Mothbreaker's Arc

Chapter 9 of 9

Storm Grit called in from the roof three blocks from Junction Four. Her voice came rough over the channel. "Four officers. Cutters. Cart. I count two more on the corner. Six is too many for me alone." Mothbreaker stared at the feed. The junction sat at the end of a narrow alley with one way in and one way out. If the council reached the box, they would strip the reserve line before Storm Grit could close the distance. The underground would go dark inside an hour. Mothbreaker pressed the channel open. "Hold your position. Do not engage. I'm sending help." She turned to the table. Jolt Jinx was already standing. "Scream jar's spent," Jolt Jinx said. "I've got Pickled Surprise and Toxic Love left. Surprise clears a street. Love drops them where they stand for ten minutes." "How fast can you reach her?" "Six minutes on the rooftops. Five if I cut the gap by the water tank." Mothbreaker looked at Neon Sentinel. "I need eyes. Every camera on that block. Feed it to both their channels." Neon Sentinel was already typing. "I've got three traffic feeds and a shop cam facing the alley mouth. I can call the officers before they turn the corner." "Go," Mothbreaker said. Jolt Jinx was out the door before the word finished. Mothbreaker watched it happen on the screens. Jolt Jinx crossed four roofs and dropped into the alley behind Storm Grit. Neon Sentinel counted the officers in through the earpiece. "Two at the mouth. Four coming up with the cart. Wait for the cart to pass the drain." Jolt Jinx waited. When the cart rolled past, she threw the Toxic Love jar under the axle. The glass broke. Four officers dropped inside three seconds. The two at the mouth turned and ran into Storm Grit. She put both of them down without a shift. Neon Sentinel called the all-clear. The cart sat in the alley with its cutters still strapped to the side. Storm Grit dragged the cart into a service bay and stripped the cutters. Jolt Jinx broke the cable spool with a hammer and left the pieces in the drain. Junction Four held. Mothbreaker sat back and let out a breath she had been holding for two days. Then Neon Sentinel spoke without looking up from the screen. "He signed another sheet." "Who?" "The window man. Two minutes ago. Clipboard woman just left the plant with an escort of eight." Mothbreaker leaned in. The tag on the new crate read a junction number she had not planned for. The council had learned. They were not sending four officers anymore. They were sending a column.