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Bubble Gum Crisis is copyrighted Artmic Inc. and Youmex, Inc. I am
just borrowing the characters for a little while, and promise not to
bend, fold, or staple them - unless I can come up with a good reason
to do so. I can be contacted at the Email address above. C&C will be
accepted, out and out flames will result in a Boomer or two being sent
after you.

Please, enjoy my take on the Bubble Gum Crisis universe.....

NOTE: My website is up at last, and seems to be working right. Come by and see
it! It's at http://members.aol.com/trboturtle 
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Chapter 10

District 8
February 10, 2036
10:21pm

     The two thugs sent for the Gerlitch Rifle returned with it
and several magazines worth of ammo. Satoru directed them to set
the anti-Boomer weapon at the far end of the hall. As the thugs
secured the weapon for use, there was the sound of an explosion
from outside the building.

     Satoru snarled at one of his men, "Go find out what that
was."

     The hood ducked into one of the offices, and was back five
seconds later. "There's an N-police car on fire twenty meters
from the front door."

     "Any idea what happened?"

     "I don't know, sir. There were no other signs of battle."

     At that moment, Tetsu approached Satoru. "Sir, the Red Wind
Jager team is on the roof."

     Satoru scowled at him. "Now I know why the N-police car is
burning," he hissed. "Can't those fools do anything right?"

     "I don't know, Sir."

     "Enough about them. What's the latest on the fires
upstairs?"

     "Ochoa reports the fires are almost out. He said that they
should be able to move through the fifth floors in another three
minutes."

     "I want The Jagers to lead the advance down the stairs."

     "But the stairways are too tight for the suits to move
through."

     Satoru looked away in anger, thought for a minute, then
looked back at Tetsu. "In that case, I want the Jagers to come
through the windows on the fourth floor. While they do that, I
want Ochoa and his men to come down to the fourth by the stairs."

     Tetsu nodded. "You want to force Nemesis to come down the
stairs to this floor?"  

     "Exactly," replied Satoru. "Post two men in the offices at
the far end of this floor, and I want everyone else to get behind
the Gerlitch, and stand by to fire on my orders."

     **********          **********          **********
     
     Nemesis double checked the charges he'd planted, greatful
for the foresight to pack waterproof detonators. The water
sprinklers had reduced the fires he'd started to smoldering piles
of ashes. <I should have disable the water mains too, only the
plans didn't show them! Oh well, let see Sato make any profit off
of these ashes.>

     He straighten just as Sarge called him. "Trouble, Sir."

     "What?"

     "The first of the Yak power suits just landed on the roof,
They just took out an N-police car, and at lest one officer."

     "You're still holding your primary position, aren't you?"

     "Yes Sir, I am. And it's a good thing I did stay."

     "Why?"

     "I got a good reading on the Yak power suits as they came in
over me. They're not ADP K-11s - they're Jager Hunter/Killer
Class, and they're fully armed."

     "Shit," breathed Nemesis. His suit's weapons would have a
difficult time against the heavier armor of the Jagers, while the
power suit's firepower would easily penetrated his armor. He
might be able to take out one, but not any more then that. "How
many are there on the roof?"

     "Three at the present time. But there's more on the way."

     Nemesis thought for several seconds, then made his decision.
He couldn't fight three Jagers in this hardsuit. "I'm aborting
the rest of the mission. The papers in the Nightclub's safe will
have to wait. Stand by for retreval."

     "Standing by. I'm also bringing the heavy hardsuit online,
just in case you need the extra firepower."

     "That's a good idea. Make sure the suit's carrying the
maximum weapons load."

     "I always do. See you in a couple of minutes."

     "I hope so. Nemesis out." Nemesis stepped back from the
circle of explosives he'd made on the floor. The circle was four
foot in diameter, outlined with a thin, putty like substance. Four
small boxes, each with a blinking light, had been placed at the
cardinal points.

     Nemesis stepped back and pushed a button on his forearm
control panel. The circle exploded with a solid thump that shook
the building. Smoke and dust filled the air, the water having
only a mild effect on the cloud.

     Nemesis reached the hole in two strides and dropped into the
hole. As he did so, the windows exploded in, sending jagged
pieces of glass through the air. He caught a glimpse of the stocky
Jager power suits as they crashed through the windows before he
disappeared through the hole. <Perfect timing.>

     The fourth floor exploded as the timing explosives Nemesis
had set went off. What windows that hadn't been destroyed by the
Jagers were blown out by the force of the explosion. The walls,
floor, and ceiling, designed to survive an earthquake, cracked
under the force. 

     A series of large fireballs rolled through the open space,
incinerating nearly everything in their path. Most of the flame
shot out the windows, showering the street below with fire. None
of the support pillars survived the explosion, or the fireballs,
intact.

     The Jagers, designed to survive warfare, did a little
better. Only one of the Jager suits was destroyed by the massive
explosion, mostly because it was standing between two of the
demolition packs when they exploded. The twin shockwaves and
following firestorm crushed the suit and incinerating the pilot
inside. The other two suffered severe fire and concussion
damage, but were still operational.

     By the time the pilots recovered, Nemesis was gone. 

     **********          **********          **********

     Both Priss and Leon crouched on the stairwell landing
between the second and third floor, and felt the building rock
under the massive explosions. Chunk of plaster fell on and around
them, covering them with a fine white plaster. The sound of the
explosion pounded their eardrums.

     They'd discovered the emergency stairwell after slipping
inside the door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY. The first two flights of
stairs were no problem, but now things had just gotten
complicated.

     "What the hell was that?" asked Priss, wiping some of the
plaster off her face.

     He looked up the stairwell, then back down to Priss, who was
behind him. "Sounded like the entire fourth floor," he replied
thoughtfully. 

     "Not funny, Leon."

     "Who's joking?"

     Priss glanced up the stairwell. "It sounded like a lot of
high explosives going off all at once."

     "Nemesis," replied Leon grimly. "I forgot to mention that he
has a `scorched earth' policy when it comes to his targets."

     "You forgot?" Priss glared at him. "We're in a building
crawling with Yakuza, a hardsuited hitman, and you forget that
one of the players in this deal likes blowing up people and
places?"

     He looked at her. "Yes, I forgot. Is that a crime?"

     "Has anyone told you that you can be such a jackass at
times?"

     "Daley tells me that every time I turn him down."   

     "Like I said, Daley's too good for you."

     "True." He listen for a second. There were the sounds of
several bursts of full auto fire, muffled but still discernable,
coming from the floor above them. There was a thud of a grenade,
then screams, then more automatic weapons firing. He looked at
Priss. "Time to scrub the look see, and get the hell out of
here."

     "Now he gets the idea," muttered Priss.

     "I thought we could beat Nemesis to the drug labs," he said
frankly. "But he beat us to it, and he's on his way down. I think
we better get the hell out of the way."

     "Makes sense, but -"

     "Down!" shouted Leon, as his Redhawk snapped up and started
to track something on the stairs below. Trusting Leon's judgement
on this, Priss dropped as flat as she could on the floor of the
landing. She heard someone curse from the stairs below, then the
sound of a firearm bolt being pulled back.

     "ADP!" Leon shouted. "You're under arrest!"
 
     More curses, followed by movement, in the form of footsteps
on the stairs. The roar of the magnum in the confined area of the
stairwell was deafing.

     By the time Leon fired his second shot, Priss had turned
onto her side, her own pistol pointed in the same direction as
Leon's revolver was pointed. "I can't see anyone!"

     "They pulled back," replied Leon in a monotone.

     "Did you hit anyone?"

     "Yea. He's not getting up anytime soon."

     Priss moved to look over the stair's edge, but Leon's hand
stopped her. "I wouldn't," he said slowly. "Both shots caught him
in the head, and I'm using Boomer rounds."

     Priss grimaced. Using Boomer rounds on a human was akin to
using a sledgehammer to swat a fly. "What do we do now?"

     "We can't go down."

     "Brilliant, Leon. Can you you pat your head and rub your
stomach at the same time too?"

     "So, we go up."

     "I take the brilliant statement back."

     "If you've got any ideas of your own, I'm all ears."

     "Sorry, left my ideas in my biker leathers."

     "Up it is." He started up the stairs, staying low and close
to the far wall. Once he was halfway up the flight, Priss
followed.

     **********          **********          **********

     Nemesis controlled drop from the fourth to the third floor
had destroyed a desk, desk computer, and assorted knick knacks on
that desk. Without pausing, he rolled clear of the wreckage and
into a corner of the office.

     As he did so, the burst of fire from the exploding fourth
floor poured out of the hole. Multiple fires were ignited as the
fire roared across any and all flammable material. In a matter of
heartbeats, most of the room was an inferno.

     As quickly as the fire burst appeared, it died out. But the
damage had been done. There was still plenty of fire around the
room, and getting worse. Nemesis rose to his feet, feeling the
heat from the fire around him. He ran through the fire for the
door, reaching the door in several strides.

     As he reached the door, it began to open. Without slowing,
Nemesis crashed into the door. The door was not designed to hold
up under the force of a hardsuited human, and splinted. The two
gangsters who had tried to open the door were sent flying into
the wall opposite the door. Two rounds from his railgun put them
down for good.

     Nemesis heard a shout to his left, and he turned in that
direction. A small group of thugs were clustered around a large
ugly looking weapon at the end of the hall. He saw Satoru, waving
a pistol around, shouting out orders and pointing to Nemesis.

     A couple of the hoods managed to point their machine guns at
him, and opened fire. Nemesis dodged to the right and pointed the
grenade launcher at them. Most of the slugs burned through the
air where he had been standing, though a couple of them struck
glancing blows on his armor. 

     Before the rest of the gangsters could open fire, Nemesis
triggered the grenade launcher. The flash\bang grenade exploded
amongst them with increadable force in the confined area. Two of
the hardmen died instantly, the close proximity of the shockwave
and bright flash being more then their bodies could stand. The
others were rubbing their eyes or holding their hands over their
ears in an attempt to regain the use of their senses. 

     Nemesis didn't give them the chance. The vibrosword slipped
free of his sheath, and he charged at the stunned Yakuza members.
Two of the hoods who tried to bring guns to bear on the charging
vigilante fell with railgun spikes impaling them. As he
approached, Nemesis saw Satoru stagger away from his men, and
towards the door leading downstairs.

     By then, Nemesis was among the gangsters. He ducked a half
blinded Yakuza's wild swing, and ran the man through. As he
pulled the vibrosword free, he turned to his right and kicked
another Yakuza in the stomach. The man dropped dead, the blow
instantly fatal.

     After several more seconds of close combat, none of the
Yakuza in the hall were alive. Nemesis surveyed he surroundings,
and noted the large ugly weapon looked undamaged. He reached down
and pulled it out of the small pile of bodies. He examined it
quickly and saw it was still functional.

     <A Gerlitch Anti-Boomer Rifle. I can use this.> He reached
down and picked up three magazines for the rifle. He looked in
the direction of the stairs. <Your turn, Satoru.>

     **********          **********          **********

     Leon and Priss reached the top of the stairs just as the
door leading to the third floor flew open. A figure staggered
out, waving a pistol. He was looking back over his shoulder, and
there was a look of sheer terror on his face. It took several
seconds for Priss to recognize the man as the one who'd they met
at the front door - Satoru.

     The Yakazu man fired his pistol several times at something
behind him. The was the sound of metal striking metal, then a
hollow voice, cold and still like the grave said, "You loose,
Satoru."

     Both Leon and Priss were still crouched low on the stairs.
Leon reached up, grabbed the gangster's ankle, and pulled. Satoru
screamed as he fell, his pistol falling from his hand. As Satoru
fell, a loud crack echoed through the stairwell, and the wall
behind the Yakuza man exploded.

     The three of them covered themselves as the air became
filled with chunks of cement and plaster. Priss looked up at
Leon. "What the Hell was that?" she yelled, her ears ringing from
the sound.

     "A Gerlitch Anti-Boomer Rifle," replied Leon, pulling the
semiconscious Satoru towards him.

     "Who the hell is using one of those to kill a human?"

     A shadow emerged from the doorway. Priss first thought was
<Boomer!> But once it stepped out in the hallway, Priss saw it
was a hardsuit, dull black in color, carrying a huge rifle with
the same ease as a soldier carrying a normal rifle. There were
scars and pits in the armor, but the stylized skull painted over
the faceplate was unmarked.

     It looked down at the three of them, the muzzle of the still
smoking rifle pointing over their heads. "Inspector McNichol,"
said a cold voice from the hardsuit. "Fancy meeting you here."

     Leon was looking up at the hardsuit, all the while crawling
over Satoru to shield him. "You must be Nemesis."

     "I am," the hardsuited vigilante replied, his voice
distorted by the electronics. "I suggest you stop protecting
Satoru there. He isn't worth it."

     "So you can murder him?" Leon shouted. "Who made you Judge,
jury and executioner?"

     "His own actions convict him."

     Meanwhile, Satoru was trying to wriggle out from under Leon,
and escape. Leon slammed an elbow into the back of the Yakuza
man's head, and Satoru stopped struggling. 

     Leon looked up at Nemesis. "I'm placing him under arrest."

     "On what charge?"

     "Drug manufacturing."

     "There's nothing left of the drug lab, Inspector. And
there's not going to be a lot left of this building when I'm
through here. I suggest that you and your lady friend here clear
out, now. Sato's deploying Jager class power suits, and that
means trouble."

     Leon pointed his Redhawk at Nemesis. "I'm still placing
Satoru under arrest, for no other reason then to protect him from
you!" he yelled. "I know your rep, Nemesis. You don't draw down
on police officers, even dirty ones. So back off, and leave
Satoru to me!" 

     Priss didn't realize that she'd been holding her breath
until Nemesis raised the long barrel of the Boomer rifle until it
was well over their heads. "Very well, Inspector," Nemesis said.
"I know he'll be out of jail before you finish the paperwork, but
by all means, arrest him. I won't stop you."

     There were the sounds of footsteps from the stairs below,
getting louder as they got closer. "Satoru's men, on the other
hand," continued Nemesis, "might object to your course of
action." 

     Leon cursed for several seconds. Priss turned and covered
the lower stairs with her pistol. "Now what, Leon?" she said in a
tight voice.

     "You take care of your prisoner, Inspector," said Nemesis.
"I'll take care of the others." 

     The hardsuited vigilante launched himself over the the three
and touched down on the landing below. He turned, pointed the 
Gerlitch down the stairs, and fired two rounds. The effect of the
massive rifle being fired in an enclosed place stunned Priss,
Leon, and Satoru for several seconds. Before the rolling boom
faded, Nemesis jumped down the stairs, and out of sight.

     Priss tried to listened for the sounds of shots, screams,
and other noise of battle, but her ears were still ringing from
the Gerlitch. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder, and she
looked up at Leon. He motioned down the stairs with his free arm,
the other holding a scared looking Satoru by the scruff of his
neck. She nodded, and the three of them started down the stairs.
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