"I did. I wanted to make sure there wasn't any bad blood between us. I wouldn't want to make an enemy out of you if I can help it."
"You have no need to worry, Hammerhand," Scar replied in a subdued tone. "I know who you are now and the fact that it is in your nature to help the less fortunate. In fact, there is a great deal that I've come to learn about you. None of it was really what I expected, given how you fight, but I'm not the kind of man to judge too much."
He raised an eyebrow. The word had spread already, likely thanks to Luther17, although he wasn't quite sure how they would have heard of his reputation. While they had made a point to spread the word that the Knights Mechanica were there to help people in need and it had certainly come to this area, what were the chances that it would make it into a prison?
Either the word of the Knights Mechanica had spread more than he could have ever hoped for or the other Knights who had been captured with him had talked. He wasn't sure whether to feel annoyed or pleased.
"Well, I'm glad there's no intended violence between us," Hammerhand said, leaned forward, and rested his arms on the table. "I have the feeling that could end very badly for me,"
"You and me both," Scar muttered and chuckled. "I'll have the pretty little keepsakes you gave me for a while. And I’ll wear them every day too."
"That was because I had surprise on my side. You didn’t expect a fair fight from the likes of me. It seems to me that would change if we ever came to blows again."
His companion looked pensive for a moment before he nodded. "Sure, I suppose. It still don't mean I want us to come to blows, though. But no matter. I had the feeling you wanted more than to make peace between you and me."
"What gave you that feeling?"
"Honestly? Luther17 did when he approached me. I wondered where the little fuck grew his balls from all of a sudden and realized it could only be you. So, Hammerhand, tell me why you wanted to have this talk."
He rubbed his cheek gently, where he could feel bristle already beginning to grow. It would be a pain in the ass to shave it off if he ever piloted his Excalibur again.
When, not if, he told himself. When.
"I mostly wanted to discuss hypotheticals. You have men with you, yes? Those who would follow your actions should you need them to?"
Scar narrowed his eyes, his expression stern as he tried to decide where the conversation might go. "Sure. They're not quite as loyal as your people might be but they'll have my back. Why do you ask?"
Hammerhand leaned a little closer and lowered his voice as much as possible while still being audible to the other man. "Would they have your back in the event of a hypothetical escape from this prison?"
The larger man finally realized what he was getting at. "Why would they be? What future would be available to them after? They'd only be rounded up and shot in the city."
"What kind of future would encourage them to support a hypothetical escape plan?" he insisted.
Scar shrugged, the gesture a little jerky due to the tension in his massive shoulders. "A chance at life without being criminalized. A real chance at freedom beyond the chain links, and the possibility of being more than what they were before they were locked up here."
Hammerhand nodded slowly. "I think that would be in the realm of possibility in this hypothetical escape plan."
"They'll not accept anything less, but if you can offer something like that—honestly offer it—then, and only then, would they help."
"I hope you know I'll hold you to that." He extended his hand to the man across the table from him.
Scar took it firmly. "Something like that would be in our interest too, you know. If it can be done, you can hold me to whatever the fuck you want. I could probably find other ways to help you too if you like."
"I might take you up on that too but for now, I think it best if all plans remained…" His voice trailed off when his gaze settled on one of the mechs patrolling the perimeter "Purely hypothetical."
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Jessica13 stood her ground for a moment and stared at the Prophet’s men while she tried to decide what to do. It wasn’t like she knew the man all that well, and what she did know about him had been gleaned when he was in a good mood.
From what she could tell now, though, the man was angry and so were his followers. They had taken losses, and those who were still mobile were in desperate need of repair.
"Wait," she said, climbed slowly out of her mech, and held her hands up.
"What are you doing?" Mini asked but she ignored him and moved forward to where the leader of the Desert Warriors could see her. He would remember her face better than her mech.
"If you all are here…where's Hammerhand? Where are the other Knights?"
A somewhat strained silence followed. From the way the mechs moved, she could tell they were discussing something they didn't want to share with her.
Robert7 and the other escapees climbed out of the APC as well. They were careful to keep their hands raised to avoid any possible hostilities, which resulted in more discussion among the Prophet’s forces.
Before too much time passed, however, the hatch of the Argonaut opened and the leader climbed out. None of the others did the same but he, at least, was willing to speak to them face-to-face.
As he approached, she could see the damage hadn't been restricted to his mech. He looked bruised and a couple of cuts around his eyes and mouth told of heavy impacts that had gotten through the
