Freegans part 44

Matt
'Figures,' I thought. The Ox, Kestrel, and the red-haired woman pulled out plasma rifles, and began blasting, making it hard for me to see who it was that we were even fighting. Dodging a plasma ball that nearly took my head off, I grabbed the crowbar that Cara tossed to me from her knapsack (I was beginning to wonder if that thing was bottomless), and joined in to the fighting. As soon as I got involved, I could see that these weren't the Junkmen, since they were of ordinary height, and they weren't robots, since they were humans. The conclusion? They must be from the government. This had an odd effect on Kestrel. He had set his beret very low over his face, and looked like he was trying to hide somewhat. I figured he had been a spy, or something like that.

Sadly, we were outnumbered, and out-gunned. In almost no time at all we were surrounded. One of them stepped forward, smirking. He was dressed in the same uniform as the rest of the soldiers, except that his beret was bright red. I assumed this meant he was the leader. He addressed the Ox:
"You have some things that belong to us." The man indicated us kids. "We'd like to have them back now."
"I'm afraid that you can't," said the Ox in a dignified voice.
The soldier looked annoyed. "Perhaps I am not making myself clear." He made a gesture, and almost every soldier pointed his gun at the Ox's chest.
"You aren't in any position to say what we can or can't do. We are taking them now, and if you try to resist, you-"
He was interrupted by a blast of electricity, knocking him sideways into some of the other ranks, like a set of dominoes.

Madiza then turned her tazer on the group next to them, before they could come to their senses and start shooting her. Unexpectedly, more help emerged, in the form of another small group of people, who shot up the tunnel towards us with more plasma rifles. Their leader was a woman wearing an elaborate mask, as if she were about to go to a costume party. Madiza looked down at the man with the red beret, and said contemptuously, "Baaaad old putty-tat!"