"Go," I said. "Save him."
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"But I promised him I'd take care of you," Chase said.
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My heart felt as though it was about to burst. Atlas told him to protect me?
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I motioned for him to leave. "Go! I can handle myself!" That wasn't true. I couldn't defend myself against Oblivion. I certainly can't fend off Vindicator alone, but Atlas is dying. I couldn't live with myself if he died, and we could've done something to stop it. It would be selfish of me to keep Chase here if there's any chance he can rescue Atlas.
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Chase nodded and sprinted out the door and up the stairs.
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"There, there. It's time for you to get back to work finding that code." Vindicator grabbed my shoulders and squeezed. It wasn't the comforting kind of touch, it was the threatening kind. It wasn't a suggestion, it was a command.
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I let out a quiet squeak.
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He scowled at me.
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I took several shaky breaths. If you do what he asks, he won't hurt you. I repeated that mantra over and over again as my fingers glided across the keyboard. I can't stay in the system much longer. Their firewall is cracking down on me. I increased my typing speed, desperately trying to prevent myself from getting kicked out.
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Vindicator glared at me with his piercing green eyes, as my typing became more intense. "What's going on?"
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"They're throwing me out. I can't keep up with their security. It's a miracle I lasted this long."
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He leaned in so close I could feel his hot breath on my face. "Well then, I suggest you start hacking faster," He barked, through clenched teeth.
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"It doesn't work like that! I'm just one person, I can't compete with Bionic Corp!"
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"Are you not one of the best hackers Bionic Corp ever had?"
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"I'm not," I confessed. "I'm just me. I'm an average, boring person. I don't know who told you any different, but they're wrong." A notification popped up informing me I'd been kicked out of the server.
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He let out an enraged scream and threw the keyboard at my head.
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I ducked, just barely missing it.
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"Hey! That's no way to treat a lady." Katrina leaned against the door frame and sharpened her claws with a nail file.
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"Get out of here, Bionic Corp scum! This has nothing to do with you." Vindicator snapped.
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Katrina just rolled her eyes, then smirked at me like we were part of some inside joke.
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"You look like hell," I deadpanned as I examined her torn clothes, tousled hair, and bloody face.
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She ran her fingers through her tangled mass of curls. "Well, I did just fall out of a window, so."
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I stood there and scowled at her.
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"What? Are you not happy to see me?"
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"Take a wild guess."
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"Yes?"
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"Guess again."
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Oh, you're mad about the whole me being a Bionic Corp spy thing."
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"I trusted you!" I spat through gritted teeth. "We all trusted you!"
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Katrina picked at the blood in her claws. "Why? I never gave you any reason to. All I did was hang out in your general vicinity, and you all trusted me with your secrets. It's not my fault you put so much faith in me."
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"I'll never forgive you for betraying us."
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Katrina raised her shoulders in a half-shrug. "That's fair. You should know I'm just doing what it takes to survive in this cruel world. I didn't choose to be an assassin any more than Atlas did. I'm doing the best with the hand I was dealt."
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"I don't care why you did it. Your motivations don't change the impact of your actions. You've hurt me, Atlas, and countless others.
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Katrina shot me an appraising smirk. "Listen, I have orders to kill you, but I'm feeling nice, so I'll give you the chance to stay alive if you do what I say. I'm doing this because I like you, and I'd hate to be the one to kill you."
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"No. You need my hacking skills. You don't care about me, you only care about what I can do for you." I spat.
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"You don't have to say it like that. You make me sound terribly shallow. You're not entirely wrong, I do need your help, but I see this as more of a symbiotic relationship. You give me something I want, and I'll give you something you want."
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"I don't want anything from you, you treacherous bitch!"
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"Rude."
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I stood tall and spoke with false bravery. "I'm never going to help you."
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Katrina put on a fake frown. "Why all the animosity, Marisa? I thought we were friends."
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"Are you joking? You attacked me and threatened me in my own home."
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Katrina crossed her arms. "Yeah, but I bought you mozzarella sticks afterward, so we're even. Those weren't cheap, you know? You didn't even bother to say thank you."
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"You shot my brother!"
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She resumed picking at her claws. "That is true. You got me there. I aimed for the hip. It was a warning shot. He should be fine as long as he doesn't drown, bleed out, or get eaten by sharks. Hey, did you know sharks can smell blood from over three hundred meters away? Pretty cool, right?"
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"I've heard enough, I told you to leave! Now go!" Vindicator shouted.
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Katrina rolled her eyes. "No, I don't think I will."
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Before anyone had time to react, Vindicator grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall. "You're going to need to find your own hacker. This one here is mine! Do you hear me?
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"She doesn't belong to you, creep. You don't own her. She can help whoever she wants. I think she'll find working with me far more compelling than working with you. Because all you have are threats of violence. I have something she desperately wants, something I think she'll do anything for."
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"So, you're just going to steal everything I've worked for right out from under me? Is that how this is going to go?" Vindicator shook her, sending her head thumping against the wall.
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"It doesn't have to go that way, Mason. Think about it, I want to destroy the code, you want to destroy the code," Katrina pointed at me. "she wants to destroy the code. Together, we can't fail."
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He paused to consider her offer. "What will you do once the code is destroyed?"
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"I'll continue living life, with my title of World's Best Assassin permanently intact. If I'm the only one who knows the Annihilation Code, I can never be upstaged."
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Vindicator smashed her head into the back wall, he didn't like that answer. "Tell me, how does it feel to be a traitor to your own kind?"
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Katrina scratched at him, tearing open his leather armor, exposing the pale flesh underneath. "I don't have a kind, I've always been alone. Why should I care for my fellow cyborgs? They never looked out for me!"
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Vindicator tightened his grip. "I'm going to kill you and avenge your victims."
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She dug her claws into his face, leaving bloody, red gashes from his forehead to his chin.
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Maybe, if I'm lucky, they'll kill each other. Two birds, one stone. Well, I guess in this scenario, the birds are hurling rocks at each other.
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"If you're not with me, then you're my enemy," Katrina said.
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"You've always been my enemy. You're the antithesis of everything I stand for. You're the embodiment of Bionic Corp's cruelty and society's indifference towards the well-being of cyborgs. You repulse me."
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Katrina scanned the area. "You know what repulses me? This interior decor. This whole room is terribly gray. It could use a pop of color. Maybe some red. Your entrails would look great splattered over here. We could make a beautiful accent wall."
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"Is that a threat?" He said, shooting her an appraising glare.
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"It's a warning. Stay out of my way." Katrina mauled his face again, this time aiming for the eyes.
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He keeled over and clutched his eyes, giving Katrina the chance to break free. Rivulets of blood and sweat poured down his face, and he let out a soft whimpering sound.
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My heart swelled with sympathy for him, despite my better judgment. I hope his eyes were cybernetic, if not, there's going to be some serious damage.
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You're wrong.
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Katrina linked her arm with mine. "Come on, bestie. Let's get out of here."
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I jerked away from her. "Who said I'm going with you?"
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She giggled. "Don't play hard to get, Marisa. We all know you're going to join me in the end."
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She shrugged. "Okay, whatever. Let your uncle die. I don't care. By the looks of it, he has..." She glanced down at her Holowatch. "Eight hours left to live, and you still have no idea where he is. Face it, you're helpless without me."
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"We'll figure something out," I stammered.
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She laughed at me. It was a dry laugh without any real humor behind it. She was mocking me. She knew I couldn't do it alone, and she wanted to know how much I was willing to bargain for Patch's life.
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I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging myself tightly. "Why should I believe you'll take me to Patch?"
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She shot me a toothy grin. "You shouldn't, but you don't have any other options. You need me, and I need you. So, I say we call a truce." She extended a hand for me to take.
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Joining her would be a risky endeavor. She would most likely betray me whenever she got the chance, I fingered the shock device in my pocket. I had a secret weapon to use against her, and she required my hacking skills if she wanted any chance of finding the Annihilation Code. Despite everything in me telling me this was a bad decision, I firmly shook her hand.
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A wicked smirk spread across her lips. "That's a deal. There's no going back on it now."
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I sense of dread clawed at my chest. What had I just agreed to?"
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Vindicator stood tall in the doorway, with his arms out. "You're not going anywhere. I won't allow it."
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Oblivion pulled out her pistol and fired two shots into his heart. "I don't need your permission."
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He collapsed to the ground and clutched his bleeding chest.
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I glanced down at his crumpled form.
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His breathing became slow and labored. Tears welled up in his beautiful jade eyes. "Please help. I'm not ready to die," He rasped.
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I reached down to offer him my aid, but Katrina wrenched me away. "Ignore him. We have more important things to worry about." She dragged me out the door, stepping on Mason in the process.
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I was beginning to suspect that I'd made a terrible mistake.
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