Chapter 662 - Silently Passing Gas

Samuel's heart rate spikes when he spots the device, cautiously glancing around to see if any of the soldier's had noticed it... To the untrained eye, it might just look like something that'd keep the meat cold, but Samuel knew it was far more malicious and lethal than that. Especially with that long list of things 'NOT TO DO' when handling that Cass had handed him.

Fortunately, he's able to reseal the crate and get through the back doors of the building without further extortion from the soldiers... It was somewhat funny to think that they were almost as corrupt as the officials were... What's the saying? Two rad-peas in a pod?

Slowly, he's lead through the building until he reaches the cold storage area where most of the food is stored. He helps unload the crates. and once done, he quickly leaves, not wanting to be involved with whatever was about go down.

The crates sit silently in the storage room for around thirty minutes, and once the coast is clear, the device hidden under all the steaks releases a small electronic pulse, temporarily knocking out the cameras in and around the room.

With that done, the lid of the crate pops off as a stream of small spider-bots crawl out and begin investigating the room, marking every nook, crack, and cranny. Soon enough they find themselves into the air ventilation and begin investigating the entire building, eventually finding the congress room where the stage would be set.

The room itself was incredibly well decorated, square in its shape with many desks where the congressmen would sit. For obvious reasons it had no windows, and each door was heavily reinforced wood, able to stop any random assault for enough time to allow the place to evacuate.

Unfortunately for the NCR, this aspect of the building was what would be taken advantage of... The spider-bots infested the place, accumulating in every vent and hidden place that was available. A good portion used their own bodies to clog the vents, which would be instrumental soon enough.

Another thirty minutes and the government officials start entering the room, taking their seats and waiting for the Speaker of the House, Polski Noncey, to begin.

The overweight man waddled to his seat and finally fell into it, his red face making him look almost intoxicated... Most people in the room already knew why though, there was a celebration last night for finalizing who would get the presidential seat. The bribes had been paid and the nay-sayer's replaced, all that needed to be done now was officially enact it.

As proceedings began, the spider-bots jumped into action. Covertly heading to each entrance of the room and using the tiny plasma cutters in their legs to weld the hinges of each door. With that, it was basically impossible to open them without an explosive of some kind, securing the fate of everyone inside.

The spider-bots in the vents had their 'abdomens' start spraying a colourless gas into the room, the chemical reaction producing far more gas than one would expect from such small robots. Indeed, the only other place this gas had been seen was when the NCR fought the Enclave...

No one noticed anything at first, the gas produced no smell and wasn't visible... So people only noticed that something was wrong when the man closest to the vents slumped over unconscious. Then the next, and the next.

By the time five people had been knocked out, everyone was in a panic, rushing to the doors and trying to pry them open, only to be met with incredible resistance.

People continued to fall to the ground as the gas filled the room, the desperate officials screaming for help to the soldiers outside. The soldier's attempt to open the doors with crowbars, but only manage to scratch the heavy wooden doors exterior... They would try to shoot or blow up the doors, but doing so would harm the officials crowding around the exits.

No soldier wanted to be responsible for one of their deaths, as court martialling was the best they'd get. Even if it wasn't their fault and they manage to save everyone else, they'd be persecuted until they leave the territory or were killed.

Thus, the soldiers just waited for people with more specialized equipment to arrive, but by the time this happened, everyone was already dead.

Once all life signs in the room ceased, the spider-bots retreated back through the vents towards the crate. They reentered the device where they'd come out from, and once they were all securely inside... The device destroyed itself, disintegrating it and everything within it and removing all evidence of Bulwark's involvement.

Anja and Juan continued waiting outside for something to happen, they watched reinforcements sprint into the building, but by the time that happened, Cass had already confirmed that the mission was complete.

With that, they retreated back to Cass's shop where Cass and Samuel awaited. The group shared drinks with one another, but Juan was surprised to see Samuel quickly falling unconscious after the first drink. "He's a lightweight, isn't he?" he states with some amusement.

Cass and Anja give sideway's glances to one another, before the latter decides to come clean, "He's not drunk, only dead. He knew too much and wasn't willing to fully join Bulwark." she dispassionately states.

...

Juan looks down at their 'former-comrade' with a green face, feeling very sick at what his friend's had apparently just done.

Honestly, he felt so ill he was unsure if they'd poisoned him as well, so, not wanting another argument at the moment, he silently hobbles back to his room.

"Sensitive guy, huh?" Cass mutters while giving Samuel's body a nudge with her foot.

Anja gives a solemn nod, "It's one of the reasons I love him... But, I don't think this job suits him." she admits.