act17d0

Lord, conserve your ammo!

No problem. Let them come.

Watch for surprise attacks!

Let's see what they've got.

Here they come!

Hold your fire... let them get a little closer.

Nine o'clock!

Lord, the enemy's up, dead ahead!

Enemy down!

These big guys with the horns are tough. Go for headshots!

Ash! Over there!

What is that?!

Lord! Be careful!

(Russian profanity)!

Alexsandr!!

I'm okay!

Don't worry about me! Hold the line!

What on earth is this!

Watch out for those mutants! Light cover's no good!!

That's a proper formation. Those four know what they're doing.

Sounds like gunfire... No... Those are more intense shots. That's a big, rapid-fire gun.

They're surrounded.

It's the same mercenaries who were attacking the manor.

Those monsters remind me of what we saw in Lungmen.

The 'Host' and the 'Herd.'

But they're not really the same.

Mercenaries carrying big guns and mercenaries commanding mysterious monsters...

The situation is changing. And the balance is about to break.

...What do we do?

Don't hestiate. Prepare for battle.

Those vile beings who drivie this kind of monsters into battles deserve not a single bit of mercy.

Roger.

Thunderbolt!

Aaaagh...! My eyes!

Where are the casters?! Take out that Vouivre!

Don't even think about it.

What's happening? There's more of them?

How?!

We're in a bad way. They've got way too much firepower.

Cut our losses and fall back before this gets any worse.

...I see you...

Augh!

Sniper! !

Shit, where?!!

Forget it! Just run!

...You're not getting away.

Ugh...

Fall back! Quickly! Just run!

They're running!

Sitrep!

You okay, Alexsandr?

Yeah, just a flesh wound.

Those guys are learning.

Don't let your guard down!

We've still got company.

...That's close enough, friend.

I appreciate the help, but let's keep a comfy distance until we figure things out.

Relax. We mean you no harm.

We're a Rhodes Island field team! And you're holed up in a Rhodes Island safehouse.

We're responding to a distress call.

Please identify yourselves.

Calm down! I'm here to help.

It's the Rhodes Islanders?

Hey, the cavalry came after all!

Go get Mr. Occphen.

Got it.

Rhodes Island Operator? Hooray! We're saved! We're saved! !

That's about the size of it.

So those four mercenaries are the ones who set up these temporary defenses?

I'm really sorry. They broke my communicator, and I couldn't protect the safehouse...

I wouldn't blame you if you fired me on the spot...

Don't worry, this old man doesn't have the power to fire anybody.

And the way I see it, you held out this long all by yourself. That's pretty fantastic.

If it weren't for you, these Infected would've met a much worse fate.

How many are they?

Counting the doctor outside, forty-three. All Infected.

And the four mercenaries were protecting them all this time?

Mercenaries going out of their way to look after Infected. That's something you don't see every day.

Mercenaries who not only don't look down on them, but actively try to help them.

Maybe I'm being too paranoid, but where did these saints come from?

I think they may not realize.

From the way they talk, I get the impression they were just protecting ordinary, innocent townsfolk.

I guess it's less that they don't discriminate against the Infected.

And more that they don't care about Oripathy.

But they don't look Infected at all?

I've never seen mercenaries like them. I've never heard of any 'Team Rainbow'.

They've got guns, but none of them look like Sankta?

Unless the Sankta figured out a way to hide their 'Fluorescent Lamps'...

A non-Sankta mercenary group fully decked out with big guns like that is gonna be huge news.

Blacksteel R&D would go nuts if they heard about this.

...Let's not talk about them like they're not here.

Regardless, they saved a Rhodes Island Operator and protected a bunch of Infected.

Until we have some evidence, we shouldn't be doubting their motives.

Our top priority is finding a solution to our predicament.

Let's talk to them.

They've been in there for a while.

What do you think of this Rhodes Island?

I've been wondering about them.

What kind of pharmaceutical company needs a safehouse full of military-grade hardware out on the edge of civilization?

They've got enough arms and explosives to outfit a platoon.