Planet Omega

Chapter 8

I wish I could say that this sort of infamy and attention gets me horny. It doesn't. It does the literal opposite. This much heat when all I wanted was to do things under the cover of the night makes me just a tad too nervous to be concerned about physical aspects of mine.

Security is tightening in Spectre City, and I know that as things occur, whether with me, Emma, and Will, or with the PRF, it'll get much worse. The empire already keeps a tight leash on this military government its formed, but pretty soon, people won't be allowed outside anymore. Not because the emperor gives a single shit about his citizens, but because I'm able to potentially kill them and I'd be easy to single out on the streets.

I've never been more grateful to Will and Its trainyard hiding spot. Even breathing in the city right now would feel like I was choking. Coming out here after the armory takedown had been our best idea yet.

And with the weapon retrieved, Mateo was able to to study and replicate it. Emma confirmed that he would proceed to make one for the PRF so that they could produce more and more of them. In the meantime, Will and I rummage through the actual junkyard that borders the trainyard for useful things. Dumpster diving isn't the finest thing I've ever done, but boy did it turn up some good results. The wealthy loves throwing out mildly defective things.

"Nice haul!" I exclaim, laying out the gadgets and armor pieces on Will's small kitchen countertop. "Think Mateo can put any of these together to make something for us? Some security would be nice to protect our area."

"I'm not sure Mateo is able to have any side adventures for a while," Emma says softly.

My attention snaps up to her while Will marvels over a pair of gauntlets. "What do you mean? Is he okay?"

"For now, but...pawns are being checked at random now. It's only a matter of time before Mateo gets caught, especially if he does anything out of the ordinary for an IF pawn."

It wasn't just about the things he supplied when he could. It wasn't just about his brilliant mind, a mind that functioned at a higher capacity than even Emma's. But I could see the worry written all over Emma's face for her friend and co-conspirator. They won't just find Mateo and reprogram him. They'll kill him for sure. Inventor and factory pawns had parameters too, after all.

"Can't the PRF just hide Mateo?" Will asks, inspecting a large diameter metal tube. There was nothing left to hide from Will, because It had heard the entirety of mine and Emma's conversation from the other day. It had received quite the scolding from Emma about listening in on private conversations. Will had insisted that it wasn't private if everyone could hear it, and if the door was open.

Emma shakes her head. "The PRF doesn't have any sort of headquarters. We're all spread out, blending in however we can. No one's been caught before, and many of us hide the way I did with my lower level apartment."

"So bring him here," I say with a shrug.

Emma's eyes widen slightly. "What?"

"Why not? If he's in danger out there, then he should stay here with us. As far as we can tell, it's safe here. And he'll have all the space he needs to build anything he wants. He'd probably have more time if he isn't working at a job that's not even really his," I cross my arms over my chest and tilt my head to the side. "Bring him here. We'll get him settled. And it's about time I thank him in person for all his help."

I try hard to dispel this sense of pride I feel in my chest when Emma's entire face lights up like I'd just given her the best news she ever could have heard. No, it's not a big deal, but I've also come a long way from being so suspicious I'd reject help, to just trusting someone's good intentions.