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He caught the shake of the head out the corner of his eye. The explosion had sounded far from this room, but close enough to be no more than one floor up or down, with the roof above them it was the most likely location. Security had no reasons to blow something up there unless...

He glanced at Alex, who was still busy, before starting to type. All he needed to do was a quick check to confirm that--yes, the antenna was still functional, so it wasn't them stopping their broadcast.

So definitely a third party. Jacoby? How had he reached the roof? Did he really have the kind of explosive that could take out an outside door? A Corporation like this one wouldn't do a mistake like not re-enforcing a door just because it was on a roof.

More realistically, some group who also had a problem with the corporation. Maybe the priestess who had gotten them to destroy the equipment compound had hired mercs to mount a direct attack? Regardless of who they were, it could only work to his and Alex's advantage.

Something banged against the door.

Of maybe not.

The door opened and Tristan fired without bothering to see who it might be. He saw the back of security uniform as they fell back. The door didn't close, so this wasn't an override of the system, they'd physically forced it.

A quick look around the room reminded him there was no cover. This wasn't a tenable position. He could order Alex to stop, not bother with getting him to see reason, just tell him they were leaving. Alex would obey, but this wasn't the Alex he wanted. If he didn't have the luxury to explain why this wasn't feasible anymore, he needed to make sure Alex had the time to make it happen.

At least all he was going up against were building security, he thought, as a barrage of beams flew by the open door and into the unseen guards. It stopped. The only sounds were heavy footsteps approaching.

A form appeared in the doorway and Tristan fired before he noticed the heavy armor. It took the blast without any indication the wearer had noticed it. A helmeted head turned in his direction. Tristan cranked the power on the gun, wishing it was something more powerful and fired at the armor's joints.

The merc put away his gun as he entered the room, still ignoring the shots. Someone had spent a lot of money into armoring this merc. He'd have to be a lot closer for anything to work.

Tristan raised his hands "Okay, I give up. As you can tell I'm not security. Take what you want, me and my partner aren't going to get in your way." He glanced at Alex who was deep enough in his coercion he wasn't aware of what was going on.

More mercs crowded the doorway, those in a mishmash of armor and looks. So they could only afford one set of military battle armor. That was good. Once he'd dealt with it, the rest would be easy. He thumbed the power to its maximum settings. This model of armor had a flaw on the visor. The joint couldn't take a direct hit. Of course it normally took something like a High caliber rifle to do it any damage, but this gun at full power in close range should be enough.

The merc walked toward Tristan, who took a step back. "Look, I told you we won't get in your way. There's no need to bother with me. Take what you want. I'll wait until you're done to get back to my work."

The merc was close enough to reach for Tristan's gun arm. He waited until the hand had almost reached it before pressing the gun against the visor's joint and firing. There was a flash of light and Tristan's reflection in the visor as the merc staggered back was distorted by a spiderweb of cracks. Tristan repositioned the gun and fired again.

The visor exploded and blood flew back at Tristan as the merc fell back.

In the instant the other mercs were stunned, Tristan shot three of them, his gun at full power went through their armors as if it was ordinary clothing. Then they ran at him, more of them entering the room. He fired, a merc going down with each shot, but still more entered.

The light on the gun went from green to yellow, the power pack falling below a quarter power. He fired twice more, the light turned red. Once more and he dropped the gun.

The first merc to each him got his neck ripped out. As Tristan grabbed the gun out of the man's holster two more reached him. He punched one, the other jumped on him. The weight staggered Tristan back, but he brought the gun between them and fired. He felt the heat as the armor took the blast and more people jumped on him, forcing him off balance.

As he fell back, he realized they weren't here for some technology in this room. They were here for him. He hit the floor, the woman who'd somehow managed to jump on his back cushioning the impact, but leaving him with his back arched. Even before they'd jumped on his arms and legs, he didn't have the leverage to sit up.

It was too late for him. He knew that before the first punch to his face. At least they wanted him alive, so there was still a chance. He turned his head to the side, ignoring the impacts that made his head ring. He looked at Alex, still coercing.

Tristan wasn't angry at him for not being aware of what was going on. That was who Alex was. He was happy he hadn't taken that from him.

He couldn't raise his arm, but the hand holding the gun could still move. It wouldn't be enough, he knew that, but he had to hope it would give Alex the time he needed to act.

A fist hit his head and his vision blacked out. With pure will and a growl he forced it back. He saw another fist come. And fired as it impacted.