AATC: Territory

Back in the saddle. After this, goodbye for a bit. I have to update some other fics.

35.

The weight of the weapon in his right hip pocket was rather light, yet, Alvin felt as if it was trying to weigh him down akin to that of an iron shackle. Recalling Valerie's instructions in his mind on its usage, he already feared that he would have to use it and the outlook, either way, mattered little. He'd end up shooting someone or getting shot by someone, and his imagination kept clouding his better senses.

"To use it or not to use it, that is the question," he mumbled before he began to laugh to himself strangely.

Alvin was noticeably tense, that much was true. Anyone could see it just by his expression on his face. It was apparent to Brittany, especially, who sat next to him in the backseat. "Alvin? Are you alright?"

"Hmm?"Alvin looked at her and saw her worried expression. "If I'm alright? I guess I am. It's not like I'm stressing about committing a crime." His last word came out the wrong way; he was already thinking about the gun he was carrying secretly from everybody else, but he could tell that everyone believed that he was talking about hacking.

"Oh? You mean about hacking the generator? Valerie taught you about it, right?" Brittany took his hand in hers and stroked it lightly. "Take it easy. You'll do fine. Besides, you're not going to get caught. You even changed your clothes, and you know that no one can really tell us any differently when we're not in our generic colors. Not to mention that Valerie already killed the power to this part of Miami. There aren't any cameras that are going to pick you up."

"Tell me about it," Dave muttered through clenched teeth. "Every stoplight is out and the intersections are getting kind of hectic. It's as if everyone thinks they have the right of way." The man sighed in realization when he said this. "I suppose that I thought the same way…"

"What do you mean, Dave?"

"It's just that…" The man tried to breathe deeply in an effort to soothe his nerves. "I never really wanted to come to Miami, but after Ravin' Raven approached us after the concert, he gave me the impression that he was friendly with us, that he's calmed down with his insecurities that's been causing him to antagonize nearly every singer that came from the western side of America. And like a fool, I believed that he was friendly. I should've just pulled out and taken all of you back home. Small steps were better than trying to huge steps all at once. Now, we're paying the price for it… just look at us!" The man yelled suddenly. "We're on the run from a madman, our lives are in danger, Simon's being used as collateral in an exchange and the only person we can trust is a criminal."

He looked down somberly; not one of his passengers dared to interrupt him.

"A few days ago, if you asked me what was the most important thing this week, I would have said that it would be our final concert on Saturday. We would finally have come out of our financial slump. The money for the charities would ensure that anyone would want to sponsor us in the future because of our image. We'd be able to go on tours whenever we felt like it, not just because we were desperate to. Now… If only I could meet myself back then, I'd like to just knock him over the head with a two-by-four so that he'd get some sense."

"Or a concussion," Jeanette said reticently. "Don't beat yourself up, Dave. We know that you care about us, and our safety. This is all Vincent's fault. Justice will soon catch up with him."

"I bet that it will!" Brittany agreed. "But for now, let's just focus on getting to the bank and do what Valerie wants us to do."

"Mmm-hmm." Dave felt the want to speed up with urgency, but the traffic was slow whenever they came close to an intersection, as was the case now. He soon had to come to a stop to avoid crashing into the build-up of cars waiting to enter the four-way intersection. In this stagnant pace, Dave absently wondered if the woman was alright. Granted, she was a criminal after all, even though he was certain that she had some redeemable qualities. She was in the process of saving their necks, and couldn't help but wonder as to why she'd try to do that… at the possible expense of her own. In his new state of worry, he recalled what she'd told him-… she was a socialism expert, and she could read him like a book. She hinted that he was infatuated with her, and Dave could only muse…

Was she making wild guesses, or did he really have feelings for her?

He didn't know. Instead, he chose to check at the time in order to help remind himself of his new responsibility-… take Alvin to the bank for him to carry out his part of the plan, and to ensure that his family was transported safely home. "The exchange for Simon is happening at five pm, right?" A new dreadful niggling thought crept into his mind. "Doesn't that obviously mean that whoever's going to the bank for Vincent will be there long before it happens to get his money and start bribing officials? It's four-thirty pm."

"Crap…" Brittany said in realization. Alvin leaned forward suddenly as he grasped what the man was saying.

"Are you telling me that they could already have the money they want? We need to get to the bank right now!"

"That's not going to happen unless our car can fly over everyone else's. These intersections are giving everyone problems. At this rate, we won't arrive at the bank for another… ten to fifteen minutes."Dave guessed as he recalled the directions. "Wait… it shouldn't take Alvin more than just a few minutes to run there. It's close by!"

Alvin's blood already began to pump faster throughout his body. "Run… Run? Of course, I can! Where's the bank?"

"It's around the corner of this intersection we're trying to get to, the one straight ahead. It's called the 'National Tier'. It has a huge sign for it at the front. You can't miss it!" Dave's tone was already growing excited, although it was markedly etched with worry even as he watched Alvin already making his exit from the car. "Alvin… I've never approved of your dangerous running habits. But Alvin… do everything you can to get to the bank as fast as you can! Run. You hear me?! Alvin Seville, RUN!"

Alvin fixed the black beanie hat on his head as he slammed the car door shut. He didn't even answer his father verbally, but seeing his son sprinting off was all the answer Dave wanted. Without even breaking his stride, Alvin weaved around people and leaping over obstacles whenever appropriate. Dave sat watching his son speed along in his unique grace until he was out of sight, so engrossed that he didn't even hear the car door open and shut once again. In fact, he wouldn't have noticed that the car had lost one more passenger until he saw her cross his line of sight.

"…Brittany?" the man asked to himself, not quite knowing how to react.

...

…

…

Alvin allowed himself to pant a bit as he looked for the bank. He soon spied the large sign that Dave told him about, although it was across the street. The street was so busy that cars had come to a standstill due to the power outage affecting the stoplights, allowing the chipmunk to run across easily with minimal care. After vault-sliding over the hood of one of the cars in his straight path, however, he felt the gun press distinctly against his thigh. It made him apprehensive for a moment as he worried that it could go off, although he reminded himself that there was no bullet in the chamber. It was safe.

"Safe," he muttered to himself as he crossed the street. "I hope I don't have to use it. I'm not going to shoot anybody…"

Finally making it across, he slowed to a stop to remove the shades out of his pocket and put them on before walking into the bank. There were a few security guards here and there, and the chipmunk made sure not to even look at any of them too keenly. Following through with Valerie's cautioning to remain conspicuous, he pulled a ticket-stub number and sat down in the waiting area for customer service. He was seamlessly blended in with the other patrons of the bank who had complaints and would avoid being marked by suspicion if he stood around.

"Alright…" Alvin hardened his resolve as he thought about the stake and removed the phone that Valerie gave him. The operating system on it felt rather sophisticated, but he easily recalled the woman's instructions. He was like a script-kiddie, using a hacking exploit that was made to be used easily in a one-size-fits-all package. Pulling up the program, he waited until the phone affixed itself to the bank's network. It took a while, until-

A femme plopped herself down into the chair next to him, nearly scaring him out of his wits. Alvin nearly dropped the phone, thinking that he'd been caught until he saw who it was.

"Brittany?" Alvin hissed in realization. "What the hell are you doing here? Couldn't you wait in the car?"

"I'm glad to see you too," she answered lamely. "You'd better hurry it up. When I came in, I saw that big oaf that nearly threw your ass off the bridge. He looks like he's about to make a withdrawal."

"What?" the chipmunk queried as he stood up to look around. He didn't have to search for long; the mountain of a man was indeed there, standing at the front of the bank. Already, an official was about to lead him away, giving Alvin the feeling that the man was about to secure his money from another room; it was sure to be a lot, after all. The big man turned to survey his surroundings, and his eyes rested on Alvin. The chipmunk was sure that his identity was fully disguised, although it did not make the man's gaze any less disturbing. "Oh no." He sat back down in his seat and returned his attention back to the phone. "You're right."

"Of course I'm right. Now make some haste." She looked down at the phone in his hands as he waited for the phone to complete a scan for all of the technological infrastructures on the network. There was quite a bit to sift through-… cameras, automated security doors, keypad locks… and the list went on.

"You didn't answer why you're here."

"Do I need to have a reason? Just think of it as support? Besides, I was worrying that you'd get nervous or something."

Alvin shook his head. "I'm not that nervous. Besides, I can take care of myself. I don't need you to worry about me. But…" He hesitated. "I guess I appreciate the concern. Maybe it's good to have you around in case that gigantic freak recognizes me and tries to throw me off another bridge," he tried to joke, and it helped to calm him down when he heard Brittany's laughter in response. Finally, the scan on the phone was finished and Alvin began to scroll through all of the options it presented. "I can't see 'Generator'. Should I search again?"

"That scan already took too long! It's probably under another name," Brittany suggested. "And hurry it up! We don't have a lot of time, you know!"

"I'm trying. Um… what about 'Back-Up Power'? No, I don't see that. It must be something else."

"Can't you just type-search for it? Try searching for 'Power' or 'Electricity' and see what comes up." Taking her up on her idea, he tried just that. Nothing came up for 'Electricity', although when he searched for the other term, something rang true.

"Hey… what about this? 'Auxiliary Power'. That has to be it, right?"

"Of course it is. What would you do without me, huh? Now turn it off!" she whispered loudly. "Stop wasting time!"

"I'm not." He thumbed the option and saw in the description that it was 'Running'. Without any ado, he pressed the 'Off' option. In a second, the few lights that shone immediately went out, leaving all the patrons and staff in the bank to curse and grumble to themselves.

"Aww, Christ. These rolling blackouts are getting on my nerves!"

"This city's going to hell," another patron complained.

"What happened to the friggin' power! Shouldn't the generator be running whenever the power goes out?" One security guard complained to another.

"You bloke, we were already using the generator. That's what just went out. We're gonna need the tech-nerds to look at it. Either pray for that, or for the original power outage to be sorted out. We'd better go guard the safe. You remember the last time we had a blackout like this; it's we can't budge an inch from there 'till the power's back."

"… Damn power outages. They're leeching my paycheck for nothing."

Already pleased with themselves and bubbling with elation, Alvin and Brittany shared a high-five. "Yeah! Let's go." Already weaving around people in the dim light as best they could, they eagerly went to the glass doors through which the late-afternoon light streamed through. It was a rather convivial-looking exit because of this, and the two made haste to get through it to go outside. Once there, they allowed themselves to breathe easier. "We did it!" Brittany cheered in a loud murmur. "Now let's go!"

Before they could make their leave, however, a large burly hand grabbed Brittany by the shoulder and turned her around with a jerk. "Hey! What're you-" She looked up at her antagonist and saw that it was 'oaf' from the bridge incident who'd nearly killed Alvin twice. In fear, her eyes widened in recognition when she realized who it was. "Oh no…" she breathed.

"Oh yes!" Lamar grunted as he fidgeted the weight of the backpack on his back with his free hand. He looked down at her and Alvin, who was already tensing himself for conflict. "I thought I recognized you. I bet that you two rats were f*ckin' with the power, huh? No different than chewing through wires like the real thing."

"We're not rats, you big dunce! And we didn't do anything to the power!" Alvin lied through his teeth as he stomped up to the man. "Now let her go!"

Instead, Lamar's grip tightened on Brittany's shoulder. Alvin could nearly hear the creaks of stress it caused on her body and faltered, making him all the angrier. The man smirked when he saw the chipmunk's expression, relishing it. "So you're angry, eh? Are you going to kill me? Beat me half to death like you did to the mugger?"

"It's starting to become very appealing." Alvin took one more step, yet the man only squeezed all the harder. Brittany kept her pain bottled up, yet Alvin could see from her weak struggling that her hurt was severe.

"You're like a dog," Lamar said matter-of-factly. "Chasing after your goals like a car with no idea how to get them, or what to do when you accomplish it. You expect me to be intimidated by a four-foot tall brat? How about you make me let her go?"

Already, Alvin was considering the gun that weighed heavily in his baggy pocket, yet thought it was too much. He took one more step towards them, only find himself knocked to a sprawl from a backhanded blow. "Agghh! Damn it!" He was already getting back on his feet and wondered why no one around them was intervening… no, they were merely minding their own business. A few of the passers-by gave them fleeting glances, but no more. He thought of calling for help, but he and Brittany couldn't risk exposing their identities. The last thing they wanted was for everything to be traced back to them. He approached the man again, this time in a run towards the man. Before he could even come close to strike the man with a fist or perhaps a kick, he was smacked down again, even harder than before.

"I get it. White knight shit!" Lamar exclaimed in disgust as he kept Brittany in his tight grasp. "You think you can save her? Save anyone? That's bullshit." From ever since, he'd found entertainment in casting fantasy drama in reality, and found it repulsive that anyone tried to hold onto their idiotic ideals in a world like his. "You? Save her? I've got some incentive for you, you f*ckin' rat! This one-" He nodded at Brittany, who tried to squirm out of the man's grasp, only to fail as he tightened his grip to increase more pain. "She never did get warned! How many times should someone get warned before you have to take action? I figure…" Lamar continued his line of speech calmly, as if not caring whether Alvin was upset or not. "I guess five warnings are enough. After that, people start to die! So… how about I give you some incentive to try and do something serious?"

Reaching beyond his shirt, he withdrew a gun from out of his waistband and braced off the safety by sliding it roughly on his side. He then pointed the pistol at a pedestrian and with a resounding explosion, shot him without a care, not even bothering himself to even look at the man dying in a growing pool of blood at his feet. While everyone started to flee in a screaming panic, the bulky man merely sighed before pointing the gun at Brittany's head, who immediately ceased her struggling for fear of being killed. Lamar looked intently at Alvin, silently daring the chipmunk to react.

In a near-blur, Alvin withdrew the gun from his own pocket and aimed it at the thick of the man's chest. "You've gone too far! Let her go!" In light of this, Brittany was shocked to see that Alvin was armed, but didn't dare to speak. In fear that he'd lose focus, he kept his eyes trained on the man who had her in custody.

"Oh?" Lamar's eyes widened in surprise. "So Valerie gave you a piece, huh? Think you're tough, now? A'right. So shoot me. Shoot me!"

Alvin's face hardened in his fury as he pulled back on the chamber to emphasize how serious he was. "DON'T TEST ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH…!" Alvin growled through clenched teeth. "LET… HER… GO… NOW!"

Lamar laughed un-spiritedly. "Heh, my mother was a whore. But do you think you've got control? You don't have the stones." His face lost all of its fake mirth, and it was then that Alvin realized that he was trying to stare down hundreds of pounds of pure muscle. "What're you waiting for? Pull that trigger. But you'd better make sure you kill me with that first shot, 'cause if you don't, I'm going to put two shots in her f*cking skull, then I'm going to empty the rest of the gun in yours. Now shoot me. SHOOT ME!"

Alvin didn't think. He didn't know. He lost all consciousness of himself. All he saw was Brittany being held with a gun pointed securely against her temple. All he heard was the threat that if he fired his gun, Brittany would be killed in reprisal. All he tasted was the iron of blood in his mouth; he'd unintentionally bit the inside of his cheek in worry. All he felt was the cold steel of the gun in his shaking hands as his trembling fingers pressed against the trigger.

All he smelt was his fear clogging his nostrils.

He was afraid.

Struggling to get a hold of himself, he brought up the sights of the gun in hand, his shaking hands bringing it to aim at Lamar's head. If he didn't kill Lamar on his first shot, he'd kill Brittany, then Alvin himself. But if he didn't shoot Lamar, who could say that the man wouldn't kill them both anyway?

Alvin glanced around. There was no one around. No help would be coming. None.

The chipmunk's finger pressed harder on the trigger. He was mere centimeters away from becoming a killer. A murderer.

"Shoot me, you f*ckin' RAT! SHOOT!"

Alvin gulped. "Just… let… her… go." His bravado had left him, leaving him a shell of who he once was. Where had the red Seville gone? Mr. Never-Hesitate? Didn't he choose this path? Wasn't he selected because he could do this? To do this? Did Valerie trust the wrong person?

If needs be… To keep yourself safe… To keep everyone safe… To keep Brittany safe… I hope you understand.

…I do.

Brittany was crying.

"SHOOT ME!"

The gun dropped out of Alvin's loose fingers, clattering onto the concrete of the sidewalk with finality. The chipmunk fell to his knees in like, as did the hot tears from his own face. "No… just let her… go… please…" His bawling only served to disgust his oppressor, and the man pointed his own gun at Alvin instead.

"I don't care for your sniveling," Lamar said coldly as his finger started to pull the trigger. "You should've shot me when you had the chance."

Everything happened at once.

"Get away from MY KIDS!" Dave yelled in anger as he swung a steering-wheel lock at the hefty antagonist. "Graawwr!" A sudden deck into the man's upper back caused his aim to go off target, sending the bullet to bite into the concrete next to Alvin. Another one sent his gun flying out of his grasp; Brittany capitalized on the moment and fled from her captor.

"Agh! Motherf*cker-" Dave didn't relent at the man's cried as he pummeled him again. "You piece o' shit!" Bearing through the pain, Lamar blocked Dave's strike and smashed his fist into his nose. Dave squealed his hurt before Lamar, an expert at street-fighting, brought his fist upwards into Dave's gut, knocking the wind out of him. The weakened family-man fell to his knees, wheezing. "You, again? I thought you'd be smarter than that!"

"Leave Dave alone!" Theodore yelled as he ran up to the man, grabbing onto his arms. In no less, Jeanette and Eleanor likewise flung themselves against Lamar, who only grew angrier at their fruitless efforts. He swatted one, fisted another and walloped the last, sending them flying off.

"Just sit down and wait your turn," the man glowered before continuing his onslaught on Dave. Kicking here, punching there, smashing his knuckles into the man's cheeks and rabbit punching his ribs, Dave was almost at the end of his rope as Lamar continued to beat him to death. His blood was smeared over Lamar's knuckles, his bones were broken, yet Dave's spirit continued to flag.

"Stay… away… from… my kids." Dave whispered weakly. He could barely muster anymore; his innards felt busted.

"You and your whole family are gonna die, you bumblef*ck. You came all the way out of your rat hole to die for nothing." Kicking aside Eleanor who was in his way, he dragged Dave with him until he got to where his gun was and picked it up. Brittany, despite her fears, tried to deter the man-mountain from killing Dave and only got cracked against her head with the butt end of the gun for her efforts.

With a shriek of pain, she was knocked backwards. Leaning up in a daze as blood ran down from the side of her face, her eyes widened as she looked up at the furious man.

"You just love running interference, don't you? Doing the same thing over and over only gets the same result… you only serve to piss me off." With his final take said, he aimed the gun at Dave and pulled the trigger. In a sudden explosion, foreign metal drilled into Dave and as if the man was garbage, Lamar dropped him to the sidewalk that began to run red with his blood. Tears ran down Alvin's cheeks as Dave seemed to reach out to him, his name barely being whispered over blood-creviced lips.

"…Alvin…"

The chipmunk couldn't bring himself to move as he watched his father bleed out over the ground. The Seville's breath ran ragged as tears ran afresh down his cheeks. His eyes fell on the gun before him; the weapon's brother had shot down Dave and here it was, enticing him to take action.

Alvin still couldn't bring himself to move.

"That's the price of ignorance," Lamar grunted as he looked down at Dave before coughing up phlegm to spit onto the fallen man. He then turned to Brittany, who still barely had her consciousness after her dizzying hit. Her fear grew when she saw that the man was aiming his gun at her, realizing that she was about to be killed. "And you still need to pay yours."

Lamar was always content with his theatrical air, always one with finesse whenever he carried out his work. In that same vein, however, he knew that he wasting too much time. Enough had been said.

Relishing the look of terror in her ice-blue eyes, he aimed his gun right between them and pulled the trigger. The hammer found the shell; a beautiful flame blossomed on the stalk of the barrel and hell followed in the wake of the bullet.

Alvin cried.