Chapter Text
“You’ll never take us alive!” Einshine declared as he tripped over his feet, tottered a few steps, and fell heavily on his face.
“Einshine! Get up! They’re on the other side of the ridge, they’ll have us any moment!” Freddi shouted, turning and racing back to his friend’s side. Einshine tried to get up and pushed his belly off the ground, then collapsed again.
“Einshine! Einshine! No, no, WAKE UP! This is not the time –“Freddi broke off as a dart thudded into his upper arm even as he moved to pull Einshine by one arm, producing a small star of pain. “Oh.” Freddi reached around and pulled it out, comparing it to the one he now spotted just above Einshine’s right hip. Freddi wasn’t running anymore, and it was out, but his heart was racing, and he could already feel it starting to work.
He might be able to get away if he hid now, before they came into view, but he would be moving sluggishly, and they’d probably find him after he went out. Whoever shot that dart just now could see him anyway, and he refused to leave Einshine like this. The girl had kept running, but he couldn’t worry about that now. He couldn’t tell how much time he had.
Freddi flipped so he was sitting against Einshine’s prone body and pulled the computer he always had on him out of inventory. Hurriedly he executed a series of commands that would lock it up tight, plus a few extras. If anyone tried to get past a certain point in the firewall, the laptop would just combust. And if they connected another computer to it, they’d find theirs infected with a nasty piece of malware.
“Put down the computer, you’re surrounded!” someone shouted in a bullhorn.
“Or what?” Freddi replied tiredly, still typing. “You’ll shoot me? These darts mean you want us alive, and having already used them, you can’t threaten me with anything.”
He finished, closed the laptop and looked up at last. Sure enough, there were many guns, crossbows, and swords all aimed at him from several yards away. They had sent a force as large as an army after them, and had caught them without Freddi’s mech. They never had a chance on foot. They’d been hoping to get lucky and find shelter, maybe a mine entrance to disappear into – but no.
Someone was finally brave enough to approach and grab the laptop, and then Freddi, pinning him on his stomach next to Einshine. He could barely think now, everything was so fuzzy. He could hear them reading his rights as they cuffed him…Freddi turned his head so the last thing he saw was his partner in crime…
Freddi woke upright, strapped into a car seat that lined the edge of a holding area in the back of a police van in motion. He was alone except for Einshine who sat opposite him.
“Finally, you’re awake. I’ve been up for twenty minutes, and I’ve been calling your name off and on. You were drooling, by the way,” Einshine told him.
“It makes sense. Second darted, second awake. Besides, YOU were the one who fell over his face and went out like a light right after saying “You’ll never take us alive!” Freddi replied defensively, maneuvering to wipe his chin on his shoulder. Of course, his arms were still cuffed and now pinned behind his back. “Do you know where we’re going?”
“So, they used darts? That makes so much sense now. Damn them! No idea, but I’m betting either City Hall or the courthouse. How should we plead, or do you think we could escape when we get there?”
“I don’t know, didn’t we smash City Hall? Or was that the last city? No chance for escape right now. They’ve taken all the stuff we were carrying, and they’ll be watching every move we make in a courthouse. We are the most famous and successful griefers in years, remember. Did you see how many police there were back there? I don’t think we’ll have a chance until they’ve locked us away and stopped making such a fuss.
As for pleading, well…we should probably plead guilty. Everyone saw us, we can’t say we didn’t do it. We could maybe say we were coerced, but if anyone caught that maniacal grin you get when you’re getting into it on camera, no jury would ever believe it. Besides, if we plead guilty, they might go easy on us, which will make it easier to escape. I hope. I don’t know. I can’t think, my head hurts…”
“So, if we’re convicted, it’s my fault? What about your giant robot? Only you could do that.”
“True, if they find it that’ll be one massive piece of evidence against us.”
“Of course, they’ll find it. You left it in a covered parking garage, didn’t you? Out of sight, but it took one person to come back from shopping to discover it. If only we’d had it with us back there…”
The van began to slow.
“Ok, Freddi, here we go. We’ve got to be brave. Don’t let them see it gets to you, ok? I’ll be right next to you.”
Freddi nodded grimly. Then the van stopped and a second later the doors were thrown open and they were unstrapped and marched up the steps of the courthouse.