[Chapter 12 of {unknown}]
An empty can spun away crazily as Kaneda's front wheel clipped it.
He and Priss both were well past it in a second as they hurtled down a long deserted straight, their engines loud.
The speed whipping his hair Kaneda checked his odometer- it read one hundred ninety two kilometers and hour and climbing.
Barely pushing it... his motorcycle was a piece of workmanship. Completely custom built to his own specs paid for with the money he had inherited from loss of his parents. It could go a lot faster but he didn't want to outpace Priss.
Who, weighting significantly more in her hardsuit was able to keep the speed.
But not much faster.
Her bike was vibrating just a little too much for its own good and she didn't want to put any more pressure on it, even if she was being chased.
The Police Helicopter was falling away unable to keep the pace the bikers were reaching. Priss watched the bright spotlight grow smaller in her side-mirrors.
But that didn't mean she was safe. The copter had cameras and more would be on the way.
Genom would also be on the way and that was what she was worried out. The memories of the last time she came up against Genom still terrifyingly vivid.
Ahead Kaneda braked and took a hard corner. He was pushing it, accelerating quickly out of the corner.
+++===+++
The Secretarial Boomer was capable of learning. For it to adequately perform its tasks it needed this capacity to understand what was wanted of it without being given a direct order.
Being a semi-intelligent artificial life form it had knowledge of what it was doing and that her Master enjoyed doing it, but had no real understanding of why. The activity was something humans did together. She was a boomer, designed to aid its Master in business activities. Why did her Master not do this with another human?
The human they had brought back with them. She was compatible for him.
Instead of being locked in a room, she could satisfy her Master's physical needs.
She made the noises expected of her, altered her body temperature but was all the time oblivious to the reason of the action.
Impassively, a few feet away the other Secretarial Boomer watched. It's mind on something else entirely. It's learning process trying to understand Mother.
+++===+++
If it had been a normal size car Linna would not have fit very well in it while wearing her hardsuit. The limousine however was spacious enough for her sit properly.
Two others in the back compartment sat opposite each other at the other side of the compartment letter her legs stretch out.
One was on a phone.
The other was one of the Engineers from the facility. Stuck between his legs were two guns. On the seat opposite Linna was a cardboard box full of magazines and their deadly cargo.
She still couldn't see out the windows. Her helmet rested on her lap.
The limo was moving fast, that she could tell. Occasionally it would turn and the force push her one way or another.
Surprisingly her heart beat was not thumping away like it usually did when she was about to go on mission. When it actually came to the fight with the boomer she calmed down a lot, the wait over, the objective before her.
+++====++++
A loud knocking on the door.
No politeness in it at all, dangerous considering whose door it was.
Dangerous if the occupant had been aware enough to hear it.
But the human called Mason was engaged in other demanding activities that required his full attention.
The watching boomer, who clearly heard the knocking, went to the door and opened it just enough for its self to fit through and enter the corridor where worried faces stared at her.
"Where's Mr Mason?" one asked. A pose of urgency.
"Mr Mason is busy. If you wish I can schedule a meeting for tomorrow."
"Stupid boomer! We need to see him now, something bad has just happend!" clawed shaking hands close to the boomers immaculate attire.
"I shall see if Mr Mason can see you." and the boomer reentered the room closing the door behind her and locking it.
With steady steps, no urgency translated into them from the men's words she came to stand where the favoured Secretarial Boomer and its Master were engaged.
"What are you doing boomer?" Mason was irritated. It would be impossible with that thing, looking on with no reaction.
"There are two men outside who want to see you Sir."
"They can wait!"
"They said that 'something bad' has happened" she played back the voice perfectly.
Hearing somebody else perfectly mimic another was disturbing, more so if it was a female mimicking a man, and again more when the female was actually a boomer and so not even human. A machine.
The men outside waited with growing apprehension. Time was quickly getting ahead of them.
The doors flew back and with lethality Mason approached them, "I hope for your sake that this is important." the men mistook his flushed face for anger.
Stammering, "The Knight Sabres have recovered their hardsuits."
At first Mason had nothing to say. His mouth and throat ceased to function while his brain digested the information, ran over it a few times before coming to a conclusion.
"How the fuck did that happen!?" he nearly screamed.
Mason was one not to lose his temper easily. It either required a constant source of irritation working of the course of hours, or as was this case something so unbelievable and impossible that had a negative impact on his actions.
"As the Knight Sabre's van was being brought here. It was a attacked by a bike gang who must be cooperating with them."
Mason forced his anger back. The only way to deal with problems was logically. A cool logic that could anaylise the facts, pose some solutions and then to pick the most suitable one.
The explanation continued, "The Police are chasing them know."
A good day turned sour.
"Keep following them, I want full cooperation from all branches of the Police to make sure they don't get away!"
+++===+++
Oda Yamazaki once again checked the address written down on the piece of paper he held in his left hand with the number stenciled in white paint on the dull brown painted door.
"This is it."
"Then why doesn't she answer?" Oda's wife, Chihoko Yamazaki looked at her husband with concern.
Parents of Linna Yamazaki they had not had word from their daughter in two weeks, which was unheard of. Chihoko called her daughter at least twice a week and Linna did so to her parents once a week. The conversations might not be long but it was family keeping in touch and important to them all.
Although Linna moved away from her parents to Tokyo they were still a close family.
"We should have called her work."
"We don't have their number dear," Chihoko sighed, "I hope that nothing has happened to her."
"The foolish girl will get a piece of my mind!" the father growled. He was equally worried but had grown up in the world where men didn't show any feelings that might be considered unmanly. A farmer of many generations, chauvinism was strongest away from the melting pots of the urban centres.
He banged on the door.
His wife's hands took hold of his arm, "Don't make a scene. We should leave a note and go to the Police."
"Bah! Like they will do anything. This isn't the country where you know the Officers. This is a moral-less city. Corrupt. It was a mistake to let her come here."
"We can't do anything about that now..."
Footsteps behind them and they went into silence like any do when intruded upon by strangers.
It was one man, tall and wearing a dark suit and for some reason dark glasses.
He stopped right beside them.
"Are you Mr Yamazaki?" he addressed the husband.
"Yes. Who are you?" he replied.
Chihoko cut in, "Are you here about Linna?" she leaned forward expectantly.
The stranger nodded, "I am here about your daughter. Could you wait just a moment?"
He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a cell phone.
"Are you a Policeman?"
+++===+++
"There is a call for you Mr Mason." the boomer with the red hair held out the handset.
They were back in Mason's office. He pacing the room.
Mason took the handset, "Yes?"
His dark expression changed.
"Yes."
+++===+++
The stranger/policeman put the phone away. His hand remained in his jacket.
"Now leave this to me Chihoko," Oda ordered, turned back to the stranger, "What do you know about our daughter?"
The stranger smiled, unnerving for some reason.
"Your daughter is in a great deal of trouble."
"Trouble! Oh no," Chihoko felt faint and leaned onto her husband for support. Her daughter!
Oda scowled, "What's happened to her?"
"The same thing that will happen to you if you do not do as I say." the stranger had always wanted to say something like that.
And to pull his pistol out slowly, held at waist level like on the old gangster movies.
Chihoko fainted.
+++===+++
"They're loosing them!" Leon banged the dashboard.
Daley grabbed the radio handset, "Can't you keep up?"
He had one eye on the car's GPS/Traffic Location system and the image being supplied by the helicopter. They were closing in but still too far away that if the copter lost them then no intercept would happen.
"They're going too fast!" the copter pilot shouted back.
"Damn it that's not good enough!" Leon yelled loud enough for the pilot to wince, kilometers away.
A third party cut onto the channel, "Detectives Wong and McNicol, this is under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police, not the ADP."
"What the hell? There's a Knight Sabre involved and that.." it was Daley's turn to get angry. There was no he way he was going to let the Metro cops take this.
"But no boomers. If you want to help, get off the airwaves."
"Who is this?"
A voice with much more authority than the current speaker came on, "This is Superintendent Toyoma."
Leon and Daley exchanged glances.
"The criminal act perpetrated by the Knight Sabres is in our jurisdiction. You will continue your ADP activities. We will catch them which is something the ADP has not been able to do!"
The channel went dead.
"Damn those bastards!" Leon swore, "How far are away we now?"
"Too far Leon." Daley looked over in the direction of where the chase was happening. He could see a convergence of airborne craft.
"This certainly doesn't look like a typical pursuit."
"Huh? What do you mean?" his partner asked. Whenever Daley started sounding wispy he knew something was up.
"It almost reminds me of the debacle earlier this week," they had all heard about the gun battle that spilled over onto the street and was broadcast live on every channel before the Police shut the transmission down. The end story was that the criminals/terrorists were all killed in a shot out later that night. Rumour was that the Police weren't involved in taking out the terrorists. The word Genom floated around.
"Yeah, the sky is starting to look busy. But I'll be damned if I let the Metro bring in the Knight Sabres."
Daley turned his attention to the city maps and GPS.
"They're going to want to get away from the helicopters and that means on of the tunnels. If we knew where they were going..."
Leon had some idea, if he was right about the bike. He put his foot down on the accelerator.
"My bet is on the Bay Tunnel, its the quickest way to the other side."
"How do you know that?"
"Trust me."
Sirens wailing the cruiser sped off an off-ramp.
+++===+++
In the limo Linna was being prepared.
The magazines had magnet strips on one side so they could be stuck onto her armour. The gun had a strap. She had to be careful of her jets, keep the gun and magazine away from the direction of its blast otherwise she could set off the ammunition.
The limo started to slow down.
The whooping sound of rotors passed by overhead.
"This as close as we can get without attracting attention. The pursuit is moving away but at an angle, not directly, we will direct you in."
"Okay."
She put on her helmet. Sylia's actually. Painted black. I'm doing this for you Sylia, and Priss and Nene. I'll join you soon.
They came to a halt.
+++===+++
Priss spared a quick glance up to the sky, it sure was getting crowded. Spotlights were illuminating Kaneda and herself from all directions.
She moved herself to be along side Kaneda, he turned to face her, gave a thumbs up and smiled as best he could with the speed they were moving at.
Ones lips tended to be forced back if the mouth was open.
"You can get out of here. I'm just slowing you down."
"What?" he yelled back.
"Split up!"
"No way."
"Dammit Kaneda, don't argue. They can see your face." the air roared by them ,"They're after me, if we split they'll leave you alone."
"How can you be sure?"
How could she be sure. The cops would be able to identify Kaneda easily, ask around and that would lead them to their place and Nene. Thus totally screwing up her plans. Unless she had the cops focused on her alone.
Letting go of the handlebars with one had she swung the arm out like a strike at Kaneda.
"What the!" he jerked away.
"Get out of here!" her arm held in a threatening manner.
Kaneada got the message and showed just how much he had been holding his bike back by shooting ahead.
His bike was probably faster than hers when she wasn't riding in her hardsuit.
A search light went after him but the rest stayed on her.
"That's right you bastards," she shouted at them, "Your masters want me don't they!"
+++===+++
"...headed along Express way 14..."
"That's near the Bay underpass.."
"Converging. The Knight Sabre's aren't going to escape this time."
+++===+++
Bay Tunnel Turnoff 2km in white on green flashed past.
Almost there, not long now and she would be away from the buzzards circling above.
Turn off lane, reached in tens of seconds. Priss eased onto it with a drift. Half a klick to the tunnel mouth, she could see it now and it grew larger rapidly.
Lights flashing, Metro Police cruisers well ahead of her were going to cut her off to the tunnel. Two from one side, another on the other.
The tunnel was six lanes wide, not enough to block the road. She could get through easily.
The doors of the cruisers opened and the occupants got out.
One hundred fifty meters.
Flashes of light winking.
Those bastards are firing at me!
One hundred meters.
Priss couldn't hear the sound of the firing. Drowned out by her speed and sound of her bike as it ran at its peak.
Fifty meters.
A spark on her windshield. It cracked.
The cruisers were parked on angles taking up most of the lanes but leaving enough gap in between for to slip through.
If she was going slower. If she wasn't being shot at.
One cruiser's angle wasn't too acute to the direction of the road. The vehicle had a nice low front that sloped up. A perfect ramp. She wouldn't hit it right on but didn't need to.
Ten meters.
Zero meters.
Priss lifted the front tyre off the road enough for it to land on the bonnet of the cruiser. Like a dart hardsuit and motorcycle shot into the air over the heads of the Police Officers, ducking behind their doors.
The bike rose up, tyres spinning wildly against nothing. Air bleeding the speed. The tunnel closing fast, the bike still rising.
I'm going to hit the wall!
Priss leaned over to one side tilting the bike with her added weight, passing under the roof of the tunnel smashing off the maximum height sign and beginning descent.
The landing would have been hard. Hard enough to damage her bike and cancel any thoughts of being able to escape from the Police who were scrambling to chase after her.
But it wasn't. Priss fired in small bursts her hardsuit jets to ease the descent and instead she landed with a jolt, accelerated and added boost from her jets.
Like a nightmare ride the tunnel flashed by her, nothing but a blur. Doing over two hundred.
The cops behind her wouldn't be able to capture her, the ones that were going to be in front would be the problem. Waiting, a row of them at the exit of the tunnel.
Unless there was some other way out. A service or maintenance tunnel, or one that branched off and headed back to the city.
Not that Priss had the time to look or would be able to see it coming.
And she didn't feel like giving up her bike just yet, not when it still had 'go' in it. Her bike wasn't going to let her down. They'd been through too much, as a team.
"Why did I think up this stupid plan anyway..."
She didn't have time to ponder an answer, the exit was approaching fast.
+++===+++
Helicopters hovered overhead, spotlights trained on the exit of the tunnel. A hundred meters back a solid line of Police cars and vans in a makeshift barricade, all turned side on. Behind that wall the Metro Police themselves, weapons out peering into the orange glow of the tunnel waiting for the arrival of one of the legendary Knight Sabres.
Word had already been passed down that promotion was going to be given to the one that bagged the vigilante.
Pistols, shotguns, riot guns. The Riot Squad or SWAT not on enough notice to be available.
"This looks serious." Daley Wong, leaning out his window with binoculars. The car in neutral on a hill looking down to the scene.
"They don't want to capture the Knight Sabres, they want to kill them!" Leon put the car into drive, turned down the hill.
"You can't go down there."
"We are."
Kaneda, idling in a shadow waited for the Police cruiser to slip out of sight down the hill before getting back onto the road. He'd slipped the aerial tail, in the maze of concrete and glass towers it wasn't that hard for a skilled rider on a good fast bike. The streets were empty, even of cops, all of them after Priss.
Not much I can do. Only watch. But I don't think I want to do that.
Something bright, up in the sky. Like a falling star, yet too close. Kaneda lost it behind the buildings.
It was time for him to go home.
Leon and Daley saw it too, like a rocket's flare, or if one was poetical, a lightning strike from heaven. They had seen it before.
The comrades looked at each other, Daley tightened his seatbelt and Leon put the peddle to the metal.
+++===+++
Cars, vans, vehicles of all sizes with spinning lights utop. The exit bathed in white. The end of the tunnel.
Salvation or damnation?
Isn't that always the case, to get spiritual in times of crisis? No time to think about it however...
Priss, on her motorcycle emerged from the tunnel glowing in the lights of the copters, red and blue washed away like sins in confession, replaced with a warm coat of pure white, blinding her in its brilliance.
Mesmerizing the line of Police.
Halfway to them reached before they reacted.
"FIRE!" over the speakers.
The Winking of the Devil all along the barricade.
Priss' eyes grew wide as like an Arrow from Heaven, a silhouette of a Knight Sabre, trailing flame like a comet flashed into her view.
Struck the front of a cruiser.
Driving it into the road, the rear jumping up, the plastic body shattered twain.
The jumping car leaving a gap in the line.
Right in front of her.
Priss twisted the bike sideways and let it fall, sparks flying up around her like fireworks, the sound worse than fingernails run along a blackboard.
She had a good view of the underbody of a Police Cruiser as she slid past.
It crashed down behind her in flame.
She fired her jets slowing then stopping the slide. The power of a hardsuit so useful righting the bike no issue.
Priss turned to look at the wreck behind her, "Way to go Nene!" she pumped her arm.
Lit by the flame of burning fuel a hardsuit rose.
That's not Nene...
Linna? It can't be.
Above the hovering lights moved.
From a speaker, "This is the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, we have you surrounded. Surrender!"
The response unexpected.
+++===+++
Linna raised the assault rifle she held. Loaded, safety off. The power of the spotlight covering the machine behind it, yet also giving her the perfect aiming point.
Like an angry roar of defiance of the not yet cowed the weapon fired.
The light went out raining glass.
"Holy shit! They've got guns!"
Linna turned to another helicopter and fired. The spotlight exploded in sparks and it veered away.
She emerged from the wreck and Priss saw her clearly.
A Black Knight Sabre.
Daley couldn't believe his eyes. Never before had he seen or heard of the Knight Sabres carrying firearms. Now one was shooting Fireflies out of the sky. All around it, Policemen with guns themselves but no armour. And the Knight Sabre was black.
"There's another one?!" he shouted incredulously.
The black Knight Sabre didn't give the Metro cops time to pull themselves together. She ran along half the barricade firing into the engine blocks of their vehicles, turning one over.
The Police scurried away from her in terror.
It had become a rout.
A few fired. Their bullets did nothing.
Priss watched on unmoving. Oblivious to when Leon stopped beside her, "I didn't know it was the Metro who were following you," he hoped she understood.
Priss heard, it snapped her out of her frozen state, her head snapped around, "What?" said through speakers.
"Leon what the hell are you doing?" Daley scrambling to get out of the car, Leon grabbed onto him, never taking his eyes of the blue Knight Sabre.
"Get out of here." he said to her.
"What!?" Daley.
Priss looked back to.... she didn't know who it was. The suit was Linna's, and Sylia's. And black. She spoke through the internal system, "I'm getting the hell out of here, follow me."
She gunned the engine, acrid smoke rising from the back tyre. A mark left on the spot she had just been.
"They're getting away!"
Leon stepped out, took careful aim with his hand gun, an old weapon but reliable. Heavy. Comfortable. He fired once.
"I hope you know what you're doing Leon, otherwise we're in deep shit."
Noise. Sirens wailing. Shouting. The sound of burning.
Linna finished a magazine at the copters, blew out the tyres of two cars that were moving.
She leapt high and fast and quickly vanished from the eyes of the Police.
+++===+++
"Those useless fools!" Mason slammed his fist into hard wood table.
The scene one of chaos displayed in crisp accuracy by the camera's mounted on the Police Helicopters.
He shut down the image. Furious. Wanted to throw something at the wall. Wanted to destroy something. Anger completely overriding the logic of his will.
Knocking on the door.
"What is it?!" almost a scream. Never before had he been so angry. Out of control. All the frustration over years channeling at this very moment.
A third Knight Sabre. Where did a third Knight Sabre come from. He had Sylia. Two had done the attack. The fourth was dead...
The fourth.
The office was uncluttered. Hands groped for something to throw.
The pair of Secretarial boomers watched impassive as usual. But learning. They never stopped learning.
The doors opened inwards. A lone man entered, he paused upon seeing the state of his boss. Flushed red, breathing heavily.
The fourth. No body had been found. The footage, impossible to survive.
The man cleared his throat, Mason glared. A frightening sight, sunken flesh bright as if an inner flame burned just under the surface.
"Mr Mason, the, uh, hostages have been taken to the safehouse as you requested."
"Hostages?" few things he forgot. The lapse brought on by the anger.
"The parents of, Linna Yamazaki."
Linna Yamazaki. The fourth.
From the pit of his stomach laugher overtook the anger. Echoing.
The man took a step backwards disturbed. Is he mad?
"The Police, pathetic tools, have failed. But I shall not. Our Security Forces defeated the Knight Sabres once before, they shall do so again and this time with the odds stacked firmly in our favour."
"Sir, do you think that is wise? If the public knew about our capabilities..."
"Silence!" Mason went behind his desk, sat down, rational to his own mind again, "This will be a perfect field testing." light behind the eyes, "This is what I want you to do. It must be ready tomorrow afternoon."
And Mason laid down his plan to destroy the Knight Sabres.
+++===+++
Priss had enough sense in her to not drive into the gang's place while in her hardsuit. She parked and hid her bike, looked for signs of Nene, found none.
She would have come back here. Hopefully close by watching. Now, to get inside without being seen. Shouldn't be too hard, big place. Night time. Quiet.
She flew up to the top. Went over to the edge, looked down into the courtyard. Spied Kaneda's bike.
He made it back.
A familiar sound made her turn around.
The sound of a Knight Sabre landing.
It was the black one. Deffinately Linna's suit and some of Sylia's. A flat black, swallowing up the light. Cartons or something stuck onto the legs. A sinister weapon held in both hands at rest.
"Who are you?" Priss asked. She held herself tense. Ready for anything.
A hand came up to the visor of the Black Knight Sabre, one extended finger tapping above where the eye would be.
Something Priss had done, months ago.
"Linna!" she gasped.
The visor rose up.
Linna Yamazaki, face beaded with sweat, broke into a wide smile. One of the things that made her easy to get along with and like. Friendly and open. Like one would except from a country raised girl, smiles in the city were guarded.
"Hello Priss, miss me?"
For both of them emotions were on hold, yet to be established in this reunion.
"Oh my fucking God!" Nene's high pitched scream pierced both their ears.
The Red Knight Sabre came out of her hiding place.
"Linna!" Nene rushed over to Linna and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. Tears of happiness stinging her eyes.
+++===+++
Across the street an unmarked van braked to a stop. Nobody got out which would have been strange if anyone had been looking to notice.
+++===+++
Faces exposed the trio of friends faced each other after having exchanged hugs and tears- that still lay fresh on their cheeks.
For Nene, seeing Priss cry was like being in hell when snowing. She tried a jibe, earning a near miss of a glove.
"Ok. So now that we're altogether, what do we do?" Priss, continuing her command role.
"Do you know about Sylia?" Linna queried.
The others nodded.
"Not that I give a shit about her anymore,"
"Priss!?" Linna and Nene said together, shocked. The way Priss sounded, was so, final. The singer and Sylia had their differences and many fights yet had remained. That now didn't look the case.
"Haven't you thought about it Linna? She almost got you killed! What do you owe her. It's her fault, her problem. I only been doing what I've been doing to make sure you and Nene were safe."
"So you're just going to abandon here to Genom?" Linna pointed to the corporations tower, floodlit on the bay.
Nene stepped in as a pacifier, "C'mon guys, we should talk about this later and off the roof."
Priss turned to Nene, "Did you bring everything?"
Nene looked sheepish, "I forgot your clothes..."
Priss scowled.
"Or they got blown out of my hands, I don't remember. I was more concerned about the batteries."
"But you still kept your clothes?"
"Um, yeah."
"The change, go downstairs and bring up Linna's and mine."
Linna; "My clothes?"
"I went over to your place and got whatever I could fit. Genom's still going to be after us Linna. This place is a gang's but I know the leader and they're letting us stay. Probably have to move on soon though." Kaneda's bike would be found. Or himself identified. It couldn't be helped, she wasn't a hard thinker, identify all the problems and come up with a real plan. That had been Sylia's role- and she screwed it up too. Priss was thinking only a step or two ahead, just enough to keep herself and her friends alive on a day by day basis.
Nene left leaving the other two alone.
"So you're really giving up on Sylia?" Linna stood about a foot away, helmet removed.
A good idea, Priss removed her own shaking her head an hair free, stuck to her head with sweat.
"Yes. If Genom has her, then there's not a lot we can do. I'm more interested in you."
"Me? Suddenly you care."
"Don't joke. When I brought you in you were almost dead,"
Linna's eyes shot open.
"They wouldn't let me, any of us, see you and when Sylia got a bit better,"
"Sylia was hurt?"
Priss nodded, "In the leg. When she got better we left. Last I heard you were in critical but at least breathing."
Linna rocked back. A faintness coming over her.
I almost died? How could that be? Here I am, standing in good health. Dr Shan said that I had only been knocked out.
Priss continued, "And now here you are, in one piece with no scars or anything. I can't believe it."
"Neither can I if what you say is true. The Doctors told me that I had been knocked out. How can they be wrong? Maybe I wasn't as bad as you think Priss."
She could be right there. Priss had almost let Linna die in her grief. A mistake that if made she probably could not have lived with.
"I guess you're right." Priss gave a rare smile, "But I'm glad your here."
"That makes two of us." Linna let herself smile. If felt nice. The two of them facing each other.
A little chuckle, Priss was in a good mood, "You know what was the last thing you said to me before you passed out?"
"No."
"I finally get the girl." or words to that effect.
"Did I?" she laughed. A rich laughter pleasing to the ear, "Have I?" she added seriously.
Priss looked down at the roof, small rocks, tar. The question once again upon her and still she didn't know what to do.
But Linna was back. Back from the dead in her mind. The animosity between them caused by both their actions, misunderstanding and pain, gone.
Priss remembered Linna's face, cut and bloody, as she held her close friend, probably the closest she had ever had or might. Her gloved hand reached out, the metal covered fingers tracing the curves of Linna's cheek and jaw.
Heart and throat constricted. Lip trembling. Tears again in her eyes. "Priss..." was also she could speak before the ache was too much. The word like a catalyst brought them together, arms pulling each close, faces colliding, lips parting and mouths locking. A transfer of raw emotion.
Nene chose just this time to return to the roof top, clothes in hand only to drop them, along with her jaw, to the roof, where they landed unheard.
+++===+++
A record number of parked vans were in visible vicinity of the gang's building.
Most of the time there was none, vans or cars or any kind of vehicle. People around here didn't them and they didn't stay on by the road for long. Criminal elements made sure of that.
Sometimes there would be one. For an hour or two, the owner doing some sort of business in one of the buildings nearby. It always left.
So two was out of the ordinary. Both vans. In sight of each other. No one having come out of either.
Windows opaque. Locked. With security systems, a criminal element found out, a spray of mace making him stumble backwards, shake a crowbar threateningly then leave.
Something was going on. The vans were left alone.
+++===+++
Changed, hardsuits hidden in a ventilation shaft, and hopefully no need to put them on the clothed Knight Sabres returned to their room in the building.
Nene acting as if she had seen nothing, but in a stiff manner and always looking out of the corner of her eye at the other two.
When did that happen?
Priss and Linna, close together but not touching, oblivious to Nene's knowledge, lost in their own toughts.
"There's only two beds," Priss waved her hand at the interior of the room. A few bags on the floor, clothes. Empty food and drink containers.
"How long have you been staying here?" the mess was a little to much for Linna, "Are there rats?"
"Only small ones." Priss gave Linna a little, playfull, slap on the shoulder.
Laughing nervously, "I'm going to see if there's anything on the news. Bye," and Nene was out the door and in relief.
"What's up with her?" Linna was disappointed. She'd just got back with her friends. Wanted to find out what happened, wanted the comfort of having them around.
"Don't mind Nene. She totally lost it before."
"I could imagine." did she hear a rat?
Priss sat on one of the beds. Looked up at Linna. There was something different. New? Maybe she was just tired and stressed. Burning out.
"What?" Linna asked staring back.
Priss shrugged, "So what's your story? Did Nigel fix the suit and give it a new coat of paint?"
"Looks nice doesn't it?" Linna sat on the other bed. Why didn't she sit next to Priss? "How about yours, must be a long one," she looked about the room.
"Yeah."
"In the morning." she lay down. Paint flecked ceiling. A single halogen lightbulb shining bright.
"Good idea. All this excitement has wrung me out."
"Priss?"
"Yeah?"
"Turn off the light."
+++===+++
Another day came.
The vans remained.
Hours past. Exhausted, no window in the room, the Knight Sabres slept as the sun rose to its zenith.
Outside, in the world, in the city, life went along as it generally did. Another one of those days that was most likely ordinary for most, something special or something else for the remainding few.
Priss was disturbed to awareness by a repetitive annoying noise that grew loud and then soft, thought to have stopped before coming back again stronger than before.
She blinked away the sleep in her eyes and focused on the source of the noise.
Linna. Lying on her back, mouth wide open. Snoring.
Priss almost laughed. Linna snoring, it was comical.
With stiffness and a groan she got up, took a few steps over to the other bed and sat on its edge, closed Linna's mouth and held her nose, waited.
The peaceful face changed colour a little then the eyes flew open, bleary, grey underneath but awake, and her mouth spluttered open.
Priss took her hand away. "Good morning sleeping beauty."
Linna rubbed her face, "What time is it?"
"I don't know." she didn't have a watch. She'd have to go outside and ask.
A stomach rumbled.
Get breakfast, or lunch or whatever meal it was as well.
"I haven't eaten in ages."
"Then get up, the people here are like wolves and without taste."
"Great." Linna sat up. "Wake up kiss?"
"What? You're already awake." Priss stood up, Linna pouted.
"Don't be so butch."
"Whatever. I'm getting food." Priss reached for the door handle.
She snatched her hand back when it flew up, at the hands of a horrified Nene, "Linna!" voice loud, shouting, "They've got your parents, Genom has your parents!"
+++ 30 +++
No music title. I just couldn't think if anything that would fit. Blitzkrieg, lightning war fits the bill however- the fast pace and changing fortunes of war where the nimble minded and flexible reign over the slow witted and ponderous. The Knight Sabres pull of their daring raid but Mason too can play the game.
Nearing the climatic showdown end! of this still untitled body of work.