Mobile tactical units stationed. Confirmation received from units: Tasty, Eagleye, and Point. Three minutes to engage.

"Twenty bucks says he's a Freak," said Spencer.

"For fuck's sake." Jin's electrified voice echoed through their earpieces. "This is a containment breach, not a god damn casino."

The audio crackled as Spencer chewed his gum. "Yes ma'am." He gazed across his assault rifle. "Seriously though," he said barely above a whisper. "A Freak with… four arms?"

Joe stared out the window at the small red dot that was Jin's laser sight, and flexed his hand on his rifle. It didn't irritate him that Spencer always tried pointlessly to engage him in ridiculous games. In fact, sometimes he felt that it made him belong in an otherwise awkward threesome. He wondered between him and Spencer who was Harry Potter and who was Ronald Weasley. If it wasn't for Jin, their partnership might have been a little less cliche, although she seemed to try as hard as she could to break the trio off at the groins.

The red dot shivered. "Point, I'm getting a black reading."

"You're gonna tell us that now?" said Spencer. "Sure hope it's not one of us."

Joe raised his rifle to his shoulder and turned back to the closed door of the apartment. It was a small landing, but the wide windows made the room seem a lot bigger. Through the windows, the sky was illuminated a deep red and purple, allowing just enough darkness for Jin's laser sight to be visible from the adjacent building. There'd been no noise from inside the apartment so far, but from Jin's description of the scene from her eagle's nest, at least one person was dead.

Thirty seconds to engage.

"Be careful when you knock it in," said Spencer. Joe couldn't help but raise his eyebrow at him. Spencer shrugged and levelled his rifle. "Just saying. Four-armed Freaks are a first for me."

Joe moved silently closer to the door with quick, even footsteps. As he rested his back against the wall, he held his breath and listened for movement. Considering Armacham was shitting bricks when F.E.A.R deployed, the mission had been surprisingly smooth. No resistance at the gate, nothing at the elevator, and now it seemed the apartment was empty. He was half-tempted to simply open the door and peek in, but Jin's black reading was enough to keep him in check. Someone was going to die.

Omicron, you are go for interception.

Joe leaned sideways and pushed the door completely open, immediately shouldering his rifle and gazing through his sight.

The hallway was empty. It would have been unremarkable with its classy wallpaper and potted plants if it wasn't for the red smear along the wall. Joe heard Spencer move into position behind him, and he stepped carefully over the landing. Visibility was poor. The hallway was narrow and opened into a living room with a couch. As Joe moved closer, he saw the blood stains in the carpet, and then a severed hand on the floor.

"Jesus…" he heard Spencer mutter behind him. "Didn't know a person could have that much blood."

Joe spun to face the kitchen as he neared the living room, but the kitchen was empty. He faced forward again, moving the gun left and right as he panned the room through his sight.

"Movement!" Jin's red beam appeared through one of the windows, aiming at something around the corner.

Joe instantly crouched low, finger on the trigger. He and Spencer sat frozen as Jin's laser crossed the room. Joe kept another mental finger on his psionic reflex, forcing himself not to imagine a multi-limbed monster suddenly darting into the hallway.

A faint whimper drifted in from the living room. Joe heard Spencer shift behind him.

"Is that… a little girl?" Spencer whispered.

It certainly sounded like one. Amazing that a child could survive in a situation like this. Joe creeped forward, hunched over his rifle, and slowly rounded the corner. He flexed his timing, taking what seemed forever to peer around the wall which in reality was a mere few seconds. As he did, the living room came into view. What was once a glass table was shattered into a million peices like diamonds on the floor. A flat screen television hung sideways on the wall, still sparking. And in the middle of it all, a tiny blonde figure stood over a mass of flesh, quietly sobbing with her hair in her face.

Joe raised his finger off the trigger as Spencer moved next to him. "We have visual," said Spencer.

The little girl raised her head. Her hair was matted to her cheeks as fresh tears streamed down them. Her flowery yellow gown was damp in spots, and the ends were crimson from being dragged in the blood. As she looked at Joe, her whimpering grew louder and she gasped words.

"This is Tasty," said Spencer, and Joe heard his voice crack. "Repeat, we have visual. But it's just… it's just a..."

Target acquired. Dispatch Paragon unit.

Jin's laser flashed across the room. For a moment, Joe thought he'd used his reflex unintentionally. "Are they serious?" said Jin through the com. "Den Mother, target is unarmed. Repeat, target is unarmed. Request permission to subdue and apprehend ─"

Dispatch Paragon unit.

"This is fucked up," said Spencer. "They really want us to kill a kid?"

The girl glanced left and right, mouthing a silent sentence. She scrunched her toes up as she sobbed, collecting blood under her feet. Joe studied her carefully. It wasn't impossible that she had killed whoever was now the bloody blob on the ground, but something told him that was wrong. She didn't have the look of a killer, even an accidental killer. He took a step toward her as he tried to hear what she was saying. Her voice grew steadily louder.

"... can't find… can't find… where are… not…"

"Den Mother, Eagleye disputes the order given," said Jin. "F.E.A.R is outfitted for subduing dangerous Psions, and subject is a child."

"I concur that shit," said Spencer. "Tasty also disputes."

Dispute is irrelevant. Dispatch Paragon unit.

"What do you mean 'dispute is irrelevant?'" Jin's voice began to crackle again. "This is a violation of service!"

"... not here… she's not here…" Joe took another step, unwittingly lowering his rifle and looked at the girl over his sight. She stared at him with pink cheeks as her chest heaved. Her blue eyes were wild with fear. Joe doubted she was older than ten, and he hoped the military jargon was enough to confuse her about the situation. Even if she was Paragon and killed a person, she was no murderer. She was just looking for someone.

"... she's not here…" The girl raised her head slightly, and suddenly the fear faded from her eyes. "Mother."

The room lurched forward. Joe felt as though he were being sucked from his body. He was startlingly aware of Spencer drifting away next to him, as though he were made of ash suddenly caught in the wind. The walls fell away, revealing a black oblivion ringed with flames. He struggled to shout out, but found he couldn't speak or move. This had to be an illusion. But it was unlike anything he'd ever trained for. The girl was changing before him. She seemed to be drawing closer to him even though she wasn't moving. Her blue eyes─ no, not the frightened blue eyes he had just been gazing at. Fiery red light erupted from her eye sockets like torches, with impossibly large black pupils in the center. Her hair creeped slowly downwards, darkening from gold to deep black and tangling like a massive cobweb. The room echoed from every direction "mother mother mother" as though they were standing in a massive auditorium.

Joe gritted his teeth as he tried to move. This was bad on a whole new level. As the girl floated closer to him, his muscles began to shiver. He couldn't back away, couldn't raise his gun, couldn't even blink as she advanced. He shrank back in his mind, mentally curling into a ball. But her eyes seemed to pull him in, forcing him to acknowledge her soul-ripping stare. It was a violation on the most personal level. There was no telling what she planned to do with him, but he had a horrible gut feeling it had something to do with the mound of flesh on the floor. He had to do something quick. Something. Anything.

Her mouth split into a horrifying toothy sneer and her eyes grew wider. "Mother has you."

A surge of energy bolted through Joe's body, and he frantically used his reflexes. She slowed for a moment, and the sound was oddly muffled. The sparks flashed slowly from the television as though they were caught in water. He only had a few seconds. With every ounce of his strength, he forced his rifle upward a few desperate inches, the barrel pointing at the girl's chest. It was good enough. He pulled the trigger.

For a terrifying moment, he thought the bullet missed. The shot was low and sounded more like an explosion. The girl's sneer hovered for a second, her eyes burning a mere few feet from his face. Then there was a sudden rush of sound, as though he were caught in a tornado. The girl disappeared from view, the light returned to the room, and Joe stared oddly up at the ceiling which seemed to spin.

"What the─ what the fuck!"

It took him a moment to realize that Spencer was staring down at him. There was a strange scrambling noise and Joe heard Jin's voice.

"What happened? Who took the shot?"

Joe instantly forced himself to move. Relief flooded through him as he raised himself onto his elbows. He flexed his hands and rolled his head on his neck. This was his body.

"He shot her," said Spencer. "Point fucking shot her."

The girl was on her back, fresh blood pooling from underneath her. She was still breathing, but her throat was garbled. Joe sprang into action, snatching up his rifle and jumping to his feet. How the bitch could have survived a shot to the chest was beyond him, and he was taking no chances. However, as he stepped slowly toward her, he saw that her hair was blond and her eyes were blue. It wasn't the same girl.

"Den Mother, target is down," said Jin. "Target is down and incapacitated. Permission to apprehend the target."

"Belay that," said Spencer. He stood beside Joe with his rifle in the crook of his arm. "She's a goner."

The girl gazed up at them with glassy eyes, a dribble of blood forming a line from her mouth. Her lips were parted in a voiceless scream, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Joe couldn't help but feel guilt tug at the corners of his mind despite his caution. This wasn't the girl that attacked him. Whatever that had been was gone, and all that was left was this poor child slowly dying on the floor in front of him.

She locked eyes with him, and her eyes grew wide. Her mouth opened and closed in an attempt to speak.

"Tasty, I'm giving you an order to apply first aid," said Jin. "I don't care how wounded she is. If we can at least get─"

Joe raised his rifle and there was a thunderous pop as he fired a single bullet. The girl shuddered and froze, a fresh stream of crimson winding down from the penny-sized hole in her forehead.

He didn't need to look at Spencer to see the shock on his team-mate's face, and knew Jin probably had the same expression. He put a finger to his earpiece.

"Point," said Joe. "Paragon unit fucking dispatched."