Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem
The False Friend Job
Part III: Finale
Ylisstol: Streets
Colm Fletcher
Colm glanced at the car that pulled up at the arranged spot on the street. He nonchalantly walked forward and got in the black car.
"Is this really necessary?" Colm growled as he glared at the woman in the car. Lately he hadn't had much patience. And with good reason.
"Vika, drive," commanded Ishtar. The woman in the driver's seat did just that as Ishtar turned her attention to Colm. But first Ishtar pulled the glass divider that blocked their conversation from reaching Vika. "Now Colm, very nice of you to cooperate and come here."
Colm snorted, "Well, that's what blackmail does. You kidnap my wife, of course I do what you want."
"I suppose," Ishtar said disinterestedly. She examined her fingernails with more attention than she gave Colm.
There was silence for a few minutes. Colm grew tired of it very quickly, "Why am I here? I've done everything you asked. If it's about those files, here they are. I was going to do the drop as we had agreed, but seeing as I'm here." Colm reached into the inside pocket of his suit and pulled out a small file folder. He handed it to Ishtar.
The blue haired woman opened it. Colm glimpsed the front page of the file. Feeling lucky and admittedly curious, he asked, "What's the Rabbit's Foot?"
Ishtar shrugged, "We don't know. And if Ylisse's got a weapon that we don't know of, we're going to find out what it is. But that doesn't matter right now. What matters now, is you."
"Me?" Colm asked annoyed. "Got some other blackmail material on me or something? Or do you want me to go ruin someone else's life?"
Ishtar ignored the last part, "Colm, you're good at what you do. Too good. I've been instructed to not relinquish our hold over you because of how useful you are. Sterling's orders."
Colm stiffened. This was not good.
"However," Ishtar let the word hang there for a while, making eye contact with Colm for the first time that evening, "there is another option for you."
Colm didn't say anything, but he was listening.
"It would mean you go to jail for that murder. Somehow, YPD got your prints. FSIO might bail you out, but it depends on whether they want to risk the scandal. But Neimi will go free and into hiding. All you have to do is one thing, deliver a message for me," Ishtar said.
"To who?" Colm said in a neutral tone.
"Sigurd di'Arganan," Ishtar said, her voice betraying nothing. "There's…something he needs to know. Something I must have him know." But Colm was no ordinary agent. FSIO drilled all their agents on interrogation. And Colm caught something in her voice.
"Holy shit," Colm said, startled. "You're worried! You need this message delivered." Now Colm had something to work with.
"I…am," Ishtar reluctantly admitted.
"And why would I help you?" Colm said angrily. "Sounds like you're desperate. You need my cooperation."
Ishtar was silent, "Because if you don't, I'll have Neimi killed."
"…Bitch," muttered Colm. Had he been calm, Colm easily would have seen that minor detail.
"I'll tell you where she's being kept, you and her can go into hiding together. But I won't give you the location until you deliver my message," Ishtar said.
"…How would I even get out of here alive?" Colm asked. Damn! He was already considering her offer.
"Well, upon my order to kill Neimi, you would render me unconscious. You would take my gun and shoot the driver of this car. The car would crash, I would survive by luck, and you would jump out and avoid the two cars of Sterling's thugs that have been tailing us that you have no knowledge of. Upon escaping, there is a man waiting at 672 Chalphy Street that I will never tell you about, not even if you torture me. He has the message," Ishtar said calmly.
Colm nodded very slowly. He made eye contact with Ishtar one last time before his fist rocketed out and smashed her in the face, possibly breaking her nose. Colm reached into her suit and pulled out a revolver and pointed it at Vika the driver. He pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Vika slumped down on the steering wheel, dead. Colm calculated that in less than two point four seconds, the car would swerve into oncoming traffic. Thankfully Colm hadn't put a seatbelt on. He wrenched open the door of the car and jumped out of it. The blue haired agent took the fall with experience.
He rolled several times before ending up on his back facing the cars that were driving toward him. It wasn't hard to pick out the two cars that had been following them. Colm aimed the revolver at the thugs in the driver's seats. With two precise shots, he killed the two drivers and began to run for it.
Colm never looked back to see what happened to the thugs, whether they died or if they were trying to save one of their boss Ishtar.
But the important thing was they didn't follow him.
Twenty minutes later, Colm was at the address. The street was deserted, except for one cloaked figure that began walking toward Colm. He pulled down his hood.
"Kris Holst?" Colm said with raised eyebrows.
"Deliver this message," Kris whispered to Colm and handed him an envelope that was presumably the message. "Get to Faraday's Hideout, you know where it is. With luck, tonight might be the last night of our problems. Stay down, and once you get there, di'Arganan has the address. Go!"
Colm nodded and began to run. Hopefully he'd be fast enough before Sterling figured out what was going on.
The Hideout
Gaius Faraday
Gaius quickly changed out of his prison uniform and into his usual attire. He and the rest of the team, plus Claude and Sigurd sat in the main room of the Hideout planning their next move.
"Are you sure it was Colm?" Virion asked, puzzled.
"Absolutely," Gaius said, with two suckers in his mouth and a chocolate bar in his hand. He was getting rid of that headache the sweet way.
"I still find it hard to believe he would betray us," Virion muttered. "Why would he get you locked up? I can't think up an angle that he'd benefit from."
Sigurd cleared his throat, "Blackmail, perhaps?"
Gaius shrugged. It didn't really matter to him, all that he could see was that a friend had stabbed him in the back. And Gaius wouldn't forgive him. You don't betray your friends.
There was a knock at the door. Sigurd jumped up before anyone else could react. Gaius narrowed his eyes, the forger had been waiting for that. Or been aware that it someone might stop by.
The blue haired man opened the door. Whoever was there was out of Gaius' line of sight, but Sigurd took something from them. Then Sigurd said, "2130 Etruria Avenue. Better hurry."
Whoever was at the door ran off, and Sigurd walked back in with an envelope in his hands.
"What the hell was that?" Morgan asked sharply.
Sigurd ran a hand through his hair distractedly, "That was Colm dropping off a message for me."
There was silence, then Claude asked, "And why, may I ask, did you let him go? I was under the impression that he was our target. Unless someone saw fit to lie to me this whole time?"
"He was being blackmailed. Sterling has his wife. Colm is going to disappear now, and now is no longer our concern," Sigurd replied as he opened the envelope and scanned its text. His eyes narrowed, "Damn, I've got to go!"
Without even waiting for a reply, Sigurd dropped the letter on the ground and practically ran out the door. Except with style, because he was Sigurd di'Arganan.
"Are we just special, or is this job always like this? I thought secret agents actually knew what was going on sometimes," Lissa asked, clearly lost.
Frederick chuckled, "You can never trust any information you assume. Hell, you can't even trust some of the facts you think are right. So yes, it'll always be like this."
Gaius picked up the letter that was addressed to Sigurd.
Sigurd,
I'm going to be found out. Unless Stef intervenes, I'm dead. Kellam likely won't hesitate pulling the trigger when he finds out. But you may have more time if Robin wants to question me.
Better hurry, you know where I am.
Ishtar Reeves
Gaius' eyes widened.
Reeves.
Priam Reeves.
"Holy shit," whispered Gaius, connecting the dots.
"What?" came the resounding cry of six voices.
"Priam's wife, she didn't leave him. She's a mole in Sterling's inner circle. Ishtar is one of ours."
2130 Etruria Avenue
Colm Fletcher
Colm heard a twig snap behind him. He whipped out his gun and pointed it at the cute rabbit that appeared out of the bush behind him.
"Son of a…" Colm muttered, heart racing. This paranoia wasn't healthy.
Colm couldn't let anything go wrong. Not while his wife's life was at stake.
The address had lead Colm to a warehouse. A grey, boring, typical warehouse. With several black vans outside of it.
With a few bushes and bunnies near it.
Colm stealthily made his way to the black vans. There weren't any people, civilians or thugs, near them. Colm rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and took off his watch. He cranked the nob on the side three times. Colm tossed the watch under the nearest van and began to run for cover on the side of the warehouse.
Once on the side of the warehouse, Colm looked around the corner. He didn't even know if this would work, it wasn't like he'd used the explosive function on his watch before.
BOOM!
Looks like it worked.
The van rocketed up in the air a bit, now blazing in flames. There was soon a second explosion from within the car, and the other two vans got caught up in the blaze.
Four thugs ran out of the warehouse, all armed and at a loss for what was going on. Colm took out the revolver he'd taken off Ishtar and fired four shots.
Four bodies hit the ground.
And now the clock was on, he wouldn't have long before police showed up.
Colm dashed to the door that the thugs had come out of and ducked inside of it. He immediately came upon another guard who likely was going to investigate the gunshots.
Colm threw a punch at the man's face. The agent felt his fist connect and a loud snap followed by a spurt of blood. The thug fell with a broken nose. Colm aimed the gun at the man's forehead and shot him.
Colm proceeded further into the warehouse. When he got to the huge, main room he could see two men with a woman tied to a chair.
Neimi.
Colm growled. Thankfully, the guards' backs were turned. So long as Colm was silent, they wouldn't see him coming. It fit Colm's style perfectly.
And that's how it happened. Colm crept up behind them. Neimi's back was also turned, she couldn't see her husband coming to rescue her. And that was probably for the better, she'd have started to cry and ruined it.
Colm raised the pistol and fired a bullet into the man on the right's skull. He fell down with a thump. Colm aimed at the other man who began to turn around. He pulled the trigger.
Click.
Colm's face grew pale. He hadn't reloaded.
The thug grinned, completely disregarding his dead friend and pointed his shotgun at Colm. Colm stood still, trying to figure out a plan. No success.
A trigger was pulled.
The thug's head was blown off.
A figure cloaked like Kris had been stood in the door way Colm had come from pointing a gun. But it wasn't Kris, this man was shorter and his face was completely obscured.
"Who…?" Colm asked, very wary about the fact that he still had no bullets in his gun.
"Just a favor for Ishtar. Us moles need to stick together," it was hard to tell, but the voice was a man's. Colm didn't recognize it.
"Who are you?" Colm asked.
"That would be telling. My identity cannot be compromised, so understand that I'm not about to tell you," the man chuckled. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a plastic bag and threw it to Colm. Then the shooter left the way Colm had come in.
Colm grabbed the bag and looked inside. Two passports, two plane tickets, several thousand in gold notes.
The blue haired agent quickly reloaded his gun and then began to untie Neimi. She was already whimpering, but it was muffled by the gag.
"Alright Neimi, don't worry. I'm here, stop crying," Colm tried to reassure her.
Neimi began sobbing in Colm's arms, "Colm! I was so scared!"
"'s alright Neimi. You're safe now," Colm said. "But we got to get going. We'll have to disappear."
Neimi nodded, still crying. She held Colm tightly as they walked out of the warehouse.
Into several police cars.
"Gregor says, hands above your heads!" shouted a man, presumably a higher up.
"Shit," Colm whispered. Colm scooped Neimi into his arms and began to run back the way they came. Colm had seen another exit, perhaps they'd have luck there.
"After them!" came the detective's voice.
Colm ran faster than he'd ever remembered. If they got caught now, they were finished. Colm would convicted of murder and Sterling would go after Neimi in revenge.
The exit Colm had seen turned out not to be an exit, but an entrance to a small storage area. But most importantly, it had a window. A window meant an exit the coppers most likely weren't watching.
2130 Etruria Avenue
Mia Meridas
Mia saw the two criminals duck into the small storage area. The purple haired detective in training sped up ahead of her girlfriend Heather. Heather was quicker, but Mia was better at sprinting in short bursts.
"Wait up!" Heather shouted.
Mia didn't, she wanted to be the one who arrested these two. It would be her first arrest. Something she'd dreamt about.
Mia entered the room. Upon not seeing them, she glanced around. Spotting a window, she saw the pink haired woman climbing out through the window. Mia quickly located the blue haired man.
The detective in training held up her standard issue YPD pistol and shouted, "Freeze!"
The man didn't, he held up his pistol and fired. Mia felt something hot stab through her right leg. Screaming in pain, the purple haired woman collapsed to the ground unable to keep herself upright. She hit her head on the hard floor causing her vision to blur. But before it blurred, she saw the man jump up and out of the window.
"Mia!" screamed Heather.
Mia could hear voices. But her head hurt, all the loud voices made it worse. She closed her eyes in hopes of being able to see better when she opened them.
"Mia! Don't close your eyes!" shouted Heather in full panic. Mia began to feel immense overwhelming pain.
Mia closed her eyes and fell unconscious.
2130 Etruria Avenue
Heather Starr
Heather wasn't worried about the leg injury. People survived them all the time.
Heather was worried about the fact that Mia hit her head so hard on the fall. That wasn't good at all, especially with her leg bleeding enough blood to fill a lake. The bullet must have passed through completely, or else it would have acted as a plug.
The detective immediately abandoned any idea of chasing the criminals. She began examining her girlfriend's leg while trying to keep Mia awake with conversation. But the purple haired woman didn't seem to be registering anything she said.
Heather pulled out a knife from her pocket and cut the sleeve off her shirt. Creating a shoddy makeshift bandage, Heather began to apply pressure so as to stop the bleeding.
Mia tensed immediately and Heather could see the pain on her face. The blond woman felt horrible for being the cause of that pain, but she had no choice.
"Heather!" came Legault's voice from somewhere behind her.
Heather didn't pay him any attention, Mia's eyes began to close.
"Mia! Don't close your eyes!" shouted Heather in full panic.
Mia's eyes closed.
"Shit!" swore Heather loudly.
"We've got a stretcher, Heather, stand away for a second," Legault said, much closer this time and sounding out of breath.
Heather stood away while some medical people lifted her carefully onto a stretcher. The blonde grabbed Mia's hand after she was on the stretcher and refused to let go. She rode in the ambulance the entire way, never letting go of her girlfriend's hand.
?
Farina Dale
"Lock and load," said Stefan.
Farina, the newest member of Stefan's team cocked her sniper rifle. The sound of the others loading their guns pierced the quiet that had previously been there. Mark loaded both his pistols. Kris readied his shotgun.
Sigurd opened his laptop.
And Stefan had his handgun in his hand. The SHEPHERDs stood outside a very fine mansion. Under the cover of darkness, of course.
One of YIA's local operatives reported seeing a man matching Robin's description entering said mansion. And according to YIA records, this mansion belonged to a Mr. Kellam Anderson. And it also was the location where the Fireman had been sent by Stefan.
"Positions," Stefan said.
The team dispersed. Sigurd went down the street where their van was. He had needed to get near to hack the wifi and see where the outer cameras were. Stefan and Kris went around the back. Mark was to wait until Sigurd had control and sneak through a front window once he did. Farina's spot was in a tall tree with her sniper rifle.
"Good luck," she whispered to Mark.
"Ha, I don't need luck," Mark said with a smirk. "I've got a trench coat. That makes me badass."
"That is going to your head," Farina rolled her eyes and began to head to her position as Mark did the same.
The Observer climbed the large tree and got in position.
Anderson Mansion: YIA Van
Sigurd di'Arganan
Sigurd hummed to himself as clicked away on his keyboards of the multiple computers in front of him.
The Hacker took control of the network. Hopefully either Anderson didn't have a Hacker on hand, or they sucked enough that they didn't notice him.
Sigurd's phone began to ring. He sighed, and answered it, "Hello Tiltyu."
"What's up Siggy?" Tiltyu cheerfully asked.
"Tiltyu…" Sigurd mumbled. "I'm on a job."
"Oh darn! I'm sorry, ya forgive me, right?" Tiltyu said, suddenly sounding distressed.
Sigurd chuckled, "Yes, I'll call you when it's over."
He hung up. His wife could a handful, but at least he could be honest with her. Not many people came after Sigurd. Hackers usually attracted the least amount of enemies.
"We're you just on a phone?" Stefan asked via the com link.
"Yes," Sigurd said, fiddling with the cameras.
"Never do that again," Stefan said sharply and coldly.
"Cameras are ours. We're clear," Sigurd said. Then he noticed two unfamiliar people moving on camera, "Stef, we got company. Looks like some hired guns."
Anderson Mansion: Basement
Kellam Anderson
Kellam licked his lips with anticipation. He almost had to physically restrain himself from killing the two men in front of him outright.
No, he would savor it.
Kellam had caught the pricks that he'd missed a few months back. Now it was time for his revenge.
"Let's play a game. It's called 'Who Gets Killed?'" Kellam smirked ferociously. "I'll kill one of you, then I'll let the other go, but you choose who gets to go free."
Donny Winchester and Volug Collins both were tied to chairs in the middle of the basement. Neither had taken long to subdue.
"You're going to have to kill me then," Volug said. "Donny goes free."
"Volug, what're ya sayin'?! I ain't gonna be the one t' go free!" Donny exclaimed.
Volug shook his head, "You're the one with a girlfriend. I don't have any attachments."
"I…I…" Donny attempted. "I'm sure ya got somethin'!"
Volug looked at Kellam, "Kill me."
Kellam lifted his revolver to Volug's head and fired. The force of the shot knocked Volug's chair over.
"Now Donny, he said you have a girlfriend?" Kellam said, a feral smirk beginning to appear on his face.
Kellam could see Donny realizing what the Assassin could do with this information.
"Sir," came a voice as two pairs of footsteps walked down the basement steps. A man and a woman stepped into the light. The man had spoken before and he continued, "Where are you?"
"I'm right here," Kellam said, not taking his eyes off Donny. He was enjoying the fear in the HBI agent's eyes.
"Oh right, sorry," Zihark apologized. He was just a simple Hitter that Sterling had hired. Kellam's employer had been here briefly, but that was just to discuss the next steps of the plan with Kellam. And to drop these two off. "But we came to tell you they're here."
"Five of 'em," the Observer said. Her name was Nephenee, and her reputation preceded her. She had yet to take off her sweatshirt hood. Kellam didn't care why, so long as she did her job.
"Excellent," Kellam said. He walked behind Donny's chair and used a knife to cut the rope that bound him. "Now Donny, don't struggle. Or I'll shoot you and Volug will have died for nothing, you hear?"
Donny nodded and Kellam began dragging him up the stairs to the front door of the mansion. "Now here's what's going to happen," Kellam said with false sweetness. "I'm going to open up this door. You're going to walk out slowly and take your time. If you run, I shoot you in the back."
Donny nodded and Kellam opened the door and gestured for him to walk out. Donny began to walk out of the house slowly. The Assassin managed to get a rough estimate of where each agent was from their reactions to Donny walking out. Be it a bush shifting or a breath being drawn.
Kellam raised his revolver and fired, shooting Donny in the back. The bullet was a direct shot to the heart, it went straight through him and Donny fell over, unmoving.
"Thought you said you wouldn't shoot him?" Zihark frowned.
"I lied," Kellam said. "Now you go watch our special guest. Nephenee, you take the agents in the front yard. I'll take the two in the back."
Anderson Mansion: Front Yard
Mark Strife
Mark watched in horror as Donny fell to the ground, dead. There was no questioning as to if he were alive, because no one survived unless Kellam Anderson intended it.
"Sig, what're we up against?" Mark whispered from his hiding spot along the side of the house.
"Nephenee Rhodes, sniper for hire. She prefers to act from a vantage point. She'll be up on the roof more likely than not. I'll try to distract her," Sigurd said.
Mark sighed, damn Observers. Always shooting from a distance.
Then again, he was dating an Observer. Though Farina only shot holes in his wallet.
"Mark," said Farina. "Start running around."
"You want me to get killed?" Mark asked in disbelief.
"Of course not. Now go run around like a chicken," Farina ordered.
"Is this for your own sick amusement?" grumbled Mark.
"Partially."
At least she was honest.
Mark jumped out from his hiding place, running like mad across the yard. He darted back and forth constantly to make himself harder to hit. Three bullets fired in rapid succession at him.
Then Sigurd decided to turn on the sprinklers.
"I hate this job!" shouted Mark as he heard several more bullets. If his trench coat got hit…! Mark would be a very unhappy Grifter.
"Shut up!" shouted Farina.
Mark kept running like his life depended on it. Which it did.
There was a bang. Said bang was followed by a scream. Despite the situation Mark stopped running and pressed a finger to his ear, "Farina?"
For a horrible moment, there was no answer.
Then, "…If I had been killed, and you had stopped running you'd be dead."
"I love you too," grinned Mark.
Anderson Mansion: Back Yard
Kris Holst
Kris cracked his knuckles as he looked at his opponent. Thankfully, the target didn't have any guns. Neither did Kris, but he'd stand the best chance in hand to hand combat. Kellam Anderson with a gun was like a nuclear bomb falling from the sky.
"Hello Kris, long time no see," said Kellam with a smirk. "Been a while, hasn't it?" he said with mock care.
"Been a while since you left the WIA, you mean," Kris said darkly. That's right, Kellam Anderson used to be one of the good guys.
"Well…they got boring. And I was too good to waste away doing that shit," Kellam shrugged.
"I guess we better do this then," Kris said, taking a stance. Right foot forward, apply weight to said foot. Right arm out in blocking position, left ready for a hard punch to the lower gut.
"Keep him engaged until I give the signal," said Stefan in Kris' ear.
Kellam put his left foot back and both fists up like a boxer. The Assassin distributed his weight evenly.
Kris frowned, and adjusted his stance. His left foot turned ninety degrees. This way he'd slide backwards less and be able to counter attack with more ease.
Kellam chuckled, "That's so like you."
Kris was puzzled, "What-"
Kris never saw it coming, which was Kellam's MO. Kellam's fist hit Kris in the gut. The blue haired Hitter slid backward, but thanks to his stance it wasn't as far as it would've been. But it didn't matter, Kris still slid and Kellam capitalized on that. A foot hit Kris in the kneecap.
Kris fell to one knee, but used that time to recover from Kellam's first hit. Kris blocked Kellam's next three punches with some ease and even managed to throw one of his own.
Kellam knocked the punch aside and stepped back out of Kris' range. The Hitter jumped up, getting back on his feet. Kellam roundhouse kicked him at that moment, knocking him clean off his feet.
"Oh dear, you done yet?" smirked Kellam. "I thought YIA was supposed to be good at getting the job done."
"Heh…just getting started," said Kris.
Anderson Mansion: Living Room
Stefan Gerrard
Stefan stepped into the living room without a single care for caution.
The first thing he saw was Ishtar strapped to a chair, gagged. And Zihark O'Riely stood between him and her.
"Can't let you go any further," said the Hitter.
"Oh, fuck off," Stefan growled.
Zihark came forward with a punch aimed for Stefan's neck. The Director grabbed Zihark's hand at the fist and wrist with both hands. Stefan twisted it and bent it over his shoulder. Zihark gasped in sudden pain, his chest was now pressed up against Stefan's back.
Perfect.
Stefan jerked his head backward and smashed it into O'Riely's head. The Hitter crumpled to the floor.
The green haired man ran a hand through his hair, getting it back how he liked it. He proceeded to ungag Ishtar and begin to untie her.
"Thanks," she said, giving Stefan a small smile.
Stefan grunted in reply, concentrating on the ropes.
"You okay Stef? You seem different," asked Ishtar.
"I'm fine," Stefan said sharply.
Ishtar let the topic drop, "Who's in the field today?"
"Myself, Kris, Mark, Farina and Sigurd," Stefan said getting the ropes undone.
Ishtar didn't say anything. Instead, as quick as lightning, reached into Stefan's suit jacket and pulled out his pistol. She turned on the spot and shot Zihark through the head as he began to stand up. Zihark stopped moving.
"Here," Ishtar handed the gun back to Stefan. "Now let's get out of here."
Anderson Mansion: Back yard
Kellam Anderson
Kellam took a punch from Kris to his abdomen. The Assassin shrugged it off and blocked Kris' next punch.
Kris jumped back and pressed a finger to his ear. Kellam's eyes narrowed and he began to close the distance between them.
But he hadn't acted quickly enough, Kris reached to his belt and removed something from it. There was a grenade in his hand. Kris pulled the pin.
A smoke grenade.
Kellam was blinded. Swearing, he tensed, expecting an attack. When one didn't come, Kellam growled.
That coward!
"You're dead Kris! You hear me!? You're dead!" Kellam screamed in frustration.
The False Friend Job
Mission: Accomplished
Author Notes: On one hand, I'm very pleased with this chapter, it's about 3k words longer than my original plans. On the other hand, most of it was spur of the moment and I don't know how it turned out.
Hey Shadow Typer! I tried to involve as many of those things you said you liked! I threw Mark in there, put in the start of more HeatherxMia moments to come as well! Hope you enjoyed it!
"Here's the thing…Dammit, I need to stop saying that."
-Kip Guile, The Broken Eye
You only need two words to tell you what the next job is about:
Sacaen Mafia