(Bad Intentions- Digital Daggers)

Rex took a sip of his soda and dug the timer out of his pocket, glancing at the digital numbers.

Two hours left.

The boy sighed and threw the now empty can in the trash, rubbing the back of his head to de-stress himself. He sat at a food court in a local mall, the soldiers from earlier watching him from the nearby seats. The boy had made a deal with them earlier, insisting that he wouldn't cause trouble if they just kept their distance while following him. He'd then taken a trip to the shopping center, due to the fact that he could easily blend into a crowd of people in case he was attacked.

But insofar, the pawns had remained harmless.

"Bobo," the teen muttered, reaching for a napkin to clean a small spill he'd made earlier, "You better keep your word. Where's Doc when you need her?"

"You okay, guy?"

Rex's jaw dropped when he found Feakins suddenly sliding into the seat across him. "What- why- what-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," the man cut him off, sipping an orange milkshake. "Relax, you're not in danger. I'm just an extra babysitter. I'm really liking this Tangerine Twist!"

"Or, she sent you to keep my powers dead in case her little machine broke," the young EVO pointed out. "I'm guessing this thing's an untested prototype."

"Mhm."

"Wow. She really doesn't have any trust in me at all."

Feakins shrugged. "Can you blame her? She said you're trying to cheat her out of a shiny lookin' EVO. I thought she was talking about you, but apparently not."

Rex rolled his eyes. "Well I guess I am cheating her, because she's not getting it. I don't even know where it-"

"Rex!" Holiday's voice chimed into his earpiece. The boy felt elated to finally hear her voice again. "Are you alright? Bobo told me everything!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the teen responded gratefully, holding a hand up to silence his geeky companion. "I'm at the mall right now. What took you guys so long?"

"I'm sorry, Rex," the woman apologized. "I've been trying to contact White Knight for a while, but he's not picking up. I think the EVO he went after might have smashed his communicator. I lost track of time."

The boy winced at the mention of his victim. "It's okay, I understand. But can you get me out of here?"

"It'll be tough," the doctor admitted. "It's the four of us against an entire armed organization. Well, three, seeing as how White Knight hasn't come back yet. I wish I could send him to get you, since Six still isn't ready for a mission yet."

Self sabotage.

Rex scowled. The last thing he needed was the man's disappearance being rubbed in his face from time to time. The whole point of a murder was to erase the existence of someone- at least he thought it was- but he didn't think about the consequences of the victim still being mentioned after his death. Even if someone's body is gone, their memory was strong, it seemed.

Or maybe that was just his nerves talking.

"Yeah, he's probably still fighting the EVO or something," the boy lied. "Maybe you could-"

"The same EVO that Black Knight's after?" Holiday asked, interrupting him. "Bobo mentioned the deal you made. It must be really significant, if both White and Black Knight are after it."

Rex nodded, raising a brow at how quickly Feakins finished his milkshake. "Yeah, it's pretty powerful. Razor spikes and scales, great at destruction, and spit that melted stuff- just a little bit. But can you-"

"That does sound dangerous," the doctor agreed. "I'd need backup too because- wait. Rex, what's with your biometrics? They're incredibly low, almost bordering on nonexi-"

"I'm sitting next to Feakins," the teen cut her off, eyeing the man in front of him. "The walking nanite deadzone. Black Knight sent him to be with me so I couldn't activate my powers. Again."

"Can you escape without detection?"

"Not this time. I'm being watched by a couple of her soldiers."

Holiday sighed. "I'm going to have to really think this through, Rex. I'm sorry I don't have a solution right now. But hang in there, alright? I'll talk later."

Rex frowned as the comm link went dead, wishing there were more people to save him. Not White Knight, of course- or, as he now liked to call him, "Shite Knight"- but perhaps Six or Bobo. Maybe even the lovely doctor herself. Was the Base really that vulnerable without them?

"So," the milkshake maniac began, interrupting the teen's thoughts, "Know how to escape? I mean, I'm staying for dessert, but how are you gonna get away?"

The boy propped his arm up on the table and rested his chin. "Well, let's see. I'm surrounded, powerless, and trapped by the leader of Providence. Who might want to kill me."

Feakins nodded. "Sounds tough, guy, but you can't give up yet."

"Here's what I'm confused about, though. There are a ton of other EVOs that pop up in the city. Why is Black Knight specifically after the one at the intersection? I mean yeah, it was pretty powerful, but so are others."

"I think I know the answer to that," the geeky man responded, tossing away his milkshake cup. "So, they want me for my anti nanite powers, and then they put me in the tech department, right? Yeah. And I've been hearing talk about the EVO collars with new features. I think she's looking for more EVOs to test them out on."

The boy cocked a brow. "That really doesn't sound good. What kind of new features are you talking about?"

"New commands, more brain control over EVOs who try to fight it off, things like that. I'm telling you, it's pretty crazy."

"Maybe she's going through all this trouble to put it on me," Rex guessed. "I thought the leader of Providence as a man was insane enough, but it's pretty obvious that women are equally deadly- wait. Women!"

It was the accountant's turn to raise a brow. "Yeah, guy, she's a woman. Even if she has short hair. In fact, during the flapper movement back in the nineteen twenties-"

"No! Listen. I've got a plan. But I'm gonna have to leave you here. I guess this is goodbye, until whenever your boss makes you babysit me again."

"See you, then."

Rex stood up and stretched, then walked over to the soldiers who had continued to spy on him the entire time, though not closely enough to hear his words. They stared at him silently as he then stood in front of their table, showing no signs of a looming attack.

"I don't know if you guys are extra paranoid about this or whatever," the teen began, "But I'm gonna go use the bathroom."

One of the soldiers nodded and stood up. "I'm coming with you."

"Really? You gonna come in the stall and wipe my ass too?"

"We're only standing outside the bathroom to make sure you don't escape."

Rex shook his head, pretending to be aggravated, and placed a hand in front of the pawn. "Got it. But remember, stay at least twenty feet away from me. I don't wanna draw attention to myself with a Providence agent following me around."

"Fine."

The boy hurried off to the mall bathrooms, glad to see that the soldier stayed the appropriate distance away. The young EVO then located the restroom signs and entered the small hallway that led to the desired rooms. Before the pawn could reach the entrance of the hallway, however, Rex slipped inside the women's bathroom, hoping his stalker wouldn't think to look inside there.

But a few women's gasps distracted him from his ploy.

"Get out!" a young blonde shouted, backing away from the teen. "Idiot! You're in the wrong room!"

Rex held up his hands and tried to look as harmless as possible, hoping the rest of the women wouldn't start berating him as well. "No, look! I'm not going to do anything. I just... um... the men's room is full right now, and I really have to pee. I'm just going in and out quick. It's an emergency!"

A redhead fixing her lipstick in the mirror narrowed her eyes at him. "Well... I mean I guess that's alright. Just be quick about it."

Rex nodded and rushed to a stall, slamming the door shut. He then internally apologized to everyone in the entire bathroom, removed his orange jacket with the nanite signal blocker on it- the soldiers had forced him to wear it in their sights- and smashed a giant hole in the wall. Fresh, cool air soothed his body as the screams emanating from the women's- and the nearby men's- room pierced his ears. The young EVO then molded a Rex Ride and drove out of there as fast as he could, eager to meet the city streets again.

The freedom felt amazing, but not for long.