Letting the door bang behind him, Kurt scowled as he entered the gun store once again. He moved to leave, but the thundering bangs of Jimbo’s Desert Eagle made him pause. He swiped up his equipment screen and stared at the remaining space for a weapon. He turned back to the bearded man behind the counter. “I need a semi-automatic magnum, with holster and ammunition. What’s the best one I can buy?” He glanced at the door to the shooting range, satisfied that it was sealed, and his purchase was a secret from Jimbo.

  The gun shop owner reached under the counter and produced a small, black plastic briefcase, setting it in front of Kurt while he turned to collect ammunition and find an appropriate holster. Kurt opened the case and scanned what looked like a Colt 1911.

  Coonan

  Magnum Pistol. Sidearm. Weapon drops upon death only if equipped in the Primary/Secondary slot.

  Caliber: .357 Magnum

  Rate of Fire: Semi-Automatic

  Capacity: 7 round magazine

  Kurt boggled at the gun’s statistics when he switched between realistic and simple displays on the scan. The Coonan magnum sported an impressive damage rating, along with a standard Armor Piercing rating that seemed to come with the magnum caliber.

  The shopkeeper returned, setting down a simple holster that slung under the arm and came with a single magazine holder sewn onto the side of the black leather. Shrugging out of his jacket, Kurt slipped into the holster and sheathed his new firearm in it, before buttoning the jacket again and moving from side to side. It felt bulky but didn’t seem to show, and he nodded as the store clerk placed a box of shells on the counter.

  As he slipped the loose ammunition into his pocket, he watched the ammo counter on his phone, concerned about inventory space. Fortunately, the .357 ammunition created a new tally and seemed to be separate from his 9mm stock. He paid out the four hundred thousand dollar price tag for his purchase and made certain to insert a full magazine in both the gun and holster before he turned to leave.

  As Kurt moved through the parking lot, Jimbo opened the door behind him and shouted, “Hey, kid, hang on!” He trotted over, and Kurt reached for a gun. He held the butt of his Maxim 9 but didn’t draw as Jimbo approached. “Peace, truce is still on. Here, just in case.” Jimbo produced a business card holder. As he pressed a vibrant red button on the top of the thin, black plastic device, it spit a navy blue card with silver lettering into his hand from a slit on the side. He took it between two fingers and handed it to Kurt. “We don’t need to be enemies.”

  Yojimbo

  Mimic

  Kurt looked up at him sharply. Jimbo was smirking over his shoulder as he walked away. “You never know, kid. You never know.” He left with a casual wave, turning a corner and disappearing. Kurt stared after him until he was around the corner, despite a call coming through on his phone. Thinking about it for a moment, Kurt slipped the card into his pocket, and noted that doing so added Jimbo to his contacts list. Eyes narrowing as his brain raced at the information, Kurt thumbed the answer button and heard Gadot’s voice.

  “Hey, Kurt. Are you on? We have a problem.” She sounded tense, and Kurt’s attention was drawn from the corner to the call.

  “Yeah, I’m in the Cluster right now. What’s up?” He looked around as he spoke, careful not to interact with his wrist.

  “Okay, good. Jimmy is getting on soon, too.” The sound of a car door slamming came through the line, followed by a high-powered engine roaring to life. “The Ursa have shut their doors. No communication with anyone, in or out. All their forums have been placed under an admin lock and none of their players are answering any communications.”

  Kurt frowned. “What does that mean?”

  Gadot paused. “I keep forgetting you’re new to this. Well, for us, it means the meeting is off.”

  “Was the meeting important?” Kurt sat on a nearby bus bench as a GoonStorm patrol rolled past with weary expressions on their faces.

  “Yeah. I think this shutdown means they intend to just hole up until things calm down.” Gadot sounded unsure of herself, something Kurt had not heard in her voice before. “I don’t think they’ll go to war at this rate.”

  His eyes narrowed as he watched a clearly bored GoonStorm patrol waiting for a light nearby. “You know what? I might have an idea.” He stared at the Hummer and the player on the gun as they turned a corner, only to get stuck at another red light. “Yeah, get Jimmy and meet me at my safehouse. I’ll tell you all about it there.” Kurt disconnected the call without waiting for a reply. “You know, after I make this idea into an actual plan,” he muttered to himself.

  A text projected from his phone from Gadot. “I don’t know where your safehouse is, dingdong!” Chagrinned, Kurt sent a waypoint attachment, noting that it moved as the safehouse did with an appreciative smile.

  As the details required to change an idea into a plan trickled into place in his mind, Kurt zoomed in on one of the GoonStorm NPCs with his phone’s camera and took a quick picture. He was careful not to make any obvious motions that would identify him as a player, making it a lot more trouble to get the picture than he had planned. It was angled strangely, and the edges were blurred, but it would serve his purposes. He had also been sure to photograph only the NPC, leaving the players out of the picture entirely, not wanting to notify them of his activity or proximity with a privacy request.

  The light changed and the GoonStorm vehicle pulled away, allowing Kurt a moment of security to pull up his map and search for a nearby clothing store. He had to swipe through a sizable list to find the specific armed forces surplus store he was looking for, and when he marked it on his map he was disappointed to see that it was across town. Taking a good long look at the cars going past him on the road, he thought better of using his new, bright yellow, off-road VW Beetle and instead flagged down a passing cab.

  Paying the cab fare annoyed him, but at least he could pay with dirty money. Once arrived, he entered the shop and wasted no time in finding the clothing he was looking for, by having the shop keeper guide him to the correct section. He grabbed two extra sets for Jimmy and Gadot and made sure to buy boots and helmets to go with the outfits. Paying for everything with his dirty money stash, he loaded it all into another yellow cab and instructed the driver on his next destination. He looked up items he would need and made a few quick shopping stops.

  After loading up a new shoulder bag with some accessories and clothing, he directed the taxi cab driver to a subway station on his safehouse’s route. Kurt quickly discovered that it was wise to project where his safehouse would be going next and intercept it, as opposed to chasing it down. Jimmy and Gadot did not have the luxury of that foreknowledge, and the knock on his safehouse door was accompanied by a colorful phrase shouted at volume and directed at Kurt’s theorized lack of intelligence. As Kurt opened the door for them, Jimmy was already in the middle of a conversation with Gadot about his friend’s poor judgement.

  “Yeah, you should have played Brescia Online with us. His house was in a frickin’ tree. He didn’t even play an elf, just an annoying bastard.” Scowling in irritation, Jimmy shoved past him, carrying his new BAR over one shoulder and wearing his M60 clipped to his back. “Lovely place you got here. Only took half an hour to chase it down.”

  Gadot looked around as she entered, nodding in approval. “I dig it. Good to counter campers. Would be awesome if you could lock down some turf, too. Couldn’t have been cheap, though. How much dosh you blow on it?”

  Waving a hand dismissively, Kurt walked to his gun rack. “It was ten mill to start, then I dropped another mill for an upgrade.”

  Jimmy laughed and dropped into a seat as the train rumbled to life, kicking his booted feet up onto a seat across the center. “Ha! My safe house cost five hundred K, dude. You went straight for the top shelf. I am impressed.”

  Kurt grabbed the drum magazine for his Glock and frowned. “Yeah. Totally on purpose.” He slipped Ratshot rounds into it.

  Sitting cross-legged on a bench seat, Gadot looked up at him with her head cocked to the side. “You said you had a plan to deal with the Russian problem?”

  “Pretty sure I said ‘idea’, but close enough.” Kurt kept at the process of loading his drum magazine, getting a bit tired of how many shells it took. “All we need is the Ursa pissed off at GoonStorm, right? Seems like that wouldn’t take all that much effort.” He turned and set the magazine down. “So we steal a GoonStorm patrol vehicle and go hit the Russians.”

  Jimmy looked at him incredulously before bursting into laughter. “Yeah, easy as can be.”

  Gadot kept her gaze on the floor of the train car, swaying slightly with the motion. “That could actually work. I know a few of their fronts, close-ish to the border of their turf and GoonStorm’s. If we did it right, it would look like a GoonStorm hit and they would have to retaliate.” She leaned forward, brushing a stray lock of hair from her eyes and setting down her long-barreled rifle. “We need to do this carefully, though.”

  Kurt grinned as he scanned the rifle.

  Styer Scout

  Marksman rifle. Primary/Secondary. Weapon drops upon death and can be collected by any player in the vicinity.

  Caliber: 7.62 x 51

  Rate of Fire: Bolt Action

  Capacity: 5 rounds

  He nodded appreciatively. “Well, that’s where the plan comes in.” He laid out his makeshift idea for them, and they spent about half an hour ironing out details and making improvements. They fought briefly over who would be bait, but Kurt’s objections were quickly discarded, and he was out-voted.

  With no time to waste, they came to a consensus on what exactly they would be doing and set out. Each of them were dressed in their new GoonStorm uniforms, covered by baggy sweatshirts and sweatpants, as they exited the train car and cautiously moved up to the street level. Kurt had gotten Jimmy a long-sleeved shirt to go under his custom armor to give it the appearance of a GoonStorm uniform if not inspected too closely, but he and Gadot had to wear standard flak jackets. A warning had popped up telling Kurt that his new bulky flak jacket could not be used at the same time as his already equipped vest. It would operate as clothing but appeared to have no armor rating.

  Jimmy leaned around the corner, aiming his BAR as he checked the streets. “Okay, clear. Get to your positions quickly. We don’t know how long it’s going to take Kurt to hook one of them, but I’m guessing not . . . you know, long. Not long.” He looked back at them, his lips pursed. “Just go.”

  Gadot’s attaché arrived and handed her a black duffel bag, which she shouldered before tipping Jimmy and Kurt a quick nod and jogging across the street to get into position. She ran down an alley out of sight as Jimmy raised an eyebrow at Kurt. “You haven’t been shot at with a 50. cal machine gun yet, right?”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Kurt slowly shook his head. “Not yet, why? Anything I should be aware of?”

  Turning and walking away with a wave, Jimmy laughed again. “Haha! You’ll love it, don’t worry!” Hustling to move across the street, Jimmy vanished down the same alley as Gadot.

  Gadot came through with a coms request on his phone, and Kurt opened it while walking to his bright yellow vehicle. He could hear Jimmy in the mid-sentence, “—to pieces for sure. It’ll be good for him, though. Important learning experience.”

  Starting the engine, Kurt frowned at the loud, buzzing rumble it created. “I still don’t see why I have to be bait in my own car. It’s brand new, I don’t even have any armor upgrades yet.”

  “Yeah, that’s why. We’re almost certainly going to lose the bait car, so no point wasting one of our good expensive ones. Besides, yours is the most obviously player-owned vehicle. No way they won’t take that bait.” A series of metallic clicks was audible over the coms line from Gadot, followed by the recognizable sound of a bolt action sliding into place. “I’m ready.”

  “Oh. Um, yeah, I’m not.” Jimmy’s footsteps increased in pace. “Like one minute, dude, I’m fine. Just go.”

  Driving away from the curb with a sigh, Kurt began looking for a nearby GoonStorm patrol. He cautiously approached corners, peeking around them and trying to stay hidden behind other vehicles or buildings. After making a few laps around the neighborhood, he began to get frustrated.

  “Just my luck. Looks like there’s no Goons around.” He leaned over the steering wheel, looking both directions at an intersection before turning to drive down a different road.

  “Just be cool. Ice water for blood, my man, just like the old days.” Jimmy sounded tense but maintained his usual casual demeanor.

  As Kurt nodded to himself, he drove past an alleyway that had a GoonStorm vehicle parked at the entrance. He saw them through his side window as the gunner on top shouted and pointed directly at him. Drawing in a sharp breath, Kurt floored the gas pedal and fishtailed into traffic. His car skidded against an NPC vehicle, earning him a few loud curses from the inhabitant before the sharp hammering sounds of the 50. caliber machine gun behind him drowned out everything else. Car windows around him shattered as rounds slammed into the surrounding vehicles and civilians began to scream.

  He leaned on the accelerator and spun the wheel to get out of the traffic crush forming around him, darting down a side street as he ducked down in his seat. The gunner got a fix on him just before he slid around another corner, and several high caliber rounds smashed into his vehicle’s cabin, rattling across the roof on the passenger side. Shards of glass and metal spun around him, mixing with fluff that burst from his passenger seat as time seemed to slow momentarily. He swerved instinctively to avoid the machine gun fire, directing the car’s front end into a nearby fire hydrant.

  His vehicle bounced off the hydrant and skidded to the side as a jet of water launched into the air next to him. He sat behind the wheel and shook for a few seconds, his eyes wide as Jimmy’s voice came into his ear again. “Ice water, Kurt. You got this. Just bring ‘em in.”

  The steel in his friend’s voice brought him back to the moment, and the traffic jam he had caused around the corner gave him enough time for the shock to wear off. He shook his head clear, throwing the car into gear and flooring the accelerator again. Kurt eased off the gas as he took a corner, checking the map on his cracked and bullet hole-riddled windshield.

  “Twenty seconds,” Kurt said. He tried to sound tough but couldn’t keep an edge of fear out of his voice as the Hummer reappeared in his rear view mirror. Its massive machine gun opened up and the rattling crack of bullets sinking into his car made him flinch. He spun the wheel, turning down the street that would lead to the ambush site, while thick, black smoke began to pour from the engine, stinking up the cabin and making it hard to see. “Can’t take any more hits.”

  Another burst of gunfire smacked into the car’s exposed engine as he made the turn into an alley, causing bright orange flames to erupt from the exhaust pipes. Kurt slammed into a dumpster that had been rolled into the middle of the alley, sending it skidding onto its side as its contents flew all over the alley.

  Kurt opened the car door and jumped out, making sure to grab the GoonStorm helmet off the seat beside him before he went. Darting behind the dumpster as his car became fully engulfed in flames, he pulled up his equipment screen and swiped to the vehicles section to see the car’s picture overlaid by a red X and the word ‘destroyed’. A small tab next to it was greyed out, and said ‘insurance’, causing him to mentally kick himself a little.

  The GoonStorm patrol entered the alley, the gunner happily spraying down Kurt’s already dead car as he hid behind the dumpster. A single, sharp crack was heard over the sound of the machine gun’s rattle, and the gunner slumped, dead. The Humvee slid to a stop and four people exited the vehicle — a single player and three NPCs who followed his shouted orders to cover the alleyway. All of them had their rifles pointed up, looking for the sniper that had taken out their gunner. None of them saw Jimmy coming.

  He kicked open a small metal gate behind them and stepped into the alley from a restaurant’s kitchen, BAR held up to his shoulder as he walked. Jimmy opened fire on the player first, taking down the driver with a controlled burst. He assumed a shooter’s stance as the remaining two Goons turned to face the new threat. Neither of them were able to take a shot, as Jimmy fired a single round into each of their faces, avoiding the bulletproof helmets. As the rounds struck the Goons, they immediately puffed into clouds of dust, dropping weapons and armor on the road.

  Gadot was behind Kurt suddenly, slipping a hand under his armpit and hauling him to his feet. “You good? Shake it off, man, you’re up.” She had removed her baggy sweats and was already wearing her GoonStorm fatigues and helmet. “Coming out?” Gadot shouted around the dumpster to Jimmy.

  “Yeah, clear!” He hurriedly removed his own sweatshirt and retrieved the helmet he had hidden by a nearby doorway, awkwardly strapping it to his head with a grimace.

  Kurt shook his head as he stepped around the dumpster towards the GoonStorm Humvee, noticing the face Jimmy was making. “Oh, that’s right, you hate the Goons’ helmets.” He paused at the passenger side door, confused. “But you wore a bulletproof mask yesterday. Why do you hate these?”

  Jimmy shoved his way into place on the mounted machine gun with a grunt, leaving his guns on the backseat of the Humvee. “Goons wear these helmets all the time, no matter what. NPCs don’t get headshots or crits of any kind, ever. So they just wear them because they know other players hate them and they need an advantage.” He opened the machine gun’s breech with a tight-lipped smile. “I only wear anti-kill shot gear when I know for sure I’m going up against other players with appropriate skill levels, like the officers we faced down yesterday. It’s a small distinction, I admit, but it’s the principle I suppose.” Clapping the breech closed and cocking the gun, he slapped the roof above Gadot in the driver’s seat. “Ready!”

  Gadot reversed out of the alley as two other GoonStorm patrols pulled up nearby. Kurt breathed out his nerves as he rolled down the window and leaned out with a wave. “Sorry, guys, we got ‘em already.” He shouted to be heard, swiping up his map and nodding at the encroaching sirens. “Follow us. We’ll lose the heat and then I have a mission for us after. It’s sensitive, so turn your coms off.” Seeing confusion on the faces of the GoonStorm players, he scowled at them. “Standard formation, on my vehicle, coms off! Let’s move!” He waved an arm in the air, finishing the gesture by pointing his hand in the direction they would be driving.

  Slapping the side of the door, he leaned back in his seat and looked nervously at Gadot. She was suppressing a smile. “You got this. Don’t sweat it.” With that, she drove out ahead of the other GoonStorm patrols and turned to avoid the incoming police. They drove into a nearby parking structure and climbed a few levels until they were out of sight of the streets. As they parked in the middle of an empty level, the other GoonStorm patrol vehicles pulled up behind them.

  Kurt got out of the Humvee and turned to face them, hands on hips. “Right, good. Okay, guys, listen up. That vehicle we hit was Russian. I found this on one of them.” He un-holstered his Maxim 9 and held it up by the trigger guard to show them the unique-looking firearm. “You know what this means?”

  Jimmy casually swiveled the machine gun around, making it look like he was trying to pay attention to Kurt. “No, sir, what’s it mean?”

  “It means the Ursa was behind the hit on our bank job yesterday.” Kurt slid the gun back into his holster. He scowled in what he hoped was an authoritarian manner, glaring at each of the GoonStorm players and NPCs gathered in front of him. When none of them said anything back, he nodded sharply. “Who wants some payback?”

  The NPCs raised a fist and cheered. Kurt’s dishonesty skillset was apparently enough to convince them he was authentic. The players looked at each other. The idea of actually doing something instead of patrolling empty streets was beginning to excite them. One of the gunners cheered alongside the NPCs, and the other players moved to get into their vehicles.

  One of them stopped half-way into his seat. “Excuse me, sir?” He raised a hand slightly before realizing how it looked and lowering it.

  Kurt looked around as if annoyed, focusing on the man who spoke. “Yes, soldier?”

  “Will we have to pay for ammo?” He squinted, part-confused and part-hopeful.

  Wasting no time in answering, Kurt raised an eyebrow at the Goon. “On an official op? Hell no, soldier! Free fire is in effect!”

  Jimmy whooped and fired off a burst at the ceiling of the parking garage. Concrete chips and dust rained down between their vehicles. The other gunners wasted no time joining in, cheering and firing their own weapons. Gadot snickered to herself, shaking her head as she put the Humvee in gear and led the GoonStorm players out of the parking garage. She had set a waypoint as Kurt addressed the GoonStorm players and NPCs and followed it north-west out of the Downtown Cluster to a neighborhood named Primrose.

  Primrose was clearly meant to be an upscale neighborhood, just off the Downtown Cluster and bordered by its own amusement park. The spiraling arcs of rollercoasters and strange formations of themed buildings loomed in the background of a spread-out community populated by large, expensive-looking houses and immaculately maintained businesses. The freeway arced around businesses and homes to cut between the amusement park and a series of mansions nestled into the nearby hillsides.

  Jimmy peeked between his armored vest and the machine gun at Gadot. “You sure are taking us deep.” He looked around nervously, hands resting on the guide rails of his mounted gun turret. “Haven’t been to Primrose in months.”

  Gadot ducked her head, looking at the amusement park as it loomed to their left. “Yeah, sorry. I only actually know of a couple fronts, and they’re both near the park. Don’t sweat it, I have a plan to get us out.” She cut the wheel then, leading them to an offramp and towards a business park a few blocks north of the amusement park. Glancing at Kurt’s confused expression, she elaborated. “The Russians own most of Primrose, and they’re not exactly welcoming to other crews.”

  “And we stick out like a blue digital camo sore thumb,” Jimmy muttered, mostly to himself.

  Their small convoy pulled into an almost empty parking lot at the edge of a huge field of flowers. Several types of wildflowers sprawled across a nearby hillside, creating a patchwork of colorful waves. A large, glass-fronted florist was the only building in the parking lot, tucked away into a corner near the hill. The florist had a large, backlit sign declaring it to be ‘Poppy’s Arrangements’, directly above the only door.

  “This is the place.” Gadot put the Humvee in park and opened her door, leaning her long-barreled sniper rifle between the door and body of the vehicle and ducking down to sight through her scope.

  Kurt got out and drew his Coonan magnum, walking back towards the other vehicles as they parked. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen. This is our target, a front for the Russians. Spray it down good. When all the NPCs are dead, get in there and steal anything worth taking. Today we show them who runs Illusion!”

  With that, Jimmy opened fire on the business’s main door. The other two gunners wasted no time joining in, and the glass front was torn to shreds, multicolored petals mixing in the air with shards of glass. Keeping to appearances, Kurt took a shooter’s stance behind his door and fired his weapon into the store, not aiming at anything in particular.

  The fields behind the business lit up in returning gunfire, several NPC workers having picked up rifles to defend the business. Gadot picked her shots slowly and carefully, sniping the NPCs one at a time from her defensible position. Bullets sparked off the armored Humvees and spattered into the asphalt around them. The Goons took cover and mimicked the actions of Gadot and Kurt, firing from behind the safety of armored doors.

  Within a handful of seconds, they had devastated the store and flower fields behind it, and all return fire had ceased. NPC bodies were scattered in the field, and the storefront was nothing but a gaping maw of broken glass and shredded floral arrangements. The sign spit out an eruption of sparks and slumped partially off the building, crashing to a lilt in front of the shattered doorway with a scream of twisting metal as the Goons cheered.

  Stepping out in front of the vehicle, Kurt reloaded his magnum and waved forward, leading the other Goons into the building while they all shouted and whooped. As they reached the doorway, he took cover behind a nearby counter and peeked over it before waving the other players deeper into the building. Gunfire erupted from deeper in the florist’s shop, and Kurt adopted a bored expression as he walked back out to the parking lot, abandoning the Goons. He glanced at his phone to see a couple of new skills front and center on his home screen.

  Secondary

  Combat Driving Rank 1 (Mobility)

  “Innocent men, women, and children are being killed out there . . . in the kind of numbers we only expect to see during a war.” Red Asphalt- 1989

  Operation of a motor vehicle while under attack is a normal part of any criminal endeavor. Decreases the perceived effect of an attack on player’s vehicle by 2%. Increases the effectiveness of all vehicle modifications by 1%.

  Specialist

  Magnum Force Rank 1 (Combat)

  “There is no such thing as overkill.” Unknown

  Firearms using magnum load ammunition compromise handling for sheer power. Each level reduces recoil of magnum load firearms by 1% and increases over penetration chance by 1%

  Gadot pulled the Humvee up to him and he jumped into the passenger seat to the sound of Jimmy’s laughter and the Goons trying their best to organize an offensive against the remaining NPCs in the building. Gadot glanced at her phone. “Well, that’s not good . . .”

  Jimmy checked his before shaking his head and turning the .50 around to face the road with a chuckle. “Hope your escape plan is a good one.”

  Confused, Kurt looked between them and checked his own phone. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “I don’t get it. What’s the bad news?”

  Gadot started driving towards the freeway, moving the Humvee in a quick circle. “No heat.” She glanced at Kurt, nodding at his confused expression with a small sigh. “No heat means the Ursa is responding. They’re on their way to us right now.”