"Are we still being watched?" she asked. It was difficult to locate Athena’s agents as she was afraid to constantly look around. Oddly enough, they were easy to identify as they all wore the same boots she had seen Barrios wearing.
Mini ran a quick scan of their surroundings and pinged the area quickly. "You are currently alone. Any who might be watching you would do so from a distance, so if you want to make your escape before nightfall, I would suggest that it might alert them to the fact that you're not who you've said that you are."
"Or I'm more comfortable spending the night outside of town," Jessica13 said. "Either way, can you tell if they'll watch us if we leave?"
"They could be watching us through a telescope," he pointed out. "There would be no way for my scans to pick up on something that low-tech."
"Well, we can't risk staying here for much longer," Jessica13 said. "We need to contact Tinker and Windchime."
"Do you think you could transmit everything to them over the radio waves while still keeping up appearances around here?"
She shook her head. "I doubt it, honestly. The people who were murdered in the church were caught transmitting to us, so I think we can safely assume there is some kind of monitor on all the comm lines. If they pick transmissions up, even if they are encrypted, they'll know there are unauthorized messages being sent out and there would be a very clear culprit."
Mini paused. "Barrios?"
"No, me!" Jessica13 grumbled. "Why would Barrios be a suspect?"
"Because his daughter broke the rules by telling you what happened?" Mini almost sounded offended. "Well, technically, his stepdaughter, I suppose. If he were to protect her from retaliation over talking about private Auburn matters to a stranger, he might look for a way out and thus summon help."
"I suppose it's possible," Jessica13 conceded doubtfully. "But not very likely. These men in the shiny boots appear to be in charge of this town, at least when Lady Hoot isn't here personally, and so I think he would be able to protect his stepdaughter without appealing for help from beyond their borders."
"Would you like me to run the statistical possibilities?" he asked.
She laughed. "No, I don't think that's necessary. I think we need to get out of the town and find Tinker and Windchime. I have no idea what they might be doing or planning, and anything they might be up to would be done better if they know the layout of the town, right?"
Mini paused as if assessing the statistical probabilities anyway.
"Yes, I suppose you are right," he said finally.
"Well then, that's what we'll do.” She nodded. “We’ll head to the edge of the town, hide in a location that makes it difficult for them to see us, and slip away."
"Very well."
She gradually moved to the corner of the town and once there, attempted to stay within the shadows of the buildings. Having to skulk and hide like this felt wrong, somehow, despite the fact that she’d wished she could do so earlier. The Knights had always been about helping people and there wasn't much subtlety to them. It applied especially when their leader piloted a massive mech that wielded a rocket-powered hammer.
"Run one more check for me to be safe," Jessica13 said and halted the Minato in the deepening shadows of one of the buildings at the edge of the town.
"You are still not being followed closely by anyone," Mini said. She knew for a fact that the AI would not show any kind of emotion, but she began to imagine some anyway. Frustration was what she imagined in his voice at that moment.
Once she felt more certain that she was alone, she crossed the final distance to the edge and into the wooded area surrounding the town of Auburn. She moved slowly and as naturally as possible, knowing that if anyone approached her and asked about her movements, she could simply say she intended to spend the night outside the town. It was the kind of oddity some expected from peddlers.
Fortunately, no one approached her. Mini kept the sensors activated to be sure and was able to confirm that she wasn’t followed as she headed deeper into the woods. Once she was under the full cover of the trees, she looked around to get her bearings so she could find Windchime and Tinker.
"Do you know where they are?" Jessica13 asked, unable to see much in the gathering darkness.
"The motion sensors don’t detect any nearby mechs," he said as they continued to move. "They will no doubt have remained where they had a good view of the town as you originally planned. I will indicate the last point where you saw them for reference."
Progress was slower in the fading light but eventually, she reached the position from which they had overlooked the town.
There was no sign of them, however, and she stopped abruptly.
"Where could they be?"
"Behind us," he said.
"What?"
"They are behind us and have leveled their weapons."
She began to turn cautiously when the two mechs stepped toward her. Windchime had drawn all four of his weapons and had them leveled at her.
"Is that you, lassie?" Tinker asked as he approached and circled warily.
His caution seemed unnecessary, although it was possible that the townsfolk had somehow found a way to pull her out of her mech and sent someone else in her stead. Common sense said it was unlikely as Mini would have stepped in to prevent that happening, and ordinary folks weren’t capable of standing up to him. Jessica13 was sure the AI would have disabled the Minato before he allowed someone else to take control of it.
With that said, they wouldn't know Mini well so wouldn't know how he would react. And, of course, they were entitled to make sure it really was her rather than simply accept things
