"What the hell happened here?" Bryan asked, surveying the damage to the house itself, only after noticing that Moran was clear of any wounds, for the most part.

"They came out of no where." She sobbed, not picking herself up off the ground on which she had fallen to her knees on. "They just began shooting, and then they took him."

"Took who?" Bryan asked, kneeling on one knee in front of the woman.

"My son, they took him!" She cried aloud now, not even trying to hold back her tears.

"Alright, alright. Calm down and try to breathe, ok? You won't do anyone any good if you hyperventilate." Bryan said, trying to keep the rage out of his voice.

This is involving to many innocent people now. Not only that but now they are resorting to home invasion tactics to accomplish their mission.

Sighing he stood back up. "Alright, listen, I want you to go in and get a few of your things, ok? You're going to stay with us until this is over." He was helping her up when his Tract beeped again, signaling an incoming call.

"Hello?"

"This thing on speaker?" This voice was that of another female.

"Uh, yah…"

"Alright, click the button on the side and shut it off, the hold this like you would a phone."

Bryan did as he was told.

"Good, you learn quickly."

"Right… who's this?"

"Oh, sorry, names Brea, the lab tech who left you the note, remember?"

"Yah… what can I do for you?"

"Just wanted to tell you something. General Pepper come to me today and had me work on a new program for him. I've already uploaded it into your phone. But… anyway, when one of your agents makes a call, it'll show on your system. You'll be able to listen in live, or record it for later. The best part is that they won't know you're listening in, nor will they be able to hear you."

"Let me guess, all this to aid in the investigation?"

"Anything to help out you guys."

"Alright, I'm right in the middle of something so can we continue this later?"

"Sure thing boss. Brea, out."

The line clicked before a dial tone was the only response. Bryan shut the phone again, only to have it go off again. He almost ignored it… almost.

"Yah?" He called into it, after clicking it back to speaker.

"It's Mei, where you hiding?"

"I'm at that cops house. There's been an incident."

"Which one? Moran?"

"Yah, why, wanna assist?"

"Uh sure, hold on… alright I've got a lock on your position, I'll be there in less than two minutes."

Bryan sighed, knowing her taste for speed she would be there in less the thirty seconds.

Of course he had been right.

"New track record, Mei." Bryan stated with a growing smirk.

Mei was looking at the house instead of him.

"What the hell happened here?" She asked, finally letting her eyes rest on him.

"Long story short, more innocent people are suffering because of this threat."

"Is she okay?" Mei asked.

"She's fine… but they kidnapped her kid."

It was a moment before either spoke. "So, where do we go from here?"

"We take her into protective custody. We also are going to need to figure out why they attacked her and her kid."

"Was he a military man?" Mei asked. Bryan just shook his head.

"I don't know. But we've also got some bigger problems. Come on, lets help Moran pack a few things. Then we'll hit a small restaurant were we can talk in private."

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"Alright, you wanted to talk, lets talk." Mei pressed after receiving her drink. Moran looked between the two agents for a moment waiting for one to crack.

"This thing runs deeper then we thought." Bryan said after a moment. "General Pepper has very good reason to believe that The Darkness has a man on the inside."

Mei snorted a little. "Inside his own office? Man, there just isn't a place in the universe where you can't buy someone out."

Bryan shook his head slightly, keeping it low towards the table. He could see himself in the still blackness of his coffee. It felt like such a fake reflection.

"No… someone on our inside."

Mei was silent for a moment, Moran was still processing most of the information she had received. "Shit…" Mei whispered.

"We know two things. One, the suspect is a male from our own group. And two, he is not someone from Star Fox. Voice print analysis was conducted to see if it could have been a SF member… no match. General Pepper is still conducting research into it. But…"

He had trailed off, staring back down into his coffee.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Moran asked, once again switching her gaze between the two agents.

"Well for now we've got these." Bryan said, holding up the phone. "When one of ours guys makes a call, it'll show here. I can record it for later, or listen in live."

"And then what? We still have to capture him without alerting him that we know. If whoever it is finds out that we're on to them then the whole thing goes to shit. He'll tell The Darkness and they'll pull him out." Mei spoke with a tone in her voice Bryan hadn't heard since Kasey had died in battle. It just brought back more bad memories. But he had to be the leader, and leaders were never allowed to let his team nor his enemy see them bleed. Even if it meant hiding everything.

"Exactly. We need to make a list. Who's the most likely suspect and why. We also need a motive and opportunity." Bryan stated, looking up for the first time, pulling a pad from another one of his pockets. He wrote down each name.

"Alright, lets see. We've got Jason, Tommy, Dean, and Ivan." Mei said, counting on her fingers.

"Alright, lets start with this Jason." Moran added, taking the pad and pen from Bryan, she posed it under Jason's name.

"Alright, why would he do it?" Moran asked, feeling her neck getting tense from all the gaze shifting she had done within the past seven minutes.

"Well… money can always buy even the best of people." Mei began, Bryan cut her right off. "Maybe, his moral level is just too high to allow that. His family is fine, so its not like they tried to blackmail him."

"Alright, we'll go back to him. What about this Ivan guy?"

"Complete and total no go." Mei began. "The guy owes us his life. He would never pull a stunt like that."

"Alright, so it isn't Jason, nor Ivan. Who else is left?" Bryan asked.

"Dean and Tommy."

"Well… Dean maybe… I mean he's always kind of been the outcast of the team. He's never tried to get close to anyone… we don't really know much about his past… but, treason? I don't know… just seems farfetched." Mei ratted out the entire sentence, the part that scared Bryan was because it was the exact same thing he had been thinking.

"Well then that leave Tom." Moran said, underlining his name on the pad.

"Well… lets see… Tommy is more like an open book. There isn't really much about him that we don't know… but… I don't know, there always seems to be this… aura around him. Not very inviting." Mei said, letting her heritage come into play.

"Yah… and at that hostage situation a few days back, when Star Fox came back into the picture? He said his rifle jammed… but, for someone who's a world class sniper, it took him too long to fix it. Plus he said that it had damaged something, but later during my daily weapons check I didn't see any damage at all…" Bryan rattled on, his eyes growing wider by the moment.

"You don't think…" Moran began, leaving the sentence open.

"No. We don't take anyone down or alert anyone outside the three of us what we suspect until we have proper evidence." Bryan said, holding his hand up.

"You know… the more I think about it… they seemed to know our tactics on that ship. They expected a few things from us. At the time I hadn't thought about it but… in light of newer information…"

Bryan sighed. This was too much too soon for him. It hadn't been too long ago since the last battle and his teammates… no, best friend's death.

Suddenly Mei's chair few back, hitting the ground with a thud. "Son of a bitch! He killed her!" She yelled out, turning to head for her unit. Bryan knew what that meant. She was going to hunt Tommy and Dean down and beat it out of them.

Bryan chased her out to her unit, grabbing her arm as she reached for the handle. She in turn snapped her wrist back, attempting to loosen his grasp on her hand. When she realized that that wasn't going to work she tried to flip him over her shoulder, thereafter struggling with him. Bryan had no choice but to pin her to her unit with his weight.

She struggled for a few moments more before she began shaking slightly. Bryan couldn't tell if it was anger or if she was on the verge of tears. In all the years he had known her she had never broken down like this before.

All it did was prove that the glue that held the team together was slowly starting to dissolve, either that or it had been long gone, and only now the affects were starting to show.

Mei pounded on Bryan's chest for a moment. Now he was sure she was crying.

"Its just… I hate to think that someone I trust my life with has betrayed me." She sobbed silently. Bryan looked up and could see Moran standing a few feet behind them in the dark tinted windows of the SUV. It was clear that the cop knew better than to walk in on the two.

"Listen to me. We will figure this out. We'll get who did it and then he'll be punished, by US law, but Cornerian law, and by DCTU law. Their treason resulted in the death of a fellow agent and friend. There is not forgiveness for that. No matter who did it."

Mei was silent for a moment before she looked up slightly at her boss. "Thanks… I'm such an idiot." She whispered. "We all are." Moran stated, breaking in for the first time.

"Listen, Bryan. If we go back to the house, I don't think I can stay there… the urge to go in and hold them both hostage till they crack is too great." Mei whispered, leaning against her car.

"So, here is what we do. Fox and Krystal are aware of the situation. We take the three of us to a local hotel. Call up Fox, tell him that he's running the show while we deal with a problem. We'll tell him to send Krystal, Katt and Jackie over. We'll work it out from there. Okay?" Bryan said, crossing his arms.

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"What do you want?"

"We need to meet. The corner of third and eighth. That's one mile heading left out of yours lot. There's a small outdoor café, sit at the table with the red chairs. I will meet you there. Four hours."

Bryan sighed, shutting the device. "Anyone know who's voice that was?" He asked the group sitting around the table.

"Tommy… that bastard! I'll kill him!" Mei yelled out, smashing her fist through the wall.

Jackie looked between the two, being the teams new rookie she had yet to really get down to the deeper life of each agent. Granted, maybe she had hit a club or spent the night when her place was getting bug bombed, but this was the first time she had seen them deal with real life problems, not situations.

"No you won't. Not yet." Bryan sighed, sitting back, his hands over his eyes. "I just still can't believe it, I've never had a snake on my team before."

"Well you do now," Jackie broke in. "So how to we smoke him out?"

"Well, he doesn't know that we know where he's meeting. So… we could stake him out…" Krystal suggested.

"Alright, but how do you follow someone who you trained with, who knows all your moves?" Mei asked.

"Simple, we use our heads. Its obvious that any of our team can't be on the ground. We would stand out in the crowd of furs. Fox and Krystal could go. I mean, we must have seen at least seventeen orange foxes and a few blue. We would just need to find something Tommy hasn't seen them wear. They'll take ground. Me and you, Jackie, and Katt can take roof and sniper detail." Bryan said without moving his hands.

"Why sniper detail?" Katt asked from a corner of the room.

"Because, if they are meeting chances are the meeting could go bad, meaning innocent civilians could die if we don't take action." Moran stated, her police training coming into play.

"Bingo. Listen, I have to make a run, stay here and play, find some layouts and call Fox, let him know what we're up to, got it?" Bryan called out, grabbing his coat and car keys.

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Bryan trudged down the main halls of Corneria Military HQ. The building had been separate from the actual offices by at least half a mile. The courtyard in between had been filled with Military furs - the entire place had been on high alert.

Pulling open the door he stepped into the development branch. He tapped his fingers on the desk, waiting for the receptionist to come over. She was chewing her gum openly, not even trying to hide the file in her hands.

"Yah?" She asked, not looking up at him.

"I'm looking for Brea." Bryan responded, choosing to ignore her tone.

"Sorry, don't know where she is."

"Could you possibly find her, please?"

"This is a big place, sir. That may take some time."

"I'll wait." Bryan responded, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm sure you will." Was the response he got.

Bryan sighed, just pushing the doors marked "Authorized Personnel Only", hearing the call of "Sir, you can't go in there! Security!" Behind him. Bryan rolled his eyes. "Yah, now she does her job."

He passed a black feline in a lab coat, she was reading through a file, a bagel stuck in her mouth. "I'm looking for a Lab Tech here, her name is Brea."

He got a muffled reply through the bagel, she didn't even bother to look up at him.

Having just about enough with everyone in the complex, he grabbed the item from her mouth, keeping it out of her reach. "Say it again, and actually look at me this time."

She sighed, shutting the folder and turning to look at him, pushing her glasses back up onto her nose. "I said 'that's me'. Now could I please have my breakfast back."

"Breakfast? Isn't it almost night?"

The cat only grinned, taking it back from him. "Maybe for you, but I work nights." She seemed to look him over for a moment. "Can't say I've seen you here before, who are you?"

"You gave me that note, remember? I'm Bryan…"

"Ah, its good to finally meet you, sir. Excuse me for before, we don't get many famous or important people around here."

"Please, no formalities. I need your help." Bryan said, just as two guards armed with weapons busted through the door he had.

"Military Police, Freeze!" One called out.

"Brea, are you ok? He didn't hurt you did he?" The other asked, his eyes wavering from one subject to the other.

Brea ignored them both. "Liz gave you the treatment, didn't she?"

Bryan blinked for a moment while Brea called off the guards, explaining what had happened.

After the guards had left she turned on her heels, heading down the hall. It took Bryan a moment to realize she wanted him to follow.

She walked into the lab, turning around when she came to a glass case, her paws spread behind her on it, the folder tossed aside.

"Krystal called ahead, said you might need some equipment. Care to elaborate?"

"Well for one, I need a high powered directional listening device. Some sort of silenced weapon with a scope, and to top it off? A couple pairs of high power binoculars."

Brea grinned. "I just love developing new toys." She said, turning around and writing a few things down. "Here, take this to a door down the hall, marked R.N.D. You'll find a red cat behind the desk, his name is Dracous. Tell him Brea sent yah, he'll give you what you'll need."

Bryan nodded his thanks, turning to leave.

"Hey!" Brea called after him, tossing an object towards his direction. He caught it with practiced reflexes. "Only open it when the light blinks, got it?" She said, turning back to her work. Bryan just slipped it into his pocket, shrugging.

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"Anyone else get the feeling of impending doom?" Fox's voice fluttered over the radio. They each had one in a single ear, the microphone fitted to filter out the ambience, yet leaving the owner's voice itself crisp and clear.

It was a simple plan. Bryan took the roof slightly north of the meeting point, allowing him a good vantage point of the entire area. Mei had the roof across the way, the high powered sniper rifle tossed just a little to her right while she was using the binoculars.

Down on the ground, Fox sat alone, a news paper held up like he was reading it. When in truth he was listening to the high powered microphone stashed in the glasses he had donned. Krystal sat at a bar stool forty feet away, pretending to watch the game on TV.

They all had access to the microphone frequency, allowing all of them to hear in on the meeting, yet stay tuned to the radio.

Back at the hotel, Katt, Jackie, and Moran sat by the bed, the base radio was there. It was slightly bulky, but it allowed them all to stay in contact.

Back at the sight Bryan sighed, having just finished hacking into the café's security system to get camera access, piping back to the temporary base.

"Alright guys, if you're not ready, let me know now."

"Krystal, clear."

"Mei, I'm all set, hope I don't accidentally shoot him."

"Fox, I'm set, microphone in play."

"HQ, we're ready when you guys are."

Bryan sat back, feeling confident that they would get the answer's they needed soon enough.

"I've got someone sitting at the table, looks like they're waiting for someone. He is a tall feline, about six feet, two inches. Black fur, midnight blue markings. Wearing a white vest, blue army pants. No membership markings visible, looks like a pair of dog tags around his neck." Krystal reported from the bar. Bryan could see her turned around with her arms propped up behind her, looking like she was scouting the crowd for someone to go out with. Bryan could only imagine the jealousy Fox had at that moment.

"I've got a fix on the tags. Akita Van. Huh, weird name. Looks like it says Battalion Two below it." Mei reported, using her binoculars to read them from her position.

"Alright, here's what I got guys. Battalion Two was Corneria's main battle program. Looks like they were at the level a few steps on the ladder below Star Fox. They were dispended after an investigation revealed that they may have had ties to Venom. Though nothing never got confirmed. They're official leader was Akita Ra Van." Katt was reading off a monitor back at the hotel, she had either hacked, or gotten access to military records.

"You'll never guess who just walked in." Fox's voice sounded like he was almost amused. "Yes I can, I can see him from here." Came Krystal's response.

"Guys, none of us here know who you're talking about. Share a little." Mei spoke into her microphone a little more directly then she had meant to, but it had the same affect.

"Think Eye patch and Canines." Fox replied.

"Eye patch and dogs?" Bryan repeated to himself, trying to pan the camera slightly to see the table better. A large gray wolf sat at it now, leaving one seat open.

"I can see it now that the camera got moved… is that… Wolf O'Donnell?" Katt was more than surprised.

"The one the only… for those of you who don't already know this, he is the leader of Star Wolf. I knew this had his scent all over it." The change in Fox's voice from the start of the report to finish was drastic, from surprised and amused to anger.

"Has he really sunk that low? Kidnapping?" Krystal asked, Mei could see the blue vixen shaking her head from atop the rooftop.

Fox adjusted his glasses a little more to allow them better access to hear.

xxxxxx On The Ground xxxxxx

"You think he'll show?" Wolf questioned, stirring his drink with boredom.

"He is reliable, he's probably late just being cautious."

Wolf scoffed. "Reliable? I'm the last person you want to talk to about that. Or have you forgotten, this guy betrayed his entire team for this. Reliability is an illusion to him."

"You keep saying that." Akita replied with a grin. When Wolf look up, Akita nodded off to te right, turning attention to the approaching man.

"You're late."

"I know, I had to sneak out without Falco or Slippy seeing me. The others are out." Tommy apologized, pulling a chair out.

There was a moment's silence.

"There is talk on the news and such. Some kid got grabbed in connection to your plans. Is it true?" After getting no reply for several minutes he nearly shouted. "That was never part of the plan! No children, remember!"

"It was… required. The kid found something out, his mom is a cop. It would only be a matter of time." Akita acknowledged without much emotion, almost like such topic bored him.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Wolf asked, staring back at Akita.

"You too? I'm starting to think you're both going soft on me."

"Answer the question." Tommy repeated each word slowly.

"The kid is alive… for now."

"You harm him and I walk. Got it?" The turn-coat DCTU agent threatened.

"And where will you go? I have you by a thread now! Don't forget that! You walk, and I tell you're team what you've been up to. If you're lucky, they'll take you back to your planet, if it not - they'll turn you over to Corneria."

A short growl was emitted from Tommy as he turned his head to the side.

"Everything in play?"

xxxxx On The Roof xxxxx

"Everything in play?" Tommy's voice was heard over the microphone frequency.

"Yes, we will strike soon. Very soon." Akita replied, looking around.

"I need to go, god speed." The wolf, or Wolf - Bryan wasn't sure - said, getting up from the table and walking out towards a waiting taxi. Soon after Akita and Tommy walked off in separate locations.

"Hay, anyone else hear that?" Krystal's voice floated over the radios. Almost like she sensed something. "Fox, adjust you're position, forty-five degrees to the right, seventeen degrees down."

A moment later the high-powered directional microphone picked up a beeping sound.

"What's the noise?" Katt asked.

Bryan's eyes went wide. "Fox! Krystal! Get out of there! Get down! Now!"

"What?"

"Just do it!" Fox yelled.

Krystal jumped on the bar stool, flipping herself over the bar while Fox jumped the bench, in order to get behind a concrete barrier as Mei and Bryan began making the long trek down the steps of their respective buildings.

Bryan was fumbling around in his pockets for a moment, pulling the phone he had been given out. He jammed his fingers into a few buttons for a moment before getting a high pitched tone rang out.

"Cornerian Army dispatch center. Code in please."

"DCTU Five-Five David!"

"Five-Five David, what's you're emergency?"

"I'm at a small town Café, Granted Café, I think its called. We have a believed tactical device on one of the tables. I need containment! Police, Fire, Medics! Whoever you can send!" He cried into the phone, slamming it shut before reaching for his microphone.

"Katt, get on the wire, get the rest of the team out here. Tell them we have an active tactical device. I need them here now!"

"I copy! Dispatching now!"

Just as Bryan his the ground floor, a large explosion boomed around him, sending the large glass windows in the area shattering into anyone still standing.

Bryan himself was thrown back a few feet, only to meet the ground with a sickening thud.

Getting up he could feel a small amount of blood trickle down his arm. He ignored it for the time being.

"Everyone, check in!"

"Mei, I'm here - I'm ok, no wounds."

"Krystal - took a hit to the leg. Minimal bleeding, don't think I can move."

Bryan waited a few moments for Fox to check in, panic setting in slightly before his instincts.

"Fox, check in, now!"

Sirens were heard in the distance as Bryan raced out the back lobby door, heading to the hidden units.

"I've got Tommy heading east, I'm in pursuit! No sign of Fox, copy?"

"I copy, grab him!" Bryan yelled grabbing his M4 Carbine and sidearm, he raced out front.

Slinging the rifle over his shoulder he ran out into the street, finding Mei standing in the middle of it, facing Tommy as he stood there panting.

"What are you waiting for! We have a job to do!" He yelled at her, seeing his commander coming out from behind the wall.

Mei drew her weapon on him, Bryan aiming his rifle.

"DCTU! Get down! Police!"

Tommy nearly chocked on his own toung.

"What? Guys, did you get hit in the head or something!"

"Police! Get down now!" Mei called out again. Tommy just shook his head. "You've got to be kidding me! What the fuck are you doing!"

It was only now that Bryan began to advance on his former team mate.

"DCTU! Police! I said down! Get down now!"

"The fuck are you talking about? We have people to help!"

Bryan felt sick to his stomach. Tommy didn't even know he had been caught, and worse off, he acted like everything is normal.

"Last warning! Get down now!"

Tommy just ignored them, looking around him for a place to run. Bryan took his chance, charging in, grabbing one of his hands, swinging it around, throwing him roughly to the ground, his pistol appearing in his hands.

"On the ground you stupid fuck." He hissed, pressing the muzzle to the back of his head. "Don't you speak English!"

Bryan took a deep breath, holstering his weapon, Mei coming up behind him, placing handcuffs on the turned agent. Being extra rough, even to the point of dragging Tommy to her unit, instead of letting him walk.

Bryan instead started moving through the area. Anyone lying on the ground was checked for a pulse. Each call check in.

"Five-Five David to Dispatch, get ready to copy."

"Katt here, ready to fly."

"Copy. I've got one male, feline. DOA."

"Copy."

Bryan moved on, calling in each one he could, giving a status and location report to Katt.

"I've got a female, canine, injury to both legs, one arm. Heavy breathing, light to moderate bleeding. Hey, I need a medic!"

Mei appeared at his side in a minutes, treating the wounds as the dog withered slightly at her touch. "Stay still, I'm trying to help." She plead.

Bryan, not really sure were Fox was, began searching. He found him behind the barriers, a projectile from the bomb had pierced it, getting him strait through the chest. His breathing was labored, his eyes open. He was conscious, slightly responsive.

"I'm hit." He whispered slightly.

"It's nothing." Bryan said with a fake smile, waving for Mei. She stopped on the balls of her feet, seeing the condition.

"What do you think?" Bryan asked, looking around him.

"We have at least twenty dead, forty or more injured."

"Not that, him!"

"Unless I start treating him now, he doesn't have a chance." Mei said, settling on her knees, breaking out every supply she had to stop the blood flow, the first of the ambulances and police arriving.

First Aid would be taken, the worst treated first, followed by the least.

"I've got a man down, one unconfirmed. Repeat, one confirmed agent down, another unknown." Bryan called into his microphone, jumping the bar Krystal had been sitting at, finding her on the other side, on her back. "Hey boss." She began with a grin, not looking down.

Bryan kneeled down, assessing her injuries. Her's weren't as bad as Fox's, but it would be a while before she would be up and walking.

He began to wrap her injuries.

"How bad is it?" She whispered after a moment. Her eyes trained on the ceiling above. It was obvious that she was in extreme pain, the naturally produced adrenaline probably wearing thin since it had been running since the start of the mission. Her controlled breathing and balled fists told him that much.

Bryan didn't say anything, he just set his mind to the task at hand. After a moment, she repeated her question, this time gripping one of his hands, still not removing her gaze from above.

"I asked, how bad am I injured. And be honest, I can tell if you're lying."

"I won't lie to you, Krys. It's not good… it'll be a while before you walk again."

"What about Fox, he didn't check in over the radio."

He stayed silent this time, looking up towards her head. Tears primed the sides of her eyes. "Bryan, tell me about my mate."

Sighing, Bryan sat back on his knees. "He's injured badly. He took something to his chest… it's a very serious wound, Krystal… I'm not sure if… if he'll make it."

There was a slightly sob before she sucked it back into her mouth.

And Bryan knew, it was going to be a long war.

Too many innocent lives had been taken, too many wrongs - more than could ever be righted.

And the worst of it? One of his own had been responsible.