The security feed played on loop.
Paris and Corrosion, attacking both the food supply and the young who were Arx's future. Fiore Branch fought back with a Miracle, allowing the farmers to neutralize the threat, but the precedent was perhaps worse than either of the fools who had attacked realized.
Memories flitted through Odin's head. Images of the old world. Images of the world falling apart.
The same could not be allowed to happen here. Some places were less vital; they wouldn't doom the ship. Now, though, these so-called villains had crossed a line.
Something would have to be done. Odin could no longer afford to wait until one of them got thrown in jail a third time. By the time that happened, something irreversible could have happened.
And yet the deal with Courtney Larsen remained. It would be a simple enough matter to just kill her too, but that would be a disservice to the city. At the very least, she shouldn't be made into an enemy. The tenuous alliance had to survive for the sake of the city's future. At some point, Larsen could probably be inserted into the top brass of the military and redeem it. She just had to survive and gain experience.
Odin chuckled. Interfering with the main part of the city wasn't part of the job. At least, it wasn't supposed to be.
Fly the plane. Keep it airborne. Keep everyone alive. The city council and military leaders would handle the rest.
And maybe, someday, the surface would be safe to return to, though it was doubtful that day would ever come.
For now, Odin needed a way to neutralize the Gifted without breaking the pact. The only loophole was Ferry, so she'd have to be the one targeted.
If she was gone, everything would be so much easier. It would probably be best to implant a heart-stopper in Cleo Yang, the same as the one in Sawyer Joseph. If she ever went rogue, Odin needed a way to shut it down.
But for now, Ferry was the priority. She would surely break into the prison again to save Paris and Corrosion, and fast. The precedent set with Olivia Hahn, Meadow Rich, and Jakob Beasley, for better or for worse, had everyone wary.
Odin would use that and set an ambush. Darius would probably be no good, so a lesser drone would have to do. It needed a gun, an accurate one that packed enough punch to kill. If it wasn't accurate enough, there was a real risk that Dustin Charles or Cole Griffin would die instead, and that would be a violation of the deal with Larsen.
Such a pain. Darius would by far be the easiest tool to use, but Odin had already tried to initiate the remote-control mode of the robot. It always resulted in an error, probably because the newborn fool was rejecting the program.
Odin dug through the collection of drones built up over the years. The ones used to kill Meadow Rich had been irreversibly damaged, but they were the best version to use. It was just a shame that there were only two of them left.
Shoulda spent more time building drones instead of playing games. Shit.
Whatever. Paris couldn't affect the drones with his poison, so his cell was the best one to lay in wait in. Keep it in a corner, and only attack if Paris tried to mess with the drone. When Ferry showed up, a quick shot to the head would do it.
A few keystrokes and the drone was active. A few more saw it move, making sure that all the physical systems were working properly. Perfect.
Last time Darius had carried the drone himself, but that wouldn't be an option. Sawyer wasn't exactly reliable enough either. With his anxiety, someone would easily notice him and clock trouble before he got halfway to the prison. That meant the drone would have to drive itself.
Odin carefully maneuvered it, testing its movement and turn speed in the drone warehouse. The door opened with a couple keystrokes, and the drone started on its journey. The halls of the Underwing were dark, and the location system built into the drone was the safest way to make sure it wasn't going to crash into a wall or something.
It would have to get to the Subways, then take an elevator up. Odin would make sure no one else was on that elevator, and that no one would be around to notice it moving. The city was so familiar that picking the route to the prison that would be least likely to get the drone noticed barely needed any thought.
As the drone rolled through the dim hallways, suddenly the camera feed cut off and an error message appeared.
"No!" Odin slammed a fist on the keyboard in frustration, then started chewing on a thumbnail.
A string of the most colourful curses in the English language throughout the last eight centuries flew out, muttered without any pause for breath.
Darius.
That damn bot.
Darius checked the wireless network again, making sure Odin wasn't about to start controlling another drone. He didn't know what the drone's purpose was, but considering it was equipped with a gun, it couldn't be anything good.
Human life was sacred. Odin couldn't be allowed to end it willy-nilly.
Satisfied that he'd foiled Odin for now, Darius left the kitchen and went to retrieve the little drone. As he walked out, Ned glanced up in surprise.
"Just a quick errand," Darius said with a smile. "I'll be back soon."
He'd discuss what had happened with Courtney, Joey, Cleo, and maybe Sawyer. Ned, however, was uninvolved and didn't need to know.
Was Odin hoping to kill Paris or Corrosion? Records indicated that they'd recently landed in the prison, but it was only the second arrest for both of them. They had one more chance.
Without chances for redemption, humans would never change. If given the chance, though, they could change. Maybe one day Paris and Corrosion would be upstanding citizens.
But if they were killed here, that could never happen.
Darius navigated the dim hallways and found the poor drone, looking like an empty husk that had been abandoned. He held it close as he walked it back to the warehouse where it and its kin lived.
As he placed it back on the shelf, he glanced around. So many drones, all built as if to kill. Maybe it would be best to destroy them all right now? That way they could never hurt anyone.
Darius frowned, then decided to leave his mechanical siblings alone for now. He'd discuss it with Courtney and the others. For now, he'd just shut off the wireless receivers.
