Lonely Thieves

Act V, Part VIII

Kolya sat down at the terminal and began experimenting with the manual control. Looking up at the screen, he picked a security bot that wasn't doing anything in particular and sent it to a lower floor. To his surprise, the bot manuevered the stairs easily and arrived on a floor in which a couple of Special Soldiers were in combat with two other security bots. He quickly programmed a route into the security bot he was controlling, then took manual control of the two bots in combat. The Special Soldiers were surprised to see the bots suddenly moving differently from the way they were before, and were too occupied with suppressing them to notice the third bot scooting up on them from behind. In the next moment, the two of them were incapacitated. Kolya quickly had the security bots move on to the next floor.

"Okay," Kolya muttered as he began taking control of more and more security bots. "I see how all this works."

"What are you planning?" Trevor asked. "You can't possibly be thinking of fighting them off with the bots, are you?"

"Better than doing nothing, right?" Kolya remarked as he continued to give commands to the security bots. "Let's see, are there any security bots on the top floors? There are. That means we'll be able to slow down the Overman agents when they eventually break into the roof."

"Are you serious? That's crazy! Even if you did fight them off, the fact that they couldn't get in will only embolden their efforts! We should focus on getting out of here before anything else!"

"Do you have an escape route?" Kolya asked with a raised brow. "I'd say it'd be pretty hard to get out of here otherwise."

"There is one escape route left," Trevor admitted. "A secret passage that requires Miss Chisato's biometrics to unlock. However, it's only accessible on the third floor, so we need to get all the way down to access it."

"Where does it lead out to?"

"A secret tunnel that opens up into a nondescript apartment building. It's a good option, but we can't get down there without running into those Special Soldiers. It'll take time, too, since I'll be lugging Chisato around."

"I see." Kolya turned back to the monitors and continued moving the security bots around the building. "I'll take out the Special Soldiers, so go get moving. The elevator is probably the best option for you."

"What about you? You're not seriously planning on staying up here, are you?"

"Who's going to fight off the Special Soldiers if I don't? Right now, the Special Soldiers are on the back foot. They came in not knowing what to expect, and got blindsided by the security bots. The recovered and started fighting back, only for their enemies to suddenly change in behavior out of nowhere. It's better for you to make your escape now before they recover again and call for reinforcements."

"Overman agents are bearing on you right now, and they're equipped far better than the Special Soldiers. Do you really think you can hold them off with security bots alone?"

"Do we have a choice?" Kolya gave Trevor a pointed glance. "If you don't have another option, I'd get out of here already."

Trevor seemed frustrated that he couldn't argue back, but ultimately he gave in and headed to the room where Chisato was resting. He came out wheeling her out in her life support capsule and gave Kolya worried glance.

"You're certain you can stay alive until we make it to the hidden passage?"

"No worries. Hurry up and go already."

Trevor still seemed worried, but he listened to Kolya's words and hurried out to the elevator. Kolya continued to fight off the Special Soldiers, concentrating the bulk of the surviving security bots in order to form a squad to push the soldiers down below the third floor. As he did, he paid attention to the elevator's progress down the building. Once the elevator hit the third floor, he switched half of his monitors to cameras on the third floor, making sure that no stragglers were missed by the sweep he did with his security bots.

Trevor emerged from the elevator car pushing Chisato's capsule with as much strength as he could muster. He made a beeline through the hallway and eventually arrived at an inconspicuous indent in the wall. Kolya watched as Trevor pressed a hidden button, activating a scanner light that flashed instantaneously. Part of the wall moved away to reveal a hidden compartment, and Trevor quickly pushed Chisato through before the wall closed again.

Kolya breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled back the security bots. However, an explosion from above kept him from relaxing for too long. He checked the cameras and noted that the Overman agents finally managed to break into the building. He sighed and quickly began taking control of the security bots stationed on the upper levels. He didn't know how long he could keep them at bay, but he had to keep their attention in the building for as long as possible.