Step 9.5

They do say the third time is the charm.

Things moved fast again and I was keeping up for once. Mostly. Ramius took me straight up to Piggot, where a three minute explanation seemed enough to convince her something was up.

I sat by the door with Ramius at my side and the Haros at my feet. Pink and Orange carried the evidence upstairs with us to present it to Piggot. Noa, Armsmaster, and Miss Militia showed up fast. Half a dozen others joined in, and I didn't recognize most of them. She called Calvert too but some guy named Renick came instead.

Calvert apparently considered action a forgone conclusion and went to rally the troops. Suppose that's one way of telling your boss what you think she should do. As much as he gave me the 'this-guy-is-way-too-nice' creeps, I agreed with him.

Unfortunately, things moved so fast I barely had any time to think about my sudden problem.

"His wife," Noa explained. "She accumulated a debt on sports gambling. Coil found out somehow, threatened to have her career ruined and law enforcement pointed her way."

"He offered no denial?" Ramius asked.

"No," Noa answered. "If anything, I'd say he was relieved to be caught."

Points for Jenkins, I guess. I couldn't really blame him. I spent weeks of cape life dreading what would happen if anyone got to Dad. It's easier to imagine your own suffering than the suffering of people you love. Maybe it's easier to live with too, if Jenkins is any measure.

"We should move now," I said.

Piggot frowned.

My eagerness—I didn't want to call it impatience—may have been obvious. Which did not help me with my problem that I really needed to think about.

"Newtype is right," Miss Militia agreed. "We've never had this kind of lead on Coil before. We might never have it again."

"We still don't understand his power," Noa offered.

"We can eliminate master," I pointed out. The heads in the room all turned my way, some skeptical. Others begged for explanation. "A master has no need to employ blackmail. He's a thinker or a stranger. I'd guess thinker, what with the whole 'in the shadows' feel. And of thinker powers, it's probably something similar to Accord. If he were precognitive he wouldn't be in the position he's in now, so he doesn't know we're coming."

Piggot's frown became a frowning glare. I didn't say I told her so, even though I totally told her letting moles operate with her knowledge was insane the last time we sat in a room together. It sounded mad then, it seemed more so now. Moles you know about just means there are moles you don't know about.

Told you so.

There, I thought it.

"If he killed those kids to get us to go after the Merchants, he's crossed the line," I noted. "It might not break the unwritten rules but we went right after Cranial for those deaths."

"Whether or not Newtype's broader hypothesis is correct is immaterial." I glanced at Armsmaster but kept my face forward. "We can determine the veracity of her accusation after apprehending him."

Piggot glared at him then, clearly thinking.

The room lay silent.

We needed to strike.

Jenkins gave us our in, and if we seized it now it didn't matter. An operation as secret as Coil's took structure. Organization. Planning. It could be undone if cut directly. Coil hid in shadows because a strike to the throat would kill him. We even had perfect cover at the moment. Any unusual behavior by members of the PRT, Protectorate, or me could be written off as something relating to the children, not an attack on Coil. By the time he knew he was the target it would be too late.

Figuratively and shit what am I going to tell Lafter?

I couldn't keep putting that question off. Those kids dying hit her hard. She wanted to strangle Cranial herself. I saw it in her eyes. She wanted to kill someone, and if I told her those kids died for some petty trick to use us against the Merchants? I was pissed about it, and I took it a lot easier than her the first time.

Unfortunately, things just kept moving forward.

"How?" Piggot asked.

"Jenkins has a number to call in an emergency?" I asked. "I'm sure Coil supplied his spy with some way to warn him of anything he needed to know about."

"So he says," Noa answered.

"And the PRT, Protectorate, and Celestial Being are gearing up right now to go raid Coil's base," I said. "Someone should probably warn him before he comes down with a sudden case of capes with no time to prepare."

Okay, I admit it. I enjoyed the look on Piggot's face far too much.

She was pissed. Coil got the better of her and I'm the last person she wanted to figure that out. Definitely went overboard with the smug. Might not have handled the fast moving thing as well as I first thought. I mean, I kept up but not in my best form and there's still the Lafter question.

"How?" Ramius asked. She avoided looking at Piggot, but the question was for her benefit.

"I'll plant my tracker on the phone before he makes the call," I explained. "It'll go through whatever chain Coil has set up. It'll get verified with any other moles he has in the building. Information like that has to make it back to Coil himself eventually." I admit, I was making that part up a bit as I went. "We use Vista to reach his doorstep instantly, in force. Coil won't have time to ready a response."

"She's right," Armsmaster admitted. "He has no capes. His mercenaries are well armed but will be off guard."

"But Vista?" Miss Militia asked.

"It would be a good opportunity," some young guy in a suit said. "We don't need to put her on the front line. We've already deployed her in a similar role against the Merchants. She can handle it."

"This may be the best opportunity we'll have," Noa agreed.

Nice to have everyone on the same page.

"Armsmaster." Piggot narrowed her eyes. "Do it."

That surprised me. Honestly. I expected more of a fight.

I should probably start giving Piggot some credit.

Veda got Queen and Astraea ready for transport. I told Lafter…to be ready. I hesitated, but I didn't want to tell her over the phone. I wanted to say it face to face. And buy myself more time to figure out what to fucking say.

"Miss Militia," Armsmaster called. "Brief Vista and tell the Wards they're on standby."

Miss Militia nodded.

"We'll gather the troopers on the roof," he continued. "We can use buildings as vantage points and move quickly."

"Laughter is on her way," I said. "StarGazer is prepping Astraea and Queen."

Piggot gave me only a small acknowledgment.

"Renick, get Jenkins up here. He's going to clean up his mess." Her eyes turned on Ramius. "Lieutenant, pick someone you trust. Someone you are absolutely certain isn't on Coil's payroll." Her expression softened slightly. "Evacuate Ms. Jenkins and the child. No dawdling. We can send agents to collect anything they need later."

"Ma'am," Ramius replied.

I debated if that was supposed to be punishment or trust, on Piggot's part. I leaned toward the latter, to my surprise. Ramius would go on my list of PRT agents who absolutely aren't corrupt. If I was worried about moles I didn't know about, she's someone I'd trust to handle something delicate.

I waited with Armsmaster while others started moving. Renick brought Jenkins up in a few seconds. I guessed they stashed him down the hall or something. I planted my worm on his phone and let him make the call.

"What do I say?" he asked, solemnly.

"Warn him," I said. "The worm will trace the calls and spread through the phones. And then I'll know where Coil is."

Jenkins chuckled. "Running a false false flag on the Bond villain cliche? That's funny."

He dialed the number, and I pulled up my phone.

Coil probably knew about my tracing of phones. He'd never made the mistake the other gangs did. Probably exercised much stricter control over who called who on what phones. That would beat the original worm I designed.

So I made some modifications.

"It's me," Jenkins said. Piggot, Noa, and Armsmaster watched him silently. "Something is up. Noa just sent out an email to all the squads saying we need to ready everyone for an internal inspection…I don't know that. Newtype came in a bit ago. Went right to Ramius and Ramius went right to Piggot. There was some meeting. Armsmaster and Noa were there I think."

The virus infected the phone, and ever so quietly began spreading to every number on its call history and speed dial. Only five numbers. Not many, but enough. Once the virus infected those phones, it spread to the numbers in their memory. So on, and so on.

"Coil's name came up," Jenkins continued. "Noa wants us to quietly gather up troopers for some op. I don't have the details yet…I don't know that…"

Other calls started getting made. Whoever Jenkins was talking to had people with him, or multiple phones. The location for the call went to a cafe down the block. Probably a great place to keep tabs on PRT personnel with bigger mouths and less social awareness. People who let things slip.

The calls spun a web.

"Things are moving fast here." He raised voice rose slightly. "I have to go. Noa wants everyone in briefin—" And then he was shouting. "Fuck you! You told me to use this number if anything big happened, and something big is happening. Get off my back!"

He hung up. Turning his head to Noa, he asked, "How was that?"

Noa glanced to me.

"I'm tracing it now."

I turned my phone toward them.

Coil's network was vast, spreading even outside the city limits. Dozens of dots marked the screen as Veda traced calls and phones across the city. A few ended up being dead ends. Private phones of people likely uninvolved in anything. She deleted the virus and left them be. The dots that remained began concentrating at various locations. Veda used lines to trace the calls as they were made, showing the flow of information through the network of connected phone numbers.

"This network appears extensive," Armsmaster noted. "Far more so than Coil's means to this point would suggest."

"He probably runs a lot through legitimate businesses," I proposed. "Or even has fully legitimate businesses. A thinker can do a lot without breaking any laws."

Still. I counted the fronts as they appeared, and noted their positions. Lots of basements. If they were anything like the gas station they didn't do a lot of business. How was he paying for all of it? Laundering I guessed, but man would he need to launder a lot of money to maintain so much.

Laundering is an inverse like that.

The more fronts you make to launder, the easier it is to spread things out and go unnoticed but the less money you actually make. At least, that's what I managed to work out. Maybe I needed to brush up on my laundering one-oh-one.

The spider web drew itself. Calls got made around to various periphery locations. A few came right into the PRT building. Piggot frowned when that happened. I kept my mouth shut. No need to keep tempting fate.

We both knew who was right.

Eventually, the calls started converging. They traveled through the web toward a central point. One that I found disturbingly close.

"That's impossible," Piggot mused.

"What?" I asked. "That Coil is operating out of a building two blocks down with a cliche Bond villain secret base?"

I kind of raised my brow when Jenkins said it.

Veda mapped the calls and triangulated the position of the phones. They went underground, and I could almost make out the shape of rooms and halls. Coil would need a lot of equipment for things to light up like that, and no way he had multiple locations with that amount of gear.

It took a few minutes, but we had him.

That's it.

"That's a decommissioned Endbringer shelter," Armsmaster stated. "It was closed down due to faulty construction in 2005 and sealed."

I raised my brow at that. "By who?"

"I'd have to check the records, but it would be an ideal location. The shelter would have access to the parking garages under the Hallmark Building. It's a large complex. Coil's men could easily come and go unnoticed."

"And I imagine an Endbringer shelter is defensible," I guessed.

"Very," Piggot replied.

I glanced at the map. "Bright side. Plant Vista on top of this building here"—I pointed at a tower between the PRT building and the Hallmark Building above Coil's base—"and she can get everyone right into the garage. If we move now, Coil will be caught completely off guard."

"Director?" Armsmaster asked. "This opportunity will not come again."

"I'm aware," Piggot grumbled. "I already said do it. I'll handle the logistics. We don't have time for anything fancy."

Armsmaster and I left.

sys.t/ take it

With those words Veda cut through Coil's defenses. I didn't care who he bought his cyber-security from. When it came to computers Veda was queen.

sys.v/ I will assess the structure

sys.v/ one moment please

Despite the situation, the PRT building seemed pretty tame. At least on the upper floors. None of that panicked ferrying about I'd seen when I first entered. People went about office work, talked at the water cooler, and planned their lunches. They noticed Armsmaster and I walking to the elevator, but I imagined they saw capes all the time. Our presence alone probably didn't raise any red flags.

We got into the elevator, and I checked on preparations. Veda flew Astraea and Queen low through the streets. It would hit PHO soon, but Coil wouldn't know about it until it did. Probably enhanced the narrative we spun that an attack was imminent if Coil noticed it.

It wouldn't save him.

Nothing could prepare him for an attack in a matter of minutes right on his doorstep.

"StarGazer is analyzing the information she's getting in the shelter," I explained. "She's accessed his computers and"—I raised my brow at her latest update—"disabled some kind of self-destruct device. It might still have a manual trigger, though."

"Is the device a threat to the public?" Armsmaster asked.

"I don't know. The trigger was digital, so StarGazer can see it. The actual bombs are not and she can't tell how they're distributed. She's accessing the security cameras. Let me talk to Forecast for a second."

Armsmaster glanced down. "Can StarGazer tell what kind of personnel are present?"

"At least forty persons within the facility," she revealed. "The camera coverage is quite robust. About two dozen are currently armed with tinker-tech weapons of the same make identified by Newtype last night."

Armsmaster nodded.

The elevator opened, and we stepped onto the roof.

I let Veda take over the explaining and called Dinah. I didn't have a lot of time, so I started by asking three basic questions. What happens if the PRT, Protectorate, and Celestial Being assault Coil's shelter? What happens if Coil is captured? What happens if Coil slips out of the shelter?

I wanted to ask another question, but I hesitated.

PRT troopers stood in lines. Forty or so of them. They carried confoam launchers, shotguns, and a few rifles. They waited in some kind of formation just off of the building's helipad. Noa and Miss Militia gathered with a group of them—lieutenants I guessed—directing the armored men and women.

Vista stood stiffly at Miss Militia's side.

"Militia," Armsmaster called.

"Armsmaster." She turned to him and nodded. "We're ready."

He nodded and looked at me.

"Forecast is giving me the answers. Three minutes."

Dinah wrote them out and showed the pad to Green. Veda then transferred the text to me.

"Coil's men are going to fight," I assumed. "No possibility of surrender. Coil succeeds in destroying the shelter in one of twenty possibilities."

"I believe I have located the primary explosives," Veda said.

She streamed an image to my visor. A single room with only one device inside. The camera didn't have the best view, but it was angled well enough. I could make out all the component parts and the layout of the wiring.

"They can be manually disarmed," I pointed out. "It's not a complex device. One of the Haros could do it."

"Ready, ready!" Pink jumped up beside me. "Ready, ready."

"I have disabled other sources of security," Veda confirmed. "I do not have full control, but I believe they remain unaware of my presence. There are currently forty personnel within. Two dozen are armed."

"Do you see Coil?" Armsmaster asked.

"I do."

Another video stream. Coil, in his black and white costume typing away at a computer and managing multiple phones.

Trying to figure out what's going on?

"We have him," I called. "Forecast says he runs. Some kind of escape route in the shelter that leads out onto the street."

And thinking of, that's not a standard Endbringer shelter feature…It can't be.

"I can wrap the street on itself," Vista suggested. "Would that work?"

"Yes," I answered. "We'd need to clear it first."

"We can take care of that," Armsmaster proposed.

"Then we'll flush him out and grab him. And now I really need to think of how I'm going to handle Lafter.

Armsmaster turned to the troopers.

"Our apologies for the suddenness of this operation," he started. "We are seizing an opportunity presented by a revelation of new information. We have located Coil's primary base and intend to assault it in conjunction with Celestial Being."

My heart picked up a bit.

I honestly thought I'd had my last moment of nerdy embarrassment ages ago, but I guess not.

The PRT and Protectorate in conjunction with Celestial Being. Damn. I'd done it before, but no one in Boston gave any speeches or said it out loud. I certainly never idolized any of the heroes there like I did Armsmaster and Miss Militia. How many times did I dream of this as a kid? How many times did Emma and I play it out as girls?

Heroes beside our heroes.

The wind tossed my hair about and I turned. Queen and Astraea landed side by side on the roof, the Haros—minus Green—flying up beside them. Navy and Red carried Pink and Orange's cradles between them, and the two Haros quickly rolled in and took to the air.

Astraea crouched to a kneel in front of me.

The head pulled back and the chest opened, spilling Lafter somewhat embarrassingly onto the ground.

"Ow," she exclaimed as her hip hit the ground. She rolled onto her back and looked up at me. "Well…I got the landing right. Right?"

"You did." And what am I going to tell you about this…

"Coil is aware we are coming," Armsmaster continued without stopping for a moment. "However, he cannot feasibly prepare for this assault before we have launched it. We will be deploying Vista to allow us to rapidly assault the facility. It is an old Endbringer shelter under the Hallmark Building. This plays to our advantage, as we are all well aware of the standard construction design of these shelters."

I kept my focus on Lafter while he spoke.

I need to deal with this.

I helped Lafter up and pulled her behind Astraea.

She glanced over her shoulder at the troopers, muttering, "Boys with toys, I like it."

"Lafter…"

"Hmm?" She turned to look at me. "What?"

I hated myself for contemplating not telling her. I didn't convince Lafter to join me by lying, I did it by telling the truth. The whole truth. Yet, I remembered the anger and intent I saw in her when those kids died. She'd have killed Cranial herself if Eidolon didn't do it.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

And fuck it. Lafter never patronized me. She teased and goaded and pushed me out of my comfort zone, but not once did I ever feel disrespected. Lafter did the one thing no stranger had done for me in years. She treated me as an equal. Not as a daughter, a creator or a safety net. Dad, Dinah, and Veda had obvious reasons to support me. To stand by me.

Lafter joined me completely by her own choice. After years of my life being torn down, Lafter was my first unconditional…friend. The first in years. Which is a weird thing to think about when you never really hang out outside of work or go out and do things together that don't involve hitting. Actually, it occurred that outside of some RPG sessions that happened only sporadically, Lafter and I never did much together that wasn't cape related. And she spent a lot of that time propping me up when I was in my moods or struggling with something. I was a bad friend…

Well. Decision made.

"Just, don't do anything reckless," I begged. "Please?"

Lafter grinned. "Moi? Reckless? Why I never in m—"

"Cranial didn't kill those kids," I said. Maybe, unceremoniously. But how the hell do you say something like that? "Coil did it."

She stiffened.

Lafter walking into the building probably wasn't the plan. If Coil supplied the equipment, he probably planned to offer his 'help' in hiding the bodies. It's what I'd do if I were a monster of a human being manipulating everyone around me. We'd have found those kids dead no matter what. Lafter's presence merely sped things along.

"He framed Cranial," I continued. "Sabotaged her equipment, I think. He wanted to use her to get the heroes to bring down the Merchants so he killed those kids to draw attention to her presence and force the PRT into action."

I watched Lafter.

"Well," she mumbled. "Glad we figured that out." She turned her back to me. "Don't worry. I'm over it. I'll be fine."

Fuck.

New problem.

"Lafter—"

"Fine," she repeated.

Liar.

"Lafter—"

"What? Worried I'm gonna lose it?"

Yes. It didn't help that I could envision Lafter killing someone. That night with Cranial, she looked like she wanted to kill someone. It clashed a lot with her happy-go-lucky attitude most of the time, but I still couldn't shake the image…

I shook my head.

"No. No, I don't think you're going to lose it. I know you like a fight Lafter, and I know you like visiting on people what you think they deserve"—And I know you know where the line is—"and I know you don't think about things the same way I do. But I know you don't want to be what's wrong with the world." I looked at the back of her head, mind made up. "Which is why I'm telling you where you want to be when this happens."

Lafter turned back toward me, a look of surprise in her eyes.

I sent her the position and walked around to Astraea's front. I climbed into my suit and closed the chest around me. I relaxed into the seat and racked my fingers against the controls. I positioned the Haros quickly. I positioned Navy and Orange in the air to watch the street, and readied Pink and Red to follow the troopers in. I kept Purple by Lafter.

"I do not understand," Veda said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "The PRT bungled this big time not noticing Coil running a secret base right down the block."

"I meant Lafter."

Oh right that.

I watched Lafter's form on the rear cameras. Maybe she forgot, but I remembered what she said our first night out as a team. And I've seen what people are in the dark. They don't change. Coil played right into that for her. She still joined up with me, not just as a cape but someone I could trust outside of our masks.

If I can trust a bunch of ex-Merchants and Charlotte and Miss Militia…I can trust Lafter.

I tightened my grip on the controls.

I'd be lying if I said I was sure. Kind of surprised I talked myself into it. If Lafter was the kind of person who'd cave so easily, then it wouldn't work out. But she wouldn't cave. Lafter knew where the line was. She'd never once hurt anyone so badly it was unwarranted, and plenty of those people deserved it.

I don't need to be deathly afraid of being let down anymore. I can handle my own problems.

"There's a point in all of this where you have to start believing in people," I admitted. And Lafter needs that. "If people don't believe in themselves and each other, then nothing will ever change. So I'm going to believe." There's no point if I don't.

Armsmaster had apparently finished his speech. I did not hear the end of it, but it couldn't have been too bad. The Troopers looked ready to go.

"Dauntless is ready," Miss Militia said. "Stratos, Prism, and Triumph are across the street in an unmarked van."

Pretty good for only having—I checked the time and tried to count back—sixteen-ish minutes.

Armsmaster nodded. He glanced over his shoulder for a moment, and then looked at me.

"She's your responsibility," he warned.

Obviousmaster.

I didn't give him a response.

I checked the camera feeds inside Coil's base. Guys in gear moved in groups down halls. They had their own garage, and seemed to be getting ready to go somewhere. Coil was packing some kind of box in his office.

"They're getting ready to move," I noted. "We need to go. Now."

"Vista," Armsmaster ordered.

"I know." She turned toward the rooftop I'd picked out, on our right.

I rose into the air as the roof began to warp in the distance. The edge stretched out, reaching through the air until it met the top of the PRT building. As I rose up it gave me a small headache looking at it. Like part of my brain knew the roof wasn't really where my eyes said it was, and yet it clearly was, stretched like some kind of visual glitch on a computer screen.

Vista took the first step forward. Armsmaster and Miss Militia followed her, and then the troopers. In the distance, I saw Dauntless shoot off the helipad on the Rig.

I noticed a shift in Coil's goons. They all stopped for a moment and looked around.

"They know," I said.

"They are initiating a lockdown," Veda revealed.

The PRT and Protectorate were already on the roof, and Vista was stretching it out to reach the street below. I noticed all the lights around the block were red, preventing cars from crossing into it. Pedestrian lights too, with a crowd of people impatiently looking around on opposing corners.

I guess Piggot is okay with manipulating traffic cameras when she's doing it.

"Are they going to notice you?" I asked.

"Likely," Veda responded. "There is already someone looking through the system."

The troopers were marching in toward the street. Vista remained behind, with a trio of them standing around her.

Queen hovered at my side. Lafter walked between two lines of troopers just behind Miss Militia.

"Armsmaster," I called. "StarGazer and I will break the door in."

"I can open the door," Veda pointed out.

"I mean figuratively."

I pushed the throttle forward.

"We'll get the mercs looking the other way! Come up behind them and wrap it up!"

"Very well," was the only response I got.

Well, he couldn't stop me.

I flipped Astraea into a dive over the roof and shot down to the street. I swung the legs forward at the last second, just missing the pavement and shot down the ramp leading into the garage. The troopers and Armsmaster touched the ground just behind me, and Queen flew around them.

The secret entrance was both well and poorly hidden. Just a big gate that said 'private' on it.

"Open it," I said.

The gate lifted in front of me.

I forced my way through, crumpling the bottom half of the gate with a loud bang. Raising my shield up, I forced my way in, pushing the top of the gate away as I took my first step in Coil's cliche.

"Knock knock," I quipped.

The men on the other side looked very confused, but to my surprise, almost none of them missed a beat. They pointed their guns at me and fired as their feet started backpedaling. I brought my shield in front of my chest as beams of red cut into the air. The Fangs shot past me, the dagger shaped drones spinning about and firing into the men. They still kept their focus, beams targeted at Astraea even as their friends started hitting the ground.

A few hit, and little pops riddled the armor plating. I ignored the warning lights and charged, flying straight into the line and knocking some of them over.

"Pink!" I shouted. She followed after me, flying behind Astraea as I reached the end of the hall and a T intersection. "I'll make sure the bombs are disarmed. StarGazer, secure Coil's computers and pin Coil if you can."

I turned Astraea left and Queen turned right. As we went our separate ways, the mercenaries started to chase. Gunfire erupted behind them as Miss Militia and the troopers charged. Armsmaster walked casually among them as they forced their way through.

The com ignited with shouting and orders.

"Prism right," Armsmaster ordered. "Stratos left. Triumph, secure the garage and exterior areas."

"Troopers into teams of six," Noa followed.

"We have noncombatants," Militia called.

"Detain them," Armsmaster said.

Gun and laser fire started to echo in the halls.

Lafter hung outside with a few other troopers. A van pulled up just before Vista twisted the street in on itself. Stratos, Prism, and Triumph piled out. The latter two went straight for the garage, while Stratos glanced at Lafter for a moment.

She walked down the street, following a line of PRT troopers setting up a perimeter.

I didn't get any time to watch her, and it would defeat the purpose if I did.

She's a big girl.

The interior of the shelter was kind of like a honeycomb. Rooms and chambers connected to one another with short hallways with heavy doors. I kept my speed down, just a little faster than a run. Astraea fit in the hallways and through the doors, but barely. Any faster and I'd start bouncing around like a badly shaped pinball. Some doors started to close, but Veda overrode the lockdown. She forced them open for the PRT and Protectorate to charge in unimpeded.

That only seemed to increase the merc's confusion as doors came open and troopers spilled into rooms they thought safe. Three stepped out into the hall ahead of me.

I hit the first with my shoulder and threw an armored fist into the second's chest. The third got his gun up, but I pressed my shield into him and pushed until his body got pressed between Astraea and the wall. I pressed until his weapon fell from his grip and threw him down the hall behind me.

Pink dodged the guy as he tumbled through the air and kept right behind me as I continued down the hall. Veda highlighted the door I wanted, and I accelerated. Astraea slammed into the door frame at maximum speed. My body rattled on impact, but the door seemed to not care about a giant robot smashing into it.

"Reinforced," Pink repeated, "reinforced."

I stepped back. The hall didn't give me room to swing, but I didn't need to.

The GN blade flipped forward on my arm, and the blade ignited. I stabbed it into the door, forcing the point through the metal. I cut up and to the left, fighting the controls as the servos strained. Coil shelled out the cash for some serious fucking doors. I needed nearly half a minute to wedge the metal open enough for Pink to jump through.

I turned and opened fire. My pistols swept the hallway with GN particles as another trio of men advanced toward me. They didn't get far. One took a shot to the chest, and while he seemed ready to keep going a slurry of foam sprayed onto him. PRT troopers charged into the hall, followed by Prism.

She continued behind the troopers as they advanced, another coming up behind her and stopping.

The clone glanced my way, calling, "The bombs?"

"Pink has it." I set Astraea into a crouch. "Keep going."

I assessed the assault through the cameras. The PRT troopers broke up into groups, a half dozen with each Protectorate member. Another dozen formed a cordon around the building, with more arriving on foot from the PRT building. Vista stayed on the roof, warping space to let everyone get into position.

Lafter stood quietly at the entrance of an alley.

Queen entered a large room leading to Coil's office. A surprisingly large room. Big vaulted ceiling with indents in the wall on two different tiers. Each looked big enough for a tank, but they were empty. That was weird. I spotted an elevator as Veda guided Queen into the room. What was he stashing in here?

The Fangs made short work of two men with handguns and a mercenary with a rifle. Queen stood in front of a large circular door, a big one like they have in a bank.

Coil was on the other side.

"Pink?" I called.

"Disarmed," she said. "Disarmed."

She jumped back through the hole and rolled into her cradle.

"Stay here and make sure no one rearms them," I ordered.

"Okay, okay."

The base fell in minutes. Mercenaries with tinker-tech weapons and armor weren't enough to stop the entire Protectorate team and dozens of troopers. A few men used various routes to try and escape, only to be cornered by Vista and yet more troopers outside.

I flew through the complex and met Veda and Armsmaster by the vault door, converging with other groups inside the large room.

"Coil's on the other side," I noted. He cowered behind his desk, a gun in his hand and a phone in the other. He occasionally tried typing something into the computer and when that didn't work he shot it. "And I needed a while to get a much smaller door than this open."

Inside, Coil turned to the cameras and shot that too.

"He's going to run," I said.

"Allow me." Stratos walked up behind us and raised his hand. "Open says me."

A black sphere ensnared the metal, and a pop of air rushed through the room. The Fangs shot through the opening, flying down a narrow hall and firing into the door at the end. Stratos used his power again, and I flew through the opening with Armsmaster and Miss Militia behind me. The door at the end of the hall gave way when I slammed Astraea into it. The steel shot back, skidding across the concrete floor and slamming into the wall behind Coil's desk.

Something exploded. The fire and shrapnel clattered across Astraea's armor. I threw a foot back and kept my suit upright, shield rising too late to matter.

"Coil!" Armsmaster shouted as he followed behind me. "You're—"

He stopped and stepped forward. Miss Militia came in behind him, the shotgun in her hands sweeping the room. The smoke in the room cleared slowly. The ruins of Coil's desk and computer lay about the room. Black scarred the walls and floor, scores cut into the concrete by the blast.

I didn't see a body.

"Where is he?" Armsmaster asked.

"I don't know." I kept Astraea's head forward, but my eyes fixed on a section of the wall. "He's not on any of the cameras anymore. Forecast said he slips out through tunnels. There's probably a door hidden in here, but I don't see it."

"Sweep the facility," Miss Militia shouted. "Secure the exits. Are we evacuating the tower above?"

"Yes ma'am," Noa said.

Armsmaster started searching the room, tapping his halberd against the wall. I poked around the room with Astraea's foot. The computer components didn't look like tinker-tech, destroyed as they were.

Probably no chance of getting any data off of it.

Shame.

"StarGazer," I called. "how much of the system do you have?"

"I have partial control," she answered. "A system purge was initiated a few minutes before I gained access. It is hardwired. I cannot stop it remotely."

"Where's the server room?"

I flew back out of the room, only noticing the black scarring on Astraea's armor once I got out of the smoke filled room. It might have been a conventional explosive, but it sure hit hard. If I hadn't gone in first I suspect Armsmaster might have gotten shredded.

I left the PRT and Protectorate to sweep the building.

I didn't worry about Coil. His fate was sealed, but the data in his system might be of use. His operations and connections had to extend outside the city to support an operation of this size. I wanted to know who and how, and where any of his crap might still be lingering.

And that's where I'll find proof Coil killed those kids.

Not sure if I should care about that. Cranial was no saint…But if Coil did it, didn't that matter? It meant that whatever her sins Cranial never killed a child. Coil did.

Yeah. That matters.

Coil kept his servers in one of the corner chambers of the shelter. A few PRT were already there, guarding a pair of mercs and a half dozen men and women in more casual clothing. I crouched Astraea and stepped out onto the floor.

"Everything okay?" one of the troopers asked.

"Fine," I replied. Red flew into the room and landed his cradle. I took it as a good sign. If he showed up, then there weren't any injuries to deal with. "Just making sure we get as much of Coil's toys as we can."

I paused for a moment, making like I was examining the room.

Coil got to Jenkins. I imagine Noa only brought out the troopers he trusted for this, but I didn't need any of them shooting me in the back.

"Who are they?" I asked, nodding toward the people in jeans and collared shirts.

"You know," one of the troopers answered. "They just work here."

Red rolled between the servers, opening panels and looking at wires. There were a lot of them. A hardwired data wipe was probably tinker-tech, and I'd need time to find it and turn it off. If someone happened to know where an off switch was, I wanted it.

"Do any of them know how to stop Coil's system from deleting itself?" I looked them over one by one, but kept my eyes on the troopers. "Cause if someone wants to save me some time, I'm all for it."

"Um."

One of them, a woman, raised her head. One of the men, an old balding guy with chubby cheeks glared at her. I stepped between them and turned to face her.

"I'm listening." When she didn't speak, I added, "Coil is done. If I were you, I'd start wondering what looks good before a judge."

The woman raised her head. "Uh, can I get up?"

I started to move, but the troopers stopped me.

"Sorry," the first said. "Lots of paperwork involved with mishandled prisoners."

"Let us," another offered.

I kept a close eye on both of them, and fuck Coil for that because they didn't do anything nefarious.

One trooper stepped forward and pulled the woman up. She was zip tied good. Another used a knife to cut her ankles free. He stayed behind the woman as she guided us through the server towers.

"This one." She indicated which with a nod. "It's on the underside."

I crouched down, and then crawled onto my stomach. Red rolled beside my head, and we both looked at the small black box plugged into the server.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," the woman pleaded. "We were just told to turn it on if anything happened."

I reached out carefully and tested the wires. I couldn't tell how it worked or what it was supposed to do, but it didn't seem particularly dangerous. So, I yanked the wires.

"StarGazer?"

"The wipe has ceased. I have complete control of the shelter."

"Good." I climbed out from under the server and sat up. "Problem solved. Red, keep an eye on things here."

"Okay, okay."

I got to my feet and climbed back into Astraea.

I didn't hear any gunfire, or shouting anymore. The chatter on the com was still tense, but calmer. Troopers moved prisoners, swept rooms, and searched for Coil.

"We may need to search the building above," Armsmaster said. "Detain civilians for screening. Coil may attempt to slip out among them." Guess he didn't find the door.

"I wouldn't bother," Vista replied. "I see him."

Militia asked, "Where?"

"On the ground getting hit in the face."

I guided Astraea out the way I came in. Needed to slow down as I got to the entrance. Troopers and EMTs crowded, groups of people in zip ties and cuffs being escorted out of the shelter.

Vista was on the street when I arrived, standing beside Lafter at the mouth of the alley. Looking past them, I saw an open door in the narrow corridor. Coil's 'secret exit.' Maybe an entrance too, since it went right to his office. One of a few, actually, but the one Forecast saw him using the most. It was right behind the only high-end Asian restaurant in Downtown, so pretty easy to spot once I got the description.

Coil was on his knees arms wrenched back and his head hanging from his shoulders. Troopers were already closing in as they held him on the street, and I saw Triumph coming up behind me.

I swallowed as I set Astraea down.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He resisted," Lafter replied coldly.

That did not encourage me. I saw the red on the costume. Around the mouth and the shoulder where a bone looked like it was out of position.

"He's alive," Vista said. She raised her hand, a gun between her fingers. "Tried to pull his weapon."

A trooper moved forward fast and took it from her. Vista looked a little indignant, but said nothing.

Triumph got up to us, asking, "Coil?"

"Yeah." Lafter stepped back, and the troopers on either side of her took him.

I ignored the cape, watching Lafter's face. "You okay?"

She turned to face me, a big smile on her face. "Why wouldn't I be?" There was a bruise on her cheek.

I smiled. "Because you punch first and ask later."

The troopers tied Coil's hands behind his back and hoisted him to his feet. Armored vans started rolling onto the street, and Vista released her power over much of it.

"You got him," I said.

Lafter shrugged. "Glass jaw."

"He was about to shoot you," Vista pointed out. "You'd already hit him five times."

"I find punching very therapeutic."

"He was about to shoot you," Vista reiterated.

"He was about to try," Lafter smiled.

"You were zero feet in front of him!"

"And I wished him all the luck in the world."

Well, she seemed okay.

I took some time to double check everything while prisoners were handled. Coil was properly restrained and searched for any additional weapons, and Armsmaster eventually joined us on the street. His armor looked a little pockmarked, but he didn't appear injured.

Might call that a metaphor for the whole thing. Coil's operations collapsed within the grand span of forty-one minutes, only twelve of them spent assaulting his secret base. I thought taking out Damsel was easy, and while it took less time bringing Coil down felt downright anti-climatic.

Maybe I just felt sour. We caught Coil, and I was glad for that. I was less glad for what came next.

Lung will do something now.

"Good work."

I turned, watching Calvert walking up with armed guards beside him.

"Deputy Director?" Triumph asked. "Should you be—"

"Coil has been giving us the slip for far too long. Calvert glanced at Coil as the man was hauled toward a van and nodded. "And frankly, I've never gotten to see a super villain get dragged away before. Usually they're just dropped in the cells and I sign some papers. Casualties?"

"Two of the mercs," Triumph answered. "Their weapons misfired and exploded. Other than that, they were caught completely off guard. No casualties reported on our end."

Calvert smiled.

"Then it has been a very good day."