Chapter 10: Recovery Mission
Location: Central City
Fifty minutes later...
Seated on a comfy couch, Tatarin sat within the darkened penthouse suite, watching the strobing lights of the helipad through large windows. He was dressed casually, consisting of a long-sleeved red shirt with an upturned black collar, a red necktie, dark brown pants, and black shoes. He raised the cigarette held loosely between his fingers to his lips, taking a long drag off the cancer stick. The room was pitch black, only occasionally being illuminated by the infrequent flashes of lightning. He suspected that the Ambassador and her companions were being sheltered on Madubin Island, and a ordered a twelve-man squad from Cauley's Cerberus Program to dispose of them. There was also the benefit of eliminating their benefactor, who was a threat that could be ignored no longer. Raising the cigarette to his lips, Tatarin took a long drag, holding the smoke within his lungs before expelling it in a white stream.
"You've proven yourself quite troublesome," he said to the handheld that rested on the table in front of him, "Even the foremost experts in decryption have had trouble cracking you."
"I will not permit you to have access to my database," NICOLE stated defiantly, her miniature holo-lynx form flickering in the darkness.
"Still upset over what we forced your friend to do on our behalf?" he asked, insincerity in his voice.
"Amongst other things," she muttered, drawing her arms across her chest.
"You are more then welcome to continue your resistance," Tatarin said, "Bear in mind that we'll inevitably crack that encryption."
"Keep trying. I've been enjoying our little game of digital tag," she said with smugness.
"We can always take you apart," he suggested.
"And I've told you; my components are one of a kind," NICOLE reminded, "You start taking me apart and you risk erasing the very files you seek to access."
Tatarin pushed his lips together, his smugness beginning to show as she removed a USB stick from the pocket of his jacket.
"This is an ICE Breaker developed by Colonel Orlen," he declared, "Let's see if this'll work?"
Inserting the USB in to the port of NICOLE's handheld, causing the Lynx's holographic avatar to suddenly seize up and abruptly dissipate. She couldn't risk having her attention divided while trying to resist the ICE Breaker, thus she had terminated her holo-form. Staring back at the windows, the General found that it had begun to rain, which now lashed forcefully against the glass. Rising to his feet, Tatarin made his way over to a sliding door of glass just off the living room and stepped out onto the balcony. Covered by an awning, he watched the rain rolled off in a constants sheet, while he remained untouched. Lighting another cigarette, the General stared out across the cityscape, listening the sound of the traffic below. His plans had not proceeded as he had expected, instead Camp Connelly had been destroyed and the emissary's friends had escape captivity. The operation of a secret detention facility would undoubtedly spark controversy should the public learn of it, but Cauley believed that there was a way to mitigate the fallout that was sure to follow. Managing to recover video evidence that implicated Dr. Eggman as being the individual responsible for not only the attack on Camp Connelly but the escape of the Mobians as well. They could manipulate the public into believing that they were in league with the Eggman Empire, and had been from the very beginning. Suddenly hearing the sound of glass shattering, the General whirled around and looked towards the penthouse doors, making out the silhouette of someone thrashing about on the floor. Cautiously heading back indoors, Tatarin was quick to discover a black-haired boy seated on the couch. He was around ten years of age, dressed in a blue gi with a white obi sash, along with red wristbands, orange pants, and black slip-on shoes. The most striking feature was the monkey-tail that was currently wrapped around the neck of a Cerberus pilot who lay struggling on the floor. He concluded that it was the same individual who had delivered the strike team to Madubin Island, which likely meant that they were all dead.
"Good evening, General," he said.
"Tell me, what did you hope to accomplish by coming here?" Tatarin demanded.
"Hang on a second," Tarro said.
Tensing the muscles of his tail, the boy crushed the pilot's neck with an audible crunch, stilling his movements forever.
"Sorry, what were you saying?"
"I said; What did you hope to accomplish by coming here?"
"Oh, that. I'm just here to recover something that doesn't belong to you," the boy replied, holding up NICOLE's handheld.
"Ah..., so you're their benefactor. I somehow imagined you older."
"Looks have a habit of being deceiving," he stated, tearing the USB free and throwing it into the far corner of the room.
"Very much so," the General conceded, "Do you really think you'll be leaving here alive?"
"Did you honestly think I'd come here if I wasn't capable of handling you?" Tarro retorted
Tatarin was momentarily taken aback by the declaration, but dismissed it merely as the boy's attempt at intimidating him.
"If you're seeking to impress me, then your failing miserably."
"Trying to impress you is the furthest thing from my mind," he countered with a wave of his hand.
Catching a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, Tatarin watched as a robotic hedgehog moved across the room, stopping at the back of the couch. He snatched the computer from the boy's hand and walked away, his body disappearing in a beam of white light.
"Sorry. You'll not be getting into NICOLE's database now."
The General felt his eye twitch in frustration at the abrupt loss of such a treasure trove of potential intelligence, but attempted to maintain a neutral expression. Tatarin calmly walked to the center of the room, using the coffee table as a makeshift barrier.
"Don't try it!" the boy warned.
"I don't know what you mean?" he said as he kicked the table at him.
Tarro immediately stood up, sticking his foot underneath an unsheathed katana and kicked it into the air. Catching it, he sheered the table in half with an upward swing and slashing Tatarin's chest with a downward stroke. The boy knew that something was wrong almost immediately, the blade hadn't cut through skin and bone, rather it had merely graze across his flesh. With the fabric of his shirt having been cut by the katana, Tarro noticed the necrotic-looking flesh hidden beneath.
"What the hell!?" he said, stepping back.
"Nanomachines, boy," Tatarin stated as his skin reverted back to its normal flesh-colour, "There's nothing that can hurt me."
Before the boy could respond, the General seized him by the throat and flung him through the window and out onto the helipad. Tarro's body struck the concrete rooftop with an audible thud, causing pain radiating through his left shoulder. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, he quickly struggled to his feet in time to see Tatarin stepping through the broken window, glass crunching beneath his boots. Gripped by fear and unwilling to go toe to toe with the General, Tarro immediately ran for the edge of the rooftop.
"THERE'S NOWHERE FOR YOU TO GO!" he heard Tatarin declare, his words punctuated by the C-14 Impalers being fired at him.
Stopping at the edge, the monkey-tailed boy whirled around to face a wall of Cerberus Toopers, their weapons pointed in his direction. Tatarin had taken up a position behind them, a look of disappointment etched upon his face.
"Did you not say that you were capable of handling me?" the General questioned, "Or was that all just boisterous nonsense?"
"l may have underestimated you just a tad," he admitted, "But that doesn't mean that I'm incapable of handling you."
"So you say."
"I'm afraid we'll have to continue this some other time," the boy announced, abruptly stepping backwards off the ledge.
Tatarin rushed forward as he plummeted, but stopped dead in his tracks when the boy rocketed into the air, his body wrapped in a fiery golden aura. He had a ball of Ki charging in the palm of his right hand, which he then proceeded to hurl it at him. Tatarin backhanded it away with his right arm, inadvertently sending it slamming into the side of an adjacent building. The General's attention was drawn to the resulting explosion, which lit up the night sky and sent debris falling onto the streets below. As he turned back, he found that the boy was gone, having taken the opportunity to make a hasty getaway.