A/N: Warning - violence, terrorist acts and thrilling espionage ahead!!! 

Darius POV

I had to excuse myself as another portion of the trial was underway this afternoon. I would be present by video conference only, as my main concern was for the boys' safety. It was wonderful to see the joy in Damien's eye. I really hoped he liked his presents...Beamer and Sparky. They would be keeping him company from now on, apart from Randy and the boys that is.

A/N: Above, photo of BEAMER, Damien's prototype AI Dog... pretty neat, huh?

Boy, did those guys get into some major mischief! I swear the look on Zack's face was priceless! No one would have expected for ARTURO to behave in that way. Well, Zack should have been proud to have achieved such a feat in summoning virtual emotions of any kind in an AI Unit, let alone a pleasure droid.

ARTURO seemed inseparable and kept following Mick around like a lost puppy, that Zack had to modify his settings and insert a nano-tracker into him, while they roamed the rest of the compound together. Zack had to outfit ARTURO in human clothes so that he would not look suspicious while running around with them.

This would be the perfect test for ARTURO, to blend in with everyone who worked there. It would be such a step up in grooming the AI Unit for the space station. But eventually, ARTURO would not be the only one going to that station. Other AI units such as LAILA would also be going.

Apart from the droids, there would be collective groups of personnel assigned to the station. I had reluctantly kept the information from my son that I would be stationed on board as the Commander of the huge vessel on its' maiden voyage. It would yet again mean that I would be away from my son, unless he would make the great commitment to come along with me.

But seeing as how he was enjoying the company of his friends today, I realized that this would be impossible to ask of him. He belonged here with his friends...and with Randy. I had conceded that the two would be inseparable a long time ago, after having observed their relationship blossom.

Randy seemed to be a good kid, albeit a frustrated one. He had improved on his attitude from what I had seen recently while he'd been here, which was a plus. He even quietly pulled me to the side to ask for my advice on becoming an agent for our organization.

I told him frankly that he would be considered, as long as he could keep that temper of his in check and be willing to put in the extra hours for focusing on his studies as well as combat and field training. As soon as I made those comments, the boy threw his arms around me in total joy and gratitude.

I caught a glimpse of Damien's shocked surprise when Randy hugged me. I had understood that it was tough for a child to grow up without a father, and of course, I was coming from my own experience not being with Damien or such a long period of time, so it was a pleasant feeling to be able to help someone like Randy, after what the boy had also been through from a tyrant like Egon.

Damien in turn came around, patting Randy on the back, reassuring him that everything would be fine. My son was my only joy and solace in this universe. He was my everything, so the news of having been assigned this command was going to be devastating...for both of us.

I left the lab in low spirits, dreading the latest assignment. As I ascended the steps to attend the latest hearing, this time of Egon and Thorpe, I trudged upwards with a heavy heart. I watched the proceedings in a dim and dark mood, secretly wishing that the trial would be over quickly.

Suddenly gunfire was heard. I sat up with a jolt, hearing screams and cries for help as the screen shortly went blank. Once the screen came back on, Thorpe was dead, apparently with a bullet to the head and Egon had jumped the guard closest to him, firing the weapon randomly at those in attendance.

I slammed the red button, alerting everyone at the compound.

"Zack, are the boys still with you?" I hit the intercom button.

"Yes, sir, Damien is with me. Nik and the others are close by. Randy just went off to the boy's room and... What the hell???!!!" Zack yelled out loud.

My heart thumped hard in my chest as I grabbed one of the firearms out of my cabinet, running out onto the huge lawn.

Someone announced on the huge speaker "We're under fire! We're under fire. The Compound has been infiltrated! All personnel to their stations immediately!!! Evacuate all stations immediately!!!"

A tank loomed up and blasted its' way into the compound from the East side, charging through the rubble which once was a concrete slab.

"What's going on? Aren't the force fields working?" I ran into one of my agents, seizing his arm briefly as I caught up with him. He had a huge gash on his forehead, while supporting a fellow colleague who had been injured in the leg.

"I don't know, sir. This cannot be happening! I think the Eastern Gate's been compromised!" He grimaced.

"Go to the infirmary immediately, both of you. I'll investigate. Now go!!!" The young agent nodded, helping his injured colleague towards the Infirmary Building. My brain was going at a hundred miles a minute. I had to make sure that Damien and the boys were safe. I turned the corner towards the Technology Building which housed the Robotics Department. Two droids, Tank and Flint, two military AI Units were patrolling the area in attack mode, their visors raised to scout for any unusual activity.

"HALT, State your purpose!" Tank boomed, aiming his tactical weapon at me.

"Tank, this is Agent DARIUS...ID2109EXON...Stand down..." I cautiously approached the droid, my weapon raised. To my shock and horror, the droid's visor flared red as it fired on me, causing me to duck and roll off to one side. I managed to get up quickly and hide behind a vehicle, before the damn thing blasted it into smithereens!

SHIT! I barely escaped, diving into the bushes as it continuously fired at me. My eyes flitted quickly towards the windows where the lab was, hoping and praying that they were alright. I heard the glass breaking above and gravely spotted a human body being hurled out the window. I swore my heart stopped as the body landed with a thud before me.

I crawled through the undergrowth, as nettles tore through my shirt and scratched my skin until it bled, but I had to find out who it was. My heart skipped a beat in relief as I saw it was one of the female pleasure droids that got flung out and not any of our lab technicians. Its' head had been ripped at an awkward angle and one of its' eyes which was still functioning, perused me from head to toe.

"Your son is safe with the others, except for one..." It said, before shutting down. I breathed a sigh of relief but scooched down when I heard the doors slide open.

"LET GO OF ME!!! YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER, YOU FUCKING PIG!!!" A struggling Randy was kicking and yelling while Egon gripped him viciously around the neck, holding a pistol to his head.

"We got to go NOW!!! Come on!!! MOVE IT!!! OPEN THOSE GATES NOW OR THE KID GETS IT!!!" A bewildered Zack was pushed out the door at gunpoint, holding his pad to his chest tightly, followed by someone I couldn't quite see since he was out of my range of vision.

How the hell did Egon get here so damn fast? Someone let him in. Someone was working for Egon...a mole. Another voice spoke up...one all too familiar to me, and it broke my heart.

"You've got what you wanted, now get out of here!" He said, waving his semi-automatic angrily, while pushing Zack back towards the building's entrance. "If you know what's good for you, you'll do as he says" He ordered the young lab technician. Zack acknowledged the man's commands, opening his tab.

Hawkes stood with his gun poised at Zack's back, urging him on. The young man gingerly sent the command via his tab, supposedly ordering the central computer to open the main frame gates at the Northern sector. But as he turned, he caught my eye and nodded grimly.

Now was my chance. I quickly opened fire, startling Egon and Hawkes both as they crouched down on the ground, pulling Randy between them. Randy had the foresight to shrug out of Egon's hold and began crawling backwards towards the building's entrance. To my left, I saw Damien and Nik reaching out to Randy from the side entrance, pulling him to safety as the doors clicked shut and the metal barriers came down.

Egon got up, yelling while trying to blast the barriers but they were solid titanium and were impenetrable. Hawkes smashed the butt of his gun down on Zack's head, rendering the poor guy unconscious as he fell to the ground. Hawkes then picked up the tablet, desperately trying to set the correct configuration to open those gates and bring down the force field for the tank to barge through.

Egon turned around, nostrils flaring as he opened fire, successfully nicking me in the right shoulder and my right leg. I went down on one knee, as blood gushed from the bullet wounds from both my shoulder and leg profusely. I switched hands, knowing my left was equally capable.

I took aim, unwavering as Egon approached me, enraged like some bull out to have his day. I cocked my gun, aiming true. The bullet found its' mark, piercing skin and bone as it embedded itself into Egon's temple.

Egon bucked forwards, his hand still on the trigger as he flailed wildly, while bullets spun everywhere out of control before he fell flat on his face, dead...

Damien POV

I watched in sheer terror as my father took two bullets to his body, one to his shoulder and the other to his leg. My heart was pounding as that damn son-of-a-bitch cocked the barrel of his gun in my father's direction, ready to shoot him down.

My father took aim, switching the gun painfully to his left hand, then let a bullet rip. Egon took the hit, cursing as he went down in a hail of bullets. My father crashed onto the ground in pain, sitting there as Hawkes stealthily approached.

To my shock and horror, he seized my father by the injured arm, bringing the barrel of his weapon towards my father's face as they looked at each other, eye to eye...

Darius POV

"Why Hawkes? Why?" I looked into the man's face. This was the face of a man who I trusted with my life for years, and of whom I trusted with my own son's life...

"He promised to take care of Alonso. HE PROMISED!!! I thought I could trust him. He seemed sincere at the time. I had no idea that he would turn my own son into the monster that he is today!!! His treatments were bloody expensive D... I couldn't handle them on my own. I'm so sorry to have to do this..." Hawkes bitterly choked out, slowly squeezing the trigger, bringing the hammer back.

My eyes flitted to my son, mouthing the words "I love you" before closing my eyes...

A/N: Don't kill me, please!!! Just read on, okay??? LOL!!!