Kaihime’s cybernetics gave her reflexes just above a normal human. If it wasn’t for that reaction time either she or Alli could have been seriously injured. She quickly threw up a force shield just as the shockwave from the explosion hit them. Her teeth rattled, but she was alive as the billow of dust and smoke surrounded them.
Alli looked up at her, the shock apparent in the other woman’s eyes. She clearly didn’t grasp they were in a war. People would get hurt. GENESIS wouldn’t rest until they had what they wanted.
“What the hell happened?” Alli choked as she delivered the words.
The air was still filled with dirt and soot despite the field around them. Kaihime’s shields were meant to allow oxygen through. Clearly they weren’t perfect for blocking the aftermath of an explosion. Still, the alternative seemed much worse.
The circuits around her neck shifted and formed a rebreather over her mouth, complete with a voice modulator.
“For some reason, the home exploded as we approached. Whether it was GENESIS or the young woman we seek, I cannot answer.”
“GENESIS is already here?” She coughed again, but this time she clearly breathed through it.
The air was clearing as the smoke slowly wafted off the damage from the house. Still the billowing clouds around them made sight almost impossible.
“They could very well have the same information we have. We don’t know how far into the Codex they have accessed. We’re honestly lucky GENESIS’s private army hadn’t went after them as soon as they failed to take your friends.
“Fuck,” Alli said. “We’re already too late.”
“Not necessarily.”
Kaihime pointed through the smoke ahead of them. Though vision was still limited, a single female form seemed to glow from the other side of the damage. She was thin, barely a slip of a woman. As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, they could see she was barely a woman at all. She looked much younger than Kaihime was herself, barely eighteen if even that. Everyone else GENESIS was after had at least reached their twenties. She wasn’t sure what to make of the young woman in front of them.
From here, they could also see the armored men at her feet. Though their flak jackets and helmets were burned and cracked, their uniforms were easily recognizable. Whatever had happened here, GENESIS had indeed beat them to the punch.
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