- kingwrench
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- Noble Member
7. Tough Choices
Richard knew what had to be done. Though he was a pacifist, Richard was deadly with a magnum. And even if he threw up after killing a grunt for the first time, he didn't when he killed his second or third. And he wouldn't throw up after killing something trying to hurt his friends.
Richard nodded to Cowboy, who nodded back. Then they charged out of the alley. Richard raised his magnum and fired six consecutive shots into the head of the elite who had pinned down Bones. The first three armor piercing bullets lowered the elites energy shield, and the next three ripped through its brain and killed it. The other elite, stunned, didn't even realize that Cowboy had rushed him and knocked him to the ground until a shotgun shell blasted through his chest. The grunts and jackals that had been with the two elites were all killed simaltaneously by a grenade thrown by Richard. It seemed that all that the coast was clear.. until a sniper bullet wizzed by Richard's head. He looked forward to see where Red had just fired at, hoping it wasn't him, and saw the large target he and Cowboy had missed: two hunters. Both were dead from the single sniper bullet Red had fired. Richard was in shock. Her aim is that good?he thought, realizing how deadly she was.
Richard then remembered his friends laying on the ground and helped Bones to his feet.
"That was amazing, Richard," Bones commented, raising himself up from the ground with Richard's assistance. "I thought you were a pacifist."
"I am," Richard replied, watching Cowboy lift Skull up from the gravel covered road, "but just because I am doesn't mean I don't know how to handle myself. And Cowboy and Red handled the enemies just as well as I did, if not better."
Red came out of the alley with the civilians just as Richard said her name. Speak of the devil, he thought.
"That was fun and all, but don't you think we should secure an LZ for the rescue transport?" she said, her voice still as cold as ice.
"Right," Richard said, thinking, "But first we need some transportation."
*****
The truck was was new and had a sleek chrome finish. Cowboy loved the feel of the wheel in his hands; it reminded him of old times in Texas. He honked it's horn at his fellow marines and the civilians; he was ready to go.
"I call shotgun!" Bones was known for his sense of humor and always seemed to ride in the passenger side of most vehicles. Richard, Red, Bones, and the civilians stayed in the back, Richard tending to Skull and Red keeping watch for Covenant soldiers. The short eighteen year old watched Richard with curiosity.
"How are you holding up?" Richard asked Skull. She could walk now, but it still caused her a lot of pain. The wound was bad, Richard could tell. There was a high chance she wouldn't live. Still, there was a chance; she was strong and healthy.
"I'm fine," she said, but Richard could see how she labored to say the words. Richard knew that the biofoam could only do so much.
"Hey, anyone know where we're going?" Bones called to the back of the truck. Richard checked his VISR.
"City center," he said, checking their distance from the spot. "It's a mile or two away."
"Okay, Bones, you're the navigator now," Cowboy stated, enjoying driving the truck immenslely.
"Whatever," Bones said, activating his VISR. We might just live, Richard thought to himself, smiling to himself inside his helmet. It was the first good thought he had all day.
[Edited on 04.02.2010 5:02 PM PDT]