Crack in the Kill Code (AmpCore #2)

70 - Master Plans Have a Better Ending Than That

"Sir, are you sure about this?" the Skiltron operative asked, looking Treysi up and down suspiciously. "She's one of them."

"You see me kill anybody?!" Treysi snarled back, taking a half step towards the man. "Maybe I can show you first hand."

"Jesus, easy, Treysi!" Kirk got in front of her, a hand on her shoulder. "We're all on the same team."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah, for now at least."

She spat something in Galacian too quick for Piper to catch it, and moodily stepped back again.

"Everyone just take it easy," Odiye said, fixing the operative with an icy stare for a moment, before turning back to Piper.

He knew he only had the bones of the story, and his head was still spinning from Piper's rapid recounting of her escape from Osric. It stung a little that Kirk Balfour, of all people, had been there to rescue her, while he'd been stuck in the AmpCore infirmary. He'd listened, trying to take it all in, but he couldn't pretend to be at peace with any of it.

His eyes shifted to where Holly Lockley stood, the former operative – former friend – standing off to the back and looking thoroughly uncomfortable. The feeling was mutual. Odiye felt the cold chill of betrayal crawl its way up his spine all over again. Her being alive was bad enough. Finding her here only raised even more questions.

And to top that all off, he had Cutter Jennings' psychotic niece joining the party, just as vicious and wild as he remembered from their previous encounters. All in all, he didn't much rate Piper's choice of company.

"Russell, are you sure about this?" Nevay asked dubiously, not above an unimpressed look of her own as she cast her eyes over Odiye and the accompanying corporate soldiers. "Even if we all down tools and play nice, the second we crash Osric, they're gonna have you tagged and collared and put bullets in the rest of us."

"No, they wont," Piper replied, looking pointedly at Odiye, "will they?"

He didn't answer straight away, and earned himself a black glare. He pressed his lips together and looked away from Piper, examining the others again. Fuck, he wished had time to think – to take stock of this mess. But he didn't. They had to act now, and sort the mess out later.

"Alright." He looked around at the men and woman of his security team. "We deal with Osric, then we go our separate ways. That's the best I can do."

"Good enough. Now that we're all caught up and we're finished wasting time," Piper continued, "there's a murdering psychopath somewhere in this building, and if we wait around any longer, he's going to be gone for good." She let her eyes pass over the assembled Skiltron and Code Vector troopers as she spoke. "Some of you know me, and you know I'm no fan of your corps or this fucking city, but I think we can all agree, whatever any of us want, our friend out there is worse. So let's go bury him and make sure Hadrian's still standing for us to fight over."

*

Awkward was the main that came to mind.

Piper walked at the head of the group, trying not to think about the guns of the corporate soldiers behind her. Odiye seemed to have control of them now, but she didn't trust it – not completely.

Concentrate, Cassie told her. Find Osric. One problem at a time.

She frowned and pushed the tangential thoughts aside. Her fingers brushed the walls as she walked, little pieces of her creeping through the dark hallways ahead. Osric's simmering, warped presence lingered there, bleed through of all his hate and anger growing stronger by the minute. They were closing in.