This chapter slows down in the middle a bit, but it picks back up at the end. Not so much in action as in drama. I think you all should enjoy it. Christine is a very difficult character to write - but I think I'm growing fond of her. But Graham is the character that I really can't wait to get to. Anyway, enjoy.

The villa was a labyrinth. Boone winded through the streets, careful to stay out of sight. He stopped briefly to observe his surroundings. He found himself in a familiar area – the buzz of a nearby vending machine filled the air. He briefly stopped to examine graffiti next to the machine – Cloud Kills Fast or Slow Gets us ALL.

A short distance before him was a arch – burrowing between two of the villa's residences. The tunnel was thick with the cloud. Boone couldn't see through it – but he remembered taking a shot at one above the pass. He clasped his hand over his mouth and approached the fog; then he heard it, the click of his collar activating. He bolted into the cloud – a sharp pain consumed his leg. He collapsed to the ground. His collar began to beep – he fumbled in red-blindness, grasping at his calf. A bear trap. He felt for Six's machete; grasping in darkness. His lungs burned – the collar's beeping quickened. Then he found it – wedging the blade between the steel teeth, he twisted – narrowly jerking his leg free as the steel trap clamped shut. He rolled forward out of the fog, searching frantically for the source of the signal interference.

Sparks! Above him, a malfunctioning speaker. He reached for his sidearm – a stainless steel snub, black handled 12.7mm pistol. He shot twice in quick succession. The sound reverberated off the walls; merging the sound and amplifying it exponentially. The sound attracted one of the larger ghost people – a trapper. Boone saw the creature bound from one roof to another, vigilantly approaching him. He aimed again – but the creature was too fast. Leaping to and fro, closing the distance between them remarkably quickly.

Boone grasped the machete and waited – it leaped high into the air, Boone quickly rolled to the side. It brought its fist into the ground with incredible force. Boone whipped the machete around, removing the creature's arm at the elbow. It stood, wailing in pain – green liquid spraying from the severed limb. Boone posed for another attack – but the creature collapsed to its knees, a gurgling sound filled the air around him. Then it doubled over, going limp, and toppled to the ground. Boone immediately cast his eyes to the rooftops. The other creatures tilted their heads and slowly withdrew. He made his way to his feet – glancing down at the brute. He tapped it with his leg. Nothing. Yet, it was still breathing. He raised the machete high into the air and brought it down with a nauseating thud.

He rounded the corner, dragging the headless corpse of the trapper. He was limping, the unquestionable imprints of steel teeth around his calf.

"What the hell happened?"

"Bear trap."

"And the shot?"

"Speaker."

Six retrieved the super-stim Boone had given to him just hours earlier. "Want me to…?"

"No," Boone took it, removing the leather strap and placing it into his mouth. Then he jammed the needle into his leg. He hissed in pain, momentarily dropping his rifle to the ground for support – leaning on it. "These things always get me sick."

"We'll need to stop by the villa clinic on the way back."

"No," Boone stood, color slightly drained from his face. "I'm good."

God looked down at the immense husk of the former ghost person. "You're quite good at fetching…perhaps the Old Man would be willing to make a trade. Take you and let Dog go."

"Right," Boone sneered. "Not going to happen."

God laughed, a fearsome, guttural sound. "This should keep him where he belongs. For now. I'll wait…send the signal, we'll be ready."

Dean dropped several boxes of ammunition on the police station desk. "Don't say I never did anything for you," He said in his thick accent. "Just over seventy shots. Use them sparingly."

Six packed the ammunition into his bag, save two shells – which he used to load his shotgun. He spoke: "Elijah?"

Silence.

"Elijah, the nightkin is in position. What's our next step?"

The radio hissed to life. "…The next step will be to travel to the switching station in southern Puesta del Sol. You'll need someone who's adept with terminals and relays. Is Veronica with you?"

"I'm here, Elijah."

"You've always been good with technology. I fear you are the only one who can do this. You must succeed."

Veronica's breathing was shallow. "Of course, Elijah."

"Be careful, Veronica…I'd hate…"

Six interrupted, "Whoa whoa. Another switching station? I don't think I'm comfortable leaving her exposed like that."

"You left the FEV reject at a substation. This is the central plant – the station itself. It will be enclosed, you will be inside. But don't go in thinking you're safe. The area will be littered with radio interference and toxins."

"But no ghost people?"

"They tend not to venture into the buildings. Who knows why? Superstition? Fear? The reason is of no importance. Once you're inside – once you have activated the ventilation and cleared out the fog. Once you have disarmed any traps. She will be safe."

"What kind of tra…"

The pip-boy clicked – signaling the end of the transmission.

"God damnit!" Six turned to Veronica. "I don't like this, Vee."

She smiled, "Aw. Protecting me? I've never had a big brother."

"I'm serious. It's one thing to leave that god damned beast out on its own. But I'm not going to leave you."

"I can take care of myself," she smiled and grasped Christine's hand. "Besides, I won't be by myself."

Christine stepped forward, motioning towards Six's pip-boy. He extended his arm. She carefully examined it – flipping it back and forth carefully. Then, she stabbed at the dials and buttons with her fingers. She pulled up the map and examined the marker the old man had placed; zooming in at the station. She pointed towards the door.

"Shall we?" Veronica asked, a smile across her face.

Boone stood, painfully clutching his leg, "I'm going with you."

Six shook his head. "No, you're in no shape to come with us." He leveled his eyes on Dean. "Take him to the villa clinic. Get him in an autodoc. I'll meet you both there shortly."

Dean scowled. "One of the locals catches us, we aren't coming back."

"If that man isn't at 100%, we all die, it won't be a matter of if. It'll be a matter of when," Six countered.

"Fine," Dean steadied Boone, pulling one arm over his shoulder. "I'll get him to the clinic. But you'd better hurry."

The inside of the station was cold. Veronica shuddered in her robes – Six quickly removed his duster and offered it to her. She declined it graciously. Six made his way further into the room – his collar began to beep. He quickly flipped through his pip-boy and played the jamming signal. The collar's beeping was replaced with faint static.

"Door's locked."

Christine looked around the room – she walked to an old fuse box on the wall. Someone had long ago painted a heart on it; it was fading with age. She opened it and turned to Veronica – brow raised.

Veronica half-jogged to the box and peered inside. "Oooh, this isn't good. We're going to need some new fuses…three at least."

"Are you serious?"

She grinned. "Not at all. I can reroute it in no time. Give me a second."

Six's collar started to beep again. He backed away from the door until it stopped. Christine eyed him, slowly opening her palm and closing it.

"I know, I know. It slows the signal, it doesn't stop it."

She pressed her lips in a tight smile and raised both of her brows.

"That should do it."

Six walked towards the door again – his collar resumed playing static. He twisted the door control; it spun open. Immediately in front of him was more graffiti – tick tick tick. It had an arrow pointing up and to his right. He followed the arrow and saw the speaker. He withdrew Lucky and fired. Christine held her ears as the echo of the shot reverberated throughout the station. "Takes care of that."

They made their way down the twisting corridor; Six made short work of two more speakers. Then they entered a cavernous area – filled with pipes, destroyed walkways, various machinery, and rubble. The cloud blanketed the bottom. Christine eyed the fog timidly, then pantomimed walking with her index and middle fingers and shook her head.

"No way we can find our way through that if we go down there," Veronica agreed. "But…" she inspected the pipes. "Those look like ventilation. I'd wager a few caps that there's a terminal somewhere inside to clear out this gas."

"No terminals back the way we came," Six said softly.

"Has to be further in, then."

Six stepped towards the guard rails, gazing down into the blood red cloud. He breathed deeply then looked across the room. A set of stairs were directly across from him. His eyes followed a large pipe in the center of the room. He turned back to the two women who had been following his gaze, and apparently his train of thought.

"You can't be serious…"

Christine reached out, grabbing Six's hand. She nervously shook her head.

He smiled at her, placed his free hand on top of hers then looked at Veronica. "You all stay here. When the fog clears, come find me." Then he turned and jumped. The fall was further than what he'd anticipated – he crashed onto the pipe stomach first, folding over it. Christine turned away. He clawed and gripped at the pipe until he regained his composure. He was just above the fog's level – but he could feel it stinging his lungs. He carefully treaded the pipe, each step causing pain to pulsate and thud throughout his torso. He held his arms out to maintain balance. Once he had made his way across, he disappeared into the fog. Christine and Veronica scanned the fog, but saw no movement.

"Hey!" Six yelled, standing on the walkway across from them. "Give me a second. I'll find the terminal." Six ventured further into the station – following signs labeled "Utility". Then he saw it – a massive mainframe and a wall mounted terminal. He approached it. "Please don't be locked…please don't be locked."

-Ventelation Control System-

‹Warning: The ventelation system should only be taken down for routine maintenance.›

‹Activate Ventilation System›

He selected the option. Immediately the sound of heavy machinery kicking on filled the air. He turned to his right, opening another door. He stepped forward and his collar immediately began emitting static.

"God damnit…" he searched the walls. A speaker was shortly before him, to his left. He pulled up his rifle and fired. His collar continued to hiss. "What the hell?"

He stepped closer, firing again. This time, there was return fire. Not from the speaker, but from deeper within the room. Six ducked back, taking cover behind the wall. Glancing around, he saw it – a massive turret stationed at the center of the room. The very moment he poked his head around the corner, it started firing again.

"Son of a bitch!" He ducked back around the corner.

"What is it?" the familiar sound of Veronica's voice asked.

"God damn turret," he glanced at her. "Any bright ideas?"

"Have you shot at it?"

Christine stepped forward, plunging a syringe of Med-X into Six's torso.

"Ow!" He rubbed his chest, "What the hell?" Christine raised a brow and pointed to his chest. Six turned his attention back to Veronica. " you seen it? It's huge."

Veronica peeked around the corner. Again the turret started firing.

"That's the same kind the Brotherhood uses," she confirmed. "We're not going to take that out without some type of plasma or pulse weaponry."

"Maybe it can be deactivated?"

Veronica pursed her lips. "Maybe…but we can't get in there."

Christine raised a hand, eyes shifting from Veronica and Six sporadically. Then she drew a line between them, took aim with an imaginary gun and weaved back and forth.

Veronica grinned, "Right! It can't shoot at both of us. We can split up."

Six shook his head. "Path only goes in two directions. There's a speaker that way," he pointed to it. "And it's impervious to fire."

"Then it has to be controlled by a terminal somewhere. We'll have to shut it down."

"Great," Six took a deep breath. "Left or right?"

Veronica peeked around the corner – the turret had since ceased its pursuit and was casually scanning the room.

"I'll go right…see if I can figure out how to get to that turret. You take Christine…go straight through that door…" she pointed ahead of them. "Once you're in, wait for me to deactivate the turret."

Six nodded. He turned to Christine, gripping her hand with his own. "Alright, here goes nothing."

The turrets attention was back on them in an instant. Six weaved left – running towards the speaker. Veronica bobbed right and yelled in pain as one of the turret's lasers caught her shoulder. She toppled over the railing. Christine stopped, attempting to go back, but Six held on tight. "She's alive. If she was dead, believe me, we'd know." His collar hissed with dissatisfaction at his proximity to the speaker. Once at the door he reached out and attempted to turn the dial. It wouldn't budge.

"Oh, you're fucking joking." Six fumbled through his pouch, retrieving a few bobby pins and a screwdriver. Fighting with the lock – the static faded and was replaced by a faint beeping. "C'mon…." The first bobby pin broke. Then the second. The beeping grew quicker, louder. Christine swiped the tools from his hands and took over. Within moments the door was open. She eyed the terminal.

"No time." Six grabbed her hand again and lead her through the room around the corner. The beeping stopped, but now they were facing the turret. As it began to power up, a whirring noise filled their ears. Six grabbed Christine folding over her protectively and turning his back on the turret. It fired once, sending a sharp pain up Six's spine – then it went silent. Six looked at the machine, it limply aimed at the catwalk. Across the way, Veronica poked her head out of a small enclosed area.

"Got it!"

Six half smirked, "Yeah…"

The group rendezvoused at the marker on Six's pip-boy. Or rather, Six and Christine trekked there and Veronica made her way to them. Six cut the signal on his pip-boy.

"We're in position."

"Good," Elijah's voice chimed in. "Now, the controls we need to activate are in the stations lower levels. Veronica…you'll need to go down via the maintenance elevator. Once you're down there, wait. I'll contact you via the terminal to let you know how to proceed." The pip-boy clicked and fell silent.

Veronica turned to Six. "Got a little singed there."

He pulled his duster around, examining it. "Son of a bitch…"

Veronica smilled. "Well…I'm going to go down and have a look." She turned to Christine. "See you when I get back up?"

Christine nodded and stepped forward. Taking Veronica's hands into her own, she embraced her with a passionate kiss. Veronica disappeared into the elevator.

Six turned to Christine. "Just give me a shout if you need anything."

She narrowed her eyes.

"I'm joking!"

She smiled somberly and nodded.

"Look…I'll tell you what. We'll set up a system. One snap for yes, two snaps for no."

She smiled again, a little more genuine and shook her head.

"Okay. Okay. Nodding and elaborate hand motions is better than snapping. I get it."

Her face wrinkled and her smile broadened.

"There we go. That's more like it. Your smile is far too pretty to hide from the world."

She opened her mouth, as if to speak…then became somber again, dropping her gaze to the ground.

"Hey," Six extended his hand, pushing her gaze up to meet his own. "We'll fix this. I promise."

Christine half grinned, though her eyes were still sorrowful. She took a step towards Six, giving him a warm embrace. Then sat at the desk behind her. She looked at Six, tapped her wrist, and pointed towards the door. Six gave a quiet nod and began to make his way back across the snaky catwalks. He stopped briefly at a terminal – next to it was a key. He lifted the key, inspecting it. Then sat at the terminal. Booting it up, he found a text document.

"Sinclair ordered a new set of chemical suits from Big Mountain so we could venture into the ventilation chambers and see what the source of this cloud cocktail is. The suits are kind of creepy looking to be honest…and it's difficult to talk in them. We had to resort to using sign language. But at least now we can check out the pipes. If only we'd had these a few weeks ago when this all started. Ennis wouldn't be holed up at the clinic right now in critical condition. The gas really did a number on him. He should be back on his feet soon though. He keeps leaving his key lying around. So if I'm not on duty when he gets back see that he gets it. I've put one of the suits in his locker. And guys; don't go filling his locker full of Dandy Boy Apples again."

Six pocketed the key. "Hey!" He turned to see Veronica. "We have a problem."

"Problem?"

"I can't fit into the maintenance area. It's really cramped, and I can't get in there and move well enough to work on what we need done. Christine's small enough...but..."

"…She's claustrophobic. Shit…"

"Exactly."

"…Fuck. And there's no way we can convince her to go down there?"

"I tried…the autodoc incident has her pretty upset. She's trying to reroute the system though, to access it from the terminal near the elevator."

"And that'll work?"

"If she can hack the mainframe."

They made their way back to Christine – who was angrily punching keys on the terminal.

"Any luck?"

Christine scowled.

"Let me try," Veronica suggested.

Christine shrugged her off. "Look, I know you've always been better with tech, but this whole situation has you frustrated. You're not on top of your game. Let me try." Veronica placed a hand on her shoulder. Christine sighed and pushed herself away from the terminal, vacating the seat. Veronica sat and pulled herself to it.

Christine folded her arms and stormed off. Veronica stood, but Six shook his head. "We need to get this done. Don't worry, I got her," he said, falling in line behind her. "You get that terminal rerouted."

Christine was back in the room with the speaker terminal before Six was able to catch her. She furiously typed at the keys – her collar beeping quickly. Six initiated the jamming signal – but as he did the static fell quiet. She turned to him; lips pursed, she held her hands out, palms up.

"I don't doubt your ability."

She huffed, folding her arms and looking to the ground again.

"I don't think Veronica does either. You know what I don't get though?"

She looked at him.

"I don't get why the autodoc would shave your head."

She furrowed her brow, rubbed her hand across her scalp, and shook her head.

"Oh," Six said drolly, "You mean you shaved your own head. Maybe something is wrong with you, then."

Christine's lips twitched, briefly curling into a fading smile. She used her index finger as a drawing instrument and sketched out a symbol in the air in front of her.

"So you were a scribe then?"

She nodded, looking slightly impressed.

Six smiled at her, but his smile was short lived. "Look..." he began with a sigh, "I know you're afraid. But if we can't reroute this, we need you to go down there."

Christine shook her head, stepping back. She averted her gaze from Six's.

"Hey," he took her hand into his own. "I promise you, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to leave you down there. But I can't do this without you."

She swallowed, eyes welling slightly. Then squeezed Six's hand with her own.

He smiled at her. "That a girl." Six turned to leave, but she didn't budge. He turned back to her and she stepped forward, lightly locking her lips around Six's. He immediately pulled away. She looked at him, suddenly aware of her actions. Then she stepped forward and laid her head against his chest and sighed. He let his eyes wander and rested his hand on the back of her neck. Then they began making their way back towards the elevator…and Veronica.

As they approached Veronica, she looked up from the terminal. "I don't know what else to do. This thing is locked down tight."

Christine placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder and walked towards the elevator. Veronica followed suit. Christine embraced her with a kiss, then cast Six one last glance before climbing into the elevator. She turned to Veronica, pointed down, and gave a thumbs up.

We're about halfway through Aces & Eights! Hopefully you're all enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Until next time, thanks for reading!