Time: Noon

Place: Miracells Tower Rooftop

It seemed that Arthur's fall had disrupted the platform's ability to go down, so he, his sons, and the window washer ended up traveling all the way to the roof of the building.

The window washer was taking this all in remarkably well. He didn't freak out at all when the first of Ivan's forces came running out onto the roof, and instead just went back to his (now damaged) platform.

Soon, Ivan's forces had Arthur surrounded. Alfred and Matthew clung to Arthur, both of them shivering in fear.

Ivan walked towards them menacingly, holding the lead pipe he had used before. Natalia was clutching two knives, one in each hand as she walked in behind him.

"I'm getting tired of games," said Ivan. "You have ruined nearly every aspect of my plans. I am beginning to see why so many people hate you."

Little Alfred spoke up. "People don't hate Daddy! He's a hero!"

"Yes, he's a hero," said Matthew, his voice nearly carried away by the wind.

Ivan regarded them coldly. "Being a hero isn't going to save you now," he said. Pausing, he took out the syringe filled with Corruption. "Let's make a deal," he said to Arthur after a few seconds. "I want you to kill your children, then yourself. If you refuse, then I will release Corruption into the air around us. All of London- in fact, all of Great Britain- will die if I do so. You don't have much of a choice."

Arthur stood there nervously. He didn't have any gadgets now, and there was nothing he could do.

Or was there?

Fishing out the keycard he had stolen, Arthur took it out with a flourish. "You've underestimated me," he said. "This is an ingenious gadget that MI6 designed. It's a bug; in other words, every single word of your conversation from the start of this misadventure has been recorded and sent to MI6. They're on their way right now."

Of course, Arthur was bluffing. Hopefully, Braginsky would fall for it.

"You," Ivan hissed. He was furious now, nearly boiling over in anger. "Natalia! I want them gone. Everyone present here. Leave no survivors."

"…Yes, Big Brother."

The guards were getting nervous now. None of them had been expecting this, and to them, the first thing to do would be to run.

The second the first few guards started breaking formation and running, Natalia cut them down without batting an eye. With a savage look in her eye, she started slashing and hacking her way through everyone and everything in her path.

Ivan swung his lead pipe at Arthur, the end nearly missing the spy's face by millimeters. Leaping to avoid the blow, he pushed aside Alfred and Matthew out of the way and rushed towards Ivan. Moving lightly on his feet, he feinted to the left then kicked Braginsky in the stomach.

Falling back, Ivan barely winced. Dashing forwards, he moved in for the kill.

They exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks, each blow harder than the last. Feints and counterblows, right hooks and solid blows, everything was a blur until Arthur realized he was standing just on the edge of the building.

"It is a long way down, da?"

Glancing at the drop behind him, Arthur realized that if he went any farther, he would fall off the side of the tower. Just the sight of the long way down made him snap back to attention.

The wind was getting stronger now, and Ivan was but inches away from Arthur's face.

"How does it feel like to stare death in the face?" the businessman smiled coldly.

"Exhilarating." Watching the direction some of the debris on the rooftop was blowing, Arthur predicted that there would be a huge gust in three, two, one…

Delivering a powerful roundhouse kick, Arthur knocked Ivan off balance as an enormous blast of wind rushed through. In less than a second, the head of Miracells was dangling off the top of the skyscraper.

"You're right, it is quite a long way down," said Arthur.

"Tch."

Ivan looked somewhere between scared and furious to be in such a position. Scrabbling for a foothold, he tried to climb back to the safety of the roof, but Arthur stopped him.

"All of your plans have failed, Braginsky. MI6 will bring you to justice." He said.

There was a pause. "Are you confident about that, Kirkland?"

"I'm pretty sure that my family and I have ruined a lot of things for you."

Natalia had finished off the last guard and was creeping towards Arthur, knife poised to strike. Absorbed in conversation, Arthur made the mistake of letting his guard down.

A gunshot rang through the air.

Everyone turned towards the origin of the noise and there stood Alfred, holding one of the deceased security guard's guns.

"Shoo, lady!" he cried, shooting badly aimed bullets in Natalia's direction.

She hissed and ducked out of the way. Arthur followed suit, trying not to be hit by his son's horrible aim.

As the two reached a clearer area, Natalia swung her knife and slashed Arthur just below his collarbone, leaving a shallow scratch that bled profusely.

Dodging her next swing, he shoved an elbow into her ribs and punched her with his free hand. Natalia winced a bit and barreled towards Arthur, holding her knife like a dagger. Jumping into the air, Arthur executed a backflip and landed behind her.

In haste Natalia attempted to land a sideways slash. He turned and avoided her by a hair.

Frustrated, she lunged at the man in an all-out attempt to hack him to pieces. Sliding behind her, Arthur pinched a pressure point on the back of her neck and in a second Natalia was knocked out.

Ivan swung himself up over the ledge and advanced toward the child, swinging his lead pipe menacingly. Oblivious to the tall man coming up behind him, Alfred kept on firing the pistol in random directions.

Just as Ivan was about to bring the pipe down on Alfred's head, Matthew ran up and bit him.

Shouting choice insults in Russian, Ivan tried to shake the boy off to no avail. Grabbing the two, Ivan was about to bash their heads together when a shot rang out.

As the sedative took effect, Ivan attempted one last swing at the two boys. Had he been brought down by mere children? Everything turned black, and he passed out.

"G'day mates!" Cody shouted from the helicopter, an old Huey. "How d'ya like my shooting?"

Arthur stepped over and inspected the colorful dart in Ivan's back. "Aren't those usually used to sedate animals?"

"Maybe." Cody shrugged. "Anyways, let's get you guys the heck out of here. Kids first!"

As Cody lowered the helicopter, Arthur hoisted Alfred and Matthew up into the seats.

"How did you know we were here?" asked Arthur on the flight back.

"The guys at MI6 were monitoring you. You've got some sorta chip in your shoulder or something," shouted Cody over the noise of the engine.

"What? There's a chip-"

"Plus some people were worried about you in HQ. That's why I'm here. It was rescue mission stuff and so on to save you and your kiddos and the world," he interrupted. "Anyways, I better call Tino to pick up Braginsky back there. When the sedative wears off, he'll be hopping mad!"

Holding Alfred and Matthew closer, Arthur watched as black vans gathered near Miracells Tower and agents began streaming in. Soon, Natalia and Ivan would be brought to justice like they deserved, and the whole misadventure would be over with.

But why did he feel so uneasy? Trying to settle himself down, Arthur stared out the window and watched as the city of London flashed by.

Arthur, what have you been teaching Alfred? He somehow mysteriously knows how to shoot a gun...

A Huey is a type of helicopter.

This is the final chapter before the epilogue.

- Long-Vuong