" NIGHTHAWK " genji shimada.

xiii. roots

"YOU WANT ME TO do what?" Tigress whirred in confusion as she looked up from the claw-like blades screwed into her fingers. She had been busy sharpening the weapons when Kailani had found her outside the Blackwatch dormitories. Although Tigress was unable to convey emotion in her robotic facial features, Kailani knew that her omnic friend held nothing but disbelief behind her glowing eyes.

Kailani shifted her weight back and forth, grinning sheepishly. "I want you to help me interrogate Maximilien so that he will give away the Infiltrator's location," she repeated herself. "Come on, Tigress. The only thing that could scare an omnic like Max is another omnic: you."

Tigress paused, gazing down at her bladed fingers once more. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kailani knew what her friend was thinking: she was an omnic, and not just any omnic. She was created by Maximilien himself to participate in the assassinations that Talon organized. Tigress's sole purpose of being built was to kill, and facing her creator after working so hard to tear herself away from her initial programming must have been terrifying.

Kailani reached out and rested a hand on the omnic's shoulder. "He has no control over you anymore," she assured her.

"That's the thing about omnics, though. No matter how hard we try, all it takes is one little trigger to send us spiralling back into our original programming," Tigress grumbled, turning away. Her shoulders heaved, a sound that resembled a fan echoing through her mechanical torso, and then she nodded. "I'll help you. It's time I face the bastard anyways."

"Thank you," Kailani said with a grateful smile. "I'll be right there with you. If you need to leave at any time, then do it."

It was getting close to dinnertime, so the base was nearly barren as the pair made their way over towards the headquarters. Those that they did see were heading towards the cafeteria, where the savory smell of a pot roast was drawing them in. Kailani's stomach growled, though she ignored it. Food could wait; the anticipation of finally figuring out the Infiltrator's location engulfed her, and she thought of nothing else.

The pair hurried up to the third floor without saying a word, ignoring the prying eyes of the few office workers that decided to skip dinner and were still sitting in their cubicles. They must have thought it was odd for Kailani to be visiting their division two days in a row when she had never done so before.

The same brute was stationed outside of Maximilien's holding cell. He nodded once towards Kailani, remembering her from the day before, but then he shifted an untrustworthy gaze onto Tigress. The omnic was silent as she pulled out her ID card, holding it out towards the guard. His eyes narrowed, though Kailani saw his Adam's-apple bob in his throat, and he stepped aside. She noticed his gaze lingered on Tigress's claw-like blades, and she wondered if the brute was intimidated by her omnic friend. Nonetheless, Kailani didn't question it; she stepped past the guard and entered the holding cell that contained Maximilien.

The door was shut behind them, and the sound of the magnetic lock turning echoed throughout the tiny room. The pair stood in silence for a moment, facing the omnic cackling omnic seated in front of them. Kailani gazed at Maximilien in confusion, the inhuman laugh rattling through his metallic body sending shivers down her spine.

Kailani's posture straightened. She forced down the uneasy feeling that grew in the pit of her stomach and took a seat in front of Maximilien. Tigress lingered near the door with her arms crossed over her chest as she waited for her cue.

"You know," Kailani began, raising her voice a bit so that it could be heard over Maximilien's maniacal cackling. "I don't see how you can be laughing right now, Max."