Author's Note: Another day, another chapter. I will say I like the way this chapter came out, though I wish I'd been able to come up with a better title for it. Anyway, due to problems with my internet connection, I probably won't be able to respond to any reviews for the next few days. Don't worry, I will respond to everyone though. Anyway here's the new chapter. Let's see if anyone can spot all of the guest characters who showed up.
Chapter 9: Preparations
Vector sat in his office, his hands steepled in front of him, basking under the light of a heat lamp. The heat felt good, even if it was artificial.
'Someday I'm gonna retire to some place that stays nice an' hot all year round. Maybe one of them desert towns out in the mid-west," the croc thought. 'Some place far away from all these headaches.' A knock came from his office door, causing the crime boss to raise his head.
"Come in," he said as the bulldog from before entered, carrying a file in his hand. "That what I think it is, Barry?"
"Reports of all known missing childrens cases for the past few years, Boss Man," Barry responded as he plopped the file down on the croc's desk. "Officer Turkleton rushed it over as fast as he could, but he was a little surprised you didn't just have Charmy go after the electronic records."
"Ah huh," Vector responded as he opened the file, casually glancing at the pictures and basic data for dozens of children both human and Mobian. Most were teens, runaways who'd either left a bad home or an ugly situation. He recognized a few of them as current members of the Chaotix, not that that surprised him. There were younger faces too, and those he paid attention to. A throat cleared and he looked up to see Barry was still standing before him. "Somethin' on your mind?"
"Er, I was just wondering what I should tell Turkleton. You know, about us needing him to get the files." A single lizard eyebrow rose.
"Why tell him anythin'? Turkleton's just an informant, it's none of his bus'ness what happens here, or why we do what we do."
"He's a cop, and one on the take at that," Barry reminded his employer. "That means he ain't too trustworthy to begin with. If he thinks we're hurting, he might…"
"First of all, we're not 'hurting,'" Vector pointed out, his eyes narrowing in warning. The last thing he needed was for his people to start worrying they were vulnerable. "If Turkleton asks, just tell him Charmy's too busy to be bothered with this. An' if he gets too nosey, remind him that we're the side of this little relationship that asks questions." Vector huffed at this, just a little annoyed. Until Charmy could make the computers safe again they'd have to rely on the old methods of information gathering, but that wasn't too bad. In some ways, Vector preferred the old ways, paying off informants, casing a joint to learn its layouts, actually planning escape routes to evade the cops. Using computers just seemed so sterile and lifeless. He missed the camaraderie.
But that was the past and kids today liked the idea that their electronic toys were helping them stay one step ahead of the cops, even if the cops had the same toys helping them make their busts. His worry soothed somewhat, Barry left his boss in peace. At the back of his mind Vector decided it would probably be beneficial to pull a small heist soon to help assuage any fears. Nothing big, but something to let everyone know the Chaotix were hale and hearty.
Now his attention turned back to the file he'd gotten. The croc shook his big head as he finished skimming, again huffing in annoyance. The only fox in this entire file had been a teenager who's case had been marked solved.
"The more I find out about that kid o' Sonic's, the less I like," Vector grumbled as he slapped the file down on his desk. "Or I guess I should say the less I find out." Grabbing hold of his desk phone, Vector entered a number and waited. Four rings sounded off before a click came over the line.
"Nnnyello?" asked a chirpy, high pitched voice that seemed far too casual for the occasion. For a brief moment the crime boss wondered if he'd punched the wrong number.
"Honey?" he asked, chancing that this wasn't the wrong number. There was a short pause, before a new voice, this one still high pitched but with that growling quality that seemed indicative of feline Mobians.
"This is Honey," the recipient said. Over the line Vector could hear the sounds of shuffling as though two bodies were trying to get comfortable. The first voice was whispering something, though Vector couldn't make out the specifics. He waited for the second voice to request silence before beginning again.
"Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.
"No," came the reply, fairly quickly if the lizard was any judge. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with anyway." There was a playfully insulted "hmph" in the background, followed by an aggrieved shushing sound. Patiently Vector waited for the situation to reach a resolution. "Sorry about that. It is late you know."
"Yes, an' I wouldn't be callin' now if it weren't import'nt," Vector pointed out. Then he continued in his most cultured and intense voice. "I have need of your services."
"You been watching those old Bond films again Big Boss?" Under his scales the croc flushed.
"Forgive me for tryin' to add a little class to these calls. Are ya available or not?"
"You caught me between gigs, Vec. What do you need?"
"I need you to investigate a couple people for me, find out what you can. Just one thing, I wouldn't advise using the Net or any computer stuff. Dig?"
"You're confusing me for the bee. A detective doesn't need a computer to do her work. But why the warning, or is that on a 'need to know' basis?" Vector was silent for a moment as he considered how much to say. It wasn't that he didn't trust Honey, she was very big on client confidentiality. The problem was more of the opposite. He liked the feline detective, she was very good at her job, even if she was expensive. But she also couldn't resist a good mystery, and was not the wisest when it came to keeping her nose out of dangerous business. Vector had had to send Chaotix agents in more than once to get Honey out of situations that were over her head. Putting her in Cyberon's line of fire would be an almost death sentence for the feline.
Still, if he didn't tell her something she'd just start digging herself, and that would get her into more trouble.
"The people I'm lookin' into… someone else is also tryin' to find 'em," Vector lamely explained. "Bad people. People that scare even me. An' I think they're watching for any sorta inquiries like that. 'S why I'm not turning Charmy loose on this one." It was a lie, but hopefully it would be a convincing enough one.
"Fine, fine, I'll pick up Bug-Boy's slack for you," Honey responded. "Just give me the Whos and the Wheres."
"It's a family; name of Prower. The 'rents are called by Amadeus and Rosemary, and they're supposed to have a rugrat name o' Miles."
"Supposed to?"
"That's what I said. They're supposed to be from somewhere over in Emerald Hill, but that's the same source that's saying they gotta son. I'll have a courier get you their pics."
"That'll help. I'll set up a trip to Emerald Hill in the morning."
"Tonight would be better. But Honey, I'm serious. This has GOT to be on the down-low. If anyone you don't recognize is also sniffing around, pull out and tell me."
"You worry too much Vec, I can handle myself."
"Fine, but just remember I warned you," he said with a laugh. Then he hung up. A certain sense of ease washed over the crocodile. Honey would find some information, if there was any information to find. That left him with only one problem left. Picking up his phone again, Vector dialed.
"Jose? I need to make some travel arrangements for someone."
Darkness. It is everywhere. Not merely in front and behind, or even to the left or the right, but all around. And it is not merely the darkness born of the night, or the inky blackness of space. This is a darkness that could only be born from the absence of light, a primordial darkness that should reside only in the forgotten memories of life itself.
In the depths of the darkness, something stirs and struggles.
Alone.
This is new. Though it has always been dark, it has never been lonely. There has always been… something else. Companionship, even if it was not known as such. But now, there is only loneliness. And it is not welcome.
Light explodes into the universe of darkness; blinding and painful in its intensity, but welcome all the same if for no other reason than that it is something else. Another presence, though unfamiliar.
A voice calls through the darkness, soft and beckoning. It calls from the light, surrounds and pervades the dark. From within the darkness, movement, traveling, seeking the light, seeking to end the loneliness. But the darkness will not yield so easily. It pulls and congeals, like a thick pudding, holding its captive fast.
More lights join the first, each a different color, and soon they number seven. Where each one appears, the darkness fades and as the darkness fades, a eighth light begins to shine. The darkness writhes, the darkness rages, determined to hold its captive, determined to take back what was stolen.
The original light burns with new intensity, burns with new fierceness. All around it the darkness fades. Soon the seven new lights add their power to the first one, combining their energies as they wage their war against the encroaching darkness.
"Stop doing that!" Charmy wailed, throwing his controller on the ground hard. "That's not fair, it's cheating, it's… it's…"
"It's me beating your pointy butt," Manic chirped back as he landed the coup-de-grace on Charmy by pushing a few buttons on his own controller. On screen the hedgehog's character grinned menacingly at the bee's own before pulling off his face, breathing out a blast of flame, and incinerating his opponent to bones.
"RAWR!" Charmy yelled as he watched the word "Fatality" appear on the screen in dripping, bloody letters. Nearby Mighty chuckled as his teammate began to accuse Manic of all sorts of foul play, even spouting some nonsense about his own controller being unresponsive.
"Charmy, would you just shut up and take the loss," Espio counseled the younger Mobian. "You're acting like you're the one who got toasted, not some light and pixels."
"That's not the point. He cheated, I know it. There's no way some little no name hedgehog who's never touched a controller in his life is gonna be able to beat me in a fair fight!" A sour look crossed Sonia's face.
"Hmph, well maybe you're not really as good as you think you are," she said as she scooped up the discarded controller.
"Hey, no way! I'm not done yet!" Charmy cried, flying towards the pink hedgehog. "Give it, give it, give it."
"Stop being such a brat," Sonia admonished. "You agreed that the winner played and the loser had to give up his controller. It's someone else's turn now."
"That was when I thought I'd be winning."
"Yeah well now you're just whining," Mighty snarked. Charmy blew a raspberry at him before sitting down in a huff, clearly displeased with the way the day's entertainment was going. Manic looked to his sister.
"You gonna give it a go?" he asked. Sonia shook her head.
"Last thing I need is to subject myself to this overproduced gore-fest. Someone just had to shut his royal bratness up." Charmy blew another raspberry as Manic turned to the other occupant of the love seat he was stationed on.
"How 'bout you, Tails, you wanna… hey wake up." The emerald hedgehog nudged his dozing companion.
"Huh? Wha?" the disoriented vulpine asked as he was roused from dreamland.
"You tired kiddo?" Mighty asked. "If you want you can go have a lie down with Sonic and Amy."
"No-no. 'M fine," the cub responded, taking the controller from Sonia. Quickly he selected his fighter, trying his best to act as though he had not just been woken up. Deciding that the enemy of his enemy was someone he could give tips to, Charmy flew over to the fox's side to coach him in the fight.
The match was in its second round when Sonic entered the room, looking and feeling much better than he had a few hours ago thanks in no small part to the nap and quick shower he'd taken.
"Sonic, you're up," Sonia greeted her still damp brother as Manic continued to try to bash Tails's skull in with what looked like a rather garish axe. Sonic yawned and smiled.
"Yeah, just needed to flip the ol' internal circuit breaker. What's been happening?"
"Nothing much. The kids are amusing themselves and we're makin' sure they don't get bothered," Mighty admitted, thrusting his thumb over towards the video game. "It's more or less been quiet since you and Ames left."
"Speaking of Ms. Rose, I can't help but notice she's not here with you," Espio remarked. "She's not off roaming the hallways without an escort."
"She woke up a little after me. Decided to avail herself of the shower after I was done." At this, Charmy's head turned as he looked at Sonic.
"Really?" he asked with a shifty expression on his face. Then he rose into the air. "Um, I think I need to go and… do something. Yeah, definitely something."
"Vector gave me orders if you tried to leave the room in this situation," Espio warned. "I'm supposed to pin you to the ceiling by your wings." Grumbling the bee floated back down to the couch, fully intent on venting his frustrations by helping Tails defeat Manic.
Sonic took a seat in a chair.
"So, has the Hip-Hop Croc made any decisions yet?"
"Boss Vector hasn't come back yet. I don't think he'll be back until he has a plan and a means of carrying it out," Mighty answered. "And you could stand to be a little more respectful Sonic. The man IS helping you."
"He's helping himself Might, helping us is just a useful side effect," the hedgehog responded.
"Hey come on, he's not some heartless monster."
"Mighty, I get that you respect the guy and all that, but you and I both know that this is a favor, not a gift. The only difference between Vec and Trevor is that Vector isn't a slimeball about getting what he wants."
"Ha! And down in flames you go Pincushion!" Charmy suddenly cried, attracting the adults' attention. On the screen Manic's character lay on the ground, defeated by its opponent in what looked to be a rather crushing defeat if the life bars were any indication.
"Yeah, yeah, I got beat. I'm just not gonna moan about it like some Mobians," Manic responded as he tossed the controller to the overly eager techie. Charmy gave Tails a nasty grin.
"Now you're gonna see some real playing, fuzz face," he said to the bewildered fox as he pressed the start button on his control. Before anyone else could notice, the bee's nimble thumbs quickly tapped the buttons in a special order, a sneeze escaping his lips that conveniently masked the sound of a chime going off. "Go ahead, pick your poison, I dare you." Again Tails gave him a bewildered look.
"I… I don't want poison," the cub replied, wondering what he'd done to suddenly deserve getting death threats. He'd followed the pushy bee's instructions to the letter when he'd played Manic and didn't think he deserved to be poisoned. Charmy let out an annoyed breath.
"No, I mean pick the guy you want me to beat you with," he explained, sounding like he was talking to the dumbest person in the world.
"I thought I was supposed to try to beat you."
"Dur!" Charmy growled his hand hitting his face. Manic decided to intervene.
"Bee's just trying to play big shot," the hedgehog explained. "He thinks he can beat you with any character, so he's letting you pick the one he plays too."
"Oh," Tails said. "Well, if you want me to, how about that one?" A clawed finger tapped the part of the screen holding a portrait. Immediately Charmy's lips pursed.
"What? You want me to be a girl?" he hollered. "Dude, I can't be a girl! They're weak, they're slow, they're…"
"Ahem!" Espio called, breaking his young friend out of his tirade. Charmy noticed the warning look the chameleon was giving him, as well as the insulted look Sonia was giving him, and remembered Vector's views on the treatment of women. Manic was working very hard to suppress his laughter.
"Ah, what I meant to say was that her moves aren't as, um, elaborate as the others, so it won't be as entertaining a fight," he corrected himself.
"You said anyone," Tails reminded him with Manic's goading. Growling Charmy moved his joystick to highlight the selected fighter.
'Ah well, not like it matters. With that code I entered, I can't lose to these chumps,' the Mobian insect thought. He wasn't foolish enough to enter a code that granted him invincibility, but the one he had entered would cut the damage he took in half, while doubling his own output. Charmy hadn't really intended to do this, but he also hadn't intended to lose to Manic the first time the mammal had ever touched a controller. It was time to get some payback.
Robotnik had left Cyberon.
This in and of itself was cause for concern.
Snively could count on his hand the number of times his malignant master had left Cyberon. Usually the Doctor was content to leave any concerns outside the company to his minions, namely Snively and Shadow, while he concentrated on his research. It had been quite a surprise when Robotnik had called for a car, and a bit distressing that the man's robotic hand had not left his nephew's shoulder, indicating quite clearly Snively was coming along for the ride. They'd met Shadow on the way, and now all three were traveling in the back of a small, nondescript limo.
To where, the Doctor had not deigned to inform them. Snively tried to guess based on the path the car took through the city, but there wasn't much point. There was only one other place in the city that Robotnik was interested in and it was unlikely they were headed anywhere else.
G.U.N. headquarters, the command center for the nation's military defenders, and also one of the most technologically sophisticated organizations on the planet.
Ostensibly Robotnik, and Snively himself, had every right to enter the building. Cyberon tended to be G.U.N.'s top supplier in technological toys, and it wasn't as though the heads of that company wouldn't have business with some top brass. But it still made Snively uneasy. Anything his Uncle needed from G.U.N. he could have gotten with a simple phone call and a little yelling. In fact, being the recluse he was, that would have been his primary choice of action.
'Perhaps he seeks something that must be accomplished with a personal touch.'
"Shadow, what the devil are you doing?" Robotnik suddenly asked. Snively quickly looked over at the other passenger to see that the hedgehog's thumbs were absently wiggling about as his hands seemed to be cradling something between them.
"I… I'm not sure," Shadow responded as his hands stopped their movement, red eyes glaring at them as if daring the appendages to begin again. Then he looked at Robotnik. "I had the oddest sensation. I had to beat someone, like I was fighting them."
"Like in a video game," Snively suggested. At his words, Dr. Robotnik gave his nephew a quizzical look. Games were alien to the big human, as alien as such things as kindness and fun. It would never occur to the dictator-to-be that one could use a computer for entertainment, never mind that his company was currently trying to market an old Bigfoot training simulator as the newest video sensation. And while Snively was by no means an aficionado of video games, he did happen to own a system he would play to unwind. "I mean, from the look of it, it seemed like you were holding a controller and playing a video game. And they do get competitive. Or so I'm told," he quickly added.
"I don't play video games," Shadow asserted. For a brief moment Snively wondered if the ebony Mobian did anything during his downtime, but shook this thought from his head. Shadow might have been more compliant, but he was a tool just like his sibling. It didn't pay to waste time trying to understand him.
"Hmm," Robotnik rumbled. "It is possible that, in your relaxed state, you are starting to connect with the Topaz Star; picking up on C2's activities subconsciously as it were. Fascinating."
"But why now?" Snively asked. "If Shadow could do this before, we'd have been able to recapture him easily."
"Because the Topaz Star is getting stronger," the black hedgehog surmised. "He's been accessing his powers in more ways, with greater intensity. Which could be problematic."
"Hence why I wanted you two to capture him quicker," Robotnik growled back, glaring at his two minions. This Shadow took with his normal stoicism, while Snively began to fidget in his seat. Once more the trip fell into silence. In only a few minutes, the car reached their destination.
On a whole, G.U.N. headquarters wasn't that impressive. It was a large skyscraper, black in color, with several reflective windows that might have just as easily been any office building in the city. But this was only to the naked eye. In reality the building was heavily reinforced, and could probably survive being hit by a wall of water of equal height to it. The top of the tower could open to reveal a covered helicopter pad, providing a safe point of arrival or egress if necessary. A satellite was held in geosynchronous orbit over the place to maintain its communications with anywhere in the world.
And that was merely the tip of the iceberg as it where.
Quietly the limo passed the checkpoint into the building's garage, the guard waving it on towards a suitable spot. Leaning up from his seat, Robotnik tapped the glass that separated passengers from driver. It rolled down to reveal a humanoid robot that looked back at them through electronic eyes.
"Remain here. Do not allow anyone to approach this car, save for me," he commanded. The robot's head turned back to face the front of the car as the three climbed out of the back. Tentatively Snively licked his palm and smoothed back his hair, what little of it he had, very much aware that no less than four cameras were probably watching the area they were in. Then again, Robotnik's hand had touched the implant imbedded in his forehead, so maybe they weren't. On their way to the building's door, they passed another guard. For a brief moment the man seemed to consider stopping them, possibly demanding to know if they were allowed here. A single icy stare from Robotnik caused him to rethink this course of action. Say whatever you liked about the demented doctor, he was not someone you annoyed on a whim.
The trio moved on towards the elevator.
"Where are we going?" Snively asked as his Uncle pressed the button marked "22."
"We're going to have a meeting," Robotnik informed. "Quite apparently we have run into a situation that needs containment. Containment that, though I am loathe to admit it, we three are unable to provide."
"You're not thinking of doing another city hunt, are you?" Shadow asked in a bored voice. "That wasn't exactly a winning strategy last time."
"I can't say I care for your tone Shadow," the human warned. "But no, we are not going to go traipsing through the city again. Thanks to the incursion into the government's files, we now know where to find our quarry. What we need now is force enough to get to him. And since most of my Egg-Hunters are now scrap metal," he cast a baleful gaze at his nephew, "I am forced to rely on other allies to remain inconspicuous." Once more Robotnik touched his implant and this time Snively could almost feel the command to shut down that was being broadcast to the Cyberon built security system that protected this floor. The elevator doors opened and Dr. Robotnik stepped out, leading the way for them. They made two rights through the halls before coming to a door.
For a moment they stood there, much to Snively's consternation. Robotnik had been in such a rush before and now he just stood there, glaring at the door.
"Well?" he finally growled, looking down at his nephew. Snively started, finally realizing what was being waited for. Quickly he grabbed hold of the doorknob and twisted it, removing the obstruction from his ruthless relation's path.
Inside a young lady in a G.U.N. uniform decorated with Captain's bars sat typing at a computer; only looking up when Robotnik took his first heavy step into the room.
"I'm sorry sir, but General Haron isn't seeing anyone to… Hey!" The big human ignored the Captain's protests and made a beeline for the next door. Not to be outdone, the woman raced over to bar his way, her body crouching into a combat position. Most likely she was fully trained in personal combat and would have been fairly formidable under normal circumstances. But these were not normal circumstances. And there was no doubt the button she'd quickly pressed under her desk would have summoned several guards if it had not been disabled by Robotnik's previous command to deactivate.
The egg-shaped doctor looked the receptionist turned bodyguard up and down for a moment, his natural frown never leaving his face.
"My dear, I quite understand that you have a job to do. However, if you have not removed yourself from my path before I snap my fingers, my associate here," an aside glance was made to Shadow, "will reduce you to so much charred ash." Robotnik raised his meaty hand, thumb and middle finger pressed together as his eyes squinted. The young woman, true to her G.U.N. training, did not flinch and seemed perfectly ready to call the doctor's bluff, poor choice that this was. Suddenly the door opened and a square-headed gentleman with gray hair done in a crew cut stuck his head out.
"What the devil is going on out h-" His voice died when he saw the scene before him, or more specifically the look Robotnik was now giving him.
"General Haron, sir, these men were attempting to enter your office. I tried to tell them you weren't seeing anyone but they ignored me." Immediately the General put on an understanding smile, his wrinkles moving around to give the impression of kindness one usually found in one's elderly grandfather.
"Thank you for your concern, Captain Higgins, but these… gentlemen have a special appointment," he explained. The woman called Higgins moved over to her computer, pulling up the General's schedule for the day. Since she no longer obstructed his path, Robotnik merely showed himself into the office, pushing past Haron as though he wasn't there.
"Sir, I don't see anything about an appointment at this time," Captain Higgins pointed out.
"Yes, well, I may have forgotten to enter it properly. Old age and all."
"Maybe I should…"
"Captain… Carol. I think it would be a wonderful idea if you took an early lunch today," General Haron suggested, his tone carrying a hint of command in it.
"But sir…" the Captain began to protest.
"I would much prefer not to make this an order. Go and treat yourself to something good, on me." With that General Haron's head withdrew back into his office. For a few minutes Carol Higgins stood at her desk, trying to decide what to do. It was not her place to question her superior's orders, but at the same time her instincts told her that the general's guests were not the kind one gave free reign in G.U.N. Command.
Finally she decided to heed her commander's advice/orders. General Haron had earned his position of trust within G.U.N., and it would take more than a simple bad feeling to convince her that this was something she needed to get involved in.
As the Captain left her office, she failed to notice that the other door had remained ajar just a crack, a single eye staring outward. Inside, General Haron breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was for someone to accidentally overhear whatever his visitor had to say.
Turning around Haron found Robotnik had appropriated the most comfortable chair in the room, the General's own which sat behind his desk. Some might have seen this as a power tactic, an attempt to put oneself at an advantage over another, but Snively knew better. Such logic only applied to individuals who thought in terms of others as people, not merely tools.
Shadow stood off to the side, leaning against the wall nonchalantly. Snively simply availed himself of the General's liquor cabinet. Personal experience had taught him that scotch could help soften the blow of his Uncle's sudden appearance.
"Why are you here?" the General asked. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it could be for us to be seen together? For you to even BE in this building?" Robotnik didn't answer, simply resting his blubbery face upon his meaty hand as he cast casual glances at the G.U.N. officer. "Bad enough those Egg-Hunters were identified… Do you want our plans exposed?"
"That would not be a problem if you people were better at controlling the media like you should be," stated the ovoid human. "And, were I you and in a mind to keep that Captain of yours hale and hearty, I would very much have her transferred before she suffers a case of terminal bravery."
It was then that Haron noticed the bulk of Robotnik's attention was being paid to his computer. With a sickening feeling in his stomach, the General ran back behind his desk. Sure enough the computer jack from the cyborg's arm was currently imbedded in the tower CPU. "What do you think you're doing! Those are G.U.N. files! Not for civilian eyes!"
"Meaningless reports from even more meaningless people," Robotnik concluded. At his command all of the files disappeared, leaving behind a blank screen. The General's hands slammed onto his desk at this.
"Now see here, you can't simply come in here and take over like this. This is my office damn it."
"Hooo boy," Snively sighed as he carried a prepared drink over to the relative safety of Shadow's position. Haron had succeeded in gaining the full measure of his Uncle's attention. Malevolent red eyes stared at the man, the devious mind controlling them no doubt already trying to work out what horrible punishment it would inflict upon him for this outburst. Anyone else might have felt the danger in the air, but to a man of power such as Haron, a general convinced he was untouchable, the idea that he was not in control was anathema.
Still, Robotnik did need the man, which meant any vengeance he desired would have to wait for now.
"I am not here to quarrel with you," he finally said, his voice even though his eyes remained hard. "I am here to show you something." The General's computer screen came back to life as the megalomaniacal mastermind called forth files hidden in the memory components of his arm. "A few hours ago, someone, for the second time in a week, attempted to access information on the name Miles Prower. I'm fairly certain that name is familiar to you."
"Prower?" Haron asked with a frown. "I thought we were done with that Prower business." Eyes narrowing, the old man looked over at Snively. "Does this have anything to do with why you needed that specialized Bigfoot?" The little man shrugged his shoulders as he sipped his appropriated scotch. It didn't take much for Haron to put two and two together, and he turned back to the scientist. "You said you'd have this under control."
"We do."
"No, no you don't. If you did, that little freak wouldn't be running around the city, would he?" the man pointed out. "Is this also why I'm having to explain to the press about those Egg Hunters as well?" Robotnik didn't deign to answer this question. When this became obvious to his ally, the General shook his head, growling as he did so. "All right, what's done is done. You've obviously got something on your mind, so spill it."
"'Spill it?' How very vulgar," the ovoid human responded. "However if you insist." The computer now displayed a picture of Vector Crocodile. "It took some doing, but I managed to trace the computer that made the intrusion to this Mobian."
"Took some doing?"
"Yes," Snively confirmed, taking another slow sip of his drink. "Apparently Mr. Crocodile had gone to great lengths to make that particular system disappear from record."
"What concerns me more is the fact that this Vector person seems to have some history with the police," Robotnik rumbled.
"He's a cop?"
"He's a criminal," the Doctor informed. "More than that, he is, according to my sources, the head of a criminal group called the Chaotix." Haron's eyes widened a bit. The membership might not have been well known, but everyone had heard of the Chaotix. "More over, I believe he sent his underlings to intercept C2 when Snively attempted to capture him last night."
"Awfully generous of a crime boss to stick his neck out for what is, ostensibly, just a very odd cub," Snively pointed out, trying to shoo past his failure. After all, if someone else had interfered, it could hardly be his fault C2 had escaped.
"Do you think he knows something he shouldn't?" the General asked, very concerned now. Technically what they were doing counted as a conspiracy against the government, even if it was for the world's benefit. The last thing they needed was someone to get wind of what they'd done so far and make it public.
"I think if he didn't know then, he's got some idea now, and I typically do not underestimate others so grossly," Robotnik countered.
"The solution is simple. We'll just have the police stage a raid on wherever the Chaotix…"
"The police will be of no use, you old fool. They're too mired in rules and protocol," Shadow bit back, not at all respectfully. "And that won't solve the problem that too many people may know about my brother right now."
"What are you suggesting, hedgehog?"
"We wipe them out," he responded. "Kill them all to the Mobian and take C2 back; and that includes that blue hedgehog that's keeping him." General Haron seemed a shocked at the bluntness of the dark Mobian's statement.
"You want to start a massacre inside Central? Do you have any idea the kind of backlash doing that would cause?"
"Why?" Robotnik asked. "Why would it cause a backlash? I am given to understand that these people are all criminals. Criminals the police have consistently failed to bring to justice. I would think that by removing them from the general populace, we'd actually be doing a service to the community."
"People don't like it when armed men go around attacking other people, no matter who they are," Haron refuted him. "And what about this fox? He's supposed to have special powers, right? I'm not just going to send good soldiers into a potential meat grinder."
"What people do not like is of less consequence than what they will accept. And you shouldn't fear for your men, Shadow will be the one who deals directly with C2." Haron's eyes bounced from Robotnik to Snively to Shadow and back again.
"Nothing is that simple," he determined. "You're not telling me something here, something vital." Robotnik exhaled as a picture of Sonic was pulled up on the General's computer.
"We believe that the mutant, blue hedgehog protecting C2 from us is the same high speed abomination your men reported that destroyed the Bigfoot from before," Robotnik admitted. "Hence our need for a number of highly trained combatants to deal with him." Shadow growled at this.
"There may be another mutant in the bunch," Snively interjected. Both his Uncle and the General looked at him. "The… uh… The older pink hedgehog; Amy Rose." A few seconds and Amy's picture appeared.
"This is a mutant?" Haron asked disbelievingly.
"I'm… I'm not sure. I just know that last night she had a hammer."
"This is not the time for rambling Snively," Robotnik droned, dismissing his nephew.
"No, the hammer, it was extremely heavy. I watched that Sonic fellow chuck it at my van when we were chasing them, so I know that much. But she… she was swinging it around as though it were nothing. And it seemed to just appear in her hand." Shadow's eyes narrowed. "I know you think I'm crazy here, but I tell you what I saw."
"A hammer you say?"
"Yes. Gaudy thing; pink, decorated in hearts and such."
"Hmm," Shadow bowed his head as he contemplated this new information.
"Exceptionally ugly hammers aside, I'm still not on board with trying to mount some sort of military assault within the city limits."
"What else would you have us do? If we wait too long for action, these criminals will simply make my cub disappear into the bowels of their network. We must strike while we can," Robotnik reasoned. "Better to destroy the problem now, eliminate a potential threat, than to let yet another obstacle prevent us from succeeding in our master plan." The General seemed to consider this for a moment. He was already taking heat from the Egg-Hunters being discovered, if this operation were uncovered by the press. Not all of G.U.N.'s upper echelons were as enlightened as Haron himself, and there were plenty of ignorant people who could seriously jeopardize his position if they wanted to.
But still, they were so close now. Didn't the potential risk outweigh the payoff of the perfect world Robotnik would help them create when he found the mysterious "Master" he always talked about? Finally, a decision was reached.
"What is it you need?"
"Soldiers, quite obviously. Enough to ensure an overwhelming numerical superiority. And ones smart enough not to ask questions, or too dumb to think of them."
"Please tell me the plan involves more than just marching up to wherever this Vector person is and opening fire."
"I see no reason to overcomplicate matters," the Doctor said. "But I do have a plan, something to help minimize the public backlash you so fear. Which leads me to what else we shall require…"
With their meeting over, Robotnik exited General Haron's office, Snively in tow beside him. Shadow had been left with the General, to make sure preparations were completed on time.
"Are you sure that man can be trusted with this?" Snively asked his Uncle once they were back in their limo. "He seemed quite recalcitrant."
"Don't use big words to make yourself feel intelligent, Snively, particularly if you do not actually know what they mean," the elder human snapped. "Haron will do his job, despite any misgivings he may have. He is far too involved in this plan to try to impede its progress, and even if he wasn't it is not as though I do not have other leverage against him." From his seat Snively snorted, not liking being so flippantly dismissed.
"What makes you think Shadow will fare any better than I did with this mission?" he finally quipped. "HE'S the one who failed to catch C2 with a Bigfoot backing him up."
"Do you doubt my judgment?" Robotnik asked, his eyes narrowing at his nephew, his voice indicating what a dangerous road the young man was traveling. Snively's sense of self-preservation kicked in and he found himself backpedaling a bit.
"No, no sir. I merely mean to point out that one can never be too careful. The last thing we need is to lose both of the emeralds at once. The Cyan Storm will not be enough should Shadow's Gray Dusk be captured as well."
"Both the Cyan Storm and the Gray Dusk emeralds are supremely safe, Snively, of that you can count your black, little heart," he proclaimed, patting his ample stomach. "All that matters is reclaiming the Topaz Star, THAT is the weak point in our plans." For a brief moment Robotnik's attention became absorbed with the view seen through his window, and Snively chose to believe the conversation to be ended. Quietly the little man pulled out his computer, a brand new laptop to replace the one that had been damaged the night before. Suddenly a shiver ran through his body as his Uncle's deep voice rang into his ears.
"The echidna, Knuckles, is still out there. Still trying to destroy my cub. According to Shadow, he has equipped himself with arrows, arrows tipped with seed crystals from the Master Emerald itself. It sounds primitive, but Shadow says they would be effective against C2.
"Assuming we are unable to prevent C2's death, would we have the capability to create a suitable replacement for the Topaz Star?" Snively thought about this.
"Well, we certainly have the raw materials to work with," the little man assured his master, "but that is only a part of the problem. If you'll recall, none of his predecessors survived the process, at least not for very long. And none of them displayed even an inkling of chaos power. I'm not even sure what combination of factors allowed C2 to become viable."
"And no one who was observing him has any idea what made this fox so special?"
"No sir."
"Overpaid fools. I should have the lot of them reduced to ash," the Doctor growled.
"Cathartic as that might be, it would hardly help us in any way if the worst should happen." Robotnik's red eyes shifted in his skull as he gave Snively a sideways glare.
"What did I tell you about using big words?" Snively gulped. "But you have a point. Punishment should only be meted out once a problem has been solved. And speaking of punishments, what do you suppose yours should be for last night's little indiscretion?" Another gulp.
"P-p-punishment?" the nephew asked, a weak smile on his face as he hoped his Uncle was only indulging in his own dark sense of humor. Surely with all that was happening to fix the problem, the would-be tyrant could not be interested in continuing to stamp down on his tiny assistant? "I-I was not aware that I needed additional punishment. I mean, the problem with the Egg-Hunters has been dealt with with a minimum of fuss, and Shadow will no doubt soon have C2 back in our possession." This seemed like a wise proclamation to make, reminding him that Shadow now held the reigns in this operation. If the black hedgehog failed, he would take the weight of Robotnik's rage from Snively, and if he succeeded, well, the elder human would be ecstatic.
The lack of success this tactic had became apparent as Robotnik turned to once again face his nephew full on.
"You are forgetting the third major blunder you made last night Snively, the one mistake even I lack the resources to correct. I am of course speaking of your unwarrantedly lethal attack on Dr. Kintobor." A layer of sweat appeared on the little man's skin. In all the plotting and planning for tonight, he had forgotten about killing the philanthropist, especially since the fallout for that had gone so much in their favor with Sonic being blamed and now probably finding it even harder to lay low. Quite apparently, Dr. Robotnik had not.
It was with a sudden disquiet that Snively realized he did not recognize where the limo had taken them. He had been so absorbed trying to keep on his master's good side, he'd failed to notice they had not been traveling back to Cyberon. Fear enveloped him as the limo pulled into what looked like an abandoned garage, traveling easily past a broken guard gate.
"Dr. Robotnik… Uncle…" Snively began, once more trying to wiggle out of the situation, hoping to pull on the malevolent mastermind's filial heartstrings. It was a desperate gamble, and one the he was not often willing to use, but Robotnik was having none of it.
"A lesson in obedience must be learned, Colin," he said as the limo stopped moving. Before Snively could react, his door opened and three sets of hands suddenly grabbed hold of him.
"Wait! Please!" Snively called as he was dragged from the car and into the company of five tough looking characters, three humans and two Mobian bears. Robotnik's eyes fell towards the lead man.
"Ensure that my nephew makes it to a hospital when you are done," he commanded as Snively cast pleading eyes towards him. "I shall expect you at work tomorrow promptly, so don't make this last longer than it has to." With that the door to the limo was closed. Snively's heart fell as he watched the limo drive off, one of the men who had pulled him out earlier still holding him for good measure. All around him weapons were being brought to bear; brass knuckles, a bat, claws.
"Wait," the desperate man began, "whatever he's paying you, I'll double it. Triple it. Anything you want!"
"Come on man, you oughta know your Uncle better than that," the gentleman holding him said as he let go, leaving their target trapped in a circle of pain. "If the only thing motivatin' this was money, we wouldn't be here right now."
"No, no, please… OWF!" The metal bat slammed into Snively's midsection, doubling him over and sending him to all fours. Horrified eyes looked about as his attackers drew closer. Shivering slightly Snively closed his eyes.
As the five thugs began to administer Robotnik's punishment, a dark figure leaned back in the shadows, icy blue eyes watching the scene play out with a smile.
The nightclub was off and running, not that Vector was terribly surprised by this. As one of the legitimate businesses the Chaotix ran, the crocodile mobster had spared no expense in the place, both in decorating and advertising it. The Menagerie, as it was called, was hip, cool, and there, and it gave Vector an excellent alibi whenever he absolutely had to NOT be anywhere else.
Of course, the big boss would have been out and out lying if he told anyone he didn't find just hanging out here to be fun. It was relaxing to come down from his office after a hard day of managing a criminal empire and listen to some good music and just watch people having fun. It reminded him of better times, times when life had not been so stressful. Vector had not always wanted to be a criminal, afterall. He'd originally wanted to be in a rock band, wailing away on some drums while loud guitar music played about him.
"Hey Vec," called a feline patron who held a drink in his hands, something deep red with an onion floating on its surface. He was also busy grinding between a female mink and a weasel, both of whom were sporting dresses that sparkled in the sporadic light of Menagerie. Vector casually waved back at the trio before turning away. Everyone knew him, which was something of a blessing and a curse, but that didn't mean he knew everyone in return.
Gracefully the croc moved over to his private booth and sat down, looking out on the dance floor as he scoped out the talent. Very aware that he was an attractive lizard, Vector knew it would only be a matter of time before he found some company for the evening, preferably someone with glistening scales in all the right places.
As he looked out upon the club, Vector began to notice that things didn't seem quite right. To the casual observer, it seemed like any ordinary night. People, humans and Mobians, were out on the dance floor and seated at tables; dancing, mingling, eating, drinking, basically having fun as the bright lights swirled around them. But Vector had not survived so long on being a casual observer.
'Somethin's off tonight?' he thought, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it. And that made him nervous. A waitress set a drink down before him, his usual order on nights like these of bourbon and coke. Immediately Vector took hold of her slender wrist to stop her from leaving.
"Hey babe, ya mind tellin' me who's watchin' the door ta'night?" he asked quietly. The girl, a gecko who had to have some iguana blood in her if the crest on her head was any indication, thought for a moment.
"I think Charlie and Itchy are doing duty tonight," she finally answered, her long tongue licking her scaled lips. "But Walt's around back keeping watch." Yellow eyes looked away from the waitress as Vector let her get back to work. Charlie and Itchy were good people, even if they did have a bad tendency to run scams on newbies. Being natural troublemakers themselves, they could easily pick out troublemakers before they entered. And Walt wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, but he knew the back door was not for anyone to enter who wasn't Chaotix.
Still…
A hand reached down and touched the crocodile's shoulder, and Vector didn't need much intuition to know who was there. Espio clung to the wall above him, camouflaged so as not to alert anyone. Had the chameleon been a common sniper, Vector had little doubt he'd be dead.
"You seem tense sir," Espio whispered. "Something on your mind?"
"Just a bad feelin' I'm gettin', 'Spi. And it's makin' my scales click."
"Maybe we should of kept Menagerie closed tonight," the ninja suggested. "I don't like having so many people around when such valuable 'merchandise' is present. Especially if our guests don't stay put."
"Sonic knows bet'er than to risk bein' seen, and closin' this place down for the night would just look suspicious," Vector replied. Then his eyes focused on the spot on the wall where Espio's body would have been. "But I trust my instincts. Go out and take a look around, see if anythin' sends up any red flags. And tell Chuck and Itch they need to be extra careful 'bout who they let in." Espio's hand disappeared from his shoulder, indicating he'd taken his leave. Once more the mobster's eyes swung out to the dance floor.
The camouflaged Espio crawled along the walls of Menagerie as easily and freely as normal people walked along sidewalks, stopping here and there to cast his eyes out upon the people. The only sound he made was his breathing, and even that was too faint to hear, not that he needed to be too quiet with all the loud music blaring around him.
Vector was nervous, and that made Espio nervous. The big Mobian was always confident, always composed. For him not to be was disquieting. And so the ninja kept his senses open, hoping to sniff out trouble before it could get started.
'Certainly are a lot of humans here tonight,' he thought as he noticed the number. This was not necessarily a bad thing. Though the Chaotix was, for solidarity's sake, exclusively Mobian, the Club Menagerie was not. And there were a lot of humans, teens and young adults, who viewed it as fun to hang out with their Mobian counterparts, and vice-versa. It was hip, it was cool, it was trendy.
It also meant that a new generation of both species was coming around to the idea of accepting one another as, if not friends, than at least as equals. Espio had to chuckle at the irony of a crime family's home base fostering social reform.
And yet, as Espio looked out at the crowd, he couldn't help but pick up his employer's sense of ill ease. Something was off. The chameleon just couldn't put his finger on…
'This crowd is too old!' he suddenly realized as he looked at the faces, warning signs going off in his head. It was true. As he looked about the patrons, Espio realized that far too many of them were not in the age group he'd come to normally associate with the Menagerie's revelers. And, as he noticed this, he also began to notice that the older humans weren't the one's mingling. They were off on their own, sequestered in groups around the floor, doing their best to remain inconspicuous. And that was making them stand out. In an environment full of strutting peacocks, these people were trying to blend in with the background.
Quickly Espio did a headcount, and he did not like the numbers he came up with, especially when he hadn't finished at fifty.
'Stupid, stupid chameleon,' Espio cursed himself. 'How could you not see this?' Briefly he considered reporting this back to Vector, but nixed the idea. This wasn't enough information for the croc to use effectively.
Espio moved towards the closest of the sequestered groups, his body moving only as much as was needed to maintain locomotion. A part of him hoped he was wrong, that all he'd noticed was some concerted effort by some busybody organization to shut the club down. But his senses were never wrong.
Three men, sitting alone at a table, casting glances about as they got their bearings in relation to the other groups. Hugging the wall Espio listened.
"How much longer, this music's giving me a migraine?" one of the men asked.
"Long enough, so just sit back and shut your mouth," another replied, adding, "You should have brought earplugs like we said."
"I did, this junk's just too loud."
"That's the big croc that's supposed to be in charge right?" the third man asked, nodding almost imperceptibly in what Espio knew was Vector's direction. His companions also made slight nods in the affirmative. "Seems like an easy shot from here. Bet this whole thing'd be a lot easier if he went down beforehand." From his vantage Espio could make just make out the black shape of a gun being pulled. The ninja's hands slowly moved towards the kunai he had strapped to his chest, ready to act.
"Don't get trigger-happy, Mahoney. We follow orders, and that means no moves until their done setting up outside." Grudgingly the man called Mahoney pushed his gun back into its hiding place.
"Freshen your drinks?" came a cheerful voice off to the side as a mink smiled at the three gentlemen.
"More water," was the curt response one of the men gave, causing the waitress to huff in annoyance. Espio could guess that that same order had probably been repeated multiple times tonight, and no doubt she was thinking about how this would effect her tips for the evening. But it meant something else to the spying gangster.
'I have to get outside.' Quietly he climbed back up the wall, heading for one of the skylights in the roof that would facilitate his hidden egress. On the roof, Espio allowed his camouflage to lapse, relying instead on the darkness to conceal him. Yellow eyes looked out at the city below.
And they did not like what they saw.
Several large black vans had taken up places around the building, spaced so it didn't look like they were together. Unless of course you were seeing them all at once, like Espio was. They were identical, and each one was parked so that its side door was facing the Menagerie. There was no way that was a coincidence.
Under cover of darkness, Espio moved down the side of the building into an alley. At the front door he could see a pair of familiar dogs, Itchy and Charlie, welcoming guests into the club. The chameleon discarded the idea of trying to get them to deny entrance to any older humans. No good would come from tipping their hand right now, especially since nobody but Espio and Vector knew something was up.
Suddenly the click of a hammer came to Espio's earholes as something hard jammed into the back of his skull.
"Don't know why you're sneaking around, horn head, but you picked the wrong night to play ninja," a voice growled at him. Espio lifted his arms slowly and turned around to face the person who'd caught him. As he'd expected, it was another human, this one with a scar over his eye as he leered down at the lizard. The gun he held to Espio's face had a silencer on it, though that would hardly do him any good with the crowd just around the corner. In the man's other hand he held a small gray box. "We kinda figured there'd be some chammies around, so don't even think about going invisible. This little doohickey can pick up on the chip in your collar."
'Yeah, because the Chaotix are stupid enough to let those things stay active,' Espio thought, though the knowledge did him little good now. Even if he did go invisible, the human would just shoot him and, at this range, the chances of him missing were slim to none. Quietly the human forced his captive back into the alley. 'Think Espio, think. You have to get out of this and back to Vector.'
"Okay, this should be far enough," the man said as he stopped Espio. "One less problem to work ou…" A hard clang and a crack was heard as the man suddenly fell forward, his head bloody as he went down. Espio spun to find a reddish brown wallaby standing behind him, a slightly bent pipe. Espio's hands moved like lightning as he drew a kunai and buried the blade into the human's neck, finishing him off.
"Walt," the grateful chameleon said, just before the marsupial Mobian began to topple forward. Quickly Espio moved to catch him, finally noting the splotchy red blob on his friend's beige chest fur, as well as the sticky red patch on his head. Carefully the chameleon sat his rescuer down near the alley wall, kneeling to get a better look at his injuries. "What happened?"
"Don't… don't know," the wallaby said in a gasping voice, obviously in pain. "'S outside, havin' smoke while I watched door. Suddenly, guys… all around me. Shot me, tossed me in dumpster." He coughed a bit and Espio offered the watchman some support. "Managed to get out. Saw guy walk you back here." Espio held up his hand for Walt to conserve his strength.
"I know what happened after that," he said, hoping his voice sounded grateful. The ninja didn't really have that much experience with that. "We gotta get you some help." He moved to help the wallaby to his feet, only to be stopped by Walt himself.
"No… others. Went inside. Gotta… Gotta warn… Boss."
"We will, we will. But you need help no…"
"No Time!" the wallaby growled, grabbing hold of Espio. "Go warn everyone. Come back when you can." Espio's jaw clenched. Leaving a friend who obviously needed his help was not the way the purple ninja operated, but there was a certain level of sense coming out of Walt's mouth. Resolutely, Espio leaned Walt against the wall, hoping the motion didn't cause the wallaby too much pain.
"Stay out of sight. I will be back for you," he assured his fallen comrade before turning invisible again and leaving in silence. Alone now, Walt struggled to reach into his vest pocket and pull forth a packet of cigarettes. Finally he succeeded in getting one of the small, papery cylinders to his lips. His other hand gingerly lifted a red lighter before him, his thumb rolling the wheel three times before getting a flame suitable for lighting his cigarette. The lighter clattered to the ground as the wallaby's arms dropped to his sides, exhausted from their efforts. The tip of the cigarette glowed bright red for a moment or two as Walt sucked on the filter drawing the acrid smoke into his lungs. A brief satisfied smile crossed the mammal's face before his mouth relaxed back to neutrality, his eyes closing as the embers of the cigarette dim before it falls to the ground.
Inside one of the black vans, Shadow stood quietly, listening to the chatter as the humans got themselves into position. In the back of his mind, the dark hedgehog could sense the presence of the Topaz Star, shining like a homing beacon in the night. At the core of his being, Shadow wanted to dispense with all of this, go in, and take the fox by force, but he stilled this desire. Patience was the key here. Too many times they'd left an avenue for C2 to escape by being careless, by underestimating him. And because of that he'd gotten more powerful, more dangerous… and more endangered.
And there was another presence, faint and almost nonexistent, but there. It was too small to be the Ruby Blaze so Shadow could reasonably deduce the echidna Guardian wasn't here, but it disturbed him all the same.
'Snively said that pink hedgehog had a strange hammer with her,' the Gray Dusk avatar thought, ancient memories bubbling to the surface of his mind. 'Could it be that she might have…'
"How much longer until we're ready?" he asked, impatience stirring again. The communications officer looked at him steadily.
"We're just getting the last few units into position," he responded. "But there might be a problem."
"Problem?"
"I'm not able to raise Lt. Carlson."
"Who's he?"
"He was supposed to watch the back after his unit took out the guard and infiltrated the building. I haven't been able to get him on the communicator." Shadow's eyes narrowed.
"That is a problem. We may need to move quicker than we planned." The black hedgehog began to open the back of the van.
"Where are you going? You're supposed to wait until we've secured all the exits."
"Then secure them quickly. If your man's gone missing, then the chances are we're about to lose the element of surprise. I will not permit C2 to slip away this time."
Espio practically galloped through the back of Club Menagerie, his hand reaching into his pocket as he pulled forth a cell-phone. Reptillian eyes didn't even bother to look at the device as he pressed three buttons in sequence.
"Mighty, it's Espio."
"Espio? Dude, I'm right in the building, you don't have to…"
"Quiet, Mighty, we have a problem," the chameleon interrupted. "Someone's making a move on the building, and I think our guests are the targets."
"What?"
"A group of humans bushwhacked Walt, hurt him real bad," Espio left out just how bad. "They're inside the building now. But it's worse. There's people in the front, groups that don't belong. Vector sent me out to do some scout work and it looks like some kinda coordinated operation's about to go off."
"Right, I'll head up front, see what I can…"
"No. Stay put. Call Vector and let him know what's going on. Then make sure Sonic and his group are safe. Especially that fox cub. Dollars to ramen he's the one they're after. I'm gonna see if I can't find our little home invaders and thin their numbers out a bit."
"'Spi, that's not a good idea."
"No, it's not, but it's the only one we have right now." Before his armadillo friend could respond, Espio shut the phone off and stuffed it back in his pocket, his skin shimmering as his camouflage activated.
Vector took a sparing sip of his bourbon, his eyes darting around the big room as he continued to fill ill at ease. While waiting for Espio's return, he'd discreetly pulled a few of the waitresses aside, asking them to keep eyes and ears open for anything out of the ordinary.
The mood was definitely becoming stagnant. Even the club's actual revelers were feeling in less than free spirits, despite the fast beating music the DJ was playing.
A sudden vibration in his pants alerted the crocodile to an incoming call. Smoothly, so as not to attract attention, he lifted the phone from his pocket and opened it.
"Yo, this is Vector," he said casually.
"Vector, it's me Mighty. Espio says we have a problem."
"Well isn' that jus marvelous," the reptile replied, his voice still sounding casual, if a bit amused. "I don't s'pose you'd wanna share with me."
"He said Walt got ambushed outside, and some guys broke in through the back." A short pause. "And sir, he also said there were people upfront who were part of the group. He thinks it's some sort of invasion."
"Yeah, yeah, man, I can tot'ly see how that could happen." Once more Vector's yellow eyes surveyed the crowd. While he wasn't a ninja like his chameleon underling, Vector was an astute observer and, now that he knew there was something to look for, it didn't take him long figure out what. Too many tables were full at this time of the evening, full of people who didn't look like they'd come to have a good time, at least not the good time the Menagerie offered. "Defin'tely see how." Vector thought for a moment or two. "Don' suppose you got other plans, huh?"
"Espio's trying to track down the guys in the back. Do you need me to come up front?"
"I'd feel bet'er about it if we could, but that's not in the cards. Gonna have to get My Ol' Lady in on this probably."
"You sure that's a good idea? I can be up there to back you up in a minute."
"Nah, nah, you just stay put and have a blast with your friends," the croc semi-ordered. "I'll see if I can't get my own party started." With that Vector hung up and stood from his seat casually, sauntering back towards the door that led deeper into the club as though nothing was going on. On the way he passed the bar and, with a simple nod, summoned the gorilla barman towards him. "I think now would be a very good time to start encouraging our regulars to continue their parties elsewhere, Clyde," he whispered almost jovially. Clyde's eyebrow rose at his boss's declaration.
"Something goin' on Boss-Man?" he asked suspiciously, one of his bare feet sliding imperceptibly under the bar and towards the shot gun he kept there for emergencies.
"Things might start jumpin' real soon, man, just keep your head down and be ready," Vector explained, then added, "And get someone to go out and tell Itch and Charlie club's closing early tonight." Clyde nodded as Vector continued to saunter off. As soon as he was out of the main area of the club, the smile on his crocodilian lips disappeared and he began to walk much more hurriedly. Almost like magic a bulldog appeared.
"What's up boss?" the canine asked worriedly, picking up on the lizard Mobian's less than calm demeanor.
"Trouble. We're about ta be in a ton of it. Get as many boys together as you can and help clear out the club. No use putting our customers at risk if we can help it. Make sure everyone's armed too. I don' know when this keg's gonna go kablooey but I want everyone ready."
"Right Boss," the dog said, turning to leave.
"And send a couple of guys to Charmy's room. Mighty should be there with some V.I.P.s. Make sure they stay safe."
"On it." Again the bulldog took off, disappearing down the hallway. Satisfied things were getting done, Vector made a beeline for the elevator, climbing into the car to ride up to his office. Tonight was going to be a long night.
To be Continued…