(The gap between Dopp's Black Gold adjutant and White Wolf's adjutant is enormous; even their equipment is in entirely different leagues.)
Lyle: "I've got a really bad feeling about this right now."
Ethel: "Totally normal. Figure the timing—Fred should have figured things out by now and is either sending people or coming himself. Still, I've got a lot of respect for Fred. Even Yuwang, who the Task Force are terrified of, learned how to shoot from Fred. I wouldn't mind crossing paths with Fred myself."
Ethel lowers her head, wiping down the AR57 in her hands, and speaks with a cold smirk.
Lyle: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've got your Ranger badge, you're so cool."
Lyle turns her head, ignoring Ethel, and starts cleaning her own MPX.
Seeing this, Jessica stays quiet, puts away her gold bar, and lies down on the bed to rest.
The rain is still pouring down hard...
In the middle of the night, as the rain lets up a bit, Ethel quietly wakes the others.
Ethel: (Mouthing the words without making a sound) "Enemies."
Catching Ethel's lips, the five of them instantly snap awake, quickly climbing out of bed to grab their weapons and press their backs against the wall.
Ethel gestures for them to stay quiet, then points toward the distant darkness.
Lyle looks in the direction she's pointing, spotting several dark figures quietly approaching their camp.
"They're Fred's people," Ethel whispers. "Get ready for a fight."
Lyle grips her MPX tightly, Fania checks the rounds in her Mini14, Jessica clutches her USAS12, Lucy boots up her drone and draws her sidearm F57, and Muse holds her M870 in silence.
The dark shadows draw closer. Ethel gives a hand signal, and everyone understands instantly. The moment the shadows enter range, Ethel fires an illumination flare into the sky, sounding the horn for battle as the others open fire. Instantly, gunfire tears through the night sky.
The men Fred sent are clearly a bunch of untrained cannon fodder, and their ranks immediately fall into chaos. Taking advantage of the confusion, Lyle and Jessica charge out, firing as they close in on the enemy. Lucy pilots her drone to provide aerial support, while Muse holds the rear, using her M870 to sweep away any enemies trying to flank them.
Ethel: "Time to say your last words."
Lyle: "Vanishing from this world now."
Fania: "The shuttle to hell is about to depart. Let me give you a ride."
Jessica: "Cannon fodder, goodbye forever."
Muse: "Sisters, let's listen to the last words of these attackers."
Lucy: "What, did you guys rob Rolf's flour stash? Are you all high or something? Listening to you lot is giving me the creeps."
Under the fierce assault from Ethel and her crew, Fred's subordinates are quickly wiped out.
Lyle picks up an enemy rifle, checks the magazine, and hands it to Ethel.
"Looks like Fred underestimated us. He actually just sent a bunch of locals from the Northern Mountains," Lyle says with a laugh.
"Don't let your guard down. If Fred's managed to hold the Northern Mountains for this long, he's got more brains than someone like you whose only growth is up top. He definitely has other moves planned," Ethel analyzes calmly.
Lyle: "If you make one more personal attack, you'd better take turns keeping both eyes open while you sleep, or I swear I'll slap you silly."
"Either way, we need to be ready for anything. Like you all said, this is a long-term mission," Jessica chimes in.
Ethel: "Let's head back inside. The rain's picking up again."