Arienne finally tore herself away from the hypnotic rhythm.

"Why Father Tres," Arienne said with a rare hint of playfulness, "I do believe you have a he-"

Arienne's mouth was held fast by the android's thumb, the rest of his hand cupped her jaw. The intensity of his stare was startling, she thought for a second he would snap her neck. Then she realized - he was listening.

"Tres?"

"Three Vatican combat units are in the immediate vicinity. One unit has separated and blocked off all known exit points to the hotel. The other two will breach the room in 30 seconds. The Department of Inquisition has set up artillery combat units on the west and east ends of the block. Any attempt by us to escape will result in a 98.4% chance of failure."

Arienne stepped back, angrily knocking his hand off her face. "This is not the way it's supposed to be," she hissed. "How did they track you so quickly. It's him isn't it? How is it the Vatican allows that crusnik to command an army of -"

"Father Nightroad...he is here?" Tres interuppted.

"Do you know what he's done, Tres? Do you have any idea?"

"He does not command these men, Arienne."

"He's killed." Arienne's voice was shrill, edged with lunacy. "Killed so many people that we couldn't...couldn't bury all the bodies. Oh god, they were rotting in the stre- "

Tres grabbed Arienne and gently but purposefully pulled her hair back so that she was forced to stare him in the eye. She was caught halfway between terror and fury.

"Arienne listen to me. The Vatican is highly fractured. Abel Nightroad is not your enemy. I do not know how the Department found us so quickly. I cannot guarantee what will happen if you are captured by them. Listen to me: I can help you escape but you have to trust me."

Arienne stared at Tres, wondering if the artificial intelligence program was truly working. Last night, when she had fallen asleep next to him, she only thought of him as an inanimate object - a means to an end. And now he seemed so convincing as a human. But the programming...she hadn't had time to check it. He could have somehow overwritten her instructions.

"10 seconds Arienne."

The men had reached their floor. Arienne could feel the heavy vibration of their booted footfalls as they approached the door. Her mouth went dry. Her fate had been flying towards her at full speed and she never saw it coming until now. There had never really been a choice.

"Tres. I'll do whatever it takes, please...just help me."

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The unit commander of Vatican Unit: Archos Three led his team up the west stairwell, arriving on the 5th floor of the hotel slightly ahead of the other unit. The hall was rank, smelling strongly of mildew with a hint of dead rat.

Of all of Cardinal Sforza's AX agents, Father Tres Iqus was the last that he wanted to face in combat. It was well known that in close combat the priest had a 92% kill rate against Methuselah, and a bone chilling 98% kill rate against armed humans. Even without the huge Jericho's he usually had on him, the average survival rate was not much better. The difference between life and death for the men under his command tonight depended whether or not Tres' defenses switched to genocide mode during their ambush. If that terrorist woman had reprogrammed him to turn on the Vatican, there would be no telling what would happen when they entered that room. Outside were heavy artillery backup units though, and in the end he was sure that the evening would end in the terrorist's capture. More than anything he wanted to be part of that success, to serve His Holiness in some small way.

A glance at the door confirmed that it would be down on impact from the battering ram. Positioning himself ahead of both units, he signaled the go ahead. The commander was prepared for a number of scenarios, from a suicide attack to a hostage situation. He was, however, completely unprepared for what he actually saw.

On the other side of the room door, he found Father Tres hurling the Albion lieutenant out the hotel room window.

She hit the pane with explosive force, breaking it and sending an arcing rain of glass out over the concrete below. The power of the android's throw was enough to send the woman hurtling the 50 odd feet to reach the roof of the 3-story building opposite the hotel. The commander ran to the window, semi-automatic in hand. Behind him he heard the pained yelps of his men punctuated with occasional gunfire, but the sound of their pummeling didn't phase him - he had a mission. The objective of the three combat units had been to capture the woman alive. His only hope now was to disable her with a non-lethal shot to one of her legs, that is, if the landing didn't kill her first. The woman hit the roof with a skull cracking thud and rolled 3 or 4 times before she stopped. Getting to her feet she began a jerky limp away from the hotel, trying to make an escape to the relative safety of the next street over.

He raised his gun and took aim about a quarter second before meeting total darkness.

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