Justice at Delphi - The Fall of Sibyl

Chapter 40

We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight!

-Bill Pullman, Independence Day

Inspector Kyouko Sasaki dove behind an overturned table to avoid a shot from the dominator. It was still in paralyzer mode, thank God, but for how long? Panting with a combination of fear, exertion and pain, Sasaki struggled to sit up. The agony in her shoulder was almost unbearable. She was sure it was dislocated. What she wouldn't give to have a few of her enforcers at her back. Her hand-to-hand combat skills weren't bad, but they were nothing in comparison to what she and her fellow inspectors had been facing.

Cyborgs.

A bitter chuckle tore from her lips as another arc of blue light shot overhead. The reliance on enforcers to do the dirty work had left them vulnerable. Arrogant even. So sure in the belief that enforcers would always be there to keep inspectors' hands clean. Inspectors and enforcers expected trouble on the streets, but never in their own backyard. Scratch that. Trouble wasn't just in their backyard. It had walked up, kicked down the door, and introduced itself.

The carnage had been sudden and absolute. It had started just before the shift change. Inspectors no one had seen before, wearing insignia no one recognized burst into each division detaining inspectors with no explanation. Protests had led to several enforcers being paralyzed and not a few splattered. Her stomach turned at the flashes of memory that cascaded through her mind. Even a few inspectors, much to everyone's horror, had been eliminated. Inspectors whose psycho-passes were well within the regulated values had faced down the business end of a dominator.

A clear hue couldn't save you.

Events escalated quickly. Inspectors and enforcers started fighting back with whatever they could lay their hands on. Their dominators had become useless to them. The line between inspector and enforcer had blurred. There was no line. Clear hue or no, each could face certain death from Sibyl's judgement. Desperate to escape, they pushed the fight to the main floor of the ministry. Just before they could get outside, the building went into lock down.  They'd had to retreat. 

Under overwhelming numbers, the inspectors and enforcers had no choice but to scatter. She and another inspector had tried to make it to the armory. Dominators were out of the question, but not stun batons and pulse grenades. When they'd arrived, the armory had been locked down and neither of their credentials worked. With no other options and the cyberized inspectors on their heels, they had sought refuge in a conference room.

Sasaki peered around the table. Her eyes widened in terror. The dominator the cyborg was carrying was no longer in paralyzer mode. Heart hammering in her chest, she wracked her brain for a plan. Any plan. Footsteps drew closer and closer. Fear and panic almost made it impossible to breathe. She could barely hear anything besides the blood rushing in her ears. Out of the corner of her eye, Sasaki saw the cyborg's foot step into view. Squeezing her eyes shut, she prayed it would be over quickly. She waited...and waited...

When nothing happened, she opened her eyes. To her shock, There was something wrapped around the cyborg's neck. A wire? It was struggling against whoever was holding the wire. Suddenly, the head lopped off, bouncing and rolling away. She stifled a horrified scream and scuttled backwards.

"Inspector Sasaki?" A familiar voice called out.

Sasaki looked up to see Inspector Shimotsuki holding a stun baton and a duffel bag. Standing beside her was a young man winding the length of wire back up. "S-shimotsuki? What's going on here?"

Shimotsuki shook her head. "We don't have time for explanations. Take this." She tossed the stun baton to her. Sasaki caught it with her good arm.

"We need to hurry. We have to hold them off for as long as we can." Shimotsuki turned to leave.