Hollow-Point Closure

While they'd been busy dealing with the drone, Catherine had crawled back toward the tent. She made sure to stay as low as possible to avoid catching any stray rounds that might have come her way. Before Eben could round on her, she had her rifle in hand. By the time he did turn around, his weapon already at his shoulder, his finger on the trigger, she was ducking behind a tree.

After its stay on the ground, there was a good chance a speck of dirt or mud had gotten into the weapon's mechanics. The last thing she wanted to do was attempt a standoff with Eben only to have her weapon misfire. As quickly as she could, she ejected the magazine, cleared the breach, and pulled back on the priming handle.

"Back on Cat," Eben shouted, his voice sounding terrifyingly close. "Keep your spacing."

Knowing she only had seconds, Catherine blew into the receiver, wiped the top of the magazine on her shirt, loaded the round that had been in the chamber, and finally slapped the clip home. There was no room for error, not when she only had six rounds in her magazine. It was more than enough if she was dealing with still targets that didn't fire back. But three Talon Company mercenaries were another matter entirely.

Listening to them moving through the snow, she could guess at their positions. Like they had with the drone, they were trying to out-flank her, force her to try and fire in every direction at once. If she played into their hand, they'd pick her apart easily.

Not wanting to play their game, Catherine pushed the edge of her barrel past the tree's edge. Had she actually tried to round the tree and get a bead on Eben, the responding burst of gunfire would have been the end of her life. Instead, she ducked back, trying to keep her head as the Talon Company leader put round after round of hot lead into the tree and air. While this move would only serve to put the psychopathic killer more on alert to her location and movements, it also caused his two cronies to pick up their pace.

Catherine couldn't see the mercenary to the left of Eben, but she could hear him, catch glimpses of his hurried rush through the snow. Before he came fully into view she put a round where she knew he'd appear next. More than a little pride seeped into Catherine's mind as the round turned the man's kneecap into pulp. He managed to let out a cry of agony and terror before her follow-up shot ended his life.

Relying on her instincts to guide her, Cather immediately dropped to one knee, turning as she did. A trio of bullets, so close that she could hear them snapping through the air, slammed into the tree she'd been using for cover. Had she stood still, those rounds would have ripped through the base of her skull. Catherine forced her trigger finger to wait until after her knee had hit the Earth before squeezing off a round at Eben's only remaining underling.

Some part of her mind noted the look of shock on the other woman's face as the first round slammed into her collar bone. Callously, Catherine put two more bullets into the mercenary. It was only after the third round rocked the Talon Company mercenary's head back, red splashing out from under the woman's combat helmet, that the sound of someone moving behind her reached Catherine's ears.

Shouting in frustration, she turned again, bringing her rifle's butt up to act as a club. With a violent clang, her rifle slammed into Eben's barrel, pushing the weapon to one side, pinning it to the tree that she'd used for cover. Even though the end of the rifle became alive with hot lead, all but deafening her left ear, Catherine didn't feel the concussive force of bullets shredding her flesh.

Her muscles screaming in exhaustion, she threw her weight behind her rifle, sending it and Eben's spinning to the ground. She instantly followed that with a hard, left hook that slammed into his liver, ignoring the sudden agony that flared in her broken finger. Before she could strike him again, Eben slammed his elbow into her cheek, sending her stumbling back a step. He'd managed to hit her in the exact same spot that he had when he'd struck her with the rifle and she feel the warm trickle of blood running down to her chin.

For a brief moment the two squared off, appraising one another. Though Catherine was feeling a kind of bloodlust she thought she'd left in D.C., Eben had clearly let his temper get the better of him. He was breathing hard, his lips curled back in a snarl as his eyes burned with hatred. More importantly, however, he'd seemingly forgotten about the knife strapped to his shoulder and sidearm on his hip. While a part of Catherine's mind was aware that he might have been waiting for the opportune moment to use them, she also knew that, in his blind rage, he could be hoping to tear her apart with his bare hands.

With that in mind, Catherine darted forward, intentionally exposing her stomach to the vicious uppercut that he delivered. She made an obvious grab for his knife. Evidently just as aware as she was that she could draw it and slit his throat in one, vicious motion, Eben pushed her arm away. Though he easily stopped her from grabbing the knife, her body blocked his view as her other hand darted to his hip. The next instant she felt a sudden blinding pain in her stomach as he delivered a punishing heel-kick to her abdomen. Gasping for air, Catherine spun once before landing face down in the snow, her arms pinned beneath her body.

"Time to die, bitch," Eben snapped, his comment followed moments later by the sound of steel sliding over leather. The confidence in his voice and steps as he drew his knife, the relaxed and arrogant demeanor as he moved to plant the blade into her flesh was both grating and exactly what she wanted to hear.

Rolling, Catherine brought Eben's side arm up to point squarely at his chest. He had a breath of time to respond, his eyes widening, the blade falling from his hand as he took a step back in sudden shock, before she squeezed the trigger. Had Catherine been the introspective type, she might have noted how good that first shot felt, how much it felt like retribution. It was payback for striking her, and it slammed into the armor over his chest with enough force to drive the psychopathic bastard back another step.

As she came to her knees, Catherine remembered the terror at the thought of Eben finding Mike, of what the leader of Talon Company might do to her traveling companion. And she put three more rounds into Eben, carefully making sure that she didn't hit his heart. The next round was for setting Beau on her, and it sent him to his knees. Rising to her feet, she fired again, recalling her flight into Canada.

Kneeling in the snow, Eben coughed, a pink mist erupting from his mouth. Though she'd been careful to miss his heart, Catherine knew she'd puncture his lungs more than once. She stood so that the barrel of her newly acquired pistol was only inches from Eben's forehead, knowing that he'd bleed out in only a few more seconds. But as she stood there, she relived every moment she'd lived in dread around him, every time she'd committed a heinous act or marred her soul out of the fear of Eben's rebuke. Catherine remembered her life in the Capital Wastelands as a Talon Company mercenary and pulled the trigger.

The 9mm hollow point carved a hole straight through the back of Eben's skull, snapping his head back as though he'd been punched. Already dead, the former leader of Talon Company slumped, his head rocking forward. Catherine decided to leave him there, a waist high statue for the elements to eat away, and brought her attention back to the campsite. Without another thought to the kneeling corpse, Catherine sprinted toward where she thought Mike had gone.

A/N: Okay, Just an Epilogue to go! Thanks to everyone who's read and posted!