The droid on top of the truck had absolutely banked on Senjen following them outside. Their shield drone had been positioned as a rearguard specifically for that eventuality. What they had not expected was a man with a heavy weapon to be on top of the truck already. Their shield took most of the damage but then had to recharge on the droid’s body. This meant they were totally exposed when Senjen shot them three times in the chest.

Sparks flew as the energy weapon burned through its internals. It didn’t even get a chance to activate its self-destruct failsafe. With its last ounce of power, instead it closed its fist tight around the bodyguard’s throat, choking him. He dropped the repeater, eyes bulging and cheeks turning blue as he scrabbled at the droid’s inert hand.

The droid on the side briefly watched Light’s gel suit as it peeled away from them and the truck. Just to make sure it wasn’t some kind of trick. The electrical pulse had destroyed a lot of its more delicate systems, but the link to its shield drone was still active. As it crawled slowly along the side of the truck back towards the gaping hole into the cabin, the drone popped out of its back just in time to protect against the shots directed at it by Senjen.

[i]~Cardiac arrest warning! Requesting immediate medical attention.~[/i] Light’s suit blared directly into his mind. He coughed up a wad of bloody bile. He felt his suit’s cooling touch on a searing pain in his abdomen. He felt it inject him with a powerful cocktail of drugs that temporarily revived him. He was floating next to the truck as it crashed through a white, open, brightly lit room. They were halfway now, just approaching an elevator block which filled the middle third. They were swaddled in a cloud of broken glass and metal. He saw Senjen floating towards him. He was saying something. His name! He looked past him and spotted the droid he’d shot hauling themselves into the cabin. He could hear that man and his daughter’s voice. The truck began to swerve towards them.

These people couldn’t win. Not now.

“Save the child!” Light spluttered to Senjen, more blood mixing in with his gelsuit.