She turned, an eyebrow raised. Her normal mocking smile was gone, replaced by grim resolution. "What the fuck are you talking about, Titan? Don't come here and try to bait me with this fatalistic talk. Tell me what you want to happen or leave, because I have things to do."
I'm sure you do, Ares thought. "I have a way we can win."
She slowly moved her hands to her hips. "What is it?"
Ares went through what he thought was happening. He told her about the giant, which she admitted to having seen in Manius' quarters. He explained there were more of them and that Alistair was heading for them.
That was how the former Titan planned on getting out of here—with an army of giants.
"Who else did you tell?" Hel asked.
"No one. I came to find you because I figured you're a devious bitch who can work it to our advantage."
"You didn't even tell Veena?"
Ares shook his head. "No one else." He saw the wheels turning in her head. He'd been right, and if his father could see him now, he would be proud.
"We've got to find them, these giants." Hel continued dressing. "Do you have any idea where they are?"
"The easiest way is to look at where Alistair is now and plot where he's heading. If we can get there first, we might be able to change this whole endeavor."
Hel hooked a StarBeam to her belt and moved across the small bare room with a speed Ares recognized as deadly. Just because a god of war had beaten her senseless, it didn't mean anyone else could. Ares would be smart to remember that.
She picked up a DataTrack and pulled up Alistair's location. He and his crew had stopped a bit short of the intended kill zone, showing that Alistair knew what was planned. Hel didn't study where he was but zoomed out and looked at the fortress’ blueprint. People were moving up and down hallways, preparing for battle. Hel pressed the screen, and everything disappeared from the view except the kill zone.
"When he comes out, he can take a right or a left. Based on the way these men are lined up, they're trying to push him left. They may not know what he's doing, but they don't want him to get to those creatures." Hel zoomed out on the DataTrack, moving the blueprint to the right. There wasn't anything that seemed to hold giants, so she dropped down another floor. Still nothing. She dropped down one more, and there it was. It wasn’t obvious unless you knew what you were looking for. It looked like a dorm or a barracks, but three levels beneath the ground? "That's where Manius hides them. That's where we're going." She looked at him. "Are you ready to end this thing? Maybe we can get back to Earth and have a life again."
Ares nodded. "I'm ready."
Hel led the way, bringing the DataTrack with her. Ares followed, but she never looked back. She was wrapped up in the giants, which was what Ares had hoped for.
No one glanced at them as they made their way through the fortress. Everyone had their own agendas to attend to in those moments, and most of them thought their next actions were of life and death importance. Perhaps they were, but Ares was glad no one looked at them.
After descending the final staircase, they reached the giants’ level. A large door stood between them and what they wanted, closed and locked. A panel was on the wall to the right, but they understood it wouldn't let them in. Truthfully, it was amazing they'd gotten this far; only the war could explain it. Things weren't sealed off because the enemy wasn't inside yet. Freedom of movement was paramount to setting up defenses. Only this level was locked down.
"Okay, Titan," Hel said as she unhooked her Whip. "We're going to burn our way through this damn thing."
Ares nodded as he freed his Whip. Hel approached the door first but didn't plunge her weapon into it. She looked at Ares as he approached. "You first, big man."
Ares smiled, a disarming, charming expression. "How about the same time?"
"You're not all looks," Hel said with a grin. "Let's go."
Turning their Whips into swords, they unfurled them and drove them into the door. It took a few seconds to plunge them deep into the metal, then there was nothing to do but wait. The door would need to melt enough for them to get through.
Hel was still smiling, and Ares smiled too.
There was only greed in her eyes. Ares thought of his father at that moment and the lessons he'd been taught over all those years. His father had been right; Ares had been lucky to have someone raise him with so much wisdom.
He kept his smile plastered on his face as his MechSuit's helmet rolled out of the neckline. He watched as Hel's grin faltered.
"Who knows what's on the other side of that door," Ares said as the helmet enclosed his head.
He didn't try to pull his Whip out of the metal.
Hel understood a second too late. She started yanking at her Whip, wanting to get it out of the door, but the metal held it.
Ares shoved her with both arms, releasing his Whip. The suit multiplied his strength, and she slammed into the far wall. "You have no honor. You're not even human, Hel, and what you did to that Subversive made my stomach turn."
Hel slid to the floor, dazed. Her head had hit the wall hard.
"I don't hate you like Alistair does," Ares said as he crossed the small space in three large steps. "I won't beat you like he would, and for that, you should thank me. I'm going to be merciful."
Hel looked up, fear replacing the dazed look. She reached for the laser
