No bullet wound, just a slight smudge of crimson where it should have been. This time her eyes weren't glowing. He'd have to ask her about it later if he lived long enough to do so.

"Do you have the chip? "

"I'm fine, thank you," Lewis murmured as he straightened himself, pretending to dust his coat in an attempt to look anywhere but at those light grey eyes.

When he finished, they were still fixated on him. "Just so you know, Mr. Barrow, I can kill you right now and take that chip from you."

Lewis opened his mouth to utter a reply, then he realized he hadn't yet gotten his bargaining chip. Literally. His friends were to duplicate the contents of the one he had to create solely for blackmail. And lacking that luxury was not safe for him, so he kept his mouth shut.

He quickly opted for a change in subject. "Where are the other two? "

"They ran."

"And you let them? They are witnesses! "

Her attention was focused on the man who sat leaning against the wall, his moans of pain now lowered to whimpers. Who was the other guy? The one that shot me? "

He paused enough to snort at her and then said, "I'm not saying anything to you, freak."

Vivian looked up at Lewis and smiled.

He looked away, for that wasn't the good kind of smile.

Another sound of shattered bone followed by screaming told Lewis enough. Perhaps he could sneak away while she was distracted.

"Do you want to lose your leg, Lewis?"

"I'll just be over here then."

He sighed, and then murmured to himself, "Trying not to look." But maybe just a tiny peek. "

Lewis looked. "Oh."

That was all he could manage.

Vivian was standing over the man, eyes focused like a cat that had already caught a rat but gave it the space to run. Lewis wasn't yet sure if he wasn't the rat. She picked up one of the fallen blades and squatted next to the injured man. Except that his entire right arm now hung limp at his side. She had destroyed the joint in his shoulder too.

"I just need a name. If I don't kill you, Vanguard soldiers will capture you. And trust me when I say you'll wish I had killed you then. "

She said all that while holding a blade to his throat.

"We only know him as Haraka." He's a mercenary from Cafri. And one of the best too. " He then flicked his eyes to Lewis, "He never fails." He will kill you if she doesn't do it first.

Lewis barely saw her hand move, but a second later, the man was wheezing, desperately trying to inhale but not being able to do so. It was then that Lewis saw the thin red line across his throat start to thicken. She watched him for a while. Her face showed no emotion at all, which was a bit of a relief to Lewis as it meant she didn't enjoy the killing. Although it didn't necessarily mean she wasn't addicted to it. In her mind, the first solution to a problem was probably to stop its heart.

Lewis felt like a big problem then.

Footsteps behind them made Lewis turn. The Vanguard peacekeepers had just arrived.

"Hands in the air where we can see them! "

Lewis raised his hands immediately. He had been at the wrong end of a gun enough times in a day. Vivian still hadn't moved.

Lewis whispered to her, "Hey, you're going to get us killed."

"That's your problem, It certainly does help me though. "

"They've got guns pointed at our heads."

"Do I have to repeat myself? That's your problem. "

"Why didn't you just let these bandits kill me instead? "

Vivian sighed and stood up, crossing her arms rather than putting them up. All the guns were lowered the moment they saw her. One of those in the back spoke to the one up front.

"Captain, that's the vixen."

He spat back through the side of his mouth, "Do you think I'm blind? Just stay quiet. "

He saluted. The others did too. Lewis couldn't miss the tremors in all their hands as they raised them to make a sign of respect.

"We didn't mean to offend you, madam General. It's just that we heard a gunshot and we thought something was wrong. "

Vivian kept up her blank face. "You weren't here fast enough." "Lucky for you, I happened to be nearby."

"We'll do better next time. "

"Just one more thing, Captain."

She pointed to Lewis, and then to herself. "You didn't see us here."

All three nodded gravely.

Just that. No threats, no If-You-Tell-Anyone-I-Will-Kill-You's, and no blades pointed at throats. They gingerly stepped out of her way, saluting once more. Lewis had to jog to catch up with her.

"You think they'll keep quiet?"

"For their own good, they will."

"What rank do you exactly hold in this territory?" I heard them call you a "General."

"High enough to get us through anywhere except the Harbor. Where are your friends hiding? I know you were going to them. "

Lewis huffed and slowed down a bit, so he fell back a few steps.

"You still don't trust me. Even when I've saved your life thrice in one night. "

"How sure can I be that you weren't saving the chip?"

"I am saving the chip. You went through all the trouble of stealing it. That's hard enough."

Lewis realized this was it. And he wasn't dumb enough not to make an offer of protection from someone as capable as her.

"They're in the west section of Vanguard. Next to the old mines. "

She changed their direction, hopefully towards there. Lewis hadn't been in Vanguard for long enough to be sure. He noticed the routes they took were a little isolated, with fewer people. No soldiers and no cameras.

Lewis, however, noticed that after every few minutes, she checked her watch. It was like she was waiting for something to happen or someone to contact her.

"Are you expecting someone or something?"

"Yes. We also have to do something about that chip since it can be tracked. "

Lewis immediately went on the defensive. "We're not destroying it."

"My watch cannot be tracked. Let me insert it and copy the software so it can be shielded. "

"Oh no, we aren't there yet."

That was the last she spoke about it and she moved on. He kept stealing glances at her, biding his time, wondering how she would react to the question he was dying to ask.

She stopped and faced him, no words spoken, but a silent invitation.

"What was that back there? I mean, I saw you get shot in the head. "

"The Lazarus Effect."

"The what now?"

"If you don't know what it is, that means you haven't seen more than a few minutes of the files on that chip."

Another rub in the face of his lack of a bargaining chip. She could easily dispose of him without anyone ever realizing it.

"It was the first attribute the F.O.X experiment sought to put in place. "

"So you are immortal?"

"No, not really. Immortality is the inability to die. The Lazarus Effect, as it is named, gives me the ability to heal from any injury, however mortal it is even after my heart stops. Unless, of course, you decapitate me. "

She fixed him with a stare that dared him to try.

"I definitely wouldn't try that anytime soon," he said.

"Neither would I."

Lewis sighed in acceptance and took out the chip and handed it to her.

"Good enough. This is safer in your hands. "

She pushed it into a slot Lewis hadn't seen previously, then did a bit of touching and swiping on the watch screen. She then pushed it back into his hands.

"How do I know you haven't transferred all the data there? "

"You have to take my word for it. I've transferred onto it a few layers of the i-encryption on my watch. Should make it digitally invisible. "

"That's not in the slightest way similar to a normal watch, is it?"

There was a shadow of a smile across her lips when she replied. "You are a genius."

She turned away before he could make a snappy comeback. It took him a few seconds to come back.

"Sarcasm. That's new. "