When Bakas Learn by bluefurball
Chapter 3
==========
Kohito Usui shook his head slowly, sighing in disbelief. He could not believe that he was where he was, doing what he was doing. The younger operatives should be doing this, not him. Kids like that punk hotshot Matsuhito. It was what they were trained for. They should be here in the dark, seeing a world of white, green, and black.
Instead, here he was. Wearing a black skintight suit men his age had no right wearing, wielding technology that was not supposed to exist. Not for another twenty years, anyway.
Kohito suddenly froze, his train of thought derailed. The cylinder he had been tossing repeatedly in his hand had almost broken a laser strand. He muttered a curse; if the council had wanted the mission to be botched by a sauntering wiseass, they really would have sent in Matsuhito. Kohito was sure the punk didn't even wipe his behind right.
A moment later, Kohito continued down the corridor, walking tall and proud. Every three feet or so his wiry figure would lithely bend, twist, or jump as he avoided the laser strands. The strands were tightly packed, but Kohito moved through the corridor like a sprite on a sugar high.
Landing softly before the door at the end of the hallway, Kohito held out his hand, and the cylinder he had tossed before his final somersault fell flat onto his palm. He smirked behind his mask; he might be old, but he was still the best.
Kohito pointed the cylinder at the sensor by the door. The indicator on the cylinder pulsated in red for a few seconds, until a soft click came from the door. Switching off the device, Kohito pocketed it as he opened the door, and stepped through the opening.
The gadgets were making it really easy, Kohito thought. A blind moron could go anywhere with them. The White House. Fort Knox. Almost anywhere. Still, he was in Michigawa Tower; the only easy thing for intruders like him was to get killed, gadgets or no. Only the best should even think of being there.
Besides, too many lives had been lost just for the opportunity. Untold more counted on him for their future. Kohito was going to do what he had to, even if he didn't like it.
Silently, he briskly walked past door after door. There were no laser strands beyond the hallway, just heat, motion and audio sensors jammed by more of his equipment.
Finally, Kohito stood in the middle of a large room, his destination. Glancing at his watch, Kohito nodded in satisfaction. Only slightly more than seven minutes had passed since his infiltration. The information on the security had been good; he had made a beeline to his current position. Kohito pulled another device from his webbing. It was time to make all those lives worth it.
All of a sudden, Kohito's visor took on a reddish hue. He froze. One of his own silent alarms had been triggered.
Pressing a button on the visor he spun around, and looked straight down. A soft hum came as the aural sensor photographed the energies beyond the floor he stood on. Seconds later the image was projected onto his visor.
Groups of white dots were spread out over the building below him. Tapping a few buttons on his wrist console, Kohito brought up a three-dimensional blueprint of the building and superimposed it against the dots.
All the stairwells and elevators were full of people.
He grimaced, and took another aural photograph. The second image came only after a few painfully slow seconds. The dots were now much higher within the building; the security teams were sparing no speed.
"Shit shit shit!"
Kohito sprinted out of the room, towards the corridor. He dashed past the last door and into the laser-latticed hallway. No doubt alarms were being triggered as he ran through. Fuck the alarms, he thought. They were already on to him.
Bursting into the stairwell Kohito made for the roof, taking a flight of stairs in a single bound, mind in a riot of questions. What had gone wrong? What triggered off security? His equipment was functioning perfectly. Then? A new system Michigawa installed secretly? Heads were definitely going to roll. His would probably be the first. Kohito pressed the panic button at his wrist.
"Sir! I see him! He's heading for the roof!"
The sound of the voice spurred him even faster. He could hear men running not far below. The voice sounded on his very heels. Matsuhito had better be ready. Kohito would die if the rookie wasn't.
As he approached the final landing before the door to the roof, Kohito pulled out a wad of what looked to be gum. Stepping on the landing, he grabbed the handrail, and whirled around, throwing the wad as hard as he could at the door.
Time seemed to slow down, as he watched the wad tumble in mid-air, slowly, clearly. It was in this manner, that a movement at the corner of his vision caught his attention. A thick cone rose vertically past the rail he was gripping. The shell looked plastic, and he could see by the stencilled markings that it was spinning.
The wad of gum tumbled, and the spinning cone rose, both in slow motion. Kohito couldn't breath, only watch. Then, finally, the wad hit the door, and both it and the cone disappeared in a blinding flash.
Kohito was flung backwards against the wall, his headgear absorbing the impact of his skull against concrete. Knocked breathless, he winced as the pain began to register. Blinking, he noted that his vision was darker. His headgear was dead, either from cushioning his impact or from the combined flashes overloading the optical dampeners. If the latter, it must have been quite a flash then; the visor had a limit of a million candelas.
He shook his head vigorously, doing away idle thoughts. It was then that the top of someone's head broke into his field of vision on the stairs. Michigawa security. Shit.
Springing to his feet, Kohito jumped for the roof door, as the guard came onto the landing, harpooning Kohito with a long stainless steel rod, a four-foot taser. The crackling tip missed by an inch.
Kohito burst past the threshold and the splintered remains of the door. Any moment now, and he'd be safe. That punk Matsuhito had better not be late.
A 'thunk' made him look at the ground before him. The sight made him falter -- it was another plastic canister. Though he knew better, Kohito's gaze was fixated upon the canister that rolled almost lazily, as he ignored voices behind him.
Kohito Usui remembered a bit too late, that his visor was dead.
The canister exploded, and hot pain lanced through his eyes, his brain. The world was in pure white. Kohito didn't even realize that he was screaming in pain.
***
The jolt was lightning up his spine, and snaked violently into his arms, then his legs. Before he knew it, Ranma had struck a stance reserved for his deadlier foes.
Urd was woozy, breathless, and
---------------------------------------------
And you have just been teased.
I prefer 'preview' to 'tease'. Sounds more professional, doesn't it?
It's against my principles to tease like this, but a review by antvasima had prompted me to adopt desperate measures, to let YOU - fans of WBL - know that this story is alive and well.
Everybody now thank antvasima for this preview.
Anyway, I hope you like it so far. I'll try to finish it as soon as possible.
Hint: C&C is like nitrous oxide to my writing speed.
Have a nice day! :)
-blue-
Chapter 3
==========
Kohito Usui shook his head slowly, sighing in disbelief. He could not believe that he was where he was, doing what he was doing. The younger operatives should be doing this, not him. Kids like that punk hotshot Matsuhito. It was what they were trained for. They should be here in the dark, seeing a world of white, green, and black.
Instead, here he was. Wearing a black skintight suit men his age had no right wearing, wielding technology that was not supposed to exist. Not for another twenty years, anyway.
Kohito suddenly froze, his train of thought derailed. The cylinder he had been tossing repeatedly in his hand had almost broken a laser strand. He muttered a curse; if the council had wanted the mission to be botched by a sauntering wiseass, they really would have sent in Matsuhito. Kohito was sure the punk didn't even wipe his behind right.
A moment later, Kohito continued down the corridor, walking tall and proud. Every three feet or so his wiry figure would lithely bend, twist, or jump as he avoided the laser strands. The strands were tightly packed, but Kohito moved through the corridor like a sprite on a sugar high.
Landing softly before the door at the end of the hallway, Kohito held out his hand, and the cylinder he had tossed before his final somersault fell flat onto his palm. He smirked behind his mask; he might be old, but he was still the best.
Kohito pointed the cylinder at the sensor by the door. The indicator on the cylinder pulsated in red for a few seconds, until a soft click came from the door. Switching off the device, Kohito pocketed it as he opened the door, and stepped through the opening.
The gadgets were making it really easy, Kohito thought. A blind moron could go anywhere with them. The White House. Fort Knox. Almost anywhere. Still, he was in Michigawa Tower; the only easy thing for intruders like him was to get killed, gadgets or no. Only the best should even think of being there.
Besides, too many lives had been lost just for the opportunity. Untold more counted on him for their future. Kohito was going to do what he had to, even if he didn't like it.
Silently, he briskly walked past door after door. There were no laser strands beyond the hallway, just heat, motion and audio sensors jammed by more of his equipment.
Finally, Kohito stood in the middle of a large room, his destination. Glancing at his watch, Kohito nodded in satisfaction. Only slightly more than seven minutes had passed since his infiltration. The information on the security had been good; he had made a beeline to his current position. Kohito pulled another device from his webbing. It was time to make all those lives worth it.
All of a sudden, Kohito's visor took on a reddish hue. He froze. One of his own silent alarms had been triggered.
Pressing a button on the visor he spun around, and looked straight down. A soft hum came as the aural sensor photographed the energies beyond the floor he stood on. Seconds later the image was projected onto his visor.
Groups of white dots were spread out over the building below him. Tapping a few buttons on his wrist console, Kohito brought up a three-dimensional blueprint of the building and superimposed it against the dots.
All the stairwells and elevators were full of people.
He grimaced, and took another aural photograph. The second image came only after a few painfully slow seconds. The dots were now much higher within the building; the security teams were sparing no speed.
"Shit shit shit!"
Kohito sprinted out of the room, towards the corridor. He dashed past the last door and into the laser-latticed hallway. No doubt alarms were being triggered as he ran through. Fuck the alarms, he thought. They were already on to him.
Bursting into the stairwell Kohito made for the roof, taking a flight of stairs in a single bound, mind in a riot of questions. What had gone wrong? What triggered off security? His equipment was functioning perfectly. Then? A new system Michigawa installed secretly? Heads were definitely going to roll. His would probably be the first. Kohito pressed the panic button at his wrist.
"Sir! I see him! He's heading for the roof!"
The sound of the voice spurred him even faster. He could hear men running not far below. The voice sounded on his very heels. Matsuhito had better be ready. Kohito would die if the rookie wasn't.
As he approached the final landing before the door to the roof, Kohito pulled out a wad of what looked to be gum. Stepping on the landing, he grabbed the handrail, and whirled around, throwing the wad as hard as he could at the door.
Time seemed to slow down, as he watched the wad tumble in mid-air, slowly, clearly. It was in this manner, that a movement at the corner of his vision caught his attention. A thick cone rose vertically past the rail he was gripping. The shell looked plastic, and he could see by the stencilled markings that it was spinning.
The wad of gum tumbled, and the spinning cone rose, both in slow motion. Kohito couldn't breath, only watch. Then, finally, the wad hit the door, and both it and the cone disappeared in a blinding flash.
Kohito was flung backwards against the wall, his headgear absorbing the impact of his skull against concrete. Knocked breathless, he winced as the pain began to register. Blinking, he noted that his vision was darker. His headgear was dead, either from cushioning his impact or from the combined flashes overloading the optical dampeners. If the latter, it must have been quite a flash then; the visor had a limit of a million candelas.
He shook his head vigorously, doing away idle thoughts. It was then that the top of someone's head broke into his field of vision on the stairs. Michigawa security. Shit.
Springing to his feet, Kohito jumped for the roof door, as the guard came onto the landing, harpooning Kohito with a long stainless steel rod, a four-foot taser. The crackling tip missed by an inch.
Kohito burst past the threshold and the splintered remains of the door. Any moment now, and he'd be safe. That punk Matsuhito had better not be late.
A 'thunk' made him look at the ground before him. The sight made him falter -- it was another plastic canister. Though he knew better, Kohito's gaze was fixated upon the canister that rolled almost lazily, as he ignored voices behind him.
Kohito Usui remembered a bit too late, that his visor was dead.
The canister exploded, and hot pain lanced through his eyes, his brain. The world was in pure white. Kohito didn't even realize that he was screaming in pain.
***
The jolt was lightning up his spine, and snaked violently into his arms, then his legs. Before he knew it, Ranma had struck a stance reserved for his deadlier foes.
Urd was woozy, breathless, and
---------------------------------------------
And you have just been teased.
I prefer 'preview' to 'tease'. Sounds more professional, doesn't it?
It's against my principles to tease like this, but a review by antvasima had prompted me to adopt desperate measures, to let YOU - fans of WBL - know that this story is alive and well.
Everybody now thank antvasima for this preview.
Anyway, I hope you like it so far. I'll try to finish it as soon as possible.
Hint: C&C is like nitrous oxide to my writing speed.
Have a nice day! :)
-blue-