“I have them in sight.”
“Are they heading out of atmosphere?”
“No, but they’re almost clear of the city.”
“I’ve got your position. I’ll—”
“Shit! Where did they go?”
“Repeat!”
“They were right in front of me! Now they’re gone.”
“Check your blind spots!”
“There’s nothing!”
“Look up. Directly up. With your eyes!”
There was a grunt, then, “How did he do that?”
“He’s there?”
“Almost directly above me. How did he know about the blind spot?”
“Jack! Do you need me?”
“They don’t have guns. What are they going to do?”
“Then I’ll proceed as planned.”
“Wait—”
“Jack?”
“The hell…”
“Jack, what’s going on?”
“There’s something on the hull—I think it’s a robot—but I can’t get a good look. The pilot. He keeps—if that lunatic gets any closer, we’re both going down!”
There was a strained silence, then a thunk noise loud enough to carry over the open channel.
“It’s emps. They’re throwing emps at me.”
“Emps? What size?”
“Handheld!”
“Wha…what do they think that will do?”
There was another thunk. Jack swore again. “They’re going after my turrets. The pivot points are vulnerable.”
“I’m changing course now. I’ll be there in under—”
There was a laugh. “No good. They got me. My guns are dead, and several critical systems are crippled.”
“Is your ship damaged?”
“No, but I have to pull away. Half my navigation is down, and I don’t have a copilot.”
“Where’s your copilot?!”
“We weren’t expecting a scramble order! I’m sorry, Mays. I’m not staying in the sky with this guy if I can’t tell where he is.”
“I’ve got it, Jack. Get out of there.”
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
Tennama checked his harness one more time, braced himself, and stepped outside the hatch onto the metal hold. The bitter wind instantly lashed at him, making him almost deaf, but he heard, as well as felt, when Lynx knocked on the hull to get his attention. The robot was motioning for him to go back. Tennama glanced over his shoulder before he thought better of it.
The Supremacy ship banked and dropped away into the sea of clouds, revealing, for a moment, the shape of the distant buildings.
Anthony clung to the hull. Ryan Barnes was not afraid of heights. Anthony Tennama was. It didn’t seem fair that particular weakness had followed him into his new incarnation. The xeno closed his eyes and breathed, willing himself to calm down.
Lynx waited with the endless patience of a machine.
Tennama forced his hands to move. They trembled, but they moved. He made it back into the ship and dropped onto the bench beside the hatch. That was as far as the safety webbing would let him go. The bot was back inside a moment later.
Lynx reached out and took the emp from Anthony. “I will return this to the chain.”
The xeno could only nod.
As Lynx walked over to the pile of bombs, he called out, “Captain, is there any sign of the second ship?”
Adan’s voice came from the robot’s on-board com. “No. How many emps are left?”
“Three style-16 bombs, sir.”
“Keep them close. We’re going to need them.”
“Mr. Tennama,” Lynx said, “will you be able to continue helping me?”
Anthony realized that Jane was watching him from the other side of the cabin. He curled his fingertips into his palms. “Yes, Lynx.”
“Captain, we’re ready. Do you need a copilot, sir?”
“No! Hold on. We’re going back.”
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
“No.”
“Alix!”
“Ciro, no!”
Ciro turned to yell at her, but then he saw her face. If Reyer decided she’d rather keep running, there was probably a damn compelling reason.
“What are we looking for?” he asked.
“Tall. Something tall.”
“They were tall.”
Alix grabbed Ciro’s wrist, jerking him to a halt. When he turned, she slumped against a nearby wall. Her eyes were closed. There was enough sweat on her pale face that hanks of hair were sticking to her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Ciro looked around the alley. For the moment, there was no sign of their pursuers. “It’s all right. We can breathe.”
“Breathing is not…the problem.” She let out a weak chuckle. “I was robbed. Where’s the other half of my Exlaudinum?”
Ciro grinned. “Lousy user. Hey! No more drugs until you finish rescuing me!”
“So stingy.” Alix reached out and took his hand. “Ciro, you may have to go on. I can’t move as fast as you. Or them.”
“Don’t be stupid, Alix—”
“I’m not stupid, Ciro! This isn’t some heroic gesture. This is common sense. They’ll probably need you to finish this mission. I’m a little more expendable.”
“You’re a complete moron if you think that Adan would leave this planet without you.”
There was a pause.
“He’d—” Reyer stopped. “No. He’s smart enough…” Her voice trailed off.
“Ah-ha! You don’t know, do you? You’d like to think he’d prioritize the mission, but you’re not completely sure.” Ciro pulled her away from the wall and put her arm over his shoulder. “That’s why we both have to get out of here and get back to the ship. I’m telling you, together, you and I are ninety percent of his brains.”
“You underestimate him.”
“And you, poor fool, are in love with him, so your opinion doesn’t count.” With Ciro supporting her, the two of them started down the alley. “Now what was wrong with the other buildings?”
“They’re Supremacy.”
“All the tall buildings are Supremacy.”
“We need a building we can walk into without a check.”
“There’s nowhere—” Ciro bit off his denial. “Hang on. A tall, privately owned building, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Limp this way, you useless gimp.”
“You wouldn’t talk that way if my pistol still worked.”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
He led her down several streets before he stopped in front of a building.
“That one?” he asked.
“It’s tall,” she admitted. When she scanned the doors for machines or guards, she found nothing. “What is this place?”
“It’s a hotel. One of the finest on the planet.”
“A five-star escape?”
“No check at the entrance.”
“How did you know it was here?”
“Jane had me look it up.”
“Was that before or after Adan told her we were staying on the Colibri?”
Ciro spotted five Supremacy uniforms coming toward them. “Does it really matter? Come on, let's get inside.”
They crossed the elegant lobby, feeling and looking very out of place, but no one stopped them. Ciro fidgeted as the elevator took a subjective eternity to arrive.
“Don’t look around,” Reyer warned him.
“They’re inside?”
“Yes.”
“How—”
Alix nodded to the bright gold elevator doors. In the reflection, Ciro saw the security team standing at the front desk, talking to the attendant, who motioned toward the elevators.
“Don’t move,” Reyer whispered. “Don’t run. Don’t start. It’ll draw attention.”
“Alix!”
“Ciro, the stairs aren’t fast enough, and I can’t run anymore. It’s this or nothing. We’re committed.”
The team was walking toward them, stopping occasionally to check people or ask them questions.
When they heard the welcome bing of the elevator’s arrival, Ciro and Reyer slipped inside and dodged, each to one side, hoping to stay out of sight as much as possible.
“Elevator, top floor.” Alix said, only loud enough for the computer to hear her.
As the doors started closing, one of the soldiers turned. Ciro was close enough he could see the rivulets of dried blood on his cheek. The man’s eyes widen when his gaze landed on Ciro. He gave a shout and ran two steps toward the elevator before the doors finished sliding shut.
“They saw us?” Alix asked.
Ciro went over to the panel by the door. “The first thing they’ll do is get the concierge to stop the elevator.”
“What are you doing?”
“Let’s see if I can keep them from doing that.”
When Reyer saw him patting his empty pockets, she pulled out her multi-tool, snapped it open, and passed it to him. He gave his thanks, then stabbed the flat screwdriver into the edge of the cover. It popped free. Once inside, Ciro poked around the wires before unfolding the tool’s knife.
As he put the blade to a section of wire, Alix said, “That won’t make the elevator stop, will it?”
“It shouldn’t. It’s the wires communicating to the servers downstairs.”
“How sure are you?”
“Pretty sure.”
He cut through them with one swift wrench.
The elevator went dark and stopped moving.
“Ciro?”
“Look,” he said, “at least they didn’t stop the elevator.”
“Are you trying to claim it’s some kind of a moral victory?” Reyer walked over and felt around for the red handle she’d noticed earlier. When she found it, she yanked down. They heard a clack sound in front of them. “Open the doors.”
After Ciro managed to pry them apart, he jumped the foot down to the hall floor and turned to help her.
When she was beside him, she asked, “Stairs?”
He scanned the walls until he saw the sign. “This way.”
Fortunately, they weren’t far from the top, but when they tried to leave the top floor to get to the roof, they ran into a security check.
“Can you get through?” Alix asked.
Ciro inspected the machine, then growled, “I have no tools.”
“What do we need?”
“I told you! Tools!”
“That’s not an option, Ciro.”
“Unless we have the ID of someone who works here, we either need some nan-cards or a tablet with the right programs!”
“Now, that I can work with. Hand me the pistol.”
He passed it to her. “It’s dead, remember? And even if it wasn’t, I don’t think there are enough components in there to try to rig up some kind of bypass.”
Reyer laughed. “What’s it like in that strange little head of yours?”
She walked down the hall toward a cleaner’s cart. It was parked outside an open hotel room. She disappeared inside the room, there was a moment or two of confused shouting, then she emerged, shutting the door behind her. Loud knocking followed her, but Reyer didn’t seem to notice.
She returned and handed Ciro a card. “One employee ID, sir.”
Ciro used it to open the door, then ushered her into the enclosed stairwell. Reyer took out Ciro’s com as she struggled up the last few stairs. When he opened the door to the outside, he turned back and saw her inspecting the tiny device.
“What are the chances it’ll work?” she asked.
Ciro didn’t have an answer.
They emerged into the weak sunlight that had managed to filter through the clouds. Reyer’s eyes had barely adjusted before she heard Ciro’s triumphant laugh. He ran to the edge of the roof and stood on the ledge while waving both arms and shouting. The Colibri was four or five streets away. As Alix limped toward Ciro, an unexpected sound tickled the edge of her consciousness—a high roar that was almost lost in the wind.
That sounds like an engine.
Another ship breached the skyline, only two streets away.
She grabbed Ciro and pulled him down to the rooftop. They lay there, as flat as possible.
Reyer whispered, “Did Adan see you?”
“I don’t know,” Ciro said. “He could have. It would depend on which way he was looking.”
They were both distracted when the com in Reyer’s hand blinked. The speaker made a crackling noise, but that was all. The red light blinked again.
“I think he saw us.” She sighed and began the painful process of forcing herself to her feet. “Get ready, Ciro.”
“For what?”
“I have no idea.”
The Colibri dipped below the line of rooftops. The other ship flew over a wide building between the Colibri’s last position and the building Ciro and Reyer were on. The pilot was hovering as low to the structure as he could. The Colibri burst out from below, tilting and pivoting around the other ship until Ciro and Reyer could see the hatch-side. Lynx was clinging to the hull, an emp in hand. The robot jumped to the other ship, scrambled over its body until he could plant the emp directly on one of the two turrets, slid down to the roof below him, and sprinted toward Ciro and Reyer.
When the emp exploded, the bot had already jumped, clearing the distance between that building and the next with a landing that cracked the masonry.
“Isn’t he beautiful?” Ciro’s voice was slightly choked.
“You’re such a proud dad,” Reyer said.
“I really am.”
She patted his back.
They had to step away when Lynx jumped again. His metal hand clamped down on the roof’s ledge in front of them. He pulled himself up with one arm and twisted his body backward to roll onto the roof. Then he stood up and said, “I’m with them now, Captain.”
“Adan?” Alix said.
Over the robot’s open com they heard, “Hello, troublemaker.”
Reyer couldn’t help smiling. “What have we got?”
“One last gun on that ship to take care of.”
“Emps?”
“We have two left. What about you?”
“A security team. They’re on their way.”
“Weapons?”
“Probably.”
“We’re getting you out of there.”
“Where’s the enemy ship?”
“Hiding at the moment. We lose each other when we’re among the buildings.”
“Adan, we have to take care of that thing!”
“Don’t worry! He’ll come to us!”
Lynx twisted his head. “Miss Reyer, you look more worried, not less. Did the captain’s statement fail to comfort you?”
The Colibri pulled up alongside the roof. The open hatch was beyond several feet of air.
Reyer said, “Lynx, get back on board. Send down an emp with the rope.”
“That emp is for the security team, right?” Adan asked.
“Go, Lynx!”
The robot leapt across the gap. As the Colibri changed positions, Reyer turned to Ciro.
“You’re going up first,” she said.
“No.”
“Do you know how to work an emp bomb?” When he didn’t answer, she repeated, “You’re going up first.”
“I really hate it when you do that.”
She pushed him away so he wouldn’t be hit when Lynx lowered the bomb between them. She unclipped it from the knot and passed the rope over to Ciro. He had just gotten a grip on the highest knot when the Colibri pulled up and backed away from the roof.
Ciro swore. His feet scrambled at the rope, desperate to find any purchase. On the third try, he had slipped low enough that his feet found another knot. He pressed them together around it and managed to straighten his legs. When he felt himself ascending, he opened his eyes. He could see why Adan had pulled away; the other ship was below them, beside the building. Its last good turret was trained on the Colibri.
Ciro felt an ungiving metal hand fix onto his wrist. For a terrible moment, he was hanging over the drop, then he was on his battered knees, staring at the deck of the Colibri.
“We have Ciro, Captain,” Lynx announced.
Tennama was there, helping Ciro to his feet. Then they both went over to the open hatch. Lynx stopped Ciro from getting too close by extending his arm. They could see the edge of the other ship.
“Why aren’t they shooting?” Ciro asked.
“They won’t shoot while we’re over a populated area,” Tennama said. “They don’t have to. They can keep up with us. If we try to run, they’ll be able to take us down.”
Adan’s voice said, “Lynx, can you get the other turret with the last emp?”
“Not by throwing it, sir. The angle is wrong, and if we move to get into position, he will likely move as well.”
Tennama said to Ciro, “Hand me the rope.”
As the xeno prepared the line, the two ships hovered around each other in a tense stalemate.
Tennama was the first to notice the security team had finally made it to the roof.
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
Reyer turned from one threat to the other. The security team was on her left: five men with their weapons drawn, yelling at her to drop the bomb. The enemy ship was on her right, slowly rising to her level, its gun tracking the drifting Colibri.
Her indecision was momentary.
After all, there was only one real option.
[https://i.imgur.com/6iM8gcI.png]
Tennama shouted when he saw her break away to run toward the roof’s edge, but she obviously couldn’t hear him. He unclipped himself from the safety webbing, slapped the carabiner into one of the loops at the end of the rope, and returned it to his harness.
“Lynx!”
When the bot stepped forward, he handed him the middle of rope and threw a nearby XM4 over his shoulder. He caught a glimpse of Dr. Jane moving toward him, her arm out-stretched, but then he was over the edge and falling.
The robot was a perfect belayer. The descent was so smooth that Anthony was able to shoot two of the soldiers before he’d touched the roof.
Reyer didn’t know he was there. She ignored the blasts flashing around her as she ran. When she reached the edge of the building, she ripped the cord away from the emp and threw it toward the ship’s turret. The bomb hit the ship, stuck, and two ticks later, blew up.
Alix was already on the ground. She’d fallen there after her desperate throw. Tears and laughter bubbled out of her, but she was in too much pain to care that someone might hear her. She was done.
She felt a pair of hands on her.
They’ll arrest me now. At least Ciro made it. Fifty-five percent of his brains—that should be enough to keep him from trying to rescue me.
Whoever it was eased her onto her back, reached under her arms, and pulled her close.
“Hold on, Miss Reyer.” Tennama lifted her to her feet. “Tight as you can.”
Her arms were already around his neck; she grabbed her own wrists. Anthony held on to her with one arm. He grabbed the rope with the other. Lynx began pulling them up.
Tennama shut his eyes when he saw the reinforcements burst out of the door and start firing. There was nothing he could do.
“Did I get it?” Reyer asked.
Tennama’s arm tightened around her. “We’ll find out.”
Tennama had seen Ciro’s rescue, so he wasn’t surprised when Lynx grabbed him by the wrist, but he wasn’t dumped to the deck. The moment Ciro and Jane coaxed Alix away from him, the robot threw him to the far end of the cabin.
The Colibri took off.
Tennama hadn’t even managed to replace the air that had been knocked out of his lungs before Lynx was on him. The bot hauled him to his feet and stood behind him, holding both Anthony’s wrists above his head in a crushing grip.
Jane stood in front of them. Tennama watched as her eyes went from one of his hands to the other, then fixed on his face.
A second passed.
She walked away. “You can let him go, Lynx.”
Tennama dropped.
“Captain?” Lynx said.
“We’re clear,” said the captain’s disembodied voice. “They aren’t pursuing.”
The robot got down on one knee. “Mr. Tennama, are you all right?”
Anthony shook his head. Whether he was trying to clear it or trying to answer, Lynx couldn’t tell.
When he could speak, Tennama said, “Miss Reyer?”
“She’s all right,” Ciro called out. “Well”—he looked down at the figure still lying in his lap—“she’s not shot anyway.”
Jane stood up from where she’d been kneeling over Alix. “I’ll get some more Exlaudinum.”
“Thank you, Jane.” Reyer writhed, then settled when it was obvious she would find no comfortable position. “Tennama?”
Anthony didn’t bother standing up. He unclipped the rope from his harness and crawled over to sit down beside her. “I’m here.”
“You saved me.”
“I had to.” He smirked. “You, Miss Reyer, are as suicidal as ever.”
“I get things done.”
“I’m sure that’s what I meant.”
Alix put a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”