“It means those RMI robots are leading them directly to us,” Lulu said. “On purpose.”
“I was afraid of this,” Roger said. “We have seen this activity already. RMI soldiers set up a base. Then they are attacked, and they flee when it appears they’re about to lose. Enemy mechs follow the RMI soldiers, and they make a beeline for places where civilians are hiding. In some of the examples I have seen, the RMI soldiers will set up in the midst of the population centers and resume their defense.”
I jabbed a finger upward. “Those guys up there know exactly where we are.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Sam asked.
I looked over the group of people standing there, afraid.
“We gotta meet them along the way, kill the remaining mechs before they find the base.” I raised my voice. “Gear up! We’re moving in two minutes!”
Chapter 19
Twenty minutes later, a dozen of us crouched down in the grass behind the open door of the Gonzales barn. I looked nervously over my shoulder. Normally, even in the dark, one could have clearly seen the lights from our farm three kilometers away, despite the trees. We were still too close to the home base, but the RMI robots were moving rapidly down the Old Trail, and this was the farthest we could get.
I pulled the night vision goggles over my eyes and looked again, seeing if I could detect any hint of our farm now that all the lights were removed. Nothing. Only slightly relieved, I turned my attention back to the line of trees that separated the Gonzales farm from the Old Trail. I couldn’t yet see anything, and I pulled off the uncomfortable goggles.
“Roger, how well can they see in the dark?”
“All models have advanced night vision capabilities vastly superior to your own. The Sniper class also has advanced heat-based vision and for a fee can purchase real-time maps of the area. There are currently no Sniper-class war machines nearby. This is fortunate, as we are unable to adequately cloak ourselves from the ship.”
“They only have one ship, though, right?”
“That is correct,” Roger said in my ear. “It is not currently over our position. But they have deployed multiple satellites that can view the entire planet at once. In addition, do not forget that pre-conflict maps are available for purchase. It appears both Thunder Thighs and Team Cannon Fodder have purchased such maps. In addition, these maps have already proliferated on pirate sites, so the location of the home base is no secret. At first glance, it appears our location is just another farm, though if one zooms close, they can see several honeybees at work. I fear it is only a matter of time before someone puts it together.”
I grunted and returned my attention to the line of trees just past the Gonzales fields.
The Old Trail was a rarely used, poorly maintained road on the far side of the farm. It had been the original road before my grandfather and the municipality built the wider and flatter main thoroughfare for the hoppers. The Old Trail was winding and bumpy and followed the path of the nearby Pantano River, which occasionally flooded during the rainy season. Every kid who had grown up in the area knew the Old Trail very well. I tried to remember the last time I’d used it. It’d been years.
“The RMI soldiers will appear soon,” Roger said over the earpiece. “Lulu, the path is currently clear. You may now move in.”
To my right, Tito and Axel tensed simultaneously. Just past them, the two Miguels rapidly put out their cigarettes.
“Moving in. Ollie, don’t do anything stupid,” Lulu said over the band.
She—along with Rosita, Ariceli, and a few others—was currently several kilometers away, approaching the Yanez farm. They’d taken the main road, using a pair of newly built high-speed scooters from the warehouse cache. A hopper and several more honeybees followed them and would hopefully catch up soon.
I was trying not to let my worry for Lulu and Rosita overwhelm me—or distract me from the current mission. It wasn’t working. Isent anUpdate?ping with my bracelet. Lulu replied with two quick bursts, our code forCan’t talk now, but all is well. It was the same code we’d used as kids through the wall of our bedrooms.
The RMI bots had been pausing along the way, waiting for the mechs to catch up. Of the seventeen remaining war machines, only eleven were still in pursuit, the others having decided to go back for resupply or to call it a night. The remaining pursuers included the four remaining members of Team Cannon Fodder, one independent streamer, and six members of the Thunder Thighs, which was apparently an all-female gamer squad.
“You really think this is a good idea?” Sam asked nervously.
“No,” I whispered. I stuck some fingers into the neckhole of the armored jacket where it was biting my skin. “But what choice do we have?”
Sam grinned. “It’s not too late to run away screaming.”
Behind us, the night rustled as the two dozen black-painted honeybees emerged from the darkness. They spread out into Mr.Gonzales’s fields in front of us. Only a few had mounted guns on them. The rhino with the mounted missile launcher also appeared, its legs whisking as it quickly pushed past us and around the side of the main house.
“Do you remember that time we tried to ding-dong ditch Mr.and Mrs.Gonzales?” Sam asked as we watched the large rhino bot disappear around the house. He indicated the front of the house. The front door was painted bright yellow and glowed in the night. A single light remained on inside. Dozens of flowerpots dotted the front porch. It looked absurdly normal in light of everything that was going on around us.
I laughed. “I remember you tried to run and bit it on the bottom step and started bleeding all over the place. And Miguel Mustache started crying when Mrs.Gonzales came out like we’d been caught trying to rob the place.”
“I didn’t cry,” Miguel Mustache said defensively. “That was Tito or Axel.”
“That was Tito,” Axel said. “Our grandma told us if we disrespected adults, we’d go to hell. He thought because Sam got caught, Mrs.Gonzales would tell God what we did. Miguel Mustache is the one who kept running.”
Tito grunted and nodded enthusiastically.
