Romi had finished cleaning Tranes’ wound and was preparing to apply a sealer solution. “Okay, bud, I’m gonna have to apply the sealant. This may sting a little, but you’ll regain some use of your arm and at the very least, it won’t fall off, okay? Get ready for it,” Romi said soothingly. Tranes nodded quietly, eyes wide in anticipation.
“Here goes nothing,” Romi said. Out of a cylinder came a thick, foamy substance that Romi inserted into the gaping wound in Tranes’ shoulder.
He let out in a blood curdling scream. The foam was painful, but it was necessary to stop the bleeding. The sealing foam completely stopped the bleeding. After a few minutes, Tranes was able to stand again.
“Officer Callum, escort Tranes to the vehicles and be on guard. Wait for our return,” Daav ordered.
“Yessir!” Officer Callum replied.
“The rest of you; formation Sigma A! We’re going hunting,” Daav said with a menacing smile. The rest of the TEAR unit prepared for confrontation.
“Sir, I’ve picked up freshly made tracks but they’re rapidly disappearing, sir,” Officer Violet said.
“Whoever attacked our guys is a professional. It’s got to be that intruder. We bring them in at all costs. Let’s follow the trail before it fades,” Daav said. The unit began to jog, following the disappearing footsteps. They soon ran into a dead end.
“Sir, the footprints seem to go up this wall, sir,” Violet said.
“I’ve seen stranger things. Get your E-Graps ready. We’re goin’ up too,” Daav stated.
From their military grade utility belts, their pulled out their energy grapples, or ‘E-Graps’, for short. It consisted of a spear attached to a coil rope, made from neon energy and a magnetic field. It could extend up to seventy feet and could be used in a variety of situations; attacking and binding an opponent, saving someone from a dangerous fall, and scaling buildings.
Each member aimed their E-Graps upwards and shot at the wall. The energy coil materialized and they tugged on it for good measure. They each pressed the coil function on their belts. The coil reeled them up to the rooftop.
“Sir, it appears that the footsteps stop right here,” Officer Violet said bewilderedly.
Lt. Daav abruptly put his hand up, signaling for his team to stop. They readied their weapons. Lt. Daav’s instincts were that of a predator. He smelled danger, despite there being no clear evidence of any. Daav, using a series of hand signals, communicated to his team to fan out. But before they could comply, a powerful burst of compressed energy cut right down the middle of the building. The foundation of the building began to collapse. Dust and debris blasted upward. While the team made their escape, Daav noticed someone standing by the rooftop access door. When did he get there? How did I not notice him before? Shit! he thought. Using his enhanced vision, he could see that the intruder was wearing white armor. Before he could get a clear visual, the attacker sent out a powerful jamming signal, rendering everyone’s visual feed temporarily useless.
Unwilling to accept imminent death, Daav and his team narrowly escaped, using their E-Graps to attach themselves to another building. A few of the officers sustained injuries from the falling debris. Despite the dire situation, Lt. Daav maintained an unusually menacing grin. He was truly enjoying himself. As Lieutenant Daav crashed safely into the adjacent warehouse, he fired off his weapon in the direction of the attacker, but they were long gone by then.
“Shit! The fuck was that? You assholes in one piece?” Daav asked. He felt exhilarated; the man had nerves of steel.
“Barely,” Officer Tona said while catching his breath.
“Well that was a shit sandwich! Fuck. We gotta report back to HQ, stat,” Daav said.
The crew headed back to their vehicles, left West Andromeda and headed back to HQ. Mission; Failure.
CHAPTER 22
---usr/systems/server-x/THE NEW DEAL---
Lt. Daav and the rest of the TEAR unit arrived back at headquarters around four fifteen a.m. Tranes was carted off to the ER while the rest of the team returned to General Cain’s quarters for debriefing.
“What happened out there, soldiers?” an impatient General Cain asked.
Lt. Daav stepped forward with the report. “Sir, we gathered some intel on the clone farm intruder. It looked like there was heavy android activity in the warehouses as well. But before we could collect any more evidence we were ambushed,” Daav said.
“Ambushed?” General Cain asked.
“Sir, yes, sir. The ambush resulted in Tranes’ severe injury. We narrowly escaped with our lives. This person was good, well trained, and possessed powerful capabilities. Before we could ID the threat, the perp had already launched a preemptive attack on us,” Daav said.
“Even you were caught by surprise? Did you get visuals on the target?” General Cain asked.
“Barely. I’m uploading recorded footage from our feed to your holo-display.” Daav said.
The general saw the incident from Lt. Daav’s perspective. He studied the moment of the attack. He rewound the footage to the spot in the feed when the attacker appeared and paused the frame. He was concerned and visibly upset; his fists were tightly clenched.
“Sir?” Daav probed.
“TEAR unit members are dismissed. Recharge and be ready for my call. Lieutenant Daav, remain here, please,” General Cain ordered.
“Yes, sir!” the officers said, before marching out of the office.
“Sir, what’s really the issue?” Daav probed.
“We have a potential leak. This person you saw. I recognize them from a top-secret project we put on ice nearly ten years ago. A high stakes project between us, C.E.L.L. and Quantum Corp.
“The Adriel Project, right?” Daav said, taking the words right out of the General’s mouth.
“Why am I not surprised? Of course, you would know of such confidential information,” General Cain admitted.
“Sir,” a flattered Daav replied.
“You do realize how serious this is, right?” General Cain added.
“Well, I’d say we’re caught snugly between being screwed and fucked now that that
