Am I interrupting?

Arvish laid in the rubble, disoriented and confused. He stood up, brushing off the debris and checking his prosthetic hand for any damage. Fortunately, it was still functioning properly. Looking around, he realized he was inside a big, empty hall of an old factory. Near the walls, the place was filled with steel barrels and equipment of some sort.

As he walked around the factory, he noticed the car crashed into one of the columns. Albert was still inside and appeared to be dizzy. Arvish tried to unlock the door, but it was locked. He used his prosthetic hand to forcefully open the door with a couple of pulls on it, then grabbed the old man, who had a broken leg, and pulled him out of the car.

"We could've done this more civilized," said Arvish.

The old man groaned in pain.

"What are you talking about, kid? You're trying to kill me!" Albert protested as he gathered himself.

"You saw something you shouldn't have seen," Arvish replied, pulling out his pistol.

"Right, and now I am to be blamed because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time," Albert stated.

"I don't want to hurt you, but-"

"Quit your jibber-jabber! You really think I fear death? I am eighty-seven years old. I go to sleep and wake up every day knowing, that this could be the last.

'Than my job is easier here.' thought Arvish. But his words weren't matching his outside. Arvish's hand trembled with the gun in it, but he knew he had no choice. Arvish tried to rationalize with himself, but his conscience was battling against his instincts.

Albert wasn't showing any fear or interest in Arvish. He sat up and looked around, taking in the situation. "Where the hell are we? You m*ron dinged up my car. Gosh darnit!" he exclaimed.

Arvish knew that the old man was right. He was just a bystander who had nothing to do with the chaos. Was his freedom worth more than an innocent man's life? Arvish couldn't find an answer, so he decided that the best thing to do was to get away as far as he could.

But just as he was about to leave, he heard sirens in the distance. The sound was getting louder and louder by the second.

"F*ck," Arvish muttered under his breath. 'I can't get away fast enough, no matter how hard I try. Is there no peace for me in this world?'

"And now what are we gonna do, kid? Huh?" asked Albert.

Arvish stumbled back to a wall, and slide on it down to a sitting position.

"That is a good question, geezer."

Suddenly, a loudspeaker crackled, and a voice boomed through it. "Arvish Smith, come out with your hands in the air! We've got you surrounded!"

Arvish sighed and shifted in his seat. His gun made a clanking sound on the concrete. He held it up in front of his face. "Maybe there's still a way out," he thought.

'I tried it, don't I? I can't be responsible that everything turns bad in my life,' Arvish thought. He can't turn back now. A life in prison wasn't something that he could bear to do, even if his life till this point was no different.

'I'm sick of this life.'

Tears started streaming down his face, as he put the barrel in his mouth. The old man shook his head disapprovingly.

The loudspeaker interrupted his moment of despair. "You have a minute, then we'll enter the premises."

The cold metal of the gun left a bad taste in Arvish's mouth. He shuddered as he pulled the trigger halfway with his finger. Suddenly, a small sound cut through the sirens. It was like a mosquito. Arvish pulled the gun out of his mouth and aimed it towards the direction of the sound.

It was a drone that had flown into the factory. It was the tiniest drone he had ever seen, and he immediately thought it was the cops' doing.

"Am I interrupting?" a man's voice came from the drone.

Arvish, without hesitation, fired his gun. The shot went wide, and the drone remained unscathed.

"Hold up there, buckaroo," said the drone. "I came here to help!"

Arvish lowered his gun slightly, his mind racing as he tried to make sense of what was happening. "Who are you? How did you even get here?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"The answer to the question of who I am will have to wait," the drone replied. "But I came to help because I saw potential in you. However, after I witnessed what you wanted to do, I'm not so sure anymore."

Arvish felt ashamed by this statement. But what the drone's pilot could know that what he went through.

The drone circled around him, its lights casting an eerie glow over the floor. "The police outside are not as organized as you might think," it said. "They didn't close down the perimeters on the west side of the building yet. In that direction, you find the city's wall, so there are not a lot of escape routes, that's why it's their least priority."

Arvish lowered the weapon as the drone fixated on him.

"So what?" asked Arvish.

"If you hurry, you have a slight chance to make it out alive. I mean, if you are still interested in that," said the drone.

Arvish's mind raced as he tried to process this information. He had no idea that the drone said the truth.

"And how the hell should I fight off an army? I'm just a man," he complained.

The drone paused for a moment before replying.

"See, he's not ready," it whispered.

****

The man from the square with glasses sat in front of a panel of monitors in a dark and damp room, his finger poised over a button on the keyboard. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of metal, giving the space an ominous, industrial feel.

"His will is weak," said the man at the keyboard.

The room was dimly lit, but the woman's figure emerged from the shadows. She was tall and fit, with a determined look on her face. "His will is strong," she countered. "He didn't give in even at the end and would rather die as a free man by his own hand."

The man turned to face the woman, his expression inscrutable. "We don't have the luxury to take chances," he replied. "We need strong men and women who are capable of doing what needs to be done."

Without warning, the woman strode forward. She glared at him, challenging him to object. He said nothing.

She took the hooded man's finger off the keyboard.

****

"Figure it out!" came the woman's voice from the drone, startling Arvish.

Arvish was shocked, but he felt that whoever controlled the drone was right. He shouldn't be giving up yet. If there is a chance, only a small, than he should take it.

"I envy you, youngster," said Albert.

The drone spun around and zoomed in on him. "It's a minder!" it exclaimed.

A minder is a slang for a person who uses the MIND+ brain chip.

Suddenly, the drone self-destructed, exploding into a million tiny pieces that vanished into the air.

Arvish gathered himself and stood up, wiping the tears from his face. He looked around the desolate factory, he felt something stirring within him. It was a new look on his face, a sense of determination that he had never felt before.

"I am not giving up," Arvish thought to himself.

****

Outside, the police were gearing up for a final showdown. The officers took their positions and aimed their weapons at the factory entrance, preparing for a fight.

Suddenly, a large truck appeared, its roar echoing through the surrounding streets. Everyone stopped in their tracks, stunned by the appearance of the massive vehicle.

The truck slowly rolled up, drawing closer to the entrance of the factory. The label on the back of the truck read "SPECIAL UNIT - HOUND," and it sent a shiver down the spines of everyone present. As the truck came to a stop, the backdoor opened, revealing the pitch-black interior.

A single red eye glowed up in the darkness.