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It couldn't be her.

There was no way she could have tracked him here. Her face had given him pause, something had happened to her since the last time they'd fought, but the body armor was the same, the posture, body language. It was her.

Tristan was going to kill him for this. Three people Alex hadn't killed were here, working together. There was no way Tristan would forgive him.

He checked on his partner as he attached the explosives to the Fabricator. Maybe he hadn't noticed her? He could hope. If this was anyone other than Tristan he'd say he had been too busy killing to see her.

Movement at the edge of his vision. He turned, fired at, and killed, the person who was coming around the end of the fabricator. He spun again at noise on the other end and fired, missing his intended target, but sending them back.

"How big of an explosion is that going to be?" He fired anytime he saw movement.

"Big enough you don't want to stay here when I run."

"I'm right behind you."

He fired as Tristan finished adjusting the explosives. He took out his gun, looked left and right, then ran left. Alex followed, firing behind him to keep anyone from shooting them in the back. Even before they reached the end of the fabricator, Tristan had grabbed someone in heavy armor, fired close range in the joints and then used him as a shield to shove his way through the mass of people accumulating around the fabricator.

Alex fired with one hand, and cut anyone who came close with the other. He didn't have to work hard at killing them. They seemed determined to smother him, so there was always someone within easy reach.

"Down." Tristan's voice hadn't been loud, but the command sent Alex to a crouch. He'd expected the Samalian to shoot over him, instead the explosion rocked him forward. The mass of people between him and the fabricator had buffered him, but it meant he had people on top of him who, if they weren't dead or screaming in pain, wanted to kill him.

He got out from under them, getting cut and burnt in the process, but shedding more of their blood than he shed his. He'd lost his gun, so he grabbed one from a body. He looked around as he fired, and saw Katherine. She'd been on the other side of the room so hadn't been affected by the explosion, but she wasn't paying attention to the fighting. She was on the comm with someone, not happy.

Well, he could help with that. He aimed at her, but was tackled before he fired. The gun flew out of his hand as he landed, kicked the person off him and rolled to his feet. Flint was already on his feet.

The man had a maniacal smile. "You're dead." He grabbed a knife from his belt and threw it at Alex's feet.

Alex glanced around. A circle of Flint's people had formed. Beyond them he saw Tristan fighting with the armored people. They had to be Katherine's

"Pick it up."

Alex took it. It was well balanced. Just a blade, probably mono-edge. Alex wanted to run to Tristan's side, help him, but everyone around him and Flint held a gun. He shoved the fear down. That was Tristan, a dozen well armed and armored men wouldn't be enough to take him.

He focused on Flint. "You seriously want to fight me with a knife?" The man was missing half his hair, burnt off. His face had blood and soot over it. His clothing had burned, leaving mostly the armored components. "Do you have any idea how deadly I am with one of these? I'm going to slice you apart in no time."

"Once I'm dead, you're dead too."

"You're in that much of a hurry to die?"

"I've got no reasons to live anymore. You saw to that when you and that monster of yours blew up Elizabeth."

"I'd offer you my condolences, but I think you prefer I send you to her instead." Alex covered the distance separating them in three steps and slashed.

He didn't try to connect. He was extremely good. Knives were an extension of his arms. He could kill anyone except Tristan with them, but the knowledge there was one person he couldn't beat informed him of the possibility there might be a second one. He didn't know Flint's skill with the knives and before he threw himself into this fight, he was going to test him.

It also gave him time to figure out how to deal with the mass of people who would shoot him the instant Flint died. And there was Katherine to keep in mind, It was only a question of time until she was done talking and joined the fight.

Alex smiled. He did love a hopeless situation.

Flint threw himself at Alex. He wasn't holding back, he was intent on killing him. Unfortunately, that wouldn't happen. After only three attacks Alex knew he didn't have the kind of skill that could beat him. So it was just a question of using him to get himself to Tristan.

Alex didn't even have to try hard. He batted the next attack aside, grabbed Flint's arm, pulled him close and had the knife at his throat. Alex stopped moving. If he'd miss-judged Flint's people there was nothing he could do to survive this.

But since no one had shot him yet, his odds were good.

"What are you waiting for! Kill him!" Flint's voice was raw.

"They know that if one of them raises a gun at me I won't hesitate to cut your throat. Heal-all can do a lot, but short of a fully staffed hospital, no one survives that."

"You think I'm afraid to die?"

"Oh, you're not afraid of that, but they are. See, Flint, you screwed up. You didn't build a criminal empire. You built a fucking family. You and your girlfriend made people care about you. You gave them a place to belong. What's going to happen to them when you're dead? What is their world going to be like all alone?"

Alex did a slow spin ensuring everyone saw the knife at the man's throat. "They know that in this situation, I'm the one in control. I'm the one who'll decide if you live or die. And I'm telling you that the only way you stay alive is if they part way so I can join my partner." He could see the fight, still going on, but he thought there were fewer armored people involved in it now.

"You're going to kill me the moment you get there."

"Trust me, I really should kill you. My partner is going to make me regret not doing it, but that's fine, so long as I'm with him." Alex lowered his voice. "Because I'm going to let you in on something that'll put things in perspective for you. I'm going to tell you because even if you survive this debacle of yours, you won't be able to use that information. It's something I'm not sure I've even had the guts to admit to myself until now. I love him. I've already sacrificed everything for him. If letting you live so I can rejoin him means I have to take a beating, I'll do it. Now here's the thing. He doesn't give a damn about me. You can't use me to get to him, and if you try to use him to get to me? Well, just how many of Katherine's men has he killed already? You think you measure up to them?"

He looked at the people between him and Tristan. "So, what will it be? You let me through, or I kill him?"

There was a ripple through the crowd, anger, fear, resignation. They parted. Slowly Alex moved through them. Watching for any sudden movement.

Tristan was down to four opponents. Dead bodies spread around them. When he'd crossed half the distance, two more were dead. Another dropped while he watched. He turned as he walked, keeping everyone appraised of the danger Flint was still in and when he faced Tristan again the Samalian was looking at him, his fur mat with blood, his face impassive.

"Are you ready for another fight?" Alex asked as he reached him. "Because the moment I kill him, they're all falling on us." He turned to face the crowd and felt Tristan against his back. The contact provided too much comfort. He hadn't lied to Flint, but even then, it couldn't be normal that he relaxed this much just because Tristan was at his back.

Before Tristan answered him a commotion erupted at the back of the crowd. A group in gray military armor was coming in, shooting whoever was the closest.

Alex looked up at Tristan. "Is th--"

Tristan grabbed him just as Alex saw the two canisters fly over the people's head. Alex felt his knife bite into Flint's flesh as Tristan pulled him down, then wrapped himself around him. Alex only had the time to cover his ears and close his eyes before his face was pushed against Tristan's stomach and arms pressed his hands against his ears. Alex felt Tristan press his face against his back.

Even with that when the flash of light came it was visible through his closed eyelids. The concussive force sent the two of them flying across the room, but Tristan held on to him. When they landed Tristan released him and stood. He was blinking as Alex got to his feet.

"Are those Baran's men!" Alex barely heard his own voice. He looked around one of the men in gray armor pointed at the destroyed fabricator. Another had the guy in the suit who'd been leading the drug dealers. He couldn't hear anything, but the way the man was being shaken and how he was pointing. They weren't happy. Someone else grabbed someone off the floor and threw her over her shoulder and they headed out.

"They've got the biochemist!"

Tristan was looking around, blinking and tears falling from his eyes. He cursed. "I can barely see. Where are they?"

"On the left! Through the hole in the wall!"

Tristan ran, uncaring of who he stepped on. People screamed in pain as Alex followed.

"If Baran gets her he can rebuild the virus! She has the formula in her enhancement!"

When they made it outside Tristan fired at the group. His shots went wild, but they still scattered over the street. Alex hadn't noticed him picking it up.

"Protect the package," one of them said, although by the body language he had to be yelling.

"You're not getting her," Tristan growled.

"What's your interest in her?" the man said. This time he didn't look like he yelled, so Alex's hearing was coming back.

Tristan shot in the man's direction, but he missed.

"Hand me the gun and I'll shoot him, I can see."

Tristan handed it to him, but before Alex could aim he felt something pressed against his back. There was a flash of pain, he was in the air, and unconscious before he hit the ground.