They barely registered that someone was in the room with them as Jessica13 pivoted and brought the sword to bear on the closest man near the radios.
She had aimed at his neck and struck perfectly. The vibroblade was sharp enough to cut without being active, and the power behind the blow was more than sufficient to sever his head.
His companions looked shocked to see the mech appear as if from nowhere. The Minato was smaller than most but in the confines of the room and to the two men who weren't in mechs themselves, it was dauntingly large.
The first one darted from his chair and scrabbled for the radio on the table as well as a small, sharp weapon. He couldn't hope to use it effectively against the mech, but he was the first one to be knocked back. Jessica13 swung her blade and caught him in the midsection. A sharp crack confirmed that his ribs were shattered by the impact which hurled him across the room and into the wall where he crumpled.
She had no chance to bring her sword to bear before the last man was able to snatch his radio but fortunately, she didn't need to. The dart was still engaged in the grappler's air gun and the man's eyes widened as she turned that on him instead and pulled the trigger.
The almost foot-long dart punched through his chest in a spray of blood, and she immediately reversed the wind on the cable to prevent the dart from piercing through him completely and into the wall. While it looked strong, there was no way to be sure that the damage wouldn’t bring it down, which would draw unnecessary attention.
It somehow felt like hours had passed, and her pulse still ticked with adrenaline as she looked around the suddenly silent room. Somehow—impossibly—it had all happened in under five seconds and three men were now dead.
She shook her head. That was something she would have to deal with later.
It was quick work to retract the dart into the grappler. While it was still covered in blood and viscera and even a few chunks of bone, there was nothing she could do about it now. Jessica13 took a deep breath, selected a few wires she would need, and pushed the hatch open. She climbed out gingerly to skirt the puddle of blood that spread closer all too rapidly and forced herself not to look too hard at it as she stepped toward the computers the men had worked on.
"Ignore the bodies," she whispered quietly.
"Would you like me to clear them?" Mini asked and moved closer now that he was in full control of the mech.
"That's not…maybe later," she replied and plugged the AI's core into the computer system. "You should be able to access the algorithms from there so they can cross, right?"
"Affirmative," he replied.
She let the AI work and simply watched as the patterns were quickly and subtly shifted to create a clear pathway through the open field that would allow not only Tinker and Windchime to come across to her but also for them to reach the bunker itself without being seen.
Her gaze was drawn to the videos the men had watched and laughed at. The audio was still on and somehow sliced through the deafening silence like a vibroblade. The video in question showed a younger woman and two children forced to strip in front of the men before they were allowed to pass through the checkpoint. The footage quickly cut to a man dragged from a lineup and forced to his knees as a weapon was pressed to his head. He began to cry and shook his head before the trigger was pulled and he fell.
"Why were they watching something like this?" she asked aloud, suddenly sick to her stomach.
Mini paused before he answered. "It looks as though they played a drinking game. It doesn’t make all that much sense to me, but they apparently watched the collected footage from the checkpoints and assigned importance to certain aspects that would then cause them to drink a shot of the liquor on the table."
The video shifted quickly to another young woman pulled out of sight as two of the guards stepped after her.
Jessica13 turned the footage off hastily as the woman was forced to her hands and knees.
"Are you all right?" Mini asked.
She shook her head. "I…suddenly don’t feel so bad about killing these men."
"Your guilt over acting violently toward them is assuaged by knowing they were guilty of acts of violence against others?" He sounded genuinely curious.
"Not entirely," she responded, still fighting for control of her stomach. "But…it's a little easier to accept now."
"Understood."
The seconds ticked by until light footfalls sounded outside the room. Windchime was the first through the door and aimed his weapons inside first before he gestured for Tinker to follow him.
"Well…" he said and looked around the room. "It should be known that I always believed in your ability to handle this."
"Noted," she said but still felt queasy.
"The algorithm has been changed," Mini announced and moved to where she could climb into the mech. "We will be able to move across the field without being seen, and the lights will continue to move as they did before without being noticed."
"That’s good enough for me," Tinker said as she settled herself in place. "Let's get moving, shall we?"
They slid out the other side of the room and hugged the side of the building as they studied the way ahead. Mini bunched onto all fours and moved forward as the HUD showed the path he had plotted for them based on the new algorithm.
"How sure are you that this will work?" Jessica13 asked.
"There is always room for error," he responded. "I would place the chances of success at ninety-eight-point-four-three percent."
"Oddly, that's not really encouraging," she said softly, knowing the other two would be close behind. She needed them to stay close
