But it was only moments after Sebastian had made his way up back to ground level that all screens changed to the SAU Assembly. The lower marquee in bold displayed: [Argentine Rep. Orsi wins vote 35-13, named SAU Commissioner.]
[…And with this momentum,] the screen showed Orsi speaking from his table with a stern gaze into the crowd to his left. [We will put a stop to this madness at once! We have the resources, the will, and the way!]
[We must hurry, now, ladies and gentlemen,] the counsel quickly added before the rumble of activity could start back. [With no further objection, we will ratify the motion detailing the moving of the central authority to Buenos Aires.]
Those who stood around the screens gazed back in awe, either from how impressed they were deep down to hear their own countrymen took power from Brazil, or from how shocked they were that an acting hostile faction just made life more difficult despite the gained benefit from becoming the new central power to the Union.
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* ● ● North Palermo District, Buenos Aires, Argentina, SAU
Inside the Assembly Hall, Orsi was no longer speaking, but instead just one amongst the mass of the council members and the many assistants floating in and out before the next voting session. It was normally a drab display of bureaucracy but the current crisis had everyone in a flurry. The military was paralyzed from the change in the chain of command, the police were held up by a sudden barrage of obstructive insurgents, and Hexa was never allowed to step foot within their nation’s borders. And on one of the main screens, anti-air emplacements showed how ultimately futile their capabilities were as they faced the oncoming Tiger, headed straight for their location. And judging by the quickly decreasing amount of active fire, it was clear the fear of civilian casualties stifled any other attempt to crank up any pressure on it to retreat or abandon.
And before Orsi could pause to answer back to a council member speaking to him, one of his assistants pulled him back with an urgent shout: [Hardwire message from Command! We’ve been upgraded to Defcon three! Orders are to evacuate immediately!]
Orsi paused to show apparent thought amidst the panic, turning to the councilman he was just speaking to. [This is on me, now, I assume?! Right!?] He then grabbed his watch just before alarms started blaring, hollering a message into it: [Commissioner’s order, move all members to the bomb shelter! Hold off all council activity until further notice!] And as he turned to face the Assembly floor, he noted the groups rapidly turned to be quickly escorted out through the designated hallways. He, however, took a turn for a different hallway alongside his assistants just before several councilmen from across the way hurried to join him.
[We have to report to the field before we disappear from all chances to communicate back,] Orsi barked over the escalated clamor and commotion that suddenly silenced once the doors behind them closed upon their exit. Looking behind and around, he confirmed their isolation from the rest before continuing their hurried pace. [What the hell is going on with Charlie and Delta?] He continued barking through visible anger. [Why haven’t they checked into their rally points?! Bender is already past the first checkpoint!]
[First of all, the biggest problem is Reaper, Commissioner, sir,] one of the councilmen who hastened his pace to catch up beside him responded, donning a Colombian pendant on his suit’s lapel. [He’s vanished from view and no guard we stationed on him is responding-]
[-WHAT?!] Orsi had to resist the urge to stop in his tracks the second he heard the news. [Then who is on it- what is anyone doing about it!?] He seethed.
[Lower command ordered the Hexa frames to hold, expecting this to be Reaper’s trap.] He waited for Orsi to finish shaking his head before continuing, perhaps having expected a change in orders. [Sir, we cannot lose our best ground units until each of our incoming backup units are confirmed!]
[Get Bender on my LACOM channel right now,] he spat towards his assistant, taking in a deep breath in recalculating thought. [Now!] He blasted out the second he noticed no action taken, bringing him to an eventual halt.
[That’s the other problem, sir,] his assistant finally spilled what had him hesitating as he couldn’t comfortably look him in the eye. [Bender’s, well, pissed off- I mean, pissed off to the point he’s volatile. He’s the one who called off Charlie and Delta and put them on standby.]
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Orsi took that as reason enough to give pause, feeling his rage quickly turn towards fear. He knew he couldn’t complete his objectives without Adrian’s part being played to the end, now pondering his potential folly in having Angel wiped out from existence as part of the process. [I think I know why…]
His mind raced, fearing he miscalculated Adrian’s lack of empathy for a soul he knew nothing of, especially having no knowledge of their once bad blood. But he also knew it shouldn’t have meant a thing in the end, knowing how goal-driven Adrian always had been. [No,] a stiff mumble left his dry lips. His heart sunk, remembering a key line he wished he had never forgotten even if for one day. It was he himself that told Adrian not to ever feel forced to dirty his pride the day Rex almost had Adrian lose his composure after choosing not to follow through an assassination. [I still need to talk to him. Now. I may have erased one of my own problems and created a new one in the same motion.]
[Yes, sir, but we need to keep moving,] his assistant urged as the group picked up the pace once more.
They eventually passed through one last doorway that had all but shut them off completely from the raucous they distanced themselves from. Orsi took the communicator from his assistant and quickly opened the line: [Bender, talk to me. What’s going on?] He asked in his calmed voice, hoping nothing irreversible had been ignited, almost as if he could hear Adrian’s rage.
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Only a few hundred meters away, just clearing the highest of the high rises nearby, Adrian’s Tiger came to an abrupt halt mid-air. The retro-thrusters deafeningly blasted and echoed throughout the cityscape below, kicking up a new wave of those on foot and in car all fleeing in the opposite direction. He bit down, gripping the controls, focusing on choosing his words wisely. [You told me Operation Big One was about the transfer of power and that alone! NOT for this!]
Adrian was also aware of the timer that had started from 2:50, displaying 1:24 in the bottom corner of the main display screen. The thoughts that rushed through his head were conflicting, but they all fit within the time frame allowing him the freedom to make his moves before the military’s MBI outfit would arrive from Curitiba. Which thought path he would focus on depended on Orsi’s response.
[Listen,] Orsi continued with the same demeanor. [I apologize for changing the plans without warning, but that operative ‘Angel’ you helped me dispense of was a sudden and direct threat to our plans. But what has us in a bind is that Reaper had just gone rogue on us as of a moment ago.]
Adrian took a moment to finalize and rationalize his decision; his heart still burned from the lives he knew he needlessly took minutes ago, bringing back memories of the burning skies of the same Palermo, Recoleta, and Belgrano Districts he looked upon a decade ago. [Did the powers transfer over successfully?]
[Yes, but that’s beside the point now, Bender. Our priorities have-]
[-The priority! THE one priority!] Adrian sharply interjected before taking a last deep breath. […Was the seating of our country at the helm of SAU’s operations! Anything after this is for the people to watch and be further convinced, or am I misunderstanding something here?!]
Adrian could sense Orsi felt like he was treading dangerous waters with how long he paused before responding. [I concede that point. You’re right. I will take care of Reaper myself and you can freely choose how to finish Operation Big One. Fair enough?]
Adrian couldn’t contain a disappointed, wry chuckle, shaking his head as he thought of how to respond. Everything in his head had him convinced as of the last few minutes that he had been played all this time. And seeing how Orsi, the one man he had looked up to as a mentor for years, couldn’t trust him to keep him in the loop during the most important operation of his lifetime, he now felt cornered as if the only way out was an entirely different direction. [Reaper…]
[Yes. I’ll handle him so that you won’t have to worry about any more changes of plan. That’s the operative ‘Angel’s’ son, just so you know.]
The dangerous seeds of doubt were already firmly planted, and though he had no real confidence that his new sprouting notion concerning Reaper was accurate, it felt right for some reason. He quickly envisioned Reaper, a man of no alliances, the only one now to trust to be headed on a clear path to desired victory. In his mind, that was why everything changed so suddenly, but Adrian elected not to make it a point of conversation. [Alright, go ahead with your end. I’ll finish the rest of mine from here.]
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And a few blocks down the opposite side from the Assembly Hall, Sam’s Ai20 quickly rolled its way up the empty downtown-headed avenue as all traffic headed away from the terrifying scene. She kept her stance low and ready to jump as if she were being watched, ready to react the second she might be fired upon. She saw the brightly blazing glow from the main thrusters and the daunting, long-stretched wingspan of the Tiger come to full view as the last of the larger skyscrapers moved from view.
But with a flurry of heavy, conflicted thought racing back and forth at dizzying speeds, she continued her pace out of sheer desperation.
The sudden loss of her mother.
The impossible odds of her outmatched LTAC versus the airborne terror of the last war.
The anger and ire she drew from her team.
The mental state she must have left Sebastian in as she ran off.
The thought she had no idea where her father disappeared off to during such times.
The fact her brother was in on this entire operation, maybe even involved in the murdering of their mother.
The idea of her brother walking away as he did last encounter.
The idea she had no idea what she was even doing anymore.
Yet, all she could see was the silhouette she stared down as she readied her rifle once more, closing in on firing range. She had no access at all to the Antares operating system she grew fond of, even completely dependent on, but somehow, she felt something guide her as she envisioned her point of attack. And all the while, she felt a confused tear run down from her eye and soak into the rim of her visor padding.
I might die right where I stand, but what else can I do now? Mom… Dad… What else can I do?