[We need her info for now,] he flatly continued. [I expect they will send someone but right now shit is getting to be real damned suspicious. Their next in command contacted me just now and told me they will send a rescue vehicle from their Bosa camp once rocket activity is guaranteed a non-threat level. The last aerial rescues both got shot down. No word on pilot recoveries.]

[So, when are they picking this girl up?]

[Hell if I know?]

“Excuse me,” Sam interrupted. “But I need to give some kind of information, right? In exchange, can you tell me how I am getting back to my team?”

Sebastian took a moment to think of the right phrasing as he saw how skittish she was. “Your people can’t come yet. They say it’s too dangerous to send air rescue. The last ones got shot down. You stay with us until they say it is safe to send someone, OK?” When she nodded her head, he continued: “So, I need to know about the, ahn, the people who put you into the wall. Tell me about who did that. And who cut your team like that.” He then turned to Dani. [Bring her some water. Something to drink. Where’s the hospitality, sis?]

Sam was too overcome by the flashes of memories of watching her teammates being killed to notice Dani rolling her eyes at Sebastian’s remark as she headed for the other truck next to them. She had forgotten how real that was, feeling the punch-in-the-gut sensation once more as reality further set in.

“Are you alright?” Sebastian noted the paling in her face. He put a hand on her shoulder as he attempted to look her in the eye. “Hey, are you ok?”

Sam snapped back, taking in a proper breath, then looked back at Sebastian. “I-I don’t know where they came from. My team…” She had struggled to recall everything, trying to jog  her memory of what happened prior to the attack. “My team had gotten separated from the other team at that clearing. A big… roundabout. We saw a tank. Some of us fell back. I saw some Gammas, kind of like what you have there but a different color,” Sam pointed to his and Renzo’s MI-r’s. “There were some black and brick-colored ones that I was helping shoot down. It was when I turned around to reload when I saw these… these- call me crazy, but cape or cloak covered frames.”

She then took the water bottle Dani brought, thanked her, and took a few long sips before continuing. “Sorry. Anyway, I don’t know what mech frame they were. I couldn’t even get a good picture almost as if my own memory is distorted. Real foggy for me, sorry. They all had these, I think, bladed weapons they hacked everyone down with. I couldn’t… I couldn’t shoot… they had my teammates between me and them. When I backed up they were already in my face… bashed me against the wall and I lost all system control. Even my secondary communicator broke. That’s why I can’t understand you all when you speak Spanish.”

“OK,” Sebastian responded as he took a moment to digest everything he was told.

[Well, are you going to tell us what’s up? Clue us in, bro. Shit sounded important,] Renzo interjected, curious why he hadn’t been updated after everything she said.

“But those mechs?”, Sam continued. “They didn’t even show up on radar, couldn’t even lock in on them. They even showed up blank on NOx traces.”

“Knocks? What are knocks?”

“No no, sorry, I need to avoid acronyms. Um, nitrogen, oxygen, like… NO₂ or NO₃,” she awkwardly started as she started subconsciously using her hands to help explain. “You know? The stuff… the brown gas… that pretty much all Bernaud frames- err… Gamma frames… spit out when moving under boost. So, yeah, nothing we could see on our screen. It’s like they… weren’t even there.”

“Ok, I think I understand. But, please, hold one minute.” He then looked to Renzo and Dani. [If I understood right, they are complete foreigners like I said. Blades? Cloaking? Catalyzers we don’t have access to? This is bad. We need to go report everything immediately and get everything straight with Infinity.]

Renzo laughed mockingly before boiling: [Man, fuck those pricks, they ripped us all off!! I was not ready to hear about spending more money on them.]

[So, what do we do? Huh?] Sebastian shot back with a straight face. [Ready to go out on our last ride? Those foreigners are here and I bet they are here to stay. Want to face them alone?]

[Bas, wake up! They didn’t show themselves until Infinity showed up!]

Sebastian pondered the truth behind the statement, unable to retort, mouth agape.

Sam, however, picked up on what Renzo must have been saying as she looked to him. “Hey, I got that. We showed up, they showed up. But the order is already made. We were just the first drop. There are way more of us showing up in a few days. More than double what showed up!”

[What did she say?] Renzo said, puzzled at the thought she said anything at all to him.

“Samantha, can you communicate with your people if we take you to our compound? You need to warn them.”

[Bas! What did she say?!] Renzo persisted.

[Renzo, damn! She said the order was already including the next wave of bigger security packages come in a few days. I remember this was a package deal with only part of it coming today. They still owe us eight more squads,] he said with a smirk.

Dani checked her watch as she opened her driver side door. [Alright, time’s up. Pack up. We need to get out of here before more people get bad ideas. Shame this shit happens in our own neighborhoods.]

Sebastian nodded in agreement as he faced Sam once more. “So, I have to go back in my Gamma. You ride with Dani. I will help you get communication set up with your people when we arrive, OK?”

Sam was comforted by the thought of hearing from her team once more, but then was quickly discomforted seeing Dani in the driving seat and her stuck with her for who knew how long. Dani turned around, giving her a smile that Sam could only weakly return.

During the drive back, Sam was once again mesmerized by the view passing by. The sheer difference in architecture and the layout of the city was something she likely would never get adjusted to, especially with how hectic traffic got when no one was following the lane markers. She eased back once more in her seat, checking the bandage on her arm to see the bleeding had stopped. She felt the heat blasting from outside even though the wind coming in from the open windows had been steadily flowing by. She felt the sweat from her back soaking into the upholstery of the seat cushion, causing her to readjust her posture.

Seeing that the others in the truck weren’t in anything like her pilot suit, she casually zipped her collar open and pulled it further down towards her abdomen, letting some of the trapped heat out of her suit but also exposing her undershirt. She remembered how uncomfortable the other guys made her earlier, causing her to awkwardly put the zipper back up. She then heard Dani over her communicator with someone but couldn’t make out the words as the noise drowned most of it out. She then started having flashbacks of the massacre earlier and what news was brought about the bailing out of her rescue team on her. Once again, the feelings of terrifying isolation and vulnerability kicked in.

After a few lines were exchanged, Dani turned to her. “Hey, your team left Bosa. No more camp.”

“What?” Sam thought, just as she thought it couldn’t get worse.

“They got told that they had to leave because, ahn, it was too dangerous to look for missing pilots. You. The helicopter crew. Sorry. Your team left Bosa and is on a train to Medellin to get to safety.”

“What the hell?!” Sam tried to stay calm, knowing she at least was being cared for. “OK, OK, Sebastian said he would let me talk to my crew when we get wherever it is we are going. I can get them to come get me, right?”

Dani could only shake her head. “I don’t know. But I feel sorry for you.”

▽　▽　▽  

Reaper was watching a large cargo train head out from the city and northwest from a different camp set up in the mountains overlooking Bogota. He zoomed in to spot Hexa officers at the back of the personnel car. “That leaves one left unaccounted for.”

“I already marked the escaped Ai20 pilot and that heli crew as KIA or MIA,” Requiem spoke from a seat behind him, “so I assume you are speaking of her.”

Reaper was then approached from behind by Director Channing, who was now dressed down in the same camo pattern pilot gear. “Cable” was written on the name patch over the left chest pocket. He looked to her and spoke: “You still expect Vrey to send the rest of the package on time?”

“Well,” she said, “you know, since I had to ditch a week sooner than expected, all I can give you is my best guess. That man is who we know him to be. Expect the delivery not only on time but might even be bigger.” She then turned to the view of the city below. “Destabilizing this place wasn’t as hard as I originally calculated. Do you really think we need one more go? You might not like the numbers next time.”

“No. We aren’t done until we see the other Familias’ citizen contingents start to rebel. The Vera, Benitez, and Galeano sympathizers are still too much in control. We actually just might need a large-scale mess to really have them question their state of being. Let Hexa send their groups. Round up more locals. The Rocha’s like their pay.”

Requiem stood up from his chair and headed the other direction. “Already ahead of you, Reap’. Me and Rev’ will go talk to Boss Boy and see who can be rounded up by tomorrow.”

When Requiem’s footsteps couldn’t be heard anymore, Cable turned to Reaper again. “Isaiah, you know your sister is still not exactly in the best shape to call safe or sound. You risked exposure just to hope she’s sent home scared shitless and never to return. Don’t tell me you are going to do the same if we don’t see an extraction by tomorrow.”

“Marian, stop,” Reaper (Isaiah) sighed. “I really appreciate everything you yourself risked in bringing her and everyone off course to safe landings, and I did get to in fact see her completely freeze up. She had three chances in specific to shoot one of us down. She is in over her head like I knew, and now she knows it, too. It’s unfortunate that Galeano kid ran in messing up her rescue. I didn’t plan on having that heli shot down, you know. That was just after the fact.”

“So?” she flatly replied, arms crossed. “Answer my question.”

“About next time?” he said with a frustrated chuckle. He was never able to talk as he wanted to about his sister he had abandoned, always feeling some responsibility for whatever fate she would meet. “Sam is resourceful. Either she uses that and finds a way to get out and back home where I know she will stay, or she gets a stupid idea and uses it to get herself killed. I did my part. She just has to do her part now and go home.”

“Well, I can’t chastise you for valuing your family. But we have to expect much more than simple anti-riot packages next. That tank and you three guy’s appearance means the Ai-25 and 30 models also make theirs, along with their own tanks and attack craft. And don’t forget they might break out the Ap-50 prototype.”

“You overestimate Vrey’s carelessness with the public eye. He worries more about his stockholders-”

“No. He worries about his personal success and his pride. That will always trump everything else, just like always. Remember, he lost his son for the sake of his invention succeeding. He will send an army.” And to think of the extent he will go to… gives me chills.

“Well, let’s hope for our sake I’m right. I need to get my ears closer to Kennedy East so I can at least see what’s going on with Sam. I’m like you, Marian. I want this to be over much sooner and with much less fighting than not.” He picked up his viewfinder once more, this time focusing over the central part of town. “Something says little Galeano might give Sam the wrong sense of confidence. I might need to get him silenced.”

“Do you want his information? Sebastian or Renzo Navarre. Not sure which it was, but one was there, one was at the lake.”

What was I thinking? Marian will only get carried away. I need to just keep my mouth shut and pray Sam sticks to course. “Nevermind, it’s time and resources not worth spending,” he said, letting his arms rest again. All I can do for now is hope. Please don’t get that damn stubborn confidence up, Sam.