The Life- Illusion Read online

  Shaking off the effect of the slug, she nodded appreciatively at him. Before he could say anything, she took off at a run, disappearing around a nearby corner.

  Jimmies voice sounded in his ear. “What’s going on?”

  Kurt sighed, looking around for options. “I’m next door in the garage. Long terrifying story. Any chance of a pickup?”

  “Depends on how you define chance, I guess.” Kurt shook his head as he looked at the massive police force outside. Any second now he was sure one of them would turn and see him. Jimmy sounded in his ear again. “Tell you what though; I may be able to lead some of them off you.”

  Without waiting for a response, Jimmy began his plan of distraction. The hearse blew past, its horn blaring as Jimmy leaned out the window firing a chrome handgun at the swarm of police NPCs gathered in front of the buildings. While Kurt stared after him incredulously, a car pulled up beside him.

  It was a bright red two door sports car, the engine making a high-pitched roar as it approached. The 1983 Ferrari 308 was gorgeous, all sharp angles and sleek edges like something straight out of a movie. It had an aggressive raised wheel well on the front end, and stark black intake vents along the sides just behind the doors. The window rolled down and Gadot stared at him for a moment, her eyebrows raised. Rolling her eyes, she popped the passenger door open. “Get in!”

  “I got a ride Jimmy! Great work drawing them off us!” He spoke as he ran around the car and got into the black leather seat.

  “Us?? Are you still with that chick?!” He sounded upset. “Tell her she owes me one, that cheap shot was lame.”

  “Not the best time Jimmy.” He spoke as Gadot revved the engine and sent them hurtling out into the street with a squeal of tires. She slid sideways between two police cruisers, tires boiling as she floored the accelerator. Using the curbs dip leading to the garage, she drove up onto the sidewalk and hurtled down the block. The car was briefly airborne as she threw the wheel sideways and skidded down from the sidewalk, accelerating along the road with a sputtering roar. Kurt quickly drew the safety harness down over his head, clicking it into place between his legs.

  Looking out the rear window, he noticed with some dread that a sizeable police NPC force was swarming around the corner. Over two dozen cruisers were in pursuit, and a helicopter was buzzing in the sky above the buildings, its spotlight directly on the red Ferrari. He glanced over at Gadot and was surprised to see her calm, her hands loosely on the steering wheel and gear shift. As he watched, she stepped lightly on the clutch and downshifted in preparation for another high-speed turn, causing the tires to break loose on the asphalt with a satisfying squeal.

  Jimmy sounded in his ear, sirens also audible from his end. “How many do you have on you?”

  Kurt gripped the armrest and the handle on his door, clenching as Gadot blew between two civilian cars at high speed. “Shit! I dunno Jimmy, all of them?”

  His friend laughed. “Not even close. This is only a four bar. It gets so much worse than this. Plus I have, and I’m operating on an educated guess here, forty? On my ass.”

  Gadot glanced at Kurt with a scowl. “Jimmy? The guy I shot?” Kurt nodded quickly, his eyes glued to the front windshield as Gadot bounced up onto a low curb and drove the car into a narrow alley. Homeless NPCs flew by the windows in a blur as she drove, sliding around the corner at the end of the alley and missing a civilian car by inches. Kurt swallowed hard, still gripping the handles and trying not to jump out of his seat at the wild driving.

  Letting the car fall into neutral, Gadot slammed on the brakes and brought them to a dead stop in the middle of the road as sirens became much louder frighteningly fast. “OK, what are you doing? Why are you freaking out?” She stared at Kurt.

  Glancing nervously through the rear windshield, his voice was somewhat higher than usual when he responded. “Your driving is terrifying, I’m sorry.”

  She sighed. “Really?! You have any idea how high my driver skillset is? Look, I appreciate you helping in the office and saving me from that low blow Taser, but I won’t sit here and be insulted while saving your ass from an inescapable four bar.”

  Nervously looking up at the helicopter, Kurt nodded. “I get you. I’m sorry.”

  She shifted back into first and wrenched up the parking brake, a plume of white smoke rising from the back of the car. “Damn right you are.” Sliding the wheel around, she let the car skid in place until it was facing the direction she wanted, and then let the brake go. The Ferrari shot off into the evening traffic as police NPCs swarmed into the road behind them.

  Checking his map, he saw several red and blue dots in chase behind them. A single black dot was in the middle of the cluster, and Kurt peered out the back window to see what that vehicle could be. A black and yellow 2018 Dodge Demon had just come around the corner. Its front end lifted slightly off the pavement as it accelerated towards them with shocking speed.

  “Gadot? …I think we have a player after us.” Kurt drew his Beretta and squinted as the Demon pulled up alongside them. Gadot turned her face away, rolling down Kurt’s window with a switch in the center console. The strange player dressed as a police patrolman smiled at Kurt with a nod, and then lifted his absurdly large Desert Eagle. Kurt immediately shot his door four times, noting with displeasure that his bullets left no mark at all. The player just smiled, slowly rolling down his own window. “Gadot!? We have a problem here…”

  Focusing on the road ahead, she scowled. “Tires and windshield.” With that simple advice, she pulled ahead of the enemy player in a quick burst of speed. Kurt tried to ignore the whipping wind as he leaned out of the window part way, firing four quick shots into the windshield of the Demon. Again, his rounds had no effect. He reached for a new magazine, allowing his to puff to dust as it hit the roadway. As he reloaded, the enemy player opened fire. Seven thudding bangs sounded over the considerable engine noise and the car began to emit white smoke, some new holes in its sides.

  “Sonofa…” Gadot glanced in her rearview, and then dropped speed slightly. “Sit down, this bastard is mine.” They approached a bridge curving over a freeway as she allowed the enemy player to come even with them again. She tapped the brakes, jerked the steering wheel over slightly in his direction and nudged the rear end of his car.

  The Demon went sideways in front them, the enemy players eyes wide. Gadot floored the accelerator again, slipping her Ferraris hood beneath the Demons undercarriage for an instant before she slammed on the brakes and went into the curve. The Demon flipped onto its roof, tumbling onto its other side in a screech of twisted metal, before striking the guardrail and spinning off into the empty air over the freeway.

  “Holy shit, was that on purpose?!” Kurt had ducked in his seat when Gadot took out the enemy player, but the display had caused a huge boost of confidence in his new companion.

  She kept her dead calm gaze on the road ahead. “He shot my car.”

  Kurt’s eyes widened again as he looked at her. Quickly swiping at his wrist, he added her to his friends list. She glanced at her notification and gave a quick laugh before sliding the car into a construction lot. As they shattered a small wooden barricade barring the entrance, she drove directly towards an oversized earth mover parked in the center of the lot. It was parked between a massive hole in the ground, and a large cinderblock pile. Apparently, the NPCs were breaking ground for a new building. Kurt had most of a second to muse on that before realizing they were about to hit the earthmover. He ducked in his seat again, causing Gadot to shake her head as she slipped the car expertly beneath the massive dump truck.

  She casually looked over as a dozen police cruisers slammed into the earth mover, causing a sizable pile up. The helicopter buzzed over the bridge they had just come from. “Oh, I forgot about that thing, hold on.”

  Gadot stepped out of the vehicle, reaching back in for her strange rifle. She leaned it against the roof of the car and aimed carefully through the scope on top at the police helicopter that swun
g out over the construction lot. She ducked, swiveling the rifle to follow the helicopter as it moved over them.

  Taking a slow even breath, she fired. The helicopter shuddered, a sound of tearing metal erupting from it. Its rear rotor shot sparks into the air before it spun off entirely, embedding itself into the cinderblock pile with an eruption of concrete dust. The helicopter began to spin wildly in the air above them, spiraling down and to the side as it crashed into the freeway beside them in an eruption of flame and pitch-black smoke.

  Kurt’s eyes widened further, checking his phone as the Heat notification bumped up to a five bar. Gadot got back in the car, dropping her rifle behind the seats. “What? Choppers are the hard part.” She punched the pedals again, throwing the car into gear and tearing off down the street. Kurt glanced back and scanned the rifle. It was a De Lisle Carbine rifle, its integrated suppressor being the cause of the strange looking barrel.

  De Lisle Carbine

  Rifle. Primary/Secondary. Firearm drops upon death and can be picked up by any player in the vicinity.

  Caliber: .45

  Rate of Fire: Bolt Action

  Capacity: 7 Round Magazine.

  Jimmy was in his ear again. “Why did the Heat just go up? I was having a hard enough time with a four bar man, this is about to get ugly.”

  As they bounced out of the dirt lot onto a proper city street, Kurt was not thrilled to notice a series of shiny black Dodge Chargers roaring down the road towards them, blue and red light bars in the grilles flashing. “She just took out a chopper. I…I think it blew up on the freeway.”

  Jimmy just laughed, the sound of gunfire and breaking glass coming through the coms. Gadot glanced at her wrist again, chuckling. “Your pal just friend requested me. What’s with you guys?”

  Kurt smiled innocently. “I’m new here. No idea what his excuse is.”

  She glanced at the rearview. “I have to admit, I’m impressed he’s survived this long. What’s he driving?”

  Pulling up the map on his wrist, Kurt shook his head slightly. “A hearse.”

  Gadot burst out in laughter, before swerving to avoid a new squad of black Chargers. She cut through an alley in the crowded downtown area, swerving to avoid a crowd of club goers as she sent them running with a high pitched horn blast. The civilian NPCs scattered, and she cut the Ferrari down the main road, pursuit hot behind them. With the straightaway at hand, she quickly swiped through her wrists virtual console, accepting Jimmy and Kurt’s friend requests and patching into their call.

  “Hey Jimmy. I’m actually kind of sorry that I shot you.” She shrugged as she spoke, scowling at the crowd of black Chargers behind them. “Well boys, we’re running out of options.”

  A crunch sounded, followed by several loud gunshots in a row and a grunt from Jimmy. “Yeah, I can’t outrun these Chargers. You have a plan?”

  Gadot smiled wide, showing her teeth. “Oh I have a plan. Kurt, toss the map up for me. Jimmy, I want you to come straight for me as fast as you can.”

  Kurt swiped through to the map, setting a waypoint to Jimmy and tossing it up onto the windshield. She swiped it down to the corner and wrenched on the wheel while hauling the handbrake up. The car’s tires screamed in protest as they came around, and Gadot floored the accelerator again.

  Weaving slightly, she darted up onto the sidewalk at a crosswalk, laying on the horn and flying between crowds of scrambling civilians. Darting past the Chargers, she dropped back into the road, driving towards Jimmy’s dot on the map at an angle.

  “Ok, this is going to be close. I will adjust, you just keep driving straight as fast as you can Jimmy.” Her eyes were glued to the road ahead and her hands gripped the steering wheel as the smile Kurt was quickly becoming afraid of returned to her lips.

  “Got you. I’m smoking over here guys. This car won’t last much longer.” He didn’t sound worried, instead casually giving them information.

  Gadot nodded to no one again. “This is over in…eight seconds. Just keep going.”

  True to her word, eight seconds later Kurt saw Jimmies hearse hurtling down the road directly at them from a side street. Black smoke was pouring out of the hood and Jimmy had his head hanging out the window to see as he drove. Gadot rolled harder on the accelerator, and they flew across the intersection directly behind the hearse. They cut between the hearse and its own crowd of black Chargers, causing them to all hit their brakes and slide sideways into the intersection.

  Kurt and Gadot’s crowd slammed into them as they did, a massive pile up filling the entire intersection. Screaming tires joined the voices of civilians and the cacophony of shattering glass and twisting metal.

  “Holy…” Jimmy was in awe, at a loss for words for the briefest of moments. “I think I’m in love.”

  Gadot laughed again, relaxing and leaning back in her seat. “Just a skillset boys. Keep going, we can lose the Heat now.” She drove down a handful of side-streets, finding Jimmies hearse and pulling up along-side it. It constantly emitted a horrible screeching rattle and the black smoke pouring from the hood seemed to have gotten thicker. Bullet holes riddled the body of the vehicle and most of its windows were shattered. Jimmy had one hand draped casually over the steering wheel, and tipped them a wink as they pulled up alongside him.

  They drove until they were out of the Heat search zone, before pulling over in a movie theater parking lot. Jimmy got out of his hearse and stretched, displaying several bullet holes in his undershirt and shorts. The clothing regenerated once the Heat dropped to nothing. Gadot exited her vehicle as well, taking in Jimmy’s state with a small grimace.

  He noticed right away. “Jealousy does not become you, Madame.”

  She snorted, leaning against the Ferrari. “Just trying to figure out who took more bullets, you or the hearse.”

  Jimmy ran his hand along the hearses hood in a protective motion. “Pretty sure it was me, but I DID have a head start.” He looked at her pointedly as she shrugged, an amused smile creeping at the corner of her lips.

  As Kurt exited the vehicle, she turned and looked at him. She wasn’t quite scowling, but Kurt got the distinct impression she was trying to figure him out. He decided to break the silence. “Thank you Gadot. We never would have gotten away with the painting without you.”

  She shrugged, again nonchalant. “Can’t rely on shooting alone in this. Gotta have a primary skillset that isn’t combat.”

  A gasp sounded from behind her, as Jimmy held a hand dramatically to his chest in shock. “Blasphemy!” He whispered as if greatly offended, looking to the sky.

  Gadot smiled as she glanced at her phone, swiping a message up that made her narrow her eyes. She tapped the roof of her car and slid into the seat. “Nice knowing you boys.” Kurt had enough time to get his feet clear of the car before it sped off out of the parking lot, tires chirping around the corners.

  Jimmy called for his lowrider, leaving the hearse smoking in its parking spot. He claimed it would be fixed by the next time they logged in and grumbled a bit about paying for repairs. As they drove towards the outskirts of the downtown cluster, he was uncharacteristically quiet.

  5. The Lace

  Chapter 5

  The Lace

  “All good over there?” Kurt gently prodded his friend with the storage tube, being swatted away.

  “Yeah man. This was just a really crazy night; I haven’t played things this way for a good long time. Causing some thoughts.” Jimmy didn’t look away from the windshield. “Let’s get that thing fenced and get back to my safe-house; I need to log off for the night. It’s like 2 am in the real world.”

  Kurt threw the waypoint up on the windshield and they drove to the drop off. As they neared the waypoint on the map, the neighborhood became somewhat less welcoming. The street lights overhead were mostly off or broken, and the cities taller buildings gave way to low slung warehouses and industrial compounds.

  The waypoint terminated at a railyard, nestled beneath a freeway overpass. The road l
eading into the railyard had a rolling gate blocking the way with a single man standing behind it. He shined a large flashlight at them, as two others with intimidating black military rifles stepped up on either side of the car. They scanned the interior quickly before one of them made a hand signal over his head and the gate clunked into motion.

  Kurt looked around, rather shocked at the amount of firepower on display by this group of NPCs as Jimmy drove through the middle of them. They had roughly a dozen men walking the area, each with an automatic rifle either cradled in their arms or strapped to their chest. The way point and armed guards all led up to a simple train car seated on the tracks. As they pulled up beside it to park, the sliding door was hauled open and yet another armed guard stepped down to welcome them. Each of the guards was dressed in dark colored street clothes, but they each had a thick tactical armored vest over their outfits.

  The guard stood waiting for them as they exited the car, a slight scowl on his features. He and the other guards stood cradling their rifles, fingers extended over the trigger guards as they scanned the area for possible threats. As they approached, he gave a quick head jerk in the direction of the train car and remained silent, refusing to even look directly at them.

  Jimmy’s eyes were wide as he took everything in. “I’ve never seen this faction before, what have you dragged me into?!” He whispered at Kurt, who ignored him as he climbed into the train car. Jimmy sighed and followed him into the darkened interior.

  The train car was dark inside, aside from a small directional lamp that illuminated an ornate wooden desk at the far end. Kurt stepped towards it, noticing the armed guards on either side, both carrying some kind of automatic magazine fed shotguns, easily identified by the red shells peeking from inside the cutaway drum magazines.