[If we could do it before, we can do it again!] Renzo kept on with his charge inward. [We’ll think of something in the meantime! Just make sure you aren’t using any guidance systems!]
[We have to do like we did back home, Cruella!] Dani chimed back in without a chance to breathe much less respond. [You’re already out in front! Head northwest and help us form a circle around it!]
Sam’s morale was up for sure, but her nerves were phasing in and out of focus and being completely shot. And as her next thought was to warn them of Adrian’s hacked link into her voice channel, she realized she had no time nor choice but to follow the instincts of those who have downed such a sized foe before. “Just make sure we keep our distance! He’s too fast for anything fancy!” She shouted in return, albeit through her own struggle to push her voice out through her tremors. And without hesitation, she quickly darted across the street, aiming for the next open corridor while watching for any obstacles along the way.
That next instant, she felt the cutting out of what line she was able to establish during that critical moment of communication as the buildings behind her severed the connection, but only as she finished finding cover between two more apartment buildings did she feel the re-establishing of a different line.
“The Tiger’s overhead eight blocks due east of you!” Kaylen’s voice rang in, further fueling Sam’s hopes as she slowed to a quick halt. “We have to cover fire for Dani! We don’t have time to encircle that thing if it’s able to put the whole city behind it in seconds!!”
And as she felt the same distant rumbles again in-between crackles and pops of NGF blasts headed a different direction, she watched four more unidentifiable LTAC frames roll on by just across the street corner from her. She also felt the shockwave of conflicting truths rip through her conscious.
Wait, why IS that Tiger pilot so determined to keep its distance as well!?
Her mind raced as she turned the building corner to join the others in laying down aerial cover fire towards the airborne Tiger, yet questioned the move’s usefulness as it would either easily repel the shots fired or quickly sidestep before returning fire. “He’s stailling?!”
“What else?!” Kaylen belted back as she and her group hopped off for cover. “When the SAU military arrives we’re all royally fucked!”
Shit… so that’s part of their plan!?
“Hurry! We have to keep up cover for Dani’s group! Don’t let up, damn it!”
And as Sam expected, the Tiger blasted backwards without return fire, either due to his desire to stall or out of his apparent fear of civilian collateral. Every shot fired that missed Sam thus far never hit anything more than open pavement or asphalt. Even his retreat points were always clear of any building obstacles behind him.
This won’t work. Shit, what the hell can we even do?!
Sam tried desperately to fend off the doubts scratching away her hopes she just had built up all the while trying to think of something that wouldn’t lead to any unnecessary losses.
Wait… Sam then remembered how much Adrian talked her down during her last confrontations. Most of his rambling came after he shot the hell out of that Assembly Hall building back the other way. He’s clearly leading us way north of town and away from the Assembly…- what- WAIT!
Sam turned and ripped off down the alley from which she came and back for the larger avenue that would take her back southward toward the SAU office district. “Stop chasing him! He’s not after us!”
“Of course, not! We’re after him!” Kaylen fired back without breaking course.
“That’s not what I meant!” Sam now found the energy and focus enough to bellow that out over Kaylen’s voice, now almost delirious from the effects of such shouting in addition to her already long over-tensed condition. “We have to draw him TO us! You said it yourself- he’s just going to keep putting us all behind him if keep doing the same thing!” She then prayed Sebastian or Renzo caught on to her movement if there was any window at all to notice. And after a minute that felt longer than an eternity passed, the extended silence confirmed she was completely on her own with no one following close enough for any established communication link. She barreled on towards the Assembly Hall block with nothing left to focus on but dodging the stopped cars ahead and keeping an eye on the skies behind.
“I haven’t heard any shots fired,” she mumbled as she thought aloud, trying to calm herself down enough to put more direction to her last-second move. This had to be one big stall plan. Whatever or whoever it is he’s protecting must be there, and I bet it’s to do with that takeover! She then found herself resisting the urge to chuckle, and she didn’t care it felt like insanity. She knew she couldn’t touch that Tiger, and knew even more the harder they fought to catch up the faster they would isolate themselves to the point of total demise. What else can I do now other than to fight terrorism with terrorism!? It has to be the only way to get him back this direction! Please, Dani, PLEASE tell me you are carrying that cannon this way!
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Sebastian’s view from alongside Renzo was no different as they sped down the wider laned street, zig-zagging between parked and abandoned vehicles. But more than his uneasiness about their blind charge was his fear of a setup as he constantly pondered the quietness of the entire area. [It’s like the whole damned city shut down and took shelter. For this level of cooperation, there has to be some history behind this and MBI attacks.
[Bro,] Renzo spoke up nervously. [You sure you saw her head this way? Because I got a real bad feeling about the shit that’s going to hit the fan if we’re wrong.]
[I promise you I did,] Sebastian firmly replied, taking a peek back behind him through a flick of his camera switch. [Dani, how’s the charge holding?]
[This isn’t the AM-1 I’m used to,] she responded after a pause that further unsettled her brothers. [I can’t figure out the settings and it’s not even an English problem. It’s been modified from something else and I have no manual on it.]
Renzo let out a wry, stressful chuckle. [But it worked earlier, so no problem, right?]
Dani failed to hold back a tense, heavy sigh. [It aims fine and the trigger works. All we can do is hope this fancy ghetto-rigged shit holds up.] But just as they entered a larger intersection between a clearing of high-rises, they all spotted Sam to their left heading down a street parallel to them. [I see her!]
[Stay on course!] Renzo barked with a renewed spark. [Can’t afford to slow down and lose pace! Bro, can you get a link between her and us set up?]
[On it!] Sebastian shouted as he ducked away and headed for the next parallel street at increased speed, knowing Renzo couldn’t help but be limited by Dani’s slower pace given her added weight. [Give me a minute to catch up to her!]
He then felt the irony of the entire situation folding out, and unlike the mood of his brother, he tightly gripped his controls out of rapidly building frustration. [I feel like I’m always chasing to catch up with her, and I get the feeling the worst is about to repeat itself because she can’t ever seem to trust us in times like this!]
His eyes constantly darted back and forth between the street ahead and to his left, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sam’s LTAC as he steadily accelerated his approach. He then saw a diagonally intersecting street coming up at the next intersection, and without hesitation he leaped over the blockage of vehicles lined up along the median and landed with a commotion on the other side, now on track to merge with the same street as Sam.
[Got her!] Sebastian shouted out in anticipation the second he felt the line reconnect, and as expected, her LTAC had fallen right into view about fifty meters ahead. His heart’s relief only lasted a second, however, as he then saw what lied beyond them. [That’s the SAU’s central block, isn’t it?!] “Sam! Where are you going?!”
“Stay back!” She shouted back in an unexpectedly stinging manner. “Don’t let our lines connect, damn it! He’s hacked into mine!” She continued crying out, making more sense as Sebastian realized why she had been so intent on moving on her own.
[He hacked into-wait, who is he? Who hacked- oh, shit!]
Sebastian slammed on his brakes before barely slowing down enough to duck back into the next intersection, severing the connection as a large corporate building sandwiched in between them. [That’s the Tiger pilot she’s talking about!? How- no, I have to tell Renzo and Dani!] He struggled to contain his desire to chase after her anyway, but he was determined to let his initial instinct keep control. [Sam must have some plan to draw him back our way, and we won’t get anything done if that damn pilot is listening in on everything!!]
Seconds later, he rejoined the previous parallel-running avenue as his siblings rejoined the connection. [Stop! Sam’s line is hacked!]
[By who!?] Renzo fussed as his group slowed to a frustrating halt.
[That Tiger pilot, apparently! Listen!] He then rolled back to face Sam’s general direction. [The Assembly Hall is that way! Sam must be doing something to draw it in! If she’s really been hacked, we can’t plan anything with her in the line, get it!?]
[Perfect!] Renzo blurted out after a second of thought. [We can play out what we did back home against that A-7! With our buddy here on back wing and Dani on point, you and I take positions ten and two and let Sam be the center!]
[But that was an A-7! And we had a dozen of us, remember?!] Sebastian began to argue back before Renzo and Dani rolled off. [Hey! Are you listening?!]
[We only got this one shot!] Renzo yelled back impatiently. [Let Cruella draw in that bastard and go grab your position while there’s still time!]
[Brother,] Dani chimed in with more calm in her voice, albeit only a mask over what had to be fears of the worst. [We know we’re short on men, but we have nowhere to run and Samantha will die out there alone.]
Sebastian immediately sensed Dani’s sincerity through her use of Sam’s real name for once. He wanted to fight back in spite of her logic, unwilling to accept Sam as the potentially deadly sacrificial target for the plan they pulled off once before almost a year ago. And it was once more his initial instincts that remained in control as he subconsciously began accelerating down the opposite end of the street, headed northeast of their position as he felt tears of intense frustration rapidly build up.
He couldn’t say it out loud, but he knew the dire situation they found themselves in that exact moment. If he stood back and argued, they’d run out of time. If he ran back to Sam, he’d sabotage their one plan already underway. If he followed through, he might lose Sam to a plan she had no inclination of. All he could do, still running on his initial instincts, was to hope this worked, and he could only do his one job. [On my way to point,] he forced a response through his chokingly tight throat.
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Sam rolled up on a massive police and SAU ground security force blockade that sealed off the entire complex, hearing distant, muffled megaphone voices shouting in what must have been Spanish. As she slowed her approach to a crawl, she ignored the bits and pieces of translated (and mistranslated) commands to take a closer look at the smoke rising from one corner of the Assembly Hall building.
That’s where that guy shot the place up, and it’s far from what my map says is the main senatorial chamber.
Her LTAC came to a stop just a block away from the blockade, now better able to spot a clean shot at the building’s side that would allow a shot into the senatorial chamber. Her stomach immediately began to clench up in a sickening manner.
I can’t do that. I don’t even know what I’m aiming for, but I still have to do something here!
And it was then when Devin inexplicably crossed her mind as she fought to come up with something she wouldn’t regret the rest of her life if she survived this ordeal. He somehow lived a second life against Hexa, against Infinity, against a government entity similar to what she stared down. How did he do it? How would he have done here?
She knew his double life was his downfall, and it might be hers at this rate, but she was in too deep now to do anything other than what crossed her mind as something Devin would have done.
“He’ll come back if he’s called by his people,” she unintentionally mumbled aloud as she raised her rifle to the instant response of small arms fire bouncing off her braced riot shield.
“And as Devin said… This is the hand I’m dealt. All I can do is play it and see.”