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[talien]

Hammer creaked open the safe door. Fire and sparks lit the darkness around him. Plaster and wires hung from the ceiling. The explosion deafened him. His ears were ringing.

The world swam as Hammer stumbled out of the rubble. He looked around. All the Nazis were dead.

Klaxons continued to wail. The way back up the steps was blocked, but Hammer could make out the opening to the Sapphire plant, a stairwell on the other side of the room. He shoved some debris out of the way.

Hammer sensed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned to look.

One blackened, burned hand shoved its way out of the rubble.

“Oh, no…” whispered Hammer to himself. He dug faster.

Like some Nordic god, the Nazi rose up naked out of the scorched earth around him. He was over six feet tall, with a very muscular physique and classic German features. His blonde hair was cut short, his face clean-shaven. He looked as if he could have stepped out of a World War II SS recruitment poster.

“No!” Hammer dug faster.

The Nazi reached over and pulled out a jagged piece of metal. Testing its weight in his hands, he slowly stalked towards Hammer with murderous purpose.

Hammer cleared a path. He ducked through the hole and clambered up the steps.

An air lock blocked his path. Mustering all his strength, Hammer wrenched open the air lock and slammed it behind him. He knew it wouldn’t stop the Nazi for long.

Inside the decontamination chamber, Hammer ran to the other side.

The German reached the airlock door. The door slowly winched open.

“Come on, come on!” Hammer spun the wheel to open the other side of the airlock. Blue gas hissed through the opening.

The Nazi entered the chamber behind him.

Hammer dashed out onto the catwalk suspended above the Sapphire chemical plant. Below him, it was clear that the covered vats that normally protected the chemical processes had been torn open by an explosion. An explosion the Karotechia had intentionally set off. Blue chemicals bubbled within.

Hammer ran across the catwalk. There was a spiraling stairwell at the center of the plant. If he could make it…

The German forced open the second door of the airlock. He stepped out onto the catwalk behind Hammer.

Hammer, grunting from the exertion, dropped to his knees. Then he rolled over the edge and gripped the catwalk with both hands. Swinging himself back and forth, Hammer hurled himself over to a nearby catwalk.

Hammer slammed sideways into it and nearly lost his grip, scrabbling to gain purchase. He hoisted himself up onto the catwalk and rolled over on his back to catch his breath.

The catwalk shuddered from the weight of something heavy. Hammer didn’t have to look up. He knew the Nazi had jumped the distance between the two catwalks effortlessly.

“Ich werde die haut schneiden sie ihr gesicht und essen sie!” snarled the Nazi. He lifted the metal shiv over Hammer’s head.

The catwalk shuddered from an explosion and the big German windmilled. Then he lost his footing, hurtling down into the vat of Sapphire fifty feet below.

Hammer slid down the spiral steps as the entire complex began to go up in flames. “This is Agent Hammer!” he shouted into his comm. “We need a STREETSWEEPER team at my coordinates!”