FSE

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"I don't think we'll be conspicuous enough." Jack secured the latches on his new armor and scowled at his reflection in the mirror.

"Says the guy who drives around in a hearse with a lift kit and huge tires." Corona winked and leaned over to give him a lick on the cheek before taking his place in front of the mirror.

Jack walked over to stand beside Taura, leaning against one of Lefty's workbenches, and took a moment to admire Corona. Her armor was black like his and Taura's, form-fitting with a layer of non-Newtonian fluid under it, and included a helmet that was custom-designed to fit her dragon-like head and flexible plates for her wings. She'd left the latter off, though, so as not to restrict the movements of her wings.

"Gotta admit, yours is pretty sexy." Jack grinned, turned to look Taura over, and smiled again. "Yours, too. Good thing I'm not Otto's age, or all the blood would rush from my head and I'd pass out."

Taura smiled, looked at the floor, and cleared her throat. She put her arm around him and ran her other hand over his chest plate. "Even if it makes us stick out like a sore thumb, I'm glad to have the extra protection in case I end up getting shot again."

"When you put it that way, yeah, I'm glad we have it." Jack gave her a peck on the cheek and turned to pick up one of the assortment of weapons spread out on the bench.

"Is it safe to look?" Lefty said from a few yards away.

"Yeah, we're all covered up now." Corona flexed her arms to be sure she could move freely, and picked up a piece of armor shaped like a short, tapering tube. "Jack, would you help me with this?"

"Sure." He put the tube around the base of her tail, secured the latch, and locked it to the armor covering her backside. He waited for her to hand him the next piece, and joined it to the first, and followed up with the rest, leaving the tip of her tail bare so she could use the spikes on it. She flicked her tail a few times and shrugged.

"Feels weird, but I guess I'll get used to it."

"I do feel better about this, knowing we're more prepared for the inevitable hail of bullets than we were yesterday." Taura picked up her trenchcoat and slipped it on over her armor. "The only complaint I have is that the armor doesn't have pockets."

"Yeah, there's nowhere to hide all the weapons I like to keep on me." Corona picked up an enormous rifle from the bench and shoved it into the clamps on her back plate. The rifle had belonged to a police mecha unit that had tried to kill all three of them a few weeks ago. Corona had taken the mecha's driver out with his own gun, and decided to keep it. It was too massive for a human to pick it up without some serious cybernetic augmentation, but her huge muscles enabled her to carry it with no effort at all.

If they were about to run into any of the cyborg zombies Winslow had told them about, and if they were as tough as he'd claimed, they'd need the extra firepower to deal with them.

Corona grabbed her pistol and holstered it in the clip on her right hip, and snapped three extra magazines onto her left hip. She picked up her helmet, stared at it for a moment, turning it one way and then another, and finally raised it over her head. She slid the two openings over her horns and settled the helmet on her head. The visor covered her eyes, but her muzzle was left out in the open.

Lefty walked out from behind a set of shelves, looked her three guests over, and nodded. "Badass."

Taura shrugged and put her helmet on. She muttered to herself and fiddled with it. "Not exactly comfortable. It's kind of mashing my ears down."

"When we were coming up with the design, we thought about putting holes in it for your ears, like the ones for your horns, but then we figured it'd be best not to have 'em sticking out where they could take a bullet. Can you hear okay, though?" Lefty walked over to her and took a closer look at the helmet.

"I think so." Taura cocked her head. "I like the heads-up display."

"The helmet has built-in cameras and the latest in augmented-reality software. It can scan whatever you're looking at and pop up info about it in your visors."

"Seems like that'd be kind of distracting," Jack said, tying his hair into a ponytail and putting his helmet on.

"At first, I suppose, but it can provide you with vital information, so Machiko wants you to get used to it. Also, each suit has its own combat and cyberwarfare suites." Lefty pointed at Corona's right hand. "Yours has hardware and software that can control your chakram, so you can use it without having to put the control glove on over the gauntlet."

"Nice!" Corona picked up her razor-edged, high-tech chakram and clipped it to her utility belt. "And with the gauntlet, I won't have to worry about accidentally lopping my talons off."

"Glad to hear it," Jack said. "I worry about that every time I see that thing zipping back to your hand."

"It's crossed my mind a few times." Corona faced Taura and put her hands on her hips. "Okay, I guess we should figure out how we're going to approach this."

Taura took her omnitool out of her coat pocket, placed it on the bench, and activated it. Its hard-light user interface appeared in the air. Taura tapped an icon and a second holofield sprang up beside the first. She moved it over and tugged on the edges, enlarging it until it was nearly the width of the bench. She opened a file and the layout of the Argus Defense Systems tower filled the field.

"This is the latest info I could get my hands on." Taura ran her hand along the side of the building, pushing it upward until the basement levels rose into view. She pointed at a blinking red blip in one of the central rooms on the fourth sublevel. "That's the server room. It's got sixteen different servers, though, and we don't know which one has the files we need."

"So we'll have to search 'em one by one until we find the evidence." Jack glanced at the ceiling and shook his head. "Yeah, this is gonna end well."

Corona chuckled, shook her head, and whapped him with her left wing. "So, since we won't be able to get in without being noticed, how are we gonna do this? Walk right in through the front door?"

"I'd rather not. Better to slip in through a back door--a freight entrance, maybe. Or maybe one of the windows." Jack stared at the holofield. "On the other hand, they've probably put guards on all the back and side doors. Any info on their security?"

"They've ramped it up, but they're no longer relying on pre-programmed robots. They've brought in a ton of anthros and ex-military humans with cybernetic enhancements, and are also using robots as support units. And there's a chance that they've started using some of their cyber-zombies." Taura shivered and nodded at the display. "You can bet they've concentrated their forces on the back and side entrances, and now that they know we escaped by jumping off the roof, they'll have that heavily guarded as well."

"Marvelous."

Corona leaned over to take a closer look at the schematic, bracing her arms on the edge of the bench. "How about the front door, though? Think they might not expect us to go charging in through there?"

"Probably not. I'd like to get in as close to the server room as possible, and the ground floor is as good as it's gonna get." Jack sighed. "So that looks like our best bet. But then, there's probably at least one noncombatant working the front desk, and we're already in enough hot water from collateral damage on previous jobs without putting any more nine-to-fivers in danger. Honestly, I'd rather find another way in, even if it means running into more opposition."

"Yeah, I'm already having enough trouble living with some of the things I've done. Sometimes, when I'm trying to sleep, every time I close my eyes, I see that cop I blew away."

Jack put his arm around her. "He was trying to kill us. Fuck him."

"Easy for you to say. You didn't pull the trigger."

"I'd say the same thing even if I had." Jack kissed the side of her muzzle. "But then, you're a better person than I am." Before she could guilt-trip herself any more, he pointed at the display. "Okay, I guess we find an entrance in the back, from the alley. Once we get past whatever guards they've posted there, we take the stairs to the basement since the elevators will be locked down as soon as they realize we're there."

Taura nodded, put her 'tool back into standby mode, and pocketed it. "We'll also have Boiler drawing the guards away from us, Jamie and Adam working things from outside, and Machiko covering us once we leave the building."

Jack nodded, even though he had his doubts, especially about the huge draconid who claimed to be their daughter from the future. He kept it to himself; the girls didn't need anything else to worry about, and what the hell, the more guards Boiler could get shooting at her, the fewer would be shooting at the girls and himself.

Hmm. Lightbulb. "Maybe if Boiler goes in at a point on the far side of the building and engages the guards, they'll send reinforcements to handle her, and we'll be able to get in and out quickly."

"It's worth a shot, but I don't feel right about using her as cannon fodder." Corona's wings and tail twitched.

"Well, we can run the idea by her and see what she says. She might be up for it. Besides, we wouldn't be asking her to throw herself on her sword; she'd just need to distract 'em and then run like hell. Who knows, she might even be able to lead 'em outside where Machiko and the 'bots can pin 'em down."

Corona sighed. "We'll see."

"There's one other thing that concerns me," Taura said after an awkward silent moment. She arched a brow, shook her head quickly, and sighed. "One of many other things that concern me is, just how legal is our mission? If we're going in without showing anyone a search warrant, does that mean we don't actually have one?"

"Given what the company's been up to, you're being given some wiggle room," Lefty said. "You can enter their building and take what you need."

Jack shrugged. "Good enough for me, I guess. Until any ADS higher-ups hit us with more criminal charges and lawsuits, that is."

"Our legal department can worry about that," Corona said. She put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "Well, I guess we should get started."

#

"So, what have we got here?" Ramirez lit a cigar as she got out of her car and jogged over to Shakira's pink Humvee. Shakira sat in the passenger seat with the door open, her feet resting on the curb, slumped forward with her hand on her forehead. Otto sat on the sidewalk, leaning against the front of a convenience store. Beside him was a man in a hoodie sprawled on the pavement.

"That the guy?" Enrique said as he and Hiro followed Ramirez.

Shakira looked up, nodded, and thrust her phone into her pocket with a disgusted grunt. "Nearly an hour I've been waiting on hold with the police."

"Well, we'll take care of it." Ramirez puffed on her cigar and took a zip-tie from her jacket pocket. "What happened, exactly?"

"He just came out of nowhere and grabbed me." Shakira shuddered, stood, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Was that ever a mistake." Otto grinned and shook his head. "She took him out with two hits. Sexiest thing I've ever seen."

Shakira muttered something under her breath and leaned against her Humvee. "I'd like to head home, but I assume I have to turn in a report on this."

"Yep. You can follow us to HQ and we'll take file it after we stick this guy into a cell. Should only take a few minutes."

"Okay. I guess we'll--"

The would-be mugger moaned and pushed himself up. He looked around, gasped, and shoved his hand under his coat.

Otto flicked his hand toward the mugger. Ramirez caught a glimpse of a stun-gun before Otto casually jammed it into the guy's neck. The mugger convulsed and pitched forward onto his face. Smirking, Otto tucked the stun-gun back into his pocket.

"I've been making sure he stays put."

"Ah. Well. Okay, then." Ramirez arched an eyebrow at Enrique. He snickered and leaned over to search the mugger for weapons. When he finished, Ramirez bound the guy's wrists and Enrique hauled him to her car.

A belching sound erupted from one of Otto's cargo pockets. He dug his phone out and glanced at the screen, and his jaw dropped. "...the hell?"

"If it's more of those drawings you were talking about last night," Shakira grumbled, walking around to the driver's side, "I don't want to hear about it."

"Well, it's not that, exactly." He shook his head slowly and pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "Looks like a video clip from a certain convenience store's security camera has found its way onto the show's message board."

Shakira froze with one foot in the Humvee. "What? You mean the store we just left?"

"Yeah. Three guesses which cashier excerpted and uploaded it, and the first two don't count."

Ramirez opened the back door and waited for Enrique to shove the mugger inside. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned. "Do I wanna know?"

"No!" Shakira shook her head and waved her hands. "I wish I didn't know."

"Eh, some twit came into the store while we were shopping and flashed us." Otto shrugged, still staring at his phone. "So I flashed him back. Guess the security camera caught it."

"Wait--what?" Ramirez stared at him and her cigar almost fell out of her mouth.

"And now the dumb prick behind the counter appears to have posted it online." Otto fired a glare in the general direction of the store's front window. "Motherfucker."

"Well, it's not like you've got anything to be ashamed of." Shakira winced and rubbed a hand over her face. "I--never mind. Let's just go." She got in and slammed the door.

"Okay, you've got a point." Otto shrugged, pocketed the phone, stood and dusted his pants off.

Ramirez turned to Enrique. "Did I really hear that?"

"Yeah. Caught me by surprise, but once I gave it some thought, I realized it shouldn't have. I mean, this is Otto we're talking about. Of course he'd flash the flasher."

"True." She sighed, made sure the back doors were locked, and got into her car. If that kid weren't so fixated on Shakira, I'd never let my daughter get within ten miles of him, let alone the same house.

She waited for Enrique to get in beside the mugger and Hiro to take the shotgun seat. She pointed her cigar at the passenger door and said, "Hey, watch your tail."

"Oh, thanks." Hiro pulled his tail into the car before closing the door. "That would've been the third time today I've shut a door on it."

She chuckled and patted his shoulder. Once everyone had buckled up, she started the engine and eased away from the curb, glancing into the rearview mirror to be sure Shakira was following her.

Her phone released a giggle--her daughter's ringtone. She took the phone out and held it to her mouth like a walkie-talkie. "What's up?"

"Text message from Kim," the phone said. "Message sent to multiple recipients."

"Read it." Ramirez kept her eyes on the traffic ahead.

"Message as follows: 'OMG U gotta see this.' There is a file attached."

Ramirez grimaced and handed the phone over to Hiro. "Please tell me that's not the video Otto mentioned."

He tapped a claw on the screen, loading the video. His brow ridges shot upward. "Sorry, Lola, I think it is. And...holy crap."

"Okay, curiosity is about to kill another cat." Enrique leaned forward for a closer look at the image. "Yeah, that could be considered a choking hazard."

"Please stop talking." She grabbed the phone. "Delete message and attachment."

"Are you sure you wish to delete current message and attachment?"

"Yes! Delete with extreme prejudice!"

"Confirmed. Message and attachment deleted."

She grumbled and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

"Just what I need," Enrique muttered. "I feel so inadequate, all of a sudden. Life sucks."

"Jesus."

"Seriously, by the time he's an adult, it'll be the size of a summer sausage. I'm talkin' the foot-long kind."

"Shut the fuck up." She snorted. Did not need that image in my head. "Fuckin' prick," she added, trying to remain stern but unable to stop a brief laugh slipping out.

"I can see why Shakira can't stay away from him. If I were a woman, I'd want that in me, too." He snickered.

"More than you'd want to avoid doing time for statutory rape?" Goddamn it. It'll take a can of thermite to get this out of my head now.

"Look who's talking." Enrique grinned. "I never would've pegged you for the cougar type."

She scowled at him in the rearview mirror and flicked a look at Hiro. Hiro shook his head quickly and held his hands up.

"I'm staying out of this one."

Enrique laughed. "Smart kid."

"It wasn't exactly our choice. But...fair point, I guess." Ramirez sighed and pointed her thumb at the man beside Enrique. "Whatever. Let's just get this sorry fucker locked up so we can get back to work."

#

"Hey, Rocky, got a spare cell for our buddy, here?" Ramirez gave the mugger a shove, sending him staggering through the doorway toward Rocky and Shadow.

"Sure. Machiko said you'd be bringing a guest." Rocky turned and waved a hand down the hall. "Right this way."

Wow. How can she stand up straight? Otto pried his gaze away from Rocky's chest. Don't stare at her tits. Don't stare at her tits. Don't stare at her tits.

Ramirez and Enrique escorted the "guest" toward the door at the end of the hallway. Shakira and Hiro followed, and Otto tried to hang back. If Rocky walked in front of him, he wouldn't be able to see her chest.

Damn. I bet they have their own gravitational pull.

Rocky cleared her throat. "Yes, they're real."

He sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. It's just, well, how can I not?"

"It happens." She rolled her eyes. "All the time. One of these days, I'm having them reduced."

Now that would be a fucking tragedy. Otto sighed.

"It's okay, Otto," Shadow said, "I'm having a hard time not staring at your pants."

"Ah, you've seen the video, too, eh?"

Both draconids nodded. Otto chuckled.

"Well. I'm famous. How about that." He shrugged and caught up with Shakira.

"Let's just try to focus on business," Shakira grumbled.

"I'll do my best." Otto dropped back a bit, kept his eyes aimed at her backside, and smiled.

"How's your husband doing?" she said to Rocky.

"Still recovering, but they let him out of the hospital a few days ago. He should be find before much longer, but I'm making sure he takes it easy." Rocky raked her talons through her long, orange hair. "I'm still amazed that he survived. I was right beside him when those bastards shot him. He didn't even have his gun drawn, and they just opened up on him. If I hadn't been there to return fire and carry him into our headquarters..."

"Sorry."

Rocky nodded. "He'll be okay, though. Say what you want about this goddamned city, but there's definitely an advantage to living in a place where most of the technology is beyond the bleeding edge."

"Can't argue with that."

"Here we go." Shadow opened the door, revealing an elevator. They rode it to the basement and stepped into a room with a curved desk on the left and a bank of monitors behind it. A young woman in jeans and a leather jacket sat at the desk. "Hey, Hoshi. Got a new guest to tuck away."

"We've got plenty of rooms for him." Hoshi touched a button on the desk and the door at the back of the room slid open. She grasped the back of the mugger's hoodie, lifted him with one hand, and carried him through the door.

Otto whistled. "Damn, she's strong."

"Beyond the bleeding edge." Rocky chuckled.

The sound of a cell door locking came from the chamber beyond, and Hoshi reappeared.

"What about our other guest?" Shadow said.

"He's still in the lounge on the third floor." Hoshi tapped the side of her head. "I'm linked with the security system; I've got him on-camera at all times."

"Good." Shadow crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at the floor. "I hope his information is accurate. Hope he's worth protecting."

"We'll find out once Jack and the girls find those files."

"Yeah." Shadow sighed. "I can't believe I let that weasel put his dick in me."

Rocky put her hand on Shadow's shoulder and opened her beak, but before she could say anything, Hoshi frowned and cocked her head.

"Hold on. We've got a proximity alert."

Otto raised an eyebrow. "What does--"

"The outside cameras are tracking four incoming SUVs. One is parking in front of our building, the second in the lot beside us, the third in the alley behind us, and the fourth on the street opposite the lot."

"Shit!" Rocky snapped. "The last time this happened, Ralphie got shot in the chest and our whole building got blown to hell." She nudged Shadow's shoulder and pointed at Otto, Shakira, and Hiro. "They're probably here for Winslow. Get these three out of here. We'll evac Winslow."

"I'm not leaving Lola." Hiro planted himself beside her.

"You don't work here; you're a civilian--and a kid."

Ramirez touched his arm. "Hiro, please, do as she says."

"I've been combat-ready since the moment I came out of the tank. I can help."

Rocky sighed. "We don't have time to argue. Lola, you and Enrique try to keep him from getting his head blown off while the rest of us deal with this." She turned to Hoshi. "We'll grab Winslow and head for the armory."

"Shit," Shakira moaned.

Otto glanced at her and saw her eyes darting back and forth. Uh-oh, she's starting to panic. He frowned, wondering why he wasn't on the verge of pissing himself in sheer terror. Maybe it was because this simply didn't seem like it could really be happening.

He grasped her hand and she looked sharply at him.

"Easy." He smiled. "Don't lose your head."

She took a slow breath. "Right. Sure." She pulled her hand away. "Let's go."

He took one step forward before the elevator doors parted--with no one anywhere near them.

"Heat signatures," Hoshi snapped, reaching out to grab Hiro. "They're cloaked. Take cover." She shoved him behind her desk.

The air inside the elevator rippled and Otto backed away, bumping into Shakira. He looked up and found her staring straight ahead, trembling, a sudden upsurge of fear preventing her from thinking clearly.

"Get down!" Rocky yelled, whipping out her hand cannon and aiming it down the hallway.

Otto lunged, plowing into Shakira and shoving her out of the doorway.

A muzzle flash appeared to erupt from empty air in front of the elevator. More followed, seemingly in slow motion as she tumbled to the floor.

Something slammed into his right side and a weird tingling sensation spread through his chest before he managed to get clear of the doorway.

Behind him, Rocky cried out and staggered backward, but was still able to keep shooting.

Otto hit the floor and scooted over to the wall, flinching at each gunshot.

Several seconds passed before he realized that his back was touching the wall--his actual back, without a shirt between his skin and the metal.

...the hell?

Before he could give it any thought, Hoshi backed past him, blasting away, ejecting the spent clip and inserting a fresh one in a single motion, and continued firing.

"Fall back." A bullet struck her forehead, blasting a piece of artificial skin off and revealing the alloy skull beneath. She didn't even blink.

The cell block door opened again. Hoshi twitched her head toward it. "Go."

The air beside Otto rippled, looking like heat waves. Even though he couldn't see more than an indistinct shape, he sensed someone turning to stare momentarily at him.

He lunged forward, thrust his right hand out, and his palm contacted something metal. Another tingling sensation rushed through his whole body and down his arm, concentrating in his palm--and a black flash burst out of his hand and briefly outlined an armor-clad man. The jolt rocketed the intruder into the far wall, leaving a dent in it. The black glow faded, leaving random parts of the man's armor phasing in and out of sight, its systems damaged by whatever the hell had overwhelmed them.

"What the hell?" Otto stared, slack-jawed, and shook his head slowly. What did I just do? And how? And how did I know how to do it?

A hand grasped his arm and he jerked his head to the right, flinching and raising his other hand. He found Rocky leaning over him, hauling him to his feet and clamping her other hand over her left breast.

Blood seeped between her talons.

"Get under cover," she grunted.

Hoshi fired one last shot and her gun's slide locked in the open position. She dropped it without hesitation and charged into the hallway.

Otto peeked around the corner and found her grappling with another distortion in the air. It lifted her off her feet and slammed her into the wall, but she kept her grip. She braced her feet on the wall and pushed, ramming the cloaked intruder into the opposite wall. She spun and rammed him into the wall again, shifted her grip, turned and bent over, and the humanoid-shaped distortion flipped over her and crashed to the floor. Hoshi crouched over the rippling shape, grasped part of it, and gave it a quick, violent twist.

Bones crunched and the sigh of a final breath faded into silence. Hoshi turned, scowling, looking around, and finally stood.

"No more heat signatures detected." She picked up the rifle he'd dropped and slung it over her shoulder.

"What the hell happened?" Hiro said.

"They slipped in while our attention was on the SUVs. These can't be the only ones." She looked around at the others. "Everyone alright?"

"I don't think the bullet hit anything vital." Rocky leaned against the wall, keeping her hand pressed over her wound. "Feels like it didn't even get through my...well..." She looked at Otto.

Otto stared back at her. She doesn't look surprised. It's like she already knew about...well, whatever the hell happened.

He glanced around and found his shirt--and his pants, underwear, socks, and shoes--piled in the doorway. He looked down at himself and gasped.

"What the hell is going on? Why the fuck am I naked?" He picked up his shirt and gaped at the holes in it, where the bullet had passed through.

"Just a guess," Shadow said, "but when you phased through that bullet, letting it pass harmlessly through your body, you also phased through your clothes." She picked up the other hostile's discarded rifle and aimed a shaky smirk at Otto. "You never did get the hang of that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Trembling, heart pounding, he turned to Shakira and wondered which of them looked more horrified. "What that fuck am I?"

"That can wait. We're not in the clear yet." Hoshi marched toward the elevator. "Let's get moving."