Nellis Air Force Base

Remus was standing by the window in his office, looking out towards the city where both his enemy and quarry remained hidden, when his phone rang. Without turning away from the window, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered. “Remus.”

“Lieutenant Larson. Teams have finished stocking up and are preparing to mobilize.” the caller informed him. “They’ll be in position around the Southern District in about twenty minutes. How’s the decryption coming along?”

“It failed. Whoever wrote that encryption went to great pains to ensure that it couldn’t be undone.” he replied. “Doesn’t matter. The cameras would have given us an advantage, but I have a pretty good idea of where he is. How’re the agents taking the news?”

“The official story is that you were exchanging classified information with Simmons regarding the operation when he was assassinated by the Ghost, who also tried to kill you but failed. Agent Avalon has gone into hiding, just in case Ghost has sent someone after him. I doubt you’ll find anyone readily able to question that story.”

“Good. The longer I can keep them on my side, the better.”

The line fell silent for a few seconds, during which time Remus could practically hear his lieutenant’s next question approaching. “Yes, Larson?”

“Are we doing the right thing here?” he asked. “I understand how important it is that we reach Ethis, but is all of this really necessary? Perhaps if we just explain the situation to them-”

“Any opportunity we may have still had to negotiate was lost when we kidnapped the traveler. In any case, you know how Flynt would react to seeing me again.”

“Understood.” Larson replied regretfully. “By the way, I know you said this guy would be a pain in the ass, and I don’t mean to question your orders, but didn’t you say you wanted this girl alive?”

“I did.”

“Then…aren’t explosives a little over the top?”

“They’re an added precaution.” Remus explained. “Avalon has undoubtedly warned Flynt about what we’re planning here, and if my research is to be relied upon, he’s going to enlist the aid of his best friends. One of them is a full-time mechanic and part-time prepper who’s undoubtedly prepared for about ten different scenarios like this one, and the other is a seasoned marine. Even with explosives, capturing her won’t be easy.”

“Okay…so then what about your latest request?”

“Same story.” he replied with a grin. “Plus, let’s face it…that thing is freakin’ cool.”

“And conspicuous as all hell.” Larson added curtly. “You won’t be covering this one up.”

“I know.” Remus said, smiling fading as he turned away from the window to pace the room. “This will officially mark our defection from the U.S. government, if my sudden departure for Las Vegas didn’t give those pencil pushers back in D.C. any clues.”

“Think it’ll be a problem?”

“Not if we catch the traveler now. If we can catch her and get to Ethis before the government hears about what we’ve done, we’ll be able to avoid any unnecessary conflict. Speaking of which, I assume you’ve briefed everyone about step two?”

“Ditch the hardware, merge with society, and await further contact.”

“Good. We’re all set then.” Remus said as he started towards the door. “Notify me when the teams are in position. I’m heading for the command center now.”

“Understood. Larson out.”

With that, the line went dead, and Remus left his office for the command trailer.

((((((*******))))))

Southern District

“…dead?” Twilight repeated quietly.

“He and Myles were digging around on their boss’s laptop for information they could use against him. He found out and tried to have them both killed, but Myles got away.”

Twilight stared off in shock. Simmons hadn’t even gotten a trial before being executed. If that was what the commander did to his own agents, what would happen to the rest of them if they were caught?

“Ah take back everything Ah said about the poor starchy.” Skeeter said, shaking his head sadly.

Celestia spoke up from the portal. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but what did you mean when you said you were all going to be ‘on the federal radar’?”

“Didn’t the Administrator disable the surveillance system for this district?” Twilight asked.

Allen started pacing. “Not necessarily ‘disabled’. It was more like he shut it down in a way that forced it to tell anyone who tried to turn it back on that it was broken. He’d designed the encryption to work against even the best technical help, too, so that whenever they tried to fix the problem it would appear as though they were making it worse.”

“But their commander found a way past this?” Shining asked.

“If Avalon was to be believed, and I see no reason why he’d lie to me.”

“Well…can’t Admin fix it?” asked Arnold.

“I doubt it. The feds already know that the district surveillance isn’t broken, so trying to fool them now is pointless.” Allen suddenly stopped pacing and pulled his phone back out of his pocket. “But maybe he can tell us how long we have.”

“How’s that gonna help?”

“We’ll know how much time we have to prepare.” he responded, putting the phone on speaker and resuming his pacing.

Not a word was uttered as everyone and everypony present waited, then leaned forward slightly as the dial tone was replaced by the artificial voice that was all too familiar to Allen.

“Ghost?”

“We have a problem, Admin. I need you to check on the status of your encryption for south surveillance.”

“One moment…” There was a lengthy pause accompanied by the clicking of keys on the other end of the line. Skeeter’s leg bounced impatiently while they waited. Allen caught Twilight’s eye as he passed by her, a worried look on her face. He smiled reassuringly, trying to convey a sense of confidence in the situation that he didn’t currently possess.

“Um…there’s nothing wrong with it.” Admin said flatly.

“What?” Allen replied. He stopped and looked over at the rest of the group, who merely reflected his own surprise and confusion. “You’re kidding.”

“Who told you there was something wrong with it?”

“One of the two rogue agents who helped us rescue Twilight. According to him, his partner was conversing with their boss, who let slip that he’s about to have our locations.”

“But he never mentioned the encryption?”

“No…I suppose he didn’t.”

“Good, because I’m running all the detection software that I have. Some fucker was taking shots at it earlier today, but that’s completely normal. You’re still in the dark.”

Allen bit his lip as he continued pacing. Was it possible that Myles was trying to play him? For all he knew about Simmons and his mysterious partner, the tipoff that had allowed him to rescue Twilight could have been a ruse to make him trust them. He could’ve charged straight out of the Southern district with Twilight, thinking that they were about to be in danger when in fact they weren’t.

He dragged a hand down his face in frustration. Why would they bother? They’d had Twilight, and he couldn’t have stopped them from driving off with her. Someone was pulling strings, but it definitely was not their new allies.

“You’re sure that encryption’s holding?”

“Quite sure.” Admin replied.

“Then what does the outside of the district look like?”

“One moment…” There was another brief pause as the Administrator brought up various camera feeds around the outside of the district. “Oh boy…”

“What?”

“Armored cars. Lots of them.” Twilight visibly stiffened, memories of their last encounter with armored vehicles still resonating in her mind. “They’re hiding in back alleys all over the place, not doing much at the moment, but their intentions are obvious. They’re waiting for the order to move in.”

“Sonuva BITCH!” Skeeter yelled angrily, making all present jump as he stood up and began pacing angrily. “Ya’ll tellin’ me we’re all trapped like rats!?”

“Skeeter, calm down.” Allen ordered.

“I thought you said they wouldn’t risk entering the southern district with the surveillance down!” Twilight said fearfully.

“I didn’t think they would.” he admitted.

“I still don’t understand.” Velvet said, shaking her head. “What do they want her for? She told us they needed her alive, but why?”

“Their boss…Remus, was it?” Twilight asked, receiving a nod from Allen. “Remus wants to cross over to Equestria. We don’t know why, just that he won’t give up, and he thinks I can help.”

“Admin, can you give us any details about their weapons?” asked Allen.

“No. I get the distinct impression that they know I’m watching, because they’re hiding both personnel and weapons. However, if their newest base of operations is any indication, you may as well be fighting the national guard.”

“So they could have explosives fer all we know…great.” Skeeter growled.

“Explosives!?” everypony cried at once.

Dammit Skeeter. Allen thought as he turned to tell the ponies in the study to calm down, only to be nearly knocked over by Arnold as he rushed past to take cover by the door with his SMG. He watched with a growing feeling of exasperation as the marine scanned the street for enemies, determined to hold off the incoming feds for as long as he could. “Hey Al,” he called over his shoulder. “ya’ll might wanna grab yer rifle and get up to the roof.”

Allen opened his mouth to respond, then stopped as he heard the fridge door open. He whipped around to see Skeeter holding another beer. “Screw it. Might be mah last one, anyway.”

Allen stared at him for a moment longer, then turned at the sound of commotion by the worktable. Twilight’s family was trying to force open the Breach, their horns glowing brightly but the portal growing no larger. Twilight herself simply sat down on the floor, hugging her legs as she tried hard not to panic.

“It’s not working!” Celestia said through the strain. “Spike, go find more unicorns!”

“Al, there’s a chance we can survive if we hold the garage! Go git yer damn rifle!” Arnold yelled over them panicked voices of the ponies.

Skeeter popped the cap off of the bottle and raised it to his lips, then yelped in surprise as the bottom half exploded.

Everyone in the garage looked back at the mechanic in shock. In the study, six horns died down and a purple drake stopped hallway up the steps.

Allen simply continued glaring at Skeeter, the smoking end of his silenced pistol still leveled at the brown bottle in his hand.

“Um…Mr. Flynt?” Celestia asked cautiously.

“I expect this from you people.” he said quietly as he turned to face her, sticking the weapon back in its holster. “Even Twilight, after all she’s been through this past week. But YOU TWO!?”

Skeeter took a cautious step away from him as he looked back and forth between him and Arnold, his face contorted by disbelief and rage.

“WE HAVEN’T SURVIVED AS LONG AS WE HAVE BY PANICKING LIKE LITTLE KIDS ON THEIR WAY TO THE DENTIST-” he glared at Arnold as he said this, the marine setting his gun down sheepishly. “-OR JUST GIVING UP!!” Skeeter turned and tossed the half of the bottle that remained into a nearby trash bin, then turned back to Allen with shame written on his face.

“Sorry Al.” they said in unison.

Allen took a deep breath, then turned back to both groups. “I’ll admit this doesn’t look like a cakewalk, but surviving the feds is far from impossible. The twins should know this better than anyone, since your family’s been preparing for a scenario like this for close to a hundred years.”

Skeeter and Arnold exchanged worried looks. “Ya’ll talkin’ ‘bout buggin’ out?” asked Skeeter.

“Well we can’t stay here, can we?” Allen asked.

“We need the Outlaster for that plan to work and…well, it ain’t finished man.”

“What more needs done, and how fast can you do it?”

“We got the big lug armored up, suspension’s been upgraded to compensate fer the extra weight, all the windows been replaced…the big problem is the engine.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Nothin’ major.” he replied, pointing behind Allen. All eyes fell upon a giant hulk of an engine in the back of the shop. Sure enough, not a piece was missing from the gargantuan assembly, its chrome finish glinting in the dull light of the garage as it hung from a large metal support structure on wheels. “‘Cept Ah ain’t installed it yet.”

Allen continued staring at the engine for a moment, wondering how on earth he hadn’t noticed it there for the past few days, then shook his head and turned back to Skeeter. “So how long?”

The mechanic’s brow furrowed for a moment. “We gotta get the damn thing outside ‘n get it bolted in right, which’s gonna be a minor pain in the ass. If Arnie helps me…twenty minutes maybe.”

“Twenty minutes?” Twilight repeated. “Do we have that much time?”

“No, we don’t.” Allen answered, putting his hands in his pockets and once more continuing to pace. “The feds could be here any minute.”

“Then we need to keep them busy somehow.”

“I know.” Allen said with a sigh, mentally preparing himself for the argument he was about to have with her. “You know…they’ve only ever seen you with me. I could probably get a good bunch of them to follow me if I charge out of South like a bat out of hell.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow at him suspiciously. “You say that like I won’t be with you this time.”

“That’s probably because you won’t be. You’re staying with Arnold and Skeeter. That way-”

“No.” she stated firmly.

“Twilight-”

“You remember that night as well as I do, and they were nowhere near as well-equipped to catch us as they are now! What you’re suggesting isn’t a plan! It’s suicide!”

Allen pinched the bridge in frustration. “Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be there. I have the best chance of baiting the feds, so I have to go. If something does happen to me, I want you as far away as possible.”

“If I’m not around, they’ll kill you for sure!” she said angrily.

“And if they catch you, then this will have all been for nothing!”

“You…I…THIS ISN’T FAIR!! YOU JUST RETIRED!! THINGS WERE FINALLY LOOKING UP FOR YOU!!”

Allen stepped back in surprise at her outburst, staring at the tears now rolling down her cheeks.

“This city’s already taken away everything you care about.” she sniffed. “You could have moved on as soon as Admin dismissed you. You had no reason to help me after I woke up, so why did you? Why are you still helping me?”

Allen stared blankly at her as she said this, not sure how to respond.

“Twi! Do you even realize what you’re suggesting!?” Shining exclaimed.

“Why?” she repeated, ignoring him.

Allen crossed his arms. “Because this city hasn’t taken everything from me yet.”

Twilight stared at him in confusion. “What?”

“I still have two brothers…” he gestured toward the twins as he said this, then gestured to Twilight. “…and a very good friend of mine to watch out for.”

Skeeter rubbed his neck uncomfortably while Arnold cleared his throat. Twilight just stared at him, waiting for him to finish.

“My family’s dead, and I can’t change that…but if protecting what I have left in this world means getting torn apart by gunfire, then I will die happily. You’re right, it’s not fair. But you want to know something sweetheart?”

“What?”

“This is Vegas. Nothing about this cesspool is fair. We make it work anyway.”

Twilight wiped her eyes on her sleeve and looked back at him. “Can you promise me that you’ll come back?”

He stared blankly at her. “What?”

“Promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll come back to us. Please.”

For a split second, the front of Allen’s mind was occupied by a startlingly vivid image of a little boy covered in blood. The vaguest recollection of a promise similar to the one he was being asked to make also came to mind, and for a moment he was tempted to say no. He looked down at Twilight, fear of the answer he was about to give her evident in her expression.

“Twilight…” Celestia began sadly. “I don’t think there’s much he can-”

“I promise.” he replied. Fuck it.

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Whatever happens, I’ll find some way to make it back.”

Twilight stared at him for a moment, searching his features for any signs uncertainty. Finding none, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve again and smiled. He patted her shoulder encouragingly, then turned back to the rest of the group.

“In that case, I don’t believe you finished explaining the plan.” said Celestia.

“Right. I’ll act as bait and try to keep my distance from the feds to maximize the time we have before they realize Twilight’s not with me. I’m going leave through the eastern side to hopefully drag away the feds standing guard there so that the way to the bunker is as clear as possible. However, if Remus is as smart as Simmons has made him out to be, then he’ll know something’s up as soon as I leave the district. Chances are good that they’ll leave a few guys behind to keep an eye on things.”

“What do we do if we’re spotted?”

“Run ‘em off the road. Admin, are you still there?”

“Just enjoying the show.” he replied calmly. “What do you need me to do?”

“Can you jam their comms when I leave the district?”

“Of course I can. Wait…when you leave?”

“I want to keep them out of the loop for as long as possible. Activating it when I leave will add to the illusion that Twilight’s with me. The longer everyone else can stay off their radar, the better.”

“Understood. The program I'm going to use will shut down all cell-based communication devices for exactly half an hour. This will leave the feds without a way to coordinate themselves, but it also means we won't be able to communicate with each other.”

“That's fine. We’re all meeting at the bunker, so we won’t have any issues finding each other. You guys can finish the Outlaster and book it for the bunker as soon as you’re ready, and I’ll lose the feds…somehow…and meet you there.”

“Flynt, one more thing.” Admin called.

“What’s up?”

“Once you leave Vegas, I won’t be able to help you anymore. I can only reach so far past the city limits before I risk losing connection.”

Shit. “Alright then.”

“One question.” Celestia called from the Breach.

Allen turned towards her. “Yes?”

“Judging by the size of that engine, whatever this…Outlaster…is must be quite massive. If you’re trying to avoid detection, then wouldn’t it make sense to travel in something less conspicuous?”

“Remus will be expecting that.” Allen replied. “In fact, if Avalon was to be believed, he’s probably expecting a lot of things. At least this way, if things go south, they’ll have enough armor and firepower to hold out until we can regroup.”

“Fair enough.”

“Any more questions?” he asked, turning to face everyone in turn, noting the same determined expression on all of them.

“Yeah.” Skeeter said suddenly. “Ain’t ya’ll forgettin’ somethin’?”

“Huh? Oh!” Allen raised his hand just in time to catch the keys to the Mach 1. “Thanks.”

“Try to bring ‘er back in one piece this time.” the mechanic said with a grin.

“You’re the boss.” he said as he slid into the driver’s seat and turned the key in the ignition, smiling as the great beast came to life. “Good luck everyone!”

“Good luck yerself, ya crazy bastard!” Arnold called after him.

He grinned as he pulled out of the garage, but instead of turning left toward the bunker, he turned right toward his house.

“One stop first.” he muttered to himself.

Author's Note

As I'm sure you're aware, feels aren't really my strong suit, so I apologize if this chapter didn't measure up.
If you did enjoy though, be sure to shoot me a thumbs-up (there's a button for that just below the view count on the left, and pressing it also grants you eternal happiness). Also, be sure to leave me a comment with your thoughts, because I love talking to people.
Peace.