Here we go again. Not a whole lot to say, really. This one's not much more than an extention of the last chapter, which was kinda short. Anyway, enjoy!
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The instant I walked in I could see something was wrong. It was like one of those pictures where you have to find eight things wrong, or whatever. But there were small things. Like the magazine I had left my keys on was now askew, and my keys were at the other end of the room, and so on.
I walked around my apartment. It got worse. My entire file cabinet appeared to have been rifled through with a screwdriver. The files themselves were out of order.
And yet, nothing seemed to be missing. Whatever they were looking for, they hadn't found it.
"You like our handiwork, señor Knuckles?"
My ear pricked up immediately. My hand pricked up even faster. My .44 was out in the direction of the voice in no time.
Unsurprisingly enough, it was the chipmunk that had been following me on the train. With him were three goombahs from the Chaotix. Looked like Mighty, Espio, and Vector too, complete with fancy suits and fancy fifty-cals.
"We believe that you have something that belongs to us, señor. It was stolen from us, and it seems that it was passed on to you."
"No clue what you mean," I countered bluntly.
"Please, señor, do not try to bullshit us. You were Sonic's closest confidante. We know he would have passed it on to you."
"Yeah, well, he never passed anything, so piss off."
The sallow guy nodded to the three guys. "Then I am sorry, señor."
Apparently, Espio had been sneaking up on us while I had been talking. That invisibility thing's a real pisser. Before I knew what hit me, the gun was gone from my hand, and a stinging sucker punch was left in its place.
The lanky chameleon reappeared at my desk, my gun in his hand.
Vector turned to me. "Sorry it has to be this way, Knux."
"Yeah, but a job's a job," Mighty chimed in.
Great. I was about to get completely maimed by three muscle men who were sorry about doing it. I could see the headlines, "Small-Time P.I. Murdered by the Apologetic Killers". What a world.
I actually think I did pretty well, considering the circumstances. I actually managed to floor Mighty, and I did put a pretty good set of hits into Espio. Knuckles might have been grayer than the last time he put the spikes on, but he ain't weaker.
Of course, that was before Vector got me into a headlock and Espio got out a set of brass knuckles. The last thing I remember before Espio put his fist through my solar plexus was the sound of "Iron Man" coming from Vector's headphones.
Is he alive or dead?
Has he thoughts within his head?
Brother, I'm about to be neither alive nor dead, and all thoughts in my head are about to cease.
Wham.
The next thing I knew, my head was in Rouge's lap, her hand caressing my long dreds. Lovely, were it not for the fact the rest of me was in more pain than it had been in for a long time.
I wondered how she had got in, and then decided I didn't want to know.
I was about to make some sort of quip when something struck my attention in a way it never has before. Something so utterly groundbreaking it almost made me forget that I probably needed to see a doctor.
Rouge was crying.
The world we live in is harsh. No questions, no answers, only money. We either accept it and move on, or die in the shallows of misery. To see someone in this life of fast cash and faster death show some tenderness was enough to raise a tear to my eye, as well.
And so we both just stayed there, on the floor of my crummy apartment, crying our eyes out. I'd thought she was hot, that much was certain, but this was something else.
I'm going to solve this one, I thought. And if not for the money, for Rouge and me.
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Please R&R, I do so enjoy it. I promise I will update soon.
