“I can’t believe this,” Sera said, her voice shaky. “They are evacuating the city center? Forus?”
“Reina must have friends in high places. Hold on.”
I downloaded the plans of every building we were about to pass, finding one that had a back exit on a parallel street. I tore through the door. It was a high-end restaurant, and people screamed when I barged in. I ignored them, easily finding my way to the back. We ran through the kitchen filled with shouts and heat, then through a maze of dark corridors, and finally out.
“Need a hand?” Motori’s voice came from above.
“Not yet! Stay out of sight!” I roared, seeing on the city cameras that three cyborgs were about to round the corner and spot us.
Sera shifted in my arms when I took off down the street, passing people who gasped or screamed when they saw me. There weren’t as many ads here, but the calm order to evacuate rang from all directions.
“Dean, they can’t help us,” Sera said, panting. “What will they do, shoot from the air?”
I knew exactly how the tanuki could help us, and I followed the trajectory of their flight with the camera in the top of my head, searching for the best place to do it. I was out of options. Every subway station in the area was guarded. Zenkyoza must have sent their entire cyborg army to get us.
I ran through my options, checking available camera feeds. We were surrounded, but I must have run in a direction they didn’t anticipate. In front of me were only three cyborgs, and most of the pursuit was behind us.
I got closer to the nearest bridge on Sumida River. It was tipped with a tall arch. Perfect.
“Once I shoot my way through, you’ll have to become my front backpack. Can you do that? I’ll need my hands,” I said to Sera, holding her with one arm as I reached inside myself for my gun.
“Sure.” She sounded tremulous but confident. That was enough for me.
I grabbed the gun and held her closer, popping off a series of energy bursts. The cyborgs returned fire, and I dropped down, rolling, my body wrapped around Sera like we were a piece of sushi. I hid behind a car and shot off one more round. The last of them went down. The way was clear.
Maybe we still had a chance,I thought, pulling camera feeds from the bridge and the other side as I raced toward it.
But it was hopeless. A police car barricade blocked the other end already, and two speed boats circled under the bridge, ready to intercept us if we tried to swim away.
So this was it.
A wide metal arch spanned the length of the bridge. It was supported by vertical posts and reinforced with cross bracing. I connected to Isamu’s earpiece, which he took everywhere to stay in contact with Gokiburi.
“I’m going to climb on top of that arch and hand you Sera. Can you carry her together?”
“Yes. Are you sure? Maybe you could swim…”
“I’ll try.”
I looked up at the sky when I heard the distant whooshing of an inbound helicopter. My core spasmed with helplessness. Would this way be cut off, too? But it wasn’t the police, just the news. I exhaled, reaching the bridge at last.
“Now, Sera. Backpack.”
She wrapped her arms and legs around me, and I braced, leaping up the metal construction of the lowest point of the arch. I engaged the potent electromagnets in my hands and feet andclimbed, soon reaching the top. It was uncomfortable with Sera clinging to my front, but I couldn’t risk putting her on my back. She would get shot.
Though, if they used energy guns…
An energy charge glanced off my shoulder. Sera screamed from the painful shock, but it was weak enough not to do any damage. My core still pulsed with guilt.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, walking up the arch. It was windy up here, and I struggled to maintain balance. My damaged foot made me stumble twice, and I almost tipped into the water, righting myself at the last moment.
If we fell from this height, the impact would likely break Sera’s bones. I had to keep walking.
The tanuki were nowhere to be seen, but maybe they were hiding. We were pretty exposed up here. Behind me, a battle cyborg managed to climb the arch. Then another. I kept walking, all my attention focused on not falling. My energy was low, since I compensated for the broken foot with sheer stamina. I turned off the program choking my collar. It was useless to mask it, after all.
“Dean, please,” Sera whispered, and I barely caught her words before the wind snatched them away. “What are you planning? You can’t… I won’t go anywhere without you. Do you hear me? I won’t!”
“I hear you,” was all I said. This was our last conversation, and I wasn’t going to waste it on fighting.
