[Chapter 10 of {unknown}]
Mason.
Brian J. Mason.
An avalanche of memories crashed down on Sylia's mind.
She was in her fathers laboratory. The Wiz Lab. A rather ordinary looking building from the outside, multistoried, located in a quiet suburb that didn't seem to mind its presence, or understand what it actually did. The interior was another matter. Hospital white corridors led to down to a warren on tunnels and rooms full of wall sized computers, scientific equipment. An operating room. A waste room, body size tough plastic bags in a pile. Always busy. White lab coated men and women with clipboards before their eyes scurrying along taking no notice of the girl child.
As daughter of the head of the research, Dr. Stingray she had almost unlimited access to the facility. Later she would learn at what cost. She wandered the halls and rooms, not understanding at all what was going on. Just that this is where her dad worked, where he spent so much of his time. Away from his family. Not given the attention to his daughter.
One of the few places she was not allowed to enter was the main Research Room. But she could look in, standing by the window tapping on it or waving, trying to get the attention of her father. Hardly succeeding. Sometimes she was with her Mother. Other times alone. After the death of her Mother always alone.
That's when she had first seen Him.
Even then tall and lank. Thin hair and sharp eyes. When she was at the glass he would sometimes come up and tell her not to disturb her Father. Telling her that her Father was doing important work and didn't have the time. Maybe she should go home where her Nanny could play with her.
Even then she didn't like him. A child's instinctive reaction. One that had not gone away with time. One that had grown. Festered in her all the years like a malignant cancer.
"Mason." Sylia hissed. The shock and the fear washed away by the loathing she felt for the man.
His thin lips twisted into a smile. As pleasant as a shark's.
"The Daughter of the famous Dr. Stingray. Nothing special herself, private tuition, living of her inheritance and a substantial pension from Genom, and the proceeds of her own business- a female apparel store. One would hardly think such a person could really be a Wanted Criminal, an Industrial Terrorist."
"What are you doing here Mason? How did you get in?" her strong words did nothing to loosen the restrictive hands about her.
"Sylia. You disappoint me. As a recipient of Genom dividends I would have thought you would have read the companies strategy publications. Or you do think we just make Boomers?"
The two boomers, Secretarial models were impassive during the exchange. They heard every word but had no understanding. Unaware of the importance of the event they were witness to.
"You haven't answered my question. What are you trying to gain?"
Mason was about to answer when a pair of uniformed men approached from the interior of the building.
"Sir. We have found and detained one occupant," Henderson, "otherwise the building is empty. We haven't found traces of the object either."
"Keep looking. I know it is here. Bring in your equipment. I want a complete inventory by morning."
"Yes Sir." the men faded from the antagonist's attention.
So they are after the tape. How did they find out? Priss, earlier in the day had warned her that Genom was looking. That doesn't explain how they came to be here. Her identity had been secure, completely independent on the Knight Sabres. They had not been tracked from the fight, The Wind Master's men would have seen to that.
The Wind Master. Another compatriot of her father. He knew, now at least, of her existence, of the other girls. She had called upon him for help. Linna was in his hands at this moment. Had he struck a deal with the Devil?
"I wont stand for this Mason. I've stayed out of Genom's governance for these years but know that I have enough stock to have a seat on the Board of Directors and I will use that to destroy you!"
The suited man threw his head back and laughed. Like the bark of a dog.
"Do not think me stupid Sylia. I have no fear of Quincy of the Board. They can run the company, make profits and hold governments to ransom. I care not for these things. I am after something more important, more powerful.
Now with you and soon your little band of vigilantes out of the way I will be able to complete my plans. Not that I am going to bother telling you them. But I may just let you watch as they unfold. So you can witness an epoch.
And then there will be no more need for you. But I believe by that stage you will end it yourself."
+++===+++
Over a reflective road, the lights of the city blurred, Priss and Kaneda rode. Their red motorcycles side by side alone on the road in the night.
Both of them deep in their own thoughts. Of the words Priss had spoken a short time before.
Quietly they had left the building and driven out.
Along the freeway. The light poles passing them by, the orange light illuminating them for brief seconds. Another always ready to accept them in its embrace.
The bright towers of the inner city their backdrop. Reaching for the heavens. The inspiration of their creators, to strive onwards and upwards. To create yet greater marvels of the human mind and spirit.
Yet once before they had come tumbling down. A city destroyed.
To some the end.
To others a beginning. An opportunity to make something greater than what had been there before.
In this moment, and End or a Beginning would be decided.
Kaneda suddenly brought his bike to a stop, sliding sideways down the middle of the road.
Priss circled around before coming to a stop, motor still humming.
She gazed at him behind the visor of her helmet. Faceless.
Kaneda pulled his riding goggles to around his neck, kicked out the stand and let the bike rest. His face was pulled inwards, tight.
"You don't have to accept you know. It's your decision."
"No. No it's not. They're my people and I should ask them." he stood up, "Damn it! At least let me see you eyes so I now I'm talking to a person."
Priss lifted up her visor.
"Is that your answer?"
He shook his head. Priss wasn't sure if that was a 'no' or frustration. What she had told him had been heavy. It was a lot for a person to take in. She at least knew what was going on because she was so deeply involved. The theft, the chase, the fight, the killing, the escape, the pursuit. The uncertainty.
"I shouldn't have let you stay. I should have just kept my self in my little world." too late for that now. A sucker for money and attention of women.
"If you want us to leave..."
"Where would you go then?"
"I don't know. You were the only thought I had the first time."
Kaneda walked over to the edge of the raised freeway. Hands planted firmly on the wall.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you. It's not your concern." Priss revved her engine.
Kaneda turned around, "Hold on Priss." with deliberate steps he put himself infront of Priss' bike and took hold of the handlebars, inside Priss' own grip.
"I wont ask them all. Because I don't wan to get them all involved." Priss's eyes shifted down, "But." snapped up again, faint ray of hope? "I know some of them will help you and your friends, if it has to be a favour of mine, because we understand loyalty and family. I'd do anything for them and expect the same in return."
"It will be dangerous. People have already been killed." Priss didn't want to bullshit. She was dealing with one of her own and deserved the truth.
"Don't remind me."
She slapped him on the shoulder.
"I appreciate this Kaneda."
"Yeah, right." he pushed away from the bike.
"It's not everyday you get to help a damsel in distress."
"It's not everyday your asked to go up against the most powerful corporation in the world."
"Think of what it'll do for your street-cred."
Kaneda smiled. The milestone had been passed and he allowed himself to become cocky again, "Priss, me and my guys invented street-cred."
+++===+++
"You bastard, you'll never get away with it!" Sylia spat.
Irritated, Mason wiped the spittle from his face with gloved hand. A chuckle.
His face twisted.
The gloved hand shot out, shoving its self into Sylia's face, pushing her head back onto the boomer's shoulder. Sylia tried to turn her head away.
Finger settled roughly about her chin. Squeezing.
Sylia moaned.
There was no reaction from the impassive masks of the boomers.
Mason leaned over, his face scant inches from Sylia's own. His gaze penetrated deep into her mind. His other hand squeezed her shoulder and her mouth opened wide to let out a gasp.
He forced himself down on that mouth.
She jerked. Eyes closed tight.
The operating table. Herself as a girl. Looking down, disconnected from her body. The sharp instruments cutting. Her Father standing over her like a black shadow.
He pulled away. Thrust his hand into her face again.
"Pathetic. Cold."
Sylia sagged down, all strength torn from her. Her robe, the one she wore so often, short and loosely tied, the one she wore to distract or make the girls uneasy, hanging loose revealing her.
The boomer kept her upright.
"Will we leave now?" the red-haired boomer spoke.
Mason straightened his suit, "Yes. Go and get the car."
She left, walking with someone's interpretation of the perfect way for a woman to walk. Her body like an hourglass tapering down to a fine point of thin ankles.
He spoke to the other boomer, "Take her to her room. She is not to leave the building or be seen or to communicate with anyone. Do you understand?"
"Yes Sir." her voice synthetically soothing.
He snorted, Sylia's hair covering her face, and turned away. Immensely pleased with himself.
The data recovered. The thorn of the Knight Sabres gone. Now no one could stop him.
He walked past his own technicians and engineers, hand picked personally each of them. The tape was in here and they would find it, even if they had to tear the building apart from the inside.
+++===+++
Dawn spread her shining hands over the awakening city of Tokyo.
To the populace of the city it was a day like any other. Of the same routines, schedules. The same people. It could be a good day or a bad day. Or an interesting day or a boring day. How it turned out to be was up to the person in question for some part, the other part decided by luck or fate. To some it would be an important day, some knew this, some did not, for most people it would not be, instead a typical day like the one before and like the one next would be.
For people accustomed to abnormal days, such as Nene Romanova, the beginning of this one did not feel out of the ordinary.
Not out of the ordinary beyond the fact that she was sleeping in a derelict building, had not been to her job for almost a week and was being pursued by a large, powerful and deadly Corporation. Where her only companion was a team member of a vigilante organisation that she belonged to. An organisation that fought against the large, powerful and deadly Corporation and against the Police, the very people who she worked for. Two of her team members had become casualties in the struggle. One of them the leader of the organisation she belonged to. The other a close friend. The loss was acute. They did not have any of their equipment, or resources. The hardsuits. All she had was Priss.
Priss. The strong one. Self willed, sure of her herself. They were not close. Priss might just be a little over a year older in age, but there was a separation between them that spanned light years.
Priss. The reclusive one. Full of anger and bitterness with everything. So distant, removed. Yet Linna had opened the gates and let herself in. If Priss and herself were continents separated then Linna was the ocean between them. A bond that ebbed and flowed but was always there.
Until now. Now the bond was gone and there was nothing between Priss and herself. Except maybe a vast void.
With her open eyes Nene stared up at the roof.
"How did I get into this mess?"
By being a Knight Sabre. By thinking it was all a game.
"How am I going to get out of this mess?"
She didn't know.
She rolled over to her side.
"Priss..."
The sleeping form facing away from her. Worn blanket rising and falling slowly in deep breath. The mess of dark hair. At peace in the surroundings.
Nene had never been to Priss' home, if it could be called that- a trailer. Linna had told her about it over one of the many meals they had had together after work. She had been incredulous. How could someone live like that in a city? Linna had shrugged, teased her; how could she live in a mess of her own place.
This is probably how Priss lives. These people are probably the kind of people Priss is always around. Juveniles. A small time gang that would never register on the ADP's radar. Officers like Leon and Daley would just drive right through them even if there was no boomer around and they were doing something illegal.
Leon and Daley. Always annoying and after something from her. Both reliable, decorated Officers. They didn't like the boomer situation. Weren't big fans of Genom. Leon was always saying he wanted a real crack at them.
Maybe they can help me. I should have tried before. Before I got stuck here with her. Leon. He'd help her. And then she'd be OK. Genom might pull some of the ADP's strings but they didn't pull all of them.
+++===+++
Breakfast was cold leftovers. Not every appetising but the power was out.
Priss put a few select items on her paper plate, avoiding anything that had the possibility to spoil over night. It was something she had picked up early in the days when she lived by herself, found herself on the floor shivering and having to be taken to hospital. Lucky they came by.
From then, food and its keep quite important. One had just to look at the number of canned goods she kept in her trailer. If she bought fresh good then it was gone in that day.
Kaneda, who had no such prohibitions took whatever was closest and yawned strongly.
"Looking down your throat isn't how I wanted to start the day."
He looked at her with tired eyes.
"At least you got some sleep. I've," another yawn, "only just got back."
Puzzled, "From where?"
Kaneda indicated for her to follow and she did. Kaneda stopped when he was sure no one else would be about and sound wouldn't carry.
"Staking out your friends place."
"What?"
"And a good thing too. You know, you're pretty lucky to have run into someone as concerned and capable as I am..."
"Why, what?" she hissed. His words came out so slow it seemed like forever could pass.
"I was at your friends place, Sylvia ... whatever's, all night with Tetsuo. Watching it, like the cops. Something was going on all night. It looked like she was getting the place renovated or something. People going in and out. But at a weird time. Anyway,"
"Why didn't you tell me!" anger boiled.
"Calm down. Two more of my guys took over and are watching the place now. If anything happens or they see your friend they'll call. Now, I'm going to get some sleep after I eat this."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. Stay cool Priss." he started to walk way, "There's nothing you can do right now."
When he was gone she hurled the plate to a corner and kicked the wall.
Nothing I can do? They've got Sylia. They'll get the tape, they'll find The Pit. They'll find out all about us.
"Linna, dammit I wish I knew where you are..."
+++===+++
The cybercafe was a small neighbourhood one. About a dozen terminals, nothing fancy.
Nene was not impressed.
"Priss, I don't think I can do it with one of these."
"Don't think. Do."
Priss had told Nene about what had happened at Sylia's, or what she thought had happened.
"Priss, you don't understand..."
"I don't care!" through clenched teeth, "I need to know what's going on in there and you're meant to be some kind of computer genius so act like it and make a miracle happen. The best you've done after I pulled your ass out of its sorry state was to hack free cable. If we're going to get out of this then you need to start pulling your weight."
Reluctantly Nene sat down. At least she was in front of a computer, a small dinosaur maybe, but it had a reasonable network connection and would let her do something else she wanted.
"So." Priss pressed.
"I'll try."
"Remember, Mackey is caught up in this too."
All the motivation she needed right there.
Nene started opening shell terminals and began typing at a breath taking speed.
Priss's attention fled as soon as Nene returned to her element. The screens of rolling text meant absolutely nothing to her. She gave herself the moments to rest.
It was lucky that Priss couldn't tell a on computer from an off one. Nene wrote a quick S.O.S to Leon, set it a high priority and hoped the lummox would read it soon. He was almost as bad as Priss was. He had been responsible for the uninstallation of the voice-activated computers in the ADP, almost formatting the main entire ADP memory bank, almost putting it full of holes as well.
Working entirely by text and commands, Nene thought of browsers as slugs and only good for pictures or movies, she logged onto some warez sites and started FTPing the programs she thought were needed, some of them her own.
Time passed, Priss started to get frustrated at the pace, angry when Nene told her that she hadn't even started trying to break into Sylia's system yet.
"What the hell's taking so long?"
"Do I tell you how to sing?" she shot back. Probably one of the few time she had tried to match Priss without some kind of diversionary joke.
Priss, bored out of her skull settled back. Watched some kids surf the net.
When she had everything ready Nene started her intrusion.
First she masked her own location, even though she was sitting on a randomly assigned IP it would take long for any sniffers to track her down on a public node. By first routing herself through other networks she would slow down any hard attempt to find her. Her own response time lagged as well but the security was worth it.
Because she knew Sylia's system so well, pretty much built most of it breaking in wasn't too hard. It took time and remembering obscure passwords and backdoors. If Sylia even knew these existed... well it was lucky they were there now wasn't it?
What Nene was concerned about, was whether anyone else was in the system as well. If Genom had taken over the building then they would be on it and could detect her presence.
Nene broke through the first firewall that gave her access the ordinary part of the building and she started on getting into The Pit when she had an idea.
She located the Silky Doll's security camera, one that was on the local network and connected to a Security Firm. She toyed with the idea of setting off the alarm.
Opening up a socket she piped the data from the camera into a media player.
"Priss, have a look at this." she woke the other up.
"It's the Silky Doll."
"I'm in the security camera in the shop."
"Can you move the camera? There's nothing going on, what about The Pit?"
"I'm working on it. Hey, someone's coming in,"
+++===+++
Mason, Secretary boomer a few steps behind, strode like a conqueror into the Silky Doll. He paid no heed to the racks of clothing and went straight to the change room and pulled back the curtain, exposing the Technicians who were working on electrical panels.
The lead Technician turned his attention away from the work.
"How much longer?" Mason let his voice sound irritable. The work was behind schedule but he didn't really care. Time was a commodity he had control of.
"Shouldn't be too longer Sir, which is why we let you know. The equipment that got us into the building was of no use. Who ever did this work was very good."
"Spare me the details. I will be upstairs with the houseguest. Let me know as soon as you are through."
"Yes Sir."
Mason returned to the floor and then into the interior of the building, oblivious to a wall mounted camera that followed his steps.
Up stairs briskly and to where Sylia was.
Sylia, stiffening at his entrance.
"Oh don't get up on my account," Mason humoured.
She said nothing. Looked away. Still wearing the bathrobe. She tightened it about herself.
Her guardian boomer was standing close by. An untiring machine.
Mason poured himself a drink.
"Such a well stocked bar. You certainly have been living well on Genom's endowments all these years." he shrugged, "Not that I blame you. We're all using Genom for our own gain. In that way we are alike."
"There is nothing similar about us."
"She speaks. Do you want a drink?"
Sylia returned to silence.
"The more for me." cool but fiery liquid swirling in the glass.
"You know, I was up all night thinking about you. Wondering how did you just slip through the gaps into obscurity. I understand it now. We knew the Knight Sabres had access to some classified information but all of us thought you were corporate rivals. Not under the leadership of the daughter of the man who created the very things she was destroying.
"You hate your Father don't you? Under the circumstances so would I. But then, would not not have understood what he was doing, what we were doing. The dream we wanted to achieve."
"Do you always talk this much?
"At times like these, I like to express my thoughts. Moments of triumph are to be celebrated."
He went over to the red-haired boomer and stroked her cheek.
"Fascinating creatures aren't they?" he continued, "But mere shells, toy models to what your Father envisioned. A vision that I shall see completed and with you out of the way earlier than anticipated."
His hands wandered over the boomer, she making the accepted responses.
Sylia was disgusted.
"You will fail Mason. Just like my Father did."
"Unlikely. Dr Stingray was naive. I will not make the mistakes he did. I will not hold her back when she is free and ready."
"You're mad."
"Do you know," he spoke to the boomers, "that she is your Mother."
"Our Mother?" the black haired one said.
"From the seeds in her mind the first of you was created. And from that the rest. Adam and Eve in one."
The boomer stared at Sylia with an intent, puzzled look, "I do not understand how a Human can be my Mother."
Mason laughed.
The lead Technician then entered, "Sir?"
+++===+++
The Pit. The secret basement Headquarters of the Knight Sabres. Now in his possesion.
The Pit was crowded with Technicians analysing the equipment.
Mason stood with the lead at the main console. They were studying the personnel files of the Knight Sabre members. Faces, names, addresses. Psychological profiles.
Sylia, of course.
Priss. The blue one. An angry young woman.
Nene. The red one. An ADP Officer, computer specialist. Troubling.
Linna. The green one. The latest recruit. Instantly dismissed, Mason had seen the recordings of the battle in the warehouse. This one was dead. Nagging, but she had been an employee with a Genom subsidiary.
Was this part of Sylia's planning? To infiltrate Genom and the ADP? Or just luck. No, Sylia was too deliberate for luck. To have remained anonymous for so long. Luck had nothing to do with it.
Four of them. He had one. Another was dead. Red and Blue remaining.
"I want a team to search all their houses and another to watch the ADP closely." and order given.
Found in rooms; the hardsuits of the Red and Blue. What were they capable of doing without them? His confidence grew. The Knight Sabres were finished. Maybe their assets could be used to his own gain.
Found the van; blood stained. Their mobile operations command.
"I want the hardsuits and as much movable equipment taken in the van to the Laboratory." another order.
Found, the Crown of the treasure. Sitting atop a console the tape that had instigated recent events.
A Technician, "There were trying to decipher the encoding Sir but haven't been able to succeed."
The day just kept getting better. He would return to Quincy in absolute victory. With the tape, none of its data exposed, with the vanquishing of the Knight Sabres.
"Good work. Get everything from here transferred."
He returned upstairs with the tape in arm.
"Get her dressed and packed. She is coming with us."
+++===+++
"It's all over now isn't it?" Nene said it mostly to herself. They had been watching and heard every word through the security cameras.
"Clean up here, we're going back to the pad." meaning the gang.
"But Priss..."
"Move it, we don't have much time."
Time for what?
+++===+++
Priss didn't bother knocking.
She went straight into Kaneda's room, a spartan room given some life with some motorcycle posters stuck to the walls. She shook him awake.
Groggily, "What...?"
"Get up, get your guys. We are going."
"Gimme five more minutes."
She yanked the sheets off.
"Hey, I coulda' been naked." he growled, "What's this about?"
"We have to get to Sylia's place now."
"What happened?"
"What I'm after is going to leave. We need to be there when it does."
Kaneda pulled on his riding pants, "You could give a guy some privacy?"
"I thought you were type who wants to have a girl watch him get dressed."
"Not if she's a pain in the arse fugitive."
+++===+++
Half a dozen of them, Nene hanging onto Priss for dear life, rode out to Sylia's, pulling into an alley half a block down the road where the stakeout was being held.
Two motorcycles were there. One of their riders was leaned up against a wall with shut eyes. Nearby was a fire escape. The other on the roof of the building watching the Silky Doll.
Kay scrambled up when Kaneda kicked him in the leg. "Wake up!"
"Jesus Kaneda, you scared the shit outta me."
"If I was someone else it could have been a lot worse. Where's Yano?"
Kay pointed up, "What's going on?" noting the presence of the two guests and three other gang members. The best riders in the gang.
"She thinks they're going to move some stuff out today."
"Well nothing has happened so far. A limo turned up and left" Kay shrugged.
That would have been Mason. Leaving with Sylia.
"Did you follow the limo?" Priss asked.
"No. Nobody said anything about following anybody."
"Don't worry. You did what you were suppose to do." Kaneda parked and the others did the same.
Nene got off and rubbed her backside.
"I don't know why you brought her along. She can't ride."
Priss didn't comment. She didn't feel the need to explain everything.
"So how long do we have to wait around here?" a ganger asked.
"For as long until the van leaves."
"Then what?" Kaneda. Then what was going to be the bad part.
"You buzz it, distract any escorts. Get it to crash or stop and I take it from there. You then split. No one does anything stupid so no one will get hurt."
"It's a piece of cake. Same thing we do every time we go out against the Clowns, right?" Kaneda smiled grimly.
"Right."
+++===+++
They waited and waited.
Yano was replaced as the watchman. He was sent off to get food.
While they waited they played cards, thankfully someone having brought a deck. Nene winning most of the time.
They sat near their bikes, the boredom growing as the sun passed and the shadows grew.
What was taking them so long? Had they left in another vehicle. Doubt having missed them began to fester.
Kaneda, reclining back in his bike's seat with earphones listening to the radio. The only one really comfortable. He was as bored as the others however. If one had to sit around doing nothing, there were better places to do it.
Another change of watch.
Still nothing.
The street lamps came on.
"Is there a furniture store around here? Someone go buy me a bed."
No one laughed.
A can fell down from the sky an clattered off one of the bikes.
"That idiot! Could of hit me."
"He's coming down."
"Is something happening?"
Kay ran to the end of the alley and looked around the corner.
"What is it?" Kaneda asked.
"I think its time."
A flurry of activity. Everyone got onto their bikes.
The watchman jumped off the last level, "I saw the garage open up."
"Ok. Get ready, we follow, let it get away from the building first."
It would be like a drill, the gang did buzzing all the time. However nothing this serious.
"Nene, get on."
"Do I have to?"
The look Priss gave spoke of no argument. Reluctantly Nene got on behind Priss and wrapped her arms around the other woman's waist.
Linna. Her arms about my waist. Holding onto me then, on our way here. That night. I'll find you Linna.
"They're leaving!" Kay came running back.
"How many?"
"Just the van."
"OK. Lets ride!" Kaneda pulled his goggles over his eyes.
Engines coughed to life.
In file they exited the alley.
+++===+++
They followed the van at a leisurely pace, staying within the speed limit and a few blocks back, one of the riders staying closer.
The Silky Doll grew miles distant and the van moved out of the city area.
The amount of traffic on the road the van was taking decreased at it moved at a steady pace without any lights to slow its passage.
Perfect location for the ambush.
Roaring up from behind Kaneda's bikers surrounded the van. Kaneda put himself in front while others stayed at cabin level and banged at the side with lengths of pipe.
The van accelerated. It didn't have the speed to outrun the bikes. The driver swerved to knock a rider. He pulled away, came back again. The windshield cracked. The riders shouted and laughed.
Two blocks the game continued. Gaining speed and desperation. Kaneda saw a corner coming up, judged the distance.
The corner closed, the right distance, Kaneda braked sharply for an instant, the driver saw the red brake lights and the bike grow closer quickly and yanked sideways at the wheel towards the corner. The only way of escape. It was a natural reaction. Little would have been done to the van if there had been a collision.
Kaneda turned the other way and floored it, the back end clearing the front of the van by centimeters.
The mass and the speed of the van was too much for it take the corner where Kaneda had forced them to turn. The driver slammed his foot down onto the brake as a corner wall stood to accept.
The van hit the wall at sixty kilometers and hour. The cabin crumpled as the van drove its self onto the corner with a tremendous crash.
Glass exploded out onto the footpath.
Unlike the movies there was no huge explosion.
The bikers all stopped close by on the road.
Kaneda addressed them, "We're done here, go before the cops arrive!"
The buzz was over. They'd done their part as requested.
The bikers shot off in different directions.
Priss who had been hanging back screeched up to the side of the van.
"Off!" she yelled.
Took quick steps to the side door. It had a keypad on it. The door, the whole side was bent.
Hope it opens.
She punched in the unlock sequence.
"OK Nene, our hardsuits should be in there. As soon as you're in put it on and grab any batteries you can find."
The door opened about half way before stopping.
They both rushed in. Everything inside had fallen over.
Priss flicked on a light switch. Power at least.
"I smell gas!" Nene cried.
"Then hurry."
Their hardsuits were there. Under and on top of boxes.
Nene looked around, "I don't see any suits."
"Forget them. We don't have time." Priss began stripping quickly.
"What!? Are you serious..?"
"Absofuckenlutely."
Half naked Priss pulled the boxes off her hardsuit. It still had the old battery in it. Need a new one.
She threw whatever obstructed her out of the way to open a locker. Batteries. She got one, get the others when suited up.
"Replace your battery." she tossed one over to Nene, uncomfortable in her state of undress.
Pulled out the old battery, pushed in the new. Stood the suit up. Unlocked it. Slid her legs in. Shivered. Freezing. Arms in, hurrying. Goosebumps all over her skin. The suit powered up. Locked back into place about her body.
"Get a move on Nene."
Kaneda circled a block. He wasn't going to head home while the women, as tough as Priss was, did what ever they were going to do. He saw their bike.
Maybe they need help.
Parked. Got off. Was about to squeeze through the side door when it slid open all the way, a metal hand.
Kaneda froze. Boomer was his first thought. Second: a boomer got them.
An arm and body came into full view in the doorway.
Blue. Human sized, smooth curves. Sharp pointing ears on the head. It stopped at the doorway regarding him.
From inside, "Priss, what is it?"
Priss.
Not a boomer.
The voice, the other girl's. Nene.
Not a boomer.
Knight Sabre.
Priss. Nene. Knight Sabres.
"Fuck....." a curse in extended awe.
Shit, short and sharp. Trust him to stick around.
"I told you to get the hell out of here!" Priss snarled.
Even though her voice was distorted Kaneda could recognise it.
She stepped down from the van, two batteries in her other hand. Nene in her hardsuit behind.
"C'mon Nene,"
"I don't think we can both fit in our suits."
That was something Priss hadn't thought of. Or the weight either. Her bike wasn't the motorslave. It wasn't built to carry a Knight Sabre, let alone two.
"Can you find your own way back?"
"I think so."
"Good, take these," Priss handed over the batteries, "and go."
Nene took them and with a flash of light rose up into the air. When she was out of sight Priss looked back at Kaneda who had hardly moved.
"Turned into a statue?"
"You ... you're a Knight Sabre?"
"How'd a thunk." she got onto her bike and it groaned. "Now lets get out of her."
To underscore her words a beam of light washed over them from the sky.
Kaneda shielded his eyes and looked up. Dust lifted off the ground. A helicopter.
"It's the Police."
Priss started her engine. Kaneda's survival instincts kicked in at the mention of Police and he mounted and started his own motor.
"Head to the underpass."
Smoke billowing from their tyres the pair of motorcyles shot off and twisted through the empty streets.
+++===+++
The ADP Patrol Cruiser cruised down the freeway, being overtaken by the sporadic traffic heading back into the city. It was on autopilot allowing the two occupants to sit back and stare out the windows.
Or in the case of Leon McNicol to wonder at the strange email he had received from Nene in the afternoon.
"What do you think could have happened to her Daley? She just disappears from work, on 'holiday' and then today."
Leon's partner, Daley Wong, son of a Chinese immigrant family, and one of the leading thinkers in the ADP shrugged it off, "She's probably teasing you again as always. Can't do it in person so email is her next ploy."
"I don't buy that for a second. If she was then she'd have written something stupid about my name."
"Heaven forbid."
The radio squawked to life, "This is Alpha-Kilo Four Seven, in pursuit of bike gangers,"
"Turn it off Daley. I don't want to listen to traffic cops."
Daley leaned forward to turn off the radio but paused as the copter pilot continued, "one which seems to be wearing some kind of armour."
The two Officers looked at each other. Daley, picked up the handset, "Say again Alpha-Kilo Four Seven,"
"Who is this?"
"Wong and McNicols, ADP. Is it a boomer?"
"I don't know, can boomers ride motorbikes? The camera's coming online ... now."
Eyes turned to the small monitor mounted above the radio.
"Tell him to get closer, focus."
"They're moving fast..."
The helicopter followed them, arching over buildings as the bikes turned. They settled into a straight and started to pull away from the copter.
"Closer! Don't lose them." Leon shouted.
Daley took manual control over the vehicle. He knew his partner, Leon had seen something.
The camera zoomed in.
"Its a Knight Sabre!" Daley.
"I know I know that bike." Leon.
+++ 30 +++
So ends chapter 10 after two late nights of writing. It took a while to get up to speed. No song title for this one.