Turquoise Gems
Chapter 1
I don't know what happens to me when I'm on the job. There just comes a certain point where I feel utterly cold on the inside. When nothing else matters except what I have to do, how I do it, and of course, getting it done. It's always been that way, and as long as I'm an agent of G.U.N, and as long as I wish to stay alive while undertaking their missions.
It had better stay that way.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not exactly known for being the impassive, distant one in the lively bunch I've come to be associated with (a certain hedgehog I know can keep that particular role all to himself).
But even I know, contrary to popular belief, how to be serious.
Because even I know, when you're getting ready to steal plans from a hostile group of wolverines (really, what other kind are there?) who call themselves "The Bloody Fangs", you'd damn sure better bring you're A-game.
However, I have, and always will, have that area covered.
Because I'm Rouge the Bat, the world's greatest treasure hunter, and the best damn agent that the Guardian Units of Unified Nations (G.U.N) has seen in over three decades.
I always bring my A-game.
And I always get my job done.
That being said.
It's time to get to work.
I open my eyes just as a humming sound tickles my eardrums.
The COM device surgically implanted into the center of my right ear canal ceases to hum a second or two before a young, yet deeply masculine voice emits from the device.
It always disturbs me how it sounds as though the person talking is standing right next to me.
"It's time Rouge." The voice says.
"I know." I lightly whisper, the COM being able to pick up the minutest vibrations of my voice or whatever and instantly transmit the signals to a receiver COM to be heard by its wearer.
I don't get into all the technical stuff, I just know the things work like a charm and are the most discreet form of communication the military currently has.
"How's our getaway looking so far? " I ask the voice.
"We'll be all clear when the time comes." The voice responds, "I'm already in position, you just tell me when."
I smile. "You know, I remember you saying something similar to that a couple years ago."
The voice's owner snorts. "Well hopefully I won't have to save your ass cause of a screw-up on your end again."
Damn it… did he always have to bring that little piece of my personal shame up?
"Oh come on... Okay that definitely wasn't one of my proudest moments but you have to admit besides the last minute rescue thing, that mission went off without a hitch."
I actually get a chuckle. "Whatever you say Rouge."
His voice suddenly regains its hardened edge but I can pick up a little bit of genuine concern.
"Just be careful."
Don't you hate it when someone makes you feel that little bit of warmth deep in your stomach when they've said something that touched you?
Ugh it makes me feel like such a little girl… though I really do appreciate it.
Yet another addition to the long wall of reasons why I love him.
"Don't worry Shadow. You know me." I tell him.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm talking about." Shadow says with the smallest bit of humor.
A sudden, tiny click let's me know he's turned off his COM.
I chuckle at his last comment before I close my eyes again and purge my mind of all my warm thoughts of him.
It's party time.
But with my line of work, this was going to be one short, silent party.
Looking down at the ground below, I calculate that I'm at least forty five feet high in the air.
For anybody else this distance would've been rather daunting.
Especially if you were hanging upside down from a rafter thanks to some handy-dandy magnetic soles attached to my thigh-high boots.
But hey, being a bat definitely has its ups. Preferring to hang from extreme distances upside down just happens to be one of them.
The sudden roar of a jet engine outside instantly reminds me of just where I am.
A hangar within an airdrome under full wolverine airspace.
This basically means that if things get very hot, which, trust me, is very unlikely to happen with me and Shadow on the job, any air support would be impossible. That, and the fact that G.U.N has absolutely no jurisdiction in this part of Mobius which means that if Shadow and I were to get caught, (as if) G.U.N would claim absolutely no responsibility for our actions.
Oh well. Nowadays I tend to disregard stuff like that.
With Shadow with me, not only do I have the Ultimate Life-form in case things go wrong to back me up, said Ultimate Life form also has the incredibly useful ability to use Chaos Control whenever he pleases.
It's nice to have an immediate evac whenever necessary.
But anyway, back to the task at hand.
I reach 'down' for my boots, and press a button located just to the right of the heel.
I begin to feel gravity take hold as my boots deactivate their magnetic clutch on the rafter and I begin to fall.
I tip my body upwards as I fall so my body is in a horizontal position.
Then I spread my wings, and immediately they are filled with the rushing air of my rapid descent.
The hangar is dark except for bits of moonlight and utterly empty except for all the jet fighters stationed on the hangar floor below. They are all lined in files of a dozen or so, maybe more, on either wall of the hangar.
Quietly, I land between two jet fighters on the hangar's left side.
I look around out of habit to confirm that the hangar is absolutely empty and crouching low I creep towards the entrance.
Halfway there, the door suddenly opens, revealing the cool moonlit night outside, and a scruffy looking, black furred wolverine dressed in full combat armor and packing an assault rifle; I can't tell from the dark, but it looks like an M4 Carbine, definitely not the type of weapon the wolverines should have in their possession.
I press my back against the wall to hide myself deeper in the shadows of the hangar as the wolverine enters.
Already I was thinking of a good way to ambush this big boy without risking him turning around and firing at me.
Getting shot wouldn't be too much of a problem, the skin tight jumpsuit I wear isn't just to show of my curves (though it serves that purpose pretty well) it's made of a highly flexible material, I have no idea what its called, but I do know that its damn near bulletproof and can take any thing less then a Magnum .44 at point blank range.
So injury isn't the problem, the problem is the fact that being discreet means not attracting the attention of dozens of rabid wolverines because one had managed to detect my presence.
Luckily, Wolvy suddenly makes it easier for me.
With a dreary yawn (I knew starting the mission at 4am would count for something) the wolverine turns to the right and reaches out with one hand for the large switch that would turn on every light in the hangar.
He struggles with it.
Giving me all the time I need to quickly explode from the shadows I'm hiding within and dash behind his back as silent as a cat in less than five seconds.
It must have been pure instinct that made the wolverine turn his head slightly to the side.
His yellow eyes widen in shock.
"Hello there." I quickly say before I grab him by his shoulders, and slam both my knees as hard as I can into the wolverine's back before I suddenly fall backwards, bringing him with me to the floor so his back slams even harder into my knees.
There is the horrific snap of bone as the wolverine's spine shatters under my brutal, quick assault.
The wolverine only sighs raggedly as I feel the life leave his body in seconds.
Quickly, I toss his limp body off of me and return to my feet.
I look down at the body of the wolverine without even a hint of remorse or sorrow.
I long ago learned not to feel pity for a slain enemy.
At least while on the mission.
There's always plenty of time to hate yourself for a brutal kill afterwards. You know, when you're actually still breathing enough to feel guilty.
The only thing I regret right now at the moment is that I now have to hide this damn body in case a buddy of his happens to come looking for him in here.
Hopefully it won't even matter, because even if somebody were to come to this hangar, I would already be long gone.
Sighing to myself I grab under the wolverine's arms, damn these bastards smell horrible, and drag him over to a nearby jet and shove his body under the belly of the aircraft with my foot, to disgusted with the idea of touchingthe body further even with gloves on.
I return to the entrance that the wolverine came through.
Looking through the open doorway, I notice there is zero activity outside with the exception of a two-manned patrol several dozen yards to my right.
I look ahead and before me lies my goal.
The large complex of box shaped buildings that within lie the reason why I am here.
Looking over to the patrol again and finding that they were currently walking even further away from my position, I slunk into the deep, dark shadows and made a silent B-line for the building complex.