Agent Striker’s boot connected with the face of the bearded man one more time sending the thin, bedraggled soul stumbling into the wall and bouncing off to collapse on the dirt. Striker was on him in an instant, locking his head in a grip that cut off the air.

They were standing in an alley in the Gamma Zone. The buildings around them swayed from decay. But Striker didn’t care. She was there to do her job.

"Again, Outlander— where did you get this?" she insisted, holding the Alliance canteen pressed up against the man's face. "Where?"

"I found it. I found it," the man sputtered out blood.

"Not likely," she yelled as she smacked the canteen against his cheek. The man fell to the ground, exhausted.

Striker knew he probably was telling the truth. But, just in case, she gave him a swift kick to the gut.

She had followed the trail for more than a week now and this was the first solid piece of evidence of the fugitive in three days. There was going to be no easy answer here, she knew. It was all hard work. It wasn't about to change.

"Agent Striker!" the intercom from her hover-car blared. "We have something,"

It took a moment for her pilot to find his way down between the broken buildings and torn-up road but the hover-car eventually descended amidst the swirling rubbish. She leapt the twenty feet to the open door and climbed aboard.

"What is it, Gibbs?" she said as she crawled in and strapped on her seatbelt. The pilot moved the controls and the hover-car ascended.

"Radio message. They found something in Territory Five,” Gibbs said.

"Crusher—?"

"No confirmation. But whoever it is has sent about twenty Regionals to the hospital."

"Sounds like Crusher," she said.

"Yeah, Ultra's been dispatched. Probably there now.”

"Ultra?”

“Yeah—they’re sending in the Big Gun.”

“Well, we better hightail it over there—before Ultra gets it all wrapped up.”

“Commencing stepping-on-it. Be there in about six hours,” said Gibbs and Striker knew she should sleep but that wasn’t going to happen. She was too excited anticipating the end of this mission.

The hover-car darted away. Down below, the bearded man didn't stop running long enough to watch them depart.