Safe Haven - Rescue!

[...Posted by Ted H]

[Safe Haven - Rescue!]

Just as John had hoped, the alleyway behind Perry’s brothel was free of any ResEs or fighting. “We enter through the back and we head out the same way,” he said as he led Anderson and Kate to the door. The back room was empty, but the trio kept quiet as they made their way for the front lobby. John’s plan was to check every possible room starting with Perry’s office. Alive or dead, he doubted the ResEs would take him out into the streets, especially with a firefight going on.

As they approached the lobby, John could hear talking. He wasn’t sure who it was, but it was a man and it wasn’t Perry, so he readied his gun. He peeked around the doorframe and noticed it was a ResE, talking to another ResE who was laying on the ground. A few other men laid on the ground scattered about, but none of them were moving. “Just two,” John whispered as he faced Anderson and Kate. “I’ll head for the office. Cover me while I run in. Hopefully he’s in there.” The others nodded as John peered back at the ResEs. One was talking into his radio while the other was getting up.

John aimed and landed a headshot just before he took off for Perry’s office. The other ResE swore before shooting at John as he ran, but Anderson and Kate firing forced him to take cover and forget about John. “Perry?” John called out as he turned the corner to enter Perry’s office, almost tripping over a dead woman in the process.

Perry laid in the middle of the office, a small pool of blood by his head. John slowly approached him, hoping that things weren’t as bad as they seemed. Nearby was another woman, but the bullet wounds in her and the amount of blood surrounding her suggested that she was long dead. John took note that the woman was clutching his magnum as he shook Perry’s shoulder. “No…” Perry mumbled as he shifted himself. “Perry? Perry, we need to go,” John said as he attempted to help Perry up.

Perry attempted to get up on his own, giving John some time to collect his magnum and the handgun from the dead women. He still had no clue to where his pants from yesterday, or the knife they contained were, but he didn’t have time to look around. “Let’s go!” John said as he pocketed the weapons and picked Perry up and hoisted him over his shoulder.

John jogged back to the lobby to find that Anderson, Kate and the ResE had all made no progress during their firefight. The ResE had taken cover behind a couple of stacked dead bodies and an overturned table, while Anderson and Kate remained where they were before, only concerned with cover fire to keep the ResE pinned.

“Got him!” John called as he ran back to the others and they all made for the back exit. At this point the ResEs had swarmed the streets, but the back alleys were relatively safe. It was once again only a matter of how much time you spent out in the open between alleys that dictated your chances of getting caught. The farther away from the riot they got however, the less chances were that they’d even see another ResE.

Kate was leading the way, Anderson was watching the back as they walked. Perry was groaning, but showed no signs that he even knew what was happening. “I’m so sorry,” John kept saying anyway. “Almost there,” Kate said as she stuck her head out and noted that there weren’t any ResEs. “I don’t think we need to sneak,” Anderson said as he concealed his weapons. John currently had four guns on his person, only two of which were hidden, but with the lack of ResEs, there wasn’t much need for secrecy.

Kate ran off ahead when Laura’s townhouse came into view. Anderson helped John carry Perry the rest of the way as Laura and Kate came out to help them navigate Perry up the steps. “Put him on the couch,” Laura said as they entered the house and Kate shut the door. “How bad is it out there?” Laura asked Anderson while John sat down on the floor next to the couch Perry was on.

“It’s probably over now,” Anderson said as he pulled out his guns and walked over to the staircase. “I’m going back to bed,” he said as he left. “I think I’ll head back home, too,” Kate said as she waved goodbye and left. Laura walked over to Perry with a cloth and tried to clean up Perry’s face as Cayra entered from the kitchen.

“I just want you to know, Cayra,” John said “Even though this is all your fault, I’m not too mad at you.” Cayra stopped short as a look of disgust spread over her face. “My fault?” she blurted out as she balled her hands into fists. “Yeah,” John said “You don’t kill that ResE, and a lot of people wouldn’t have died today.” Cayra sneered, walked over and slapped John across the face before storming off back.

“All this was bound to happen,” Laura said as she finished with Perry’s face “You running afoul of the ResEs? I’m surprised it even too this long. Don’t try to hide behind Cayra on that one.” John waved Laura’s comment off. He ran his hand over his head as he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall behind him. “Laura, you have a cig I can bum?” he asked, to which Laura responded by throwing the bloody cloth at him. “I take it that’s a “no” then.”