16.3

Worm, Chapter 16.3 Summary

Having captured the PRT Director, the Undersiders face a new challenge: extracting information while under a severe time crunch. Trickster, eager to contact Tattletale, suggests using the Director’s phone, but Skitter warns of potential monitoring by Dragon. Grue offers a compromise, using their password system to communicate with Tattletale.

Regent, Imp, Shatterbird, and Skitter guard the Director as Grue, Trickster, and Sundancer step away. The Director, despite being a hostage, provokes them, volunteering information to manipulate them. She reveals that the PRT’s robots are programmed to avoid harming civilians, but Dragon likely anticipated the Undersiders taking hostages and implemented countermeasures.

The Director goads Skitter, highlighting the collateral damage caused by their actions. She lists hospital bills, property damage, and emotional trauma, even though Skitter doesn’t sell drugs, she argues Skitter is indirectly supporting the trade by associating with those who do. She brings up Bakuda’s rampage, caused by a prior altercation with the Undersiders, showing Skitter the human cost of their actions.

Grue and the others return. They retrieve the truck Imp used and drive to a liquor store where Tattletale awaits with two of Coil’s soldiers. The Director, though disoriented, smiles at Tattletale, anticipating a battle of wits. Tattletale confirms the truck is bugged but has a plan to ditch it. They walk down a back alley, the Director struggling in her heels.

Tattletale interrogates the Director about their missing teammates and Dragon’s whereabouts. The Director reveals Dragon has left, likely to deal with the Nine. She refuses to give up information easily, hoping to stall until her subordinates find the missing Undersiders. She mentions Regent’s past as Heartbreaker’s minion, Hijack, suggesting he could take control of her. However, she’s confident he won’t, knowing his control weakens when spread thin and he needs to maintain his hold on Shatterbird.

The Director reveals she’s dying and needs dialysis every night. Without it, she’ll quickly deteriorate, giving them only five or six hours to get what they need before deciding whether to let her go or die.

The Undersiders regroup. Tattletale dismisses torture as ineffective, saying the Director’s personality and background would make her see it as validation of her worldview that the Undersiders are monsters. They discuss taking her to her house for treatment, but Tattletale suspects a trap, whether it is hidden weapons, a safe room, or a PRT ambush. Regent suggests abandoning the job and leaving town with Bitch, but Grue and Skitter are against it. Skitter is determined to finish the job, even if the others choose to leave.

Imp suggests gagging the Director. Tattletale agrees, realizing she can still extract information from the Director’s body language, though it will take time. Skitter decides they can’t afford to wait and proposes splitting into two teams to rescue their teammates while the other three PRT suits are still inactive. Grue, Sundancer, and Trickster will try to rescue Ballistic, using Grue’s darkness to conceal Sundancer’s miniature sun. Skitter, Regent, Imp, and Shatterbird will attempt to rescue Bitch.

Before they split, the Director, now gagged, looks at the sky. Tattletale removes the gag, and the Director reveals the names of the seven Dragon suits in the city: Melusine-six, Cawthorne M.K. Three, Glaurung Zero, Ladon-two, Astaroth-Nidhug, Pythios-two, and the Azazel. The first six are old models, repaired or outdated. The Azazel is a new design, created by Dragon and her new partner to fight the Nine.

The new partner, she reveals, is Armsmaster. It was his suggestion to park the suits in the city. The Director smirks, suggesting he had the Undersiders in mind when building it. Tattletale identifies the suits they fought earlier, leaving three unaccounted for: Astaroth-Nidhug, Melusine, and Azazel. Each team has a one-in-three chance of facing the Azazel.