Fox coughed slightly as his body tried to rid itself of the dust that had settled into his lungs. He had woken up in a darkened room, and after his eyes had adjusted to the room her realized that he had been tied up. The soft shuffling near him told him that he was also not alone.
"Someone there?" He coughed out.
"Fox! Oh good, you're awake."
"Where are we?"
"My best guess, an abandoned warehouse. I'm not sure. I lost track of everything when they put that rag over my mouth."
Struggling a little bit more Fox was able to break his binds, standing up he faltered slightly before steadying himself and slightly limping over to Krystal. He untied her next and they both stood to the best of their ability.
"This is the only time I'm going to let you stand up until the doctor says otherwise." She said, trying to take her mind off of what was happening.
"You think the others know we are missing?" Fox asked, looking around.
"I hope so… I called Bryan's phone just before they drugged me and asked him to grab James from school. I know they'll go back and review it if they realize we're gone."
"Shield your eyes." Fox warned, finding an electrical box in the corner of the warehouse. He hit the giant switch, watching as all the lights in the places flickered on.
It was now they could really see what they were in. The entire place was almost empty except for the two chairs they had been tired two, a mattress on the floor, and some sort of toilet area in a corner.
"Not exactly a five start warehouse." Fox whistled. "Almost makes me think they really want us to remain here."
Krystal looked up above her. The ceiling itself was too high to climb up to without stacking a lots of things. She realized that even if they piled everything in the room up, they wouldn't even make it half way.
"Looks like that's the only way in." She said, pointing skyward.
"Well, I don't think we're making it up there."
"Yah, you are still too weak and I'm too out of it to try and get up there. I could try later."
Fox grabbed her by the arm, swinging her into his chest. "No way, you're worse off than I am, you broke your legs - I didn't. We'll just have to wait and see."
"I hope you two are having fun down there!" Fox recognized Akita's voice as he looked up again to see him staring down at them both.
"You bastard! Just you wait!" Fox warned.
"If it wasn't for your sneaking wife, we'd have your kid too… she managed to make a call before we could stop her. No matter, it won't do either of you any good."
"What do you want?" Krystal asked, sitting on the floor, her eyes towards her lap.
"I'm going to trade each of you. You, my dear, will be traded for my sister. While Fox will be traded for one of my men."
"You think they will trade with you? Rule number one! We do not negotiate with terrorists!"
"You better hope they do." Akita finished, closing the roof door and latching it.
Fox sighed, sitting down next to her he gathered her in his arms.
"We're going to die here… I already know it." She whispered.
"I won't deny it Krystal… it doesn't look good… but if it comes down to that, think of this, two lives to save millions of others."
"It still doesn't make me feel better."
"I know... I know…"
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"Give me something good guys."
"Copy chief. We're cross referencing a couple of things now… with a little luck we should be able to get them back within two days. But… I dunno, just doesn't feel right. Akita is smart, shouldn't he know we'd be doing this?" Mei called back over the radio to Bryan as he pulled to a stop at a red light.
"Yah, that's what worries me. If we don't get a call soon then…"
"Don't even say it. We've got a tracer worm on the phone, if they call, we should be able to get them. Hold on chief, incoming call."
Bryan nodded to himself, turning right and picking up speed slightly.
"It was the ransom demand. He wants a trade. Krystal and Fox for Teresa and that other guy we've got in a holding cell. He says he'll call back in two hours for an answer. What are we going to do?"
"We don't negotiate with terrorist… Fox and Krystal both know that… but… hell, I'd hate to leave them behind…"
"We've got two hours to think of something… hold on, Brea says the call is coming from a pay phone just a block east of you. Get moving!"
"I copy!" Bryan nearly yelled, hitting his lights and siren as he spun the car around. He found the pay phone with ease, it was the only one of the phone off the hook and hanging.
"Hello!" He yelled into it.
"Sorry Bryan. You just missed him." Brea's voice responded over the phone.
"God damn it!" Bryan cursed, throwing the receiver down with a great deal of force.
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Somehow through the stress and fear, both Fox and Krystal had managed to doze off in a corner or the cold warehouse. Though the sleep was short lived when Fox woke up to the sound of a small sob. Looking down he saw that Krystal was still fast asleep. But hearing the sound again, he looked around him. It was only now he noticed the small closed off room in the corner.
He stood up, making sure Krystal was still asleep, he padded over towards the door to that room, balancing himself as he kicked it down. A small scream was heard as the door landed on the ground and inside he found himself face to face with a child.
"Please, don't hurt me! I just want to go home!"
Fox blinked a few times to gather his thoughts. "Looks like we're not the only ones here…"
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Bryan sighed as he dropped his keys into his upper pocket, heading into the kitchen for a drink as he heard someone calling his name. He poked his head out the door to see Ivan calling him over, staring at something on the TV.
"Look." He said, pointing.
Bryan watched as the reporter explained on.
"And now tonight's top story. M-TAC or Military Tactical Assault Command's main entry team raided this two story house today. The original warrant stated the reason for the bust to be the possibility of it being a halfway drug house. However, police and special forces are now telling us that they not only found the drugs, but they also found bio-chemical bombs and possible ties to another terrorist organization. Though which ones has yet to be made known to us. Other information that we have yet to receive was the chemicals within the bombs and just how much was seized in the bust. In other news…"
"You don't think that they have ties to Darkness, do you?" Ivan asked, turning around to find a seat.
"If they do, we'll no doubt get a call from General Pepper. Hey, where is everyone?"
"They girls are sleeping, except for Mei - she is down at the range. I'm not sure about everyone else."
"Alright, if anyone else gets up tell them I'm out." He said, heading for his car again.
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"…that's it. Oh! Keep in mind - we'll be on high alert until the Darkness clan is apprehended, so keep your eyes and ears open. Dismissed."
Bryan watched as the thirty officers in the room shuffled out, a few of them with coffee cups in their hands.
"Can I help you?" The question had caught Bryan off guard, his attention had been directed to those leaving, not the one staying behind.
"Sorry, I'm looking for Captain Jillian Menard…"
"You've found me. How can I help you?"
"Your team led the bust that was on the news today, right?"
"Yes, sir. That would be us."
"I was wondering if you had a few moments."
"Ah, you're one of those DCTU guys, eh? Have to say, it's kind of an honor. General told me you guys might be dropping in. You don't disappoint."
"Heh, we try."
"Right, so about M-TAC's bust today?"
"Right, I've been told you guys found connections to a terrorist organization. It wouldn't happen to be from the Darkness clan, would it?"
"As a matter of fact, it was. But it's really hard to prove without all the evidence. All we have is a possible paper trail and a few weapons. You guys are going to have to obtain those from General Pepper. Now, with that said, I bet you're no doubt going to want to know about those bombs."
Bryan nodded.
"Well, I've been working M-TAC for fifteen years. I thought I had seen everything but… these things are scary. Few years back, the government outlawed the use of B667 gas. B667 is a chemical gas that literally eats you from the inside out. What's worse is that you can actually feel the chemical eat away at you… We're not even sure if its completely fatal… most of the people exposed to it couldn't handle the pain and committed suicide."
"Damn, that's some harsh stuff."
"Yah, there is an antidote for it, but it has to be administered within five minutes of exposure. Something else you may want to talk to the General about is having some of that stuff stocked up in police units incase of an attack."
"What about gas masks, do they have any effect?"
"Yah. But how is any one cop going to carry enough gas masks for everyone in the area, including each size for each muzzle type and ear size…"
"Right."
"Sorry, don't have any thing else for you, I have to go, my shift just ended and I'm really tired."
"Yup, thank you. Get some rest and stay safe."
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"This whole thing is going no where. We have no leads, no clues, and no god damn ransom demands." Mei shouted, slamming her drink down. Hearing a tap on the door she turned around. "What Dean?"
"Me and a few of the others were going to head out for a drink. Bill said he'd stay behind incase of a call. We figured you might want to come, help take a load off."
"Nah, go ahead. I'm going to hit the showers, see if I can get some shut eye. Oh, by the way, where is Bryan, me and him need to have a talk."
"He headed out a little while ago to talk to some M-TAC instructor. He stopped by a few minutes ago and picked up Brea, said something about heading over to Military HQ to get some equipment installed on a few of the units. I dunno, try the radio if you're looking for him."
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Bryan had to suppress a small chuckle when Brea's head poked up from underneath the body of the car, her ears twitched in aggravation as her faced was screwed up in the same tone.
"I don't get it. I've checked the wiring twice, checked the engine, checked the power output, the battery, even the freaking windshield washers. I cannot figure out why this damn thing will not start!"
"Alright, calm down. Pass me that screw driver." Bryan said, sticking his hand out, laying on the rolling cart. He gripped it with his right hand, sliding underneath the large SUV for a moment, her frustrated growls were matched with the sudden growl and purr of the engine starting up.
"I hate you." She hissed as he slid out from underneath the car, sitting up and handing her the screwdriver back. He seemed to ignore her as he made his way around the side of the unit, sitting in the driver's seat, he leaned to the side a little, touching a few keys on the new display. Brea rubbed her paws off on her jeans, sitting in the passenger seat.
"Alright. Power… lets try the heat screen first." She said, pointing out the buttons as he pressed them. A moment later the image was that as if you were seeing the garage through the eyes of a heat seeker missile. Every degree was put into a spectrum of color, of course, the orange body standing in the middle of it all took them by surprise.
"Dracous! What are you doing? Near scared me to death." Brea scolded him as he handed over a file folder. "One of Pepper's delivery men dropped this off. Said it was for the big man himself." He said, motioning over his shoulder towards Bryan, who was still pushing buttons on the screen. A moment later bright flashes filled the garage as the light bar was activated.
"I'll deliver it to him." She said, turning around just as the flashes died out. Sitting back in the passenger's seat. "I see you found the light activation switch."
"Wasn't hard to find, it was blinking."
"So like any other thing with testosterone, you push it."
"Hush."
"Yah well, that concludes your upgrades. Few more weeks, we'll have these up and running on all of the units. What do you say, take it out for a test drive? Maybe grab a bite?"
"Sure thing." Bryan responded as the garage door opened and they pulled onto the street. A few turns later they found themselves outside a small diner.
"Almost reminds me of a place back home. Took Fox there before it got all… blown up."
"Yah… I almost remember it… Bryan… I'm worried."
"Don't be…"
"No! Listen! They've got Fox and Krystal. Two of our best and strongest. If they managed to get them, who says they can't pick off the rest of us? I've died once already, I doubt I'll come back again… and who says the rest of you will go through the same thing I did! Death is real, Bryan… and we're going to face it… but what if we can't defeat it?"
"Then we will all die trying. I refuse to step back and say I've been beaten by terrorists, and the others will agree."
Brea sagged in her seat. "I dunno… its just scary."
"Don't tell me you're having second thoughts now."
She scoffed at him. "Don't second guess me, I'm with you guys to the death. You know that."
"Good to hear it… now, bout that bite?" Bryan asked, signaling to pull off to the side of the road.
"27 to Dispatch! I need back-up! Right now! We're taking sniper fire from an unknown location! Requesting air support and all available units!"
Bryan's signal went right off and the flashers took its place. By now the sky had taken on a dark pose and threatened to open up and let the rain fall from the heavens. Brea had read his movements, reaching for the radio after checking the GPS system.
"Five-Five David with DCTU to 27 and Dispatch. We're responding, code 3. Copy?"
"Dean here, we're all pinned by sniper fire. Keep your heads down!"
"Copy."
"778, responding, code 3."
"It's going to be a full ten minutes before we can even get in their area." Brea muttered, checking their speed to distance. "They'll be slaughtered." Bryan said, slamming down the pedal even more.
They were less than four minutes away when another call came out over the radio.
"Officer down! I repeat! We have an officer down! We need back-up now! Where's that damn chopper! 55, 887, what the hell!"
"Chopper 5 to unit. We're on our way, just got off the pad."
"887, I'm on it guys, hold out as long as you can! I'm going as fast as this thing can go!"
"Medic 8 to unit, we're standing by."
"55 here - we're two minutes out."
"Get out of the way damn it!" Bryan yelled out in frustration as crowded streets only became worse.
"Officer's bleeding out. Damn it, we need help now!"
"Shit! 887, I'm pinned by sniper fire! Son of a bitch just shot up my unit!"
"Guys! We're losing him! I need medical help, now!"
Brea jumped into the back seat, rummaging through a part of the unit that Bryan couldn't quite see. A moment later she reappeared with a M-16 in hand.
"Great, you've got a gun. Not much use unless we can find him!"
"Don't yell at me! I'm working on it!"
"I've got a civilian down! Damn it we are taking casualties!"
"Dispatch to all units, DCTU dispatched. M-TAC is en-route to your location."
"Tell them to step on it!"
"Done!" Brea yelled, just as Bryan took a corner.
"Good! But now isn't the time for arts and crafts!"
"Very good commander, but we now have a heat vision sight for your rifle." She yelled over the siren, sitting back in her seat.
"Anyone know where the hell these shots are coming from?"
"Somewhere to the far right! Guys, we need assistance now!"
"Jesus, where the hell is M-TAC! Bryan, Brea! Get your asses in gear!"
"You'll hear our siren any moment. We're right down the block." Brea responded, setting the radio back into its cradle.
Vehicles were all about the road, a few of them smoking from the plasma shots they had taken. "It's a war zone." Bryan muttered, slowing down slightly to dodge the cars.
"Hope our plasma shield holds up. Wanted to test it before we got it into the field."
Bryan grabbed the radio this time, hitting a switch to kill his siren he then turned on the car's PA system. "This is the police. I want everyone to stay low to the ground."
"Thank god. Watch yourselves, those shots go right through are armor." Mei said over the police band radio.
"Don't worry about it, couple upgrades you guys are getting makes the shots dissipate as they hit the unit. Where are you guys, we're going to try and load you up and get you out of here."
"I copy. Injured first. I lost track of Dean after his last transmission. Find him, and you'll find the others. I can hold my own for a little while longer, but that doesn't mean to take all day!"
"Where are you, we're going to need your help getting people loaded up."
"Just look for my flashers, they're still running."
Bryan glanced around, spotting red and blue out of the corner of his eye he was easily able to find Mei crouched down behind the unit, pistol still in hand. Mei jumped in the back again as Bryan came to a crawl, she helped pull her in and shut the door.
"Guys! If you can hear me, call out the radios. We can get you out!" Bryan was calling over the units PA system. Meanwhile in the back, Brea was handing over the newly equipped M-16.
"Here, look through the scope, it's a heat sensor." She said, jumping into the cargo bay of the car, she began tossing random things into the back seat to make room. Mei looked through the scope. "Nice, but it'll be hard to find him like this, lots of people around."
"Isn't plasma really, really hot? Check for the weapon, it'll probably be glowing." Bryan called from up front, turning on his heat system again as well.
"Come on guys… respond." He was muttering.
He suddenly slammed on the breaks as he came across a burnt out car, the lettering DCTU was barley readable. Looking around he saw a couple of furs strewing on the ground, either laying still or possible injured. He jerked the wheel around so that the cargo door was facing them. Putting it in park he too, jumped in back.
"Mei, do you know where he is shooting from?"
"Yah, that way." She said, pointing north.
"Alright, cover us while we move the bodies. Use the heat vision." He said, jumping in back before opening the door and bolting out, Brea on his heals. Mei got out of the car, taking a position where she had cover, but could still see where she thought he was shooting from.
Bryan and Brea began helping those who were still alive into the back of the car. Still keeping an eye out for trouble or their team members. Helping the last of the live people into the back of his car, he glanced around again.
"Brea! Over here!" He yelled, suddenly running off towards a nearby restaurant. The windows had been shot out and people could be seen lying in a pool of blood on the ground.
But training told them both, behind the counter was a great place to hide.
Rushing in, the checked the kitchen first, seeing only a few live ones still crouching down, they led them out first. By now the unit was nearly full, it would be a crowded ride to the hospital. Making one last run into the restaurant, they found both Dean and Ivan hiding in a small corner to the very far right.
"Where's your radio?"
"Damn thing took a hit. We gotta help Ivan, he got tagged in the shoulder."
"Where's everyone else?"
"Jackie left before the shooting began, she's probably on her way."
"Anyone else?"
"Nah, no one else wanted to come…" Dean said, standing up as they began to lift Ivan up off the ground, moving towards the unit, but still careful not to hurt him.
By now, more sirens could be heard in the distance. Just as another DCTU unit came to a halt outside. Moments after the screeching tires, a burst of gunfire was heard, followed by a few pistol shots and more gunfire.
A chopper's blades where also heard not too far off. No doubt M-TAC had finally come within striking distance. They would let them deal with the guy with the rifle, they would get the injured out.
Bryan opened the back of the newly arrived unit, ushering a few others from his to it before placing Ivan on the floor of the cargo area. Dean jumped in the back and shut the door while Brea ran to get into Bryan's unit.
He in turn, met up with Mei and the newly arrived Jackie. They were both firing shots off at the roof of a nearby building. He padded both of them on the back. "Jackie, Mei, lets get moving! M-TAC is almost here, let them deal with it, we've got injured people to move."
Running for the units with Mei providing cover with the M-16, Bryan called out again.
"Go with Jackie, Mei! Ivan's in back, took a hit!"
"Got it boss!"
Bryan dove back into his unit, throwing it back in gear as he took off, Jackie followed close behind, her siren at full blare as Bryan turned his back on.
"This is Five-Five David to dispatch! I've got multiple injured civilians and an officer down! We are on a city-wide tactical alert! M-TAC is on the scene and we are moving out to deliver the injured to the local hospital! Copy?"
"Dispatch to all units. City wide tactical alert has been initiated. Keep on the look out for any suspicious activity."
"What the hell started this whole thing?" Bryan yelled, hitting a few more switches in order to switch the modes of his light bar and flashers. They were more erratic now, clearing telling anyone nearby to get the hell out of the way.
"Hey guys, Dean says that before shooting started, there was something going on at the restaurant. Apparently two guys were going at it. One of them is a DOA."
"He catch what about?"
"Yah, says that one of them was leaving something and was threatening to tell the police. I bet its an assassination to cover some tracks. Probably from Darkness as well. Damn it! Thirty-Six to Dispatch! Officer is in critical condition! I need a trauma team ready to roll upon arrival!"
"Dispatch, I copy!"
"He's losing blood! We're going to need some kind of transfer! Anything we can get!"
"Alerting County General.
"I copy!"
"Oh man, this doesn't sound good." Brea said, holding on to the bar above her head with her tail as she worked with her free hands to help a few of the wounded in their car the best they could.
"Damn it… not another one." Bryan cursed, turning hard again into the hospital parking lot.
"Five-Five David, we have arrived! Send them out!"
"I copy. Dispatch to all units, officers have arrived at County General. Be advised."
"He guys - Bill here, we've got the caller on the line. Patching it trough."
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"The sniper did his job… but I don't think he made it out."
"Good." Akita responded from behind the headrest of his chair. "Damage?"
"Multiple people down. The police band radio says they got an officer too."
"One of them?" The chair had turned, but only the glint in his eye was visible.
"Unknown, sir."
"How are our two new house guests doing?"
"Fox kicked the door to the kid down."
"Anything else?"
"No."
"You did get the pin before you tossed them in, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, you know what to do next."
"Right away, sir."
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The fire engine's siren screamed all the way down the road while cars pulled off to the side to make way for its massive size. It was one of four heading towards the warehouse district. One of the smaller warehouses had caught on fire and was in danger of nearly setting the ones around it on fire.
The police and medics were also on their way, though they were a little ways off from the fire trucks who breaks were in full service to bring them to a stop a safe distance while still being at an effective distance in order to put out the fire.
With the fire out after two hours, the police and rescue staff were allowed into the building. The fire itself had been too intense to allow even the fire squad to make a run through to look for people trapped inside.
Now that the building was out, they could begin looking. It didn't take long to find the two burnt bodies inside, it appeared that they hadn't suffered too much, but they were burnt to where you couldn't make any kind of ID except for anything dental, if that.
It would have to wait until the corner's officer could do it.
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"Man, the dentals didn't turn up anything other than braces at a young age."
"Anything else? Did you check the clothes, David? They were burnt bad, but something had to survive.
"Sure thing Doc." David patted down the clothes, pulling out a half-melted wallet. He pried it open, pulling out a few things. "Didn't find an ID… though that isn't uncommon anymore… what's this?" He asked, holding up a pin.
"Let me see." There was a pause as Doc looked over the piece of metal. In the fire it had only been slightly melted. "Oh, my… we need to call General Pepper."
"Why?"
"Because… this pin belong to Fox McCloud."
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Bryan's pupils reacted to the bright flashes of light from the camera flashes directed towards him. The microphone feedback had since died down, and now he found himself without words, gripping the sides of the podium to where his knuckles began turning white, he took a deep breath. Why General Pepper had chosen him to make the speech was quite clear.
For one, he himself needed time to gather his thoughts on the ordeal. Falco wouldn't deal with the press well, neither Slippy. Bill would have been able to make the speech except for the fact that he had known Fox longer than most and just couldn't bring himself to speak the words.
"Today at about four-fifteen in the afternoon, two bodies were discovered among a burnt out warehouse. An autopsy has been performed as to find the identity of the bodies… however, it in itself was inconclusive. The only form of identification found on either of the bodies was a pin. As you may, or may not have already known, it is the Star Fox pin that Fox McCloud was known to carry with him at all times. Under that knowledge, the Military's own investigation team has found it safe to say that the bodies were none of than Fox and Krystal McCloud."
A murmur rushed the crowd before dieing out.
"At this time, we have only one suspect: The Darkness Clan. James McCloud is safe and sound, though his current location is classified. Everyone within the military is doing what we can to bring an end to this ever growing threat."
Bryan took a deep shaking breath. Never since the beginning of the war did he think he would be uttering the words that had left his mouth moments ago.
"We will be taking questions at this time."
The reports would yell out one by one, each waiting their turn.
"Where does DCTU fit into all of this? Ever since you guys showed up we seem to be having a shoot out every other week!"
"That shows the magnitude that The Darkness Clan has taking the fight to. We do not endorse the shootouts, nor do we start them. It is the pure result of terrorist actions taking upon the people of Corneria."
"What about the sniper attack? What happened there? Who was injured?"
"We believe that the sniper attack on the diner was a contract put out by The Darkness Clan. This proves that they are afraid of our tactics and actions. We have them where they fear the most at this time. As for injuries… some civilians were injured in the attack, including two of my officers. One of them is in surgery right now."
"Surgery? How bad are his injuries?"
"The doctors fear he will not make it through the night. They said our best chances at this time is that he falls into a coma."
"What do you have to say to accusations that you have indeed captured one of their own?"
"We have captured two of their own. Though neither are talking as of yet."
"Do you plan to get them to talk? Doesn't our safety rely on them telling you everything!"
Now the room was practically yelling faced with that particular fact.
"Now hold on! We cannot torture them in the hopes of getting information! The best we can do now is use what we have gathered and what we know in general to bring down this threat."
Before the next question could be shouted out, Mei stepped up behind Bryan, whispering into his ear.
"Hey, dispatch just said that one of the Star Wolf members was spotted half a mile west of Military HQ. Want me to go an investigate?"
He places his hand over the microphone, leaning back slightly.
"Teresa's band go off?"
"No. Radio car called it in. But because all he's doing is walking down the street, locals can't pick him up. We'd have to do it."
Bryan removed his hand, leaning forward towards the microphone.
"I am sorry, that is all the questions we have time for." He said, quickly stepping down off the podium, rushing past the reporters and out to the front of the building, jumping into his parked unit. Brea jumped in a moment later.
"Whoa! Where you running to cowboy?"
"Mei was monitoring the radios. Said a patrol called in a Star Wolf member hitting the streets half a mile from Military HQ. Since he's out of the jurisdiction, we have to grab him." Bryan said, speeding off with his lights flashing, but no siren.
They sped a couple of city blocks before reducing their speed and killing the lights on the bar. The patrolled their way up and down a few streets of his last known location before finally spotting him.
The Grey lupine was making a decent pace, heading towards the Military HQ.
"Isn't that Wolf O'Donnell?" Bryan asked, falling back a little.
Brea nodded her head as Mei's unit pulled up behind them. "Yah, little strange he's just strutting around in broad daylight."
"Orders Chief? Wanna just pull up, guns drawn?" Mei called over the radio.
"Three on one, our odds seem good." Brea commented, cocking her weapon back.
Bryan looked around them. It was very odd, saying that the Star Wolf member was just walking down the streets like no one's business. "Mei, hold stead on this street. Me and Brea will take this turn, we'll speed up and catch him at the next block. Pull it off as a felony stop, copy?" Bryan asked, turning onto a side street and picking up speed.
"Copy boss. Just give me the go."
Bryan pulled to a stop just behind the stop sign at the next intersection to the street they were originally on. He could just clearly make out the ears of Wolf over to the top of the fence. He counted down from three quietly to himself before calling into a radio.
"Move!" Just as Brea hit the lights and Mei popped her siren to alert him to their presence. It almost seemed like Wolf was going to run for a moment, until Bryan's unit pulled out in front of him, cutting off his escape route. Both Bryan and Brea jumped out of their unit with weapons drawn.
"DCTU! Paws up!"
"Hold it!" Mei called from behind.
Wolf was grinning! Bryan silently wondered why, though he ignored the thought, yelling out more commands.
"On your knees, paws behind you head!"
Wolf complied with a grumble, falling to his knees with his paws behind his head.
Bryan nodded to Mei who charged in, throwing Wolf roughly onto his stomach, cuffing his hands behind his back before both her and Bryan pulled him up onto his feet, dragging him towards Bryan's unit.
"That hurt, you know."
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"Gutsy move, walking through town in broad daylight."
"Was wondering what your response time would be. Better than I expected." Wolf had no problem looking Bryan right in the eye. But even with that challenge, the DCTU vet wasn't about to step down.
"Why were you grinning?"
"Because, I am the smart one. The only way I could get here without looking like a traitor would be to get caught."
"And why would you want to be here?"
"Because, Akita has taken things further than we discussed. The final straw was the murder of Fox."
"Oh? And why would you care now?"
"Do not get me wrong. I too, am a mercenary. I fight wars for money. But this is no war, it's a massacre! When in war, I know my enemy is guilty of something! But Civilians? Little kids? Hell, even I wouldn't pull that job."
"But you said the final straw was Fox."
"I'm getting to that. Over the years, me and Fox have - had - a professional understanding. He would go home if I went home, and vise versa. We've even worked together if you can believe that. We both told each other that if one were to die, it would be at the others hands in a fair fight. But - bound and gagged is no fair fight."
"I'll say."
"Besides, we had another understanding. If I died, he would take care of my daughter. If he did, I'd take care of that blue vixen of his. That's how we played it - that's why no matter what the situation, we both made it out. Only… well, looks like the pup bit off more than he could chew."
"I see… so you two weren't really ever true enemies."
"Nope. Just… brothers on the wrong sides."
Bryan nodded.
"Look. Akita has taken this way too far, I want him taken down but… even with my team, we aren't able to do it. He knows our moves too well. At the same time, he fears you guys. Oh man does he fear you guys. Every move you've made so far he either didn't expect, or only half expected to see it. You've got him running scared, that's why he's pulling up allies east and west. He's pulling contracts and assignments. He wants every last one of you dead."
"He fears us that much, eh?"
"More. And in all my years pulling contracts, I know what that means. You guys have the means and ability to take him down. You just need a time and place to strike. And I know them."
"Really? So? What are they?"
"I know where is base of operations is. You'll need a large team to hit it."
"How big?"
"The building is six floors above ground. Two floors built as a basement and bunker, but the bunker collapsed a few weeks back during some tunneling to expand, it isn't used anymore."
"What else?"
"Not much in the way or technology when it comes to security, mostly just posted guards and…"
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"…alarms? Jesus, the place is packed with them." Slippy said, looking over the building schematics. "What do you think, Bryan?"
"Well… we'll need two teams. An assault and a recon. The recon team will need to be small, but secure. The assault team can be as big as we can get them."
"Sounds good chief, lets make some calls and get Pepper in on the loop. He will no doubt be pleased with the developments." Mei said, picked up her cell.
"Hold on, Wolf told me one last thing. He says that they hold most of their prisoners in an abandoned warehouse, twenty miles away from the actual district. He said that's where they are holding Moran's kid and anyone else they may have grabbed."
"So then what do we do?"
"Well… M-TAC is specialized in elimination tactics… let them hit Akita's complex. We're more worried about the hostages right now. We'll hit the warehouse. No doubt he'll have security there, so it'll be fight."
"Final orders?"
"Final."
"I'll make the call."
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A/N: Alright guys, chapter 20 will be the last chapter. Everything will be revealed, and all questions will be answered. And maybe after a while, I'll try something like this again.
'Nite.
Oh! And while I am pleased to see my last chapter got 60 hits - it didn't get any more than 6 reviews. Please, if you read it - review it! Even if it's to say 'so-and-so was here'.
Oh! And yes, I know Akita said he would trade Fox and Krystal for a couple of captives, but you'll see why he didn't in the next chapter.