As soon as that happened, we watched 'Pops' choke on his own blood that pooled on the back of his throat before all of it poured out from his mouth, dripping the side of his lips and staining his shirt. It trickled down his arms too but once he saw his own reflection from the windows of his truck, he got weak on the knees, spurted out another mouthful of blood, before tumbling down on the dirt road.
The two guys next to him didn't know what to do but one of them pulled him away from the side of their truck to get cover while the other just started firing his pistol in the general direction from where the attack came from. Round after round resounded and he quickly changed mags before firing a few more.
I wasn't sure if the guy with the pistol hit anything but the guy trying to help Pops didn't know the first thing about giving emergency medical care. He was trying to pull the arrow out from Pops' neck but all he did was make him bleed even more.
'He's gonna die if he keeps on doing that...'
"POPS!!! ARE ALL OF YOU JUST GONNA WATCH?!"
As cold as it would sound, I signaled everyone to stay in place..
My first go-to would be to jump down and help them but we knew jack shit about both parties, and one of the rules about giving treatment to someone on the battlefield was making sure that you wouldn't follow right after and be in the same state as the person you were trying to get to.
Instinctively, it would be better to get to the wounded as soon as it happened but logically speaking, the 'healer' should be able to go in and out with the wounded in question without sacrificing themselves or being another piece of bait that the enemy could take advantage of.
Oscar told me a story about this and he once had to let one of his old friends bleed out in the open.
We know the third party could use bows or crossbows seemingly accurately but we could also assume they have other means of taking down their targets. They could be holding off on using rifles they could've picked up along the way and I'd rather get hit with an arrow or a crossbow bolt rather than a lead projectile traveling faster than a normal person could react to.
On our side, each of us took cover and surveyed the surroundings but a few were still watching out from the hole which spawned abominations right when we knocked on its door with a few sticks of dynamite. At the same time, Kaley and I were trying to figure out if that attack was just a diversion of some sort but we were drawing blanks about the whole premise of that assassination.
However, we just heard a vehicle peeling away at great speeds but just judging from the sound it made, it came from a high-speed motorcycle. It only took a few seconds to gain significant distance but the guy that started unloading his pistol jumped on their truck and tried to give chase.
It's just that the guy that tried to 'help' Pops ran in front of the truck and blocked him before shouting at the top of his lungs.
"ADRIAN! HEY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?! POPS IS GONNA DIE AND--"
"SHUT UP, CHRIS! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY AND WE'RE LETTING THEM! CALL THE OTHERS AND--"
"BUT POPS! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH POPS?!"
"YOU THINK HE COULD SURVIVE THAT?! HE'S GONNA BLEED OUT IN-- FUCK! I'M SORRY, POPS!!!"
"ADRIAN!!! NO--"
We just watched the Adrian guy shakily raise his pistol before euthanizing Pops who had already lost a third of his blood volume. What's worse was that the bullet hole that ended his life was much smaller than the wound on both sides of his neck. The wound channel just enlarged to the point three fingers were enough to fit inside and it was due to a lack of knowledge about treating this type of emergency.
In some sort of fucked up way, Adrian did more to help with Pop's suffering even if it ultimately cost him his life.
"ARE YOU GETTING IN OR--"
"YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT!!!"
"LET GO!!!"
The two instantly tangled together and got into a fistfight but Chris only led by emotion. He never had the chance to win against his opponent as he was eating punches left and right.
I was about to tell Mikhail to break them off but my radio buzzed. I was expecting one of our groups that were around the area but I heard an unfamiliar voice that sounded that it came from a younger woman.
-
*bzzt*
[Thanks for keeping him still.]
*bzzt*
-
'What?'
I pulled out my radio and looked around the area while Kaley kept silent and listened in.
-
*bzzt*
"Who is this?"
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[Oh, we haven't introduced ourselves yet. We're the 'kids' you're looking for from your public broadcasts. You have a radio station, right? We like you, you're lit.]
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
"Lit? Hmm~ You guys just kill people and bounce while wearing Jordans?"
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[Heh. You know about that, huh? Sometimes, we do. But for the only ones who deserved it though...]
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
"Deserved it?"
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
[Yup! Just 'talk' to those two and you'll see! We'll talk to you soon! Bye~!]
*bzzt*
-
*bzzt*
"Wai-- Hello?"
*bzzt*
-
The person I was speaking to didn't reply after multiple attempts of trying to call out to them.
Kaley and I were wearing the same solemn expression but looking over at everyone else, they didn't receive the call that I did. Katya and Marina who were closer to us were curious as to who I was speaking to while Mikhail and Artem tried to break up the two who were in a one-sided beatdown.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU-- GRCK!"
Artem made the Adrian guy eat dirt, "Stay down."
"How about you?" Mikhail asked before lifting Chris with one hand.
Chris heaved before muttering, "I-I give… I'm not… I'm not gonna f-fight..."
It was easy enough for two elite soldiers to keep two civilians away from each other especially the unruly and gassed-up ones. With that said, they confiscated everything they had on their person while Bogdan and Igor searched their vehicles. They found a few more rounds of ammo and miscellaneous supplies just enough to get them going for a day or two.
After that, we bound them in ropes while I asked Artem to scout around to see if there would still be people lurking in the shadows and watching us. It could just be a two-man team for all we know but I'm just hoping for traces left from where they stayed in.
'It's the only explanation but I have more questions...'
I was sure that if they rode in, we could've heard the bike they used despite the explosions and these guys here weren't idiots to not notice they were being followed. Furthermore, they knew the place these guys would drive in despite the obstruction and they were in the perfect place to launch their attack.
'Why is this place so important though? We just blew up an empty basement-- Is it really empty? Is that why he's so mad? Not only because we kept throwing things in it but it was covered with cement? Is this just an empty hole or there's something 'Pops' was legitimately angry about?'
I was deep in thought before I crouched in front of Chris and Adrian.
"Hey, you two calm now?"
"..."
"Okay… I'm guessing you're family or friends of Mr. Rodriguez here but I still need to ask a few questions. First things first, is umm… Pops-- Mr. Rodriguez the leader of your group? Or is he just one of those elder type things who just talks a lot of smack?"
"..."
"I'll cut the ropes off of the one who answers..."
Chris looked at me with his bruised and cut-up face, "Y-Yes..."
"Yes, what?"
"Rope… I… I a-answered..."
"That's not enough of an answer. Is he your leader or just a guy with a high position? I'll even fix your face if you tell me where you guys came from and why did you three come here? D'you have a hidden stash or something?"
"I--"
Adrian interjected, "S-Shut up, C-Chris..."
I lightly chuckled as I leaned over, "Now you're sounding a little too suspicious, hmm? Please, I'm just asking some questions. The best the two of you could do is answer them while I'm still asking nicely. You see, I'm definitely curious as to where your current base is."
Chris spat out bloody saliva on the side before turning to me, "Why's that? Everyone got one at least… And not everyone wanted to follow someone from the government… We could do well on our own..."
"That's true but I have a list-- I mean, lists. I have lists that are from a few cities at least and your status on one of them just turned from 'missing or presumed dead' to 'alive and well'. If you want to keep it that way, it'll be in your best interest to answer my question pertaining to this abandoned construction project that the three of you aren't even living on."
Adrian shook his head as he averted his gaze, "This is Pops' place. That's it. Living on it or not… that's our business."
I sighed as I started to let out a bit of pressure, "What's in the basement?"
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