Arte woke in his bed, tucked neatly in the corner of his room beside a covered window. He sat up slowly, wincing as he rolled his legs over the side. His chest was bare, save a wrapping of gauze pinning a bandage to his side. He took a few careful breaths, before standing and walking out to his compact living room.
Angel jumped to her feet as he entered and said, “It’s too soon for you to be walking about, go back to bed.”
“It’s fine,” Arte said, waving her down. He looked around. Mae was resting on his couch with a handgun at arms length on his coffee table. “What happened?”
Mae grinned impishly while sitting up. “You were shot.”
Arte frowned. “Yes, I remember, but shouldn’t I be at a hospital? Did something go wrong.”
Mae hummed, resting a finger on her lips, then said, “Technically, asides from your injury, everything went according to plan.”
“You were able to highjack Martel’s broadcast?” Arte said. “So everyone knows about those crooks?”
“They sure do,” Mae said. “And boy were they livid. Why, if the last three days had gone the same as the first two, the whole damn CSA and probably the federals along with it would be out on their ass. There’s a whole lot of people with a negative Safety Score at the moment.”
“I’ve been out five days!” Arte said.
“In and out,” Mae said. “After the virtual surgeon gave the all clear, he prescribed a few days bedrest. I brought you back to your house so you’d wake up somewhere familiar. Figured that’d be a nice way to round out your adventure.”
“I take it things went awry.”
“They sure as hell did.” Mae shook her head. “Absolutely batshit fucking crazy askew.”
“What are you talking about?” Arte started toward the door.
“I wouldn’t, if I were you, unless you fancy getting hamburgered by a robot.”
“What!”
Mae nodded. “Yeah, that was my reaction too. Apparently the feds have an emergency protocol for situations like this. Martel slipped into DC during the chaos, and he’s taken over the country. Right now he’s consolidating his power, sorting out who’s with him and who ain’t. When that’s done, well….”
“We have to do something!” Arte started pacing furiously.
Mae sighed and mumbled to Angel, “I told you we should have kept him sedated.”
“This is all wrong! I can’t just—“Arte marched to the door and started fumbling with the lock, but stopped when Angel grabbed his arm.
“Stop!” she said. “We… we’ve already…” She released a shaking breath. “There’s nothing we can do out there.”
Arte made a feeble attempt to pull away, but gave in quickly and allowed himself to be lead to a chair by the dining table. He sat down, and Angel took a seat next to him. He glanced at her and said, “S-sorry.” She shook her head.
Mae kicked back sideways on the couch. “This really sets the bar for hardest mission in Solver history. Like, who could have imagined the feds were working on some shit like this, or that they were all doing it at once.”
“What do you mean?” Arte said.
“Remember how I said there were different kinds of federals?” Mae asked. Arte nodded. “Well, lots of them busted out with their own robot armies after Martel did. What’s even worse though, is apparently the feds here were coordinating with the Chinese. They’ve announced the two of them are uniting to form a ‘Global Peace Keeping Force’ or some shit.”
“You mean those guys Seig was worried about?”
Mae laughed. “I’m sure he feels great right now.”
“What’s a peace keeper thing?”
Mae rolled her eyes. “A world conquering army with a stupid name.” She shook her head and muttered, “Could have at least called it the doom horde.”
“C-conquering?” Arte said. “You mean, like, marching around telling everyone on the planet what to do?” Mae nodded. “What does that mean for associates?”
“Nothing good,” Mae said. “After Martel gets the rest of the federals on board with his plan, I’m sure he’ll turn his eye’s on us next.”
“You… you mean he’s going to attack?” Arte said. Mae nodded. “Is there something they can do to stop him.”
“I don’t know. Associates generally have better technology than federals, even for military hardware, but we don’t make a lot of it.” She huffed. “And we certainly didn’t build a secret robot army.”
They sat in silence a few minutes, no one looking at any particular thing. Eventually, Arte said, “What happens next? For us, I mean. Are you going home?”
Mae sighed. “I’m not sure. This isn’t exactly ‘Mission Accomplished,’ but I can’t think of anything else to do for you. I was hoping HQ would come up with a plan by the time you got back on your feet, but so far they’re only telling me to hang tight.”
“Are you saying the Solvers are ignoring the problem?”
“No, thankfully not, though I can’t say they have any more ideas than I do. For now I’ll wait here, in case you need to be evacuated in a hurry.”
Arte hummed. “Well, in that case, I might as well help you guys feel at home.” He looked at Angel. “I don’t know how you’ve been handling the sleeping arrangements, but you can use my bed while you’re here.”
Angel shook her head and blushed. “I-it’s fine. I was here to help look after you when Martel put the city under martial law. Mae didn’t think it was worth the risk of getting shot, so…”
“Still”—Arte stood—“I have to do something. How about I cook? Are you two hungry?”
Angel jumped to her feet. “I’ll help.”
The pair went to the small kitchen and scrounged together a decent breakfast. Mae joined them at the table. Halfway through a plate of french toast she was interrupted by a buzz from her hip. She pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen.
“It’s the boss,” she said, then stood and walked to Arte’s bedroom. “Let me see what she wants.”
After Mae left the room, Arte and Angel slowly worked down their meal. After chewing down her last bite of omelette, Angel said, “Did… did we do the right thing?”
“You mean releasing the data?” Arte said. Angel nodded and he hummed, then continued, “I think so.”
“But… everything’s gone wrong. I mean, two weeks ago I was living a… a normal life, and now robots are marching around and no one’s allowed to do anything. Things will never return to how they were, and I’m sure Martel doesn’t have anything good planned.”
“I’m not sure going back to how things were would be an improvement,” Arte said, then shook his head. “Anyway, that aside, I’d bet anything this robot stuff was part of the plan eventually, but not until they got everything in order.”
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“You think that means there’s a way out?”
“I think it’s too soon to give up.”
Angel smiled. “I hope you’re—“
She was interrupted by a loud yell from the bedroom. The pair turned to stare at it, while Mae continued a long string of invectives. After she settled down, they shared a long look, a mixture of worry and amusement. A few minutes later, Mae stomped out of the room, muttering, “Absolutely mental.”
“What happened?” Arte said. “Did they tell you to go home?”
Mae huffed and shook her head. “Worse, they’re sending me to DC.”
Angel gasped. “You mean… after Martel?”
“Yeah, apparently.”
“By yourself?”
“For now,” Mae said. “A consensus was reached and the other Solvers are being recalled to organize a defense while the PSA Council coordinates military strategy with the associations.”
“That… isn’t a very concrete plan,” Arte said.
“You ain’t wrong.” Mae huffed. “My boss said things are happening in the background, but I wasn’t privy to them.”
“Doesn’t Martel have a bunch of robots protecting him?” Angel said. “Are you supposed to fight them all bare handed.”
Mae laughed. “Oh, no no, I’m just taking the Raptor to act as a forward observer.”
Arte stood and offered his hand. “I guess this is goodbye, then,” he said. “Good luck, and thanks for your help.”
“That’s what you should be saying, but Cybel chimed in and for some reason she thinks you’ll be safer with me.”
Arte dropped his hand. “What! Why?”
Mae shrugged. “No idea. All she said, in her usual loquacious style, was, ‘Arte. Danger. Join.’ Wouldn’t elaborate after that.”
Arte hummed. “She did say her purpose wasn’t to put people in danger, so I suppose she knows best.” He turned to Angel and started to say, “I hope—“
“I’m coming with,” Angel said. “Even if I’d be safer here. Like you said, it’s too soon to give up. I’m going to see this through to the bitter end.”
“Ah, alright,” Arte said. He looked at Mae. “Still, aren’t there killer robots out there? How are we supposed to escape?”
“Most likely, the roof,” Mae said. “Normally I’d prefer not to land the Raptor in the middle of a federal city, but at this point I don’t think alerting the feds is a significant concern.”
“Oh, okay,” Arte said. “I better get dressed.”
“No rush,” Mae said. “I’m going to pull the Raptor a little closer and spend a hour or two on reconnaissance. With autonomous weapons you can’t spend even a second in their line of sight, so I need to verify the positions of every unit.”
Arte smiled. “Good, I really wanted to take a shower.” He looked down at himself and laughed. “I’m honestly feeling super gross right now.”
Mae grinned. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything….” She laughed. “Anyway, after you clean up, the two of you can pack for a few days.”
Arte and Angel got to work getting ready, and after finishing they returned to Mae, who was leaning over the coffee table frowning at her tablet.
“Is everything alright?” Angel asked.
Mae sighed. “There isn’t much hardware here in Central, but it was cleverly placed. There are a few high-rises nearby with great views of the city, in particular of the other buildings, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s where most of the guns are.”
“So we can’t take the roof?” Arte said. Mae nodded. “How are the streets then.”
Mae wiggled her hand. “Eh. Only a few patrols, but there’s a number of airborne drones overhead, and I’d bet the CSA network is connected to these robots. I think there’s a path to the Old City, but the timing is very tight.”
“It’s not like we have a choice in the matter, right?” Arte said. “Will this get easier if we wait?”
Mae shook her head. “If anything, the opposite. There was another shipments of machines a few minutes ago, and I doubt it was the last.”
“Then we better get going.”
Arte and Angel grabbed their supplies, then followed Mae outside. She guided them to the ground level, where they waited a few minutes before scuttling across the street into a shadowed alley and behind a dumpster. They continued like that a few streets, with Mae constantly glancing at her phone to check the route.
After one particularly long sprint, they arrived at a shallow alcove huddled between two buildings and tucked themselves against the wall.
“We’re almost to the Old City,” Mae said. “Not many patrols pass through there, so in a few minutes we should be clear.” She pulled them closer together, then returned to her map, watching little dots move around.
The screen flashed without warning, then a message appeared. “Run. Now.”
“What!” Mae said.
“Will Cover. Go!”
Mae grabbed the pair and dragged them into a run. “Change of plans!”
They sprinted down the alley and out onto the road. An eight legged machine skittered around the corner. It was armed with a long rifle mounted on top of a platform that remained perfectly still in spite of the crawler’s shambling strides. The gun snapped to target, taking aim on Mae as she ran ahead of the trio. An alarm blared, then an explosion ripped down the street, scattering hunks of metal and stone into the sky.
Mae spared only a glance for the destruction before reaching back to usher her companions into an even faster pace. They cut through another alley, then emerged onto a wide road. A half dozen drones were assembled on either side. They turned their weapons in perfect sync, but were again destroyed before firing a shot.
“What’s going on?” Angel yelled between breaths.
“Just run!” Mae answered. They finished their scramble into the Old City without encountering any more robots, eventually arriving at a courtyard where the Raptor swooped in to pick them up before carrying them into the sky.
Arte and Angel remained in a heap by the door, catching their breath, while Mae folded out the table benches and sat down. After a few minutes slowing her breath, Angel wobbled to her feet, offering a hand to Arte and guiding them both to the seat opposite Mae.
Angel let out a long sigh, then said, “What was that about, why did we have to run?”
“Cybel must have thought it was necessary,” Arte said. They looked at one of the terminals on the wall. After a few seconds with no reaction, Arte continued, “Come on Cybel, don’t throw us into danger without an explanation.” She didn’t answer, and after a few seconds he added, “It’s rude.”
The panel flashed, “Reported.”
“Reported? What the heck does that mean?”
Cybel didn’t answer, but a few seconds later Angel did in a subdued tone, “We must have been reported to the CSA and were about to get swarmed.”
“What?”
“The SCP app has a tool for reporting infractions.” Angel shook her head. “Someone must have seen us on the street and called it in.”
“Why would they do that?” Arte said.
“You get a bonus to your Safety Score.”
“But those robots were going to kill us! Didn’t they know that?”
Angel shrugged. “They probably didn’t care.”
“That’s… that’s horrible.”
“S-sorry,” Angel said.
Mae leaned across the table and pat her arm. “Don’t sweat it, kid, there’s snakes everywhere.”
Arte frowned, then sighed and said, “Where’d those explosions come from, anyway?”
Mae hummed. “I suppose it must have been Cybel.”
Arte gave her a wary look. “Like, she blows things up with her mind?”
Mae laughed, slapping the table. “You are too funny sometimes.” She exhaled slowly. “But no, I expect she hit them from space.”
“She can do that!”
“I wouldn’t have said so before, but now….” She shook her head. “In any case, I think we ought to keep it to ourselves.”
“Why?” Angel said.
“Cybel hid the ability for a reason, right?” Mae said. “At the very least, wouldn’t it be a bit rude to out her when she did it to protect us?”
“I… guess?”
“I agree with Mae,” Arte said. “Cybel’s been nothing but helpful, I think she’s earned our trust.”
“Well, alright,” Angel said. “It seems like it should be a bigger deal, but there isn’t anything we can do about it anyway.” She turned to Mae. “How long until we’re over DC?”
“A few hours,” Mae said. “Though after that it’s anyone’s guess what happens next. Still, I’m the only one who actually needs to do anything, you two are just along for the ride. Why don’t you kids chill up front? It’s a great view, and I wager this’ll be your last chance to appreciate it, and besides, I’ve got a bunch of boring HQ calls to attend to.”
Arte eyed her skeptically. “You promise you won’t disappear, right?”
Mae laughed. “Jeez kid, let a girl live it down.” She shooed him out of his seat. “I haven’t got anywhere to run off to anyway.”
Arte continued to watch her cautiously as he stood, but had to give up when Angel pulled him into the forward cabin. They sat in the pair of bucket seats and lightened the filter on the window until they had a clear view of the sky.
After a few minutes, Angel said, “It really is a lovely view.” She glanced at Arte. “Did you do much flying before this?”
Arte shook his head. “I honestly never even considered the possibility of leaving the city. What about you?”
“I… didn’t have the Safety Score for it,” she said. “When I went to Atlanta for college I had to take a bus, and again to come back.”
“What does safety have to do with taking a plane?” Arte said. “I mean, for flying one I get, but as a passenger? Do people get into a lot of fights or something?”
Angel laughed. “No. Supposedly it was to protect the environment, but I suspect the real goal was making travel difficult. Even getting a bus ticket was an ordeal.”
Arte shook his head. “You guys sure put up with a lot of crap.”
“Yeah….” Angel sighed and looked off. After a few minutes of silence, Angel turned to Arte and asked, “Do you think we have a chance?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think it matters. Whatever Martel has planned for the world can’t be much better than dying.”
“You really think that?”
“Of course. There’s plenty of ways to die that don’t mean your heart stops beating, and none of them are any good. At least this way you can say you did your best.”
Angel hummed, settling into her seat as she looked off at nothing. Arte studied her a minute, then slowly cast his gaze out the window towards the distant horizon. They continued in silence, as Arte drifted to sleep. Angel followed a couple hours later.