“Well Delta group seven, they got trigger happy. The general there isn't a fan of waiting, and he just couldn't help himself, so he set off a few bombs just to fuck the Elite off. Anyway, because of that we were given a tip off that a large convoy of the Elite’s guards were swooping into that area. The main core of their specialised forces are apparently in the central district to figure out what happened, so we're going to hit them as hard as we can and try and take advantage” Karl replied.
Niel thought that it made some kind of sense, but the innocent people caught up in it outweighed any benefit. Karl objected to Niel's opinion, collateral damage was a necessary evil he said. He sounded almost brainwashed when he said it, making Niel think that these rebel groups were no better than the Elite were.
“You know there's a plan Karl, your faction knows this, and they were supposed to hold off doing anything. That's why I'm running to try and help fix this mess” Niel said disappointedly.
Karl could sense that disappointment in his voice and felt as if it was aimed at him. He knew deep down though that it wasn't at him, but the whole situation they now faced. Most the rebel factions knew of the fabled plan, it was an ambitious one, but some rogue generals didn't believe it would work, and wouldn't sit by and wait when they had opportunities to advance and attack where it hurt.
“Okay Karl, thanks for letting us know, we'll avoid that area. Please be safe” He said.
Karl said he would do his best, but the situation had changed rapidly and couldn't say for certain whether there would be more bombs or not. He agreed to let him know if he heard anything else. They said their goodbyes and Niel put the phone down on the dashboard.
“You heard all that yeah?” He said glancing round at his disapproving passengers.
“Oh yeah” Mike said shaking his head, “We're about to enter a whole new shit storm aren't we”.
“If we can get out of the city, we'll be okay” David said, “So just get us there Niel”.
Niel continued the fraught journey, taking a detour to the east of the city. They could see columns of smoke rising from the downtown area as craft, some of which they had never seen before, zoomed across the sky above them towards it. Niel looked in his rear-view mirror and noticed what looked like a swarm of bees in the air floating towards them.
“What is that?” He asked.
David and Mike looked around to see the same swarm of grey to silver tinged cloud as it swirled in a circular motion. Before they had time to really figure out what was going on the swarm descended down to them at a terrific pace and shrouded the vehicle, covering every available space on its exterior. Niel screeched the car to a halt. They were surrounded by thousands of tiny Nano-bots all giving off a red flash, accompanied by a buzzing sound.
“Shit” Mike shouted, “I think they're trying to cut their way through”
Just as suddenly as they were covered in the swarm of Nano-bots, they were let free and the metallic swarm disappeared. They all looked at each other stunned; they weren't quite sure what just happened.
“Why did they just let us go?” David said as confused as his friends.
The others shrugged and were just thankful that they could be on the move again. Something was still nagging at David's mind though. They were lucky to escape that situation; it was as if they were meant to be let free. Niel wasn't going to give it any more thought and just decided to concentrate on getting them out of the city. They all should have given it more thought, instead of just letting the wave of relief take over, a swarm of tiny machines don't just land on your car, have a good look at you, and then swoop off for no reason. A little thought would have made them throw Niel's phone away so they couldn't be traced. It was a beacon that was easy to follow, and the Nano-bots had scanned every nook and cranny of the car, and its occupants, looking for all the information the Elite needed. All it needs for a great plan to fail is one weak link.
MONIQUE’S CAR
Monique pushed the car to its limits, desperate to escape the war zone behind them and get out of the city to safety. She knew that driving like this was foolhardy, but she wasn't used to adrenalin invading her bloodstream and couldn't control her flight impulse.
“Slow down a bit” Sofia shouted. She was also a hostage to the adrenalin, but the speed at which Monique was driving alarmed her.
“I'm sure people are still looking at us” Olivia exclaimed. Every time she looked round at the street that whizzed past outside, she saw that people's heads were always turned towards them.
More explosions rocked the downtown area behind them. They felt the ground shake and the noise echoed up and down the streets, making the car rock slightly. Monique was able to keep control easily though. If there was one skill she had beyond her professional career, it was her driving. Her dad taught her from an early age and it came so naturally to her. She could have been a professional racing driver, but it never appealed to her, she felt her real skill was her academic ability. She never thought though that one day she would actually be racing through the streets, if the adrenalin wasn't so jarring to her, she might have enjoyed it. She suddenly noticed something moving behind them, a strange shimmering form. It wasn't immediately obvious what it was, as it seemed to be reflecting
