OLD-WORLD EXTRA

59  Clean Up

[Destination set, are you ready to go?]

[All good, let's get going,] Emir answered as he followed her out of the room.

They made their way through the slums and soon arrived at the Steel Rats' hideout, a lightly fortified warehouse tucked away in one of the many narrow streets populating the slums.

Emir knocked on the gate, and a moment later, it creaked open, revealing a burly man with a sneer on his face.

"I am here to talk about your base's extended warranty." Emir said with a smirk plastered on his face as he lifted up his HX-10 assault rifle.

"What do you---"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

All three shots hit him directly in the head, and the man fell to the ground with a thud, dead before he hit the pavement.

The sound of the gunshots echoed through the narrow alley, causing the rats to scatter from the trash cans and dumpsters where they had been rummaging for food.

Suddenly, the ground shook as automatic turrets emerged from the walls, their barrels trained on Emir.

Red dots from their targeting lasers danced around his body.

'Shit!'

He quickly took cover behind the dead gang member's body as he propped him up like a shield, and returned fire with his rail gun.

The weapon hummed as it fired a burst of blue energy, striking the first turret and blowing it to pieces.

Emir didn't have time to celebrate his small victory as another set of turrets popped up from the walls of the warehouse in front of him, their bullets slamming into the concrete wall beside him and sending chips of debris raining down on him.

He jumped back, narrowly avoiding being hit, and fired his assault rifle in short bursts, taking out two more turrets in quick succession.

The turrets continued to fire, their bullets ripping through the air and shattering everything around him.

He felt the heat from the explosions as he rolled to safety, now standing just outside the building.

'I have to end this quickly before they get the upper hand.' He thought as he took aim with his trusty rail gun, his grip on the weapon tight.

Pressing down on the trigger, he fired off blasts of energy, and the metallic frame of the gun dug into his hands, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to let go.

His body was twisted around the gate, making it contorted at an odd angle in a desperate effort to keep himself protected from the turret's fire.

His newfound strength proved to be a godsend, as he managed to withstand the tremendous recoil despite his awkward stance against the wall.

In the past, such a position would have either thrown him off balance or even resulted in broken hands.

But now he stood firm and unyielding, blasting away with his rail gun without fear.

Emir crossed the gate once again, and rushed to the left of the warehouse.

After crossing the courtyard, he peered around the corner of the warehouse's wall, scanning the area for any sign of the remaining turrets.

He spotted one on the far end of the alley, its barrel aimed at him.

Without hesitation, he sprinted towards it, firing his assault rifle as he ran, not wanting to reload his rail gun, and aiming to finish this ordeal before the gang members showed up.

The turret tried to track him, but he was too fast.

He reached it and slid to a stop, firing his weapon at point-blank range and obliterating it.

Soon after, he heard footsteps echoing in the distance and then rushed to meet the members of the Steel Rats gang as they poured out of the warehouse's front entrance in groups, armed with various weapons.

'Touché,' he snickered.

They had him outnumbered by more than 20 to 1, but Emir stood his ground, ready to face them.

The first group of five charged straight towards him, firing their guns indiscriminately.

Emir took cover behind nearby rubble, reloading his weapons in the process, and fired back with his rail gun, taking out two of them with a single blast.

The rest scattered, hiding away from his sights as he slowly moved towards the warehouse.

Running behind cover, he cautiously peeked to assess the situation.

His mind raced as he activated his TDS ability.

He could feel his perception of time slowing down as the world around him became a blur.

The sound of gunfire seemed to fade away, replaced by a soft humming noise in his ears.

With his eyes wide open, he saw the gang members moving to surround him in slow motion, their steps sluggish and almost comical.

It was as if they were wading through molasses.

He took advantage of this momentary advantage and sprang into action.

Emir popped out from behind cover and fired a burst of rounds from his HX-10 assault rifle, taking down several of the gang members in quick succession.

And as he moved forward, he heard the metallic clanking of bullets ricocheting off the walls and crates around him.

The rest of the gang members were now closing in on him at an alarming pace.

Emir ducked behind another stack of crates and reloaded his weapons.

'I can't keep this up for long, I need to take out this group quickly.'

He scanned their formation with his back against an indestructible crate, searching for a weakness he could exploit.

'Four to the right, three down in the middle, the rest are on the left…'

It was then that he noticed a narrow gap between a few of the gang members on his right.

He realized that getting behind them and reaching the blockade of crates would provide a clear vantage point, allowing him to kill them all in one go.

His heart pounded as he weighed his options, knowing that slipping past them would be a dangerous play.

Quickly deciding his next move, he threw away an empty magazine to distract them, buying him a precious moment.

With the gang members momentarily distracted, he jumped into action, rushing out of cover.

Noticing Emir, they barraged him with bullets, but he went through them unfazed, dodging and leaping over rubble with ease as he continued to move forward.

The sound of gunfire deafened his ears as he felt the heat of the bullets whizzing past him.

He then sidestepped another volley of gunfire as he rushed through their ranks, having them kill each other in the process.

Moments later, he finally reached the gap and dove forward, rolling through as he reached behind cover with only inches to spare.

My man is cleaning house.

GoldenStache