Outside the facility, the late afternoon wind picked up, carrying the scent of the sea along. Brianna took a deep breathe and looked up into the sky. A small shape was heading in their direction. "I can't believe this. Another robot? I'm getting sick of all this fighting."
Leslie checked the clip in her gun. "I'll take care of this one."
"WAIT!" shouted Greg. Leslie lowered her gun, resisting the urge to scream at Blondehead. The day's events had rattled her nerves, and she was in the mood to shoot something. "It's him! He's come back."
Brianna raised an eyebrow. "Him?" She squinted. "Robo Squirrel?"
There was no way Robo Squirrel should get close to Vanguard again. Brianna took off. She intercepted him a hundred feet away from the facility. "What are you doing here?"
"Beep! Robo Squirrel wants to help Vanguard!"
Brianna, unlike Robo Squirrel, was unable to hover in midair. Instead, she rolled left and right and twisted her wings so she could face the robotic rodent. This meant Robo Squirrel was spinning around to face Brianna. "We know all about you. We can't trust you. None of us can."
"Not even Brute Force? Beep?
Brianna bit her lip. He really did sound hurt. "No, I think he still trusts you. But he trusts everyone. And we know why Dr. Sharpe built you. How can we trust someone who was spent to spy on us?"
"Beep-beep! Robo Squirrel has spent many hours evaluating 'The Banshee'. Robo Squirrel knows Brianna has more compassion than anyone else in Vanguard. Robo Squirrel's superiors see this as a weakness. But Robo Squirrel knows this is what makes you strong."
"Compassion isn't going to help you. I can't make them trust you. Even if I decided to trust you."
"Beeeeeeep! But Robo Squirrel wants to help! Robo Squirrel knows things! The thing you are looking for isn't here anymore! They took it away. But Robo Squirrel can show you where it is!"
Brianna shook her head. "I find that hard to believe. That would mean they knew we were coming. They would have sent a swarm of robotic animals. And we haven't seen that many threats."
"Beep-beep! Robo Squirrel thinks they know that their animals are no match against you. The point was not to defeat you. The point was to drive all of Vanguard into the building."
"Drive us into the building?" Now Brianna was confused. "Why that would mean there's something there to--" she stopped dead in mid-sentence. Now it made sense.
The building was going to explode. With Vanguard in it. They had walked into a trap.
Brianna tucked her wings in and dove for the ground. "Grissom! Phil!" Her loud wail wasn't meant to shatter glass, but her cry sent the walls vibrating and the pipes rattling. "The place is sent to explode! We need to get out of here." She turned to her left. Robo Squirrel was matching speeds with her. "Get them out of there alive, Robo Squirrel. Get them out of there, and I swear to be your friend till the end of my days."
"Beep! Have no fear, Robo Squirrel is here!"
