Eleven minutes and forty-seven seconds later.
The armored SUV that had been racing at full speed suddenly stopped.
By this point, the sandstorm had almost subsided.
The two Dirty Baals, who were inside guarding the cage, exchanged surprised glances.
They already knew that the convoy had been attacked and that their vehicle was the last one left. Their vigilance was at its peak.
Another attack?
Had they reached their vehicle too?
"..." Thinking about this, one of the Dirty Baals leaned his ear against the door, and a moment later...
*Knock-knock-knock!* A knock came at the door.
Acting instinctively, the Dirty Baals looked at each other and instantly grabbed their weapons. But before anything happened, a voice came from behind the door.
"**** **** **!"
'Damn, the car's kaput! It's complete shit, kus!'
The two guards looked at each other again, but this time with surprise in their eyes. It was undoubtedly the voice of their driver!
"**** ***?!" One of the guards shouted toward the door.
'What the shit happened, dus?!'
"******! *******"
'I don't know! This shitty thing started smoking and won't move, kus.'
"******?!"
'What the fuck, dus?!'
"*****!"
'I don't know, kus!'
That was how the two Dirty Baals spoke through the armored door.
Another Dirty Baal guarding the cage joined in.
"**** ****?! *****?"
'What happened?! Someone attacked us, lus?'
"**** **..."
'N-no, just...'
The driver's voice became strange and suddenly cut off, without even his signature ending. Of course, this did not go unnoticed by the others.
"****?! *****?!"
'Huh?! Why did you stop talking? Did something happen, lus?!'
"****! *****!"
'No, nothing happened! I'm just saying that this shitty tub that those fools in suits gave us is really shitty! We've only driven a couple of kilometers, and this piece of shit is already kaput, damn it, kus!'
"******! ****!"
'Damn, what a piece of shit! I knew we shouldn't have agreed to this shitty deal! It smelled like shit from the start, lus!'
The first guard silently agreed with these words and suddenly decided to ask the driver.
"**?**?!"
'It's clear that this is real shit. But what do you want here? Why are you knocking on the door, dus?!'
"**?!**! ****!"
'Is your brain shit too?! We need to fix this shit, or we're done for! I need to get some parts from inside and fix this crap right now, kus!'
The two guards looked at each other again.
Then they exclaimed in unison.
"*****?!"
"*****?!"
'Why didn't you say anything about this shit right away, dus?!'
'Why didn't you say anything about this shit right away, lus?!'
*Bang!* A fist slammed against the door.
"***!!!"
'Open the fucking door already, you idiots, kus!!!'
For now, nothing seemed out of place, but they had to act quickly.
A couple of seconds later, the first guard began to open the rear doors of the armored vehicle.
The vehicle was massive — larger even than a standard transport van, and the Dirty Baals could stand there almost at full height.
"..." The guards exchanged glances one last time and nodded approvingly to each other.
Then they simultaneously placed their palms on the scanning panels on the rear doors.
A moment later, the security system recognized their fingerprints, and the door began to open.
A second passed. Then another…
The door opened almost completely.
"*?"
"*?"
The guards muttered in confusion.
As the doors opened, they were met with silence and smoke that obscured their view.
Of course, it resembled smoke from a grenade, but...
A moment later, they reasoned that the smoke made sense — the driver had said the car was overheating.
But then, where was he, and why was he silent...?
*Thud...* There was the sound of a small shove. It was as if you were frozen in indecision, and a loyal friend was helping you come to your senses.
That's what this push was like, and yet...
"**! **! ****!!!" A panicked scream cut through the smoke, and the blurred silhouette of the driver appeared through it.
'Brothers! It's a trap!!!'
"..."
The two guards looked at each other, still not fully understanding what exactly...
"...What? What the hell did he say? Paymax, translate...!" In addition to the driver's scream, someone's desperate whisper could be heard in the smoke.
"Emergency situation. Mr. Nobody, it is recommended to switch to plan 'B' immediately. Right now!"
"Damn..."
"**!!!"
'TRAP!!!'
Everything shifted at once.
The panicked driver was still shouting something. Now his comrades were already looking towards their weapons, and he himself had almost broken free from his attacker's grip...
*Booomm!!!* A shot rang out.
At that very moment, the desperate driver's cry fell silent.
A moment later, something fell to the ground with a wet, sticky sound.
"..." The first guard looked at the second one again.
His face was covered in red spots. Looking into his eyes, Dirty Baal saw his own face...
Also covered in sticky red drops.
It was obvious. These red drops were the result of their driver's head just exploding.
"Damn it!" Someone shouted in the smoke that was already beginning to dissipate. "I told him to listen, and then no one would have been hurt. Why the hell did he have to be such an idiot?!" An angry voice rang out, thick with frustration.
However, there was no turning back.
"With your permission, I will take the shot as a signal to switch to plan 'B'," Paymax muttered mechanically.
Plan B was the plan that was used when things didn't go as planned.
And as hard as it was to admit, he was too used to hearing Paymax describe this plan.
He waited for the next command and began the most familiar part of a mercenary's job.
"Plan B — beat the shit out of these bastards!"
He began to kill.