Jenny Byrne wakes up to find herself on the floor. The back of her neck is still pounding from where Jason struck her. Growling, she fumbles with a hand for the table, uses it to lever herself unsteadily to her feet, and wobbles over to the nano-reactor console.
The software has been thoroughly spiked. The machine is unusable - Jason Quill’s goodbye, she reflects bitterly.
“Ooh, I am going to make that boy regret this,” she grumbles to herself, and reaches for the alarm button.
They always build these vents big enough to crawl into, reflects Jason. It makes sense, to be fair. A deeply buried complex demands a functioning air circulation system for people to live and work, all machines break down, and technicians would have to get to the equipment somehow to fix it up again.
He crawls through the duct work, using his spatial awareness and his memory of the trip down to guide his way back up. He finds, and disables, a few basic security precautions along the way.
The Mirror in his head has been silent since the escape. Finally it breaks that silence. They really should have rendered us unconscious.
“Oh? Can you even be knocked unconscious?”
I’m… not sure, the Mirror admits.
Jason hangs left and keeps crawling. His knees are hurting from the repeated impacts against metal, but he ignores it. “How are you handling this whole artificial existence thing, anyway?”
I… haven’t thought about it…
“That’s very uncharacteristic of Alycia. She thinks about everything.”
I’ve been busy!
“Busy trying to steal my secrets, busy trying to convince me you’re Alycia so I’ll trust you, busy misreading my motives…”
That’s not fair.
Jason laughs, but quietly to avoid the echo. “It’s entirely fair. You shot the Dragonfly only because you missed shooting me. You had a sniper who tried to blow my leg off. Your motives here are clear as glass.”
Yes, but you handled all of that gracefully.
Jason rolls his eyes. “What the hell? Flattery, now?”
My father could never kill your father. You’ve been similarly… resilient.
“Oh? And how sincere were you in trying to kill me?”
Kill you? Or hurt you?
“Oh, you were grand at hurting me, Alycia. But I long since forgave you for that.”
Well, uh…
Jason is enjoying the Mirror’s newfound confusion. Alycia always projected a façade of confidence. But it could fall apart when her plans were confounded, especially by things outside of her experience - like kindness.
So you aren’t trying to delete me?
“Get you out of my head, certainly. But questions about your identity aside, I’m not going to cavalierly destroy an intelligent being.”
In that case…
“In that case?”
The Mirror hesitates. Let’s work together. At least until you’re not on the run, and we can negotiate a new agreement of some kind.
“What’s a voice in my head going to do? Make snarky asides while I crawl through Russian duct work?”
I can provide insight into the practical challenges you’ll face escaping Russia’s intelligence apparatus.
“You think I need your help for that?”
I can instead analyze your numerous psychological flaws, your romantic hang-ups, your complicated relationship with your father–
“Where’s the nearest ground vehicle going to be?”
The SVR keeps their motor pools in a separate building. You’re going to have to find a side door.
One vent access panel, one security guard, and one flying roundhouse kick later, Jason is at the side door. He steps out into the sunlight and spots an adjacent building.
“Alright, we’re gonna grab a–”
Jason’s thought is interrupted by the roaring of rockets. A shadow falls over him, and he dodges out of the way as a colossal humanoid figure lands where he was just standing. The pavement cracks beneath its feet.
The titan is easily nine feet, built as a male with bronze-colored skin and an exaggerated musculature. It’s mechanical, if the seams and rivets aren’t just decoration. Clearly too big to hold a pilot, unless they were freakishly big themselves. Plus, two massive cylinders are affixed to its back. They look like rockets at first, but Jason can make out extra surface detail that suggest a secondary purpose.
A voice rings out, but it’s not from the titan. It’s coming over some kind of PA system, a speaker attached to the building. And it’s Jenny Byrne’s voice.
“Jason, Jason, Jason. Last chance to come quietly.”
Jason gives his best carefree shrug and his most charming grin, secretly hoping there’s a camera as well as a speaker hookup. “You ran out on us, Miss Byrne. I’m afraid I must do the same now.”
A masculine voice comes over the PA. “TALOS, apprehend the escapee Jason Quill.”
The giant’s eyes gleam, and it reaches out with a massive arm.
