Hail To The Thief

Chapter 1: The Mission

"Ah, another jewel. This one glows more brilliantly than the last." Rouge whispered to herself. "Dr. Eggman sure made it easy for me to just slip into his vault and take his treasures at will. I'll have to make two-maybe three trips just to collect them all! What a chump." She said, sorting through the vault, trying to find the rarest and most valuable treasure. "Though, it's no wonder he can afford to build such massive bases with all these rare gems just lying around. But it sure does make MY job a lot easier." She giggled. She stuffed a few more sparkling jewels into her burlap sack and took one last look around the steel-plated vault before leaving the fortress. "It just doesn't feel right leaving all those precious jewels behind… but there's only so much one girl can carry!" She pondered. As she flew over the city, a thought crossed her mind, "Just where is that old egg-headed doctor anyway?" His security was far from the best, but it's never been this easy to just walk in and take all his treasure…"

Watching the city lights pass below her, she couldn't help but wonder about Shadow's recent absence as well. "That guy's always so secretive about his life. It drives me nuts. And after that little stunt he pulled… Well, if I ever see him again it'll be too soon. " She said. "Come to think of it, Shadow's usually at the GUN base or on a some mission. But I haven't seen or heard from him in months. Strange…"

Rouge arrived in Night Babylon several minutes later, and after dropping off her stash at Club Rouge she got a call from the GUN General.

"Agent Rouge, do you copy?" His voice sounding more stressed than usual.

"This can't be good..." She mumbled. "What's up, Boss?"

"Rouge, we need you back at the base A.S.A.P." He said.

"Awww, but I didn't even get the chance to sort out my treasure yet!" She argued.

"This isn't the time for complaints, Rouge!" The General yelled.

"Oh fine... I'm on my way." Rouge said reluctantly.

"What could be so important that I don't even have the time to admire my new jewels? I bet Eggman's got something to do with this! He's always getting in my way." Rouge thought. She quickly slipped out of her stealth gear, put on her purple body-suit and headed north, towards the GUN base. When she arrived at the lobby inside the base it seemed that everyone, including the employees, were in a hurry. Helicopters were flying in and out of the helipad and soldiers were scattered all around. Rouge made her way upstairs to the General's office and was nearly trampled by a group of reporters trying to get an interview.

"All right, all right. Nothing to see here! Everyone needs to wait in the lobby! Now!" A security guard told the reporters.

"The people have a right to know the truth!" One journalist yelled.

"What is the Government hiding and why is important information being kept secret from the public?!" A reporter demanded.

"Generic condescending remark!" Yelled a cameraman.

Rouge pushed her way through the mob to the General's office door. "Hey, cutie. Mind letting me through?" She asked the Security Guard. "Right this way…" The guard said, prying the door open just enough to let her in. She slipped inside and was greeted by the GUN General. "Ah, Rouge. It's about time you got here." He said, irritated. "Hey, traffic was terrible." Rouge retorted sarcastically. "So, what's up with the mob scene out there?"

"You haven't heard?" The General asked her, befuddled. "Heard what, exactly?" She replied. "We've got a National Emergency on our hands. Dr. Eggman has a stockpile of Nuclear Arms and is threatening to launch an attack against Mobius." He said sternly. "Jeez, he's really stepping up the insanity notch, eh?" Rouge quipped. "This isn't a joke, Rouge. North Korea has already made numerous threats against our government, and with Dr. Eggman's worldwide televised threat… I just don't know how we can keep control of this situation." He said grimly. "But that's where you come in." "Is that so?" Rouge said. "We've already got an agent overseas, monitoring foreign weapon trades activity." The General told her. "Since you're specialty is infiltration and sabotage, you'll be meeting with him in Paris and keeping an eye on one of the major Nuclear Arms Traders over there. If we can stop these Black Market Traders, we'll be able to cut off Dr. Eggman's resources!"

"Sounds good to me. France has so many wonderful jewels!" She joked.

"This is serious, Rouge. You need to stay focused and alert at all times. Every country is at war right now, which means even the civilians are armed and dangerous." He warned.

"Oh, you party pooper… So anyway, who am I meeting?" Rouge asked.

"That's classified. You know the deal. You'll be briefed on your mission upon arrival at the drop point." He told her. "Speaking of which, your helicopter is leaving in ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm goin'…"

Rouge left the office and headed down the hall, towards the elevators. She took the elevator to the top of the building, where the helipad was located, along with her ride to Paris. After strapping herself into the chopper's seat, she began to ponder the details of her mission. "Infiltrate and Sabotage, huh?" Maybe it was the mysterious nature of this assignment, or the romantic location she was being sent to. Whatever it was, she felt good about it. The sense of danger and excitement of going to a foreign land to spy on weapons traders made her feel like a movie star. "Agent Rouge" She chuckled.

* * *

It was morning when the helicopter arrived high above the drop point and Rouge was fast asleep. "Agent Rouge, we're here." A Soldier told her, nudging her to wake up. She pried her eyes open and yawned, taking the time to stretch her tired wings and arms. "It's about time." She said, rubbing her eyes. The Captain made his way from the cockpit to the back of the chopper and briefed Rouge about her mission. He handed her a two-way communication watch, a briefcase containing GUN's latest weaponry advancements, and a fat wad of French Currency. The chopper kicked up such a racket, Rouge could only hear half of what the Captain was saying. He pointed to a small wooded area near the city and said "Go!". Without hesitation, she jumped out of the helicopter and soared through the crisp morning air towards the wooded area below, using her superior stealth abilities to avoid air traffic control and stay off the radar.

She landed just a few yards from the city and kneeled down behind a trough of bushes. The quick-witted bat pulled out a pair of facial recognition binoculars and scanned the people walking through the busy city street. After determining there was no immediate threat she put the binoculars back in her briefcase and strolled along the sidewalk in her non-chalet manner. As she passed a store, a shiny gem caught her eye. She leaned up against the store's window and gazed at the gem.

"Rouge, do you copy?"

Rouge looked down at her communication watch and back at the gem. "I'll be back for you later." she whispered.

"Yes. I'm here." She finally said to her watch.

"Good. I'm sending you coordinates to your hotel. Everything's been paid for, just get your room key and follow the instructions from there on. If you have any questions, you know how to contact me. Over and out." The General said.

"Hmmm… If he keeps interrupting me, this could turn out to be a boring vacation." She thought. Just then her watch beeped and directions began to scroll down the screen. She followed them and found herself standing in front of an expensive looking hotel. "Only the best for someone like me!" Rouge laughed. She walked inside and requested her room key. "One moment please." The receptionist said. Rouge observed her surroundings. Shady characters seemed to be all around. High paid security at every door, obvious drug dealers walking in and out of the hotel, leaving with cases of what Rouge assumed was blood money. "Here you go, miss." The receptionist said, handing Rouge her room key. "10th floor and the elevators are down the hall, to the right."

"Thanks, sugar." Rouge said. She grabbed the key and headed to the elevators.

Inside, her room was decorated with no expense spared. Sitting upon the desk near the window was a vanilla envelope. Rouge picked it up and examined the files inside. Pictures of the targets, locations they frequent and vantage points to collect evidence on their trades. Also inside the envelope was a picture of a restaurant and a note:

"Agent Rouge, inside this envelope you will find all the information you need to successfully complete your mission. Along with photographed locations and detailed background information on the targets. Also inside, you'll find picture of the 'Crem De La Crem' restaurant. Here you will meet another agent, who has been watching the pre-determined targets for some time now. We've provided you with clothes to wear at the aforementioned restaurant. You'll be meeting your contact there at 8 p.m. Good luck." -- "This message will self destruct in 5...4...3...2..."

Rouge tossed the paper out the window as it exploded in a small plume of smoke.

"Who am I, Tom Cruise?" Rouge groaned. "These people and their theatrics…"