The time for talking was over. Now was the time for action. Sierra and Ms. Masterson climbed up the stairwell into the offices behind the lobby. They knew they'd be surrounded by enemies the moment they stepped out, so their plan was to cause as much chaos on the ground floor as possible and then dash up the main stairwell before they knew what was happening. There were about four standing guard in the lobby itself, plus about a dozen more at the loading gate helping move supplies into the building. Ms. Masterson was sure they'd leave at least a squad guarding the band upstairs. Which left only one squad of mercs potentially unaccounted for that they might have to fight through on their way up. With any luck, they'd miss them too.

Once they found the Drama Brothers, they're escape plan was simple. Enemy reinforcements would come in from below. To avoid them, they'd take the fire escape down the side and take the back alley route back to where Sierra had parked her SUV. Hopefully, they'd be able to get through this with minimal risk. Sierra was totally ready to kill for her Codykins, but avoiding as many fights as possible put him in less danger. It was simple math really.

"You ready?" Ms. Masterson asked as she pulled a grenade out of her pouch, crouching behind the door into the lobby.

"As I'll ever be." Sierra said.

"On three, we toss. Got it?"

Sierra nodded.

"One."

She pulled the pin out.

"Two."

She unlatched the door with her other hand.

"Three!"

Masterson kicked the door open. She tossed her grenade into the lobby. Sierra threw hers into the loading dock. Three seconds of cooking gave the mercs no time to react, the grenades exploded nearly the instant they landed. Two loud bands in rapid succession were followed by screams and carnage.

"Okay go!" Masterson said.

They rushed through the lobby to the main stairs. Anyone who could still stick their heads up after the grenade blasts received a volley of fire from Sierra. One survivor rolled onto his back and fired several rounds up at Masterson. She staggered, her vest catching the rounds, and she blasted him in the face with a shotgun for his troubles.

In the loading dock, confusion swirled the as the remaining mercs picked themselves up and tried to get a bearing on where the attack had came from.

"Victor Leader and Victor 6 are down! Victory squad, confirm status!"

"Victor 2 and 3 accounted for, where the hell did that come from?"

"Shit, someone's firing at us!"

"Where'd they come from?"

"That shot came from inside! Search the building!"

The girls however, were already well ahead of them, climbing up the stairwell as fast as they dared. They'd climbed four floors and had three to go until they reached the top, when the sound of several pairs of boots thumping down the stairs made them stop.

"We've got hostiles on the first floor, moving to engage!"

"Go go go!"

Thinking fast, Sierra kicked down the door to the next floor they reached, just before the mercs rounded the corner. They found themselves on the floor of a very, very generic mid-70s style office, with rows of cubicles stretching from one corner of the room to the other, and individual offices for managers facing the windows. The two girls ducked into the nearest cubicle, and hoped they hadn't been seen.

"Shit, think I saw movement! I'm checking it out, cover me!"

It was too much to hope for. The sound of at least four or five pairs of boots all thundering towards their location got louder and louder each second.

Masterson waited until he passed by their cubicle and could see his legs, then blew one of them off with her shotgun. As he went down in front of him, Sierra finished him off with a burst from her submachine gun.

"Shit, there they are! Get em!"

Seconds after their comrade fell one of the mercs tossed a grenade into the cubicle. Sierra and Masterson jumped out as fast as they could and took cover in the next one over. Paperwork and drywall went flying everywhere in a dusty cloud as the grenade exploded.

"You find a way out of here, I'll hold them off!" Masterson barked.

She fired off several rounds from her shotgun and tossed a grenade to scatter them, so that Sierra could dash from cover and start combing the office for some kind of alternate exit that wasn't blocked off by a bunch of guys. Seeing her break cover, it finally dawned on the mercs that she was wearing one of their own uniforms.

"Be advised, hostiles are in friendly gear! I repeat, hostiles are in Viper uniforms!"

Meanwhile Sierra had made it to the opposite side of the office and found an elevator. Ducking low and moving fast, she fired quick bursts from her MP5 to cover her movement as she got back to Ms. Masterson to deliver the news. Masterson herself had fallen back from her position as the mercs continually encroached on her. One was dead and she'd managed to wound a second, but the three remaining men continually attacked. They were wary of her after that first kill, probably the only reason they didn't bum rush her right away. That would only last so long.

"I found the elevator, let's go!" Sierra said, popping out her empty magazine and slamming in a fresh one.

"Sounds like a plan!" She replied.

The two tossed out grenades to cover their retreat, forcing the mercs to dive for cover while they ran. They'd made it to the elevator, and just as Masterson was about to press the button, the light came on and there was a ding.

She turned to Sierra. "Shit, we've got more of them!"

Realizing what was likely behind those elevator doors, Sierra had a split second to think of something before they were pinned between the two squads and cut to ribbons.

"Turn around and follow my lead!"

Instinctively, Masterson followed the directions, and together she crouched in front of the elevator with Sierra, their backs turned towards it. The door opened a few seconds later and they could hear the boots of soldiers filing out of it. Sierra took a deep breath. This trick had better work.

"Look, there they are! Open fire!" She pointed at the other mercs, calling out in her best man-voice.

The mercs, who had arrived expecting to see their enemies wearing their own uniforms, fell for the bait. Without thinking they cut loose with their weapons, shooting at the very same people that had called them up for reinforcements in the first place.

While this invoked fratricide continued, Sierra and Masterson slipped behind them and into the elevator, shutting the door behind them before anyone had any idea what they'd just pulled off. They finally had a minute to breath.

"Holy shit, I can't believe that worked." Masterson laughed breathlessly.

"We were so dead." Sierra panted.

"But we aren't." Masterson said. "Thanks to you. You're something else."

"I already told you silly. I'm their number one fan."

"You weren't kidding. Everyone says that you know, I've met so many people saying they were the band's number one fan I think I lost count."

"Posers. All of them are posers. They don't know them like I do."

The elevator dinged as it reached the top floor.

"Let's go."

The door opened into a massive penthouse office suite, with a very open layout. Jen dropped the four guards left behind with four rapidly placed shots, while Sierra threw her second-to-last grenade into the elevator to disable it as the doors closed. Anyone following them would have to take the stairs.

Much to their surprise, the Drama brothers weren't tied up, bound and gagged or anything like that. Instead they were lounging on the couches, in relative luxury. Well, nobody said that boy bands were exactly difficult prisoners. While Sierra ran to check on them, Masterson occupied herself barricading the door to the stairwell with anything she could find not nailed down.

"What's going on? Who the hell are you?" Trent asked.

"You aren't going to shoot me in a way that will make me look unflattering at my funeral attended by millions, are you?" Justin said.

"W-what just happened? Y-you're not here to purge us are you?" Cody stammered

"Codykins, it's me, remember?" Sierra said. "I'm here to rescue you!"

He was relieved as he was confused. "...no offense, but who are you again?"

Exhausted from the earlier firefight, she found a chair to sit on and catch her breath before she explained.

"I was with you on the bus. We talked about games, well, things almost got romantic but then the shooting started."

His eyes went wide and he looked at her in disbelief. "No way…we thought you were dead. So did the guys that took us. We all did."

"It'll take more than that to kill me. Once I found out they stole you from me, I knew I had to find and get you back."

"Wait, so you survived the bus crash, and your first instinct was to chase after the people who had shot at you?" Trent interjected.

"I had to! You were in danger. These guys are crazy psychos. They attacked us, they killed poor Mr. Garcia and he was totally unarmed and helpless!" Sierra said. "You're the most important people in the world to me, and Cody, you're the most importantest of the important."

"Wow uh, thanks? You're like some sort of real life Sarah Croft." Cody said, "That's pretty cool."

"Dude, no way Sarah Croft would be into boy bands. That's completely out of character." Harold rolled his eyes.

"What I meant." Cody replied tersely. "Is that she's a cool action girl with guns who defeats bad guys and chases after valuable treasure."

"And the treasure is you." She swooned.

"I know you must really wanna catch up with your favorite boy band ever, but those soldiers are gonna realize we're up here soon." Masterson warned. "We should rest, and prepare to get moving."

"Right." Sierra nodded. "Uh, who here knows how to shoot?"

Only Harold raised his hand.

"Yeah. He has a collection." Masterson said. "The rest get skittish if you wave a BB gun at them."

She went over to one of the dead guards and pulled an M16 assault rifle and a pouch full of magazines off him. She gave it to Harold, who humbly accepted. Armed like that, he looked ready to commit unspeakable war crimes in Vietnam. Sierra wondered if Bailey would like that or not.

The rest of the bodies were stripped for armor to put on the other Drama Brothers. Even if they couldn't shoot, they'd at least be a bit safer from being turned into human swiss cheese this way. Just as they were finishing getting dressed in that, a loud bang hammered at the stairwell door that Masterson had barricaded.

"Foxtrot squad are you in there? Open up!" A voice yelled from behind the doors.

"Welp, time to go." Sierra said. "You ready for this, Codykins?"

"No. This is crazy, why would we ever be ready for this?" Cody asked.

"Well it's either follow us or take your chances with those thugs, so take your pick." Masterson said.

"Just trust me alright?" Sierra said, offering him a hand. "We're gonna make it. Together."

Despite all the horrific red flags she gave off, when Cody looked into her eyes he felt safe and assured. Maybe it was just the adrenaline and panic setting in, but she looked ready to take on a whole army for him. He took her by the arm, and they headed out onto the roof.

"I'll go down first." Sierra said as they reached the fire escape. "Once I'm on the ground, I'll catch you guys and we can get out of here!"

"Sounds like a plan." Masterson nodded.

Sierra started climbing down. The others followed her. From the rooftop they heard the sound of an explosive charge demolishing the barricade Masterson had built up to hold the soldiers back. They could hear them searching above. With an uncanny sense of timing, Masterson raised her gun up to the roof, and when one merc stuck his head over the side to look for them, he got a 12 gauge to the face.

The others were quick to rush to where he'd fallen. Sierra had just touched down on the ground when they started shooting over the side.

"Jump Cody!" She yelled.

He wobbled on the edge for a moment, but the sound of bullets whizzing past him was enough to overcome his fear of the twelve foot jump. He let go, and Sierra flawlessly caught him in her arms as he fell. The bridal carry would have been romantic, if they weren't in mortal danger. That made it extremely romantic!

Trent was next, then Justin. Harold and Masterson stayed behind, popping off shots at anyone who leaned over the edge of the roof to buy the others time to get down. Harold went second to last, but with no need for help from Sierra. He swan dived off the edge of the fire escape, tucked and rolled, and did a perfect landing all by himself.

Jen was the last to go, and Harold covered for her while Sierra caught her on the jump down. With everyone on the ground, they now followed Sierra as she began leading them through the alleys back towards their getaway car.

The mercs were hot on their heels of course. The path ahead was clear, as no regular purgers would go near an area held by a private security company, armed to the teeth. Sierra, Harold and Masterson each took turns stopping to shoot at anyone chasing them while the others ran. Sierra was starting to realize now what Masterson meant about her ammo going quickly- she had more empty mag pouches than full ones by this point.

Still, if they could make a clean getaway it wouldn't matter, right?

"It's just at the end of this alley, on the street! We're almost there!"

Then, the loud crack of a sniper rifle from the rooftop rung through the alley. Harold tumbled to the ground. The bullet punched right through his armor plates, lodging in his gut.

"Shit!" Masterson cursed. "Sniper! Everyone get down!"

Everyone dove into whatever cover they could find. Dumpsters, garbage piles, boxes, anything. Masterson grabbed a smoke grenade and tossed it down the alley, past Harold. It billowed into a big, concealing cloud.

"I'll get Harold!" Sierra said. "Codykins, get to the car and start it! Go hubby go!"

Cody ran down the alley, Trent and Justin followed him. Sierra grabbed Harold by the collar and dragged him on his back towards the truck, while Jen kept her weapon at the ready should any threats rush through the smoke.

Hopping into the front seat, Cody frantically searched the cab for the keys. Finding them in the cupholder, he turned the engine on and gripped the wheel. He glanced back into the alley over his shoulder. The girls were only halfway there and the smoke was about to evaporate. He had the means to get himself out of there right now, but there was no way they'd catch up if he pulled out now.

"Dude, just go! Leave them." Justin said.

"Yeah man, they're not gonna make it!"

"Dude, they saved our lives." Cody said. "And what about Harold? Are we just gonna leave him too?"

"He always said he wanted to go solo!" Trent pointed out.

"Come on man, if we stay here we all die. Look!" Justin pointed to the street. Two black SUVs like theirs were closing in fast.

"I'm too gorgeous to die, just floor it!"

As the smoke started to clear the gunfire picked up again. Cody reached down for the shifter, his mind racing through his options. Back there was the most psychotic, strange and dangerous woman he'd ever met on this planet. Ahead, was possibly his only chance to escape the purge alive.

She was also the first person who had actually tried to know him. For the first time in years someone had tried to find what he was like beyond what the studio advertised him as. Was that worth risking his life for?

Apparently it was. Instead of putting the car into forward and getting the hell out of dodge, Cody slammed it into reverse. He swung the car around and backed into the alleyway, exposing them to the torrent of bullets raining down in that small space.

"What are you doing dude?" Trent asked.

"Seconded!" Justin agreed.

"Just hang on!" Cody yelled. Just before it looked like he was about to back over Sierra and Masterson, he stopped the SUV and popped open the rear door.

"Get in!"

Sierra and Ms. Masterson jumped into the trunk, dragging the wounded Harold with them. Still on his back, he kept firing back at the mercenaries despite his worsening condition.

"GO! Go go go go!" Sierra screamed, grabbing the rear door and slamming it shut behind her. The SUV lurched forwards as Cody zoomed out of the alleyway, onto the main road. Right behind them were two other vehicles, the pair of headlights growing brighter in the rearview mirror as the chased after the fleeing band.

"Masterson, get up there and give Cody directions to the safehouse!" Sierra said. "I'll stay here and patch up Harold!"

"What about the guys chasing us?" Cody called back.

"I'll keep you updated on that!" She replied.

Ms. Masterson climbed up over the seats and into the front passenger spot. While she put in the directions, Sierra quickly stripped Harold of his protective vest and the shirt beneath it, revealing the gaping wound in his stomach beneath it and the copious amounts of blood smearing around that area. She grabbed a first aid kit out of the back and popped it open. As she went to open the antiseptic bottle, one of the pursuing vehicles rammed them in the rear bumper.

The SUV jolted, and she slipped and poured nearly all of it into Harold's wound. He howled in anguish.

"GOSH!"

"Sorry!"

Sierra fumbled with the cloth to wipe the area dry and get as much blood up as she could. Masterson cracked the window open and fired a few rounds at the tires of one of the mercenary cars, but missed. The SUV was jolted again as the enemy based them in the side, trying to drive them off the road. A man emerged from the sun roof of the vehicle behind him, gun at the ready.

"Cody, stop! Hit the breaks!"

He reflexively followed her command, and they came to an abrupt stop. The vehicle tailgating them slammed into their rear bumper again, sending the guy leaning out of the sunroof tumbling onto the hood with a thud. Sierra kicked out the rear window and and reached for her last grenade.

She lobbed it right into the open sun roof with a perfect toss.

"Full speed ahead Cody!"

Again he listened, and they pulled just out of reach just as the SUV exploded in a brilliant flash. One down, one to go.

The other SUV had gone sailing past them when they stopped, and so for a moment Sierra had a brief reprieve to return to her surgery.

"You know they shot me…because I'm the most dangerous one, right?" Harold coughed.

"Uh, duh. You were the one with a gun." Sierra said as she put pressure on the wound with one hand and started wrapping it with the other.

"I'm way deadlier with a katana, but I lost it in the bus crash." Harold explained. "If I had it with me, they'd all have been dead before they got their guns out of their holsters."

Was he always like this or was this just the blood loss talking? Sierra had not the time not the presence of mind to ponder that question. Just as she was finishing her wraps the other mercenary SUV caught up with them. Their weapons were ready and poised to unleash lethal retribution.

"We're gonna die!" Cody cried.

"Bro, if I don't make it and you do, please dedicate your next song to me!" Trent yelled.

"Nobody's going to die! Cody, hard left into that parking lot! Now Cody now!" Sierra shouted.

He cranked the wheel hard over, the tires screeching as the big heavy car skidded into the turn. It was a narrow entrance with a ditch on either side, and while Cody was able to thread through it, their chasers were not so lucky. They swung the turn wide and went straight into the ditch, leaving them stuck. Cody pulled well clear of them and with Sierra's help found another exit onto the main road again. This time, they really were in the clear. They could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"How's Harold?" Trent asked as Sierra climbed into the seat beside them.

"Stable. You know I am a fourth generation trauma surgeon on my Mother's side. He'll be fine."

Nobody knew what to believe about her anymore, so they all just nodded and accepted it as fact.

"That was amazing." Cody laughed, his hands still clenched around the wheel in an iron grip. "We made a really good team!"

Sierra felt butterflies in her stomach. "Aww well, you did good too! Where did you learn to drive like that?"

"Oh I have this whole setup at home for playing Carjacking Mayhem: Pedestrian Apocalypse Online. It's pretty sweet, all the controls are super realistic. You'd probably love it."

Sierra found herself hyperventilating a little bit at just the idea of going to Cody's house. Ideally, alone.

"Hey you uh, wanna drive?" He asked. "I think I need to take a breather after that."

"Okay."

They pulled over and swapped seats quickly. It was just a little past midnight when Sierra got back on the road again. How the hell had so much happened in five hours? It felt unreal.

"How far is the safehouse?" She asked Masterson.

"About an hour away." Ms. Masterson replied. "They'll probably be looking for us, so we should keep moving."

"It's purge night lady," Justin pointed out. "We wouldn't want to stop anyways."

Soon the city outskirts faded behind them, and they were back into the rural flatlands that seemingly stretched forever. The road ahead was narrow and stretched in a seemingly infinite line towards an abyss. Sierra prayed that Masterson had given them the right address.

"Hey uh, what was your name again?" Cody spoke up.

"Who, me?" Sierra asked.

"Uh, yeah, who else?"

"Oh! Haha yeah, silly old me! Right. So I'm Sierra and I'm basically your number one fan. But you probably knew that already."

"No kidding. Hey uh, what happened to your hair?"

"Oh, it caught on fire so I had to cut it off."

"Woah, that's pretty hardcore. You know, when I first met you, I thought you were just another groupie who I'd never see again."

Sierra's expression sunk. "Y-you what?"

"I mean, it's just, all the years of having fans come and go, they blend into one big blur through all the crazy nights between concerts. I mean we get so many groupies in the back of that bus, if you shine a blacklight it glows."

"Dude shut up." Trent hissed through his teeth. "Not the time."

But he'd already said too much. Sierra's head was spinning. That couldn't be true, could it?

"Y-you were just gonna use me?" She sniffled. "And not even call me back?"

"Well yeah." Cody admitted. "I mean, I didn't realize you were different from them!"

Trent facepalmed. Sierra slammed the brakes and brought the car to a stop right in the middle of the road. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"How could you?! I risked my life to save you, and you're just some homewrecker sleeping around with other girls?" She sobbed. "I thought you loved me! I thought I was the only one for you!"

"M-maybe you are?" Cody stammered. "I barely met you!"

She shut the car off and threw the door open, running off into the field to bawl her eyes out. The others debated on what to do, whether to try and help her or go on their own way and leave her. It didn't matter however. She'd taken the keys with her, leaving them stuck on the side of the road.

That was, until they were found. The sound of helicopter blades was a portent of the forces soon descending upon them. A spotlight beamed down onto them from the sky, and soon vehicles were swarming them on the side of the road, full of more soldiers than they could possibly hope to fight against. Sierra surrendered without resistance, for she had nothing left to fight for.