Page 55 of Spark Transform

Arco pointed across the street to an open, well-lit loading yard between two mid-height buildings. “If we trust the map, crossing through there is a shorter way to the five-way intersection we passed earlier.”

Brenner nodded. “Let’s go.”

They had the stained and scarred loading yard to themselves. No stray carts, and the rows of bay doors they passed were closed tight. A flock of large camera eyes zoomed by overhead toward the west, probably seeking the spider.

Tōn Ko whistled through the earwire. “I think Big Spider is going rogue. The news feeds show it heading north. A Ground Division hovercar just showed up. Announcers say mechs and tanks are on the move all over. Big Spider must be more trouble than they’re admitting.”

“In that case,” said Minan, “the onsite Commander will shut down all media in case things go twisted.”

Arco snorted. “As if dozens of raw feeds aren’t already topping planet-wide trends.”

Minan chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the galaxy’s finest military minds for you. Blockade the jump point an hour after the runner ship has gone transit.”

Arco and Brenner rounded the corner of the long building and veered toward the big five-way intersection. She made a mental note to avoid it during business hours. Fortunately, with no traffic, they could pretend to be bipedal ground cars and stride across the expanse to the street they wanted.

The rain lightened. A swarm of small cameras, similar to the ones she usually carried, converged around them. “Shoo.” She pointed west. “The big story is that way.”

The cameras froze for a second, then flew away slowly, bumping into one another like they were drunk.

She glanced at Brenner as he walked, but couldn’t tell if he zapped the cameras or not.

“Big Spider is mad.” Tōn Ko’s commentary sounded like he was calling an antigrav cage fight. “It just batted the hovercar out of the sky. Made a nasty splat on a warehouse roof. Now it’s turning east, toward the river. Might take a mech-suited Jumper squad or another spider to stop it.” He sounded delighted by the prospect.

For no reason Arco could name, she found herself picking up speed. She’d probably watched too many thrillers about giant alien monsters stomping puny pedestrians like ants.

“Zow!” exclaimed Tōn Ko. “So much for the bridge. Ouch. Looks like Big Spider doesn’t like office quads, either.”

She had to half-skip to keep up with Brenner’s lengthened stride. Maybe he’d watched too many thrillers, too.

“Brenner,” said Minan, “should we come get you?”

He glanced up at the surrounding buildings that loomed above. “No point. We’re only three intersections from the front yard. Are you in the annex?”

At the team’s suggestion, she’d short-leased a small, separate office space in one of the new low-rises, one block south, to serve as their security hub.

“Yes. Tōn Ko is on monitors. I was about to fly rounds, but TCS may ground me.”

Brenner shook his head. “Stay put for now. We might need the flitter for fast evac.”

“Copy.”

Arco called up her memory of the map. “We can avoid the second intersection if we go between the orange midrise and the warehouse next to it. Assuming it has lights and no obstacles.”

Brenner nodded. “Worth a shot.”

“Big Spider is still headed east, following the street, like it’s late for dinner… oh hell, the feed cut off.” Tōn Ko sounded disgruntled.

Brenner turned to her. “Up for running if we have to?”

“I’ll manage.” Too late now to kick herself for not making use of the boring treadmills more often.

A dull, distant thud reverberated against the buildings, and then another.

Brenner broke into a trot. She followed, trailing far enough so she didn’t get splashed by his footfalls.

When they crossed the wide street, she looked west. Nothing visible, but the rhythmic, echoing thuds continued. Maybe they sounded louder because the rain had slowed to a sullen drizzle, no longer muffling echoes.

The space between the orange mid-rise and the half-gutted warehouse resembled a broken-field obstacle course but was well-lit and passable. When Brenner looked questioningly at her, she nodded.