You tracked down a mad scientist and put an end to his experiments. The only thing left was to demolish the laboratory, something Malia was eager to help you with.

"Charges are set, boss. Three minute timer."

Malia emerges from the empty clone lab and into the downpour, hoisting the gear bag over her broad shoulder.

"Should be more than enough time to... ah, shit."

The lot is bathed in flashing red and blue lights of half a dozen squad cars. A helicopter buzzes overhead and drags its spotlight over you and Malia. A voice on a bullhorn orders you to lay on the ground, accompanied by the racking of many rifles.

"Clocks ticking, what's the move boss?"

The wind whips up as you glance back at Malia. She has nothing but smug confidence shining in her red eyes.

"No way!" Malia protests. "We can take 'em! Just follow my lead." With that, she draws a pair of small throwing blades from her hip holster. The rain glints off their edges as they flash through the air, striking sparks against the wet concrete. A dozen officers rush towards you, shouting for you to stop.

In one fluid motion, Malia lowers herself into a roll and comes up swinging with both blades at once.

"We can take 'em!" Malia insists. "C'mon, Lucy! This is what we do!" She ducks under an officer's swinging baton, then rolls backwards and comes up behind him in a flash. With a grunt, she throws the man aside and draws her pistol as more officers close in.

"Look out!" She shouts to you. "They've got riot shields!" She fires a short burst at the closest officer, forcing them to drop their shield and fall back.

You step forward, drawing your own gun as Malia keeps a few more officers busy with her blades. "Okay," you say as calmly as you can manage. "Let's just... distract them." You fire off several shots into the air, then dive behind a parked car for cover.

"Malia! Over here!" You shout, motioning for her to join you. She nods and sprints towards you as fast as she can without drawing attention.

You watch helplessly as a hail of bullets chase Malia down, forcing her to the ground in a heap. One of the officers advances cautiously towards you, his riot shield raised. "Hands where I can see them!" he shouts. You grit your teeth and slowly raise your hands over your head.

"She was just following my orders," you mutter to no one in particular as they drag you away to the waiting police cruiser.

As you're hauled into the back of a squad car, you can't help but wonder how things went so wrong. You should have known better than to bring Malia along; she was always more trouble than she was worth. But damn it all, you still miss her.

The ride to the station is a nightmare of flashing lights and anxious shouting. You try not to look at Malia as they roughly shove her into a seat next to you, but you can't help it. She glares back defiantly, her long red hair whipping about wildly in the rush of air from the open car doors.

The door slams shut and the car lurches forward. You lean your head against the bars separating you from the driver and close your eyes, thinking of a time when things were simpler.

Hmmm? Oh. No, not likely. We've got your prints on file, so we know who you are. You're just going to have to sit here and answer some questions for a while. Not exactly the Ritz, but it could be worse." The cop in the passenger seat glances over at you, his expression unreadable.

You turn back to Malia, offering her what you hope is a reassuring smile. She doesn't return it.

"Well, we are," the cop says with a shrug, "but we've got protocol and all that jazz. Plus, you were kind of in cahoots with him. Makes things easier if we just get everyone at once." He looks back out the window as the car pulls into the police station garage.

As the doors slide open, a blast of cold air rushes in and makes Malia shiver. She crosses her arms over her chest defensively, glaring at everyone around her.

The cop snorts loudly. "Yeah, right." He grabs a set of handcuffs from his belt and begins to click them onto Malia's wrists. "Come on, girl. You ain't fooling anyone." Once she's secured, he turns to you with a crooked smile. "You too, partner."

As the cuffs bite into your wrists, you can't help but feel a cold shiver run down your spine. This doesn't look good at all.

You hear Malia curse as the cop takes her roughly by the arm and drags her out of the car. Before you know it, your own cuffs are snapped into place and you're being pulled along behind them. As they march you through the garage and into the station proper, you spot a familiar face: the captain, standing near his desk with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Well, well," he says with a sigh, "look what the cat dragged in."

You can't help but wince as you hear Malia mutter something unflattering about your so-called "uncle" under her breath. The cop leads you both over to the captain's desk and roughly shoves you both down into chairs opposite him. He leans over, speaking in a low voice.

"Captain, we've got two suspects here. One's a known mercenary, the other's some kind of escapee from a secret lab."

Captain Ben sighs again and runs a hand through his greying hair. "I'm well aware of what you used to be like, Malia," he says with a hint of sadness in his voice. "But these are serious charges. You understand that?" He glances at you out of the corner of his eye, then back to her.

Malia scowls and crosses her arms defiantly over her chest. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"I understand that you're loyal to your friends," Captain Ben says gently, "but we need to sort this out. Both of you are going to have to come clean about what you know." He pauses for a moment, studying Malia's face before continuing. "Or... I could just stick you both in a cell for a few days and see if anyone else comes forward with information."

A slow smile spreads across your lips at the thought of Malia spilling her guts to save herself.

Captain Ben listens carefully, nodding his head as Malia recounts your version of events. When she finishes, he leans back in his chair and steeples his fingers together. "Hmmm... interesting." He looks over at you with a considering expression. "And how do you explain the records we found linking you to the scientist?"

Captain Ben's eyebrows rise in skepticism. "Is that so? I suppose we'll just have to run some tests, then." He glances at the cop who arrested you both, who nods in understanding and heads out to collect a sample of your DNA.

The captain leans forward again, fixing his gaze on Malia. "Well, Malia," he says slowly, "I appreciate your cooperation... but I'm afraid we still have quite a bit of evidence against you."

The captain blinks in surprise. "Deaf? I'm sorry, I hadn't noticed." He gestures for the cop to come over and remove Malia's cuffs. Once they're off, she rubs her wrists, looking relieved but still cautious.

"Well," Captain Ben says with a sigh, "it looks like we may have jumped the gun here. I apologize for that." He glances over at you, then back to Malia. "

You're about to make another snide comment when a loud commotion erupts from the garage. The station's alarms begin to blare and flashing red lights fill the room. "What in the hell?" Captain Ben exclaims, leaping up from his chair.

The cop who collected your DNA sample bursts into the room, breathless. "Captain, we have a problem! The warehouse is gone!"