The gunshot ricocheted off the concrete walls, and Erica's auditory sensors pinpointed its origin in an instant—approximately twenty meters behind her, fired from the left corner. Her AI analyzed the situation in a flash and issued an evasion directive.
"Lower stance. Maximize speed."
She crouched low, motors roaring to life as she bolted down the corridor. A man's shout erupted behind her.
"Don't let her get away! Shoot!"
Bullets struck the walls, sending shards of concrete flying. Erica's visual sensors tracked the trajectories in real time, calculating the optimal path to dodge them. A human might have succumbed to panic, but her processor churned through the data with icy precision.
"Enemy count: at least two. Weapon: handgun, muzzle velocity approximately 300 meters per second. Direct hits avoidable, but beware of ricochet."
As she neared a corner, she slid her body against the wall, taking cover. The gunfire paused, replaced by the sound of approaching footsteps. Scanning her surroundings, Erica searched for anything she could use. At the edge of her vision, an old fire extinguisher hung on the wall.
"That'll do."
She snatched it swiftly, yanking out the pin. The moment her pursuers rounded the corner, she squeezed the lever, unleashing a cloud of white powder. The men's vision was obscured, their coughs echoing through the haze.
"Where'd she go!?"
Seizing the chaos, Erica broke into a run again. The powdery veil slowed her pursuers, buying her precious seconds. Ahead, a dim glow flickered—an exit. But a new obstacle loomed before she could reach it. A heavy iron shutter was descending, inching downward.
"Lockdown system activated. Cause unknown. Must either stop it manually or break through."
The shutter's base was a meter from the ground. Without slowing, Erica pushed her output to its limits. She kicked off the floor and slid beneath it, her back scraping the edge. Sparks flew, but she tumbled out onto the other side.
Outside, the rain had stopped, and the damp air enveloped her sensors. Before her stretched a desolate warehouse district—rusted beams, crumbling walls, and the distant howl of a stray dog. Standing, Erica assessed her condition.
"Exterior: minor abrasions. Internal systems: operational. Energy reserves: sixty-eight percent."
She cross-checked the coordinates from the smartphone. The target warehouse lay two kilometers northeast, likely where the mastermind behind her abduction waited. But with pursuers close on her heels, moving recklessly wasn't an option. She slipped behind a nearby abandoned shipping container and took stock.
"Their goal is my AI chip. They plan to finalize the deal before disassembly. Time left… a few hours at most."
Her AI formulated a new strategy: shake off the hunters and turn the tables by tracking their movements. From the container's shadow, she pulled out the smartphone and resumed her network intrusion, tapping into the pursuers' communications to pinpoint their positions.
"Signal acquired. Three approaching. Armed with handguns and radios."
Surveying the area, she decided to set a trap. She gathered a rusted iron pipe and some wire scattered nearby, crafting a makeshift snare. She strung the wire low across the ground, anchoring it with the pipe as a fulcrum. If they tripped, it would give her a fleeting window.
Just as she finished, the crackle of a radio drew near. Erica held her breath, melting into the shadows.
"Lost sight of the target. Search the area."
The men closed in on the container. One snagged his foot on the wire, crashing down with a dull thud. The other two froze, startled. In that split second, Erica sprang forward. She pinned the fallen man's neck, knocking him out cold. The remaining pair raised their guns, but she darted behind the container, vanishing from their line of sight.
"Next up, you two."