Chains of Command

[Boss]

Jim
*****

I raised my hands and stood up slowly, taking in, all at once, where my hand was, where my pistol was, how to draw it fast, smooth and be ready. I glanced at the screen; it had gone blank. "Turn around, Jim. There's a good boy. We thought you were supposed to be good at this, Jim. You've disappointed us." His use of the third person threw me a bit, but as I glanced over his shoulder I saw one of the service robots getting back on its feet. It made nothing more than soft clanking noises, as though it were trying to be as silent as possible. I flicked my eyes back to Eli--Mike had the gun--and I hoped he hadn't noticed my attention behind him. He might not have, but Mike certainly did. In one clean motion he removed the barrel of his pistol from my neck, aimed, and fired at the robot. The shot sounded deafening in the quiet room, easily overpowering the soft hum of the computers and the whirring of the cooling fans.

The impact of the shell was nothing short of remarkable, as the hollow-point round splattered against the robot's casing, only to burrow its way through. I watched, surprised, as a fist-sized hole appeared on the far end of the robot and innards scattered across the room. I recovered quickly though, dropped my hands to my belt. I drew my pistol, hastily aimed, and fired twice into Mike's gut. The shots tore through him, flinging his innards across the room to join those of the robot's. A look of shock came over him, and he crumpled. I swung across to take aim at Eli, who was now about twenty feet away, and unarmed.

"Jim, let's be honest here. You are on a secure facility in the middle of what is known as utterly hostile space to anyone not privy to its existence. All ships are locked down, and there are no escape pods. Even if there were, just where would you go, anyways? Face the facts, Jim, you're alone, and you've lost. Give up."

"Not without answers." And I fired again.