Chapter 5-3

Friday evening and I have no idea what to do with myself. Normally, I'd disappear into my bed and thank a god I've never believed in for another two day's respite. Now, though… What did teenagers do for fun? The fact that I had absolutely no idea probably reflected badly on my life. Anyway, when Miss Militia asked me if I could join the PRT an overnight stake-out, I couldn't say no.

Not like I had something better to do anyway. Besides, I had a nice sensory power. No use letting it go to waste.

I called Dad and while he didn't like the idea of me going out late at night, he was relieved to know that I'd have responsible adults watching my back. Oh, and there probably wouldn't be any violence. It was just a stake-out, after all. Gathering intelligence on some rogue Tinker and his friends. Nothing would go wrong.

The group in question was a new gang that somehow got the rather unflattering name 'Boxheads'. Then again, we got that name from interrogated Merchants gangsters, so it's not unthinkable that they called themselves something completely different. That said, they did have rather odd uniforms: Tinkertech coveralls and, you guessed it, a big boxy helmet.

Say what you want about the Merchants and their naming conventions, at least they pick something that fits.

Funnily enough, for a gang with such a 'distinct' appearance, they were very low-key. As far as we were aware, they held no territory aside from a few abandoned buildings that they've appropriated, interacted very little with the world at large, and generally weren't very overt in their criminal activities, aside from selling technology to seemingly random buyers. Right now, the only thing we could really pin on them was selling a shipment of two dozen laser rifles to the Merchants. Sure, that's illegal, but it's nothing compared to what the other gangs do every single day.

"Strange that we can't just arrest them while we're here…" I mused to myself. Lying in the back of an inconspicuous looking car, I positioned myself in such a way that the streetlight shined on the book I was reading. With my power, I didn't have to look outside to track people and could keep my head down. It ensured that I wouldn't be seen or get bored before the evening is up.

Not that my powers were all that necessary. Kid Win was trying to hack the gang's systems from back at the base, which would probably give us a far clearer picture of what was going on than my power ever would. I wonder why Miss Militia bothered to ask me to come along. Maybe it was just another test of my skills.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Officer Williams asked, sitting in the front with a camera. She was tall and broad for a woman, or that might be the result of the armor she was wearing.

"We have camera footage of the Boxheads selling weapons to the Merchants. Just wondering what's stopping us from arresting them."

"You mean aside from the fact that attacking a Tinker in his own lab is generally a terrible idea?"

"It is?"

The woman snorted. "Tinkertech's worth a fortune, kid. Any Tinker worth his salt is going to fortify the fuck out of their base. I'm talking guards, killer robots, hell, even self-destruct systems." She turned around and asked: "Didn't you know that?"

"No. Just started this week." And feeling a little embarrassed too.

"Ah, the FNG."

"FNG?"

"Freaking New Guy." She answered.

I couldn't tell whether that was a joke or not. "I'm a woman."

"Freaking New Gal. Same difference."

"Right. Guard coming around on the east side. Same guy as seven minutes ago."

Williams peered through the car window. "You sure it's the same guy?"

"He's got this funny mechanical rattle in his throat, like he replaced his larynx with some tech. Anyway, he should be passing the window right…now."

"Hmm." She replied before taking a few pictured of the guard in question. "Interesting, I suppose."

Another hour passed and nothing much happened. Nobody came, nobody left. It was a good thing I had the presence of mind to bring a book with me. I'd probably have died of boredom if I hadn't. It didn't seem like the night was going to be a fruitful one, anyway.

Apparently, Williams agreed. "Kid Win, how're things coming along on your end?"

"I'm not getting much, ma'm. All I can really tell is that there're security cameras covering every door. I don't think I'll be able to hack the local network any further without the Boxheads noticing. These people are seriously paranoid. I doubt even Banshee'd be able to slip in undetected."

"Probably means they're hiding something. Pity paranoia isn't a crime." The officer sighed. "Hey Banshee, how long is your range, if you really push it?"

"I can cover about a third of the building from here." I answered. "If you could drive us closer…"

"No. If we move the car they'll figure out something's up. I don't want to be the one who sets off a rogue Tinker. Kid Win, are there any cameras on the roof?"

"No, not as far as I can tell. No patrols either. There's roof access, but no one's using it."

"Got something in mind, Williams?" Sarge asked.

"Just thinking. We put little Miss Eavesdrop on the roof and have her write down everything she hears. Should give us the intel we need."

A moment later, he answered. "Good idea. You up for it, kid?"

Well, it certainly beats reading a book all night. "Sure, if you call my superiors first. I think Miss Militia's manning the console. She'll…"

"…start shooting people for even suggesting this." Miss Militia suddenly growled through the comms. She didn't sound very happy. "Honestly, sending a minor into a Tinker's hideout without any back-up? Find a better way."

"With all due respect, Miss Militia, we've been here all night and we still don't know anything about these people. All I'm asking is that you let Banshee jump on the roof, spend an hour or so scoping things out, and jump back. No one will even know she's there." Williams argued, before adding: "Oh, and she does have backup. We mere mortals aren't completely helpless, you know."

Miss Militia sighed, muttering something in a language I didn't recognize. "You have fifteen minutes and I'm making sure that Armsmaster, Velocity, and Battery are patrolling in the area, just in case. If anything goes wrong, I'm holding you responsible. Is that clear?"

I suppose it's touching that Miss Militia cares so much about my well-being, even if it is a little annoying. She's kind of like my dad, in that respect.

"Crystal."

"And I'm keeping a few squads on stand-by. Do not screw up."

Poor Williams. "Okay, kid, you heard the lady. Don't get caught. I'm allergic to bullets."

I nodded and went on my way. Sneaking out of the car and onto a nearby building was easy. I've been practicing this sort of thing for months. Almost casually, I ran across the rooftops and jumped onto the target structure, rolling as I landed. The entrance was at the center of the roof. I quickly moved out of sight behind an air-conditioning unit. Sure, no one should be coming through the door according to Kid Win, but it paid to be careful, especially around paranoid people.

My power blanketed the building. I checked for the guards first: a dozen pairs of boots stomping around as they'd done all night. There were two more heartbeats in the center of the structure, as well as a mess of machinery I didn't recognize. The Tinker and his assistant, maybe?

The guards continued their patrols. Nothing to indicate that they knew I was here. Good to know.

I focused my power and listened in on the conversation in the center of the building. "…learned what we could from this one, I'm afraid. Certainly nothing that can tell us why the last batch worked as well as it did."

A mechanically sounding voice from a machine replied. "Understandable, Doctor. I had written this particular specimen off anyway. It was…unfortunate…that we lost our previous specimen to that E88 raid. The samples from its body were most promising. Anyhow, what do you intend on doing with your current project?" There was something wrong about the machine-voice. He (and it certainly was a he) sounded more like a cartoon villain than an actual person. Was he an AI? It hard to believe that anyone can sound so comically villainous.

"Honestly, I'd salvage it for parts. Maybe you can build another Zanuka out of it."

"Hmm. No, I'd prefer you didn't. Barring any additional setbacks, my project will be complete within six months. After that, any components you harvest now will be redundant. No, better to spend our resources on something more useful. What about control? Can we command the specimen somehow? I could always use another fighter, especially one such as this."

Part of me was starting to feel sick. What the hell were these people doing down there? Animal testing? It sure sounded like it. I've never thought of myself as an animal rights activist, but seriously, this was fucking wrong. Good thing I was scribbling it all down.

"That…would be ill advised, sir. I have already tried everything I could think off over the past few weeks without any success. The current set up could work, but as it is…No, the subject is too dangerous to experiment with it any further. If it gets loose, the damage could be incalculable."

"That is what the security mechanisms are for, Doctor. One push of a button, and the labs get flooded by superheated gas from the reactor."

"True, but I prefer to not need it. As it is, the creature is simply beyond our ability to control without rendering it non-functional. I'm sorry, sir, but salvage is probably our best option for this one."

"We only have a few specimens left and no reliable way to get more at the moment. It's better not to…"

Suddenly, a third person stormed into the room. "Doc, Alad, we've got a problem. I'm sorry, but we have to evacuate."

"Evacuate?" The doctor said. "Anyo, what are you talking about? The PRT…"

"…are outside. They've been watching us for hours, along with these repeated hacking attempts. They know we're here."

"All things considered, I'd be insulted if they hadn't found us by now." The mechanical voice, Alad, apparently, said. "Still, I fail to see why this is a problem. The PRT has greater concerns than ourselves."

"That's what I thought, until our cameras picked up this." Anyo showed something to the other two. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell what. It was a rather glaring downside to only having super-hearing. "Movement on the parking lot of the PRT headquarters. Troopers suiting up. That, combined with the spying…"

"They're getting ready to attack us…" The doctor said, sounding dangerously distressed.

"Exactly."

"This is…irritating." Alad muttered.

The doctor soon found his voice again. "What do we do?"

"We attack. If we stay down here, we'll get overrun. If we try to make a break for it, they'll cut off our escape and wipe us out. I'll take the guards here and kick up a fuss. Distract them as much as possible. In the mean time, you and your people take the vehicles out back and make head to the rendezvous point."

This…this is rapidly going down the drain. I don't know what kind of firepower these people had, but if they started shooting, it was going to end badly for us. I tried to think of a way to avoid this, but drew a blank.

Anyo continued. "How soon can you get everyone moving?"

"Uhh, an hour, maybe. Fifteen minutes if we only take the essentials."

"Tools are replaceable. Specimens and scientific personnel are not." Alad said. "Leave everyone and everything expendable. Anyo's attack will attract us some attention, but nothing we cannot handle in the long term. Get going."

"Right. Of course, sir." With that, the doctor started packing. Anyo, in the mean time, started organizing the guards.

I needed to warn the PRT people. They had to know what's coming for them.

"Guys, we've got a problem."

"What happened?" Williams replied, sounding worried. I wasn't sure if she was worried about me or worried about herself when Miss Militia would find out just how badly the shit was about to hit the fan. "Did they spot you?"

"They spotted you, ma'm. They knew we were down there all along."

"What? How…"

"Not important." I interrupted. "They think we're about to raid their labs and are going to shoot their way out. You need to get out of there, now!"

"That's crazy, nobody would…" Williams was interrupted by a sound that could only be weapons fire. "Fuck, energy fire! Bastards' got me pinned!"

I was too late.

A voice I didn't recognize answered. "Keep your head down, Williams. Help's on the way."

I swore. Things had spiraled out of control. I had to jump in and help. Before I could, a trio of men kicked down the door and stormed onto the roof. Eternally grateful for the fact that I had the presence of mind to hide earlier, I let them pass. The three ran to the side of the roof, probably to get a better vantage point to shoot our people down. They also had their backs turned towards me.

Perfect.