The Master Programmer-Chapter 96: A Smirk in the Smoke 1

*pew! pew! pew! pew! pew!*

Gunfire erupted, ricocheting off the polished marble walls of the grand hall. Jason soon found his stack of crates useless as he rolled over to duck behind an overturned table, his sharp suit a stark contrast to the chaos unfolding around him.

At that moment he regretted coming in there with the suit. He should have gone to get a change of clothes. Now there he was, making his suit dirty. Damn it. He had to take it to the Dry Cleaners later too now, and that was just another annoying thing.

"Get him!"

"Fuck them up!"

"Defend Mr Troy!!"

"Kill them all!!"

The echoes of shouts, screams, and gunshots mingled into a cacophony that felt surreal. He clenched his jaw, his piercing gaze scanning the room for opportunities. Jason wasn’t a man accustomed to chaos, he thrived in it. He didn’t know when that became the truth, but it was his truth now and it would be for the rest of his life. He was going to ensure that he made it out of this mess no matter what.

Nearby, Troy slid into cover, his usually composed face now smeared with sweat. Jason’s grip tightened around the gun he’d retrieved from one of Troy’s fallen guards, his knuckles whitening. The other one had been used by Troy as a shield while he was getting away, leaving him to die.

What a cold man… He glanced at Troy, whose expression betrayed nothing of the situation’s gravity. "Care to share who’s behind this little display of fireworks?!" Jason asked, his voice calm but loud, cutting through the chaotic gunshots somehow.

Troy, ever the enigma, smirked, clearly impressed by Jason’s demeanour in this situation. "If I knew, they wouldn’t still be breathing."

What? Did that even make any sense? Spoken like a man with a million secrets. Jason arched a brow. The answer was evasive, but then again, Troy was nothing if not a master of keeping people guessing. Troy did it on purpose too. It was very clear that he could not rely on the man.

Jason breathed out. If they were being attacked, then that meant that he was in danger. And if he was in danger… Then there was going to be hell to pay for it.

From their vantage point, Jason counted six men entering the hall. Each moved with the precision of seasoned mercenaries, their semi-automatic handguns sweeping the room for targets. Jason ducked just in time as bullets peppered his cover, wood splintering with sharp cracks.

Damn it, this was not going to be simple. Actually, it was going to be very difficult if he could say so himself. In a way, he couldn’t help but sigh. It was pretty interesting to see what was happening. And in a way, he couldn’t help but sigh. What was going to happen here?

He stole a glance at Troy, whose calm bordered on insanity. "You don’t seem particularly concerned," Jason muttered. Why was it that he was not concerned? His men were dead, he was being attacked, but there the man was, looking completely calm and collected.

Troy chuckled darkly. "This isn’t my first rodeo. I could tell you about the one time I was in Dragon City… That was crazy. I had this beautiful woman bouncing on my cock, and then…"

Jason rolled his eyes, not even paying attention to the man after he said that. Great. He was trapped with a lunatic. Just perfect.

Moving on, Jason turned his attention to the other things happening all around him. Since if he poked his head out, it might get blown apart, he had to ensure that he used his other senses.

Jason chose to listen. He knew that these weapons probably had 11 to 13 bullets in the cartridges, which meant that soon, they would run out, and get covered by one of the others. He had to listen for that special moment before they got too close.

But still, Jason was no idiot, so he knew that these guys also were not idiots. If he was going to get them to use their bullets, he was going to have to give them a target to shoot at.

Jason kept raising his head and letting it fall, drawing their fire, as he looked like he was attempting to fire. And they, being the trained mercenaries, kept making shots only to miss Jason barely. Jason started sweating as all this was happening, his mind working at lightspeed.

In the next moment, it was a bit chaotic with Troy telling a story about him almost getting killed by a naked woman, and the men coming closer, but soon Jason found the opportunity he had been looking for.

One of the attackers’ guns clicked, a telltale sound Jason’s "trained" ears caught instantly. Without hesitation, he rose from his cover, firing two calculated shots at the position. The first hit a man square in the chest; the second found its mark in his head.

*Bam! Bam!*

*Dum!*

The body crumpled, and chaos paused for a fleeting second.

At that moment, Jason fired again, only for the shot to miss as his mark hid himself behind a nearby pillar.

"Jason Cross, you’re a dead man!" one of the remaining attackers roared, their voices tinged with anger and panic as he fired off more bullets in anger for his lost partner.

Jason ducked again, taking the magazine out and checking just how many bullets he had left. Wow… only eight. Just great. He had to make his next few shots count. Putting the thing back in, Jason got back to work.

But as he did, his mind worked as fast as his hands.

They know my name. How interesting… Jason smirked, turning his head to Troy, who had stopped telling his story and was now holding a gun in a way that showed he had finally joined the fight.

"What’s the plan, Troy?" Jason asked, glancing sideways at the man who was supposed to be his ally. Supposed to be because the man was doing nothing against the attackers, merely sitting there like some scared bastard.

Ever since a moment ago, Jason had felt a bit different. Something was wrong. Some was happening, and it had a lot to do with him. And it all had to do with Troy.

Troy leaned against his cover, his dark humour still intact as he raised and lowered his head only for a bang to come to his head. "Plan? Survive. Maybe take a few of them with me. Would have been nice if I was with a girl at that moment. You know how I love beautiful women, dont you?"

No, I don’t, thought Jason, turning away from the man.

It was clear that the man was trying his best to not get involved, or maybe he was gauging Jason’s abilities... Anyway, Jason was not too worried... he was extremely annoyed. That gun was useless in the man’s hand. He needed to take it out of there and use it for himself. Or he needed to get the man to use it.

Jason gave a humourless laugh. "Fantastic. Just the kind of business partner I was hoping for." Jason shook his head, turning his attention to the sounds again.

He returned fire, his shots forcing the attackers into cover. Troy didn’t move to assist, his posture as relaxed as ever. Jason’s irritation mounted. He had no illusions about trusting Troy, but the man’s nonchalance bordered on maddening.

And the more Jason thought about this, the more suspicious he became…

Jason locked eyes with Troy and softened his voice, infusing it with a tone of authority and camaraderie. "Troy I can’t do this alone. We get through this together, or we don’t get through it at all. Your call."

Troy’s smirk faltered, a flicker of uncertainty showing up that was all but visible to Jason. Jason’s calculated words had done their job, planting a seed of doubt in Troy’s mind. If Troy wasn’t an idiot he would know what Jason wanted.

"Fuck it. They dared to fuck with my new friend, Jason. They’ll die for it. I will make sure of it." The man finally fired a few shots, forcing the attackers to adjust their positions as he laughed. Meanwhile, Jason watched him in interest.

Reframing the situation and aligning their survival as a mutual interest... It works every time. If he was acting, then he would stop. If he was forcing Jason to waste his ammo, then he would stop. After all, Jason was effectively saying "If you dont shoot at them, I won’t trust you. And If I don’t trust you, I might shoot at you."

The gunfire paused, the attackers regrouping behind the grand pillars flanking the room. Jason’s sharp eyes caught a subtle shift, a faint gleam from a flashlight breaking through the settling dust. He adjusted his aim and fired. Another attacker fell.

Four left. Five bullets left.

Troy let out a low whistle. "Not bad! What are you, Special Forces?"

Jason didn’t respond, his mind focused on the dwindling ammunition in his clip. He turned to Troy, his voice sharp. "Any more tricks up your sleeve? Or are you just here to make sarcastic comments?"

Troy chuckled. "Relax. They want me alive. I know too much, and they know that too. They would never let me die. You on the other hand... "

Jason’s eyes narrowed. "And what about me?" Although he asked that question, he was still pretty interested in the answer. After all, he partially knew it.

Before Troy could respond, a grenade rolled into their vicinity. Jason’s heart leapt as he grabbed Troy and leapt, diving behind another pillar. The explosion rocked the hall, a deafening boom that left his ears ringing. Smoke and debris filled the air, reducing visibility to almost zero.

Jason coughed, pulling Troy closer. "Stay down."

Troy laughed as Jason did that. It seemed the man was really having fun at that moment, being treated like some child who needed protection. Jason didn’t care though.

This guy had not even taken down one of those fuckers. It was very clear that he was playing around. Jason took away Troy’s gun as he tucked the man away, making sure to getthe thing away from him in case he aimed it wrong.

Through the haze, Jason saw the silhouettes of the attackers advancing, their flashlights cutting through the smoke. Their confidence was palpable, they thought they had the upper hand.

Amateurs, Jason thought with a smirk. They were announcing their positions with a flashlight, and they were doing it blatantly too… What did they expect to see?

Using the smoke as cover, Jason shifted silently, his movements deliberate and precise. He caught one of the attackers off guard, firing a shot that sent the man sprawling.

Another turned, flashlight swerving, but Jason was faster. Two more shots and only three attackers remained. Now that he had a second gun, his bullets were not an issue anymore. He was going to take them down.

"Jason!" one of them shouted, voice cracking with frustration. "You can’t keep this up forever!"

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Jason’s smirk deepened as he hid behind a pillar. "Wanna bet?"