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Roman wasn't about to back down, though. Not because of some evil fuck like this. He didn't care how terrifying the dude was. Hector needed his help.

Banda twitched and bulged again, sudden and violent, but this time he seemed to suppress it. And when his gaze came back to Roman, it was different. Less threatening, somehow.

Less sure.

What in the hell was happening? Was he seeing this wrong, or was Banda actually scared now? And if so, why?

The questions barely even formulated in Roman's mind before being cut off.

Because Banda bolted.

In the complete opposite direction, he started flying away at rocket speed, red smoke trailing behind him.

For the life of him, Roman couldn't understand. This fucking monster was fleeing?

The sheer shock of it made Roman slow to realize and respond. Whatever the reason for it, this was still absolutely horrible. The bastard had Hector in his clutches and was now getting away.

Roman gave chase. It made no sense, but he did.

'The fuck is going on up there?' came Voreese's voice. 'Where the hell are you going?'

'Bastard's running,' said Roman, trying to stay focused on the chase. The guy was damn fast. Even pushing for max speed, Banda was still pulling away from him.

'And you're actually following?' said Voreese. 'What exactly are you thinking you can accomplish?'

'...I don't know,' Roman admitted.

There arrived a long silence.

The sound of the wind roaring in his ears consumed his mind. Mostly because he didn't want to think too much, right now. He already knew how stupid this was. Thinking about it any deeper might just make him lose his nerve, which was something he desperately needed at the moment.

'...You can't win, Roman. That guy and the reinforcements that he's probably falling back to right now are out of our league.' Her usual haughty tone was nowhere to be found. Instead, she sounded soft and somber, as if she were trying to talk him away from the edge of a cliff.

'They sure are,' was all Roman had for her.

At that, Voreese needed another moment to respond. 'And you're going anyway, because it's Hector.'

'He already did the same for me.'

She gave a silent sigh. 'Yes, he did. But you must also know that he wouldn't want you to take this kind of risk for his sake. He would tell you to pull back. In fact, he DID tell you to pull back.'

'Yeah, well, if I always did what he wanted, I'd be his slave, not his friend.'