Chapter 3 – Side Questing

FAMAS and STEN lowered their weapons and greeted Bryant and USP. They closed the small door to the tram and sat down in the dimness. Bryant quickly explained the situation and tended to the dolls as best he could. FAMAS sighed a bit as Bryant applied some bandages. They talked while they worked, discussing strategy and such. Once he had finished bandaging FAMAS, he turned to his tablet and began checking on the other dolls on his list. FAMAS and USP leaned up against him to look over his shoulders.

"Oh? Searching for survivors, or building a team?" FAMAS whispered in her sultry French accent. USP gave her a glare and nodded.

"Yes, we are."

"But I cannot leave this place. We cannot abandon our orders." USP straightened up.

"But, how are you still operating? I thought with the police station gone – "

"Oh? Oh, yes." FAMAS slipped her jacket from her shoulders, revealing a small implant in her shoulder. "A stop-gap measure, but it will let the SWAT Dolls operate for another few hours. Or, until the SF forces break down the door." She sighed. Bryant couldn't help but notice that FAMAS was very forward with everything she did. Bryant had never noticed before. USP was serious and reserved. It reminded him of another Doll he knew.

"Well…if we shored up your position here, could the SWAT team come with us?" FAMAS put a finger to her lip for a second and hummed.

"Certainly. Let's see…If you can somehow block their entrance through the west door, STEN and FAL could handle the rest."

"Wait, a FAL unit was here?" FAMAS shrugged.

"Yeah, there was. She went off to find the rest of the dolls. She wouldn't have a problem with my leaving. She's a big girl, no?" She said with a giggle. Bryant narrowed his eyes in annoyance. She had to be doing this intentionally. "And, if you're willing, I have a suggestion." Bryant nodded. "Well," FAMAS started, "there is a small Café near here. There is a support beam for the highway near there. If you can set and explosive in the café, the highway would collapse and buy us a lot of time."

"Fine. USP, let's get going." Bryant brushed himself off and grabbed his gear. FAMAS handed him a small chunk of C4 and smiled.

"Good luck out there, Commander ." Her words dripped with playful sarcasm and she had an impish smile on her tired face. She was doing this to keep morale up, Bryant thought. It wouldn't make sense to be 'doom and gloom' after all. He put the C4 in his bag and ran off with USP. Once out of earshot, USP huffed.

"I can't believe her; such a disgrace to the department." Bryant smiled and quickly checked his map. "She was so forward and inappropriate! I don't care if she is the veteran of the force, such deportment is unacceptable."

"Well, considering the circumstances…" Bryant trailed off and rounded the corner. He ran into a woman who was running in the other direction. She slammed into Bryant and knocked him over. USP didn't stop in time and ended up tripping over Bryant. The woman apologized profusely, then looked at Bryant.

"You! Are you with the police?!" Bryant groaned and slowly got up to his knees.

"More or less." The woman dropped to her knees and grabbed Bryant by the shoulders. She shook him lightly, with tears in her eyes.

"Please, you have to help them! My family is in danger!" USP sat up and looked at her.

"Commander, that's a Springfield doll. Where did she come from?" The earpiece in Bryant's ear buzzed.

"A Springfield? She wasn't on the roster…" Bryant nodded and put a gentle hand on Springfield's head.

"Fine, let's go." USP stuttered for a second.

"Commander! We cannot afford any detours." Bryant turned and helped both dolls to their feet. "Please, we have to get to the support beam."

"USP, its our job to save people where we can. Now I don't want to be mean, but I'll order you to if I have to." A look of shock spread across the smaller doll's face. It twisted and churned until it settled on mildly irritated.

"Fine. Let's go." The three collected their scattered belongings and followed Springfield.

The Springfield doll was different from most. She wore civilian clothing, not her standard Griffon uniform. Her rifle was battered and rusted from lack of care and use. Bryant doubted it could shoot without exploding, but also didn't doubt the doll's etching. She probably knew the limits of the rifle when she picked it up. He mused over these thoughts and stratagems while the group followed Springfield. They arrived at the café FAMAS mentioned in a few minutes.

"This doesn't look like SF business." Bryant said as he poked at a half-destroyed SF doll.

"What makes you say that?" USP asked. Bryant pointed to the surroundings as he talked.

"A working vehicle, no bullet holes in the building, and three squads' worth of destroyed SF dolls." Bryant gave one last kick, dislodging the destroyed doll's head. He stood up and made some strange mutterings. "Best case scenario: looters." Springfield shuddered.

"What's the w-w-worst case?" Bryant shook his head.

"Anti-Android fanatics." He whispered softly. Even the ever-nagging voice in his ear was silent. Springfield and USP shuddered. "USP, you have a targeting assist subroutine, correct?" USP nodded slightly. "Good. Start running it: share the targeting information with Springfield." The smaller doll nodded and closed her eyes. Springfield straightened up suddenly, then relaxed. Bryant walked in first, his sidearm out and his eyes filled with cruelty. "Follow me in. Stay hidden. USP, you are leading this operation: engage at your discretion."

Bryant's footsteps echoed in the small room. USP and Springfield followed soon after. Voices were heard from one of the back rooms. "Where is the damn machine?!"

"I don't know!" Springfield tensed up. That voice must belong to one of her family. A woman from the sound of it.

"You let her escape, where did you send her?!" A man and a woman whimpered from inside. Bryant took a deep breath. He entered the room and counted five fanatics. They all looked at him, stunned. "What the – "

"I'll ask the damn questions, bastards." Bryant interrupted. He glared at the leader, the one holding the woman at gunpoint. The rest of them froze in their tracks. USP and Springfield stood out of sight and waited. USP swallowed hard, and she felt a strange feeling well up inside of her. What was it, she wondered? "Leave the couple and you can keep your lives." The fanatics stuttered out various replies. The commander spoke again. "I'll say again, in simpler words for you idiots: leave or die." Poison dripped from his words. It was not a threat, it was a promise. One Bryant intended to make good on. USP finally realized what that feeling was. Fear, in its most raw form.

Bryant extended his firearm to his right side. The barrel became level with one of the enemies. "Last chance." He said, maintaining eye contact with the leader. Everyone held their breath for the split second before hell broke loose. One of them made a small movement. Maybe he was reaching for a weapon, maybe not. Bryant didn't know and he sure as hell didn't care. He pulled the trigger, instantly killing the one. USP and Springfield ran in. Taking advantage of USP's targeting data, they took aim and fired. Five gunshots produced five kills. The bodies fell limp to the ground, and silence returned.