Friday afternoon
Western Chicago
Fifth Floor

"Let me go! You've got to let me go! That man is the nastiest man alive! He shot me twice, in my shoulder, with my own pistol! Not to mention him almost killing my partner!" I all but pleaded. "I must get my mask back on, or many people will die!"

Cameron looked across at Natasha, then he grabbed up my knife and cut the ropes binding my hands. I leapt up and grabbed my utility belt, securing it in place. Next came the comms; I strapped on the throat mike and inserted my ear piece. Lastly I pulled on my mask and wrapped around my ninja mask. I pulled out my pistol, checked it was all correct, then chambered a round and re-holstered it. I noticed Cameron and Natasha watching everything I did; they had both pulled on their ski masks. I grabbed my bō-staff, twisting it through the air, in a menacing fashion.

"Fusion, this is Shadow!" I called.

"Thank God, Shadow! Are you safe?" Hit Girl responded, almost immediately.

"I'm fine! I'm in shit and need help! I'm so sorry..."

"We're on it Shadow! Mission first, recriminations later! Battle Guy has your approximate position; turn your cell on and try to avoid contact. Keep your comms on VOX. We're on the way to you!"

"How...?"

"Shadow you have the skills you need; use them! You can do it, I know you can! Get to it Shadow!" Hit girl ordered.

I turned to the two frightened teenagers.

"We need to get off this floor! Natasha, Cameron, snap to it! Another exit, come on!" I growled.

"Kitchen... There's a hole in the floor... It goes down to the next apartment," Cameron said, haltingly.

"Go! Both of you! I'll cover..."

Two men kicked in the front door to the apartment. I fired three rapid shots, dropping both men. I turned to Cameron and Natasha, who had both frozen.

"Go!" I yelled.

Both kids dropped through the gaping hole, into the kitchen of the apartment below. I followed and ran towards the main door for that apartment.

"Stay behind me, always behind me!" I ordered and got nods in return. I ran out of the door and checked up and down the stairs. I could hear footsteps coming down. I gestured to Natasha and Cameron to get down and back into the apartment. I readied my bō-staff and waited.

Safehouse A

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Chloe's in trouble and I'm here to help! Just try and fucking stop me Hit Girl!"

I laughed. "That's my Jackal!"

"Besides I want to kick her fucking arse!"

"You'll have to take a ticket on that one, Josh! Once I'm through with her, if she has any arse left, then you can have a go!"

Josh vanished into the armoury, to get his combat suit on.

"You ready!" Kick-Ass growled, in a deeper than usual voice.

"Do you have to use that thing in here?" I asked; Kick-Ass was now using a voice modulator, to hide his true voice.

Western Chicago
Third Floor

The first man came down the stairs quickly and just as he got level with me I swung my bō-staff and severed both his lower legs, just below the knees. Blood shot out and covered the floor, closely followed by the screaming man and his lower legs.

I ran forwards and down the next set of stairs, beckoning Natasha and Cameron to follow.

I heard a yell from upstairs, his voice again: "You incompetent bastards! Get them!"

I hesitated as I heard footsteps, below us; they were coming up.

Damn, we were trapped!

Outside

We arrived at the position provided by Shadow's cell. It was an abandoned apartment block, less than three miles from the safehouse.

My head whipped around as I heard the sharp crack of a pistol.

My brain automatically told me it was an FN Five-seveN. It was coming from above us.

"In there!" I called to Kick-Ass and he smashed through a boarded up doorway and into the building. Hawk and Jackal were to stay outside and watch out for any reinforcements for D'Amico.

"Shadow, which floor?" I called.

"Third floor!" Shadow replied. "Help!"

"We're coming, Shadow!"

I took the stairs two at a time. Kick-Ass managed three or four at a time.

Second Floor

As we came up the stairs, we encountered men, several of them. They obviously weren't expecting us, as their full attention was on the stairs that went up to the third floor and we were just in time to see a bloodied body come flying down the stairs.

It wasn't Shadow, but she seemed to be kicking ass up there!

Now was no time for finesse, so Kick-Ass and I blasted away with our pistols.

Third Floor

I could hear shooting from the floor below us.

The men trying to come up the stairs seemed to stop and go back down. The men coming down the stairs from above took advantage of the lull and laid down heavy fire from automatic weapons, several rounds of which impacted my armour and the girl, Natasha, screamed. Not the brazen vigilantes that they had made themselves out to be!

I returned fire, with my FN and wished that I had my P90 or my compound bow. The slide of my pistol locked back on an empty magazine and I rapidly dumped the empty magazine and loaded a full one, then released the slide.

Gunfire was now coming up the stairs from the floor below, but it was aimed at the men coming down from the floor above. Then men on the stairs opted to dive towards me for safety, so I pushed the two kids into the empty apartment, behind us and ran after them, firing several shots at the pursuing men and dropped at least one, maybe two.

Kick-Ass and I surged up the stairs to the third floor.

I now faced a crap decision.

Did I go up and get D'Amico, or stay on this floor to save Shadow.

By rights, Shadow had made the decision and she would now have to live with it, but I was not that Hit Girl any more! I started shooting at the men, who were attacking the apartment on the third floor and Kick-Ass followed.

I pushed Cameron and Natasha back, towards the rear of the apartment.

A fire escape! It ran down outside the window; I never fucking noticed and obviously neither had these two halfwits!

"Go! Use the fire escape!"

Natasha pushed herself out of the window and started to climb down, then she screamed as an arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her down the fire escape. Someone else had seen the fire escape and was now using it. I saw the grinning face and felt the anger surge up inside of me.

D'Amico!

At that moment Kick-Ass and Hit Girl burst through into the apartment, gunning down the final opposition.

"He has my sister, please, you've got to help!" Cameron begged.

"Jackal, Hawk! D'Amico is on his way down the fire escape with a hostage!" Hit Girl called.

I went over to Shadow and pulled her into a hug.

"Thank God, you're safe!" I said and smiled. Then I let Shadow go and glared at her. "When we get back to the safehouse, you're gonna wish you were never fucking born!"

I ran over to the window and looked down. I saw two SUVs heading for the base of the apartment block, not far from where we had parked Beast.

"Let's go! Bring the boy!" I growled.

We rapidly descended the stairs and found Hawk and Jackal engaging armed men, from the two SUVs that I had seen arriving. I could see that D'Amico was behind one of the vehicles and he had the girl.

Outside

Shadow grabbed a P90 from Beast and I grabbed a G36C and extra magazines, before moving towards the SUVs. Kick-Ass ran in the opposite direction, in an attempt to out flank D'Amico and rescue the girl.

Jackal's P90 rounds seemed to have incapacitated at least one SUV, but we prevented them from getting into the other SUV. The SUVs that D'Amico and his men had arrived in previously were over the other side of the apartment block and we were able to prevent D'Amico from moving towards them.

D'Amico looked up in anger and ordered his men to cease fire. We did the same.

"You!" D'Amico yelled.

"Yeah and you have something of mine, you bastard!" Shadow spat and looked at the pistol that D'Amico held in his right hand.

"Come and fucking get it!" D'Amico yelled.

"You D'Amicos are fucking scum and you are the last of that line of evil villainy!" I yelled back.

D'Amico broke clear and ran for the apartment block, while his men provided covering fire.

Three of his men followed him.

I came around the back of the SUVs and heard Hit Girl yelling at D'Amico.

Then, "Kick-Ass, D'Amico has run back towards the apartment block, with three of his men!"

While D'Amico's men were distracted shooting at Fusion, I grabbed the girl, who shrank back in fright at the sight of me.

"Come with me, if you want to live!" I snarled.

The girl nodded and I led her away and around the SUVs back towards Beast. I pushed her inside and told her to keep down. I saw Hit Girl and Shadow run towards the apartment block while Hawk and Jackal mopped up the men near the SUVs.

I grabbed a G36C and ran after Shadow and Hit Girl.

"Shadow stop!" I called.

"No, I'm gonna get that bastard!" Shadow replied angrily, but didn't stop.

"Wait for me, you can't take him alone!"

"Fuck you, Hit Girl! He shot me and almost killed him... I want the bastard!"

"Shadow..." I called again, only this time she didn't respond. "Shadow..."

Shadow was passing the third floor, I was on the second. There were four men waiting for her, up there, she couldn't fight them all! I heard gunshots above us, not Shadow's FN or P90.

I heard a scream; Shadow!

I rushed up the last of the stairs and kicked open the door to the roof. Shadow was pinned down, her P90 was beside her and the magazine was empty. D'Amico's men were using large calibre pistols. I brought up my G36C and started to shoot. I winged one man, drawing fire in my direction. Shadow came up with her pistol and dropped another man. I aimed and shot the man that I had winged, killing him. D'Amico was now down to one man.

Oh crap!

I could hear a helicopter approaching; it was now or never. D'Amico had come up here to escape!

..._...

Shadow suddenly bolted forwards and ran towards D'Amico; she was shot twice by his bodyguard, but Shadow's momentum pushed her through the rounds. I provided covering fire, but then I came under fire from the helicopter. I returned fire and scored some hits on the fuselage of the helicopter. The helicopter dipped down and out of sight, so I ran towards Shadow and watched her, as she brought the bō-staff around and down, in a swift sweeping movement, which resulted in a spray of blood, as Ralph D'Amico's right arm was severed just below the elbow. The limb fell to the floor and D'Amico screamed out, in agony.

At that point the helicopter returned and heavy fire poured down onto the roof. I grabbed Shadow and pulled her back behind cover. Shadow struggled against my hold, but I refused to let her go. I watched as D'Amico was dragged bodily towards the helicopter, but I could do nothing.

"You run, you gutless bastard!" I yelled after D'Amico. "I'll finish you, piece by piece, if I fucking have to!"

The helicopter took off and headed south-east, a small trail of smoke marking it's flight path. I released Shadow and she ran forwards.

"That's mine!" Shadow growled and yanked her FN Five-seveN pistol, from the severed limb of Ralph D'Amico.

Western Chicago
On the ground

I turned to Kick-Ass.

"What the fuck do we do with these two? They've seen that little bitch's face!"

"You can't kill them, they're just kids!" Kick-Ass cautioned.

"Fuck! That little bitch really knows how to screw with me!"

I was really pissed off; Chloe had fucked things up badly. By rights, I should kill those two kids and according to my Daddy's book, I should kill Chloe, too! But, as I had said before, I was not that Hit Girl, not any more! At the very least, Chloe's out of Fusion, that's for damn sure! She's really put me on the fucking spot! Dave's right though, I can't kill them, but they've seen Chloe's face... I can't let them go... Can I?

I went over to the girl; she was crying! She looked up at me, with fear in her eyes and I made my decision.

"Kick-Ass! Bind them and blindfold them; they'll be coming with us!" I growled, then looked directly at the girl. "Make a sound, you die!"