Winslow speaks up. "Hey, um... the flame throwers, they cause a lot of equipment damage, and don't forget Grimm says this one has uses - "
"Grimm can bloody well kiss my arse," Archer growls. He gestures for one of the paramilitary guys to come closer, reaches down on his belt and grabs something. "Don't worry about the equipment damage, though. This won't hurt the equipment at all."
The object Archer holds looks something like a steel rod, an inch thick and about a foot long, with one side notched to make finger grips toward the ends of the rod. He grabs the rod in his right hand, shoves it under the back of Mel's neck, then grips it with the other hand. Next he twists the rod, which separates into two pieces, and between them runs a shining, extremely thin wire. He tugs the wire forward with both hands, and it slices through Mel's neck as easily as a warm knife might slice through warm butter. Archer then taps the side of Mel's head with his fist, sending it toppling to the floor.
When Mel's head hits the floor, the flesh, already decaying, sloughs off into a slimy, smelly mess, leaving the bare skull with the bit gag still clamped in its teeth. The young vampire's body likewise starts to quickly decay.
Looking down at the skull and at the gleaming wire, Archer grins and says "I never get tired of that. The lads that designed this really deserve a good Christmas bonus this year."
He then hands the rod back to the man in armor and turns to Winslow. "Get someone to clean up both of these messes, you simpering twat."
Archer marches off, muttering. Winslow walks to a table, pushes a button and speaks. His voice can be heard from overhead speakers. "Mr. Abernathy, deceased subject clean-up, two subjects, standard protocol."
He then goes back to studying the data from what happened to Bethem.
A couple of the paramilitary guys turn and glance at O-Yama. Their faces are entirely hidden behind dark visors.
O-Yama stares back at the men, not an angry look, he just tries his best to seem dazed by the situation, as if he has no idea what happened or how to react to what is going on.
Thousand yard stare, straight through the heads of the para-military grunts, dazed and confused...
A lab-coated, bespectacled man O-Yama hasn't seen arrives, pushing a cart with several containers atop it, and various cleaning tools attached to the side. After putting on latex gloves, he uses a small broom and dust pan to neatly sweep up the remains of Bethem and Mel, storing each within clear plastic containers which he labels with a marker.
One of the paramilitary guys puts a hand to his helmet and looks away from O-Yama. He is silent for a moment, then says "Roger."
Looking to his companions, he says "Arrival of one or more other targets is imminent. You," he says, pointing to one guy, the one whose decapitating wire Archer used, "Stay here and watch this one."
O-Yama watches the solitary guard, eyeing his flamethrower. He makes no moves, and remains silent, not wanting to test his luck. He had gotten lucky pulling off killing Bethem, but that was more than enough for one day.
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