Rescuing Faye

Ed waved her fingers in the air before attacking the keyboard in front of her. Her goggles were strapped onto her face, and she was concentrating hard. Jet had conveyed to them how important this mission was - so few of them to so many syndicate peoples that Ed wanted to make sure she did things right. Well, that and she missed Faye Faye.

Another few clicks on the keyboard and she was in. The Red Dragon's security system had been one of her more difficult hacks, but Ed had managed to get in relatively quickly. "And She's in!" Ed made a buzzing sound with her mouth and flopped over, before sitting back up straight. "Must concentrate! Must help find Faye-Faye!"

Ed clicked a few keys shutting off the security camera's to the side door that the distraction team was entering. She pressed a button on the communication device, identical to the one Bob had, and sang, "Bob- person! Camera's rolling away!"

Bob cringed, this was it. This was the moment that they had been preparing for. He turned to the rest of his group, Paris and Sam," Ed says she hacked the security cameras. Let's go do our distracting!"

He pulled out his colt and slapped in the first clip, and then without looking back to the others rushed in the side door.

Sam followed Bob, his hand on his Berreta, which was sticking out of his pocket as he had no interest in holsters. He took each step tentatively, scanning from side to side, even though there were no doors beside him. "The coast feels clear," Sam whispered to Bob. "So what exactly are we going to do to distract them?"

Ed continued to punch at the keys, "Camera in front is the one that is out!" she sang.

Bob smiled a bit, looking over to Sam," Well Ed says the camera in front is out. I guess we'll just try to shoot anything that moves."

Sam suddenly enjoyed this suggestion and with this suggesting in mind, aimed a shot at a fire extinguisher far down the hallway. The following explosion echoed throughout the hallway, and took some large chunks out of the wall around it. "It wasn't moving right now... but it would have been moved some day in the future and I don't want to wait around that long," he explained as he began down the hallway with his pistol raised.

Bob chuckled as he ran behind the bounter hunter, his own pistol held ready. He might actually enjoy this mission if it kept up like these first few moments. He turned to the holes in the wall as he ran past, firing three shots, and heard the distinct thud of a body hitting ground. With that done, he kept running after Sam.

"Hmm..." Sam sounded as his somewhat unreliable thought processes ground into working action. "We should split up, we're a semi-distraction, and the more spread out we are, the more distracting we are because the destruction spreads." with this Sam sped off and took the first left he could find and a bit of maniacal laughter echoed briefly through the hallways. He didn't know what he was doing, but he'd be damned if he'd let anyone stop him from doing it.

Bob gritted his teeth as a bullet smashed the wall beside him, it flung paint chips into his cheek and they hurt for things so small. He dropped to his right knee and began to fire off a few quick shots into the general direction from which it came.

One of the syndicate goons when down, while another pair rushed after the man. Tommy ducked aroung the corner and fired at Bob. Vicious had ordered them to make sure this group didn't leave alive, but there was only the one guy.

Bob ducked and twisted around, firing until his clip was empty. Seeing at least one of the Syndicate's men go down, he turned and began to run down the hall again, muttering curses as he worked to slam in a new clip.

Tommy cursed. Another of his buddies had bit the dust all because of this moron who had invaded their building. He picked up his former partner's semiautomatic, turned, and began firing down the hallway.

Bob let out a cry of pain, having been knicked by one of the bullets in the arm. It had only glanced along the surface, but it still hurt like hell and was bleeding. He switched his gun to the better arm and fired three shots behind him as he ducked around a corner.

The bullet hit Tommy in the stomach. He looked down. "SHIT." That fucker would pay for this. He gritted his teeth, and moved on. This was between him and Bob now.

Bob listened to the heavy footfalls behind him, and could have sworn someone screamed 'shit'. He was glad to be helping, but he started to wonder if he'd survive this distraction. Tommy rounded the corner, gun out in front.

"Damn you. Turn your ass around and die like a man!"

Bob turned around to face the man cursing him. With a sadistic little grin he threw himself towards the opposite wall while firing. The bullet tore through Tommy's chest. He closed his eyes, falling to the ground. With his last breath, he cursed the man, but then, that was how it was in the syndicate.

Bob winced. He had heard a definite pop in his shoulder as he hit the wall and then the floor subsequently. He was lucky that his shots hadn't gone wild and had nailed the man too, and with that thought he tapped the radio," Ed should Team 2 withdraw?"

Ed awoke from her very dreamy nap and clicked out of Backgammon and into her hacking program. "Oohhh...scary guys all around!" She twirled in place, her toes curling the air as if it were her play thing. "Very scary! Bob should get Team Dos out if he has boo-boos! Ed is predicting more bad guys!" She then recommenced with her nap...and her Backgammon game.

Bob growled into the radio as he ran towards the door," Sam time to leave."

---------------------

Jet walked up to the lone guard at the front of the Syndicate building. "Hey, any chance of lending a man down on his luck a few wulongs?" he asked casually. Now was were Jin or Kade would hopefully tap the guard in the back of the head so they can get a little entrenched in the Syndicate building before anybody noticed.

Jin had come up from the back of the building slowly creeping up on the gaurd with the grace and gility of a cat. Raising his glock he brought it done hard on the back of the guards head with a satisfying thunk. "Well that was easy enough," he said kicking the mans body behind a bush.

Kade followed behind Jin. "That's probably the only part of all this that's going to be easy," His own gun was drawn, and he a semi-automatic flung over his shoulder. They were going to need as much firepower as they could get. Kade looked over at the syndicate doors. "There are plenty more where he came from."

"Alright, now when we enter, act like we're supposed to be here, that way we we can at least find some cover before we get to shooting" Jet said.

"And then we should start tossing some grenades," Jin said looking wearily and the dark tinted doors. "There's going to be a hell of a lot of firepower in there."

"I suppose as leader I'll go first..." Jet said as he opened the door and sauntered through the entrance. He started to head to what looked like a front desk, but pretended to get sidetrack by a painting behind a marble pillar.

Kade shrugged, "Well then, let's have some fun with it." Not waiting any longer, he waltzed through the door of the syndicate building. To his surprise there were twice the men he had expect for a lobby.

Rocko stood on the second floor balcony, looking down at the men who had just waltzed in. He had expected something a bit more covert, but no matter. They would all die here.

Jin walked in and with a dull expression on his face looked over every single man in the room who was now either pointing or reaching for a weapon to point at them. Jin reached into his pocket and drew out a package of cigerettes putting one in his mouth and quirking a smile he looked about the room again. "Anyone got a light?"

"For now I'm just trying to get a smoke," Jin said smiling up at the man. The hairs on the back of his neck were tingling, this had definitly been a set up. These men were here just waiting for them to arrive and start something.

Kade's eyes met Jin's. This wasn't part of the plan. How these men had known they would be here was beyond him. Maybe it was time for those grenades?

Jet knew something was going wrong, but if they backed out security would be doubled and make this impossible, they had to go through with this now. He decided to take the initiative and drew his pistol, he snapped off a few shots at a few armed goons, he saw one go down. He ducked behind the marble pillar he chose as cover and hoped it wasn't just cheap plaster.

Well, they were committed now, Kade thought, pulling a grenade from his pocket and tossing it towards a group of goons, before diving behind a sofa. They were incredibly outnumbered here. He just hoped Jet had more of a plan than just survive.

Jin, not quite ready yet, and still very much out in the open, practically yelped and made a leap over the hopefully very thick leather sofa Kade had hid behind. Somehow he'd managed to keep the cigerette in his mouth

Jin, not quite ready yet, and still very much out in the open, practically yelped and made a leap over the hopefully very thick leather sofa Kade had hid behind. Somehow he'd managed to keep the cigerette in his mouth With a mischeivous grin to Kade, Jin took advantage of the confusion the blast of the grenade had made. He lept from behind the sofa lit his cigerette in the fire from the explosion and with a shot to the head killed the man behind the thick oak desk to use that area as his new shelter.

Rocko watched as the fight began. "Kill them," he ordered his men, pulling out his own gun. He had the advantage of shooting down on them, although two had already dove out of site. He aimed at the third, until he too dove behind the couch. "Damn it," he said to himself, before deciding they would die no matter how long it took.

Jet pulled a smoke grenade from an overall pocket, this will give them some better chances of living through the firefight. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the center of the lobby.

Smoke went up everywhere, leaving a number of the syndicate men coughing. Kade peeked from behind the couch and used that moment to gun down six of them with his semi-automatic. And to think - there were only three of them.

Taking a long drag on his newly lit cigerette Jin couldn't help but laugh as he heard the shouts of syndicate members being shot and falling. For a set-up they were handling themselves very well. Jin peered over the desk and tried to send a shot off at the man he had heard giving orders.

Rocko felt the bullet whiz by his head. Without moving, he fired six shots at the desk and Jin's head.

'Shit!" Jin explained quickly ducking behind the desk as the man retaliated. He wasn't quite fast enough and a single bullet grazed his cheek. Jin shook off the burning sensation it created wiping at the blood in frustration. But the shot was sobering, this was no longer a game this was war. Jin took aim and took down a goon just to the left of the man who'd just shot at him. He'd pick off the little men first, just to piss the man off.

Jet quickly ducked out of cover and brought down two strong arms with shots to the chest. He knew more would fill there place soon but any taken down now would make Team Two and Three's jobs easier.

The battle was intense bullets were whizzing by everywhere, Jin was bleeding, and already he kenw his desk was being shipped away piece by piece. As he replaced his old clip for a new one his thoughts turned to Cloria down below them in the basement. He was still uneasy about her being a part of this whole mission.

Rocko turned as the man next to him fell. He was some random goon assigned to this job and Rocko felt little remorse. He had a feeling that the attack had purposefully missed him. He pulled a grenade of his own out of pocket and tossed it towards the desk. He He'd no doubt kill a few of his own men in the process, but there were plenty of them to do around.

Jin had seen the man pull out the pin, for some reason the two of them had somehow found themselves in a personnal vendetta. Leaping over the desk and hoping that Jet and Kade would give him enough cover, he shot as he ducked and rolled back to his previous place behind the couch with Kade. "Hello again."

Kade took down one of the men who had their gun trailing Jin, just before Jin joined him behind the couch. The desk went flying into the air as the grenade went off, sending wood chips everywhere. "Damn it," Kade cursed, as chips punctured his jacket and lodged themselves into his arm.

"I think I've made a friend," Jin said before firing a few shots off at some men trying to approach Jet behind his pillar. "How you holding up Jet?"

Jet yelled back, "I'm doing the best I can." What did they expect from him? In returned, he pulled out another grenade, and tossed it over his shoulder. "We're totally outnumbered."

"We need to bail," Jin shouted above the shooting. "I'll go check on the girls, you get out of here."

Kade turned to Jin, "I'm going with you. You're not leaving me behind on this one buddy." He jumped up, and fired at the syndicate goons. "GO!"

Jin didn't bother to argue instead he took the advantage Kade was giving him with his cover fire and made his way through towards the back of the building where he knew the entrance to the basement to be. Making his way through the door and down the stairs he saw Meifa racing up just below him.

---------------------

Cloria positioned her gun in the ready position as they started in the backway to the syndicate, using the directions Spike had left them while they plotted. Her heart was pounding as they entered the first hallway. She turned to Meifa. "Alright, which way?" she asked, her voice a low whisper.

"Um..." Meifa had pulled out the Lao-pan but it was still. No matter how much she concentrated she couldn't get a reading on Faye. "I'm sorry. I...I can't get a reading here. Maybe if we go a little further, the walls here are really thick, perhaps they're blocking her feng-shui."

Rua had seen Cloria and a few others moving suspiciously toward a large building in the center of town. Her curiosity getting the better of her she had followed them. She could feel the excitement in the air and the sound of bullets popping like popcorn a little ways away. Everything seemed surreal here. But still she followed the strange group of girls just far enough behind them not to be noticed.

"Whatever you say," Cloria replied, "I have no idea how that all works." She glanced back at Mei. "Are you good with bringing up the rear?" Behind Mei, Ein was trotting along as well. Cloria smiled as watched the little dog, who wanted to help his humans so much, followed along.

"Yeah, I've got the rear," Mei said grimly, gun drawn and held in a ready position. SHE knew they would run into little--if any--opposition. THEY didn't. Therefore, one must keep up appearances!

It seemed that Ein had gotten his way for once. If it weren't for Cloria, he would have certainly been left behind. He was determined to help find Faye in anyway that he could. For the time being, all he could do was sniff the ground as the group moved along, hoping to assist Meifa in some way.

Rua followed them further in, curious as to why they were here with a dog no less! Rounding the next corner, and not watching where she was going she tripped over her own feet and noisily fell to the floor.

Cloria spun around at the sound, her gun in the air. Looking down, she saw a woman with short black hair laying on the floor. "Rua?" Cloria questioned, as recognition entered her eyes.

Rua chuckled nervously and resting on her elbows on the floor she waved at the surprised group. "Hello," she said getting to her feet. "How are you guys?"

Mei already had her own weapon trained upon Rua's head but at Cloria's sound of recognition, she only raised a brow. She did not, however, lower the gun.

A growl bubbled in Ein's throat as he heard the sounds. He did not cease until he realized that the stranger was known, at which point he canted his head to look at Cloria.

Cloria's eyes went to Ein for a second before moving back to Rua. Her own gun was still raised. "What are you doing here?" She questioned. She did not trust Rua.

"I...Uh...well I saw you guys coming in here...," Rua said brushing some imagined dirt off her already torn and ripped jeans. "And I was curious...What are you doing here?"

"Getting ourselves killed," Mei replied testily. Her trigger finger twitched and she grinned. "Want to join in?"

"Um..." Rua looked at each of their faces. "I guess I'm already here aren't I? Might as well join in."

"Then can we get going?" Cloria said, lowering her gun a bit, and motioning to Meifa. "Anything yet?"

Meifa still confused by their strange newcomer looked down at her Lao-pan. It still had not moved. She had never seen it so still before. Perhaps it was the building, or perhaps it was because she was so nervous.. Regardless of what it was the others were counting on her to find Faye with her Feng Shui. "Not yet," Meifa said sheepishly. "I can't get any reading on her. Are you sure she's still alive?"

Cloria nodded, "She's been consistantly on the comm network. Let's head in a bit further." She checked the next hall, and then led them further down. Suddenly she stopped. "Is it possible that she's not here?"

"Who?" Rua knew she should keep her mouth shut but she couldn't help herself.

Apparently irritated by this new distraction, Ein turned away from the women, lowering his muzzle to the ground as he resumed his investigation.

Cloria paused, "Faye. Spike's friend. I guess you weren't around for all of that."

Mei frowned. "Faye was taken by Spike's rival. They're supposed to go duke it out. We're trying to find her. Caught up now?" she asked, a bit annoyed. Come on! Move! "Let's get going. If she's dead, we'll need to know anyway," she said flatly.

"Oh," Rua said for nothing else to say. Perhaps she should just stay quiet for awhile...

Cloria turned another corner frustrated. This wasn't going to plan at all. "Maybe Ein could catch her scent?" Cloria looked at the dog. "Do you know which way to go?"

The Corgi raised his head to look at Cloria, emitting a soft whimper, conveying that he had picked up no such trail.

Meifa studied her Lao-pan it still hadn't moved. "I don't think she's here Cloria," Meifa said quietly.

"Or maybe your ouji board is broken," Mei snapped, not meaning to sound like an utter bitch. She was on edge.

"If she's not here, then we need to get the hell out of here." Cloria said, glancing over her shoulder at the others. "But we have to be sure." She glanced into one of the rooms and found it empty. "So we have to search them all."

"Its not a ouji board!" Meifa shouted at Mei. She didn't like this woman, she didn't seem worried at all about Faye.

"Keep it down!" Cloria hushed. "God help us if someone hears us down here."

"Where are we?" Rua asked forgetting her vow to not speak again.

At the outburst, Mei had to keep herself from pressing her gun into Meifa's temple. Did the kid know nothing about being quiet? Her dark eyes settled upon Rua.

"The basement of the Red Dragon Syndicate building," Cloria replied, her attention snapping to down the hall as she thought she heard something. She glanced at Ein, hoping the dog would give them some indication of company.

At that moment, Ein had stopped, carefully sniffing the air. His lips curled as a growl escaped him. Other humans were near. His growl ended in a sharp bark.

Mei glowered at Meifa--stupid kid--but her attention was torn away by the barking of the wretched mutt that was with them. Oh how she HATED dogs...

"I think we've got company," Cloria whispered. "Do you have a weapon?" she asked Rua.

"No," Rua said looking down the hallway where the noise was coming from. "Jin always told me my curiosity would kill me."

Mei would have smacked her forehead if the hand usually used to do so wasn't currently holding her gun. "So you're in Dragon territory, wandering around, without a gun?" she muttered and motioned Rua ahead, glancing back. Afterall, she was to be bringing up the rear, right? Heh.

Cloria reached into her jacket and produced a second gun. "I've got extra. And I'll probably regret giving this one up." A bounty hunter was always prepared.

Rua took the gun gingerly, of course, she had seen them before but never had she actually held and used one. "Right, a gun," rua mumbled to herself. "Point and shoot."

A noise could be heard up the hallway as a group of Red Dragon Syndicate goons came that way. They knew there was supposed to be people breaking in, although they hadn't been given many of the details. As they turned the corner, the group of women came into view. One of the goons laughed when he realized their 'attackers' were a bunch of females. "This should be easy enough."

Meifa quickly packed away her Lao-pan safely into its wrap. She wasn't much of a fighter but she was armed and she was ready to do everything she needed to.

Cloria immediately brought her gun up. There were six or seven men down the hallway. "Shoot to kill," she said to the others, then opened fire, taking the first man down. The others quickly dove back around the corner and began pulling their weapons. "GO!" Cloria yelled, urging them back down the hall so that they wouldn't be out in the open.

Rua followed closely behind Cloria ducking into an empty room for cover. She peered out just in time to feel a bullet whizz by her ear. "Holy shit, what are you people doing here?" Rua asked ducking back into the room.

"Keep your head down!" Mei shouted, one room across and one back. She peered out only long enough to fire off a shot, hitting one of the men in the shoulder. The man dropped back. "Stupid bitch! I'll kill her!" he yelled in anger and switched his gun to his other hand. No bitch hit HIM!

"Fuck," Cloria spat out. The harsh words seemed out of place for the normally gentle woman. "This is crap. We have to get out of here. If Faye were here, Meifa would have found her." She ducked out from the room and fired off another round of shots. "Rua, you and Meifa, go out that door and run as fast as you can. Mei and I will cover until you're gone."

Rua took aim and squeezing her eyes shut pulled the trigger. She heard a yelp and opened her eyes to see that she had shot a man in the foot. It wasn't a kill, but she'd hit something! "Alright!" Rua called out both in response to Cloria and her own shooting victory. She turned towards the younger girl and sending her out in front of her began to run towards the door.

"Cloria, we can't know that for sure! What if she IS here?" Mei shouted.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Cloria yelled back, as gunfire rained down the hallway. "We can't keep going forward - we'll die." She glanced back at Meifa, "Take Ein with you!"

Ein shuffled restlessly in the confrontation, and there was little he could do to help at such a range. He was only able to snarl threateningly and stay out of the crossfire. At Cloria's words, he turned moving towards Meifa as quickly as his squat legs would allow.

Meifa reached down and picked up the dog never missing a stride. as she ran in the direction Cloria had pointed out. She had been in dangerous situations with her father before, but neverhad they been cornered in the basement of a syndicate!

Mei cursed under her breath. Taking a deep breath, she darted from her doorway to Cloria's, firing as she ran. Between her fire and Cloria's, she reached the team leader unscathed. "And if she's there, who knows what will happen to her?" Mei asked in a low voice.

Cloria nodded, "Alright, you and me will go in. Meifa and Rua aren't trained to help with this and I think it's better that they stay." She was right behind Mei, backing her up.

Mei nodded slightly and smirked faintly to herself as her back was to Cloria. She didn't mind killing the Syndicate members. If they didn't know about the plan, then they weren't really high enough in rank to care about.

She nodded and then darted out into the hallway, firing her gun as she flung herself forward to avoid getting hit by the oncoming bullets. Mei took the ground at a roll and managed to only get a jarred shoulder for her troubles. Into another doorway she went!

Cloria followed Mei in hot pursuit. She certainly didn't wish to die here. She backed against the wall as Mei dove across the hallway, waited a few seconds for the gunfire to cease, then repeated what Mei had done. She landed in the room next to her 'partner'.

"Alright, where to now? We searched the south end of the basement, so I guess we should head north." Cloria didn't like the idea of going further from their exit, but if they were going to make sure Faye wasn't there, it had to be done.

The fire from the girls had driven the syndicate men back around a corner to regroup. Already several had fallen. Mei glanced back at Cloria. "Just make sure you keep up," she said. Her tone was malicious. She didn't want to have to worry about how far back Cloria was. With that said, she led the way this time.

Cloria sighed and rushed after Mei. The girl obviously normally worked alone. She didn't get this whole team work concept. The next corner they turned was empty of syndicate people, but it was also empty of Faye. Cloria glanced into one room and noticed some familiar clothing on the bed. She kicked the door open, which made more noise than she intended, and entered.

She picked up a piece of clothing, a plain white shirt, and frowned. "Mei, could this belong to Faye?"

Mei lowered her gun and frowned. "Are there any bloodstains on it?" she asked, her voice held emotionless for the most part.

Cloria inspected the clothing. "Nothing," she replied. "And they aren't ripped. It seems whoever was wearing them just took them off." She also noticed a pair of pants. "Now that I think about it, she did mention wearing something like this in her journal before she left with Spike."

"Peachy. Okay. So she's been here. But she isn't here right NOW," Mei said, pursing her lips. "So either we keep looking or we leave and regroup with the others," she said with a sigh, running her free hand through her hair.

Cloria put down the shirt, "If she's not here in the basement, then I doubt we'll live long looking for her in the rest of the building." Cloria's face drained suddenly. "He was going to meet Spike tonight." She was thinking fast, and her brain kept tripping over her thoughts. But if Faye wasn't here, where else would she be but with him?

"Let's get the Hell out of here," Mei said, shaking her head. Without waiting for a response, Mei went back to the doorway and peered out. Without warning--surprising the Hell out of HER--strong hands grabbed Mei and practically hauled her off of her feet. A syndicate member they'd missed now held her against his chest. His partner smirked at their little present and looked at Cloria while the first one held his gun so that the barrell was pressed against Mei's temple.

"Come on out of there, lovely," the man holding Mei said with a chuckle as Mei tried to get her gun into a position to shoot the guy. Syndicate or not, she didn't like being touched without permission! "But before you do, throw out your gun. Or else your friend here gets a hole in her head."

"Shit," Cloria muttered to herself. She wished she had kept her second weapon. If she didn't toss her gun, then Mei might die. But if she did, then she'd have no protection herself. She glanced around the room, looking for anything that would make a good weapon, but saw nothing. Finally, she simply stuck the gun back into her pants and stepped slowly out the door.

"I'm not armed," she called. "I dropped my gun in one of the bad hallways." She kept her back facing away from the syndicate man as her eyes met Mei's. What were they going to do?

When the other guy moved to undoubtedly injure Cloria, Mei--who'd, frankly, had enough of this shit--spoke out in a low voice. "Vicious said to leave the women alone. I wouldn't suggest going against his orders."

At those words, both men stopped and looked at Mei suspiciously. Was she bluffing? They shared a look and Mei realized they were either too smart to just fall for it or they were too stupid to really know what was going on. She sighed. "I take it you aren't too high on the food chain, are you. Why do you think Alaura sent so few people this way? I told her we were coming," she said flatly. That struck a chord in the man holding Mei.

Her gaze hadn't met Cloria's and it wasn't out of guilt. She didn't care. Vicious told her to let the women live. She was going to let the women live. Not to mention the fact that Cloria would probably return to find Rua there and Jin dead. Poor little princess.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," the second member said, smirking. In the back of his mind, he knew that Mei could very easily know Vicious' name and the fact that he'd taken over. But Alaura?

Cloria just stared at Mei. What the hell was going on? How did Mei know Vicious? "What the hell?" she muttered under her breathe as she watched the scene play out. At least Mei had mentioned letting them live.

"Prove it how? I'm sure you can always find out if you go against his wishes. Do you really want to do that? I wonder how he'd kill you. Maybe slowly torture you with the blade of his katana?" Mei practically purred. The man holding her suddenly released her. Alaura had said something about a double-agent and he realized that Mei was that wildcard.

"Shit," he said, looking surprised. Mei glared at him and then looked at Cloria, smirking faintly.

"I suggest you leave now before they forget," she said, amused. Mei said nothing more and moved to push past the men, her back turning toward Cloria.

Cloria followed Mei as she rounded a corner, but she was shaking. This woman, the one Kade liked so much, was working for the Syndicate? She frowned, as she reached behind her back and pulled her gun. True, the woman's words had saved her, but she couldn't be trusted. In fact, all of this could just be part of the act.

She stopped walking and held up the gun. "I wouldn't take another step, and don't turn around. Why did you do this?"

Mei stopped and didn't turn around. She chuckled softly and shook her head a bit. "That's right... you didn't throw it out, did you," she mused, almost in a chiding voice as she seemed to quietly berate herself for forgetting that.

But then going against the orders from Cloria, Mei turned and looked at her. "Why?" she repeated. "Cloria, don't take it so personally. It's just business." And with that said, she turned her back again and began walking--clearly unafraid. Mei, herself, wasn't sure if it was because she didn't care or if she honestly believed the little princess wouldn't shoot her in the back. However, Mei also hadn't really known Cloria personally. She'd gotten onto the SeaDog to get closer to Spike. Kade was just an added bonus.

"Then so is this," Cloria replied, firing the gun at Mei's back. Although she was a skilled shot, she couldn't bring herself to actually kill Mei - the woman had betrayed them all, but Cloria knew that it was her betrayal that had contributed to saving her own life. She would give Mei that much, but the girl would stay here, far away from Kade and the SeaDog. The bullet tore through the right side of Mei's stomach.

Then Cloria turned and ran. She had to get back to the others and let them know it was all a set up.

Mei cried out as the bullet tore through her flesh. Her body fell forward with the force and she felt herself falling while unable to control her body enough to catch herself. She hit the ground and laid there while blood poured from the wound and began to soak her shirt. 'Shit' she thought to herself and struggled to get her arms up under her to push herself up.

She gave up, however, when pain ripped through her body at the movement and another cry of pain was given. Peachy.

---------------------

Meifa reached down and picked up the dog never missing a stride. As she ran in the direction Cloria had pointed out. She had been in dangerous situations with her father before, but neverhad they been cornered in the basement of a syndicate!

Ein wriggled slightly in Meifa's grasp so that he could peer over her shoulder at what they were now leaving behind. This hadn't been his idea of helping, as he now only served as additional baggage. He resumed his struggles, hoping that Meifa would get the hint to put him down, so he could at least run on his own.

"Ein!" Meifa called out. She had nearly dropping Ein when he struggled. "Fine then, you're on your own." With that she placed Ein on the ground and waited until Rua caught up with her. "What are we going to do?"

"There were others with you right?" Rua asked as they ran through the maze of tunnels. She was looking for stairs, any set of stairs that could lead them up and hopefully out. "Where are they?"

"They are upstairs fighting off the others," Meifa said looking back to make sure Ein was still there.

As soon as he had been set down, Ein took his nose to the ground, slowly moving along until Meifa and Rua had hurried past them. A moment later, he caught the scent of a previous trail. Snorting, he quickened his pass, following it along the tunnel.

Meifa noticing Ein's change in pace grabbed Rua and pulled her after Ein. "I think he knows where he's going!" she shouted happily.

Whining as the smells became more and more encouraging, Ein made a sharp right into a perpendicular tunnel, and soon after a quick left. After what seemed like forever, he led them to an ascending stairway.

Rua, sensing someone behind them pushed Meifa into an empty room. Behind them two men with guns began shooting. Rua's reactions were not fast enough and all she could feel for a moment was the searing pain of a bullet ripping through her side.

Alas, he had found their escape too late. Ein whirled around only to see his followers disappearing, and a bullet striking Rua. He skiddered, running towards them, all the while dodging stray shots.

Still retaining her consciousness Rua pulled out her gun and with luck from the gods managed to hit them both with the five remaining bullets in the gun. She killed one man and momentarily slowed down the second with a shot to his right shoulder.

"Meifa take the dog and find help," Rua gasped out holding onto her side. She could feel her senses reeling from the mixture of adrenaline and the loss of blood.

"What about you?" Meifa asked looking at Ein and then at the blood running down Rua's side.

"I can't run right now, I'd only slow you down," Rua said leaning against the door jam. "Go!"

Meifa took one last look at Ein hoping he'd understand and started to run in the direction he had been leading them earlier.

Ein stood in front of Rua for a moment, as though unsure whether he should follow Meifa or stay. He knew all too well that there was nothing he could do to help her, or to hold off the enemy. Feebly licking at Rua's hand, he scurried out of the door after Meifa.

They reached the set of dark narrow stairs they had first came down, and Meifa nearly cried out in relief at the sight of them. Halfway up them she ran into the hard chest of a male body and would have screamed if it wasn't for the hand that instantly covered her mouth.

---------------------

Jet tossed another grenade, and using the cover backed out of the building. A bullet grazed his arm, but didn't stop him as he ran for the hammerhead. He'd just have to meet them back at the bebop. The plan had failed, and Jet was concerned for Spike.

Kade backed out of the building as well, still firing at the syndicate goons who were following them.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked letting go of Meifa's mouth. "Where's Cloria?"

"Jin!" Meifa said in excitement having litterally ran into the person she had been looking for. "Cloria and Mei are being shot at by a bunch of goons and Rua's lying out in the hallway bleeding to death!"

Ein stumbled to a hault behind Meifa, peeking around her legs to see Jin. He whined loudly, his head bending backwards in the direction that they had come from.

"Rua is here?" Jin nearly shouted but caught himself in time. "Nevermind...Just get out of here and take the mutt with you. Get as far away from this place as you can, we'll all meet up in the bebop. Can you do that?"

"Yah," Meifa said nodding her head fervently. "Please be careful Jin!" she called after him as he started to race down the stairs two at a time. "Let's go Ein, we have to get out of here!"

Kade saw Meifa and Ein talking to Jin and fired off another round at a syndicate goon before making his way to where they were speaking. "Jin, what's going on? Where's Cloria and Mei?" he asked, his eyes still watching their backs - the syndicate wasn't giving up yet.

Jin whipped around, his glock raised before he realized who he was actually pointing it at. "Dammit Kade," Jin said lowering his weapon. "There still down here, and somehow Rua got into all this mess as well. We have to go find them."

Kade sighed. He picked up his comm device and punched in the number on Jet's. "Jet, things went wrong with the ladies. We're going down to bring them out. We'll be back shortly!" Not bothering to wait for a response, he dashed around the side of the building, looking for the entrance Spike had told them about. Two blocks down he spotted the pachinko parlor. Trying to remember the stupid code words Spike had given them, and finally giving up, he simply yelled to the woman they needed in.

With Jin hot on his trail, the two entered the basement of the syndicate building.

---------------------

Rocko watched as the men made their way out. Their attempt to take down the syndicate had failed, although Rocko hadn't expected the three men to do as much damage as they had. His goons attempted to go after them, and were gunned down. "Let them go," Rocko called out. "We know who they are - and we'll be sure to pay them a visit in due time."

---------------------

Cloria ran down the hallway, leaving Mei behind her. Which way was the right way in this godforsaken building? She took a turn to the left, realized it was the wrong way, and then backtracked to the original hall. Finally, after another turn, this time in the right direction, she spotted Rua.

Rua was laying on the floor. She couldn't tell if the woman was dead or alive, and she rushed to her side. "Rua!" she cried out, afraid to shake the girl, who was bleeding badly, when suddenly everything went black.

Kade turned the corner in time to see a syndicate goon hit Cloria on the head with a nightstick. He watched as the girl he considered a sister fell to the ground. His gun was aimed and fired in a matter of seconds, hitting the syndicate goon in the head. "Cloria!" he yelled, rushing to her side. "Jin, where's Mei." He asked frantically, eyes a bit wide. Rua had been shot, Cloria was knocked out, and Mei wasn't even here. "What were we thinking letting them do this?"

Jin felt more anger in that moment than he had ever before had in his life. He had been to slow around the corner to prevent the man from hurting Cloria, and Kade had shot the bastard leaving him no where to vent his frustration. Ignoring the other man he raced over to the two women dropping to his knees before them. Cloria was unconcious and already a large lump was forming on the back of her head. But Rua was staring at him her eyes blurred with pain as blood kept seeping from her wound.

"Kade, go find your damn girlfriend," Jin said ripping the shirt he was wearing until he had two long strips he could use as bandages. "I'll stay here with these two."

Kade nodded, "Take care of her, ok," he said, in reference to Cloria, before rushing down the halls. He had no idea where Mei could be, but he'd search until he found her. Another few turns and the figure of a woman laying on the floor could be seen, along with a couple of syndicate goons who looked like they wanted to take advantage of her now injuried position. Shit, why had Cloria left her here?

He ducked behind some boxes stashed in the hallway and fired off a round at the men. One of them went down instantly, while the other got away. He took a deep breath and dashed down the hall after the second, taking some gunfire as he went. One of the bullets grazed his side but he didn't let it slow him down. He turned the corner, and fired at the man, hitting him square in heart.

Turning back, he checked to make sure the halls were clear before rushing to Mei's side. "Mei, are you alright?" he said, trying to assess the situation. He was bleeding now, the blood from the wound on his side soaking through his shirt. Mei was shot - he doubted she could walk. "I'll have to carry you out. Can you still fire a gun?"

----------------

Gingerly Jin lifted Rua into a sitting position against the wall and began wrapping the strips around her waist to stop the bleeding. She had lost a lot of blood already and if she didn't get some help soon, she was going to die.

"You came for me," Rua said smiling. When she had first seen him, she thought she had conjured him from her dream. She had wanted to see Jin again before she died. "I guess curiosity really did kill me, just like you said it would."

"Your not dead yet Rua," Jin said finishing a knot in the bandages and wincing with her when he nudged ehr wound accidently. "I'm not going to let you die."

"You have two bodies here," Rua said looking over at Cloria, she felt bad for the girl who had been injured trying to help her. No matter what bad blood ran between them, Rua still wished they could have been friends. "But you can only carry one. Be kind to her Jin, and be happy."

"Stop talking like that," Jin said looking back at Cloria. He had arranged her body on the floor so that she was more comfortable, but they were still in danger here. He would have to find some way of getting them both out to safety, but Rua was right, he couldn't carry both of them and there was no way Rua could walk in her condition.

"Will you kiss me one last time Jin?" Rua asked watching the way he looked at Cloria with such gentle eyes. "I promise not to tell on you."

Jin would have laughed at her joke, if it had not been so sad that his heart felt like breaking for her. He'd told her he had Cloria now, and he did, but deep down he still loved her and always would and if he was forced to leave her right now, he knew he would never be able to forgive himself. With one last guilty look towards Cloria's innocently sleeping form, he bent down and kissed Rua softly on the lips. He could feel how weak she was, and in that moment he would have given anything to trade places with her.

"Thank you Jin," she said closing her eyes and letting herself drift into the darkness that threatened to swollow her whole.

Jin laid her down inside the empty room and picking up Cloria turned his back on her for the second time and walked away. Every step he took became heavier and heavier, and not just because he was holding Cloria, who felt light as a feather in his arms. His only hope was that Kade would find Mei and together the two of them would be able to bring Rua to safety, but somewhere in the back of his mind Jin knew that that wouldn't happen.

Jin blinked as he stepped out into the light of day. It had been easier than he had thought to get out of there alive. But he needed to find a hospital, Cloria would need a doctor and he needed someone to stitch up his own wounds. He could feel his strength leaving him, and would have to find shelter soon. He turned to give one last look at the syndicate building before moving on, "Rua, you will always be my first princess."

---------------------

Mei was somehow managing to cling to consciousness and had only been vaguely aware of the syndicate members that had crowed around her. She could hear gunfire and then Kade was at her side. At the mention of a gun, she turned her head to where her own gun lay.

Numbly, she nodded and managed to grab the firearm while gritting her teeth in pain at the movement. She was looking somewhat pale but her free hand reached out and grabbed Kade by his shirt, using him as leverage to try and pull himself up. A cry of pain was muffled by her own lips as she bit down upon her lip to bite the cry back.

Her mind was so muddled at the moment that she hadn't remembered which side she was on. She should have lifted her gun and put a bullet through some vital part of Kade's body. But all she could do was lean against him. The young woman didn't fear death.

But, dammit, this fucking HURT!!

Kade reached his arms around her and picked her up in his arms. "Do your best, If you see anyone in the syndicate take them down." His own gun was still clutched in his hand, but he wouldn't be able to fire it while holding Mei.

He weaved down the halls, heading back down the hallway. He passed Rua, laying against the wall. Shit, Jin could only carry one girl. Kade couldn't take her either. They'd have to come back. He made his way up through the tunnel, trying to catch up to Jin. What were they going to do with all the girls?

He spotted Jin as he stepped into the light. "Jin!" he called out.

Jin turned around spotting Kade holding Mei, his last hope for Rua died at the sight. He closed his eyes and held Cloria tighter to him. "I have to go back in," Jin said looking at Kade.

"Alright, I'll stay here with both of them. Where did Meifa and Ein go?" Kade said, glancing around for the girl and the dog. He didn't want to have to save them either.

Mei was just trying desperately to remain conscious though she seemed to slip in and out anyway. She could feel the strong arms holding her as though she were important and that allowed her consciousness to realize she could fall into the darkness.

"I told them to go back to the ship," Jin said not wanting to spend any more time explaining. Jin looked about he would have to take Cloria back to the zip first, so that she was safe before he could make it back to Rua. "Let's get to the zips."

Kade nodded, and carried Mei with him, "Jin, do you want me to go with you to get Rua?" he asked, as they reached the zips. He set Mei inside. It would be a cramped flight back.

"No stay with them," Jin said laying Cloria down gingerly taking special care to make sure her head was supported. He gave one last look at Kade and sprinted back towards the building. "I'll be back soon!"

Kade watched as Jin left. He turned back to Mei, and tried to make her more comfortable, but it was useless in the small craft.

Jin raced into the basement, syndicate goons were everywhere. He was moving too slow and there were too many men with guns now for him to get anywhere. It was a suicide mission to try to go any further. "Fuck!" Jin could have kicked himself, but instead he fired off at a few men as he made his retreat. He had nearly made it to the stairs out when he was shot in the arm. Shouting out in pain he turned and fired at the man who had shot him taking him down. Practically crawling his way out he finally made it out of the building and towards the zips. "Let's get out of here," Jin said giving a don't-ask-stare to Kade.

Kade nodded. He didn't want to know - he only wanted to get out of there. He got his zip, and started it up, heading back to the ship with Mei.

Jin landed his zip on the deck of the Bebop and turned back to check on Cloria tucked away in the small space behind his seat. His arm was killing him and he was bleeding badly. They probably all needed medical attention. And they had nothing to show for all the blood they had spilled this day.

Kade landed his own ship on the deck of the Seadog. He opened his hatch, and pulled Mei out. Calling across to Jin, "What's the plan? They need medical attention!"

"We call a doctor," Jin said pulling out Cloria from his own zip. Her weight pulled at his left arm but he could do nothing about it now. "Preferably one that doesn't ask questions."

Jet walked out on the deck, clutching his arm. "What happened to you two! I got your message and then you were gone!"

Meifa followed behind Jet her eyes wide when she saw there state of injury. "Jet they need help!" Meifa cried out.

"I know a doctor that doesn't ask questions," Jet said, pulling out his comm device and making the call.

Ein came shuffling along behind Meifa, peeking between her and Jet's leg to examine the neighbors as well. He whimpered lightly at what he saw.

Kade nodded, "I'll bring Mei over there. We can have everyone in one place for the doctor. Looks like the rest of us need help too." And no one knew where Faye or Spike were.

Jin followed Kade into the Bebop, at the least the kid and the dog had gotten out of their without a scratch. But then he didn't understand why thedog had been their anyway...or Rua. "Dammit that was a fucking circus," Jin shouted frustrated.

"It was a set-up," Kade replied, setting Mei on the couch. "They expected us. They knew. I just want to know how."

"What?" Meifa asked looking between the men and the two injured women who she had last seen whole and concious. "How could they know?"

"I don't know, Meifa, but they were there waiting for us. They knew we were coming." Kade was frustrated, but he wanted to concentrate on Mei right now. "Mei, you still with me," he said softly.

Jet walked in, "The doc is on his way down here. Should be here in a few minutes."

Ed continued to stare blankly at the computer. "Doctor-person, Doctor-person, where art-YOU?" she sang sporadically, waving her arms and legs as if they were jelly.

"Where's Rua?" Meifa asked looking between them. "She was hurt pretty badly, did you find her?"

Jin was sitting in a chair cradling CLoria in his good arm while trying to inspect the other one. "We found her," Jin said softly. "But I had to leave her behind."

"Check out her," Jin said pointing to Mei. "And give me an ice pack for her, for now."

Edward popped up and looked at the both of them, her goggles still splattered on her face. She tugged on the doctor's leg and said, "Doctor-person, the one who has the most red jam spewing from them is of course the one with zee most medical attteeentttiooon!" she collapsed.

The doctor looked down at Ed, and then to woman on the couch. He was silent, asking no questions, and simply went to work to remove the bullet from Mei's abdomen

Ein scampered here and there, trying to avoid being underfoot of all the humans moving around. He finally settled himself near Ed, whining lightly as he looked on.

Ed bent over and patted Ein on the head. "There there, now, Doctor-person will make peoples feel all okie-dokie in hurty-okies!

Jet walked out of the room, then returned with an ice pack. "Here, for her head." he said, handing it to Jin.

Meifa watched all the chaos in the room and grabbing a spare set of sheets she began to rip them into strips. "You need help too," she said taking some of the stips over to Jin she began to wrap his arm tightly as he held the ice pack to Cloria's head.

"Thanks," Jin said wincing a bit at her rough hands as they worked at binding his wounds.

Kade laughed, "Look at us. We're all beat up and for what." They had failed miserably in their mission. He looked at Meifa. "I guess you couldn't find Faye?"

"No, she wasn't down there," Meifa said saddly. "She couldnt' have been anywhere in the building."

Twiddling her fingers, Ed ran off to go look for food. "Such intensity is making me huuunnggrrryyy? C'mon Ein, let's go hunting!" She crouched down like a predator and becan scouring the floor with her nose, her buttocks high up in the air and crawling everywhere. Eventually she leapt back up, saluted the room, and announced, "I smell soda cracker crumbs."

Jet lit up a cigarette. "If she wasn't in the building, it can only mean that either they moved her, bob's information was wrong, or she's whereever Spike is."

Ein seemed reluctant to follow, so keen on watching the present scene. At length, however, he followed Edward, though he kept his gaze focused on the others.

The doctor finished working on Mei and moved to patch up Jin's arm. Jet's arm was already in a sling, and he figured the man had managed to fix himself just fine. Finally, he looked at Cloria, and confirmed that she would just have a nasty headache when she woke up.

At least a bit more joyous than the others in the situation, Ed sprinted off in hopes to find Ramen Noodles...beef flavor, of course.

"So now we sit around and wait for the others," Jin said annoyed at the doctors poking and prodding. "Hopefully Spike did a little better than the rest of us."

"Ed," Jet said calling to the kid, "How did your hacking into the Red Dragon go?"

Her voice could be heard echoing within the corridors. "Edward hacked camera like told to! Bob and Sam went to play tag with friends!"

Jet nodded, "I just hope they make it back as well."