The Waiting Game

By the time they reached Jori's Noodle Shop, Marvin had lost count of the number of times Ben said, "I'll tell you later." Apparently, the debt had nothing to do with the Manhunters. Nothing to do with Bob. A completely separate conundrum only involving Ben and Renee.

Regardless, Marvin was starting to piece it together. Centium had visited Renee's apartment, sending periodic reminders of the payment. Her and Ben's parents had probably been gang members, and were let out at a price.

Maybe that's how Ben knew about the prayer grounds, Marvin thought. Centium operations in Nagatown. Marvin recalled that Centium had controlled territory here for some time before the Manhunters had chased them out.

The two of them walked past the noodle shop and headed into the apartment complex. The slate gray buildings and darkened windows were drenched in sunlight this time, but that only made the emptiness more unnerving. They reached the plaza and stopped for a second, observing the surroundings. The distant city bustled faintly. The walls were as bland as ever. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Across the plaza, the stairwell that led to Sangeet's storage seemed unnaturally dark. Ben checked his tablet and clicked his tongue in frustration.

"He still hasn't replied."

Earlier, they'd texted Sangeet about Bob and asked if they could access his storage. Sangeet had never been one to respond quickly, though.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to knock," Ben said. He and Marvin headed down the stairs, engulfing themselves in the darkness. At the door, Ben stepped aside to let Marvin knock, and Marvin gave three of the most comically loud knocks of all time.

They waited for five seconds. Ben tugged on the handle, but of course it was locked.

"There's a window, isn't there?" he asked.

Marvin frowned. He wasn't keen on breaking in, and besides, if they really wanted to, he could probably pry the door open.

Ben tapped his foot, and Marvin knocked again. Waited five seconds. No reply.

Ben sighed. "We'll camp out somewhere."

The two of them turned around, and of course, that was when the door behind them decided to slide open.

Marvin spun around to find himself staring at an odd, circular object. His eyes crept upwards, following the barrel of a blue and silver plasma rifle until he met the red pupils of a Manhunter.

Two stood at the doorway aiming guns at both of them. Behind the Manhunters, the lights of the storage flared on, revealing bare shelves and three more Manhunters. 

Marvin's fight or flight response spiked and he almost swatted the plasma rifle away. He had an arm shield and a drill hand and a much better body—he could fight his way out of this.

But in no scenario would Ben make it out alive.

"Finally!" a voice shouted. A sixth Manhunter walked into view, and this one was a familiar face. Gerard grinned, hefted his own plasma rifle, and pointed it at Ben.

"I should've killed you the first time," he said, though he sounded far from angry. There was rabid bloodlust in his eyes. "Stealing all those parts? You got some nerve."

Ben was frozen. Of course he was. Marvin clenched his imaginary teeth and raised his voice.

"We didn't steal your stuff," he said. "It… It was a scavenger."

Marvin could almost hear Gerard's glare slice through the air as it landed on him.

"Who?"

See, there was a reason he didn't talk much. Now he had all but thrown Sangeet to the wolves.

"One of your associates?" Gerard demanded.

The gears in Marvin's arm shield grinded against one another, begging to spin. It would be so easy to weave past the Manhunters, reach Gerard, and break his rib cage. One second, one punch.

But in that time, a plasma round was bound to hit Ben.

"Where is he?" Gerard asked. The excitement in his face was fading.

Marvin shivered. He risked a glance at Ben, and the boy was completely petrified with fear.

First with Centium, now here, Marvin thought. Why can't you be good at talking when it actually matters?

"Tell me or I shoot him," Gerard said, prodding his rifle at Ben.

"No wait!" Marvin said hastily. "He's… I don't know where he is."

Gerard groaned. "He doesn't exist, does he?" His finger moved towards the trigger.

"Yes he does!" Marvin said. "His name is Sangeet."

The words slipped out of his speakers. His adrenaline was so high that he could barely process how stupid it was. A voice in the back of his mind faintly wailed, What have I done?

"That true?" Gerard asked Ben. Ben gave a single nod.

Gerard exchanged looks with the other Manhunters.

"I'll find him," one of them said.

"No, don't bother," Gerard said. "Leave a message and give him three days to turn himself in. If he doesn't, we'll kill these two."

"Jacques won't like this."

"And?"

The other Manhunter cringed.

"Tell me the time," Gerard ordered. The Manhunter obliged. "That's right. We've been sitting around for three fucking hours. That's three hours we're never gonna get back."

The underling locked his jaw and didn't reply.

"It's gonna send a message either way," Gerard continued. "And I hope you agree we've got bigger things to worry about?"

The Manhunter nodded reluctantly, and Gerard made a motion for the others to head out. Another gangster clamped a hand around Marvin's shoulder, spun him around, and pushed him up the stairs. Ben followed closely behind.

"Where are you taking us?" Marvin asked, heart racing.

"The garage," Gerard said. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Just tell me I get to kill someone soon."

Marvin gulped. Sangeet would never give himself up for them; he barely knew them. Hell, Sangeet was fully justified after Marvin had given him up without so much as a threat. How had things gone so wrong so fast?

We have to escape.

But that plasma rifle was snug against Ben's back. The slightest flinch would cause it to fire.

Just wait. There's gotta be a way to get out of this.

But something told Marvin he'd used up all his luck the first time he'd fought the Manhunters.

-----

Caroline sifted through the table of expenses one more time. The numbers on that screen made her eyelids grow heavy. To keep herself awake, she stood up and began pacing around the workshop. She eventually found herself at the dining table where Renee was hunched over, face buried in her arms.

"Renee," Caroline said softly.

Renee gave a thumbs up but didn't lift her head.

"I did the calculations," Caroline said. "If you pay now, we could make it back by Mecha Realm."

Renee looked up, confused and skeptical.

"That's assuming we win all of our duels, and if at least ten of them are with top-fifty teams."

Renee lowered her head again.

"But that doesn't matter. We just have to get top twenty in Mecha Realm," Caroline said. The words sounded particularly fragile today, and she reminded herself that they could do it. They would work harder than all the other teams combined. They had the talent, the resources, and the time. It would happen.

Renee didn't react, and Caroline walked away. She was too tired for this. How long had it been since that horrible talk with Diana Kane? Two hours? Three? Since Renee was out of her job, it had to at least be 6 PM.

After Caroline had told Diana all she knew about Bob, which was nothing of use, Diana's mood had soured greatly. She'd made up new terms of the debt, raised the interest rate, and refused to leave until Renee arrived. Caroline had tried to ask about Bob, but Diana barely let her get a word out.

Bob worked for Centium. What did that even mean? So many different theories floated around in Caroline's head, but none of them had sufficient evidence to take root. She resolved to ask Sienna when they met up later.

Caroline checked the time—6:01 PM. That meant Ben and Marvin had been gone for quite some time. Neither of them had texted back, nor had Sangeet.

What if Sangeet is actually dangerous? Did I just send them to their deaths?

Caroline didn't want to believe it, but then again, nothing could explain why Bob had last been at the scavenger's storage. She checked her tablet. No messages.

There was simply too much going on right now: Bob's disappearance, Marvin's death, Centium's debt, and now this.

I should've given Marvin more safety measures. I should've gone with them. I shouldn't have suggested going at all.

Caroline stuffed her hands in the pockets of her lab coat and sat down beside a worktable. It was supposed to be simple: help Marvin find his human body, and he helps them win Mecha Realm. What had she gotten them into?

Five more minutes. Then we'll go check on them.

She glanced at Renee. The poor girl was rightfully overwhelmed—Caroline could only imagine how she felt about Diana rising to power. Whether it was a one-sided crush or something deeper, Renee had always talked about Diana Kane with a sort of delicacy.

There's nothing to admire about her, Caroline thought. Diana, Darren, and all the like were unfeeling people who would do anything to reach the top and stay there.

Just then, her tablet buzzed. She whipped it out—a few messages from Sangeet.

I'm sorry, I was in the deadzone. I'll be back in thirty minutes. I've never met a Bob before, sorry.

Caroline relaxed. She texted back, No worries. Can we meet up at the noodle shop? I want to check on Ben and Marvin.

Sangeet: Did they enter the storage?

Caroline could sense a little worry in those words. If it was locked then no.

There was silence on his end for a moment. Then: Someone's been inside.

Caroline pursed her lips. Ben and Marvin were not the type to break in. Amir, perhaps? They'd extracted all the weapons five days ago, but maybe the police chief had gone back to make sure.

Caroline replied, Let's meet in thirty minutes.

Sangeet promptly agreed.

-----

At 6:35 PM, Caroline, Renee, and Sangeet converged at Jori's Noodle Shop. The scavenger wore casual attire but still had his surgical mask. Sometimes Caroline wondered if that thing was just an implant. Caroline had also asked Amir for support, but the man was investigating the murders in Sector 8 and would be unavailable for a while.

"Still no word from Ben and Marvin?" Caroline asked.

Sangeet shook his head, and Renee tapped her foot impatiently. The scavenger seemed to keep his distance from the two of them; it didn't help that they had infiltrated his storage and discovered his stolen weapons.

No, this was not the most stable relationship. Caroline had to be careful.

They set off down the street, entered the apartment complex, weaved through the familiar alleys, and soon arrived at the clearing. Caroline's eyes immediately found the stairwell into the darkness, leading to a door that was ajar for the first time.

They got in? Caroline thought.

Sangeet ran ahead to his storage while the other two followed cautiously. When he entered, Caroline heard him curse quietly. Caroline and Renee picked up their pace down the stairs, but before they could pass through the door, Sangeet obstructed the frame.

"They're not here," the scavenger said. His voice was trembling.

"Uh huh," Caroline said, taking a step forward and hoping he would get the hint.

Sangeet didn't move. "We should check somewhere else."

Caroline peered over his shoulder. All the storage shelves were empty, and something was painted on the opposite wall. The sunlight that streamed in through the window highlighted a cylindrical object on Sangeet's desk.

"Move," Caroline demanded. Sangeet took a nervous step back and Caroline pushed past him. She first walked to the room's center to observe the painting. It was a simple image: two red circles and a black line between them. Two red eyes piercing through the wall.

Caroline's heart dropped. She spun around to the door, half-expecting Sangeet to have disappeared. Fortunately, Renee was still behind him, trapping him.

Caroline observed at the scavenger's wide eyes. He was scared. Weren't they all?

She walked to the scavenger's desk, picked up the cylinder, and clicked a button on its side. A speaker began to play a familiar voice. It was the Manhunter who Caroline and Marvin had met at the prayer grounds, the one with the half grown-out beard. Gerard. That's his name.

"Alright. Sangeet or whoever is listening to this—congrats, you stole one percent of our stock. Now you got three days to come to the Sawblades' garage or else I'm gonna kill Steve and Ben."

There was a pause, and Caroline could almost hear her heartbeat resounding throughout the room. Then the Manhunter continued,

"Truth is, I don't care if you come. I'm more than happy to execute your friends and be done with it. But our glorious leader Jacques has promised not to kill you, so… think on it."