She was determined to play it by the book, and if that meant letting the enemy come to them, so be it.
One of the enemy, a woman with red hair, barked orders at several others, and they readied their weapons and fanned out, using the buildings for cover as they made their way towards the Peace Force station. The woman turned to look up at the roof, and Harriet eyed her right back, centering the woman in the groove on top of her crossbow. Then the woman turned away to address more of her people, who got into a van and drove off. Harriet heard the vehicle circling the station at a distance, and she realised the enemy were splitting up, hoping to attack from several directions at once.
Well, good luck with that, thought Harriet. The front entrance was the only way in, and the new barricade was far stronger than the pair of glass doors which had been destroyed by the grenade blast. Reinforced with steel bars, the new barricade had been pierced with shooting holes, and would be almost impossible to break down. Outside, in the street, stood the building's original row of rusty bollards, which prevented anyone ramming the barricade with a vehicle.
The only other entrance was the door to the garage, and they'd pushed the old cruiser right up to it, jamming the rest of the space with junk. One of Harriet's team was keeping an eye on it, and at the first sign of trouble they'd call for help.
Harriet glanced at the fighter jet standing on the roof nearby. If all else failed, they'd worked out an evacuation plan. Unfortunately, she just wasn't sure if the elderly veterans were capable of running full-tilt up three flights of stairs, not even with armed pursuers hot on their tails. Plus the plan involved having Alice at the controls of the jet, but Alice flat out refused to leave the front office, where she was determined to take out as many of the enemy as possible with a crossbow she'd helped to build.
Their only hope was Bernie. If the barricade fell, the robot was to stay behind, blocking the stairwell while everyone else made their escape. She was still plugged in, charging slowly, and Harriet hoped the robot would have enough power to reach the stairs. Harriet pictured Bernie going flat in the stairwell, leaving her at the mercy of Darting's thugs. Her lips thinned as she imagined them tearing Bernie apart, and she decided that fleeing would be their absolute last resort.
She raised her head again, taking in the scene below. Darting must have sent her entire force against the station, and at that moment Harriet had a wild idea. It was crazy, it was bold, and it might just work.
With her heart pounding, she took out her commset to call Alice. Then she decided against it, and left her post to run flat out towards the stairwell. As she crossed the roof, shots came at her from the surrounding buildings, but she ignored them. Once in the stairwell she took the steps at the double, and when she ran into the front office half a dozen faces turned to stare. "New plan," she managed. "Everyone to the roof."
"What about the defence?"
Harriet shook her head. "Roof. Alice, get the ship ready. We're leaving."
The others looked like they were going to object, but years of obeying orders, however crazy, had conditioned them. Alice ran for the stairs while the others followed more slowly until only Flint remained. "I'm not leaving Scrap."
"We have to."
"But—"
"I'll hide him before I leave." Harriet gestured towards the piles of broken furniture. "It's the best I can do. There's no time for anything else."
Flint hesitated, clearly torn, then nodded.
As he left, Harriet called after him. "Make sure everyone gets to the roof, okay? Try to get them onto the ship without being seen. The enemy can't realise we're leaving."
Flint hesitated, then nodded and left. Meanwhile, Harriet unplugged Bernie and waved her hand in front of the robot's eyes.
"Trainee Harriet," said the robot, after she booted up. "How is the battle going?"
"If we get this right, there won't be an battle," said Harriet. "I need you on the roof, as quick as you can."
Bernie stepped away from the wall and strode towards the stairs.
Harriet laid Scrap on the floor and covered him in pieces of furniture, added a few handfuls of shredded reports and torn cardboard, then left to follow the others. On the way she checked the garage to make sure they'd remembered the lookout, then ran up the stairs.
She found the others on the roof, some climbing the ladder to the fighter's airlock, the rest waiting. Bernie stood nearby, impassive. Alice was visible through the canopy, Captain Timms in the seat alongside her, and as Harriet caught her sister's eye she thought she saw a look of disappointment. No surprise there, thought Harriet. Alice was a warrior type, and she'd been eager to make the enemy pay. Well, she'd soon have her chance.
Once everyone was aboard, Harriet passed up her crossbow and climbed the ladder herself. The ship was crammed, with Birch and Ben still in the airlock, having helped the others
