An Upgraded Soul

The transparent layer of cloth that was covering Divit's eyes shone a little before the vision automatically adjusted to the darkness. It was like seeing the world through a dark blue filter. Divit had heard that one would be able to see the world as it was, with all the colours, if you had Class III Madaktus like his elder brother.

"You think that this can stop me?" Divit sneered when he saw that these plebians had engulfed the whole level in darkness. Divit burst into a dash with frightening acceleration. His speed instantly reached a speed of forty miles/hr as he targetted a person who was tens of meters away from him. Divit's shoes came off as they were not equipped to withstand the force which was generating from his legs. His feet were covered by the Madaktus, which absorbed shock, tension and provided a good grip on the ground.

But before Divit could hit the person, a few objects landed in front of him. These object burst into blinding light. Even though the Class IV Madaktus filtered the eye-piercing light, its reaction speed was lower than Class III after all. So, Divit was disoriented by this blast. He was unable to control his momentum and crashed into a car.

It was Thomas who had thrown the Flash Grenades* to stun Divit. Even though Thomas was not trained, he had a good presence of mind. This characteristic of him was the main reason that Aditya had made him lead the pack. Thomas was quickest to think of all the possible modes of response to this threat. His fast reactions and presence of mind saved the skins of his brothers.

[*It was an ostensibly non-lethal explosive device, used to disorient an enemy's vision temporarily. It was designed to produce a blinding flash of light of around 15 million candelas (cd).]

Usually, a flash grenade was designed to produce a sound of 170 decibels also, but Aditya had this feature removed for today's mission for the obvious reasons (not attracting unwanted attention). A Flash grenade or a Stun Grenade was able to activate all the photoreceptor cells of eyes, thus causing the victim to be blinded for five seconds. Afterwards, the victim would see afterimages, thus impairing his aim.

Thomas did not have high expectations from this attack. He just wanted Divit to stop for a couple of seconds before the smoke grenades could create a smokescreen around him. Fortunately, luck was on Thomas's side as Divit had crashed into a car. The car door could not hold for even a second before it caved in thus allowing Divit to enter the vehicle. It took a total of six seconds before Divit could get out of the car.

By the time Divit got out, thick greyish black smoke had covered him in all directions. He could not tell left from right anymore. The fire alarm and smoke sensors in this level had already been deactivated. Thomas did not think twice before throwing these smoke grenades like peanuts. He and his brothers did nothing but pulling pins and throwing smoke canisters in all sides. Each smoke grenade was large and cylindrical. They rolled in all directions emitting almost fluid-like dark smoke.

Thomas did not want any more people from his teams to be hurt or even worse, die. The past few months of living and training together had nurtured a feeling of togetherness and brotherhood. They had a van full of all kinds of equipment, and Thomas was not in a position to think about the cost of his extravagant usage. For one, Thomas was not experienced or knowledgeable about the exact capabilities of these things, so he opted to over-use. As they say 'Better to be safe than sorry'.

The whole level had almost been submerged in thick dark smoke in a few minutes. It was a nearly closed space, so the retention of the smoke was excellent. Thomas and others had breathing gas masks and were not affected by the smoke. Divit was also not influenced; this feature seemed to be another function of Class IV Madactus.

It was lucky that the two guys, who were hit, were equipped with powered robotic exoskeletons. This suit was similar to the TALOS initiative (Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit) of the United States Special Operations Command. It was bulletproof, weaponised, could monitor vitals, and gave the wearer enhanced strength and perception. These two guys were the most optimum 'tank' material (In gaming, a tank is a character that draws attackers away from other players).

Manu and Imran had similar tall and broad beastly physiques like their Boss Rudra. These fellows were supposed to be the lead operator in their team. This placement was the most vulnerable position as they will be going in blind in a raid situation. So, they got the best defence equipment. It was lucky that they were the ones attacked. If it was Thomas or any other person, who had been attacked, they would have already died. Depending on their religion, they might have already reached the underworld by now or reincarnated.

The data of Manu and Imran's vitals showed that they were still breathing. So Thomas sent four people to rescue them from the other side. Before this fight, Thomas and his team had mapped the entire level using 3D scanning tools. So, even with the smoke and the darkness, they knew where they were and where to go.

So while Divit was indulging in random guesses and creating havoc in the whole level by smashing cars and crashing into pillars, Thomas was focused on maintaining the smokescreen and staying away from Divit.

Bang!

AIYO! Awww!

A blood-curdling shriek rang through the whole floor. Anyone who heard this voice would feel jitters all over their body. A haughty laugh followed this scream as Divit began to cause even more destruction. Thomas stifled his laughter as he said through the microphone, "continue making sounds of pain when the objects thrown by Divit hit places near you."

"Copy that, big brother. That idiot is totally digging the fake screams," a cheerful voice was heard. This plan was Thomas's way of keeping Divit excited. This plan was similar to how p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es fake an o.r.g.a.s.m when the client climaxes. Thomas was making Divit feel that his blind attacks were hurting people so that he would continue playing around instead of running away. Otherwise, Divit might end up leaving out of frustration, and it was not something Thomas wanted to see.

"Big brother Thomas, you are awesome. No wonder Boss chose you to be the leader. Does that guy think he is Hulk or something? He is mindlessly crashing into everything without even thinking a little. Maybe we can ask him to attend this year's Comicon," a short person asked Thomas. This person was Manas, who was the one responsible for distributing supplies to others. Manas was a film buff and had a humorous way of interacting that kept the team lively.

Just as Manas finished his words, Divit hit a BMW and tore a door from that car. Divit then threw that door frame with shocking strength. This door frame hit another vehicle causing loud noises. Divit's roars helped Thomas and others to know his location in the smoke and thus could take the required precautions. All of them maintained a reasonable distance from Divit and encircled him.

BANG!

OWWW!

'OH GOD, I AM GOING TO DIE. OH, MOTHER, I WILL BE LEAVING AHEAD OF YOU', a loud shout was heard following the squeal of pain. Thomas almost choked when he heard this sentence.

"Wow! Shashank is doing hundred rupees worth of acting for one rupee script," Manas was laughing so hard that his body was trembling.

"Damn Shashank," Thomas cursed as he hoped that Divit would not get suspicious.

"Well, let's hope that this fellow Divit remains this way and do not come to his senses any time soon," Thomas muttered as he prayed that his Little Boss answers his call. Aditya was not responding to Thomas, which made him a little apprehensive. He wanted to go in person and check, but Thomas could not leave these people here. Manu was the second person in command, and he was already injured. The other guys were not trained enough to lead.

As Thomas was thinking about sending someone else to contact Aditya, Manas nudged him as he said, "Big brother, look, this fellow stopped."