With Chuck’s semi safe for the time being, she turned her attention to the other side to help Will. He still had the driver window open a crack, and traded shots with the last remaining robot attached to Renaldo’s cabin. Will shut the window after he took each shot, shielding the interior.
When he opened it once more, it was to discover the robot lying flat on Renaldo’s roof.
“Got it!” Renaldo said. “First in the mouth grill, and then the power cell! What do you think of me now, Warden? Now do you believe me when I tell you I got your back?”
“I always did,” Rhea transmitted.
She aimed at the robots clinging to the tank portion of Renaldo’s vehicle and drove them to the far side.
“Chuck, you all right?” she sent. “You’re kind of quiet out there.”
“As good as can be expected,” Chuck said. “I’ve taken a hit to the side, but I’ve patched it up. Should be fine.”
She glanced at Gizmo’s feed. The robots that hung onto her own tanker were still firing with impunity at the convoy’s escorts.
She turned her attention to the overhead map and zoomed out a bit. The ruins were very close now.
She glanced at Will. “Can you have Gizmo rotate slightly to the left. Toward our destination?”
Gizmo’s video feed swiveled toward the destination. The jagged skeletons of skyscrapers promptly ate up the skies, but the outskirts were still another two minutes away.
She returned her gaze to the overhead map, and the robots marked as clinging to their tanker.
With her pistol, she cleared the jagged glass of the window beside her, then leaned her body slowly outside. She spotted a robot on top of the tanker, several meters away. It had its attention turned skyward.
She fired, bringing it down.
The other robots weren’t in view from her current position.
She pulled back inside and glanced at Will.
“Swap with me,” she said.
Will shook his head. “I got this.” He opened his window and leaned outside in turn, firing.
Rhea glanced at the overhead map, and saw another red dot turn black on the tanker as a robot was eliminated.
“I can’t see the other two from my current angle,” Will said.
“Neither can I.” She glanced at the shattered pane beside her. “I think I’m going to get out there.”
She holstered the weapon and grabbed the edges of the window.
“Is that safe?” Will asked.
“No,” she replied. “But I’ll keep moving.”
“I’ll go with you,” Horatio said.
She rested a hand on the robot’s lap. “No. Stay here. Cover me.”
She pulled her hood low, not wanting to be identified when she was out there: if the mayor knew she was among them, she, his archenemy, the attack might become decidedly more deadly.
She hauled herself through the window and swung her body acrobatically onto the rooftop. She withdrew her pistol.
Around her, the convoy drones weaved to and fro, darting in and out between the enemy units. The pickup trucks continued to fire as well, providing a diversion—without them, Rhea would’ve been shot down the instant she emerged on the roof.
Remaining crouched, she rose slightly so that she could peer past the edges of the tank portion behind her. She could see the remaining two robots, clinging near the aft portion of the steel cylinder. One of them was aiming at the surrounding pickups, the other…
She ducked, and a plasma bolt from that one shot past her head.
Aware of how exposed and vulnerable she was for every second she remained out there, she holstered the weapon and quickly lowered herself onto the deck in front of the fifth wheel coupling, in the narrow gap between the rear of the cab and the front of the trailer, and then pulled herself beneath the undercarriage. The gimbaled wheels bounced on either side of her.
She glanced at the forward section and confirmed that there were no rocks or other hazards in their path that would rudely rip her from the undercarriage, then made her way backward. She moved quickly, knowing that the situation could change in a heartbeat.
She reached the rear section and pulled herself onto the aft bumper. She climbed the rungs there, until she reached the top. She withdrew her pistol and slowly aimed it past the topmost edge.
The robot that had fired at her was still aiming at the cabin. But it must have spotted her, because it quickly flung its arms toward her…
Rhea fired, bringing it down. Gripping the pistol between her teeth, she quickly climbed higher, and as the second robot came into view, she ripped the weapon out of her mouth and brought it to bear.
The movement attracted the target’s attention, and it spun around to face her, but it was too late: Rhea fired and terminated the robot.
She glanced at the tankers on both sides and confirmed that none of the other robots were in sight, then holstered the weapon and scrambled back down.
She pulled herself below the undercarriage. She heard a loud buzzing coming from behind a moment later. Looking over her shoulder, she realized an enemy drone had descended to her level.
Its weapon turrets swiveled toward her…
8
Before Rhea could withdraw her pistol and fire, one of the escorting pickup trucks shot down the drone. She exhaled in relief.
“Thank you, whoever did that,” she transmitted.
“Better get inside here quick,” Will sent. “We’re entering the city. And the terrain is slightly more… technical.”
The sound profile changed, with nearby buildings reflecting the noise of the passing vehicles.
The loose brick from a rubble pile struck her underside. Another loose rebar slammed into her shoulder, and nearly ripped her from the undercarriage. She increased her pace and reached the deck. She pulled herself onto it, and then swung onto the ledge beneath the door.
Horatio opened it and helped her inside.
An enemy drone swooped down toward her, and Rhea slammed the door behind her. The
