Death and Distraction

"Here! We get a good shot here!" The cameraman pointed towards an open area.

The news reporter hurriedly took his position and the broadcast started.

"We are here live in New Birth Park to witness one of history's worst mass shootings. There was over a thousand crowd gathered to witness Algonites first concert when two armed men started a shootout."

Several gunshots were heard in the distance as the news reporter ducked in surprised.

"As you can see, the shootout continues as the police have tried to reason with the two armed men. After the death of three policemen, the police have then since used force as the order to kill the two armed men as dozens of civilians were either wounded or killed since thirty minutes ago."

The news reporter on the main office had a shocked expression at the shootout.

"That's just horrible Bill. Any idea on who the shooters are?"

"The police have yet to identify the two shooters. They have a relatively small build. It is even suspected that one of them is a woman. But as of now, we are all in the dark in who they are."

"Bill, can you clarify the number of dead civilians?"

"There are about thirty civilians outside the barricade but we know the shooters continued their massacre towards the inside of the concert ground. We can only estimate that more than a hundred were caught in the crossfire."

"Bill, you mentioned that there were some cops killed during the shootout, are we to assume that these two armed men are experts?"

"Yes! The shooters are clearly experts at handling the gun. The first officer was killed with a headshot when the armed man shot from a distance of more than 20 meters. We actually positioned ourselves a bit further away in fear of getting shot."

"How far away are you from the barricade?"

"The police created a parameter about 50 meters from the entrance while I am about a hundred and twenty meters out from the main barricade which should-"

A bullet pierced through the head of the reporter and then the camera immediately shut down.

It was Arthur wearing a different mask. He was hiding in the shade of the dark.

As the civilians who were huddled at the area panicked and started running away, Arthur immediately unloaded a barrage of bullets on all the media reporters and cameramen.

Despite using an automatic sub-machine gun, Arthur was able to ensure that every single shot would kill someone or would destroy a camera.

The police immediately panicked and started running back towards the reporters to shoot Arthur. But Meryl also resurfaced from the barricades and immediately started shooting. Just like Arthur, not a single bullet was wasted.

All the police officers in the area were killed within a minute.

After killing all the cops in the area, Meryl and Arthur immediately sprinted shooting the night lights and the CCTV cameras to hide in the shade of darkness.

Arthur immediately jumped on the convertible and drove away. He took out the mask he was wearing. It was a different mask from the first mask he wore when he started the shooting.

Meryl jumped on to the seat next to him and removed the mask she was wearing. In her hand was another mask. It was the first mask that Arthur was wearing.

"Good acting. The cops really believed that they were facing the two of us."

Arthur had removed his mask and sneaked out after the chaos of the first shootout. Meryl switched from one mask to another in order to make the police believe that they were still facing the two of them. Arthur had actually sneaked out of the barricade during the panicked exodus. He walked over to the media and waited until the opportune time.

"Why did you wait for the media to arrive before killing them?"

"We can't kill the police yet if the media is there. If they get a hold of a single video, the military might send out their forces. It's better to keep the enemy guessing on how good we are. So I waited for all the media to arrive so I can kill them. That way, no clear video could be used to describe our appearances or how we left the scene."

Meryl sat quietly. As the seconds passed tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"We still have more task to do. This won't be the first time you will be killing innocent lives. Better brace yourself. And you better start changing now." Arthur opened a small bag at the bottom revealing a jacket. Meryl remained unmoved.

"How do you do it?"

"The truth is; their lives are expendable. If we want the human race to live on, we should be this brutal. The lives of Lynd and Seeker far outweigh their life."

"With just that you can easily kill a hundred innocent lives?"

"One hundred fifteen. Most were over 20's, some teenagers and a few mid 30's. I killed all with a headshot. They felt no pain when they left this Earth. That's about the only thing I can do. And no, that truth is not enough. Those hundred and fifteen souls will haunt me for the rest of my life…"

Meryl was surprised at Arthur's response.

Arthur continued to drive with the speed of their car zooming through the city. Arthur looked straight ahead. And his gaze seemed to avoid the faces of every human he would meet on the cold street ahead.

"How many did you kill?" Arthur finally asked.

"Twenty-seven civilians, and all fourteen cops." Meryl slowly answered.

Tears continued to fall as Arthur paused for a while as the traffic light blinked red.

"I killed twenty of your targets."

"I know. Don't think I didn't notice you giving them a headshot. I didn't count those twenty on my list." Meryl sobbed.

Arthur sat there silently and finally turned to Meryl.

"Much is at stake here. You cannot hesitate. No one who clearly saw us can be allowed to live. When I ask you to kill, you should kill."

"I know."

The traffic light went green and Arthur continued to drive off towards their destination. Meryl slowly started wearing the clothes that Arthur offered. It was then she realized where they were heading.

"The police station!" Meryl realized.

"Our next act will be here. We just need to wait for the signal."

"What signal? And why here?"

"This is police headquarters and is also where the Comm team of the entire Australian Police is based. We take that down, then the cops in the city would have a hard time organizing themselves. What we are waiting for is the next step of our plan which will create massive panic. Once a bulk of the forces here move out, we rush in, pretend we need help. Once inside the police station, we discreetly massacre our way to the Comm Office."

Meryl frowned.

"You can't put discreet and massacre in one sentence, Arthur."

"But we have to."

Arthur parked the car a few blocks away from the station. They waited in the car and Arthur started browsing through the international news.

Meryl sat quietly. Her hands were visibly shaking. She kept staring at Arthur who seemed to be acting as if nothing happened.

"You're strong." Meryl smiled.

"Not strong enough." Arthur sighed.

Meryl then noticed that Arthur was doing his best to stop his hands from shaking.

"Still, you're mighty strong." Meryl smiled.

"Here it is. Looks like it has begun."

President Hoross appeared on an emergency broadcast channel in the Pangean networks. He was seated behind a desk in what looked like a small office.

"People of the Pangean Nations. This is Malay-Pangean President Albert Hoross. I have just been rescued by Major Cipril's team and is now on my way back to our country." Albert spoke calmly.

"I have to address these issues in case anything else would happen to me or my people. Australia has sent several of their best elites to kidnap me. I feared they were going to implant me with a certain device in order to blackmail me or control me. Regardless of the case, it is clear that Australia has evil intentions towards our country. I plead to all my fellow leaders, protect our country. I may not know what-"

The broadcast abruptly ended. The screen flickered and went black almost immediately.

"What happened?" Meryl asked in confusion.

"The second act. Wouldn't it be suspicious if several terrorist related events were to appear one after another in this city?"

"Of course. A fire and a bomb threat happening in different places would cause the government to consider an attack! "

"That's why we need to downplay the threat. We present a false reason for all this chaos."

"How?"

"Just wait for it." Arthur smiled.

Immediately a broadcast appeared with General Harker sitting down with a grave expression. Unlike his previous broadcasts, Harker was now seated in a command center. Several computers and high-end devices could be seen in the background.

"Fellow citizens of the Pangean Nation. I regret to inform you that we lost contact with the plane that Albert Hoross was flying on. Our team is busy investigating the status of the plane. Albert Hoross' state remains unknown as of now. We cannot say for certain if this attack was caused by Australia. But if so, then that's the last straw. My army won't keep quiet." The broadcast immediately ended.

Meryl was confused all the more after seeing the broadcast.

"Won't that make the military all the more suspicious?" Meryl asked in confusion.

"You'll see. That's not the broadcast we are waiting for." Arthur laughed wickedly.

The pair continued to browse through the news. Arthur continued to remain silent about the plans.

Meryl continued to scour through looking for anything that could cause widespread panic.

The world itself was falling into chaos. The One World Ambassadors of the different regions were pleading with the Pangean Nations to withhold their plans for war.

Australia continued to insist that the scandals found in Malay-Pangean grounds were linked to several powerful organizations and although have its roots in Australia, is not directly connected to the government. The Australian ambassadors even speculated that these were all done by a possible third party that wished for the two nations to fight it out.

News about the mass shootout continued to circulate the local news. New Fort City was in a state of alert. The mass killings which killed all the media reporters and the police on-scene led to the dispatch of several military personnel.

After about an hour of waiting, it finally happened.

On several commercial jumbo screens that stood on several prominent parts of the city, the broadcast was hijacked and revealed an angry face. Most gamers recognized the face. It was none other than the General of Warfreakz, Sebastian Hoross.

"My father came to this nation, bypassing all security protocols because he wanted to support me. Support my stupid game. Before being the president, he was my father. But thanks to that, he's now dead. Australia, you are to be blamed. I've lost my father and a country has lost its president. But you? You continue to live your life in peace without the care of this world. It's unfair. So I decided to make this day as memorable for you as it is for me. I've placed a bomb somewhere in this city. At least in this way, thousands will mourn just as I have. Good luck finding it."

The broadcast then ended.

Meryl looked in shock at the broadcast.

"I didn't expect that. Faking the president's death then making Lowengren a terrorist?"

"That's right. That is a probable cause for everything that will happen soon."

"So after the police in the station scramble out, we go in to kill everyone who remains inside right? But won't our resurfacing inside a police station still make things look suspicious?"

"You haven't figured out why we did everything to ensure no-one could describe our appearance? Alean should be meeting with Cliff after starting a few fires. They will then reveal themselves somewhere near our first shootout and start another mass shooting. This time, in full view of the media."

"So everyone will think that that's us!"

"Right. in the distraction of the bomb threats and the shootouts, we can cripple the headquarters."

Meryl was stunned silent.

"A distraction to hide deaths. What a plan..." Meryl commended.

"You haven't seen half of it." Arthur grinned mischievously.