Rebecca didn't think twice, crouching low and diving through the hole in the corner like a startled sand lizard. Pilar followed right behind her, first shoving the heavy toolbox and nearly empty ammo crate through. The crate scraped against the cement edge, making a sharp, brief sound.
Pilar had just gotten halfway through the hole, struggling to maneuver into the garage's darkness, when a crude shout suddenly exploded:
"Over there! The corner! Open fire!"
Bullets immediately whizzed over like a sudden downpour, crackling against the walls and ground around them. Burning projectiles bit into brick and stone, splashing fragments and dust. The air suddenly filled with the smell of gunpowder and pulverized plaster.
"Hurry! Pilar!" Rebecca, already inside the garage, was frantic. Disregarding the danger of stray bullets, she spun around, gripping Pilar's arms with both hands and yanking him in with all her might.
Her cyberware arms emitted a slight but powerful hum, displaying strength disproportionate to her petite frame.
Pilar, using her strength, kicked hard against the broken wall behind him with his exposed leg, finally rolling completely into the dark garage with a thud onto the cold, rough floor.
Almost simultaneously, a burst of bullets precisely hit where he'd just been stuck, leaving a row of smoking bullet holes around the opening's edge, hot air waves carrying metal fragments rushing in.
The siblings collapsed onto the cold, dust-covered floor, chests heaving violently, gasping for air, hearts pounding like drums.
In the darkness, they could only hear each other's heavy breathing and the increasingly close curses and chaotic footsteps of Maelstrom members outside.
For now, they were safe.
But separated by just one wall, outside were those vicious pursuers.
The place they'd hidden in was pitch black, almost lightless. The air mixed with old machine oil smells, dust, and a faint trace of ozone and that particular burnt metal odor, as if some high-energy work had recently been done here.
They didn't realize at all that they weren't the only "living things" here.
Their intrusion, like a stone thrown into still water, had awakened the sleeping guardian.
Less than three meters above their heads, something like a pale, bone-white, metallic human skull was silently hovering there.
It gave off a slightly unnatural glow in the darkness.
The faint blue scanning beams in those hollow eye sockets, originally flickering weakly as if in dormancy, suddenly changed the instant they entered—the light became sharp and stable, turning into steady, ice-cold crimson points like two highly focused sensor lenses.
A barely audible servo motor sound subtly vibrated in the stifling air.
The skull slowly rotated in a manner completely defying gravity, its metal jaw silently opening and closing once, as if precisely collecting and analyzing the unfamiliar biological scent in the air—traces of sweat and adrenaline.
The high-precision multi-spectral sensor array inside fully activated. The cold logic core rapidly processed the incoming data: Two life signs, carbon-based humans, physiological state indicating high tension/fear, carrying low-tech ballistic weapons and simple tools, no advanced cyberware modification signals, no known friendly identification codes, illegally entered the secure area... Data cross-referenced, threat model rapidly established.
"Unauthorized biological entities detected." The internal processor made a completely rational, silent electronic judgment: "Security Protocol Lambda-7 activated. Threat level assessment: Potentially hostile. Initiating surveillance and self-defense response programs."
With this judgment generated, an extremely well-camouflaged armor plate on the skull's side silently slid open. A structurally intricate, gleaming micro laser emitter extended from within.
The calibration ring at the emitter's front glowed faintly blue, beginning efficient target acquisition.
That steady, lethal crosshair silently swept across the two intruders below in the almost complete darkness—intruders who just moments ago thought they'd escaped danger and were completely unaware of all this.
The scorching sun baked the abandoned town. The air smelled of death, dust, and dry radioactive particles.
Rebecca and Pilar pressed tightly against the cold wall in the dim garage, hearts still pounding, ears straining to listen to what was happening outside.
The crude curses of Maelstrom pursuers, sounds of kicking debris, lawless destruction spread through the streets like wildfire, breaking the silence here.
"Search! Search every inch! Those two little rats are definitely hiding in this pile of junk!" A hoarse voice roared, followed by a violent crashing sound—some already rickety wooden door was completely kicked apart: "Hey! This shithole looks decent! Strip anything useful, clear out some space, and it'll be our new Maelstrom outpost!"
More wild laughter, cheers, and even more frenzied destruction erupted.
This gang of lawless thugs treated this uninhabited town as spoils to dispose of at will.
They smashed remaining window glass with rifle butts, used machetes and iron bars to split open all rotten crates and cabinets that might hide people, scrounging for anything possibly valuable, while issuing various crude threats and shouts toward wherever Rebecca and Pilar might be hiding.
"BANG—CRASH!"
A particularly piercing sound of metal twisting and breaking rang out, temporarily drowning out other noise.
A Maelstrom member had discovered several solar panels Cairo had set up, connected to the town's micro power grid.
Perhaps finding them obstructive, or perhaps purely wanting to destroy something, he swung a heavy iron bar down hard.
The instant the solar panels shattered and twisted, simple passive motion sensors and vibration detectors hidden in various corners of the town—under broken eaves, vehicle chassis, gaps in rubble piles—were triggered.
Silent encrypted alarm pulses instantly transmitted back along pre-laid, nearly invisible fine wires to that garage in the town center converted into a temporary workshop, directly connecting to the processor of that skull hovering in the air, currently in alert status.
Several kilometers away, Cairo—carrying the heavy battery and three future servitor "materials" on his way back—saw a violently flashing bright red warning symbol suddenly pop up in the lower right corner of his visual interface. Priority vibration feedback he alone could sense also transmitted.
[Warning: Security perimeter breached by multiple targets. Multiple unauthorized violent intrusions and property destruction detected. Energy node A-7 (Southeast quadrant solar array) severely damaged. Output power decreased 15%. Threat assessment: Organized armed raiders. Behavioral pattern analysis: Low discipline, high destructiveness.]
Cairo frowned, a wave of displeasure rising. These troublesome pests had not only trespassed into his newly established base but were also randomly destroying the energy equipment he'd worked so hard to repair.
He didn't hesitate much. [Initiate autonomous defense protocol. Priority: efficiently eliminate threats. Minimize further losses. Ensure primary infrastructure intact.] He sent a string of concise binary commands through encrypted data link to the servo-skull left on guard, while unconsciously quickening his pace back.