Chapter Two
Sigma the Hawk's Return
I probably shouldn't have lost it when the thief called me Kali, but when I hear my old alias, the name I took on to survive as a Nocturnus Echidna, I can't help myself. The resulting explosion blew both of us out onto the street. Before the thief hit the ground I noticed that she was fading into red smoke, fortunately the Locater went with her and she didn't finish the obscene hand gesture she was preparing. The next second I hit the ground and passed out for about a minute.
When I came to, my radio was buzzing. "Arrow, what's going on?" Alpha Wolf asked, I was rather touched to hear the concern in his voice and to know he was worried enough to use my real name. "Respond, please respond!"
"Alpha Wolf, this is the Pyro Unit." I began, pausing so if Alpha Wolf was going to have an outburst he wouldn't interrupt me.
"Oh thank the GODS you lived!" Alpha Wolf yelled, then he composed himself. "What happened? Our radar says you're clear over in the New Vegas sector! I thought the shrapnel from the explosion might've killed you and the force of the blast pushed you clear across the section!"
"I'm in full armor," I began, alerting Alpha Wolf to the fact that the shrapnel was harmless. "I transferred my Locater to the thief so we could track her. Sorry if you can't find me anymore, I like it that way."
"If you lost that piece of equipment I swear I'll..." Alpha Wolf began, but then stopped. "What the—your vitals are? Arrow, are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm perfectly fine." I said, standing up and walking over to my motorcycle. "It must be Fritz again."
"Damn him!" Alpha Wolf shouted, and there was a ringing silence for a little, but I could hear the sounds of an office being torn apart, along with more swearing and Alpha Wolf shouting for the techies to get to work instead of playing Halo or whatever.
"Sorry Pyro," a new voice said. "It's Tech, I need to terminate the signal before the Colonel destroys the mike too."
"You guys play Halo?" I asked, there was a click and I realized I was on my own until Alpha Wolf calmed down. Oh well, I now knew where the thief was, but I had a suspicion of who she was. I could only hope I was wrong, but six years is a long time. Long enough for someone to turn into a thief, go back on a vow, or vanish completely. I can only hope six years isn't long enough for someone who never lies become a liar.
"Dear Chaos, what's gotten into me lately?" I muttered, climbing onto my motorcycle and starting it up. On my Radar there was a small arrow pointing to the New Vegas sector, fortunately I knew that it had to be the thief. My Locater is DNA coded, and I'm the only one who can operate it at all.
I drove straight for the New Vegas sector, breaking every speed limit along the way, but I'm a Unit, I'm allowed to do stuff like that. I popped a wheelie when I jumped off a bridge so I could follow the Locater's Beacon more efficiently. I love my job.
Crap, off-topic again. The thief was going in for a landing, her wings stretched wide behind her. I recognized that way of flying. Oh Chaos, I was right.
The thief was my old teammate, Sigma the Hawk. That explains how she knew my old name, how she recognized me when I was in full armor, and the red smoke is a byproduct of Sigma's teleports! How could I have been so STUPID and forget about that!
"SIGMA!" I shouted, and she turned to look at me.
"Wait a sec," Sigma began. "I know Kali the Echidna, not Arrow the Echidna. I just learned one of my teammates is dead and you show up to arrest me for staying alive."
"When you put it that way I feel kinda bad." I said
"Really?"
"No. Who would?"