An Act Of War (FINISHED)

[Two McMillion]

The thing in front of him. He did not, even in thought, call it a woman. A hissing, snarling wildcat, incarnated into human form, was more accurate. A raging maelstrom, sucking the life of others to feed herself. The thing in front of him.

He could see, from the corner of one eye, the death roes of the child. The sight barely made an impression on his senses. It was precisely, exactly, what a thing like Anne Marie would have been expected to do; energy used for surprise or pity was energy wasted. She stood before him like a dare, like a scar fixed between Earth and sky, as if taunting him to make the first move.

He fired. Saw the prongs make satisfying contact. Held the trigger. Released, then pulled again. Saw the second pair of prong strike her. She was twitching now, screaming, if they could only could keep it up-

A pair of prongs missed. No, dammit, too few, too few! He pulled the trigger again, but the charge was spent. No, no! A few more seconds and she would be free, a few more seconds and-

She stood and tore the prong from her eye, and with it, the eye itself. Her face contorted with an emotion Nathan might have recognized faster, had he not seen it so often in the mirror: hate. He smiled. So the feeling was mutual, he thought. Good.

The thing threw off the last of the wires. Faced him, glowering, fingers blared like claws, snatching for his shirt. His arms were snapping upward, legs kicking back, to break the grip to keep skin from touching skin, but he could not say he ordered the acts; he merely beheld them, an outside observer to his own battle.

I'm going to die, he thought. I made a mistake, I moved in too close, and I'm going to die. He registered a small amount of surprise that the realization did not affect him more. But there was no reason it should; it was logical. He could evade her for perhaps a second or two more while his team held back (or, more likely, retreated while the small distraction of killing him slowed their foe, ha!), and then those hands would clamp down on him, and...

And what?

And darkness, he thought bitterly. Ha! Then nothing! Just a snap and a scream and he'd be gone, out like a candle. He wondered if they'd print a second obituary for him. Probably not. Reporters hated being wrong.

At least it wasn't a telepath, he thought. God, I hate telepaths.

For an instant a picture floated in his mind. It was a weapon, something that he could have used to kill Anne Marie. He wondered if any of the others would be smart enough to think of it. He doubted it. Danko, he thought, stupid Danko, he'd have to have a word with him later. He hoped there was a Hell so he could curse Danko there afterward.

No, he thought as he snapped quite free for an instant from those hands. I don't believe in a God, but there certainly is a Devil. And he smiled once more, quite bitterly.

But it was always going to end this way. He'd never been under any illusions about that. One day the human would fail and fall and leave the planet the more-than-humans, and why not happen today, why not happen now-

It was his body, not his mind, that responded to the sound he had not heard since his days in the marine corps. His legs, snapping straight and sideways out of the path of the RPG, rolling away from the orange burst of flame that replaced the body of the thing in the field of his vision. For an instant, above him in a window, he saw the trail of smoke to the man who saved his life, and in an instant of memory for the corps, flashed him a thumbs up.

He did not look back as he leaped upward and strode towards the building. “Inside,” he said only. “Inside.”

[Mister Denisov]

The eye. Oh God, the f***ing eye. Stomach acid crept up his throat, and he nearly gagged at the sight. Mikko had seen gruesome things before, experienced some himself. But he had never seen anybody inflict such harm upon themselves: to pull out their very own eye. It made her even more inhuman. More vile and repulsive. And more of a freak. Remind him again why the crippled US government hadn’t figured she was worth eradicating?

Target 6 stared – or as much as she could with only one eye – at Donovan, and he stared back. Mikko tensed, waiting to see what the next move would be. If it was up to him, he would have drawn a weapon and fired a few rounds into the huora’s head. It might not kill her, but it would surely incapacitate her for a moment. His hand was already slowly creeping towards that weapon, ready to sntach it up and fire in a second’s notice. But this was a team here, and as much as he would have loved to see Donovan get cut up, every man acting for himself was only going to get more people killed. Like that idiot Collins. No, he wasn’t going to blast out the side of LeBeau’s head.

But Donovan wasn’t exactly doing anything – just staring at the woman, if she could be called that. And what was he waiting for? If given enough time, the Professor would take control of everything again, and hell, that wasn’t going to happen on Mikko’s watch. His jaw set, his mind made up. He moved deftly, slinging his gun up from his waist, calculating the trajectory in motion and firing three shots before anyone had so much as seen him move.

The bullets flew straight and true, pummelling into the side of the Target’s face. Mikko smiled on the inside, but he was already moving closer, ready to take necessary precautions to finish the reva off. Yet Donovan, as usual, was committed only to his own plans, and was already ordering the men inside the building. Oh, yeah, run. That’ll work. Mikko paused and frowned.

Jumalauta! He’d regret this later, but staying out on the sidewalk was going to leave him dead. It was only a matter of time before LeBeau recovered. And with the other men already crossing inside, there was no way they could subdue the Target now. At least he’d given them a headstart. He ran towards the building, swearing his head off the whole way.

[47jamoo]

The irony in Danko's statement was of the bitter flavor.

Yomin waited until the gun hit the floor before he shifted his sword back. Danko turned, and Yomin recognized the sight he saw there. Unbridled hatred. Eminent disgust. Yomin knew these expressions very, very well. He wore the same whenever he was forced to interact with a human.

"You’re going to pay for what you’ve done today Breise."

Yomin withheld the sneer that threatened to shatter his composure. This man? The hunter? He dared speak of justice? After what he had done? Yomin only maintained his poker face with great effort, but the white-knuckled grip on his hilt betrayed the hate that roiled beneath the surface.

"Spare me your empty threats, Danko."

Yomin glared for a moment, before he glanced down at Danko's form, searching for additional weapons. When he was confident that any secondary weapons were concealed enough that drawing them would cost precious seconds, Yomin relaxed his sword arm, allowing the tip of his sword to hover inches from the ground. He wanted nothing more than to run the monster through, but he had to remain focused.

After a measured breath, Yomin began, "You do not know how I have waited for this day. To have you at my mercy. I have long desired to hoist your head in victory. And all I have to do..." Yomin twitched his sword, "...Is pay you the justice due."

Yomin glared into Danko's eyes for a moment longer. "But we have much to discuss before that."

[*No One Special*]

Anne Marie was increasingly excited about the power plays of these agents surrounding her. Sadly, there were far fewer than she would have liked, but those that were there would do. Her attention was focused primarily on Donovan, the man who joined forces with Danko for reasons beyond Anne's comprehension. Why would a man who hunted so well alone join with a man like Danko? Donovan needed no team, according to Yomin, and for that Anne Marie had seen him as a hunter much like herself. They were two of a kind - but she was oh-so-much better! And now she was proving it.

Starting to stand after ripping the last barb from her arm, Anne Marie jerked the respirator from her face. She had no need of it for this hunt. She could heal from anything they could throw at her. Tasers? Ha! As if they would do anything to a woman of her talents! Now guns, those might stop her temporarily, but man! Those would have been so much more fun! The pain that came from a gunshot wound was temporarily intoxicating and Anne had hoped she could be shot numerous times. She truly desired the pain and the challenge that should have come from these "mercenaries", but as of now Anne was distinctly disappointed.

Turning to face Donovan again as she began to stand, Anne Marie smiled wickedly. Her eye was beginning to heal, she could feel it, but it was only a tickle and damn if she didn't desire more pain! She stood from her crouched position slowly, much like one might imagine a werewolf coming back to human form and as they did so giving the appearance of one about to pounce on their prey. She had few worries. She was immortal, after all, and her death spot was one of which no one else was aware outside from her and Ben Carver. They'd have to get lucky to find it.

"Now, where were we?" she asked Donovan in a low, seductive tone.

Sadly, she didn't have the opportunity to say or do anything more as in a single heartbeat gunshots rang out and Donovan turned tail and ran. Anne Marie felt the flesh on her face peel from the bone that simultaneously shattered at her jaw when two of the three successive shots struck her from the side. She fell to the ground again, striking it while reveling in the pain that gushed from her as quickly as her blood. The sound of something flying over her head was barely heard over the ringing in her ears, and was not something Anne particularly paid any heed to. Yet as it struck a vehicle just beyond the group and sent red hot fire cascading over her prone form, Anne knew in that instant someone had fired something much larger at her.

Her clothing caught fire and began to melt to her skin; the two forming a bond that felt like napalm as it eternally burned through her flesh and down to her bone in places all over her body. Metal shrapnel pierced her in various places and Anne finally found the bliss she was looking for. She desired nothing more than to scream in ecstasy but the removal of her jaw kept her from making much sound beyond the gurgling of blood as her scream was forcing air from her lungs.

This is what she lived for! This is what she wanted! If Anne Marie wasn't causing pain, she desired nothing more than to receive it. In her most vivid fantasies, she got to have it all, and those she had only had realized with Ben Carver. The devil had left her and now she had to hunt for different prey; something Yomin Breise provided and Donovan would soon be. If she could have smiled, she would have.

Anne Marie's last thought before her body caused her mind to black out for a few moments while it healed was simply this: Finally!

[Amsybear]

The cold control he found in Yomin’s eyes was not something he’d expected. Who but a mad man would commit such an indiscriminate act of mass murder as had been witnessed today? But there was no trace of insanity in that steady, hate filled gaze. The pair were both of sound mind and exceedingly human. As they face one another the air between them grew hot with their glares and crackled with restrained anger. Danko would have loved to have put a bullet in the freak’s brain right then and there but he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to make a move whilst his opponent was the one holding the sword, especially since he didn’t think Yomin wanted to kill him quite yet or he’d be dead already. However the first opportunity he got he was prepared to turn the tables.

Clenching his jaw as the terrorist spoke Danko held back his retort. This wasn’t a name calling contest between two playground bullies, this encounter needed to be handled with more care. In the pause which followed he considered his position. What exactly did Yomin what from him? He could give very little in the way of useful information and what he did know he wasn’t intending to divulge. Perhaps he just wanted to gloat? Danko took a deep breath, which was amplified by the mask which still covered his face, and waited for his enemy to make his move.

Once the sword was lowered The Hunter very slowly took his hands from behind his head and lowered them by his sides. He could move his hand more easily from there to grab the weapon beneath his jacket but with his arms held away from his sides it would still cost him too many precious seconds. Yomin knew that and took a moment to revel in his victory. However Danko noticed he wasn’t smiling, for how long he claimed to have been waiting for this you might have thought he’d enjoyed it a little more. The way he spoke reminded Danko of his own man Donovan, with that touch of melodrama he found so annoying.

Not giving Yomin the satisfaction of flinching at the jerk of his sword The Hunter interrupted.
”Killing me won’t make a difference. My threat wasn’t empty, it might not be me but someone will make you pay, you’ve got their attention now Breise and they’ll be coming for you. You and the rest of your kind. All those fools who thought you freaks were harmless will realise I was right all along. If anything I should thank you for your little stunt.” Danko shuffled back a little, putting a little distance between them only for his back to meet the cold metal of the door.

_________________________________________________

Notes:

[STAFF]

The visage of Yomin moved through the halls of the building nigh vacant of life with the purposeful steps common to the man. He was confident, immune to all his own death blows, and cared little for the carnage that passed under foot. He stepped over another dead body, this of a woman who would have been lovely. Yomin stepped on her pale fingers in his attempt to pass and never once looked down to notice.

She knew someone was following her. Kira (as Yomin) knew this with a certainty after passing into another hall and catching a reflexion of her stalker's shadow in a framed picture on the wall. The face of Yomin smiled faintly, a sadist little grin that implied he had plans which was very much the truth.

Yomin passed an elevator meant for the handicapped and opened the door to the stairway. Kira paused long enough to ensure her companion would know which direction she took, then let the door close behind her. She did not care if it made a sound. Yomin would not care. The question in her mind as she ascended the stairs was only if the man who followed would have the guts to continue. This path was narrow and had fewer ways of escape. Was he brave enough?

Was he foolish enough?

The question lingered in Kira's mind as she unsheathed her sword and sought a hiding place by which to surprise her hunter. Then, like a tiger laying in wait for its prey, Kira would launch an attack on this mercenary. If he lived or not would be entirely up to him. For her part, she focused little on her possible death. If this man killed the vision of Yomin, he would cease his attempts to follow the real man of the hour. If he died, he would cease stalking anyone.

Kira rose a couple of floors before opening the door to another hall. She paused, looking left and right before determining she would go left. There, more shadows provided cover, and there she would find a place to hide until her hunter arrived. Kira let the door close behind her slowly, ensuring the door did not latch and thus leave the man following a trail of her own planning.


Notes: Modded for Adara.

[SilencedScream]

Entering the building in pursuit, Jaiden moved forward cautiously. Had his target seen him? He couldn't be sure, but he made no assumptions. Cat and mouse chases were clear cut; but typically mice weren't skilled with melee weapons and capable of emitting toxic fumes. Placing his shoulder against a corner, just to provide cover, Jaiden lowered his assault rifle, placing it leaning against the wall. In confined quarters, from stock to barrel, the weapon would simply hinder him.

Instead, Jaiden withdrew the Five-seveN pistol from the shoulder holster underneath his jacket and the tactical knife from his waistband, holding the two weapons akimbo. Despite the lack of firepower, it increased both his maneuverability and chances of being able to fire a shot.

What was the man doing, patrolling the empty building all his lonesome? Jaiden knew not, but if the threat could be eliminated quickly enough - if the head could be removed from the snake - the rest would fall quickly. Hallway by hallway, Jaiden followed, his footsteps light against the tiled floors. If he was indeed spotted, it would not be noise that gave away his position.

Ahead of him, a door clicked into place. Yomin had taken the stairs. Giving a moment's pause to allow him to move on, Jaiden followed suit, slowly opening the door with his shoulder, his pistol arm using the door for leveled support. The floor - and area behind the door - clear, Jaiden moved up the stairs backwards, his gun raised above his head in anticipation of a shot. There was none to be had; Yomin had continued forward.

Jaiden raised three floors before coming across an unnerving sight - an unlatched door. Checking the next flight quickly, in case the enemy had laid a trap to double back on, Jaiden licked his lips anxiously. For an emergency exit door to remain opened, it would either need to be propped or closed very slowly, in order to not engage enough pressure for the lock to fall into place. Something was wrong.

Yomin was on to him.

There was no giving, however. If Yomin slipped away now, it would likely take many more months - and many more innocent lives - to end it. Keeping this thought in place, Jaiden eased the door open with his foot, making a sweep of the immediate doorway before stepping through.

The odd ray of sunlight that managed to get through the gases in the air filtered into the hallway, giving off an eerie, wavering glow. The lights on the floor were off and, unfortunately, there was no simple switch to be found.

Still, there was a simple option: to go left or go right? Jaiden analyzed both, weighing in the belief that Yomin was intentionally leading him forward. The building - an office building - contained windowed conference rooms to the right and simple, cubicle offices to the left. The latter provided both less lighting and more cover. Handgun and knife at the ready, Jaiden turned left, cautiously approaching the first open office desk, attempting to keep the adrenaline and anticipation from causing too much interference.

[Two McMillion]

Inside. Doors closed behind them, sealing out for the moment the chaos without.

Failure. Dismal failure. Of course that was what had happened; he had known it from the start. And despite his best attempts, they had recovered precisely nothing from running around outside, except the sight of a few dying victims- and their enemy.

So. So now the others knew. Now they saw what was at stake, what the other side would do. He wondered if any of them had thought of it before; he doubted so. But the stakes were higher than ever now, and no one who was not a complete fool could fail to recognize it.

He thought of the child in the street. The girl that the thing had reached for and sucked the very life from. Unexpectedly, he was angry. A child! They had not known if she had an ability or not; they had not known if she was any threat to them. Perhaps the child would have grown up sympathetic to their cause! But no. Not a chance, not a chance at life, at hope. Only death and pain- pain for the pleasure of a madman and his cohorts.

“Bullies,” he said aloud. “That's all they are. Playground bullies, only bigger and with more toys, picking on those that can't fight back.

“Whatever else you do, gentlemen,” he said, staring into space, speaking to no one except those who could hear, “never kill a man unless he is stronger then you.”

And Nathan never had. Not in his time hunting specials, not in all his time before that. Those he had slain were specials, people with abilities, people with power beyond what he could hope to have. And Yomin, no matter what sort of man he was, had a point. Specials were stronger than humans. That was not any sort of inferiority complex; it was an obvious fact. Why deny it? A person who moved things with their mind, or bent time and space, was by definition stronger than those who could not.

Yet strength, thought Nathan, did not make good. He believed that, if he believed anything. Being an investigator meant proving that point over and over again, arguing till your voice died in shouts to a deaf world that might never made right; that right simply existed, soaring like some great eagle far above the field where most humans played out their actions and small dramas. Right was like that. You didn't get to abolish it just because there was no one to stop you. Right said not to kill those weaker than you, not to slaughter the innocent indiscriminately.

Nathan had kept to that rule. He had slain the strong, causing no needless damage to those who knew nothing of specials. He struck, quickly, efficiently, to destroy his targets, and no more. Not a killer, though the media labeled him as such, but a surgeon, cutting away, piece by piece, of a disease that would slowly kill, and had already taken, all he had once loved. That would invariably do so, no matter what efforts he put forth.

He smiled. Because that meant Yomin would never win. The Special advanced, stronger, faster, but better? Ha! The special came for those who could not defeat them; the special advanced in a battle already won. The special had on their side time and space and science, the powers of the universe, cosmic threats and universal authorities. But that itself was their weakness. He envisioned the march of human history for a moment, successive generations of mankind from the ape to the sapient to the special... and beyond? His mind could not conceive of it that far. But one thing it conceived well: That at every turn, natural selection, evolution advanced the race upon a mound of inferior corpses; that humans lived because their ape parents had died, and that the special would rise as the last of the true men fell dead and was buried. But every turn, every step further along the course took the race further down as well as further forward. For even men had already lost what the ape retained; the singular unity with nature, the uncaring ethical nature stripped from moral casing, minds freed from problems of intellect and will. The ape race could never have elevate itself to avoid the ravages of natural selection, and in that sense it was free from it. For all their intellect, men were bound by their roots- by a continual sense of where they had come, and a drive to go from it. The eugenicists of the early twentieth century had tried and failed. Now the special tried their own version. But wasn't it obvious? The further up you went, the higher natural selection bound you. The more it gave you, the more it defined you- and the more lordship you owed it.

And thus the specials- the last of anything on Earth that could be called human- far from being the heirs of power, would be of all things that sprang from woman's loins most to be pitied. For they would not be their own; rather, they would be most subject to hand of long-dead planners in the present, and, at bottom, the vast power of nature itself. For the powers granted by nature served to strengthen, rather than loosen, their bond to her; and scientific conquest on the subject would at that point become mere hypocrisy. Would they be strong? Would they be mighty? He did not doubt it- but they would not be better. The nuclear bomb, some said, had made mankind cavemen once more. Specials' powers, he thought, would eventually reduce them to the level of microbes.

You lose, Yomin, he thought. You lose forever.

A glance upward. Time to get out of this hellhole- and prepare for a strike at the neck of the mighty.

(OOC: Character exit- he escapes the same way everyone else does.)

[47jamoo]

We are Nemesis. We are chaos.

The man in the top hat gave an ironic smile when Danko suggested that the terrorist should be thanked for this little stunt. Taking a dramatic step forward, and leaning in a little closer, the man in the top hat quietly said, "Yes, you really should."

Leaning back and standing upright, the man in the top hat glanced down at his sword, seeing the blood that was already there. Human blood. Unworthy blood. Yet there would be so much more spilled before the day was over. He looked back up at Danko, and said what he had orchestrated their little chase to say.

"You and I are more alike than either of us care to admit. We both despise the other's kind, and we both knew that a war was coming. In many ways, it is only because of us that the war is happening at all. If it were not for your Building Twenty Six, I doubt I could have rallied the overwhelming support of my people to wage this war. And without my attack today, your people would have continued to ignore the grave threat my kind pose to them."

The man in the top hat smiled a sinister smile. "Yes, the war was inevitable. But it is only happening in our lifetime because we drove the unnatural peace to the breaking point. I'll not thank you for abducting, torturing, and murdering my people, just as you'll not thank me for poisoning your city. Nevertheless, you need me to keep pressing the attack, and putting the pressure on your leaders, so that they will take the actions you have so desired of them. And I need you to continue haunting my people, so that they see the need to fight back."

The man in the top hat stopped smiling, and formed his free hand into a fist. "I just wanted you to know that I staged this attack outside your base of operations for two reasons. One, to show you that there is nowhere you can go that I cannot find you. There is not dark hole you can run to, no rock you can hide under, that I cannot track you to."

He flicked his sword, scratching across the floor. "The second reason, and by far the more important, I want you to know that I'll not kill you or your people here today. In fact, sometime down the road, I may even tip you off to another attack. Part of me wants to watch you lose your entire world, but the strategist in me sees the value in having visible opposition."

Tipping his hat, the man in the top hat concluded, "Just do what you do best, Danko. We'll see each other again, very soon."

[Amsybear]

With a swordsman’s footwork Yomin stepped forward at the same time as Danko stepped back, denying him the extra room to manoeuvre. If Danko could have held him back with the force of his glare he would have done, but helpless to do so he instead reached slowly behind himself and wrapped his gloved fingers around the distorted door handle of the roof access door. If he could just get some space between them he’d gain the advantage and put an end to this right here and now. Exploring with his fingertips it appeared to Danko that the handle had been warped but the mechanism itself was intact, he’d have to test that theory soon enough. However Yomin had obviously brought him here to talk and despite himself The Hunter was intrigued to hear what he had to say. Maybe it would give him some insight into this man’s plans and motives beyond the obvious loathing in every feature.

Disgust and denial gripped Danko’s face as Yomin compared them to one another, he would never admit to being anything akin to this man. However he held his tongue, letting Yomin get into his speech whilst he tested the door handle gently. There was a war coming, he’d known it as soon as he’d seen the man standing so brashly in the nations capital having launch an assault on humanity. How could any government, any individual, ignore the challenge? That threat to their existence? And yet in all honesty it had been Danko’s kind who had made the first move. He had declared war on freaks like Yomin before they even knew his name; Building 26 had only enabled him to gather soldiers to his pre-existing cause.

Listening carefully to what Yomin said Danko recognised the intelligence behind his reasoning. By actively hunting down and killing Yomin’s kind Danko was giving them something to rally against, a cause to fight for. He was helping Yomin to gather support and Yomin was doing the same for him. However neither of them would allow this knowledge to stop them on their deadly purpose. They wanted war, and it appeared they both believed it was a war they would win. Danko knew he had numbers on his side and, as of this day, the might of the United States Government. There was only so far parlour tricks could get the other side once the rain of fire began.

”You mean you are here to gloat?” Danko spat disrespectfully, calling it what it was. ”Well make the most of it because I won’t be the one running or hiding. You are going to lose this war.” As the terrorist before him tipped his hat Danko slammed his foot into the door, breaking any resistance to flinging it open. He stepped through backwards, retreating onto the gravel roof and reaching for the handgun under his jacket. However by the time he’d armed it the chance was missed and his shots rang out into thin air. With a growl of fury The Hunter stalked across to the edge of the building at looked down into the thinning mist below through which flashing lights of emergency vehicles could now be seen. Their sirens combined with the screams of the fearful to float up to him. They seemed distant from this height, giving him the feeling of being an army general observing the battlefield.

It was clear who’d won this bout.

_________________________________________________

Notes:

[*No One Special*]

As Anne Marie regained consciousness, she sat up and looked around her. The flames from the rocket still churned around her as the wreckage of the car it had exploded scattered and burned. The flames licked near her face and Anne felt the heat coming from them but she welcomed it and the pain searing through her body as her nerves began to mend. This was what let Anne Marie know she was alive! And the pleasure of it nearly sent her into orgasmic spasms.

Instead, her thoughts caught up to her predicament and a snarl came to her lips when the memory of what happened in the seconds before the rocket struck flashed through her mind. Anne's eyes sought those whose deaths she jealously guarded as her own. She looked beyond the flickering fires toward where she last left the men but no one was to be found. The area had emptied.

Anne rose to her hands and knees, clothing falling off in pieces that had been fused to burnt flesh. They knew she would heal from this. Why didn't they try to ensnare her before she did? Or bury a hundred sticks in her brain to try and keep it from happening? The questions had no answer save they ran for fear of their lives. Anne's lips curled into an unrecognizable smirk due to the fact half her face was still healing. She looked quite a bit like Two-face from the comics. Her skin, however, was bubbling as if alive.

Rising to her feet, Anne cared little for how scantily she was clothed. Most everyone around her was dead anyway, so it wasn't as if they cared. Nor would they care when Anne took their clothing... and the occasional wallet. She reached down, struggling with burnt off fingers that were mere stubs or one that fell off as she reached to unzip a woman's pants she thought could fit. Anne Marie laughed at that and kept gaining more clothing as her body repaired itself.

By the time she had collected new clothes from the corpses along the sidewalk, her body was intact once again. She walked toward the building Yomin had lured Danko into and looked up as she buttoned a single button of the woman's shirt at her breasts. As she neared the door, Kira joined her. The shape-shifting woman had lured another of the agents inside and lost him among the floors while buying Yomin time to speak to his enemy.

"Yomin's talks are completed. We're to meet at the rendezvous," Kira informed her. She looked at her counterpart strangely. "You smell awful."

"Y'a look awful," Anne's curt reply. She turned to her counterpart. "Did yer prey escape?"

"Yes," Kira replied sourly.

Anne looked ahead as they rounded the corner to leave the area. "Mine, too. Got a coupl'ov 'em, but th' one Ah want is still out thar."

Kira let a faint smile play at her lips. "Well then, looks like the fun is just beginning."

Anne returned her smirk. "Yep, an' Ah can't wait fer the rest."


[FIN]