Chapter 31 – Preparations
The sounds of pursuit had died down again. ST AR 15 paused for a brief moment, ready to continue evading the Ringleader. She took slow breaths and reloaded her weapon. Several red dots entered her sensor range. More SF troops. More pursuit units, from the look of it. The Sangvis Mastermind was sparing nothing now. It seemed that capturing the AR team had become their top priority almost overnight. Escape would be cut off soon. "Time to move…" she said to no one and lured them closer to the city.
Yulia and USP found Bryant by the truck. He was finishing up a call. "...Good to go? Nice, nice. ...This makes us even, yeah. … great, thanks again." There was an uncomfortable pause. Bryant swallowed hard and scratched at his cheek. He grumbled something over the line and hung up. He looked at the ground, making a sound between a growl and a sob. The two dolls approached.
"Commander, Ursula is getting ready for the operation. We received permission to use the landing zone by the shelter." USP said with a salute.
"You sound surprised," Byrant said. He received quickly, Yulia noted. She couldn't tell if it was admirable or unhealthy.
"I was... skeptical. To be blunt, Commander…" she hesitated, "I still do not trust humans. But, maybe I trust you…" Bryant chuckled.
"What? Not human enough for you?" Bryant said with a laugh.
"That's not…" USP started to say something, then just whined and turned away. Yulia fidgeted in place. Bryant's laugh died out to a chuckle. Once he had calmed down, his face got dark and serious.
"USP and SAR will be assisting the AR team during the operation. Yulia;" the doll saluted, "you will help me provide battlefield support." Yulia nodded slightly. USP ran off to join up with her team. Yulia stayed behind. Bryant held his arm across his chest. He was trying to cross his arms to think. It was difficult to do with only one arm. He stayed quiet for a moment, mumbling under his breath with silent words.
"Commander, the operation…" Yulia said gently.
"Hm?"
"I am to assist you. What should I do first?" She asked, eager to begin. Bryant was once again silent. "That... conversation...was it serious?"
"Yulia."
"Yes?"
"Get one of the standby Dolls. SKS or FN-49… any sniper, really. We need range."
"Range?"
"To draw some fire." He said quietly.
"Just the one?"
"You need to move fast, quiet. Just the necessary supplies. No dummies." Yulia opened her mouth and hesitated. This was unexpected, and it was dangerous. A single slip-up, and it was over. Mechanical instinct was overcome with terror.
"I…u-understand Commander. But-"
"Oh? Did I hear that you need a sniper?" A sultry voice whispered from the other side of the truck. Bryant jumped and scrambled away. DSR 50 gave a seductive giggle as the he recovered.
"Goddamn it! Where did you come from?"
"I would be more than willing to help, Commander." The doll said with her usual tone. DSR 50 ran a hand down her rifle slowly. "You'll find that I am just as effect at a distance as I am up close." Yulia took a step back. The other doll bit her lip and gently cupped Yulia's cheeks. "And I would absolutely adore the chance to spend more time with this cutie." Bryant sighed.
"Commander Ursula is going to need your help, DSR. She told me as much yesterday."
"Oh? Is that so? Perhaps we could keep this to ourselves?" Bryant narrowed his eyes at the doll, who returned a sultry gaze. Yulia was still being held by her cheeks and was getting more flustered by the second. "Or, maybe we could come to an…agreement?" Yulia let out an embarrassed shriek as DSR 50 pulled her closer. Bryant was about to say something. His shoulders eased back and a curious smile flashed for the briefest of moments.
"Perhaps we can, DSR 50….perhaps we can." He turned his back to them and started walking towards his post. "I've picked a special spot for you two." A shudder went through DSR and – by proxy – Yulia. He ignored them and kept walking. "Hurry up and get ready." He pulled out his phone and dialed a number that the dolls couldn't trace.
The Helicopter blades whirled overhead as the dolls prepared to launch. Ursula jumped into Bryant's chopper in a frenzy. "SF forces have redeployed around the city! There is a single Griffon signal near the center."
"Our doll." Ursula nodded. "And that means our battle plan changed." Ursula nodded again.
"My backup team will launch from the Northwest to support M4's team. They will deploy from the landing pad just north of the city."
"I'll move the decoy teams to the abandoned Command post to the east."
"Teams?"
"Yulia and DSR are going to scout the nearby areas to keep an eye on Sangvis reinforcements." Bryant said without making eye contact.
"That wasn't the plan." Bryant shrugged softly.
"Plans change." Ursula couldn't help but chuckle.
"You're an ass, Bryant." Ursula adjusted her headpiece and connected to the rest of the dolls. "Alright ladies, we have less than ten minutes 'till go time. Let's get this done and bring ST AR 15 home." The crew was ready and the plans were in motion. The helicopter blades whirred softly overhead. Bryant looked out his window and caught his breath. There was a flicker of movement down below. Not SF, not Griffon, but certainly not human. Looks like everything is in place, He thought with a grimace.