“What… what the hell…” Kayla’s voice faded as she struggled to find words.

Gaz scrubbed his hair then holstered his weapon. “Well, there’s bad news,” he said. “We were able to get this wormfood to open his tracking app, and located Milani’s last known position. The signal cut off next to a mountain two-hundred miles away—quite literally in the middle of nowhere. So that means we are all shit out of luck, because nobody is going to be able to move once the League has taken over and is searching the whole planet for their terrorists.”

“You just… you just killed him?” Kayla stammered, still unable to drag her eyes away from the bloody horror.

“Yeah, obviously. I mean, hopefully we can fight our way out of this mess, but not carrying prisoners. No point leaving this garbage behind.”

Kayla glanced at Krenn, who was sitting with a laptop in front of him. He looked shocked and avoidant.

A flash of rage brought Kayla’s problems back into focus. “Do you have a radio?” she asked him.

Krenn nodded.

“Get Sal up here now.”

Gaz snorted as the man reached for his set. “What, is she your boss now?” he asked.

Krenn avoided his gaze while sending the request, and Gaz turned his attention back to Kayla.

“What’s the big deal? I thought we were on the same page.”

“Uh… no,” Kayla said carefully. “No, my team has very strict rules of engagement… uh, and basic morality.”

“Oh please. Were we supposed to let him live? That’s rich coming from the woman who shot up the starport.”

“I didn’t kill anyone who wasn’t trying to kill me.”

Gaz folded his arms and sneered at her. “Oh okay, I get it. This whole time you thought you were going to hand him over to the cops, and he was going to go on trial, right?”

Kayla’s jaw clenched.

“And then what?” Gaz continued. “He would admit his crimes and break down in front of the world and everyone would gather round and pledge to end sex crimes and live happily ever after? The League would renounce its ways and fly away from Caldera? Don’t be childish.”

“You know what?” Kayla snapped “Forget morality. You don’t execute someone without telling me when I’ve got my girls stuck in this building getting ready to hold off the whole freakin’ city. You don’t jump off script and do whatever you feel like doing, when we still have an important mission to complete.”

“Bullshit,” Gaz snarled. “What mission? Capture Rayker? Sabotage VennZech? I don’t care about your corporate power games miss universe. The only justice in this galaxy is whatever you can take, and I took mine.”

He sank into a chair and scowled at nothing. “But Milani’s gone. There’s no way we are going to get her back now.”

Sal burst into the room with a crash and turned grey as he stared at the carnage.

“Oh my god. What… happened…?” he said eventually.

“That’s what I thought,” Kayla said furiously. “You’ve just screwed over your own people, same as mine. What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Gaz?” Sal said anxiously.

Gaz waved him away and said nothing.

“He shot him, Sal,” Krenn said quietly. “Hit record like he was getting a confession, then listed his crimes and shot him.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Sal said and sighed heavily.

Gaz turned quickly. “I heard the gunfire. They’re going to come in here, kill us all if we don’t run, and set that monster loose again. Why are any of you okay with that?”

“Well, here’s the thing, asshole.” Kayla said. “They’ve surrounded the building with half the cops in the city, plus VennZech’s enforcers, so now there is no way out. They’re probably going to try negotiation, and the first person they are going to want to hear from is half-dome over here. So, good job, you colossal son of a bitch.”

She turned and stormed out of the conference room. The only question in her mind was how she was going to get her squad out of there, even if they had to leave their new allies behind.

On the roof, Ray had the situation well in hand. Bibi and Tian manned the two machine guns, covering the front and rear of the building where the majority of the vehicles had stopped. Lyna and Jess were sheltered behind ventilators, with scopes trained on distant targets. A few of the Marines had joined them, covering the remaining angles of the perimeter.

“Where’s Thandi?” Kayla demanded through the radio.

“I’m nice and snug in a darkened office with good sight lines,” her friend’s voice said. “All tucked in behind some furniture where they probably won’t see me, until I see them.”

“Good, watch ‘em carefully,” Kayla said, and clicked off.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The lengthened barrel and powerful multi-spectrum scope on Thandi’s rifle would allow her to identify police snipers and take them out, if the need arose. Kayla’s racing heartbeat started to slow as she took in the situation. The world was hopefully not about to explode after all.

Ray scooted over to her. “The Marines have two more long guns set up facing the likely sniper hides,” she explained. “All the others are going around the building covering up the windows however they can.”

Kayla nodded. “I think,” she said slowly and quietly, “that we want to start thinking about making a quick exit. Leave the party before it gets going.”

Ray’s expression stiffened. “What? Just abandon these guys to deal with it?”

Kayla gave her a grave look. “Gaz just executed Tensall.”

“Huh,” Ray replied neutrally. There was a long silence. “Is it a problem that he didn’t give you a heads up?”

“It’s a problem because…”

Kayla paused and hissed through her teeth. Colonists did not tolerate vigilantes, no matter how sick or evil their targets were. Law wasn’t just an ideal, it formed the fabric of their reality. And, even though she often bemoaned Valkyrie’s frustrating ethics, she had always respected their strict code of conduct. The idea that someone who she thought she could trust and respect had lost control without warning was deeply disturbing. Along with the overwhelming new situation, the shock of seeing a helpless man—however evil—murdered, had pushed her oldest instincts to the forefront of her mind.

“He didn’t even warn his own guys,” Kayla said. “He’s obviously lost it.”

“That… sucks. But I don’t see us getting out of here very easily. Even if the girls would accept it.”

“The river is a quarter mile away, on the other side of those gardens,” Kayla said with a quick gesture. “If a fight starts at the front, we could toss smoke, make a run for it, then swim underwater for a couple of miles. Why wouldn’t they accept it?”

“No-one gets left behind, remember?”

“These guys aren’t Valkyrie.”

Ray’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, and Valkyrie aren’t braindead robots, either. There have been social interactions of a casual nature. Jokes have been shared. Sympathy has been reached regarding mutual concerns. Don’t you remember how angry everyone was after the freighter episode?”

“Yeah, so?” Kayla’s brow furrowed.

“So, these guys rescue trafficked kids. They have mourned our dead, whilst helping us save our fellow Vipers. Your indomitable young Rangers are impressed. Admiring, even. To be honest, I thought you were going the same way with Gaz.”

Kayla shook her head. “You didn’t see what I saw. The guy’s a psycho.”

“Not a good enough reason to abandon these gentlemen to a violent death.”

“Do you not understand what is going on here, Ray? What this one flashpoint could lead to?”

Ray leaned closer. “I understand, just fine,” she said slowly. “I am giving you the reality, not a comfortable fantasy. This squad is not going to hang these guys out to dry after we just lost Kes.”

Kayla dropped her head in her hands. She wanted to start yelling at someone, but even that couldn’t warm her glacially cold blood.

“Viper two-one, Raven three,” a voice in her ear said.

“Go ahead Raven,” she almost growled.

“I have reached a closer observation point and am ready to provide you with fire support. Be advised, I also have a long gun alongside me who is covering the east side of the complex.”

“That’s wonderful news, Raven, I appreciate it,” Kayla said.

“I heard Calderan Romance was in danger of going up in flames,” a familiar voice said.

Kayla almost laughed. It was nice to speak with someone both vastly more experienced, and who knew her well. “I think the whole planet is about to go up in flames,” she shot back.

“If it is, girlfriend, you’ll be the one directing the fireworks,” Gucci said.

“Viper, be advised we have confirmed the availability of Shrike aircraft over the city,” Raven added. “They will be arriving shortly. Until then, you have several UAVs at your disposal, armed with both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel missiles.”

Kayla exchanged a disbelieving look with Ray. She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. “What happens if… you know, if we have to drop bombs?” she asked, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

“I have worked up a fires plan that will involve minimal ordinance,” Raven said carefully. “We can cause enough destruction for you to make a run for it, while hopefully avoiding too much suspicion.

“We can’t run, Raven,” Kayla admitted. Saying it out loud brought a sense of comfort, and cleared the confused anger from her thoughts.

“If the shit really hits the fan,” Gucci said, “our fallback plan is to go all in. The whole organization will mobilize to take control of Caldera and hold it against the League. Our Gunships will destroy the Augustine, then take up positions for orbital bombardment. You will have the power of God Almighty to call upon.”

Kayla closed her eyes. She felt Ray squeezing her shoulder

“When are the first transports scheduled to land?” she asked.

“They are entering the atmosphere as we speak, heading for the starport. Boots on the ground within twenty minutes.”

“Get me that goddamned phone call!” Whist snapped at the police officer who gingerly approached him. “I don’t want to hear anything else until it’s done.”

He had been in a rage since VennZech’s security vehicle had taken off ahead of the others, and, in total violation of his orders, opened fire on the building. After screaming for all his units to hold their fire, then dragging the new perimeter into some semblance of order, Whist demanded their arrest. The insolent guard’s leader refused, insisting that the corporation had authority over the crisis on their private property. Whist punched the man in the face, breaking his nose, while officers rushed over to restrain the angry employees.

They were cuffed and shoved into a nearby building, and Whist noticed that he started to receive an unusual level of respect from the assembled law enforcement teams. Only the remaining company security force watched him sullenly while waiting for instructions. As far as the Sentinel agent was concerned, they would do nothing but watch the quietest part of the complex for the rest of the day.

“Begging your pardon, sir,” the police captain said. “We have a connection through to the building. Some sort of technician has answered. Says he’s being held prisoner.”

“What? Why wasn’t I told immediately?” Whist demanded. “Damn you man, get me a headset.”

“Right here, sir,” said the captain, passing over a pair of headphones.

“Good, good, thank you. And where’s your commissioner?”

“On the way, sir. He was expecting to meet the Barrochian troops, but he’s changed his plans.”

“Fine, okay—please keep me informed.” Whist paused in embarrassment. He sorely needed a drink. “Good work, Captain, your men have been exemplary,” he managed.

“More than happy, sir. These terrorists deserve hellfire, if you don’t mind my saying.”

Whist nodded and smiled, then turned back to the Sentinel agents clustered around the back of his truck. “See if you can get the audio output,” he advised them.

Then he donned the headset. “This is agent Whist, director of counterterrorism in Rackeye. Who am I speaking to?”

“My name’s Leod,” a nervous voice said. “Leod Grazden. You can look me up in the corporate database. I’m the senior network engineer.”

“Are your captors aware that you are in contact with us, Leod?”

“Yes. They’re here now—they’ve sent for their leader.”

Whist took in a deep breath. “Are they threatening you? Have they harmed you at all?”

“No, I’m okay,” Leod replied. “They’re not bad, they just… listen man, the worst thing that happened here was you guys shooting at us.”

“I am glad to hear you’re okay, Leod. The gunfire was—”

There was a rustle, and a female voice spoke. “Is this on? Am I talking to him? Yeah? Hey, who are you?”