the     Driver of the southwest Van  Got   out  he had  a  sidearm out.. he was shouting to   people    as   screamed inside the Van,, one  brave  trooper  tried to   get to the    back of the  van to open  the   door, though it   was  Up in the air  a bit.

  Lights,  that  were   around the second  floor  and  the top floor  went On  bathing the  grounds in harsh white Light.....

 The  South VAn driver   yelled at his  people to  get to the Door.. teo  trooper s  ran for the  Door , the others  looked  around as the Lights  went on.

………………………………………………

 Shadow whispered into  All COMs,..Visitors outside...  be switft....be  ready... I'm heading to the stair way.

  he   slipped the  Sanri Balster from his holster.

.................

Joe Mac Got  a COM  back from  Beth..I got a SIG..but not a Feed... if i was there  i might be able to send  something.... of Course..certain people  won't let me   go into the field...

 Shadow broke in,..Remember what happened  when you and Jesse  tried to Help us with the Angel Elite on the Hermes..

..whatever...

  Joe  Mac  sees  some  file  discs   as  well a a dis  with   3 Greed  Cred  Discs  in

 when the  explosion shakes the  Building..there is sounds  of   voices in teh  Kitchen..

……………………………………….

 Melia  opens the  Door  There is one  woman in a Black  Uniform    bitching out  4  people  at  the  Computers  and  COM consoles ...you worthless  scum!... there is  One  feed  comign in!..how  can you let one  damnable  Hacker   tie up  fore     EDT Techs!... I should shoot you all!

    Joseph takes what he can "I have a Hermes data pad, and a ESN com to direct link into the system.  Will any of that help?"

  Beth answers  Joe  Mac,..no..i need  a direct line.... years ago there  was  a group called the Orphans?.. they  turned, I had a  dircet feed into thier   operation  and  managed to   level  a Building... not far  from  where you folks  are now...its  been  replaced   by another   building.

   "Roger that" Joseph said "Shadow, once Melia finishes clearing her section we could set up a crossfire at the front door that will bottle them up enough for Roy to take out multiples per shot."

Both Melia's knives went in the same throw at the woman as she draws her pistols opening fire on each tech starting on her left and going around the room.

Roy kept selectively thinning the ranks...it was a grim task, but he alternated, shooting whoever was closest to the door, then whoever was closest to the car.  He took a moment to focus on the driver...the man was either in command or at least thinking clearly, and that was something Roy did not want anyone in that group doing.  A single round, aimed just below the base of the neck, would (Roy hoped) put a spectacular end to the shouts to get back to the van...

  The Woman  screamed  in surprise  and   PAin  as she  fell ..  tryign to get her  COM.

    As Melia  Opened up  the First two died  at the Consule , the far   two  rose  from the    chairs Holding Up there  hands.

………………………………………………

 Shadow COMs  Back.. if you do that, FAll  back  to the hallway by the office  and the Dininning room.. so you don't get over  run.. I'm going up the stairs...
……………………….

 Roy  Hit  a  Trooper   near the  door  .. then dropped his sights  down to the  man at the    'gate' Van..  He  Flew  foreward.. half the troops   were Looking around . The Lights  that were  meant to aid them.. were now   working against them as they tried to look out into   the darkness.

Melia smiled coldly at the hard ammo .45 pointed at the two, casually shooting the struggling woman in the head. Alright which ever of you can give me a disk with all your files and get me access to Lady Vs location will be given mercy. she says coldly, you get one try if you fail you die. If I see anything funny looking or like you're calling for back up its lights out. she says gesturing towards the comm consoles.

  the  Two watched thier    overseer die.. they poitned at the Consoles..

  The MAn  says,we have been trying to reach SEC, but  can't get through..who are you people!

 The woman, coldly looked at   Melia..if she wanted to say  anything, it went away when the overseer  was shot.

Who we are is not your concern, and I didn't tell you to reach SEC. she replies coldly shooting the man. Her focus shifts to the woman, so what will it be? You gonna get that info on a disk for me, and the info I asked for or do you have an excuse too

 the  woman watches the  MAn die, there is almost satisfaction in her eyes.

 stepping over the   body, the   opens a   drawer, opens a fresh Disc  set it into the feeder slot. and begins to  type... in  20  seconds or  so..the  Machine starts  to whine as the  disc  copies.

Melia waits patiently for the machine to work. Make sure you get all EDT contact manuals and the like. I want everything. How much longer? she asks impatiently

  the   woman   smirks  a bit,another..3...5  minutes .....should do ..just fine.

Roy continued whittling down the troops on the ground, watching for anyone that ran for the doors or the vans, psychologically penning the remaining troopers into the yard, like a sheepdog herding animals...

  Shadow  hears the   fuss  outside,  he   crouches   as he  goes up the broad   stairs. Reaching for the  knob of the  matching doors..he  stops.   He   Goe s Down a few stairs,aiming at the door  with his  SAnri  and Firing...

The Top of the stairs   Vanishes  in a white   flash of light , as   He is thrown back wards   rolling  down the  Final  4  steps  he    Comes  up on  one  knee with his  Sanri  facing Up the stairs,  blood  from a few  scratches on his  face, from wood  shrapnel .

 That Vill teach  you to come into  mien  house!

 Shadow slowly  got up, pulling a pencil sided  splinter   from  his shoulder, Grimly  walkign up the left side  of the stairs with the  weapon ready.

.......................

 The  woman smiled at  Melia...another  Minute.. you'll have everything you want....

……………...………………….

 Joe  Mac  finished the Desk as he heard the explosion..they heard  some screams from the  kitchen...a Commanding Voice yelled,..Go!..Get Out..NOW!

............…….

  Roy  Got  another    2  Troopers   down.. the  Violent  way they twisted  and fell.. making  Most of them  to   use thier own VAns  for  cover.. meanwhile.. the screams in the burning van had  mercifully stopped.

 As far  as  Roy could tell  there was  one  drover  left , hunkered  down  behind his Van.. shouting into a COM..  and maybe?..5  troopers    who were   still active...

 Far  to the   west.. he saw  some  people with aprons   runnind along the west Fence.

Melia grunts, "hurry up. I dont have all night." she says quietly in her comm, control watch the traffic I'm getting what might be a data dump for us, but if something suspicious happens let me know. hopefully getting tracking or a location on Lady V as well.

As the troopers hunkered down, Roy stopped shooting for a moment, waiting for someone (preferably the last driver) to poke a head up long enough to take aim and fire at them again.

"There's five fake Fuji-Sec guards hunkered down behind vans outside the yard...another van crashed into the roof.  If you come out the main doors, you're stepping into a hot fire-zone.  I'm pretty sure at least one is calling for reinforcements...so it would be prudent to move quickly...

His jaw barely moved as he murmured softly into his comm-mic, one eye looking through the scope and the other open so he could watch more terrain.

 The  woman nodded  as if she understood... the  room  began to get Hazy..  smokw  was  comign from  some of the machines...the   screens started  to   flicker  like   some  one rewinding a Vid  Show.

 ………………………………

  ..Koffel is here.. he booby  trapped the doors to teh secon level... I think he though he  got  whomever  was there...

    He move into the kitchen, weapons out and firing at anything that moves

"I know you want to put him down yourself, LC, but if you think he's in a room with a window facing my way, let me know, and I'll stop shooting at the fake guards and give him some reasons to ignore the stairs..."  With a different target, he'd never expect a chance to get a shot off...but Koffel had little or no reason to expect a sniper to be watching the grounds, and the man had already proven grossly inept in how he'd handled Shadow's plane being sabotaged, by all reports...and even in how he'd kind-of-put-together planes to show at the Proving Grounds.  This was definitely the sort of man who would consider making a break for it out of a second-story window, if he didn't already have an escape route set up.

 ..didn't  see any windo9ws in the Office.... , didn't notice   any one the way  down the   EAst wall..., I think there are a few  on the third  floor. Must be  Bed rooms  up there.

 ..if  you have the shot..take it... we have to let   the flunkies know, that  you better   do your  Job perfect.. or  we'll pay you back..

....................

 Joe  Mac came in the  Kitchen, a Guy who looked like a  chef, had  a   Butcher knife in each  hand.. he  went   down, as  did  a woman who tried to get out  the door... Joe   could  see a few others  at the  west corner,  running around the  Building.

...…………

  Melia  Noticed  the smoke.. some of the insides of the other  Machines began to  glow  from within..The woman sat there  with a smug  smile.

….........…

 Roy  Noted  the top floor   had  one 'normal'  sized  window across his   side  of the  building.., Three..spread in evenly   matched   areas .

 there  was a Light  on, inside the first  window   at  the west side.A woman  exits the   door   of the  small building that covered the steps.. she looked frightened   as she took  several looks  back over her shoulder, she had  two brief  cases.

 A Koffel , personal Shuttle was on its  way from the direction of the  Stem.

 There were   4  People  running down the  west fence, the  Driver of the   western Van waving   them  to stay by the   fence  and  work thier way around to the GAte.

  One trooper  tossed   a  square at the MAin Door... 2 seconds  after in landed   there was  an explosion that  Blew the lower Half  to the Doors   to bits.

Finishing in the kitchen, Joseph hears the explosion at the front door and returns to hold the front room while the others finish their tasks.  He moves quickly into position using his cloak to blur his presence.

Melia rolled her eyes, that was dumb of you she says and shoots the woman yanking the disk out if possible.

  the   Woman  smirked   Until she  saw the   weapon, but  died  all the  same...  smoke  was  coming from the  machine, when she saw the  one  Machine stop ..it  read " auto destruct achieved..."  the others   where   still whirling like   one armed  bandits..when  melia  heard the explosion, outside the  door...

…………………………..

 Joe  Make    stepped through the   door  across the hall from the Offcie  Shadow  had searched...he  saw  smokign  wood   and haze  from the  blown  door.. and  smoke coming  from the  COM/SEC  room..

 looking out the Blasted  part of the main doors.. he could see flood lights where on.. and  some Movement

…………………………..

 Roy  saw the Blast,  and the troopers gettign  ready to  rush the  palce... as well as the   small shuttle  coming in

...…………………………….

   Shadow   stepped   on the   2nd floor..he say a  stair way to his   left and a door that would lead to  a  room on the  south wall.. past the stairs.. he  saw  tao more  doors   each on the   east wall  the furthest  would open into a room  along the North wall.. the other   ..in the Middle.

  .. three  doors  on the east wall.. I'm  going up to the  third  floor, so be ready..in case folks are  hiding.

 when  he reached the top of the third  a Black Uniformed   Guy fired  at him, only his reactions saved  Him...but the EDT trooper didn't have a reaction for a sanri Blaster at this  range   his left   arm  and most of his  face  turned to  hamburger.

"Small personal shuttle inbound...one person on the roof...standby..."  He put crosshairs on the group massing to rush the entrance, aiming at--he hoped--a point where a couple of bodies overlapped, and dropping his aiming point to go for lower torso and leg hits.  He probably didn't have time to take them all down...but serious wounds would break down the effectiveness of the breaching attempt.  It would also make them unlikely to bunch together again.

So, with his sights on a gut-shot and hoping for a through-and-through that could hit someone else in the thigh, he squeezed the trigger again.

" Woman on the roof, waiting for the shuttle, and troopers thinking about coming in the front door..." He waited to see the results of his shot before trying anything more.