When Leo and Frieda got onto dry land, Niko was surprised how composed Frieda looked. He thought maybe he'd just imagined her emotional distress, maybe he misinterpreted her body language from such a distance. "Leo, it's good to see you," he said to his older brother.

Leo didn't say anything, Niko thought he saw a flash of anger and it chilled him. "Let's get inside." Frieda said as she ushered the others in, glancing up at the sky as if someone might be watching them from the clouds. Once in the house, Niko watched Leo take in Princess Sparkles' frightening new look.

"What happened to him?" Leo asked.

"He got shot," Frieda said, stepping in front of Princess to try and block him from view. "He'll be fine."

"Are you sure about that?" Leo was craning his neck to look around Frieda and watch Princess dig in the kitchen cupboards.

"Don't worry about Princess, I'll worry about him, you just tell me what you know."

Leo sat on the edge of the bed and chewed his lip. "You weren't the only ones drawn into a trap. We've lost contact with five cells, three more have lost a member or two."

"What does that mean?" Niko asked.

"It means the MEC is cracking down." Leo glared down at Niko and he felt shame burning inside himself. Leo was obviously upset with him. "They must have someone on the inside leaking details to them about our operations."

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's not me, you know that."

"You're an idiot, I know you don't have the kind of information that would help the MEC on this scale. You don't even deserve to be here, you should be--"

"Leo!" Frieda yelled but Leo ignored her.

"The only reason she keeps you around is because you remind her of me, you know that right? You're useless, you should have fled the republic when you could. Now, you're here, and I can't even turn you in to save her! You're wasting your freedom!"

"I told you we weren't going to discuss this with him!" Frieda was glaring at Leo and Leo was shaking with rage.

"Save who?" Niko asked.

"You stole from the Proxy, Niko! You tried to kill him!"

"No I didn't, that was her!"

"I did it for you," Frieda said. She looked bored with the conversation.

Leo slammed a fist against the wall and everyone, even Princess Sparkles, turned to him. "It doesn't matter who did it or why! Our sister is married to his son! Do you really think that after everything you've done Zoya would be safe with their family? If I could just bring you to Proxy Kusneska he might release her into my custody."

Suddenly, Frieda seemed more interested but not in a good way. "I told you Leo, you'd be trading one sibling for another. Zoya may be in danger, but if you give them Niko he will most certainly be publicly tortured, humiliated and executed."

"But my family and my position of trust would stay intact. It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

His brother's words hurt. He bit his lower lip and considered what was happening.

"Well, your family isn't as useful to me as Niko so it's a sacrifice I refuse to make!"

"Frieda, how many times do I have to tell you? He is not me, he never will be. Keeping him around isn't going to get you what you want, I'm married, I'm working hard to keep my cover."

"We both know that's not what I'm after here. Niko happens to be a great shot and he helped me keep Princess alive."

"I'll do it," Niko said.

"What?" Frieda turned on him and her glare was like a beam of burning hot light. "After all the work I've put into training you, you just wanna walk right into the enemy's hands? Don't be an idiot."

"I have to, Leo's right, my family depends on it."

"No." Leo shook his head, covering his eyes with one hand. "Frieda's right, unfortunately. As much as I would love to hand you over to save our sister, my wife, my girls, I can't. We have new orders."

"You've contacted command?" Frieda asked. "What are they saying? What's our next move?"

Leo took a map from his jacket and spread it out over the floor. He ran his finger over the mountains that separated the bulk of the republic from the arctic peninsula where the capital city of Cheneska was found. "As you know, there's only one pass through the Razorneck Mountains. You folks will rendezvous with another team coming in from the east."

"Whoa, wait!" Frieda shook her head and the remnants of cold lake water in her hair splattered the map. "Another team? How are we supposed to trust them when we've got a leak in the organization and MEC agents hiding everywhere?"

"Do you trust command?" Leo asked and Frieda didn't respond. "Good, so, you'll meet the second team here and with their help you'll plant bombs here, here and here."

"Bombs?" Niko asked.

"We don't really deal in demolition." Frieda shook her head and Leo looked annoyed that she was questioning the plan again. "We're more of the liberating sort."

Leo crossed his arms and leaned back, looking tough and angry. "You don't get it do you? We're not just liberating deviants anymore. The MEC made their move, it's time to make ours. This is war."

Niko's eyes grew wide and he felt his body start to shake. "Wait," he said, "I never signed up for a war! I'm just a coal mining artist! I can't fight in a war!"

"You have to. You asked for this life, remember?" Leo didn't seem the least bit concerned with Niko's safety. "Besides, looks like Frieda could use your backup." He was watching Princess as the blood stained man started smashing bits of scrap metal together.

Again Frieda moved to block her compromised old friend from view. "Fine, I get it, we're at war. What's blowing up a bridge gonna do?"

"It's not just any bridge. This time of year the passageways in and out of the harbour are frozen solid, without the Razorneck Pass the capital is cut off from the rest of the republic. They won't be able to send back up and we'll be able to take control of their food supply."

"They'll have enough food stored to make it to the summer. If they haven't rebuilt the bridge by then they'll be able to bring in more by boat." Although Frieda said she accepted the idea of war it was clear she didn't think this was the best plan of attack. "Not to mention, they could just fly supplies in?"

"We've already destroyed the Cheneskan airport and most of their planes with it. Foreign support is most certainly not flooding in because of our government's... lax stance on human rights violations. Besides, we're not actually trying to cut off their food supply, we're just showing them we have more power than they realize."

"Destroyed the airport? How did we manage to pull that off?"

"The team you're meeting up with in the mountains, they're two ladies with a flair for destruction."

"And why do they need our help?"

"Because you're a lady with a flair for killing and after the strike against the airport President Braska has stepped up security at every major transportation hub. You'll need to cause a distraction while our girls rig up their blasts."

"And me?" Niko asked.

Leo blinked. "You're Frieda's young protege. I'd say your place is at her side."

Niko looked at Frieda and she winked at him. "I know you're afraid, but you'll do great."

"I think I'd still rather let Leo turn me in to Proxy Kusneska."

"Trust me," Leo said as he turned to leave. "I'd rather do that too."

As Leo left, Frieda was quick to follow him out the door. Niko glanced out the window and watched the two of them walk towards the boat sitting on the shore. Once they reached their destination they turned to each other and Niko watched Frieda lean in to kiss Leo. Leo tried to resist at first eventually he submitted to her. He wrapped his arms around her and she melted against him. When Leo paddled away, Niko went to join Frieda at the edge of the lake. "Is it true what he said?" He asked, "About how you only keep me around because I remind you of him?"

"I'm tired of telling you not to be an idiot so do me a favour, stop asking stupid questions." Frieda clapped a hand against his back then started walking back to the house. "You're nothing like your brother. Now get some rest, I hear war can be hell on a person's stamina."