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Jack yanked hard on the Doctor’s lab coat. “Get down, Doc, unless you want to catch one of those bullets in your teeth!”
The Doctor crashed to all fours, panting hard. “Apologies, I am not moving as quickly as in my younger days. I suppose there is no longer any chance of reaching our destination on time?”
“Sure as fuck not. Is the First Quarter always like this? Seems like every other week I’m getting myself caught in a shootout.” He pulled another magazine out of his belt and slid it into his pistol in a practiced motion. The suppressive fire didn’t seem to deter their pursuers any.
“I cannot say it is uncommon, at least in this area. I had hoped my return to the land of my birth would be less… hectic. If only the gangs here had a Queen of Diamonds to unify them.”
Jack scoffed. “Yeah, I think we’re good with just the one.” He poked his head around the concrete barrier and immediately pulled it back. “Mother’s veil, these guys don’t give up…”
“I don’t imagine so. Astra Group would likely send any number of men to ensure my premature demise,” the Doctor said mildly, adjusting their glasses. For someone who had a hit squad out for them, they sure seemed much more concerned with how much exercise they’d been getting than the actual bullets. Standard Doc.
Jack checked his surroundings. Narrow access tunnel, and the pod car was around a corner about thirty meters away. He’d give the Doc a moment to catch their breath and then they’d run for it. They were slower than he was and he’d have to take a few calculated risks if he wanted to keep them intact. Well, if there was one thing the procedure had done, it was make him better at math.
“Okay, Doc, we’re gonna make a break for the pod car. Don’t look back, just keep running.”
The Doctor, still sweating and panting, looked up at him in dismay. “That distance? I cannot keep up with you, Jack, I will be left behind—”
“No, you won’t. I’ll keep pace with you. Just trust me, okay? Keep moving and you won’t get hit.”
“I find that incredibly unlikely—”
“And go!” He hauled them up by the lab coat and pushed them out of the cover of the barrier, but not too far, giving them a chance to right themselves. The Doctor let loose with a colourful stream of curses, but started running anyway, which was the point.
Jack allowed himself a bit of a laugh. The “hitmen” couldn’t aim for shit compared to a Suit’s evasion ability, even protecting another person. He was, for the most part, able to keep his important parts out of the path of the bullets, and he only had to yank the Doctor to the side twice. He clicked the key fob to open the pod car’s hatch as soon as it came into view.
The Doctor was flagging by this point, their pace steadily decreasing despite their best efforts. Jack was going to have to do something about it. “Forgive me for this, Doc, yeah?”
“Eh? Ack!” They flew the last ten feet through the hatch opening, landing with their face on the far seat. Jack dived in after them and scrambled to pull the hatch closed. Glasses hanging askance from their face next to a slowly oozing bullet graze, they rounded on him, furious. “You could have killed me, Jack! I am not a sack of potatoes to be hauled around as—!” They stopped short. “I say, is that blood?”
“Well, yeah. Got hit a couple of times. ‘M fine, just give me a second and I can drive.” It really wasn’t that big of a deal. He needed to get the car in gear so they could get the hell out of here. The electric engine clicked worryingly the first couple of times he began the startup sequence, but eventually it began to hum.
“At least have a booster, Jack, no? You know where we are going, I do not.” Well. At least they had their priorities straight.