Chains of Command

[Boss]

I knew the sevoflurane would work through either inhalation, ingestion, skin contact, or direct injection. I had no way of knowing the amount, no reference point as to my own level of tolerance. The man was watching me distractedly. I didn't have much time before he'd get suspicious. As quickly as I dared, I popped the two pills into my mouth. As my left hand brought the cup to my lips, my right made a stealthy move to my belt. Classic sleight-of-hand, but it worked. The suit followed the cup, and it was a simple matter to draw my pistol and fire two shots at virtually point-blank range into his chest.

A nine millimeter round doesn't normally do much damage, instead passing right through a body. Mine was anything but normal. It doesn't take a lot of pentaerythritol tetranitrate to make a mess, and it goes off with one hell of a bang. What was left of the man went flying backwards, hit the wall, and slid down. I checked the console. It was still locked down; the suit hadn't even logged in. I can only guess what the idea was here, but I sure as hell aren't going to stick around and find out. I fired at the door lock and was rewarded with a third deafening bang as the next PETN round shattered it. I don't carry a lot of PETN rounds, usually just the first five shots in a clip of fifteen, but it sure makes door breaching easier.