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[Outtsyder]

{Part 2}


The violet-and-olive transport truck, carrying a single deep-purple metallic cube in its otherwise empty flatbed cargo bay, wheeled through the tunnels of the underground Decepticon base. Megatron had ordered an officers’ meeting, and after their previous invasion yielded such mediocre results, appearing late would exacerbate their leader’s already tense mood. Concerns over tardiness were allayed when the vehicle reached the entrance to the command centre. The metal cube unfolded into a basic utilitarian humanoid shape, leaping from the truck’s cargo bay onto the tarmac; the truck transformed likewise into its own robot mode with thick armor on his shoulders and torso. The basic-shaped robot punched a code into the keypad by the door, which slid open for the two robots to enter the command centre, outwardly stoic but internally nervous, knowing what this meeting was about. There, they found Megatron and a seated Soundwave with their backs toward the entrance, while analyzing streams and blocks of data appearing and shifting on the main computer’s multiple screens.

“Keep working, Soundwave. I shall attend to our colleagues.”

“As you command, Megatron,” the Communications Officer droned, focusing the attention of his multi-channel mind on the intercepted signals on the computer.

Megatron turned to find his guests at attention, their right forearms across their chests in salute. “Blacklight, Dropkick; at ease,” he said, gesturing for his subordinates to meet him at the circular tabletop platform in the middle of the command centre. “I trust you both understand the reason I have summoned you here.”

The nervous tension in both officers grew a few degrees, not knowing if anything they said would upset their leader any further than they thought he already was. Blacklight, the basic-bodied robot, took a risk by being the first to speak. “My sincere apologies, Megatron, but –”

“Apologies are not necessary, Blacklight,” Megatron interrupted the infantry captain. However, any sense of relaxation was snuffed out when he continued with a stern edge in his voice. “Nor are they accepted. I entrusted the mission to you after I spent several solar cycles plotting the strategy, ensuring you could execute the plan with little to no problem. I believed you could succeed without my supervision in the field. The payoff was not negligible, but the losses you incurred set back our agenda.”

“We understand your displeasure, Megatron,” Blacklight replied defensively. “But there was no warning of the Guardian robots. We had no intel on them, and we were taken by surprise.”

“How do you hide an overgrown sentinel that size?!” Megatron burst. “And you dare shift the blame from your responsibility on the mission?! Those resources were a critical step toward putting ‘Project: Seeker’ into production! We need a dedicated aerial force, if we expect to have all facets covered in our conquest of Cybertron!”

“Do we have another point of attack picked out?” Dropkick inquired, internally wincing to himself over whether or not he should have spoken up.

“We have one selected,” Megatron answered, “but with several Guardian robots already set in place, we are far from prepared unless a miracle comes our way to eliminate them.”

“Well, maybe what we need is some new super-weapon of our own, for missions when you’re not with us. It’ll be a big help to take down those giants.”

Frustration seethed behind Megatron’s blood-red optic lenses as he scowled at Dropkick, almost trying to make him wither with his glare. “It’s a good thing I placed you in charge of materials acquisition, Dropkick. Because when it comes to military strategy, you certainly have a talent for stating the obvious!”

“No disrespect, Megatron, but Dropkick may have a point about our weaponry. In the first two raids, with or without your presence, we had it easy. Now, with the Guardians deployed, we don’t stand a chance unless we’re armed with something comparable to the caliber of your fusion cannon. Our blasters can handle an ordinary Cybertronian, but they don’t have the power to scratch a Guardian robot’s armor, let alone dent it.”

Megatron’s patience wore thin as he argued with his subordinates over the newly-imposed impasse in their plans. Not long after assuming Decepticon command, he eliminated the former Autobot leader Sentinel Prime and gained significant momentum in acquiring territory for his budding empire. Their secret underground staging bases protected them and their assets from detection by Autobots or neutrals, as each phase unfolded without fail… until now. Megatron did have it rather easy, being able to plot strategies himself and join his warriors on the front line with each operation. It was simply a bad coincidence that the Guardian robots were put into action on the first mission Megatron had entrusted to another officer. But being overmatched did nothing to help the Decepticon agenda, its progress now suffering this unexpected hindrance. Something had to be done: bolstering their weapons, or recruiting a lieutenant with credentials needed in a military operations commander. Or both… which would be a luxury at this stage.

“Megatron, attention,” Soundwave’s voice cut into the heated discussion. “Intercepted televised signal. Origin of broadcast: Destron-Laserwave.”

“This is not the time for a commercial break, Soundwave,” Megatron growled.

“Correction. Broadcast promotes a possible new weapon for Decepticon arsenal.”

Megatron became intrigued; this transmission could give the moment’s morale a much-needed boost. “Very well, play back the signal.”

Soundwave stood from his seat, faced the middle of the command centre, and transformed to his crossbar-shaped utility tower form, his chest panel forming a light screen. An interface cable extended from his back and linked to the computer’s dashboard. A holographic image of what looked like a hand-held energy blaster projected from Soundwave’s chest panel, and hovered over the central tabletop platform as a rich-sounding voice-over spoke:

“Imagine a toolkit. A workshop. And self-defense. All in one tool. Communicate with a radio transmitter. Create warmth with a blanket of infra-red. Pierce the darkness by shedding visible light on the subject. Unveil hidden secrets under the ultra-violet, and with your own X-ray vision. And make any threat catch some gamma rays… all with a single envelope of electromagnetics. Introducing the new MP.29 laser vulcan. Feel the power of the stars, in the palm of your hand. From Destron-Laserwave.”

Blacklight and Dropkick were almost certain they spotted Megatron subtly grinning after the commercial ended. “It appears you may soon have the weapons you wanted, Blacklight,” he said as Soundwave transformed back to robot mode and the interface cable disconnected from the computer and snaked back into his body. “Soundwave, contact Destron-Laserwave immediately, and request an order for all available stock on the MP.29. I don’t care how much they say it will cost us; we must have their entire stock of laser vulcans for our use.”

“But I thought we don’t have enough resources to pay for an order that big,” Dropkick cut in.

“We won’t have to pay for it,” Megatron chuckled maliciously. “Once we place our order, we’ll simply pay them a visit, take everything we need, and destroy the rest!”

Megatron’s laugh echoed throughout the command centre. Blacklight and Dropkick couldn’t help shedding their worries from before and joining him, already anticipating their next plunder.

* * * * *

“… Introducing the new MP.29 laser vulcan. Feel the power of the stars, in the palm of your hand. From Destron-Laserwave.”

The promo clip played on the screens in public venues and personal domiciles alike, bearing devices tuned into the frequencies on which the commercial was broadcast. Word about the new laser vulcan was already spreading as soon as viewers were captivated by the promo’s imagery depicting its all-in-one capabilities, as well as triggering debate on the tool’s safety for use in the general public. Some of that discussion rippled among the patrons imbibing cocktails of energon and oils at Maccadam’s, where the ad had also played on its main screen by the bar.

The same bar where Highlight went to clear his mind, after Destron-Laserwave fired him.

And he was still at that same bar when the commercial aired. Highlight stared silently at the screen, as the slick images of the laser vulcan – images that he created! – hovered and rotated in all angles, showing off its features in a brief attractive show. Anger didn’t take long to build fast in his emotional centers, topping out as soon as the voice-over closed off the promo.

“From Destron-Laserwave.”

Destron-Laserwave! It came together so obviously. That’s it! That’s the connection! Highlight knew he had to do something, and he wasn’t going to wait. He guzzled down the last drops of his Michelobay brew, unthinkingly slammed down his payment on the counter – with more than double the normal amount for a tip – and stormed out of the tavern. He didn’t stop to think about the high-grade fuel affecting his balance and navigation protocols as he transformed to his hover sled mode and erratically raced back to the place where the new ownership stripped him of both his invention and his job. All that mattered to Highlight now was a new order of business.

* * * * *

The text on the executive office’s wall screen read:

Manufacturer: Destron-Laserwave
Model #: MP.29
Weapon type: laser vulcan (energy weapon, ray gun)

Features:
* Weapon emits beams of energy from entire range of the electromagnetic spectrum; variable switch for setting frequency; nature of weapon drains power source rapidly
* Intensity of beam output can be varied, allowing weapon to be used for non-offensive purposes (e.g. searchlight, scanner/detector, signal transmitter/jammer, etc.)
* Miniature nuclear reactor with focused laser array – manufactured by Astro Magnum Precision Lasers & Electromagnetics – accommodates a variety of fuel cells for power sources; energon, radioactive, and electrical cells yield most efficient results
* Insulated conduit cable contains inert gas coolant; draws excess heat from reactor into chamber leading to heat sinks for dissipation
* Barrel has strategically-cut slots for heat sinks, preventing weapon from overheating
* Retractable rangefinder

The executive officer in the chamber smugly admired his stolen handiwork, relaxing in his seat. He must admit, it was nice to work in a place where, not only was he in the control cockpit, but he could finally sit down. Perhaps acting outside rigid rules and following ethics was against his usual modus operandi at Astro Magnum. But on the other hand, he knew a good deal when he saw one. All he needed to make it work was a solid plan to put into action.

His intercom buzzed, prompting him to press the blinking button on his office communicator on his bureau. “Whatcha got?”

“Mags, you’re not going to believe this, but we just got an order for our entire stock of MP.29s!”

“You’re kidding.”

“No way! Said it’s an immediate order from someone named Megatron. He wants to buy every MP.29 we’ve got! They’ve already placed the pre-order, and they’re on their way to pick it up!”

“A pre-order sellout on the first day? This is way too good to be true. How much are we making from this transaction?”

“Get this, Mags. I told them they’d have to pay ten thousand shanix all in advance. But instead, they wire-transferred two thousand now, and said they’ll pay another fifteen thousand when they get here to pick up their order!”

“Seventeen thousand shanix?! Damn, this Megatron guy must really want our stuff badly. Not that I’m complaining. How’s the order coming along?”

“Got our shipping department right on it; all our laser vulcans are getting packed up now.”

“Terrific. We should start producing a second run as soon as this order gets sold. Only this time, we charge double the price!”

“Already working on a new promo, Mags. Got notes like ‘immediate sellout’ and ‘by popular demand’ punched in my datapad. I’ll zip out a draft to PR, ASAP.”

“I gotta say, joining this place really is the best business move I’ve ever made. That is, until we make another mega-hit product. They’ll be dying for a sequel.”

“I like the way you think, pal. I’ll meet you in a few cycles.”

“I’ll be waiting, buddy. Magnificus out.”

* * * * *

“Oh, hi, Highlight; I’ve sent your message to –”

“Clamp it, Filesave,” the tipsy Highlight snapped as he barreled into Destron-Laserwave’s lobby. “Where’s Magnificus? Where’s his office?”

“Er, I’m afraid he’s still having that meeting, so he can’t see anyone. But I can schedule an appointment for you at—”

Highlight slammed his fist on the receptionist’s desk. “Where is he?!”

“Um… suite 217, level Theta,” Filesave hesitated meekly. The enraged Highlight stormed down the corridor toward the nearest elevator, his steps stumbling slightly as the effects of the energon beverage from Maccadam’s still clouded his perceptions. Waiting until the intruder was at a safe distance, Filesave activated her intercom. “Boss, Highlight just burst in here and he’s heading straight for you. I couldn’t keep him back. Should I alert security?”

A short pause came before Magnificus’ voice replied from the receiver. “No. I expected him to find out sooner or later. Don’t worry about me, babe-bot. I got it covered.”

The intercom was voice only, but Filesave could almost swear she could “hear” him wink at her.

* * * * *

This is too easy, Highlight thought as the elevator door whooshed open on level Theta. Though the effects of his drink were wearing off very slowly, he was almost certain that someone would at least try to stop him. But he saw no sign of any security droids or noise of an alarm. Trying to regain some of his bearings as he stomped down the corridor for the office door he sought, Highlight really didn’t care if anyone or anything got in his way. But having met not a single obstacle until he came to suite 217, part of his intuition circuits had a buzzing that the real “obstacle” was behind that door. It didn’t matter, as he rammed his shoulder against the door, denting it but failing to make it budge. Drawing a power surge build-up from the high-grade Michelobay, Highlight reared back and charged the door again, smashing it off the pneumatic sliding assembly and slamming it flat on the floor.

He expected to find Magnificus in the office chamber. He also expected to find some sort of evidence of the MP.29 laser vulcan in there as well. But what he didn’t expect was the presence of a second robot – short and stocky, in a paint scheme of yellow-brown and dark purple – helping Magnificus inspect the contents of a large crate sitting on top of the bureau.

A fraction of Destron-Laserwave’s full stock of laser vulcans. That he designed.

“Well. Good of you to drop by, ‘old partner’,” Magnificus sneered at the uninvited guest. “I’m surprised you didn’t come sooner. Had to get sloshed at Maccadam’s again, hm?”

Highlight glanced at the weapons in the crate, and glared at the unknown robot. “Who in the universe are you supposed to be?”

“Ah, yes, how impolite of me,” Magnificus cut in. “Let me introduce you to the co-owner of Destron-Laserwave. Highlight, meet Swindle. Swindle? Highlight.”

Swindle, Highlight thought. Perfectly suitable name… for both of you.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Swindle said with a dishonest plastic smile. He offered the formality of an insincere handshake, which he knew Highlight would never accept it anyway.

“Can the ironslag, you two. You know why I’m here. And I know you did it, Magnificus.”

Magnificus didn’t bother to give a false act of innocence or a weak denial. “Heh. In your mental state, I’m surprised you can think, never mind ‘know’ anything. Except for…” He trailed his sentence as he slowly pulled out one of the laser vulcans from the shipping crate. “… this. Look familiar, ‘old partner’?” He twirled the laser vulcan around his finger by the handle and trigger junction, showing off like a gunslinger. “I can guess what you’re thinking, and what you want to say. ‘Why, Magnificus? Why’d you cut me loose,’ and all that?”

Highlight’s rage was heating up, with or without the drink at Maccadam’s still influencing his perceptions. But he forced himself to listen to the smug con artists, just to hear their story – whether or not it was true – before he’d punch their photocells out.

“Well, Highlight, to put it bluntly… I got a better deal. And I needed a new partner.”

Now Highlight felt a dose of confusion mixing with his anger and the high-grade already in his system. Could this ’bot really go so far as to sell out our whole company that prided itself on innovative and visionary thinking, to a greedy upstart that cared nothing about ethics before profit? And what’s more, why would he jump companies and betray Astro Magnum’s ideals, and take things this far? “You never did get suspended, did you?” he snarled at his former partner. “That was all a ruse.”

“Impressive deduction, even while intoxicated,” Magnificus laughed, as Swindle joined in. “You see, I talked with Swindle here about how Destron-Laserwave did business. And this company appreciated something that I believed in. Structure. And defined rules.”

“You gotta understand, bud,” Swindle added to Magnificus’ explanation, “that you need a set plan if you wanna rake in the big money. It doesn’t matter one bit if your methods are corrupt; it’s all about how far you can go. Win at all costs, but cut your own costs.”

“Sounds more to me like, ‘win however you can, but always cheat’,” Highlight rebutted.

Magnificus and Swindle just laughed harder, almost feeling optic lens lubricant leaking from their socket ducts. “I like that one!” Swindle guffawed. “That’s perfect for a company poster; I gotta remember that!”

“Will you cut the carbo-scrap and get serious for once?!” Highlight bellowed.

Magnificus began to calm down somewhat, but kept his mocking gaze on Highlight while still toting the laser vulcan in his hand. “Now how’s that for irony, you demanding seriousness from me, huh? Okay, if you really want to know that badly. I ratted on you to get you out of the way, then had secret talks with Swindle on my time off. Outside company time, I might add.”

“Yeah, when he told me this thing about a laser vulcan,” Swindle joined in, “I knew we both had offers that we couldn’t refuse.”

“As for ‘your’ MP.29, I finally understood its value. But marketing it as a civilian tool was a total waste of its potential. So we arranged for Destron-Laserwave to take over Astro Magnum, and improved ‘your’ design. Now we’re in the business of selling weapons. With that military campaign with those flying robots running around, you know a war’s going to break out.”

“And selling weapons to all sides fighting the same war?” added Swindle rhetorically. “What better way to make – wait for it – a killing?!”

It’s a good thing for them, that these two cyber-clowns are enjoying their own amateur comedy night, Highlight seethed silently as he felt forced to watch his arrogant hosts laughing at their own flippant jokes. Because this captive audience member is not impressed!

“So all it took was to get some authorization from you to hand over your rights to the MP.29,” said Magnificus, “and now we’re about to make a small fortune on a first-cycle sellout!”

“I never gave you the rights to the MP.29!” Highlight snapped in protest.

“Oh, but you did. Remember when I met you at Maccadam’s? Never mind, of course you don’t; you were jack-hammered. So let me fill in the blank in that creative memory of yours. I gave you another drink after all the others you already had – just enough to make you pass out. While you were unconscious, I brought out my data pad with a transfer-of-ownership file, and uploaded your electronic signature on it. The last piece to get you out of our business was erase your name on the MP.29 proposal – the only copy in existence – and sign mine instead.”

For Highlight, this was getting closer and closer to the last strontium straw. The sheer lack of scruples that Magnificus was displaying in his story was almost enough to commit justifiable mech-icide on his ex-lab partner. “Let me guess; then you got promoted here, and canned me and everyone else from Astro Magnum, right?”

“Close. I thought Magnificus did such a – ahem – magnificent job,” Swindle corrected, trying hard for once to stifle a chuckle at his own pun, “that I made him my new co-owner. We just finished buying out my old partner’s contract!”

“Remember how you said anything could happen in the Golden Age? It just did,” Magnificus scoffed while twirling his laser vulcan around his finger again. “Oh, I followed something else you told me – ‘insight and foresight are everything’ – but you forgot one critical element. Insight and foresight are nothing… without action. And I took that action.”

Action, huh, Highlight thought, as he deftly hid his left hand behind his back, retracted his hand inside his wrist socket, and silently extended his laser pointer. If he doesn’t shut up, I’ll have to take a desperate action of my own –

“Oh, by the way, if you were sober enough to remember anything from Maccadam’s, you might recall I did offer you a spot with Destron-Laserwave,” Magnificus gloated while still toying with the laser vulcan in his hand. “Okay, it was a verbal contract, but technically still an offer I made out of courtesy, since we were lab partners. But because you said no,” pausing momentarily to mockingly aim the weapon at Highlight, “you were out! So hey, you can’t say I didn’t do you a favor. I even did you the favor of paying for your drinks, and hauling your plastered aft back to your place! I simply took the favor you owed me.”

“But maybe you can do us one other favor,” Swindle jumped in with a smirk. “We could use a hand in getting this crate down to the big shipment for our customer when he shows up. Care to volunteer and help us out?”

And there went that last strontium straw. Highlight whipped his left arm forward and tried to aim the laser pointer at Magnificus’ faceplate. But Magnificus was quicker on the draw, pulling the trigger on his laser vulcan and fusing Highlight’s laser pointer with a searing beam of infra-red radiation. Highlight clutched his arm in pain, as his pointer melted instantly from the blast and cauterized his wrist socket. Swindle grinned maliciously, watching his co-owner having his way with his ousted former lab partner.

“I have to admit, you’ve got some real bearings, though you’re outgunned,” Magnificus jeered as he closed in on Highlight. Though his foe was at point-blank range, he wanted to savor this moment, training his laser vulcan’s rangefinder on his target, and focusing him in the middle of its crosshairs. “But I think it’s time for the final dispatch. Unless you have anything to say before you’re – in a very literal sense of the term – fired?”

Wincing through his heat-induced injury, Highlight surreptitiously glanced in the immediate vicinity for any kind of opportunity to turn the tables on his treacherous assailant. Though just a few steps away, the bureau where the crate of MP.29s was stacked was too far for him to make a leap for it and grab a weapon of his own, before Magnificus could blast him again. He couldn’t cross that distance fast enough… but he could try another path…

“I do, in fact,” Highlight groaned, locking his optics on Magnificus, anticipating any hints that he may pull the trigger again anytime. “You know that thing about insight, foresight, and action?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“You forgot one other thing that makes progress.”

Magnificus grew impatient, wishing he just finished Highlight off without letting him have any last words. “And what would that be?”

Through tensed internal mechanics ready for action, Highlight answered, “Personal… drive.”

In a flash, Highlight transformed to his hover sled mode and charged at Magnificus, surprising him for a moment just long enough to forget about his weapon. Swindle suddenly leapt sideways away from the attack while Highlight ran into Magnificus and slammed him against the heavy bureau, knocking the crate to the floor and spilling out its contents. Highlight switched back to robot mode and snatched a laser vulcan with his good right hand as Magnificus collapsed to the floor on his skidplate. Just as Magnificus tried to shoot again, Highlight beat him this time, flashing a burst of high-intensity light from his own laser vulcan, overloading Magnificus’ optics into blindness and causing him to involuntarily drop his weapon. With his ex-lab partner disarmed and disabled, Highlight seized and exploited his advantage, using the stub of his melted left wrist to reset the frequency dial on his weapon, though with great difficulty. As Highlight aimed his MP.29 once more at the blinded Magnificus sprawling on the floor, Swindle took advantage of not being the object of attention, darting out the door before Highlight could mark him as his next target. Well, he thought while scrambling for the closest exit from the building, at least I still got my pre-paid deposit from that Megatron guy….

Highlight eyed Magnificus and pulled the trigger. Gamma rays delivered the killing blow.

But he wasn’t finished yet. With his entire livelihood robbed from him in the past two quartexes, he felt the least he could do was exact some retribution in his final act. He looked at the laser vulcans scattered on the floor: items that, by all rights, should be his from which he should be drawing profit. Not Magnificus. Not Swindle. And certainly not Destron-Laserwave.

He came to an absolute decision. If I can’t have my own invention… no one can.

* * * * *

Blaring throughout the building were security alarms and recorded announcements of “Evacuate the area” and “This is not a drill.” Regardless of how far their progress was on their jobs, even those just one step away from completion, the workers in Destron-Laserwave’s various wings and offices – including Filesave the receptionist, who spotted Swindle dash out the exit a few cycles ago, without saying a word to her – knew better than to ignore the warning and keep on working. Just like in a safety drill, they assembled in a calm and orderly fashion and evacuated the building. Whatever was happening inside, they hoped the automated security measures could deal with the problem so they could get back to work.

On level Theta, the scorched, wrecked Highlight limped out of Magnificus’ devastated office, thick smoke and particulate debris pouring out the door after him as he clutched the laser vulcan in his intact right hand – the last laser vulcan from the crate after he destroyed all the others. The collective blast from the other weapons’ internal nuclear mini-reactors exploding ripped gashes in Highlight’s body, knocked panels loose from various spots on his hull, and tore away almost half his faceplate, exposing the cranial infrastructure underneath. The radiation from that same explosion penetrated his external wounds, melting vital servo-mechanisms and burning out circuitry wiring that were exposed. But that still wasn’t enough to stop him. That crate was only one part of the full shipment that had to be destroyed. And unless Destron-Laserwave changed the building’s directory during his suspension, Highlight knew exactly where to go.

Trudging on fused legs through the corridors, Highlight was entirely focused on his single-minded mission; looking half-hunter, half-mecha-zombie, unfazed by the security droids mobilized to subdue him. With their AI programming, nimble maneuverability, and defensive armament, they would have no problem handling an aggressor in this condition. But on its gamma-ray setting, the MP.29 in Highlight’s hand was more than an equalizer. It was as though the security droid were facing a one-robot army… and losing miserably.

The workers waiting outside the building huddled together and anxiously speculated on what could be happening inside. They had only heard that Swindle had run off, plus rumors of Magnificus having a bad accident, and the intrusion of a disgruntled ex-employee who was let go before Astro Magnum was taken over. This business is growing by great strides, their partly-informed opinions contemptuously thought, and already someone’s resorting to violent, anti-expansionist vigilantism. No problem. If that’s the case, they reasoned, then the droids should eliminate one lone offender with no problem, and work can get back to normal.

They would be wrong.

Having picked off every security drone on his way through the building, Highlight finally reached the wing he was looking for: the open platform marked by a sign reading “Order Pick-Up.” Scoping out the area, he found piles and stacks of crates all over the wide area, assuming that his target was hiding among them. Remembering the multi-purpose functions of his MP.29, he pressed the melted stub of his left wrist socket against the control dials, and changed the settings to moderate-intensity X-rays. Using the laser vulcan as a scanning tool – a function he had originally intended for his old invention – the beam revealed the contents inside the crates he sorted through. Before long, he found the quarry he was looking for: a giant stack of crates, arranged eight across, eight wide, and eight high, save for one missing in a corner at the top.

Five hundred and eleven crates of MP.29 laser vulcans.

Highlight stared coldly at his prey, emotionally numbed and detached, while painfully resetting the dials on his laser vulcan to gamma ray again – on the highest possible setting – not caring about the fact that he was about to obliterate more than five hundred crates of his own creation.

A creation that was no longer his. And after this point of no return, it would never belong to anyone ever again.

Highlight raised his MP.29, aimed it at the center of the gigantic stockpile… and fired.

* * * * *

{Concludes next post....}