Alex was brought into the large warehouse-sized room where the experiments had taken place. Surrounding her were a dozen armed soldiers, all wearing full disguises. Amongst the large rusted machinery was a modern, makeshift grind lab. Alex recognized some of the equipment right away. It bared a remarkably similar resemblance to the electronics taken from Yuri’s place.
The building looked like it was over a century old. The paint on the walls was peeling, and the windows were mostly broken. The ones that weren’t had layers of filth on them, preventing any light from shining through. The skylights above were still intact, but like the windows, they were almost completely gummed up with grime.
Four soldiers grabbed Alex and forced her into the seat where further studies could be conducted. She fought with the men as much as she could, but they overpowered her. “Let me go!” she shouted, bucking violently. Her face was red and veins protruded from her forearms and neck.
“Hold her still,” one of the soldiers commanded as he filled a large syringe with fluid.
Fighting the whole time, it took three men just to pin her down long enough to secure the straps. With her arms and feet buckled down, Alex attempted bite the men, but it was no use. She watched in terror as a man approached with a syringe. Despite being strapped down, the three men had to hold her arm to keep it from moving.
“Now count backwards from ten,” the man said as he plunged the needle into a large vein on her arm.
The masked man slowly injected her with some kind of concoction. Almost immediately she felt the effects. The muscles in her body relaxed and she felt drowsy. She fought the drug and struggled to stay conscious, but could feel herself slipping away. Lying face up, she gazed up at the skylights in between heavy blinks and saw several shadows on the roof. Unsure who they were, she just assumed they were more soldiers.
Before the effects of the serum fully set in, the glass above her shattered and several ropes were deployed. As Alex struggled to maintain her consciousness, she saw a dizzying blur of flashes followed by a loud commotion. Gun shots echoed throughout the factory and the last thing she saw before she went under was Milo’s face staring down at her.
With Alex unconscious, the mêlée continued. Mara and her team had arrived with a swift and effective attack. They had heavy artillery and were blasting people in the chest with tranquilizer beams. Several of The Fox’s minions abandoned their posts and fled the factory on foot. Upon their exit, Glitch’s friends were waiting to round them up. Mara’s team had met up with them and collaborated on a full-fledged ambush.
Once all the soldiers were captured, Mara went over to tend to Alex. Milo had unfastened her harnesses and was cradling her head in his chest.
“How is she?” Mara asked.
“She’s stable,” he replied. “She’s been anesthetized so it may take a few hours for her to regain consciousness.”
“Ah, my poor little girl, what have they done to you?” Mara said, scooping up Alex’s hand and squeezing it tightly. “Don’t worry, momma’s here.”
Mara, Milo, and their team stayed with Alex while Glitch’s crew searched the building for the others. Just like Alex had done, they had an unmasked soldier lead the way. He brought them to the same door as before, but when it did not open, Glitch’s squad primed the door with explosives.
A combustible mud-like substance was lathered on thick in strategic places all around the door. One of Glitch’s friends connected a device, which would emit a small electrical charge when detonated.
“Everyone get back!” the man shouted to Glitch and Aris, who were on the other side of the door.
The men in the hallway did likewise, standing far away and covering their ears. With the press of a button, the tiny electric shock ignited the explosives, creating a loud boom that rattled the men to their cores. The heavy metal door became dislodged and crashed down on the other side with a thud. Through a large cloud of smoke, Glitch and Aris emerged intact.
“Welcome to Yashio!” Glitch’s friend Kaio said.
“It’s good to see you,” Glitch said, embracing his friend in a hug.
“Is Alex okay?” Aris asked.
“Oh this is Aris, he’s friends with Alex,” Glitch said, introducing him. “Aris, this is my friend Kaio, the one I was telling you about.”
“Nice to meet you, Aris,” Kaio said with a slight bow. “Alex is fine, she’s with her mother.”
“Her mother?” Aris asked in disbelief.
“Yes, her mother is here with about a dozen or so men. And from the looks of them, they are pretty badass. Come on, I’ll bring you to them.”
The posse marched back down the long corridor of the old factory, giving Kaio and Glitch a chance to talk.
“So Kaio, what’s with the ninjas? I don’t remember Yashio being so dangerous,” Glitch said.
“Oh those guys aren’t ninjas,” Kaio laughed. “They hardly put up a fight. We seized their weapons and took control of the factory in about thirty seconds.”
“So who are they?”
“I’m not sure, I’ve never seen them before. And this factory, it’s usually empty. I was here last week and none of the equipment was here.”
“What equipment?” Glitch asked.
“They have all kinds of that hacker stuff on the main floor… the same kind you keep around your place.”
“It probably is our stuff, it was stolen a few days ago.”
“Wait, your equipment gets stolen, you get chased by guardians, and end up going to Yashio… the very place where the people who stole your equipment were waiting for you?”
“That sounds about right.”
“Doesn’t that seem odd to you?” Kaio asked. “It’s almost as if they knew you would come here. How do you suppose they knew that?”
“This Fox guy seems to know everything about me… probably knew we were friends and figured I would come see you.”
“What ‘Fox’ guy?” Kaio asked.
“Come on, I’ll tell you all about it.”