As if the fight were a virus, it spread to the luggage store as people grabbed more suitcases and briefcases and boxes and started using them as improvised weapons. Eva peered around the wall at them and snickered as the Fridge agents clustered together and held a rapid discussion, presumably about what to do.
“Oh no, my vapor sac,” a kloshian wearing a neho mask said. He released a fine lavender mist from his nostrils, and suddenly the pizkees around him swayed unsteadily, their eyes shifting from black to red. One of the black suits flung off his shades, and his eyes also took on a reddish cast.
The other black suit grabbed her partner’s arm. “What is it?” she asked. “What were they taking?”
Her partner’s skin started turning bright red as well, and the pizkees began to vibrate.
“It’s Blitz,” the black suit said through clenched teeth.
Eva, Pink, and Vakar shared a look, then dove behind separate sports displays. Eva chose a large hoverboard, Pink a tall shelving unit covered in plastisteel helmets, while Vakar lucked out and was safe behind a row of jousting shields. Eva winced as her leg pain reignited on impact with the floor, quickly settling to a dull ache. The rani employee gave them all a tilted-head look but didn’t move.
If the fight had been bad before, it tripled in intensity now. Blitz did different things to people depending on their physiologies; for most species besides kloshians, it boosted strength and imparted a euphoric sense of invulnerability. The pizkees ran around thrashing whatever they could reach, throwing things at each other and anyone nearby, and even the black suit swung at some of the random passengers caught up in the fray while his partner tried to drag him away.
“Where is station security?” someone shouted in desperation.
((Coming,)) Vakar pinged to Eva.
The nuns, meanwhile, had tied up their robes around their waists and legs, and casually armed themselves with different items from the sporting-goods store. They nodded at each other silently, then set about knocking down one fighter after another with an efficiency Eva admired.
“Hey, get out!” the dytryrc in the restaurant shouted. “I got knives! Sharp ones!” This was followed by a sizzling sound and a pained scream.
Pink threw herself down next to Eva. “This was your plan?” she asked. “Get a bunch of innocent people hurt while we hide in here?”
“No,” Eva said. “This was the distraction. Come on.”
Eva signaled for Vakar to follow her, giving a jaunty wave to the rani as she hobbled briskly to the back of the store, grateful that she’d brought Fuácata. As expected, there was a door leading to a storeroom, which itself had another door leading to a back corridor that ran straight to the docks. It also led to doors for all the surrounding retail establishments, including a certain luggage store’s, which was currently being guarded by a buff human in a tight-fitting shirt.
“Nice muscles,” Eva told him.
“Thanks,” the human replied, flexing.
“Should you be back here?” Eva asked. “There’s a riot going on in there. You should probably help or something.”
“Nah, I’m supposed to stay here no matter what,” he said. “In case someone tries to sneak in.” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Wait a tick, who are—”
Eva swung Fuácata against his knee with a satisfying crack, then thrust the handle up into his throat. He made an uncomfortable choking sound, but still managed to reach for Eva with one of his beefy hands. She ducked and took advantage of his now-exposed back to land a quick punch to his kidney, followed by a knee to his gut and an elbow to the back of his head, at which point either he or his body decided enough was enough and he slid to the ground.
“You are so violent, I swear,” Pink said.
“Violence isn’t always the answer,” Eva said. “I just ask a lot of violent questions.” She turned to Vakar, her leg throbbing more after the exertion. “Could you get this unlocked?”
“I have already done so,” he replied. “Also I have infiltrated their local network and I am in the process of duplicating its contents.”
“Gracias, mi vida.” Eva whacked the buff guard once more for good measure and opened the door, strolling into the luggage store’s back room.
It was, as expected, full of various kinds of luggage, stacked neatly on shelves.
“Did we seriously just do all this for no damn good reason?” Pink asked.
Eva smirked at her and grabbed a random suitcase, resting it on the floor and tapping the release panel to open it. Inside, a pair of M-7 Centurions rested in a cube of stasis gel, aftermarket heat dispersal units already attached.
“Feliz cumpleaños, amiga,” Eva said.
Pink made a shooing motion with one hand. “That ain’t for me,” she said. “You know I don’t do short-range.”
Eva gestured at the other cases and boxes surrounding them. “Let’s see if we can find something in your size, then.”
As quickly and efficiently as they could manage, Eva, Pink, and Vakar pulled down one container after another and examined its contents. They found pistols, rifles, vibroblades, and more esoteric weapons that couldn’t be properly operated by humans or quennians. Pink gave an obscene groan at a particular sniper rifle and immediately claimed it, while Eva grabbed a few of her favorites and shoved them into a single suitcase with a built-in antigrav feature to make it easier to carry.
“Security has arrived outside,” Vakar said suddenly. “We should retreat before we are located.”
“Bueno, let’s make like fleas and jump,” Eva said.
Pink opened the door and stepped out, nudging the still-prone form of the guard outside. He responded with a groan.
As Eva was about to follow, a random briefcase caught her eye, resting on a shelf just out of her reach, a bright red caution tag wrapped around the handle.
“I’m the most cautious,” she muttered to herself. “Hey, Vakar, get that one for me.”
He obliged, smelling concerned. “You are aware of what this is?”
“No, but I assume it’s awesome.”
“It is a Protean Lightweight Omniguard Tactical armor unit.”
“Ooh, I’ve always wanted one of these.” Compact, tough, and customizable, but powered by expensive proprietary tech and software, and hell to maintain. Also, if they glitched, they had a habit of turning their users into squishy piles of organ goo.
“Eva, these are dangerous,” Vakar said, his concerned smell intensifying.
“Right, I hear you,” she said reluctantly. “Someone will definitely pay for that, though. Let’s get out of here.”
They headed back down the hall and through the sports-equipment store. The rani was still zoned out on her commlink, idly running a hand over one of her long ears, and made no comment about their sudden acquisitions. “Come again,” she said tonelessly as they stepped back into the main station corridor.
The chaos had abated thanks to the arrival of security. The pizkees were lined up along one wall, a few of them still throwing punches at each other when they thought no one was looking. Most of them were injured, some more dazed than others, and the Blitzed ones had been separated from the rest for treatment. The black suits had apparently isolated themselves as well, with the Blitzed one being treated by the other via some medical wand device she was shining into his eyes. The kloshians made low crooning noises at each other in a harmony that made Eva want to barf, their colors shifting between pale green and royal blue and back again, and the breeder’s holo-tiara had fallen sideways down the tendrils on his head. The nuns had ungirded their loins but still held their improvised weapons, and appeared to be the least affected of all the groups.