At the sa ti, the sll of vomit began to saturate my awareness. Beyond the sll of alcohol, I recognized the sll of the fried cheese curds Cassie ate at so point in the afternoon. Unlike your average cheese curds, these hadn’t been made of cheddar, but of a stinkier cheese I didn’t recognize, adding a strong moldy addition to the already questionable sll.
“That sll,” I swallowed, trying to keep everything down, “I feel sick too.”
The bald man’s eyes widened.
From behind , Daniel added, “ too.”
With a cry that might have been poorly pronounced swearing, the man backed up and shut the door between us, still dripping Cassie’s vomit.
Daniel thought, Let’s go, at us and we headed back up the hallway, but not before I let loose a single roachbot. Little more than a small black spec, it landed in the corner intersection of the ceiling, the wall, and the double doors, practically invisible.
As we ran away, I thought, I wasn’t joking about feeling sick.
neither, Daniel thought back, but I’m feeling better now that we’re farther away from the sll.
I realized that I was too.
Cassie’s voice cut into my thoughts, That’s great for you two, but I still need a bathroom and I need a drinking fountain. I haven’t been sick since my powers were activated and I never liked the taste of vomit.
We rounded the corner, putting us back in the public part of the arena, but still not one of the most popular spots. Like the rest of the building, it was a wide hall surrounded by concrete, the floor covered with black tile, but it didn’t have any shops, restaurants, or anywhere to sit. The n's and won’s restrooms and a couple of drinking fountains were the only objects in sight.
It felt to as if the arena’s architect were telling people to move through and not stick around.
We took the ssage to heart. Except we did stop for Cassie to use the drinking fountain and the bathrooms. We hung out next to the door as she stepped inside. I’d already identified two visible caras by then (two small half-globes on the ceiling) and was willing to bet that there were more.
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Cassie comnted in our heads as she took care of a few stray bits of vomit on her dress and washed the taste out of her mouth. Nice save back there, Nick. I can’t say I liked it much at the ti, but if there’s any better way to make the guy dismiss us as a group of drunk kids, I can’t think of it.
I took a drink from the drinking fountain. I hadn’t had much to drink, but the taste of the beer I’d had was lingering and it made think of the sll in the hall. I didn’t need that. No problem. After what you said, it was that or the brown note, and I was pretty sure you wouldn’t like that idea.
God, no. Don’t ever do that unless I ask you to. And if I ever do, you can bet I’m not in my right mind—which reminds —give so fucking warning next ti or I’ll make sure so of the splash hits you.
Feeling her irritation wash over , I decided apology was the better part of valor. Sorry. All I could think of was that I didn’t want to fight my way out. I’ll warn you next ti. In fact, if we have to do it again, maybe I should choose soone else.
Leaning against the wall next to the drinking fountain, Daniel shook his head, I’ve got to admit that would be fair, but let’s not overuse it. They’ll see through it eventually.
What I’m hearing, Cassie thought back, is that soone doesn’t want to take his turn. Rember that, Nick. Daniel’s next.
Daniel didn’t say anything or give even a hint of a ntal response. He did roll his eyes as I stepped away from the drinking fountain.
So the next thing, I began, is for to get the roachbot inside the lab, ch factory, or whatever that place is, but I feel like we can’t leave until after a concert or two if they’re watching for us after that.
Works for , Cassie said. I don’t have any plans tonight. Besides, we might see a band we’d never get to see normally.
I checked up and down the hall. We were still the only people in this section. Daniel, are you pretty sure this is the right spot for to send the bots? I’ll be using the one I planted to guide the others in. It’ll be a waste of ti if this is just an outlying ch repair room or sothing.
Daniel grinned, No, this one’s real. The guy Cassie puked on is one of Armory’s top engineers. You know how else I know it’s real? How little I got out of him. He was right on the edge of an anti-telepathy fuzzer. Whoever set it up, set it to be effective up to the doors, but end there. So they were trying to hide everything inside, but not give it so much protection that it was a beacon that they had sothing to hide. But this is it, Armory’s main lab and manufacturing facility. All we have to do now is figure out what we want to do to it.
Cassie stepped out of the won’s bathroom door. The gun wants you both to know that he’s ready to burn it to the ground right now, but I’m not. I think we need to decide if we’re going to stop at grabbing Armory or if we’re going to trash the whole lab on the way out. Think about what our base has in it. It’s anybody’s guess what this guy’s got and if we take him, his people will sell it or keep it for themselves.
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