Have to remember to hit the middle one.

The door hissed open and he lurched in, trying to walk at an angle without stumbling like he was drunk.

It was all worthwhile, however, when his hands touched something familiar.

Hello, beautiful.

CENTRAL PARK

I SHOULD HAVE stayed on the street! At least there was decent cover there.

Her service piece was long since empty and Lyssa didn’t even have a single dropped target to her name, but she sure as shit had a few pissed off ones. She chalked those up in the win column, since if they were chasing her they weren’t chasing anyone else, but it was a weak claim of victory.

She was winded, tired, and her strength was flagging, but she kept pumping her legs and ran toward Central Park West. Luckily, she supposed, she had one hell of a path to follow. The big ass cylinder that fell out of the sky had wiped out a few acres of trees, giving her room to run with some cover when she needed it.

She broke out of said cover, however, and into the street, somewhat to her surprise. The area was strewn with rubble, a few shattered cars, and almost completely gridlocked, but there was something very good to see as well. Lyssa bolted with one last burst of speed and ducked behind the NYPD SWAT vehicle, collapsing to her knees under cover as a familiar figure grinned down at her.

“You’re late, Myriano.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up, Paul. You try getting those bastards to chase you all the way across the damned park!”

Lyssa got her breathing under control as she accepted a police issue assault rifle and checked the mag.

“They’re not fast,” John told her from where he was standing over her.

“With firepower like that, they can afford to take their damned time,” she griped. “Almost fried me three times across the park, and I’m not even sure they were aiming at me. Where the fuck is the National Guard?”

“Whole city is in gridlock,” John told her with a shrug. “They have to check every car before they run their tanks over them.”

“Run their . . . are you shitting me?” Lyssa asked, wide-eyed.

“Would take a lot longer to move all the cars, trust me.”

Lyssa scowled, but couldn’t say much against that. With the streets gridlocked as far as she could see, the big lumbering insect things certainly had the mobility advantage. Nothing quite like being able to walk over cars, or stomp them into the ground, she supposed. The Guard would have a harder time with their tanks, especially since she was well aware that they still used some antiquated chassis to supplement their forces.

Of course, I’m here with a friggin’ M-4C in my hand, so who am I to talk about someone else using outdated gear?