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“‘Please would you tell me,’ said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, ‘why your cat grins like that?’ ‘It’s a Cheshire cat,’ said the Duchess, ‘and that’s why.’”

- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The Agletarian forces cut through the barricade and charged into the Crater Lair, their mechanical suits protecting them from any harm.

The screams and explosions could be heard through the heavy blast door, as the last of the Security Forces fought them. They were putting up a good fight, but it was a lost cause. And everyone in the room knew it.

Those tunnels were never meant to be found.

But like Marian had predicted, Poacher had apparently been unable to keep them secret and they’d tortured the plans and security codes out of him.

After that, it was simply a matter of how long it would take them to seize the base and kill the remaining members of the Consortium who hadn’t been able to evacuate in time.

“ Your fucking master plan has killed us all, Welles! ” McPherson roared. “I don’t know what kind of game you were trying to play with our lives, but we’ve clearly lost!” She gestured to their surroundings. “You’ve trapped us in a steel box!”

“So it would seem, yes.” Monty looked down at the conference table, defeated.

“Welles, I knew we never should have trusted a fucking Mystery Man…” She continued.

“Breech!” The intercom suddenly announced. “Agletarian forces have en…”

The line went dead.

McPherson swore viciously and pulled out her pistol. “Alright guys!” She shouted to the members assembled inside. “Let’s show those people the door!”

“ Belay that order .” Monty motioned to his companions and several stepped in front of the door, barring the exit. “The facility is lost.”

“The Crater Lair is NOT lost!” McPherson bellowed, pointing an angry finger at him. “If you lock us in here, we’re trapped, and I will be goddamned if I allow you to kill me over your fucking ego!”

“The door will remain shut.” Monty repeated coldly, getting to his feet. “If you open that door, we’re all dead!”

“We’re already dead, you delusional asshole!” She pushed him in fury. “ You put us in an indefensible position and then barred the doors!”

“ I was placed in command of this operation.” Monty’s eyes narrowed. “Back. Off.”

Clarice advanced on him from the other side. “My friends are down here. My family is down here.” She met Monty’s stern face. “I realize that you’d rather sit in here and enjoy your last few minutes of life, but I’d rather go out fighting. ”

“Really?” Monty’s brow furrowed. “Because I’d rather go out decades from now, having won this fight and long since forgotten it.” He pointed at her. “This explains a great deal about why we’ve never gotten along though.”

“Sit in the dark, you little coward. I don’t care.” McPherson pointed towards the front of the room. “But you’re going to open that door and let me out of here or I’m going to put you and your little minions straight through the fucking thing .”

Monty looked spectacularly unimpressed. “Sometimes the only way to win a war is by surrendering, Agent McPherson.” He calmly strolled away. “This battle is over . The Lair is lost . We need to accept that and move on. Continuing to fight will only result in needless casualties.”

“Unlike trapping all of us in a windowless room half a mile below the surface, right?” Clarice shot back, then made an annoyed sound. “Forget it, I’m with McPherson on this. I’m going through that door!”

“No.” Monty shook his head. “You’re not.”

“Maybe we can use Deputy Minister Vlk to bargain?” McPherson suggested, looking for any way out of this for them. “The man seems important to them. Maybe they’ll let us out of here if we promise to release him. We can trade.”

“They’re about to break down the door.” Clarice reminded her. “They’ll have him in a moment anyway. We have no leverage.”

“I think it’s a marvelous idea.” Monty checked his watch, then glanced at Higgins. “Please be so kind as to alert the staff in the detention area and ask our prisoner to get Agletarian central command on the line.” He put his top hat on. “It’s time to negotiate a surrender.”

“I’m not going to an Agletarian prison, Welles.” Clarice told him flatly.

“I have never seen the inside of a prison cell,” Montgomery assured her calmly, “and I never will.”

“Probably because they will hang us the second they have us in custody.” McPherson faced the door again. “You can do what you want, but the second that door opens, I’m fighting my way out of here. I’ve faced worse than them .”

Monty sighed like he was the most put upon person on earth.

“You always have to be so melodramatic, don’t you?

Everything with you has to be big speeches and monologues about responsibility and duty .

Always so willing to throw your life away over any silly cause which appears.

” He rolled his eyes. “No wonder the city didn’t trust you to be in charge of this operation.

You have no idea what it takes to survive a war, let alone win it, do you?

” He gestured to the people huddled in the room around him.

“War isn’t always about making some heroic last stand, Agent McPherson.

No one ever won a war by ‘going out fighting.’ Sometimes you need to swallow your pride and look for other options.

Violence isn’t always the answer to your problem.

Negotiation is the only way out of this. We need to be diplomatic here.”

“You were supposed to win this war, not bargain for the best terms for yourself.” She reminded him.

“You want me to show you how to win a war, Laura?” Monty asked her, sounding insulted.

“Is that what you want from me?” He nodded, setting his jaw.

“Very well, I can do that . Watch and learn.” He turned to look at his flunkies as they brought the prisoner into the room.

“We’re ready to talk surrender. Contact your commanders. ”

The Agletarian minister rubbed his wrists as his manacles were released.

“It’s always the same with super-types,” the man sneered, typing something into the Consortium’s command station, “first they make a mess, then they cry about it when someone comes to hold them accountable.” He snorted in derision.

“Always thinking that no one could ever stop them.”

The image of the Agletarian command staff filled the viewscreen, secure in their base.

Monty clasped his hands behind his back. “I have been told to offer the Deputy Minister in exchange for our lives.” Monty told the men calmly. “If we were to promise his safe return, all we would ask is fair treatment.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” The commander on screen shook his head.

“But I will not have conditions placed upon me.” His tone grew harsh.

“You are beaten. The war is over . You will stand trial for your crimes and then face the judgement of my people. Further resistance would simply result in pain you couldn’t possibly imagine. ”

Monty’s jaw tightened, obviously not liking the fact that the man pointed out his defeat.

“Very well.” He hissed. “You drive a hard bargain, but I suppose I have little other choice.” Monty started towards the door, then paused as if remembering something.

“On second thought…” he spun around and pulled the trigger on a pistol which somehow appeared in his hand, splattering Vlk’s brains all over McPherson who let out an astonished gasp, “you’ve piqued my curiosity. ”

The man on the screen cried out in horror as Vlk slumped to the floor, almost drowned out by McPherson’s curses as she staggered back, wiping the hot blood from her eyes.

Monty held the pistol at his side, voice coming out in a snarl.

“My name is Montgomery Tarkington Welles, last of the Wellesburg Welles.” He shook his head.

“And I don’t do prisoner exchanges… because I finish what I begin.

And I’d rather die than be beaten.” He put two more bullets into the fallen man, never removing his eyes from the screen. “ Come and get me .”

“I will fucking exterminate you! ” The commander screamed.

Monty’s lip curved. “ Do the best you can. ”

The Agletarian commander gestured to someone in the background of the transmission, and a moment later, one of his men dragged Poacher into the room by his leg. Sydney looked beaten almost to death, bloodied and bruised, unable to even stand up.

The commander pointed at Poacher. “First, I’m going to kill your spy, then I’m going to kill you .

” He pulled out his handgun. “I’m going to turn all your freaks over to our scientists, and they’re going to take the specimens which can best provide us the next generation of weapons, and then they’re going to cut the rest of you into pieces so tiny, they won’t even be recognizable as human anymore. ”

The soldiers dumped Poacher’s body at the man’s feet, and Syd’s labored breathing could be heard over the speaker.

The Agletarian commander pointed the gun at Syd, preparing to execute him.

Monty laughed cruelly and spun on his heel. “ Kill him. ” He ordered dismissively over his shoulder, walking away. “I’m done here. ”

The commander shook his head in disgust. “What kind of man are you?” He cocked the weapon and pressed it to Poacher’s head. “You freaks have got no respect for your own lives.”

Monty turned back to look at him, something like amusement on his face.

“My good man,” his smirk grew into a Cheshire grin, “whatever makes you think I was talking to you?” He glanced over to meet Clarice’s gaze for a long moment.

“You wanted magic, Pastiche?” He held his hands out, like he’d just performed his greatest trick. “ Abracadabra .”