Book 4: Chapter 29: Dodging
Bob
September 2334
Garack’s Spine
I got almost an entire block before I picked up a new set of pursuers. Six masked Quinlans turned and started after me as I ran past them. I heard the puff sound of trank guns being fired, but oddly didn’t feel any impacts or hear the ping of fléchettes bouncing off things. How bad was their shooting, anyway?
I turned an eyeball to look behind me, trying desperately not to fall flat on my face from the dual images coming in. I handed off the running activity to the internal AMI for a moment and concentrated on the view to the rear.
It would appear that the Resistance was involved. Two of the six Quinlans behind me were down on the ground, having been shot, and the other four were shooting back at something out of sight. I guess this was good to a certain extent, but in this case the enemy of my enemy was still my enemy. I wondered briefly how they managed to tell each other apart.
But only briefly, and I didn’t let it distract me from the serious business of getting the hell out of there.
I hit the edge of town and ran into the forest without breaking stride. I didn’t know what tracking options they’d have. I could lower my body temperature once I stopped generating heat from exertion. I could turn off my scent; I performed the action as soon as I thought of it. I couldn’t camouflage myself, not like the drones, but I could blend in with the forest when I stopped moving. I was, after all, brown.
I had to make my way to the station, but I didn’t have to take the direct route. Did the Quinlans know, or suspect, that I couldn’t go by water? If not, they’d have to guard the river and stream approaches as well.