Chapter 3
As soon as Panther had revealed himself, a few guards jumped out behind the hotel's furniture with guns as well. Before they knew it, Fox and Krystal had been surrounded. Panther began to walk toward them with a smirk plastered across his face.
"Fox! Krystal! How lovely it is to see you again!" Panther said casually, keeping his guns trained on them.
"Before you kill us," said Fox, "could you at least give us some answers?"
Panther suddenly jumped at Fox, his gun now pointed at Fox's head.
"What kind of answers?" asked Panther.
"How did you know my phone number? Why are you after Krystal? How did you know we'd be here?" Fox started to question.
"Very well," Panther decided. "I got your number from some Cornerian General dog that said you and him were close. He also gave me both of your addresses. The cat that tried to kill you was one of my men of course, and as you can see, I still have more henchmen. I didn't know for sure you'd be here, but I had a hunch; I sent some of my men to both of your houses just in case."
"Bill!" Fox exclaimed. "You got your information from Bill Grey?"
Panther shrugged. "I dunno. He didn't tell me his name."
"Wait a minute – what does Star Wolf want with us anyway?" Fox asked.
Panther spat on the ground. "Star Wolf and I are no longer related. O'Donnell kicked me out when I asked about going after you guys; lucky for me, I was still able to accomplish the task without those scumbags. Now I can kill you, Fox, and have all sorts of fun with Krystal afterward!" he finished with licking his lips.
Fox gave Krystal the signal with a nod, and without warning kicked Panther back into the desk. Fox and Krystal revealed their guns, rapidly shooting at all the guards surrounding them. Having been taken by surprise, all of them were killed but one who hid behind a couch. Fox jumped to the side of the couch and shot the last guard quickly.
"Fox, he's trying to escape!" Krystal shouted.
Fox turned around to see Panther running down the hotel's hallway.
"Krystal, I want you to call the authorities and get them down here. I'll take care of Panther," Fox instructed.
Krystal nodded as Fox ran down the hallway in pursuit of Panther. He had to duck several times to avoid the lasers from Panther's dual guns. Panther was able to hop into the elevator before Fox could catch him; reacting quickly, Fox ran up the stairway to catch up to Panther.
As soon as the elevator door opened, Fox slammed his body into Panther, causing the cat to drop one of his guns. Fox kicked the other out of Panther's hand. Scrambling to his feet, Panther threw a punch into Fox's abdomen. Retaliating, Fox grabbed hold of Panther's body and threw him into one of the hotel's doors, causing him to break through the wood and fall into the room.
Panther was temporarily unconscious, luckily for Fox. The next moment, Krystal came running to Fox's side.
"I called the police; they should be here any second," Krystal informed him.
The two casually walked further into the room, and noticed a dog tied up and gagged in the corner. Krystal untied his arms and legs while Fox took off the mouth-gag.
"Who are you?" Fox asked.
"My name's Walter. I'm the manager of this hotel; that guy you just threw in here tied me up for some reason. He killed the desk attendant. Glad to see you took care of that weasel," the dog said.
"My pleasure, sir; the authorities will arrive shortly," Fox assured Walter.
Fox and Krystal helped the dog get to his feet; he thanked them and left the room. Hoping Panther wouldn't get up, Fox and Krystal remained in the room just in case. A couple of minutes later, a few police officers appeared in the room; they were all dogs.
"Nice work, Mr. McCloud and Ms. Krystal," one of them said. "We'll take it from here."
The other two men heaved Panther up, who suddenly snapped awake.
"Fox! FOX! You listen to me – this isn't over!" Panther screamed as he was being dragged away by the police.
Fox and Krystal looked at each other once they were alone.
"Should we go back to our houses?" Krystal asked.
"Yes; we need to take care of the guards Panther sent," Fox replied.
"No need," said Krystal. "I made sure the police went to both of our houses too."
Fox smiled with relief. "Smart thinking! I'll get you back to your house, and then I need to make sure Bill is alright."
Krystal followed Fox back down the stairs and into his car.
He better not have killed Bill… thought Fox.
However, he tried to retain a weak smile for Krystal as he drove her home. Once they arrived, they were relieved to find no damage had been done to her house.
"Thanks for the ride, Fox!" Krystal said. "Try to get some sleep!" she added as she left the car.
The keyword there was 'try'. Fox thought depressingly.
I just wish I could tell her how much I love her…
