One of their volunteer scavengers had a valuable gift, which allowed them to collect large quantities of supplies in one trip. Sabrina was a multiplier, meaning she could make replicas of herself and use the copies to collect more supplies. She was an excellent addition to the team, but Tessa was nervous about having her on board. She was young, and Tessa feared something terrible might happen to her. Sabrina developed her abilities much younger than most Evos, so Tessa worried about her. If she spread her copies out too far from one another, the assigned protector became less effective. Tessa kept her close and always in sight. Sabrina reminded her of Evie, and she felt responsible for her protection. Tessa took it personally.
Cyclone moved them along to the next location. As the team moved closer to the heart of Chicago, the buildings grew taller and taller. Some of them reached into the hazy smog in the sky, and the rooftops disappeared. Not being able to see the tops made Tessa nervous, but she hoped if she couldn’t see them, perhaps they couldn’t see her. She convinced herself it was sound logic. Tessa used her special goggles to help identify potential body heat signatures through the fog, and it eased her anxiety to find none. She kept a wary eye on building windows for signs of snipers.
The downtown area offered plenty of old, dilapidated storefronts, ranging from clothing to restaurants on the ground level. Their caravan inched their way down the avenues splitting scavenger teams to the right and left sides of the street. They collected shoes and clothing along with some canned food. Their success pleased Tessa, but she watched Cyclone grow more nervous by the minute. They continued deep into the heart of Nightstalker territory.
They rolled by the downtown police station, and Tessa brought the team to an abrupt halt. She registered several heat signatures in a neighboring building’s windows. They were being watched. Tessa alerted the crew on comms but asked for them to act normal. She didn’t want the enemy to know they were aware.
Tessa turned the group down an alleyway and to the back of the precinct building. She knew most police stations had garages and hoped they might find a place to seek shelter. They collected a ton of supplies that Tessa had no intention of losing their spoils.
On the backside of the building, there were two garage doors. Tessa used her strength to lift one and bust the locking mechanism on the inside. The vehicles drove in and parked with their cycles filling the space between.
The garage housed one armored police vehicle, which made Tessa drool. She wasn’t leaving here without that SWAT vehicle. She figured it had a mechanical problem if someone hadn’t already taken it. The armory seemed to already be empty. Looters left the shop tools behind, leaving Tessa with the idea that the Nightstalkers didn’t have a mechanic or engineer in their ranks.
After a quick sweep of the garage, Sam identified the points of entry and set up defenses. There were only two entrances to cover, the door to the inside of the precinct, and the garage door Tessa opened. Sam covered the inside door while Tessa covered the garage door. They both knew the Nightstalkers were moving in on them. It was only a matter of time.
Tessa’s group waited with their fighters ready. Tessa opened the armored vehicle to secure the Evo scavengers inside. While she waited for the Nightstalkers to make their move, Tessa started looking over the SWAT vehicle’s engine. She worked on the motor with some of the garage tools while they waited for an attack. Her casual attentiveness made Cyclone both furious and nervous. He paced the garage floor in a boiling rage. Cyclone stepped in to cover Tessa’s entrance even though it wasn’t necessary. She was close enough to cover the garage door just fine. Besides, the Nightstalkers wouldn’t enter from the garage. They would need to lift the door to gain access, and that would leave them vulnerable. They would breach the inside door because if Tessa were in their shoes, that’s the access point she would choose.
Tessa clarified to the team that they would not use deadly force. Her goal was to bring the Nightstalkers into the fold which would be more difficult with dead bodies to explain. Cyclone groaned and barricaded himself behind a vehicle, but he seemed to understand Tessa’s expectations and she expected he would comply. Sabrina, whose Evo name was Copy, would run interference and distract the Nightstalkers with false targets. Tessa would disable them one by one.
The Nightstalkers chose the incursion point Tessa expected and set charges to blast the door open, followed by rolling canisters of smoke into the room. There was an odd moment of silence as the Nightstalkers awaited their opponent’s response. When met with no sound, they moved into the room, spraying bullets, covering the entire room in blind fire.
Tessa and her crew waited for their mags to empty and they were forced to reload. By that time, the smoke cleared enough for Tessa to peek around the SWAT vehicle and make out the distinct shapes of five gunmen.
Tessa seized the opportunity to speak, “We aren’t enemies. We’re like you. Hear me out.”
A low grumbling male voice barked orders back to her, “Slide your weapons here and surrender.”
“Not sure that’s a good idea, but I think we can talk this out.” Tessa waited for a response.
“Nightstalkers don’t negotiate; we annihilate!”
“Which is what I’ve heard and also why I have no desire to disarm and surrender.
