One-man army (2)

"Drop your weapon, or I swear I'll shoot!" Kevin yelled at the boy.

But his words fell on deaf ears. The boy finished loading a new rocket into the launcher and mounted it on his shoulder once again.

Kevin only had a split second to react. He dropped the SMG and shot a Taser Web at the boy.

Incapacitated by the shock, the boy dropped his weapon and went down on his knees. Kevin wasted no time in thought and rushed to pick up the rocket launcher.

Luckily, the boy had passed out due to the shock, leaving Kevin with one less thing to worry about. He was sure he could never pull the trigger on a child.

For the present, Kevin decided to focus on taking out the other threats. The fate of the child could be decided later.

As Kevin headed deeper into the tunnel, the subway platform came into view. The Raiders had transformed the platform into a shabby slum, with old worn tents arranged haphazardly all over the place. There were also empty sleeping bags lying on the ground, along with stubs of cigarettes and broken beer bottles.

The whole place smelt of piss and liquor and a stale dampness hung in the air. The Raiders clearly didn't pay much attention to personal hygiene or sanitation.

Kevin considered himself lucky that his artificial olfactory receptors weren't very sensitive to foul odors. He somehow suppressed his feelings of disgust as he climbed onto the platform and started searching the tents using his Bionic Scanning Laser.

// Organic life detected!

1. Rodents.

2. Cockroaches. //

Kevin turned his face away in disgust and continued making his way across the platform. On its other end was a ticket counter, whose glass exterior had been replaced by a metal grill. This counter had been re-purposed to serve as a weapon storage room. However, there were no Raiders in sight.

// Environmental Assessment complete!

Digital Map of Dark District is now available.

Tertiary objective added: Search the weapon storage.

Special equipable items and resources detected! //

Kevin was distracted by this surprise announcement. If this weapon storage room contained Core Fragments he could finally upgrade his exoskeleton and improve his chances of survival on the surface. The AI had also mentioned special equipable items, which meant there was a good chance of finding rare modules and augmentations as well.

Breaking into the weapon storage without dealing with the rest of the Raiders was going to be a terrible mistake, so Kevin decided to focus on his primary objective first.

"Give me a sitrep. And bring up the digital map."

// Assessing objective progression...

Total Raider population: 45.

Raiders killed: 14.

Raiders incapacitated: 1.

Raiders remaining: 30.

Displaying digital map of Dark District... //

Seconds later, a holographic digital map popped up before Kevin. It wasn't as detailed as he'd hoped it would be, but it gave him a general idea of the major areas in the Dark District. Currently, he was standing on the right platform, just behind the zap train. The rest of the district consisted of one more platform and a utility room on the upper floor.

Having finished studying the map, Kevin dismissed the hologram with a wave of his hand and resumed his search. There were no Raiders on this platform, so he jumped down onto the track and headed towards the other platform.

All of a sudden the tunnel filled with loud beeping noises. Two Neutralizers flew out from the darkness, fixing their targeting sensors on Kevin.

Without even thinking, Kevin mounted the rocket launcher on his right shoulder and fired. What followed was a deafening blast as the rocket blew up one Neutralizer. The other one being in close proximity also sustained critical damage, which impaired its navigation sensors. However, all its weapons were still fully functional.

The damaged Neutralizer hovered unsteadily above the ground, trying to aim at Kevin. Before Kevin could activate his laser rifle, the Neutralizer fired its cannon. The charged shot exploded inches away from his feet. Caught in the blast radius, Kevin was thrown off his feet and flung several meters in the air. He landed on his back, almost breaking his artificial backbone. The skin on his face was shredded by the blast and he lost vision in his left bionic eye.

// Critical peripheral failure!

Visual clarity: 50%

Suggest immediate repairs! //

As Kevin struggled to get his bearings straight, the drone's minigun buzzed into action, unleashing a blistering 900 rounds per minute. Kevin took the bullets straight to his face. He somehow managed to shield his right eye with his hand, but the Neutralizer kept firing, giving Kevin no time to recover.

"Activate High-Frequency Signal Scrambler! Target: attack drone!"

It took just a few seconds for the antennas to pop out of Kevin's chest panel and emit a jamming frequency. The Neutralizer was temporarily put out of commission as its minigun barrels came to a slow spinning halt. Kevin only dared to approach it after its red sensor light powered down.

By this time, Kevin's laser rifle had been recharged and was ready to be fired again. He was about to destroy the drone when a new idea came to his mind.

"Activate Local hacking Tool!" Kevin said, pointing his right index finger at the Neutralizer.

// Hacking successful!

Security protocols overridden

Gesture control active.

User has complete control for 660 seconds. //

"Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine!" Kevin said, synchronizing his right hand with the Neutralizer.

When he moved his hand to the left, the Neutralizer swayed in the same direction, and when he moved his index finger in a circle, the drone spun around in the same spot. Increasing the Neutralizer's elevation required him to raise his hand higher, and lowering it caused the drone to descend towards the ground.

// 100% movement synchronization!

Weapon access gestures unlocked.

Hold fist for 3 seconds to use laser cannon.

Rotate arm 180 degrees to activate minigun. //

Since Kevin's left eye was badly damaged it affected his ability to aim accurately at distant targets. With his visual clarity reduced to just 50%, he was in no condition to clear the Raider camp on his own.

Taking control of the Neutralizer changed everything, putting the odds back in his favor. He no longer needed to jump straight into the line of fire as he could now use the drone to scope out fortified positions and take down targets.

Kevin walked slowly, sending the drone ahead to scan for enemies. The Neutralizer kept sweeping the tunnel with its scanning laser, trying to detect organic life. There was no Raider activity on the tracks, but the platform on the left yielded positive results. A group of heavily armed Raiders had set up a defensive position over there. They were waiting behind reinforced steel barricades, holding automatic rifles and wearing Kevlar jackets and helmets.

The Raiders were expecting a Cyborg; hence their eyes were all focused on the train track. They were surprised to see a Neutralizer instead. For a moment, they mistook it for a friendly unit, still being controlled by their leader.

**Organic life forms detected!

Preparing to eliminate threats...**

"What?"

"The drone's malfunctioning!"

"Take cover!"

Immediately, the drone's minigun spun into action, taking out the unlucky five who were standing in the open. The other Raiders ducked under the reinforced steel barricades. One of them started loading a rocket launcher, and two more began setting up automatic turrets.

Their efforts were cut short by a devastating blast that ripped through the steel barricades, blowing up the turrets as well as the gunners behind them. Shrapnel from the explosion was sprayed all around, cutting up all Raiders standing nearby.

With their defenses reduced to shambles the Raiders had nowhere to hide as the drone's minigun buzzed into action. Kevin dragged his upturned right hand across the air, making the Neutralizer perform a strafing run across the platform.

The Raiders tried to run away but were quickly mowed down by the bullet spray.

// Total unique human heartbeats detected: 45.

Raiders killed: 34.

Raiders incapacitated: 1.

Raiders remaining: 10. //

Kevin's strategy had worked perfectly. He had managed to clear the whole platform without exposing himself to direct gunfire. All his weapons were ready to be activated again, but he decided to rely on the Neutralizer for now. There were still 300 seconds left on the override timer.

Using the Neutralizer to scout ahead, Kevin made his way to the main escalator leading to the upper level. It was an escalator only in name. Since the Dark District only had access to electricity for two hours each day, the escalator had been shut down long ago. It was nothing more than a narrow staircase at this point.

Before beginning his climb, Kevin decided to scope out the upper level with the Neutralizer. Raising his arm slowly, he carefully increased the drone's elevation. Just then, a loud shot rang out from above, and the drone came crashing down with a clean hole punched through its midsection.