Escape - Part 2

"So," Willam began, "How are we getting out of here?" 

"You know, I haven't really thought about that," Leonard sheepishly admitted. He had come here more as a spur of the moment thing rather than a fully planned extraction. "I was kinda hoping we could sneak out the front gate in all this uproar." 

Willam stared at him blankly. "So let me get this straight. You busted your way into the deepest parts of a criminal organisation base, the prolific and brutal White Skulls no less, with no plan on how you were going to get out?" 

"That pretty much sums it up," Leonard replied without shame. 

"Sigh," Willam rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "This is why I don't like working with soldiers. They never think with their brains, just rush in headlong and hope everything will work out." 

"Hey," Leonard felt he had to defend himself. "How did you get yourself locked in here again? By being an upstanding and lawful citizen?" 

"Err.." Willam couldn't find an answer. "Fair point." 

Leonard understood what he meant however, although even if he had been given time to plan it wouldn't have turned out much different than what it was now. Without any team of sorts to support him he was very limited on what he could do. 

"I need to start gathering some members for my mercenary group," Leonard thought. The current situation had further installed on him the importance of at the very least having someone to have his back. "But finding reliable but skilled people will be no easy task. And besides, I dont have the money for it."

While Leonard did have some savings, it was chump change when compared to the funds needed to successfully run a crew. Let alone acquiring any mechs, he wouldn't even be able to afford wages. For manpower, he hoped to leverage Willam for the administrative side, however the combat side of things was more tricky. 

"I'll think about this later, first thing first is to get out of this place, then I can start figuring that out." 

"A shame we can't cover that face of yours up though," Leonard knew his bloodied and broken face would draw attention, the only hope was that they could move fast enough so that no one got a close enough look. "You'll just have to keep your head down then." 

"I'll do that," Willam responded as the elevator dinged, luckily for them they hadn't been stopped at any of the other sublevels and forced to share the cramped interior with other White Skulls. The doors swung open and the pair were met with the tail end of a crowd leaving the upper levels, most of which were fast asleep before they were rudely awakened by the alarms. 

By the time Leonard and Willam had arrived someone had managed to turn the alarms off, however even then it didn't stop everyone from trying to exit the building. The pair joined the crowd exiting the backrooms section of the warehouse through the pair of doors Leonard had seen the guard previously stationed at. 

The open area just outside was crowded, it seemed the alarm system wasn't connected to the entire building, with the work by the loading docks still continuing. This left Leonard and Willam in a bad position, as the White Skulls congregated in place and didn't keep making their way outside. They would stick out like a sore thumb if they walked off now. 

"What do we do?" Willam asked in a low voice as Leonard led them towards the sides of the building. 

"There's a side door I made my way in before. We'll stick to the edges of the warehouse where hopefully less people will be watching and make our way out of that door." Still that wouldn't get them out of the complex as a whole, however they could make their way to the gate relatively unseen this way. 

Leonard and Willam slowly made their way through the crowd, however they were forced to stop when an announcement rang over the speakers. 

"ATTENTION, INTRUDER ALERT, REMAIN IN PLACE FOR PROCESSING." 

"Shit," Leonard glanced around and saw everyone else doing the same. "Keep your head down and be ready to run." 

"Intruder? Where?" 

"Someone broke in?" 

"Where are they?" 

The crowd started to buzz with activity, all looking around for this so called intruder. Leonard slowed to a crawl, not wanting to draw unwanted attention. They were almost at the last row of the industrial shelves that held the door that Leonard had come through. The crowds on the edges were much thinner than those closer to the centre and by the door into the backrooms. 

"There aren't enough people here that we can keep going unnoticed." Leonard noted as he looked around. "Even if we break out in a run they'll be able to lock down the gate long before we can reach it." 

Leonard racked his brain as he looked for any path that could keep them out of sight, however the long and uninterrupted rows between the shelves provided little ways to go unseen. They could try and make their way through the various stacked crates, however Leonard the gaps between them didn't let them travel length wise. 

"Unless," Leonard's eyes drifted to a large forklift that was making its way towards them carrying a large crate. "It'd be loud, but it'd get the job done." 

He relayed the idea to Willam who paled at the thought. "Are you crazy? They'll shoot us dead if we try something like that." 

"No more than if we tried to make a run through the gate," Leonards mind was already set. "Besides, what we lose in subtlety we will make up for in speed."

"You're crazy." 

"Maybe. Ehh probably, but it'll get us out of here." Leonard waited for it to come closer, until it stopped and rotated in order to deposit its cargo into its designated spot. "Let's go, we only have one shot at this." 

The two broke out into a sprint, anything they did would've been noticed and so speed was their best method. 

"Hey!" 

"Two people running!" 

"Stop them!" 

They were spotted immediately, however Leoanrd already knew they would be. 

"Shit!" Willam cursed as he tried his best to keep up with Leonard, who himself was running a fair bit slower to accommodate him. "They're after us already!" 

"I see them," Leonard responded, pulling his gun out just in case someone got too close. "Just keep running and don't slow down." 

"Easier said than done," Willam huffed, his body long since being exhausted. 

It didn't take them long to reach the forklift, the oblivious driver inside having deposited his cargo was getting ready to head back to the loading dock. However before he could Leonard jumped onto the side of the large industrial forklift, pointing his gun at the driver. 

"Get out!" He left no room for discussion, pushing the man out the otherside of the open air drivers seat with his other hand. Leonard jumped into the now empty seat, even if it was far from the interior of a mech, sitting behind a vehicle made him feel much more at home. 

Willam reached the forklift shortly after, holding onto its side the best he could. "Hold on tight, this is going to be a bit bumpy." 

Leonard kicked it into gear but was immediately disappointed by its lack of speed. Still much faster than running, but not as fast as he was hoping for. 

"Shit!" Willam ducked as a bullet impacted the ground close to them. Leonard kept his foot on the gas and leaned out the other side of the forklift, aiming his gun behind him at White Skulls behind them. 

Bang.

He shot once and one man went down. A bullet ripping through his thigh. 

"Amateurs" Leonard shook his head as he turned his attention back to the front. The crowded loading dock was quickly approaching. Where a wall should have been was instead completely open, letting various large trucks back their trailers right up into the warehouse, where many of the same forklifts Leonard was driving buzzed about offloading their cargo. 

Leonards approach didn't cause any alarm to the busy workers, simply assuming he was coming back to pick up the next crate. However Leonard didn't stop, instead bursting through the crowded dock at speed. 

"Hold on!" Leonard yelled to Willam as he drove the forklift straight out the dock and over a sizable drop to the pavement outside. His vehicle impacted the ground with a loud crunch, violently shaking around its two passengers. 

"Come on," Leonard shook the controls as the engine began to sputter, the forklift not being designed for such treatment. "Just a bit further." 

The large gate in front of them was wide open, however Leonard could see a security officer in one the booths flanking the main gate looking at him while talking into his comm unit. The officers eyes widened as he went to use a console before him, however Leoanrd bet him to it, sending a bullet tearing into the glass both and through the officers arm. 

The engine gave out, the forklift coming to a standstill just before the large, but still open, gates. 

"Let's go!" Leonard jumped off the stationary vehicle, breaking into a run out of the warehouse grounds Willam following close behind. "The car is not far from here!" 

Leonard could see the air taxi waiting on the corner ahead. Looking behind him he saw they weren't being followed, their brasen exit seemed to have caught the White Skulls completely by surprise. 

"Get in," Leonard jumped in and held a hand back for Willam, the man barely being able to stay on his feet. "Drive!" Leonard yelled at the taxi before realising it was an automated machine and imputed a location for it to drive to completely at random, simply wanting to get out of the area first. 

"Fuck," Willam sighed as he sprawlled himself across a set, wiping the blood and sweat from his brow, finally able to relax as the air taxi lifted into the sky. "Remind me never to do this again. Ten minutes ago I was sure I was going to die." 

"Aye," Leonard agreed, "That was much more hectic than I expected."