"You're only winning move is not to play," coaxed Delilah as she mopped up, however the Guards foolishly did not listen, even in the face of impending doom. "I bet you wish you'd rather stayed at home, eh?"

Specks of cyber flesh hung off knick wounds across Delilah's face and her form had taken the brunt of the New Heathrow Guards' rearguard action. With failing targeting, jamming weapons and cumbersome armour, their cybernetic systems had broken down and Delilah dealt with the resistance. With empty eyes, a pile of stunned Guards groaned and writhed on the floor before her.

"I'm giving you enough time to get out and if I was you, I'd run. Run like hell." She tossed them like garbage bags in to an open lift, closed the doors and waved goodbye, before dusting her hands as Lift Three opened and a half-dozen Tommies spilt out.

"You better have that ruddy ship ready to go," Sunburn grimaced as he supported one of his injured colleagues. Lift Two and Five arrived with more men.

"This is outrageous," Archie hollered.

"I know where they are," Delilah interrupted. "So you get aboard the ship."

"I don't take orders from a fabricant," Col Rose fumed.

"Yes you will," Delilah smiled politely, raising her Gatling gun arm.

"Delilah's right: we have to push off," Rocket suggested, pointing to the Saskatoon moored to the pier. Rocket leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Psst...you do know where they are, don't you?"

"To the ship," she snapped.

"Not on your nelly," Archie argued furiously as Thatcher held him back.

"Archie, trust me," Delilah implored. Col Rose ordered his soldiers and the befuddled political prisoners to the Saskatoon.

"You cannae leave Alistair to fend for himself," Archie foamed at the mouth. "He's a timid wean. I can't lose him again."

"With all due respect sir, my daughter is down there with your grandson. Don't think I'm making an easy decision here."

"Don't under estimate your grandson's wits and wiles, he'll find a way," Rocket replied.

"I can't lose him," Archie pleaded, necessitating Delilah to physically restrain him from returning to the lifts.

"We're not losing anyone. Come on, hustle," Col Rose fired. Rocket and Flash bolted to the pier whilst Col Rose and Thatcher remained.

"Honestly, where are they?" Col Rose demanded of Delilah.

"Don't fret. Julian has gone down to collect them."

"That hardly fills me with confidence," Col Rose replied.

Delilah's pupils dilated.

"Enough!!! Everyone...on the ship," she growled, supporting Archie. "I have utmost faith Mr. Essex will do as he promises. And once I've re-armed, I'll help him myself and I'll rip the heart out of every single Futurist who stands in my way."

**********************

Strobe lighting turned the fighting in to a staccato blur. Julian cartwheeled, flicking his pernicious, razor sharp silver plectrums at Alice Mould. Initiating a dance of death, Julian's fingertips nimbly showered his opponent in shrill shrapnel.

"You're going to burn in hell for this," Alice howled, wincing after a plectrum had cut her cheek, and a fine dribble of blood oozed to the surface.

"Don't worry, the devil is a friend of mine...I'm on the guestlist," Julian boasted, dashing off another salvo of the plectrums; they curled through the air with a whizzle and Alice defensively swatted them away like irksome flies. Julian changed tack; he leapt and spun, discharging his handguns, hollow-point shells whistling through the air. His lithe body twisted and turned as he zipped about like a cleg. Alice equally adept at the two-step, spun in a retaliatory whirl, using her extended blades to deflect Julian's bullets, allowing them to ricochet in to the stone pillars and smash through the glass cabinets housing her collection of Loyalist relics.

Alistair huddled with Balderick. Taking a peek, he spotted ghostly, fuzzy images of Alice and Julian as they duked it out. He shifted the Red Special on its back strap and knelt beside the semi-conscious Robert, snatching back the crown, hooping it over his arm and shoving it up to his shoulder. Whilst the strobe flickered, Chelsea desperately struggled to loosen her bonds and kneeling on his Hyperboard, Alistair mapped out the safest passage over to the rack. Bullets, plectrums and flecks of marble whizzed over his head forcing him to dive on his stomach as another glass case smashed all around him.

"Follow me Balderick," Alistair said through gritted teeth, floating across the floor, his belly flat on the Red Special. With Julian in hot pursuit, Alice cartwheeled over him; ignoring the boy, too engrossed in bettering the other, Alistair hustled on. Finding one of Julian's stray plectrums, he pocketed it and inched over to the rack, dollying around a broad pillar and crawled up to Chelsea. Delighted to see him, she strained against the bindings and Alistair slid the aged bolts out of her ankle shackles before he tugged out the weathered pins of the wristbands.

"What took you so long?" she rasped as Alistair inspected the workings of the clasp around her throat and attempted to unlock it.

"Seriously!" Chelsea sighed, resigned to the fact she would end up like a string of spaghetti if she didn't get off the rack.

With a whoosh through the air, Julian and Alice came to a halt in the middle of the room. They both looked at the children then back at one another. Julian held out his guns and smugly, he smiled in triumph. Pulling the triggers, both pistolettes clicked, empty of bullets. Julian wrinkled his nose and it was Alice's turn to gloat as she displayed her glinting blades.

"Game over?" she enquired, cocking her eyebrow.

"Drats," Julian sighed, tossing his pistolettes aside. He flung ninja stars at Alice, which she batted away with her blades and both combatants resumed pinging around the offices.

"You're only delaying the inevitable," Alice alerted as they caught their breath. "However, I shall enjoy taking my time with you."

"Don't tread on an ant," Julian cautioned snidely, "he's done nothing to you. And tonight, he might come looking for you!"

"You are turgid," Alice snivelled. "You and your ilk are aberrations!"

"Is that so? It's kinda tough to tell a scruff the mistake she's making," Julian countered. "She here's your last chance!"

Julian reached over his shoulders, unsheathed his Samurai sword and Alice swished her arms defensively like a tomcat with claws of steel. Venomously, Julian and Alice launched themselves at each other. Sparks flew as their blades chinked and clashed. Alice furiously sliced and diced as Julian spun about, sword in hand defending and attacking with equal aplomb and Alistair was taken, admiring the swordplay.

"Oi...you have to get me off this thing," Chelsea had to remind. Refocussing, Alistair forcefully snapped open the brace, freeing Chelsea. She rubbed her neck and wrists and together they gawked as Julian and Alice went at each other like psychotic blenders. Using serpentine movements to ease through the broken cabinets and stone pillars, Alice appeared to be gaining the ascendancy. Julian removed another throwing star and Alice did well to swerve as it swung left and embedded into a medieval suit of armour.

"What's the plan now?" Chelsea coaxed as the tinkling feet of scammers hunted them.

"RUN!" Alistair implored, yanking Chelsea as one scammer detonated. The other scammer's began to pursue, their spindly legs creeping along the marble like a nightmare.

Balderick supported Julian, swooping Alice's head, putting her off enough for Julian to step back to recover his breath and notice that Chelsea was free and that both children were running to the lifts pursued by a swarm of scammers. Swatting Balderick, Alice spotted Alistair stealing away with her crown and became infuriated. Julian steered Alice out of their way with a breakneck display of swordsmanship, blocking any chance she had of catching the kids.

With Alice distracted, Alistair and Chelsea bounded towards the iron gates. Robert was still prostrate; his mashed nose dripping into a pool of blood and the scammers crawled over him on their march to the lifts. Diving in to the sanctuary of the lift, Alistair fumbled for his slingshot and Chelsea offered him a handful of sparklers.

Snapping back the elastic, he squeezed his left eye close and initiated the cross-hair targeting in his Eye-Fi. Releasing the sparkler, it hit dead centre, blasting the scammer to bits and he nervously loaded another sparkler. Like a sinister game of marbles, Chelsea underhanded the mini-bombs in to the air and in slow motion, the sparklers bounced along the tiles, ruptured and exploded across the floor. Taking evasive action, the scammers scattered, hiding in nooks and crannies.

"Julian...ready when you are," Chelsea hurried. Julian acknowledged, cornering Alice as Balderick noisily fluttered above her head.

"Your resistance is useless," Alice informed Julian, swatting at Balderick. "You may think your little bout of shenanigans will cause the masses to rise ...but let's be realistic, the slobs are a spineless mob of spoon-fed, sycophantic imbeciles. Do you think they are going to give up their daily existence?"

"You're vile," Julian spat. "And deluded!"

"Sticks and stones may break my bones," Alice responded childishly.

"But whips and chains excite me," Julian teased.

"There's something wrong with you," Alice muttered.

"Your time is up my dear," Julian stated matter-of-factly. "And you can't fool the children of this revolution!"

"No matter what happens, I won't let you live," Alice stated coolly. "So what good is your coup then?"

Julian held his sword in his taut hands, pouring scorn on his adversary.

"It won't be the first or last time I'll read my obituary in the Daily Scandal," Julian flared.

"Oh yes, bigmouth strikes again. Very good," Alice applauded before emphatically restating her intention. "Give me the boy. And the crown!"

Holding his ground, Julian stared at her disbelievingly.

"Tell me what you want...what you really, really want?" Julian teased, taking no heed. "Because you're about to get zigga-zig-zarred."

Alice had reached the end of her tether. Bristling, she retracted her blades and withdrew a service revolver then casually spun the chamber.

"I tried to tell you, but you just didn't listen. Now my fey friend, have you ever played Russian Roulette?"

Julian's eyes widened as she pointed her revolver at him.

"Oh that's right, as it transpires, I can fool the children of the revolution," she prevailed.

CLICK...

Julian began to back flip head over hands towards the waiting lift as Alice laughed out loud, relishing the fear in her opponent and her ascendency to the upper hand.

CLICK...

"Not so smart now, are we bigmouth?" Alice heckled.

CLICK...

Groaning, Robert came to and lifted his sore head off the tiles just as Balderick dive-bombed Alice, distracting her enough to buy Julian precious seconds. Instinctively, Alice's blade extended and cut through the air, clipping Balderick's wing. Crippled, the raven nosedived to the floor.

Alice returned to her revolver, spinning the chamber, pulling the trigger.

CLICK...CLICK...CLICK...

Robert pushed himself on to his knees, spitting snotty blood to the floor. His hand wavered as his blurred vision affected his ability to target Alice properly. As the remaining scammers swarmed to block Julian's exit, they began to instinctively detonate. Julian reacted, diving. Mid-air, he was almost safe...

BANG...

Smoke twirled from Alice's revolver as Julian crumbled, flopping with a thud and slid on his back in to the waiting elevator; blood oozing from the wound began seeping through his battle suit. The bullet had gone straight through his shoulder and Julian clutched it tightly, caterwauling in excruciating pain. He tried hard but he fell in to shock.

"Close the doors!" Chelsea screamed. Alistair stared out at Robert; his face puffy and eyes swollen. He waved his gun in Alice's direction but she lashed out, kicking the gun from his hand.

BANG!!!

A bullet whizzed a millimetre above Alistair's scruffy hair and lodged in to the back of the lift splintering the wood and smashing the mirror.

"Come on!!!" Chelsea screamed. "Get us out of here!!!"

"Balderick!" Alistair cried. His friend cawed in pain and Alistair's finger hovered over the 'close' button. Julian's blood smeared down the back wall of the lift as he searched for a sachet of Life-Aid to daub on his wounds.

Again, Alistair heard his friend moaning and he made a split-second decision as Julian went pale with shock. Robert feebly held his head, pushing up to his knees as Alice began hunting for the injured raven.

"Alistair," Julian fought breathlessly. "Close the doors...Delilah can't wait..."

"No one gets left behind," Alistair said doggedly. Stubbing the 'close' button, he took a running leap, tossed the Red Special at his feet and slammed the thruster with his foot. He burst from the lift as both Chelsea and Julian yelped out, to persuade him not to go back. The doors closed and their cries fell on impetuous, deaf ears.