STEALTH and TRACK: BOOK ONE

C H A P T E R N I N E T E E N

FERN'S POV

Wrecker and I scaled the upper levels of the decommission factory, knocking out the workers along the way, until we reached the highest platform. From there, we had a bird's eye view of the whole facility. While we moved, our comm channel buzzed with continuous updates.

"There's only one in the system. The rest have already been destroyed." Echo informed.

"We have one shot at this." Hunter presumed.

"It's on the northern conveyor belt."

"Found it!" Omega called. "Well, sort of. It's in pieces."

"Is the head intact?" Tech inquired.

"Affirmative." Omega copied, then yelled, "Wait! Someone just ran off with the droid head!"

"Wrecker!" I called. We both whipped out our binospecs and scanned the area. The muscular clone spotted the intruder first.

"I'm on it!" Both Omega and I exclaimed, and I ditched Wrecker. After sliding down a metal pole, I leapt off onto two levels below and dashed across the grated platform in pursuit of the young girl, hoping I can beat her. Hunter objected to both of us moving in.

"Already in pursuit, Sarge." I smirked into my gauntlet. My enhanced skills transcended in this terrain: I could pounce off railings and vault over platforms to gain distance quickly. There were plenty of obstacles I could traverse, bound over, grasp onto, and utilize to descend levels without hesitation. I paused only to search for our target's thief. Using the binospecs, I realized I lost them. However, I did spot Omega. She was confronting another 'worker', drawing back her crossbow and aiming it at what looked like a woman disguised as one. Before I could back her up, the woman lunged at the young girl. The latter released a violet laser bolt directly into the facility's walls, causing a exhaust breach. The actual factory staff locked the place down, making this mission exceedingly more interesting.

The next inconvenience to file in was the police droids we had managed to avoid earlier. Some were heading right towards Omega and the woman. "Omega, I'm on my way to you. Hang tight." I announced in my comm. I was about sixty yards from her, with wide gaps in between each metal suspension. There did not seem to be an easy route - only tedious ones. Wrecker started blasting the droids from where I left him, causing a distraction. The woman Omega faced took off. The young girl raced after her.

"Half-Pint, what did I just say?!" I groaned. Leaping over the railing, I descended one level before catching another rail and slinging myself under the bridge. Then, I flawlessly clasped my hands on a vertical pole. Using that same momentum, I vaulted and grasped onto a rusted ladder, not too far from Omega's original position. Then, I used the same platform to chase after her. Meanwhile, I'm hearing her and Hunter's voice on my comm.

"There's a second person after the target. Don't worry; I'm in pursuit." Omega reported confidently.

"No, stay put. We already have the droid head." Hunter confirmed prematurely.

I wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but when I finally managed to catch up to Omega, I suddenly heard "Rafa, catch!" The woman, Rafa I presumed, was then in possession of the droid head that flew up out of nowhere, only to ram into a police droid and drop it over the ledge. It tumbled out of sight onto a conveyor belt.

"I've got it!" A second woman, also disguised, and Omega called, and then raced each other down. 

Still processing the fast pace of events, Hunter suddenly appeared next to me. Rafa was in front of us. Only her tanned face was visible; she wore make-up that darkened her features.