The Captain's smile cracked into a spiteful frown as the building shook beneath them, following the choppy roar of a helicopter passing far above the roof. The second one of the day, and probably not the last.

"That was fast." he grumbled, swiftly stepping past Fives and into the apartment again. "They've probably been tracking me since I started moving East... waiting for a slip in my methods." he shook his head with disappointment. "No matter. They won't catch us here, not now."

He finished with a pained cough, pounding lightly on his chest to distract from the internal pain. Fives daintily stepped up to his side and held his shoulder- trying to comfort him with a sympathetic expression. A cold look grew on his face in response before he shook her hand off. She left the room as he pulled what looked like a grenade from a pouch on his belt, blocking her view as he knelt down at the far end of the foyer. He drew a line of twine or maybe wire from another pocket, and grabbed a roll of tape from a pile of garbage covering the floor.

"They'll be following the ASh-12 units with something more dangerous. We should make for escape now- but I don't have time." The Captain informed her, ignoring their previous interaction as he returned to the hall for a final time.

Together they stepped towards the stairwell-end of the top floor, stopping only for the Captain to lift ammo from his fallen enemies- and to retrieve the trapped shotgun from behind a blown-out door.

"Be quiet. Stay behind me and move only when I signal." his voice was low as they carefully ventured down the stairs.

The sound of the helicopter had grown distant, but only slightly so. Fives could recognize a landing when she heard one, and by her guess they had touched down barely a few blocks away. She scanned every open door they passed with the eyes of a hawk until the Captain stopped her at the lobby threshold. There the floor transitioned from worn ugly carpet to white tile and tall windows were set on both walls, with the early morning sun streaking in through faded red curtains hanging in front of them.

Fives regretted having to see what must have been so beautiful, once, in such dreary conditions now. The Captain carefully stepped towards the window facing north along the road, and pushed the curtain barely an inch aside to peek in the direction of the landed chopper. Fives could barely see past him, but she could tell that the city wasn't a large one and that most of the buildings in it were barely four stories tall. The Captain knew that near the center of the city, barely three blocks away beyond a small treeline, sat a large open-field sports stadium- and now a landed helicopter bearing more of the enemy..

Three hundred meters to the south, the road bridged a narrow river. The Captain released the curtain and silently crossed to the other side of the lobby, motioning for Fives to follow. Carefully he released the hinge locks on the south-facing window, swinging it out with a gentle push. He climbed out first, slowly lowering himself into the knee-high grass outside. Fives followed more quickly than he would have liked, landing in the dirt with a muted thud. The Captain closed the window behind them with a nudge from his shotgun's barrel, gesturing for Fives to slow down with a grimace and a flat down-turned palm.

He led her toward the corner of the building, stopping at the edge. The sound of velcro slowly unclasping drew her attention to the Captain's left hand, just in time to see him lift a long and thin digital device from a pocket on his jumpsuit- the MSI. The device flashed on silently, but he immediately disabled the display- then slowly, centimeters at a time, extended the hand holding it out beyond the edge of the wall. The street around the corner was clearly reflected on the icy black glass, and together they watched it in silence.

Early morning haze obscured the road far ahead, but they had a clear view out to a few hundred meters. It wasn't long before the sound of the helicopter's engine died out completely, and the barely-audible pitter patter of boots on asphalt emerged from the same direction. A group of five figures emerged from the mist at a frightening pace, stacked in a line as a breaching unit and watching every door and window around them. The Captain kept the same stony expression as he assessed the situation. They were all the same model, just like the first unit that was sent. They were noticeably short in stature, yet each carried a proportionally medium-sized weapon.

Submachine-guns. Experienced too, he figured they must have done this a dozen times.

The Captain stayed Fives with his free hand, watching the enemy like a hawk. As they passed the next building down the street from the apartments, they cut into the grass between them- heading for the back door. The Captain shoved the MSI back in his pocket and pressed his ear to the brick.

It was muffled by the thick walls, but he heard glass shatter in the rear of the building. Before Fives could react herself, the Captain grabbed her with his free hand and pulled her forward into the street. They had seconds- if that- to get across before the dolls in the apartments made it through to the lobby, where they'd easily be able to spot them.

The Captain moved with silent haste and Fives followed closely, coming to a stop below the windows of a white building across the street. He braced himself against the wall and aimed her attention upward with a commanding nod- towards a window that was cracked open by less than an inch. Fives took the order quickly and stepped into his hands, which he used to hoist her up with a heavy grunt. The old wood windowframe creaked as she wedged it open further and crawled inside, and then again as she leaned out to grab the Captain's shotgun- and then he himself. She lifted him with ease, hauling him to the sill alone and then helping him climb the rest of the way inside.

They closed the window and crouched low, looking back out with nervous eyes just in time to see the stack of dolls pour into the lobby before ascending the stairs.

Fives sighed relief, but the Captain barely stopped to catch his breath before pulling her to her feet and into the building proper.

"We aren't finished yet," he said harshly. "We have to continue north- three buildings down on this side of the road. I stashed some very important things away." he spoke as they ran through a number of offices and meeting rooms, moving diagonally through the white building. The muted sound of breaching stun grenades in the distance gave them pause but they quickly picked their pace back up, reaching the emergency exit at the back of the building.

The Captain gently eased the doors open and looked both ways down the grassy alley before gesturing Fives forward, taking to her rear. The structure north of them was significantly shorter than the rest on the block, only one floor by the looks of it, and was set back from the road with a parking lot between them. They were feet away from the back entrance when a louder, notably more violent explosion rocked the apartments across the street. Every window facing the road on the third floor shattered, showering the road below with glass.

They paused for only a second before the Captain shoved Fives through the door ahead.