Marked

[Toaster]

Beige let out a low whistle as he looked down at the motionless body sprawled over the desktop. He prodded Price's shoulder with the muzzle of his pistol, as though to check whether there was still any life left within the corpse.

"You know, I wasn't actually gonna kill him," he remarked, holstering his weapon, apparently satisfied with the sergeant's deceased state of being. Beige turned to face Olivia. She still stood beside him, handgun lowered to her side, staring at the mess she had made. "You... good?" Beige cocked his head to the side, a mocking grin playing across his face.

"Yeah," Olivia replied quietly. "I'm good." She glanced at the mercenary and slid her sidearm into its holster. "He deserved it."

Beige threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Oh yeah, no argument here." Lowering them again, he nodded towards the barricaded door. "Got an idea for how to get out of here?" The pounding on the door had ceased, silenced by the three gunshots from within the office. Olivia assumed the guards outside were just waiting in the lobby, weapons trained on the door, prepared for the two of them to make their next move. A quick scan of the office revealed that there was indeed no other exit.

Olivia walked up to the door, reaching up behind her for the modular rifle attached to the back of her vest.

"Oh, I've got an idea," she muttered as she dialed the energy weapon's power up to its maximum output. "Get behind me." Beige followed her instruction without a word, clearly aware of what she was about to do.

Dropping to one knee, Olivia raised the rifle to her shoulder, aiming squarely at the shelf and door in front of her. Then she took one deep breath and pulled the trigger. A wave of heat billowed across her face as the fully charged blast of superheated plasma escaped the barrel. In an instant, the wooden bookshelf burst into flame, its center exploding charred splinters across the office. The steel-lining of the heavy, reinforced door liquidized, droplets of molten metal splashing into the lounge on the other side, leaving a hole the size of a dinner plate in its center. Shouts of surprise and pain erupted from the lobby. Olivia adjusted her aim to the right, firing again, then once more to the left. Molten in half, the lower portion of the door fell away with a loud clang. The air reeked of ionization and ashes. Blisters had formed on her left hand, gripping the rifle's barrel.

Beige knelt down beside her, peering through the now half-missing door. "Wow," he said as he made out the charred remains of three men and beyond that the lobby's half molten metal back wall.

"Power cell's empty," Olivia stated matter-of-factly, dropping the rifle to the floor. "Come on." Not waiting for any reply, she got to her feet and ducked under the remainder of the door, drawing her handgun. Apart from the corpses and some flash-incinerated wooden chairs, the lobby was empty, the house door standing wide open. Olivia posted up on one side, Beige following her to the other, pistol in hand.

"Well," he smiled at her wickedly, "I hope I get to have some fun, too." Cautiously, he peered out the doorway. It had gotten dark outside. Immediately, a burst of gunfire erupted from behind a parked air car. Beige ducked back behind the door frame as the slugs crashed into the house's facade. "My ship's at the southern hangar. Need a lift?"

Olivia sighed. Through all the chaos, she had forgotten the fact that her Sutinga wasn't even on the same planet as her. "Yeah, I do."

"Alright then." Beige smiled at her cheekily. "Should be three of 'em left out there." He dropped into a low crouch and, pausing for a brief chuckle, somersaulted out the doorway. Olivia stepped out after him, firing her gun at the black cars standing out on the street. Pedestrian traffic had all but subsided and whoever had still been outside had fled when they heard the previous gunfire. Muzzle flashes illuminated the dark as Price's hired guards returned fire. Olivia ducked low, as she emptied her magazine at the source of the nearest flash. Beige, however, jumped up, his left hand clutching a small, dark grey sphere, a red button on it depressed. Drawing his arm back, he threw it high in the air, up and over the cars. Midair, the sphere began to spin rapidly along its axis. With a shrill whistle, scores of flechettes launched from the grenade, showering the street, sparks erupting from where they glanced off the cars. There were yells and screams as the shrapnel tore into the men crouching behind them. Then, all fell silent. The sphere fell harmlessly to the ground on the far side of the street.

"Hah!" Beige shouted with a laugh. "You're not the only one with fancy tricks, Olivia!"

Olivia straightened up with a sigh. "Nice one," she muttered, holstering her gun. "Now let's get a ride out of here." Beige nodded in agreement and together they ran to the nearest car, its surface scratched and scarred but appearing to be perfectly functional. Beige peered inside through a cracked window.

"Do you know how to jack a car?" He asked over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Olivia replied as she strode up behind him. She reached out with one hand and grabbed Beige by the back of the head, slamming it into the window. Already damaged, it gave in without much resistance. "Sorry," she muttered through clenched teeth as she pulled the surprised and dazed man back a few inches before smashing his head against the car's metal frame. His body went limp and Olivia let him collapse to the pavement.

"I owe you one," she whispered, reaching through the shattered window and flicking the lock open. Getting the car started with some deft wirework, she launched into the air, headed straight towards the hangar facility. A few hundred meters from the chaotic scene she had left behind, a few police speeders raced past her, sirens blaring but paying her no heed.

Spotting Beige's ship was no great challenge. It stood upon an illuminated landing pad, its hull painted in garishly bright reds, greens, and yellows. The Lovebird, Olivia remembered the Kingfisher's name. Boarding it before hangar security could be informed of Beige's involvement in the multiple homicide and lock the ship down, she jumped into the pilot's seat, powered up the engines, and took off, rocketing into the night sky.

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Olivia Sable