"What is your name?" Weizza demanded.

Robert looked like a puppy caught chewing on a shoe.

"I'm Robert Angstrom, Ms...?"

"You will call me Weizza. That was a stupid thing to do Robert Angstrom."

Weizza turned over the broken retrieval drone with her foot. The drone's manipulator was clamped on a cracked logic board. The assembly was still screwed to a jagged metal casing that looked to have been blasted free from the control panel.

"This is the secure enclave from the transmission unit. It holds the keys for communicating with Petbe. If it is broken, we are locked out.

"This is a bullet hole." Weizza pointed to a chunk missing from the middle of the board. Robert paled visibly.

"Your recklessness may not have sunk us yet, Robert. The key assembly looks intact; I may be able to salvage it back in my lab. But first we must deal with the snipers."

Weizza withdrew a phone from her pocket. "Hello Ambrus. Yes, it is great to speak with me. You will be quiet while I explain your task.

"An unauthorized craft has entered your airspace and attacked a customs warehouses. I will send you the coordinates after this call. You will blow it up as soon as possible, being very careful not to hit the warehouse. Understood? Good."

Weizza hung up and transmitted the location of the enemy ship.

"Ms. Weizza," Alice spoke.

"Just Weizza. What?"

"Robert and I were connected to Petbe when you arrived. The weapon is firing now. One of the targets is this warehouse. I don't have the parameters to run the orbital dynamics, but impact could be as soon as 20 minutes."

"That is a problem. Still, we must wait for Ambrus's missile strike. I tapped the enemy's communication system. There are still two sniper bots loitering above. The bot runners are on a ship nearby. If we leave the warehouse, they will kill us.

"A missile will destroy the enemy soon. We will wait by the door, ready to run."

The group moved back down the warehouse and stopped by the exit. Alice and Marcos exchanged awkward glances as the minutes ticked away. He hadn't seen her since the divorce.

"Alice, I–"

Three explosions stuttered outside, close. Weizza closed her eyes, then opened them with a smile.

"The enemies are dead. Go now."

Ba Kuang threw open the door and they sprinted to the vehicle. The six of them squeezed into the squad car, Marcos at the wheel. He slammed on the accelerator and sped off down the narrow road, tires squealing on wet pavement.

The rain intensified, the wipers smearing water around more than clearing it. A symphony of driving safety warnings beeped out a broken melody. Marcos ignored them all, pushing the car to the limit. He fishtailed around a corner and into oncoming traffic. A delivery track laid on its horn as Marcos slid across its lane. He weaved through two more before regaining his side of the road, then opened it up on the straightaway.

A flash in the clouds and a teeth-rattling boom announced the meteor's arrival.

"Stop the car, everybody on the floor!" Alice yelled.

Marcos threw the emergency brake and the car skidded over the embankment. He pulled next to the hill at the bottom, then took cover. The passengers in the back struggled to get low, piling on top of another on the floor.

A monstrous pressure wave blew out the windows and breathed fiery wind across their backs. Crushed auto glass rattled as the Earth shook from the impact, then settled back down.

"Anyone hurt?" Alice asked.

"I am singed," said Ba Kuang, who had been on top of the pile, "but I am okay."

Weizza inspected the burn from the front seat, tsking softly. "I will tend to you back on the plane."

Thankfully the car's headlights had faced away from the blast and survived. Their cone of light illuminated a stand of burning trees that had been dripping rain moments ago.

Marcos stepped out of the car and shoveled glass pebbles onto the road. "Can you get us a new car?" He asked Weizza. "Driving without a windshield is a drag in the rain."

"I will instruct Ambrus. One moment." Weizza placed another call. It rang much longer than the previous.

"Hello? Who is this? I see. And Ambrus? Very well. I advise you not to interfere with my departure. Good day."

Weizza turned to the group. "Ambrus killed himself; suicide is a known side-effect of a rushed conversion. One of his generals has taken command.

"I have been told to leave. Marcos, drive us to the airport."

There was a loud thunk as a chunk of red-hot rock impacted the roof. It hissed as it boiled off the rainwater. More ejecta rained down around them, casting flaming trails through the sky.

Marcos jumped back behind the wheel and maneuvered back to the road. The influx of heat had dispelled the rain, helpful for dodging the flaming rocks and burned out hulks of other cars.

Once they cleared the impact zone the trip to the airport was merely a miserable slog of wind and rain. Thankfully the security gate still opened for their bombed out patrol car.

There were flashing lights back toward the hangar. Weizza's jet was boxed in by other, intact police cars. Marcos parked nearby.

Weizza strode to the nearest officer. "What is the meaning of this?" She demanded.

"Routine immigration check. Your pilot is non-responsive, refusing to let us aboard the plane."

Weizza argued with the officer, but wasn't making much progress. At least the rain had stopped.

"Can I use your computer?" Alice asked Robert. "My phone is gone, I want to see if my son has tried to contact me."

Robert handed it over to Alice. She logged in and did a quick search, then swore and punched the seat in front of her.

"Marcos, read this." Alice shoved the computer at him.

From: Julian Yang

To: Alice Yang

Subject: Need help

Mom,

I was abducted by Blackmountain, but am escaping now. I'm headed on foot to Bratislava, I'll be on the steps of the soviet memorial at noon. I think they're tracking my headset, I'll check this email if I have the chance.

Please help however you can, I don't know who else to turn to.

Your Julian.

"Your old drinking buddies kidnapped our fucking son." Alice's voice dripped venom.

"Alice, you know I had nothing to do with this."

"No Marcos, it's not your fault. It never was. Not when strangers would pass me threatening notes on the street. Not when goddam assassins tried to blow up our apartment. I guess these things just happen, couldn't have anything to do with your little spy side-gig."

"What was I supposed to do Alice? Sit on my ass playing video games? Have you even been outside your little luxury bubble in the last decade? The machines have eaten the world. There's no such thing as an honest day's work anymore. You want to get paid you either kill people, fuck people, or swindle them.

"Do you know what my qualifications are? I can shoot people in the face, and I don't feel bad when I do it. That's it. And if it wasn't for the Donbas Conventions the robots would have that job too."

Marcos was shouting now. Two police officers had gotten out of their cars and were looking in their direction.

Marcos lowered his voice. "Look, I'll fix this. I'm not going to let those assholes have Julian. Maybe you can do something about the world-ending mess you've made while I'm gone."

Marcos got out and slammed the door, rattling the car. Ba Kuang slipped out to follow him. Weizza was returning from her parley, a dark look on her face.

"Weizza, I have to go." Marcos said.

"No. I still require your services."

"I know we had a deal, but this is important Weizza. Some assholes are trying to snatch my son, I need to get him out. I'll come back when I'm done."

"Your family problems are no concern of mine Marcos. If you leave now, I will kill you."

"Fine." Marcos turned and walked across the tarmac toward the exit.

"Do not break our agreement Marcos, you will not like the results."

He turned and glared at her.

"A may!" Ba Kuang stepped forward. "Will you be so cold? What would you do if someone abducted me?"

"I would crack the Earth. But Marcos is not me. He must obey, or die."

Marcos spit on the ground, then resumed his walk to the gate.