Глава 8

Damn it, Amiya!

Ah...! What happened, Amiya?!

What's going on?;How did...?;Kal'tsit, do something!

...Come here, Dr. {@nickname}.

What I'm about to do next, you are not to tell anyone, ever.

Superintendent Ch'en of Lungmen!

No longer.

Then I'll ask you to keep an eye on the dragon over there for me. We'll be taking her into custody when this is all over. Any questions?

Look after Amiya first.

Yes. Doctor, give me your hand.

Okay!;(Stretch out your arm);You'd just grab it anyway if I tried to back away, wouldn't you?

*Sigh*. This isn't going to hurt. But, don't ask.

I'm going to jam this syringe into your arm and take some blood. And that's all I'm telling you.

It's for your own good.

Um...

No questions.

She's right, it doesn't hurt. You don't feel anything.

Kal'tsit places your freshly drawn blood into a device on her waist. Seconds later, she administers a blue solution into Amiya's neck.

Amiya's breathing stabilizes.

What happened?!

....Nng!

It worked. Amiya... wake up.

Huh... Miss... Miss Theresa...?

...No. It's me, Amiya.

Dr. Kal'tsit... I...

You're okay, Amiya. You don't have to talk. Let's get ready to go. It's all okay now.

Hm.

...Hmm...

*whine*...

Wah... Aahh.... Waaahhh...

Why are you crying?;Amiya...;(Silently stay with her)

Waaahhh... Doctor... Waaaaahh...

It's okay, Amiya.

The fight is over.

Um... Mm...

Hm.

...My tears... Doctor, I managed not to cry until the end... I... I promised... I... I...

...Doctor... Doctor...

...Dr. {@nickname}...

Ch'en, the aircraft will reach the control tower momentarily. We'll take Talulah and go.

Are you sure? I haven't... even decided how to handle her.

We need Talulah. Rhodes Island must take her first.

That's going to bring trouble!;......;The crazy shit you say doesn't even surprise me anymore.

Are you worried we're going to get ourselves killed?

No need, Dr. {@nickname}, that ship has long since sailed. It sailed as soon as we got involved here.

We have two swords hanging over our heads: one is Lungmen's and one belongs to the Third Army of Ursus.

We stopped the core city, we got involved in the attack on Lungmen, and we know the entire conspiracy. That's enough to have them plotting to destroy us.

What would the Third Army do if Lungmen decided to strike at us?

They'd grab the popcorn.

The murderers in their fancy uniforms would watch our landship burn into a scorched hulk in the wastelands, one of the thorns in their side melting away.

And on the other side, a private company without registration in Lungmen, not under the protection of Lungmen, finds itself attacked and destroyed by unknown forces.

That doesn't sound like a problem for Lungmen or Yan, does it?

Unless, of course, we're holding Talulah.

Anyone who might want to strike at us first needs to consider the signal they're sending. Does it say to their rivals that they need Talulah? That she's key to this case?

That she grants an advantage, that she could eliminate a weakness?

That is our one and only chance at survival.

It is to Rhodes Island's great advantage that the magnates of Lungmen and the ancient nobility of Ursus will not find common ground in the next century.

If we hold Talulah, their hands are tied. Neither will want to make the first move.

Neither will want to risk the evidence vital to both sides. Their best course of action will be to remain at a safe distance. Both parties want to distance themselves from this smoking gun.

It would take only one slight misstep to bring ruin to either the Third Army or Lungmen. Neither has the authority to stand for their entire country.

The Third Army tried, once. And they will pay a terrible price for the mistake. The stakes are too high.

So we will seize the advantage in this situation. We will use each side to protect ourselves from the other.

Talulah is vital to our survival. At least for now.

Those clever enough to survive will find a balancing point, and with Talulah in our hands, Rhodes Island can actively choose to be that very point.

At least until this all blows over, or they're swept up in the next storm.

I won't be able to convince you.;......;You planned this from the start, didn't you?

*Sigh*...

There's the aircraft. Time to go. Get Talulah and Amiya in first.

We'll take the next one.

There's no point in fighting any more. The guerrillas are gonna kill us.

Fall back! Abandon the city! We lost! It's over.

Says who?

You're alive...

If I went down that easy, I couldn't ask you to come with me.

Why? Why should we follow you?

Hah. Need me to spell it out for you? You're free, ya goof.

...Huh? Free? What are you talking about?

You don't have to kill for anybody anymore. And it's not like I'm your boss now either, I'm just saying you can tag along with me.

You're done being hired muscle. Now you fight for yourselves! Oh, but still, you can't just be killing for fun. I'll blow your ribcage open if you do.

What I'm getting at is we don't have to listen to the bitches who just want our blades and bows. The ones who don't care if we die, as long as we take a bunch of lives with us.

But me? I'm built different. I appreciate money, and they gave us lots.

The thing is, we're still alive, and we can get more of it. Don't need to go piling up cash on gravestones.

See some haters? Kill 'em. Kill anybody who looks at us the wrong way. Kill anybody who wants to hurt us. Just wipe 'em all out.

Not for Reunion, not for all the devils, not for anybody.

We make our own way in the world. Maybe we wanna go to Yan and learn how to play Go. Doesn't matter. It's all good.

You in?

Not like there's anywhere else to go.

We'll follow you. But no tricks, W.

Sorry, man. All I got is tricks.

Is it over?

Looks good. I'm really glad we didn't have to pretend to be anyone's friend in order to kill them.

I never thought the plan would flip around to helping Reunion like this...

Thanks, bro! Nice work! Let's get out of here!

(Ursine) Don't mention it!

Now we're their accomplices.

Hawk, how about a coffee when we get back? I'll tell you about that op back in Columbia...

I was on your team.

Really?

Don't you remember your squadmates?

Well you were never there for any of the missions.