So, it's finally here, the finale to the 'Recognition' project. I hope you've enjoyed reading this and that you aren't disappointed with the outcome. I've been mulling over how I wanted to properly end this since part five and came to three conclusions; I have chosen one of these conclusions and shall present it to you now. I would like to state that as with most of my blog entries, this is being written right now, not previously written and then copied and pasted over, so here goes something!
Time seemed to pass much quicker for Tyler and Cassie, perhaps a side effect of the mind blanking. It had been a whole month since that first kiss. They hadn't mentioned it much in that time, though Tyler had caught Cassie smiling more; they weren't full smiles, but knowing smirks every now and then. They meant more, surely?
A message came through, their next job. They were to rendevous at the edge of a warehouse complex just outside of the city where intel showed that there was to be a trading of goods; weapons, drugs, property contracts and money were all to be exchanged at possibly one of the largest black market gatherings for quite some time. Tyler and Cassie were to infiltrate and dissipate the dealers by any means necessary. No specific targets, no hidden agendas, just in, clear out, clear up, leave. Something didn't sit right with Tyler. There'd been no mention of anything like this in any briefings. If this really was going to be the biggest deal ever, why hadn't the organisation made a move already? Why hadn't Selene sent them out to dispatch the key figures of the market beforehand? Did she just want the takings for herself, for the organisation? Something was off...
Tyler arrived at the warehouse complex to find Cassie already there. She'd decided on a semi-automatic shotgun, clearly favouring the crowd control aspect of this job. Tyler smirked "Nice night. Care to dance?" She glanced to him and nodded, that smirk playing on her lips again. Tyler glanced down nervously, but moved to make it look like he was checking his own gear. He had his usual payload of dual knives, batons and pistols, but also smoke and tear gas grenades. They'd hopefully give the edge when combined with their visor's filtration system and visual enhancements. If this was a black market, they expected a lot of small arms resistance - pistols, smg's, not a lot to worry about, but if they weren't careful, this could get very messy for them.
There were no vehicles to speak of, which raised Tyler's suspicions even more, though he assumed that too many vehicles would draw the attention of the authorities and so the dealers must have simply had drop offs, but still, it felt wrong.
Cassie set a breaching charge on one of the shutter doors to the rear of the designated warehouse. It was localised so that there would be as little collateral damage as possible but would still leave a valid entry and exit point to the warehouse. Just to be on the safe side, once she set off the charge, Tyler threw through two tear gas grenades, one to the left, one to the right. It wouldn't fill the whole room, but a sizable portion for them to make their initial maneuvers. Their usual routine, Tyler went left, Cassie went right. Immediately Tyler's suspicions screamed out! Where were the stalls, the dealers? The warehouse was empty! There was a gunshot followed by two shotgun rounds in quick succession. Tyler's mind filled with dread as he turned, watching helplessly as Cassie dropped her weapon and fell to her knees, holding a wound on her side, the spray of blood still lingering and playing over the acrid yellow tint of the gas that clung to the air still. He ran. Tyler had never moved so fast in his life. He grabbed her and managed to roll them both behind a stack of metal shipping crates before being rewarded with an applause of chattering gunfire, ricocheting from their defensive barricade.
"Cassie! Cassie?!" He tossed his remaining grenades over and around the crates to provide more cover, trying to listen beyond the underlying hiss of the gass emission nozzles of his grenade canisters to try and focus on any footsteps or more precise locations of gunfire. He looked down at Cassie once more "Damnit Cas! Speak to me!" She coughed and turned her head. He couldn't see her face for the visor, but saw a trickle of blood run down her neck. This was bad for two reasons, one, it meant that she was injured internally as well as the bullet wound itself and two, it meant that the seal of her visor had been compromised so she would be affected by the gas. Tyler propped her up against the crates and grabbed his emergency medical kit, hastily tearing out a dressing for her wound but Cassie coughed once more and placed a hand to his, shaking her head "I'm fine Ty, just, carry on. Finish the job. That's why we're he-" She slumped once more. Tyler hoped with every essence of his being that she was only unconcious, but deep down, he knew better.
Tyler moved to a squat behind the crate, ignoring the welling of tears within his own eyes. He needed to focus. He dared a brief glance over the crate for just long enough before ducking once again to avoid being shot himself. The visor unit had registered three targets and he judged that the one providing the suppressing fire was up on the gantry. He unholstered a pistol and ran, swinging his arm wide and taking a snap shot whilst pushing himself to move at his very limit. He heard a cry of pain, but no fall. Not a kill shot. This was going to be difficult. He ran for the first of the targets, taking out a baton and with one final leap to close the gap, he spiralled and placed a thunderous blow to the side of the figure's helmet, denting it into the man's skull. He dropped, twitching. More gunfire from the gantry forced Tyler behind another crate but not before three bullets caught and chewed into his calf. He grimaced. He'd been shot before, so it wasn't that which hurt. It was the pain of desperation! Cassie lay dying and he had to do something! He had to finish this, quickly, he had to get her to safety! He rose up and fired once more, finally succeeding in making the gantry gunman fall with a pathetic final yelp. One more to go. This final target, according to the visor, was circling around to try and flank him. Tyler glanced down to his leg and the pool of blood forming on the ground by his foot. He didn't knew he wouldn't be able to move at his best. Hell, he knew he was effectively only able to move half as well, tops. Still, Tyler forced himself to stand, swapping out for both pistols now and turning to face this final target. The assailant was quicker. Two more shots, one in each of Tyler's legs bringing him to his knees and causing him to drop his weapons. A third shot ricocheted off of the visor unit's clasp, Tyler fell backwards and it rolled aside. Almost immediately, he felt his throat tighten and tears roll over his face. He could barely breath! His body was wracked with agony. The figure loomed over him to check his condition. Mistake. Tyler raised one final surge of effort to force himself up, colliding heads with the figure and unsheathing both knives, raking them across the man's neck and chest before collapsing over forwards onto the body, blood seeping from the wounds he'd inflicted, but also from his own head. He glanced over. It was Sloane; the police officer who worked for Selene.
So many thoughts rushed through Tyler's mind! Had Selene set them up, and if so, why? He coughed and fumbled for Sloane's respirator unit, breathing deeply on the filtered air. Selene had had them walk into a trap, a trap that resulted in Cassie's death. Selene had taken their lives from them, and now she had taken the one thing in Tyler's life that had made it feel worth living again!
He could feel conciousness ebbing from his body, but he vowed to live. He vowed that he would hunt down Selene, that he would tear apart the organisation and everything that she had created! He vowed that he would not die in this warehouse, for she had already killed him... Twice. He was not about to let her kill him again.
So there we go, that's the final installment of Recognition! That's the end of this week's project, but as you may have guessed, not the end of Tyler. I've grown fond of him as a character, so expect him to make a comeback somewhere along the line of this blog project. I hope you enjoyed the ending and that you'll keep coming back to see what else I have in store for you. I don't even know myself yet what I intend, but I did promise a friend that I'd write more poetry, so maybe I'll give that a try for a while.
As for the here and now, I'm not really in the best of moods, for one reason or another, but this isn't a crappy emo livejournal so I'm not gonna hassle you with the details. I'm just gonna kick back with a good book and maybe have a bath, maybe order a pizza, but until next time, adios!
God bless, and thanks for reading,
Craiggy.
