Amanita: Poison Shot

Chapter 123: Hot-Headed And Impertinent

I stood up again, took a deep breath to infuse myself with some courage, and took my Kolibri out of the secret pocket I had added to the exosuit earlier that afternoon.

"You don't really want Eros, Apollo!" I yelled back at the Living God of clones with anger and pride.

I took my balaclava off and discarded it on the floor. Sigi stared at me with wide eyes while mouthing 'no' breathlessly. I was about to step out and face Apollo directly. I felt my blood rushing madly through my veins and fuelling my brain with an unknown kind of heat and bravery I had never felt before.

"I was the one to force him to help me!" I added with determination while grabbing my Kolibri until my knuckles went white. "He's innocent!"

I wasn't facing him directly yet. Only one step and I'd be in his field of vision – and that of his minion soldiers. My colleagues were behind me, silent. I thanked God for that. I had turned my back to them because I knew they would try to stop me somehow, either with a look of pity or kind words.

"You're only trying to protect him. Do you think I'm this dumb?!" Apollo replied condescendingly, then.

"No. You're not dumb, just delusional," I replied daringly. "It was so easy to get Eros to work for me, you know! He's weak-willed. He's told me everything I wanted to know about you... and your unfinished Kevlar suit."

I was lying about most of that stuff, of course.

"What?!" he exclaimed as if he couldn't believe it.

"It won't protect you from gunshots in a pathetic 50% of cases, right?" I yelled then with a smirk.

Then, a metallic mosquito settled right at the top of one of my hands, the one I was holding the Kolibri with.

"Fuck. Taro and Agape have already spread them," I whispered with dread, and then, I smashed the tiny disease-spreading machine with a hard slap.

"Damn it! The mosquitoes are free already?!" I heard Sigi complain with anger. "We have to hurry. They could infect us."

I heard a low gasp from my fellow rebels. Yes, we were at risk as much as the DNA base, Apollo and his minions. We could all die there that night, one way or another.

"Now, is that right? This cool suit won't shield you properly from gunshots?" I heard Agape reply instead of him as if she found it funny. "Then, what am I waiting for? By the time I'm done with you, you'll look like a strainer."

I took a deep breath and exited the hall where I had been hiding to face Apollo and Agape.

When Apollo set his mesmerising blue eyes on my neon purple ones, I felt fear surge through me like lightning. He looked truly impressive in that iridescent full-body suit, surrounded by his dark-suited, heavily-armed lap dogs.

Some of them were aiming at me while I aimed at them.

"Don't shoot her," he commanded his clone cops, androids, and bodyguards. His facial expression turned suddenly melancholic. "You don't have to shoot either, Daphne. I know you don't want to. You're quite the pacifist, aren't you? Unlike your boss here, who prefers to poison and kill innocent babies and the DNA they stem from. Speaking of that..." He turned to Agape. "Don't push that red button. You look like you need to push it any second now, but if you do, as I was saying before we got interrupted, it won't do you any good, you see."

So, I assumed they had been in the middle of a negotiation. Maybe the mosquitoes were free and roaming in the entire building, but inactive – waiting for a signal from Agape and that remote control she had. I guessed that was the case.