Raymond sat silently behind Lee as he piloted the Sikorsky in a south-easterly direction over Lake Superior down towards Michigan. At the house, they had debated the best way to infiltrate Earth's population with what was inside Lee. Raymond argued for more tests, he was still nervous about the whole idea, but he eventually agreed seeding water reservoirs directly would be the quickest and safest way of achieving their goal. Freshwater had become a precious commodity, especially in the drought-ridden western states. For those in America's capital the upper Potomac tributaries were still healthy, fed by the rainfall on the Appalachian plateau.

Lee told them he could seed the water supply with nano-molecules of the IA from his body, that would multiply into trillions and pass undetected through the filtration systems. He chose the Georgetown reservoir as his first target. The reservoir supplied drinking water for Washington D.C. Home of the president and the decision makers for the once great nation. Raymond knew the American government did not have the same power and influence it once wielded, but the Washington bureaucrats still benefited from the taxes people paid. Congress had deteriorated into an arrogant rabble standing only for re-election and serving their corporate masters. But they still made decisions on policy and infrastructure that could affect the population. Raymond had to agree they were ideal subjects for an IA upgrade.

They flew quietly over Lake Eire at low altitude. The Sikorsky had a cloaking device and radio jammers to avoid detection but the grey smog from Detroit and Cleveland sitting heavily on the water disguised their passage. They crossed from Pennsylvania into Maryland and flew down the Potomac towards Washington. Lee planned to land close to the historic Georgetown Castle Gatehouse at dusk. The gatehouse housed the sluice gate at the head of an eight-kilometre tunnel leading to the water reservoir.

Raymond did not have much to say about the details of Lee's plan. Once he had accepted the moral implications, the details were not important. At no stage had anyone proposed he should receive a sample of the IA, but Raymond knew it was only a matter of time. He looked across at Odetta; she was staring transfixed at the burnt orange sunset above the Northern States. Light playing across her stern face. Odetta seemed to enthusiastically accept Lee's idea without question. With her telepathy and augments, she had already taken a step in that direction he thought. Raymond knew Lee could look into their minds and read their thoughts. He was well practised at keeping his true feelings hidden but he hoped Lee would be polite enough not delve into his head and see his lingering doubts.

They landed in the gathering darkness on a grass verge bordering the Georgetown reservoir. The Sikorsky was quiet, and the landing had not drawn any attention. They unloaded their weapons in canvas bags, Raymond insisted on bringing the lightweight ceramic sub-machine guns in case Lago tracked them down. They made their way around the calm waters of the reservoir towards the Castle Gatehouse. Lights set into the ground highlighted the turrets on each corner of the small castle-shaped building. It was a pleasant warm evening in Georgetown.

They passed through the unlocked door and into a small reception area with bright lights and faded posters on the walls. The control room was behind a glass partition where a fat security guard reclined in a leather chair. His eyes were closed, feet up on a desk and his mouth was hanging open.

“Is he alive?” asked Odetta.

“Did you put him to sleep?” Raymond looked at Lee.

Lee was just about to reply when the guard snorted, his body convulsed, and his head rolled forward then back again. His eyes stayed closed and he started snoring loudly.

Lee slid the partition aside and climbed into the control room. There were banks of screens showing the sluice gates and the canal flowing inside the tunnel and an antique looking control panel with blinking lights, brass dials, buttons and levers. Lee took the guard's swipe card and opened the door from the inside. They walked around the comatose body and through another door at the back of the room, down a flight of stairs and into the tunnel.

The sluice gates filtered the reservoir water into the tunnel, removing any physical detritus and pumping an even flow down into the underground canal. On either side of the canal were walkways that disappeared down the long watery tunnel. It was quiet apart from the sound of running water and the churning hum of the pumps.

“This place smells ancient,” remarked Odetta. “Do people actually drink this water?”

“It was built about two hundred years ago by army engineers so yes, it is ancient,” said Lee. “It has been in and out of commission but as long as water flows down the Potomac, it is the quickest and easiest way to get to the filtration plant. Easy for us too, as the security is not exactly vigilant.”

Their voices and footsteps echoed eerily, bouncing off the walls. They walked at a brisk pace down the damp tunnel. Above them, slimy green algae covered the curved brick ceiling.

“Doesn't look hygienic,” said Raymond. “Smells mouldy.”

“It gets treated with chemicals at the other end but it's still the original two-hundred-year-old brick, stone and mortar they built it with.”

“Thanks for the history lesson,” said Odetta. “Why don't you just seed this canal now instead of going all the way to the filtration plant.”

“This water ends up sitting in another reservoir being treated for days before being pumped into the water mains. We want to seed the treated water; this tunnel is just a convenient way of getting there without being noticed.”

“So, tomorrow morning, Washington’s population will be getting something extra in their teas and coffees huh!” laughed Odetta.

“That is the plan.”

Outside above the gatehouse turrets, two VLRs hovered quietly in the night sky before making their landings on either side of the Sikorsky.

“What the fuck are they up to here?” snapped Lago.

Lance was tapping furiously on his datapad. “There is an underground canal that goes from here to the McMillan reservoir in Columbia Heights. That would be the only reason they would be here but what's at Columbia Heights? Why sneak down a tunnel?”

“Let's go find out,” said Lago as they disembarked the VLRs.

“Two of you stay here and guard the VLRs,” Lago barked at his security personnel. “Shoot anyone matching the descriptions of our fugitives. Don't ask questions, shoot first.”

Lago grabbed one of the multi-guns and marched off towards the gatehouse. None of them bothered to conceal their weapons. In the reception, they found the security guard, still contentedly asleep in his warm office. His snoring had decreased in volume to a swampy rattle but his subconscious must have sensed a change in the atmosphere. He struggled to open his eyes and when he managed to focus on his guests he screamed and sat bolt upright, eyes wide open. Directly in front was a red-eyed, black-clad maniac pointing a distressingly powerful looking gun at him. On one side was a hulking giant with facial scars scowling at him and on the other was a towering monster robot with laser eyes and a metal dog collar. The guard was still screaming when Lago shot him three times in the chest. He then turned the gun on the door and blew a hole in it, kicked it open and stormed in.

They immediately went to the monitors. Three figures could be seen walking hastily down the canal in the gloomy light. “Got them,” said Lago.

They stormed down the stairs, into the tunnel and started running down both sides of the canal.

“Lago,” Lance panted as he struggled to keep up with his amphetamine fuelled employer. “Maybe he's planning on infecting the water supply with the black shit inside him.”

Lago stopped instantly, and Lance crashed into the back of him almost knocking him over.

“Fuck!” yelled Lago. Goran was following behind but had quicker reactions than Lance and just managed to stop in time. “Fuck!” yelled Lago again and started running even faster down the tunnel.

Lee stopped. “Quiet, I think I heard something.”

They all stopped and faintly heard the word 'fuck' echoing down the tunnel.

“Lago,” said Raymond and Odetta simultaneously

“I will wait for them, ambush them,” said Raymond.

They did not have time to discuss the merits of Raymond's proposal or say any goodbyes. Odetta smiled grimly at Raymond as he handed her a machine gun. Lee turned and started running down the tunnel.

Raymond unzipped his canvas bag and took a machine gun and two belts of ammunition which he slung around his neck. He looked around; there was nowhere to hide. The dark water in the canal was the only option. He lowered himself down the side of the slippery stone and into the water. It was warm and about chest deep. The current was steady, and he let it carry him gently facing backward, holding his submachine gun underwater with the top half of his head just above the surface watching for their pursuers. He still harboured doubts about seeding the water supply with the IA, but now he had a chance to finally confront Lago Santos. A chance to fulfil the mission he started two years ago and rid the world of the loathsome dictator.

Raymond did not have to wait long. Lago and his entourage were only minutes behind. He submerged himself completely as they appeared down the tunnel in the dirty yellow light on either side of the canal. He walked backward underwater with the current hoping he would not be causing any noticeable ripples. From just below the surface he could see the blurry shapes approaching. He held his breath and waited as they ran past. He had been underwater for nearly a minute and his lungs were bursting. Just as he thought he might pass out from lack of oxygen the last of them ran past and Raymond turned quietly and emerged out of the water. He walked with the current now taking long steps as he held the machine gun out of the water and drained the barrel.

The lightweight ceramic machine gun was easy to hold and operate. It was capable of firing six hundred rounds per minute and each magazine belt had six hundred caseless bullets. Raymond also had two belts around his neck; he hoped it would be enough. He leaned back, braced his legs against the current and opened fire. The hulking figures of Lago's henchmen had BPI branding emblazoned across their backs. An easy target. His first short burst was aimed at the backs of those on his left. Three of them dropped instantly, riddled with bullets. The bullets had passed straight through them leaving bloody ribbons on the brickwork behind. He quickly shifted to his right and opened fire, but his targets had gone to ground apart from one who had the top of his head blown off as he was diving for cover.

Raymond stopped, panting heavily. He was below ground level in the canal and the angle would not give him a clean shot. A soldier came flying at him head first, snarling and shooting. His bullets flew past Raymond's head, missing by centimetres. The soldier had leapt too far though and went crashing into the side of the canal. Raymond swivelled and opened fire, his target was only a meter away, impossible to miss. He dived underwater and kicked down the canal, swimming with the current. The water rapidly turning red.

“Pin him down! Fucking kill him!” Lago screamed across the canal at Batac and his one remaining security guard.

Goran was crouching in front of Lago. He signalled to Batac with his fingers, holding up three, two, one then both Goran and Batac simultaneously leapt to their feet and sprayed the opaque water where Raymond had been standing. Batac and the guard were both now standing on the edge pumping bullets into the water; Goran on the other side stepped over the guards bleeding bodies and was also sweeping the canal with bullets. Lago had regained his feet and was peering into the murky depths while Lance was still cowering against the stone wall. The automatic fire was causing a horrendous echoing clamour until Goran stopped and put his hand up indicating the others to do the same. The noise reverberated around the tunnel while they looked for any sign they had hit their target but there were no other bodies apart from the five dead security. Their blood trickled down into the canal.

“You two,” Lago indicated to Batac and the guard across the canal. “He is in the water somewhere, stay here, find him, kill him then follow us.” Lago had already started moving down the canal followed by Lance and Goran.

“Yes boss,” growled Batac. “Cover me,” he said to the guard as he jumped into the canal and clambered up the other side. The two of them slowly patrolled each side of the stone canal, guns pointed at the waters, looking for any sign of their prey. The water was clouded red and all that could be seen was the murky reflection of the pale-yellow light and their own faces peering back at them.

Raymond had swum about twenty meters underwater. It was easy with the strong current. He turned and crouched on his knees at the bottom of the canal. He leaned into the current and tried to see what was going on. He was too far away to see anything clearly but could hear the gunfire and feel the vibrations in the water, he dare not put his head up above the surface. Soon three figures ran past on one side of the canal, he thought about standing and firing but knew there were two more that would shoot him in the back as soon as he emerged out of the water. Lee and Odetta would have to deal with them he thought, they were more than capable.

He kneeled on the bottom of the canal, anchored by his boots against the brickwork. It was impossible to see much through the swirling waters, everything was magnified and distorted but eventually, he could make out two shadowy figures approaching. One on either side of the canal. This would not be easy he thought, no element of surprise this time and he could not hold his breath too much longer. They seemed to take an eternity to come into range. Raymond felt as if his chest would collapse until finally, he could bear it no longer. He knew the odds were against him this time when he pushed up powerfully off his knees and burst out of the water. He sprayed a burst of gunfire firstly to his left and was confident he hit someone as he had a brief impression of a red explosion before quickly swinging his still firing gun towards the other assailant.

Bullets pinged past Raymond's head and smashed into the water. He fired back blindly in the direction of the big man on the water’s edge. The automatic gunfire was deafening but Raymond heard a shout of pain from his adversary. At the same instant, he felt the hot burn of a bullet gouging its way along his cheekbone and straight through his ear. There was instantly a piercing scream accompanied by blindingly intense pain. He fell backward and was underwater again. The high-pitched tinnitus whine continued under the water, he felt as if his head would split. Raymond opened his eyes and looked through the water clouded by blossoming plumes of his own blood. He saw the disfigured shape of his opponent still standing, swaying by the water’s edge and knew he was in trouble. Impending death flooded his body with adrenaline; he put the pain and noise aside and burst from the water again.

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It was Batac, Raymond recognized the big soldier. Lago's oldest and toughest. His right hand was bleeding profusely where Raymond had hit him with a lucky shot, his left hand held his shattered firearm. Batac growled when he saw Raymond and hurled the broken gun at his head. Raymond was swinging his own weapon around and just managed to deflect the gun into the water. He was struggling to line up another shot and gasping for a lungful of heavy air as Batac roared and launched himself. Raymond had a fleeting image for a microsecond of the huge scarred snarling face flying towards him. Batac crashed into him, hands grasping for his throat as they both went under the water and tumbled down the canal.

Lee had heard the automatic gunfire echoing down the tunnel. It was hard to gauge the distance, but he had left Raymond only minutes ago. They had not stopped running. “Odetta, I can run a lot faster, I can carry you.”

“Fuck off, I can run faster too,” snarled Odetta in between rapid breaths. “You go on if you want, I can keep up.”

Lee increased his pace and Odetta stretched out into a full sprint. The gunfire stopped but they did not look back. They ran at speed until Odetta was gasping for breath but staying close in behind Lee who was not panting at all. Ahead the bright lights of the filtration plant were glowing at the end of the tunnel. They were almost there.

Lee stopped abruptly, swung around, caught Odetta in one movement and flung her to the ground. She did not have time to swear as Lee fell on top of her the same instant a bolt of blue lightning scorched through the air where they had just been running.

“Goran,” said Lee as he swung Odetta’s machine gun around and fired a long burst in the direction the laser bolt had come from. He was still lying on top of Odetta as he stopped firing, staring back down the tunnel.

“Give me my fucking gun back,” demanded Odetta as she pushed him off. They could make out Goran’s blue optical field glowing faintly through the gloom. Odetta made to get up but Lee pushed her down again.

“Stay down.” A projectile screamed over their heads and slammed upwards into the brick ceiling of the tunnel. It exploded, bringing down an avalanche of brick, stone and earth that narrowly missed them both. The rubble filled the canal, damning the water flow. More debris tumbled from the hole in the brickwork and piled up around the narrow tunnel walls. The flowing canal water immediately began backing up and the water level started rising.

Lee realised they would have to stand and fight, with the tunnel blocked and nowhere to run. Odetta sent a barrage of devastating machine gun fire back down the tunnel. The explosion had dislodged a few large boulders and chunks of brickwork which provided them with some cover as bolts of blue laser fire incinerated the humid air and slammed into the old chunks of rubble. Goran must have had a fix on their heat signatures as every bolt was deadly accurate. Sharp splinters of brick erupted from each explosion as the laser bolts reduced their cover to pebbles. The canal had broken its banks and the dirty water was swirling around their ankles.

“Cover me!” shouted Lee. “I will find a way through!”

Odetta aimed at the blue light she could see through the dust and started firing. The light disappeared, and the laser bolts stopped but Odetta kept firing. She did not lose her concentration even when large pieces of brickwork and chunks of stone went flying over her head from Lee's excavations behind her.

“Odetta.” Lee was speaking to her telepathically. There was no way she could hear him over the clamour of machine gun fire. “Climb up here, I will cover you.” Lee had made a passage through the rubble up where the ceiling had caved in. The water was up to her knees now as she turned and threw her weapon to Lee who provided covering fire as she scrambled up the mound of brick and dirt.

Lance was cowering behind Goran, using him as a human shield as he ran hunched over trying to avoid the accurate return fire. They were shooting blind as they had lost sight of their targets in the thick dust of the explosion.

“Goran can you turn off the blue light?” asked Lance. “Makes us an easy target.”

“No,” Goran stated in his metal monotone.

The machine gun fire stopped, and the tunnel was once again filled with the sound of running water as they cautiously moved forward. Out of the dust and fading yellow light appeared a mound of earth and rubble blocking the flow. The swirling brown water was rising quickly. Lago spotted a hole dug through the obstruction.

“There!” he pointed. “Quick!”

Goran again led the way as they scrambled up the mound that was turning into a slippery mud slope. He lay on his front and raised his head to peer through the narrow hole. He was immediately met by a barrage of machine gun fire that smashed into the brickwork, sending shards of stone exploding over them.

“Get back up there and fucking shoot them!” snarled Lago as the gunfire finally stopped.

Goran braced himself for a moment then burst up through the hole, sending a withering blast of blue laser bolts through to the other side. He edged through the hole and got his arms free to shoulder his multi-gun and unleashed a combination of laser and machine gun fire. There was no return fire as Goran crawled through the hole closely followed by Lago and Lance.

On the other side, the tunnel came to an end, opening out into the brightly lit filtration plant. The canal now starved of water opened out into a bigger reservoir which fed the plant. Lance looked around but could not see anyone. Thick silver pipes snaked their way around the cavernous room feeding other reservoir pools. Gantries hung from the roof and he could see a control room along one side. The hum of pumping machinery filled the room like a headache. Lance followed Lago as they cautiously slid down to the dry canal bed.

“Spread out,” ordered Lago. “Be ready with the helium spray, shoot anything that moves.”

Lance made his way around the pools but there was no sign of any activity. Then, from behind the lights that hung above the gantries, Lance shouted as two figures fell on them. Lee crashed into Lago, sending them both tumbling. Odetta landed on Goran’s shoulders feet first. Goran remained standing but before he could fire any shots Odetta dug her fingers under his optical field band. She stayed on him, balanced on his shoulders with her legs clamped around his neck. Her fingers were buried into where Goran’s eye sockets used to be, and she was screaming, trying to rip the optical band from his head. Goran was screaming also with the pain, blood pouring from where Odetta’s sharp fingers gripped underneath the rim of the optical band. Goran tried to bring his gun around to shoot Odetta and at the same time Lance ran over to get an accurate fix on her.

“Fucking shoot her!” Lago screamed from underneath Lee.

Goran was staggering around, screaming in pain, shooting wildly when Odetta clenched his head even tighter between her thighs and ripped the entire optical band from his head. They both fell backward and slammed into the floor. As soon as Odetta hit the floor she rolled and whipped her gun around towards Lance.

Lance could not get a clean shot while Odetta was perched on top of Goran. He was momentarily stunned by the extreme violence of her actions as she ripped the optical band off his head. That moment of hesitation was all the time Odetta needed. She moved faster than Lance could react and put a burst of machine gun fire straight into his chest. Lance was blown backward, he felt confused and bewildered before the pain hit him. He managed to lift his head up and survey the bloody mess of his torso. Through his torn shirt he could see through his own shattered ribs and ruptured organs. The bullets had miraculously missed his heart which was still pumping blood straight through severed arteries out onto the floor. He stared, disbelieving as if he was looking at someone else's broken body. The last thing he saw was Odetta’s leather-clad legs standing over him.

Lee had leapt from the roof feet first and smashed into Lago's upper body sending them tumbling to the floor. Lee had him pinned to the floor momentarily as they witnessed Odetta wrestling with Goran’s head. Lago lost his weapon with the impact but managed to twist out from underneath Lee. He regained his footing and whirled around to plant a kick into Lee's abdomen. He almost broke his foot as it was like kicking a sack full of sand, this only infuriated Lago more as he unleashed a series of brutal kicks into Lee's ribs and midsection as he kneeled on the wet tiled floor.

“Fucking hybrid scum, I’ll fucking kill you!” he panted in between kicks.

His exertions did not seem to affect Lee at all who just kneeled there smiling sadly. Lago scanned for his multi-gun but could not see it nearby, he aimed a kick at Lee's head instead. Lee caught his ankle with one hand before it could connect.

“You can't hurt me, Lago.”

“Fuck you!” screamed Lago as he aimed his other knee at Lee's head and collapsed trying to get his hands around Lee's throat. Lago was bigger and taller than Lee, but his exertions were having no impact. Lee stood up, still holding Lago by one ankle. Lago writhed on the floor like a rabid dog trying to escape its leash.

“Goran!” Lago screamed. “Goran!” Then he stopped struggling for a moment to see where his right-hand man was. Lago could not see Goran from his position on the floor, but he could see Odetta walking towards them. Behind her, he could make out the shapes of two bodies lying on the floor. In her hand, she held a matte black metal ring dripping with blood and ragged bits of skin.

“You fucking bitch!” he seethed. “You will both fucking die!”

“Lago, it’s over. We need to talk,” said Lee as he let go of his ankle.

Lago shuffled backward frantically scanning for a weapon, but his discarded multi-gun was too far away, and all his soldiers appeared to be dead. “It’s not over,” rasped Lago as he scrambled back to the wall.

“Do you know what I intend to do?” asked Lee.

Lago remained silent as he faced Lee and Odetta. His mind was delirious with adrenaline and amphetamine and his head was whipping around looking for anything he could use to his advantage. Then he noticed movement in the background. Goran had just sat up. “No,” he said. “No, I don't know what you intend to do.”

Goran was now standing but he was a complete mess. A gory red band ran around his entire head where Odetta had ripped the optical band away. Pieces of bony white skull could be seen through the trails of blood and ragged flesh. His scarred bald scalp sat on top of his head like some hideous parody of a monk. Below the line of gore, most of his nose had been ripped away leaving only a skeletal frame but the metal mouthpiece remained. There were globules of red pulp dripping from his hollow eye sockets. Goran had been a monster most of his life and now his appearance matched his personality. He was Lago's last hope.

“Tell me. Tell me how you are going to save the world.”

“You can help us,” said Lee.

Goran shuffled a few steps to his left and by pure chance stumbled across the multi-gun he had dropped in Odetta’s aerial attack.

“Help you?” Lago shrieked, hoping to shout over any noises Goran was making. “Why the fuck would I want to help you!”

Goran had raised the multi-gun but did not appear to know what to do with it as all his senses had been severely reduced if not destroyed altogether. There was one sense still working though. His telepathy. Odetta realized something was wrong, her eyes widened as she felt Goran’s mind connect with hers. She spun around just in time to see the malignant figure of Goran pointing the multi-gun at her head.

Lee reacted at the same time shouting “Odetta!” But it was too late. It only took one shot. Deadly accurate to the centre of her forehead. As Odetta swayed then dropped to the floor, a dull rumbling noise could be heard emanating from the pile of rubble behind Goran that blocked the tunnel. Dirty water started spewing from the hole Lee had made. It washed around Goran’s ankles as he stood still pointing the auto-gun at the fallen form of Odetta. Then the water stopped flowing and the dull rumbling increased like a distant thunderstorm.

Raymond tumbled, thrashing through the water, trying to get a meaningful grip on Batac. Neither of them could get any purchase on the canal floor. Batac had one meaty hand clamped around Raymond's throat and was fighting to get the other one into position as they were swept down the canal. Raymond realized he had to stop trying to regain his balance and concentrate on saving his life. He let his body go limp and twisted his head around to where Batac’s thick hairy forearm was trying to choke him. He opened his mouth as wide as possible and bit down hard on Batac’s upper forearm. He felt a satisfyingly big chunk of flesh in his mouth and bit down harder tasting the metallic tang of blood mixed with the Potomac River washing down his throat. Batac thrashed about and eventually let go. Raymond kicked away and put some distance between them.

But the canal was blocked, and the backwash of water swept Raymond straight back into Batac’s arms. This time the Masama soldier got both his big hairy hands around Raymond’s throat. It felt as if his fingers would tear straight through his windpipe such was the strength of his grip. The bullet wound in his hand and bite on his forearm had just made him angry. The water was rising rapidly and now they were both underwater. Raymond could not touch the bottom, but he was determined not to choke and drown at the same time. He levered his knee up into Batac’s chest and started kicking at his groin with his other leg. It didn't seem to affect Batac at all. Raymond was starting to feel himself slipping away into unconsciousness when he felt a connection with something soft and yielding between Batac’s legs. The vice-like grip lessened slightly and Raymond pushed away with his knee, bursting through the surface again gasping for breath.

He swam down the tunnel towards the mound of earth blocking the water flow, expecting to be pulled back into Batac’s clutches at any second. The muddy water swirled around as it hit the obstruction creating little whirlpools in the dirty backwash. Raymond had never properly learned to swim but his kicking and thrashing seemed to be keeping him afloat and heading in the right direction. Finally, he got to the slippery pile of mud and rubble. The water was now only a meter from the ceiling. The dull yellow lighting showed the remaining gap down the tunnel narrowing as the water rose even higher. Raymond rolled over and started crawling towards the hole in the dirt. He was almost there when he felt a crushing grip on his ankle and he was hauled violently back into the water.

Batac struggled to get his hands around Raymond’s neck again. Raymond kicked out sluggishly through the water with his free leg. They both tumbled around underwater, Batac still trying to find Raymond’s neck with one hand and Raymond trying to kick him in the face. They spun around, Raymond had no idea which way was up or down. He kicked out again and felt a solid impact but still, Batac’s grip would not release. Then he felt a solid blow to his chest, Batac stamped on him, twisted him around and pinned him to the floor of the canal with both feet, still holding on to his ankle.

Raymond was helpless; he had no leverage and could not force himself up under Batac’s weight. He futilely bashed at his booted feet a few times then miraculously felt the handle of a hunting knife sheathed there. He grabbed the knife and quickly as he could, stabbed at Batac’s calf muscle and Achilles tendon. Batac immediately lifted his boot and Raymond followed him up. It was impossible to see anything in the muddy water now clouded with blood, but Raymond thought he knew roughly where Batac should be. He stabbed out wildly in that direction and felt resistance that could only be a large piece of his opponent. He stabbed again and again until the water was more red than brown.

On the verge of drowning again but hopeful he had finally killed Batac, Raymond kicked for the surface. The water was at the top of the tunnel now and the suspended lights had all blown. Raymond’s head crashed into the ceiling before he could get a breath. He spun around in the murky darkness, disorientated and oxygen-starved until he saw a light. The water was pouring through the hole at the top of the mound and Raymond kicked out for it. As he got closer he saw the light being blocked out by a large shape, it was Batac, still impossibly alive and weakly trying to swim for the hole also. Batac got there first and blocked out the watery light as he tried to get through the hole.

Raymond was swimming blind but desperately paddled in what he thought was the right direction. He felt Batac’s boots and legs. They were not moving, limp and lifeless. It took a moment of precious time for Raymond to realize what had happened. Batac, alive or dead was stuck in the hole. Blocking his escape. Raymond pushed and pulled at his legs, but they would not budge. He had no strength left, no oxygen left, no fight left.

“So, this is how it ends,” he thought. “Drowned in a sewer, blocked by a fat guy’s arse.” He felt his life slipping away.

Lee stood, relaxed, even nonchalant. Inside the reservoir, the rumbling noise increased. Goran, saturated in his own blood and swaying unsteadily, still held the auto-gun in one straight arm at Odetta’s unmoving body.

Lago started forward yelling, “Helium spray! Hit him with the helium!”

But Goran did not register; his eyes and ears had been destroyed. He did not have any senses left. The rumbling noise increased, Lee took a step back, he had some idea of what was about to happen. The water had filled the tunnel and with the pile of earth and rubble blocking the flow, the pressure was building. The gatehouse pump kept on pumping, forcing water into the tunnel where there was no more room for it and there was a body blocking the hole Lee had made.

Something had to give, the path of least resistance. Lee had a fleeting view of Batac’s body as it was blown out onto the floor like a cork from a bottle. Then most of the blockage exploded from the tunnel in a calamitous wave of mud, bricks and water. Goran was standing directly in the path of the tunnel outlet and he was buried instantly in a mudslide of sludge, bricks and rocks. Before he disappeared, he gave no indication he knew what was about to hit him, standing rigidly with his multi-gun still extended. Lee stood firm as the brown water washed around him. Batac’s limp form disappeared in the watery avalanche, his foot appearing briefly for a moment before being swamped in the brown mire. Chunks of bricks and rubble crashed into the filtration reservoirs and came to rest around the pipes as the dirty water from the tunnel coursed into the room. Then Lee watched Raymond, drenched and bloodied, tumbling head over heels, grasping a vicious looking hunting knife. Amazingly he did not stab himself with it as the water propelled him against a large pipe which he desperately clung to, heaving a great lungful of air. Then just as quickly as it had started, the devastation stopped. The solid chunks of brick and rock found their places, the water flow abated, the pressure alleviated. The water continued to gently flow over what was left of the obstruction, out into the wrecked filtration room.