Miss Geutie. We came as quickly as we could but
the marble in these floors is rather difficult to break through.” Ryan Harrison said.
As Ryan spoke, John Rohrman was shutting down and removing his battle armor
suit. Sliding out from the metallic shell, John greeted Jasmine with a medkit and
some antibiotics. “Don’t worry Jasmine, everything is going to be fine” John said
calmly.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”I’m not overly worried, but I do want to make sure you guys keep an eye on that
briefcase.” She paused. “I’ve been shot in the lung, I think it could be bad.”
Jasmine frowned. The sudden thought of dying in this specific place disturbed
her.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”I’ve got a lot of experience treating lung injuries. No need to worry,” John
smiled.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Suddenly John fell over on top of Jasmine, his back punctured by a shuriken.
Though Ryan Harrison was already turning to face the enemy he had detected
just moments ago on his scanners, he was too slow to bring his weapons to bear
on the target before it slipped into the hole in the computer room’s floor. It
seemed that the blond man hadn’t been dead after all. His stillness had been a
ploy to remove himself from what would have turned into a three-way battle. His
plan had been to kill the victor in a man to man duel and then take the briefcase
for himself.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Damn!” Jasmine cried out. Pulling herself out from under John, she tried to
treat his wounds. Observing the minor wound, she realized he had to have been
poisoned by some substance covering the shuriken that was stuck in his back.
She slid herself over to the briefcase and then used the wall to get herself off the
floor.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Any way I can drive that battle armor?” she asked Ryan.
“I don’t see why not. Its a lot safer in there than outside if ninja folks are about.”
he muttered in a rushed response. No doubt disappointed by the loss of his
friend and teammate, Ryan said sadly, “This looks like the work of DEST or the
Capellan Death Commandos.”[/dcs_p]