...the less you bleed in war.

The position wasn't perfect, but as as good as they were going to get. Torque and Ai set down their mats on the rooftop they had selected as a sniper perch and peered at the building in the distance that was the team's objective. Having run through a crash familiarization course on the sniper weapons available, Ai had decided she would use a projectile weapon. X-Com had offered the team more high tech long range weapons, but AI was a firm believer in Murphy's Law. 'What can go wrong, will!' Anything that could break, would. Usually at the worst possible time. The sniper rifle she held was old tech by Chimera's standards, but it was solid, dependable and accurate out to ranges of a thousand meters and more. The scope was far more high tech, but both Ai and Torque knew to be very careful with that. Ballistic projectiles needed some fairly advanced training to hit targets at such ranges, due to many factors like wind, but the target building was less than two hundred meters away. Child's play for Ai or Torque. After a bit of discussion and seeing the gear, Ai had asked to be spotter for this jaunt, so she could familiarize herself with the team's tactics and equipment. Torque did not like the sniper rifle. It was far heavier than she was used to carrying, but Ai was carrying everything else, so the Viper didn't complain. Much.

They set up next to a massive air conditioning unit. In Mega Primus where Ai had fought, such were smaller and nearly silent. Here, it was a mix of old world human tech mixed with highly advanced Elder's tech, so it was bit of a mess. It was also quite loud, but the sound would cover their shots if they took any and they had radios with a set frequency so the sound was only an annoyance. This was the tallest building in the area and towered over much of the surrounding. Not a parcel on one of Mega Primus' massive habitation skyscrapers, but not too shabby at ten stories. 33 meters added to the two hundred to the target. Distance was not an issue, but wind would likely be. Add to that the smugglers who had made off with alien technology probably to sell to the highest bidder. If they were anything like smugglers Ai had dealt with as a Nightstalker, they would not appreciate the team's attempt to 'reclaim' said tech.

Torque settled into her mat carefully winding around the heavy rifle as Ai set up her tripod with its huge scope. They didn't need to say anything. Both had done this before. Ai had been a part of sniper teams several times in her career and from what snippets Ai had picked up about Torque? The Viper had been tracker and/or hunter while working for Advent. Not hunting animals, mind you. Both of them knew their way around long distance shooting and both had a lot of stuff to do before they could be properly prepared.

"And to think, at one time this was all solo work." Ai muttered to herself as she calibrated her scope and settled its view on the large windows that fronted the building in question.

"What?" Torque asked as she looked through the scope of her rifle and adjusted the knobs on the side. Again, solid manufacture that would not have been out of place in any twentieth century battlefield. The optical scope could break, but was far less likely to than most digital versions. It also did not run out of power. X-Com had offered a lot of variants to Chimera, but the team had demurred. Ai understood completely. A solid, dependable piece of hardware was far better on a battlefield than something that would break if you sneezed at it. Damage or rate of fire were distinctly less important than ruggedness and dependability in most such situations. Cobra had learned that lesson the hard way, just like every military organization in Ai's reading of history.

"I read a lot of military history in my training." Ai said softly as she focused on her view. "No targets in view." She reported. "Shadows in the windows, no clear targets."

"This will probably be quite boring for us. Maybe even for the breach team." Torque said with a growl. "Usually when we show up these days, the bad guys give up. We made a bit of a mess when we arrived here."

"That does not surprise me." Ai chuckled just a little, but it did not jiggle her view. "But in my own experience? There are always going to be those who think they are above the law. Who think they are smarter, faster or just more lucky than everyone else. Humans are human and from what I have seen? Most of the other races I have dealt with were similar."

"True." Torque was a bit absent. "Eyes on main doorway. Range two hundred sixteen."

"Wind is three kilometers per hour from the west." Ai said and Torque fiddled with her scope. "Weather is clear. No significant visual distortions detected." She flicked a switch on the side of the scope and spoke again. "Infrared shows five heat sources in the front near the window. Two further back." She paused and then spoke carefully. "One distortion near the door. Unsure what it is."

"Let me take a look." Torque asked and Ai nodded. She moved back and let Torque move to see through the scope. The Viper left the rifle where she had laid it, not wanting to have to set everything up again if she moved it. Smart. The Viper paused as she stared through the scope and then hissed. "Damn. That is a human, bound on the floor! They have a hostage right at the door! If the team breaches there, it will likely kill the hostage!"

"So, they are expecting us. Not boring." Ai said flatly as Torque slid back to her rifle. "Calling it in." Torque did not respond, settling herself back around her rifle. "Godmother, this is Eyes."

"Go, Eyes." Godmother as calm. Then again, she had done this a few times. The team had settled on 'Eyes' as a temporary code name for the Nightstalker and a bit of dig at her name. She didn't mind. It was not even close to the worst thing she had been called over a radio.

"Hostage detected on the floor at the main door." AI fought to keep her heart rate low. Getting excited would not help matters. "Breach of main door is contraindicated. Will keep eyes on and will update as intel develops."

"Acknowledged. Check all the scans while you are at it. Godmother out."

"All scans." Ai heaved a sigh but focused on her view as she started clicking buttons on the side of the scope. "Radiation scan negative. Yeah, right. Like smugglers will have nukes?"

"Don't tempt fate!" Torque said urgently from her spot. Ai jerked back form her scope, staring at the Viper who muttered. "They shouldn't have nukes, but such has surprised X-Com and others in recent years." Ai bit back a gasp and Torque nodded just a little. "Yeah. That was a hell of an eye opener. I was working for Advent at the time and, well, things got nuts everywhere. Yeah, I worked for Advent." Not quite defensive, but close.

"That is not my business."A I said simply as she clicked to a new scan setting and she felt rather than saw Torque relax. "Every sentient being in my experience makes choices that often come back to bite them. I have made my own share and have my own regrets. Magnetic anomalies, zero." She reported.

"One reason Chimera went for low tech weapons from the start was a proliferation of gear designed to disable Advent high tech weaponry. The Resistance was trying everything, everywhere. Some of it worked. Some of it didn't. There is no way to find it all." Torque was scanning the area with slow, careful sweeps of the rifle. Two sets of eyes were always better than one. "What did you mean, 'solo'?"

"Snipers were originally lone hunters." Ai replied as she swept the building again with a new setting. Then she paused. "What the-?"

"What?" Torque demanded, suddenly tense.

"Brown ground vehicle! Three wheels! Front of the building! Not going to that building!" Ai said sharply. "Explosive sensors just went nuts! Whatever he has in the trunk is not civilian grade."

Civilian explosives could be powerful, especially if they got into an area undetected. Improvised explosive devices had been a staple in military forces for a long time. Military grade explosives were far worse. Easier to handle, smaller and thus easier to hide. Whoever this guy was, he should not have been carrying that in a civilian vehicle.

"Explosives?" Torque said softly and then she hissed. "Eyes on. You are right. It is not going to that that building. I will keep eyes on it. You finish the scans." Then she paused. "Wait a minute… I got a glimpse of the driver's face. Human. Male. He is familiar and not in a good way. I am not sure from where." She mused. "He just passed the turnoff he would have had to take to ambush the team, so,… he is not going there either."

"Building is negative for explosives. Scans done." Ai said softly. "Where is that trike going?"

"Not sure. Call it in!" Torque all but barked and Ai nodded.

"Godmother, Eyes. New intel." Ai tried for calm and managed.

"Eyes, go." Godmother replied instantly.

"All scans negative in the building. One hostage near front door. Five other heat sources in front room, two in back. All are clear. Maybe a bit too clear." Seven had been the supposed number of smugglers, but that just made Ai suspicious. Coincidences did happen, but were rarely so clean. "No other hostages detected. One oddity not in building."

"Clarify oddity." Godmother was suddenly tense and Ai agreed.

"Vehicle on the main road. Scans detected military grade explosives." Ai replied and there was utter silence so Ai continued. "Vehicle is not, repeat, not approaching target building or team."

"Do you still have eyes on it!" Godmother snapped.

"Affirmative." Ai replied without even looking at Torque. If the Viper had lost the trike, she would have said so. "Subject is familiar to sniper, but not identified."

"Have sniper send Whisper a picture!" Godmother said flatly. "This stinks, Eyes. Anything else off?"

"Negative." Ai reported. "Do I call 31PD?"

Calling cops for such sat wrong with Ai, but she was the newcomer here. She had to obey Chimera's rules or she would stand out like a sore thumb. Not to mention pissing off her new team was not a good idea.

"Negative." Godmother said after a moment. "Whisper has been monitoring and he is calling them right now. We can handle these guys. Keep your eyes on that vehicle. Godmother out."

"Roger that. Mission change accepted." The Nightstalker said as she spun her scope to scan for the trike she had seen. "There you are, you son of a bitch." She muttered as she followed the trike with the scope. "What are you doing?"

"Military explosives are restricted access." Torque was watching the trike too. "Any decent scanner will pick them up just like your scope did. Unless they are shielded, but that requires lots of metal or lots of power."

"So what is he-" Ai breathed in horror as she saw the trike take a turn into a parking lot. Not just any parking lot! "Torque!"

The parking lot was for a school! A sign in front proclaimed it as 'St Hilloria's Mixed School of the Arts', whatever that meant. Ai could see small forms from several races in the windows. Vipers, Mutons and humans mixed. All small. Kids!

"I see it! Eyes on." The Viper was locked into mode, almost a machine on her stillness. Readiness to end a life. "Range five hundred sixty."

"Wind from the west, gusting to seven kph." Ai said flatly. "Whisper! Tell me you are monitoring!"

"I am." The soft voice of the mean's mean communicator was hushed, scared as the trike pulled into a parking space marked 'Visitor' and stopped. "Oh my god!" He snarled and spoke. "Target ID just came through. His name is Daniel. He is a domestic terrorist who used to run with the Progeny until we took them down."

"That one! Yeah, he hates the whole idea of psionics mixing with non psionics. So, he is stepping up from blowing up uninhabited schools?" Torque snapped, her eyes still on the trike. "He is not moving. Or… wait." She paused as the man slumped or was grabbing something from underneath his trike.

"Oh shit." Ai muttered in horror as she saw what he was hefting out of a hidden compartment.

"I see it." Whisper's tone was hushed as the man finally got off his trike carrying an old style X-Com assault weapon. "Fuck me! He is going active shooter!"

"Whisper!" Torque demanded. "I have him in my sights!"

"Torque, it is 31PD matter. Unless…" He paused and then spoke to neither of them. "Yes, Commissioner. We have eyes on. Confirmed. It is the terrorist Daniel and the school is occupied! Confirmed bomb and assault rifle! How long?" He begged. "Then get him on the phone! I don't care if he is the bath! You know what that asshole will do if he gets in the building! Shit! Shit! Shit!" Whisper was all but raging now. "I am on hold while she tries to get the Mayor."

"Ai…" Torque pleaded. "I… Kids... I can't. Chimera is not the police! We can't just… Damn! Not kids again!" That was raw and hurting! Whatever Torque had done or not done in her past had involved kids. Not in a good way. "I want to... but… I am not as good. I am better with sub guns!"

"Swap." Ai said flatly as she released her scope and slid over to the Viper's mat. "What is your zero?"

"Eight hundred." The viper said as she took the scope Ai had left and Ai settled in behind the rifle. It was set up perfectly.

"Target." Ai said as she aimed at the man who was now walking towards the main door of the building, rifle in hand. "Doesn't the school have security?"

"Automated." Torque breathed. "And he is good at spoofing such. He left the bomb, because it would be picked up as soon as he entered. The Progeny was damn good at automated security and they taught him well. If he gets inside, we will lose him and anyone who runs for the parking lot… boom."

"He is not going to get inside." Ai shunted her feelings to the side and focused herself as she had been taught. She had a target. She had to hit said target. From how he walked, he was in armor, so a center mass shot likely would not work even with the high caliber sniper weapon. Wait… "You got AP loaded?"

"Yeah." The Viper said, calming. "Wasn't sure what we would run into and better to have it and not need it."

"Agreed. Eyes on." Ai said softly as she slowly eased her middle finger around the trigger, shifting her aim back to center mass. Her radio squealed and Whisper's voice was still hushed.

"Mayor is on the line. He says- Right! Clear to engage. Take him down!" Whisper's tone held hate and Ai agreed, but she still shunted her feelings aside as she took up all the slack on the trigger with her middle finger.

Ai did not respond. She was in the zone. The trigger broke and it was slight surprise as always but the rifle barked and the heavy penetrator slammed downrange. Ai worked the bolt with the ease of almost a decade of practice with many kinds of firearms, chambering a new round without losing her sight picture. She felt nothing but satisfaction as the distant man with the rifle took the heavy round center mass and fell. But…

"He is still moving!" Torque called. She gasped as Ai fired again. Both of them watched the mess erupt as Aim's shot hit the most vulnerable part of the human body and made the mess that high caliber armor piercing rounds did to unarmed human heads. "A headshot? Really?" Torque asked, humor finally surfacing after the sudden stress.

"I was aiming for his chest." Ai replied and Torque actually laughed.

"Don't tell anyone else." Whisper laughed a bit hysterically into their coms. "It works better when you don't explain."

"If he had a dead man's switch…" Ai started, but Torque coughed, interrupting her. "What?"

"School automation should block that even in the parking lot. Hopefully. But better send the bomb squad, Whisper." For once, Torque's voice held no snark. Simple relief at a catastrophe averted. "All this time. All this hate, war and death and crazies still try to shoot up or blow up schools. Hell, even my kind have done suicide by cop."

"We stopped him, Torque." Both members of the sniper team watched through their scopes as the school started to empty, away from the parking lot and its lethal surprise.

"And how many have we missed while we got him?" Torque asked, her tone oddly plaintive. "How many monsters in your form or mine are still walking around, planning to kill innocent people to further their political or religious agendas?" She sounded almost in tears now. "I couldn't fire! I saw the kids and I couldn't fire! If you hadn't been here…" She trailed off.

"I was here, Torque." Ai reassured the Viper. "Now buck up. Be Torque the mean, mad snake! Get year head together!" She all but snapped at the Viper who hissed at her. "I am a weapon, Torque. I was cloned, trained and equipped to be a weapon. That is all I am. All I will ever be. I hoped for something better, but it was not to be." She smiled as bright lights flashed in her view. "Ah. And here are the cops." Patrol cars and yes, the bomb squad. Good.

"Sometimes I wonder if it would be better to have armed guards in schools and such." Torque said softly, but paused when Ai scoffed. "Why not?"

"Confining children that way never helps them. Even the best of soldiers can be taken unaware, and security forces are rarely the best of soldier types, Torque. And... Kids and firearms do not mix, generally." Ai said as she watched the body on the ground and the armored police officers approaching it. "Cops, even the best equipped and trained, cannot be everywhere. They have to be lucky all the time. A criminal or nutcase only has to be lucky once. Cops have all the disadvantages of any sentient being. They can be fooled, tricked or just mess things up. But even the worst cops I have known knew the difference between a criminal and a terrorist. Very few of them would have hesitated to put themselves between that scum and that school. Many reasons, but in the end? This was a win for all of us."

Both the human and the Viper hissed as the cops finished whatever they were doing at the body and turned towards the trike. But one of the cops paused. He turned towards the tall building where the human and snake lay then held up a hand with a thumb up and nodded to them. Then he made another gesture, towards his ear.

"Whisper?" Ai asked.

"He says 'good job' and 'thanks'." Whisper said softly. "I tied him into your coms in case he needed you for something."

"Oh." Ai snorted. "Well... Sorry for the mess, guys."

"We are not, Eyes. This guy deserved far worse, targeting kids. Damn good shots." A deep voice spoke in Ai's ear. Probably the cop who waved to her and them moved towards the trike. "As you said, we cannot be everywhere. Not even Chimera can be everywhere, but this? This sends a message to all kinds of bad guys out there. 'Eyes is watching!'" He snickered as Ai groaned. "Hey, I can do worse."

"That does not surprise me, I have known bomb squad guys and your sick senses of humor." Ai shuddered in memory. More than one person snickered in her ear.

"Would it be too soon for me to ask for your number?" The cop asked and Ai scoffed. "Drat. Well, had to try."

"We have overwatch." Ai said firmly, shutting that discussion down. She had no time for relationships. She had a cult to crush.

"It is appreciated, Eyes." The cop got off the channel as he and his team went to work on the trike.

For the record, what happened in this chapter was a good thing and a FLUKE. It should not have happened. The Chimera team did not have a sniper until this story. They had no way of seeing as far as snipers can. This was a total coincidence that they were there, were set up in the right place and looking in the right direction with the right gear at the right time. That is pure fiction, having that happen. Similar things HAVE happened in real life, but are so rare as to be statistical. The nutcase had a plan, the tools and the means to carry his plan. His plan was horrific, like so many in the real world. I do not agree with a lot that of the noise that has been made about the many recent mass shootings in the US. I am very much pro-gun, but I am ALSO very much NOT in favor of having personnel with limited training carrying firearms around children. In the US or basically anywhere, that is a recipe for disaster.

I don't know what the solution is. I don't think anyone does. I DO know that locking kids up in what would amount to concentration camps, surrounded by barbed wire and towers filled with jumpy soldiers armed with heavy machine guns would be bad. Laying minefields around schools would be almost as bad. And yes, some fool suggested exactly that! He was probably being sarcastic, but these days? I dunno. I can see some of the people who are shouting on TV doing exactly that and laughing when kids blunder into the mines.

And people wonder why I lost my faith in humanity... Go figure.