The vehicle hummed quietly as it cut through the wet streets of Sector Four.
No sirens now.
Just rain sliding across the armored glass in long silver lines.
Inside, no one spoke for a while.
Keene sat near the door, elbows resting loosely on his knees, watching the city pass through the streaked window. Neon lights bled across puddles outside, stretching into distorted colors whenever the vehicle turned.
Across from him, Arin was trying very hard to pretend everything was normal.
Which meant he was failing spectacularly.
“So,” Arin said eventually, scratching the back of his neck. “Fun evening.”
No one answered.
Lsael leaned back in his seat with theatrical exhaustion. “I rate it a solid three out of ten. Would not recommend.”
Razan snorted quietly but said nothing.
Marek sat upright beside Edrin, studying the Veinrunner’s wrist regulator like it was a machine he intended to disassemble later.
Edrin noticed.
“It's just a stabilizer,” he said.
“I know,” Marek replied calmly. “I’m curious about the cooling cycle.”
“Most people are curious about staying alive,” Edrin muttered.
Marek shrugged slightly. “Both are interesting.”
Arin leaned toward Keene.
“Hey,” he whispered. “You okay?”
Keene nodded once.
“Yeah.”
Arin looked like he wanted to believe that.
The vehicle slowed.
Outside, floodlights came into view—white beams cutting through rain and mist. Tall metal fencing surrounded a low government complex ahead. Several vehicles were already parked outside, engines idling.
The transport rolled through the gate without stopping.
“Processing,” Edrin said quietly. “Standard procedure after an incident.”
Razan leaned forward.
“Processing?”
“Statements. Medical checks. Paperwork.”
Lsael groaned. “Paperwork nearly killed him,” he said, nodding toward Edrin.
Edrin almost smiled.
The vehicle stopped beneath a metal awning.
Doors opened.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Cold air and rain rushed inside.
“Out,” one of the officers said.
---
The building inside was brighter than the street.
Fluorescent lights hummed overhead. The air smelled faintly of antiseptic and wet clothing. Several civilians sat along metal benches near the wall, wrapped in thin blankets, speaking quietly with uniformed staff.
Keene and the others were guided inside.
Boots echoed across polished concrete.
“Sit,” the officer said, pointing toward the benches.
They did.
For a moment, the five of them sat in silence.
Across the room, two Veinrunners spoke quietly near a console. Another officer wheeled a portable scanner past them.
Arin leaned back slowly.
“Okay,” he said. “Not prison.”
“Yet,” Lsael added helpfully.
Marek ignored them, observing everything with quiet attention.
Razan tapped his foot against the floor impatiently.
Edrin sat a short distance away while a medic checked his head with a handheld scanner.
A moment later a voice called from a doorway.
“Arin.”
Arin blinked.
“That’s me.”
He stood, smoothed his jacket like he was preparing for an interview, and disappeared through the door.
---
Arin returned a few minutes later.
“Well?” Lsael asked.
Arin shrugged.
“They asked questions.”
“What kind?”
“Normal kind,” Arin said. “Why were you there? Did you see anything? What did it look like.”
“And?”
“I told them if I had the senses to detect killer robots I probably wouldn’t be buying vending machine snacks at midnight.”
Marek sighed.
“That must have gone well.”
“They wrote something down,” Arin admitted.
Another voice called.
“Lsael.”
Lsael stood dramatically.
“If I do not return,” he said, placing a hand on his chest, “remember me as a handsome genius.”
“You were neither,” Razan said.
Lsael disappeared into the interrogation room.
He came back three minutes later looking mildly offended.
“What happened?” Arin asked.
“They asked if I threw the brick,” Lsael said.
“And?”
“I said scientifically speaking it was more of a projectile experiment.”
Marek pinched the bridge of his nose.
The door opened again.
“Razan.”
Razan stood immediately.
His shoulders were still tight from the earlier fight.
He disappeared inside.
This time the questioning took longer.
When Razan returned, his expression was darker.
“What did they ask?” Arin said.
“The usual.”
“And?”
Razan flexed his fingers slowly.
“They wanted to know why I attacked it.”
“And?”
“I told them to ask my hands.”
Marek frowned.
“That’s not an answer.”
“They’ve got their own brains,” Razan replied.
Lsael grinned.
“Poetic.”
Another name was called.
“Marek.”
Marek rose calmly and walked into the room.
When he returned, the officer behind him looked faintly irritated.
“What did you do?” Arin asked.
“I described its movement pattern,” Marek said.
“How detailed?”
“I estimated reaction speed, joint articulation, and combat efficiency.”
Arin blinked.
“And?”
“The officer asked if I was a witness or a research paper.”
Finally—
“Keene.”
Keene stood and entered the room.
---
The interrogation itself was simple.
Questions.
Short answers.
Where were you?
What did you see?
Did it say anything?
“No.”
Did it hesitate?
“Yes.”
Why?
“I don’t know.”
The officer studied him for a moment, then wrote something down.
“That’s all,” he said.
Keene stepped back into the hallway.
The corridor outside was quieter than the main room.
Someone leaned against the wall near the exit.
Edrin.
He straightened slightly when Keene approached.
Keene paused.
“You were looking at me earlier.”
Edrin didn’t deny it.
“Yeah.”
Keene tilted his head slightly.
“Do I remind you of someone?”
Edrin thought about that.
“More like myself,” he said finally.
Keene frowned faintly.
Edrin looked toward the rain-streaked window.
“I watched what you did back there,” he said.
“Trying to save your friend.”
Keene said nothing.
Edrin rubbed the back of his neck.
“Reminded me of my daughter.”
That made Keene look up.
“What’s her name?”
“Mira.”
The name came with a small smile.
“Is she okay?” Keene asked.
Edrin nodded.
“Yeah. She’s in the hospital right now. Nothing serious.”
His voice softened.
“She’ll be discharged in four days.”
Keene nodded once.
“Good.”
For a moment they stood there quietly.
Then Keene returned to the bench where the others waited.
---
Marek was leaning slightly toward two nearby Veinrunners who were speaking quietly to each other.
“…not the Panther,” one of them was saying.
The other shook his head.
“No. Different reports.”
“What does it do?”
“Takes people.”
Marek’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Doesn’t kill?”
“Apparently not.”
Razan frowned.
“That’s worse.”
Suddenly—
Movement spread through the building.
Radios crackled.
Officers began moving quickly.
One Veinrunner grabbed a rifle from a rack.
Another loaded gear into a crate.
Arin blinked.
“Okay,” he said slowly. “That looks like trouble.”
Razan stood.
Something about the atmosphere had shifted.
Outside the entrance doors, vehicles were arriving.
Fast.
He walked toward the window.
Then froze.
Outside, under the floodlights—
Veinrunners were gathering.
One.
Five.
Ten.
More arriving every few seconds.
Fully armed.
Rifles.
Gear packs.
Combat rigs.
Razan counted without meaning to.
Twenty-two.
Twenty-four.
Twenty-eight.
Twenty-eight Veinrunners.
All preparing to deploy.
Razan’s expression hardened instantly.
“Oh hell.”
He turned and ran back toward the others.
“Keene!”
Everyone looked up.
Razan grabbed the edge of the bench.
“Outside,” he said quickly. “Twenty-eight Veinrunners. Fully geared.”
Arin blinked.
“What?”
Razan shook his head.
“That’s not patrol.”
He looked back toward the door.
“That’s a hunt.”
And somewhere in the rain outside—
something had just become the target.
Cut.
