Hudson brought his right foot up between Kessel's legs. At the same time, he pulled with all his might and flipped the armoured merc over his head and over the railing. Momentum toppled Hudson over the edge as well, but he tossed his right hand out to grip the railing and hung on for dear life while Kessel fell into the sinkhole and was immediately swallowed up. Arm starting to tire, Hudson gripped the railing with his other hand and then started to pull himself up. Several times he almost slipped but sheer determination got him back to the platform where he lay on the cold metal platform to catch his breath.

That noise.

He could hear the creatures getting closer, so he sluggishly got to his feet and looked up the ladder. Echo was almost at the top. He grabbed Kessel's handgun and then started to climb after her, just as the slithering monsters arrived onto the platform from the stairs. Their gobs of green goo narrowly missed his feet as he scrambled up the ladder.

The climb should have been straightforward but the pressure from the sinkhole on the ground made the pillar violently shake. Hudson was sure it would come apart, but he tried to block out all thoughts of death and concentrate on the job in hand. Survival looked against the odds but at the very least, he wanted to catch Echo. Maybe he could force Raven to explain himself.

Got to keep going.

Finally, he reached the highest platform. The wind was stronger, but he managed to steady himself by holding onto the railing. Echo was on the opposite side of the pillar, frantically waving her arms for the helicopter to pick her up. It remained in position, probably Hudson guessed, because the pillar could topple at any moment. He could see Raven hanging out the side, urging his daughter to cross the walkway.

We'll see about that.

But something caught Hudson's eye. A pile of bodies riddled with bullet holes propped up by the side of an access door. It only took a few seconds for Hudson to realise who they were.

Squad B.

Agony set in almost immediately. The intolerable sense of pain and sadness that overwhelmed him was quickly replaced by rage. Whatever happened, he could not allow Raven to escape.

With anger refueling his exhausted body , Hudson braved the wind to run after Echo. The rain had started to fall as well but he flawlessly negotiated the swinging walkway with incredible balance to stop just behind his target. She swung around and moved for her sword, but Hudson was too quick. He steadied himself against the right barrier and aimed the handgun at Echo.

"Don't move."

"That gun belongs to Kessel."

"Kessel took a dive over the side but ten out of ten for observation. Ye'll also know it's powerful enough to rip through that armour of yours."

"Those two pillars are about to collapse. If that happens then we both die. Is that what you want?"

"I've laughed in the face of death more than once. That's the beauty of being an old man. It comes with experience."

Echo remained silent at the obvious dig but before Hudson could continue talking, he noticed ropes being thrown from the helicopter. Seconds later, two mercs slid down onto the walkway. They both wore the same red armour as Echo, and took up position behind her, crouching while aiming their handguns at Hudson.

"Give yourself up." said Echo.

A gust of wind, much more powerful than the previous ones had the walkway swinging furiously, but Hudson gripped the barrier. It was then he saw a third merc aiming at him from the helicopter.

"There's no way out of this." Echo shouted. "Just let us leave. You still have a chance to save yourself."

"Not until I get what I want."

"Which is?"

"Raven down here now."

Echo snorted at his request. "My father can barely walk. He's not coming down here when this whole place is about to collapse."

"He will if he wants his daughter to live." Hudson looked up at the helicopter. "Do ye hear me Raven? Come and face me or I'm pulling this trigger."

There was no response.

"I can wait all night but the longer I do, the more chance this bridge collapses."

The merc from the helicopter came sliding down the rope to the walkway. There was someone clinging onto his back.

Raven.

The treacherous Gogglo hobbled towards Hudson, who took great delight in knowing every step left the evil businessman in immense pain. Once Raven had passed Echo, Hudson turned the gun on him.

"Let my daughter go." Raven ordered.

"Not until I get an explanation."

"I'll tell you everything but not until she's safely aboard the helicopter."

Hudson nodded in Echo's direction. "Get out of here."

Still gripping the barrier, Hudson waited until Echo was safely aboard the helicopter, and then urged Raven to come closer. As he struggled across, Hudson could see not just pain etched on his face, but fear in his eyes too. The mercs from behind crept closer every time Raven took a step.

"You gave Echo the order to kill me, didn't ye?" Hudson growled. "She deleted that message for a reason."

"Of course, I did. She should have followed that order. We would be well on our way by now."

"Unlucky for the Red Ghosts." Hudson grinned. "What the hell's this all been about?"

Raven seemed hesitant to explain at first, but Hudson reminded him of the handgun being pointed at his head. The threat seemed to do the trick.

"It all started when I took command of the Red Ghosts." Raven explained. "We wanted to lay down a marker in Vala. Start building a reputation as an efficient gang. Then you guys showed up. Straight away, all our contacts turned to you. It was infuriating."

"That's because we're the best."

"Nobody's arguing with that. I always intended to lead you guys into a trap because I didn't fancy our chances in a fair fight. All I had to do was gain Gilda's trust. He's surprisingly naive for a man with his reputation."

"But why here? Why not just have it out with us back in Vala? You've had plenty of opportunities to do it."

"This mission was never about rescuing my daughter. I believed she was dead. Her distress call only accelerated my plan to get you guys out of the way, and if you found her alive it would be a win-win situation. So, I got you down here with a lie about the Domdan Treasure. We intended to ambush you, but it looks like something else did it for us."

Hudson gestured back towards Squad B. "And my men over there. What happened to them?"

Raven could not look Hudson in the eye. "We took them out shortly after we got here. They didn't put up much of a fight. I think they believed we were here to provide backup."

“Coward!" Hudson spat as he moved forward and pressed the gun into the businessman's chest.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going over the side." Hudson snarled as he violently pushed the gun further into Raven's chest. "The only difference is you'll have a bullet in you first. I want ye to die an agonising death. Some justice for my men."

"You can't be serious?"

"I'm deadly serious."

There was a loud bang, as the left barrier was torn to pieces by the pressure of the whirlpool. Hudson barely had time to drop the pistol and grab the railing before the walkway twisted. He saw the armoured mercs fall and then disappear into the darkness, but Raven clung on to the remaining barrier. The pillar violently shook, threatening to fall over any minute. Hudson could see the helicopter fly underneath the twisted walkway, and then Echo reaching out to grab her father. No sooner had she pulled him aboard when the pillar behind Hudson broke away, sending the remaining half of the walkway swinging towards the opposite pillar, and debris raining down on the rotor blades of the helicopter. It spun out of control and then exploded, illuminating the night sky.

Hudson clung onto the last barrier as the walkway swung over the whirlpool and crashed into the remaining pillar, where it hung like a droplet of rain on a leaf. His survival instincts kicked in, so he rolled onto the nearby platform just before the walkway broke away completely and sank into the whirlpool.

He got back to his feet and made his way towards the ladder. Cracks were appearing all over the pillar so Hudson climbed down quickly, hoping his luck would hold out. The connecting stairs were starting to break away, but he stumbled down them, falling several times as he did so. By the time he stepped off the last stair, the pillar had collapsed like a house of cards.

With safety within his grasp, Hudson shuffled forward like a zombie at a graveyard. The ground underneath him seemed to be shifting due to the whirlpool pulling everything inwards. Still, he kept moving until there was nothing left in the tank. It was then he collapsed and slipped into unconsciousness. When he finally came around again, there was nothing behind him but a giant crater. He had somehow escaped the horrors of Fort Nebula.