Dangerous by Default

60. Out of the stench of darkness

Out of the stench of darkness and into the light, the fresh blandness of central air conditioning flooded their nostrils. Lifting herself from the tunnel, Mina shoved aside a mop bucket and nelt to take the grime covered duffel bag from her husband. They were in what looked to be a janitor's closet, but it was uncharted territory for Mina. It was embarrassing, the feeling of being a stranger in her own home. At the very least she was grateful for the room's privacy, as it took her a gruff moment to help yank Caine up from the depths of the sewers.

"This has been my second home for how many years, and I literally have no idea where we are." Mina let out a blunt laugh, wiping sewer sludge from her hands on a nearby rag.

Caine took off his jacket that was heavy with a rank dampness and tossed it aside carelessly. Mina handed him the duffel bag and watched him put the strap across his body, giving him the appearance of a gym rat who had just finished working out in the sewers.

She nodded towards the open grate, "Such an obvious security risk, but thank god it's here."

"And thank me for knowing about it." He winked at her with a cheesy grin.

"Thank you, me." Mina winked back, "Now help me with this stupid thing, you."

VVHHT. Mina and Caine had barely shoved the heavy sewer grate back into place, when her wrist watch buzzed fervently. The bulletin on it's tiny screen indicated that the surgical bot had been successfully 'synced' with Artemis. What impeccable timing. It was then that it dawned on Mina that they actually had a chance of getting out of Dimensions with Ami and the Womb in one piece. If they were lucky. She was determined to treat this like the ultimate danger stunt, as if every one they had done before was just practice for the final boss of all stunts. White Wing and some clever goons are the only things standing in our way. We just gotta even the odds. Just like any other stunt.

"You only feel danger when you're safe."

Mina didn't waste any time moving from the cramped closet and into the next room. In a matter of seconds her brain calibrated her surroundings and the location of the janitor's closet with its cleverly placed sewer entrance fell into place with the rest of her mental map of Dimensions. Of course. That one random door in the robotics testing lab. So that's what's in there. A vast space stood before them, holding a mess of shiny toys and gadgets that would make any robotics engineer squeal with excitement. Home, sweet home.

Mina took the lead. They became sly foxes raiding a chicken coup in the middle of the night. Their soundless footsteps led them to a large rack in the farthest corner of the space that housed the many mechanical canines. With a strong family resemblance to Artemis' strong but sleek build, not a single pup out of place. It was as if whoever had used them last knew how crucial they would be to the rescue mission. Well, rescue stunt.

The biggest surprise of that hour came not when they had managed to get seventy plus tech mutts easily into the secret lab area without notice from a single Dimensions employee, but as Mina and Caine stood hand in hand in the doorway of the operation room in front of White Wing and her team of misfit assassins. They had actually managed to catch White Wing off guard! Maybe all of the ridiculous stunts of the last year, with they're recklessness and hours of planning, had all led up to this.

White Wing and her silly crew hadn't stood a chance. They were no match for an army of battlefield Fidos. They might have seen the world, but the Dove's cocky 'seen it all assassin' attitudes were no match for Mina's army of always learning artificial intelligence. Revenge of the nerds: The Blues strike back!

After she had sicked the army of dogs onto the Doves, Mina's eyes quickly flitted from one vignette to the next. With an inhuman precision, she searched for any opening, a single pathway, that would lead them to Ami with the least amount of damage. A blur of crimson was cornered by a small fleet of pups. The large Texan struggled to fling what looked to be an endless train of bots that latched to his hulking body. Busy fumbling through the storage cabinets to the back of the room, the middle aged lady seemed to be tending to a large gash that was gushing from the emo looking Dove, who was crooning in pain as he held his ever paling face. The more forgettable member of White Wings crew seemed to have disappeared in all the ruckus, and Mina assumed that they must have run away out of cowardice. She didn't blame her. She had trained her babies well, and it was just the type of action they blossomed in.

With one quick eye at Caine, the Blues sprinted in the direction of the operating table. The short distance from the vacuum sealed door to the cold table where Ami lay had quickly become something of a video game style obstacle course. Avoid a swinging robotic arm here. Shove a cabinet onto a bad guy there. Duck..... Duck, you motherfucker! Making it to the edge of the table, the corner of Mina's eye alerted her to shove Caine out of the way of a pups body that flew through the air from the direction of what she assumed to be Senegalanesis.

"That asshole's using the dogs as cannon balls!" a stunned Caine shrieked in the din of the ruckus.

"Would hate to stay around long enough to see what White Wing can do with them," Mina yelled back, "Now remember, you grab Ami and and I'll snag the adrenaline shot!"

Mina had already set her path towards the storage cabinets when Caine yelled "Be careful!" in her direction.

Just like everything else in this room, Mina had been sure in the past to keep a religious mind map of every item in the operating room. All for the sake of preparedness. Better safe than sorry. They never knew what would have potentially gone wrong if she and Ami had actually had the chance to try the womb implantation themselves. Top cabinet to the left, right hand side in the back. Mina already imagined the syringe in her hand when she realized that Godefrida stood before her. Her body tensed for a moment, preparing to fight. The sound of flesh and metal zapping and clashing filled the void. Then Godefrida turned away from her. Mina readjusted. Godefrida had priorities, and apparently she wasn't one of them. Mina ignored the middle aged woman who went back to tend to Decipiens' wound. Making up for lost time, Mina almost slammed her body against the cabinet as she approached it. Top cabinet to the left, right hand side in the back. She pulled the small door that felt like air in her pulsing hand and grabbed a fist full of adrenaline bottles.

This should be more than enough to jumpstart her out of sedation. Just need some syringes... Mina's subconscious led her without fault. There was no room for mistakes. Then down one and to the right!

"Got it!" Mina shouted as she pushed her body away from the cabinets and pivoted to join Caine, who looked to be throwing Ami over his shoulder. She expertly took the still rotten smelling duffel bag from him and shoved her bounty inside.

"Now let's get the hell out of here, Bubba!"

It had been in that critical moment, before the ultimate demise or shining victory of battle, that Mina's rejuvenated confidence had surprised her in the best way possible. If she had had a bit more time, she would have loved to reflect on the winding journey that her faith in herself had gone over the past year. Shards of time ripe the fear of losing everything she held so dear (including the future she so desperately wanted to create), reckless moment to reckless moment of hitting the pavement with Caine, just to feel a sense of confidence and worth once more. To feel a sense of control. Maybe it wasn't that she was surprised that she was capable, but that all of those moments were meant to happen, if only so that she could charge into the chaos of the operating room with the ferocity that was required for such a risky plan to work.