Let's get this over with

Arvish stood frozen in terror as the cyborg dog aimed its minigun at him. The metallic creature was designed to combat terrorists. But it wasn't here to negotiate. It was here to make a mess. Arvish knew that he had to act fast if he wanted to survive.

In a desperate attempt to shield himself, he grabbed Albert and held him in front of him as a human shield. Perhaps it is not going to harm a hostage. Perhaps...

He fired his gun at the cyborg dog, he realized that his weapon was no match for the machine. The bullets bounced off harmlessly, and the minigun spun up.

'Oh no', thought Arvish.

The Hound unleashed a deafening hail of bullets.

Arvish had to think fast, or he would be a sitting duck. He pushed the old man one way and took cover in the opposite direction. The surrounding concrete exploded into shards under the onslaught of the robot's bullets. Arvish knew that he had to come up with a new plan, or he would be ended up like a cheese.

Looking over at Albert, he saw that he was already lifeless, riddled with bullet holes.

Arvish's mind was in a whirlwind of emotions, and he felt a deep sense of loss and regret wash over him. He had only known the old man for a short time, but he had quickly grown to care for him.

The sight of him lying on the ground was too much to bear. Arvish felt his eyes welling up with tears, and he struggled to compose himself.

'F*ck' Arvish cursed himself for his failure to protect him. But the bullet rain ceased after a while.

'He is reloading,' Arvish thought to himself. 'It's my chance.'

Without hesitation, he sprinted towards the car and revved the engine. The robot turned to face him, and Arvish knew that it was a standoff. He floored the gas pedal.

As the minigun spun up again, the car thundered towards the robot, and bullets rained down around him. But Arvish was determined to keep going. He knew that he had to take the robot down, no matter the cost.

When he almost reached his opponent, it crouched down a bit. The robot jumped up in the air as the car went under it.

Arvish pushed a button on the wheel, and the car instantly turned around automatically. Dust flied up from the floor of the factory.

The robot turned and fired again at the car. Arvish hadn't had much time till the car would be unusable from the damage. He needed to end the fight quickly.

Arvish drove again in the direction of his foe, his hand slid to another button. The robot crouched again, readying itself for a jump. Arvish counted on it and pushed the button at the exact moment the robot launched itself in the air. The button stopped the car in motion as if a handbrake. Arvish quickly pushed it again while the robot was in the air and stepped hard on the gas pedal. Before the robot could reach the floor and do another thing, Arvish hit him in the air with the car.

Arvish ducked behind the wheel and felt the impact as the car plowed into the robot. Metal and debris flew everywhere as the robot broke in half and finally ceased firing.

Arvish emerged from the car victorious, the car was wrecked totally, and he had no another way to escape. The police drones had heat vision, so he couldn't sneak away under the cover of darkness. And he certainly couldn't fight his way out against an army. He ended up where he started, trapped again.

'I abhor my life.'

As he pondered his next move, a piece of debris from the roof fell and hit a nearby barrel, causing a loud crash. Arvish's eyes lit up with an idea.

****

Outside, a couple of police stood by the HOUND truck. A special unit operator who came with the trucks held a tablet, his eyes focused on the device's display. It displayed the ominous message: NO SIGNAL.

"We lost it," the operator said, his tone defeated.

The police captain standing close to him snorted in disbelief. "Nice job," he muttered, the derision clear in his voice. "Your toy can't even deal with an office worker."

The operator's face flushed with anger, but he bit his tongue. He knew that the situation was beyond his unit's capabilities. This was a job for the special unit that gets sh*t done. They were the elite, the best of the best, and they had the skills and equipment needed to handle things like this.

The police captain seemed to read his mind. "Call them in," he said, his voice grim. "This situation is at their level now."

****

Arvish was in big work, he gathered the steel barrels, each one marked with a skull and flame symbol. He arranged them carefully around the wreckage of a car, making sure everything was in place for a last effort of his.

'This way it should be a big bang.'

He rolled an empty barrel into a spot. Checked on everything, so the barrel direction is a window.

'I should have listened more on physics classes, but if my calculation is right…'

He poured some content of a barrel onto the empty one, and then made a line of the liquid back to the car wreck.

'I need to get out of this city. I might even know where these drone guys are. There are rumors about a group called One-hand Gang who live outside the city, to the west.'

With one last look at his setup, Arvish walked back to the empty barrel and climbed inside.

****

The cops stood poised in their designated spots, clutching their weapons tightly, as they awaited the arrival of the special unit.

As the sound of an approaching truck grew louder, the officers tensed up, their eyes fixed on the vehicle as it came to a stop in front of them. It was a black truck that looked like a tank. On the side, it read: SPECIAL UNIT SCRUB.

Six heavily armored soldiers disembarked from the truck, each clad in unique armor and wielding distinct weapons. Some donned bulkier armor, while others sported more streamlined suits. Their weapons ranged from powerful cannons to sharp-edged swords. The soldiers swiftly arranged themselves into a formation.

Loud, heavy footfalls resonated through the quiet surroundings, causing the law enforcement officers to gaze in awe.

The last man to emerge from the truck was Bane. He was the leader of the Scrubs. His long black hair draped on his black carbon exoskeleton suit, while his muscular frame silhouetted against the night sky. His cape swayed after him as he exited the vehicle.

He didn't bother wearing a face cover, as a result, the menace in his aura was enough to make anyone think twice about f*cking with him.

"Is he still in there?" Bane asked, his voice deep and commanding.

The police captain stepped forward, his voice trembling. "Yeah, he downed the hound, that's why we called you guys."

"Good decision," Bane replied, turning to his men. "We go in as usual and get that worm out."

He then turned towards the factory and began a countdown. "On my count. 3... 2... 1.."

The factory rumbled with a deafening explosion, flames shooting up high into the sky. The police officers were knocked back by the blast, only the SCRUB unit stood their ground and stayed on their feet.

Bane watched as a flaming barrel flew out of the building. He narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

But just then, a rumble fell inside the group of people, smashing a couple of police officers and causing panic to erupt.

****

A metallic hand emerged from the smoking barrel, grasping at the grass beneath him. Arvish pulled himself out, he smacked his clothing, sending puffs of smoke into the air. His face was smutty. Despite his disheveled appearance, a victorious smile played on his lips as he gazed at the scene before him.

The city wall loomed in front of him, standing tall and foreboding in the early morning darkness. The rising sun shone behind it, casting a warm glow over the stone and lending an air of majesty to the structure.

'Let's get this over with,' Arvish thought to himself, steeling his nerves for what was to come.

Reaching down, he grabbed his scorched tie and unraveled it from around his neck, dropping it onto the grass.

He took a few tentative steps forward, then suddenly broke into a rush.

****

As she ran through the dark, narrow alley, the young woman in a hoodie with red hair, felt his heart pounding in his chest. She knew he had to move quickly if he wanted to reach his destination in time.

Reaching the end of the alley, she looked up at the dead-end wall in front of him and began to climb. Her gloved hands grasped at the rough bricks, and she scrambled to the top.

Crouching on the wall, Elli pulled out his phone and began to record. On the other side of the wall, two police officers approached a bald man.

She strained to hear their conversation, but their voices were too low. As the bald man stood up to argue with the cops, his MIND+ chip became visible, implanted in his scalp. Elli felt a sense of unease at the sight.

One of the officers raised his voice, and the bald man began to struggle as they wrestled him to the ground. "You're under arrest for deliberately misgendering a woman. The crime was reported by your MIND+ chip," the officer said, citing the new pre-criminal activity law. Elli watched as they put the man in their car and drove away.

Later that night, Elli was inside in a dark, cramped space, surrounded by metal walls. See sat in front of a computer, scrolling through a social media site.

"Who should it be?" she muttered to himself, her fingers moving over the keyboard. Finally, she settled on a political figure and navigated to the login page for their social media account.

With practiced ease, she entered the politician's username and began running a program that generated a code made up of random numbers and letters.

When the code was complete, she entered it into the password field and logged into the account. She navigated to the post section and uploaded the video she had recorded earlier.

As soon as she hit "post," likes and views began to pour in. Elli leaned back in his seat, a satisfied smile spreading across her face.