A blur ran past and around us. “Kitty’s right,” Christopher called. “Per the OVS, whoever Kitty’s fighting is not fully organic.”
“Android, ninety-nine percent confirmation,” Tito said. Heard some worried muttering. “No one ever gets a hundred percent, Kitty, android or organic. Clothing, fillings, and so forth.”
“Awesome.”
Gladys went into a staff-fighting stance then launched herself at me.
I could fight with a staff one-handed, but it wasn’t easy. She used her staff to knock mine out of my hand. It went flying. Decided I’d had enough and I went for my Glock.
Blocked her staff with the mitt. We were very close to each other. I’d been practicing and was able to flip off the safety with one hand. Did so, slammed my Glock into the side of her head, and fired.
She was definitely an android, and I knew this not simply due to the fact that we’d been fighting all this time and she hadn’t tried to get the gun out of my pants, but because she didn’t die or stop trying to kill me.
No worries. Mom had worked with me on rapid-firing techniques and, like Christopher, she didn’t really ever say, “Good enough, we can stop training now.” Shot several more rounds into her head, which staggered her back a bit. Then did a line of fire from her head straight down.
Clip emptied, Android Gladys was still up, but clearly malfunctioning. At least I took her jerking around like she was having a major seizure to be a malfunction, since I doubted anyone had created an android that would try to do the shimmy as either an offensive or defensive technique.
Rahmi and Rhee got back into the act. Rhee grabbed her staff and retrieved it from Android Gladys while Rahmi grabbed Android Gladys’ head. Never let it be said that the Amazons weren’t hella strong. She ripped Android Gladys’ head off her body.
Finally the body dropped. “We need to get that head to a lab for study,” Tito said.
Considered everything that was going on. “Oh, crap. Rhee, take the other end of the body.” I grabbed the feet. “Rahmi, keep the head. Come with me, as fast as possible!”
Adriana had the door open, meaning she’d made the same leap I had. We were closer to the bottom levels than the top. And the top had our people milling about waiting to kill us. But I doubted Algar wanted this in his pipe system.
However, the fifteenth floor also housed major incarceration. And if we lost one cell, it was better than losing people or isolation.
Headed down at the fastest hyperspeed I could manage. Found the first open cell, we tossed the body and head in, and I slammed the door.
We were just in time. Because the android parts exploded as the door closed.
It was a hell of a big explosion, and it blew the door out. Which blew the three of us back.
I wasn’t a fan of slamming into a wall. It hurt like hell. Unlike the guys, it didn’t knock me, or the princesses, out. But the wind was definitely knocked out of me. From what I could tell, it was the same for Rahmi and Rhee. And I’d only heard one explosion and frankly expected two.
On the plus side, my earbuds were still in and my iPod was still playing. So I had that going for me.
Thankfully, someone had followed us. Three someones. Serene picked me up, Claudia took Rahmi, and Lorraine grabbed Rhee.
As they ran us to the stairwell the second explosion went off. Couldn’t be sure but it sounded bigger than the first. It definitely rocked the girls, but all three kept their feet and didn’t drop their cargo. As part of said cargo, I was particularly grateful.
Hoped I hadn’t destroyed this entire level, particularly because the Lair was on this level. But better the level than all of us.
“Go girl power,” I said as Claudia slammed the stairwell door shut and Serene put me down.
“That’s the best android yet,” Lorraine said without preamble. “Because it was around all of us and no one thought that Gladys was acting odd or anything.”
“Until, you know, she went crazy,” Claudia said. “But Al Dejahl was in the building and we just figured she was mind controlled again.”
“It’s nice to know that our luck just stays consistent, isn’t it? I see the League of Evil Geniuses has regrouped and re-formed and is back, bigger and better than ever.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Claudia said. “You up to going back upstairs?”
“Sure. Princesses?”
They confirmed they were back in fighting form, so the six of us zipped up. Perhaps not as quickly as we’d zipped down, but still, we were zippy and not dragging, or blown up, so I felt I could toss another one to the win column.
Arrived to see Tito wanding everyone and having Adriana wand him as well. Gave us the “over here” motion, so we six went and got wanded, too.
“Thankfully, everyone on this floor is who we think they are,” Tito said.
“That’s a lot of people.”
“I started checking as soon as we identified Gladys as an android.”
“Good thinking.” Looked around. One person was conspicuously missing. Looked around again. Make that two. “Where are Jeff and James?”
CHAPTER 39
“I’M RIGHT HERE.”
Spun around to see Jeff looking beat up but otherwise alive and well. Wasn’t the right time to throw myself into his arms shouting, “You’re alive!” But I wanted to.
He gave me a small smile. “I’d like it, but yeah, not the right time.”
“Thought emotions were blocked here.”
“They are. Read your expression.”
“Go you on the good husband points. Where’s James?”
“In Security Main. Where we need to get back to.”
“You need adrenaline.”
“Not right now.”
“You’re a liar about the need for speed.”
“Probably. But that needs to wait. We have other issues.”
“Jeff, can you hear me?” Reader’s voice was on the com.
“Yeah, James.”
“I’ve got the shields down. I’m calling in containment units from Caliente Base. What floors do we need contained?”
“Just the ground floor.”
“You cleared the others?” I asked.
“The lower levels were empty.”
“But when we got to this level and found Gladys and the rest of her team waiting for us, we couldn’t exactly keep on going up,” Christopher said. “If you cleared the facility down to here, though, we should be good.”
White and I exchanged a look. “We didn’t,” I admitted.
“Why not?” Jeff asked.
“We knew where to go,” White replied. “Your wife’s instincts.”
“Fabulous,” Jeff groaned. “We need those levels searched and cleared, then, James.”
“James, everyone on the top floor is armed with an automatic or semiautomatic weapon. Most of them are A-Cs.”
“Got it. Agents from Caliente Base coming in riot gear. I have a floater aligning near you, stay out of its way.”
“Tell them they need to disarm and bang heads,” Jeff said. “Literally.”
“Why are we banging heads?” I asked.
“I second the question,” Reader said.
“To try to clear the heads of those of our people who are still under the mind control,” White said. “Apparently, as Adriana showed us, heavy blows to the head dislodge my brother’s mind control.”
“Ah, the Hawkeye Technique. Or maybe it should be called the Black Widow Technique.” Wasn’t willing to call Ronaldo Loki. Loki was a compliment I wasn’t willing to hand Ronaldo.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, baby.”
“Really? You saw the movie. With me. But anyway.” Trotted over and retrieved my purse. “Chuckie, can you verify that my purse isn’t containing things it shouldn’t?” Handed him said purse.
“Oh, yes, ma’am. Anything else? Foot rub? Latte?”