Compile:Quest

Chapter 2:Rubber Bullets

Somewhere above the Rooivalk Digger Colony,

African Continent

Jinx eased her finger from the trigger of her Glock. She exhaled, ears straining for any sound other than the rhythmic chirruping of crickets. The midday sun broiled her skin. Sweat trickled between her breasts and down the small of her back. Her long, dark braid had partially unravelled, the escaped strands slicked against her damp neck.

She crouched in a thicket. Its desiccated foliage was barely dense enough to provide enough cover. Squinting through the bush, she wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. She kept her pistol trained on the last place she'd seen her attacker. 

Silence was key. 

Her breathing was deep but silent — it didn't even stir the leaves by her mouth. She heard a crunch of grass underfoot and shifted, altering her vantage point. Shells of derelict buildings littered the surrounding savanna, their collapsed walls eaten away by decades of sand storms and gales. The ground undulated over a wide area. A small depression darkened the terrain a few meters away. A good hiding place. Perhaps she should use the acacia tree to her left as cover and make a break for— 

Another crunch, closer, to her right. Too late. He already knew where she was. 

Her heart thudded in her chest as her finger slid over the trigger again, left hand gently cupping her right for support. She dipped her elbow just enough to enable flexibility without encouraging additional recoil. 

Another footstep. She blinked stinging sweat from her eyes. One last crunch. He was here. 

Jinx jumped up. She let out a victorious cry as her finger squeezed the trigger. The shot fired into empty air. The hairs on the back of her neck shot up. She twisted around and ducked under the man's swinging fist. 

Raising her weapon, she tried to get off another round. The man spun around and kicked her handgun from her fingers. The resulting shock wave ran up her arm, knocking her teeth together.

She dropped to the ground and scrambled after her weapon, but the man was too fast. His foot caught her in the stomach, sprawling her onto her back. 

The man's brown eyes glittered as they caught the sun. He lifted his M1911. A slow smile spread on his lips as he aimed. 

"Sergeant Pearce! Stand down!" 

The man jerked. 

Jinx winced, anticipating a bullet. Nothing happened. Pearce's eyes narrowed at her as he lowered his weapon. She smirked up at him and scrambled to her feet. He turned on his heel, snapping off a salute as Major Vanbuuren strode toward them.

She stood to attention beside Pearce. Her fingertips touched her forehead as the dust settled around them. She kept her expression neutral as the Major stopped. His eyebrows knotted as he glared at Pearce.

"You suddenly lost the ability to measure distance, Sergeant Pearce?" 

"Sir, no sir!" 

"Then what the hell are you doing firing at Sergeant Jinx from less than four meters away? And if there's anything besides rubber bullets in those guns—" 

"Sir, I was intimidating her, sir," Pearce interrupted. 

Jinx's eyebrows lifted in surprise. She gave Pearce a grudging inward nod of admiration. She would never dare to interrupt the Major in the middle of a shake down. 

"I never planned to fire, sir," Pearce added, his voice an octave too high. 

Jinx felt her lips twitch, but when the Major turned, her face froze into a stoic mask.