Two Mercs: Part Thirteen

Dave had emerged from the operating theatre some time after he'd gone in, his skin extremely pale and his eyes glazed over. Emily had immediately rushed over when she'd spotted him, barely noticing the metal arm he now possessed, and guided him into a nearby chair. The receptionist had looked up at Emily's sudden movement and she bought a bin over to the pair, thrusting the container between Dave's legs and glancing at Emily before rapidly backing away.
"Step back. He's not had a good reaction to the drugs." Emily looked confused for a moment before she hurriedly scooted back when Dave vomited into the bin. He started taking shallow breaths, as did both Emily and the receptionist, and the Watford native nodded when he vomited again. "Give him a few minutes and he'll feel better."

Eventually Dave regained his colour and he glanced at his new arm, moving the limb and hearing the soft hiss of hydraulics and air bags within it. Smiling ruefully he glanced at Emily.
"Guess I'll never be stealthy again."
"You best try though. We've still got to get back to the van."
They rose, turning towards the mod-surgery door, but paused when the receptionist stood.
"We aren't the NHS. Someone will need to pay for his operation. Or shall I call the Metallics?" Emily pulled out her wallet and walked back to the reception desk. "Total cost comes to £1000."
Dave looked pained, the price of his operation equalled the combined amounts in their accounts and they'd be in a similar situation as they were before Bluewater. Retrieving a bank card from the wallet Emily swiped it through the reader the receptionist held out, quickly tapping out her PIN number on the reader's keypad. The receptionist smiled, a fake and overly-sugary expression, and Emily took back her card, spinning on her heel and stalking to Dave's side.

The streets were quieter than before, the chaos in the aftermath of the factory bombing quelled by the Metallics coming out in force, and Dave and Emily spent a decent length of time getting back to the van. Numerous checkpoints had been established, a handful of Metallics stationed at each one, and several times they had to find routes through back alleys and lesser streets.

---

The drive out of Watford was marked with moments of fear amid stretches of boredom. There was a smaller number of checkpoints set up on the roads than on the inner streets and soon they were outside the film studio, pairs of Metallics marching along both sides of the line of vehicles. The gangster who initially questioned them earlier was the one checking them now, his back-up pointing a rifle into the cab, and a quizzical expression appeared on his face.
"Open the van."
Emily went to open the side door and the Metallics looked around the interior, moving between the gathered clutter. Slowly both gangsters backed out of the van and Emily slid the door shut again.
"Satisfied?"
The Metallic with the rifle snarled in anger, bringing it up to his shoulder, and Emily impishly grinned at him as the senior gangster waved the van onward.

Power was restored to Watford as Emily drove the van over Watling Street, a great din rolling out around the region as smoke began pouring from smelting factories. Looking back using the passenger-side wing mirror Dave shook his head.
"Why did the factories have to be built in just one place?"
"Convenience probably. Shorter supply lines between factories, less chance for gangs to raid convoys, less time from the factories to the shops." Dave grunted, turning his attention to his new arm, and Emily glanced over at him. "There was also historical precedence."

Emily pointed out the headquarters of the Enfield company as they drove through the region of the same name. It was within a walled off enclave, the elevated road dipping down to ground level and then back up again, and Dave noted the large Border Force presence.
"So Enfield supplies the Border Force with its small-arms. And Sentinel Aegis built war machinery."
Emily nodded as the enclave disappeared behind them and went to get her tablet from a door compartment. It was still in offline mode and she handed it to Dave.
"Flip through the tabs. I was able to find enough information about the Border Force and its supply links to paint a decent picture."
Dave looked at the screen until he found the tab Emily mentioned. Tracing the lines she'd drawn between the logos of different companies he paused, his finger hovering over the mechanical squid that was the logo for Sentinel Aegis.
"No-one else supplies the Border Force with vehicles."
"What?"
"On your diagram the only company giving war machines to the Border Force is Sentinel Aegis."