Heart Hunters

FIFTEEN

S A N C H A

 I thrust my hand at our Carrier. "Carrier, keep to the wall and take whatever opening you can find."

The Carrier growled, his black eyes flashing with hate behind the mask. He skulked behind my sister and I, shoulders hunched.

I toss my sister the shotgun. "Ala, the signal."

"Right."

Teddy barked, "Iron Girl, watch it—!"

I turn around just in time to block a kick to the ribs with my metal forearm. I pushed back against the blow, gritting my teeth as the stone cracked under my feet.

Rudy's mechanical eyes met mine. His irises spun, his pupil dilating and contracting. "Nice arm."

"Nice eyes."

He started to pull his ankle back. I grabbed it, clamping and locking my metal fingers around it. I roared, swinging him over my head and slamming him into the ground.

Rudy raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. He tilted his head to the side. Bullets drilled into the stone where his forehead had been, one on top of the other.

He brought his arms up and slapped the ground, launching his body upwards. His body twisted in midair, rotating my metal arm in its socket. His free foot slammed into my jaw, spotting my vision.

"Sancha!" My sister roared, swinging Honey into her waiting arms. Sharp debris shot at Rudy's legs as her bullets slugged the ground in front of him.

He backflipped, bending away from our Carrier's surgical shots.

I slid beneath him, kicking his back with both legs. His body shot into the air and bounced off the ceiling. The back of his head slammed into the stone floor.

Bullets sliced into the chandelier's chain. The coiling metal crushed his small body, flames licking at his hair and clothes.

Mano slipped into the Sinister arm, hands in his pockets. He gave us a small wave and a sheepish grin. He stepped back to admire our work. "Sorry I'm late. Oh, did you kill him already? Nice job, you guys. Great work."

"Cut the crap," snarled the Carrier. "I smelled you waiting."

Ala frowned. "Are you happy now that we've done the dirty work for you?"

"Yes, quite."

I nudged Rudy's arm with my toe. I looked over my shoulder at the guy's uncle, clenching my jaw. "Compliment me again and I'll kill you."

Mano opened his mouth, then closed it, biting back his words.

"Can I leave now?" The Carrier growled. "I wanna get outta here before NODE realizes I just helped kill their leader."

"'Helped?'" Mano echoed. "That looked like a lot more than helping to me."

"So you were watching us the whole time." The Carrier stalked up to him, hands clenched around his rifle. "If he goes, you should too. Might as well, right?"

"That's enough," I snap at them. "We're not leaving and we're not killing each other. Not until we get the Cure."

"Cure's gone."

"What?"

The Carrier inclined his head at the chandelier. "Rudy's not there. And I'm guessing he didn't leave his heart behind."

I whirled to the chandelier, cursing. The Carrier was right. There was nothing beneath the chandelier except bits of metal and melted wax. The Cure had escaped.

"How rude of him," remarked Mano.

"Carrier, sniff him out."

"Not your dog."

"Did I stutter? Sniff him out or I'll lead every NODE officer in the compound into your precious turf."

A growl rumbled beneath the skull mask. The Carrier lifted his head, sniffing the air. He stopped. He turned, sniffing again.

He launched himself at Ala, tackling her to the ground. "Watch out, he's—!"

A hard force sent me flying, my limbs flailing for balance. The Carrier snarled and pounced, hugging me to his chest and twisting so that his back faced the ground. His head slammed into the wall with a hard crack. His body shuddered as he slid to the ground, his arms slipping limply off my stomach.

My hands were cold and clammy and trembling. I turned around, my chest constricting.

"Hey."

His name, he had a name. I tried it out.

"T-Teddy?"

His curly hair was slick. Blood trickled from where his head met the wall. There was no movement between the eyeholes of the skull mask.

"You fool." I slammed my fist onto his chest. I squeezed my eyes shut. My breath shuddered. I raised my fist over my head. It shivered. I swung it down. "You idiot piece of—!"

His hand caught my wrist.

"Sssso. Y-You know my nnnname." His eyes met mine. They twinkled. "G-G-Good to know."

I shoved him back against the wall, furious. He laughed, letting me hit him over the head without a fight.

"Damn —you— goddamn— Walker!"

"Awww, you were worried!"

"I — was — not!" I hold back my last punch, my chest heaving. "Hey. What're you looking at?"

Teddy pointed. I looked over my shoulder, breathing hard.

Mano's mechanical left hand had become a rotary saw. It slashed wildly, slicing open Rudy's striped flannel shirt. The small Carrier flipped over backward, cracking the old cyborg's chin against his heel and lifting him into the air.

I started to get up, but Teddy tightened his grip on my wrist. "Don't."

I turned to him with a scowl. "What now?"

"He's too strong."

"Then you go after him."

"In what version of the world does that make any sense?"

I sighed. "He's a Carrier. You're a bigger Carrier. Go kick his ass."

"You don't understand," he said quietly. "He's too strong."

As if on cue, Rudy leaped at his uncle. His knee slammed into Mano's jaw, sending the older man flying into the wall. The back of Mano's head smacked into the pale stone, and his body crumpled to the ground.

Rudy turned to the remaining three, gasping for breath. He swiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I'm impressed. You actually made me break a sweat."

"Dammit!" My hands curled into fists. "We had him! What happened?!"

"You miscalculated." Rudy pointed at Teddy. His finger curled, beckoning him closer. "You. Carrier."

Teddy's eyes narrowed. "How did you know it was me?"

He pointed at his eyes. "Fingerprint scan. You're listed in the NDA archives from almost twenty years ago. Physically, you're in your prime. Around the same age as when you were listed as KIA."

Teddy winced. "Waddaya want? You already beat us."

"Oh, the sisters can leave. But I didn't see you give your all. Stand up and show me how strong you are."

Ala's eyes met mine. For the first time, I couldn't read them at all. I had no idea what she might've been thinking.

Teddy shifted beneath me. "Can you move? I can't get up."

I scoot myself away from him, rising to my feet. "You're going to fight?"

"No," he said. His fingers curled around the edge of his skull mask. He tore it off, casting it to the ground. He gave me his gruesome grin, using the cracks in the brick to claw himself to his feet. "I'm going to die."