Carol stiffly pushes herself to her feet and takes a moment to gather her wits, only to vomit once more. I really must fix that side‑effect… Although being out of crystals, means I won't be able to teleport, so I won't be throwing up again for a while. Carol takes a deep breath, triggering several sharp prickling pains in her chest. Ow! Must have cracked a few ribs… I did hit that branch hard enough. Hopefully, I won't need to fight or run long distances.
A quick check confirms that, aside from numerous minor cuts and abrasions, the cracked ribs are the only significant injury. The wildcat also assures herself that she still has Coral's katana, and the radio and three memory units stolen from Corazon. Satisfied her targets have been achieved, Carol takes a moment to get her bearings, then starts picking her way through the undergrowth, heading directly away from the barkada.
Merga arrives at the workshop to find Corazon barking orders both at her greasemonkey and through her radio. Oddly amused, Merga waits for Corazon to finish.
Moments later, Corazon finishes and wheels around to glare at Merga. "The Bakunawa better be worth all this shit."
"I guarantee you will not be disappointed," Merga assures.
"If it isn't, I'll have your head," Corazon growls.
"That won't be necessary." Not that you'd be able to take it anyway. "Do we know where to look?"
"Yes."
"Then let's stop wasting time."
"I give the orders here!" Corazon barks.
"I didn't give an order," Merga counters.
"Good. Get to the Sigwada immediately."
Half an hour later and two miles away, Carol watches as the Sigwada takes to the skies, followed by a large fleet of helicopters. At this distance, it's almost impossible to tell, but Carol is sure the helicopters are armed. They've located the Bakunawa then. We don't have much time.
Carol unclips the radio from her belt, activates it, and searches for a signal on any frequency used by Shang Mu, Shang Tu, Shuigang, and the Red Scarves. However, she's unable to locate a signal. I'd hoped they'd be closer by now…
With a sigh of resignation, Carol continues her journey away from the barkada. I hope I'm going the right way.
Meanwhile, also two miles away from Itim Tsaa, Spade watches the Sigwada and its support fleet take to the skies, then unclips the radio from his belt. "Spade to Neera."
"Hello Spade," Neera replies. "I assume from the fact you're openly radioing that the Sigwada has launched again."
"Correct, and it has a supporting fleet of helicopters this time. Have you heard from Carol?"
"Not yet, and I'm starting to get worried."
"Ah, you do have a heart."
"This isn't the time."
"I'll find her."
"Please do. Lilac and Milla are hiding it well, but I can tell they're both extremely worried."
"Do they know I'm looking?"
"Yes, but I don't think it's helping. By the way, just how did you get to the Islands?"
"I'm a Red Scarf Senior."
Spade shuts off the radio before Neera can reply. OK, if I were Carol making my getaway, where would I go?
A mile further on, Carol stops to rest, sitting against a tree. The pain in my chest is getting worse… Breathing's starting to get difficult… Must have cracked more than I thought. Carol gently feels her chest to check how many ribs are cracked. Eleven‽ It's a wonder I can still breathe at all! Also, that hurt a lot. I should stop prodding myself.
Carol listens carefully for any signs she's being followed. All quiet. Good. With a gentle sigh, Carol settles down to rest properly. Ten minutes, then I continue.
While Carol rests, Spade stops half a mile outside the Itim Tsaa compound. Search patrols. Spade ducks into cover and watches the patrols. Fireteams of three with high‑powered rifles: kill‑teams. Whatever Carol did, it must be very damaging: Corazon's issued seek‑and‑destroy orders against her own sister.
Spade unclips his radio and scans the frequencies. That's the Itim Tsaa frequency then… That's Shang Tu again… Wait: is that something on the Red Scarves band? Curious, Spade tries to triangulate where the signal is coming from. I really need more time and space, but that'll have to do.
Taking care not to alert the Itim Tsaa kill‑teams, Spade sets off in the direction he believes Carol to be in.
Twenty minutes later, Carol wakes with a start, triggering fresh spikes of agony in her chest. Ow… I really shouldn't have fallen asleep. What if I'd been found by Corazon's lackeys? They must be following me; she won't let me escape that easily.
Carol gets to her feet, only to suffer a momentary bout of dizziness. I'm in worse shape than I thought. Recovering her balance, Carol unclips her radio and scans the frequencies again, this time finding a promising signal. The Scarves band is active‽
Spade's radio chatters quietly. Curious, Spade stops to try and communicate. "Carol?"
"Spade!" Carol sighs in relief. "For once, I'm genuinely happy to hear your voice!"
"Funny," Spade snorts. "Where are you?"
"Um… No idea."
"Typical. Does your radio have a beacon mode?"
Carol checks. "No."
"Then I'll have to track you down the hard way. Stay put. Oh, and there's Itim Tsaa kill‑teams after you."
"You couldn't have led with that‽"
"Find somewhere to hide. And leave your radio on."
"Duh." Carol turns the volume down on the radio, then searches for a place to hide.
Half an hour later, hidden in the hollow trunk of a tree, Carol begins to grow restless: with the pain in her chest getting worse, she's starting to worry she'll be unable to breathe soon. Hurry up Spade!
Suddenly, Carol's ears twitch. Shit. Three people. One of the kill‑teams. Carol shrinks further into her hiding place and slows her breathing as much as she can. They're getting closer. A moment later, she hears them talking.
"She definitely came this way, sarhento," one of the trio states. "The footprints end here."
"Scour the area," the sergeant orders. "She can't have gotten far."
The trio splits up and begins to comb the area. Carol shrinks even further into her hiding place, desperate not to be found.
Her luck lasts only two minutes.
The one who first spoke finds Carol's hiding place and aims his rifle directly at her. "Found her, sarhento! Want me to kill her?"
"No," the sergeant decides, joining the rifleman at the opening in the tree trunk. "So, you thought you could betray our leader and get away with it?" he asks Carol.
"That was the plan," Carol admits. "Look, I'll come peacefully. I have eleven broken ribs and can barely breathe: there's no point me even trying to fight."
"I have a better idea," the sergeant smirks, showing Carol the tape and rope he's carrying.
"Um… Wouldn't it be easier to just shoot me in the head?" Carol asks nervously.
"The boss very specifically stated that, if possible, we were to make your death as long and excruciating as possible," the sergeant informs. "And thanks to her training, we can make it last for a very long time."
Carol swallows hard, triggering a fresh wave of agony in her chest. "So… you're going to tie me up?"
"To start off with, yeah," the sergeant confirms. "And then we'll‑"
The sergeant's head explodes, showering Carol with blood and gore. The two riflemen turn and fire, but just a few moments later, both fall silent.
"You OK?" Spade asks, appearing in front of the opening.
"Thank the Ancients!" Carol sighs, finally relaxing as relief washes over her. "All joking aside, I really am glad to see you! Even if you are a lying shithead who kept the secret of who killed Coral from me for over three years. I should have seen through that asinine walking tank story right from the start."
"You found Coral's katana," Spade concludes, dropping all pretence. "Carol, I'm‑"
"Save it," Carol interrupts. "Just get me somewhere safe."
"I'll contact Neera, let her know I've found you," Spade informs.
"And when Corazon's been defeated, you and I are going to have an extremely long and serious talk," Carol glares angrily.
"It's the least I owe you," Spade accepts.