Night had fallen across the Frieden sky when the delegates of the multiple nations attending the conference were beginning to leave. The airfield was on total lockdown and its control tower was active with multiple different aircraft rolling off the runway into the sky, being escorted by Raider fighters until they reached a higher altitude.

The remainder of the negotiations were left nebulous; right after the stern and threatening message to the Frieden on behalf of Tracey and the DFR director, an aide of the emperor had approached him, whispering something in his ear.

A lot of murmurs came from the table when the head of state dismissed himself from the seat, citing that there was pressing business he had to attend to. As if the Commando's guard wasn't up enough, it now raised their suspicions higher that coming here was not a wise move. So thus, the conversations dwindled down to small talk with the rest of the Frieden's ruling cabinet. Many of the ministers agreed that while peace was a favorable option, Admiral Alvero's influence over their massive military force would simply give her too much power to sway politics away from a hardline action. It seemed that an overthrow was inevitable.

Ash sighed as he loitered at the base of the Federation Air Force plane that had brought them to Vargazs. Even though they would be the last of the delegates to leave back to their country, they were also waiting for Trip to finish his end of hacking into the military database, uncovering any information about future military actions. Last he heard; the young Commando was still in the stateroom, trying to crack encryption after encryption…it was military hardware after all. He was confident that it could be broken, but it would take some time.

There was a small team of MUN armed guards standing at the fenced entrance of the field, most likely to keep outsiders out while the high ranking officials of the governments would be leaving.

Both he and Gary would have thought nothing of it except that each of them cradled an assault rifle slung across their sleek uniformed bodies. They constantly moved, at least one was looking in their direction at all times.

Their behavior seemed odd…almost as if anticipating a future event.

"That normal?" The latter asked Tracey as he and Brock were escorting the director of the DFR across.

He looked back at the group, "Yeah, just like I said, you'll have eyes on you until you've left the country."

"Great,"

The plane began to rumble to life as its pilots began to ready the long journey ahead. Just next to them on the taxiway, a second jet bearing the Frieden's flag on the tail was just turning right onto the runway.

Ash recognized its features; it was the Emperor's aircraft.

Blinking lights, it began to rumble down the runway, lifting its nose into the air and gently escaping gravity's anchor.

The explosion came without warning. The giant aircraft had gained less than a hundred feet of altitude close to the end before an enormous plume of fire erupted from its starboard engine. The blast was powerful enough to shear the wing right off.

It dipped down dangerously, with yellow fires still spilling out as the aircraft plummeted back to the ground, landing at the end of the airfield and igniting the rest of its fuel in another giant detonation that lit up the night sky.

"Shit," Gary muttered, "That was the Emperor's plane!"

A thousand thoughts ran through Ash's mind. The ruler of the Frieden was now dead, leaving an enormous gap in power that only a handful of people could fill his shoes.

Someone like the Admiral.

It was too early to tell if she had been responsible for his assassination, for it could've been anyone, but she stood out to him as the person to gain the most from his death. Ash also knew now that getting out of the country just got a hundred times harder. The Frieden would be quick to find or blame someone responsible and give them a liable excuse to declare war. The Admiral had been flexing her military muscle for some time and the built up tension was going to escalate quickly. Once news of this got out to the Frieden people, all it would take is one blame on the Feds or Kalosians to ignite another bloody conflict. There would be no "terrorist" or people unaffiliated with the legitimate government blah, something like this was inexcusable. In the Feds' case, it could be a retaliatory attack to the one on Pallet, even though there was no pressing evidence the Frieden were involved.

An alarm blared across the field as a handful of armored MUN Enforcer cars appeared at the entrance. Some of them raced towards the wreckage, while a couple made a beeline right towards them. They were large, armored four wheeled vehicles that had long panels of polarized glass and oversized tires to take on various terrain. It was considered the standard utility vehicle for the Frieden. Unlike the regular military units; MUN's Enforcers were sleeker with fine lines of a lighter armor and sacrificing its rugged protection for an increase in speed.

"Are they coming to help?" Gary asked the big question, "Or to finish the job?"

Muzzle flashes lit up on the sides as the Frieden opened fire on the Federation group. The Commandos scattered close to their aircraft and Tracey's car, the only viable pieces of cover in the open.

"There's your answer!" Brock shouted. "We've got about five seconds before they catch us in the open!"

One of the cars stopped just at the front of the plane. A single figure emerged from the door, raising a weapon up at the flight deck.

"The hell?"

There was a popping sound and then another fiery explosion right from the Federation aircraft as the grenade made short work of the fragile hull. The entire bow of the vehicle was covered in fire, billowing a second column of smoke to join the bigger one just at the other end of the field.

There was no sign of the pilots.

"I'm gonna make a break for Tracey's car," Gary said, already knowing Cobalt's secondary strategy. "Get Tracey and the director."


Ash and Brock practically sprinted up the airstairs into the main cabin. Red lights were blinking rapidly and many electrical equipment sparked, having been damaged by the blast. Smoke was crowding the top, causing the detectors to beep loudly. They kept low, crouching down and moving quick to minimize inhalation.

"Tracey!" He shouted, "Director!"

"Over…"Someone coughed, "Over here!"

The duo quickly homed in on the response, rushing through to the rear of the aircraft.

Tracey and the director were just at the end of the wall on the port side. A big desk had been shaken free and tipped over, catching both men on its fallen end and pinning them to the wall.

"Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine," Tracey said, "The blast knocked the director unconscious, but we're stuck underneath the desk."

"We'll have to make it quick," Brock said, "We're sitting duckletts in here."

"Agreed."

With a bit of help on both ends, they were able to pry the director's body free. Tracey had been stuck close to a heavier portion, but he had wiggled his way out enough to ditch his dress jacket that had been snagged underneath.

"Gary better know we're on our way out," Brock said. He scooped up the director's body, slinging him over his back in a fireman's carry, "Otherwise we're done for."

"Let's hope so."

They made their way back to the stairs, where one of the Ministry's cars sat, awaiting for them to emerge again. Neither Gary or Tracey's car was anywhere in sight.

"Shit,"

Ash glanced around the cabin before an idea came to his mind.

The flight deck was just about completely obliterated, but he quickly found a compartment on the captain's side that was intact. This section was fireproof in case such a thing had broken out while the plane was flying. He rummaged through before finding an orange snub nosed pistol that resembled a revolver.

"When he shows up, get ready to run."

"How do you know he's going to show up?"

"He just will." Ash glanced at Brock, "You ready."

"I got you lead."

Peering just outside so that he could barely be seen, Ash cocked the hammer, aimed and fired the flaregun.

Almost instantaneously, a bright red bolt of fire raced down from the plane, hitting the Ministry's parked car right on the windshield. Through the glare, Ash could see that there were four men close by, having a delayed reaction from the surprise assault.

Two guns opened fire at once, rattling the fuselage of the plane. The remaining two MUN split up, carefully approaching the airstairs as their comrades kept up suppressing fire.

It would be only a few seconds before they were overrun. The weapons locker aboard the aircraft was jammed shut, so hand to hand would be the most viable option. Element of surprise was also not available. The MUN guys knew they were up there and their legends of being very reactive and ruthless proved to be all the more true.

A blur of light caught his attention. Sure enough, Gary had read the signal just right and floored Tracey's car, rushing right towards the MUN Enforcer.

The vehicles crashed together in a loud bang, taking all four MUN members attention off the plane.

Ash sprung into action, exploding out of the doorway. He saw the closer one had turned back to him, already bringing his weapon to bear.

The Commando grabbed the rails of the airstairs and lashed out with a swift kick. His victim was caught off guard, tumbling down the stairs right into his partner. Both of them landed at the concrete floor with sickening cracks, unmoving.

Gary flung open the car's door, holding a pistol. He sighted the first MUN looking in his direction, snapping off a pair of shots that dropped him. Switching aim, he hit the second one in the arm, adjusting at the same time so that the next couple of shots hit center mass.

Even as he pulled back from the Enforcer, they could see an enormous indentation in the front, crumpled into the hood as if it were paper. Surprisingly, the engine continued to purr with no signs of damage. There was no clear way to tell though.

"Get in!" He shouted. Even as he had killed the last MUN member, the second Enforcer changed course from the airplane's other side and raced around the front. Staccato gunfire peppered the cement around them as Gary continued to fire. Even at such a longer range where a pistol was considered unreliable, he cycled through the remaining rounds to suppress its advance.

Ash and Tracey managed to secure the unconscious director into the car's back. Brock got behind the wheel as Gary took the back seat.

"Weapons?" Cobalt Lead asked.

"In the trunk,"

Brock reversed, wheeling the car out of the way before accelerating again, heading straight for the exit. A few MUN Enforcers were parked on the sides with at least two squads already lining up from hearing the commotion.

Gunfire plastered the winshield, causing both Brock and Ash to flinch, yet the driver did not deviate his course. The glass of the envoy's car was bulletproof, but all it would take was one round and one of the Commandos would be bleeding.

The MUN must've figured out that the car was not intending to stop and each one of them quickly ran out of the way.

Brock didn't slow down, steering right down the closest street and following the lane that led towards the lights of the city. Ash glanced behind to see the Enforcers already wheeling onto the road in hot pursuit. As he looked back; Gary handed him a matte black assault rifle.

"I'm going to make headway to the city." Brock said, "We've still got a little bit until we can reach regular traffic."

"Count on the Ministry sending additional Enforcers," Tracey said, "There will be more coming from the city to intercept us."

"That's where we need to go. Over that way, we can disappear."

More gunfire erupted from behind as the MUN Enforcers had now gained a significant amount of ground between the two. Bullets puckered the rear of the car, being absorbed by the light armored protection. Still, the warning pulsating in Brock's face told him that the integrity was not going to last long.

Ash and Gary smashed the windows on their sides and leaned out, sitting on the doorside. Each Commando had part of the seatbelt strapped to their waist to keep them from being flung out. They were well aware of the risks, but they had done this many times, in both training and in actual combat.

Gary fired first, letting out a long stream of bullets that scratched the closest MUN Enforcer. The four wheeled vehicle swerved to avoid the bullets and backed off. Two of the others instead gained speed. One of the men had propped themselves on the doorside of their own and took aim at the fleeing car.

Ash shifted his rifle's ironsight to the figure and fired a four round burst. He had used Frieden FA family of rifles before and knew exactly how it behaved. It was a heavier battle rifle than the Federation's standard 516s, but its recoil kicked much harder, giving an inexperienced shooter a more difficult time in terms of accuracy.

His shots had missed, but it prompted the Nine to retract himself back inside the shelter of the Enforcer.

"How much longer?"

"I can see the highway from here. We've got a series of tight turns, so hang on!"

The Enforcers kept a good pace behind them. The Nines had now held back a little more, not wanting to risk an unnecessary loss when they had additional forces on the way to intercept.

Ash checked his rifle. Attached to the underbarrel was a forty millimeter grenade launcher, which could fire a high explosive charge at an arc.

"I've got an idea," He took one of the shells from Gary and slid it into the chamber, "Brock, tell me when we're about to turn."

"On it."

The next pathway meandered around several hilly mounds that overlooked the main part of downtown Vargazs. At the bottom was an enormous two directional highway that was leading towards the highrise of buildings.

Brock curved the car on the narrow lane that hugged the side of the first slope, silently thanking the halogen lights for providing plenty of illumination on the path. There was a small metal barrier that kept them from going off, although it would prove useless at their current speed. Still, their own ride was smaller, closer to the ground and built for tight maneuverable turns unlike the larger Enforcers. They had previously gained on them, but trying to go at a high speed on close turns with little room to change their course. Their smaller car wasn't exactly built for racing, but its suspension allowed it to be more in its element. All three pursuing Enforcers fought hard to stay on their heels, but they were losing ground rapidly.

"Turning!"

Ash leaned back inside when his eyes snapped up to a flicker of motion behind him.

Something orange flashed before it raced right in their direction at an astonishing speed.

"Shit!"

The projectile landed right behind them, throwing up a cloud of dust and rubble. Brock had seen it out of his rearview and increased his speed ever so slightly. Since the Nine had lead his target, a change in his constant heading caused the variables to shift and thus it was missed.

"You gotta be fuckin kidding!" Gary shouted, looking disbelieved, "A MolRod?"

A MolRod was a specialized Frieden anti-armor weapon that was shoulder fired. It was introduced relatively late in the previous war. Unlike the newer models of their rocket propelled grenade weapons, the MolRod went back to its older iterations, being completely unguided. It fired a portmanteau of its name; a rod of molten metal heated just enough to cause damage while rendering it hardened enough to not melt upon impact.

Ash had seen it in action and had even used one before. It was highly dangerous to everything, personnel, vehicles and aircraft alike. Some of the wounds it had caused to whatever it hit were pretty disturbing.

"It came from the middle Enforcer." He leaned back out, now holding his rifle. Switching to the grenade launcher, he brought it up to his head, eyeballing the trajectory and timing.

Brock went around in a left, going right behind a hill and blocking his line of sight.

"Damn,"

"Ash, this curves around again right before the highway. They're going to have another shot," Brock said.

"Okay, just keep it steady."

They were just past the next U when the Enforcers appeared. Each one was loosely next to one another, evidenced by their lights. Even with little himself, Ash knew the statistics of his own weapon and how he could disrupt them.

He angled the weapon up and pulled the trigger.

There was a muffled poofing sound as the grenade whistled upwards. He had aimed just ahead of the advancing Enforcers to do a better job at leading than their opponents.

Brock had been right. At the same time; another orange flash jumped in their direction. This time, the MolRod impacted ahead of them, burying itself into the hill right above their heads. Rocks and dirt rained down from the explosion and even from a notable distance, they could feel its shimmering heat.

The grenade arced down before it slammed into the rear Enforcer. Not Ash's target, but he'd take it. Its fuel tank detonated, the force blasting it forward to knock the middle one forward. The front one kept pace, coming up on them.

"Ooh!" Gary exclaimed, "Holy shit Ashy boy! That was amazing!"

Ash placed the rifle down and breathed out a sigh of relief, "What's next."

"Next," Brock approached the highway. "We lose them for good here. Might wanna hang onto something."

Ketchum got back inside as he made a hard turn to their right. Brock drifted a bit, burning rubber right up to a ramp that led onto the overpass.

"Hang on a second," Tracey interrupted, "We're heading east? That's towards more Frieden garrisons!"

"Nope. Watch and learn."

Brock came to a stop before shunted it into reverse to turn back to their original heading. From his previous drift; they could see huge black tire tracks newly minted into the ground. He moved forward, heading left; the opposite direction and jumping into the onramp, quickly blending into traffic. As he melted in with the other cars on the freeway, they could see the headlights of two Enforcers approaching the intersection.

"What was that all about?" Tracey asked.

"Little trick I saw on a police show." Brock explained, "Some gangsters fooled the cops in a chase by making tire tracks on a turn onto a freeway and then going in the opposite direction. So the Ministry would be following my tire tracks. They also have the license plate of this car, so unless someone reports us, which I doubt in this dark, they'll begin their search that way. So we'll make for the river where we have our exfil."

Tracey also knew that the governmental district was in that area, "But Trip. He's over that way."

"They're looking for us," Ash said, "Not necessarily him. We're the bigger fugitives. Besides, Trip knows what to do and he'll turn up."


The knock came at the door to Trip's stateroom just twenty minutes after the explosion. He was busy at the desk, just on the final crack of the encryption into the Frieden database when company arrived.

Patting his side to make sure that his 226 pistol was with him, he kept on typing with one hand while keeping the other close to the gun.

"This is Ministry Unit Nine," The voice came from the door's other side, "Please open this door. There is a progressing situation in this building!"

Trip didn't understand a lick of Friedenese, but he was pretty sure that the message was to let them in or they were going to do it themselves.

"Almost there," He whispered,

His attention was caught by something being unzipped at the end of the room. Acting fast, he shut off the lights, closing his laptop and waited.

A fiber-optic was snaked underneath the door, barely noticeable.

Trip held his breath as it swept from side to side, searching the entrance for threats. The Nine must've been satisfied since he quickly retracted it back through.

He knew what was coming next; they were about to breach.

"Cobalt's compromised,"

The door's handle were blown to shreds by a shotgun and the first Nine yanked it open, flicking a canister inside. The stun grenade detonated, blinding anyone on the other end.

Now kicked down, the half dozen Nines entered unchallenged, weapons raised. The stateroom was secured in a matter of seconds.

Inside, the room was completely vacant and devoid of anyone for some time. Dust lined the wardrobe and mirrors. Some smoke from the grenade still hung in the air. Even the bed sheets were not rumpled.

One of the Nines pointed up at the end. The balcony door was wide open, allowing the Vargazs breeze to blow the curtains about.

The cityscape lay before them, now concealing the room's former occupant.


Things are bound of heat up now! I have to admit; I had a lot of fun writing the chase scene. Hope everyone enjoyed it.

See you all next time. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.