A translucent blade of wind sliced cleanly through the air.
"I didn't say you could go," Blackie said lightly. "The boss said it. I didn't."
The cyborg had just managed to push himself upright and turn away when he froze mid-step. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then half of his helmet slid slowly off his head and dropped to the sand. The exposed eye beneath was wide with disbelief, still trying to process what had already happened.
His body remained standing for a moment longer, rigid and stubborn, before it began to tilt.
"Heh." Blackie grinned as Ethan turned to stare at him. "That's what you meant, right, Boss?"
Ethan rolled his eyes and exhaled through his nose, long and tired. His gaze drifted to the headless figure still swaying upright in the desert wind. 'Sorry, pal. Tough break. You got taken out by an idiot. Nothing I could do about it.'
