Interloper-360°: Expanded Version

Trophy Mercs 6: Learn To Die

As Malware drags me out of the giant dome by hand, my gut tells me that even at this speed, there's a blaster pointed to the back of my head. I'd turn to check if I didn't think a slight adjustment would crack my neck in two. When I finally see some natural light from the sun, I'm brave enough to whip out of his grip and throw my hand down to my holstered blaster.

I don't draw, not yet. I just check around us, check the speeding lines going in and out, check behind us, check for eyes looking right at us. It's hard to tell what a Vemmy might be looking at, their eyes aren't the easiest to read.

I keep my hand on the grip of my blaster, but I raise my left arm to talk into my PVD.

Nev (Group): "Cheq, Knight, report!"

Cheq (Group): "Boss."

Knight (Group): "Sir?"

Nev (Group): "Keep guard! You're currently being tracked right now! I need you two to make it to the Motley as soon as you can. You see anyone trailing you, dispatch them, no questions asked. Got it?"

Cheq (Group): "Tracked? You gotta be kidding me. All right, I guess I'm only having one drink tonight. Sorry ladies, gotta jet. I'm a merc, you know, dangerous man."

Knight (Group): "How could they be able to track us? To have a filthy Hunter set eyes on Titan's private retreat, it's disgusting. I'm heading out before I'm trapped with only one exit."

It takes every discipline I've cultivated over the years to keep myself from sprinting to my ship back at the hotel. No, running now will only single me out. We need to keep our cool and blend in with the street traffic.

Malware seems extremely fidgety, looking left to right, up and down, in search of a possible threat waiting to take the shot. I grab his shoulder, his cold metal scrapes against my robotic hand. He jumps at first, his visor setting on my face, then he goes back to looking around.

"What the hell are you doing, Nev?" he asks. It sounds like he's clenching teeth, but he has no teeth. Neat trick. "Now's a good time to get the hell out of here, wouldn't you agree?"

I keep my voice low and casual like I'm talking without a crosshair on my forehead. "Of course that's a good idea, and we'll do it slowly."

"What? Slowly? Are you trying to make it easier for them?"

"Running like a lunatic in the middle of a big city is going to make the bullseye bigger. We need to act normal, fall into the crowds, and make our way to the ship. Forget everything we brought to the hotel, we're leaving it behind."

"But, Nev, your guitar..."

"I'm gonna miss her."

I let him go and start walking. There's a string of pedestrians heading in the direction of the hotel, it's perfect to get us moving. I don't check to see if Malware is tailing, rather I just expect him to be. Street vendors selling their carbon foods show up on either side of the street, and I buy us a couple of corndogs to help us look even more uninterested in safety.

"I'm not hungry, dude, I don't want--"

I raise my corndog to my face. "It's not for eating, dude, cover your face. Pretend to take bites, keep looking forward, and do not turn around for anything. Got it? This is the only way we're going to make it back to our ships without extra burns on our bodies."

The burly human male walking in front of us abruptly turns around and snatches away my corndog. I'm speechless and offended, but quickly turn over to fear and caution. My hand goes back down to my blaster.