A Declan in the hand is worth...
After the last session nailbiter, Lex had been facing off to a large group of Risers, on the top of Tower 9. Meanwhile, Shiny Nick, Keys and Alt hunkered down in the darkness, with a Risers’ prisoner, bag over head, that they’d managed to rescue in the previous melee.
Lex is quickly overpowered and unceremoniously dragged along behind the Risers gang. He is talking ten-to-the-dozen, “Excuse me? Hello? Who’s in charge here? Can I speak to someone in charge? Nice place you have here. What’s your name? I’m... Ooooof!” As Lex is dragged backwards, his feet carefully scuff the dust, providing a very handy path for his friends.
Shiny Nick takes off the hood of the prisoner, staring back is his childhood nemesis, Declan Kemp and the reason, kind of, that they are up on top of Tower 9. “You bastard!”, whispers Nick, “Why are you here? Why did we rescue you? My god, what have we done?” Declan grins a punchable grin, “Oh, where am I? Why… I was… I should leave, excuse me.”
Alt, Keys and Nick consult, the primary objective should be to get Lex back, but what to do with Declan; a prisoner exchange? Tie him up and leave him? In the end, they agree to let him go and focus on the rescue. Declan scampers off into the dark, heading down the stairs, giving a cheery thumbs up to Nick.
Nick is about to explode when he raises an eyebrow, Declan is scrambling back up the stairs, his finger to his lips, he rushes over, and grabs Nick, “Roses gang, on their way up, Janelle at the front. It’s kicking off, what do we do?” The group slink back into the shadows and wait.
The Roses leader Janelle Dubois steps forward, a good twenty or so Roses step carefully, quietly into the light and fan out behind her. Nick, turns to the others, “You don’t have to follow my lead, but I need to do this.” With that said, Nick steps out in front of Janelle, a large number of guns are raised and pointed into his face. Nick holds up his hands, “Peace Janelle.” Nick explains the situation, and a mutual alliance against the Risers is proposed. Janelle wants the Risers’ weaponry, “…advanced weaponry they’ve somehow got their inbred hands on…”, in return she will allow the group to rescue Lex, but Alt, Lex, Nick and Keys will owe the Risers a “favour”.
The alliance moves up through the Tower, tracking the marks left by Lex. As they approach the top, there is a large gathering, there is the sound of celebration and campfires at this level, and the smell of burnt gamey meat, mixed with dung permeates everywhere, stinging their eyes. Above, on the roof, the sound of rotors can be heard and loud voices are directing people.
A whispered conversation with Nick and Janelle, Janelle shrugs and again Nick steps forward into the light, immediately, he is noticed by Risers and surrounded. “Peace.”
With a distraction underway, Alt and Keys head up to the roof, they see Lex, gesticulating, explaining to a group of Risers that have their guns trained on him. Nearby a woman seems to be in charge of unloading crates from an Aerodyne (a flying vehicle, a flat disc with rotors). The crates seem to be companies linked to the Fulgarators, some are opened, showing weapons, and ammunition, alongside food and drink. The atmosphere is celebratory!
Alt and Keys decide they’ve found the source of weapons that the Roses gang are looking for and head back to bring forth the mayhem. At the top of the stairs they notice, lights on the lifts, someone is on their way up and more worryingly there is a cry of pain from Shiny Nick, he lies collapsed on the floor, Risers gather around him, laughing and prodding him with their boots. “I’ll help Nick, you talk to the Roses.”, says Alt to Keys. “No, that doesn’t make sense, Alt?! Alt!” But Alt is already approaching the Risers around Nick.
Keys fury is rising, this is becoming a disaster, as she reaches the Roses and their leader Janelle, she hears a cry from a group of Risers, “Who the hell are they!” A Riser points at Keys and the Roses. Janelle’s eyes are wide, she stares at Keys, “What have you done?” The air explodes with violence as the Risers and Roses open fire on each other. Keys leaps up onto a wall, scrambling upwards and away from the firefight below.
“Friends, please, we come in …”, a bullet is fired straight into the chest of Alt as he approaches Nick and the Risers. Alt collapses forward with a grunt, lying on the floor face-to-face with Nick, he tries to wink but succeeds only in grimacing. He feels his chest, there is a dent in the bulletproof jacket, but he’s sure it’s not penetrated. The sound is still ringing in his ears, but he hears the receding boots of the Risers. Then there is a familiar voice in his ear, “You fucking, stupid, fucking idiot. Get up, let’s go and get Lex before you do more harm.”
Keys starts to climb the rope, disappearing into the dark, as Alt and Nick help each other up and clumsily follow her.
Up top Lex is now in a small, four-foot-high metal cage. The Risers’ leader is shouting at him to shut up, he’s trying to ask questions back at her, as she kicks the bars. She gestures carelessly to a couple of guards to watch him, and then joins the fray, firing off rounds against the Roses whilst still working to get the rest of the crates unloaded.
On the roof, Nick sees the Risers’ leader and turns to Alt and Keys, “I got this, go, get Lex.” Keys rolls her eyes and looks at Alt, “Don’t move. Stay there. Don’t do anything.” Alt nods. Nick stands up, waving his arms, “Over here you muthafucka’s! Over here, he then flips the bird and turns and runs for the lift.” Alt crouches beside Nick and then watches as Nick disappears back down the stairs. Alt looks out at the Risers, they have completely ignored Nick. The guards on Nick’s cage join up with their leader to fend off the Roses, Allowing Keys to help free Lex and they head over to where Alt crouches. Alt mouthes to Keys, “Can I go?” and points after Nick. Keys nods.
The four of them stand in front of the lift, explosions and bullets can be heard on the above level. Carnage is all around them, wounded, dying, dead. Fire and thick, black smoke drift upwards into the sky. The Lift “dings” and Hanis the lift operator is standing in it, “Oh, hi Lex!”, he says. Lex replies, “Hi Hannis, going down?” Hannis leans out, bullet thuds into the wall next to his head, “Yeap!”
They enter the lift and the doors close.
