We are not taking Sangeet hostage. He is not a hostage.
But no matter how many times Caroline told herself that, her moral conscience never failed to crumble every time she looked at the scavenger. He sat in the co-pilot's seat of the shuttle, arms wrapped around himself, chin tucked to his chest. The chair seemed to swallow him whole. Renee stood behind him, drumming her fingers on the back of the headrest.
They were flying to Ji's apartment, chasing the dying light on the horizon borders. For once, Caroline couldn't appreciate the view out the windows; she could only look at the navigation screen and the scavenger.
It's simple, really, she told herself. We give them Sangeet. They free Marvin and Ben. No one dies.
But of course, the Manhunters' promise to spare Sangeet was more dubious than Caroline passing as a professional pilot. Even if they didn't kill him, the punishment for stealing their weapons would be severe.
Caroline glanced at the screen. Twenty minutes to reach destination. Twenty minutes to make up her mind.
Who are you kidding? Why do you need to even deliberate this?
They couldn't betray Sangeet. It just wasn't right. Even if the Manhunters did nothing to him—which they wouldn't—they couldn't just throw him to the wolves.
Caroline sunk into her chair. So then what? How would they save Marvin and Ben? Amir was not responding to her messages; he was still deep in the Sector 8 investigation. Would it be possible to make a deal with the Manhunters?
Sienna could help with that, she thought. Sparrow's pilot was influential enough and friendly enough with Marvin and Caroline. Plus, talking to the Manhunters could give insight into Bob's disappearance.
"Caroline," Sangeet began. "What do we do?"
As Caroline was about to give a generic, reassuring answer, she caught Renee gesturing towards the scavenger. She wanted to give him up. It was the simplest way, and after all, he was the main one at fault.
But they had to consider the other options first.
"We'll try for a deal," Caroline said.
"You can't reason with them," Sangeet argued.
"Sienna could."
"That'd be even worse. You know what they did with Gammagrade? Their demands with her will be outrageous."
Do you want us to turn you in? Caroline almost asked.
Renee tapped Sangeet's chair in annoyance and said through her voice box, "What do you suggest then?"
"We could try to break them out."
Caroline exchanged a glance with Renee. If Sienna was on board, they might be able to do it. But even if two mechs could beat a hundred guns firing upon them, the Manhunters had their own mech and Gammagrade.
What if we get Ishaan on board, too? That almost seemed viable. But Ishaan had stopped going to the prayer grounds ever since the Manhunters' schism and was now being kept under careful watch at the garage. Caroline had no idea how to reach him.
"If we fail to break them out, we're dead," Caroline told Sangeet. "We'll talk about it later."
The scavenger didn't give any sign of acknowledgement.
The rest of the flight to Ji's apartment passed in silence. When they finally arrived, they found Sienna and Ji already sitting at the dining table. Based on their hunched backs and sullen expressions, they had not made any progress.
However, when Caroline, Renee, and Sangeet entered, Sienna immediately looked up, eyes wide with anticipation. "Anything?"
Caroline pursed her lips and braced to break the news. But first, to cushion the blow, she would say—
"The Manhunters have kidnapped our friends Steve and Ben," Renee said.
Sienna stared at Renee for a second, mouth agape.
"I didn't want you guys to go after Bob by yourselves!"
"It wasn't that," Caroline said. "The Manhunters were waiting for them at the scavenger's place." She explained the ultimatum they'd given regarding Sangeet.
Sienna buried her face in her hands. "Shit. I'm sorry." With her eyes still on the table, she asked Sangeet, "Robert's NID traces were in your place. Have you ever seen him?"
"I'm sorry," Sangeet said meekly. "I haven't."
There was an awkward pause that followed. Then, Sienna said, "You've never met this man in your life?" She held up a picture on her tablet.
Sangeet cringed and shook his head.
"You didn't tell us he worked for Centium," Caroline said. The timing was suboptimal, but Caroline knew she had to say it sooner than later.
Sienna brought her hand up, probably about to pinch the bridge of her nose, but then abruptly stood up and began to pace.
"He works with them. It doesn't matter."
"How—"
"Look, we'll talk about this later." Sienna turned to Caroline. "You said your friends have three days?"
Fair enough. "Two and a half now," Caroline replied.
Sienna asked, "Ji, you think we could negotiate with the Manhunters?"
Ji scoffed. "Not unless you wanna work for them for the rest of your life."
"There's no other deal?"
"Doubt they'd take anything else," Ji replied.
"What do you think we should do, then?"
"Honestly. Breaking them out isn't the worst idea."
Caroline glanced at Sangeet and thought she saw the tiniest hint of satisfaction on his face. Alright, she supposed it wasn't the worst idea. But there was certainly a best idea with zero risk and zero collateral damage.
"With Sparrow?" Sienna asked.
"No. Get something unrecognizable and untraceable. You can make it seem like it's just a rival gang making a move."
A light ignited in Sienna's eyes. "Alright. And what's Sector 58's policy on hostages?"
Ji cocked his head. "As long as it's gang business…" He frowned. "Are you going to take a Manhunter hostage?"
"We have to ask them about Robert."
Ji pursed his lips. "Look, when I suggested it, I meant this should be the last resort. If they find out who you are—"
"It's bad. Yeah, I know. Do you have a second to last resort for us?"
When Ji didn't respond, Sienna expectantly turned back to Caroline, Renee, and Sangeet. Caroline suddenly found the figure in front of her surreal. Before, she had trouble associating the rather awkward and silly Sienna with the pilot of Sparrow. Now she had no doubt the pilot standing before her was one of the greatest of all time.
"We don't have to decide yet," Caroline said. "Probably better not to. How about we wait till midnight and try to think of a better plan. If we have nothing we can break in."
Sienna and Ji both seemed satisfied with this answer. Caroline glanced at Sangeet, whose eyebrows were creased with worry. It was understandable—more time without a plan meant more time to consider giving him up. Renee, on the other hand, seemed disappointed. Understandable, too—the prospect of these missions enticed her. She'd never left that old life of hers behind like Ben had.
"I'll still get a prototype ready," Sienna said. She looked at Caroline and gave a strained smile. "Can I ask you three to join us? I don't trust you just yet—I hope you understand."
"Of course," Caroline said. "I can pilot a second mech, too."
"No need," Sienna said. She pointed to the front door. "My apartment. Let's go."
-----
Sienna's "apartment" was actually a penthouse on the roof of a massive skyscraper, fully complemented by a luminescent pool, giant holo displays dangling from the ceiling, glass sculptures, and a view of a good ten percent of the megacity. The prototype storage room looked like a cryochamber, each silver mech snuggled in a transparent capsule. They took one out and laid it on a table in the center of the room, hooking it up to various power sources and monitors. Then Ji got to work on masking its digital footprint.
The others gathered in the living room. Caroline, Renee, and Sangeet sat in lavish white sofas around a holographic campfire while Sienna paced about. Beyond the campfire was a glass wall, and beyond that were the million neon lights of the city glowing against the night. It seemed so serene from up here. The Manhunters, Centium, Marvin's killers… their existence was miniscule compared to this.
They had four and a half hours till midnight. It was plenty of time to think of something. The problem was, this wasn't the most conducive environment for brainstorming. Every time Caroline thought of a concept of a plan, she was reminded of how much easier giving up Sangeet would be.
We're not doing that, she told herself. He may not be our friend, but he's an acquaintance and a human being.
After a bit, Sienna left, presumably to join Ji in the storage room. That did even worse numbers for Caroline's productivity. Sienna's pacing had been like a ticking time bomb, a manifestation of their stress. Now, Caroline found herself increasingly drawn to the city below her. How would it feel to live here? To see the monsters of the megacity as mere insects?
Maybe one day when we've won Mecha Realm.
At that moment, Renee got up, walked over to Caroline, and sat down on the armrest of her sofa. She held out her tablet.
Any progress? the text read.
Caroline shook her head.
Renee patted her shoulder and typed something else. This one took a while. We'll figure something out. Don't worry. Are we set on not giving up Sangeet?
Caroline nodded instinctively. Of course not. They would never forgive themselves if they did.
And yet she had never felt so unsure before.
Renee held up another message: I'm going to talk to Ji. I'll see if he needs any help with the programming, and maybe we can also come up with a software-focused plan.
Caroline nodded again. Hacking the Manhunters was a solid option.
Soon, it was just her and Sangeet in the living room. She wasn't keen on asking him for his input, as he was the most stressed out of all of them by far. That also meant she did not want to sit alone with him in silence.
On that note, I kind of have to use the restroom.
Caroline left the living room and headed down a neon-blue-lit hallway lined with silver doors. Most led to bedrooms, she assumed. As she continued walking, she began to hear a series of rhythmic thuds. They came in quick succession, stopped, then started again. Curious, Caroline followed the noise until she reached an open doorway. Inside was a miniature gym—a treadmill, bench, and a dumbbell rack that could transform into different machines at the push of a button. The noise came from the back left corner, where a punching bag jolted back and forth.
Caroline blinked, realizing the person throwing those punches was Sienna. The pilot noticed her enter, stopped, and waved.
"I thought you were with Ji," Caroline said.
"There's nothing I can help him with," Sienna said. "Any new ideas?"
"None," Caroline murmured.
Sienna pursed her lips. "How are you feeling?"
"I…" It felt unfair that she was being asked and not the other way around. "How are you?"
Caroline immediately winced. She'd never lost a fiance, but she had a damn good idea of how Sienna felt right now.
Sienna smiled thinly. Dumb questions all around, the smile seemed to say. She turned back to the punching bag and looked like she was going to resume training, but instead her gloved hands fell to her sides.
"After I got second in Mecha Realm," she said, "my teammates and I rented out a floating island and watched the fireworks from way up above. Just the four of us. I was so happy I could die. I felt like I'd done everything I needed to do in my life." Sienna sighed. "I guess this is what I deserve for being content with second place. I guess I didn't do enough."
Caroline opened her mouth in protest, but the words caught in her throat. She wanted to hug Sienna and tell her that no one deserved this, especially not her. But she could only stand there.
Sparrow's pilot opened and closed her fist. "That fucking idiot," she muttered. "I told him it was stupid. I told him he had no right getting into the Manhunters' business. But he just kept digging."
Caroline winced. "It's not your fault," she whispered.
"Yes it is. I got your friends kidnapped."
"It would've happened anyways," Caroline said.
"Maybe. Maybe not." Sienna stepped away from the bag and picked up her tablet from a nearby table. "Be honest, Caroline. What are the odds he's alive?"
Caroline swallowed. "High," she said. "They… they wouldn't have killed him quietly. They'd want to send a message."
A wave of relief coursed through Sienna's features. "That's a good point."
Huh. It was. Caroline tried not to show that she was just as relieved.
"I really am willing to break into their base," Sienna said. "You get your friends back. I get to question the Manhunters."
"It's still dangerous," Caroline said. "What if they find out who you are?"
"We don't have a better option, do we?"
"Well…" Caroline averted her eyes from the pilot's. You can't be seriously considering it, her mind reprimanded. But the words still came out of her mouth. "There is one thing."
Sienna didn't respond. Caroline risked a glance at her and wanted to rewind the last few seconds. There was no consideration in her expression. Just firm disagreement.
"That's not an option," Sienna said. "We can't be like them."
Caroline's face heated up. While yes—what was she thinking? Sangeet was not a life they could throw away—something about Sienna's last line bothered her. Ben and Renee had been raised in a gang. Were they so different?
Just then, the tablet in Sienna's hand flashed red. Caroline jumped as an alarm began blaring. Sienna immediately opened her screen and swiped to silence it.
"What was that?" Caroline asked.
Sienna narrowed her eyes at her tablet. "Someone's taken the shuttle."
Caroline's heart dropped. Sangeet.
The two of them raced out of the gym, down the hall, and back into the living room. Sure enough, the scavenger's former sofa was now unoccupied.