Tacticians of all ages extol the superiority of the modern rifle over melee weapons and handguns in combat. Simply put, the ability to accurately and rapidly fling small bits of lead at ranges exceeding 100 yards is a nearly insurmountable advantage against enemies not similarly armed. That squads of heavily armed men can fling that metal en masse pushes the idea of short-range combat against rifles into the realm of absolute stupidity. Anyone with the sense that God gave mustard could see the tactical disparity.

Of course, those people have never met the likes of Leopard.

The Pitfall guards attempted to block the trio’s entry with a reinforced steel blast door that was designed to withstand direct application of Semtex. They casually called for sleeping gas and prepped their weapons, thinking themselves safe for the time being. Leopard quickly disabused them of the notion with an earth-shattering blow that broke the door into more pieces than the forensics team would later be able to count or find. One of the more alert guards quickly brought his rifle to bear and let off a burst that zinged past Leopard’s head. She drew back the axe-hammer and hurled it, splitting the rifle cleanly in two and taking off the man’s arm at the shoulder. Thinking her unarmed and vulnerable, another guard leapt into the air with his rifle butt poised to strike. Leopard caught him by the throat, let him dangle in mid-air, and stared into his eyes as he jerked from the impact of (un) friendly fire.

Her hand twitched, and the axe-hammer appeared there in a flash of thunder and lightning. The guards started firing in earnest, consigning their friend’s fate to chance and God, but Leopard moved from man to man, cutting people down like the Grim Reaper. She was implacable, unstoppable, brutally efficient, and when she finally stopped moving, she was ankle-deep in gore and blood, and she wore a strangely serene look on her face.

Rowena and Danny stepped out into the hallway, glanced at each other, then back at Leopard.

"You’ve arranged for transportation?" Leopard asked in a not-quite-human voice. They nodded in unison. "Well then - lead the way."

Rowena was the first to snap out of her reverie and led them down the hallway to a corridor. Several riot shotguns announced their presence with a steely clack-clack, putting the brakes on their exit strategy. At a single glance, Ro’ counted eight of them, and there were more coming down the hallway. Leopard hefted her weapon. Danny settled into a guarded stance.

"Drop your weapons and lay face down on the ground. Now!" the tac-squad leader called out.

"Rosebud!" Rowena responded, and she brought her hands up to her ears.

The leader stared in confusion, whereas Wind (who’d worked with Rowena long enough) and Leopard (who worked with Equinox long enough) both hit the ground. The six claymore mines hidden at various points along the hallway literally exploded into action, tossing steel ball bearings into the armored, but ultimately vulnerable, bodies of the tac-squad.

Rowena took off into a run, blithely dodging the dying and dead guards. Wind and Leopard glanced at each other and followed. "You’re definitely your father’s child," Leopard muttered. The trio came to a stop at the end of the hallway, where Rowena leaned out the shattered bay window and fired a grapple to an upper ledge. They were up onto the roof and all evidence of their passage gone by the time the medics and reinforcements had arrived to assess the damage.

#

Tucked into the comfort of his limousine, Equinox was enjoying a rare moment of silence when his phone beeped its way into his awareness; he let it ring twice before answering. "Hello, Dante."

"Slappycakes!"

"I know there will be trouble whenever you call me that. What’s going on?"

"I got a phone call the other day. Do you need to ask who it was?"

"No. I assume you told her about deFaria?"

"... Dammit, ‘nox. Why didn’t you just ask me to give it to her?"

"You wouldn’t have done it. Sorry I had to back door you like that. In my defense, you’re about a billion times smarter than I am - you should have seen it coming."

"Would you like to know where she is now?"

"Is this a secure line?"

"It is on my end. What about yours?"

"You designed the equipment and wrote the encryption, Dante. You tell me."

"It’s secure."

"If she’s following the crumbs, she should be on her way to finding Koschei by now."

"She’s at one of the Pitfall facilities, freeing Leopard."

"Well, crap."

"I just love it when that pretty-boy veneer cracks a bit."

"Glad you’re having fun." Equinox sat in silence for a few seconds. "This is not totally unsalvageable. Actually, this could work on my favor. Leopard’s probably going to want the Operation: Poseidon data anyway."

"You’re going to ask me for my help."

"I’m going to ask you for your help, and you’re about to charge me an exorbitant price."

"I sure am."

"Cash? Tech?"

"Information."

"..."

"Thought so. What’s up with Operation: Poseidon?"

"Short version: a multi-chamber Archer team assaults a Hand of Glory sub. A fight ensues, and Leopard ends up in battle with what is essentially one of the Children of Eve on steroids. Also turns out that Leopard is one of these Children. Leopard wins the fight and in the process, gets bonded to Mjolnir."

"Thor’s hammer?"

"The very one. Some say she’s the reincarnation of Thor. Others say it’s the genetics. Whatever occurred, she’s the only one who seems to be able to wield it. Except that this particular batch of Children have some weirdness going on with them. It seems that whenever they meet each other, they have a battle for dominance. It may be a battle of wits, or a race, or a barroom brawl as was the case in Operation: Poseidon. When it’s over, the winner ends up pretty much in control of the loser."

"Wasn’t Eva Kraus on the top of that particular food chain?"

"Yep."

"At least she’s dead now."

"I didn’t see a body. Did you?"

"Okay, so now what?"

"There are a few pieces of data that connect all of these dots. Rowena and her brother are one of them. She’s on a path to make sure that those particular skeletons stay buried."

"And me?"

"I need you to run some interference. Keep them off Pitfall’s radar for a bit."

"I’ll expect more than just that little nugget you just gave me. Consider it a down payment."

"Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to see that you get the toy surprise."

Dante severed the connection just as the limo pulled to a stop. One of the bodyguards opened the door and Equinox stepped out, leaning heavily on his cane. He straightened his tie then stepped onto a battlefield of a different kind as he passed through the doors of Fortune House.