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"Oh, god," Kerensky whispered as the echo from the last few gunshots came from the surveillance camera microphones. She and Akos gaped at one monitor in particular, which showed an image of Valeria lopping off the last merc's left arm with her Omni-Blade and clubbing him in the head with the charred end until he stopped moving. She turned, tossed the arm casually over her shoulder, and tapped another button on her Omni-Tool interface.

Irving caught one last glimpse of more than a dozen bodies scattered all over the floor before the screens blanked out again, Valeria having shown Akos everything she wanted him to see.

God … damn. Irving took a slow look around the room and noticed the horrified expressions on Valeria's parents, the other hostages, and several of the mercenaries guarding them.

"Maybe she just knocked him out," one of them mumbled. "If he wakes up in time, maybe …"

"Huh-uh." The krogan woman pointed at the flatlines on the monitors. "The mics picked up the sound of his skull crunching." She laughed softly. "Sounded a like a walnut cracking open."

"Jesus Christ, Grula." The other guy shuddered and she chuckled and looked over at Irving.

"Just curious." Grula motioned at the blank monitors. "What's the weirdest thing your wife has ever killed someone with?"

"A corn dog." Irving smirked and then had to hold in a laugh when the other mercs exchanged a series of unsettled glances.

Across the room, Kerensky turned, leaned on the console, and wiped tears from her cheeks with a trembling hand.

"There's only one more team between her and us. We're n … we're not gonna make it."

In the corner of Irving's eye, Grula began popping the thermal clips out of her rifle, catching them in her huge hand, and placing them quietly on the floor. Once her rifle was empty, she set it aside and did the same with her pistol.

"That's one floor down." Another krogan headed for the door. "If she gets past them, I'll be waiting for her right outside."

Two other krogan, an asari, and a couple of batarians joined him. Irving watched them step into the corridor. The krogan paused and glanced around at the others.

"Nobody else?"

Several of the remaining mercs shook their heads quickly. He snorted.

"Pussies." He lumbered through the door and let it close behind him. Akos activated the lock, his hand shaking almost as much as Kerensky's.

"Well." A particularly sweaty merc stretched and looked the hostages over. "If this is the day I shuffle off, I'm gonna have a little fun first." His eyes settled on the unnerving kid Valeria had met on Chasca, the one who called herself Ghost. He grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.

"Buckley," Kerensky snapped, "you sick fuck! She's, what, twelve years old?"

"You seemed perfectly fine with the idea of killing all these people when we're done with 'em, including the kids, but you're objecting to this?" He laughed and dragged the girl to another door.

Irving and Grula stood and took a step toward Buckley. Ghost noticed them, aimed an eye at each of them at the same time, and held her hand up for a fraction of a second as if telling them to back off. Irving frowned at her, glanced at Grula, and found her making the same face at him.

The girl smirked, winked, and let Buckley pull into the other room.

"Why did she wave us off?" Grula whispered.

"Well, when Val met her recently, she said the girl was planting a nuke to destroy a collection of Reaper technology." Irving shivered and was thankful that he hadn't been there to see it. "Her parents worked for Cerberus and she's got a bunch of their tech in her body. Maybe she's planning to …"

Gunfire and the sharp bang of an exploding grenade erupted outside, seeming to come from directly under the floor, and everyone in the room twitched. The sounds matched the pattern Valeria had used earlier -- one point-blank shot from her Phalanx hand cannon after another, switching to an assault rifle for longer ranges, then back to the pistol, with a pause now and then that probably meant she was whipping out a knife and slitting a throat or two between gunshots. Irving turned to the bank of monitors displaying the mercs' vitals and watched each screen flatline within a split-second of another until none remained active. The whole battle had taken between thirty and forty seconds.

As soon as the shooting stopped, the distinctive sound of an Omni-Blade deploying came from the room Buckley had dragged Ghost into -- followed by a scream that almost made Irving piss his pants. The other mercs spun toward the door and two of them snapped their rifles up.

The door opened and Ghost stepped out and glared at them. The blade remained attached to the hard-light Omni-Tool interface around her right arm, heat waves distorting the air around it. The mercs stared at the door, waited a few seconds, then glanced at each other again. One of them snarled, "Where's Buckley?"

Ghost raised one eyebrow. "Which half?"

"Jesus," another guy whispered. "Oh, shit!"

The two aimed their rifles straight at Ghost and she merely cocked her head.

"I wouldn't recommend that."

Both of them tried to keep their aim steady. The one on the left tightened his finger on the trigger.

Ghost seemed to ripple for a split-second and then vanished. Irving glimpsed a slight distortion in the air flitting toward both men and suddenly the blade reappeared, cleaving through the guy's neck as easily as it passed through the air. The body dropped, flames dancing around the cauterized stump, and his head rolled across the floor.

The other merc dropped his rifle, fell to his knees, and put his hands on his head. Ghost reappeared, holding her Omni-Blade an inch from his throat, and he flinched from its intense heat and closed his eyes.

"Please," he whispered. "Don't … please don't …"

Ghost swept her gaze over the rest of the mercs, her red, glowing cybernetic eyes moving independently of each other and visibly creeping most of them out.

"The only way you'll live through this is if you surrender." She nodded toward the main door. "Otherwise, if I don't kill you, Valeria will."

"Put your weapons down," Akos said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Do as she says. It's the only way you'll survive." He turned to Kerensky and then glanced at another door across the room. "You, too. I'll draw her away from you. It's the only chance you've got."

"What?" Kerensky stared at him and wiped more tears from her eyes. "L … Lantim?"

"She can only chase one of us." Akos strode across the room, then paused at the door to share one last look with her. "And we both know it'll be me."

---

Shit! Valeria scanned the corridor, made sure the cameras were still jammed, then pushed open the door to a storage room and stumbled inside. She closed the door, gripped a nearby shelf to help keep her balance, took a slow breath to steady herself, walked over to a crate at the back of the room and lowered herself onto it. She slumped forward, braced her arms on her knees, and continued panting for a moment.

The pain from the knife wound in her gut was bad enough, but she felt like every cell in her body ached.

Gonna sleep for a month once this is over. Shouldn't have let myself get out of shape over the past couple of years. She sat for a few more minutes until she noticed her breathing returning to normal. After giving it another couple of minutes, she hauled herself back to her feet and tried not to groan. Akos deserves as long and drawn-out a death as I can give him for going after my family, but right now I just don't have the energy for it. He's getting a bullet in the head just to be done with it.

She heaved herself off the crate, eased the door open, and stepped back into the corridor. After one more scan to be sure no one had crashed the party, she strode to the end of the corridor and into the stairwell. She emerged into a short hallway with a three krogan, two batarians, and an asari standing between her and the final door.

Aside from her and them, the hallway was empty. She had nothing to take cover behind.

Terrific.

The mercs laughed and made a show of checking their guns to be sure they were loaded.

Fuck it. Valeria walked straight toward them and they stopped laughing and glanced at each other. The asari and one of the batarians flicked a nervous look at the others, nodded toward Val, and motioned with their hands as if to say, "You first." The biggest krogan watched Valeria approach, laughed, and clipped his rifle to his back. He pulled a huge knife from his belt and stomped toward her.

That's a good start. If they knew how she typically fought, they'd know she liked to get right in the middle of her opponents so they couldn't shoot at her without hitting their own buddies. If the others hung back and kept their guns ready, it'd make things a lot harder for her. Still, if they didn't all attack her at once, she might have a chance. On the other hand, that guy's knife was the length of her goddamn forearm. One solid poke in the wrong spot and she would die right here, and so would Irving and her parents.

She raised her arms into a defensive position and braced herself for the attack. The krogan sneered, then roared and charged her, raising the knife into striking position. Valeria snapped to the left and swept her right leg forward, catching the krogan's right ankle just as he thrust the knife downward. Grunting and snarling from the effort, she kicked upward before he could recover, and he pitched forward with a frustrated growl.

Val yanked her own knife out as he regained his balance and turned to face her again. She backed up a few steps to keep the rest of the mercs in sight and not let any of them sneak up behind her. The krogan lunged forward, thrusting his knife straight at her heart. She jerked to the right and swiped her blade up, slashing his wrist as the knife hissed past her. Blood sprayed her armor and the huge knife slipped from his grasp.

He clamped a hand over his wound and roared a stream of profanity as he turned to keep her in front of him. Thanks to his physiology, his tissue would regenerate in minutes, so she had to finish him while she had the advantage.

She flung her knife backward, skidding it across the floor behind her, and dive-rolled, grabbing the one he'd dropped and coming up in a crouch. He lumbered toward her again. She sprang, whipped the blade across his neck, and plucked the pistol off his hip while he stumbled backward and clamped both hands over his slit throat. She shoved the barrel under his chin and blasted a half-dozen rounds through the top of his head before he toppled over. She drilled another fifteen rounds through his right eye just to be sure, then she popped the remaining thermal clips out of the gun and tossed it behind her while making eye contact with the other mercs. They stared back at her, glanced at the massive krogan she'd dropped, and then gaped at her again.

"Who's next?" Valeria snapped back into her defensive stance, gripped the huge knife, and tried not to breathe too heavily.

The mercs glanced at each other again and Val laughed under her breath. Not so sure of yourselves, now?

One of the batarians drew his pistol and stepped forward. Valeria had to fight the urge to panic. If the guy started shooting, he could knock her shields out before she could get to him.

He raised the gun. Valeria cocked her arm back and threw the knife. It hissed through the air and drilled into the flexible, weaker material in his armor's shoulder joint. He let out a startled grunt, then grimaced when the pain registered. His grip on the gun loosened and Valeria leaped at him. She swung her right arm up, clamped onto the gun from underneath, and twisted it until his trigger finger snapped. He snarled as she wrenched it from his hand and jammed the barrel into the soft spot just above his belt. She pulled the trigger five times before he could do more than open his mouth and widen all four eyes. He screamed and collapsed, reflexively grasping at her armor on the way down. She batted his hands away and let him fall. He curled into a fetal position and continued screaming.

The asari whispered a curse and Val glanced at her. The woman's hands trembled and her wide eyes flicked back and forth from Val to the slowly dying merc. Valeria ejected the heat sinks, tossed the gun behind her, braced a foot on the merc, and pulled the knife out. His next scream was louder, then faded to a series of rapidly weakening grunts and moans.

Time to start fucking with their heads.

She dropped to her knees, placed the knife on the floor in front of her, and glared at the asari while taking on a meditative pose. She took a moment to get her breathing under control again, and then growled, "Step up."

The woman didn't move except to shake a little harder and flick a nervous glance at her three remaining companions. The others hesitated, as well. Finally, one of the krogan shook his head and approached Valeria. "Bunch of pussies." He raised his hands once he was almost in reach as if planning to strangle her, and she held in a chuckle.

Not too bright. Val threw herself forward suddenly, grabbed the knife, and then rolled sideways directly into his feet. He stumbled forward, tried to lift his feet over her, and she caught his left ankle and jerked it upward. He sprawled on the floor, grunted, and started to push himself to his hands and knees. Val jumped onto his back, jammed her blade under his head plate, and pried it up. He sucked in a quick breath and let out a scream at the sudden pain before sliding into a panic.

"No!" He flailed his arms and tried to shake her off, but she drew her hand back and rammed her palm into the end of the handle, ramming the knife in to its hilt. His body turned limp and he whimpered softly. Just to be sure, Val twisted the knife several times and ripped it out. The serrated blade pulled a few chunks of his brain with it and dropped them on the floor with a series of wet splats. The asari hunched forward, almost vomited, and took several long breaths to try to regain her composure.

Valeria pushed herself back to her feet, stepped away from the body, then dropped back into her meditative pose and put the knife down in front of her. She speared the remaining krogan with a cold glare. He stared back with his huge mouth hanging open. No one moved.

"Well?" Val held his gaze without blinking and let a few more seconds pass. "I don't have all day."

He stared for a moment longer, stepped aside, and waved a hand at the door.

"Be my guest." He raised his hands slowly, backed up against the wall, and sidled past her. The batarian nodded and joined him. The asari glanced at the bodies, choked back a sob, and followed the other two. Valeria kept her eyes on them as they moved past her. She stood and the asari flinched and let out a startled squeak at the sudden motion.

The merc turned, shoved the krogan out of her way, and ran through the door at the far end of the corridor. Val waited for the other two to pass through the door. Once it closed behind them, she slumped against the wall and took a moment to pull herself together all over again. Then she pushed away from the wall and stepped up to the door.

Almost there.

---

Everyone shrieked when an Omni-Blade jabbed through the main door. The blade sliced down and to the left, melting through the alloy and reaching the floor in two seconds. It retracted, reappeared at the top, and arced down in the opposite direction, cutting out an A-shaped section of the door. An armor-covered turian foot kicked the chunk of door into the room and Valeria appeared in the opening.

Irving grinned and waved at her.

An arm clamped around his throat and the barrel of a gun jammed into the side of his head. The hostages gasped and backpedaled. Valeria's parents stared at something over his shoulder and her siblings flicked their eyes back and forth from him to their older sister.

Grula shook her head. "Kerensky, you dipshit." She glanced at Valeria, raised her hands slowly, and sank to her knees.

"Stay back!" Karensky snarled, and dragged Irving toward the door Akos had escaped through a few minutes ago.

Valeria approached slowly and everyone in the room turned to stare at her. The rest of the mercs tossed their weapons away and assumed the position.

"I said, stay back! Let me go or I'll blow his fucking head off!"

Valeria flicked a worried glance at Irving.

He nodded and drew a thumb across his throat. Do what you have to do, babe.

"What the hell was that?" Kerensky shook him and ground her gun even harder into his temple.

"It doesn't have to end this way," Valeria said. "I'm here for Akos, not you."

"Don't even give me that shit! I watched you massacre more than two hundred people!"

"You're goddamn right. And if you're smart, you'll put your gun down and let my husband go."

"Last chance. Let me walk out of here, or I'll kill …"

Valeria strode straight toward her. Kerensky sucked in a quick breath and stepped back.

"What -- what the fuck are you doing?"

Valeria drew her Phalanx and jammed it into Kerensky's face, right between her eyes.

"I'm willing to negotiate." Val pushed harder, forcing Kerensky's head farther back. "Are you?"

One of the mercs behind Valeria lunged at a rifle on the floor, scooped it up, and swung it toward her. Grula turned to her pet varren, motioned casually at the guy, and muttered, "Nixon."

The fishdog charged across the room, barking and snarling, leaped up and sank its teeth into the merc's crotch. He screamed and doubled over, and one of the other mercs wrenched the gun from his hands and threw it into the hallway before dropping to his knees again and putting his hands on his head.

The varren found a soft spot in the guy's armor and he screamed again.

Grula laughed and said, "That's enough." The animal trotted back to her and she gave him a quick cuddle while the merc curled into a fetal position and whimpered. "Good boy, Jaws."

"Bloody hell," one of the other mercs whispered.

Valeria laughed softly, having kept her aim rock-steady for the past few seconds. Kerensky trembled even harder and several more seconds passed. Irving caught himself holding his breath and squeezing his eyes shut. If his wife had to pull the trigger, he'd end up deaf until he could have the proper surgery done -- but it was preferable to letting the merc go or letting her blow his brains out.

Finally, the grip on his neck eased off. In the corners of his eyes, Kerensky held her left hand up and pulled her gun away from Irving's head. Valeria twisted the gun out of Kerensky's hand, and Irving lunged out of the merc's reach.

Valeria glared at Kerensky for a few more seconds, then cocked her hand back and cracked the Phalanx's grip into Kerensky's forehead. Her head snapped backward and she toppled over, sprawled on the floor, and moaned. Valeria activated the comlink in her Omni-Tool.

"Chula, most of it is over. Looks like Akos ran off somewhere, but a few of his mercs are still here. You guys can come on in and keep 'em honest until the local police arrive."

"On our way," Chula's replied.

"Thanks." Val closed the channel, turned to Irving, stroked his cheek, and glanced over at her parents and siblings.

"We're alright," her mother said. "Are you?"

"Just fine, now." Val turned back to Irving and put her arms around him. He hugged her back, and they held each other for what felt like hours, but still wasn't long enough for him.

Finally, she moved back enough to gaze into his eyes. He kissed her, nuzzled her forehead, and kissed her again. He stepped back and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Akos left through that door."

"Irv, I …"

"I'll be fine. I know you can't leave this unfinished." He cupped her face in his hands and gave her one more, gentle kiss. "I love you. Now, go get that sonofabitch."

Her eyes seemed to light up with renewed strength. She cupped his face in her hands, rested her forehead against his for a second, and whispered, "I love you." She turned to her parents, brother, and sister. "I love you. See you soon." She glanced around, grabbed a Mattock heavy rifle one of the mercs had dropped, and charged through the door.

Irving's heart leaped as he watched her begin the final stage of the chase.

"You encouraged her to …?" Desentos strode forward and grabbed Irving's shoulder. "Aren't you afraid she'll be hurt or …?"

"Of course I am. But she needs to finish this, and I know she can." Irving glanced at the open doorway. "Trust me, once she gets her hands on him, he's done."