Maxwell didn't have to wait long in cover for the team to mop up the rest of the hostiles. For a bunch of guns-for-hire, the Panthers seemed to do a good job, even if these opponents [i]were[/i] in civilian frames. The action was fast and ruthless, executed with a sort of zeal Silver had to respect. For a moment, he forgot why it was he normally didn't think of his teammates as professionals.

That was when one of them started screaming at the top of her lungs.

[i]Right,[/i] Max remembered with a rumble in his throat. [i]That's why.[/i]

Maxwell smacked a button in his cockpit to turn off Kat's screams, then came out from the cover of the building he'd chosen to hide behind. He spotted one last enemy FRAME firing off a few desperate shots at whoever it could, and he noticed it had taken some damage to its right leg already. Maxwell marched on forward with his shield ready and fired several rounds into the opponent's leg. Given the close quarters combat, it didn't take much for him to get his FRAME's autcannon shoved into the hole he made, blast a few more into the leg, then swept the opponent to the ground with a satisfying [i]crunch.[/i] The leg came off, and the enemy FRAME would not be getting back, even though it was mostly functional. 

The enemy ejected, but not soon enough. The cockpit came out flying straight toward a building and crashed spectacularly into a heap of rusty metal. The cockpit must not have been made of sturdy stuff, though, because when Maxwell peered over to see the cockpit, he found it was utterly crushed, and there was definitely blood in that wreck. He grimaced.

"This is Preacher," he said over the communicator. "Last hostile neutralized."

Maxwell gave a silent prayer for the dead, then moved to regroup with the rest of the Panthers. He hoped that this "big surprise" involved a suitcase full of money. He also hoped very dearly that he'd live long enough to earn that money...

Either way, it was time to get back to the [i]Samigina[/i].