Грань будущего

           Evenbackinthatfirstbattle,ithadn’tbeentheFullMetalBitchwhocradledmyheadasIlaydying.ItwasRitaVrataski.

           Thelieutenant’sreplywasunsure."Kiriya?Maybeyou’dlikesomeonewithmoreexperience,someone-"

           "Yesorno?"

           "Well,uh,yes."

           "Iappreciateyourhelp.Sarge,how’boutyou?MindifIborrowKiriya?"

           Ferrellshruggedhisapproval,hisJacketedshouldersrisinglikeanoceanwave.

           "Thankyou,Sarge."

           "Seethathedoesn’tdoanyjitterbuggingnearoursquad."

           "Jitterbugging?Thatsomesortofcode?"Ritaasked.

           "Justafigureofspeech."

           "Keiji,what’sallthisabout?"

           "Sorry,Sarge.I’llexplainlater,"Isaid.

           "We’llhit’emfromtwelveo’clock."

           "Uh,right."

           "Hey,Keiji!Ifyouseeavendingmachine,pickmeupsomesmokes!"YonabarucalledoutrightbeforeIdisconnectedfromthecommlink.

           RitachuckledatNijou’swisecrack."You’vegotagoodsquad.Youready?"

           "Begentle."

           "I’malwaysgentle."

           "That’snotthewayIhearit."

           "JustworryabouttheMimics,okay?"

           Slammingagainstthesidesoftheimpactcrater,scrabbling,andfinallyclimbingoveroneanother,MimicshadbeguntopushoutfromtheholeRitahadblastedintheground.Wedoveintothepackheadfirst.Itwaswall-to-wallbloatedfrogs.

           Run.Fire.Retreat.Freshmagazine.Runsomemore.Fire.Breathe.

           PrecisionbombshuntedfortheMimicswheretheyhid.Smokespiraledskywardwheretheyhadfoundtheirquarry.