In hindsight, something had been amiss for some time. The regular PSA reports were becoming less and less reliable, as though Galbadia's secret police were losing their edge. Rumblings of dissatisfaction over the Army's handling of the Dollet situation had caused a few flare-ups in conquered territories, but nothing like [i]this...[/i] As he stared out over the rioting masses spilling into the road before him, Lifelong President Vinzer Deling felt the first prickles of fear sneaking into his heart. The Army would put this revolt down swiftly, they always did. Nevertheless, he couldn't help but feel that this was... different somehow. Fortunately his men took control immediately, the ever loyal Field Marshal organising defences and, more importantly, detailing a team to extract Deling himself. He stepped down toward the onrushing soldiers with no small amount of gravitas. [b]'We have orders to move you away from the plaza sir, please come with us.',[/b] the first one said. Two others took up the rear, their rifles trained on the heaving masses. [b]'Yes, of course soldier.',[/b] the President replied briskly. [b]'I assume there are contingency plans for this kind of thing, yes?'[/b] The soldier didn't reply, which Deling took to be a tacit confirmation. He never had much bothered learning the military side of things, Lerwick and his cronies had always seen to that. He wondered briefly, as the soldiers moved him along, whether the situation could have been dealt with differently if he had backed Caraway's mob and their insistence on robot security forces. These damn rebels would have never [i]dreamt[/i] of picking a fight with a dozen of those crab-like monstrosities... Maybe a cabinet reshuffle was in order. And the PSA for that matter. Something must have slipped their net. [b]'Heads will roll...',[/b] he growled as they finally escaped the crowded street.

[hr]

Lining up another shot, Duncan gently squeezed the trigger. Another officer down. He hadn't answered the radio calls just yet, instead watching the crowd suspiciously. The others were right, he thought. Here and there, spots of carnage indicated where trained professionals had gotten caught up in the fighting, sometimes after being beserked, others after meeting a beserkee. It was a no-brainer that the PSA wanted to keep tabs on the situation, but to what end he could not guess. Logically they would only be watching, but he couldn't discount the gut feelings of three trained SeeDs... Duncan was about to call for a withdrawal when Xerox spoke up. His mind raced as the possibilities lined up in his mind. Implanted agents meant PSA, no surprise there, but they couldn't allow any recordings of the situation to survive. [b]'Xerox, do it. And make it a big one; a click and a half diameter would be good.'[/b] Pausing quickly to shoot another soldier, he switched comm channels to talk to his father. [b]'Kingpin, suspected outside influence. Begin pulling your men back.'[/b] He didn't wait for a reply. [b]'Assault Team One, execute HVT and exfil immediately. All other teams, exfil and eliminate any pursuers.'[/b] His expression hardened. [b]'[i]Any[/i] pursuers, even if you think they're civs.'[/b] Once the confirmations began to come in, he rolled over and went to work disassembling his rifle. It would be a hair-raising abseil down off the arch, but he needed to get away too. He had left Eika guarding the mansion after all and didn't want to leave her waiting.

[hr]

[b]'Sir, down this way! We have a vehicle ready to pick you up.'[/b] Syrus took the lead as Team One reached the alleyway, leading the four of them behind the buildings and into a secluded courtyard. Taking up the rear was Kein a dozen steps behind, gunning down the handful of stragglers that pursued them. When he caught up, the medic leant close and whispered to Jericho. [b]'I think we're far enough bro. You wanna do the honours?'[/b] It seemed only fair that a Galbadian would get to give Deling the final blow. The dictator was responsible for an even greater number of Galbadian deaths than those butchered at Dollet. Meanwhile Syrus jogged around the clearing, checking doorways and corners, all the while fighting the feeling that something terrible was about to happen...