"We got him! It's Metheun!" The voice crackled over Marcus' radio.
The doberman pushed down on the transmit button. "Keep him secure, we're almost there." Sprinting, he and his Purifier companion reached the end of the passageway and turned right, slowing when they saw the group clustered up ahead. The Purifiers he'd sent up ahead were holding a smaller man between them, the shoulder of his jacket torn. His head hung down towards the floor, obscuring his face.
"Look at me," Marcus growled, approaching. He stopped in front of the man, towering over him, and reached down to grip his hair, yanking his head back. It was undeniably Metheun. "It's him," he confirmed.
"I could have told you that," Axel said from the sidelines, his arms crossed.
Ignoring him, Marcus released Metheun's hair and glowered down at him. "You're coming with us."
Though the side of his face was starting to swell from where one of the Purifiers had hit him, Metheun's mouth slowly curled into a smile. "I don't think so."
Marcus paused briefly, thrown off by his reaction. "I don't give a fuck what you think." He started to order the Purifiers to march him away.
Metheun's voice stopped him again. "The one in the black jacket," he said, looking at Marcus. His eyes then flicked to Aaron. "And the big guy standing next to the pony. Focus on them, the rest just follow orders."
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The tiny transceiver resting in his ear picked up his voice. From a window overlooking the alley, Junko brought the sights of her sniper rifle down to rest on the group as Metheun stopped talking. She signaled the the rest of her team, positioned at multiple vantage points.
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"Who's he talking to?" Axel asked, glancing uncertainly towards Soren.
"Get him-" Marcus started. Then the top of his head exploded outwards. Grey matter, blood and skull fragments sprayed across the group holding Metheun. Marcus crumpled, his body dropping heavily at Metheun's feet.
For a second, Axel stared, uncomprehending. His eyes rested on the doberman's fingers flexing once, twice, then falling still. Realization slowly dawned, and he took a step back. Had he been shot? The music still leaking from the club made it hard to tell-
Then a hailstorm of bullets assaulted the alley. One of the Purifiers holding Metheun grunted, falling back as his chest tore open. The floor and walls sparked as stray bullets ricocheted. Shrieking, Axel fell back, trying to crawl towards cover blindly, the club's noise making it impossible to hear where the shots were coming from. As another Purifier was killed, his body collapsed on top of Axel, pinning him against the ground.
"Fuck! Fu-" Axel started to gasp. Then he screamed as a bullet punched through his exposed leg.