Stowls makes strong attempts at conversation, but my mind is elsewhere. We arrive at my apartment in record time. As I step out of the SUV, I notice the air is warmer now. A stark indicator that sunlight is coming soon. I would assume Gerald will want us gone by sunrise. He doesn't have to worry as I do not plan on dallying any longer than I have to.

Stowls asks if I want him to accompany me to the apartment and I decline. I assure him I will not be long as I leave him standing beside the car.

I enter the apartment building with some apprehension. I focus on the cream-colored walls and worn brown carpet. The apartment building is cleaner than most, but not the best apartment I have ever lived in. I can say with all honesty that the decor needs an update.

The sound of a newborn crying suggests to me that baby Ambrose has not gotten his sleep schedule down yet. The Janssens must be ripping their hair out. The last time I saw Mrs. Janssen was when the couple brough the baby home. The crying started shortly after they returned and I have seen hide nor hair of her since. If Mr. Janssen is any indication of what I should expect, she has bags under her eyes and a tired gait.

I don't regret my decision to hold off on kids.

I enter the apartment with the turn of a key. I should feel some sense of nostalgia to know this is the last time I will enter the apartment. The emotion I do feel is relief.

I toss my keys into the gray ceramic bowl on the oak table beside the door. The same yellow pastel walls that welcomed me in the beginning are now far too yellow, even for me. It used to make the apartment feel clean and bright, but it feels like just another yellow wall. It's sad because yellow, or rather gold, is my favorite color.

I pass by the living room on the way to my bedroom. I've always hated the tacky blue contemporary sofa that came with the apartment. The saving grace of the living room is the antique glass table and the grand fireplace, as well as the terrace. The view of the city at night from the terrace is beautiful.

I head down a small hall and into the bedroom. Ignoring the California King bed, I head to a space beside the small white wood dresser opposite the bed. A small gesture causes the dresser to slide across the wooden floor. A small wooden plank unseats itself where the dress's leg once was.

I pull the plank away to reveal a small opening. A small device the size of an old-school beeper is nestled beside a stack of passports. I grab everything in my hands and replace the plank. I use my powers once again to move the dresser back and open the closet doors. A black backpack slides over to me. I toss the device and the passports in the bag.

I retrieve my suitcase and begin packing up my things. Most of my belongings after I joined the team were kept at the school. The apartment came pre-furnished, so most of the furniture was here long before I was.

After packing my stuff and changing into civilian clothes, I head back into the living room. The moment I enter the living room, my eyes adjust to the darkness. The lights have been turned off while I was otherwise engaged. The doors to the balcony are open and the night air is blowing into the apartment. I sling my backpack over my back and drop the suitcase on the floor.

"I'm in no mood." I speak into the darkness.

The light flicks back on to reveal a figure in black army fatigues with a black Kevlar vest. The figure is male, judging on the shape of his body. A pair of shiny black combat boots lead up into a pair of kneepads His face is obscured by a rounded helmet that almost contours to his face. Two special blue pistols are strapped to his shoulders in a holster, with riot sticks holstered on his side. The most curious thing about him is a pair of bulky gauntlets on his wrists.

We're not acquainted.

"Noted." He says.

His voice is electronically scrambled as he speaks. The voice fits his cold, nonchalant demeanor. He regards me with caution, yet he does appear especially troubled by my impertinence. He either overestimates himself or underestimates me.

"I guess you won't be coming peacefully?" He asks.

"Sorry. Mama always said I shouldn't get in cars with strange me wearing riot gear."

"Your mother or your uncle?" He asks.

His comment is telling. Mentioning Gerald means he was sent from DISA. Most people do not know that I am his nephew for good reason. He was sent by Archer.

"Look, I'm sure it's been a long night for both of us. Let's make a deal. You can have whatever's in the fridge and I'll see myself out. You can tell Archer I as gone when you got here."

"Pass."

His hands tighten and his wrist pulsates. I groan at the prospect of fighting. I am not prepared for a fight. I would rather go back downstairs and get in the SUV with Stowls in peace. It occurs to me that Stowls is possibly captured or unconscious, if not worse.

I move quickly to dodge what appears to be a very generous vibration attack generated by the gauntlets. The vibration takes off a piece of the wall behind me. I scoff as I roll backwards down the hallway and duck into the bedroom, creating a gust of wind to close and lock the door.

"Okay, if you have this room bugged like I suspect you do, I need your assistance." I say into the air.

As if on cue, my cell phone rings. I fish my phone out of my pocket and see that the call is coming from an unknown number.

"Exit strategy?" I ask.

"Screw your deposit. Use your powers." Ben's voice says.

I was not expecting Ben to be on the other line. My relief is mixed with confusion.

"I'm on my way up, but if you don't fight him, he's going to take you in." Ben says.

"You know him?" I ask.

"Yeah. I do." Ben says.

The line goes dead and I swear furiously into the phone. The mysterious, bad boy angle is getting old.

I sigh to myself as I slide the phone into my back pocket. I pull the cords on my backpack, tightening its hold on my shoulders. Pushing my back against the wall beside the door, I wait for the next maneuver. The door explodes off its hinges beside me.

The Man enters the room and I twirl around in front of him, pushing my palm forward into his chest. The wind rises in the room and sends him hurtling back into the living room.

I follow him, ducking another attack from his gauntlets as he bridges the gap between us in a surprisingly fast manner. I send a bolt of electricity into his gauntlets and they spark, causing a slight malfunction.

"Someone's in trouble now." I say.

The Man discards the gauntlets, opting to use his riot sticks. He catches me off guard as I narrowly duck his incoming attacks. His third attack catches my leg and I drop to one knee.

"No smart-ass comments?" He asks.

Luckily, Ben appears at the door behind him, brandishing a large rifle. I am saved for the second time tonight. The Man is satisfied with himself. I can tell he is smiling without seeing his face.

"Just one. Boom." I say.

The man tilts his head. Ben's rifle roars to life as I spin, using my foot to push him away from me. He stumbles back as the bullets hit his vest. Ben uses speed that would put Vlad to shame as he reloads the gun with much larger ammunition. I roll away as he fires a concussive shot that explodes on impact, taking the Man off his fee completely.

"You okay?" Ben asks.

I hop to my feet and sprint to Ben at the door. His gun is aimed at the unconscious man. His eyes only leave the Man when I am at his side.

"Are you hurt? Your leg?" Ben asks.

"Relax. Gerald isn't going to kill you. Not today. I'm fine." I say. "But thanks, Broody."

"I regret saving you." He says.

"I hear that a lot. Let's get the Hell out of here." I say.

"Agreed. This guy is bad news."

We rush from the apartment to find other tenants poking their heads out into the hallway. I wave at the Janssens as we head towards the elevator. Ben grabs me and pulls me to the side just as a shockwave attack streaks past me and hits the elevator. The elevator plummets down and crashes below.

"Okay, stairs! Stairs!" I say frantically.

I pull Ben into the stairwell, and we rush down the stairs. We exit the stairwell as quickly as we can before rushing from the apartment building onto the street.

I jerk to a stop when my eyes land on the SUV. Stowls is laid out on the sidewalk in front of the SUV, almost lifeless. The SUV itself has been destroyed beyond repair. It appears to have been put through a garbage compactor and resembles a gigantic rubik's cube. People are watching from their windows across the street.

Stowls groans. I move to check on Stowls, but Ben grabs my arm. His gloved grip is stronger than it should be. I glower at him and he releases my arm. Stowls is alive, though he has a huge gash on his forehead.

"We need to go!" Ben says.

Ben leads me over to a motorcycle that appears to be two centuries early to the world. The Tron-like appearance of the bike begs the question of who created such a thing. The bike is pure black with rounded wheels that appear to be extensions of the bike itself, not wheels.

The bike roars to life as Ben climbs on. Ben slips on a similarly sleek bike helmet with a holographic visor. He hands me an identical one. I climb on the back of the bike and it roars again.

Ben tells me to hold on and I wrap my arms around his waist. He inhales sharply as the bike jolts forward. I look behind us to see a red bike in the design of Ben's pull up beside the Man, who is standing on the sidewalk beside the destroyed SUV. Two newer model Corvettes shoot past him.

"Trouble?" Gerald's voice asks.

I turn my attention to the front of the bike to see a holographic image of Gerald. It figures that the bike has holographic capabilities. DISA does love a good hologram.

"Nothing I can't handle. Is the plane ready?" Ben asks.

"It is. Just waiting on you two." Gerald says. "It looks like you have company."

"Anyone going to explain who that guy is? Or do I need to wait for the abridged version?" I ask.

"Help should be there soon. Take the next right and then a left." Gerald commands.

"That'll take us off course." Ben says.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but do what he says." I say.

"We're waiting." Gerald says.

Ben cuts the corner and follows Gerald's direction. The streets and sidewalks are not as densely populated as they normally would be. It is fortunate for our escape.

The cars following us mimic Ben's movements, officially joined by the Man. They aren't letting up and I need to create some distance between us and them.

"Hold on!" Ben shouts.

Ben cuts another corner. He dodges between a streetlight and an iron fence. I hold my breath as I squeeze his waist again. He coughs out a laugh.

"I trust my uncle but where is this help he was sending?" I ask.

"I think I see what he was talking about." Ben nods forward.

I look forward to see Vlad standing in the middle of the street eating the Dutch equivalent of loaded fries, patatje oorlog. My favorite superpower is being able to find a stand in any part of the city that sells them.

Vlad salutes us before disappearing. I feel a gust of wind as he passes. One of the car's tires explodes before it careens off the road and into a nearby shop.

"One down, two to go." Ben smiles. "You know how to use a gun?"

"I'm not using a gun."

"It's a gun or your powers. You choose."

"Ben...just drive." I say.

Ben hits the gas. The other car speeds up behind us. A gust of wind alerts me to the presence of Vlad again. This time, he somehow readjusts the car's trajectory into a pole. I break a smile.

"One left." I say as the Man weaves through the wreckage. "

"The las one is not gonna be easy."

A gust of wind passes us again. The Man lifts his gaunt and aims at the street in front of him. I yell out but it's too late. The vibration hits the street, causing a piece of concrete to unearth itself. A blurry projectile tumbles through the street and into a row of garbage cans. The man speeds up to us and I turn to Ben.

"Who is this guy?" I ask.

"Rupture." Ben says over his shoulder.

"Seriously? Not like Tremors or Gauntlet Man or even Blasty Blaster? Something a tad more sinister?" I ask.

"Tell him that." Ben says.

A blast comes from behind as Ben strafe the bike to the left. The blast hits a light post, and it nearly takes us off the bike. Ben has to strafe again to miss it as it falls. The Man is gaining on us and I can't let him catch up to us anymore than he already has.

With much hesitation, I let go of his waist and careful turn my body to the back of the bike so that our backs towards each other.

"What are you doing?" Ben asks.

"Not going peacefully. Now shut up. I need to concentrate." I say.

I close my eyes as I clutch tightly to the bike. I feel the particles of water in the air condensing. When I open my eyes, fog descends upon the street and obscures the road behind us.

"One problem." Ben says. "The bikes have thermal."

Rupture bursts from the fog. I take a deep breath as I lift my hand. Lightning shoots through the sky as strikes down in front of his bike. He strafes right to avoid the lightning. I am about to call down another bolt of lightning when his bike stalls.

"Is this your idea of an escape?" Solomon asks.

I look over to see Solomon hovering beside us. I scowl at him. For once I am glad to be on the same side as Solomon. His gift of molecular manipulation is indeed powerful. If I were a betting man, I would say that he used his powers to make the bike immovable.

"Get to the airfield before more arrive!" Solomon demands.

"What about Vlad?" I ask.

"He is fine. Already gone, in fact." Solomon says.

Solomon lifts into the sky and disappears into the night. I flip back around, clutching onto Ben's waist again. I exhale fully as we head to the airfield. I feel a deepening sense of relief, though I know that is not the end of my new nemesis. I take one last look at the streets of Amsterdam.

It's been a real slice.