Hydra Heart

Chapter Fifteen

"Counterfit operates independently of her mind. It blocks attack, even those she can't see coming, so even if you change her perception, we're not gonna beat her. You're not coming, and that's final."

"Whatever," she growled and exited. No one present realized just how furious and afraid she was.

"Anyway..." Tenra pulled Molly and Vesta back in, "We're gonna go in when the hurricane strikes. Molly, we're gonna guard Vesta while she goes into..." Tenra whipped out the blueprints Molly had acquired earlier. "This room."

He pointed to the area where Vesta would have access to the entire city's power grid. It was in the lobby, the very first and easiest to access floor of the building. It was behind some (presumably) heavy CryptLocks, but Tenra had prepared.

"Huh, this looks like it will not be too difficult. With hell unfolding outside, we could go in and out easily," Vesta commented.

"Yeah, if we can deal with Bruta," Tenra concurred, "And then... well, whatever happens in that head of yours Vesta, might be able to get us somewhere. And, if everything goes according to plan, we're gonna blackout a city in a hurricane and start a revolution." He let out a sigh of satisfaction, before he remembered his troubles with his daughter.

--

Molly opened the screen door and beckoned Vesta to step out onto the balcony with her. There were two chairs, so they both had a seat and looked out onto the city. Molly gazed out, taking in her surroundings. "You know..." She began, "Late at night, the city's kind of..."

"This shit ugly." Vesta suggested.

"Yes!" Molly agreed. "You can't even see the stars through the smog! All the buildings are either flat gray or nauseatingly bright. Logos and concrete don't exactly set the mood." She quietly imagined what it would be like to live in the cities from ages ago, before they were like this. Little did she know...

"Do you think that's why they call it Alogos?"

Molly scoffed. "That'd be funny. But, it's probably an etymology thing. Like how I was named after a shopping mall."

"Ah yes," Vesta retorted, "And I was named after an outdated piece of outerwear."

"Or the asteroid, if you want to tell people you're out of this world," Molly replied. Then, there was a moment of surprisingly comfortable silence between them. "So, Vesta," She wondered what she wanted to say for a second, then decided she wanted to try something again. "How are you?"

Vesta had to physically stop herself from being mean. She silently and successfully suppressed the urge to dismiss Molly. With caution and much deliberation, she eked out the words.

"I'm... doing better." As soon as she said it, she realized it was true.

"That's all I needed to hear."

Vesta then said something neither of them expected. "And, how are you?"

Molly spoke with frankness. She was tired of the barrier between her and her teammate. "I'm better with you around. Don't get me wrong, I love Shay and Tenra with my whole heart, they're like family to me. But, they're like family to me. I needed a friend. Sorry if I'm making assumptions, but thank you for being that for me."

Vesta smiled. She did not reply at all. Eventually, Molly asked another question. "When do you plan to retire? What are you going to do after your career in... diplomacy?"

Vesta responded without hesitation. "I decided some time ago that if I ever find out who killed my parents I would take care of that and then call it quits. I know not what I plan to do after, but I realize I cannot live the fast life forever."