Chapter 346: Some Expensive Stuff
Jace grabbed the man’s fist and did not even flinch. Compared to some other hits he had taken, this one did not even make him budge. He twisted the man’s arm causing him to yell in pain before a quick jab from Jace’s other fist knocked him out.
The giant of a man’s head snapped back and then he fell backwards after a moment. The other two that came with him blinked in surprise. Then the one with glasses dropped his data pad and started grabbing at his belt where a laser pistol was hanging.
But Jace dashed across the room and hit him with a shoulder tackle. It sent the glasses wearing man back out the door and slamming into a wall. He immediately began wheezing. Jace had broken a few of his ribs. Possibly even ruptured a few of his organs. He would need a hospital, but Jace was unconcerned for his safety as he stepped over to the first guy and grabbed him by the throat.
"You don’t know who you are messing with-" He did not get to finish his sentence as Jace threw him out and against the wall. He collapsed along with the glasses wearing goon. Jace used just enough force to knock him unconscious.
"You do know antagonizing them will cause issues." Cain pointed out as he jumped down from the second floor. "I have analyzed it and they will likely cause more trouble if we do not give them a chance."
"I am just being me, Cain. Besides, fear is a big factor to deter crime. You will see." Jace told him as he walked over to the larger man and grabbed one of his legs. He then dragged him out of the metal door that was now dented and hanging off by only one of its hinges. At this point he might as well just replace it entirely.
Once he was out in the alley he moved over the door he saw the guy go inside earlier. He dropped the big guy and then searched him. He found a wrench and that was about it. He tossed it into his building and then began taking items off the other two. Starting with the first guy who was just unconscious.
Jace pulled out a laser cutter and a communication device off of him. Jace then dragged the guy over and dumped him on top of his giant of a friend. He then walked back over the glasses wearing guy. The guy was still struggling to breath while a trail of blood trickled out of his mouth. But Jace just began searching his body. Tossing the laser pistol and holster into his garage along with a few other electrical devices he found on him.
Once he was done he walked over to the pile of bodies and put the slowly dying man on top and then walked back to his garage. Leaving them to figure out what to do on their own.
He walked back into his garage just as there was a dinging noise coming from the garage door. "Open the door Cain." Jace ordered as he moved over to the main entrance. It opened to reveal their guests.
A human in a blue uniform who looked out of place in this run down district was standing next to one of the new hover trucks. Already standing in a stack next to him were a number of boxes. They were just sitting there so it must have taken him a second to manually pull all the equipment down.
"Good afternoon sir!" The man perked up and gave a fake smile. "Your delivery is..." He trailed off as he noticed the condition of the garage. Jace looked over the boxes and then began bringing them in. "Do I have confirmation that you do not need anything else?" The man asked when he came back to reality.
"Yeah, I am good. You can head out." Jace answered as he finished bringing all of the boxes in. "Cain, close the doors." Jace ordered as he opened some of the boxes. The priority now was to repair the back door. Then he would continue condensing the rest of this metal.
The garage began closing as Jace began using the material converter to make parts for the new door he would install on the rear of the building. A few minutes later he could hear a commotion from the alleyway as the three goons’ friends discovered their comrades.
Jace could hear them panicking and dragging them into their garage. The glasses wearing guy was close to dying. He had apparently fallen unconscious and was no longer responding. He was still alive but his breathing had slowed while the bleeding from his mouth had not.
By the time he began installing the reinforced back door he could hear the sound of an emergency response ship landing on the roof of the building they had been pulled into. Then it took off a moment later with a siren blaring to alert nearby people of their injured passenger.
Then after a few minutes he could hear the back door of their building open. Jace looked over to see a man with darker skin, a bald head, and a beard walking over. He was wearing the same red and black jumpsuit that the other three were wearing. Except he was much older, maybe in his forties. While the way he walked and moved were clearly reminiscent of a soldier’s.
"What did my people do?" The man asked. He sounded more annoyed than angry. Jace had a feeling those three were running a side business behind this boss of theirs back.
"Tried to strongarm me and then rob me." Jace answered as he nodded at his garage.
The man stepped over and looked inside. He saw what was in the back of Jace’s truck and the material converter. "That is some expensive stuff. But a bunch of it is only the type of stuff that someone with military connections can get. How long did you serve?" The man asked as he whistled.
"I am still serving. But the Victorium have a far more strict policy of taking a vacation after every deployment. So I am being forced on vacation because it has been about two years and I never got a complete break." Jace answered with a chuckle.
"Hmm..." The man nodded, "I will make sure my boys do not bother you again. You can keep the stuff you took off them. I make my crew buy their own gear so it is no loss to me." The man told him with a chuckle. "But what did you do to- the one with the glasses?"
"I just hit him with my shoulder a bit too hard. If he was system enhanced he could have taken at least one hit but it sounds like one hit was enough to cripple him." Jace answered as he finished installing the door frame. He stood up and gave it one last look over.
"That makes sense. What are you going to be doing in this garage though? Especially with equipment like that?" The man asked as he crossed his arms in thought. He was not acting defensive or aggressive in his mannerisms.
"I am tinkering with some theoretical ideas." Jace answered. Getting a look of contemplation from the man. "These are ideas that will not be making it to the open market until I find counters for them." Jace pointed out with a chuckle.
The man shrugged, "sorry." Then he waved at Jace and walked back to his garage’s back door. "If you feel like doing some simple engineering we are a racing shop. You can pop in and help anytime."
Jace chuckled as he realized the man was likely missing the excitement of the military engineers. Their constant pursuit of their passion is part of the reason the Vexical military has such up to date gear.