Eugene sneered as Harry walked in dragging Leo Nimmies body and wearing his body suit. He and June had been hoping Leo would wipe Cleese out, but that obviously didn't work out. Big Zed had allowed Gene only ten jobs he could give Cleese. Which meant he and June only had ten chances to set him up for death. June had some influence, and Gene had imagination, but would it be enough to stump Harry?
"So you succeeded," Gene stated with no enthusiasm "and with a week to spare. That's good. I already have another job for you. Larry Neenan has been busy. He's always been a snake, but he's been going after folks under ol' Empian protection; arson, poison, and other untraceable things. There's even word that he's hired outside contractors for his personal bodyguards. This isn't your garden variety security; they use some high-tech shit. Take him out before he can do anymore damage."
Cleese started to leave but hesitated. "If the hits have been untraceable, how do you know they're Neenan's?"
"MIND YOUR FUCKIN' BUSINESS! THAT"S HOW!"
Cleese just shook his head and went on his way. Finding Neenan would be easy enough; he had a hideout in the old water-control building on the river. It was a big place with plenty of corridors to navigate, but that didn't bother Cleese. What bothered him was the warning of the high-tech security detail. Cleese was an old-school enforcer. He was definitely clever, but he solved problems by hitting them, not messing with computers or fancy gadgets. Luckily he had someone to do that for him.
Cleese pulled up to his brother Pip's house. Pip was always the "iffy" Cleese, but his boy Elias had promise. Cleese saw Elias' legs sticking out from under a '98 Mitsubishi Chariot. "Damn, this is a piece of shit, boy," Cleese teased. Elias popped out from under the car covered in oil. "I garuntee it's better than your's. Nothing can beat my chariot. I've decked it out with the best technology available." Harry crouched down next to him. "That's precisely why I need your help."
"So what do you know about this security detail," Elias asked as he drove the chariot towards the river. "I did my research," his uncle responded. "They're a foreign mercenary group that specializes in 'body-doubling'. Basically, they surround their clients with look-alikes to confuse any attackers. I don't speak the language, but the company name roughly translates to 'The Hired Serpents'."
"Not that I'm complaining," Elias explained, "but you can handle yourself against a group. Why do you need me?" Cleese sighed. "Because even though I'm having trouble translating these foreign military reports, it's very clear they have some sort of unique protocol involving wi-fi techno-jobbies. I want you nearby with your wi-fi techno-jobbies to jump in if needed." Elias grunted in understanding.
They arrived at the abondoned water-control building as the sun was setting, which made the old place look like a monster's cave. It kind of was. As Elias set up shop in the back of the chariot, Cleese suited up in Leo's armor. "Whoa," Elias cautioned as he checked one of his doo-hickeys. "There is some serious toxicity coming from that building. Just breathing it could make you sick; God help us if it's being weaponized." Cleese checked the mask of the armor. There were air-filter pads stitched into the front. Elias handed him a bluetooth earpiece. "I'm going to run scanners from here," he told Cleese. "If I can figure out what their gimick is, I'll let you know a game plan." Cleese nodded as he pulled the mask over his head and ran for the building.
Cleese fired some warning shots in the front door. Immediately, two Larry Neenan's emerged, holding strange cannister weapons. One of them pointed their weapon at Cleese and pulled. A wild plume of fire shot out, lighting the darkening sky. Cleese dove through the flame, protected by his armor, and struck down the attacker. Two more Larry Neenans came out of the building as the other one readied his weapon. Cleese advanced expecting another flame, but side-stepped just in time to avoid a stream of liquid that ate away at the grass it landed on. Acid. Cleese wasn't curious enough to see if the armor held up to it. He took out the second Neenan and turned around to see two more joining the others. Three more kills later, Cleese was facing off against seven angry Neenan's.
"Stop killing them!" Elias shouted in Cleese's ear. "Every time one dies, a vitals moniter goes off and calls for reinforcement. Kill one and two more take his place. I'll see what I can do to stop it, but don't kill another one until you know it's the real one."
"And how do I tell that?" Cleese growled.
"It'll probably be the one who isn't sticking his neck out to fight you," Elias retorted.
Cleese shut up and let him work as he dodged the Neenan's and entered the building. Even with the filter's, the air was noxious. It must have been caused by the acid. He darted through the corridors, avoiding sporadic flames and acid streams. Eventually he found an old conference room occupied by eight Neenans. Seven of them huddled around the unarmed eighth. Bingo.
Cleese sparred with the group while trying not to incite a further unevening of the odds against him. No matter what he did, he couldn't make progress towards the real Neenan. "I think I got it," Elias crowed triumphantly. "Go ahead and take out a guard." Cleese shrugged and thunked one with his trusty baton. The guard dropped, and Cleese watched for more to come but they never did.
"Perfect!" Elias cackled. "I've cracked the frequency their moniters call on. Now every time they try to send a signal, it's going to hit one of my firewalls. Even if they do get through, I've scrambled the G.P.S. signals, so they can't find each other."
"In English!" Cleese shouted as he slipped past an acid stream.
"Take one down, and no more will come."
Cleese growled, pleased. He started advancing toward the unarmed Neenan, absentmindedly striking down guards as they tried to intercept him. They made strange sizzling noises as they fell; their moniters overworking to fight the firewalls. He stepped up to the last Neenan, who was cowering against the wall, and slit his throat with his hunting knife. Cleese started to carry the body out when he noticed one of the acid cannisters. He grabbed it, certain he would find a use for it.
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