The back of Alysia's body connected with a tree branch, painful but partially breaking her fall as she flipped down onto the ground right outside the apartment complex. For a second she saw a giant floating Rook chess piece pulling back from a large hole in the foundation, only to have a set of hands grab and hoist her up by the shoulders. They were a pair of uniformed figures with guns, their helmeted visors spherical and featureless.<br/><br/>"This is Pawn A2. Target acquired."<br/><br/>They mercilessly pulled her across the road without any reassurances or threats. The asphalt under her bare feet was hot; they'd carry her if she further resisted. One of them dropped a smoke grenade behind them, although there were no sounds of gunfire, or Carl for that matter. The sound of screeching tires around the corner grew louder until a delivery truck drove on by, its side doors opening as Alysia's two captors unceremoniously tossed her up into it.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Carl shrieked as he crawled to safety, but his knee fell first onto the hard shower floor, filling his mind with pain. Esther leaped over him, the heel of one foot coming down on the back of his head as she hopped out into the living room. Grabbing both her and Alysia's backpacks she rushed out the door naked.<br/><br/><em>Shit shit shit, where can I change? Dammit, I saw Alysia fall, where is she?</em><br/><br/>Part of her wanted to mentally reach out, but she knew how well that worked last time. A tall black uniformed figure with a helmet in the shape of a horse head towered over her.<br/><br/>"Stand down, civilian."<br/><br/><em>Like hell I'm putting myself at someone's mercy again.</em><br/><br/>Kneeling on one foot as if to surrender, she focused her kinetic energy and slid past, right between his legs. The rough floor burned against the side of her naked body as she did so, but adrenaline dulled the pain.<br/><br/>"Grandmaster, the civilian spotted with Harmonia's fleeing!"<br/><br/>Kasper sighed. "I can see that in the feed. Leave her be, we have our VIP."<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The truck's interior was dark, lit only by a string of overhead multi-colored holiday lights. There were other figures in the truck, two appearing like the sphere-heads who tossed her in. But one of them was different; his (or her?) helmet looked like a Catholic priest's habit, not unlike the Bishop piece in chess. All of them were armed, their guns outfitted with glassy lenses at the end of the barrels.<br/><br/>Lasers.<br/><br/>They said nothing, bit nothing, but watch. Still handcuffed, it was clear that the figures did not trust her fully.<br/><br/>And then, a television screen at the edge of the shipping container flared to life.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/3W3wCPn.png)</div>"Good afternoon, Alysia Mars. You may call me the Grandmaster."<br/><br/>He adjusted his glasses. "At least get the poor woman a blanket. Or is your vehicle lacking even<em>that</em>necessity?"<br/><br/>His voice was cross; the pitch and volume stayed the same, but the tone was disapproving. Not like your average drill instructor.<br/><br/>Alysia felt warm fabric put over her shoulders. One of the Chessmen tried to wrap it around beneath her armpits to cop a feel, but a slight adjustment of the Grandmaster's glasses made him switch at the last second.<br/><br/>"Do not think that I'm rescuing you out of charity; I have no love for Carl and his ilk, but our quarrel with him relates to those he serves. Take what precious time you have to gather your bearings and make yourself presentable; we have many questions waiting when you arrive."<br/><br/>The Grandmaster had little patience for anything Alysia had to say, even if she interrupted. "That will be all; goodbye for now."<br/><br/>The television flickered off, and now the three faceless soldiers her company. Even without seeing their eyes she could tell by the position of their bodies they were leering at her.<br/><br/>"So Alysia," the Bishop said, "we have plenty of time before we reach our destination. I do have to ask one thing..."<br/><br/>Kneeling in front of her, his hand reached out suddenly to grab one of her breasts.<br/><br/>"Good Lord it's real!" he exclaimed as he squeezed it. "You owe me a cool hundred, C2!"<br/><br/>One of the Pawns noncommittally grunted. "A girl that rich has gotta have<em>some</em>cyber somewhere!"<br/><br/>Alysia's blanket was torn off, leaving nowhere for her to cover her modesty. "Really? A member of the Mars family can't be all-natural! Come on sweetie, show us where you're 'enhanced.'"