Rain hammered the alley like bullets of its own, neon reflections smeared across every puddle. The drones advanced with mechanical precision, blue optics glowing like soulless eyes. Kai's pistol felt like a toy in his hand against their armor.
Nyx braced her rifle with her good arm, shoulder sparking from the plasma hit. She didn't flinch. Her targeting implant flared, eyes narrowing into amber slits.
"On my mark," she barked.
Kai crouched lower, heart hammering. "We're outnumbered—"
"On. My. Mark."
The first drone rounded the corner, machine gun spinning up.
"Mark!"
Nyx's shot cracked through the storm. The bullet slammed into the drone's optic, shattering it into shards of glass and sparks. It spiraled into the wall, exploding.
Kai ran out of concealment, laying down three rounds at a second drone. The rounds bounced harmlessly off, but one glanced off a vent near its body. The machine stumbled, coolant spilling. Nyx spun, laying down a nice shot into the exposed spot. The drone folded like metal.
Others dropped. Six of them, better armored, their target laser weaving the walls in a deadly red grid.
"Back!" Nyx screamed.
They leaped behind a ravaged vending machine as the alleyway flashed with bullets, cans of stale soda detonating like grenades. Kai ground his teeth, reloading with shaking hands.
"You still haven't told me what's on that drive," Nyx snarled through gritted jaws, firing blind over the barricade.
"Because I don't know!" Kai exclaimed. "All I do know is that I was paid to steal it, and now the corps are trying to have me killed for it."
Nyx's cybernetic eye slid his direction, picking up on his micro-expressions. She didn't appreciate the reaction, but the hail of bullets gave her no argument time.
"Fine," she growled. "If we live through this, you're explaining. Until then—cover me."
Kai extended, firing out shots to pin down the drones. Nyx vaulted the barricade, rolling into the street like a specter. She laid down fire in short, controlled bursts, each shot calculated. A drone collapsed, sparks leaking. Another reeled.
Plasma sliced across the alley, forcing her to duck behind a broken-down taxi.
Kai swore under his breath. He sprinted to join her, HUD flashing critical warnings. The AI's voice hissed in his skull.
> "North wall. Weak spot. Gas main. Use it."
Kai blinked. "What—?"
> "Shoot the valve. Do it now."
He raised his pistol, aimed at a rusted pipe along the alley wall, and fired.
The bullet pierced the valve. Gas hissed into the air. A drone's plasma shot clipped it, igniting the fumes.
The alley exploded into flames. Waves of heat pushed Kai off balance, his jacket aflame. Three drones self-destructed on the spot. The survivors staggered around, their circuits fried.
Nyx emerged from the smoke, her face half-illuminated by fire. She fired three measured rounds, taking out two more machines.
There was a single drone left, heavier than the others—an Envision "hound," its body packed with blades. It charged Nyx.
She spun, shooting point-blank. The bullet ricocheted off. The hound slammed into her into the wall, claws screaming at the armor plating of her back. Sparks showered as its saw-arm roared up.
"Kai!" she screamed.
He sprang forward, slamming the side of the drone with all his might. The impact did nothing, but it gave Nyx a second. She jammed her rifle into its casing and fired upwards. The bullet passed through something vital. The hound trembled, its eyes failing, then crashed in a burning pile of junk metal.
There was stillness, which the sound of rain on smoldering wreckage shattered.
Kai hung from the wall, chest heaving. His pistol clicked on empty. "That. was too close."
Nyx pulled herself out of the wreckage, shoulder spurting oil and blood. She glared at him, then the wreckage. "You're reckless."
"You're welcome."
She almost grinned, but gritted back the pain.
Before Kai could even catch his breath, his HUD went crazy again. Lines of code scrolled through his vision.
> "More inbound. You have two minutes before reinforcements."
Kai swore. "We need to move."
Nyx's eyes crossed. "Who are you talking to?"
Kai hesitated. The voice pounded in his head, insistent.
> "Say nothing to her. Not yet."
Rain drummed harder, neon lights flashing overhead. Nyx reloaded her rifle, glaring at him.
"Start talking, Kai. Who's in your head?"
He had no chance to answer before the alley exploded in fresh drone lights around the turn. Backup.
They had seconds to respond—run, fight, or trust each other finally.