At first, he received no response. No one called a reply and he couldn’t hear any movement within. Maybe he arrived when they weren’t home? Was this a home or an office? When the door slid open slowly, it caught him by surprise. A woman with long blonde hair that curled at the ends stood in the entrance. She had kind green eyes and wore a flowing white dress.
“Hello, young man, how can I help you?” she asked, her voice almost sing-song.
“This is the last person I would have imagined we were delivering to,” Chief said, flabbergasted.
“No kiddin’,” Kaiden muttered under his breath. He straightened and adjusted his coat. “Hello, I’m Kaiden. I’m here to deliver something on behalf of Julio Salazar.”
For only a brief moment, he could have sworn he saw the woman twitch, although it might have been the chill in the air. “I see. May I have it?”
“Certainly, it’s why I’m here.” He held the box out and she took it and studied it for a moment before she raised her other hand. She wore a bracelet with six different objects attached to it. Her expression calm and smiling, she removed the jewelry and held one of the objects to the top of the cube. It flashed green when the object made contact and the top folded open in four sections. She looked inside and her smile slid from her face to be replaced by one of contentment. After she’d examined the contents for a moment, she nodded and placed the box on a table near the door.
She looked at Kaiden and her soft smile returned. “Do you mind waiting here? I need to send something in return.”
That wasn’t part of the deal, he thought but he shrugged and nodded. He had to return the ship at the end anyway.
“I’ll only be a moment.” The woman turned and walked away to disappear around the corner.
He leaned against the railing of the stairway and rolled his neck from side to side, more out of boredom than anything else. “Well, that was simple enough.”
“She left the box open. It’s right there,” Chief pointed out. “Do you wanna take a peek?”
“I was raised better than that,” he retorted.
“Bull.”
The ace smiled. “Honestly, I think it’s simply that what I thought it might be is actually cooler than whatever it really is. Considering what she looks like, it’s probably a gift for one of Juli—”
“I’m back.” The woman stepped around the corner.
Kaiden straightened and turned toward her. “All right, what do you need me to—” A loud and ominous crack preceded a violent pain in his chest. The force catapulted him from the door, and he rolled down the stairs and landed hard on the pavement. His instincts kicked in and he shoved onto his knees, drew Debonair, and aimed at the woman. “What the hell, lady?”
“I see that Julio is smart enough to send someone in armor, at least. Even if he’s still a coward,” she sneered and lowered her hand cannon. “Tell him this makes up for his last mistake, but if he’s late again, I’ll come personally,”
The ace lowered his pistol, confusion written on his face. She reached for the door handle. “And as for what I need to be delivered, that shot was meant for him. Where you put it is up to you.” She slammed the door closed. Kaiden stood and his hand actually shook a little as he holstered his pistol.
“Hey, Chief…” he began, then grimaced and clenched his teeth for a moment. “Get Julio on the comms.”
Chapter Eighteen
“And that was team seven, eliminated in only seven minutes. Kind of fitting, huh?” the announcer declared and tried to make a joke of the situation, but it didn’t really settle the booing.
“All right, let’s forget about them and move on.”
“That crowd out there are rather bloodthirsty, aren’t they?” Indre scowled.
“Well, if you’re a regular spectator here, I’d imagine you’ve seen some good matches up to this point,” Flynn pointed out. “That team didn’t even last half the match time, and I think they only scored a couple of thousand points.”
“Eighteen hundred,” their attendant informed them. “I think that’s technically the third lowest score ever at ArenaMAX. Although we’ve had over twenty teams get zero, so that’s a multiple tie.”
“I guess they can hold onto that for a silver lining.” The marksman snickered.
“How much time will they need to ready the field?” Jaxon asked.
She looked wryly at him and brushed at a streak of dust on her staff uniform. “Not long at all, I’d imagine. You might as well step closer to the gate and take a look at the field.”
Genos was already in place and stared at the clean-up below. “It’s a fairly level field with a few pillars and large obstacles for cover, three watchtowers, and two large platforms on either side.” He looked at the group. “The robots seem to be typical battle models—Guardians, Soldiers, and the like. I assume each type is worth their own set of points?”
“Spot on.” The attendant nodded. “I guess I should have given you guys the full overview. I got a little caught up in the preparations.”
“It’s cool. We had a rundown of the rules before we went into the locker room,” Indre replied. “Our friend is merely cautious.”
Flynn approached the gate and studied one of the towers. “Will we stick together or do our own thing?”
“I suppose I’m open to either,” Jaxon responded with a shrug.
“You guys seem confident,” the attendant stated and clasped her hands behind her head. “But like I said, we make sure these are tough. Our visitors want a challenge and we wouldn’t have the ravenous fans we do if we pulled punches.”
“And yet I can see that the droids don’t use top-of-the-line power cores for their energy weapons,” Genos said. Flynn leaned forward as the Tsuna pointed to where a pile of parts was being taken away by a Cleaning droid. “I assumed that was a cost-cutting measure at first, but those tubes are meant to fortify the joints in a droid’s body. It adds extra defense but at the expense of movement and snap targeting, which is one of the reasons you would want droids for battle instead of organic soldiers.”
“So a big part of the challenge, then, simply comes from the fact that they might be a little harder to destroy than normal,” Indre summarized.
The attendant blinked and scratched the side of her cheek a little sheepishly. “It’s not like it was a big secret or anything, but I have to say you have a good eye there, sir.”
Genos turned and gave a quick bow. “Thank you. My discipline is engineering, for the most part.”
“Team eight, I hope you’re ready,” the announcer cried.
“It looks like you guys are up,” the woman declared with an excited clap. “Best of luck. When you’re done, come back through here and I’ll be ready to congratulate you.”
“See you in about fifteen minutes, then.” Indre skipped beside Flynn and Genos with Jaxon behind her.
“So, free-for-all, then?” the marksman asked.
“They are essentially slower versions of the droids we’ve trained with for the last three years,” Genos reminded the team.
Jaxon cocked his head and stared over the field. “Be sure to tell the others if you need help.”
Flynn laughed. “Are you really worried?”
The Tsuna ace shook his head. “Not about you getting hurt, no.” He began to walk through the gate. “But we will have individual scores as well as a team score. I wouldn’t want you to fall too far behind me.”
The Aussie was honestly taken aback by the boast. Genos tapped his infuser and looked at him. “You know, he’s talked to Kaiden much more these last few months.”
His teammate laughed again. “Yeah, I can tell.” He hefted his rifle. “And I doubt I can get under his skin as easily with a few playground insults, so I guess I’ll have to put some work in.”
The people on Layton street cleared a path as he strode forward. Some tried simply to get home quickly, while others wanted to finish their shopping before the evening rush. However, a good number wanted to avoid the man
who spoke loudly into the comms in his ear, even though most people didn’t see a device.
“She shot me because you’re an asshole,” Kaiden snapped and fixed his gaze on a point in the distance. The crowds parted automatically to give him space.
“Do you know that for sure? Maybe she was an assassin?” Julio suggested. The ploy wasn’t helped by his barely contained laughter.
“And how is that better exactly?” he retorted and turned down another street. Many of the shoppers breathed a sigh of relief as he walked away. “That means you knowingly sent me to an assassin’s doorstep.”
“You’re acting like that’s a big deal. What have they taught you at that academy?” the other man asked.
“Restraint, fortunately.”
“So you did pay attention in those discussions. I’ll tell Chiyo you willingly ignored her.”
“Shut it, Chief.”
“Yeah, yeah, take it out on me.”
“Seriously, Kaiden, do you think I would knowingly send you into a dangerous situation?” Julio asked. His tone was still jovial, but a hint of seriousness showed through. “Fair enough, I guess I do that as a job. But I wouldn’t trick you like that, especially not after the Brazil gig.”
Kaiden stopped in the street and sighed heavily. “Are you still beating yourself up about that?” he asked, and a little tension slid away in favor of a calmer tone. “Don’t worry about it anymore, Julio. That’s the past now.” His tone became a little more agitated. “Especially when the present annoys me far more.”
“Yeah, I get that from the vibes, and I’m hundreds of miles away.” The dealer chuckled and ice cubes clinked against glass. “Look, in all seriousness, Marie and I have something of a…complex relationship.”
“If this is leading to a sex confession, you can stop now.”
Julio snorted. “It wasn’t, but a quick word of advice. Before acts of passion, don’t eat any spicy peppers. It’s apparently an uncomfortable sensation for the fairer sex.”
He rubbed his temples and grimaced. “Dammit, man.”
“Solid advice, though.”
“And how would you know?”
“Experience,” the dealer related.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” The ace rolled his eyes. “In any case, I assume you did something to piss her off. And I have evidence to back me up if you try to weasel your way out of that.” He looked down and slipped a finger into the hole over his left breastplate where he had been shot.
“Yeah, but I didn’t think it would lead to her attempting murder,” Julio muttered. “Last time I saw her, she only tried to tase me.”
“Well, it’s certainly escalated since then,” Kaiden retorted.
A series of rather high-pitched giggles issued from the usually deep-voiced Julio. “I’ll make a mental note to send her good wine and the macrons she likes so much from a dessert boutique in Seattle. That should work as a peace offering.”
“Make sure the delivery man rings the bell and runs.” He glanced at a map of the city and confirmed that he was about ten blocks away from the agency. “I guess this has been a rather long way to confirm that I’ve made your delivery. I have to take care of my main objective now.”
“I see.” Julio sipped noisily. “I’ll not ask too many questions about that, then.”
“That’s probably smart.”
“Seriously, though, Kaiden. Thanks for completing that little errand. Best of luck to you.”
He smiled. “I appreciate it, Julio. Once we get the device and decide what we have to do from there, I’ll call you and let you know when we’ll get your ship back to you.”
“Take your time. I expected this to be at least a week,” the man responded. “But make sure to come back as intact as my ship.”
“No worries there. Dying isn’t one of my talents.” He chuckled.
“I would hope not, considering you can only make use of it once. Take care, Kaiden.”
“You too, Julio.” He ended the call.
“You know, you’ve gotten soft over these last couple years. Our spats from the first year were way more intense.”
“To be fair, I can’t get too mad at the guy who keeps giving me work,” Kaiden admitted. “Still, it was a dick move.”
“We’re close to the agency. Should we give Chiyo a call?”
“Nah, I’m sure if something came up, she would call us.” The ace looked around. “Although thanks for saying something. I forgot to get her something to eat.”
“I saw a takoyaki stand back on that other street. Do you think she would like that?”
“Maybe. That’s Japanese right?” He thought about it for a moment. “Maybe I shouldn’t make assumptions. But she didn’t specify.”
“That kabob you got is about twelve blocks back.”
“To hell with that. Let’s get the squid balls and hope those will suffice.”
“Such enthusiasm.”
Chapter Nineteen
One shot and three droids in a line are dead. Flynn smirked. He looked at the board, sure that he should have enough points to keep Jaxon humble.
Team Eight - 38,450 points
Jaxon – 11,600 points
Genos – 9,750 points
Indre – 8,800 points
Flynn – 8,300 points
Time Remaining: 7:42
What the actual hell? He was last? It could only be because he took the time for clean kills. The others simply raced around and used the old spray and pray technique. The marksman drew a deep breath to ease his irritation. He shouldn’t rag on his teammates because he knew they were good, and this kind of match was where their strengths lay. Although he was partially right, he would need a change in tactics if he wanted to catch up. He saw mechanicals from the corner of his eye, adjusted his sniper rifle casually, and fired two shots with a simple pivot to blow both their heads off. He holstered his weapon and retrieved his sub-machine gun before he leapt off the edge of the watchtower.
Genos spun from the cover of the large stone and fired a concentrated blast. It annihilated two of the pursuing droids, but the Guardian still stood, although not for long. Most of its front plating was compromised. He drew his hand cannon quickly and fired two shots. They connected, demolished the droid’s power unit, and deactivated it. More of the enemy approached, both Assault and Soldier, and he needed distance and a way to group them. He had been hit a couple of times—fortunately not enough to damage his armor, but his shield needed a little more time before it would be back at one hundred percent.
The Tsuna kept that in mind. They still had a mission to complete and it would be a waste to damage his armor in play, even in a situation that might be considered too violent to be merely a game. This was the same reason he didn’t use any of his explosives or gadgets at the moment. There were a few restocks on the ship, but that would be a misuse of inventory.
A flurry of activity from the Assault droids released a volley of lasers toward him. He rolled away from the attack and scrambled across the field to one of the pillars. Once behind cover, he adjusted the funnel of his cannon. It didn’t look like they would group together, but he could probably obliterate them with a beam sweep.
He spun to fire, but the enemy teetered and fell, all shot in the back by a drone that hovered behind them. In the distance, Indre waved at him. She apparently didn’t share his concerns about using gadgets, but she was an agent and could repair the drone if it was destroyed.
He couldn’t say that about a thermal grenade.
Jaxon snatched the arm of the Assault droid and sliced into the shoulder joint, then reached in and ripped out the exposed circuits. The arm began to spin wildly, and he kicked the mechanical away as a Soldier droid rounded the corner and was immediately felled when the first collided with it. The malfunctioning arm smashed into the head of the new arrival and the ace pounded his boot into the head of the Assault droid. It was all a little reckless, certainly, but he had gained the lead and had yet to see anything but Assault, Soldie
r, and Guardian droids.
These presented no real challenge, so he had to make his own. He hadn’t had the opportunity to practice his blade skills recently and this would do. Something shattered rock and he whirled to identify the cause—a Brute droid with a cannon on one arm and a dense frame that protected its body. It couldn’t move quickly, but the cannon caused area damage and if he was caught by its free hand, it could easily lead to shattered bones. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d fought against one during training.
It raised its weapon and prepared to fire. Jaxon almost drew his pistol, but he saw no other droids around. He might as well keep to his own rules for now. Even if it took him a couple of minutes, this one might be worth the points. It should prove an interesting experience, at least.
“Those four are from Nexus Academy?” a man in the spectators’ booth asked.
“According to the files, yes,” his teammate replied, looking at a holoscreen. “They are all third years—Masters as they call them.”
“Masters?” a brutish man responded with a chuckle. “Hell, that’s a four-year school, isn’t it? What are the fourth years called?”
“Masters, at least until they graduate. Then they are Victors.”
“Good Lord, that’s pretentious.” The bigger man laughed and took a swig of beer.
“Says the oaf who calls himself Lycan.” A woman sighed as she placed the newly cleaned scope back onto her rifle. “And pretentious or not, they could beat our score by the end of their time.”
“We didn’t take it seriously,” Lycan responded. “At least I didn’t. And Lycan is only a code name.”
“That you demand we call you,” the hacker retorted. “Then again, Fred doesn’t exactly strike terror into anyone.”
“You got that right.” He laughed and finished his beer. “It looks like they will be the ones we face in the finals.”
Animus Boxed Set 2 (Books 5-8): Revenant, Glitch, Master, Infiltration Page 75
