"Boss, do you think they're gonna show?"
          " 'Course they will, they want dem emeralds, no? Besides, I've had one of our men monitor Shad and his little girlfriends closely. I'm very interested in 'im –Shad-, he could make a very good member of my posse."

          "What about his friends?"

          "They sure are sexy…especially that bat. I know I've seen 'er before, must have been a porno or something…I'll give dem a very pleasing job, heh, in da bedroom…..what time is it?"

          "Almost time to go, boss. Your baby is out of the shoppe; completely spotless, scratch free, and souped up just as you wanted. The fuzzy dice in the window you requested are hanging as well. "

          "My Ferrari F50, blazing red…beautiful car, no? Almost a million dollars, but I make enough money so I said to myself, 'why da hell don't ya get da most exotic car you can find?"

          "We know you've told us this story a thousand times…"

          "Hmm, anyways, let's get goin'. And if they make any moves…kill 'em."

          "Will do, boss."

          *****************************************************************

          Radiant stars shone high above in the cloudless night as Shadow drove down the thoroughfare in his ostentatious new ride, the Aston Martin Vanquish. It was nearing 10:45; just 15 minutes before they would meet their fate with the infamous Giovanni Ferrara.

          "Make a left here," Angel directed. Within a few minutes, a vivid hot pink neon sign reading 'Casino Nights' came into view. Shadow drove up to the front of the bar where two girls in low cut tube tops and black leather short shorts shot him a wink and a smile. He put his car into park and stepped out; looking into his rear-view mirror as he slicked his quills back.

          "Do you have everything?" Angel whispered into Shadow's ear.

          "Everything's check," he responded, opening his leather jacket for her to see that his Desert Eagle was carefully holstered and the envelope lay secure in his pocket. He put his ringed fingers around Rouge and Angel-both standing on opposite sides of him-and together, the 'posse' strutted up the stairs that were shed with a deep crimson glow coming from inside.

          "We gotta get past those bouncers," Shadow said to the two girls as they came to gaze upon three echidnas guarding the entryway. They stood absolutely motionless with their arms crossed; polished brass knuckles adorned each of their hands as their eyes were concealed behind large black sunglasses.

          "Hold it," said a red echidna, "I haven't seen you around before."

          "Yo, we're new 'round here," responded Shadow, impersonating the dialogue that a real pimp would use. The bouncer looked to the others, and nodded their heads; letting Shadow and his girls into the scarlet lights of the strip club. Rouge looked back at the bouncer who had spoken to them, speculating if it was who she thought it was.

The place was packed; men drinking bottles among bottles of beer watched exotic strippers in skimpy outfits and stilettos intensely as one by one they passed out from too much consumption of their alcohol. A cloud of smoke hung high above them as techno music boomed from the speakers. Waitresses in petite, tight shirts reading the bar's name hopped from table to table; taking orders from various people and bringing back their desired drink.

          "How are we supposed to find Giovanni, we don't know what he looks like!" Angel declared as they approached the bar, but it seemed Shadow hadn't heard a word she said. A stripper dancing atop the table strutted over to him; sliding down a strap of her bikini top as he slipped her a $100 bill and whispered something in her ear.

          "Men…" Rouge said, rolling her eyes.

          Angel turned away from her perverted friend and walked up to the bartender -who handed a bottle of beer to Shadow- and ordered two martinis for her and Rouge.

          "Excuse me; do you know if Giovanni Ferrara is here tonight?" Rouge asked as he gave them two small glasses of their beverage.

          "Mr. Ferrara? I haven't seen him here. Sorry, honey."

          Angel –who was getting slightly furious- seized Shadow by the collar and lugged him over towards a vacant table and basically shoved him down into the seat; making some of his beer spill onto the seat.

          "Shadow, we have to be serious here!"

          "I was just having a little bit of fun, Jesus Christ take it easy."

          He took a pack of Marlboro cigarettes from his pocket and lit one up; blowing a puff of smoke into Angel's face on purpose. Ripping the cigarette from his mouth, she stomped it into the floor as he covered his ears; knowing another lecture on how smoking is bad for you was coming.

          "You know what, Shadow? Fuck you." She said as she gave him the middle finger and threw her martini on the ground in pure frustration. He, however, gave a slight chuckle and took another swig of his alcohol.

          "What's so funny?"

          "Heh…nothin'…"

          Before Angel could say anything else, the music emitting from the speakers came to a halt as everyone's heads turned towards the entrance. The doors swung open, illuminating around a dozen or more people – a preponderance of them being ladies in their early 20's. In front of the crowd was a taupe furred hedgehog in a white designer tuxedo and matching top hat. His quills were back in a cornrow fashion as he held a cane with a rather large ruby adorning the top of it. The man smiled; showing off pearly whites as his gaze fell upon Shadow and his girls. The music resumed as he told his posse to go have some fun, however, two men in black tuxedos followed close behind him as they walked up to Shadow.

          "I am glad you could make it," he said in a suave voice. He gestured for them to sit with him at a nearby table to talk about their trade.

          "So, you must be 'Mr. Ferrara'," responded Shadow as he and Rouge took a seat next to each other while Angel sat a few inches away from the two.

          "Please, call me Giovanni. You are Shadow, correct? But, who are these two lovely ladies accompanying you?"

          "This is Rouge, and this is…Angel."

          Giovanni raised one eyebrow with a smirk as he looked the girls over, licking his lips gently, "I'd love to get to know you two more-"

          "Do you have the emerald or not?"

          Giovanni looked to one of his guards, who pulled out a velvet box from his jacket.

          "I believe this is what you want. Where's my money?"
          Shadow took the envelope containing the five grand out of his pocket and placed it on the table; sliding it to Giovanni as he passed him the emerald.

          "It was nice doing business wit you," said Giovanni as he slipped the money into his coat, "But…"

          A guard on his left stepped towards Shadow, aiming a gun barrel at his head as the other pointed his towards Angel and Rouge; prepared to fire at any second. 

          "I think I'd like my emerald back, ya?"

          Shadow's eyes narrowed as reluctantly he reached back into his coat to give Giovanni the gem. He looked to Angel and Rouge; a plan forming in his head on how to escape this situation alive. They returned his gaze, and then looked to each other as if they comprehended what was flowing in his mind. Instead of grabbing the jewel, he quickly pulled out his Desert Eagle and snapped the trigger back; the bullet colliding with the guard's head as crimson spurts drenched where he stood. The second guard turned to Shadow; ready to shoot when Angel and Rouge both grasped his hands at the same time and shook the gun from his clutch, allowing Shadow to deliver the final blow. The bar went into chaos. Screams filled the air as the people frantically ran for the exit, Giovanni being one of them.

          "Fuck! Tyrel! Shanita! Jerody! Kill these mother fuckers!"

          The door was too congested for Giovanni to make his escape at that moment, so he dove behind the bar as three men who had entered the club with him seized their M9 Berettas and took aim.

          "Get down!" Shadow directed Rouge and Angel to behind an overturned table as he threw to them a gun one of the deceased thugs had dropped. He then inverted a different table to shield himself from the barrage of bullets spraying around him.

          "The emerald!" Angel shouted as she saw the lime glimmer in the corner of her eye. She shot a few bullets towards the trio as she ran to reclaim it.

          "Jesus Christ, look out!"

          Shadow dashed from his shelter and dove on top of Angel to protect her from a straying bullet. She –as intended- was not hit, however, somebody else was.

          "Shadow!" she screamed as she watched streams flow from Shadow's shoulder, "Oh my God, this is all my fault!"

          "I'm fine…ah fuck!"

          He grasped his shoulder as he inhaled deeply; the excruciating pain from the lead increasing with every second. He picked his pistol back up, primed to persist on fighting.

          "Angel, use the emerald to transport you and Rouge out of here. I'll take these guys on. I said I'd blow their fucking brains out, right?"

          "No! You put your life on the line for me, I'm not just going to run away and leave you here!"

          Shadow gazed into Angel's russet eyes, watching them fill with tears as she emerged from the table and deluged Giovanni's acquaintances with bullets. One fell to the floor –presumably dead- hemorrhaging profusely from the mortal wound on his head. The remaining two were unharmed, but decided to run out the doorway at the site of their fallen friend.

          "What the fuck do you think you guys are doing!! Get your asses back here!!" Giovanni shouted out as he looked in horror at the sight of Shadow's gun barrel. He pulled the trigger only to hear nothing but a clicking sound.

          "Shit!" He shouted as he tossed the gun aside, grabbing Angel's.         

          "I'm out of ammo, too!"

          Giovanni smirked and scurried as fast as his feet could take him out into the parking lot; Shadow, Angel, and Rouge close at his heels. He hopped into his Ferrari F50 while Shadow opened the trunk to his Aston Martin Vanquish, pulled out the guns he bought previously, and entered the driver's seat.

          "Hold on tight, we're heading for one hell of a ride" he announced as he pushed down the pedal. Angel took the AKs-74u  from it's case and chambered a round before handing it to Shadow.

          "Take the wheel."

          Shadow lowered the window and stuck his upper body out while Angel held fast onto the wheel. Looking through the scope, he took careful aim and pulled the trigger.

          "Fuck! My car!" Giovanni shouted as he saw indentations on his ride through the rear-view mirror. He pressed the button to open his glove department and took out his own M9 Beretta and then placed his arm out of the window.

          "Damn it," Shadow withdrew into the car as the bullets ricocheted. They were nearing 120 mph when something unexpected transpired.

          "Speed bump!" shouted Rouge. Shadow's head crashed onto the ceiling; knocking him out cold as his AK fell out through the window.

          "Rouge, take the wheel!" Angel said as she took the only residual gun and placed the clip in. She lowered the window on the passenger side and stuck her body out, aiming at the Ferrari's tires. She, however, missed but managed to shatter the back window; leading to a clear shot of Giovanni.

          Shadow shook his head, finally coming back to as he pulled Angel back into the car.

          "I'll handle this; I don't want you to get hurt."

          He seized the gun from her grasp as Angel and Rouge looked to Shadow; not really believing what he just said. He actually admitted to caring for the wellbeing of someone?
          "Take this you fucking bastard!"

          Shadow pulled the trigger as the bullet struck Giovanni's skull; making it literally explode as blood and brains splattered over the window. The F50 drove off the road and collided into a building; sending it up in flames while the Vanquish just barely escaped the inferno.

          Shadow recoiled back into the driver's seat, becoming lightheaded from blood loss and a blow to the head.

          "I'm not going to be conscious…for much longer…" he said as his eyes started to close, "you'll have to find a place…where we can…rest the night…alright?"

          "I'll drive," Rouge said as Shadow hit the brakes before losing consciousness. She laid him in the back seat as Angel climbed back there as well; resting his head on her lap. If not for him, she would be dead because of her idiocy. She pulled his arm out of his leather jacket and stared at the wound on his shoulder. The scarlet pouring from it seemed to stop, but it needed desperate medical attention. Taking a handkerchief from her pocket, she tied it around the top of his shoulder and underarm tightly since she couldn't do anything else at the moment.

 "This is all my fault…what the hell was I thinking? Going out into the middle of a…a battlefield just to get the fucking emerald. I put both of our lives on the line…"

          Angel continued to gaze upon Shadow as she put her head back and closed her eyes. The last thought in her mind before drifting off to sleep was, "I hate everything about him…yet…why do I…?"