DESCRIPTION:
From the concept album by progressive metafictional band The Protomen, "Act II - The Father of Death"

The red-eyed assassin stepped from the shadows. He'd been keeping pace with a motorcycle racing at top speed for an hour, yet he showed no sign of fatigue. The gray-haired man watched from the alley tensing visibly as the machine revealed itself. Joe slowly backed away from the bike, deliberately withdrawing towards the gray-haired man in the alley. He stopped as his foot brushed against something solid.

The sniper robot's hand never once went for the gun at its side. It leaned in, a large blade clenched in its left fist, waiting for the proper moment.

Joe's hands were shaking.

Joe leaned forward and charged towards the machine. If he was going to die, he would go down swinging. He plunged his shoulder into the chest of the automaton. With every bit of strength he could summon, Joe thrust upward, and both man and machine left the ground in an arc. By the time they slammed back into the asphalt, the machine was on top, its cold hands tightening around Joe's neck. The impact sent the pipe bounding far from Joe's reach. Joe's fingers clawed at the smooth metal covering the machine, searching for a chink in its armor. His hand found the gun instead.

The light of the blast was painful, even through Joe's closed eyes. He opened them slowly. Carefully. He found the machine lying several feet away, immobilized, with a smoking hole in its chest. Its red eye fading and flickering. Joe rose. He approached the machine. He pointed the gun at the robot's head and slid his finger over the trigger, steeling himself for the blast. The gray-haired man stopped him. The man knelt down - his face inches from the machine's - and spoke, his voice gruff and trembling.

"I built this. It's mine to destroy."

With surprising speed, his right hand shot to Joe's boot and withdrew the knife. With his left hand he grabbed the machine by the jugular-shaped electrical conduit at its throat and sliced. A single swift blow. The eye went dark. The machine was dead.

The two faced each other in the middle of the street. Joe's labored breaths drowning out the telescreen in the distance.

"My name is Thomas Light..."

Returning to the lifeless machine at his feet, Light motioned for the speechless Joe to assist him. Together, they dragged the remains of the murderer out of the light and into the protection of the alley. Light sheathed the knife into Joe's boot holster and turned back to the machine. He examined the assassin for a few seconds and nodded. With a few deft motions, he detached the dark green helmet from the body of the robot, tossing it to Joe.

"Here... try this on."