Capítulo 90: Unexpected Encounter With The Pursuer
"Vee, we gotta move! We gotta move!"
"I'm aware of that."
In the bustling, high-tech workshop of Sphero's Inc, urgency took the reins. Mentos and Hao were in the midst of hurried preparations. The weight of the situation pressed on their shoulders as they gathered their necessities. The rapid click-clack of Hao's boots on the floor echoed in the room, followed by the low murmur of Mentos' grumbling, munching on a slice of dry bread. The stale taste of urgency lingered in his mouth as he chewed. Together, they hoisted the massive bone from the workbench, a colossal relic of an era past, and placed it onto the broad back of Maelstrom.
While Hao was fastening the bone onto Maelstrom's back, Mentos squinted at him, "Vee, is there an undercover route out of here? What's the plan to escape this fortress?" His words, muffled by bread, still carried the weight of their predicament.
Hao, putting on his shirt hastily, replied, "Take the Bastians to the east exit. The lift there descends directly to the distribution lot at the base of the building." His words were crisp and clear; instructions born from a deep familiarity with the imposing structure of Sphero's Inc.
Mentos, still chewing, paused to ask, "What about you, Vee? You're not coming with us?" A note of concern permeated his gruff demeanour.
Hao shook his head sombrely. "I need to wait for Vibe Edge's repair to be finished. Mum's working on it as we speak." He had a deep-rooted faith in his mother's exceptional Blade Engineering skills.
"But how long will that take, minutes or hours?" Mentos was anxious to get out of there.
"I don't know, but hopefully it doesn't take long. Hurry and take them," Hao gestured towards the Bastians. Euphy and Symphy were reluctant to leave him behind. This was evident in the way they behaved, but ultimately, they followed Mentos and Maelstrom to the lift.
"Come on you Bastians," Mentos urged them while leading the group towards their escape route.
As they moved away, a shadow loomed outside – a drone was employing cutting-edge tech to scan through walls, controlled by Wiz's Blade Edge-Bubble Bot. It hovered, silently observing them in the corridor.
Inside the high-tech truck, Wiz sat with his gaze fixed on multiple monitors. Each screen played out different scenes like a mosaic of live footage, but his focus was on one – Hao, Mentos, and the beast parting ways in a corridor. He relayed this information to Colgate via his earpiece.
"Sir, our target and another person just split up." His calm and clear words reached Colgate instantly.
Colgate, his attention piqued, asked, "What of the item?"
Wiz confirmed his suspicion, "It's with our target, Hao Vee, sir."
A moment of silence followed before Colgate's response echoed in the truck, "We'll focus on the sword." He then asked for Hao's precise location, which Wiz promptly provided.
"Let's hurry, that sword is our top priority," Colgate instructed the others as they rushed towards the nearest elevator.
The workers of Sphero's Inc. cleared a path for them while wondering what they were doing there. Shortly, they stepped into an elevator and hit the button to take them up to where they needed to be, however, the lights flickered, the doors stuttered, and the elevator refused to move.
"What the hell?" Colgate hollered upsettingly, while Diana and Snuzzle exchanged glances. "Why won't this blasted thing move!?"
"I think I might know, sir." Wiz was viewing the elevator through the mechanical eyes of his droids, before long he easily identified the signs of intentional sabotage. "This little snag won't prevent our task. Whoever is messing around with the elevator has another thing coming." TAP! TAP! His fingers moved swiftly over the controls, hacking into the elevator's system, and within seconds, the elevator came back to life.
"We're moving again. Wiz that damn genius." As the elevator resumed its ascent, Colgate and Diana exchanged a look that gave away their excitement to apprehend Hao Vee.
Wiz, on the other hand, reclined in his seat with a smug smile on his face. His attention was drawn to a monitor showing Mentos and Maelstrom moving through a crowded workstation. The complex tracking algorithms in place predicted their destination.
"Could they be going to the elevator leading to the distribution lot? I should send a few of my bots to intercept, just in case," Wiz manipulated his Bubble Bot sword to produce two robotic minions that materialized from a shimmering pool of silvery light. They stood ready to serve.
"Get to the distribution lot, and intercept," As soon as he issued the orders, the droids hopped out of the truck and began making their way towards the distribution lot. Thus, the pieces of an elaborate game were set in motion, each player was moving with conviction towards their objective.
***
The workstation sprawled with a maze of conveyors and machinery, had a multitude of workers busying themselves. Mentos and the beast broke the monotony as they carved a path through the automated assembly lines and high-tech devices.
"Hey, be careful moving through here. These equipment are delicate!"
The workers' usual routine was interrupted as they stared at the spectacle unfolding before them. The Sword Fishes, although startling, didn't compare to the behemoth that was Maelstrom. His towering form was a sight to behold and an unexpected one at that. His hulking silhouette dwarfed the machinery present. He was carefully avoiding the array of equipment hanging from the ceiling, for fear of causing further disturbance.
Elsewhere, high above the workstation's floor, a swift figure was dashing through a corridor. WHOOSH! Hao, with the X-Class sword, Judgement Day swaying at his back was moving like a phantom. His ears, finely attuned to the slightest of noises, served as his guide. He was attuned to the sound of the fabric against the floor, the faint whir of a machine in operation, the distant chatter of the workers down below, and the rush of his own breath. His destination was the obvious route: Quory's private workstation.
"Huh!" While navigating through the corridors of Sphero's Inc. Hao's ears picked up a noise that instantly brought him to a halt. It came from a rising elevator. Its familiar mechanical tune was accompanied by the sound of a voice he recognised — Colgate's.
"Can't this damn elevator move any faster? I'm itching to pummel that bastard's face."
"They are closer than I expect." Hao's heart skipped a beat when he heard what Colgate shouted about what he wanted to do to him. "I better get moving." With a shake of his head, he dismissed the thought, focusing instead on his destination. He urged his legs to move faster, his strides becoming longer, his mind entirely focused on reaching his mother.
"I sure hope Vibe Edge repairs are finished. I'm not used to going this long without it." His rapid progress came to an abrupt halt once more just as he rounded a corner and almost collided with a droid. The sound the machine's core was making was eerily familiar, it reminded him of the droids that chased him in Wranglers District.
"Target sighted. Stop where you are in the name of the law!" The droid issued forth its command in a threatening manner, but Hao wasn't one to heed it.
"A Pursuer?" Hao recognized the specific language module. "How the heck did it get up here so quickly?" A thought dawned on him. "This must be one of Diana's." He was cornered, with nowhere to run. Before him stood the unwavering droid and behind him was the incoming elevator of operatives.
"I won't be apprehended." Hao drowned out the excessive noise of the world around him as he assessed his mechanical adversary. His grip tightened around the hilt of Judgement Day, although it was sheathed, it was far from harmless.
"Surrender or lethal force will be utilized." The droid regarded him with glowing crimson eyes, its stature imposing and its purpose clear. In the confined space of the corridor, every move would matter.
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