Mistrunner 3 - Chapter 12 - Heist (Patreon)

Cy got out of Nova City before we even returned from our delve into the spider Rift. Didn’t leave a note. No communication whatsoever. Just escaped the city and fled across the country without so much as a goodbye. I should have expected it, really. Our situation was so complicated, and I’d already made my feelings clear.

Patrick Ward

“Just so you know,” said Patrick. “I’m definitely not calling you that.”

“Oh, come on!” I said, sprinting down the length of the train. A low-slung drone that looked like a giant, metal millipede skittered out from the gap between one car and another, and I barely managed to dodge its oversized pincers. I returned its attack with one of my own, bringing my nano-bladed sword down on its midsection and severing it into two pieces. That didn’t stop the thing; in fact, I’d probably made it more dangerous because I now had to deal with two attackers instead of one. But it did delay it for a moment, which allowed me to race past it. I leaped, bridging the gap between cars, landing, and continuing my sprint without breaking stride. “Dragon is so cool, though!”

“If anyone should be the dragon, it’s me,” Patrick said. The voice over my interface was punctuated by the sound of the Leviathan’s cannons firing. Or guns, really. It only had one cannon, and nothing big enough to require its use had appeared on the battlefield.

Yet.

“You already took Eagle,” I pointed out.

“Well, you can have that now,” he said. “I’m taking Dragon.”

“You can’t do that!” I said aloud, dodging another drone – this one looking like an oversized spider, which sent a shiver of remembered fear up my spine. At least they weren’t mind spiders. Instead, this one sported a gun barrel attached to its bulbous abdomen, which it discharged at point-blank range. I couldn’t dodge the fire. Instead, I only had enough time to turn so that I took the bullet in a non-vital area. The round exploded into my shoulder, tearing a neat hole in my infiltration suit. However, it didn’t get past my subdermal sheath, which meant that I’d only get a surface wound and a sizable bruise for slow reactions.

It did pack enough force to send me spinning around, though, and I nearly went tumbling off the narrow train car. Activating Balance, I turned the spin into a round kick that took the spider-drone square in the thorax. My Constitution was high enough that the attack sent the mechanized arachnid flying off the side of the train, where it hit a dune in a spray of sand.

Regaining my footing, I resumed my sprint, saying, “You can’t have all the cool nicknames. We’ve talked about this, Pick!”

“Then stop picking flying animals. You don’t fly. End of argument.”

“You also can’t just declare that an argument’s over!”

“I just did.”

“Agh!” I growled. “You are so frustrating!”

“That’s why you love me, though,” he said, his voice far calmer than the situation called for. Even as he finished the statement, a deafening thump sounded, and a moment later, an explosion erupted somewhere near the front of the train. “Oh, that’s not good…”

“What?”

“Nothing. Just focus on your thing,” he said. The Leviathan’s cannon fired again. “Everything’s completely under control up here.”

I had to force myself not to look back. I trusted Patrick, and not just because every good relationship was built on that sort of foundation. Sure, that was part of it. But I also knew just how good of a pilot he was. I’d seen him navigate through swirling Mist storms and fight off a flock of monstrous, reptilian birds that gave off an intimidating sense of power, even to me. He could handle whatever was going on back there.

Probably.

Or maybe I’d have to save him.

“You’d better not hurt my ship,” I mumbled, though not through the interface. He didn’t need to hear my every thought, after all. In any case, it was just as much his ship as it was mine. We’d established that soon after getting back together.

Regardless, I had other things on my mind because a trio of new arrivals – all drones in various insectile forms – crawled up from the sides of the train about thirty yards in front of me. With my speed – even with the not inconsiderable wind of the train’s passage slowing me down – I was on them in seconds. Using my sword with one hand, I aimed a backhanded slash at the one on my left while yanking Ferdinand II from his holster with my right hand.

Without looking, I fired, and the pistol roared to life. I’d loaded him with heavy subsonic rounds that had enough mass to pack a real punch, and it was enough to send the praying mantis-shaped drone skittering backwards. Still, out of the corner of my eye – and with Observation enhancing my sense of sight – I saw the thing latch onto the edge of the train with barbed claws. It barely managed to stop itself from skidding off the side of the train.

Not an ideal situation, but it was still enough to put the drone out of the fight for a second or two. Which was all I needed to finish my backhanded swing at a beetle-shaped drone. It didn’t bother dodging, its programming telling it to rely on the thick armor on its shell to keep it safe. It wasn’t enough, though, and the nano-blade bit deep into the thing’s body, the thin layer of Mist on the edge of the blade ripping through the armor with ease.

I must’ve hit something vital, because the bot went haywire, half of its legs going limp as the other half convulsed erratically, sending it off balance. A quick kick sent it flying away, but by then, the third drone was upon me.

More than anything, it looked like a metal cockroach, which made me wonder why anyone would ever create such a horrifying thing. Roaches were already bad enough, but when they were the size of an adolescent child, they were absolutely terrifying. Even knowing that it was just another robot, I couldn’t suppress the tremble of fear in my mind – especially when it brought its whirring buzzsaw of a mouth to bear.

Again – I had no idea what kind of twisted mind would design something like that, but I didn’t have the time or the inclination to figure it out. Instead, I raised my forearm to intercept the lethal mouthparts, and I suppressed a scream when the teeth bit deep into my muscle. It bypassed both my sheath and my infiltration suit with relative ease, so I knew if I didn’t get rid of it soon, it would sever my entire arm.

Fortunately, with Pain Tolerance blunting the agony, I was clearheaded enough to bring Ferdinand II up to its robotic head and fire. Once. Twice. Three times, all in quick succession. That was more damage than the creature could take, and with the last shot, the head blew apart with a shower of circuits and metal as well as a puff of Mist.

By that point, the praying mantis drone had recovered and was almost on top of me. With my sword, I parried its first scything claw while dodging the second, countering with a lightning-fast thrust that speared through its body. It ignored the wound, aiming another descending blade at my chest. I dodged to the side, and it ripped a long cut in my infiltration suit. It bit into my skin as well, drawing a line of blood, but the sheath stopped it from going any deeper.

The drone was clearly unprepared to miss, and the momentum of its blade sent the scything claw spearing into the train.  It yanked, but the blade was stuck fast – at least for the moment – so I had the thing at a disadvantage. That was all I needed.

My blade became a blur as a storm of attacks fell upon the stuck drone, and I severed its legs in only a moment. Then, with it helplessly rolling around on the train, I finished it off with a quick lunging strike to its head. After that, I kicked it free of the train.

“Patrick, is –”

“Under complete control!” he shouted, the cannon firing again. It had continued shooting throughout my short fight, and I didn’t think it was going to stop anytime soon. Accompanying the sound of the cannon was a steady staccato of gunfire – probably the Levaithan’s other guns. Or maybe the other members of the crew were putting up a fight as well. Everything was slightly muffled by the rushing sound of the wind in my ears, making it feel so very far away.

“Cowboy, you still alive?” I asked after shifting to the open channel.

“I ain’t a cowboy,” he growled. “And I’m fine. Just a bit of –”

He grunted over the channel, a sound followed by an explosion toward the back of the train. I heard coughing, then his gravelly voice came through, “Just a bit of unexpected resistance.”

“Hang tight,” I said, resuming my sprint. I was about a mile from his position, and I knew I could cover that ground in a blink. “Coming to help.”

“Don’t need your help, girl,” he spat with enough vehemence that the connection crackled.

“He does,” came Askar’s smooth voice. “He really does.”

I heard Isaac agree. If Avery, Paulo, or Huascar hadn’t been busy in other parts of the train, I felt certain that they would have as well. They were tasked with taking the control room, which was supposed to have been lightly guarded. Judging by the gunfire I kept hearing, that wasn’t necessarily the case, But then again, those three weren’t exactly powerful, so it was entirely possible that the situation was precisely as Askar’s intelligence had dictated, and they just weren’t strong enough to take advantage.

Either way, I couldn’t worry about them for now. I wasn’t all that concerned about Rex as a person. I didn’t like him, and after the job, I wouldn’t care if he ended up buried in the desert. But for the job at hand, we needed him – or at least Askar and the others thought so. If I wanted the plan to go ahead without unnecessary delay, I needed to make sure he was alive to do his part.

So, I sprinted to his rescue.

I didn’t encounter any other drones for the next few cars, but after that, I was forced to wade through a sea of mechanical attackers. At first, it wasn’t so bad. Even if the drones were technically capable of killing me, in practice, they just weren’t strong enough, fast enough, or deadly enough to make it happen. Still, they were more than able to slow me down via nothing more than sheer numbers. To counter this, I raced through them, dispatching them where I could, but mostly just shouldering them aside.

Meanwhile, the battle reached a crescendo, and somewhere at the head of the train, the Leviathan’s cannon continued its thumping reports. The intensity of the smaller arms fire increased as well, and more than one explosion threatened to dislodge the back half of the train. But with the Mist keeping it attached to the tracks, that was an unlikely prospect.

I ignored it all, focusing on moving as quickly as possible. And against all odds, I made decent time, even if I did so while trailing a veritable army of insectile drones. I would deal with them later, though. First, I needed to rescue the cowboy.

An explosion of fire erupted about a hundred yards ahead of my position, marking Rex’s position as well as a waypoint on my map, and I pushed myself to even greater speed. As I did so, I summoned my R-14, mostly because it was my most versatile weapon. The Dragon was great, and it was perfect for mass destruction. The BMAP served a similar purpose, though it was better for destroying vehicles and buildings than the more personnel-focused Dragon. Neither would be good to use in an enclosed space, though.

Ferdinand II was limited by the size of his drum, and the nano-bladed sword suffered from the same disadvantages typical of every melee weapon. The sniper rifle had the opposite problem, and its fire rate was so low that it was really only suited for fighting at a considerable distance. Finally, my scattergun was ill-suited for fighting bots, so, by process of elimination, I was left with the familiar assault rifle. I wasn’t going to complain about a weapon that had served me so well.

When I reached the appropriate car, I slid to a stop, reached down, and yanked open the access hatch. The sound of a pitched battle nearly overwhelmed me, but I suppressed Observation, retrieved a very special grenade from my arsenal implant, and tossed it inside.

The overload grenade was my own invention, and I’d created it specifically to combat robots and drones. Its design was simple, and when it activated, it sent out a pulse of Mist-infused lightning that was perfectly suited to stunning mechanized foes. It wouldn’t last long, and it would only give a biological entity a bit of a headache, but considering that the entire train was protected by drones and robots, it seemed appropriate.

The grenade exploded, and ignoring the sharp spike of pain that I knew would quickly disappear, I leaped down into the train car. The scene that greeted me was very gratifying.

Seven humanoid robots occupied the car, each one sporting a series of scuff marks that might’ve been the result of Rex’s gunfire. There were also scorch marks aplenty, and a few destroyed bots decorated the floor. Each of the standing robots twitched as if under the effects of a seizure – which, for them, wasn’t really that inaccurate of a description. Whatever the case, they were helpless to defend themselves against me.

I heard Rex shout something, but I ignored him as I opened fire. I didn’t dare use Explosive Shot – not in an enclosed space – but it didn’t matter. The R-14 ripped into the robots, dislodging bits and pieces with every shot. Still, they were durable, and I had to use Instant Reload to eke out as much damage as I could in the short amount of time I had left. It was enough, and by the time the stun wore off, there was only one robot still standing. That lasted for maybe a second before I finished the job.

An eerie silence filled the air as smoke and clouds of Mist drifted to the top of the cabin. In the distance, I could still hear the muffled sound of the battle at the front of the train, but it was muffled by the car’s soundproofing.

“What the hell you doin’ here, girl? I said I had it!” growled Rex.

“You’re welcome,” I said, leaping to the hatch and pulling myself up just in time to see the horde of drones bearing down on me. I grinned as I once again switched weapons, exchanging my R-14 for the Dragon.

By the time the small army of insectile drones drew within fifteen feet, the Dragon had already started to spit Mist. The next moment, it roared to life, and my fire scythed through them like so much wheat. The burst only lasted for a few seconds before the weapon went silent, the last of its ammunition spent, but it had done its job. Aside from a couple of quick-processing drones that dove to the sides of the train, the horde of robots were gone, their parts flying off the train as the Dragon tore them to pieces.

I dismissed the heavy weapon and drew my sword before dispatching the stragglers with practiced ease. Behind me, Rex had paused halfway out of the hatch, and he said, “What the…who the fuck are you?”

“You know my name,” I said without looking back. I wasn’t sure if he heard me or not, but it didn’t matter. He’d seen enough to know just how easily I could kill him. After a moment, I looked back to see that he’d made his way to the roof of the car, and I asked, “Did you finish your part?”

He nodded. “Took care of the backup comms car pretty quick,” he said, his voice losing a bit of his trademark swagger. Fear would do that to a person. “Didn’t run into trouble ‘til I started movin’ forward.”

Sheathing my blade, I said, “Same. Almost like they were expecting us.”

“No,” Rex said, stepping up beside me. I saw that he was clutching his hat to keep it from blowing off. “If they knew…it would’ve been worse.”

“Saw worse back toward the middle of the train,” I said, referring to the combat bots I’d taken out after taking care of the main communications car. “But that might not be too unusual for a train this size. Who’s it belong to, anyway?”

Rex shrugged. “That don’t matter,” he said. “This ain’t the main target.”

“But once it stops, we’re not going to just leave whatever they’re hauling alone, right?” I said. “Might be smart to know who we’re stealing from.”

“Maybe so, but that ain’t my thing,” he said.

“And what is your thing?” I asked. His explosive battle had been loud, but he hadn’t proven himself to be a particularly deadly combatant. Then again, maybe my perspective was a bit skewed. Still, even Patrick could have taken care of that car of robots.

“I blow shit up,” he said. “B’lieve me, I’ll show my worth when we hit the convoy.”

I just shook my head. I had no doubts that I could do his job at least as well as he could, but maybe I would end up surprised for once.

“Whatever. I’m just tagging along anyway,” I said. Then, I added, “C’mon. Let’s go see if there’s anything left to fight up front.”

“I don’t –”

Just then, the gunfire ceased and I felt the train start to slow down. A moment later, Patrick’s voice came through my interface as he said, “Told you I could handle it.”

“Never doubted you for a second.”

“Sure you didn’t, you control freak,” Patrick said, and I could practically see his grin in my mind’s eye. “Everything fine back there? Askar seems worried.”

“Everything’s good,” I said. “Cowboy’s fine. Bots are dead. And the train’s ours. Seems like it worked out pretty well.”

But in the back of my mind, I knew I’d shown way more of my capabilities than was probably wise. Logic said I should’ve just let Rex die. There were reasons to save him, but in my mind, the most important one was that he was part of my team. Saving him was just the right thing to do.

I just hoped it wouldn’t end up biting me in the ass.