Chapter 47 - Echo [Part 2]
Yulia dropped down from the air duct as quietly as she could. She looked around quickly. "All clear." She said over her communicator and hurried quietly towards the source of the broadcast. Her shoes clicked softly on the metal flooring. She paused just outside the door.
"Yulia. Three signatures in the room. One human, two dolls." Elaine said over the radio. Yulia nodded and kicked in the door. A man sat at a console, watching the chaos on several monitors. The dolls were not in sight. Yulia raised her gun towards him.
"Spire Security. Put your hands up." The man ignored her and continued watching. "I will shoo-"
"It's hideous." He said, his eyes drifting over the monitors. "These machines…you dolls…you're disgusting. You kill without feeling. Kill because you are ordered. You don't fear. You don't regret. And it shows in how you fight. You toy with your prey. It's exploitable."
"Turn around slowly." Yulia said. The man did as he was told. His eyes were cold and empty. His face was scarred, wrecked and disgusting to look at. But he smiled. "Put your hands up!"
"No." Before she could shoot, a small hand grabbed her gun and pushed it away. Yulia turned to kick her attacker, but she was blocked and pushed back. Her gun hit the ground. Yulia didn't care. She faced her attacker and froze. She was looking at a heavily damaged and repaired USP Compact model T-Doll. A feeling of dread and unease washed over her.
"There it is: the fear." The man said before the doll renewed her assault on Yulia. Yulia fought defensively, as her combat systems still registered the doll in front of her as an ally. As she tried to correct that, the other doll continued the attack. "I found this one. Broken. Discarded. Forgotten. So I made it what it was always meant to be. A weapon."
Yulia flinched as part of her arm bent when she blocked an attack. The other doll had been upgraded. The damage output had been increased at the cost of stability. The doll's hand was mangled and missing fingers after the attack. Yulia's communicator beeped. "Reinforcements nearly there, Yulia. Hold on."
The other doll froze mid attack. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped as the Strelets burst in with their guns raised. The man dropped out of sight just as they began opening fire indiscriminately. Yulia dropped after taking a hit. Her doppelganger was shredded to bits, and the rest of the room was filled with holes. Something flew from behind a desk. Yulia braced for the explosion.
The actual blast was weak compared to the electronic attack that followed. Yulia froze up, unable to properly command her body. The Strelets stayed standing, and began shuffling towards where the cover where the terrorist hid. Three shots pierced the silence, and one of the Strelets fell back. The other turned to look at its fallen comrade before another volley of shots dropped the second.
The terrorist stood up and walked over to Yulia. She was still trying to recover from the attack. He squatted down in front of her. "You and I will be having a chat. Until then…" he grabbed a handful of her hair and began to drag her off. "Let's find somewhere quieter."