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Furious Angels
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Chapter 5
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Tseng.
Elena.
Forty-two other faces.
All of them, just for Reno?
…he'd be proud.
Surrounded, then, by SOLDIER. No more time for thoughts. Tseng on one side. Elena on the other. Familiar body heat, but identities lost in the crowd.
Pushed toward the waiting cars. Boarding, with the other Turks. Tseng, across. Elena, diagonal. The replacement, next to him, edging away.
The rumble of engines. The jerk of the car starting to move. Then the pleasant hum of driving, and tires on the street, marred only by the sounds of the city itself.
Seconds. Minutes. More minutes. Endless minutes.
Endless.
If only…
Tseng, meticulously cleaning his gun. Elena, glancing at him, then doing the same. The replacement, nervously following suit.
Swipe. Check. Click. Swipe. Check. Click.
Rude just sat, hands in his lap, unmoving.
"So…" Elena started, for all of them. "Where exactly are we… where exactly is he?"
"Hiding. In the Reactor in Sector 4."
"A Reactor!"
A nod.
"Who would have thought to check inside an already secured area? Genius, really. He's held out about six times as long as any of the others. He probably just walked right in, and never came back out. It's quite possible, with the rotation system of the guards' schedules and the cafeteria built into the Reactor itself. Easy access, in and out, very little chance of discovery, with the lack of cameras and the angles of the ones that the Reactor does have…"
Tseng, losing himself in details again.
They all learned to deal.
"So we're going to the Reactor." Elena, interrupting for once.
"Yes."
"To kill Reno…" Elena, shaking her head in disbelief. "I… I can't believe… Reno. We're going to kill Reno…"
Denial.
Dealing.
"He'll probably be armed. On your guard, as usual. Always remember that this is an ex-Turk we're after. It's him or you." Casual words from Tseng. "The SOLDIER are merely here to aid the other guards in securing the area."
A glance toward Elena.
A glance toward the replacement.
A glance toward Rude.
Held.
A glance, becoming a piercing stare.
"This job is ours. We go in."
A nod from Elena.
Another nod from the replacement.
Rude forced his head down, then up. The final nod.
"Oh, and." Tseng, flicking his eyes toward the replacement. A half-smile. "Rookie… you stay out."
Offended. "What? Oh, come on—"
"Out." Icicles in that quiet voice. "That's an order."
"But—"
"Disobey it and die."
A sullen, reluctant nod.
A glance toward Rude again.
A nod back, this time sincere.
Then, silence, for a few more minutes. Watching Tseng sway a little, back and forth, with the movement of the car. Expressionless faces watching expressionless faces, drawing strength from each other.
Suddenly aware of the weight of his gun in his jacket. Suddenly aware of each and every bullet. The smooth, heavy feel of metal like cold fire against his chest.
Us or them. Him or you.
Reno would shoot back.
And if he didn't?
No point in thinking about that.
Better not to give him a chance, anyway.
Orders were orders. A job was a job. Those who disobeyed…
Became Reno.
Became nothing.
Were made nothing.
The car, turning, swerving, slowing, then coming to a halt. A slight jerk. The sounds of the doors of the cars around them opening, dozens of feet tramping the ground. Spreading out. Circling around.
Their own doors, opening. Filing out, one by one by one. The replacement, staying behind, sulking in the corner. Tseng and Elena, guns in hand. Drawing his own, just in case.
In case what?
His hand, tightening on the grip. Heart beating a little bit louder. A little bit faster.
In case nothing.
Just in case.
Tseng, flashing his ID at all the other soldiers. Unnecessary, but procedure. "Has the barricade been properly set? No one has been seen entering or leaving the building?"
Affirmation from the SOLDIER commander.
"Good. We're ready to go inside." That half-smile. "Tell your men to prepare for anything."
SOLDIER, weapons at the ready, a loose blue-purple ring of uniforms. A circle, breaking now to let the three Turks through. Tseng, nodding his gracious thanks. Elena, trying to smile. Himself, silent as always.
Pressing through the SOLDIER. Skittish movements, drawing back, not wanting to brush against the Turks. Shying away from that aura of cold. Rude figured they probably scared them.
Good.
He wouldn't have minded killing them right now.
Just for one wrong move.
No one made any.
Now, the steps of the Sector 4 Reactor, leading up to the Reactor itself. The Reactor itself, looming above them in all its rusted, metallic glory. A dark entrance. A cave mouth. A portal to brilliant, fiery, mako-fumed hell.
And somewhere, in all that machinery, Reno.
Ready to be killed.
Ready to kill them back.
Which was worse?
Climbing the steps, slowly, unhurriedly. Closing in. No rush. All the time in the world. Reno had nowhere to run.
A pause, before entering.
Hesitation? Maybe.
Maybe just for dramatic effect, craning their necks upward to take in the sight. Posing against the darkly majestic background. Craning their necks upward to make a sight, to show the SOLDIER that the Turks would always have something they didn't. Deserters from SOLDIER were never hunted down like this.
Looking up at the Reactor, then beyond the Reactor, to the smoggy sky above. No freedom, anywhere. Trapped.
Three outside. One inside.
All of them equally dangerous.
One more second of hesitation, then a firm nod and a glance backward from Tseng. One hand, raised, frozen, then beckoning, just once.
Shuffling behind Elena, heading through that gate. The warmth and smell of mako exploding in his face. Grouping in the small entryway as Tseng pushed the button near the door, sealing it shut behind them.
Rattle, rattle, clang.
No escape.
Then silence, except for their breathing and the puffs of mako-exhaust.
Come and get me, lover.
Get me, before I get you.
One bridge over the mako.
"Let's go."