WARNING : the following fic contains spoilers, and adult scenes (violence, coarse language, etc.). There are also small bits of WAFF (Warm And Fuzzy Feeling). If any of this bothers you, stop reading, 'cause I ain't changing this story.

READING KEY :

*** = section break

" " = speech (in japanese unless otherwise indicated)

^ ^ = thoughts

Chapter 5: Counterstrike

Leon McNichol, ADP investigator, was not currently on duty.

Rather, he was leaning against a wall, looking out a tremendous window at the Megatokyo airport. The view was of the tarmac, populated by huge, winged metal beasts, ranging from simple commuter planes to sub-orbital supersonic jets.

He wasn't here to catch a plane; he was here on other business. Instead of an airline ticket, he held a powerful camera. He was looking out the window with the long-range lens, down at a small jet getting ready to lift off.

Private planes could be a real bitch to track, sometimes; you had to go through a lot of red tape, even with the ADP badge to back up your word. But Leon had been an officer for years, now; he had more than a few connections at the airport. One of them had been able to get him the information he needed.

The plane was for a small airline which catered mostly to the wealthy. It didn't run many flights, but it had a good safety record and top-notch planes. The one he was looking at was going to be headed off to America soon, once it was loaded. But those were all just background information, to Leon. What he'd wanted to know was who was on the plane. Another airport contact had been able to get that for him; all it had taken was sneaking into the airport security and checking the security cams which lined the walls in this place.

Even now, he could see the target of his search. A short, red-haired girl in a wheelchair was being pushed onto a convenient elevator which would carry her up to the airplane's entrance. With the aid of the telephoto lens, Leon was easily able to see that the girl was missing a leg. He winced empathetically, seeing this injury. Even years of working on the ADP couldn't make him completely callous to seeing other people injured. Especially when they were people he knew, like Nene there.

The girl was surrounded by several other people: a blue-haired woman, a black-haired woman with a headband, and Priss Asagiri. Apparently they'd all come to see her off. Closest to the girl was a black-haired boy about her age. Even now, they were embracing, one last goodbye hug before she left. Leon could see the tears in Nene's eyes, though the girl was still trying to keep a smile on her face.

He snapped several pictures, trying his best to get their faces. His face remained calm, the whole time; their being present meant nothing in the eye of the police. It was just circumstantial evidence. But Leon was sure there was some kind of connection.

Once he was satisfied he'd gotten enough shots, he lowered the camera, watching with his unaided eyes as Nene got onto the plane, which then sealed shut. After the other people had gotten clear, the plane taxied off to the runway, patiently waiting its turn. Finally, it was in position. With a roar of its powerful engines, the plane rocketed down the runway and into the sky.

Leon watched as the jet disappeared into the sky. He waved, once.

"Good luck, Nene," he said to the rapidly shrinking black dot that was the plane. "Wherever you're going...good luck."

Nodding to himself, he started walking, heading for one of the far exits, so as not to be seen by Priss or the others when they came back into the terminal. On the way, he rewound the camera's roll of film and popped it out. He pocketed the film and shoved the camera into a convenient case at his hip. He'd only borrowed it for this little expedition. He'd have to return it soon, and think up a decent explanation for why he'd needed it.

As for the film...he'd have preferred developing it on his own, just to keep the witnesses down to a minimum, but he didn't know anything about developing pictures. In any case, it was just shots of a group of women and one guy. Hopefully, no one would be the wiser. Still, he'd have to be careful.

Thinking these thoughts, he passed by a newsstand. Without even looking, he threw the guy in the stand a coin and picked up the nearest paper. As he walked away, he looked at the paper.

And his footsteps stopped dead.

"Oh, crap..." he muttered. It seemed he had more immediate problems than finding out what Nene's connection to the Knight Sabers was. Folding the paper, he jogged over to his motorcycle. He'd have to get back to the station to get an explanation for this one.

***

On the coast of MegaTokyo, there was a line of warehouses, huge edifices of steel and stone capable of holding tons and tons of cargo, machinery, or anything else their owners wanted. Nearly all of them were used by the shipping companies. But a few were leased privately.

In one of these privately leased warehouses, some impromptu surgery was going on.

The interior of the warehouse was cluttered with large boxes; leftovers from the last owner, who hadn't bothered to clear them out. The current owner had brought his own touch to the place by installing huge floodlights, along with several smaller lamps, most of which were currently focused on an operating table.

Gloved hands worked precision mechanical tools, tightening bolts, soldering wires, and making cuts where necessary. The hands moved with the practiced ease of someone who had been doing things like his for years. Or someone who'd been programmed with such knowledge. In this case, it was the latter.

On the floor next to the table was a pile of detritus that looked like it might have once belonged to a boomer. Next to that pile was an assortment of boxes, all carrying the GENOM logo. Each box had been opened, and its contents carefully removed, to be installed into the subject.

The "subject" was a woman...or at least, appeared to be. Currently, she was lying on her front, with her shirt off and back exposed. Her skin had been peeled back, showing the electronics and servomotors within her body. There was not a drop of blood in her.

Her eyes, colored the same dark purple as her hair, were open and aware, staring straight ahead, at the wall which lay partially concealed in the darkness of the room. She did not flinch in the slightest, even as the man above her started welding in the last parts.

Finally, the work was done. The man carefully rearranged her torso such that it was back to its previous condition, then applied a simple sealant to her skin, quickly repairing the cuts he'd had to make in order to get at her internals.

"All done," he said, backing away. "You can get up now, Caroline."

"Yes sir," the woman said, in a cold monotone. She sat up, as the man in front of her lit a cigarette. After a moment, she reached over to the end of the table and picked up her shirt, pulling it on in a few swift motions.

"That should finish your upgrade," the man said, after his first draw. "Practically every system in your body should now be improved."

Caroline checked her internal diagnostics, showing this to be true. "My system appears to be adjusting to the improvements," she said, staring straight into him. "I predict a delay of 28.04 minutes before I am fully integrated."

"Fine, fine," the man said, as he went over to a chair and picked up the newspaper that lay folded there. "Maybe now I can catch up on things..." he muttered to himself, sitting down.

Caroline adjusted her clothes slightly so that they fit best, then began running a simple search program, her head tracking back and forth in slow arcs, searching the warehouse with the simple patience only a machine can have.

Her search was broken soon after by a sharp, barking laugh. She turned her head towards the man. "What is it, mr. Richards?" she asked.

Richards calmed himself down, though he couldn't keep a smile off his face. "It looks like the ADP bought our little ruse," he said to himself. "I think now mr. Largo should be satisfied. Remind me to call him in a few minutes. But for now, have a look at this." At this, he stood up and strode over to her, holding up the paper to show her the headline.

Caroline's eyes flashed over the paper, reading it in a fraction of a second. "What is it, sir?"

"This just means that it's time you considered a career in law enforcement," Richards said, tapping the paper with one finger.

***

GUILLOTINE MERCENARY MURDERS ADP TROOPERS
INVESTIGATION PROCEEDING
Leon threw down the paper in disgust, reading the headline for the umpteenth time.

"Son of a bitch..." he said under his breath, punching his desk in frustration.

"What's got you all torqued, Leon?" Daley asked, striding up to his partner. "This just proves you were right about that guy, all along."

Leon shook his head. "Something just doesn't add up. Look at this," he said, pulling a few pictures out of a nearby folder. It hadn't taken much effort to get the folder; as soon as he'd asked for an explanation to the headline, he'd been handed this information. It had come so easily that he was sure something was wrong.

Daley glanced at the pictures, but didn't take them; he seemed about as likely to pick up a live cockroach. "Yeah, pictures of the dead officers. What about them?"

Leon put the pictures face-down onto his desk, much to the relief of his partner. "Look at them, Daley," he said, clenching a fist. "Yes, it looks like Guillotine's style, but there's too many other things. For one, I know for a fact he'd left the building, before we lost contact with the cleanup crew."

Daley shook his head. "I know, I know. You've been telling everyone about it. But no one can confirm that. No one was able to see when he disappeared."

Leon sighed, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head. His gun hung at his side, a dead weight he usually ignored, except when he tried to relax like this. He grit his teeth, feeling the weapon push into his ribcage.

^The bullets used were different,^ Leon thought, reasoning it out. ^...and the cuts were all cauterized, like a heated blade did it. Guillotine doesn't heat up that big knife of his. But then who could've taken out an entire team so quickly?^

He was shaken awake by Daley, who'd put his hand on Leon's shoulder and shook the larger man.

"Wha?" Leon asked, looking up at his partner.

"Think what you want about the case, but I'm here to say the chief wants you."

"Great," Leon grumbled out, standing up. "This shouldn't take too long," he said casually, as he headed off for the chief's office.

As he walked between the other officers' desks, he became aware of a small commotion over at one end of the room. Glancing over, he saw a thin man in a suit walking in. As Leon put his hand on the doorknob to the chief's office, he saw that the man was not alone. Walking in behind him were several, taller men. All of whom had the same build and height, along with that distinctive way of moving...

^What the hell?!^ Leon thought, one hand going for his gun. Who'd let boomers into the ADP? What were they here for? What -

"McNichol," came the chief's gruff voice behind him.

Leon jumped a little at the interruption, and whirled to face the other man. "What's going on?" he asked, raising his voice until he was nearly yelling.

"Calm down," the chief said, gesturing for Leon to follow him into the office. Leon did so, grudgingly. He closed the door behind him and then leaned against the wall next to the door, crossing his arms and staring down at the short, fat man who gave the orders.

"Look, GENOM's taken an interest in this case, now," the chief began. "They say this Guillotine character is someone who used to work for them. Top-of-the-line cyber-augs, and all."

"But then why - " Leon tried to interrupt.

"Hang on," the chief said, holding up a hand. "I'm not done yet. Anyway, they say he got a little out of hand, and ran off. They've been looking for him since he vanished last year. Now they're willing to give us some assistance in exchange for his speedy apprehension."

"Oh, this is such bullshit!" Leon bit out, walking up to the man behind the desk. "It's our job to stop boomers, not use them! Who gave this order?"

"My orders come from higher up," the chief said, shrugging. "It's out of my hands. No complaining now, McNichol. You don't have to like it, I didn't say you had to. But you do have to put up with it."

Leon held a staring contest with the chief, which only lasted for a few seconds before the other man looked away, not in weakness, but in defiance of the childish game.

"Get going, McNichol," the chief said, pointing at his door. "You'll get your assignment in a few minutes."

Leon let out a slow breath, trying to calm himself. He was only partially successful. Turning on his heel, he walked out the door. To his credit, he was able to keep from slamming it behind him. His face a stormcloud, he walked back across the lines of desks and over to Daley.

"Did you know about this?" he asked angrily, coming up to his partner.

"Only a few minutes before you, buddy," Daley said, batting Leon on the chest with the back of his hand. "And I knew you'd react this way, so I figured the chief should be the one to tell you. At least there's no love lost between you two."

Leon went back to his desk and brooded quietly, eventually picking up the folder on the Guillotine case and going through its contents again.

"Hello, sir."

Leon looked up at the voice. Turning in his seat, he saw Daley had a new companion. A female, at that. Interested, Leon got to his feet and crept over to his partner.

"Uh...hi," Daley said, extending a hand nervously. "Daley Wong."

"Yes," the woman said, taking the hand and shaking it. "And my name is Caroline, Mr. Wong. I look forward to working with you for this case."

Leon's eyes narrowed, as he inwardly kicked himself for not having noticed earlier. The boomers he'd seen walking in had all been male, so he'd concluded that there would be no female types. But this one...there was something about her. Maybe the way she moved; all boomers moved as though restrained, only using a small portion of their insane strength for everyday purposes. But this one looked like she was...accustomed to this.

^Something's up,^ Leon thought, looking her over. ^I just can't tell what.^

"Be careful, Daley," Leon said, trying to sound amicable as he slapped his partner's shoulder.

The red-haired man smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. You and me have put up with lots worse than this, right?"

"Yeah," Leon said, walking away. "Let's find this guy and get it over with, eh?"

^And then we can cut this shit,^ he mentally added on, sitting back at his desk and waiting to see who - or rather what - had been assigned to back him up.

***

Days after Leon had met the machine that would be his partner for a while, the object of the ADP's search, otherwise known as Nick Brady, was asleep on his desk.

It had been a while since he'd felt like going home; Nick had seen the papers, as had the rest of the city. Though he had a forgettable face, he didn't want to chance going home. It was easier to just sleep in the offices of Brady and Smith. Not to mention safer; the closet across from him was where his weapons and coat were, waiting and slowly gathering dust as he tried to figure out what to do.

Right now, "what to do" meant sleeping whenever he could. Brady and Smith was actually getting a lot of extra jobs, now that word was beginning to get out that they were a halfway-decent cybersurgery clinic. Nick preferred to stay locked in his office, however, leaving the work to the girls outside. He didn't want to think, he didn't want to be aware of the ADP combing the city for him, not to mention his own lifespan ticking away...

Which was why he didn't answer his phone on the first ring when it went off, that morning.

But the little block of plastic just kept buzzing away, chiming over and over again that someone was trying to contact him. After the sixth or seventh ring, Nick finally stirred from his position.

He grit his teeth, feeling anger roiling around inside of him. Not just anger, but frustration, a drive to kill that was built into his very being...and which he hadn't been able to satisfy, as of late. As he reached for the phone, his hand shook; not with fear or cold, but rather a barely restrained desire to smash the phone, just so he could destroy something today.

He flipped open the phone and brough it to his ear. "What?" he growled into it.

He was rewarded by a light laughter on the other end. Nick waited, visibly seething as he heard whoever-it-was get a kick out of listening to him. He felt like doing something. He could shout a variety of curses into the phone, or just crush the damn cellular right now...but something was holding him back. Something was familiar about that laugh, something that struck a chord within him.

"It is good to speak with you again," came a low voice.

Nick froze at the voice. All his anger, all his hunger for death, evaporated in second, replaced by a feeling he didn't have too often: icy cold fear, settling into his gut and slowly freezing him.

"I trust you are well, McCormick," the voice said, using Nick's previous name.

^Of course,^ Nick thought. ^He wouldn't know I changed it...or maybe he does, and he's just rubbing it in...^

"I will just get to the point," the voice said, almost bored. "An associate of mine has informed me of your current situation. You have been making a very good living for yourself, now that you have attained your freedom."

Nick swallowed. "Yes..." he said, cautiously.

"Yet I trust that, despite your success, you have not forgotten our arrangement?"

"You...you're supposed to be dead," Nick said. "You can't be talking to me like this," he said, more firmly.

More laughter. "Really, McCormick? I suppose I could humor you. Yes, I suppose you of all people would know I was destroyed, once. But you should also know it is a good idea to keep a backup plan."

Nick took a deep breath, trying to calm himself a little. His mind raced through its memories, trying to call up something useful.

"Anri," he said, quietly.

"Yes," the voice said. "The girl was fully dedicated to me, McCormick. You should have known that. So dedicated, in fact, that she allowed me to store a backup of my program in her own brain."

"...which wouldn't be activated unless a J-2 battle computer tried to link with her."

"Of course. And you did just that, McCormick. Among other things, that backup program gave you instructions to download the files to a certain location, correct?"

"Yes..." Nick bit out. "So you had a backup body somewhere, then?"

"Yes," the voice said, simply. "And I thank you for reuniting my mind and body. Though I suppose you really did have no choice in the matter."

Nick cursed sharply, causing the man on the other end to laugh, once more.

"But really," the voice said. "You have made me diverge. I can only assume you can rememeber what you promised me, back when I set you free?"

Nick remained silent, the only sound in the office being his own voice in the receiver.

"Good," the voice said. "The time has come for you to fulfill that promise. And if you do not..." - another short laugh - "...I suppose I could simply demand the funds I gave you for the self-purchase you devised. With your current success," the voice nearly bit out, "you should be able to repay me in full. But I am now above the interests of simple funds."

"So then what isn't below you?" Nick asked, quietly.

"I know you, McCormick. I know why you wanted freedom in the first place, and I know what would make you regret being free. Is that who I believe it to be, speaking in the background?"

Nick shifted his attention to the office. His ears pricked, hearing voices from the other room. Just outside the office door, he could hear three voices: Meg, Lou, and Sylvie.

"You bastard," he hissed into the phone.

"I have been called worse," the voice said. "Yet I reiterate: you have a promise to keep, McCormick. If not, you will pay in full."

At that, the phone went silent, a dull 'click' sounding as the other person hung up.

Nick carefully set the phone down on the desk, not bothering to snap it shut again. He leaned forwards, resting one elbow on the desk and leaning his forehead against the heel of that hand.

Largo. He'd recognized the voice immediately, even if he hadn't wanted to make himself recall the name. It was one of the few names left which could strike fear into him, anymore.

He didn't know how long he just sat there, waiting and thinking. His arms felt like lead; he didn't want to move. But he had to, he knew. He had to do this thing to Largo, or else it was all going to come crashing down.

Or did he?

True, Largo had found him, but this was Megatokyo, for crying out loud. It was a huge population center. Maybe if he moved somewhere else, somewhere isolated he'd be able to avoid the man. At least until his life ran out...

As though reminding him, his neck stung him again, a sharp pain burrowing right into his spine for a brief moment. ^Not much longer,^ he thought to himself. Somehow, he just knew. He didn't have much longer.

^Fine, then,^ he thought, standing up. ^I'll run. Screw Largo and his 'promises'. I don't have to keep any promise I don't want to.^

He squared his shoulders and strode forwards, heading for the door. His hand fell on the doorknob when he paused, listening to the girls on the other side:

"...I just think it's a crazy idea," Meg was saying.

"Crazy, yes," Sylvie said. "But still better than what you're putting up with, now."

"He'll kill us," Lou mumbled. "He'll make us regret even thinking like this.

"Lou..." Sylvie said, quietly. "You have to try. It's just like back on Genaros. What would you have wanted? To stay there, putting up with that life? Or do you want to be free?"

A long pause followed. Nick slowly closed his eyes, backing away from the door. He knew what this was about. It was a surprise it hadn't come earlier, actually. Now that Sylvie and Anri were both fixed, the other sexaroids had no reason to stay here. It was only a matter of time before they started thinking about leaving him behind. He had a fair idea of what came next.

"All right," Meg said. "It's worth a shot, I guess."

"I guess," Lou echoed.

"All right then," Sylvie said, her voice betraying more than a little happiness at her friends' decision. "Now we just have to get Nick out of the picture, for a while."

"That'll be a problem," Meg said. "I guess you could try sneaking out while he's asleep, but there's no telling when he'll wake up."

Nick could almost feel the three women's gazes shift over to his door. He stayed perfectly quiet, not wanting to break this up, just yet.

"We'll figure something out, then," Sylvie said. "We'll just see what happens."

Nick sighed inwardly. He'd had a feeling this day would come. Normally, anger would have boiled up in him by now, taking over and forcing him to do something rash to the three women in the other room, in punishment for trying to betray him like this. But this time, he didn't have it in him. The phone call had stolen all his fury, deadening it as the magnitude of his situation finally settled onto him. He didn't have the time to get angry, not now.

After waiting about half an hour, so the girls wouldn't think he'd been eavesdropping, he opened the door and stepped into the office, faking a large yawn as he did so.

"Wha's up?" he mumbled, looking at Meg, who was sitting at her desk, looking through papers as she usually did.

"Good afternoon," she said, politely. Nick could see the strain, the nervousness on her face. He could practically hear her thinking: does he know? Does he know we're going to run away? He tried not to let this knowledge show.

"Where's everyone?" Nick asked. "Get them in here. I need to talk to them."

Meg visibly became more nervous as he said this. But she still got up and walked over to Lou's office, calling in Sylvie and Lou. Nick, by this point, had sat down in one of the chairs of the small waiting room.

"What?" Sylvie asked, being the only one with the courage to speak, at the moment.

"I just received a phone call..." Nick said, quietly. "A call from someone I used to know. An old enemy, I guess." He paused, letting that sink in. "I should let you know he's here for all of us. You, me, everyone."

He looked up, at the girls' faces. Meg and Lou's expressions were of surprise, slowly melting into fear. Sylvie's was calmer, and actually looked a bit skeptical.

Nick sighed. "We have to leave," he said. "We have to get out of this city, or..." he looked up, meeting Sylvie's eyes. "...or we're all dead."

Meg was looking at the floor, slowly shaking her head. Lou sat down hard in one of the chairs, her face pale. "You mean it's another 33-S-H?" she asked.

"Something like that," Nick lied. "And believe me, fighting it just isn't an option. We have to get out of here, now."

"And by 'we', do you mean me and Anri, too?" Sylvie asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"It's in your own best interests," Nick said, shrugging.

Sylvie snorted and turned away. Nick could see the skepticism remained on her face, and in fact had grown stronger.

"Dammit, Syl," he said, standing up. He tried to put some force into his words, but his strength had been drained. All he could hear right now was Largo's voice, telling him what would happen if he tried to back out.

He stepped forwards and grabbed Sylvie by the shoulders. "Syl, just this once, believe me. I'm not lying, this time."

"Let go of me," Sylvie said, twisting free of his grip. "And I said to stop calling my Syl. Now you listen," she said, poking him in the chest with one finger. "You've got no right. You can't just ask me to leave. Or even Meg and Lou," she said, gesturing at the other women. "We've got lives going, here. If you've got something from your past stalking you, leave us out of it."

Nick shook his head. "I said we're all in danger," he said. "Even if I leave, you three would still be targets."

Sylvie shook her head, turning away. She put one finger to her chin, thinking.

"We knew this day would come, eventually," Meg said, quietly. "At least you fixed Sylvie and Anri, first. We can at least be together." The last sentence was spoken with a quavering voice. Nick rolled his eyes, in spite of himself.

"OK," Sylvie said, whirling. "Supposing we have some reason to trust you, even though I can't see what that reason is, how long do we have?"

"The sooner the better," Nick said, shrugging.

"All right, then," Sylvie said, clapping her hands together. "I can help Meg and Lou get ready, then."

Nick looked at her questioningly. When had she changed her opinion?

"I can get them packed and send them off with you," she said. "But me and Anri are staying here."

Now all three of the other occupants were looking at her, with mixtures of confusion and betrayal evident in their expressions.

"And while I'm doing that," Sylvie said, "why don't you keep an eye on Anri, Nick?"

"Huh?" Nick said, taken aback.

"You said we're in danger," Sylvie said, raising her eyebrows haughtily. "I can watch Meg and Lou for you. All you have to do is look after Anri while we get you packed up."

Nick put one hand to his forehead, massaging his temples. As he did this, he looked up, at Sylvie. He saw her glance at the other two women and throw them a quick wink.

So that's what it was about. They were getting him out of the picture, for a while. Just long enough for them to move out.

"Listen, Syl," he said, stepping towards her. There was no way he was going to let her do this, not when all their lives were on the line. If she didn't trust him, too bad. She'd thank him later, he was sure.

"Nick," Sylvie said, smiling at him. "Could you just do me this one favor? Please?"

Nick froze. His mind locked, looking at that smile. What was it he had wanted to say? No?

How could he say no to such a smile?

***

Lou moved efficiently, stuffing things into boxes as quickly as she could.

She was currently standing inside of the apartment she, Meg, and Nick all shared. Meg was with her, as was Sylvie, both of whom were also working madly. Bit by bit, Meg and Lou's belongings were disappearing.

They didn't stop to talk, or slow down to reminisce about memories associated with this place. This was their chance, and they had to take it.

^Finally,^ Lou was thinking, as she slid a box of clothing across the floor and over to the door. ^We should've walked out on him a while ago. I mean...he wanted Sylvie and Anri alive too, right?^

Even she didn't believe herself. Nick had been using their friends as bargaining chips up until now, keeping her and Meg waiting on him just so he could keep living. And keep killing things, of course. She and Meg had been waiting for a day like this. Before, they'd _had_ to stay with Nick. But now that his work was done...

^No one should have to even look at a 33-S-H,^ Lou thought, heading for the door.

She stood by the door and looked around, putting her hands on her hips. Sylvie and Meg finally came in, their arms full of a few odds and ends they hadn't wanted to stuff into boxes.

"Is this all?" Sylvie asked. Lou nodded quickly.

Without another word, they started moving. Lou picked up a small box of clothing by her feet, and headed out the door. She was followed closely by Meg and Sylvie.

They made it down to the apartment building's ground floor, and out into the parking lot. There, a van they'd rented for today waited patiently, its back doors open. All of them walked into the back of the vehicle, carefully putting down what they were carrying before turning around and heading back into the building. All of them were fighting the urge to break into a run. Nick might be occupied for the moment, but the man had an odd habit of showing up at inconvenient times. And they could all take pretty good guesses as to how he'd react to them leaving.

^It feels like we're betraying him,^ Lou thought, grimly. ^Actually, I guess we are betraying him. And after saving us both...no, no, I can't think like that. He's dangerous. We can't afford to live with him any longer.^

They got up to the apartment and grabbed more of their belongings. Meg grabbed a few suitcases, while Sylvie lifted - or rather tried to lift - a large box, which was already bulging at the seams.

Lou paused, letting Meg go by. She looked back at Sylvie.

"Need help with that?" she asked, quietly.

"No, no, I can (grunt) handle this," Sylvie said, forcing a smile. "Thanks, (grunt) though, Lou. Just hurry up. I'll (grunt) get it down, somehow."

Lou looked at her friend, worried, then nodded slowly, figuring that time was of the essence.

^I'll help her when I come back up,^ she reasoned. ^Odds are Sylvie will still be trying to get that thing to the elevator.^

With her smaller load, Lou jogged down the building's steps, breathing hard as she reached the ground floor. Holding her packages with one arm, she reached out with her other arm, managing to open the door.

She came out into a short hallway leading to the building's back entry. Beyond that would be the parking lot. But even as Lou looked at that final door, she froze up. Her eyes widened, at what she saw.

The door was already open, with the sunlight pouring in. And in that sunlight, she could see the silhouette of a man. In a coat.

Lou immediately backed off, her breath already coming short. The man was standing with his back to her, but he was already turning to look. And as he looked, Lou could see he was holding Meg by the collar, nearly lifting the woman off her feet.

Lou reached behind her, fumbling for the doorknob back to the stairwell. She still fought, trying to keep a hold on the box in her other arm, for fear that if she dropped it, the man would immediately shift his attention to her.

As her fingers scraped on the cold concrete of the wall, the man shoved Meg across the hall, to where she hit the wall with an audible 'thud'. Before the woman could even let out a groan of pain, the man had unholstered a gun and leveled it at Meg.

Lou screamed as she heard the gun fire. Forgotten, the box in her other arm fell to the ground. Finally, her hand found the doorknob behind her. But even as she turned, she saw Meg slump to the side, holding one hand over her stomach. She left a bloody smear on the wall behind her.

The doorknob turned, and Lou ran up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. Before the door could even close, gloved fingers blocked it, throwing it open again. Lou hadn't even gotten up the first flight of stairs before he was upon her.

A black-clad arm went around her chest, pinning her arms to her sides. Lou screamed again, but a hand was clamped over her mouth almost instantly.

"Shut up," the man said, in a gruff voice. Lou was, at this point, too worked up to notice that his voice was different from what she'd expected. This was Nick, she was certain of it.

The man dragged her back down the steps, lifting her off the ground, and not even noticing as Lou kicked him repeatedly, struggling against his grip of steel.

The man let go of his hold on Lou's mouth, and she immediately began screaming again. With his now-free hand, he reached down and grabbed Meg's collar as they walked by the woman, who was now quivering on the floor, struggling to breathe.

The man shifted his grip on Lou, holding her under one arm like a sack. They made it over to the van, the very one they'd been using to move out.

With a seemingly effortless move, the man chucked Meg into the back of the van and slammed the doors shut. Then he went around to the passenger side, opening the door. Lou, by this point, was trying to catch her breath long enough to start screaming for help again. Someone had to be near who could help her with this madman! She tensed as she felt the man stiffen next to her. He turned, looking back the way they'd come.

Lou was greeted by a trail of blood, apparently left behind by Meg as he'd dragged her. ^Hang on, Meg,^ she thought, hoping her friend would be all right.

Standing in the doorway was Sylvie, still holding that ridiculously large box. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Lou congradulated the woman on having been able to muscle that thing down to the ground floor so quickly.

"Hey..." Sylvie began. "Nick, what are you do- "

She never finished her sentence. The man's free arm went to a shoulder holster, pulling out a machine pistol, flicking off the safety, and pulling the trigger, all in the space of a heartbeat.

Lou was too shocked to even scream, as the gun's roar deafened her. She saw the front of the box explode, shredded by dozens of little holes that appeared in it as the man fired. She saw Sylvie fall backwards, her body going limp.

"NO!" she screamed, uselessly.

Satisfied, the man threw open the passenger side door and chucked Lou in. The woman slid across the bench seat, thudding against the driver's side door. Lou let out a brief cry of pain, then immediately reached for the latch to open the door. She had to get out of here, she had to...

She froze, as she heard a gun being cocked. She whimpered, as she felt what could only be a gun muzzle press against the back of her head. As the cold metal made contact, she felt a trickle of urine start down her leg.

"Don't even think about it," the man said. "Now turn around."

Lou slowly turned around, seeing almost exactly what she'd expected: a 33-S-H, in full battle gear, holding a black, ceramic handgun to her skull. The man had the characteristic smirk of his model line, confident that he was winning.

But it wasn't Nick. Lou could see it almost right away: small facial features that were different, and also the different voice.

"Who are - " she tried to ask.

"Shut up," the man said. "You get to drive now, lady."

"Wh-what?"

"Drive. Now. I'll tell you where to go."

"But who are you?" Lou asked, in desperation. "Why are you - "

She was cut off as the man pressed the gun into her left shoulder and pulled the trigger. Lou screamed as she felt her shoulder explode into pain, her ears ringing with the sound of the gunshot. A warm liquid started flowing down her arm, and as she looked, she could see her shirt already becoming stained red.

"I said shut _up_," the man said. "Now drive, or I give you one in the gut, just like your friend."

Lou nodded, shakily. There was nothing she could do. Fumbling with her good arm, she turned the key, starting the van's engine. Tears came to her eyes, both from pain and from fear. She knew she should be thinking a lot of questions, such as who this man was and what he wanted, but right now it was too much. All she knew was that she was sitting next to a man who'd already shot two of her friends and who wouldn't hesitate to shoot her if he felt like it.

In the back of her head, she knew she was probably already as good as dead. But for now, she couldn't just let him shoot her. If she could just stay alive, maybe she could do something.

***

Caroline sat quietly in the drivers' seat of the squad car, her hands on the wheel, maneuvering the car deftly through traffic. Her eyes tracked back and forth, scanning the cars and the people around them. Currently, they were on a highway, with only light traffic to slow them down. It was nothing she couldn't handle.

"So have you picked anything up yet?" Daley asked, from his seat next to her.

"No," Caroline answered, without looking at him. Her eyes continued searching for their elusive target.

One corner of Daley's mouth quirked, at her one-word answer. Sure, there was no mistaking Caroline for anything other than a boomer, but it still looked like he'd gotten the cream of the crop. She used more inflection in her speech, she moved more naturally, she even had a real name, for crying out loud. Apparently she also had some kind of high-end scanning equipment hidden away somewhere in her body, since she'd said that she would be able to track Guillotine as soon as he was somewhere nearby.

^Makes my job that much easier, I guess,^ he thought, leaning back in his seat.

Daley would never know, but a few minutes after he'd settled into this relaxed position, a radio transmission came into the car, picked up immediately by Caroline's internal receiver. The boomer gave no sign she was receiving; she just kept driving the car, and even continued searching the area.

"Yes, Mr. Richards?" she asked, through her radio. "Caroline, I'm about to move in. Three of the four 'roids are right in front of me. I don't know where the fourth one is. Have you picked up our target, yet?"

"No, sir."

"Damn. Well, tell me when - "

"Sir..."

"What is it, Caroline?" Richards asked, annoyed at being cut off by his own boomer.

"I have just detected a faint trace, possibly that of a 33-S-H mobile phone."

"Sure it ain't mine?"

"Quite certain, sir. I have already traced your call and triangulated your position. The phone is not yours."

There was a brief pause on the other end. Then: "Good girl. Well, go check it out, then. Contact me immediately if it's him."

"Yes, sir."

Before the radio link had even been terminated, Caroline floored the gas pedal, reaching up and switching on the lights and sirens. Daley, caught off guard, was thrown backwards, pressed into his seat by the sudden accleration.

"Hey, be careful," he warned, holding up a finger as though scolding a child.

"I am," Caroline responded, simply, weaving through the cars with an ease that made Daley jealous. They made good time; within moments, they'd made it to the Nayamura shopping center. Caroline switched off the siren as they careened into the parking lot, then threw the car into a slide, screeching to a halt not far from the doors.

"Now...why did we have to do all that?" Daley asked, cautiously.

Caroline opened the door and got out of the car. "I have just detected a trace that could be Guillotine," she answered, truthfully.

"Really?" Daley asked, uncertain of what to think.

Caroline didn't answer; she popped open the car's trunk and removed out the combat shotgun that had been lashed to the floor of the compartment. After checking the weapon's settings, she started loading in shells, her arms moving so quickly that Daley was sure she'd make a mistake somewhere.

"OK, if you're sure about this..." Daley said, slowly. He picked up the radio, contacting HQ and informing them of their situation, as well as calling for backup.

Before he could even finish the call, Caroline strode past him, heading for the entrance to the mall. Daley looked up as she went by.

"Hey! Hey, wait! Just wait for the backup, at least!" When Caroline didn't stop, Daley frustratedly threw the radio back into the car and jumped out, as well, running after her. On the way, he checked his gun, making sure it was loaded. After a moment's hesitation, he chambered a bullet.

"Just hang on," he said, grabbing her arm.

Caroline didn't hang on; she kept walking, dragging Daley along with her. After a few meters, the man gave up and fell into step alongside her.

"We must confirm that it is Guillotine, while he is still in the area," Caroline explained, finally. They made it up to the doors and stepped inside.

"I guess that makes sense, but can't it just wait a few minutes?"

"No. A single plainclothes ADP officer and one uniformed cyberdroid are less likely to get his attention than a full police barricade. And if he is alerted to a police presence, Guillotine will evacuate immediately."

Daley found he couldn't really argue with that.

"OK, fine," he said, finally. He paused only to show mall security his badge and explain that he and Caroline were here on official ADP business. Then he caught up to the cyberdroid, who hadn't even broken stride yet.

Caroline stopped inside the main hallway of the mall, her head turning slowly back and forth. She got more than a few strange looks from the people around her, who noticed the shotgun and immediately started backing off. But everyone could also see her ADP uniform, and concluded that she wasn't really a threat.

The machine-woman tilted her head up, looking at the other levels. Daley just watched her, knowing she could see things better than he could.

Finally, Caroline's head froze in place, then started moving slowly, following a single person on the second level.

"Target acquired," she said. "Guillotine detected on the second level."

Daley looked up. "Which one?"

"In front of the computer store. The man with a tan leather coat, and mirrored sunglasses."

"Where...I see him. OK, so now...hey!" He called after Caroline, who'd started walking again, this time heading for the stairs to the second level. "Now that we've found him, let's just wait for reinforcements."

"Negative. Guillotine could still escape. I will apprehend him now. You will back me up, Mr. Wong." She didn't say it as a suggestion, but rather a statement of fact, so firm it was practically an order.

Daley stopped short, looking at her back as the distance grew between them. Finally, he let out a sigh. The machine was ordering him around.

"This day just keeps getting more interesting," he said, turning to go up to the second floor by a different route.

***

Back at the door to the parking lot, Sylvie lay motionless. The box she'd been carrying lay shredded and forgotten not far from her feet. Bits and pieces of fabric hung out of it, the decimated remains of most of Meg and Lou's wardrobes.

Some people were already panicking; they'd happened to be near a window when it had happened. Now others were cautiously peering out of windows, looking to see what all the commotion had been about. Many more began to panic, as they saw Sylvie's motionless form, next to a trail of blood which ended abruptly at a set of tire marks.

Sylvie's hands clenched.

The woman let out a low groan of pain.

Sylvie sat up, slowly. She put one hand to the back of her head, where it had hit the hard asphalt of the parking lot. Then, her eyes widened as memory kicked in.

She reached down with her free hand, patting her torso. There was some blood, but she quickly determined that it was Meg's, from where she'd fallen onto the trail the woman had left behind. And then there was the lack of bullet holes in her shirt...

"What the..." she muttered, standing up. That proved to be a mistake; her torso instantly exploded into firey pain, sending her to one knee. Gasping for breath, Sylvie crawled forward, to the box she'd been carrying. With no small effort, she pulled herself into a standing position again, this time leaning on the box for support. Her ribs still hurt like hell, but now that she was ready for it, she had an easier time handling the pain.

With shaking hands, she pulled open the top of the box. She reached down inside, rooting through the shreds that had once been clothing, until her fingers hit something solid. Her eyes widened again, feeling this. Getting a better grip, she pulled up.

She nearly dropped what she was holding, as her ribs exploded into pain again. Supressing a cry of pain, Sylvie instead sat down, tipping the destroyed box onto its side and letting her drag out the contents instead of lifting them.

Finally, she managed to drag it out. In her hands was a black bodysuit, made of some kind of black fabric. It weighed a ton. The blocky chunks over the torso and shoulder areas made Sylvie briefly wonder if there was a load of bricks hidden in the suit.

She recognized what this was: the body armor of a 33-S-H. It was something all the H's received, famous for being among the best personal armor GENOM could make. It could stop almost any conventional round with ease, protecting the wearer. The only drawback was that it did almost nothing to lessen the impact of a bullet. That meant practically nothing to the 33-S-H's, who usually couldn't feel pain. Sylvie, on the other hand, felt like someone had just crushed all her ribs with a crowbar.

But it had saved her life. This stupid thing, which it seemed Meg and Lou had accidentally packed in their mad rush to clear out, had been enough to protect her from that madman.

^It looked like Nick,^ Sylvie thought, pushing herself into a standing position. ^But not exactly. Different face, and...I can't believe he'd react that way. OK, he might beat them up if they tried leaving him, but he wouldn't shoot them. And he wouldn't gun me down...would he?^

She didn't know, and at this point, she didn't care. Something had to be done. She left the body armor on the ground, along with the box; lifting herself alone was hard enough. Dragging all that detritus back with her was out of the question.

Slowly, she stumbled back the way she'd come, pushing herself through the door back into the hallway. She made slow progress, leaning against the wall for support. In the back of her mind, fear was crawling around, growing and threatening to overcome her as the full magnitude of what had just happened started to catch up to her. But she resisted it; she couldn't afford to break down, not just yet.

She opened another door and made it into the building's lobby. Now nearly dragging herself across the wall, she made it to a nearby telephone booth.

Her hands were shaking even more than they had before. Clutching one arm with the other in an effort to steady it, she managed to get a debit card out of one pocket and slide it into the telephone. Carefully, she dialed a number. Not the police; they wouldn't stand a chance against a 33-S-H. No, there was someone else more suited to this job.

Even though she shuddered at the thought of calling, she knew it had to be done. Finally, she finished dialing the number, and raised the receiver to her ear.

***

Nick, at the moment, couldn't have been more pissed.

Here he was, stuck in the city with Largo either on his way or already here, and he wasn't evacuating. He was shopping. Not just shopping, but babysitting a 33-S. Something he used to kill. Now he had to "look after" Anri, while the other girls went about their business.

^I'm sure they're packing their bags,^ he thought. ^But I wouldn't bet anything that they plan on coming along with me. When I get back, that apartment's going to be stripped to the walls.^

Not that he couldn't find them again; MegaTokyo was a big place, to be sure, but they wouldn't be able to hide forever. The problem was that finding them would take time, time he didn't have anymore.

^Definitely don't want to tangle with Largo,^ Nick thought, supressing a shudder at the thought. ^I guess I'd better just ship out. Find someone else willing to be a servant. Hell, maybe I'll buy a boomer myself. Not one with so damn much of a personality, all right.^

Because one such boomer with a personality had been enough to put him into this situation. Sylvie, somehow, had convinced him that he had to go here. Why had he done what she'd asked? It wasn't like she was paying him or anything.

Nick let out a small sigh, glancing up in front of him long enough to see Anri had stopped in front of a small jewelery store. The girl was staring in the window with large eyes, like a kid in a candy shop. That other woman, Linna whatzername, was standing by, smiling.

^Smile while you can,^ Nick thought, plopping down into a bench. ^Let's see how much you can smile when she wants to buy some of that crap. 'Cause you sure as hell ain't getting money from me.^

He grinned a little, picturing Linna begging him for money. Maybe he'd lead her on a little before bursting her bubble. But then again, a flat, up-front refusal was also fun. He found himself almost willing Anri to pick out the most expensive rock that store had, just so he'd get a chance to watch Linna suffer.

His reverie was interrupted, however, as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Something was wrong.

He kept his calm; it might be nothing. He quietly got to his feet, glancing quickly at the girls from behind his sunglasses. He saw that Linna was walking away, leaving Anri in front of the jewelery store while she went up to the next level.

"No, take the little whore with you..." he muttered under his breath. Linna didn't hear him, of course.

He started moving towards Anri, already thinking things out in his head. Glancing down, he checked the ground floor. And there, he saw it: a purple-haired woman, standing there talking with a red-haired man. The woman got his attention immediately, as she was dressed in an ADP uniform and carrying a shotgun.

He let himself relax, but only a little. The ADP, he could handle. If it had been anything else...

He missed a step, though, as the woman began to move, heading for the stairs. He could see it plainly enough, but he still felt the burning desire to double-check, just to be dead sure before he did something stupid. He carefully reached up and lowered his sunglasses, looking at her with uncovered eyes for just a second.

It was long enough; his eyes switched over the the electromagnetic spectrum as he looked. And he immediately saw that the woman was metal, through and through.

"Ah, shit," he cursed, as the woman disappeared into a stairwell. It was time to go. Something was a little odd about the whole concept of the ADP using boomers. He didn't like it one bit.

He moved forwards, pushing through the crowd carefully, so as not to attract attention to himself. He moved across the floor, heading for the green-haired girl who was now turning away from the jewelery store and heading back towards him. So far, she hadn't noticed him.

As he got closer, he became aware of a buzzing at his side. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out his cell phone, glancing at the number the caller was calling from. His brow furrowing at what he saw, he raised the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, cautiously.

Silence greeted him, for a long moment.

"Hello?" he asked, letting anger show in his voice. "Look, I don't got time for prank - "

"Nick..." came a familiar voice on the other end.

Nick paused for just a moment, continuing to shove through the crowds even as his eyes widened.

"Syl?" he asked, interested.

"Nick, I...something's gone wrong. You need to come over here. Quickly."

"Syl, I'm kinda busy - "

"Nick, Meg and Lou are gone, and I just got shot! Get over here!" She sounded angry, but there was also a plainly audible note of desperation in her voice. Nick paused again, hearing it.

"OK, OK," he said, making himself sound more annoyed than he was. "I'll be there in..." he trailed off, as he saw that the crowd around him was quickly thinning, people moving away from him, and nearly all of them staring at him with wide eyes.

"Freeze," came a voice from behind him. Nick stopped short, as he heard the safety come off a gun.

"Shit," he cursed, under his breath.

"Nick?" Sylvie asked, nervous. "Nick, what's wrong, I - "

"Throw the phone away," came the voice from behind him, again. "Drop it, Guillotine."

^Shit, shit, shit,^ Nick thought. ^I do not need this right now. That's what I get for letting a couple 'roids distract me. Let a damn human get the jump on me.^

Not wanting to test his luck just yet, he tossed the phone away. The little device whispered in the air, Sylvie's voice asking where he was and what was happening. Nick slowly raised his hands.

"You're under arrest, Guillotine," the voice behind him said, approaching him.

Nick thought fast. Glancing off to one side, he saw Anri was among the crowd, staring at him. But even though she now had a clear view of him, she didn't seem to have yet identified him for what he was. Lucky enough.

^Can't risk this idiot behind me shooting wildly. He might hit the girl. So what do I do? Let him arrest me? He probably has some kind of superalloy cuffs or something, in case he needs to arrest a cyborg. So now what...oh, crap. As though things couldn't get worse...^

This last thought came as he saw the purple-haired woman moving through the crowd, coming right towards him. Even as he watched, she pump-loaded a shell in the shotgun.

^She's serious,^ he thought. ^The guy behind me might want to just arrest me, but she...^

His thought was completed as the woman shifted her grip on the gun and brought it up to her eye, lining up a shot. Nick grit his teeth and made a decision.

Guessing at where the man behind him would be located, he turned around, moving so fast he was just a blur. He was soon face-to-face with a silvery gun. He acted on instinct, grabbing the gun and twisting, using his superior strength to tear it out of the other man's hand. Even as he did this, he grabbed the man by the shoulder and turned around again, holding the man in front of him.

As he turned, the shotgun fired. A load of buckshot went through the air, and right into the impromptu human shield Nick was holding. The man jerked with the impact, crying out in agony from the wound. Nick released his grip, letting the man fall to the ground.

Before the ADP officer had even hit the ground, chaos ensued. Everyone in sight tore off in every possible direction, most of them screaming at the top of their lungs as they did so. Nick glanced to the side at Anri, seeing she was also running, moving past him and trying to fight the flow of the crowd as it shoved her along down the hall.

Nick leveled the police officer's gun at the female boomer, the one that had fired at him. In the back of his mind, he quietly thanked the other man for having readied the gun; now all he had to do was pull the trigger. Which he did, repeatedly.

Nick fired one shot after another, barely even bothering to aim since the woman was so close. Most of the shots hit her, though more than a few went wild, striking down a few of the scattering, screaming mob.

The boomer jerked with the impacts, bullet holes appearing in her clothing. But even as she was hit, she kept moving forwards, loading in another shell as she did so.

^33-C,^ Nick thought, turning and running, as well. ^Antiballistic skin, of course. Like that gun would've done anything against that kind of protection. Noooo, that'd make things easy.^

The shotgun discharged again. As soon as he heard the trigger click, Nick dodged to one side. But the cloud of buckshot still grazed him, ripping up his jacket and coming away bloody. Cursing, Nick kept running.

The boomer woman loaded another round, matching his speed and even surpassing it, as she gave chase. With uncanny precision, she steadied her arms even as she ran, and fired again.

With the range closing between them, Nick didn't have time to dodge. He took the round in the back, his jacket exploding open in a spray of red. He stumbled, both with the momentum and the pain, falling onto the ground and only just managing a roll to absorb some of the impact. He rolled onto his back, in time to see the woman aiming at him again.

Now that he could see her, he was able to roll out of the way in time to dodge the shot. He kicked his legs into the air, throwing himself to his feet and moving forwards. He grabbed the weapon, aiming it into the air and away from him.

The boomer fought, her arms squealing with the sound of servomotors as they fought him. Nick grunted, fighting to keep the gun aimed away from him. But it was tough; the muzzle kept jerking around in their contest of strength. With each jerk, it inched a little closer to him.

Changing tactics, Nick planted his foot in the woman's gut and pushed, releasing her gun as he did so. He stumbled backwards with the move; the woman had to weigh at least twice what he did. But he'd still been strong enough to throw her off balance; she stumbled backwards, tripping over a package someone had dropped in their rush to get out. Nick was moving again before she'd even hit the ground.

He ran as quickly as he could without his shoes losing traction with the floor. He charged towards the green-haired girl he'd been told to protect. Anri was still trying to get away from the madness. She'd finally realized that the smartest thing to do was to get off this floor, and so she was making way towards one of the escalators.

It was almost nostalgic; chasing down a fleeing boomer, to the tune of gunshots following him. But this time, he actually had something to lose. That, and he was supposed to not kill the boomer in question.

Behind him, the boomer police officer jumped back to her feet and grabbed a nearby bench. Though the bench's legs were bolted to the floor, she still ripped it free, scattering small chunks of floor tiling as the legs came away from the ground. She hoisted the bench over her head, balancing it with one arm while her other clutched her shotgun. With an easy toss, she sent it flying through the air, at Nick.

Nick half-turned his head, spotting the incoming projectile. Cursing, he put on one last burst of speed, jumping towards Anri in a flying tackle, just as the girl reached the esclator that would take her to relative safety.

As the bench crashed and shattered behind him, his arms went around Anri, who barely had time to shriek as the two of them went tumbling. The added momentum sent them down the escalator. Nick curled himself around the girl, holding her still as they rolled. The hard stairs smashed against his back and head, feeling like a dozen hammers hitting him all at once. And then he hit the hard tile of the ground floor, sending them both sprawling.

Anri, laying on her chest, picked herself up, looking at him with wide eyes. She immediately began crawling backwards, trying to get away from the man the boomer upstairs seemed so set on. Nick, lying on his back, saw the move, and sat up.

Anri didn't have time to get away. He was on her in a second, crouching next to her and shoving her face-first into the floor, back into a prone position.

"Stay down and shut the hell up," Nick hissed at her. "Maybe you can get outta this with your skin intact."

Anri locked up for a moment, then began to quiver, shaking with fear. Nick, having seen sexaroids react this way before, paid her no heed. She wasn't going to move, and that was enough for him. He looked up, to see the female boomer was coming around the second level, staring down at him as she loaded another round in the shotgun.

***

Linna jumped as the gunfire had broken out. But the surprise only lasted a few seconds; her mind soon slipped into a familiar calm, letting her think straight, unlike the other people around her, who looked confused at the first shot, then bolted at the second. Shouts among the crowd revealed that someone had been hit, that someone was dead, that someone was crazy...it was pandemonium, but Linna caught on rather quickly.

She shoved her way through the crowd, which was quickly thinning as everyone headed for the nearest exit, and looked over a guardrail, down to the second floor of the mall, spreading out beneath her. Her eyes took in the situation quickly, watching as a purple-haired woman in an ADP uniform tore a bench free of the floor, one-handed. Then she threw it, sending it flying through the air until it crashed just behind...

^Brady,^ she thought to herself, not surprised. ^As though it would be anyone else. Looks like hiding in plain view wasn't as good an idea as he thought.^

She didn't know what this was about, but she saw the man on the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood. He was doing his best to hold his arms over the wound, but he was visibly losing strength. Linna cringed at this sight; she'd seen Daley Wong often enough to know him when she saw him. She immediately started looking for a way to help the poor man, somehow staunch the bleeding long enough for an ambulance to come.

But then she remembered the woman. Even as Linna watched, the boomer-woman - and that was definitely what she was, if she'd been able to throw the bench that easily - strode around the second floor, lining up for another shot at Brady, who'd somehow made it to the ground floor, with Anri next to him.

Linna thought fast. Turning around, she looked for a weapon, some kind of tool that could at least make a dent in a combat boomer. She was in luck.

Sitting in the middle of the walkway was a car, a mid-sized sedan covered in signs advertising it as the first prize in some contest. It also happened to be lined up perfectly with the guardrail she was standing in front of.

She looked back at the boomer woman, who was continuing her circuit around the second floor, trying to get Brady in sight. As it happened, the way she was coming, she'd be right underneath where Linna was standing in just a few seconds.

That didn't leave much time. Linna turned and ran towards the car. Taking off her purse, she smashed it through the driver's side window. Reaching in, she unlocked the door from the inside.

^OK, I remember how to do this,^ Linna thought to herself. Silia had been intent on teaching the girls basic survival tactics. Survival for MegaTokyo, that is. Among other things, that meant learning how to hotwire a car.

Unfortunately, Linna's memory wasn't working quite right at the moment. As she mentally counted the seconds until the boomer woman would be in position, adrenaline began to flood her system, making it progressively harder to think.

Grimacing with the stress, she started feeling around the steering wheel, trying to remember how Silia had shown them to bypass the ignition. Frustrated and now becoming genuinely scared, she started feeling around everywhere, eventually even reaching up and folding down the driver's side vanity mirror. In doing this, she felt something metal slide past her fingers.

She looked down at them as they fell, jingling, between her legs. The keys. Letting out a brief noise of surprise, she dug them out and slipped them into the ignition.

In one small corner of her mind, she'd already reasoned that someone had left the keys here when they'd driven the car onto this level in the first place, figuring that no one in his right mind would try to steal a car in a mall full of people. It was a slightly irresponsible practice, but given the situation, Linna was more than thankful that some worker had been feeling lazy.

She turned the keys, feeling the engine hum to life in front of her. She then popped the transmission into Drive and got out of the car, looking ahead of the car's nose to double-check that it was lined up. Crossing her fingers, she threw her purse into the footwell, right on top of the gas pedal.

***

Nick and the still-unnamed female boomer both looked up as they heard the glass barrier shatter on the third floor. They both had just enough time to hear the car's engine roaring as its wheels left the ground, before a modestly-sized sedan cleared the edge, did a neat flip in mid-air, and then fell straight onto the woman boomer.

She literally went face-first through the roof, one and a half tons of steel and glass crashing down on her and swallowing her whole. Nick saw her disappear into the car's interior, and then her form was lost among the tortured metal innards of the car. The vehicle lay still, a deathly silence falling on the area, even with the screams of panicked mall goers still echoing in the background.

Nick looked up to the third level, seeing Linna waving. He blinked. Hard. A human had saved him? What an odd development. And in particular, the human that Sylvie had sent to escort Anri. The wheels in Nick's mind were already turning as he looked down to Anri.

He grabbed the girl by her collar and dragged her to her feet. "It's safe now," he said, nodding. "No problem."

Anri blinked rapidly, looking at him. ^Here it comes,^ Nick thought, tensing to chase her again once she realized what he was.

But they were both interrupted by a loud noise, of tortured metal being shoved aside.

Nick sighed. "That better not be what I think it is," he said, turning around to look back at the second level.

Unfortunately, it was. In the car's exposed underside, five glowing claws had appeared, penetrating from the inside and going out. They were moving across the car's width, slowly cutting the vehicle in half.

Nick groaned. "Hang on," he said, grabbing Anri by the belt and collar. Turning, he threw his weight into the move, slinging Anri almost straight up.

The girl screamed as she went flying, going past the second floor and clear up to the third. She just barely cleared the guardrail, before gravity finally took effect and brought her down, where she landed with a soft 'thud' on the third floor.

"Get her outta here!" Nick yelled up at the human, that Linna woman. The human nodded once, then turned to pick up Anri. Nick nodded once, seeing this. ^At least a few humans can keep their heads around here,^ he thought.

Just as Linna had pulled Anri up to her feet, the car finally gave way, splitting in half as though it were made of paper. The woman boomer emerged from the wreckage, flexing her arms as her claws retracted back into her hand. She moved quickly, vaulting the guardrail and plummeting the twelve meters to the ground floor. She flexed her legs and absorbed the landing, though her raw mass was still enough to crack the tiles.

Nick fell into a fighting stance at the same time as the woman. They circled cautiously, neither making the first move. Both of them ran through several simulations on their respective battle computers, each trying to decide how to handle the other.

^At least she lost the shotgun in that crash,^ Nick thought, sarcastically.

Nick cracked first, charging forwards and throwing a punch at the woman's face. She blocked it easily, crossing her arms in front of her and deflecting his fist before it could hit her. She lashed out immediately with a kick to his abdomen.

The hit was enough to shove Nick backwards, stumbling. The woman didn't let him recover; she charged, landing another punch to his stomach and then going for an uppercut to his jaw as he doubled over. Nick caught the uppercut in one hand, though, and turned, slinging the woman over his shoulder and flying through the glass window of a shop.

Nick didn't try to run; he just backed off, massage his sore abs. He might be a machine, but even he had his limits, especially when a 33-C was involved.

Actually, he would have preferred to be fighting a more advanced model. The more modern 55-C's were big, but they were also dumb, and had an amazing tendency to stand perfectly still while they were trying to think things through. 33-C's, on the other hand, could think on their feet.

^And someone's gone and taught this one how to fight, no less,^ Nick though, as the woman crashed out of the shop, tearing the door right off its hinges in her effort to get out. She threw the ruined portal aside as though it were nothing more than a bug.

She moved. So fast that Nick only barely had time to react, crossing the distance in a microsecond. Nick - or rather, Nick's J-2 - saw her leaning forwards, saw her weight shift. He fell backwards, landing on his elbows and planting a foot in her stomach as she tried to tackle the air he'd just been occupying a moment ago. Using his leg like a pole vault, he let the woman's momentum carry her over him, to where she landed on the floor just a few meters beyond his head.

He also used the momentum to roll himself backwards, getting his feet under him as the woman hit the ground. He stood up straight just as the woman went into a handstand, throwing herself into a graceful flip and landing facing Nick's back.

Nick was already moving, whirling on her and delivering a roundhouse kick to her face. The woman's head jerked to the side with the impact, but immediately turned back to face him, face as impassive as ever. Even her hair was only barely rumpled. Nick, on the other hand, nearly fell as he came down from the kick. His ankle hurt from the sudden impact of the woman's unyielding skull.

The woman stepped forwards, throwing a punch at his chest. Nick took the hit, stumbling backwards as he watched her other hand, which was coming at his face, its fingers open, as though to tear his face right off. He blocked the blow, shoving it to one side before it could connect.

^Damn, she's a good one,^ he thought. How to handle her?

He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and quickly thought up a solution. He stepped towards her, getting inside her reach as he took her by the collar. He lifted her off her feet and shoved her away, to where she landed several meters from him, but on her feet.

Not even bothering to watch her land and stumble, Nick turned and headed for a nearby exit. ^This ought to work...^

A gunshot rang out behind him, a moment before Nick felt a sharp pain in his back, accompanied by a warm sensation flowing down his back.

^Damn...forgot about her handgun.^

He continued running, as the woman kept firing the pistol she'd had holstered at her hip. Several more rounds went into Nick, though a few went wild, shattering the glass doors of the exit. Nick was through the now-open doors in a heartbeat, going out into the parking lot. He stopped as soon as he'd cleared the lobby, however, and turned, getting off to one side to avoid getting hit again.

The woman ran out of ammo moments later. Jacking out the empty clip, she charged for the doors, already loading in another clip.

She got to the doors and stepped through, glancing around quickly in search of the 33-S-H. Slowly, holding her gun in front of her, she turned to the right, where she'd seen Nick go.

Nick stepped out from behind a pillar as the woman walked past him. Before she could even turn, he'd landed a solid punch to her face, stunning her sensitive bio-circuitry for a moment. It was all he needed.

He placed one hand on the woman's chest and shoved, sending her off the sidewalk and out into the parking lot. The woman's circuitry reset almost as soon as this happened, and she regained her balance and again took aim at her target.

The target, however, wasn't moving. Instead, he stood there with his hands in his pockets, smirking at her. Casually, he glanced off to the side.

Recognizing this as odd behavior, the woman investigated, turning her own head to the side as she kept her gun trained on him.

She was rewarded with the sight of a pickup truck bearing down on her.

She didn't have time to dodge. She didn't even have time to fire. She could only watch as the truck hit its brakes, much too late to stop. Its grill hit her in the chest, and she was dragged under the vehicle.

Nick turned and jogged off to one side. "Should stay out of traffic when everyone's trying to evacuate," he said, haughtily.

Moments later, a green van pulled up to him at the sidewalk. The passenger side window rolled down, rewarding him with a view of Linna Yamazaki.

"Get in!" she shouted at him. "Let's get you out of here!"

Nick popped open the door and stepped inside, glancing at the back seat to see Anri sitting there, nervously watching him. He threw her a momentary grin as he sat down.

"Are you hurt?" Linna asked, flooring the gas pedal.

Nick was thrown back in his seat with the sudden acceleration, grunting as his wounds were aggravated. He was about to tell her exactly how he was when he caught a glimpse of the pickup truck that had flattened that woman boomer.

The truck's rear end was off the ground. The woman was standing behind it, her hands clamped around its rear axle.

"You might want to get out of the way," Nick commented, watching as the woman turned in a slow arc, hoisting the entire truck into the air as she got up speed.

Linna looked, her eyes widening as she saw what looked like an ADP officer swinging an entire truck around like it was an Olympic event. But to her credit, she reacted quickly, swerving to the left as the woman finally released, sending the truck flying through the air at them.

Linna had reacted quickly enough that the pickup only clipped them as it crashed, but that was still enough to make them spin out, pinning them all to the windows as Linna lost control of the van.

"Go," Nick said, watching the boomer woman advance on the van. "GO!" he shouted, when Linna didn't immediately respond.

Linna shook it off, checking her rear view mirror to see what Nick saw. She nodded curtly, before flooring it. The van's tires squealed as power was applied, launching the little vehicle.

But even as they began to move again, the boomer woman jumped, reaching out with one hand. As she came down on the van, her claws burst out of that hand, glowing needles of pure cutting power.

The claws sank through the glass rear window as though it were butter. The woman's fingers clamped onto the tailgate, even as the rest of her body fell, scraping along the ground.

Anri began to scream, while Linna kept glancing back and forth between the road and the back of her van, trying to figure out what was going on.

^Fuck,^ Nick thought, simply. He didn't have a gun, he couldn't fight in quarters like this. They'd have to abandon the van, and somehow get away from this crazed boomer.

But then fate stepped in. The boomer's claws were sharp, and its grip strong. Perhaps a little too sharp and a little too strong. Because as she clenched her hand into a fist, the claws cut away a large chunk of the tailgate, leaving her with only a thin strip of metal to grab a hold of. She hung on with all her might, and as such crushed the strip of metal, breaking it off from the rest of the van. Her hand disappeared from the tailgate with a suddenness that made even Nick blink.

Nick kept looking, watching as the woman skidded to a stop behind them. She was on her feet in a moment, pulling out her gun.

"Duck!" he shouted, as the gun started going off. Both women let out brief cries of shock as the rear window shattered. But Linna laid on the speed, screeching out of the parking lot and onto the highway before the boomer woman could even think about trying to catch up to them.

Once they'd been shooting down the highway for two minutes, they finally began to relax, convinced that whatever that thing had been, and whatever its business with them had been, it wasn't coming after them.

And then came the hard part.

"OK, OK..." Anri said, nervously. "J-just who...who or what are you, mister?" she asked, looking at Nick suspiciously.

Nick rolled his eyes. He turned in his seat to look at the girl, lowering his sunglasses. "Remember me, gorgeous?" he asked, letting Anri get a nice look at his 33-S-H eyes.

Recognition flickered over Anri's face in a heartbeat. She went pale, her eyes widening. But before she could react in any more active way, her eyes rolled up in her head and she slumped in her seat, unconscious.

"Works for me," Nick said, replacing his shades and turning back around.

Linna, oblivious to what had just happened, continued driving. "OK, Mr. Brady," she began. "I really don't want to know, I'll start by saying that. I won't say anything about what just happened back there. Now with that said, I'm taking you someplace safe - "

"No," Nick said, cutting her off. "You're taking me someplace else."

"Excuse me?" Linna asked, glancing at him while quirking an eyebrow.

"You're taking me someplace else," he repeated. "Just before it all hit the fan back there, I got a call. I think one of my...friends is in trouble." As he finished, his voice trailed off, lowering in tone until it was nearly a whisper.

Linna heard that tone, and glanced at him again. "I can try," she said, finally. "But you're paying for my van, mister."

"I'll buy you a whole new van, if you just take me where I want to go."

***

They all knew something was wrong the moment Linna drove past the parking lot. Police had already gathered, the flashing lights on their cars dyeing the area a swirling combination of blue and red. Linna sped up, going past the lot and down the street.

"Hey, what're you doing?" Anri asked, from the back. She glanced nervously at Nick, then raised her voice, apparently finding some resolve to continue. "Sylvie's in there! And Meg and Lou, too! You can't just leave them."

"You're right," Linna explained. "And I'm not going to leave them. But I'm sure the police are looking for my van, now. If we go in, we might get arrested."

"Should've changed cars," Nick muttered to himself. "Stupid..."

"Don't worry. I'll just pull in here..." Linna said, driving into an underground parking garage a few blocks from the apartment building. "...and we should be set."

Nick nodded once, waiting until the van had stopped before popping open his door and starting off. Linna watched for a brief moment, feeling a pang of concern for the man. He'd taken a few hits, she could tell. There was blood all over her passenger seat, and the back of his jacket had been ripped to shreds. But he was still moving, doing his best to act like the wounds weren't there. But it still showed; a little pause here, a trip there...he felt the pain, all right. He just didn't want anyone to know.

"Hey, hang on a second!" Linna shouted after him, running to catch up. "What're you going to do? Just ask the police very nicely to let you in? They're looking for you, if they targeted you like that back at the mall."

"I know, I know," Nick said, speeding up. "I'll think of something."

"Just hang on!"

Nick turned, scowling at her. "OK, your majesty," he said, sarcastically. "What's your idea?"

"Let's go have a look, first," Linna said, doing her best to meet his gaze. "Come on, Anri."

Anri, who'd been watching very nervously, nodded and started to follow. Nick walked alongside Linna, as they made their way to the apartment building.

Finally, they were in sight of it. It was just a simple block of concrete, with windows breaking up its otherwise faceless facade. In other words, a standard mid-class apartment building in MegaTokyo.

"So what's your great idea?" Nick asked, as they stopped, waiting at the entrance to an alley with the girls.

"Just take a look at this thing, first of all," Linna said. "I'm sure there are cops in the lobby. How were you planning to get in?"

"I have my ways."

Linna rolled her eyes. "C'mon," she said, heading for the building. "Maybe the fire escape will be easier."

Nick followed obediently, though he looked more than a little sore, by now. Anri trailed after the pair, apparently still undecided about what to think of this man.

Finally, they were at the alley next to the apartment building in question. Sure enough, it was devoid of cops. At the other end of the alley, however, was the parking lot, and even from where they stood, they could see many police officers milling around.

"OK, now to get in, we should..." Linna began. She trailed off, however, as she heard movement behind her. She turned around, to see that Nick was gone. Blinking, she looked around wildly, finally looking to Anri for an explanation. Anri just pointed up.

Linna followed the girl's finger, her eyes widening as she saw Nick was already on the third floor of the fire escape, climbing over the railing and heading up the stairs.

"Well, he did say he has his ways," Linna said, quirking an eyebrow. "OK, Anri. Now we just wait here, until - "

"Hey, what're you doing over there?" came a male voice from the end of the alley.

"Crap."

***

Nick carefully ascended the fire escape, softly setting each foot down before lifting his other leg for the next step. He winced as the fire escape made a metallic 'bong' each time he contacted it, no matter how softly he stepped. He moved as quickly as he could, but it was still slow going, for him. As such, it took him almost two minutes to reach the appropriate window.

He edged up along the horizontal part of the fire escape, until he reached the window in the middle of the path. He came right alongside the window, cursing as he saw that it was still shut and locked tightly. Mentally crossing his fingers, he glanced inside, stepping in front of the window for a split-second, and then stepping back to the safety of the wall.

Inside was a zoo. There were police everywhere, from ADP to regular police. They milled around like ants, scratching away at every little thing, from the walls to the doors to the rug to the very dust collecting in the corners. Luckily for him, none of them had been looking out the window for the split-second Nick had glanced inside. If anyone had seen any movement, they'd probably pass it off as their imagination and nerves overreacting. Probably.

The clincher was that, right in the middle of the room, had been Sylvie. She'd been sitting on a small folding chair, with an ADP officer handing her some coffee.

That could be a problem. He had to get to Sylvie so he could find out what had happened. But not with the cops around; if he alerted any of them, the whole city block would be on code red in a heartbeat. Not to mention that pretty much everyone in that room was already carrying a gun, and Nick didn't have his weapons on him at the time. A direct assault was not going to be a good idea, this time.

Nick thought, going through his options. Frowning, he remembered that it had been Sylvie who'd called him. Perhaps he didn't have to treat her as a stationary object, a prize to be snatched out of the lion's den.

Carefully, he edged back up to the window, turning his head ever so slightly, until he was looking inside. Taking a deep breath, he slowly reached out his hand, knowing this was probably not a good idea.

***

Sylvie's eyes narrowed as she lowered her cup of coffee. She could see it immediately. Across the room, just outside the window, was a gloved hand.

^He came,^ she thought, shocked. ^He actually came. But...what now?^

"Now, miss..." the cop in front of her was saying. "Explain to me again, what happened to you and the occupants of this apartment?"

"Well, I..." Sylvie said, putting one hand to her forehead as though to hold herself together. It was only partially an act. Glancing at the window again, she saw the gloved hand was now waving at her.

^All right, I know you're here, now,^ Sylvie thought. ^So now what?^ She found herself wishing 33-S-H's could receive telepathic messages.

"I was helping Lou carry some of her belongings down to the parking lot..." Sylvie said, her voice trembling still with the scare she'd gotten less than an hour ago. And then the police had flooded the scene, dragging her off with them, tearing apart the apartment and what remained of her friends' belongings as though they were only so many scientific specimens. It was a little too much, all at once.

She checked the hand again, as the cop looked down at the notes he'd taken, making sure her story coincided with what she'd said so far. Now the hand was in a thumbs-up sign, jerking upwards, towards the sky.

"Up?" Sylvie mumbled. When the cop glanced at her, she just smiled and took another sip of coffee.

^Up?^ she thought. ^He's saying up...to where?^ She thought it over. ^Tell me something, Nick. Tell me what you want.^

The hand, however, did nothing. It continued the thumbs-up maneuver for another moment, then disappeared off to the side.

^Up...^ Sylvie thought. ^He couldn't mean...although it would work...^

"Miss?" the cop asked, seeing her hesitate. "Are you all right?"

"Just a second," Sylvie replied, her voice quavering again. "I...I need some air."

The cop stared at her for a moment, then smiled, nodding. "All right, fine," he said. "You've been through a lot, miss. I'll have some men take you down to the lobby, if you want - "

"No, no..." Sylvie whispered. "The lobby's too dangerous."

"We have men all around the building, miss. You won't be in any danger just going down there for a while."

"I just don't want to go there," Sylvie said, helplessly. "Can your men take me up to the roof?"

The officer stared at her for another uncomfortably long moment, then pulled a radio off his shoulder. After speaking into it for a few seconds, he looked back at Sylvie and nodded quietly. Sylvie thanked him and got to her feet.

Two police officers - both regular police - followed her as she went up the stairs and to the roof. Sylvie slowly trod across the flat concrete of the roof, ambling towards the edge as she pretended to stretch out her arms and legs.

She could feel the men's eyes on her as she did this. It made her more than a little uncomfortable, but she didn't know what she could do about it at the moment. So she just got to the edge, sat down primly on the knee-high concrete barrier which went around the roof's perimeter, and looked back at them, pretending not to care.

The men quickly looked away from her, realizing they'd been caught staring. Sylvie sighed a little, knowing that attention like that was something she was never going to get away from. No matter how hard she tried.

But this line of thought was interrupted as she felt a sudden pressure around her waist, followed shortly thereafter by rapid accleration. Before she even knew what was happening, she was hanging out in space, looking down at the ground a dozen stories below. She tried to let out a scream of shock, but a hand was already around her mouth, muffling her effectively. A hand wearing a tan leather glove.

"Shut up a minute," Nick hissed into her ear, as he continued holding her in place with one arm while keeping his other hand clamped over her mouth. "Let's see if we can get out of this alive."

Sylvie continued struggling, but only because she was still dangling on a precipice over what would be an unpleasant drop to the pavement below. In the back of her mind, she realized that Nick was standing on a windowsill, just below the edge of the roof. Even as she watched, he pulled her in alongide him, forcing her up against the cold glass.

Above, Sylvie became aware of the two cops' shouting their surprise at her sudden disappearance. To them, it was as though she'd simply disappeared the moment they'd looked away. She heard one of them come up to the edge of the roof, and then she could almost feel his eyes looking down, like prison searchlights looking for an escaped inmate.

Then they were gone, running down the stairs to inform their fellow officers of what had happened.

"Hang on," Nick said.

^Hang on? To what?^ Sylvie thought, still unable to speak. Her eyes then widened, as Nick stepped out into space.

A scream tried to escape Sylvie's throat, but nothing could get around the glove but a dull yell. She watched as the ground acclerated towards them, a wall of concrete coming to smash them in the face.

They landed on their feet, both of them flexing their legs to take the impact. Sylvie's legs gave out under her both from the strain of the landing and the shock at falling in the first place, while Nick only staggered a little. He released her, letting her slump to the ground, and then stood up straight again. He looked up, as he leaned against a wall for support.

"Shit," he cursed to himself. "We got a problem."

"Wh...what?" Sylvie asked, trying to get her breath back.

"Someone's cornered Linna," Nick replied, walking forwards. "Hang on a sec while I handle it."

^No,^ Sylvie thought, trying to force her body to move. ^He's going to...I can't let him do it.^

***

Linna was still trying to explain herself to the man in front of her.

The man was someone she recognized: Officer McNichol, looking at her with a skeptical expression, glancing between her and Anri with his probing blue eyes. The other one, however...was new. Not the man Leon usually worked with. Rather, this was a man in a dark grey suit, and wearing dark sunglasses over his eyes. He was standing stock-still, just a few steps behind Leon.

"I was just trying to check on a friend," Linna explained, again. "She lives in this building. I didn't know what to think, when I saw all these cars."

Leon nodded again, never breaking eye contact. "Look, miss. This is a police area, so we can't let you in until we're through here. We're still not even sure if anyone was seriously hurt. There was one witness, and we're talking with her now."

"Oh, God..." Linna said, turning away and putting one hand to her forehead. She thought fast, trying to come up with a plausible story for why she'd be in an alley next to a building surrounded by cops. Not to mention how she was going to explain it if Nick suddenly showed up.

"Well...can't I just wait here another few minutes?" Linna asked, trying to sound earnest. "I won't get in the way. And neither will she," she finished, gesturing at Anri.

"Really?" Leon asked, glancing at the green-haired girl. His eyes narrowed, looking at her. It was almost as though he could see under her skin, to the circuits and power cells underneath, death existing right alongside life. Leon's eyes flickered with recognition, of a dim memory of having seen this girl once before. Anri drew back, seeing this look.

"Sir, we should bring these women to the station for interrogation," the suited man behind Leon said. "They may be suspects in the murders."

Anri gasped, audibly, at the last word. Everyone looked at her for a moment. Leon was first to look away, his eyes going back to the other man.

"Look, I'm the one making the calls here, got it?" he bit out. "I'll decide whether or not to bring them in."

"This is against protocol, Mr. McNichol."

"Shut up," Leon fired back, this time not even bothering to look at the other man. "You're here to help, not get in the way."

"I am here to apprehend the mercenary," the suited man said. "And I will - "

He cut off abruptly, however. Moments afterwards, the hiss of released pressure and the crackle of electricity filled the small alley. Everyone now looked again, at the suited man.

A gloved fist was jutting from the man's abdomen, having plowed through him like so much paper. But instead of a river of blood, there was instead a river of voltage, of circuits and wires pouring out of the man. These entrails were sucked back in as the fist was withdrawn, coming out the man's back.

The "man" slumped to the ground, his mouth opening and closing in silent screams, his hands clenching and unclenching uselessly as his computer slowly melted.

Nick Brady stood above the man, regarding his recent kill with a look that could almost be admiration.

"Damn 33-C's," Nick said, shaking his head.

"Freeze," Leon said, pulling his gun and aiming it right at Nick's head. He flashed his badge. "ADP. You're under arrest."

Nick raised his eyebrows. "I really don't have time for this, McNichol," he said. But he didn't move. He just regarded the gun barrel in front of him, trying to decide what to do about it.

"Destruction of police property," Leon said, staring Nick in the eye. "And that's just to start, buddy." He drew the hammer back on his gun. "How'd you kill a boomer with your hands, anyway? Only guy I know who can do that is the man I'm looking for."

Nick looked away, silently cursing. Behind him, Sylvie ran up. Her eyes widened as she saw the dead boomer. She slowed down, unable to take her eyes off of the machine, simultaneously sickened and entranced by the sight of destruction. Leaning against the wall for support, she just kept looking.

Leon glanced at her. "Hey, wait a second. You're - "

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. As he was momentarily distracted, Nick stepped forwards, his hand moving as a blur. He tore the large revolver from Leon's grasp with little effort.

"Now then," Nick said, glancing the gun over before throwing it nonchalantly over his shoulder. Leon grit his teeth as he heard the weapon clatter uselessly on the concrete. "Can I get past you now, Mr. McNichol?"

Leon's hand went for the radio at his hip. "You'd get about five feet before I get half the cops in the city on you, Guillotine."

Nick smirked at the use of his mercenary name. "Call me what you want. Now get out of my way."

Leon stepped aside, not wanting to risk his skin over something as simple as this. He was visibly telling himself to keep it under control.

Nick walked by, but not before stomping hard on the nearly-dead boomer's head. Its metal skull imploded, flattening against the ground and spilling its silicon components everywhere. The machine finally stopped twitching, as its brain was shattered.

Leon smiled, a little, at this. "Thanks," he muttered.

Nick kept walking. "Call for backup," he said, "and I'll have you strangled with your own entrails before you can blink."

Leon's face tightend, at that. He let Nick walk by, watching Linna and Anri accompany him. He fingered his radio, but didn't turn it on.

"Thanks for the help, Mr. McNichol," came a feminine voice. Leon turned to see Sylvie standing there, arms crossed behind her back.

"And..." the sexaroid began, hesitantly, "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," Leon said, casually. "But I'm still getting that guy."

"No, no..." Sylvie said. She looked up at him. "Sorry...for this."

At this, her eyes glowed red, for a few seconds. Leon found his attention sucked into them, like falling into a bottomless pit. His eyes lost focus, and he passed out, slumping to the ground.

"Sorry," Sylvie said, again. "I just don't want you radioing just yet." She ran off, jogging to catch up to Nick and the others.

She caught up quickly. Nick was talking with the others, nodding as he did so.

"So what's the plan?" Sylvie asked, coming up to them. She spared Nick a thankful look, not knowing if she had it in her to thank him, especially not after what he'd just done.

"Well, you've been trying to see my memories, Syl," Nick said, hesitantly.

"Yeah, but what - "

"Here they are," Nick said, turning and putting a bare hand onto Sylvie's face, stopping her cold.

Sylvie's eyes widened, as she felt something akin to what Leon had just experienced. Her mind was drawn in, linking with something else as the contact was established. Data poured in, even as another command sent through the link caused her brain to shut down. She went limp, collapsing to the ground, already asleep.

"Get her, and yourselves, somewhere safe," Nick said, turning and walking off down the street.

"Where are you going, then?" Linna asked.

"Fulfilling a promise," Nick said. "To an old friend," he added on, almost as an afterthought.

***

Silia was busily typing on her computer when the knock came at the door. She didn't answer; she didn't have time for visitors, what with this new development at the 33-S's apartment. She was currently poking around in the ADP mainframe, doing her best to find what was going on. According to the radio traffic, the one witness had vanished some hours ago, and a GENOM-loaned boomer had been discovered torn to pieces in an alley. Next to it had been a human ADP officer, alive but unconscious.

^Brady's work,^ Silia reasoned. ^Knowing just where to strike, and who to kill. Not to mention the violence in the boomer's destruction.^

The knock came again, rattling the door on its hinges. Silia momentarily glanced at a secondary computer screen, which connected to a hidden closed-circuit camera in the doorway. Through it, she could see a familiar face. The black trench coat and sunglasses were more than enough of a giveaway, but she felt no need to worry. Even though 33-S-H's were designed to have forgettable faces, she'd seen Guillotine, a.k.a. Nick Brady, often enough to recognize him when he was standing outside the door.

"Mackie, could you get that?" she called out, without looking away from her work.

"Huh?" her brother's voice called from another room. "Oh, sure, sis."

She heard the boy start walking towards the door, which was rattling under a near-continuous rhythm of knocking.

^He's probably here for support, or a hiding place,^ Silia thought to herself, as she downloaded the current files regarding the ADP case against Guillotine. ^After this escapade, I can only assume - ^

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Mackie's cry of surprise, followed by a loud thud from the entrance.

Silia's mind, razor-sharp as always, clicked into action. Her hand flew over to her purse, grabbing it off of a chair and putting it over her shoulder, even as she removed the silenced pistol from within. She squeezed the trigger to its halfway point, causing a red laser beam from under the barrel to appear. She aimed it at the doorway just as her assailant came up to it.

Guillotine moved quickly, with the smooth grace all boomers seemed to have. She barely had time to pull the trigger, since the time she saw him and the time he was coming through the door were only a fraction of a second apart.

The gun discharged, putting a high-caliber slug into the wall. Guillotine had dodged, ducking out of the doorway even as he'd made to step through it. Silia switched her aim, targeting the point on the wall where she guessed he would have dodged to. She fired again, putting a round through the wall and out the other side.

There was no grunt of pain, or even the sound of a bullet hitting flesh. Apparently, her guess had been off. Either that, or Guillotine had dodged again. Silia was on her feet in a moment, edging towards the door with her gun held steadily in front of her.

One small part of her, in the back of her mind, was going crazy, a small voice that couldn't believe the sanctity of her home had been violated, and that her brother was injured, or perhaps even dead. It was a voice Silia frequently heard, and rarely paid any attention to, anymore. This was just one of the job hazards of being a Knight Saber.

She got to the doorway and edged around it, keeping her gun steady. Rotating slowly, she checked the room beyond the doorway to the left and right before she even began to walk through, into the living room.

Beyond the doorway from her office was the living room, ridiculously normal for a place that had just been invaded. The furniture was all still in its place, the TV and other electronics untouched. It was, eerily enough, like any other time she walked out of her office.

^Only this time it is too quiet,^ she thought. ^No sound of people talking, none of Nene's laughing...even that kitten has gone silent.^ Indeed, the small animal was nowhere to be seen.

She crept into the living room, making her way slowly towards the door. Guillotine was nowhere to be seen, but she could feel him, like an infection slowly taking over. He was in this apartment, she was sure of that, but he was good at hiding.

She didn't dare check the bedrooms or closets; trying to find and kill him would be suicide. Her only objective now was to get out, ideally with Mackie.

Mackie...

She made it to the doorway into the hall, without incident. There, she found him: Mackie, lying flat on his back, about four meters from the door. From what she could see, the boy was uninjured; at least he was still breathing.

"Sis..." he groaned out.

Silia held a finger to her lips, meeting the boy's eyes as they opened. She crept over to him, checking the hallway just outside the door before kneeling down to check on Mackie.

"He just walked in and pushed me to the floor," Mackie whispered. "He didn't - "

He was cut off as Silia put one finger on his lips, silencing him. With a tilt of her head, she indicated that he should go through the door. Mackie nodded.

It was just as the boy was getting to his feet that Silia heard the cat hiss. She could hear it, about six meters behind her and a little to the right, which would place the animal just beside Nene's bedroom door...

She turned quickly, staying crouched and coming around shooting. Sure enough, Guillotine was standing there in the doorway to the bedroom, one hand already behind his back to reach for a weapon. Silia's first bullet went wild, having been fired before she could even aim. The next two went straight for his chest, but never hit. Guillotine was already in motion, jumping into the air and diving over the bullets as they went by. He landed on his hands, flexed his arms and flipped, landing on his feet just behind Silia, effectively blocking off the door.

Silia turned to fire, but knew it was already too late. He was much faster than her, and had the jump on her, no less. It was over.

A grunt came, a cry of fury and raw bravado, from the most unlikely source: Mackie. As Silia turned her head to look, she saw the boy had, in the space of time it had taken her to fire, gotten to his feet. Not only that, but as Guillotine had landed, the boy had charged, tackling the 33-S-H and shoving him into the living room.

"RUN, SILIA!" Mackie screamed, as he tried to keep his grip on Guillotine's waist.

Silia ran. Without hesitation, she was on her feet, flying out the door even before Mackie had lost his contest of strength. Behind her, Guillotine freed one of his arms and grabbed Mackie by the back of his shirt. He tore the boy free and, as though it were no effort at all, slung him through the air, towards the huge windows looking out on MegaTokyo.

Mackie impacted on the glass with a loud 'thud', bracing himself somewhat with his hands on the hard surface. He still hit his head on the glass, sending a wave of nausea through him. However, the glass didn't break; Mackie's last thought before unconsciousness took him was that he was very glad Silia had invested in bulletproof glass for all her windows.

Silia was already down the hallway and into the stairwell by the time this had happened. She jumped down several flights, taking the steps three or four at a time. After seven floors, she left the stairwell, entering another hallway lined with apartments. She jogged down this, putting her gun away and fishing something else out of her purse as she did so.

She checked her watch as she reached one of the apartments. Her hand came out of her purse, accompanied by the sound of jingling keys. She slid one of the keys into the lock of the door, opened it, and was through, locking the door behind her, in under three seconds.

Pocketing the keys, she made her way through the significantly smaller - and noticeably unoccupied - apartment. This apartment hadn't had anyone living in it since she'd bought it a few years ago. It had only one purpose: giving her an alternate escape route in case of emergency. An escape route she needed, with her current opponent. Taking the stairs all the way down would have meant her capture, as Guillotine would have just gone down the stairs himself, either catching her there or in the lobby of the building.

Getting into the apartment's bedroom, she quickly unlocked the window. She climbed out, getting onto the fire escape sitting just outside. She made her careful way down the rickety metal construction, leaving the window to the apartment open behind her. As she made her way down the metal steps, her hand went back into her purse. This time, it took out a cellular phone.

The first thing she did was hit the panic button, alerting all other Knight Sabers that she was in danger. There was no possibility they'd be able to get here in time to help, but they still had to be alerted; that way, even if Guillotine captured her, the others would already have been alerted to the danger.

The next thing she did was to pop open the back of the phone, which rotated up on a hidden hinge, revealing a control pad. She pressed several buttons with her thumb, as she made it down to the final level of the fire escape.

Down in the parking garage of the building, a classic Mercedes switched itself on. Holo-projectors in the cockpit activated, shining a realistic image of Silia sitting in the drivers' seat, her hands on the steering wheel. The car's German engine purred, then roared. Its transmission shifted itself into Drive, and the parking brake 'clicked' off. Tires screeching, the car took off, heading out the parking garage and tearing off down the road at an insane speed.

Silia saw the car go flying by as she got off the ladder of the fire escape. Nodding to herself, she turned and walked away from that street, heading for the other end of the alley she'd deposited herself into.

She walked calmly into the street, proceeding at a steady pace down the sidewalk, away from her building. She kept one hand in her purse, fingers clutching her gun, just in case.

She checked her watch again, nodding to herself. The car was now tearing through the streets of MegaTokyo with a speed and precision only its onboard computer could achieve, leading anyone pursuing it on a wild goose chase which would inevitably end when the police finally chased it down. When confronted with a police roadblock, the car was programmed to stop and shut down immediately. Explanations would have to follow, but explanations to the police were much preferable to being captured by a rogue boomer.

A cab was sitting on the side of the street, just like there always was at this time of day. Silia glanced inside to make sure there were no other passengers, then opened the door and sat down. She gave the driver quick instructions to the Silky Doll, then sat back, watching out the windows as her apartment building receded into the background. She half-expected to see Guillotine pop out from around a corner, charging after the cab, gun in hand.

^It may be a while before I can go back there,^ she thought, somberly. ^But until then...^ she trailed off as she saw the driver take an exit onto the highway, taking them in an easterly direction when she knew they had to go north to get to the Silky Doll. Not only that, but he was acclerating; they were already well over 150 kph, and still going.

"Excuse me," Silia said, a little annoyed and - deep down - filled with apprehension at this turn of events. "But you shouldn't go this way."

"I know my way around, Silia."

Silia froze, at the voice. She looked into the rear view mirror, which she could see had been angled so that the driver could look into the passenger compartment, instead of behind the car. The telltale sunglasses and smirking face were all she needed to see.

She reached for her purse, but froze as she heard a gun being cocked. Looking up, she saw the muzzle of Guillotine's assault pistol aimed at her through the glass divider, its gaping muzzle looking like a hungry animal's maw.

"The glass might be bulletproof, but not against HEAP rounds," Guillotine explained, continuing to maneuver through traffic. "I'd suggest you don't try anything. In fact, throw your purse out the window please, Ms. Stingray."

Both passengers' side windows rolled down, at this. Silia grabbed her purse, but slid her hand into it, even as she edged towards one of the windows.

"Don't even think of going for the gun, Ms. Stingray," Guillotine said, his voice betraying some rather severe strain. "I'm not in the best mood right now, and promise or no promise, I'd much prefer to deliver you dead than end up with a bullet in my own brain. Purse. Out. Now."

Silia could hear the conviction in his voice. Without another moment's hesitation, she threw the purse out the window, watching it bounce along the pavement for a moment before a car ran it over.

"Good," Guillotine said, rolling up the windows. "Now, don't struggle, don't try to escape, and I won't have to kill you."

Silia sat back in her seat, staring at the gun which was still aimed at her, held upside-down as the driver had to aim backwards over his shoulder.

"What promise?" Silia asked.

No response.

"What promise were you referring to, Brady?" Silia asked, more fervently.

"None of your damn business," the man bit out, as he squeezed the car between two trucks. "Just shut up."

"Brady, you don't have to do this."

"Yes I do, lady. It's my job."

Silia paused, choosing her next words carefully. In the rearview mirror, Guillotine's sunglasses regarded her impassively, covering whatever emotion their owner might be expressing at the moment.

"Who put you up to this?" she asked.

"Man by the name of Largo, if it's that important to you. He hired me a...a long time ago. Said I could have freedom, if I bring you to him when he asks."

"Brady - "

"Ms. Stingray, I've just had to see the one mark that's ever had an effect on my life get gunned down, and then I had to pull her ass out of cop central. You can't convince me otherwise...I've nearly lost everything, now."

"Largo gave you a death sentence, Brady."

Guillotine half-turned his head, letting her see half of his face for a moment. "He gave the power to do what I want," he said, quietly. "Even if it cut my life, it doesn't matter. I owe him this much. Otherwise..." he paused, at this, smiling and laughing just a little. "...otherwise I get the one man I don't want to make an enemy of chasing after me, with whatever pet boomers he's tagging along."

"Even though he'll probably kill you after this? Just to make sure you don't present a further threat to him?"

"Believe me lady, I wouldn't be a threat. Largo had me on my knees in seconds. He could do it again, without any trouble. And who knows? Maybe if I show him I keep my promises, he'll...he'll figure out a way to make me live longer."

"There is no way, Brady. We've checked your specs - "

"SHUT UP!" Guillotine shouted. Silia closed her eyes, waiting for the bullet that would end her life. It didn't come. As she opened her eyes, he saw Guillotine was re-holstering his gun, his arm apparently having become tired from holding it in that awkward position.

"This is all I have now, Silia," Guillotine said. His voice no longer sounded arrogant. Rather, he just sounded...tired. And quite fed up with the world in general. "This is all I can do."

"Perhaps not."

"Well, I guess I could just forget to bring you in, and end up having my entire life ripped to shreds! Not to mention watching this maniac cut up Sylvie, Anri, and those other 'roids, just to get back at me!"

Silia let out a slow sigh. She forced her mind to work. Finally, she came up with a plan. It wasn't much, but she was willing to improvise.

"There's another way, if you'll listen."

"Do I have a choice? Other than killing you, probably not. So go ahead, lady. You know I probably won't listen."

"Pull over, and I'll tell you."

"Tell me," Guillotine said, firmly, "or I'll just keep driving this thing until we get to Largo. Then you can tell him your great idea. How about that?"

Another sigh on the part of Silia. "All right, Guillotine. Have it your way. Now, you'll have to make a detour for this, but it won't take much time. This is another possibility I've planned for..."