Resurrection - Chapter 11

Back in the car the tiny camera had been passed around and examined, with talk about how much Gray possibly wanted them.

"Come on, he was crazy enough to one, catch us right in the middle of battle and two, go as far as tracking us down even after we're out of his area. That means something," Axel said, a bit touchy at how he was crammed in a car. He needed personal space.

"That doesn't mean he'd be ready to mess with Mann Co. just to get you two," Spy said. "That is a huge risk to him and his company."

"Actually, he's been messing with Mann Co. for several years now. All the raids you fight against us, we actually collect data on how you mercenaries fight. With that data Gray can effectively create a robot that can counter your every move. Only reason why he hasn't succeeded is because you guys change every single time and replay the old tricks when we least expect it. He knows how you move and how you act, your strategies and all. But when one of the Scoutbots returned claiming Pyro could shoot fire from his hands, Gray got interested, and set me to watching you two for months," Makina admitted. It was forbidden for him to ever talk about the specifics of Gray Industries, but right now, Makina was no longer with Gray. He was just a rogue bot now.

The car had already reached the border of the city, just leaving town. There were no cars, leaving only an empty stretch of road ahead and no buildings. "I guess ve'll just have to tell zhe Admin vhen ve return," Horst sighed, leaning his head back against the seat of the car.

The road remained peaceful, no one in the car spoke a word for a good half hour, till Zack leaned forward in his seat. "Dude, there's a bunch of cars ahead."

Spy narrowed his eyes, pushing his hood down so that it rested on his shoulders. "Where? I don't see anything." He slowed the car, till he noticed three black cars with deep tinted windows coming at them, though not in a hostile way but rather a sort of wary approach.

"Lay low," he hissed, disguising himself as a sort of young man just picking up some hitch-hikers. Makina and Medibot tried to go as low as possible, while Spy turned the car and went on to a side road. The cars continued on the main road for a bit, though just before the red sports car got out sight, the three cars turned and followed.

"Shit, I think we're being followed," Zack hissed. Gradually Spy sped up the car, hoping to shake off the three black cars. The silent chase continued for ten minutes, till the three cars caught up and surrounded the red car.

"Spy? What do we do?" Zack whispered. No one came out of the black cars.

Spy's eyes flickered to the two cars in front, twisting to glance at the one behind. "Just stay still. Cooperate with them. I don't know what thet want."

Several figures left the car, surrounding the Ultima. All of them were bots. Gray's bots. "Get out," the Demo on Spy's side of the car snapped. Spy opened the car door, stepping out in his disguised form. "The Maker requests that you return to the Industry, including the RED Pyro, BLU Medic, and two bots that rightfully belong to Gray."

Rightfully? Axel flung open the car door, stepping out with his hands sparking already. "Fuckers, we don't belong to anyone," he snarled. Horst, Zack and the two bots got out of the car as well.

"I've managed to contact a passing Mann Co. flight. I believe you know the pilot, Jerry. He's making a round and coming to get us to Mann Co. It will take awhile, hold them off till he arrives," Makina hissed to the Spy. He nodded.

"Look guys, I don't know what you want from us. I'm just a man picking up these hitch-hikers. I don't know who this Gray guy is," Spy said, stalling them.

The bots shared a look. "Do not try to fool us, human. Hand over the mercenaries."

Spy shrugged. "No can do guys. I don't just 'hand over' anyone when I'm told to. Seriously, who the hell are you guys?"

"That is unnecessary for you to know, human. Stand aside."

"Hey, if I'm going to just give them to you, at least I should know who you are."

"We are under the orders of the Maker. Now move."

The sound of a plane started in the distance. Not long now till Jerry came for them. Makina nudged the Spy. "Jerry can't land unless we get rid of them. Kill them all."

The Spy suddenly lunged at the nearest robot, undisguising as he did so. Reacting to the sudden movement, the dusty, empty road burst into life, as fire flew and metal screeched, and blood dripped onto the road and onto the cars. The smell of burning metal mixed with the iron tang of blood filled the air just as the roar of a plane engine got louder overhead. Blades scratched metal and flesh, fire heated up the road and left burn marks on the cars, metal clashed metal. It was a short fight, as six mercenaries, two of which had supernatural powers.

The plane couldn't land exactly where they were, but the now burning pile of scrap metal gave Jerry a good idea of where he could land. When the dust in the road had cleared, the six of them were left standing, blood and oil spattered over their faces and clothes. No one was hurt severely, and a large gust of wind ruffled hair and made loose pieces of metal fly as the plane landed further away. Jerry got out of the plane, waving to them.

Axel was sure someone shouted something but the roar of the plane engine was far too loud to have clearly heard. Instead, they ran for the plane.

Jerry made sure they were all in before he slipped back into the pilot cabin. It wasn't a passenger plane he flew, more like a cargo plane, since his job was to fly shipments of hats and weapons back and forth the Mann Co. territories. "If you guys need weapons just open some of the crates. I'm sure Mr. Hale won't mind shortage of a few weapons," he said, closing the door to the pilot cabin.

With a collective sigh, they sat down on the crates or on the floor, as the plane took off once again. "At least now we're definitely heading back to Mann Co- hey, what about your car?" Zack asked, nudging Spy.

The assassin didn't seem bothered by the fact that his car was left behind. "Mann Co. will pay back for the car. This isn't the first one I lost. I think this is my... sixth car already in less than two years. I was going to get a new one anyway."

Six cars? How rich was this guy? Did he get paid more? Or did he just stash away his money? Axel and Horst had promptly fallen asleep by some crates, catching up on the nights of sleep they'd lost, Makina and Medibot had gone into idle mode to preserve whatever little battery power they had left, leaving Spy and Zack to themselves. Spy sat in a corner, managing somehow to just stare into blank space, while Zack sat slightly further away, trying to pinpoint what about the Spy was so familiar. Every little action, all his words, they seemed to click with him somehow, but yet he couldn't remember where he'd seen him before.

He pulled back all his memories of his childhood, comparing them to the Spy's actions and words. Unfortunately he didn't recall much from his childhood, and just knew that his dad had left while he was only 3. And he didn't recall what happened when he was 3. His ma had always told him that the relationship with his father just didn't work, and they divorced. She wouldn't say anymore than that. It reminded him of a conversation he had before with his mother back in Boston, while he was only 9.

"Ma, why don't we have a dad?" Zack asked, looking up from his homework. He needed to take a pause from all the writing he was required to do. Why in the world did schools need him to write or rearrange words to form a proper sentence anyway?

His mother, in an apron and frying something in the kitchen that smelled like fish, didn't even look at him. "Why ask, sweetie?"

Zack glanced back down at his notebook, his large handwriting starting to slant away from the lines on the page. "Because my friends at school say it's not right for me not to have a dad. They say it's not normal."

She turned back to look at him for a quick moment, and for a secon Zack saw something he'd never seen in his ma's eyes before, but he was too young to understand the look of hurt. "It's not... abnormal, Zack. It's just different. Don't ask about your father."

The boy looked at his homework again, before pushing it away and getting off the chair, trotting over to her. He paused for a moment, trying to string his words properly. Now he knew why school made him rearrange words into sentences. "Ma, what happened to dad? Did he love you?"

With trembling hands, she turned off the stove, lifting the pan and sliding the golden fish onto a plate and drizzling sauce over it, before passing Zack wordlessly out into the dining room. She nudged his pencil case aside, placing the plate where his notebook had once been.

"Eat your dinner, Zack." Her voice was flat, her eyes haunted. She turned from the table, untying her apron and hanging it back on the kitchen hook. Zack knew something was wrong, but nonetheless he sat quietly and ate his dinner. His mother disappeared upstairs to her room. The house went quiet, and Zack soon finished his dinner and left the plate in the sink. He went upstairs where his mother's room door was left ajar, and muffled weeps could be heard from inside.

As quietly as he could, he opened the door to see his mother seated on the floor, back turned to him, with a photo album open in her lap. Her face was hidden in her palms, trying to stifle her crying. Zack walked up behind her, about to peek over her shoulder and look at the photo album, when suddenly she snapped the book shut and swung her head around to glare at him.

"M-m-ma?" Zack asked, backing off a step.

"Get out."

"Ma?"

"Get. Out."

Zack turned, scrambling out of the room, leaving his red-eyed mother to continue wailing in her room while he curled up in bed and wondered what had happened to his mother years ago.