" Excellent! Naturally, if you need time to prepare, we can hold off on the operation until the three of you are ready. I would like to inform you though, that a sooner time would be more optimal for me. The longer that Master Ryen remains in that facility, the more I worry about him. "
Pads says to Tom as the emergency door that sealed off the room opens again. Tom hops down from the counter and responds to Pads as he puts the drive in his pocket.
" Me and Donny will infiltrate the facility tonight. Reylesh can help us get in the church, but I don't want her coming down into the facility with us if we're going to be using our powers. Maintaining the integrity of her physical form is pretty important to her, so she can wait for us at the elevator entrance. "
Reylesh looks at Tom with a playful glare, teasing him.
" Awwww, you care about what's important to me? You're such a sweetheart! "
You ask Tom a question telepathically as you and Reylesh follow him to the door.
" Are we going to be killing people? "
Tom turns his head to the side and looks at you from the corner of his eye as he replies.
" These guys intend to kill any person who doesn't belong down there. Leaving witnesses is also only going to create problems. I hate to say it, Donny, but it's gonna be us or them. "
You look at Tom with a serious stare as you nod your head in acknowledgement, preparing yourself mentally for what's to come.
" Oh, and Tom! "
Pads calls out before the three of you exit the server room.
" There are earpieces inside the drive. You can take them out when you're ready and put them in your ear so we can talk to each other while you're in the facility. "
Tom looks back at Pads in acknowledgement before the three of you walk back up the stairs and leave the house. As you emerge through the doorway, Gareth is unexpectedly waiting for you outside in front of a cruiser, leaning against it with his arms crossed. Tom tilts his head up and asks him a question.
" What are you doing all the way out here in The Barren? "
" I should ask you the same thing. I would've appreciated it if you at least told me that you were leaving. "
Gareth responds in a firm tone.
" I didn't think it was necessary. You said that you were going to stay with Mimi and Roary when they woke up and we're more than capable of handling ourselves out here. "
Tom says confidently before Gareth begins to question him.
" You know I was on the elevator too and I saw this location just like you did… Who was he? What did he want? "
Tom looks back at Gareth and responds in a formal manner.
" It was an AI that wants us to rescue someone tonight who he believes to be in danger. Amy couldn't reach the owners of the club, so after we do this favor for him, he told us he'll hack open the doors in the club for us. "
Gareth peers at Tom skeptically as he replies.
" An AI… I see. A simple rescue mission sounds easy enough. Where are we going? "
Tom puts his hand on Gareth's shoulder and replies in a respectful tone.
" You're not going to be joining us on this one. Donny and I are going to be using our powers, so things are gonna get ugly down there. "
A wave of suspicion washes over Gareth's eyes as if he just put something together in his head.
" Down there? "
He repeats forebodingly before you hear several gunshots sound off in the background and you see the pilot of the cruiser's brains splatter all over the side window of the cockpit. Gareth immediately unholsters his Eviscerators and locates the sniper that killed his pilot before taking his head off from several blocks away without hesitation. More gunfire pops off as several gang members emerge from the windows and alleyways of the surrounding buildings, trying to kill the four of you and presumably steal your cruiser. Tom ducks down as he grabs Reylesh and pushes the both of you into the side door of the cruiser, using his body and moving his arms to block the incoming fire from hitting Reylesh. Gareth, completely unfazed by the hail of bullets that are hitting him, returns fire with his Eviscerators, blasting holes through the cover that they're hiding behind and blowing bloody chunks of their bodies off.
" He's a Minder! Let's get the fuck out of here! "
One of them shouts before a few of the remaining survivors of the attacking force start to retreat. Tom pulls the pilot's corpse out of the seat and throws it out the side door as Gareth calmly walks back to the cruiser, blasting the heads of more gang members into pieces in the surrounding buildings who continue to fire upon the cruiser. Tom sits in the pilot seat and inspects the controls in front of him as he looks around. You ask Tom a question as you lay on the floor of the cruiser next to Reylesh, shielding her with your body.
" You know how to fly this thing? "
Tom begins pressing buttons and flipping switches as he stays focused on the controls, responding to you.
" I read the pilot's mind on the last cruiser we took, so I have a pretty good understanding of how everything works. "
Suddenly, one of the thugs fires a rocket at the cruiser from one of the windows to prevent you from escaping. The missile barrels towards the cruiser, but Gareth instantly notices it and swiftly intercepts the missile mid-air in a blitz by running and jumping off the cruiser, grabbing it and spinning around to throw the missile back at the thug who fired it. The missile explodes, blowing a burning crater in the side of the building as Gareth lands on his feet. After seeing Gareth's display of power, the gunfire quickly ceases and the rest of the thugs retreat. Gareth continues to track them through the walls, shooting their limbs off through the environment as they all desperately try to escape. After Gareth runs out of ammo in his Eviscerators, he holsters them, turning his attention back towards the cruiser and approaches the side door. Gareth then climbs aboard and Tom pulls up on the thrusters, slowly raising it to the air. The door seals shut behind Gareth and he walks over to the cockpit with Tom as you and Reylesh both stand up and take a seat across from each other.
" Are you okay? "
You ask Reylesh as you look her up and down, concerned. Reylesh smiles as she teases you.
" I'm splendid, now that you ask. I always knew you two boys cared about me. "
" Can you fight? "
Tom asks Reylesh from the cockpit as he pilots the cruiser. Reylesh looks at Tom, confused that he asked that out of nowhere.
" Uhm… yeah, if I have to. I wouldn't be very good at it as a small girl like I am now, though. Why do you ask? "
She responds in a puzzled demeanor. Tom makes a remark in a short and serious tone.
" Because you might have to tonight. "
Gareth leans towards Tom as he stands behind him in the cockpit, asking him a question.
" Remind me again why I can't join you on this rescue mission? "
Tom responds patiently, keeping his eyes on the route that he's flying.
" Because it'll go smoother if it's just me and Donny. I don't want to have to look over my shoulder constantly and be cautious of using my power around you. "
Gareth scoffs, looking down at Tom as if he's almost offended before arguing.
" Did you not just see what I'm capable of? I can handle anything you throw at me. Even if this body gets destroyed during the rescue, I have plenty of other ones throughout the city. "
Tom turns and looks behind him at Gareth as they go back and forth.
" You can handle anything? Great. I'm assigning you to stay at The Monument while me and Donny do the rescue. "
" I already have multiple clones at The Monument! It makes no sense why you wouldn't have me along. "
" It makes perfect sense because I'm the one making the decision. You're not coming with us. "
" I was hired by the Czar to ensure that you make it to the meeting safely. I'm not letting you out of my sight until you meet the Czar! "
Tom puts the cruiser on autopilot before spinning around in his chair and continuing to argue with Gareth.
" I never understood that, actually. Do you really think we need your protection? Your body may be bulletproof, but me and Donny can still break you like a twig. "
" It was more of a task of hospitality! It's what I was hired for, and I'm going to fulfill my contract to the best of my ability! "
" Yeah, the Czar may have hired you, but if you don't respect my authority then I'm gonna fire you. Do you not remember the contest? The deal we made? Why do you want to join us so bad? "
Gareth raises his voice at Tom as he stands over him.
" Okay, let's cut the shit! That house belongs to Ryen Miles and you said there was an AI in there that wanted you to rescue someone! Conveniently enough, Ryen Miles hasn't been seen for days after going into a Mind Mirror facility that belongs to the Czar! If I'm not mistaken, I would assume that you plan on breaking into that facility and killing servants of The High Temple right before your meeting with the Czar! There's no point in trying to hide it from me! "
Tom stands up and gets in Gareth's face.
" Oh yeah? Well if that's what we plan on doing, it's none of your business. Sowzo told Donny that something suspicious is going down in that club, and if we wanna get in there discreetly, we have no other options! "
Gareth stares at Tom coldly as he gives him a warning.
" Don't go down into that facility, Tom. You were absolutely right. Things will get very ugly if you go down there. "
" Yeah? We'll take our chances. "
Tom says before the cruiser makes a dinging noise, telling you that you've arrived at the destination. The cruiser doors open and you're in front of The Monument's main entrance. Tom stares coldly at Gareth as he gives him an order.
" Get out. "
Gareth silently stares into Tom's eyes for a moment before reluctantly stepping out and walking into The Monument. The cruiser doors shut and Tom sits back in his seat.
" It's getting late. We should probably head to the church. "