It wasn’t difficult to determine when they were approaching the GoonStorm tank and its escorts. The civilian traffic became erratic, with panicked NPC drivers swerving and slamming into one another, coupled with a heavy police presence. The tank was surrounded by a squad of GoonStorm players on dirt bikes, which made Jimmy smile as he peered through the window, no doubt picking his targets. An explosion rocked the freeway. Police NPC vehicles that had clustered too closely together erupted and scattered bits of flaming metal across the area as Gadot weaved between them.
“Alright, here’s the plan. We get ahead of them, let our police force get in their way, then you take out the tank with the recoilless, Jimmy. Good?” Gadot chewed on her lower lip while watching the traffic patterns ahead of them. Without waiting for a response, she smashed the Escalade through a concrete barricade into oncoming traffic, swerving to avoid the panicked civilian NPCs, and made it to the far side of the freeway. Once they were safe in the emergency lane on the other side of the freeway, she pressed the accelerator hard, bringing them even with the tank and dirt bike formation.
Jimmy leaned over to the side window, one hand pressed against it. “Look at that spray on the side! I know this asshole!” He pointed to a spray-painted icon of two revolvers crossed under a skull with the name ‘Ocelot’ on the side of the tank.
“Isn’t that the guy who took your turf?” Kurt gripped his Glock while staring at the tank and swarm of Goons.
Glaring at them, Jimmy nodded. “Why yes. Yes, it is.” He grabbed the handles of the machine gun and swiveled them to aim at the GoonStorm group. “Change of plans. Be ready for incoming fire.”
“Change of plans? What?” Gadot said.
The GoonStorm players noticed them, and the tank was ready with its main gun, blasting a police SUV directly behind them and washing the Escalade in flame. Gadot cut across the lanes, getting directly in front of the tank and driving erratically while trying to ensure a vehicle was always between them and the main gun on the tank.
Jimmy began firing the machine guns, targeting police vehicles as they cut into the lanes between them and the tank. He sprayed the road at tire level, causing several of the NPC vehicles to slide sideways and begin a series of flips. A huge pile-up ensued, with a dozen police vehicles becoming entangled as they crashed into one another, forming a blockage across the road. The GoonStorm players on dirt bikes were wiped out in the subsequent chaos, each of them crashing into the mess of police vehicles and joining the pileup. Ocelot responded predictably, blasting the mess with his main cannon, creating a chain of explosions along the freeway and leaving a tangle of charred vehicles.
Enough vehicles piled up and crunched into one another that Ocelot was stuck, no place to turn his tank with dozens of police vehicles boxing him in from the rear. As the tank began the laborious process of climbing over the wreckage, Jimmy stood up from his hatch, drawing the recoilless rifle up with him. Gadot brought the Escalade to a stop, chewing her lip as she watched the tank crest a pile of burnt vehicles, crushing them beneath its treads. Ocelot swung his turret to the rear, blasting at police NPCs to cover his escape.
“If you miss, they have us cold.” She hovered a foot over the gas pedal, leaning forward to scan for threats.
“Hadn’t thought of that. Guess I shouldn’t miss then.” Shouldering the recoilless rifle, he sighted the tank and waited. Climbing the pileup of ruined cars was not particularly difficult for the tank, and it was soon atop the vehicles, its turret slowly turning to face them. Jimmy took a deep breath and fired.
The shell smacked into the turret and erupted in front of the tank, black smoke boiling into the sky. When it cleared, Gadot burst out in a cheer and let off the brake, sending the Escalade into a slide as she turned the wheel to make a pass.
“Was that on purpose?” Gadot asked. She parked the Escalade across the freeway from the now weaponless tank, looking back through the window at Jimmy as he reloaded the rifle.
“Of course. So is this.” He stood back up through the hatch and fired one more time, striking the tank at the rear edge of its tread. With a hard, metallic ping, the shell ricocheted off the tread, blasting it apart when the shell erupted in the air next to the tank’s rear end. The explosion left the tank intact but shredded its tread and immobilized it entirely. What was left of its cogs spun free of the tread and it slid back down the pile of wrecked cars. Moving in a slow sad circle, the tank was crippled.
“You gonna finish him off or what?” Gadot tapped the steering wheel, nervous to be gone before the police NPCs could turn their attention back to them.
Sitting back in his machine gun nest, Jimmy put his arms behind his head and leaned up against the glass, watching the tank trying to drive with only one tread. “Nope. Just watch. This’ll be over in a minute.”
Staring out the windows, they enjoyed the show. Ocelot tried to pop the hatch and abandon the tank, but it was far too late. Police special units and SWAT were already surrounding him. As soon as the hatch went up, they opened fire and forced him to take cover back inside his armored but immobile fortress.
One of the police NPCs climbed up on the tank and dropped a grenade inside before closing the hatch. A bright flash and loud pop sounded, and the NPC jerked open the hatch once more, allowing white smoke to billow out. Within a few seconds, they watched Ocelot being dragged from the tank and slapped into handcuffs.
Jimmy stood up out of his hatch and waved cheerily. “Hey, Goon!” Ocelot blinked away the effects of the stun grenade and looked over as he was hauled away. “Nice bracelets!” Jimmy tipped Ocelot a salute as the Goon began to shout, venom and vitriol taking the place of actual words.
Gadot spun the wheel and hit the gas as the police NPCs finally caught up to them again and gave chase. She was laughing as she slid between them, barreling down the freeway once again, back towards the city. Jimmy lifted the recoilless and took one final shot, striking the disabled tank directly in its engine block. The tank blasted apart, an unfurling wave of fire and smoke washing over everything nearby. Jimmy laughed as he tucked the recoilless rifle gently back into its compartment, laying a hand lovingly on it for a moment before closing the cover.
Kurt scowled as the heat notification bumped up to seven bars. A new trio of helicopters appeared on the edge of the map, moving towards them. “Seven bar heat,” he said tensely.
“Is that all? I’d have thought that cluster on the freeway would be an eight bar for sure.” Jimmy sighed, idly firing off a few rounds from the Brownings. “Ah well, maybe next time.”
Gadot merely chuckled, cutting the wheel and taking them off-road in a series of jostling bumps. She drove up a nearby hill and cut into a gas station parking lot, running down a fence and sliding to a stop in an empty parking spot.
Before Kurt could register what was happening, Gadot and Jimmy were out of the Escalade and moving. He scrambled to unbuckle his seat belt and grab his duffel bag before following them, nervously looking over his shoulder for the encroaching helicopters. Gadot slid a thin bar of dull grey metal from her pocket and slipped it into the window of a nearby Mercedes. With a quick motion, the door lock popped open and she slid inside. Another quick manipulation of the ignition and the car roared to life.
Sitting down in the rear passenger seat, Kurt glanced at his wrist display, surprised to see a drop in their heat level of two bars. The Mercedes roared out of the parking lot, and Gadot drove them away in the opposite direction from the encroaching police force.
After driving for a few miles, they performed the car swap again, this time dropping to a three bar heat and losing the helicopter pursuit. Driving out another half dozen miles while avoiding police, they changed vehicles one more time. This time they got into a 2018 Aston Martin Rapide, which Gadot opened with her wrist phone, indicating she owned it.
The remaining bar of heat dropped off as they sat in the parking lot, each on their phones and unconcerned with the world around them. They had driven out into a forested area far east of the Downtown Cluster. The map showed a small town named Lakeside, which branched out in a crescent around a large lake part-way up a mountain. Kurt took the time to pull up his several skill notifications and swipe through them.
Primary
Disguise Rank 6 (Interaction)
“It’s scary what a smile can hide.” Unknown
A well thought-out disguise can get you surprisingly far in criminal activities. Increases success rate of appropriate disguises by 6%. Reduces cost (if any) of disguise acquisition by 6% (Effective bonus raised by Infiltrator to 11%).
Primary
Small Arms Rank 4 (Combat)
“You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun.” Al Capone
Skilled use of basic firearms can assist in several tasks. Maximum damage with all firearms increased by 4%
Additional weapons and weapon modifications unlocked.
Secondary
Gunslinger Rank 3 (Combat)
“The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are on the right or wrong end of the gun.” P.G. Wodehouse – 1923
A handgun or revolver is an adaptable and commonly used firearm platform in all criminal activities. Skilled use can produce incredible benefits. Armor penetration is increased with handguns by 3%. Damage with revolvers is increased by 3%. Additional handguns and revolvers are unlocked for purchase. This skill is currently stacking with Small Arms.
Primary
Liar Rank 7 (Interaction.)
“The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.” John Ruskin – 1843.
Dishonesty is a core concept in the criminal world. Any dishonest interaction receives a 7% bonus to succeed when interacting with NPCs of any kind (Effective bonus raised by Infiltrator to 12%).
Secondary
Underhanded Rank 4 (Interaction)
“Profit is sweet, even if it stems from deception.” Sophocles – 4th Century BC
Guided deception can profit those capable of outwitting their peers. Adds a 20% chance to provide a bonus payment of up to one million dollars any time profit is made from dishonest interactions. If the chance of a bonus rises over 100%, a second bonus will be rolled for with any remaining percentage. Increases dishonest interaction success rate by 4%. Currently stacking with Liar.
Specialist
Obfuscation Rank 3 (Interaction)
“All war is deception.” Sun Tzu
Deceptions involving multiple victims, using multiple veins of mistruth, are complex to wield, but profit those capable. This isn’t just a lie, it’s bordering on politics. Adds a modifier to Liar and Underhanded skills, increasing each of their bonuses by a factor of 3.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Raising an eyebrow, Kurt checked his new Glock’s status screen. He was pleased to discover that it had been unlocked by his recent rank up, allowing it to be equipped in any slot and modified. The idea of extended magazines had him smiling again.
Jimmy pulled Kurt from his reverie. “Well, didn't take long for us to become famous.” He reached his arm from the back seat between the two of them, letting them touch wrists and pull up the video he had been watching. It was titled: ‘GoonStorm Hit!’ The video showed Kurt, Jimmy, and Gadot storming out of the subway entrance. Their faces were pixelated, but their voices could be heard clearly as gunfire peppered the air around them. The video cut to black as Gadot fell from a shot to the chest while Kurt charged the camera. It cut back in on the freeway, following at a safe distance from inside a car. The video showed their faceoff with the tank, the driver at a vantage point above them on a nearby hill. It ended with Jimmy saluting Ocelot while he was dragged away in handcuffs.
The comments section under the video was rapidly filling with questions and theories. Most people seemed to think it was a GoonStorm stunt or some kind of internal squabble. Several GoonStorm members had already commented on the video to claim their supremacy or remind the viewers that they owned the city. One commenter quickly rose to the top of the videos thread by simply posting the word, “Heroes”. By the time Kurt had watched the video twice, that comment had over a thousand separate approval ratings and the video had been seen by almost a hundred thousand people. Word spread quickly in the Illusion community.
Gadot chuckled. “This is good. Keep them guessing and disorganized. This video will seriously piss off GoonStorm leadership. I want them aggressive and stupid. This is better than good, it’s perfect.” She swiped away her phone display with a smile, driving them out of the parking lot.
They drove around the lake, approaching a small airport with high fences surrounding it. As they approached, Kurt noticed some familiar guards. The Lace had its NPCs guarding the entire airport, and the reason for that heavy guard became quickly evident as they were waved through the gate. A matte black C-17 cargo plane sat on the runway ahead of them, its rear door creating an opening to the storage area. Kurt gaped up through the windshield as Gadot drove them into the rear compartment, parking behind other vehicles. Two Lace NPCs approached and secured the car with straps, giving a hand signal to someone Kurt couldn’t see towards the front of the plane. The door closed and the jet began to taxi down the runway.
Kurt gripped at a handle on the roof of the car as the cargo jet rose into the sky, banking sharply. After a few minutes things evened out and a red light in the ceiling ahead of them clicked to green. Gadot and Jimmy both got out, and Kurt followed them a moment later. They each carried their bags slung around their shoulders. Kurt looked around, noticing several strange and interesting vehicles strapped down alongside large, metal cargo containers.
A Lace NPC guard stood at the front of the cargo area beside a series of stairs leading up. He moved aside as they approached, nodding respectfully to Gadot and giving Jimmy and Kurt a deadpan stare.
The group entered a modified passenger compartment. Elaborate furnishings and décor spread through a spacious room populated with armed guards. The sloping walls were covered by mahogany paneling, and thick, crimson shag carpeting covered the floor. Curtains were drawn back from the windows, allowing the sunset outside to filter in, shading the room in yellows and reds. Kurt’s eyes widened as he saw the painting he and Jimmy had stolen the night before on a wall near the rear of the compartment.
Gadot stopped them half-way across the room, turning to face them. “This is Lace HQ, so don’t break anything.” She gave Jimmy half a smile, turning back.
Kurt followed them into the next room. It was a smaller version of the previous compartment, with a large oak desk in the center of the room. Three luxurious armchairs were pulled out to one side of the desk, and Crane was seated at the desk, her hands together in front of her.
“Good evening, Crane.” Gadot smiled as she set her duffle bag down on the desk. Jimmy and Kurt both nodded their greetings and placed their own bags down. Jimmy casually tossed his on the floor and flopped into his chair, setting his feet up on the desk. These actions earned him a familiar, tight-lipped smile from Crane.
“Mr. James. Charming as ever.” She waved a guard over. “If you do not remove your feet from my desk, I will have you killed.” Crane spoke with the same tight-lipped smile and pleasant tone and nodded when Jimmy raised his hands in surrender and removed his boots, chuckling under his breath.
She turned to look at Kurt. “Good to see you, Mr. Kurtis. I’m pleased to discover Gadot has taken you under her wing. Almost as ingratiated as I am to see your repeated success.” She opened one of the bags, before shoving it to the side and waving over an NPC guard. He gathered up the bags and carried them through a door at the front of the cabin.
The door closed behind the NPC but opened again a second later. A man and woman entered and stood behind Crane. She waved a hand behind her. “Your attachés.”
Kurt leaned over towards Jimmy, but Gadot turned her head and gave him a look. “First rank NPC helper. They do things like shop for you or bring your car. It’s the unlock for online shopping too, they deliver directly to you. Strictly non-combat.” Kurt nodded, returning his attention to Crane.
“Now as to the distribution of funds. If you would like to use our in-house laundry service, I can make that available to you, and have the funds wired to your accounts before you make landfall.” She looked to each of them for a response, blinking and shifting her gaze as Kurt and then Gadot each nodded their approval. Jimmy smiled wide and shook his head, causing Crane's lips to tighten again. She motioned to the man behind her and he nodded, turning to leave the room. He returned shortly with a small leather shoulder bag, setting it down on the table in front of Jimmy.
He looked to Kurt and Gadot with a shrug. “I have a guy for this kind of thing already. Plenty of rep with an independent broker, should get me a better rate.”
Crane nodded. “I can respect that, Mr. James, but in the future you should be aware that our rates for this service are highly competitive.” She turned her attention back to Kurt. “We have a gift for you, Mr. Kurtis, to commemorate your recent accomplishments. Something that should suit an Infiltrator’s needs nicely.”
As she spoke, Crane slid open a desk drawer and set a small, black leather pouch in front of him. The pouch was rounded, with a fine, white, lace print trim around the edges. When Kurt unzipped it, he discovered a small gun-shaped lock pick. It was painted matte grey, and just barely fit in the palm of his hand, its pick extending in a thin stiletto.
“Mr. James, I have a gift for you as well. I hope you can forgive my presumption, but this item seemed to fit you.” The male attaché approached, carrying a long-barreled rifle with a bipod on the front, a wooden stock, grip, and a wood and metal carrying handle. Kurt and Jimmy scanned it at the same time.
M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
Rifle. Primary/Secondary weapon. Weapon drops upon death and can be collected by any player in the vicinity.
Caliber: .30-06
Rate of Fire: 500-650 rounds per minute
Capacity: 20 round box magazine
Jimmy frowned, picking up the heavy rifle. “Why would I want — ooh! Thirty aught six!” He stood and moved around the desk to hug Crane, which she bore awkwardly. Kurt and Gadot stared at him while he sat back down. “Thank you, Crane. I really mean that, this is perfect.”
“Well . . . continue being a valuable asset, I suppose.” She blinked rapidly a few times. “Please don’t hug me again.”
A large smile on his face, Jimmy played with his phone for a moment before scanning the gun again. “Anything you say, Crane.” He noticed Kurt and Gadot’s stares and explained, still poring over his new firearm, “I’ve been stuck working on Big Bore for months. I’m sure it’s what I need to move on with my class, but there’s so few guns that count towards it. Mostly hunting rifles and big snipers, a tiny bit for shotguns. This is basically an assault rifle, but .30-06 ammo gives XP towards Big Bore. I’m so happy!”
Crane looked at Gadot. “Your vehicle request has now been sourced, Viper. It is available for purchase at your convenience.”
Gadot nodded in response, moving to stand. “Call me Gadot from now on please.” Crane tilted her head in acquiesce.
Kurt and Jimmy followed her out, carrying their new items happily. As they exited, Gadot turned at the stairs leading to the cargo hold and looked at the men, one eyebrow slightly raised. “Tomorrow we go meet with the Pirates and the Russians. Two days after is their GoonStorm meet. You guys ready?”
Jimmy snorted, looking at Kurt. Kurt’s eyes widened a little as he looked between Gadot and Jimmy. “Uh, I don’t really know. What do I need?”
Leaning against the wall, Gadot looked him over. “I forget that you’re new. Do you have a safehouse yet?” When Kurt shook his head in response, she continued, “That’s a top priority, then, now that you have some bankroll to work with. Safehouses are storage, so when you get killed and lose all your gear, you can have a back-up set to work with instead of starting from scratch with just a sidearm. You should also get yourself a vehicle of some sort, we can’t always drive you around.”
Kurt was left to follow them, scratching his head in confusion. “Hey, hang on — how do I get back to the city? Is there an airport shuttle I could take or something?”
Gadot gave a short laugh. “Ha! Nope.”
Sighing deeply, Kurt felt his stomach clench. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”
“Not even a little bit.” Jimmy was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs and clapped him on the back with his customary smile. “At first, anyway. It’s pretty fun once you get used to it.” He pointed to the far cargo hold wall, indicating a series of parachutes hung on hooks beneath goggles.
Slipping into the straps of a parachute, Gadot slid on a pair of goggles before turning to a wide, flat, red button on the wall. Her hand hesitated over it, and she turned back to face Kurt and Jimmy. “Can I trust you guys in here?”
Kurt didn’t look away from the parachutes. “Why, don’t we seem trustworthy?”
Gadot shook her head with a smile and slapped the button, causing a blaring alarm to sound as a small hatch near the rear of the large cargo hold slid open. Without saying anything else she ran and leapt through the hatch, arms crossed over her chest and hair whipping around her head, vanishing into the night.
Jimmy stepped over and pressed the button again. The door slid closed as he looked at Kurt. “This is the main base for this faction. Which means that Gadot originally paid for all of this. At some point in the crew storyline she did, it became kind of like a guild hall. So she probably just doesn’t want us blowing it up or something else stupid.” He paused, looking around himself. “A reasonable concern, really.”
“Woah. We get a flying fortress as our guild hall?” Kurt took in the contents of the cargo hold again. “Cool.” He looked at his lock pick gun for a moment. “Wait, did we join her guild?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Naw. You did a job, right? Well, we did. It was for The Lace, but we didn’t know that at the time. Once we were done, we could just walk away from The Lace and go join the Pirates or do our own thing if we want. But I like this faction, and you seem to as well, so here we are.” He scowled for a moment, in thought. “There’s no official guild system. No guild name above your character, no G-kicks or invites. It’s all more natural. You kind of just stumble into and out of factions as you go. If you like a faction, you stick around and do their stuff. Build rep, get gear. If not, you wander into something else, or build your own faction like Gadot has done here. Reps decay over time, so you won’t really be in multiple groups at once, but some players like to try and juggle them. Usually ends with interesting storylines.”
Kurt stopped, eyes widening. “Gadot built this faction?”
Turning to the parachutes with a shrug, Jimmy grabbed one from the wall and shouldered into it. “Sure, why not? As far as I can tell, this whole faction is keyed to her playstyle. It would follow that she built it. Not consciously though. The game pays attention to every little thing you do. How you dress, the guns you like, the way you talk to people, the cars you drive, the things you look at, just . . . everything. All of it can go to crafting a faction like this just by playing in a certain style. Now that we’re in The Lace, I’m sure it’ll change a little here and there, though. That’s how it goes with factions being all player-run.” He turned to face Kurt and finished clipping his parachute into place around his groin.
“You look ridiculous. I really have to jump out of the plane?” Kurt stepped away from the parachutes, glancing around at the vehicles as if looking for other options.
Jimmy approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me. This is a super gentle way to get introduced to parachuting. My first time, I was getting shot down in a stolen helicopter with no weapons. It was terrifying. I didn’t actually make the jump until it was too late and went splat.”
Kurt’s eyes widened at the thought, and he reached for a parachute. Jimmy helped him get it clipped in and handed him a pair of goggles. Kurt’s heart began racing as Jimmy’s hand hovered over the button. “Wait, I’m not ready.”
“Too bad.” Jimmy slapped the button and grabbed Kurt by the handle on the back of his parachute. He dragged his friend to the edge of the hatch as Kurt halfheartedly struggled against him. “Okay, this is your ripcord. Pull it when you’re clear!” He smiled. “I have to throw you out now, buddy. It’s for your own good, I promise!” With that, he kicked the back of Kurt’s knees, and shoved him forward and down hard in a single motion.
Kurt fell from the cargo plane in the fetal position, screaming uncontrollably. The wind tore at his clothes and howled past his ears as he plummeted. Everything in his mind shouted at him that it wasn’t real and that he was fine, but the stimuli said otherwise. After he ran out of breath to scream for the second time, he gained a fatal sense of calm and managed to open his eyes. He was spinning slowly. He squeezed his eyes shut again, fighting back the panic.
Forcing his limbs to obey, he spread his arms and legs the way he had seen in movies, slowing his descent and stabilizing himself. After he felt the spin recede, he opened his eyes again and actually saw the city. Brilliant lights glittered from the Downtown Cluster, reaching in tendrils around the city’s center. A huge expanse of ocean spread out to the south and west, with twinkling spots of light indicating small islands or large boats. To the east sat a mountainous area, dotted with small towns and cut with long, winding, grey roads.
A sudden joy burst from inside him, and he laughed out loud into the wind. He began turning back and forth, trying various positions as he fell. The fear was gone entirely, replaced by pure exhilaration. An overwhelming freedom enveloped his senses. Fear came rushing back as he noticed how large the city’s skyscrapers were getting, and he slapped at his ripcord. Forcing himself to calm down, he yanked on the cord and his parachute unfurled, jerking on his body as it slowed his descent to a more manageable speed.
The Downtown Cluster rushed up to greet him, cement and steel causing the fear to come back in a flood. He hauled on his steering lines, weaving between the buildings while trying to figure out how to actually guide his descent. Once he was more or less clear of the high-rises Kurt began looking for a street to land on, more confident in his new parachuting abilities. All seemed to be going well as Kurt aimed for a familiar construction site, until he noticed the power lines.
Kurt yanked on the steering line in a hopeless attempt to dodge the upcoming power line in his path. His parachute hooked on the line, and he swung precariously into the middle of a four-lane road, feet kicking helplessly. The parachute became tangled, and Kurt swung back onto the road in a scraping tumble. Extricating himself from the lines and backpack, Kurt glanced at his wrist to note a drop of about a third in his health bar, explaining the dull hammer-blow pain he felt in his back and legs. A pleasant surprise was waiting for him in the cash section of his phone display. He now had a little more than 1.5 million in dirty cash, and 36 million in clean money.
