Chapter 27
On the catwalk two stories above, Brennan, Shalimar and Lexa froze when they heard a clatter echo through the building. The echo was such that it was difficult to pinpoint the sound's origin. Lexa thumbed her comring. "Katie, where's Jesse?"

Katie's voice was calm; she was unaware of the sudden event. "Forty feet west of your location and two stories below."

Lexa quickly glanced over to Brennan and Shalimar. She saw her own worry reflected in their eyes. Knowing the risk, she moved the 10 feet to the edge of the catwalk, and looked over the railing. What she saw make her breath catch in her throat, but she quickly retreated back to the wall. "It's Jesse. He's engaged the guards." Lexa and Brennan both began to move back toward the railing, moving to help Jesse, but Shalimar stopped them.

"No. If he's engaged the guards, it's for a good reason. Let's move." She urged them down the hall, and within moments, they had ducked into the shadows of a second corridor.

Brennan spoke first, his voice hushed, aware that they still had to lay low. "Why would he engage the guards? We're not here to bring down the Dominion, just to get Adam."

Shalimar glanced around the corner to where they had been. As she watched, she heard a laser bolt discharge. The round came up through the floor where they had just been standing. Her feral eyesight picked up on something, and she immediately understood. She turned back around. "He's providing a distraction. The catwalk is made of one-way glass. The guards below can see up, but we couldn't see down. Jesse knew they could see us and distracted them."

"Why didn't he just detonate one of the explosives?"

Lexa closed here eyes, willing back her worry for Jesse's safety. When she opened them again, they were filled with sadness because she knew that they couldn't help Jesse now, not without jeopardizing the entire mission. "Because that would instigate an all out search and lockdown of the building. If they catch him, they won't go looking for anyone else."

Brennan barely stopped himself from slamming his hand against the wall. "Shit! We screwed up."

"No. Not yet. Jesse's given us some time. Let's use it. The best thing to do now is get Adam, and then get Jesse." Shalimar's voice was furious and frustrated, but her words instilled them all with even more determination to succeed in their mission.

.

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Jesse didn't wait to see the boxes fall. The moment he felt them give way, he scrambled out from underneath the tarp. Five feet later, he encountered the first guard. Jesse threw up one arm to block the man's outstretched arm, which was swinging toward him in a vicious punch. With his other hand, in a practiced move, he sent the side of his hand into where the man's throat met his neck. The crunching sound told him that he'd crushed the man's larynx, effectively making the man silent, and disabling him all in one blow.

He did not have as much luck with the second guard. The other sentry had been 30 feet away, so as he charged towards Jesse, he had enough time to call for help. "3-8 to all units, intruder in section A." The man did not have time to communicate more details because Jesse was upon him, sending a flurry of punches. This man was better trained than the first, however. His loose, almost military issue uniform and trained, toned body gave him the flexibility and strength to block most of Jesse's punches, as well as land a couple of his own. Jesse recognized the man's skill and switched to a different fighting style. He didn't have any back up in this fight and he'd have to act like it. He managed to divert both the man's hands and then sent a swift kick to the man's solar plexus. The man staggered back, but quickly recovered, drawing his Dominion issued sidearm. Recognizing the movement a half a second before it happened, Jesse sent a high roundhouse kick to the man's hand, just as the trigger was pulled. The weapon fired harmlessly toward the third floor catwalk, where, Jesse saw, the others were no longer standing. Unfortunately, the guard was able to keep his hold on the weapon. Recovering from the kick, he drew his weapon forward, firing as he did so. Jesse was already thinking ahead and darted to the right. The laser bolt from the weapon ended up going wide to his left, but scorched a trail across his arm, almost identical to the laser burn that the Lexa clone had given him months before.

By this time, reinforcements had arrived from the other hallways. They began circling Jesse, recognizing the danger the man presented. Jesse hesitated a moment. He knew he would have to be captured, to avoid an all out search of the building, but he had to make sure they thought he had gone unwillingly.

Finally, one of the five newcomers threw a punch at Jesse. Jesse phased, letting the man's momentum carry him through Jesse's body and into the guards that were behind him. The other four, plus the second guard from before, began to attack simultaneously. Jesse massed, letting their hands hit against his hardened form. He heard at least one bone crack. More punches were thrown. Eventually, Jesse had to breathe, and the moment he did so, he sent his fists and feet flying, switching from defense to offense. It felt like that went on forever, but it was only a few minutes. With his skill, Jesse could have easily defeated all six of them. But he was actively making an effort to pull his punches. He was aiming to disable, not to kill. That ultimately proved to be the deciding factor. Jesse was fighting off one man, choosing to move his hands around and send a kick to the man's knees, rather than slamming his palm in to the man's sternum, which could have stopped his heart. The extra time needed for the maneuver gave another guard the chance to whack Jesse across the back of his head with the butt of his gun, which couldn't be fired in such close quarters without the risk of hitting one of his own. Jesse went down to his knees, and the others took the chance to jump on his back, using their combined weight to force him to the ground. Jesse continued to struggle, making sure the guards got the impression that he was a stupid young man who didn't know when to quit. When he felt the familiar feel of a certain weapon on the back of his neck, he instinctually froze as the weapon fired. Aw, crap, he thought, as he felt the cold sensation of wires and chemicals blocking his mutant powers. The guards jerked him upright, and he continued to resist, maintaining the illusion of recklessness. One of the guards finally put a stop to it when he cold cocked Jesse across the temple with his sidearm. Aw, double crap. Jesse felt his body sag and darkness caved over his vision.