In the aisle, Four was straining with the effort of moving the device. Her head was down, arms braced against the guillotine’s far side, legs pistoning on the floor. She was working so hard she wasn’t paying attention to the judge’s sermon.
And Taka had noticed. As the front of the guillotine began to draw level with him, Taka nodded imperceptibly. It was minute, the tiniest inclination of his head, but the meaning was clear.
Now.
Addison took a deep breath.
“Mr. Moore,” the judge said, eyes dancing. “I’m waiting.”
“Sorry, I was miles away there,” he replied, breezily. “Waiting for what now?”
The judge frowned at his change in tone.
“I asked what you thought of our new machine?”
“What do I think?” Addison repeated, rising slowly to his feet. “Well now, an abhorrent evil death machine at the end of the world built by madmen. Hmm...?”
The frown deepened.
“Please speak efficiently.”
“How’s this for efficiency,” Addison replied, flashing the judge a grin. “I think you’re a shitstain.”
In the pause that followed, the only sound was the creaking of the guillotine wheels. Four was still moving, too occupied to hear Addison’s big performance, but the rest of court was staring at him open-mouthed. The judge, Two, Five, even the drone had stopped bobbing, training the dark circle of its camera on Addison’s stand.
“I beg your pardon?” One spluttered.
“You heard,” Addison said, drawing himself to his full height. “I said you and all your pals are shitstains.”
The judge frowned.
Then smiled.
Then grimaced.
Then sneered.
“What is this?” he thundered, as his face flickered uncontrollably, the device in Addison’s spine unable to keep up. “What is the meaning of this?”
“Shit. Stain,” Addison repeated, drawing out the syllables. “I thought its meaning would be obvious, but perhaps you need me to provide some historical or cultural context?”
“How dare you.”
“Oh, piss off.”
In retrospect, Addison wished he’d said something a little less crude, something grand and befitting of his final performance, but in the end shock value did the trick. It kept everyone’s attention on him just long enough for Four to draw level with Taka.
And then everything happened very quickly.
God, Taka was fast.
In one fluid movement, he was on his feet and elbowing Four savagely in the temple. Even as she crumpled to the floor he was moving, up onto his chair and over the bench, pouncing on a stunned Two. A brutal punch to the throat and the leveller was down, sprawling face first over his table.
Across court, the mantis drone was reacting. As Two collapsed it was already whipping round, weapons telescoping out. But as it did, the blue lights of its pincers flickered for a split-second. The power drain lasted only for a moment, but it caused the drone to dip to its left, scraping the witness stand. It righted itself almost immediately but it was all the time Taka needed. Even as it levelled out, he was catapulting off the prosecutor’s table towards it.
Addison saw it in slow motion: the drone rising, Taka soaring, the judge screaming, Hannah frozen, a dazed Thibault dragging himself to his feet, something sharp glinting in Taka’s hand...
Time sped up again.
There was a sickening crunch as Taka hit the drone head on. His momentum barrelled him over the top, but even as limbs and needle-tipped appendages lashed out, Taka smashed whatever he was holding down into the machine’s carapace. There was a flash of electricity and suddenly man and machine were on the ground, grappling and tearing at each other.
Seven seconds had elapsed.
“Stop this!” Judge One screamed, face contorted in panic. “Stop this at once!”
Addison’s turn. As he jumped down to the floor, the noise in the room surged. Taka was screaming, the drone was emitting a high-pitched wail and the pounding in the walls was louder than ever, but Addison knew what to do.
He cornered Five at his defence table. As he approached, the leveller raised his hands in surrender. Addison had just enough time to feel sorry for him – he had after all been the kindest – but this was no time for mercy. He punched the man in the stomach as hard as he could, and the leveller doubled over, neutralised.
That left One. The judge was still behind his bench, shouting down at Taka and the drone. The machine was thrashing, crackling and flailing its weapons, but Taka had it pinned with his legs, stabbing, tearing, rending at it with his free hands. He was covered in blood, wounded all over, but he was relentless.
And it was working. Armour plates were shearing off, piping and cabling clattering to the ground. As Addison advanced on the judge, Addison saw Taka’s makeshift weapon, one arm of the augmentation glasses sharpened to a bloody point, fly off to one side.
“Returnee!” a voice cried.
Addison span around. It was Four, swaying in the aisle. Blood was streaming from her temple but she had her pistol aimed at his face.
“Get on the floor!” she screamed, “Get on the floor or I will end you!”
Instinctively, Addison raised his hands.
“It’s dead, remember!” Taka yelled.
The drone was flailing, sparking randomly, but Taka was still ripping at it, pulling its mechanical insides apart like they were nothing more than blood and gristle.
“Comply!” Four screamed, shaking the pistol.
There was a sputtering noise and an acrid smell. Taka screamed in triumph. The other half of the glass shiv was now embedded in the drone’s eye.
“She hasn’t fired!” Taka screamed, raising a bloodied fist. “Addison, move!”
He was right.
Four hadn’t fired, and the delay had become obvious.
Realising her game was up, the leveller screamed and rushed him, swinging the pistol like a hammer. But she was slow, wounded, and as Addison jerked aside she tripped over his outstretched foot. She stumbled to the floor and Addison’s shoe found the back of her head. He kicked and kicked until he felt a solid connection. Four’s head snapped back, blood spattering across the floor, and she fell still.
“Thank you for complying,” Addison muttered, stepping over her body
At the front, the fight was all but over. On the judge’s
