Chapter 46 - Manhunt
The gunfire raged outside as Alexander rolled out a map of the tower. Yulia and Elaine had come inside. Elaine ran up to Bryant and gave him a hug. He returned it and put a hand in Yulia's head. They remained quiet, simply relieved to be alive. Elaine was the first to speak.
"Yulia and I traced the signal. It's Griffin protocol, but it's running on one of your old authorization codes. Whoever did this knows doll tech: it's bouncing off of each unmanned unit and doll in the Spire. But, after a bit of digging, we found that they are at the midpoint junction." Bryant nodded. A distant explosion shook the room.
"That's good," Alexander said from the other side. "We just found the signal of the assassin. The doll will be heading in that general area, near the core elevator."
"So, we split up?" Yulia suggested.
"That's not a bad idea. I can send a Strelet with both of you."
"I'll stay here and manage the communications." Elaine said and pulled out a small radio. "I will ask one of the other dolls to lend me a hand."
"How will we get there? It's not very safe out there." Bryant asked, leaning over the map. "Can we get there from the maintenance tunnels?"
"For the first part, yes. But they don't go deep enough. It'll get you a room adjacent to the security room. From there, you can take the security elevator down to the junction." Alexander rubbed his chin.
"On second thought…..there is an emergency air duct. It's small, you'd need to crawl. But you and Yulia would be able to get to the proper level. Then I could send the Strelets to distract the enemy." He traced the route on the map. "I think, with the distraction, you'll be in the clear."
"Too risky. And I'm claustrophobic."
"Wait, Commander. I'll take the air duct. I can go after the signal and shut it down while you go after the assassin." It was risky. But if Yulia could shut down the signal, then things would be much easier. The reward was worth it.
"Fine," Bryant said with a sigh. He turned to Elaine. "I won't be able to lead her if I get into a fight. You have command authority for Yulia."
"Of course, Zachary. I'll keep her safe." The two of them opened their mouths to say something, but stopped. After a few more attempts, Bryant reached out and squeezed her hand before turning to leave.
He tossed off his suit coat and removed his tie before he knelt down to remove the safety grate in front of the air duct. Yulia nodded and climbed inside. "Be safe, USP. This mission cannot fail." The doll nodded quickly and began moving. Once she was out of sight, Bryant returned the grate cover and made his way to the maintenance tunnel.
After about an hour, Bryant and his Strelet bodyguard had arrived at the core checkpoint. His earpiece gave a brief squeal of static. Alexander spoke softly. "Bryant. You're at the designated location. The doll we've tracked is nearby, but we're unable to pinpoint exact locations with all the machinery near the core."
"Don't worry about it. I'll make it work." Bryant and his escort checked the surroundings as they slowly moved through the core. The platforms were narrow, and heavy support beams and complex machines were stacked on all sides around them. It was a noisy and terrifying area.
A woman stood at the intersection of three platforms. She had dark hair and heavy scarring on her body. One of her arms was prosthetic from the elbow down. She glared at Bryant coldly, but remained relaxed. A small black case sat by her feet. Both Bryant and the Strelet kept their aim on her. "Spire Security: identify yourself." Bryant called out.
The woman remained silent as another woman approached from one of the platforms. Bryant kept his gun trained on the first woman. The newcomer was definitely a doll. Light blonde hair, pale skin, and a rifle. "AN-94. You're just in time." The woman said as her doll approached.
"Sorry Ange. We ran into some issues." The doll raised her rifle towards Bryant.
"Don't worry about it. Our guests just arrived." Ange took a small step towards Bryant. "Listen, mister 'Spire Security', I'm kinda in a hurry." She took another step forward, and reached for her gun. Bryant went to squeeze the trigger.
The platform Bryant stood on shook violently, and his shot went wide. The other doll dropped behind them and rushed him. The Strelet intercepted her, and fired a shot. It missed, but it damaged one of the supports. The platform shifted and began to fall.
Bryant took a leap, but the dolls were busy fighting and dropped out of sight. The other doll vaulted over the rail and followed them down. Bryant struggled to bring his aim back towards Ange. Before he could, she had rushed towards him and kicked the gun out of his hand. He responded with a punch to the face, but she caught his metal arm with her own.
They continued to exchange blows, Bryant mostly on his back feet. He struggled to keep up with her, the gap in their training and styles was too big to be overcome. She continued to beat him until he was pushed to the end of the platform. She kicked his legs out from under him, sending him down.
He reached for the edge of the platform and caught it. His arm popped from the strain, and started to pull from his shoulder. He cried out in pain and let go, dropping down into the depths of the tower.