Chapter 3 Red

The rain had turned into a downpour. The ledge Red had grabbed on to was becoming slick. With both hands, he hoisted himself up onto the roof in time to see Jake and the Shepard in a full on fist fight. Before Red could rush over to help his partner, the unmarked helicopter that was circling, came in low to the roof, most likely for a landing. Jake cocked his head to look at the heli long enough for the Shepard to kick him in the gut. The momentum from the kick pushed Jake back over a low pipe. He fell and rolled past Red, right off the roof. Red dropped back off, lunging his hand at Jake. The two connected and Red took the full 250 pound weight Jake carried. His hand immediately slipped off the pipe, and the two fell.

Though the bank only had two stories, the pair fell onto the loading dock behind the bank. Instead of falling 5 meters, they fell eight. As they fell, the light of the low moon hit their armor, refracting in a way that made the two look like angels, falling from the Gods grasp.

Red impacted a white van, caving in the roof three feet. The force of the impact knocked Red completely unconscious. He then fell a additional ten feet onto the concrete ramp. Jake had impacted just moments before, cracking the ground around him. Coolant and hydraulic fluid leaked from both suits. The Shepard and his crew looked on from the roof at the two, as they lay lifeless.

Red's suit brought him back after only about thirty seconds. He was on his back, rain hitting his face, washing the red out of his white fur. He looked to his right to see his partner laying in a black pool. His suit automatically activated his Heads Up Display. The staticiy display showed multiple hemorrhages on both Red and Jake. Jake however, did not have the severe pelvic crack Red got upon impact with the van. Red stumbled over the his partner, with enough drugs flowing through his system to kill an elephant. He fell next to his unconscious partner. Jake's suit had suffered a direct impact to the CPU Core. His whole suit was dead. Red stammered back to his knee, and tried to drag his partner back to the police and paramedics at the front of the bank. He could faintly hear the rushing sound of feet hitting the ground at a full run behind him. He relaxed, they were coming to get him. At that moment, a blast hit him in the back and side. Then he was engulfed in flames and debris. He fell into the blackness.

. . .

Red awoke later in a bed, blinded by a white light. As his vision started to adjust, he could make out details of his surroundings. The room look like a private hospital room, with different displays above his head. Besides that, the room was empty. He looked to his right and saw Jake laying in a separate bed next to him. He was hooked to a vital monitoring machine and an IV. Red slid his legs off the side of the bed and hit the floor with an audible "Umph".

He stood slowly, gaining his balance, and moved to his partner's side. Jake had a multitude of cuts on his neck and chest. Red shook him. "Jake, wake up. Jake! Jake!" Red collapsed on top of his partner and began to weep. He then felt a had on his shoulder. Jake looked at him with a pained grin on his face.

"Well isn't that just sweet. I didn't know you would be so heart broken." Jake said fighting the urge to laugh. Red grinned and jumped on him.

"I thought i lost you! Don't fucking do that any more!"

"Don't worry buddy, I'm not going any where."

On the wall facing the two, the words "GET DRESSED" appeared in a glowing yellow with an arrow pointing to a dresser. Red helped Jake out of bed, and the two hobbled over to the dresser. In side was a pair of black jump suits, boots, and under clothing. Both got dressed and waited for further instructions. As if almost on cue, the words "GO INTO THE HALL" appeared in front of them. They exchanged a look, and walked over to the sliding door.

The hall was completely different than the previous room. The walls were painted blue, with an oak finish. The floors were made of teak, and the soft yellow glow of the lights come from hanging boxes. In front of them stood a large metal box. The front slid oped to reveal its contents. Two full sets of Riot Gear. Red looked at Jake, and eagerly hoped into the machine. It began attaching the pieces of the gear on to their respective places. After only a few moments the machine spit him back on to the floor. He was now covered in ultra advance panels that seemed to move with him. Though the panels were solid, breaks at his joints allowed him full movement. Attached to his hip was a helmet, which looked like it custom molded to his head. The front looked to contain a gas mask, while being elongated to accommodate his snout. The two eye panels glowed with and eerie, dim blue light. He looked right to see Jake on the floor in the same armor.

Red's vision exploded with code and the words "Advanced Active HUD Booting Up" appeared in front of him. Seconds later everything cleared. What remained was a full tactical HUD, ammo counter, reticle, and mad. Jake became outlined in green. "Team Mate Found, Agent York, Setting IFF" appeared in front of him. "You seeing this?" Red asked Jake.

"Yeah, its calling you, Dublin, weren't you born in Ireland?" he responded.

"Yes, and you were born in New York right?."

"I think it gave us names. This is weird man..." Before he could finish, a box popped up in Red's HUD. It stated his objectives, with only one present. "Proceed down the hall." "Jake, i think we should go down the hall."

"No. We should get out of here. This place creeps me out."

"Jake, the people that took us obviously wanted us for something, we can play them." With that, Red helped Jake to his feet, nodded, and the pair started to walk down the hall.