A/N: …So, did I forget to mention I was going on a one-year hiatus? *ducks under desk to avoid bricks* Apologies. This is going to be a long author's note, so if you don't feel the need for an explanation, scroll down. For those who have seen my profile relatively recently and know the laptop story, skip the next paragraph.
So, ridiculously long story short, my b***h of an older sister went off to college last fall. Yay! Bad news: she stole my laptop when she left. My parents think she's the best little angel, (only because she's the smart one,) and refused to think that she took it. Hence, they thought I lost it, and refused to get me a new one. My dad also wouldn't let me get any work done on his, my school changed their system to prevent people such as myself from doing such things during class, and my public library doesn't actually have Word on their computers. So, I was stuck trying to earn $1000 or so to replace the one my sister had taken (it was a really good laptop!) Since my parents refuse to give me an allowance (though still require me to do work around the house- pleasant people, aren't they?), and I'm too young to get a job, I was relying on grandmothers. Slow going- at that rate, I maybe would've been able to get one in, oh, 20 years.
But here, enter the good, the evil, the Ninny… Yes, that's right, my dear friend x A Ninny Mouse x, the best bestie ever whom I am ever so grateful to and love so much , got my laptop back for me. I don't mean sent me cash for a new one, I mean on her last trip to Michigan, she U of M per her mom's request to see the college, and my mom asked her to drop some stuff off for my sis. (Oddly enough, it's a lot cheaper to ship from Alaska to Illinois than to Michigan. Weird, huh?) And while there, long story short, she took my laptop from my sis and shipped it back to me. (I believe she referred to it as Grand Theft CPU… Very accurate.) So, anyone who doesn't feel completely betrayed and will still rely on me for entertainment can thank Ninny for my continued work. Did I mention that I love her?
So, I'm back, and having no patience for writing stuff down in notebooks, I got very little done aside from the outline for this new story. EliteKessu gets credit for the inspiration for this idea! (This is based off of one of the several you sent me, so kudos to you!) I went against my word, and this one is a direct sequel to ATITN, featured Kitty and a few other Nonexistants. (You'll finally learn something about the guy on the phone!) Seeing as this note is almost a page long now, I'm going to stop talking and hope you all like this first little teaser of what's to come, seeing as I'm now very out of practice…
As far as his job was concerned, it had been a long, boring day. He wasn't used to R&D, being more of an action guy, so he being called in for this showed just how important this job was. He didn't see why, though; some lousy kid could only cause so many problems. Sending an entire squad after her seemed like overkill.
Not to mention the fact that she was nowhere to be found, as she had been for most of the day. He hadn't been happy when she had disappeared during breakfast; it was now after sundown, and he and his squad mates were antsy. The fact that they didn't even know why the higher-ups were after her made it worse for them.
And, speak of the devil; he nonchalantly shifted positions, putting himself just out of viewing range behind a large potted plant as their mark walked through the door. She was easy to spot, being one of a handful of anthros staying in the large hotel. In terms of apparel, she wasn't much to look at. Bright red sneakers, blue jeans, a light blue t-shirt with the name of a popular techno group scrawled across the front, a large navy sweatshirt tied around her waist, and glasses far too large for her face told it all. However, while she was fairly short, her tall rabbit ears made her stand out, her black and white spotted fur even more so. She had long, scruffy blonde hair that made an interesting contrast with her fur and almost hid her green eyes from view at times. He was grateful for that as she walked right past him.
"The target just walked into the main lobby," he murmured quietly into a hidden communicator in his watch. To anyone else looking at him, it simply looked like he was checking the time.
He received a round of relieved groans mixed with a few exasperated "Finally!"s over his small, hidden earpiece from the other members of his squad, all placed in random areas of the hotel in teams of two save for his scouting group of several individuals. The ruckus continued until they were all shushed by one voice that came through louder than the others- their squad leader, an irritable, abrasive man who did hardly any work.
"All of you, shut it!" he shouted into the system, only continuing once everyone had quieted. "Okay, we don't want to have to wait again, so we won't lose her this time. Bravo team, you two wait in the stairwell."
"Got it."
"Delta team, you split up, one at ground floor elevators and the other at sixteenth."
"We're on it, boss."
"Gamma and Omega, you guys cover the exits."
"Already gone, boss-man."
"Scout teams, you stay put and monitor the situation."
"Right," the man by the plant said, accompanied by positives from his comrades.
"Alpha team, have you gotten into the room yet?" the squad leader asked, sounding a tad bit annoyed, seeing as that particular group had been at it since lunchtime.
There was a slight pause before receiving a reply. "Yeah, uh, we're still working on it, boss! There's, uh, something up with this lock..."
A frustrated growl. "It's a generic hotel key-card lock! How difficult can it be?"
"Well, sir, this thing seems to have been beefed up a bit-"
"That or you really are as stupid as I take you for. Why would a single lock be-"
"Excuse me," the scout near the plant interrupted. "I hate to break up this love fest, but she's about to leave the lobby, and I don't want to be the one to explain to Vincetti why she got away."
The squad leader cursed. "All right, all teams not otherwise assigned, move to intercept. I want to be out of here within the hour. Alphas, pack up and move out!"
"Roger!" one Alpha replied, sounding too cheerful for his situation.
"No, I'm Roger!" The other interjected, sounding whineier than a grown man ever should.
The scout near the plant wisely removed his earpiece, for it wasn't a second later that his leader yelled "SHUT UP AND MOVE!" loud enough to be heard from the palm of his hand. This was why he hated working outside of his usual group; however, the higher-ups had all of the top teams otherwise preoccupied with whatever their latest project was. Scouts weren't necessarily needed for those jobs. This one, however, was meant to be hush-hush, even among their own group, and sending out a top team would draw attention- hence why he was there with the B-Team. The fact that it was an IE job- intercept and exterminate- meant that she had something they wanted, and that it was something that she shouldn't have known about. A type of job that was usually saved for high-profile targets only made it more important to get it right, and made them more curious as to why it was being employed on a kid.
Deeming it safe, he put his earpiece back in as he settled against the wall, preparing for a wait. He was just a scout, after all. All he had to do was watch. The real pressure was on everyone else.
The Fratellanza wasn't known to take failure lightly, after all.
A/N: Wow I'm rusty… If it seems short, that's because it is. This is more of a prologue than anything else. You'll learn who 'she' is in the next two or three chapters, which should be longer, but I probably won't update nearly as often as I did for ATITN. The title's also a work-in-progress, so don't be surprised if that changes. Please R&R!