The Birdcage Swings Closed

After all that talk about how humans couldn’t be trusted, the realization that Oliver died after being deceived by a human was gut-wrenching. Even more frightening was the prospect that we’d all be dead if he hadn’t gulped down the tea while Lea and I waited for it to cool.

But it wasn’t the time for self-reflection. Lea jumped up from the table, claws out, and turned on Rosalie, only to find the maid pointing a silver derringer directly at her. One look at its long, thin barrel told me it was a Federation pistol.

“Don’t move.” Rosalie’s voice was hard and determined, lacking any trace of the warm friendliness she once displayed. Slowly, she moved the pistol from Lea to me. “Drop the suitcase.”

“I can’t. It’ll detonate.” For my part, I answered with equal determination in my voice, hoping to cover a lie with pure bravado. If I could make her believe that shooting me would kill her too, it would force her to surrender.

Unfortunately, Rosalie didn’t fall for it. “Then put it down slowly, or I’ll shoot this one.”

She shifted her aim back to Lea, leaving me free to move. Forcefully pushing all thoughts out of my mind, I charged at her, acting on pure instinct. My sudden movement caught her attention, and her arm swung back in my direction.

We were both too slow. I couldn’t reach her before she pulled the trigger, but thanks to my ability to perceive things quickly, I saw it coming and twisted to the side. The beam passed right in front of my face and hit Oliver’s shoulder.

Turned out Ares wasn’t the only one who could dodge gunfire. Before she had a chance to fire a second shot, I grabbed the top of the gun and twisted it out of her hand. She tried to hold on, but her strength was no match for mine, and soon I had the gun pointed at her chest.

“I let you touch my ears,” I hissed. “Was that just a ploy to gain my trust?”

Trembling, she backed away without responding. In the reflection of her wide eyes, I could see how bestial I looked, with my lips pulled back in a grotesque snarl and my irises little more than two thin lines. I wasn’t sure what scared her more: the gun, or the animal holding it.

At that moment, the front door opened and the ambassador’s voice reached my ears. “…that of course we weren’t trying to interfere in the market, but she insisted I put a small fortune in escrow while the investigation plays out. Not the government’s money, my money. The things I do for my country.” The door swung closed, and I could hear two sets of footsteps walking toward us, one clumsy and lethargic and the other heavy but precise, accompanied by the quiet whirring of servo motors. “Rosalie,” he called out, “are the cats still—Oh, I see they are.” He stopped in his tracks as he rounded the corner and spotted us, then leaned sideways so he could peek into the dining room. “Is that one dead?”

“H-help me,” Rosalie shouted back. “I’ll split the bounty with you. No, you can have it, just don’t let her kill me.”

Hearing that enraged me further, and I shoved the gun against her neck. “What bounty?”

The ambassador completely ignored my question. “Rosalie, dear, think of my position. I couldn’t possibly get involved. It’s one thing to turn a blind eye to your little schemes, but I can’t be an accessory to… whatever this is.”

A Federation gynoid stepped into the hallway behind the ambassador. Unlike the gynoid I met in the village, she still had her artificial pale gray skin and auburn hair that fell to her shoulders. She was wearing a tailored navy blue sheath dress that could almost be mistaken for a military uniform.

She placed a hand on the ambassador’s shoulder. “To what schemes are you referring?”

“Embezzlement, mostly. She tried to run an influence peddling operation, but only one person was ever stupid enough to try to bribe a maid to influence an ambassador.”

The gynoid tightened her grip on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. “And you kept her on staff, knowing she was a criminal?”

“Relax, I reported everything up the chain. The Cabinet Office loves it when local workers compromise themselves. Makes it easier to turn them into pawns for the Federation.”

“And now she has killed a Federation citizen. This would suggest your judgment was incorrect.”

As fascinating as this glimpse into international spycraft was, I had a much more pressing problem. “What bounty?” I repeated.

“T-Twenty million euros for the suitcase and proof of your deaths,” Rosalie managed to answer.

“They know you’re responsible for the lockdown—which has been lifted, by the way—and they have your photo,” the ambassador added. “You won’t be able to escape the dome. If you want to survive, I suggest you turn yourself in to the Grand Futarch and beg for leniency.”

“No, you have to help us.” I looked at the gynoid as I spoke. Even if the ambassador couldn’t be trusted, surely she would understand the importance of our mission.

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of pointing the gun at the ambassador as a threat. This caused the gynoid to reach into her purse and pull out an identical pistol. Unlike me, she didn’t hesitate to fire, and I barely had time to duck the shot. The beam singed my hair as it passed overhead, but I kept my eyes locked on her. She fired again, but this time I was ready. I jumped over the shot, closing the distance, and tried to kick the gun out of her hand.

That was a mistake. She grabbed my leg with her free hand and pulled me off my feet, dangling me upside down in midair. I could see Lea running down the hallway toward me, but she stopped when the gynoid pointed the gun at her and raised her hands in the air.

“Whoa, take it easy,” I said. “There’s a nuke in this suitcase.”

“There’s a what in the suitcase?” the ambassador asked.

“It’s a weapon of mass destruction that was banned in the early—”

“I know what a nuke is,” he interrupted. “Where did you get a stupid thing like that?”

“Some crazy militants built it out in the wastes. If they get their hands on it, they’re gonna start another war. We have to take it to the Federation so they can dismantle it.”

The ambassador scoffed. “You can’t truly expect us to believe something like that.”

“My sensors do not detect any physiological phenomenon associated with lying.” The gynoid placed me gently on the ground as she talked. “Furthermore, a UN peacekeeping force went missing in the wastelands chasing a similar rumor. We must leave for the Federation immediately.”

“Didn’t you hear me earlier?” the ambassador asked. “Everyone in the country is looking for that suitcase. They’ll have sealed all the exits to the dome.”

“Then we shall have to create a new exit,” the gynoid replied.