Dr Gretchen L. Stevenson-Murray lived in a one bedroom apartment in Chicago, occupying a building in which she was surrounded by dozens more one bedroom apartments. Most of them were occupied. But, for tonight, the one next to her was empty of any tenants except for Adem Different and Victor Reilly.
A foot and a half of solid plaster separated the two apartments, but Victor stared into Gretchen’s room as easily as if there were a clear window built into the wall.
“Is the woman still asleep?” Adem asked softly.
“Yeah,” Victor whispered in response. Adem nodded.
“You watching the door?”
“Nope,” Victor said.
“Good. He’d want to arrive through the entrance with the least resistance… least chance of being spotted by anyone else in the building… so, the window,” Adem said.
“We’re on the second to top floor. He could work his way down the fire escape and not be spotted at all,” Victor said, whispering. Adem nodded again.
“…which he’s doing right now…” Victor added. His X-Ray enhanced eyes were fixed on the outside wall. Victor watched the Link Double work his way down the fire escape, being careful not to make any noise. The killer stopped when he reached the level next to Gretchen’s apartment.
Victor Reilly leaped forward, pressing the subspatial inducer in his left hand against the wall in front of him. He jammed the button down with his palm as he did so, disappearing from before Adem’s eyes and reappearing on the other side of the wall.
The Link double chose that moment to charge through the window of Gretchen’s apartment with his shoulder down, smashing the glass and hurtling through the other side. He came to a rolling stop on the floor, stood up, and brushed himself off.
…just as Victor Reilly came rushing from the other side of a solid wall and tackled him in the midsection.
The two went sprawling to the floor, Victor making his way to his feet first. He drove a knee into the Link’s sternum and pulled a knife from his belt, driving it straight into his opponent’s throat.
The Link just grinned and grabbed Reilly’s throat, throwing all their weight to the left and rolling. He threw his knee into Reilly’s kidney, pushing Reilly to the ground while standing up.
The Link made its way across the room to Gretchen’s bedroom door, throwing the door open and marching into the room.
He found himtself greeted by the sight of Adem Different grabbing a confused looking Gretchen from her bed and pressing the button on his subspatial inducer.
“No!” The Link yelled. Reilly grabbed his head from behind, slammed it against the door frame, and whirled the Link around, snapping his neck and throwing him to the floor of the living room. The Link was still for a moment, and Reilly wondered briefly if his work was done. This delusion was shattered when the Link sat bolt upright and climbed once more to his feet. It ran at Reilly, who ducked and drove a fist into his attacker’s abdomen. The Link stepped backward then drove an elbow into the side of Reilly’s head. Reilly grunted in pain then drove his knee into the Link’s crotch. The Link grabbed Reilly’s shoulders and threw him down to the floor.
As they both stood up, Reilly heard the apartment’s front door slam open behind him. He ducked as a dagger flew above his head and lodged itself in the Link’s heart. Reilly turned around to see Lykopis in the doorway.
“About time,” Reilly said, grabbing the Link’s arm and yanking him towards Reilly, who pivoted and turned the killer towards Lykopis.
Lykopis screamed and drive her sword into the Link’s side, cutting him clean through. He fell in two halves onto the floor, spilling dark blood all over Gretchen’s carpet.
“I wouldn’t want to be stuck with the cleaning bill!” Victor said. Lykopis glared at him.
“What? It’s what superheroes do. Battlefield wit,” Victor said.
Lykopis continued to glare at him.
Their attention was suddenly caught by the two Link halves on the floor, as each began regenerating itself.
“Shit…” Victor said as the legs grew themselves a spine, then muscles, veins, skin, a head…
Within moments, the two European Vanguardians found themselves staring at two fully formed duplicates of Link Fox.
Both the Links charged at Victor and Lykopis, who stepped backward into defensive stances. Lykopis had her sword outstretched and drove it into the shoulder of her attacker, while Victor ducked and shot out a leg, tripping his. He tried to throw all his weight down and hold the Link to the floor, but the Link simply threw his weight backwards and sent Reilly sprawling to the floor. Reilly stood and grabbed a piece of broken glass as the Link ran at him, and held it out, driving the glass into the Link’s stomach. The Link grabbed Reilly by the midsection and span him around, towards the apartment’s broken window.
As Reilly was about to fall through the opening, he grabbed the Link’s arm, and the two fell out onto the fire escape. Reilly winced as the broken glass in the window frame cut into his side, and winced again when he realized they were thirty-two stories up.
The Link grabbed Reilly’s neck and threw him over the edge of the fire escape.
