"You've grown since I last sa' you." The man at the desk stated, "'ou were five?"

"Six." Skipper replied tersely, "You slipped up, Rico. We traced the serial numbers on the bills you sent my mother. Now that I think about it, it couldn't be anyone else but you running things in Chicago."

"Then why'd Pri'ate send 'ou here, if you knew it was me." Rico asked.

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that," Skipper spat, his eyes searching the room. Rico's signature backpack was in the corner. If he got to that, Skipper knew he didn't stand a chance. Skipper cautiously moved forward, watching his opponent's every move. He'd trained his whole life not to fall where his father had, now he was going to see if it had paid off, "I always tried to tell myself he had it coming. He did."

"But oo s'ill wish he could've been 'ere to help you pra'tice for tha' 'ig game 'gainst Wa'ker El'men'ary." Rico finished empathetically, almost with a hint of bitterness, neither of which Skipper picked up.

"You should know K'walski never let me play that game." Skipper snapped.

"Wai'ing for me to attack first?" Rico noted, seemingly regaining his calm, "you left your we'pon behin'? Just like 'ipper."

Skipper's eyes burned with hate, beyond smouldering, now in an all-out inferno. He took a single step forward. Rico stood up from the desk, taking a step forward himself.

The two were now only a few feet away from each other. Rico looked down on his younger opponent, and that fire seemed to die. Rico had just about every advantage in the book on him. He had the size advantage, more experience, as well as training, and, unlike Skipper, was almost certainly armed to the teeth. Rico couldn't pretend he wasn't disappointed in the kid. He hadn't expected him to be intimidated so easily.

Suddenly Skipper's hand went for the knife he knew Rico kept in his right hand pocket, and Rico was only given notice enough to dodge the consecutive strike by the slight smile which betrayed Skipper's move. However, Skipper's edge didn't last long, even as his opponent retreated a step, his wrist was grasped by a strong hand, which guided the attack along its trajectory, bringing the knife back around towards skipper's neck.

This was a text book move. Rico was mocking him! Still, it allowed Skipper time to duck beneath the blade, but it left him in the awkward position of having his right arm twisted across his chest, inhibiting several attacks with his left. With no better options, Skipper continued around with the movement 180 degrees so his back was to Rico, and attacked with a back kick to the knee cap.

Rico blocked the move as easily as I type this sentence, and a few seconds later, Skipper found himself thrown against a wall several feet away from his previous location.

"You're ou' of your depth, 'id." Rico stated.

"I don't care!" Skipper roared, launching another attack with the knife, which was still in his grip. He blindly slashed at his enemy, and Rico was slightly taken aback by the sudden viciousness as he narrowly dodged each swipe. However on the forth swipe, Rico was a split second too slow, and the knife managed to draw blood, cutting a shallow gash in his chest.

Skipper paused, if only for a brief second, startled by the blood. It was a sudden realisation that the demon hiding in the shadows Rico had been betrayed us could bleed. Rico, on the other hand, was well aware that he was human and used the pause to fit in a well-timed kick, pushing Skipper back a few steps, giving him time to make a dive towards the backpack in the corner. At least Skipper knew now, that, for whatever reason, Rico was unarmed save the knife he'd taken. Still, he couldn't let him get to the backpack, and Skipper was given no choice but to throw the knife, which embedded itself in the wall a millimetre from Rico's head.

Instead of going for the bag again like Skipper had expected, Rico surprised him by springing directly at Skipper with an agility he shouldn't have at his age, leaving the knife behind but attacking instead with an equally lethal strike. But he'd left himself open, and Skipper spotted the flaw in the attack.

Skipper blocked the attack, at the same time placing his foot behind the attacker's. Before Rico could have time to connect the dots, Skipper struck out with a strait punch to the face, which, following his opponent's pattern of evading instead of blocking, Rico attempted to duck under. However, Skipper's foot blocked Rico's left leg from sliding backwards to balance and Rico found himself rapidly approaching the floor.

If Rico was going down, Skipper would join him. As he hit the floor, he knocked Skipper down with a kick to the ankles, and this done, sprung to his feet like a cat. Skipper could tell he was going to go for the backpack. The fear started to rise in his chest. He tried to think but his strategies were blurred over by a single thought: he could lose, the same way his father had, with the same price.

"No!" Skipper panicked, attacking with a poorly executed kick to the kneecap. Immediately he made a dive for the knife embedded in the wall as Rico stumbled. This in hand, he tackled the stunned Rico to the ground, and before the other man knew it, the knife was pressed against the area of back above the left lung, Skipper's knee planted firmly between his shoulder blades.

Rico waited for the blade to enter his back, but time passed and the sensation never came.

"Wha' are 'ou waitin' for?" he snapped. However when he looked up Skipper's eyes showed confusion, not hatred. However, the confusion soon resolved and Skipper stood up, letting the knife slip into his pocket.

"If you want to die, do it yourself." The younger man stated. It was then Rico's gaze rested upon the gun on the floor, which had evidently fallen from his left pocket when he was knocked down. Then, answering the silent question, Skipper continued: "You could have killed me a hundred different ways with fifty different weapons at any point."

"I coul' have left your mother des'itute, lef' you to be raise' by a psych'path," Rico snapped, "If I'd let m'self finally ha'e peace."

"Kowalski's gone and I've been supporting my mother the last seven years." Skipper countered.

"Then I 'ould have robbed 'ou of your chance fo' closure. Manfre' an' Johns'n's killer paid, bu' I didn' do it m'self," Rico explained, "They still haun' me as much 's 'ipper."

"Then I'm not as merciful as you think," Skipper replied coldly, "I'm not going to let you rest. Ever." Skipper walked towards the door, keeping his eyes on his opponent, "I realise now that Kowalski trained me from the moment he adopted me to kill you, and I'm not letting either of you get your way." Skipper could see the agony and desperation in Rico's eyes. Good. "Actually, it might burn you more to know I'm handing you over to your 'Private'. He'll finally get that victory he's waited twenty years for." And with that Skipper shut the door behind him, entering the outer office where the team was waiting.

"I'm sorry Skipper," Kowalski stuttered, "I didn't know he was…"

"Get me Jones. He needs to know what's going on," Skipper interrupted. He could deal with Kowalski's command problems later.

"And you can make things right with a certain lady friend too," Private added, innocently unaware of the current situation, as usual. Skipper often wondered of the kid's head ever came out of lunicorn land.

"Yes, that too, Private," Skipper acknowledged with a weary sigh. He had to say, when it came to a team, he'd certainly lucked out.

Kowalski handed him the receiver, halfway through dialling Jones' number. Skipper accepted it, taking a seat in one of the nearby chairs.

"PS, the mission's over," Skipper announced, "Rico's ready for…" Suddenly Skipper's weary smile froze. Private could see his body tense and his eyes lose focus, as if haunted. Then, the conversation over, the receiver was replaced almost as if in a dream. Skipper immediately stood up, "We're leaving for New York."

"But what about…" Kowalski began to ask.

"He'd only escape anyway."

I had to make Rico's speech a bit more coherent for the purposes of moving the plot forward. For those who thought he was Kowalski, well, he wasn't, but Kowalski will be returning to seriously mess things up for Skipper in the next chapter.