"Yeah. So Kilgore is the only way to get paid now. You gotta get him."
"Get him? We gotta get us, Cash. The cavalry is here."
"What cavalry?"
"Can't you see? The Army is here like I told you earlier. Tanks, walkers, airships. We gotta go. They're locking everything down, and I don't wanna be around to have them lump us in with the New Legion. Get Happy and get out of there. I'm taking Mateo with me. We'll meet outside Los Nuevos if I can make it out of here. Hasta luego."
Cash peered into the rain. Lights in the sky were barely visible — airships flying in. Maximillian Tower would be one of the first places they'd secure. He dashed over to Happy and dropped down to help her up. Her eyes blinked open, staring uncomprehendingly before recognition dawned on her bruised and bloodied face.
"Cash. I thought you left."
A weak grin crossed his face. "Well, what can I say? I must really like artificial women. Since you're half artificial, that means I halfway like you."
"Where's… Kilgore?"
"Not here. We gotta move, Happy. Can you walk?"
"Yeah." She let him help her up, stopping to scoop up her broken arm and clutch it tightly to her chest. She stumbled, leaning against Cash for support. He threw an arm around her waist, and together they staggered down the stairwell. When they got back to the command center, they were forced to stop.
Because Jude Maximillian and a highly-armed security team waited for them.
Maximillian's expression was so cold it might have been carved from ice. "I think it best that you come with me."
Chapter 15
"We're in a bit of a predicament," Maximillian said.
Cash looked around at the dim surroundings. "Yeah, I'd say."
The room was originally used for storage, but it had been hastily reconditioned into a holding cell for Maximillian's four unique prisoners.
Jinx and Mateo ran into an aerial blockade trying to escape and were forced to land. She leaned back in her chair, a bored expression on her face. Probably planning her escape, knowing her. Mateo was sound asleep, leaned over the tabletop with his head in his arms, snoring softly. Happy sat beside Cash, examining the stump of her ruined arm with an unreadable expression. Cash sat with his arms folded, itching for a cigarillo.
Maximillian faced them without concern, most likely because he was backed by a full squad of armed humanoid guards. The entire population of synoids had been reactivated as soon as Maximillian regained control. Outside the building, the UH Army secured the Haven. People began to emerge from their safe rooms, staring at the chaos in shock and wonder. The ordeal was over.
Maximillian studied them each in turn as if weighing options in his head. "On one hand, you bounty hunters somehow were instrumental in ending Hamilton's little coup. On the other hand, the four of you are a major problem."
He ticked off the points on his fingers. "Cassian Murdock. Ex-cop turned bounty hunter. You're the only piece of the puzzle that fits. Unfortunately, you chose to team up with an ex-HSSC agent responsible for several unwarranted assassinations, all against former members of her unit. Then there's Jazmin Cole, aka Jinx la Fox. Black-hat hacker wanted by practically every cyber-crime enforcement agency, not to mention some very powerful corporations and criminal organizations. Lastly, there's this one."
He pointed at Mateo, who still slept on, blissfully unaware of the conversation. "A nobody. No records, no identification, no genetic or digital footprint. That alone is highly illegal, notwithstanding the fact that security footage shows him possessing enhanced combat skills that put him on even ground with the deadliest killer in the world."
Maximillian scrubbed his hand through his perfectly coifed hair. "So tell me one thing: who in the world are you people?"
Cash shrugged. "Just another Nimrod squad, pal. Are we under arrest or what?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"On your silence. No one can know what happened here. The cover stories are already in place online and across vid-screens throughout the Territories. A rogue general and his rebel army, driven to desperation and madness by some mysterious illness they contracted on Mars. Kirk Hamilton's campaign of terror was ended by the heroic efforts of the loyal UH military and HSSC operatives led by Special Agent Ryan Hessler."
Jinx rolled her eyes. "So Hessler gets his ass kicked, and he gets to be the hero? Eso es pura paja, man."
"It might be bullshit, but that's what's on the menu. And Hessler vouched for the lot of you, by the way. He didn't have to stick his neck out, but he did. You infiltrated my system, found weaknesses I didn't know existed. I can either be furious or grateful, depending on how this conversation goes. Make no mistake: I'm quite capable of putting all of you deep in a hole you'll never emerge from, no matter what your collective skills are. But instead, I'm willing to be generous if you're disposed to being discreet about this whole ordeal."
Cash raised an eyebrow. "How generous?"
A small smile touched Maximillian's lips. "Quite."
Mateo woke up to the sensation of movement. The buoyant feeling of swiftly gliding over the air. He was back in the Battle-Cat, then. He sat up in his bunk, yawning and stretching until his tendons cracked. Leaping off the top bunk, he exited the tiny sleeping nook and wandered into the narrow hallway. Hearing voices, he followed the sound to the cargo hold, where the crew was gathered around a mobile capsule laid horizontally on the workbench. Jinx looked up as he entered.
"You finally awake, chulo? You were sleepwalking for hours before we finally got you in the bunk."
He grinned. "Just needed to recharge. I feel brand-new now. What's going on here?"
Cash waved him over. "Come on over. I want you to meet Deejay."
"I already met Deejay."
"Not in person."
Mateo walked over and peered into the window of the capsule. Inside the padded chamber was a petite Asian woman, eyes closed as if in a deep sleep. A snug cap covered her head, affixed with sensors that blinked in multiple colors.
"Oh, wow. A new-gen synoid model. She's beautiful."
"No kidding. She looks exactly how she looked… before." Cash's eyes shimmered when he stared down at her. He cleared his throat and scrubbed a hand across his face. "Maximillian custom built her for me. As a reward. Deejay didn't want Maximillian to know who she was so we took the synoid and swapped its brain core with Deejay's ourselves. Her program is downloading from the Battle-Cat's system now. Stabilizing will take a few more hours."
"That's so cool." Mateo looked up excitedly. "Did I get anything?"
"Matter of fact, you did." Cash handed him a metal box. "Open it."
Inside was a holoband. Mateo pulled it out and examined it. "This is mine? So awesome!"
"Yeah, kid. Maximillian programmed an ID file for you that will pass any security inspection. He said it's a prototype model — lots of tools and apps for you to play with."
Mateo placed in on his wrist, feeling the warmth as the band adjusted for size and the sensors bonded to his skin. "What did the rest of you get?"
Happy flexed her brand-new bionic arm. It gleamed in the light as she moved it. "Got put back together. With a few additional mods. Good enough for me."
Jinx looked up from the monitoring display on the capsule. "I got my record expunged. No more worrying about being nabbed by the federales."
"And we all got paid." Cash handed Mateo a slim bag. "Two million's seriously cheap if you ask me, but Maximillian said it's a year's pay for his security team. Says we did their job, so we get their pay. The richest people are always the stingiest. Anyway, it's split four ways, fair and square. This is your cut."