Chapter 10
Fox couldn't stop feeling bad about yesterday, hoping that Krystal would understand. At least Wright would be arrested, and Ross already was – all that remained was Lichak, and his plan to destroy Corneria. There might not be enough time for the police to dispose of all the drugs before he arrived…
Once Fox reached Krystal's house, he found her sitting on her patio. She looked up to find his car, and smiled when she saw him. Fox parked the car beside her house, and ran out to greet her.
"Krystal! I'm so sorry about what happened yesterday," Fox began.
"It's ok – I know it was important," Krystal replied. "Bill already gave me a call to tell me about everything. The drug shipment, Wright, and everything else. Even Draven Lichak…"
"Bill told you? You know who Lichak is?" Fox confirmed.
"Yes – how come you never told me?" Krystal asked him.
"I just didn't want you to worry about anything else," Fox explained. "The last thing you needed to hear about was another dangerous criminal. But now, I suppose, you needed to know. We need to be ready for when he comes…"
"He won't stand a chance against Falco, Slippy, you and I," Krystal remarked with a smile.
"Don't underestimate him," Fox warned. "He'll stop at nothing to accomplish his goal. If he wants everyone in Corneria dead, he will try his best to make it happen. And it will be difficult for us to stop him."
"We've never lost to any other threat before, though," Krystal mentioned.
"I know… but he's different," Fox replied, looking up at the sky. "He's not the evil, chaotic threat we're used to dealing with. He's calculated, smart, and… sane."
"It's not rational to blow up the entire city just to start over," Krystal replied.
"I don't mean sane like that – I mean he doesn't act or sound crazy like any of our previous foes," Fox responded.
A moment of silence passed. Fox took a sigh, and continued, "I just came here to say I'm sorry I had to leave yesterday – maybe we can make it up sometime. But first, we need to deal with Lichak. Be prepared for when he arrives – I'll contact you if I get word. For now, I need to get home and take care of some things."
Fox got up to leave, needing to return home to think things over (and make sure his house hadn't been ransacked by the police). It would also be a smart idea to contact Falco and Slippy to make sure they were ready, too. As Fox got into his car and left for home, Krystal murmured, "Be careful, Fox," to herself.
When Fox got back to his house, he found a black car parked on his driveway. He didn't recognize it from anywhere before. Angry and slightly nervous, Fox quickly stopped his car and jumped out to go into his house and find whoever parked there.
The door had been kicked down, but nothing on the inside of the house was ruined – odd. Before Fox could think of anything else, he was hit hard on the back of his head, just short of sending him unconscious. He fell to the ground, and turned on his side to look up at a burly bulldog, dressed in a black suit. Suddenly two other familiar faces appeared as well – Bonzo and Lichak, also wearing black suits.
"A shame you decided not to join us," Draven began, shooting a look of disdain at Fox.
Fox turned on his back, returning a scornful look at Lichak. "How did you find out this was my house?"
"We have our methods," Draven replied, giving a small smile.
Fox decided to ignore this for now, more concerned with the fact they had already arrived.
"You're not going to destroy this city," Fox spouted confidently, despite his defenseless position.
"That won't be your choice," Lichak shook off. "My men are already in the process of making it happen. They've taken over the police station to free my other men and reclaim the drugs. I will take them to the Cornerian Army Center, since it is at the center of the city. Once I target all the city's locations with the help of the laboratory's computers, the toxins from the water will be able to scatter everywhere."
"How do you know about all the Army Center's machinery?" Fox wondered aloud.
"I used to go there a long time ago, remember?" Lichak reminded him. "I know everything about it. With the Army Center's cannons we can fire off the toxins across the whole city once the computers have targeted everywhere. Finally, I will blow up the Army Center with one of the bombs inside. I've brought plenty of Pakat enforcements so that no one will get in the way of what needs to happen."
"This doesn't need to happen," Fox replied, glaring hard at Lichak. "The main source of corruption, General Wright, is gone. There's no need for killing all these innocent people…"
"It's too late for that now," Draven brushed off, obviously determined. "A new age for Corneria must begin, and that begins with eradicating all the corrupted minds. Innocents must be sacrificed for the greater good."
Fox finally got to his feet, recovering from the hard blow to his head. Draven made a gesture at Bonzo and the burly bulldog, and they nodded in response. They proceeded to light matches and toss them to the ground, beginning to catch the house on fire. Fox decided not to make a move for now.
"This city has seen the last day of crime and corruption for a long time to come – it is my responsibility to return it to how it's supposed to be lived in," Draven stated, as the flames continued to engulf more of Fox's house.
Suddenly, a look of remorse entered Draven's eyes as he looked sorrowfully at Fox. "You could have helped me and lived through all of this… like your father, you lack the audacity to do everything necessary to rid the evil once and for all."
Lichak had hit a nerve, to insult Fox's father that way. Fox jumped at Lichak angrily, but was held back by another punch from the burly bulldog. Bonzo followed with a kick to send Fox back to the floor, hurting again.
"I hope you're proud of your foolish decision to reject justice," Lichak scoffed, making another motion at Bonzo and the bulldog.
They grabbed Fox's arms, and began dragging him to a large closet nearby.
"I will stop you," Fox said resolutely at Lichak as he was dragged off. "And this city will be saved with true justice, not genocide."
Lichak nodded satirically, giving Fox a final look. "Goodbye, Fox. Perhaps we'll meet again in another life."
While Bonzo opened the closet door, the bulldog threw Fox into the closet, where he hit his head hard against the wall. As he fell into unconsciousness, Fox watched the fire overwhelm his house before Bonzo shut and locked the closet door; then darkness…
A/N: Sorry about the wait again - I didn't plan on taking this long on this chapter, but I was busy with other things! The story is coming close to finish - hope you guys liked the chapter, and thanks again to all who followed it.