"Jay, you're wounded!" Eve thought. "Just a scratch." JS felt Badu muttering curses. JS's bullet hadn't pierced his flesh, but had cracked a couple of ribs and made his breastplate useless. Now Badu was taking off the armor and the pain made him curse. "Badu, you never endured pain well!" JS cried grinning. Ducked and covered the Gray was waiting: the carnage had made him wary: "Wait here!" He ordered the incoming Wabi. "Are others coming?" "No, sir. The few left are trading fire with the teams assaulting the palace. We're the last ones here." Replied a Wabi soldier. "Go nanocritters, go, let's heal it!" JS thought. The wound in his side was superficial and quickly dabbed, but the other one was a problem: the bullet was still inside his calf. It would slow him down and speed had always been a trump of his. Taking advantage of the standoff, JS took off his heavy Wabi boot. The blood had filtered through his trousers making a puddle in the insole. Slowed by the armor the bullet had bruised against the bone logging itself deep in the flesh. JS looked at his leg: the calf was caked with dried blood, but every move made the wound bleeding. The pain was murderous and he felt his head spinning. Already the blood loss had faded the gray color of his skin that was getting paler. "Eve, keep an eye on them. I have to remove the bullet." JS mind-said. "Are you sure?" "I must do it. When they attack I'll have to move very quickly if we want to have a chance." JS put into his mouth a piece of rubber from a Wabi armor. The rubber tasted of sweat, but Eve didn't have time to retch, an excruciating pain struck her. JS had jabbed his knife into his calf. He paused a second, breathed, then poked deeper. The tip hit something. "Found the bullet." He pulled up the knife bringing the small piece of metal to the surface, then twisted and turned his knife. The bullet fell out and JS dropped it on the marble floor. "It's him?" 3TC shook Eve. "It's really Sea that Wabi?" "Bullshits!" Eve replied. "Don't fool me. He is Sea and he is wounded! Maybe he's dead ... I should have let Badu have his way years ago on New Mars, but sometimes I indulge in excessive artifice. Well, it won't happen again!" "What's going on?" G-8 asked. "Nothing." 3TC and Eve said at the same moment. Neither wanted G-8 attempted to capture JS, although for opposite reasons. The pain had faded. "Luckily the Wabi are well kitted out, Eve." JS thought smearing the wound with antiseptic and anaesthetic. "They are going to do something, the Gray and the Wabis. Badu's waiting they'll engage you to get you from behind." Eve said. "Etta tell Roma to pepper the courtyard and the balcony eastward of the red ribbon to keep Badu nailed." JS mind-replied bandaging his leg. He had only 4 rounds left. "Ah, he's wounded! Do you know every move he takes will cause irreparable damage to the blood vessels and nerves? If he loses too much blood, he's a goner." 3TC grinned tying Eve's hands. "Jay, they're going to throw a grenade." Eve mind-replied. JS mind-nodded. He climbed over the railing, fired a grappling hook on the roof and vaulted into the alcove where the Wabis and the Gray were hidden. JS struck a Wabi and Gray with both feet and landed on the railing. Bang! The Wabi dropped like a puppet with cut wires. Ratatat! His finger let go a long burst empting his mag. Bang! The Gray fell stone dead. Boom! Bang! The grenade exploded. The blast pushed the last Wabi against JS who failed the fatal shot. The collision threw down JS and the Wabi who fell on him. Wabi hands tightened around JS's neck pressing hard. Bang! Quickly JS got rid of the corpse crushing him. He looked around: the gun of the Gray was out of reach, the Wabis' empty. Fast as lightning JS put in his clip the rounds left in the dead Wabi's belt. "Well, fucking well, you're buggered, Sea!" Badu guffawed. JS looked up and found himself staring at business end of Badu's gun.