[Dante: They are probably using it for intimidation.
Trying to scare off any reinforcements the rich bastards might try to bring in.]
Just as that message arrived, Finn noticed a dark spec rise from Blue Ember’s roof. A closer look revealed that it was an aerial vehicle, and a fancy one at that. Someone was trying to escape the hotel, but that was far from the greatest idea.
A turret jerked back once, and the next second, the escaping vehicle exploded into a ball of brilliant orange flames. For a moment there, it felt like the entire city went quiet, as if the noise people learned to ignore vanished, creating such an overbearing silence that couldn’t be ignored.
[Dante: What was that?]
Finn stared at the cloud of black smoke, watching the wisps of orange flame disappear from it as a charred piece of metal plummeted to the ground.
"It... they blew it..."
[Jake: That was real, wasn’t it?]
Though they had seen it using the same pair of eyes, neither Finn nor his AI friend could believe what had just happened.
[Dante: Hey! I asked you a question!]
Snapping back to his senses, Finn read the messages and replied right away.
[Finn: A car took off from the roof and they just shot them in the sky!]
[Dante: Are you for real?]
Flying cars weren’t something the average schmuck would own, and since it came from Blue Ember’s roof, whoever was in that vehicle likely had deep pockets and connection. Killing someone like that without hesitation was bound to cause big problems, but whoever did it clearly doesn’t care.
"I thought only the police were involved in this..."
No matter how big a city is, there is no way for its police department to have an entire Ark ready to go. With how important the raid is, it wouldn’t be strange for the government to know about it, but landing a hand seemed far-fetched.
[Jake: Maybe it’s time for you to get out of here.]
Reading the message his AI friend wrote, Finn considered the idea for a moment. Right now, he was on the roof of a building a few streets away from Blue Ember. He had used his Diving skills along with Ghost Mode to enter, hoping to get a good view of the events that were about to transpire, but as things were right now, it felt like he was far too close to the center of the chaos.
"Yeah, I guess you have a point."
He was about to retreat when the fleet of aerial vehicles that spilled out of the gigantic warship caught his attention. Among them were much smaller ones, likely drones, which separated from the rest of the fleet and quickly surrounded the hotel. In less than a minute, several rings formed around Blue Ember, followed by a bright flash as a holographic projection came to life.
As big as it was, the hotel was entirely encased in a cylindrical screen made from spinning yellow stripes much like the tape used by the police to surround a crime scene, although on an entirely different magnitude. Some of the stripes carried words like [CAUTION], [RESTRICTED AREA], and [DO NOT ENTER], all of which were written in bold black letters, accompanied by the emblem of the NVPD, which depicts a winged shield with a red star at its center.
As he stared at it, a notification popped up on Finn’s OAM.
[Neo-Vatra Police Department has announced a state of emergency throughout the New City district. Please return to your homes and remain inside until further notice.]
[Jake: Things just keep escalating, huh? Better get out of here before we get trapped.]
The emergency transmission is sent to every NIM and phone in the affected area, further cementing the severity of the situation. This was an incident that threatened to spill onto the street, likely far more devastating than what happened in the city hall a while back.
Finn sent a message to Tomato Head, having decided to escape the district after watching the yellow barrier for a few more seconds.
[Finn: Hey, are you sure about this?]
The reply came before he got to the exit.
Finn: Why do you sound so relaxed? They’re literally bringing in the army! How the hell do you plan on getting out of there!!?
Unlike Rose and the others, Tomato Head had no convincing reason for why he was in the hotel. He only recently got away with his involvement in a big incident so ending up at the center of a second one was bound to draw endless suspicion.
Dante: Chill. We already knew something would happen.
Finn: No we did not!!!
Stopping, he turned around and captured a few shots of the scenery, sending them along with the next message.
[Finn: You’re literally at the center of a war! The hell do you think you can do in such a situation!?]
Merc or not, Finn couldn’t see how a guy who’s barely twenty would survive what is about to befall that hotel. Not even that mysterious power of his would help him when the police cyborgs and power-suit fighters swarm the building, and that’s without including what the other side had in store.
[Dante: You’re asking too many questions, kid. I thought I told you not to do that.]
"No," Finn shook his head. "I’m the insane one here..."
Though he thought that to himself, Finn was a little curious about how things were going to turn out after this. Tomato Head said he would be going into the hotel to ensure that the heist is a success. How was he going to do that? No one knows. The rest of the crew doesn’t even know he was infiltrating the hotel, too, so the way things would go was a mystery to everyone.
"Don’t tell me..." A small detail surfaced in Finn’s mind and he turned to look at the skyscraper, the corners of his mouth rising into a nervous smile. "He doesn’t plan on harvesting the police cyborgs... right?"
[Jake: Oh, he’s definitely planning on that.]
All of a sudden, his plan to assassinate Jaguar no longer seemed so crazy.
’... I think... we’re screwed...’ Dante thought
[That seems to be the case.] Volcan replied.