“That was a mistake,” the Hilde voice said.
“Now we get to have some fun,” Lynch sneered.
Beth was already barreling past a fish stand, pushing some of the onlookers out of the way as she ran. They seemed to get the physical cue from her and started running themselves. All the gawkers saw the fight begin between Rubik and Simon and started to run off for shelter. The vagabonds who lived down there full time ran around like decapitated chickens, trying to find someplace they could hide.
Simon coiled up and leaped at the bodyshell assassin with all the force his robotic legs could muster. He grabbed Rubik by the waist and tugged the machine to the ground. Even with the four legs, Rubik couldn’t fight the sudden force of Simon’s metal body against them. They both fell and tumbled around on the floor.
The entire time, Rubik was trying to get a cyberblade far enough from the melee to get a good swing, but Simon kept thrashing after their arms. He tried to pin them down and hold them, but one of the assassins’ empty hands came down on his head. They threw another punch and knocked Simon off them. Rubik shifted their weight until they could rise up to their full height again.
“Foolish traitor,” Wolfgang said.
“Don’t you realize that you’re outmatched?” Hilde said.
Simon was a little stunned, but got his wits about him in time to dodge a downward swipe from the assassins’ blue blades. He rolled out of the way and popped back up onto his feet.
“Nowhere to run,” Nick said, the bodyshell’s speaker crackling with his Southern drawl. “You know, you both are worth more alive than dead, but we’ll finish the job either way. A paycheck’s a paycheck.”
Simon roared a little as he rushed forward, his fist reeled back. He swung at Rubik, but missed and struck only air. Rubik ducked, trying to get their swords at an angle beneath the I.I. defector. Simon swung again, missing a second time, but knocking a chunk of concrete from a pillar behind his target. Rubik couldn’t get enough room to maneuver their swords, so they tucked into a large ball and rolled between Simon’s legs. He turned around as they unfolded, standing on all fours again.
Beth watched the fight from behind a cart, but ducked when Rubik rolled out of Simon’s reach. They rolled towards her, standing up a mere twenty feet away. The bodyshell assassins faced her, the face with green lights glowing in her direction. The breath caught in her throat as she secretly hoped it would turn around and continue its melee with Simon. It spotted her, however, and she could tell the assassins were recalculating.
“The girl,” Maru said. “She’s the top priority.”
With a creaking of mechanical gears, the four-armed, four-legged assassin unit moved towards her. In a state of terror, her muscles constricted and she started to sprint away. She ran forward faster than her torso could catch up, and she was in danger of tumbling face-first into the tile floor. She managed to balance herself and stand straight as she ran. She could hear the mechanical beast chasing after her.
She rounded a jewelry stand, trying to put it between Rubik and herself, but the mechanical monster simply tore through the wooden structure like a car slamming through a fence. Bits of wood and rings and necklaces and bracelets all went flying into the air, catching the station’s overhead lights and sparkling as they scattered. Beth didn’t have any time to marvel at the scene — Rubik was gaining on her.
“Beth!” she heard Simon cry from behind her. She could tell that he was right behind the whirring servos that chased her, but her C.C. didn’t reproduce sound for her well enough to discern how far back he was. Still, her mind was focused on the staircase that led up to the surface. She was only a hundred or so feet from escape.
While she sprinted, she couldn’t help but acknowledge how bold so public of an attack was. Tarov must have been desperate, or at least nervous enough to make a scene. His only priority must be getting rid of the evidence she and Simon had. He must be pissing his digital pants about his secret getting out, Beth thought. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sent this mechanical monstrosity after us.
Her thoughts were cut short by a sudden impact on her ankle. It was just as she was stepping on that foot, so when her foot was swiped out from under her, she lost all balance and fell. Her forward momentum carried her across the tile floor, where she rolled and skipped like a deflated soccer ball.
Rubik was closing the gap on her after knocking her feet out with one of their four tentacles. In the blink of an eye, they were standing over her fallen form.
“Look at the fly, trying to break free of the web,” Lynch said. His voice almost seethed with blood lust, and for a second, Beth thought she could feel his breath on her face.
“She doesn’t even realize it’s over,” Jerri observed. “How precious.”
Beth kicked up at her attacker, but the bodyshell only budged a little before reassuming its dominant posture. She roared with frustration, unable to even move her arms as the assassins pinned her down.
“One last chance,” Jerri said. “Surrender and we’ll take you alive. Your friend, however — he will have to die.”
“No!” Beth screamed. She tried to thrash, but nothing could move under the intense pressure Rubik held onto her with.
Then she heard the sound of metal pounding on tile. The spinning of gears — the intense hum of fans blazing to work — came from behind her attacker. With a rip of air, Simon dived headfirst into Rubik. The force sent the assassins off the detective and out beside a hyperloop platform. They nearly fell into the
