... lying on the first floor, the fallen Steele lies quietly in the building rubble. A mess of his own making, crumbling and destroying the ground beneath him in his careless onslaught. His eyes full of red as he sought to kill Ashford, that nimble and agile bitch...
Something just ran through his mind when he first saw those gunshot flashes from both the second and third floors. Something crossed his mind as his superior ordered him to cowardly retreat and let all of those mercenaries die. Something sent him on this path, driving him to charge and murder Ashford, to at least make an attempt to stop her from killing any other men.
It wasn't his tough as steel legs. It wasn't his thick as steel head. No... no, it was his heart of steel.
In his heart, he knows that it's his fault. It's his fault that he mistakenly let the disguised girl enter the building to begin with. It's his mistake that gave Ashford ample opportunity to kill two floors worth of people. Their deaths were on his hands, in a way... the crushing fault weighing down on him. His heart yearned to stop the meaningless deaths of his fellow man, to stop the murderous lunatic from escaping unharmed, and to absolutely fix a wrong and a mistake- his utterly careless mistake.
He couldn't just let these people die for his slip up, not without a fight.
A fight that he ultimately lost.
That thought endlessly crosses Steele's mind as he lies in the rubble, as he suffers another mistake on his heart, as the silence of the floor above deeply unsettles him... as he realizes that there isn't a soul remaining up there. Steele knows that Ashford and him fell down to the ground floor... and the fact that he can't hear anything up there means- all of the mercenaries are dead.
A defeated look is briefly on his face as he failed to protect these people, as his carelessness is responsible for all of their deaths. A soul crushing feeling envelops his body as he realizes their deaths were... inevitable, whether or not he chose to fight.
If he had been more careful, if he had paid closer attention, if he had just the slightest bit more brainpower than he did in that moment, then Ashford would still be in their safe grasp. They'd still have a clear view on Ashford, and they wouldn't be in such a precarious situation.
Charon hired one hell of a slippery snake...
... tch! Steele... with shaky hands, forcibly pushes himself up from the rubble. Standing with arms limp as he looks around, as he searches for Ashford. His eyes flickering as he surveys and searches the dark lobby. "W-Where... where the hell are ya, Ashford?!" he screams out. "Show- show yourself! Come out and f-fight me, I-!"
Immediately, a gunshot hits into his side, the bullet piercing his hip...
"Ghhkk-!" Steele noises, as he turns to the shot and- falls backwards as a bullet fires into his stomach. An agonizing pain coursing through his body as he falls back onto his back, his head hitting into a piece of rubble-! Completely disoriented as his eyes distort and his vision goes utterly hazy...
...
... these... these are his last moments.
Steele lies defeated on the ground as he feels himself... bleeding out. Even with all his might, even with his overwhelming tenacity... his downfall is a crumbling floor and a couple of gunshots.
Would things have gone differently if he listened to the Executioner? Would things have gone better if he listened to the voice's instructions, if he didn't take it into his own hands to save these men and stop this threat? If he grouped up with the Executioner, if he and Griffin came together up there. A more organized effort, at the cost of their men.
Hindsight says it would have been better, but it- it never felt right with him... it... it never did...
... Steele... he... he reaches for the side of his head. About to press the side of it, about to warn the others... the survivors. Griffin, the Executioner, and all the mercenaries that gathered up on the fourth floor. The last thing Steele can do, the last thing he'll ever be able to do. A last message to save them, to let them know of his fate...
... but he... hesitates.
He fails to activate the communications system, failing to contact the others. Watching as something is held right in front of his face, as something presses against his forehead.
The tip of the gun... the tip of a mercenary's pistol. One of these mercenaries' guns...
"... say your last words."
"..." Steele's eyes narrow at this gun... a foreboding chill going down his spine as he stares at the firearm. Hearing Ashford's voice ringing out, seeing her eyes glare from behind her arm. Given one last opportunity... one last, last chance to make this right... given one last chance to let his dying words matter, to have an impact.
With only Chouko and the... souls... of the mercenaries on her hands... Steele... Steele uses his remaining might to think of something- something... related to Ashford.
Ashford... Ashford...
...
And his last words... with a shit-eating grin on his face, his last words being the most insulting and degrading words he could come up with. Steele was going out after one last shot at this bitch, pure- caustic pride on his face as he utters the words:
"I'll say hello to your father when I see him, Ashford..."
"..."
The gun is pulled away from his forehead... lowers down out of his sight, and presses it against his neck. A red eye noticeably twitching at him, visibly agitated by these last words.
"You will do no such thing... bastard..."
The gunshot rings out one second later, utterly piercing and ripping a hole through Steele's neck. Making it impossible for Steele to breathe properly as he audibly gags and chokes, gargling on his own blood. Even as he bleeds out, even as he undergoes a far more excruciatingly intense pain that sends him and his nerves into an overdrive of pure suffering, he... he has a satisfied look on his face.
He has won this small victory with those simple, stabbing, piercing words...
... and then, with that victory in his grasp, clinging to it as his life fades, Steele lies limp. Head turning onto its side. Blood gushing out his neck and lips, rendered a smiling corpse that knew it got into Ashford's head.
Chouko stands up from Steele, her legs wobbling in place as the adrenaline wears off. Glaring down at the dead man with a twitching eye. She's managed to come out of this... relatively... unscathed from the fall itself. Having anticipated the floor's collapse, turning her feet to the ground to somewhat cushion her descent.
The only injuries she dare suffer, two shaky and weak legs exhausted beyond belief... and the bullet lodged in her shoulder. The agonizingly painful sensation that made it painfully difficult to move her left arm whatsoever, wincing...
"..."
Promptly... a phone starts to ring. The tone coming from Steele's pocket.
Some country song and its guitars playing audibly, the man neglecting to turn off its ringer. Chouko curiously walks to retrieve the phone from Steele's pocket, checking the caller ID on the display.
... hm. Gavin.
Then she answers. Remaining quiet as she keeps the phone to her ear, leaving Steele's corpse behind in the pile of blood-soaked rubble. Approaching the stairway door, walking slowly up the steps... phone in one hand, and another gun in the other.
"Steele...! The hell happened? Are your comms still in tact?"
... ah. Griffin.
Chouko ominously smiles as she crosses the stairway entrance, sidestepping around the dead body of a different mercenary irrelevantly lying in the center... aiming the gun up the stairway as she listens quietly to the voice. Audibly breathing into the phone, a ragged and shaky breath as she begins walking up the stairs. Almost deranged, almost unhinged, making sure the ear on the other end can hear her.
"Steele? Respond, Steele. A-Are you alright?!"
"... sorry... Griffin..." Chouko groans lightly, making sure to speak with a raspy voice under a lot of strain to try and mimic Steele's voice. Hoping the silence of it is enough to trick the man. "She... she was an utter pain to deal with..."
"G... God, man, say something sooner next time..." Griffin responds. "S... So, what's happened to her...?"
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"Crushed under some rubble... managed to stomp her lights out. She didn't even see it coming..." Chouko groans as she continues to climb the stairs.
"Right... right... and, by chance, if you're able to tell me- what happened to Steele?"
"..."
Oh, well...
Chouko continues to walk up the steps. Taking note of Griffin's quiet tone and her hypothesis of his invisibility cybernetics. He could be anywhere around her, right now. She cautiously walks up the stairs and keeps an ear out for the subtlest of cues, for the smallest and slightest of signs that Griffin is hiding near her.
"Tch... I knew it..." Griffin demands, Chouko practically able to see and hear his teeth clenching. "What have you done with Steele...? The same with the rest, right...? They're all dead down there, aren't they...? Did you do it...?! Did you kill him?!"
The power of silence... giving no answer when demanded to. Chouko continues to walk, making it up to the 2nd floor in the pure silence.
"S-Say something, damn it! Y... You... you wretched little-!"
"Griffin. Give me the phone."
Immediately- the most vile of looks form on Chouko's face. Hearing his voice, immediately recognizing his voice. The slightest of words from his mouth enough to fill a bubbling rage inside of her. A burning, caustic rage, one that revels in joy at the thought - or rather, the eventual outcome - of his brutal demise. Five simple words from one man's voice, enough to carve open her skin and let her nerves ooze utter, rigid anger.
"... let's cut to the chase," Charles's murderer - the Executioner - tells her. "I know you're coming up here. I know you killed all of the second and third floor workers, by... some miracle. Steele was a fool that decided to take you on alone, and you've likely bested him. But as you come up here, I hope you understand that there are plenty of men waiting for you. Plenty of them just stationed out, waiting for you to come up here."
A bold move... a suspicious move to emphasize this. Rather than catch her off guard and leave these men in the dark- the Executioner is revealing the cards in his hand, the remaining men at his disposal. Either a bluff or a threat...
... urging Chouko to get a hand of her own.
Chouko remains silent and listens as she takes her own phone out, idly taking a moment to press a button on it... muting both phones. In essence, Chouko just turned this conversation into a three-way call with the press of a button, connecting the two cellphones together into the clal. Then, putting Steele's phone on speaker and maximizing the volume- she makes it up to the third floor, enters the cubicle area of dead mercenaries, and wanders about the office, just... listening.
"So... there are countless ways we can do this. I personally feel like... a more peaceful arrangement could be made," the Executioner idly tells her, having the sheer audacity to tell her this. "No one else needs to die... contrary to unpopular belief. Let's discuss, Ashford, how we can get out of this with both of us happy."
What a bad joke, Chouko thinks to herself. It's outstandingly clear that he isn't serious whatsoever...
Chouko holds Steele's phone to her side, walking to one of the closer cubicles. Looking at the corpse just lying face-down on the desk, she... puts the phone gently in the seat of the chair, before she walks to a different cubicle. Phone on her shoulder, approaching one of the random bodies.
"... what benefit do you get from a deal...? From me still being alive...?" Chouko asks, humoring this man's absurd statement. Dragging the body into a different cubicle, deciding to have it sit against the interior walls. A trailing streak of blood, to draw any unwanted eyes to this body in particular...
"Reason is rather simple. We kept you alive because... well, you know who wants you."
"..." Chouko narrows her eyes, walking to a new cubicle- one that didn't have a body in it, and then taking cover and hiding. Back against the wall, taking a deep breath as she stations herself accordingly. "Elaborate... what do you mean by this?"
"... well- let's just say, this man is happy that I did not reunite father and daughter all those years ago, that I simply took the father out."
"..."
Kuroiwa... the real one.
Chouko's eyes brighten and widen at this, a look of utter astonishment. Staring at the phone with bewildered eyes, silently processing that she was being given the opportunity of a lifetime from a mortal enemy- her breath a little heavier after dragging a body, admittedly. "I see... and you're suggesting I... if I go along with you, if I let you take me..."
"... right. You'll be face to face with the- with the man that ordered- Ashford Senior's death. My employer has no information that you're a murderer- it will give him a false sense of security. I believe it to be in your... best interest, to come up here peacefully. You'll have ample opportunity to be face to face with him, if you do as I say."
In theory, this is everything... that she's ever wanted...
...
It's too good to be true...
Chouko feels a chill against her neck as she calms down. This is clearly a distraction, this is clearly a pitiful attempt to keep her attention. Was her opinion of this man so low that she believed him to beg for peace in this situation? Did she truly believe him to be so incompetent that he would let her live?
Tch... no. He has another plan up his sleeve. Quietly covering her mouth over the phone, to subdue- the volume from her voice. "H... how... do I know you will not betray me?" Chouko asks, deciding to further humor the man.
"Betray you...? Why would I want to betray you? You have all of us at your mercy, Ashford," the wretched pile of garbage tells her, his voice raised. "You're clearly in the best position here, and you've proven your point... I simply want what is best for both of us, now."
...
This man is either an utter fool, or believes her to be one.
"Well..." Chouko begins to speak, holding her position in the cubicle. "You've done me the courtesy of telling me about your men after I've killed quite a number of you... I might as well return your kindness with a response. I am open to accepting your terms, on one condition... I wish to speak to Griffin."
"... Griffin? You wish to speak to him, of all people? Well... he is currently unavailable. Right now, he's currently keeping watch over the android."
"Really, now...?" Chouko whispers, subtly breathing in. "Keeping a watch on the android?"
"Yes... you have conspired with this thing, after all. It knows something that we don't. We're keeping a close eye on it, in case."
"Right... and I understand that. But I desperately need to speak with Griffin. There's a deal I would like to make with him, before I can trust you to keep your word," Chouko insists.
"... if you'd- like to speak with him, then feel free to come up here. He'll be happy to speak with you when you give yourself up."
"I mean, sure, but... our deal is contingent with me speaking with him first, before I do anything," Chouko tells the man, her eyes completely narrowed. "I will not comply with your demands until I speak to that dreamboat before committing to anything."
"Well, then-"
... the Executioner's voice immediately goes quiet, processing those words upon hearing them. "... e... excuse me?"
"You heard me," Chouko responds, taking a completely different tone as she says something completely jarring, subjecting the man to the most asinine and ridiculous words possible. "The moment I laid my eyes on him, I knew I could trust that man with my life. The feeling of his hands on me, restraining me close... his stylish, blond hair, the way he shouts and degrades me... I think I trust him far more than I trust you."
"... huh...?"
Chouko continues, leaning her head back and continuing to whisper into the phone. Continuing her tonal whiplash approach to completely insult and ridicule the man. "I just want the fair skin of his hands around my throat, calling me things that would fluster even the most raunchy of women with that- siiiilky voice of his..."
"... what in the hell are you going on about?" the Executioner immediately asks, dropping his tone.
"Oh, oh. I'm sorry, I just felt like if someone's going to screw me over with some nonsensical bull crap, it should be someone conventionally attractive..." Chouko jokingly responds, a caustic tone in her voice.
A pause of silence.
"... I'm not entertaining this further. Griffin-" the Executioner calls out.
Chouko grins widely for a moment, a smile on her face. "That's right, go on, put the hunk on and-"
Then, slowly, a gun taps the side of Chouko's head.
"... and..."
Chouko slowly looks to the side, her smile fading as she sees parts of a floating gun. A revolver pistol, aimed straight at her head. "Parts" of one, because it was missing a good majority of itself... as Chouko realizes, the gun is simply being covered by an invisible hand.
Griffin wasn't on the top floor... he is right next to Chouko, completely catching her off guard. Making this the second time he's advantageously approached, remaining completely invisible as his concealed eyes were... narrow... at that entirely asinine conversation. The man had been hiding quietly on the third floor, glaring straight at Ashford behind his full-body veil.
Tension fills Chouko's mind as she stares at this in mild horror, her eye almost twitching at this realization and sight. "... how long have you-"
"Long, long before you've been in here..." Griffin quietly growls out, tapping her head twice with his gun. "Before you do anything... do know that at any moment... I can blow your brains out right now if you attempt to shoot me... and there are other mercenaries in the stairway, with full sights on you if you try anything funny."
"Indeed," the Executioner speaks up, hearing Griffin's voice from Chouko's phone. "Well, then. I'll give you one more chance, Ashford. Care to comply and come along, now? Before I become inclined to have Griffin there put an end to your little temper tantrum?"
"..."
Chouko... shakes. Trembles. Writhes. Furiously gritting her teeth hard as her eye continues to twitch. Staring forward as her mind completely and utterly races, the phone still in her hand.
The phone cannot do a single thing to Griffin, and - in this current situation - she can't do anything either. Chouko cannot take his gun, fire her own gun, none of that... it's a guaranteed death if she tries any of that.
No, there's only one of two things that will happen. Either Griffin or any of the supposed backup mercenaries shoots her dead, or she goes along with these people willingly. Her mind absolutely roaring and racing for any alternatives. As she tries to figure out anything, anything at all... there's only one idea that comes to mind. The one single idea that Chouko has remaining, one single- single last resort.
So...
"..."
Chouko immediately lunges a hand forward, going for Griffin's gun. Reaching out for it as her hand remains tightly gripped onto the cellphone, lunging out as fast as she could with a fiery determination in her eyes.
Griffin watches this happen, beholding the audacity of Ashford to try and take his gun. "Tch- nice try, you seriously-"
Chouko's intention wasn't to take the gun, however. She holds onto the gun itself, and pushes a finger out to press Griffin's trigger. Intending to make it fire, while the gun is still aimed at her.
Chouko grits her teeth as her eyes stare forward, having an utterly crazed look in her eyes. Staring forward and staring at her inevitable death head on, seeing only one outcome that leads to victory. Staring as she forcibly makes Griffin fire the gun- as she intended to put an end to her own life in that very moment. Thinking very- very hard to herself:
You win... but I'm not coming along willingly... I would rather die on my own terms than accept any of yours, bastards.
Chouko's eyes stare and glare forward, trembling... shaking. Faced with agonizing fear and filled with sorrowful defeat, internally smiling through this most drastic of actions. Preparing herself to die, to be shot dead at her own hand, stripping these mercenaries the satisfaction of whatever their plans were with her.
The girl knows that she has yet to enact her vengeance, but faced with no other options- this was the only victory that remained in reach. A victory that will have her suffer an immediate death, a rather painless one with a direct gunshot to her head, one that strips her away from this world.
Chouko felt time just... slow down in that moment. The raw adrenaline coursing through her body at this action, having more than ample time to make peace with this. Anticipating the gun, preparing herself for an aching and trembling pain, having her life flash before her eyes.
Then...
... the gun fires.