This chapter contains a requested Original Character that is not mine. Swift the Hedgehog is property of xXTheRedHedgehogXx.


Waking up had always been hard for Friona. Sleep, when it found her, never seemed to last long enough to fight off exhaustion and the thought of returning to a life that had long ago lost its luster. Today however, her tail wagged eagerly as the sun bore through the frosted glass windows in Tails' apartment and battered her still closed eyelids. The brightness teased her with the promise of a new day, but her body remained defiant up until a building excitement forced her upright. The fox next to her was fast asleep, but at least he was still there this time.

Stepping gingerly from the bed Fiona found her way around the small studio, retrieving clothes that had been carelessly tossed about the night before. Her emotions felt as if they too were disarray, cast from one side of her mind to the other without warning. Fiona was confident that she could try for the rest of her life, but there would be no forgetting what she had done the day before. For better and worse her decisions left nothing but more questions.

Whether the man deserved it or not didn't make it easier to stomach killing him. To her he was just a thorn in someone else's side. Even if the Dominion had it out for her, they had never caused her any real harm. However, Tails seemed quite pleased about the outcome. Apparently the director was Julian's right hand man and a long time friend. She understood how even small victories could be uplifting, but the vixen couldn't find it within herself to revel in a death found by her own paws.

Looking over at Miles, Fiona recalled the other rash decision she made, the one that she regretted much less. Two firsts in one night was hardly a record, but Fiona was surprised choices of such emotional scale hadn't crippled her. She wanted the fox, that much was true, but never did she realize just how far she was willing to go to make it true. Whether it was a compromised decision or the clearest she had ever been thinking in her life, it made no difference anymore; what was done was done.

As she wondered the small flat, her eyes found the kit's HUD sitting unattended on the dining table. Glancing over her shoulder, Fiona checked to see if the two-tailed fox had woken. She felt guilty just picking them up, but she had so many questions, questions that she couldn't ask him.

The man she had killed had told her that there were still things she didn't know, but she had always known that. Naugus was full secrets. However, if she had learned anything from her time around him, it was that a dyeing man's words were rarely false. What has Ixis lied to me about, the vixen thought as she peered through the crystal glass in front of her eyes.

It still seemed strange that such a tiny device could hold so much information, and stranger still that it could anticipate her thoughts. When she dawned the eyewear, the morning's paper confronted her with grizzly tales of murder in the night. Much of it was her own doing of course, but at least Naugus would be happy. With a few blinks she had diverted herself off on a wild goose chase, investigating a man who no longer existed because of her. If she paused on a thought too long the HUD would shift the flow of information, pulling up data about what ever she was deliberating. It was a never-ending circle of new information. Each fact opened up a dozen more doors, yet she could only go through one at a time.

What could have taken her months of detective work played out right before her in just seconds. Bank documents, crime scene photos, and audio recordings. The secret life of two men was suddenly less secret. The man whom she had most closely regarded as a father was now starting to appear to be the monster she had always been told and knew he was.

Ixis was one of the few private donors who had funded her parent's killer's defense. With just a few well-placed bribes, Nagus made sure the murderer went free. It was more than likely he had helped hide him away too. Suddenly the smile and on Ixis' face the day she showed up at his hotel made sense. Life was hardly more than a game to him. Naugus had lied to her face every single day that she worked for him, all while acting as if he was the only thing keeping her alive and happy.

Making her way into the kitchen, Fiona continued to read the infinite amounts of information available to her. It appeared that nothing more than greed drove the twisted man. Black Markets only did well in times of corruption and war. Naugus sought to fuel the conflict between the Mobians and the humans at every turn, knowing that each would have to turn to him for the more questionable products and services he provided. Helping her parent's murderer was just one more chance to deepen the divide. No doubt he saw adopting Fiona as an unforeseen bonus.

The vixen's ears could make out the sheet rustling as she poked her head through covert after covert.

"You won't find anything," Miles called out grumbling. "Not anything worth eating anyway."

Fiona let out a sigh, she was starting to miss working for a man who made sure she was well fed, even if he was a monster. Her belly growled in complaint as she shut another empty cabinet.

"We can get food on the way," the kit continued as she turned back to face him.

"On the way to what?"

"Remember that job I thought you might like?"

Fiona nodded her head as she took a seat on the mattress next to him.

"Well, that would be today."

"Are you going to give me any clues or is this going to be another 'surprise' too?"

"How well did Ixis pay you?" Miles asked with a smile curling up his muzzle.

"On my first job he handed me a couple thousand, but I never saw money like that again."

"How does a couple hundred thousand sound?"

"What are we doing, robbing a bank?" Fiona asked sarcastically.

"Yes actually, that is exactly what we are doing," the kit yelped through a yawn as he stretched his hands above his head. His eyes were still bloodshot, almost as if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

It was becoming difficult to wrap her mind around the life Tails led. There was never a dull moment when he wasn't charging recklessly into the unknown, but perhaps that's what she liked about him. Working for Ixis never felt like it was for a small time operation, but Miles and the Resistance were starting to make him look insignificant by comparison. Their resources and skill vastly outnumbered his, but then again Naugus didn't have an entire government opposing him, just another bad man.

"We can go as soon as I find…"

"These?" Fiona cut him off as she tossed his pants so that they landed squarely on his head.

The kit smiled as he pulled the garment from face. Although something about it didn't sit well with her. Just beneath its surface sat pain that was not there the night before. There was hesitation in all of his words, as if he wanted to push her away, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Read anything good?" the kit inquired as he reached for the HUD atop her head.

The vixen nodded as. She did her best to consume as much information as she could be his fingers found the frame of the device.

"What are you reading about him for?" Tails asked as he put the computer on.

"Just curious I guess."

His paw found hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. The gesture was comforting, but it did little to quell the pain that still lurked in the bottom of her now empty stomach.

Fiona tried to ignore the fact that the car had been parked in the opposite direction the night before. If Miles had left, he was certainly smart enough to return, and smarter still for not mentioning it. Part of her wanted to ask, but because the answer was not likely to please her, she let it go.

The city looked different in the morning. A feint haze of morning dew clung to the lower atmosphere as they rolled through the sparsely populated streets. Everything was less tense in the earlier hours. It was not uncommon for her to work late into the nights, and subsequently sleep half the day away. Shadows were few and far between when the sun was in the sky. Darkness, she decided, suited her better.

"If Sonic knew we were stopping here," Tails chuckled as he pulled up to a small silver street cart. "There would be no end to his jealousy."

Fiona watched with a staunch look of amusement as an older portly man underneath a tiny umbrella unseated himself and approached the rusty car. Miles rolled down the window with the hand crank and called out to what she now guessed was a friend.

"Hank," the kit said casually.

"Was wondering when I would be see'n one o you again." Leaning down to peer into the window he continued when he caught site of the second fox in the vehicle, "Mmm looky here Tails got himself a girl, a pretty one too."

The vixen couldn't help but blush. Comments, at least verbal ones, were hard to come by. Long suggestive stares from those passing by were flattering, but in a different way that rubbed her fur in the wrong direction.

"Fiona," she replied.

He waved her off, "I don't like to know the real names of my customers. You look like a Red to me."

He is half right, she thought.

"What'l it be?" the man asked of the two Mobians.

"Two of the usual," Miles answered as he held out a hundred dollar bill.

"You pay me too damn much," the street vendor replied even as he happily took the money.

The savory smell of a tangy meat wafted through the air when the street cart was opened. Her mouth watered in anticipation of whatever was about to be given to her. However, her expectations were sadly let down when Miles handed her foot long hot dog covered in chili. By no means was it the kind of breakfast she had expected.

"Just try it," the two-tailed fox insisted.

Nervously the vixen took a bite only to find that her fears were unfounded. Something about the classically common food was more than perfect. The bun was soft, the meat moist, and the chili flawlessly spiced. A flavor fusion that was satisfying and filling.

"This is damn near the best thing I have ever eaten," she exclaimed after finally taking a breath.

"They all say that," Hank replied as he crossed him arms and returned to his chair and waved good bye to the two of them.

Tails did his best to shift in-between large bites. He made no effort to keep himself or his car clean in the process. Instead chunks of chili stained anything and everything.

For what seemed like hours they aimlessly roamed the streets, occasionally crossing into her home turf. Just when it felt like she couldn't take staring out the window any longer, the kit turned the car into a parking structure. The high-pitched noise of the wheel bearings going bad echoed obnoxiously off the cement ceiling as they made their way to the roof. Six floors up nothing but the sky was left over their heads.

Just two parking spaces down a red hedgehog and white koala sat on the trunk of a car with their arms crossed. Fiona could only assume that it was no accident they had parked here as well.

"Partners in crime?" she asked motioning to the other Mobians.

"Indeed. We always work in pairs of two. My partner bailed on me, that's where you come in," Tails answered as he exited the vehicle.

There was a lot of tension in the air as the two-tailed fox approached the other Freedom Fighters. The vixen kept her space, following a few steps behind him unsure of what to make of the situation.

"You're late," the hedgehog quipped sharply as he tapped his foot against the side of the vehicle.

Tails glanced at his watch and raised an eyebrow to question the accusation.

"I just assumed that Miles Prower would show up a little early for these types of things."

The koala nodded in agreement as she peered around nervously for any onlookers.

"Swift I presume?" Miles asked of the quilled Mobian with an outstretched hand.

"The one and only," he answered as he shook the fox's hand.

"And you must be Barby?" Tails said turning to the white furred bear.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Prower," she answered in a strange accent that Fiona could not place.

"Call me Tails, please."

The kit had told her that all his friends called him that. Yet these two didn't, that seemed odd to her.

"Don't you all know each other already?" she asked out loud while stepping forward.

"Only by reputation it seems," Tails answered. "The resistance has a lot agents that get paired up for all types of missions. I guess we are the most well suited to the task."

"And who might you be?" Swift asked cautiously as he eyed the red fox. "You certainly don't look like a coyote."

"Or an Antoine," Barby added snidely.

"Fiona," the vixen replied bashfully as she reached a hand out to greet them.

Neither seemed to keen on accepting her friendship.

"I had to find a last minute replacement. She is good I promise," the kit insisted.

"If it were anyone but you telling me that, I would already be out of here," the crimson hedgehog answered as he popped the trunk of his car and reached in for a black duffel bag. "I am assuming you have filled her in."

"Not quite," Tails answered as he turned to Fiona. "We are running a standard smoke and mirrors heist.

At least they were talking a language she understood. While she never was afforded the luxury of a partner to use such a tactic, Fiona still knew how the play worked.

"Who's the smoke?"

"We are," the koala answered, "So be quick about it. We are up first for the shooting gallery if things get out of control."

"Then what are we grabbing?" the vixen asked as she turned the two tailed fox.

"Money of course, it's a bank."

Something told her that wasn't the whole truth, but she had learned well enough that it would come out soon enough. The kit enjoyed being mysterious, and she would be lying to herself if she weren't willing to admit that it didn't entertain her.

"What do you say we get this show on the road?" Swift asked, clearly annoyed with how much time they were wasting.

"See you in ten then," Tails answered as he motioned for Fiona to follow him back towards the tiny blue hatchback.

In the back was the fox's very own black duffel bag. She joined him at the edge of the parking garage as they both looked at the building across the street. It was only five stories high, leaving them with a clear view of its roof. More than that she recognized it as one of the few banks on the Upper East Side. The copper's response time would be slower, if they even bothered to show at all.

"Are we really about to do what I think we're about to do?" the vixen asked even though she already knew the answer.

This was Miles she was talking about. The fox knew no boundaries, no matter how improbable the outcome.

"Depends," he began as he pulled a harness of out the bag and handed it to her, "if you thought we are about to zip line onto the top of a bank, then yes."

Why, she asked herself with a smile, did you leave your boring day job Fi?

Before she even had herself buckled into the contraption the kit had handed her, the puff of a compressed air gun broke the stillness. The vixen looked on as a spear penetrated the side of the building across the street. Tails quickly pulled out a rivet gun and secured an anchor point on the pillar next to them. In no time at all he had the rope as taught as a steel rod.

"You have done this before, right?"

"Which part?" Fiona asked. "Rob a bank or zip line across capital city in broad day light?"

"Are the answers any different?" Tails asked with a big grin.

She didn't bother feeding his ego. Fiona should have known that he knew perfectly well that she had never done anything quite this extravagant before.

"After you," she motioned.

"Not quite yet, we need to wait."

"Wait for what?"

Miles pointed down to the street below where the other two Mobians were making their way across the street, black duffel bag in tow. Swift tactfully opened the door for his partner, bowing graciously as he motioned for her to go in before him. After they disappeared behind the tinted glass, a burst of gunfire erupted, followed shortly by high-pitched screams.

For all their effort to convince humanity that Mobians were not a threat, Fiona felt this was not helping. However, she had no doubt that whatever they were doing was a part of something bigger than winning hearts and minds.

Without any warning what so ever, the kit clipped himself to the wire and shoved off. The metallic sound of metal sliding over the braided steel wire feded into the distance as Tails streaked across the sky. By now all the attention was being directed to what was going on inside the bank, not above it.

Fiona had never been comfortable with heights, but Miles was depending on her. They worked in pairs, and she was his partner. More than anything she didn't want to let him down. With shaking paws, she clipped her carabineer to the cable and took a long step off the side of the parking structure. The vixen did her best to suppress the high-pitched cries for help welling up inside her as she flew across the city streets. Tails had already pulled himself up to the roof by the time she not so gracefully hit the wall.

The red fox had little doubt that her partner could see the fear in her eyes as he reached for her hand. It wasn't an emotion she liked to show, but was perhaps the hardest to hide.

"Come on," the kit exclaimed, that was the easy part.

Easy part, Fiona thought to herself as she took ahold of his gloved hand. What's the hard part?

The roof was sweltering in the afternoon sun. She could make out the ripples of air rising up off the black tar paper creating mirages between her and the cityscape. Tails on the other hand was not concerned with the imaginary images and set to work on prying off one of the vent covers before blindly hopping in. The squeal of the soles of his shoes against the aluminum siding could be hear as he shimmied his way down the air shaft.

"Come on Fi," he called up to her from the depths.

Sighing to herself, she followed him into the vent, doing her best to lower herself slowly. Finding any grip at all on the slippery walls was near impossible. When the vixen's feet hit the bottom, she crouched down to navigate the small space. Tails was already pretty far ahead of her. He did little with his words to impress upon her the tightness of the schedule they were on.

When she caught up to him, the fox was kicking in a grate to one of the ceiling ducts. It gave way and fell to the floor below. However, no one was around to hear it. No doubt they had all been distracted by the alarm and the gunfire in the lobby.

Breaking into a bank, even in the middle of day was not half as hard as she thought. The two of them hopped down into the bank's upper offices. The plush setting seemed reminiscent of the days she spent in Naugus' headquarters. However, what they could hope to accomplish up here was hard to determine. The other two Freedom Fighters in the lobby were the ones taking all the risks.

The velvet red fox wondered the halls aimlessly as she searched for anything of significance. It wasn't long before she stumbled across Miles sitting at a terminal in the corner office.

"I thought you said we were robbing this place?" Fiona nearly screamed as the kit hacked away at the keyboard.

"We are, but that is only a diversion. We are the mirrors remember?"

She wanted to chuckle, the smoke was robbing the vault. The vixen had assumed that her and Tails would be doing that. Whatever this play was, it was bigger than he bothered to tell her.

"A diversion? For what?"

"Julian has a lot of money stashed away to fund his research projects. It's all run through illegal off the book accounts. Tracing them down to their source can be difficult, but very rewarding."

"What about the vault, wouldn't it be in there?"

"Not this money, it's tied up in stocks, bonds, and other types of investments which can only be traded from a select few terminals."

"Let me guess? You just happen to be typing at one right now?"

Tails nodded with a big smirk on his face.

"Where are you transferring it?"

"What does it matter? Anywhere but here will do."

What Fiona would give to frame Ixis for this little heist. He spent his days plotting to put Julian and the Mobians at each others throat, so she felt compelled to return the favor.

"You could put some in Naugus' account," the vixen suggested.

Tails eyes narrowed, "why would I do that?"

"If Kintobor ever bothers to trace the funds…"

The kit chuckled light heartedly, "I like the way you think. A couple million should do just fine."

"A couple million! What kind of damage are you doing?"

"Drained just shy of a billion from one of his accounts, but that is a drop in the bucket to him."

Fiona couldn't even fathom that kind of money. With a few keystrokes the two-tailed fox had robbed the man she loathed most of more money than she could reasonably count. While she was lost in thought Tails had made it look like no one was ever in the office. The terminal and its display were off and not a single paper out of place.

"Try to keep up," the fox said with a smile as he stood there waiting for her in the doorway.

It was hardly fair she decided, as she followed him down the back stairs, that nothing seemed to operate on her time frame anymore. As they reached the bottom floor, Miles reached for one of his TEC-9s. Fiona followed suit , putting a hand on her own pistol, as they walked out into the lobby, which now more closely resembled a war zone. Documents, receipts, and small bills had been flung everywhere while the bulk of the patrons lay on the floor with their hand covering their heads.

One of them however, still caught site of the two-tailed fox. Fiona had forgotten how afraid of him people were. Rationality could and often did take a back seat to fear. A middle aged man got to his feet, sprinting madly for the door.

Tails raised his pistol to the ceiling and let loos several rounds. The noise inside the marble building amplified, and the sound stopped the man in his tracks.

Barby, whom already had her hands full monitoring the rest of the customers, shouted at the now petrified hostage in her foreign accent, "What I say about trying to be a hero, love?"

The guy could do nothing more than whimper as he fell back to his knees.

"Give Swift a hand," the kit commanded as he turned to look at Fiona. "We only have another two minutes at best."

Rather than dally any longer the vixen found herself vaulting over the teller counter and sprinting into the vault.

"How nice of you to join us," the red hedgehog said mockingly as he continued to stuff a trash bag full of cash.

Stacks and stacks of bills sat out for the taking, making it hard for Fiona to get a grip on reality.

"Don't just stand there," Swift barked while tossing a bag full of money at her. "Put this with the others."

It was heavy, almost too heavy for her to carry, but she wasn't going to complain. With a gentle swing she tossed the bag back out into the lobby so it landed amongst the others.

Pulsing blue and red lights flashed through the frosted glass on the windows. It seems the city's coppers had finally decided to show up.

"I was wondering when they were going to arrive," Tails remarked snidely as he strode over and picked up a bag of money. "Swift, time to go."

"Yeah, yeah, one second almost got the last one," came the red hedgehog's response.

The silhouettes of assault rifles and armored coppers pranced across the windows as the Freedom Fighter's enemy enclosed them in a tightening perimeter.

Fiona had assumed that the copper's would have taken their time with so many hostages in play, but perhaps they knew the resistance better than they were willing to admit. Miles had told her plainly that the Freedom Fighters would never harm an innocent person. The media however, told every story but that one. Knowing that there was no risk of captives dying, the coppers came rushing in, guns blazing.

With nothing more than their sidearm and basic armor, the first men through the revolving door were of very little threat. A round to the chest would send them to the floor in world of pain. The two leading the charge were met by a wall of lead from the kit's machine pistol, followed shortly by blast from the Koala's shotgun.

Fiona stood there frozen unsure of what to do or how to help. Tails and Barby had already retreated to the back hallway with most of the money. Swift on the other hand was still in the vault. Picking up the last of the cash from the lobby floor, Fiona followed after her fellow fox.

Just as she reached him, the sound of gunfire once again broke out, engulfing the bank in loud explosions. The coppers had pinned the hedgehog behind the counter as he tried to escape with the last of the cash. Without thinking Fiona tossed her trash bag to Miles.

"What are you doing?" he asked while analyzing the look on her face.

The vixen turned, raising her weapon in the process, and opened fire. The first round clipped an agent in the shoulder sending him to the ground screaming. By the time she fired the third shot, the red fox was the center of attention.

"Come on Fi," Tails shouted from across the room, "don't do this, we need to go."

Fiona had never worked with a partner, but she was pretty sure you were not supposed to leave them behind. The vixen pulled the trigger on her pistol as fast as it would fire, scattering the already confused coppers. With a long lunge, she dove behind the teller's counter where she found Swift reloading.

"What are you doing here?" he asked upset, "I can take care of myself."

If that was the lie he wanted to tell himself, that was one thing, but Fiona didn't see a way for anyone to get out of the predicament he was in.

"Come on," she said with a smile as she slid a new magazine into her Berretta, "I'll cover you."

The hedgehog nodded reluctantly and on the silent count of three the two Mobians rose from their hiding place, littering the entrance of the building with bullets. The coppers that once felt they had the advantage dove for cover as glass shattered and the stone wall turned to rubble. Swift was quick on his feet making for the back entrance, moneybag in hand. Fiona however, felt compelled to take things slower, backing away from her hiding spot as she continued to suppress an enemy that outnumbered her. The coppers quickly realized that they were no long outgunned and emerged from behind the pillars where they were once cowering.

Discharging round after round, she couldn't keep them all at bay herself and the inevitable click of her weapon doing nothing soon shattered her dreams of leaving alive. Fiona found herself alone in the center of the lobby floor holding an empty weapon. At least a dozen agents stared back at her, all down the sights of their guns. Any attempt Tails made to enter the room was immediately greet by gunfire so fierce not even he would risk coming though. Over her shoulder she could see him beckoning her to his side as he whimpered with what looked like tears in his eyes. But surly he had to know that she would never make it there, not breathing anyway.

Defeat was hard to swallow. Her mind raced looking for ways out. She had been trapped like this before and come out just fine. The world slowed down and the noise all faded as the vixen's mind concentrated on what had to be done.

Fiona did her best to ignore the kit's screams, "Fiona, don't!"

It was too late though, her finger had already found the magazine release on her Berretta while her other hand freed a fresh clip from her belt. Before any of the coppers realized what she was doing her gun was locked, loaded and ready for more fun. Dodging bullets was much like performing a ballet, move to the right time and tempo and the performance will continue without incident.

She could still make out Tails shouting, "…I promise you!"

The red fox skipped, slid and ducked between an endless amount of bullets that left her questioning whether or not they were missing on purpose. By the time she had dropped the fourth copper, she had found a pillar of her own to stand behind. When she turned back to look at Miles, the hallway was empty, and where her partners once stood there was now no one. Did they really leave me here?

An uncontrollable anger was welling up inside of her. Had she just been some fall girl for their heist? Miles had once promised her that he would never let her go again, and it seemed that he was doubling down on it today. Yet once again he had faded into the ether leaving her to fend for herself when she needed him most.

As the vixen wiped a tear from her eye she let the gun fall from her hand. Even if she tried, she was no longer in a condition to fight. Her emotions had gotten the better of her, not the coppers. Before she could announce her surrender the cold stock of riffle found he forehead and everything went black.

From that point on just mere glimpses of reality graced her senses. The musty stench of worn leather in the back of a copper's cruiser prodded her nose. It seemed all too familiar, but she couldn't quite place why. As she forced her eyes open, even if it was only for a moment, it just long enough to take in the scuffed off white linoleum floors. If her head didn't hurt so damn much she knew that she might actually be able to figure out where she was, but even recollections of the most mundane things were hard to find in her throbbing head.

When the shock wore off and her memory began to surface again, Fiona finally realized where she was. An eerily similar sun bleached desk sat before her, its varnish worn through with years of wear and tear. Papers cluttered its surface and behind it sat a man she hadn't seen in almost a decade. His face was unmistakable, despite the fact that time had been unkind to him. The man's physique had rounded slightly, but he still carried himself proudly. Not many humans had been sympathetic to Fiona, but this one, was at one point, a decent person and perhaps still was.

"I never got a chance to thank you," the fox began calmly, doing her best to ignore where she was. "I really did appreciate everything you did for me."

He smiled, "It's been so long I wasn't sure you would remember me, Fiona."

"There isn't much about that day that I don't remember," she answered.

"I can see that," the former detective replied as he unloaded the magazine from her pistol. "Glad to see you caught up with that guy. Just like I told you, everyone gets what's coming to them at someone point."

The fox was surprised that he was able to recall so many details. Perhaps he was a better detective than she gave him credit for.

"He isn't dead," Fiona responded giggling a little. "But you have no idea how happy he was to see me. At least I managed to take something to remember him by."

"You didn't do half bad for yourself kid," the copper said. "I would have given you a one in a million shot for getting anywhere in life with the hand you got dealt, but you did a hell of job of proving me wrong."

When last she saw this particular detective, it was in the same precinct station sitting in the same chair on the other side of the same desk. The difference now was that he had managed to put a few more stars on his chest and move up a few floors where he could reside in the solitude of his own office.

"I could say the say about you. Captain is it now?"

He nodded, "It is, even despite the nice setback you caused me. Letting a child walk out of here did not sit well with my superiors, but I am glad you did. They would have made a public execution out of you. I am not sure I would have been able to live with myself if that happened."

"So what now?" Fiona asked curiously. "Can I assume they will burn me at the stake this time as well?"

"Hard to say now that you're worth more to them alive than dead. Did you know you have a Dominion file?"

The vixen nodded. She couldn't quite figure out why that was such a big deal to everyone. It was as if she was on Santa's naughty list and everyone wanted to pat her on the back for getting there.

"I am the only person in this building authorized to look at those. I am also probably the only person who knows your real name," the captain said he splayed open a manila folder. "The Red Shadow was a real pain in my ass for years."

"Sorry about that. Not a lot of ways to make a living as fugitive."

"A wrongfully accused fugitive up until you killed the director of the Dominion. I liked you a lot better when you were retired. Why come back now? Why kill him?"

Fiona sighed deeply. That was a good question.

"I changed employers," she responded with a smirk on her face.

"Ixis can't be happy about that. You were half the reason people feared him, including most of my department. The looks on their faces when we dragged you in here with cuffs on your hands; I couldn't tell whether they were happy or scared."

"Even if Naugus isn't upset about me leaving, everyone should still be afraid of him. That man will go to anything lengths to exact what he believes is his. Working for him was just work, working for the Resistance has a little more meaning to it."

A two-tailed fox came to mind as mouthed the words.

The copper frowned , "You work with the Resistance?"

"Do you really think it was a coincidence that I was at the bank the same time they were?"

"Shit," he muttered as he picked up the phone.

"What?" she asked him, now feeling almost as worried as he looked.

"Don't what me. I thought I could trust you, and instead you have been sitting there buying yourself time."

"For what exactly?"

The captain set the phone down as he tried to find the lie in her eyes, "You haven't been working for them long have you?"

"No," she replied. "Why what don't I know?"

"They tend not to leave a man behind, I wanted to call for backup."

"So why didn't you?"

"The phone is already dead."

"Miles," Fiona said softly with a smile on her face, "you kept your promise."

"You work with Miles? Miles Power?" the captain asked now even more upset.

"I did up until you and your gang of merry men brought me here."

"Is there anything else you would like to clue me in on before we all end up dead?"

"I don't think so."

The captain brought his fingers to his closed eyelids and massaged them gently, "I suppose I should just let you go now instead of cleaning up all the blood tomorrow."

"Well I don't have any problems with that."

"I do!" the man screamed. "I let you walk out of here again and my life is over. Julian will find away to kill me right after he has publicly humiliated me and my entire family! Do you have any idea what it's like to have to worry about that?"

Fiona stared at him a few moments, doing her best to convey the fact she had already lived it.

The lights in his office flickered off just as he finished his tirade. No doubt the entire building was now operating in darkness. The foxes thrived in it while their human counterparts wallowed in its black choking grasp.

"Can I at least have my gun back?" she asked. "It wasn't easy to come by."

Fiona watched with her glowing eyes as the old detective loaded the weapon and slid it across the desk in almost the same way Ixis had.

"I suppose I should say thank you again," the vixen said as she retrieved the Berretta.

"Don't mention it," the man replied as he took a container of scotch out from his desk drawer. "Not much I can do now any ways."

She watched as he upended the contents of the bottle into his mouth and leaned back in his chair. Occasionally a stray gunshot would erupt causing the two of them to twitch with anticipation. Neither could be sure who was winning the battle for sure, but judging the types of screams emanating from outside his door, it was not the captain's men.

As she gathered up her gun, the vixen could hear the door open slowly behind her.

"My lucky day," the captain began. "I get to meet both the Red Shadow and Miles Prower."

Fiona turned to find Tails with his weapon trained on the copper.

"Don't worry about him, Miles. He is a friend."

"A friend?"

The man nodded with a faint smile, "I suppose that is what we are."

"Kintobor will skin you alive if he knows you let us out of here without a fight."

"I know," the man replied as he tapped on his chest, revealing a metallic reverberation. "I was hoping you could help me out with that."

Fiona raised her pistol, centering her friend's chest in its sights, but before she could pull the trigger he put his hands up to stop her.

"Hold on!" he chuckled sadly as he reached for the bottle of scotch again, "this is probably going to hurt."

"Like hell," Tails added.

As he slammed the now empty bottle back down onto the table the vixen didn't want to waste any more time. Two brass casings found the floor, along with the captain as his legs buckled beneath him in pain.

"Son of a bitch that hurts," he screamed through clenched fists, "you could have at least warned me."

Before she could respond the kit whisked her out of the room. Fiona squeezed his hand tight, reminding herself that he was still there. Despite his promise she felt compelled to do her part and make sure she couldn't let go. His paw closed even tighter around hers as he led her down the hall, comforting her silent fear. Amongst all the confusion, the smoke and mirrors, Fiona had once again found herself exactly where she wanted to be.


I am sorry everyone! I got buried in work stuff. Next chapter is right around the corner though.

Please accept my apologies. I am going to do my best to update much more regularly now.

Cheers,

M.D