Drej hoists Rennin to his feet keeping a firm grip on his arms. The HolinMech says nothing, acknowledges no one, while taking Rennin out of the toilets and back onto the field where the rest of the unified Raston Squad are waiting. They’re all shocked to see Rennin restrained; Carmine, Sabre and Jawa even more so when they see Drej’s face. “A HolinMech?” cries Sabre.
Caufmann’s face is dark. “Why did you take your helmet off?”
“It’s poorly crafted and interferes with my night vision.”
“You’re Arca Drej,” exclaims Jawa.
After some very generalized explanations, the Horizon Military contingent are filled in well enough to understand that Arca Drej’s presence is to remain a secret. Antares remains concealed in her mask, for a CryoZaiyon would be impossible to explain.
Rennin Farrow, in the meantime, is in serious trouble over the murder of the three Beta HolinMechs. He is handcuffed to one of the seats in the spectator stands.
Caufmann walks over to him and stares at him for a few moments. Rennin looks up. “We have to stop meeting like this.”
For another few moments Caufmann just looks at him. “What were you thinking?”
“She recognised the gun I was carrying and knew it was me who killed her friends.”
“No, Rennin, I mean with killing the three soldiers.”
Rennin’s eyes don’t flicker, he doesn’t even blink. “They were there to kill my wife.” She wasn’t at the time, he knows, but it’s not like that makes much difference now.
“It’s still senseless murder.”
Rennin smirks, “Murdering murderers?”
“The lieutenant wants to take you to their HQ in Whitechapel to answer for it. Mia wants you dead.”
“And you?”
Caufmann looks over to the others that are sitting together. Drej has his helmet back on. Del is standing a few feet away from the rest of them, sniper rifle at the ready. “If they were there to kill Del…” something cruel flashes over his expression just for a moment. “I would have done the same as you.”
Rennin nods once. “That’s what I wanted to know.”
“But I would have gotten rid of the damned gun.”
Rennin laughs. “I’m a sucker for craftsmanship.”
“You are in real trouble here, Ren.”
“I know.”
Caufmann stops looking at the others and fixes his scarred eyes on Rennin. “You were going to cut her throat for avenging her friends?”
Rennin closes his eyes and frowns. “No. I was going to kill her because she pulled a gun on me.”
“And Drake?”
Rennin shrugs subtly. “Hadn’t decided. If he took a real shot at me I would have sliced his neck open when I rushed passed him to go for Saker.”
“That answer will not help your case.”
Rennin looks at Caufmann with more conviction than he has ever had. “Have a good look outside and ask yourself if I’m the worst this world has. I was defending someone I care about and I’d kill them all to protect her; I’d even kill you. Not in a straight fight against a CryoZaiyon, maybe, but I’d find a way.”
In all the times Caufmann and Rennin have talked throughout the years, this is the first time that the doctor has been genuinely shaken, and it takes him a moment to gather his thoughts. “Saker was only doing what you’d do, Rennin.”
“She would have done exactly what I did that night. She’s more like me than I am.”
Caufmann nods then looks to his forearm gauntlet. “Did you hear all that, Mia?”
Rennin’s head shoots up and his eyes are wide with shock. There’s a pause but Mia’s voice comes over the small speaker in the device. “Yes, Doctor Caufmann.”
Rennin’s head drops, resigned. “Oh you… you mechanical bastard.”
Caufmann can’t suppress a smile. “What do you want to do?” he asks her.
There’s a long pause. “You were going to unlock him anyway, so do it.”
Caufmann closes his gauntlet then steps over to Rennin. He moves to remove the restraints but they’re already open. The doctor looks him in the eye, “Stand up.”
Rennin does so. “You didn’t seriously think I was going to be ‘taken’ to Whitechapel, did you?”
“If you’d managed to unlock them, why didn’t you just go?”
Rennin smiles again, “Go where?”
“Point taken.” Caufmann inclines his head and they start walking back towards the rest of Raston Squad. “Sabre will still want to take you in.”
“I’ll keep that in mind next time he tells me he loves me.”
Caufmann shakes his head and nods to Sabre when they get back to the group. “Anything you want to say?”
Sabre looks at Rennin then to Caufmann and back to Rennin. “If they were my boys, I’d have your head.”
“Noted,” says Rennin.
“But I suppose we’d all do the same and we’ve got bigger problems waiting in the streets.”
“He saved my life, he could have been killed but he saved my life,” says Carmine.
Drake stirs slightly but his right hand is shaking. “I don’t know. Everything’s fucked up.”
Mia is silent for a while. “You even saved my life, but I find it hard to believe you find value in anything, Farrow,” she says, accentuating the F in his name derisively. She walks over to him and takes his left hand. He doesn’t resist. She peels back the finger stub of his glove so she can see his wedding band. Mia is quite surprised that he actually has one.
The Beta HolinMech drops his hand and walks away.
An hour passes. They’ve taken the body out of the restroom where the soldier from Gunship Genome committed suicide. Rennin has been given a wide berth by the human troops, but as he grazes around the playing field he imagines what it’d be like to be a sports star. He would probably have had a free pass out of the city.
Del follows him around silently. Occasionally Rennin looks behind himself to see the android juggernaut seemingly mimicking his movements. Despite Del appearing rather docile at the moment, Rennin feels on edge when he realises all the impact craters around the ground must have been from Del’s Sunbreaker photon rifle.
Rennin takes a deep breath of the fresh grass and Del imitates him. Rennin gathers that Del is probably trying to speak to him but without a screen he can’t know for sure. Del continues to copy his movements, stop and face him without moving at all, then move again when Rennin does. The android is pacing now, seemingly frustrated at something.
Caufmann is over at the gunship monitoring more sieges springing up around the city. Raston Squad will be called in again soon. The silence within the eye of the storm is about to pass.
Whitechapel has been under serious assault but the troops are holding them back for now. Some smaller fights have sprung up yet military losses aren’t anywhere near as bad as the first campaign. Caufmann is gladdened by the fact that the soldiers are adapting quickly.
Rennin looks around Raston Squad. He can imagine that they are holding up the best of all due to their android advantage but even here there are serious problems. Unrest, an unpredictable deserter HolinMech, an untested eight-foot combat model, a suicide, a Beta HolinMech on the verge of a mental collapse, an unstable sniper and two CryoZaiyons risking discovery. He looks over to Drake, who is wandering near the edge of the field with Mia. Studying Drake he knows that some people, should they even survive, won’t ever truly leave this city.
Drake has just told Mia about the moment he shot his father. His eyes are closed and he’s leaning on the fence. He didn’t need to tell her about the night he shot the little girl, she was in the same building. Mia is shocked but is rarely short of words. “I know he was an arsehole but…” she shakes her head.