The Neo-Metropol Heist

17: Artem

"You know, I think I've been shot at more in the past week than I have in my entire life," Artem muttered to himself as he slogged through dirty ankle-high water, "I blame Edward."
He followed Theo through a dark, damp alleyway formed underneath a wide platform of buildings and shacks, with Cad watching his back. They formed a single-file line that stalked carefully through the darkness, the night air still alive with gunfire and shouts.
"What?" Theo asked, half-interested.
"Nothing," Artem said dismissively, "I'm just considering my life choices, you know, no big deal. Where are we going?"
Theo stopped for a moment and looked as though she was going to turn around to answer his question, instead she pulled out her terminal, cheap and plastic with a cracked screen, and began to swipe at it angrily.
"Death Row," she said, still focused on the terminal.
"Death Row?" Artem asked, confused.
When Theo didn't answer, Cad stepped forward.
"Death Row is the most populous area of the Beach, home to an estimated thirteen thousand residents," he explained in a synthetically helpful tone.
"Huh," Artem replied, "bit ominous. And why are we going there, pray tell?"
Theo slid the terminal back into the breast pocket of her worn leather jacket.
"I have people... family, I guess," Theo said, "I'm not leaving until they're safe."
"Family?" Artem asked, "like, brothers and sisters?"
Theo shook her head, "not exactly, no," she said cryptically.
They came to a ladder built up the side of the slimy brick wall, leading up onto the platform above. Theo took the lead and Artem followed her up, hearing Cad's joint servos whirring quietly as he came up after him.
"The rioting hasn't reached here yet, there's too many people here to risk," Theo said, trying to reassure herself. The statement was almost immediately countered by a glimpse of a patrol marching past through a gap between the shacks that surrounded them, the loud, angry buzzing of their radio crackling, "shit."
"Relax," Artem said, receiving a dismissive scoff from her, "we'll stay out of their way and be out of here before they see us. Lead the way."
Theo nodded and turned in the opposite direction the patrol officers went, taking them out into a quiet street, lit only by a line of intermittent floodlights and candle-light coming from the shacks either side of them.
They kept to the side, ready to hide from any patrol if necessary. As they stalked quietly, they heard a screech as a shack door swung open. The three turned on their heels, only to find a frail elderly woman with straggly white hair peeking out.
"Theocea, is that you?" The woman asked quietly, Theo made herself known by leaning out of the shadows and the woman exhaled with relief, "spasibo yebat, child. Are you okay?"
"Mama Koslov," Theo exclaimed, "yes, I'm fine. Where are Anni and Priyat?"
'Mama Koslov', the ragged old woman, put her hand to her heart.
"They are at your lachuga, I tried to get them to remain with me but they refused. They say they are to 'protect' your home," she said, her voice worried.
"That will be Anni, I told her," Theo swore under her breath.
"You must be careful, the skot are there, rounding us up, it isn't safe," Koslov said, still only half-leaning out of her shack. The door was painted but faded, standing out from the shacks around it, well lived in but tired.
"I won't leave them, not here," Theo said.
Koslov nodded.
"Thien and Williams are coming back with the men they took this afternoon, they won't let the NMPF do this," she said, referencing people that Artem didn't know, "be careful, child."
Theo thanked her and Koslov disappeared back into her shack.
"What can your automata do?" Theo asked, pointing at Cad like he was an object.
Artem shrugged.
"Depends on what you need," he said, "he's the reason I don't carry a gun, if that helps. What do you need him to do?"
Theo didn't answer, instead nodding slowly, then dipping into the alleyway next to Koslov's shack. Artem glanced at Cad, who took up a prepared stance, and followed after her.
Artem noticed that he could see his own breath as he began to pant, trying to keep up with Theo. They were three streets further over when she finally stopped, leaning out into the street but staying in cover.
She allowed Artem to look past her, and he wasn't particularly thrilled with what he saw.
A patrol, at least four, wearing thick panelled riot armour and herding a group of tired men and women through the damp mud - a light drizzle had started falling and it made their hair dark and straggly, the raindrops just bouncing off the smooth helmets of the patrol officers.
"Oh, der'mo," Theo spat, "they're rounding up the people like animals."
"Trying to cut the head off the riot by attacking the weak spots," Artem said.
"It has never been this bad before," Theo mumbled to herself, "I need to find Anni and Priyat."
She pointed across the way to a shack with a roof that was slightly askew, a stencilled number '406' on the ajar door.
She counted to three quietly, and then bolted across the dark road, kicking up a trail of wet mud but avoiding the notice of the patrol that were too distracted by the crowds they were herding like cattle.
If the situation had been different, the fifty-odd crowd would have overwhelmed the ten guards, if not for the armour and murderous looking guns. The minority overwhelming the majority with brute strength and leveraged power, like always, Artem thought.
Artem leaned out of the alleyway, picked his moment and followed after her, falling through the open door into the relative warmth of the insulated shack, Cad appearing behind him.
There was no light, the power junctions for the Beach probably severed by the patrols to try and rout the rioters.
The steel walls were lined with dusty image frames that provided a sickly electronic glow from silent video clips of people that Artem didn't recognise. Theo was in a few of them, smiling and hugging people close to her.
Artem felt like he was trespassing into a space that wasn't for him, a fellow thief's abode full of things he had no business seeing. He resisted the urge to avert his eyes and followed Theo into the inky blackness.
"Anni," Theo whispered into the dark, "Priyat."
Her voice echoed against the light tap-tap of the rain against the metal of the shack. There was nothing for a few moments, then a whimper.
Theo burst forward to a cupboard on the far side of the room and pulled the door open, revealing a young boy, no older than five or six, with cappuccino skin and a grubby vest.
"Pri!" Theo quietly cried, hugging the boy who nuzzled his head into her shoulder, his long, black hair draping down her back.
Artem watched carefully, then glanced at Cad.
"I'm reading increased heart rate symptomatic of panic and emotional distress, coupled with adrenaline increase, but there are no obvious signs of physical injury," Cad said.
Theo glanced up at them, then back at Priyat, who had calmed slightly.
"Pri, where is Anni?" Theo whispered to the boy, who merely whimpered and pointed to the door, Theo followed his hand, put her hand on his head gently, then turned and ran to the door.
Before she could reach it, Artem reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back as inoffensively as he could manage.
"Wait," he said.
She turned to him with eyes that seemed to snarl.
"What?"
"Are you insane?" He said, not a question, "that patrol is in full FUBAR gear, you won't get within two feet before they drop you, don't be stupid."
Theo looked as though she wanted to argue, but then her face softened. Then, from outside, there came a scream and shouts. Her head snapped back to the door and she leaned out as far as she could without being noticed.
Artem followed her eyes, looking out a gap that served as a window. The patrol officer at the front of the crowd dragged a scruffy looking girl who couldn't have been older than ten out into the centre of the street, the child kicking and yelling like an animal.
"Anni," Theo whispered mutedly, then she turned back to Artem, "what do you suggest?"
A few moments later, Artem had outlined his general plan and Theo had reluctantly agreed as Anni's shouts and refusals became louder and louder against the dull roar outside.
Theo took the boy she called Priyat out a back entrance to the shack to wait for Artem's signal.
"Ready?" Artem asked Cad, readying to open the door as Cad nodded, "just, er, don't let me get shot. The usual."
"Of course, Artem," Cad replied sincerely, readying his right arm.
"I'll set them up, you knock them down," Artem said, cracking his neck, "one, two..." not bothering to reach three, he swung the door open and stepped out into the night, turning to the patrol that immediately clocked him.
"Hey!" He called as he saw rifles raise and the young girl's eyes go wide, "over here!"
As the rifles rose, he ducked away, watching the muzzles follow him and flash like a fireworks display. There was a clatter as the barrage of electro bolts struck the metal of the shack he took cover behind just in time.
He turned to see Cad appear, his face lacking expression or emotion and momentarily making him the most terrifying thing Artem had ever seen. Faster than any human could move, and quicker than the patrol could readjust their aim, Cad lifted his arm and fired a small metal pellet that glowed with a light blue.
It detonated inches from the patrol, a plume of blue light enveloping them quickly. Artem saw and heard their guns come alive with overheating warnings, with one of them even dropping theirs to the dirt.
The light lit up their suits and even though there was no visible sign, Artem knew that the suits were experiencing major malfunctions and massive power failure, meaning that the highly dangerous anti-personnel 'shock-shield' technology that lined their suits was no longer active.
He stepped back out into the street and yelled "now!", and almost immediately, Theo reappeared from the space behind the shacks.
The girl's face lit up as Theo launched towards the patrol, her fists alight with some kind of electric lining that crackled angrily. Her hands moving too fast, leaving trails of distorted light against the darkness of the night like a sparkler.
The patrol officer nearest to her didn't even have time to react as she shattered the faceplate of his suit with a yell, the electrified fists puncturing the thick toughened material effortlessly. The officer's body had barely hit the ground before she was moving onto the next one.
The gloves were a kind of technology Artem had never encountered, obviously some type of home-brewed weapon designed for self-defence. Rough and brutal, they matched up with Theo's animalistic fighting style perfectly.
The second officer raised her gun like a club, but Theo grabbed it and used the power of the gloves to bend the muzzle, using her free hand to deliver a rib-shattering punch to her solar plexus.
By this point, the third officer was scrambling away, but Theo charged him and slammed him into the closest wall, his head taking the brunt of the impact and leaving him sliding to the floor, twitching.
Theo turned to the final officer, at the exact moment he dragged the girl to her feet and pulled a concealed combat knife from the holster at his waist, holding it to her neck, making Theo screech to a halt, her face desperate and filled with rage.
The officer's faceplate hissed and snapped up automatically, juddering slightly due to the still-occurring malfunctions within the suit's computer.
"Whoa-oh," he snarled from a grinning, moustachioed mouth, "slow your roll there."
He pulled the knife, and the girl, closer to his chest to show that he was in control. One of his fallen comrades groaned in pain, but he ignored it.
The knife was an awful looking thing, serrated edges with rusted steel that made it seem bloodied a well-used.
"Now, why don't we all just chill?" The officer said, almost diplomatically but laced with hate and poison, "and I don't have to hurt your little friend here."
Theo made a noise like a wounded animal as Anni's face grew even more panicked.
"Fuck you," Theo barked, her voice breaking.
Artem glanced between the officer and Theo, then turned to Cad, who had automatically assumed what he was going to say.
"Cad," Artem said, "drop him."
Cad nodded, raised his arm, and launched a dart no bigger than Artem's index finger. It sailed through the air, grazing Anni's crown and puncturing the soft membrane between the armour plating of the officer's suit.
There was a shrill buzz and his grip came loose, Anni diving away as the officer folded awkwardly to the floor, an ugly gurgle coming from his open faceplate.
Anni ran into Theo's arms as Priyat ran from the alley he'd been hiding in. The crowd behind them watched on in shock, looking confused. Then, Theo stood up and stared at Artem.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She snapped, "that thing could have killed her!"
Artem shook his head.
"You're welcome, by the way," he said, "and no, he really couldn't have."
As Theo turned back to the children, Artem turned to Cad and lowered his voice.
"They were non-lethal rounds, right?" He asked quietly.
Cad raised his arm and examined it for a moment.
"Yes, Artem," he said.
Theo turned to the watching crowd, now almost wet-through from the rain. Her hair formed long, dark strands like silk that fell across her face.
"All of you, go home and stay there," she shouted, with some air of authority that Artem wondered about for a moment, "try and get your partners and children to come home. We are all angry but this isn't a fight we can win this way."
The crowd murmured in agreement and dispersed randomly, treading over the unconscious bodies of the officers that had threatened them without any semblance of respect.
"Okay, thank you for your help," Theo said, after checking Priyat and Anni over like a mother hen, "can you get us out of here?"
Artem nodded, pulling up Harry on his heads up display and preparing to call him. He hadn't seen or heard a car being shot down so he was pretty sure the old man was still flying. As he gestured with his eyes, he watched as Anni stepped forward and hugged Cad's leg, who glanced down almost awkwardly.
"Thank you," she said, holding him closely for a few moments before stepping away and returning to Priyat.
Artem looked at Cad and grinned at his bewilderment.
Then, the moment was interrupted by the shouts and cries of a voice speaking through a synthesiser.
In the distance, a group of patrol officers appeared and immediately saw them, the lead officer barking a command to his team.
"Time to go," Artem said, following as Theo agreed and ushered the children into the alleyway to their right.
They disappeared into the darkness, the heavy footsteps and shouts of the patrol close behind them. Artem brought up Harry's name and opened a connection, which Harry accepted immediately.
"Uncle Harry, we need a pick-up now, like, if you've got a minute," Artem gasped.
"Way ahead of you, kid," Harry growled, "next street over, there's an old jumpcar platform, I'm there."
Artem wanted to laugh with relief but resisted the urge, knowing he wouldn't hear the end of it from Harry.
"Glad you aren't dead, Harry," was all he said.
"You too, kid."
They ran through the next alleyway and burst out into an opening that appeared to be some kind of old storage area for the nearby market, surrounding a raised metal platform on which the ancient jumpcar sat hovering quietly.
They slogged through knee-deep water towards the platform, with Theo lifting Priyat and Anni onto it the second the pursuing patrol officers appeared behind them.
Theo, Artem and Cad pulled themselves onto the platform at the same second the patrol raised their rifles.
Artem had barely registered what Cad was doing before he'd done it, lifting his arm and firing a length of electrified cord at the water below. It darted from his wrist and planted in the water with a narrow splash.
Immediately, the patrol officers, stood knee-deep in the water, started jerking awkwardly as the current passed through the water and into their suits instantly, then threw them all backwards.
Artem slapped Cad's shoulder and grinned.
"Kid, let's go!" Harry cried from the driver's seat.
They all climbed into the back of the van and Artem pulled the door closed, shutting it the second the engines kicked into life as the car lifted away, leaving him pressed against it, panting quietly.