Showtime - The Day The Planet Burned (Ep.5)

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The Day The Planet Burned

Showtime (Ep.5)

September 12, 2098

Outskirts of Curitiba, State of Paraná, Cruzeiro

48 days after the detonations

Vicente takes another drag from his cigarette, inhaling the smoke and exhaling it a few seconds later. He soon notices the presence of Luci, who has just entered the poorly lit room, smelling of ashes, and heads towards his table.

Luci: "Good morning, Vicente. I bring good news for you." --- says the woman in her 30s, her white-dyed hair enhancing the impression of professionalism and seriousness.

Vicente: "About time." --- He says with a tone of relief --- "Go ahead." 

Luci: "All agents are in their designated positions, Milo's speech is set to begin in 5 minutes..."

Vicente smiles slightly --- "Very good, I just hope you haven't altered the original plan." --- He says, raising his right eyebrow in doubt.

Luci: "Of course not, everything will happen as planned... To recap, we have an undercover agents within the crowd attending the speech, who will detonate smoke bombs at the exact moment the Katyusha sniper fires tranquilizer darts to incapacitate the president."

Vicente: "That sounds good, I need you to alert General Moraes about the plan, since he won't be able to participate in person."

Luci: "I will, but... There's one more thing I need to tell you..."

Vicente looks at Luci, his eyes already showing slight indignation, fearing bad news to disrupt his plans --- "..."

Luci speaks without hesitation --- "The PMC's ship was identified when it arrived at the port... Those loyal to the president know there are armed mercenaries scattered around the city..."

Vicente's eyelids tremble, betraying a sign of insomnia mixed with stress.

Luci: "We had placed an ally in control of the terminal, who was supposed to turn a blind eye to the inspection of the Savinsky, but he was transferred by higher orders at the last minute..."

Vicente sighs, showing his dissatisfaction --- "What are the chances of something going wrong, considering this new information?"

Luci: "We don't know. But you don't need to worry... We have a trick up our sleeve in case the plan doesn't work out." --- She smiles --- "But we'll need more funding to cover our tracks if the operation becomes... Noisy..."

Vicente tries to keep calm, extinguishing his cigarette now --- "Okay. Just try to do your best to make it work, money won't be a problem if we can get Milo to follow our demands post-operation."

Luci: "Let's hope so..."

Rosary Catholic Cathedral

Some minutes later

The president of Cruzeiro opens a wide smile to his audience, acknowledging with waves for the applause. Beginning his speech in one of the ancient Portuguese baroque churches built during the colonial period.

Milo: "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, it is with great humility and respect that I address you, dear citizens of Curitiba and all of Cruzeiro, in this moment of challenge and overcoming. I wouldd  like to announce that our government has been fully dedicated to this reconstruction effort. We are providing shelter, food, and medical care for those affected by the disaster..."

Nearby building, sixth floor

While the speech was taking place, the bizarre conspiracy behind the scenes was unfolding its moves.

A Katyusha sniper adjusts his long-distance rifle, resting the weapon's bipod on the windowsill of an already empty building.

"Target identified and in sight, over." --- He speaks through a portable radio.

Luci responds from the other end of the line --- "Understood, stand by, I need to wait for the final order, over."

Sniper: "Roger, standing by, over."

On the other side of the wall, in a corridor that houses a dry and long-abandoned room, a squad of the presidential guard moves cautiously trying to find the threat that has been attributed to them, stepping carefully to not alarm the supposed target.

"Stay alert, and don't make too much noise." --- One of the armed men, apparently designated to lead the group, says in a murmured voice, while also signaling the others to follow him non-verbally.

At the end of the corridor, all that remains is a door to the left, it doesn't take long for the loyalists to enter the new room, this time finding what they were looking for...

A bullet pierces his head, allowing blood to spread through the mercenary's body, without even realizing the squad's presence, he falls instantly, dropping his rifle and collapsing to the ground.

Staring at the bloody man, the presumed captain of the team remains paralyzed by the shock of his murder; almost as if it were a natural instinct to have pulled the trigger upon seeing the enemy.

The next second, the now dead mercenary's radio starts calling for his presence, ordering the shot.

"Order given, permission to fire! Over." --- Luci's voice, until then unknown to the others in the room, comes through the device.

One of the men behind the leader touches him on the back and asks --- "Captain? Are you okay?"

Without even looking back, the man opens his mouth --- "They were right.. They are planning to kill the president.." --- His voice trembled, just before being muffled by the sound of his rifle dropped to the ground.

Luci: "What? What is that voice? Did you succeed?... Are you alone?!"

Before any of the loyalists could do anything, the woman's calling for a B plan indicated that the situation was far from a good end.

Rosady Catholi  Cathedral

Milo: "...So, we will honor those we lost with our resilience and determination. Let's work hard so we can survive this situ-"

"Mr. President!" --- Interrupting his speech, Milo's bodyguard comes running and whispers in his ear --- "There are snipers in the buildings! You need to get out of here now!"

Before the national leader could say anything, a loud noise startles everyone in the crowd, and a grayish fog begins to cover the entire place.

Milo drops his microphone --- "BUT WHAT THE-" --- His curse is drowned out by a sudden sound of shattering coming from one of the stage walls.

A figure in sunglasses kicks through the window, swinging out with a tactical rope attached to his arms.

Bodyguard: "Mr. President! Run now!" --- Shouts the leader's protector, swiftly changing positions to clear a path and stand in front of him, sacrificing his own safety as a human shield.

The man in black now fires tranquilizer darts, hitting the bodyguard in his jugular, eventually causing the man to fall unconscious to the ground.

Milo manages to escape from the stage and descends the back stairs, quickly being found and escorted by 6 presidential guard soldiers, who guide him to the exit, where emergency vehicles await to depart.

Already on the roads of Curitiba, a van driven by the president's professional driver traces the streets, searching for the nearest interstate highway.

Upcoming fight scene, the following soundtrack is recommended for better experience

It didn't take long for the final evidence that a trap against Milo was indeed unfolding. From the clouds, a NOTAR chopper descends, quickly presenting a threat after the presidential guard did not confirm the presence of allied helicopters in the area.

Inside the aerial vehicle, Leonova and Dmitri are in apprehension as they get closer to the target to carry out the mission.

Leonova: "Try to stay as close to the car as possible, as soon as they start shooting, you'll pull me as fast as you can, got it?" --- Leonova reminds her partner, who is in command of the cockpit.

Dmitri: "Da. Go on then, we don't have much time!"

Leonova looks down, seeing the leaves being swept by the dreadful wind --- "Пока." --- She jumps with all her might, grabbing onto the rope that quickly descends until it's a few meters from the ground.

After airkicking the vehicle's back doors, Leonova manages to break the handle, damaging the lock and opening them.

She continues to swing until she gains enough momentum to throw herself into the van.

"BÍTCH!" --- Shouts Milo's guard, pulling out his gun and squeezing the trigger with all his might.

The spark makes the tip of the gun glow, launching a bright projectile that pierces and passes straight through Leonova's shoulder, causing blood to spurt into her uniform.

"Argh!" --- She screams in pain, quickly recovering the focus and taking advantage of the adrenaline to continue the attack, prioritizing aiming for her enemy's face.

"Suka!" --- She exclaims, delivering a precise punch to the man's jaw, the sound of bones fracturing confirming the damage done.

The guard tries to react but fails to maintain his only source of power, his gun, which is seized by the Russian.

Leonova lands another punch to his already bloodied forehead, then points the stolen gun at the now defenseless man.

She forcefully shoves the barrel into the his mouth, breaking the front teeth in the process.

The man opens his teary eyes with great difficulty, looking directly at the mercenary; he tries to utter some disorganized words, but the disfigurement of his front dental arcade no longer allows the phonetics to function, so only unrecognizable groans come out of his mouth.

Leonova: "It's just business, comrade... Just business..." --- She pulls the trigger, blowing up the man's face, ending his suffering a few seconds later.

She then turns to Milo, knocks him unconscious with a martial kick to the nape, and finally, hoisting some extra kilograms over her shoulders just like the trainings, she hangs on the same rope and flees the scene with a successfully accomplished mission.