Page 59 of Jump or Fall
He wasn’t wrong. If they had prodded her for information at the beginning, she probably would have been too scared to continue.
Silva interrupted, impatiently, “All right, can we get to business here? The attack last week hit two Silvers, so well done there.”
He placed a small box on the table. A tap projected a map against the wall, showing a glowing dot slowly moving along a street.
“I have the mech tracked so we know where to hit it. The patrol winds through these streets here in a sort of eight pattern.”
Another tap revealed the tracked path.
“If we want this thing eliminated quickly, we don’t have time for a longer staging like last time. We need to hit it tonight.”
Pointing to a few areas, he continued, “I think some flashbangs could disorient the mech’s sensory input. It may be a giant robot, but it has some sensitivities.”
Gordon said, “I can carry two flashbangs and two heavies.”
Silva nodded. “Good. I would say we should all have some, but you have the best aim. We don’t want to do too much damage to the surrounding area.”
He turned to Mara. “I know you have weapons experience from testing. Can you handle being posted here with an Umbra?”
The Umbra-H7. The virtually silent rifle-style gun wasn’t unfamiliar. Shooting a moving target would be harder, but she inclined her head. “Yes.”
Silva leveled on Kimmie. “Now you. Monitor the enforcer dispatch and alert us if we need to leave.”
A stiff nod was her only response.
“Okay, are we set?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. Gordon turned his attention to Mara. “Ready for some combat?”
She wasn’t sure, but she replied, “Let’s take down a mech.”
***
Dressed in their suits, they left Crux. Mara matched her pace to Silva as Kimmie started talking to Gordon about the surveillance birds.
Lowering her voice, Mara asked, “What’s the deal with them?”
Silva raised an eyebrow. “She’s had a thing for him since he first showed up in Eight after… you know. But he’s thirty-four, and she’s twenty-two, so it’s been one-sided.”
“I see.” Age gaps didn’t really faze her, especially considering Dawson was nearing fifty. “They never had anything going?”
“Much to her disappointment. He may be a bit disturbing with his affinity for hacking everything with a power source and blowing things up, but she’s just a kid to him.”
So it wasn’t only about Nella. A sliver of relief took root, though she tried to tamp it down. It was safer not to hope.
She shifted the subject. “Do you have a family?”
He let out a quiet sigh. “Yes and no. My wife died in a car accident a few years back. The wreck was so bad the car caught fire. I managed to findmy son and made it look like he died too. In reality, I sent him through that tunnel where we had our first meeting, with a map to Naxos and a list of people to connect with.”
Her chest ached. Meeting these people had filled her with more emotions than she knew what to do with. Years of nothingness and now a dam inside of her was on the verge of breaking.
“I’m sorry about your wife.”
He responded with a pained smile. “At least my son is alive and away from the Silvers. One day I’ll get to see him again.”
They reached their exit, and Gordon said, “Power on your display and sync to your helmets to start the private channel. You can toggle the mech’s location using this button.” He pointed to a control near his wrist.
Leaving the tunnel wasn’t as tricky as she thought it would be. Their suits made them look like regular enforcers on a patrol.
