Chapter 22; Shadow Raid

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"So, are we allowed to keep that thing?"

Fox put his binoculars down and cocked his head in Miyu's direction, the lynx placing her boots on the small wooden table with her hands behind her head. He then faced the car parked just a few feet away, the ZX. He still could not get over the swooping curves and sharp angles of the exotic car, looking like an Arwing bred for the streets. "Probably not. It still belongs to the Sokudo cops, so they're probably gonna want it back after we're done."

A pout quickly overcame Miyu as she rolled her eyes. "Well, that sucks. It's not like they're using it for anything."

Fox chuckled, turning back to face the lynx with a coy grin. "Oh really? I've never known you to be a car person anyway. So tell me, what would you use it for?"

Miyu shrugged with a smirk. "I don't know. I figured it would come to me eventually. Maybe sell it?"

The vulpine scoffed at the lynx's comment, letting a small snicker escape his lips. "So, you wanna take this car, then sell it? A car that the cops are tracking at all times?"

"It sounded a lot better in my head. Plus, I can just give them some kitten eyes if they ask us what happened." Instantly, Miyu's pupils dilated and became glassy, while her lip quivered. To further the act, Miyu brought the tops of her hands to her chin with her fingers pointing down, before laying her ears flat.

A short yet loud laugh was let out by Fox as he shook his head in disbelief. "Any illusion of you being cute is broken when they see your bruised knuckles, earring, and that band-aid you always have on. You couldn't even trick a kid into thinking you're some softy and cuddly kitten." Miyu broke the illusion herself as she slowly raised her middle finger, causing both her and Fox to break out into laughter.

The stakeout had been going on for a while now, and boredom was seeping in. A few days had crawled by, and the lynx was starting to get restless. The dusty garage they were set up in had perfect sightlines on the converted train yard, but it was just that. An old, dusty, dilapidated garage with one window and a creaky door. Looking back, Miyu noticed the boxes of MREs and water stacked neatly next to the supercar. Some of the boxes had already been torn clean open, leaving roughly half of the rations still available. While the food was filling, Miyu sighed at the thought of a killer hibachi course. The imaginary aroma of steak, mixed with an assortment of vegetables, soup, and rice flooded Miyu's sleep-deprived brain.

Fox noticed Miyu salivating, the fox trying to keep his mind on the task at hand. But at the same time, he could tell Miyu had to do something, or else she would go stir crazy. "Hey, Miyu. I've got an idea. Why do you go into the base, just to stretch your legs? You know, talk with some other people, get some coffee, etcetera."

Miyu's ears perked up as she lifted her feet off the table. "Really? You sure?"

Fox nodded. "Don't worry, I can hold down the fort. I'll let you know if I see anything. But also keep your eyes open, they could turn up at any time."

Miyu let out a giggle of disbelief as she stretched out her back and stood up. "Alrighty, if you insist, Captain." The lynx took a hold of the doorknob as Fox rolled his eyes at the nickname, the creaky door opening and shutting as Fox resumed his stakeout. After taking a sip of a nearby water bottle, Fox picked up his binoculars and glued his eyes to the facility once more. Through the binoculars, he was able to spot Miyu walking across the road and flash her I.D card at the checkpoint just outside the facility.

As Miyu got past the gate with no problems, Fox let out a quick yawn. The vulpine had been up for some time now, only now realizing his mistake of letting Miyu socialize with the other guards. No one to tag out to. To stay awake, Fox took a swig of his water, hydrating himself to keep wired. Nothing could slip past his gaze. However, as he began to stare at the building more intently, he kept thinking. Maybe the place will be fine. After all, Miyu is in the building, along with guards, searchlights, alarms, and surveillance. What were the odds that someone was going to successfully break into the facility?

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With a final grumble, the Viper's engine cut to an abrupt stop. The silence hung in the air as Zoe eyed the south side of the building. Looking down at her map on her device, the canine noticed the spots she had marked with a pen, labeling guard routes, and camera positions. All she had to do was get to Vince and coax him to give up the flash drive. Pulling up her backpack, the canine inspected her gear. Doll? Check. Blaster with a flashlight attachment? Check. Pocket taser? Check. Flashbangs? Check.

"So, any casualties gonna come from this?" Zoe tilted her head at TJ's question, the driver idly staring at the secret lab.

"If I do my job right, which I will, our friend in there might only have a couple of bruises. Nothing some ice and heat can't fix."

TJ nodded his head, still staring off into the distance. He opened his mouth, but words were currently eluding him. Zoe watched with a mixture of concern and amusement as TJ's knuckles idly rapped the steering wheel, trying to figure out what was going through his mind. Thankfully, he spared her from a deep dive as his brain finally thawed out. "Hey, I've been thinking..."

"Uh-oh, I'll get the fire extinguisher ready. Someone's about to hurt themselves."

The jib gave pause to the talk, allowing Zoe to lightly giggle as a smile crossed TJ's lips, followed by a scoff, eye-roll, and middle finger standing erect on his hand. "Funny, real funny." The laughter between the two died down quickly, the mood plummeting once more. "But really, there's been something buggin' me for the past few days. Y'remember back on Zoness, when we ran interference for the raid? It wasn't too clean from what I've heard. A bunch of our guys and CDF kicked the bucket, but no one made mention of any names back on the ship."

Zoe at in silence, thinking about what TJ was saying. It was oddly quiet, now that she thought about it. "Then I get thinking about what Shears said. How I was supposed to abandon you should everything go sideways tonight. I mean, I'm not gonna do that, but it's the fact that he just said it, y'know?" There was more silence before a scoff from TJ broke it again. "Hell, I still think about that one guy I plugged back on Corneria. I know it was life or death, but I still remember his face. If I quit Star Fox a week earlier, I might've even been friends with that guy. Yet I broke his freakin' neck and now I'm on the same team as he was."

TJ slowly cocked his head in Zoe's direction, as if he was trying to look through her. Then he asked it. "Have you killed someone before?" Zoe sat there, half shocked and half confused, something that TJ quickly picked up on. "I-I mean if it's too personal to ask then-"

"No, it's alright." Zoe shut down TJ's backtracking quickly, the driver now sitting in a more relaxed pose. "Yeah, I've done it. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe five? I know I definitely killed three people, not sure about the other two. I just kinda deal with it by not thinking about it. But, now that I am..." Zoe trailed off, some form of regret visible on her face.

TJ could read the damage done and jumped in, placing a hand on Zoe's shoulder. "Hey, look. I'm sorry for bringing that up. I was just wonderin' if you went through the same thing as me…"

"Is that why you brought it up?"

TJ shook his hand in a so-so manner. "Sorta. It kinda leads into my next question, although it feels more like one of those questions that don't really have a right answer. Are we, y'know, doin' the right thing?"

Zoe blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let's start with the fact that Andrew slit that Dirk guys' throat. Like, Jesus man. That was just messed up. Yeah, he was a spy an' all, but still. I think he did that in front of us for a reason. I mean, even Johan looked like he was gonna shit himself, and I've never even seen that guy so much as twitch. Killin' someone like that is what... y'know... bad guys do. So now I'm thinking what about right now? Breakin' an' enterin' for the plans to a special gun or somethin'. Like, what's the end game here? We know how many people we've killed ourselves, and it's countable on a hand and a thumb max, but this? If we give this to Andrew, who knows how many people are gonna die. What if he brings it to Earth, what if I'm the reason a bunch of people die? Or, does he want me as some sort of diplomat? Maybe him havin' this thing will give him leverage and he gets his name cleared and land for some sort of kingdom, not just a ship?"

"But he does have some land on Venom. I think that's our next stop after this job. Did no one tell you this?" TJ quirked a brow at Zoe's question, who popped her brow up in response. Before TJ could rant any further, Zoe put her hand on his shoulder. "Look, we'll worry about that kind of stuff later. Right now, I'll get the flash drive, you get me out of here, and we'll see what Andrew's plan is. Who knows, maybe he's really stressed out or something. Maybe that's why him and Shears and saying these things? Hey, maybe it's like you said, and he won't use it."

TJ slowly nodded, before a smile cropped up. "Yeah, we got this. Good luck in there, sticky fingers."

The canine nodded, before pulling the driver into a close hug. Combined with the warm late summer air, TJ just wanted to stay buried in her neck fur all night. But that could come later. For now, there was a job to do. After a few more seconds of hugging, Zoe broke the display of affection before quickly stepping out of the Viper. As she gently closed the door behind her, she propped her elbows on the base of the window frame and leaned into the supercar. "Thanks, speed racer. But you should be telling that to Mr. Stazak."

"Oh really? Want me to go give him a head's-up?"

A scoff escaped Zoe's muzzle before she flicked her middle finger up, which was retaliated against by a stuck-out tongue. The two shared a short giggle before Zoe gave TJ a quick wink, turned on her heels, and jogged away from the Viper. With her back towards TJ, Zoe quickly pulled a face-concealing mask over her head, before pulling her hoodie over it. Now the only identifying features about her were that she was a female canine, something that could fit roughly a quarter of Lylat's population.

Meaning she was invisible now.

~::::~

Getting inside was easy enough, the canine going over each painstaking detail of the compound to memorize each entrance, exit, and access point of the rail yard better than most of the guards themselves. Knowing most obvious entrances would be guarded and alarmed, Zoe had to be unorthodox in her approach. Luckily for her, there was a window on the exact level she needed to get to that was cracked open just a bit. At least she didn't have to find a ventilation shaft that she could squeeze through.

Her first obstacle was a rusty chain-link fence that looked like breathing on it would cause the weathered metal to crumble away into dust. Hopefully, it would not cause too much noise if that was the case.

One jump, grip and climb over the ancient fence later, and she was on the grounds. If she was caught from here on out, a nice comfy room with two polite gentlemen asking her questions would be set up for her, flashlight assistance with the questioning optional but encouraged. Since Vince's office was more like a penthouse overlooking the yard, she had to climb to the top of the main building. Instantly, her eyes quickly took note of patrolling guards and spotlights. Especially the spotlight headed right towards where she was standing. Fortunately, some well and conveniently placed boxes were her salvation, as she quickly vaulted over and crouched behind one of the crates. The blinding white light soared over her hiding spot, as she peaked her head up to try and get the timing down pat.

As the spotlight came around for another pass, Zoe used the quick few seconds she had to find a path up to the window. It was at least three stories up, but she was able to scout a route out from a few opportune climbing points, such as a train car, A/C units, and railings. The light was upon her again, and Zoe ducked in the nick of time. To the spotlight, it just looked like a stack of weapons and armor crates sitting empty, and ready to be disposed of.

The light finally passed, and Zoe made a break for it. She was both fast and light on her feet, her footfalls barely making a sound on the ground as she sprinted behind two patrolling guards, both of whom were none the wiser as they continued on their patrol route.

As her path was coming face to face with a motionless train car, Zoe leaped off of one of the hitches on the back of the car, giving her enough height to grip the roof of the train. The canine mustered all the upper body strength she could, heaving herself onto the train before pulling the rest of her body with her.

Perched like a feral owl on a branch, Zoe eyed her next target. A large A/C unit hanging off the side of the building. If she could get the right amount of speed, she could jump on to it with no problem. There was not much room for the attempt, as it was parallel to the parked train car. Taking a deep breath, Zoe backed up as far as she could go before making the jump. Her feet left the train car in just two bounds, soaring gracefully through the air before she finally found the ground beneath her.

She quickly jumped up in the air and off the A/C unit after her landing, leaving no room for reprieve as her fingers grasped a low-hanging railing. Upper-body strength came into play once more as the thief vaulted over the railing, before stepping on a small platform and climbing a nearby access ladder to the rest of the roof.

Quickly, Zoe found the cracked open window and smirked. No guards could see her, the canine scoffing at the cops' idea of "tightened security" as she creaked the window open and stepped inside. Now the stakes were truly high.

Now inside, Zoe needed to locate the security room. She was crossing her fingers that it was late enough into the night that fatigue was catching up to the guards, as well as finding a spare keycard to access Vince's office in there. But first, she needed to be even quieter. With polished linoleum floors in an echoing hallway, even tip-toeing would alert a blind bat. Thinking (literally) on her feet, Zoe slowly and quietly slipped her sneakers off, leaving her in thick black fuzzy socks with a rubber grip pattern on the soles. If she was quiet before, she was practically a ghost now. Taking the first silent step put a smug grin on her face as she proved herself right.

Placing the sneakers in her gear bag, the thief kept on walking, keeping an eye out for cameras and guards. The room she had landed in was a mix of abandoned office cubicles and randomly stacked boxes, probably a makeshift storage room. Zoe thanked her lucky stars for an easy entrance as she slinked along walls and alcoves, keeping out of sight no matter what. The hallways were ever-expanding and dead quiet. Her heartbeat was more audible than her footsteps as she kept her ears on a swivel.

Walked down the hall, the low whir of a camera caught her ears. Zoe instantly jumped back before locating the camera. Just her luck, mounted on the wall in the middle of the hall. Retreating into the shadows, Zoe let the camera turn towards her. Taking no chances, Zoe hid behind a row of lockers, listening for the whir of the camera. Eventually, her ears picked up the noise of the camera as it slowly began to swivel away, whirring all the same. In a low crouch, Zoe ran underneath the camera, letting it scan the empty hall ahead of her. Looking up, Zoe was right to be cautious. From what she could tell, it was a Franz-Jaeger 1600, equipped with night vision and the ability to read heat signatures. But it was still just a camera, and it still had the weaknesses of one. Timing her run perfectly, Zoe advanced as the camera turned around, quickly making her way out of the dangerous corridor.

As she approached a corner, two voices suddenly piped up. She could not tell what they were saying, cursing the fact she didn't take Eladardian last semester. She did hear Vince's name above the language tornado flying overhead, however, so his belongings or the fox himself was present. Inspecting around the idly conversing guards some more, she almost let out a frustrated sigh when she noticed that they were both standing close to the security room itself. They had to move. Luckily, she had just the tool.

Reaching into her gear bag, Zoe pulled out a stuffed doll of a cinnamon furred husky. Spotting a gap between two lockers adjacent to her, the canine quickly pulled the string and dropped the doll, now hiding in the shadows between the lockers as the doll began to vocalize.

"I love you forever! We're gonna be the bestest of friends! Can I have a hug?"

The shock in the guards was audible, both exclaiming in Eladardian before the sounds of their boots were now audible. Pushing herself as far back as she could go, Zoe held her breath as soon as the guards came in to view. They seemed to be light on armor, but a fight was still out of the question. Those stun setting on their blasters would take her down in an instant. So she instead made a break for it, letting the doll ask the guards if they wanted a hug again.

The distraction worked perfectly, and one picked lock later Zoe was in the security room now, gently closing the door behind her. Lucky for her, the guard watching over the cameras had his feet up, listening to music as he took the odd glance at the cameras now and then. He was a Doberman of some kind, but that didn't scare Zoe in the slightest. Instead, she took out the small pocket taser and almost began to charge it up, before an idea came into her mind.

Rather than shock the guard, Zoe made sure that he was sufficiently lost in his music before she silently approached him from behind, her eyes scanning the desk. After sifting over papers, weapons, and radios, Zoe found her targets.

An almost full mug of coffee right next to a yellow keycard.

As slowly and carefully as she could, Zoe gently grabbed the coffee mug and keycard, letting the guard play air guitar and close his eyes to be taken away to a musical paradise. Unfortunately, that paradise was about to be shattered. Or, in better terms, soaked.

His eyes were still closed, meaning Zoe had the green light. Quickly, she tipped the mug over, letting the brown liquid soak the computer terminal under the desk. In a frame job, the thief placed the mug on the floor just as the computer began to spark up. Monitors went dark, blinding the control center entirely as the guard began to slowly stir. His panicked shouts were audible from behind closed doors, but he was likely blaming himself for the spill, not realizing Zoe's sabotage.

As Zoe stepped out into the hallway, she made a mad dash further down the hall, just as the guards from before finally figured out how to shut off her cuddly distraction. Zoe kept moving, as quickly and quietly as she could. Since the cameras were down, speed was of the essence. It would not be long before a repair crew was sent to check on the outage, the thought alone making her pick up the pace.

Finally, the thief arrived at her location, still under the radar. The door was as plain as any other in the building, save for the silver plaque outside reading "Dr. Stazak." Below the nameplate was a small keycard reader, the light on it glowing a soft red. The light quickly changed to green when Zoe swiped her stolen card before the thunk of a lock opening up filled her ears. With a smug smile, the thief pushed the door open gently, scanning the room.

The office was sparse, utilitarian, and sterile. It would have been assumed to be vacant if not for the mess of papers and computers lying around, illuminated by dim lamp-light. The mountain of pizza boxes and coffee cups in one corner of the room told Zoe that her target was here. Matter of fact, he was asleep on the desk, drooling on a pile of papers. He was dressed in a white lab coat draped over a black dress shirt, sans a tie. A pair of glasses were resting on his muzzle, barely still on his face thanks to his snoozing position.

Zoe kept her chuckle to a minimum, but her respite was soon to be shattered. Despite how gently she closed the door behind her, the door closed and locked with another thunk, proving enough to rouse the fox from his sleep.

Papers peeling off his face, Vince Stazak arose with baggy eyes adjusting to the room. However, coffee was on his mind first. With a groan, Vince pushed himself up and adjusted his glasses, his dress shoes clicking on the linoleum floor beneath him. Once he looked up, his eyes bugged out as he noticed the masked intruder in his office.

Both stood as still as statues, trying to figure out what the other's next move was. Zoe tried to have a confidant stance, but the fact that the alarm could be sounded at any minute made her paws clammy and nerves spike up. Vince had the same look, looking over her for any visible threats. The ticking of an old analog clock was the judge for this western showdown, just as the two slowly began to shuffle around.

Finally, Vince made the first move. In a dead sprint, Vince tried to run to his door and call for help. However, Zoe was much faster than Vince's poor cardiovascular endurance. She quickly threw the scrawny fox to the ground, before tapping her neck and pinning him to the ground by his neck with her forearm. He tried to say something, but Zoe used her free hand to clamp his muzzle shut. "Are you Vince Stazak?" Her voice was muffled and modulated, adding to the intimidation factor as well as hiding how her voice sounded.

As best he could manage, Vince nodded his head. "Good. Now, when I take my arm off your throat and hand off your muzzle, you're not going to scream or shout for help. If you do, it will cause trouble for me, but it's going to be way worse for you. Understand?"

Vince nodded once more.

"Good."

Zoe removed her arm from Vince's throat and hand from his muzzle as slowly as possible, before quickly zip-tying his wrists together. Once he was tied down, Zoe looked up to notice him snarling, although he could probably barely see her when his glasses fell off. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Zoe crouched down by the scientist's head and cocked hers. "The first part isn't important, but the second part is. You have something I want, a flash drive to be specific. Marked as Codename Splitter. You know the one."

Vince had to think for a minute before his eyes went wide behind his half-cracked glasses. "Look, I can give you money, but I can not give you that."

"Yes, you can. Just give it to me and I'll be on my way."

Vince snarled once more, attempting to squirm free as his assailant lazily watched him squirm at her feet. It was all for naught, however, as he looked back up at her with pleading eyes. "No, I can not. Do you have any idea the damage someone who does not know what they are doing can cause with that information? Or worse, someone who does know? You will be hunted to the ends of the system, I promise. Please, whatever you are being paid, it is nowhere near enough. You will not even get to enjoy that money before the CDF finds you. And when they do, it will be a shoot first and ask questions later deal."

Zoe let the fox's words bounce around in her mind for a while. TJ's worries cropped back up in her mind, now being echoed by Vince. If this weapon really was as bad as he said it was... The canine shook the thought out of her head. The last thing she needed to do was second guess herself at a time like this. Steeling her nerve, the canine snarled under her mask as she roughly lifted the fox to his feet. "Don't doubt me, Stazak. You give me that flash drive, and you'll never see me again. Or, do you still need some convincing?" A tilt of her head and a flash of her sparingly used sidearm tucked into her waistband was enough to get the fox to yield.

Fear was present in the fox's eyes, the faint shimmer of light gleaming from the iron sights making him gulp. With a trudge, Vince led the canine to his messy desk before pulling on the handle to a drawer. The drawer slowly slid out, revealing that it was a built-in safe. The safe shone a dark black, absorbing all light in the room into the secrets it held within. Rather than a knob, the safe was guarded by a microphone and a retinal scanner, both lights glowing a bright red like the card reader. Zoe prodded the scientist to open the safe with a rough push towards that which held the secrets she wished to uncover.

Vince snarled yet again but stifled his anger towards the petty criminal. Leaning down, Vince wet his lips before opening them. "V...vince Stazak. Code 1337." One of the lights turned green as Vince nearly pressed his eye into the retinal scanner. After a few nerve-wracking seconds, the second light turned green, and another deep thunk pierced the still air of the office.

Squeaking open, the safe opened vertically, revealing a small flash drive no bigger than one of Zoe's fingers. The deep red color of the stuck out like a sore thumb, before Zoe's hand lunged past Vince to shroud it in her palm and then her pocket. With her cargo secured, Zoe dropped the flash drive into her pack, slowly zipping it shut.

As she fully turned to make her exit, Vince worked up a shred of bravery and stood in her way. "Please, I implore you! Do not vacate this facility with that device! Heed my warnings, that shall only bring disarray and pandemonium to whoever wields it!"

Behind her mask, Zoe tried to work out context clues from the fox's verbose speech as she squinted from behind her mask. "And you think Corneria just had you make this because they needed to spend money on a fun science project? I don't wanna do this, but if you keep standing in my way, I won't hesitate to make you move." To back up her threat, Zoe slowly pulled the pistol out, stopping once the grip of the pistol and half of the slide were visible. A nervous squeak got her to tilt her vision back to the vulpine, who tremoring in front of her.

"Okay! Okay, you made your point! We don't need to escalate this altercation any further!"

Zoe had to pause after hearing the vulpines' verbose words once more, cocking her head to the side. "A-altercation? You mean like a fight? It would be a lot easier if you just talked simpler, you know."

Vince's sigh came out shakey as he shook his head, now sounding more frustrated than afraid. "Of course, the petty criminal's woefully lacking lexicon has left her flummoxed. Maybe if you pilfer my billfold, you will acquire my library card!"

"What's a billfold!? And what does flumxed mean!?"

"It is pronounced flummoxed, you buffoon!"

"Hey! Stop right there!"

The booming voice broke both of the duo from their shouting match, only for Zoe to come face to face with the business end of a blaster rifle. Holding the weapon was a guard that had seemingly been tipped off from the shouting match, and kept his weapon raised at the thief. "Alright, put your hands on your head, and get on the ground now."

With a frustrated sigh, Zoe removed her paw from her blaster and put her hands on her head, before getting down to her knees. The compliance got the guard to lower his weapon, just as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Zoe gulped but kept biding her time, waiting for him to get just close enough to her.

Just as one cuff was secured around Zoe's wrist, the thief suddenly shot up to her feet, stumbling the guard back and leaving his weapon low. Taking the opportunity, Zoe quickly ripped her blaster out from her waistband but did not fire it. Rather, she turned the flashlight attachment on and aimed it right into the guard's eyes. A howl of blinding pain exited the guard's lips as he tried to shield his eyes, dropping his weapon in the process. Using the blinding lights to her advantage, Zoe quickly smacked the side guard's head with her pistol's grip, knocking him to the ground with a yelp.

No sooner did the guard start cradling his head in pain, an ear-piercing alarm suddenly began to blare. Vince's office was caked in a red light flashing on and off, the fox himself standing like a guilty kit next to a panic button. Zoe's tail drooped with her ears, staring the bound scientist down.

"Dude. Really?"

Vince shrugged, a nervous shake accompanying his worried glare.

Zoe cared more about getting out of here rather than hurting the scientist, so she quickly pulled her sneakers out and slipped them on while keeping her blaster trained on Vince. Tapping her toes into the linoleum floor, it was clear that stealth did not matter anymore, so she took off running as fast as she could.

As her footfalls echoed over the alarm, a familiar voice echoed into the sprinting canine's ears. "Z! You good in there?! I can hear the sirens from out here! It's like you kicked a hornet's nest!"

Zoe's panting breaths were the first things that TJ heard as the canine came up on the security office. "I got made, but I got the flash drive! Meet me by that window you saw me enter in and get ready to step on it! I won't make a run across the yard alive or out of custody!"

"Steppin' on it's the one thing I'm good at! Good luck, Z! And, y'know, be safe..."

Zoe took a mental and physical pause at the end of that sentence, her face warming up as a smile crossed her lips. Before she could reply, the security guards she snuck past all had weapons drawn, along with a few reinforcements. Thanks to her pause, one of the guards had spotted her, shouting and raising his rifle. Zoe quickly doubled back just as the rest of the guards spotted her. Quickly digging into her gear bag, Zoe pulled out a small metal cylinder with a pull ring on the top of it.

The deafening sound of footsteps and shouts pierced the air as Zoe slipped her finger into the pull ring, timing her activation. As the shouts and stomps reached a crescendo, Zoe pulled the ring and turned the corner. The guards had next to no time to react as Zoe threw the cylinder at their feet and hid behind the corner again. All she heard was a shout of "Flashbang!" before a blind white light and an earsplitting bang filled the air. The thief had covered her ears and eyes, while the guards were not so lucky. Turning the corner once more, Zoe noticed each guard rubbing their eyes or holding their ears in pain.

Without a second thought, Zoe sprinted past each of the guards, letting them recover from the sudden flashbang as her legs carried her to freedom. Retracing her steps was an easy job, as she passed the nameless office cubicles and weapon stashes like she remembered as she tiptoed by them before she saw her window. It was still ajar, and the revving of an engine could be heard from outside. Placing one foot on the open window sill, Zoe was about to jump to her freedom before the sound of a blaster charging up filled her ears.

"Halt!"

That panting geeky voice was familiar, and Zoe turned around only to notice Vince with a shaky grip on his blaster, aiming in the general direction of the canine. He looked like he had run a marathon, sweat leaking out from under his coat as his heavy breaths filled the air. "You remain in that state of abeyance until you are taken into custody and incarcerated for your act of larceny!"

His verbosity was more amusing if anything now, as Zoe put her hands up in a mocking manner. "Oh knock off the tough guy act, noddle-arms. You and I both know that you don't have the stomach to fire that gun."

"I-I-I-I do! And I will!"

"Oh really?"

"Indeed!"

"Really?"

"Indeed!"

"Really?!"

A laser suddenly cut through the air, causing Zoe to duck low and hit the floor. Darting her eyes up, Vince's eyes were closed as he was now looking away, his knees trembling and body somehow leaking gallons of sweat. The smoking barrel was his gun, the weapons itself shaking in the scientist's hands like a leaf in a category five hurricane.

Naturally, Zoe was quite irate from almost being shot. Vince seemed to know this, and even though he held the gun, he nearly tripped over himself trying to run away. Zoe's response was swift and violent. Grabbing a nearby stapler, Zoe saw Vince attempting to sprint down the hall she came from. With an angered yell, the thief threw the stapler with all her might. The resounding sound of metal slamming into flesh echoed throughout the facility, followed by a cry of pain.

"Ow! My cranium! And my spectacles!"

Zoe could not hold in a short chuckle from the nasal exclamation of pain, especially as more verbosity echoed from the hall. However, the sound of guards sprinting down the hall signaled that it was now her time to run away.

Just as she went to turn around, a boot slammed into her cheek, sending the canine flying backward. Her body slammed into the wall right next to the door that Vince ran out of. Speaking of Vince, he was just getting to his feet as a plethora of guards came up behind him. While one guard helped him up, the others ran to the room that Zoe was in. Thinking fast to shut out the horde, Zoe ignored her burning face and tipped over a nearby bookshelf, blocking out the guards from rushing in and dog-piling her.

As the guards tried to break down the door, Zoe turned to face her attacker. Almost instantly, her blood ran cold. "Well now, looks like someone's got some that don't belong to her." Miyu cracked her knuckles with a smirk, tossing her Star Fox jacket to the side. "Come on, girl. Hand it over."

Beckoning with her two fingers, Miyu kept a Cheshire grin on her lips, able to tell just how much she was getting under Zoe's skin. Zoe herself was beginning to get tunnel vision, her mask hindering her sightlines. With a huff, Zoe removed her mask and placed it in her bag, before raising her fists. Miyu's grin somehow got wider, as a few laughs escaped her throat. "Oh, oh you really wanna do this the hard way? Fine, show me what you got."

As soon as Miyu finished her sentence, Zoe rushed the lynx, ready to deliver a haymaker. Instead, the sole of Miyu's boot was all she saw. Miyu led this dance now, quickly throwing out a series of punches and kicks, each blow landing exactly where she wanted it to. As Zoe stumbled and reached behind her back, Miyu rushed the canine and prepared for a solid hip toss.

The crackle of electricity filled the air before a sudden yelp from Miyu pierced the air. Zoe quickly shoved the martial artist away, who was just recovering from the shock of the taser. Miyu quickly put two and two together, especially when she saw the weapon in Zoe's palm. "Oh no, you did not just taze me."

The rage was clear in Miyu's eyes as she charged the thief like she was seeing red before she leaped into the air with her foot chambered for a kick. Zoe failed to block the kick, trying to taze the lynx once more only to realize that Miyu's legs were longer than her arm. A burning sensation filled her cheeks once more as she was sent flying back. Horror overcame the canine when she realized that there was no ground beneath her now, save for a drop onto the roof. At least she was back outside.

Despite the burning of her face, Zoe used the momentum to roll backward and spring to her feet, before racing towards the ladder. She could hear Miyu's angered shouts as she ran, but looking back would only distract her. Facing forwards, Zoe noticed her chariot pull up in the nick of time, bright red paint cutting through the dark like a light of hope. That gave Zoe all the motivation she needed as she slid down the ladder, moving faster than she ever thought possible.

Zoe re-traced her steps, bounding out the way she came before falling to the dirt in a practiced roll. Just a few meters away, she could hear the deafening engine ready to peel off, especially when TJ threw the door open for her. Just a few more meters…

Victory was so close, only to be ripped from her grasp as Miyu caught up, sweeping the canine's legs out from under her. Zoe rolled back only to notice Miyu bring her heel straight up and over her head, ready to deliver an axe kick. Once more, Zoe dodged the attack, barely getting out of the way as dirt and dust were flung up into the air from Miyu's boot.

The canine was on her back, now crawling away from the enraged lynx, who cracked her knuckles once more. All Zoe could do was cower from the lynx, there was no point in trying to fight or run. As Zoe began to imagine what her cell in a Supermax prison looked like, her ears picked up the faintest squeaking sound, like denim on polished metal. Looking back up at Miyu, Zoe saw that she was ready to pounce before she was suddenly sent flying from a shoulder charge. The lynx fell into a pile of scrap and garbage, a new flame kindled in her eyes as she saw the culprit. "What the hell TJ?!"

TJ panted, rubbing his shoulder and staring at Miyu with a guilty look in his eye before sticking his gloved hand out for Zoe to grab. Zoe stared up, dumbfounded before he opened his mouth. "Come on, get the hell up! We gotta go, now!" Zoe nodded, letting TJ yank her up to her feet before they sprinted to the Viper, Miyu being tangled in just enough garbage for a head-start. As Zoe quickly sat down in the Viper, TJ slid across the hood before throwing himself in and slamming the door shut. Zoe did the same thing, breathing a sigh of relief at the narrow escape as she gently buckled herself in.

The passenger side window suddenly shattered as Zoe shrieked, Miyu's fist decimating the glass as she looked to grab Zoe and rip her out of the car. Before Miyu could get a solid grip, TJ stepped on the gas, hard. Tires squealed as Miyu's grip was broken quickly and violently. Glass cut her arm badly and the appendage felt like it had been pulled right out from its socket. The lynx crumbled to the ground as pain shot through her whole right arm, and she was left choking on dust. As the sports car quickly peeled off, Miyu was left a grumbling mess. Sitting up from the cold ground, her arm was messed up, small lines of blood tracing her arm from the glass.

Another shot of pain went up to her arm, the lynx having to use her non-dominant hand to pull her PDA out from her pocket as the sounds of sirens filled the air. Quickly tapping on Fox's icon, the leader picked up as soon as the device was up to her ear. "Yeah, I couldn't grab them in time. They're on the move, southbound."

"Are you alright?" Fox's concern never failed to amuse Miyu as a curt scoff escaped her lips.

"Well, other than a bruised ego, I messed up my right arm. Got some glass shards stuck in it, and I think I pulled it badly. I think I just need to reset it real quick…"

The sound of an engine starting up came over the phone before Fox sighed. "How did that happen?"

Miyu used her good arm to shrug before she held her injured arm with a gentle grip. "I tried to grab the girl when she jumped in TJ's car, punched the glass on the passenger side window. I guess I scared the life outta the both of them, cause TJ took off like someone lit his ass on fire. So yeah, I'm doing just fine."

A sound of acknowledgment came from Fox before it was truncated by the sound of the ZX's engine accelerating. "Stay put, one of the guards will get you to a med-bay. Once we're back on the Great Fox, I'll have Fay look at it."

"Yes sir, Captain Fox McCloud sir. I'll just play with some flowers while I wait around. Do me a favor and smack TJ in the mouth when you get him. Oh, and tell him it's from me."

A short laugh came over the phone, Miyu herself letting out a quick chuckle before Fox acknowledged her request. "I'll let him know. Fox out."