The moon looked down over the streets of Corneria City, where all walks of life were out. While the city was generally held as a prosperous one, it wasn't always the ideal place to be. Away from the section of the city housing the government and military buildings was an area much less frequented by the city's elite. Urban areas tended to attract walks of life that were more delinquent, and Corneria City was no exception.

A lone, gray wolf leaned up against a wall in this area of town. He had seen his fair share of hard times, but he would tell you that his share wasn't quite so fair. He did what he needed to do to get by, which more often than not included illegalities. But to him, it was his only option. Crime was all he knew, and crime was his only way to survive. Almost every night he posted up against this very alley, and tonight was one of those nights. He just waited until an opportunity presented itself.

The traffic light that he was watching turned red, and he looked up the street to see if any cars were coming his way. As soon as he turned his head, a motorcycle rider turned the corner and started heading towards him. The bike was a bit on the small side and was very sleek. It had a polished black paint that gave it a nice shine. The wolf couldn't quite see the rider due to his dark clothing and the hood overtop of his head, not to mention the poor lighting of this particular street. All he could tell is that the rider was an avian by his beak. He was wearing a dark coat of some sort with the hood overtop of his head. He also had on a loose-fitting, frayed pair of jeans. He also had on a pair of new-looking black sneakers. The guy looked well kept from his clothes, the perfect candidate for being mugged.

Good, birds go down easy. What is this idiot thinking? Why the hell would you ride around on a crotch-rocket at this hour in this part of town? Whatever. I don't care. I just hope he has deep pockets. And by the look of him, he probably does.

The bike pulled up to the traffic light with the rider's back to the wolf. As soon as the bird put his feet on the ground to steady himself, the wolf moved off the wall. Moving his hand from behind his back revealed a lead pipe that was the lupine's weapon of choice. Even with his life of crime, he couldn't quite afford a proper mugging weapon. But blunt force seemed to be a good enough motivator for people, so it didn't too much matter.

With a last look around to make sure that nobody was there to witness the act, the wolf stepped off the curb towards the bike. He wasn't the least bit nervous because he had actually lost count of the number of people he had mugged before. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a dark ski mask and slipped it over his head, concealing his identity. But just when he was almost within striking distance of his target, the wolf stopped in his tracks.

The bird had pulled a knife out of a holster under his dark coat. He didn't even bother to look back at the would-be assailant. With a flick of the wrist, the avian was waving the knife behind his head, playfully showing it off to the person behind him.

"I wouldn't get any closer if I were you. I know my way around this blade like you know your way around these alleys. Just do both of us a favor and wait for the next person to come around before trying anything."

The wolf was stunned. He had made every effort to be silent, but the avian somehow sensed him coming without a problem. Normally he would just go right ahead and take out any victim who tried to challenge him, but this one was different, somehow. He knew he had to leave this one alone, but wasn't sure why. There was an aura of intensity about him and his words. The wolf just slowly walked backwards until he made it back to the curb.

Falco waited to hear the mugger step back onto the curb before putting his knife away. He couldn't blame the guy. He knew that life better than he cared to. Falco was just glad that the guy had enough sense in him to back off when he should. Thinking back to his gang days, he actually felt sorry for the guy. Nobody ever really wants to turn to a life of committing crimes to get by, but it's the only option for some. It's either that or be homeless.

The bird moved his hands back to the handlebars as the light turned green. He leaned forward and brought his feet up as he started to leave the intersection. Falco didn't like this area at all. It reminded him too much of things that he would only care to forget. But tonight, he had business to attend to; business that would take place nowhere else but in these alleys. He could only hope that he wouldn't come across anybody with a score to settle with him. Lord knows that there were plenty of them.

Falco rode down the street before making a sudden left onto another side street. He tried to avoid the well-lit areas because he didn't want to be spotted by anybody. His semi-celebrity status as a successful mercenary garnered him the recognition of most of the people on Corneria. His presence in this area would certainly set off some alarm bells and hit the media faster than anything. The last thing he wanted was to have the public know that he was involved in some less than lucrative activities at this stage in his life. Actually, that was the second to last thing he wanted. The last was to run into one of his old acquaintances from this part of town. The result was sure to be at least one person bleeding in the gutter. He had to stay careful.

At last, Falco reached his destination. He squeezed the brake and started to turn into an alley that was just narrow enough for a car not to be able to fit through. The light from his bike shown into the alley showing empty space, save for a single hooded figure. The dark cloak covered the man from head to toe, keeping his identity a mystery. Even though the person had his back to Falco, he knew who it was. This was where they agreed to meet, and nobody in their right mind would ever hang around in one of these alleys without purpose.

After making his way into the alley a bit more, Falco turned off his bike, forcing the area back into shadow. He stepped off his polished ride and stood there waiting for his acquaintance to acknowledge him.

"I was beginning to think you wouldn't show. You're late," said the hooded man in a deep voice.

"Save it. You know I have more reason to be here than you do," replied Falco.

"That may be so, but it doesn't mean that you wouldn't get cold feet."

"You know me better than that. I'd never pass up an opportunity like this."

The hooded man began to chuckle at the comment. "Yes, I guess you're right." The cloaked figure turned around and began to make his way towards Falco. The bird leaned up against the wall as the man made his way towards him. He half expected a trap, but Falco couldn't sense anybody else nearby. The man had to know that Falco was armed being in this part of town. So the fact that this man was alone put the avian's mind a bit at ease. It would be nothing short of foolish to try and take out Falco Lombardi single-handedly on his home turf.

The man stopped within an arm's length of Falco, where he continued to speak. "So you know what's going to happen if you don't go through with this right?"

Falco was a bit offended. "Are you threatening me?"

"No. I'm just letting you know that nothing good will happen if you back out of this."

"Yeah, well I'm not. So shut up and give me what I need."

The figure chuckled a bit before saying, "My, my. You really do have something against this guy don't you?"

"You know the answer to that. I've been trying to take him down for years. Way before I even met you."

"I know. I'm not questioning your animosity towards him, believe me. I know what you have against him. I just don't want you to back out because I have a lot at stake here too."

Falco replied, "I know. Give me what I need and you won't have to worry about it anymore."

The figure shuffled a bit as he took something out of his pocket. He slowly handed it to Falco in the dim lighting of the alley. "Here. That's the tracking code for his communicator. He's probably in the bar he frequents when we're here in the city. He spends more time there than he does sleeping."

Falco took the paper and said, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."

"You can't blow this Lombardi. Don't make me regret bringing you into this."

"You won't. Believe me, I won't blow a chance like this."

A passing car's headlights shown some light into the alley, brightening up the surroundings of the two figures. Underneath the hood of the cloak, the shining yellow eyes of Panther Caruso stared back at Falco. His trademark facial scar crossed over a devious smile.

Panther said, "Good. I await to hear of your success."

With that, the cloaked feline turned and made his way to the other side of the alley, leaving Falco behind. The avian stared into the darkness, thinking about what just happened. He looked at the piece of paper in his hand with the 20-digit code. This was the key. This was what he needed to end what he's been trying to put a stop to for so long…


A/N: This was a spur of the moment inspiration to help get rid of my recent writer's block after the soul-crushing week that was finals week. I'm actually quite happy with how it turned out. There's only going to be one more chapter to this, unless another wave of inspiration hits me. Please leave some feedback and let me know what you think!