While Llenn sped right back up the spiral staircase of the tower, Vivi and David were reuniting about a thousand feet away.
“Thanks for proselytizing and getting it all set up.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for guiding them here.”
“You’re welcome.”
They faced one another at a distance of about five yards, locking eyes. Naturally, there were ZEMAL and MMTM teammates nearby, keeping an eye on the area. Surely there were no rogue players left to be their enemy at this point, but you couldn’t be too careful.
“Give me a bit of time. I need to back up the twenty who heard me out,” Vivi said, to David’s surprise.
“Meaning…you’re going to keep hitting the top of the tower with long-distance machine-gun fire, to keep them from peeking out?”
“Correct. Very sharp of you,” Vivi marveled.
That would certainly help. It would allow the twenty men to charge into the tower without worrying about being attacked from above.
“Honestly, I’m surprised. I figured you would leave all that up to them,” David admitted.
“That wouldn’t do,” she said. And even more surprisingly, she added, “It would leave more survivors that way.”
✦ ✦ ✦
They started scattered across the map and alone, shrouded in thick fog, cowering in fear of unseen enemies and occasionally fighting them, then running from crumbling earth, struggling through an enormous maze, nearly plunging off the edge in another collapse, until finally reaching the last stage of SJ5…
These men had no team power left to count on. The kind of men who were described with various cruel and dismissive terms as stragglers, remnants, and dregs.
In the end, twenty of these men found themselves drawn to the allure of the bounty. Even they would admit they were just a random rabble, but they were passing from barricade to barricade on the way to Llenn’s tower all the same.
A hundred million credits were waiting for them inside.
Of course, only one person would get that—or if you were incredibly lucky and somehow got a simultaneous kill, two or three.
Naturally, these twenty had no team strategy in mind. Their comms weren’t connected, so they had no special coordination. If there was anything that gave them an edge, it was their sheer numbers.
Even if they managed to defeat Llenn and her cohorts and survive, it was obvious that they would be crushed under the total team power of ZEMAL and MMTM.
Still, they had no option but to attack the tower.
Pathos hung thick in the air around the men as they inched closer and closer to their destination.
There were a hundred yards left to go.
✦ ✦ ✦
The approach was a subject of great interest in the pub.
“So what’s gonna happen? What are your bets?”
“I’d like to hear that. I’ll buy a drink for whoever’s right.”
“Very generous. But what if there are multiple correct guesses?”
“Well, then it’s obvious—”
“You’re buying a round for everyone?”
“—I’m going to buy one drink anyway, and you can all take sips and share, obviously.”
“Cheapskate!”
“How is that the obvious choice?!”
Soon they had set up their own action on the outcome.
“You came up with the idea, so you go first.”
“All right. I think…the attacking team is gonna come out ahead.”
“Uh-huh. Why?”
“Because they’re… By the way, let’s just call them Team Greedo…”
“I get that you’re calling them greedy, but don’t say it like ‘commando.’”
“Why, is it weird?”
“No, actually, it’s my favorite.”
“Can you guys get on with it already?”
“Anyway, having the high ground is advantageous, but since there are no windows, the only place to shoot down from the tower is the belfry at the very top.”
“Right, so wouldn’t you be invincible if you shot down from there? They got three snipers, a machine gunner, and the grenade launcher, from what I can tell. That’s a ton of power. I mean, they’re super tough.”
“That’s true, but to shoot at an enemy below at an extreme angle requires sticking way out over the stone lip, right? As long as they keep focusing their shots on the belfry from a distance, it’ll be too dangerous to lean out. So as long there’s plenty of covering fire, they should be able to sneak up closer.”
“Oh, I hear ya. It really helps to have the numbers in a situation like this, huh?”
“Of course, the folks in the tower don’t want to die yet, so they’re gonna fight their hardest, but they have fewer people, so each casualty is a major loss. They’ll be extra cautious for that reason and rarely stick their heads out. In the end, I think they’ll get whittled down to nothing. Once the attackers get into the tower, their numbers will win out. That’s why I think Team Greedo wins.”
“I see. A very convincing argument. Any other guesses?”
“I’m with him.”
“Me too.”
“Same.”
“I agree.”
“I’ve wanted to say that since yesterday, actually.”
“You guys really wanna share a single beer that bad?”
The pub was briefly full of pleasant chuckles.
“You guys suck! Have you not been watching every single Squad Jam as they happen?!” protested one man bravely, his voice high-pitched. Naturally, he was greeted with some very frosty glares.
“So what’s your prediction, then?” someone asked, naturally.
“You’ll see it happen soon enough. Clean out your eyes and watch for yourself.”
“Did you mean, ‘clean out your ears’? Don’t touch your eyes.”
“And did you notice that he didn’t actually say what his guess was? He’s just gonna go ‘See? I was right,’ no matter what happens.”
“Oh, no, busted! Is that what you want me to say? Well, too bad. My prediction is that the team creeping up on the tower will get wiped out. My reasoning is…”
✦ ✦ ✦
“Let’s get started, then,” Vivi said, kicking off the first good battle in a while.
It was 2:43 PM.
“With pleasure!” Huey exclaimed, opening fire. His machine gun was propped up on a tripod to keep it steady. He was located about four hundred yards south of the tower.
The sturdy tripod cut down on the recoil significantly, making his concentrated firepower that much stronger. It also increased his accuracy at range. They had incorporated the use of the tripod in SJ4 to get the most out of their machine-gun power.
Huey had the machine gun placed low with the barrel pointed upward, so he could fire short, repeated bursts at the belfry space at the top of the tower four hundred yards away.
The bullets passed just over the top of the closest barricade, only a few yards from the muzzle of the gun. Since he was on the ground, it would be basically impossible for anyone in the tower to hit him at that angle.
Although not all of the gently curving bullets landed on target, most of them certainly did. They gouged out chunks of the stone and created little dust clouds where they struck. There was also an occasional burst of orange light.
One of every four rounds was a tracer that carved out a brilliant orange arc, and when they struck a surface, it was easy to see the random directions their deflections took.
In these circumstances, leaning out of the top of the tower was suicide. No intelligent player would attempt to shoot back now. The ricochets were dangerous enough even without exposing yourself to the open.
This was their big chance to storm the tower.
✦ ✦ ✦
“All right, let’s go!”
Twenty men situated a hundred yards away came charging out from behind their barricades. From this point on, it was a mad dash to the entryway into the tower.
After that, it would be every person for themselves. If you were lucky, you’d be the one who landed the kill shot on the pink shrimp.
“Best of luck,” said the man who’d lost his weapon, watching the guy in desert camo with the M16A4 run off. The others all left in search of riches, leaving him behind, until he was all alone.
“So,” he said, waving his left arm to bring up the inventory.
An enormous backpack appeared in front of him. Next, a number of protectors stuck to his body, like parts on a tin robot toy.
The last member of Team DOOM, now known as Team BOKR, finally had his thang on him again.
✦ ✦ ✦
“They’re coming. Shooting at us like crazy. Can’t look out,” Boss reported to the others. She had evacuated to the stairs.
There was no longer anyone in the belfry area that had been so cramped earlier. Sophie’s body was placed at the exit to the stairs to block it off. If Boss had stayed up there, even flat on the floor, she would have been vulnerable to deflections off the ceiling or pillars.
“Long-distance covering fire from machine guns. We had to deal with that when getting off the train in SJ4. It’s bad news,” Shirley commented. Her matter-of-fact speaking tone was very reminiscent of M’s.
She, too, was on the spiral stairs. In fact, all the survivors were. They were scattered throughout the tower.
“It’s just like Shirley said! Nice one!” Clarence exclaimed.
“People don’t just change the way they fight out of the blue. It’s like your special attack. If you’re really serious about winning, examine the videos from past Squad Jams. Bring those memories back,” Shirley said coolly. “Same for how we fight. Is everyone ready? If anyone out there’s forgotten, it’s time to educate them.”