"What happened to you?" Jessica13 whispered and took a tentative step forward. "And what happened to Hammerhand?"
"I wish I knew," the man responded in a hoarse voice. "We were led into a trap, it seems. The tunnels were collapsed on me and mine. Some managed to escape, as you see, but many did not. Among those might be Hammerhand and his Knights. But enough questions from you. I would know why you are beyond the reaches of the Auburn township and escorting those who were clearly among the captured in the battle for the town."
Jessica13 could feel the full weight of the man's growing anger in his tone, even if the words themselves were fairly polite. She couldn't tell what he would do if she didn't answer the questions to his liking, but she was long past feeling ashamed for her actions. If she was killed for her choices, she would die with the knowledge that she had done the right thing.
"These men were going to be executed," she stated firmly and took a step forward. "They said that they were ecologists who were forced into combat by FEMA City and beyond that, they offered to help to lead us into the city in exchange for their lives. The people in the town refused them justice—or even a proper trial—or consideration for how they could help us in the long run and elected to simply kill them. I could not stand by and let it happen."
She wasn’t sure where the barrage of verbiage had come from, but she certainly meant every word of it.
The Prophet studied her for a few long seconds and his piercing gaze felt like it could cut right through her and see into what she really thought. The rest of his men stood in silence and made no attempt to add anything to the conversation, but she had a feeling they would kill her and the pilots without a second's hesitation if their leader told them to.
Finally, he turned his attention away from her and strode to where Robert7 and the FEMA City pilots stood. The young man stood at the front of the group and therefore appeared to receive the brunt of his attention.
"Is what the girl says true? Are you all from the Hall of Ecologists?"
It wasn't a name Jessica13 had heard before but Robert7 appeared to recognize it, judging by his look of surprise.
"I am. And seven of the others too. The rest were gathered from the Gene Bank and other sections of the area."
"What happened to those who fought at the side of Lady Hoot or who came from FEMA City?"
"Most of their wounded were taken back. Those who weren’t ran off with the raiders and tried to find another way to freedom. I wouldn't side with any of them if my life depended on it. Not anymore."
The Prophet nodded slowly and tilted his head in a challenge. "And why would we believe you?"
"I can't give you anything more than my word as well as a hidden way into the city. I can also tell you the exact radar wavelengths the Artillery Company Omega uses."
"Which company is that?"
"It's the one that operates the Heavy Katyusha platoons at the top of the city to defend it from assault."
Jessica13's eyebrows raised. "Why didn't you say anything like that before?"
"Why?" the Prophet asked and looked quickly at her, a little confused.
"If we know the exact wavelength, we'll be able to design radar chaff strips to match it. If we could get above and shower them, they wouldn't have any way to aim their cannons. They would literally have to fire blind."
The man looked at the rest of his group. She could see the realization slowly touch him and fully engage his interest. "This would make a full-frontal assault on the city possible. Still difficult, I suppose, but possible. That doesn't answer the question of how we'd be able to get the chaff over them, to begin with."
"You captured one of the weather balloons that were launched to attack Auburn," Robert7 reminded him.
"We did?" he asked.
Jessica13 narrowed her eyes. "In the first battle, yes, we brought one of them down. Before you arrived to aid us."
"It would be simple to repair it and use it to blind them with the chaff," the young continued.
The Prophet paused for a few seconds, and she could almost see the gears turning in his head. Whatever happened that had left him and his mechs in such a terrible condition clearly hung over him, and he wanted to make another attempt to attack the city.
"Very well," he stated finally and loomed over the two young people. "You two should go through this secret entrance, storm the central control facility, and open the city's blast doors. We can seize the spire and its elevators, but we may stall and fail if those doors hold."
Robert7 and Jessica13 shared a glance before she nodded. "I think that's possible. Difficult, but possible."
"I will have you know," he continued and shook his head, looking like he thought he might regret making this decision. “If this ends up a trap or a ruse, I will kill you, Robert7, and then you, Jessica13."
The man's steely gaze sent a chill down her spine. "I believe you."
Chapter Seventy
Hammerhand regretted any time he was forced to spend in his cell, but like the other prisoners, staying out in the simulated sunlight wasn't something he could enjoy all the time.
For now, he was in the tiny space that was a little too small to sleep in comfortably, and there was little he could do about it. The only option was to sit and wait in the hope that they wouldn't leave him there for too long.
There were plans he wanted to continue to work on. Besides, with the other prisoners around him, it was easier to let his mind drift and not focus on the issues that constantly plagued his mind. The echo of a single gunshot through a cavernous tunnel repeated
