Liz used the pistol to knock the remaining shards of glass out of the rear window and fired off a rapid series of shots. Her chances of hitting the damn thing were slim to none, but she had to do something. The drone veered and banked. Leaving? She felt a tingle of hope.
He’s coming up fast, Elizabeth. Oliver, I would prepare to brake…
“What?” Olly said, even as a car far ahead of them stalled and died. Traffic slowed, but not soon enough. Olly skidded into the car ahead, and there was a crunch and a groan of abused metal. Olly jolted in his seat, his face bouncing off the steering wheel. He fell back, clutching at his nose. Liz was flung into the back of his seat, and for long moments, she couldn’t breathe. She could hear sirens.
Olly reached over and grabbed her. “We got to go,” he mumbled. “Pursuit drones.”
Liz pushed him away. “Go, I’m right behind you.” Aching, moving slow, she pushed the seat up and half fell through the open door. Olly was close, a dazed look on his face, turning as if he wasn’t sure which way to go. There was glass in his face and in her hair. She could smell the fumes from the engine block. She pushed herself to her feet.
She stumbled towards Olly, and pushed him into motion. “Bagley – I need a direction!” An illuminated map filled her display. Durward Street was only a few minutes’ jog away. She picked up speed, and Olly followed her wake.
“We’re sitting ducks out here,” he said, looking around wildly. “That thing is probably coming back for another pass.”
“We’re almost there.” Liz kept one eye on the sky. Traffic was locked up and the sky was full of drones whizzing in all directions. But no sign of their pursuer.
When they finally reached Durward Street, she saw why. The drone hovered boldly over the entrance to the station, waiting. She caught Olly by the sleeve and yanked him behind a parked car. The drone gave no sign of having spotted them. Olly ran his hands through his hair. He was breathing fast, maybe on the edge of a panic attack. Liz shook him. “Calm down. Can you do that for me?”
Olly gulped and nodded. “What do we do? The camouflage, maybe?”
“Maybe,” she said. “But I don’t want to risk it until we know for sure. Bagley, what can you tell me about that thing?”
From what I’ve been able to glean, it has a large sensory suite than we expected. Your camouflage isn’t going to work. Not at such close range, anyway. And there’s someone on the other end – a human controller.
Liz leaned back against the car and slid down into a sitting position. “Damn it.”
“What?” Olly asked.
“That explains how it got ahead of us.” She peered around the edge of the bumper. She could see the red and white sign for the underground. It was a small door, barely there at all. A largely unused entrance, these days. But it was across open ground, and no cover to be seen. They couldn’t sit here forever. Eventually it would come looking, or the police would show up. It’d be over for them either way. She closed her eyes. “Fuck.”
“What are we going to do?” Olly asked.
Liz opened her eyes, checked her pistol, ejected the magazine, popped it back in. “Olly… think you can make it to the door in good time?”
Olly looked at her, his face white, eyes wide. “It’s waiting for us to try that.”
“I know. Think you can make it?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” He nodded. “We going to make a run for it, then?”
“You are. I’m going to distract our friend.”
He frowned. “That’s a bad plan.”
“It’s the only one we’ve got.”
“Maybe I can get into the fucker…” Olly reached for her. “Gimme your Optik.”
Liz passed the device to him without looking at him. She could see the drone now – one moment, it was a sleek, black UCAV and in the next, it was a Parcel Fox courier or a cargo drone. “Bagley, I hope you’re taking notes on this thing.”
Indeed, Elizabeth. But its firewall is difficult to crack. It appears to have been constructed under the assumption that someone might try and take control of it.
“Imagine that,” she murmured. At the far end of the street she could see the blue glow of police flashers, and hear sirens. “Now or never, Olly.”
“Just a couple more seconds. It’s not close enough.”
“No more seconds. When I say run, you run.”
He looked at her. “What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you,” she said, and smiled. “Trust me.” She peered over the top of the car. The drone was circling, waiting for them to make a run for it. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and stood. “Go!”
Olly darted for the entrance. The drone turned, momentarily exposing itself. Liz fired. Sparks burst on the drone and it dipped, trailing smoke. She could hear its motors straining and she felt a brief moment of elation, wondering if she’d managed to bring it down after all. But it soon righted itself. It was tough, whatever else.
She fired again, emptying the weapon in an attempt to hold its attention. As she pulled the trigger, she saw that Olly had made it to the entrance. She relaxed slight. “Bagley?” she asked, as the drone drifted towards her. The barrel of its weapon swung up. She thought about running, but there was nowhere to go.
Elizabeth?
“Do me a favour and wipe my hard drives, yeah?”
Leave it with me, Elizabeth.
“Thank–” she began.
She never finished the thought.
Olly heard the shot. Turned. Hesitated.
Keep moving, Oliver.
Bagley’s voice was sharp. It pricked Olly from his paralysis. “She might still be alive…” he began.
She’s not. Keep
