Chapter 21

Insert Song: C*m on Feel the Noise - Quiet Riot

"Cameron, C'mon wake up."

"Don't make me wake you up my way."

"Just wake him up."

I come to reality with the searing pain of being slapped across the face, music blaring, with me on the sofa.

"What happened?" I ask finding everyone around me on the sofa.

"You ate three pumpkin pies half an hour ago and then blacked out." Wolford says, playing Battlefield 1 on my TV.

"It's thanksgiving afterall." I say, rubbing my head.

"It's October?" Fangmeyer questions.

"He's half Canadian remember?" Oswald answers.

"Oh yea. Anyways, Moon's got a rally in an hour at the stadium." Fangmeyer says, grabbing her coat.

"Aw shit, forgot." I realize, swinging to my feet.

I walk over to the coatrack, shoving on some boots and throwing my coat over my sholders.

"I'm coming back here after so just take my car." Fangmeyer informs.

I toss my car keys into a bowl near the door before following her out the door and down the stairs.

"How did I black out?" I ask, punching in the security code to get into the underground garage.

"Don't ask me, I've been preoccupied." She replies, wincing as the cold air hits her.

"With what? Making out with Wolford?"

"How'd you know!"

"Didn't, I just had suspicious that you confirmed." I point out, getting a slug to the sholder as we approach her car.

"Don't tell Bogo."

"Didn't intend to." I say as she turns the car over, it choking to life in the cold.

Insert Music: 40:1 - Sabaton

"Didn't take you for a heavy metal fan."

"Complaining?" She asks as I swipe my ID to open the garage.

"No, just didn't expect you to like Sabaton."

"It's alright, just don't tell Nick, he will taunt me for weeks."

"I would never condemn anyone to that torture."

"Anyways, hows the new job coming along?"

"Going nice, got my head blown off last week."

"So you're immortal now?"

"Sadly."

"Like Deadpool immortal or Superman immortal?"

"Deadpool, I can still feel pain and bullets still do damage, as you clearly saw."

"Yea, that was brutal, oh by the way, we caught the guy who shot you."

"Nice, he been sentenced?"

"Since he attemped an assassination, the military took him."

"Well, he's either dead or in a off the grid prison by now."

"Yea, I expected that."

We drive in silence for a few minutes, for some reason I do an air guitar to the solo, before we arrive at the Stadium in question, where he is doing a speech after a Gazelle concert.

"Hey, pop the trunk." I ask, not knowing why.

"Sure?" Fangmeyer replies, popping the trunk before exiting the car.

I reach the trunk and find a rifle case inside, I remove the case before closing the trunk.

"When you put that in there?"

"Honestly don't remember." I say, following her up to a security checkpoint.

"Weapons?" The ZPD officer asks.

Fangmeyer just flashes her badge, while I set the case on the table, remove the knife from my boot, and pull my coat open, revealing my holstered Hi-Power.

The officer opens the case, eyeing me with suspicion.

"Christ Clark! He's Moon's new bodyguard!" The other officer says.

"He has a sniper rifle!" The officer replies, turning the case to reveal my Mosin, missing its scope.

"Just give 'em it back, if he shoots anyone he will have a great reason to."

The officer closes the case, sliding it back over to me.

I take the case with a thank you and continue to follow Fangmeyer, through a back hallway, and out onto the backstage area.

"Naturally Ben is here." I comment, seeing Clawhouser duck taped to a chair. "Why's he..."

"Don't question it. How yea doing Benji?"

Clawhouser replies with an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Alrighty." I say, parting ways with Fangmeyer and beginning to look for Moon.

I stop to let two tigers carry a rack of clothing by, finding Moon seated next to Bogo and another mammal in a suit.

"Ah Robertson, nice to see you've arrived." Bogo observes, waiving me into a seat.

"Don't need to call me by my last name Chief. So I know you two, who might you be?" I ask, nodding towards the suited mammal.

"Senator Stacy Dammer." The beaver introduces herself as.

"Didn't know you would be here tonight."

"And why is that?" Moon asks as if he knows my answer.

"Bacause he blacked out after eating two pumpkin pies." Fangmeyer says, walking past, pulling Clawhouser in his chair.

I flip the bird over my sholder towards her before returning to the conversation.

"So, mind telling me what the case is?"

"Oh this would be a Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle, fires a 7.62 round, effective over a kilometer." I answer, patting the case.

"Why?" The senator asks.

"Because If I get shot again, I want to be able to respond accordingly. So, when do you begin your rally?"

"About 6:30, Gazelle will begin singing at about six." Moon replies, glancing at his watch.

I pull my phone out, finding it to be 5:50.

"Where's Gazelle?" I ask.

Bogo simply points past me. I turn to find Gazelle entering the backstage area, two ZPD Officers pushing several paparazzi back out the door.

A Concert Later

I waive to Moon as he heads on stage, sitting on Clawhouser.

"Mhmhmhmhm!"

"Know what, go nuts, you're Fangmeyer's problem." I shrug, removing my knife and cutting the tape binding him.

He sprints off in glee, Fangmeyer not far behind.

I walk over to the Enterance to the stage, lighting a blunt.

"Wait... Hey, am I allallowed to smoke here?" I realise, turning to a IT guy.

"Nothing says you can't." He replies, walking past.

I watch the crowd, not really paying attention to Moon's speech. I am scanning the crowd, but am constantly brought back to two mammals.

One of them I swear I recognize, but don't know why. The other is unknown to me. but just has a negative demeanor to them.

"And so, you may not like me, but with me today is Senator Dammer!" Moon says, turning to present the Senator, walking past me.

I return to scanning the crowd, finding the shady mammal is now slowly backing away from the stage.

"Dear god, can I ever catch a break?" I ask aloud, grabbing my rifle as I hear the click of a safety being switched off.

I quickly formulate a plan, swinging out onto the stage and unloading a bullet into the air, makimg everyone within three meters half deaf. I then sling the Mosin, charging directly at the mammal, now aiming a Glock at my face.

He fires a shot, aimed past me, but I somehow catch it in the hip.

By the time the adrenaline kicks in, I'm in the air, tackling the poor guy.

The crowd clears back, leaving me on the ground, the mammal that shot me somehow on her feet, running for the scaffold.

I scramble to my feet, jumping onto the scaffold, with the attacker about two stories up.

While I may be faster, the mammal somehow still has their gun, and is firing a bullet at Moon and the Senator whenever possible.

I see Moon and the Senator are gone, and find myself reaching a catwalk, with my attacker halfway towards a ladder on my left.

I scramble over the railing, catching a door on my right being kicked open and Fangmeyer and Bogo scrambling onto the catwalk.

I reach the second ladder, climbing it to find myself on the roof.

I quickly scan around, finding my attacker shooting at me.

I dodge a bullet, hearing the hatch slam shut, probably due to a bullet impact.

I raise my rifle, reloading and firing, hitting the roof a foot behind my target.

I begin to hear helicopter blades as the shooter empties her mag, throwing the empty pistol at me.

I dodge the pistol, hearing it scrape along the roof as the hatch behind me begins to rattle.

I refocus in time to dodge a punch, my rilfe being kicked out of my hands and sliding against the hatch.

I swing back, barely missing. I dodge an uppercut and go to kick, but she grabs my leg, throwing me off balance. I get shoved back, stopping myself on the edge of the roof, beginning to fall backwards before I am grabbed by my tie.

I take the moment to study my attacker. No older then 20, feline face, and female.

I however am leaning backwards off the edge of the roof, being held up by my tie.

"Dropping me will do nothing." I say, my attacker not looking me in the eye.

"It will hurt like hell, but I will remember your face. So go ahead." I continue, raising my arms out to my side. "Look me in the eye and drop me. But first, tell me why."

She stares me dead in the eye.

"I was aiming for the senator." She says, the hatch behind us being blown open from a shotgun blast, Fangmeyer, Bogo, and a handfull of ZPD and military forming a ring around us.

"Pull him up!" Bogo commands.

"You know I can't die Bogo, dropping me at most would be a minor inconvenience."

"We will shoot!"

"And that does what?" I ask.

"Step back from the ledge!"

"Man, fuck this, I'm out." I say, drawing my knife and cutting my tie, feeling gravity take hold as I fall backwards, my attacker falling backwards onto the roof.

I see Fangmeyer glimpse over the edge a split second before I hit the pavement, blacking out.

Later.

The first thing I feel is thr cold hard ground.

I sit up, a towel falling off me as I crack my neck.

"Didn't bother moving me." I observe, a pool of dried blood around me.

"Nah, why would we?" Fangmeyer replies, filling out a police report.

I pull out a blunt, lighting it before I stand.

I take a second to strech, hearing ungodly cracks from my spine.

"Arrest the attacker?" I ask, sitting across from her.

"See for yourself, ZNN recorded the entire ordeal." She says, turning a computer towards me, showing the helicopter footage.

"Sweet, where's she now?"

"Precinct One. By the way, there's a hostage situation over in the Rainforest district, mind acting as the negotiator?"

"Eh sure, I better start getting paid if this will be a regular thing." I say, the two of us standing.

The Rainforest District

"WE'RE SENDING IN A NEGOTIATOR!" I hear somewhere behind me, walking into the bank.

"Put your hands up." I hear.

"What would that acomplish?" I ask.

"Put em up! I'll blow your hand off!"

I sigh as I raise my hands, quickly being restrained and a bag placed over my head.

I am lead through the building, eventually being seated in a chair, the bag taken from my head.

"Alright, now you wanted to negotiate?" I ask, slightly annoyed.

"Shut up or I'll blow your head off." A fox behind me says.

"That would be at most a minor inconvenience."

"Shut it." He says, raising a shotgun to hit me.

"Stop." A masked fox says, entering the room. "I see they sent in the negotiator."

"So, whatcha want? Money, a ride?" I ask.

"Time, once we are finished, we will leave."

"And you needed a negotiator why?"

"High value hostage."

"I'll give you five seconds to release me." I say, gathering my strength.

"Now why-"

"One."

"Shu-"

"Two."

"I SAI-"

"Five." I finish, breaking the simple zip ties and kicking the chair backwards, taking out the fox behind me, knocking him down.

I kick the fox infront of me and send him through the door. I proceed to kneel and retreive my Hi-Power that I stuck in my boot.

I turn around, finding the fox raising his shotgun, I take care of him with two bullets to the chest.

I enter the hallway, putting a bullet in the skull of the stirring masked fox.

I walk down the hallway, a security room catching my eye.

I enter the room, a bullet in the back of the head of the robber watching the cameras.

I scan the room finding a intercom. I pull out my phone and set it against the button, playing music.

Insert Song: London Calling - The Clash

I walk back into the hallway, walking where I think I was lead from, entering the main lobby of the bank, three robbers watching the door.

I shoot the first two, the third one panicking and falling backwards through the enterance doors, I put two bullets in him as I pass, walking towards the vault.

I come to a corner, going to step around it snd finding myself facing a makeshift barricade, tucking back to avoid their gaze.

I blindly fire the remainder of my magazine. I simply rack the slide of the pistol, resetting the unlimited magazine.

I walk up to the barricade, finding one dead and two dragging themselves away.

I jump over the barrier, one of them turning a pistol in hand. I end him.

"Got a gun buddy?" I ask the other.

"N-n-no" He responds, shock setting in.

"Be good and wait here." I say, walking past him, kicking his friend's gun further down the hall.

"Wait, wheres the hostages?" I ask, turning back.

"In the vault enterance." He replies, adrenaline having set in.

I follow the hallway, decending some stairs, finding the vault, a robber driling, with his buddy to the side, hostages being used as shields.

"Let em go." I ask, the robber with gun aimed at them.

"No."

I put three bullets in the one who is drilling, turning my pistol on the other before he realizes what I've done.

I jerk my pistol up as he raises his rifle, I respond with a bullet through his right eye.

"Alright, all of you can leave, try not to trample the guy in thr hallway, I need to stop him from bleeding out."

I calmly walk back up to the robber I shot earlier, leaning down and finding that he managed to stop his major bleeding by himself.

"Alright, c'mon, lets get you to a trauma center."