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Two days later...

"Natalya…what are you trying to say?" Nero asked, glancing at her. Raven grabbed her katana sheath to strap onto her back.

"I'm saying that the messages coming through have to be from an ally. Because clearly they want to help us." Raven said.

"But who could it possibly be?" Nero asked "No one knows about Pietor's betrayal to the Convit except for the President, so no one would know that we need help."

"There is one other person that knew." Raven said quietly and Nero sighed mentally, not wanting to tackle this right now.

The two of them were in her room and they had originally been discussing their next plans on what to do if this chance of finding the President failed. They would probably have to get all of G.L.O.V.E. in on it, as a precaution. The Furans were preparing their men for departure.

"Natalya, I know what you're hoping but…" he sighed aloud "I don't want you to get your hopes up."

"We don't know-"

"Natalya." Nero said, cutting her off gently "If David was alive, he would have found his way back to us by now. He wouldn't be sending us messages."

"He might be being kept prisoner." Raven said, wincing as the name was spoken.

"Do you think they would give him a random cell phone? It's not even his number." Nero said forcibly, hoping to warn her away from the thought of it. It would only end up in disappointment.

It evidently didn't work as Raven looked away, face still troubled.

"If Pietor's accepted it, I think you need to too." Nero went on, voice softening "We need to focus on the task at hand, which is finding the President and getting rid of the Convit. Natalya." she glanced at him and he met her gaze "I need you to focus."

Raven didn't move for a second before nodding.

###

"Is Pietor letting you come this time?" Shelby asked Iliana glumly, already knowing the answer. Dr. Nero was still restricting both Shelby and Laura from coming, for safety only.

"He can't stop me this time." Iliana said. She was loading a gun, which was a shocking sight for some reason.

"That's what I said about Dr. Nero but it didn't work out to well." Shelby muttered "Although if Pietor doesn't want you to come, I'm pretty sure he could just carry you back inside and tie you down."

"Please don't give him ideas." Iliana said with a wink and smile.

"Are you guys flying there this time?" Laura asked, glancing at the garage. Iliana nodded.

"It would take too long to drive."

"Are you ready?" Darkdoom asked Iliana, walking down the stairs alongside Wing. She nodded again.

"We can load and leave. Where are Max and Natalya?"

"Upstairs. They're coming." Darkdoom said. He smiled slightly "Pietor's letting you come this time?"

"He'll try to persuade me not to but I honestly don't care." Iliana said.

Nero and Raven appeared at the top of the stairs and began to walk down.

"Hey, can I read the message again?" Iliana asked. Everyone was still confused as to why the message had specifically asked for Pietor and Iliana because neither of them found anything useful. Raven nodded and pulled out her phone to hand to her.

Iliana opened the message and began studying.

"What are you two doing down here?" Nero asked, pointing two fingers at the girls.

"We're just waiting to send you off." Shelby said, with a nervous smile.

"Or you're secretly planning to stow away and then later sabotage our mission." Raven said with a completely straight face.

"I wouldn't put them above that." Wing said and Shelby scowled at him in betrayal.

"So I think you should go and sit down on the couches until we leave just so I can keep an eye one you." Nero said.

"We didn't try last time." Shelby said and Nero scowled until her and Laura obeyed and went to sit on the couches.

"Oh my gosh." Iliana exclaimed "Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!"

"What?" Nero asked as Raven and Darkdoom looked over.

"Ooooh." Iliana whirled around "I gotta show this to Pietor!"

###

"It's Alex!" Iliana exclaimed, shoving the phone to Pietor's face. He leaned back and grabbed it from her irritably. He read the message a couple times, scowling, before looking back up.

"How do you know that? There's nothing here that would point to that."

"No no no look look look!" Iliana said, taking it "Remember what everyone called you and David at work?"

Pietor raised an eyebrow. Anastasia, Nero and the others just watched, mostly confused.

"Look." Iliana said, as if explaining it to a child "You're one. David was two and Alex is three. It was right after you became first counselor!"

Pietor blinked several times "Oh my word. You're right."

"It's Alex!" Iliana exclaimed.

"But why would he be helping us?" Nero asked uncertainly "He's with the President."

"And that's not his number." Anastasia pointed out "Why would he contact us through a random phone?"

"Because the President can check under his registered number to see what he texts." Pietor said.

"So how did he get my number?" Raven asked.

"Probably from checking Iliana's or my past texts to you." Pietor replied and she noticed that he deliberately left out David's name.

"He threatened to shoot us last time." Nero argued.

"But he didn't." Iliana replied.

"If he helped us on our second attack, then why would he have protected the President?" Darkdoom asked.

"I honestly don't know." Pietor said.

"It could be a trap." Nero said "If Alex is working alongside the President and he tells us when to come, that may be because they will be there earlier to attack."

"But it didn't happen like that last time." Raven said and Nero glanced at her.

"I agree, however." Anastasia said "It seems suspicious, yes?"

"It's not like we can do anything else at the moment, though." Darkdoom pointed out.

"The message says he is prepped for attack." Nero said "That almost sounds like a threat."

"But it also told us to be prepared." Iliana said, as Pietor appeared to be taking no part in this conversation.

"For what though?" Nero asked "War? A fight?"

"I think he just means we need a firm attack strength." Anastasia said.

"If that's so, then that's what we're going to give him." Pietor growled, turning to head towards the door.

###

Several hours later…

The Convit meetings centers were always the largest buildings, as there were only seven of them around Russia. They were built with a congregation center to holder at least fifty-thousand people. There were no fences surrounding this building, no guards even, except on the inside.

However, several squads of men with the G.L.O.V.E. symbol on their uniforms were now taking up positions around it.

The President had already arrived, as they could see from his helicopter on the landing pad, yet no guards were on the outside.

They weren't taking chances this time. The Colonel ordered his men to surround the building, except for the front door, at least until they were inside. Another squad of men followed them into the main entrance.

When they walked in, it was quiet. It was a very decorative place in fact. There were several long columns that went to the ceiling that were covered in beautiful patterns and the floor was covered in glossy gray tiles. The wall that you first saw when you came in had a large set of double doors and when you looked up, you could see the second floor. On either side of the double doors, there were two halls, both leading in two different directions.

"Alright-" the Colonel was cut off as he tried to give instructions to the men by a loud gunshot.

Then all hell broke loose.

Pietor shoved Anastasia back, who involuntarily fell into Iliana as bullets started flying by. The Colonel's men looked around, pulling out their guns before realizing that the bullets were coming from the floor above them.

Nero and Darkdoom pressed against the opposite wall that the men upstairs were firing from, taking out their own guns. Raven, Wing, and the Colonel were behind one of the thick columns, which seemed to be the target of the men. Pietor, Anastasia, and Iliana were behind the one a few feet away.

Pietor leaned over to fire several shots at them.

Raven pulled out her own pistol and pressed another into Wing's palm. He looked up at her, slowly shaking his head.

"I don't care if you're not shooting to kill." she said "I need you to shoot."

She turned and joined the others firing. One of their bullets hit its mark as one of the guards grunted loudly in pain and limped back, blood soaking his lower left leg.

There were twelve people on the bottom floor and five of the President's men up there. However, they had the advantage of height and vision.

A moment later, the men backed off and Pietor leaned to catch a glimpse of them, helping the man who had been injured walk away.

"They're gone." he said, walking out from behind the pillar.

"But they know we're here." Nero said, tucking his gun away.

"We need to get around him and his men into the lobby." Pietor said "Then we can shut down the operations around Russia."

"I can do that." Anastasia said, walking forward "I know how to get there. You deal with the President."

Pietor opened his mouth to speak, but didn't say anything.

"I'll go with her." Raven said, stepping forward, knowing that was what was bothering him "And Wing so we can meet you later and catch the President off guard."

Anastasia nodded, then Nero, and finally Pietor, although he didn't look happy about it.

"We'll go the other way." he said, gesturing at the left hall "Come to the conference room when you're done so we can meet up."

"Good. Let's go." Anastasia said, already turning.

Pietor watched her a second before turning with Nero and the others.

###

"Where did Furan and the others go?" the President asked, shuffling through papers quickly in the conference room. Alex stood beside him, keeping a close eye on the door.

"The men said they saw some of them heading toward the lobby office. They couldn't tell who though." he said.

"They split up?" the President asked.

"I believe so."

"Good. Then send men through both of the halls."

"Yes, sir."

Alex turned to leave, but the President spoke again.

"Actually, Alex." he said, turning "Send Valerian to the lobby. Give him a gun."

###

Pietor and Nero led the group down the now wide hallway. Iliana, Darkdoom, and the Colonel were right behind bringing up the rear. The squad of men had gone upstairs in pursuit of the guards and there was no word from them yet.

The men were fighting on the outside of the building however, and you could hear the sounds of battle.

As they continued to hurry down the hall, the noises seemed to get louder and Pietor realized that they were coming from the corridor in front of them.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

"That has to be at least ten men." Nero said.

"Get in here." Pietor said, backing up until he was in the crevice of the door leading to an office. The five of them separated into the two door spaces.

The squad of them came around the corner, all dressed in black. They had the Convit sign on their chests and each had an assault rifle.

Pietor waited until about half the line had passed before stepping out. He grabbed the gun from the man's back and hit him hard on the back of the neck. The other men were just drawing their weapons as he fell and Pietor continued with ease. Nero stepped out as well, butting the lead man, who was closest to him, on the back of his head and he collapsed.

After successfully rendering the whole group unconscious, Pietor kept just one of them awake. He pinned him against the wall, one hand on his throat. The man glared at him, but there was panic in his eyes.

"Where is the President?" Pietor asked, voice cold as ice. He narrowed his eyes at the man threateningly.

"Get…off…me…Furan." the man hissed back, breathless from having his throat compressed.

Pietor slammed him back against the wall again "Where is he!"

The man stared back at him, eyes hard "He's waiting for you. He's in the conference room. You won't be able to-"

Pietor hit him back one more time and he fell to the ground, unconscious. He turned, beckoning the others with him. Looking down at all the fallen men, Nero wondered why Pietor had left all of them alive.

Then he remembered that Iliana was with them and that Pietor probably wasn't going to kill too much in front of her. Surprisingly under the circumstances, he smiled a little.

###

Raven kicked down the door to the lobby, gun raised and ready, but there were no guards there. She lowered it and walked in. The lobby was in the back of the building oddly enough. The doors to the outside were chained shut, literally. There were several couches and chairs arranged in the center of the room.

"Shelby might actually have been helpful at this point." Wing said, looking down at the door.

"I agree, but at least we're in." Raven said, walking forward.

"Over here." Anastasia said, going over to the door that led to the office. She twisted the unlocked handle, but stopped at the sound of a gun being cocked.

"Step back from the door." came a familiar voice and all three turned around to see Valerian there.

He glared at them, pistol raised and finger on the trigger.

Anastasia smiled, but it wasn't a smile of greeting or happiness. It was a smile of satisfaction.

"Hello, Valerian."

"Get back from the door." he repeated. Anastasia's face slowly drifted off.

"Do you dare to point a gun at me?" she said, tilting her head forward slightly, eyes narrowing. Raven's eyes flicked between them.

Valerian said nothing, but kept his eyes trained on her.

"Put it down." Anastasia ordered, her voice soft and icy.

He still stared, but Raven could see the gun was visibly shaking.

"Now." Anastasia said, glaring at him coldly. Raven unconsciously moved closer to Wing, whether to protect him or herself, it was unknown.

Valerian slowly lowered the gun, obviously trying to keep his face neutral, but he was failing horribly.

"Drop it." Anastasia growled and he did.

"Now." she said, walking over to him. His eyes widened at her approach, but he didn't move. Anastasia bent to pick up the gun and pointed it at him.

"Get out of here."

Valerian didn't wait to be told twice before whipping around and fleeing out the door that Raven had broken down. Wing looked after him, eyes perplexed.

Anastasia came back over to the door, gun still in hand and opened it. Raven went after her, purposely in front of Wing. In the room in front of them was a row of desks, the center one with a computer on it.

Anastasia went over to it and quickly typed in something, using her brother's password.

"They'll likely be sending men after us now." she said, clicking with the mouse. "Keep an eye on the door."

Raven watched her for a second, eyes narrowed. She slowly backed up towards the door, but only a few feet from Anastasia.

As Anastasia continued to type, there came a sharp beeping noise. She looked up at the screen.

SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE INITIATED

"Get back!" she shouted, leaping up from the chair.

There was a loud bang that came from the room and smoke floated from the open door.

Anastasia pushed herself to her knees, looking up for Raven and Wing, waving away smoke. The two of them were both getting to their feet.

"Are either of you hurt?" she asked, slowly getting to her feet. Since she had been the closest, she had a nasty scratch from the back of her right cheek to her neck that was bleeding, but nothing serious.

Raven shook her head "What happened?"

"It must have been rigged to blow if Pietor signed in." Anastasia said, looking at where the computer had been.

###

The President was escorted by both Alex and ten of his best personal men from the conference room into a large gathering room they had for seminars and introduction ceremonies.

"Alex, contact our men on the outside and tell them that they have clearance to shoot to kill now. We need to get out of here." the President said.

Alex nodded and lifted his radio to give the new order. The President scanned the room quickly. He didn't want to meet up with Pietor this time. It would probably just end up costing his men's lives at this point. He knew Pietor was out for revenge, but he also knew that once he killed both Iliana and Anastasia, he would be much easier to manipulate.

One of his men suddenly hissed in pain as a bullet ripped by his arm, tearing out a chunk of flesh which started to bleed profusely. The President looked up, teeth clenched at where the bullet had come from.

"Thought you missed us?" Pietor asked, walking up from the long hall in front of him, his silenced pistol raised. Nero, Darkdoom, the Colonel, and Iliana followed.

The President motioned at two of his men "Take him and get that looked at quickly." he said, pointing at the injured man.

They did so, cautiously watching Pietor and the others as they helped him away. Alex narrowed his eyes at Pietor.

"I'm starting to think we're playing hide and seek Pietor." the President said, taking a step forward.

"Too bad that seeking is easier in this case." Pietor growled, eyes flicking to Alex.

There were loud footsteps from the hall behind him, but the President didn't turn, only his men did.

Anastasia came forward, with Wing and Raven.

"Aww…I was wondering where you had sent them off too." the President said, turning to the side so he could see everyone "Find everything okay Anastasia?"

She glared at him, eyes hard "Perfectly."

"I'm sure you were rather disgusted to find that although we didn't wipe Pietor's access codes, we had a backup plan in case you tried to break in." the President said "Oh and by the way." he looked back at Pietor and the others "Welcome Iliana. I see that you were allowed to come this time."

She glared at him, without saying anything. The Colonel leaned to speak into his earpiece without being noticed.

"You know I really am starting to wonder if it was the best option to have Pietor join the Convit. You and David never would have become traitors if he hadn't." the President went on "Such a shame…"

"There are plenty of traitors in this organization, don't try and patronize her for it." Pietor growled, looking at Alex.

"Oh now I see what you meant when you said seeking was easier." the President said with a smile "You figured out it was Alex sending you the messages didn't you?"

Alex looked at the President in horror.

"Yes I knew. I knew the whole time." the President said, then looked back at Pietor "But I also know that he will never betray me personally, unlike some."

"You think I ever would have joined you if I'd known what you've done?" Pietor hissed.

"No. But that was the point right?" the President asked, with a smile "You may as well face facts Pietor. You've been played. And your sister died because of it."

The men that the Colonel had ordered to come suddenly burst through the giant glass window several feet above their heads.

Everyone ducked as glass shards flew everywhere and the men landed and immediately drew their weapons. The President's men scattered to fight and you could hear more troops coming from the hall behind Raven and Anastasia. Raven turned around and drew her katanas quickly.

The President yelled something in Russian at his men as fighting broke out between the two sides.

Pietor went straight into the fight, determined to get through to the President. Wing fought next to Raven as Anastasia made her way toward Nero and the others.

Alex backed off from the fight. His eyes flicked between Pietor and the President as he slipped down the hall.

Raven elbowed a man in the jaw and he fell back to the wall as her katanas flew through the air. She kicked the next man in the stomach and twisted around closer to the men. Dodging a blow, she ducked and jabbed at the man's legs. He fell back into Wing, who hit him hard across the neck.

Another man from across the room sprinted at Raven, while her back was turned. He was just about to land a hard hit to her head as she turned when he was slammed to the ground by another person. Raven stared in shock as Valerian got up. He gave her a nod before continuing to fight. She watched him for a second, and then turned to the other men attacking.

Pietor twisted the man's neck and moving onto the next. He had a long deep cut on his forehead that was from the glass that had gone flying. The President had his gun and was shooting at all the Furan's and G.L.O.V.E.'s men. He had yet to kill anyone which was what he was trying to avoid for some reason. Nero looked over at Raven and Wing and his eyes widened at the other man fighting alongside them. What was Valerian doing?

Pietor was surrounded by some of his men as he went for the President. They fought the other men trying to protect the President, off. But the battle was easing off as more and more of the President's men were killed or rendered unconscious.

"Pietor, this is pathetic." the President hissed at him "All your friends will be killed and the Convit will still remain."

"Not if I kill you." Pietor snarled.

"What is this all about? We were thriving Pietor! Thriving!" the President spat, losing his composure "We could have taken G.L.O.V.E.!"

"You killed Elena and David!" Pietor snarled "That's enough!"

"They were the tragedies of gaining power! Nothing more, nothing less!" the President replied angrily "You can't grieve forever, Pietor."

Pietor glared at him and ran forward. The President shouted at one of his men in Russian and the man raised a gun, aiming at Anastasia.

"No!" Pietor shouted, letting the President turned to run as he shoved the man to the ground. Anastasia turned sharply, eyes widening.

The President took one step before a purple blade slid out of his chest. He gasped in pain and his eyes widened in shock.

Raven pulled her katana out and he fell backwards. He tried to speak but he couldn't.

As his eyes closed and the last breath left his body, Raven lowered her katanas.

"Now that was for Elena." she said softly "And for David."

The President's men, or what was left of them, knowing they were defeated, backed up and ran down the hall. Valerian went with them.

Pietor got to his feet, breathing heavily. He looked at Raven and down at the President for a second.

Nero looked around at the scene slowly before walking over to Raven, who hadn't moved from that spot.

Iliana walked over to Pietor and Anastasia, taking a deep breath.

"Are you alright?" Nero asked Raven quietly. She nodded, but he saw that she wasn't really.

Iliana put an exhausted hand on Pietor's arm and gently punched him in the gut "Success man."

"Yeah, come're." Pietor grabbed her, swung her down and kissed her. Iliana's eyes were wide for a second before she put a hand on his face and kissed him back.

Everyone gasped silently and Anastasia took a step back, hands covering her mouth.

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