Xeta POV:

I had told Bruce that I would carry the guns to the apartment complex that Monty used to live at. I told Bruce that he would park at a nearby Taco-Bell and walk to the complex. Where was I at? Oh I was on the roof of the building.

I told Bruce that he would just walk into the building casually like he lived there, and when I saw him I meet up with him on the third floor, where Monty's room was. I saw him walk up the building's stairs and come to the top floor. This was one of those really cheap apartment complexes, but that meant not much security, but somehow they managed it to be a pretty big area with individual buildings, and thankfully, this was Monty's.

"Xeta? Xeta you here?" I heard Bruce call quietly.

I go to the edge of the roof where the staircase balcony was and peeked my head down. -Heya!- I say through telepathy.

"WOAH!" Bruce backs off. "Please, don't scare me like that again!"

-No promises!- I say, -Here!- I then hand down his rifle case and he grabs it from me. I then grab my gun, then slowly positioned myself so I can climb on the balcony railing. Once my paws are in place and balance I quickly jump from the railing and on the floor.

-Alright, room B-73, this is it,- I say.

"Alright so, how do we get in?" Bruce asked.

-Oh simple!- I put my gun case down and form a glowing blue staff in my disguised paws. I then grip it in both of my paws and use the staff to bash the doorknob to the room. Once I finally was able to break the doorknob I gave it one good kick and the door opened.

"Okay, were in," Bruce said.

-Get inside, quick!- I tell him. He goes inside and I follow while shutting the door behind us.

-Alright, you start looking around the room, I am going to look for a possible escape route, if we run into….difficulties,- I say.

"Difficulties, like what?" Bruce asked.

-Do you really want me to answer that?- I ask.

"Eh….No," and we left it at that.

I looked around the room and saw it had a balcony but that was about it. There was a window and another in the bathroom. For the room itself it wasn't much. First the place was messy, but not destroyed. The place had clothes and trash here and there, but for the room itself it had a simple TV, couch, chair, then it had a little section acting as a kitchen, and in it was a table and some wooden chairs. But then in the corner of the room was a desk and computer.

-Hey Bruce!- I said.

"Yeah?" He replied.

-So I checked the area and the only exits are windows and the balcony,- I said.

"Well s*^ , if things go south what do I do?" He asked.

I thought for a moment before thinking of an idea, -I got it! Let's just say the cops come by, what I'll do is take our gun cases, turn off my disguise, and act as a monster attacking you, that should take all suspicion off you!- I said.

"That's a bit risky, don't you think?" He asked.

-I'm fast, they wont catch me,- I said.

"I guess so," Bruce replied.

-Well then, want to jump out a three-story window?- I ask.

"Okay, if things don't go too south, then how about we use the balcony and climb on the roof?" He suggested.

-That isn't bad either, let's just see how it goes,- I said.

"Okay!"

-Alright, I want you to check his furniture, see if he stashed anything under or inside of them!- I explained.

"Okay! Um, what will you do?" He asked.

-I'm going to check his computer, see if he's got anything on it!- I explained.

He nodded and we both got to work. He started searching through the couches and such while I got on the computer and started checking files, emails, and sites. After both of us searching for a while Bruce spoke.

"Okay so I haven't found anything special," He then held up a bag of something in my direction, looked like rocks, "This dude is a major user!" He said.

-Go figure, keep looking okay?- I say getting back to work on the computer.

"Kay!" He got back to searching.

I was looking through this dudes files and sites and I found one site that I didn't recognize and checked it to see if it could tell me anything, bad idea.

"ARGH!" I screamed looking away from the screen.

"What's wrong?! I heard you scream!" Bruce yelled coming over to me.

I kept my eyes off the screen, -THIS GUY IS A F*^ ING FREAK!-

Bruce took a look at the screen and immediately regretted it and looked away, "ARGH! Who the hell could be into that!?" He asked.

I quickly closed the page, -No clue!-

So Bruce got back to looking in the room and I got back to work on looking through files and such, but then I found one file that looked to be a link. I clicked it and all of these computer protecting programs came up and said some stuff about not opening this. I accepted and this weird file browser came up, and I had been taken to this…..Oh my god.

-Um Bruce? You may want to see this!- I call out.

He walks over and asks, "Yeah what's up…..wait what page is….no way!"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the screen right now, -This guy….does he realize what he was doing…..this is the deep-web!- I said terrified.

The worst place, the ABSOLUTE worst place on the internet, and this idiot has it on his computer! AND HAS AN ACCOUNT?! Thank you idiot for leaving your password saved, this place is dangerous, the only reason I have heard about it was through videos but that's it. On here you can buy slaves, child slaves, drugs, fake passports, and…

-HITMAN!- I yelled.

"What?!" Bruce asked.

-This is how he did it! This is why he did it! Monty was a secret hitman!- I yelled through telepathy.

"So wait! Why would he have that shot to turn you into this then? WAIT! Maybe the people who hired him sent him exact instructions!" Bruce yelled.

-They might have…WAIT! Let me check this!- I went to the hitman section and checked on his profile there. I looked through the different pages until I saw accepted contacts. I went into that and…

-This….mother…..f*& er!- I said slowly.

On the page showed the people he's supposed to hit and on what date. It was me and my family, with our photos….this was creeping me out bad! He had gotten the hit from…a profile by the name of, "Excel," I clicked on this profile but only a state came up. Georgia….they were here!? They stationed here! I have lived in this state my entire life, and this was under my nose the entire time….makes you realize how big this world really is.

"Excel? Who the hell is that?" Bruce asked.

I shook my head, -Have no idea, but at least we know it's in Georgia!-

"Yeah, it would suck if we had to travel the world, but thankfully that isn't the case," Bruce replied.

-Yeah,- I looked through some more info and checked to see if there was anything else of interest I could use, but sadly I came up short, there was really nothing I could do.

-Okay. It looks like that's it for the computer, have you found anything?- I asked.

"Besides the drugs no, if he had anything else he must've trashed it before he went on the job for you," He said.

-Yeah, you might be right, anyway how about we go, doesn't look like the- Before I could finish I heard voices from outside.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked noticing I had stopped walking.

-Get your gun ready and hide, there are people coming up, I heard them say Monty's name!- I said through telepathy.

He nodded and took his case and went into the restroom. I got mine and hid in the kitchen and started loading it.

I heard the voices more clearly now, with these new ears being way more sensitive to sound I could hear things from farther away.

"Hey Joe, didn't Monty say we were celebrating tonight?" I heard one say.

"Yeah Boris, he said he wanted to have a party for completing his mission or whatever he called it!" I heard "Joe" say.

"Well let Monty have it, he said he was going to make bank with this one so-" He stopped talking and stopped walking. "What the hell…" I heard him say.

I then heard the clicking of guns and the door slowly opening and shutting. I looked over the kitchen counter and saw them walking. One of them was going to the computer while the other was heading to the bathroom.

These guys knew Monty, I couldn't let them slip away. As one of them was walking towards the computer I swung over the counter and blasted it with my shotgun! Before the man could turn around and fire I ran up, grabbed his arm and held it behind his back. The other man by this point had noticed and aimed, but when he did I held the guy I grabbed in front of me.

"DON'T SHOOT!" The man in my paws yelled.

The other man hesitated and asked, "Who are you? And what do you want?"

I decided to answer, -Okay listen, your friend Monty did some terrible things to me, and because of it I killed him.-

"You what?!" They both asked.

-Now look, you wont end up like him as long as you answer my questions, what'd you say?- I asked.

"Fat chance!" The man in my paws pulled away and once he did I tripped his leg and then dropped my knee on his spine! The other man was finally able to fire a shot, and when he did it made my ears ring and disoriented me. I quickly dived for the couch as cover and let him waste ammo. Once I heard him start to reload I quickly formed a staff and threw it at him. He didn't know what it was and ducked for cover. As he did I took my time to deal with my other problem. The other one had started to recover from my last hit, but I didn't give him enough time before I ran up and kicked him straight in the jaw. He looked as if he was out cold, and as I turned around I was bull charged by the other guy into the desk. When he did that my disguise gave out.

"DIE FREAK!" He started sprinting at me again but before he got to me I charged energy into my bottom right paw and sent it at him. It wasn't a direct hit, but the pressure grazed him and the blast made a loud noise. I pulled out my sword and tried to slash him but he grabbed hold of the sword. I saw blood run down the blade and while I had been distracted he head-butted me right in my muzzle. It hurt like hell, I dropped my sword and I held my muzzle in pain. I felt blood drip from my nose.

Before I could react he wrapped his arms around my neck and held me like that. I started struggling in every way I knew how and started screaming. As I struggled I tried to form energy into my right paw. It was hard to focus my energy but I was still charging, he would still lose!

Before I finished charging a gunshot rang out and the man had dropped me and yelled in pain. I took the opportunity to quickly finish the charge and placed my paw right on his chest. With a sound resembling a crack of thunder he had been blasted back and hit one of the walls of the room, causing a huge crack to form.

I slouched over for a minute to catch my breath and when I looked up I saw Bruce had his gun in his hands and smoke was still coming from the muzzle. His eyes were wide and we was sweating buckets.

-Bruce….Thanks, thanks for helping me,- I said.

"Yeah….sure," He said looking down. It was obvious what was wrong, he's fired a gun before sure, but he's never shot another person before, so it was understandable.

-It's scary, isn't it?- I asked looking up at him.

"Y-yeah…it is…." He said.

-Yeah, the night this happened was the first time I had shot someone…and killed someone, it's a hellish feeling…..but consolation, he isn't dead,- I said.

"It's.. it's not just that, I could've died just now!" He said.

-But you didn't, and just so we're clear I will always take point, I'm stronger, faster, and can take more of a hit,- I said, -I will make sure to protect you alright?-

He seemed reassured by my answer, "Yeah, okay!"

-Alright, now start finding something to tie them down with, I'm going to clean up,- I said.

"Okay," Bruce walked over to the first man I knocked out and I headed to the restroom. I got myself a bloody nose from the ordeal. I took a towel, wet it, then wiped off the blood that had got on my fur and inside my nose.

Truth be told I was ashamed with myself. I let my guard down, it was only a second but it happened. I never expected him to grab the blade of the sword, and that gave him the edge to land that head-butt. During my confrontation with those gunmen in the woods I was focused, ready, and had a plan. I didn't here, Bruce was in trouble and I wanted info, so I just threw my safety out the window and jumped. I should've been more careful, I could have relayed a message to Bruce to shoot at the door, or anything other than rushing in. I will never, and I mean never make that mistake again. It might just be a bloody nose now, but next it could be my life, or others.

After my inner scolding and cleaning up my muzzle I walked out of the restroom.

Bruce walked over to me, "Alright so I got some rope here, some fishing wire, and bungee cord things."

-Alright, let's get them tied up!- I replied.

After about maybe twenty minutes of work we had gotten them into chairs back to back and not only tied rope to their hands but also to their legs. Then we used the bungee cord to keep their hands tied. Then we used the fishing wire to add a little more reinforcement to the ties.

I went to some of the closets in the apartment and was able to find a scarf in one of them.

I went back over to Bruce, -Here, wrap this around your face and put on your hood, you'll need it.-

"Okay," He said. He did as he was told and wrapped the scarf around his face, then he put on his hood.

-Go ahead and put your gun away too! If the cops come I will need to run for it and get you on the roof,- I said.

"So that's the plan now?" He asked.

-Yep! There is a ladder on the roof, once the cops disperse you just climb down and act like nothing happened,- I explained.

"When did you come up with this?" He asked.

-Oh, just came to me,- I said.

I went over and grabbed my sword where I dropped it and then grabbed my shotgun. After sheathing the sword I put my shotgun back in it's case and picked up the bullet casing and Bruce's.

"Why you picking those up?" He asked,

-Fingerprints, if they don't have them they can't find us…..actually from now on I will load our guns beforehand okay?- I said.

"Fine by me!" He replied.

I put the casings in my gun case and right after I heard one of the men moaning.

I signaled to Bruce to get ready and I got myself ready as well.

Once the man woke up and started looking around he noticed that he had been tied down.

"HEY! WHAT GIVES!" He yelled. He took a good look around and noticed me with my hood up and Bruce with his mask and hood on.

"Okay, so which one of you f&% s killed Monty?" The man with short black hair asked.

-That would be me, and shut up, I'm doing the talking,- I said through telepathy.

"Talking? That ain't talking, I'm hearing you in my head!" The man yelled.

-Indeed you are…what's your name?- I asked.

"Heh, like I'd tell you s&% !" The man said.

-Hm….okay,- I quickly formed a staff and bashed the man in the face with a good bit of force.

"Argh! E-argh!" The man groaned in pained.

-How about we try this again? What's your name?- I asked.

"*Huff* *Huff* It's…it's Boris," He said.

-Alright, your Boris, then your friend there is Joe, we got that out-of-the-way,- I said.

He looked up surprised, "How do you know our names?" He asked.

-Simple, I heard you from outside,- I replied.

"HOW!? We were three stories down when we said our names!?" He asked.

-Look, I need you to know this, your friend Monty did some major s&% to me, and he got hired to do it to me, so I want to know if you know who Monty was hired by,- I said.

"I'm no snitch! I won't talk!" He retorted.

I quickly took off my hood and got up in his face, -LOOK. AT. ME! Do you see this, do you see what I am?-

He backed off from me as much as he could and nodded repeatedly. He looked terrified, as if he was trying to hide from a wild animal.

-THIS! Is what Monty did to me, the people who hired him for that, "Major payout" job he got, this is what he did, and not just that, he killed my family! My parents, my little brother…..I lost everything! I'm not some monster, someone trying to hurt others, I want to make sure THIS!- I gestured to myself, -Doesn't happen to anyone else!-

I got out of his face and he started contemplating things.

-I hold no grudges against either of you, I just want to know if you know anything, I wont call the cops, and I will never attack either of you again, I promise,- I explained.

He finally got the nerve to speak, "Okay look, I haven't known Monty for that long, I only met him a few months ago, all I know is the guy had dealers, and he did some terrible shit for his job, as I see now," He said looking at me. "But Joe has known him for years, he may know who he worked for, please that's all I know!"

I closed my eyes and the feelers on the back of my head lifted up. I checked his emotions and saw that he was telling the truth.

-Alright, once he wakes up I'll talk to him,- I said.

We waited for a bit and we finally heard the other guy, who had ben shot by Bruce, start to wake up.

"Huh…what jus-ARGH!" He yelled because of his leg. "What the?! WHO DID-" He started but noticed me walk in front of him. "Wh-wh-what the hell!?" He yelled.

"JOE! Calm down!" Boris said.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN CALM DOWN!? HE'S A MONSTER!" Joe yelled.

-I wasn't a monster before Monty got involved,- I said.

"W-what?" Joe questioned.

"Joe look, I haven't known Monty for that long, but Monty not only did this to him but killed his family, please just hear him out!" Boris said to his friend.

Joe contemplated this for moment before speaking, "So what, you going to kill us?"

-No, I don't want to kill anyone, I just want to know who Monty worked for,- I said.

"He didn't work for just anyone, he's hired hand, an assassin or hitman if you will," Joe said.

-Did he ever talk about a special hit, or one he'd make bank off of?- I asked.

"Why do you want to know that?" Joe asked.

-Because, whoever he got this order from are complete killers, they killed my eight year old brother, Monty tied him up in a house fire, and let him burn to death, do you get that?- I asked.

Joe looked at me wide-eyed, "I know he killed but…a kid, just a kid? What the f^%$," He said.

-Please, if you know anything, anything at all, please tell me!- I said pleading.

He looked up at me again and looked back down, "Alright, look I don't know much but listen, the day he said he was going to do his job he said he had to meet up with someone to get a package! He was picking it up from a guy going by the name of, "Karver," and that's Karver with a 'K' I should add."

-Do you know where he's at?- I asked.

"Not exactly, but I know where he usually does his work, he works at these old factory buildings, you know where right? They're close by the old train station!" He said.

-Yeah I know, thank you….hold up,- I walk into the bathroom for a minute and found a first-aid kit in the cabinet, I come back and opened it up. -Sorry about the wound, it's not like Monty needs this anymore so I can use it right?-

I took some gauze and some of the medical alcohol and poured it on the gauze and placed it on both sides of his leg, since the bullet went straight through. I then wrapped it with a surgical bandage and tied it together. He cringed a little when I did the process but it was to help.

-Look, I'm sorry, but I was out of options,- I cut some of the rope just enough to where Joe could move his hand. I then walked to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and put it in his hand.

-Look, once we leave you use this to cut yourself and him free, but don't o it until we know we're gone, and trust me, I can watch you, even through walls, got it?- I asked. Both nodded at me and I gestured to Bruce for us to leave.

But before we left Boris spoke, "Hey wait!"

-Yeah?- I asked.

"I'm sorry, for what Monty did to you," He said somberly.

"Same," Joe said.

-Thanks, I'm sorry for attack you as well,- I then left it as that and I told Bruce to walk back to his truck while I took the guns and ran off quickly.

I got back to his truck and put the cases in the back seat in the dark. I then turned back on my disguise and waited for Bruce to return. I then saw him start to walk up with the scarf off and his hood off. Once he got back in the car I got worried.

-You didn't take those off in the complex did you?- I asked.

"Nah, once I got to the woods I took them off, then walked the trail here," He explained.

-Okay good!- I said.

"So ready to head back?" He asked.

-Nope! There's a reason we stopped here!- I said with a smile.

"Oh. How could I forget this is your favorite place to eat?" He said stupidly.

-Lot's happened,- I said.

"But you still haven't changed," He said.

-Heh…..that's actually good to hear,- I said.

"Well, maybe a tad bit more impatient," he said jokingly.

-Oh ha, ha, very funny, keep this up and I'll make you pay for dinner!- I said threateningly.

"Okay, okay!" He said.

We then got out of his car and walked inside the Taco Bell, where I got my usual, the steak quesadilla!