Going down the stairs, the mercenaries found that it was rather a long way to Chapter Seven, and were starting to wonder if there was a shortcut to it. Before long, however, they reached the bottom of the stairwell, which had a door marked "Chapter 7", and the mercenaries went through.

On the other side of the door, in a poorly lit tunnel, was an electric tram and a long stretch of track, which went off into the murky darkness. A sign pointed that way, with a comment that the secret entrance to the Administrator's tower was seven miles further down the track.

The mercenaries leapt on the tram and pushed a power lever as far forward as possible. The tram lurched forward at a slow speed, and they were off. Both Soldiers held their shotguns at the ready, wary that the Administrator would pull a big trick on them. Some of the other mercenaries, such as the RED Sniper and the BLU Demoman, nodded off.

Seven miles later, the RED Soldier spotted a small doorway off to the right-hand side of the tunnel. He immediately jumped off and kicked down the door. On the other side was a short flight of stairs upwards. The other mercenaries joined him, having stopped the tram.

The group went up the stairs but were confronted by a simple locked door. The RED Soldier put his shotgun to the lock and fired, as he wasn't prepared to wait for either of the Spies to pick the lock. The door swung open, revealing a car park.

"This must be Her tower." whispered Conagher.

Dell went over to a map on a nearby wall and studied it.

"Boys, we're in the sub-basement; She is on the sixth floor, assumin' a ground floor for that woman is the same as a first floor for me. There are other levels above the office, but this map says the office is on the sixth floor."

Both Spies groaned; they had hated coming down the stairs after the decoy tower, and now they had to climb seven flights. Fortunately for them, the BLU Heavy had spotted a couple of lifts. The RED team went in one, the BLU team in the other. After about a minute of lift music, the teams arrived on what was labelled on the map as the fifth floor.

When the doors opened, the team saw an execution chamber. They quickly closed the doors, and the RED Spy asked Dell if there was a room marked "Sewage Overflow Containment". Dell responded that he had, and it was in the basement.

The RED Soldier climbed through the ceiling of the lift, and boldly walked over to the other lift, forcing a ceiling panel open. The RED Soldier stuck his head through the hole and shouted to the BLU team that they were going down to the basement.

Both lifts went back down again, the RED Soldier still on top of the BLU team's lift. When they stopped, he climbed down, and all of the mercenaries exited the lifts.

They were confronted with a waiting room and a large office, with a smaller office off to the side. The BLU Spy went over to the small office and started picking the lock, before he realised it was already open. He pushed the door quietly, and the Administrator was sitting at her desk. The BLU Spy pulled out his Ambassador and aimed at the Administrator's head. He fired, the bullet flying towards the Administrator's head, and hitting her just behind the left ear.

The Administrator fell forward, blood flowing from the wound. Miss Pauling, in the corner, pulled out her pistol and started firing at the BLU Spy. He fell, and was dragged aside by Adolfus, who began healing him. The RED Heavy revved up Sasha, and went inside the office, and fired upon Miss Pauling, who flopped to the floor. Her dying whisper was: "We marked the office on the fifth floor; how did you find us?"

"The Evil Overlord List." rumbled the RED Heavy.

Miss Pauling died, and the mercenaries retreated to the lobby. They had just killed two women, including the most powerful woman in the world. The teams were now stuck, with no idea about what they would do. They couldn't go home, as the Administrator's minions would track them down if they did so. They couldn't stay on Mann's land, either. They had wanted to be free, and now they had their freedom.

Most of the mercenaries got up to leave, except the BLU Spy. When the other mercenaries looked to him, he shook his head. The other mercenaries left, and the BLU Spy lit a cigarette. He took several long drags of it, glared at it in contempt, and chucked it to one side, landing in a waste paper basket by a chair. The Spy went into the Administrator's office, and looked around himself before he took out his Ambassador, put it to his head, and fired. The bin, and in turn, the chair and the lobby, caught fire from the cigarette, eventually burning all evidence of what had occurred.

The rest of the mercenaries were never seen again, but reports of their activities, mainly the Soldiers but occasionally one of the other classes, never ceased.


A/N That ending was a pig to write, with less violence (and hats) than I had previously hoped for. Anyway, reviews, as always, are appreciated and welcomed.