"Glam isn't even here! What would be interfering with them at this range? The bot video feeds are clean."

One less bot available!

And Glam whispers to their shoulderbot: "There are other things than just my attention that could be interfering. How sure are you the bot's feeds haven't been hacked?"

"Reasonably, but... hm." And on a broader channel, "I could come in and sweep for Strangers? Although anything the bots aren't spotting..."

"Good idea anyway. Master/stranger protocols in effect. Drupe, out of the building. Dauntless, constant visual on Lorica, you're her shield. Anyone going dark should be assumed taken." PRT officers start reorganizing. Most of them stay outside. Four stay with Lorica and Dauntless, two in front and two flanking. Once this has been done, the exits are foamed shut.

(Pop! Another bot goes.)

Lorica makes for the most recently missing bot's location.

Dauntless follows her with his forcefield active around them, crackling a bit as it moves and touches the wall.

Most recently missing bot's location is not obviously weird in any ways other than the whole macabre part everyone already knows about.

Lorica and some genuine-hardware bots fan out from there.

Further inspection continues to fail to reveal anything out of the ordinary in the non-comatose-person-draped-in-skin parts of the apartment. If whatever affected the Glam-bot was in this room, it has either left or is hiding under that skin blanket.

So she leaves the apartment; she and bots investigate the hallway.

Hallway: empty—

Another Glam-bot pops, upstairs.

"Upstairs," she says to Dauntless, and she runs for the stairwell.

Dauntless and the PRT officers go with her. Another bot pops while they do it.

Lorica does her best to zero in on the last known location.

And when she does, all windows (and only windows, no other glass surfaces) explode simultaneously.

"Screamer?"

"The Nine's last reported location was a town in the Midwest and they were going west," says PRT captain.

Yes but they have particular incentive to come here, Glam thinks. They're about to say something when the captain gives a command anyway and the containment foam cannons mounted on the trucks outside begin spraying foam on the broken windows, starting with the ones from the floor Lorica's in. It gets fairly dark very quickly in there, but electric lights still work—

—until they don't. The building's lights go out completely, the only illumination available coming from Dauntless' crackling forcefield.

"Power just got cut," Dauntless touches his comm to report.

Bots turn their projectors into lamps.

"Assume hostiles are in the building. It's unlikely to be the Nine, but it's someone. Drupe, go check out why the power went out. Lorica, do you have bots outside?"

"I can provide copies for her," Glam supplies.

"Do that, but hardware bots would still be a good idea."

"I have fifteen hardware out, yes."

Glam creates copies, and the officers outside use the foam solvent to get inside before being sealed in again with Drupe and the bots.

And Lorica and her bots resume casing the building.

The next time she visits a room she will find that the sleeping person has been hit by the glass from the window and is not waking up in spite of the cuts and embedded glass (which could be worse but are not mere scrapes either).

"The windows were not kind to the live occupants of the rooms. We're gonna need medical. They're all still asleep though."

"Acknowledged." Drupe, a few officers, and a few bots reach the fuse box. Every fuse in it is blown. "Lorica, after you're done exploring the building go check the backup generator up top."

"Who wants to bet it's busted, too?"

"Glam, please refrain from occupying the channel with commentary."

"Sorry."