Faith moves toward the front of the bus, holstering her glock. She hides behind cover while she readies her Remington.
With a clearer shot, Hibo fires again at the man coming out of the building.
The Vampiros coming out the back door of the fast food restaurant stops cackling the moment Hibo's nine millimeter round pierces his stomach. He doesn't have time to comprehend the wound, however, because Stringer and his combat drone finish the ganger off. Salvo showers the gang member to the north with lead. The youth doesn't even attempt to dive for cover and quickly drops as he's torn to pieces.
The remaining goon on the ground level rushes straight toward Salvo while squeezing the trigger of his gun. His shot misses Salvo by mere inches. One of the bank snipers tries to take Salvo down, but his round hits the sandbags. His counterpart on the other side of the bank tries to target Stringer, but the shot hits the car he's using as cover. Another wave of gangers exits from the bank!
"Oh frag another 4 just ran out of the bank. Anybody got a grenade?" Stringer orders Tank east toward the horde while waiting for a good shot on the newcomers.
Faith aims her rifle at the sniper she can see while using the bus for cover.
Not even releasing the trigger on the LMG Salvo swings the weapon around, chewing up the street between the cab and the Vamp ganger closing in on his position and smothering the man in a torrent of bullets.
Hibo dashed forward, pressing his body against the wall of the building.
Salvo spins the heavy gun around and traces a line of lead across the block to light the ganger up, tearing his body apart. Despite the range, Stringer and his drone drop another one, as Hibo wounds another, neutralizing the threats coming around the back side of the fast food joint. Faith's shot embeds itself in the roof just beneath the sniper.
Faith's target fires at the crazy guy with the machine gun, hoping to protect his compatriots on the ground. His shot flies far over Salvo's head, but the other two gangers don't let them stop them as they rush down the street to confront the danger. The other would-be sniper tries to take a shot at Hibo, but only rains red brick dust on the man's head as the bullet chips the building several feet above him.
"2 targets heading around the north side of the building," Stringer narrates as he monitor's Snoop's feed. He stays in position behind the car while Tank moves to get into range of the snipers.
Faith shifts her aim to the nearest punk on the street. "I got eyes on them," Faith says. "Let's see if these guys are real vamps."
Spending an action point to reroll
Hibo falls back behind the car with Stringer. "Those up there are out of my range" Hibo says, ducking down.
Seeing the charging ganger go down in pieces Salvo finally releases the trigger, smoke rising from the barrel. He shifts to the left, still behind the sandbag wall. Again using the wall to brace the heavy weapon. He takes aim at the two gangers on the north side of the middle building and hoses the two down with autofire.
”Faith, if you can keep the sniper down or at least interested. I’ll take care of these two, Then begin suppressing the guy on the roof.”
DC 15 Reflex to avoid damage.
Salvo can't help but notice the feed-side of the ammo belt of the ancient machine gun is nearly empty, but his efforts result in two more dropped Vampiros.
Faith catches the sniper in the head before he can line up a shot on Salvo. The sniper on the southern end of the building fires at Tank, but the bullet plinks harmlessly against the drone's armor. The remaining gang-banger drops the rifle and hustles to the back of the bank, now out of sight from everyone on the ground.
Wounded gangers shriek in pain and moan all over the block, but no new ones emerge. Then everyone notices that a mist seems to seep out from behind the heavy blankets covering the bank's broken windows. It isn't mist, it's smoke! A moment later a small cannister comes flying out of the broken window on the bank's northern corner. Blue-gray smoke begins to fill the center of the street.
"Whoooo, that was a hell of a shot!" Stringer directs Tank to close in on the smoke while he has Snoop drift a bit further to the east to get a view behind the bank.
Faith talks into her communicator, "Let's approach that bank, but avoid the street mines or traps. I'll go around on the north side. Let's meet near the most accessible bank entrance."
"Meet you there," Stringer responds over the comm. "Hibo, let's follow Tank," Stringer murmurs to the other man taking cover with him. He starts modifying a tag program to get his drones to ID and paint the mines and other traps guarding the approach.
Noticing the ammo for the LMG is nearly depleted. Slavo quickly looks about the area for more.
”Well Faith, that will certainly keep the sniper down. I’ll go north with you.”
Snoop tracks the rooftop sniper as he heads down the stairs, but loses him when he enters the rear of the bank. Snoop and tank both display a heat signature near the northern edge of the bank, pulling aside the heavy blankets blocking the view. On thermal, the new target resembles a hunch-backed human. It looks short, with broad shoulders. Not quite the size of a child, but not quite the height of a typical adult human.
With their meat eyes, however, the minion hunters see a tall figure through the swirling smoke. He is a man, dressed like he raided Count Chocula's wardrobe, complete with a frilly white shirt. He has long, blonde hair and a black cape, both of which seem to flow in breeze. As you watch he opens his mouth to reveal two sharp fangs.
"There's a door in the back of the bank, sniper 2 just went in it." As he advances around the southern side of the fast food ruin, Stringer continues to describe what's on Snoop's camera feed for anyone who isn't monitoring it.
With a nod towards Stringer, Hibo sprints forward, coming to a stop behind a depilated wall. He raises his firearm, ready to provide cover fire for Stringer.
”Well Faith, that will certainly keep the sniper down. I’ll go north with you.”
Faith shrugs as she scans the street for a moment before setting off. "Any job worth doing ..."
Faith then moves toward the bank along the north wall of the fast food joint. As she moves, she slings her rifle and readies her flashlight and Glock.
Seeing someone who obliviously wants people to think he is a vampire. Faith decides he is fair game and advances closer before pointing her Glock and flashlight at him. She squeezes off a shot.
"Let's see if you bleed, Vlad," she says in Portuguese.
Following Faith as she moves toward the bank.
”Hey Count Chocula! Just how many minions do you want to lose today? Look, we only want the supplies you grabbed. Give them to us and you might just get to sleep in your coffin tonight. Instead of being in there permanently!” Salvo shouts in Portuguese
"American? I can tell by the accent!" The vampire chuckles, moments before Faith fires a bullet through the window frame just an inch from her target's face. "Hey! What happened to being reasonable?" he snaps angrily. His English sounds Midwestern to Salvo. He turns to Faith and looks deep into her eyes before saying, "Sleeeeeeeep."
"Stop shooting at us and you can have everything in the vault! We just need a second and it's all yours. My spawn is clearing my path, okay?" The "vampire" sticks close to the window while the smoke continues to expand. The sniper from the roof runs out to the center of the smoke with a crowbar in hand.
Stringer checks Tank as the drone marks the crowbar-ganger as a target. "I don't want to shoot anybody we don't have to shoot. Let's just get those meds and supplies and get out of here," he says over the comms.
Salvo hears Stringer’s input and is considering the offer when he notices Faith fall over.
”Faith is Down!. That scum did something to her. LIGHT him up!.”
Salvo sends a burst of automatic fire at the Vamp’s location.
DC 15 reflex to avoid
Then creeps toward Faith
At hearing that one of their own had fallen, Hibo moved around the corner, took cover behind a car and opened fire into the smoke.
Stringer curses and has Tank take a shot at the "vampire."
Gunfire rings out, but only Salvo's spray and pray finds its mark. Bright red blood spatters the broken window frame. "You bastard! I'll make you pay for that! I haven't made it this long in an ever-changing world to be brought down by a human with more bullets than brains!" The vampire shouts out. From somewhere in the smoke can be heard the sound of metal scraping on metal followed by a loud clang and an extended whistle. The vampire charges out of cover straight for his whistling compatriot and simply disappears from sight.
Stringer is fairly certain from the view on the feeds coming in from the IR sensing drones that the target dropped into an open manhole. Right now the ganger is all that remains visible.
Leaving the violence to the others, Hibo holsters his firearm and runs to check on Faith.
When Salvo sees Hibo moving to check on Faith, he moves quickly toward the ganger in the smoke. And the last known location of Vamp guy. Salvo has his SMG in one hand and a grenade in the other.
”Check Faith.” He says to Hibo. ”I’m going after Drac.’
"I'm pretty sure he dropped into that open manhole. I wouldn't go down there by yourself, Salvo. And don't kill this guy, we might need to talk to him." Stringer moves up to shelter behind the derelict car, aiming his SMG at the smoke. "GET ON THE GROUND!"
He orders Tank into the building to check if there are any more gangers.
Salvo tries to knock the last standing Vampiros out, but the ganger barely manages to duck the strike. For a moment the would-be vampire considers fighting back, but hearing Stringer order him to surrender reminds him of his master's plan. He sneers at Salvo and hops down into the manhole and moves swiftly to the north.
Hibo can tell immediately that Faith is unharmed, merely sleeping. Tank detects no heat signatures or movement.
Salvo kicks the remains of the smoke grenade into the manhole. He peered into the dark recess for a moment. Then shrugged.
”Hey Drac! This human with more bullets than brains. Also has a grenade!”
He pulls the pin, drops it into the hole, and moves very quickly away.
Stringer chuckles. "No signs of active targets inside the building. Let's secure these guys and see what they've got in their squat."
After waking Faith, the group begins to round up the survivors. All of them are universally displaying signs of severe clinical depression. At least one is totally catatonic, one weeps inconsolably, and the others are all eyeing their firearms with the darkest of thoughts. None of them resist any attempt to disarm, move, or secure them. All tell more or less the same tale: a charismatic vampire named Horatio Bloodletter used his supernatural powers to recruit them. They would have rituals that involved drinking animal blood, which escalated to drinking human blood. All believed Horatio had "turned" them, but the delusions ended as soon as they were shot and realized they were still human after all.
All three of the gangers armed with rifles were members of Horatio's inner circle, and none of the others were aware of any escape plan. Horatio liked plans and preparation. He always preached that was the way of all vampires: use the time immortality gave them to wisely keep themselves safe.
Inside the bank is a messy display of filthy human habitation. "Nests" made of filthy rags lie in the lobby and behind the teller counter. The manager and loan officer cubicles are now trash pits swirling with flies.
Your good-guy gang host's supplies, as well as other supplies raided from gangs and civilians in the recent past, sit patiently in a ransacked room that was once home to safe deposit boxes. There are also several crates of ammunition and a handful of grenades with the supplies.
In the back is what is left of the vault. The door was somehow removed and stolen by extremely clever scavengers a decade ago. Several sheets of plastic and a patchwork of shower curtains have replaced the door.
In contrast to the mess occupying the other places in the abandoned building, the vault's walls are draped with clean and expensive velvet curtains. An Oriental rug sits on the floor beneath a beautiful mahogany coffin. Surrounding the coffin is a votive candle rack stolen from a church and covered with wax drippings.
In one corner is an old, faded, orange Halloween candy bucket with a jack o' lantern face painted on it. Inside is a collection of jewelry, cash, and other items of monetary value. A longsword rests in a scabbard in one corner of the vault. Steam rises gently from it and condensation drips off of it. It is cold to the touch and made from a material unlike anything the four hunters have seen before. Next to the sword is an AK-47. It's stock is engraved with arcane sigils. Caught on some fabric inside the coffin is a gold necklace with an jade pendant. It almost seems to glow of it's own accord. Finally, a battered ammo box in the vault contains 4 bottles of a blood-red liquid.
After gathering everything, the group exits the bank to hear a distant thwump-thwump-thwump of a helicopter. They can see the aircraft moving towards the block.
Faith moans as she wakes. "Wha... Ugh. Feels like I was drugged. I guess that vamp had some powers."
When the coffin is discovered, Faith will shoot some holes in the coffin and toss some of the lit candles into the thing to set it on fire just before the group leaves.
"Well, mission accomplished. Good team work. Now lets get some rest and work on finding our kidnappers."
"Yeah that was crazy. What the frag is this now?" Stringer toggles the magnification on his helmet to get a better look at the helicopter, specifically looking for any identifiable logo.
Stringer can easily identify the helicopter as being a relatively new civilian aircraft. When he zooms in he spots an obvious logo from an American-based international media organization. Gang warfare always sells papers.
Returning to the collapsed garden apartments is a lot like Caesar taking a victory lap around Rome. By now everyone has heard or seen the reports from the news and celebrates the return of the heroes and supplies with cheers and random pistol shots into the sky. The general consensus is that the four minion hunters are now considered family and welcome to stay as long as needed.
The other two kidnap victims remain in the same state as they have been, mostly. Machado is a little less catatonic, and has obviously eaten food left for him in a tray by the door, but he still stares through people and babbles about aliens. The little girl remains unconscious, and despite her lack of food or water, appears to be healthy.