Chapter 15: Collapse

“The hell –!" Jack and Otto shouted at the same time. They leaped from their chairs.

The Crimson Phoenix rammed into the arena's magnetic field without so much as a twitch from the Black Rook. Two of the Epee's wings crumpled; a third exploded when its fuel touched off.

“Nob," Otto hissed.

“He wouldn't dare –"

“He damn well did," the Oligarch said. He slammed his hand on the emergency comlink on the railing. “Boss, get Rudy the hell out of there. Yesterday." His hand flew to another comlink. “Garcia, Albrecht, get your mecha over the arena. And prep my machine!"

It had all happened so fast, Ellie only now joined Jack at the railing. Her eyes were huge, fixed on the arena. “Jack, what's going on?"

“The 'Black Rook' is a damned nob," Jack said. “Looks like he's planning on killing Otto's little brother – and probably us, too."

Ellie gasped.

“Speaking of which, Jack," Otto said, “you and… and your wife had better evac." But for a moment's hesitation, he didn't even sound sarcastic.

Jack spared his former boss a glance. That was the Otto he knew and… well, respected as much as he hated. Pragmatism before philosophy. The Oligarch knew they didn't have time for an argument about Ellie's status.

Admittedly, Jack wouldn't have been dumb enough to start one with a nob on the rampage.

“But, Jack –"

“No time for argument, Hon. This place is gonna be a war zone once backup gets here."

“I think it already is."

Jack followed Ellie's pointing finger.

The Crimson Phoenix, minus an arm, half his thrusters and a third of a leg, was living up to his name.

Spinning like a top as he perfectly timed shots from his unbalanced thrusters, he rolled to where the Black Rook's sword arm drifted. He pried the monomolecular blade loose in one pass, bounced against the edge of the arena, leaped back in on pure momentum so he didn't need the thrusters.

The Black Rook's outstretched palm swung around.

“Goddamn fool kid," Otto whispered, unaware or uncaring that his brother couldn't hear him, “get out of there."

The blast of telekinetic energy shook the arena. Ellie grabbed Jack. Jack grabbed the railing. Otto nearly fell trying to roll with it, apparently unable to tear his eyes from the scene.

The Crimson Phoenix juked left and used the wave's wake to roll him further forward.

His slash took off the Black Rook's left leg.

The impact whirled him around. He helped the spin with a short thruster blast, sped it up by another brace of missiles –

Hit a solid plane of force.

The Black Rook extended one finger and tapped the chestplate of the Crimson Phoenix.

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The Epee shuddered. Its remaining arm and legs shot straight out, pinned by invisible forces.

Missiles shot from the Crimson Phoenix's wrists, exploded harmlessly on the Black Rook's telekinetic shield.

Sound couldn't travel through the artificial vacuum of the arena, but Jack could hear in his mind the Epee's limbs wrenching away under pure mental force.

Ellie buried her face in Jack's chest.

Jack wanted to look away, but this sight he'd hoped never to see again, kept his gaze riveted.

That's enough.

For a minute, Jack thought the voice came from the booth, even spared a glance behind him. Empty. Of course, he thought. Telepathy.

Expecting attack, he tried to summon the mental disciplines he'd learned in the Devil Rays.

You should not have come back, the voice boomed. Jack shuddered. He recognized that voice. Not as a noble's, either.

“Aw, hell," he whispered.

Ellie looked up. He caught her eye, saw she also recognized the voice.

The electromagnetic field above the arena rippled, the air outside weirdly compressed as artificial electrons struggled against purely natural psions. The electrons lost. Only the rush of air was visible at first.

At first.

A second black mecha unfolded the web of light-bending psions comprising its 'cloak.'

This one was larger than the Black Rook, eighteen meters from spiked feet to horned helmet, matte black as the dark between the stars rather than shining like crow's feathers. Its flaring shoulderblades seemed to absorb the light from Wellach's sun.

Your appearance here is very foolish, Inspector – Animus Hunter – Errard Zelph's measured mental voice repeated, apparently directing the thoughts at the Black Rook but not caring if they spilled over into the crowd. But I must confess I am glad of the exercise.

The Black Rook's mind answered. Then you're a bigger fool than I thought, traitor.

I am not the one who let that child cost me an arm and a leg.

Zelph waved his mecha's hand. The psions gathering in his grip absorbed the light, forming a spear of solid darkness. He hurled it at the Black Rook – on a path straight through the Crimson Phoenix.

With a gesture, the Rook tore an arm from the ruined Epee and interposed it between the two damaged mecha and Zelph's. The weapon's remnants faded before it fully penetrated the limb.

Black Rook's turn. With a wave of his one good hand, he sent another shudder through the arena's gravity field. Jack didn't get what he was doing –

– until the Algreil box's window imploded.

In a fraction of a second, a billion shards of reinforced one-way glass shot unhindered through the gravity field, carried by telekinesis and the air the broken artificial vacuum sucked in after them, to coil into a whirlwind around all three mecha. Jack could hardly see them for the storm of shards.

No problem. He'd seen enough already. Animus Hunters against nobles in a confined space sounded like a recipe for collateral damage. He didn't plan on letting Ellie be part of the tally. “Come on, Hon. We gotta run."

“But, that pilot, Otto's brother –"

“Had better be crazy lucky.” Jack gripped his wife's shoulders. “Ellie, I'm only gonna say this once, and you're only gonna have to hear it once – run."

Ellie took a step toward the suite doors – and said the one word that could bring him up short: “Where?"

Jack whirled on Otto. “You heard the lady. How the hell do we get out of here?"

Otto didn't respond. He stared at the ruin of his brother's mecha, tumbling toward the bottom of the arena as the anti-gravity sphere lost containment on Wellach's natural forces.

Instinctive defenses be damned, Jack grabbed the Oligarch's shoulder.

That snapped Otto out of his funk, all right. He checked his spin just in time to keep from wrenching Jack's arm from its socket. Oligarch and former subordinate locked gazes.

“If you wanna die here 'cause you think you sent your little bro into a deathtrap, I ain't gonna stop you, old buddy," Jack said. “But me and Ellie aren't sticking around to watch the fireworks."

Otto glared. His gaze started to shift back to the arena.

Jack tried to slap him. He failed, of course, and got his arm batted painfully away by a casual flick that would likely turn into a purple bruise by morning, but he kept the Oligarch's attention.

“How," Jack said, low and slow, “do we get out of here?"

Otto said, “Follow me."