Tasìa urged the American spook forward, to join her at the rear doors of the van.
Alisha shuffled up to her and murmured.
"If you start bok-boking and calling me chicken, I'm going to punch you."
Tasìa crouched and her left hand shifted down to her stiletto. Already in position to thrust out a gut wound before she realized what she was doing, Tasìa stayed her hand.
"Kidding," Alisha yelped, "kidding!"
Tasìa straightened back up as she shook her head
"In Paraguay, we don't casually threaten violence, joking or not."
Alisha waved her hands, defensively.
"I'm really sorry."
Tasìa turned back around, and let it be known as drily and unaffected as possible:
"Okay. Just don't let it happen again. Nothing personal or reflective of what I think of you, but I am strongly conditioned not to tolerate it."
Alisha smiled awkwardly as she helped Tasìa pry open the door. When the interior was revealed, they both whistled in high appraisal.
On both sides of the compartment, vertical ladder racks, bulk-edged storage cabinets, and outward facing partitions were brim-full of an assortment of utility items. All of it fastidiously organized and clean.
"This is not how Rubin keeps his room back at the Flamenco Rosa," Alisha commented.
Tasìa smiled and shrugged.
"Spook mental training is quite an amazing discipline, isn't it? He could be doing the double agent thing too and presenting a false front of being someone without OCD."
Alisha found her warmly voiced chortle once more.
"In this line of work, we all are projecting opposites. I'm not naturally presupposed towards being a sales agent - quite the bookworm introvert, actually, but in the role that persona takes control and I talk people into buying stuff."
At some point, she would have to ask Alisha, towards what purpose? But at the moment there was a security matrix being rebuilt around them.
That question would have to wait.
Tasìa focused on the cage in the center. It appeared familiar. Then she froze up when she saw that a Gremlin police droid was inside it.
She was certain it was the very same one she struggled with in the ducts of Ward Ocho.
"Damn, del Alma-Gris. You look like you just spotted your ex from across the discotheque. I gather that you have history with that sexy little guy."
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Tasìa nodded as she spotted the dent she had put in it. Someone took the time to smooth it back over.
"Relax, chica. He can't hurt you anymore. So, what are we looking for? How much time do we have."
She shook off her momentary discombobulation, glanced down at the PA, an estimated 27% complete.
Tasìa answered, "let's get this wrapped up within five minutes. I saw in Demona's video feed a compartment over here where he grabbed a box of speciality rounds for -," she ran her fingers down the length of the barrel attached to the Stealth 338 LAP, "- this gun."
Tasìa searched the compartment as she spoke. Inside were 338 clips stacked neatly. Hollow points. A true flesh eater. If she encountered anymore phase beasts, she would be well prepared.
As she loaded the spring fed magazine, a set of eight moon clips of .357 Magnum FMJs stared back at eye level.
Her odds of success were now increased, substantially.
She searched the cabinets further. The gun that the rounds belonged to had to be close by since she did not find a .357 on the three men.
The next cabinet over had a bottom release to its middle drawer. It pulled out a black felt display that featured three handguns.
She had little time to examine the two pistols so she laid them inside the netted bag for further investigation.
Now, a Chiappa White Rhino 50DS .357 Magnum was all that remained in the case. An odd duck of a gun with a barrel aligned on the undercarriage of the frame.
Tasìa had never trained with one but she had little doubt that she would catch on quickly. The Vaquero needed cleaning and maintenance after the extensive usage that she gave it.
She placed the Vaquero in the bag and after adjusting the support straps she placed the Chiappa in the holster hitched to the inside of her right boot.
Tasìa stood up and searched for more loot to grab before they retreated. Further up the isle was an entire cyber sensorium deck stacked for storage.
Where is that unit going? Perhaps she should attempt to take over the entire system while it's defensive systems were down.
That bitch could fetch a hefty price through a fence. Her Villa Marrón biker club friends would love her for it.
"Hey," Alisha called out as if startled. "What the devil is this?"
Alisha pulled out a cloth lined cardboard box. She laid it on the floorboard so Tasia could sort through it.
When Tasìa examined the contents and she realized what they were, her anger flared up quite mightily.
"Santa Muerta malditos estos salvajes."
- Santa Muerta curse those savages.
"This is bad, isn't it?" Alisha asked.
Tasìa nodded. She pointed to the bone plaque with the name Santo Víctor de los Setos. Beside it lay a Roman collar whose front was soaked in dry blood from where a 308 round shredded the priest's neck.
"These are the holy relics used to consecrate the new cathedral near Buenos Aires. They stole them! What are those sons of bitches really about?"
A yellow light began to throb inside the cabin. Tasìa glanced at the PA. Reconstruction was only at 53%.
Tasìa raised her head and asked:
"If you could grab that box, I'll take this -."
Tasìa jumped and spun around when she heard a familiar metal on metal hiss. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the gremlin tentacle barely miss her ankle.
It curved back around and clenched onto Alisha by the forearm. With a whipping snap it threw her on the floorbed.
The back doors slammed shut and locked into place. A pulsing shriek roaring from the front of the van unnerved Tasìa greatly.
She had to catch her breath.
The PA tread out a countdown not extrapolated from the van data like her security matrix reconstruction estimate but read directly from it.
114 Seconds and counting.
As she pulled on the floor board with her palms Alisha turned back towards Tasìa. The spook had only suffered minor injuries with scrapes on both of her elbows.
She was stuck in place with the Gremlin's grip holding her down. Tasia noticed the uncomfortable way Alisha rubbed her thighs together. She had pissed herself.
That level of fear. She knows something.
Tasìa turned the PA around and showed her the screen.
"Alisha, what is this?"
"Deadman switch. Rubin had it set to where if his heart stopped all the evidence of his sordid activities would be destroyed in an act of absolute incineration."
In spite of the dire circumstances, Tasìa felt a rush of joy and elation.
Beauregard had just passed her first test.