"I'm not sure I understand. How are we going to hurt them, sir?"
"It's simple. Their leader seems to have a thing for his partner. If we hurt her, we hurt him. Cut the head off the body - the body is useless."
"I'm not sure this will work. What about the rest of that team? They have proven they are strong even without him."
"That's simple too. Brea and Mei are like lost sisters, Mei will undoubtedly be disturbed by the attack. Dean and Jackie will be left, and they are no match for us."
"I still don't like it, sir. This is DCTU we are talking about. Going after one of their own? That's suicide!"
"Do not question me. Just get moving."
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Wrapping paper was all over the living room floor. They had already done the gifts and were now sitting back laughing and having a good time. Brea excused herself for a moment, going to put her gift into the unit her and Bryan shared. Just in time for the phone to ring and Krystal to grab it since she was close.
"Happy Holidays. Krystal here."
"Krystal? Thank god!"
"Teresa? What's wrong?"
"My manager received a letter today. It's a threat saying that if I play today I'll be killed during or after the show. Its been signed by Aramov."
Krystal frowned. "You might want to talk to Bryan about this one." She said, handing the phone over to him. He glanced at her for a moment before talking.
"Hello?"
"I really could use your help."
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Brea opened the cargo door on the unit, rummaging around in the back before finding what she was looking for.
"Excuse me, miss, could you help me for a moment?" A voice asked her from behind.
"I'm sorry, sir. But I am really quite busy at the moment."
"Please, it will only take a moment."
She put her new toy down and sighed, turning around to face whoever was talking to her. Whoever it was struck her in the face and she fell backwards, landing hard on the inside of the unit's cargo area.
She groaned slightly, moving to sit up when she was held down by her shoulders.
"What are you doing! Get off of me!" She yelled, only to have something stuffed in her mouth. Se struggled for a moment before another blow to her head nearly knocked her out.
She gasped slightly feeling a claw move down her clothing. Her mind started to panic.
'Oh gods!' Her mind screamed.
She stopped struggling for a moment while her mind struggled for a way to get out of his grasp. Then it hit her. It was an unexpected movement so her attacker didn't have time to stop it. Her paw shot out and reached for the tazer they kept a few inches away from her head. She grabbed it, but had it knocked out of her hand. She growled in frustration. She just had to get out of this situation before it went too far.
She was about to try again when she heard a loud noise and her attacker went limp. She opened her eyes to see Falco pulling the guy off of her when Bryan was holstering his weapon. He pulled the cloth from her mouth before pulling her into a sitting position.
"You ok?" He asked, looking over his shoulder briefly.
Brea groaned slightly, leaning against his shoulder. "Just fine. My head hurts though."
"Well get you some medication. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'll be fine. He didn't get a chance to do anything to me. I'll be fine… thanks guys."
"She okay?" Falco asked, coming up behind Bryan.
"She's fine. Just a headache."
Brea pushed onto her feet, walking from the unit to the house. Bryan watched her leave before turning to Falco.
"Think she's really okay?" He asked, turning back to watch her leave.
"I'd say that's a call only she can make." The avian responded, turning to look back at the wounded attacker. "I'll call the medics."
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"You sure you're up to this?" Bryan asked again, turning on his left signal.
"I said I'm fine!" Brea growled, glaring at him.
"Alright, alright." He sighed, looking in his mirrors.
Brea herself turned to look out the window again, repeated her own military creed in order to remind herself that stupid stuff wasn't supposed to bother her.
She stopped when she felt Bryan shake her shoulder.
"We're here." He said, opening his door. She took a deep breath, getting out of the car.
"Alright guys, lets get inside and talk to a few people. We'll also be having crew profiles uploaded into these," he said, holding up a pair of what looked like eye glasses. "if you see someone backstage, these will identify them. If they're not on the crew list, pull them. Understood?"
Just as he finished his speech, a red van pulled up.
"Damn it." Fox cursed. "I was hoping they didn't follow us. We really don't need the extra confusion."
"How do they always find us?" Krystal asked under her breath.
"Simple." Melinda retorted, pulling a black box out from under Mei's unit. "We tracked you."
"Oh, son of a… let me deck her! Please?" Brea whined, turning to open the cargo hold of their unit.
Bryan just walked up to the reporter. "Pull another stunt like that and I will see to it that you are thrown in jail. New budget or no. Understood?"
She was taken back slightly by his threat, but nodded dumbly.
"Good." Bryan hissed. "We're heading in."
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"No cameras!" Teresa's manger yelled as the team entered the building. She went after the camera crew first, before running ahead to block Bryan's path. "And what do you think you're doing? Leave now!"
Teresa poked her head out the door her manger was blocking to see who she was yelling at now. "Maria that is enough!" Teresa growled, opening the door wider. "You keep trying to push them away! Will you leave them be, they're only here to help!"
"I do not approve." Maria growled back. "I don't trust them."
Teresa sighed. "They only want to help. Leave them be."
Defeated once again, Maria growled, walking off to yell at the camera crew some more.
"Wow… she really doesn't like us." Mei whistled, turning to face Teresa again.
"I'm so glad you guys can make it. Aramov doesn't make threats without acting on them. I know she's up to something." Teresa began, leading them to a large break room.
"Any reason why should we target you?" Dean asked, taking a seat and putting his feet up on the table.
"Other than the fact I know too much about her? Can't really think of anything else."
"What do you know that could hurt her bad enough that she would want to kill you?" Bryan asked, leaning on a wall.
"I know her face… her name… I know what she is capable of. I know her markings, he clan, her ex. Just about everything!"
"Sounds like a good enough reason to me." Fox stated, looking out a window that allowed them to look over the stage. "What do you guys want to do?" He asked, turning to face the rest of the team.
"Well… this place is way too large for us to cover on our own. Any chance we can pull you into protective custody until we take down Aramov?"
"As much as I would love that… tonight is completely sold out - and I couldn't do that to the fans."
"How many places do you have after this?"
"Nothing until after New Years. And those haven't started selling tickets yet."
"Alright, we'll coordinate security tonight and after the show we'll pull you into PC. Think you can cancel the rest of your appearances until after a little while?" Bryan said, reaching for his radio.
"Why not… it'll give me time to sit and think up more songs anyway."
"We've got three hours until the show starts." Falco said. "What can we cook up before then?"
"Well the first step would be to sweep the seats, rooms - basically every inch of this place." Mei stated.
"And even after that, this place is way too large for us to be able to cover on our own." Jackie restated. Katt took a step forward. "Brea, why don't you call your team down and Bryan, why don't you call M-TAC."
"Sounds like a plan." Dean said, eating some of the food on the table.
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"Everyone is reporting an all clear. I've got vitals green for everyone. You guys are set to go." Bill was working base duty for this mission.
"Sure you don't have your hands full, Bill. You've got two kids there and you're monitoring us." Brea talked into her speaker, looking around the stage.
"I'm fine. James is working on homework before taking a shower and watching a movie with Lindsay. She's too busy playing with that gaming system you got her to really do much of anything else."
"Glad to see she likes it." Krystal broke in.
"Hey guys… I'm receiving an old transmitter signal breaking into your vitals… well, not so much breaking in as its creating an extra slot." Bill reported.
Bryan looked at Brea from across the stage and then up into the box seats over to Falco and Dean who were clearing up there.
"It's a really old signal. Hasn't been used since… hell Andross' days." Bill continued.
"Think you can decode it?" Bryan asked, heading for the back hallways.
"Working on it. I can pin where its coming from though. Hold on… alright, Bryan and Brea - you guys are in the northern main hallway. Fox and Krystal are in the hallway parallel to your left. The main hallway is right in front of you. It's coming from there."
Bryan and Brea picked up speed knowing that Krystal and Fox were already at a face paced run. They hit the main hall just in time to look and see a shadow going around the corner and into one of the darker hallways.
"Hey! Hey, you!" Brea called, chasing after the figure with the rest of the team. They turned the corner to see a long hallway, lit with lights that looked almost like utility lanterns that were strung up along the floor lining. A cool breeze seemed to pass through the hallway is Bill's voice interrupted the silence.
"That was weird. The signal beacon turned a corner and just… disappeared."
"Bill, pull up some kind of records of this place. Anything public or private." Bryan said.
"I'm on it."
Meanwhile, they looked at the hallway. "You know… a year ago I would have ran down this thing without a second thought." He started. "But now… shit, I'm not sure."
Brea looked over to her vixen teammate. "Sense anything?"
"I'm not sure… a lot of things are coming to me right now. I sense nothing pure evil… but something is here."
"I don't get it." Bryan began, starting to walk down the hallway, still treading lightly.
The others followed him.
"Hey guys, signals up again… its behind you this time."
They turned around to catch the shadow once again.
"Guys, what the fuck is going on up there?" Dean was yelling at them now.
"Uh… hold that thought." Fox replied. Turning the corner and finding the hallway clear again.
"Holy... Guys, I've decoded the signal… you won't believe it…"
"Spit it out!" Brea yelled.
"Alright… its an old signal belonging to James McCloud."
Fox stopped in his tracks and Krystal caught him as he stumbled back a little. "Dad?" Bryan took a few steps back, crouching to help out with Fox.
"Seems that way. Signals back, right in front of you."
Bryan looked up to see a figure approaching them. It was darkened slightly, ripped fighter pilot uniform, with a few blood stains to add to the effect. It was just walking towards them slowly.
Bryan checked over his shoulder to gauge Fox's reaction. Krystal now had him propped up on the ground while he was gaping at his father's apparition. Krystal could see it too, as did Brea who was first to un-holster her weapon. Since Bryan was already low to the ground he un-holstered his weapon while pivoting on his knee, turning to hold his weapon strait in front of him.
"Halt! Do not move another step!" He called, knowing that Brea was standing ready behind him with her weapon aimed too.
The figure didn't stop, instead he seemed to move with more determination.
"Police! Freeze! Stop now or I will open fire!" Brea called out the second warning.
Bryan paused for a moment before firing. Between him and Brea they got off three shots before being blown back by an explosion. When he looked up he saw three bullet holes in the wall at the end of the hallway with scorch marks all over the wall from where the figure was to where they were.
"What the hell was that! The whole building shook!" Mei screamed into the radio.
"I'm dispatching a secondary F.E.A.R. unit out." Bill called.
"What, why?" Jackie.
"Something is going on in that building. We need them to check it out."
"Didn't F.E.A.R. get wiped out?" Mei asked.
"Their main team did. A few trainees were too. But they have a secondary unit."
"Get them moving!" Bryan yelled, breaking up the chatter.
"I'm on it!" Bill called back.
"I'm moving to your local. Stay put." Mei said.
"I'll be going with her." Jackie added.
Bryan shook his head for a moment, clearing out the ringing sound he heard. He got to his feet and moved towards Fox, already seeing that Brea was just fine.
"You alright?"
"Did you get it?" Fox asked.
"I'm not sure…"
"F.E.A.R. en-route. Code 3."
"Guys we need to get this mess cleaned up in under two and a half hours. We can't screw up Teresa's show." Fox stated, standing up and thanking Krystal for catching him.
Mei and Jackie hit the hallway at the same time, noticing them all getting off the ground.
"Yo! You guys alright?" Jackie was concerned while Mei was checking the ceiling.
"Drop ceiling." She was muttering to herself. She pushed one of the covers up before hoisting herself up and into the area above the ceiling. A few minutes later she dropped back down through the same hole, closing it back up.
"Nothing up there."
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"You fucked up! The bitch is here and none of them seem out of it about the attack! Did you man even carry out the act!" Maria was hissing into her phone in a dark corner of the building.
"We were able to find out that he wasn't able to carry out the attack. One of the others discovered him, he died on the way to the hospital."
"Akita would have never have made such a stupid mistake."
"Well I and not Akita. But I do cover up where I can. We still could have this chance. That place is huge, there is no way they can cover all the areas without leaving some sort of gap."
"I've already heard gunshots. Are your men here now?"
"No… but I know what it was. I've had a few of my men make a mixture of Akita's blood plus some TI-83 to make a… raising the dead potion."
"How did you get a hold of that chemical? Never mind Akita's blood."
"I have my ways.
But the potion has a problem. It woke up something else, not sure
what it is. But I have plans to find out later on. For now, we will
attack as necessary during the show or after it. Should my men fail…
you know what to do."
"Wouldn't it be easier for me to just off her now?"
"Absolutely not! I still need you for later. My men are expendable! You, however, are part of a plan for later. But… should all else fail, I'm trusting you Maria - don't screw this up."
She shut her phone abruptly, hearing the door behind her open.
"What?" She snapped, turning to see who it was.
"The building is clear. They said we'll be all set for the show. Just thought I'd let you know." Teresa sighed, turning around and shutting the door. She made a mental note to fire her manager later.
She turned another hallway, coming face to face with a man in black clothing carrying what looked like a large rifle. She shrieked, stumbling backwards. Someone must have heard her because a moment later, someone was helping her off the floor. She turned to see Mei brushing a few things off the singer's outfit before turning back to the man.
"Scary looking thing, ain't he." Mei mused with a smirk. "That's why they're called F.E.A.R." She added, laughing at her own joke. Teresa blinked a few times before asking her question. "What are you talking about?"
"Just an extra security measure. M-TAC is around here somewhere too. Since the place is so big we need all the extra help we can get."
Teresa eyed the guy before he flipped up his helmet revealing a large black dog behind the mask. "Didn't mean to scare you, miss. Sorry."
"Its alright." Teresa quickly replied, turning to Mei, pulling the agent aside. "I thought you guys were doing security. I really don't trust these other guys."
Mei patted Teresa on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We still have the lead. You'll have Bryan, Brea, and Jackie stage front with you. Me and Dean will be checking the place out while people are moving in and out of the place and during the show. Everyone else will be taking points around the arena. We just don't have enough for the crowd you're expecting."
Teresa studied Mei's eyes for a moment, looking for another other than the trust to hide there. She sighed, finding nothing to point out. "Alright… if you guys trust them…"
"Look, Bryan and Brea are the best two we got. Bryan's a great marksman and Brea is just the same. Jackie is great with planning and we'll all be in radio contact. You have nothing to worry about."
"What about the vixen, Krystal?"
"What about her?"
"I want her stage front too. She's the first out of all of you that I trusted."
"Alright, I'll talk to Fox and Bryan, get her moved up front. Any other issues?"
"None… thanks guys… really."
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"Alright, with the music playing you may have some trouble hearing your radio. Hopefully Brea's little computer contacts are working so you can read what we're saying." Bryan said over the radio, reading his own message in the neon green lettering while some other info was displayed.
"Did I mention how freakin' cool these things are?" Dean responded.
"Yah, yah. Boys and toys. We're working co-op with F.E.A.R. and M-TAC. We've got point so lets not lose our reputation to some stupid mistake, ok guys?" Mei talked over the radio instead of yelling like the others.
"See anything call it. Bill can get too much SATLink footage since this entire place is in doors and Heat Sign wouldn't work because of the lights and massive crowds. All he's got right now is anything with a camera in it. So, if you've got one, pick a point that'll give him the best vantage. Bill - have any camera issues, we'd just love to hear them."
"Got it, Katt."
"Nice. Alright, the show is starting. Keep on your feet and don't get too involved in the music, ok? Threats will be varied depending on where you are. Front couple rows would be your pistols and anything behind them is most likely going to be some sort of a rifle. Even with the metal detectors on, these guys are sneaky, so keep your eyes, ears, and other appendages open." Fox finished, taking a step back so that one of the stage lights wasn't right in his eyes.
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With the show in full swing, it would have been surprisingly easy for any of them to lose their head and just sit back and enjoy the show. Bryan found himself drifting a few times before shaking himself back into a full awareness.
With everything working so well, they almost felt like they could take this job easy. Yet each found them constantly reminding themselves what could happen if they did.
"Hey, Falco. Do you copy? I've lost your signal. You alright?"
Bryan glanced up into the box area were he had seen Falco standing and watching for other the past hour. Seeing that the falcon was no where to be found he started to think of the possibilities.
"Falco, you copy? Guys - anyone see him?" Bill continued over the radio.
"Two from M-TAC, check the third box, second row. We saw him there last." Bryan clicked his radio off, watching as two guards appeared in the box that Falco had been seen in.
"Nothing out of place here. Orders?"
"Hold it there. Mei?"
"Yah chief?"
"Meet with them there."
"Got it."
Knowing that Mei would take the lead when she got up there, Bryan turned back to his stage duties. He scanned the crowd before looking around at those around him on the stage. Brea was across the stage from him on the other side, he could tell she was worried about Falco's sudden disappearance.
"Bryan, we're going to start searching for Falco."
"Alright… send me two from M-TAC and two from F.E.A.R. I'm going with you guys."
"They're on their way. What do you want to do?"
"We'll search the top boxes, work our way down."
"Uh… got it. I'll be waiting."
"Hey guys - my guess is that if they have Falco. They could monitor our radio. Want to switch channels?" Jackie asked, moving with Brea to meet up with Bryan.
"Bill here, want to switch to TAC Channel Nine?"
"Yah, go for it. TAC-C Nine guys." Bryan finished, switching his radio and listening in as everyone checked in on the new channel.
"Ready to move?" Brea asked, walking a few feet ahead of him.
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"Its like he just disappeared." Mei gasped. They had checked the entire stadium from top to bottom. Basement, storerooms, even vent ducts included. "Parking lot?" Jackie suggested.
"Lots clear. No one has been out there since the start of the show." Bill answered for her, obviously listening in over the radio.
"I don't like this at all." Brea moaned as they stood in one of the main hallways, looking around as people walked pasted them during the intermission.
"Guys, Teresa is looking for you." Krystal began. "What should I tell her?"
"We'll be there in a few. Just tell her that she's safe with you guys for now."
"Got it…"
"Tell me some good news guys. Did you find Falco?" Fox was sounding hopeful.
"Not yet. We don't know what the hell happened."
"Damn it… need a few extra paws?"
"We're all set for now. Just stay with Teresa." Bryan said before addressing the team in front of him. "We have to be missing some place." He said, turning to look at a directory placed on the wall to his left. He looked it over a few times before pointing out a spot.
"What's here?"
"That's the ladder to the roof. When we did our sweep before the show it was locked down tight. No way someone got up there, yet alone dragged a body up there." One of the M-TAC agents read off.
"We'll check it anyway." Brea said, heading off in the general location of the ladder.
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"Something is blocking it from the outside." Brea said. The others had found her pushing up with her shoulders on the metal slab put in place to keep the public off of the roof.
"Here, watch out." Mei moved up front, gripping the bars of the ladder she lifted her body weight, pivoting just right so that she cloud flip and land both her boots squarely in the center of the slab, causing it to slide to one side a little and whatever was on it to slide off with a small thud.
They moved up onto the roof to confront the final hiding spot.
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Falco was enjoying the show greatly. Though he kept his rough exterior of course. Only Katt could really tell what he was thinking at any given time, and with her patrolling another area, he felt just safe with himself.
"Hey pal, why don't you put that thing under the seat and come with me."
Something had been jammed into his back. And with luck no where to be seen, it was the muzzle of a blaster. He detached his holster, tossing it under the seat before putting his hands behind his back, listening to the orders given by his temporary captor.
"Good, now, head for the ladder to the roof."
What seemed like a normal walk in the halls to a civilian was any agents worst fear. Separated from the team and no one to help you get out, he was silently thinking over any plans to get away, but the more he thought about them, the less likely they seemed to work.
He started climbing the ladder, taking a few steps back as he was told to let his captor up onto the roof as well. Once there he realized just who it was.
"You! What do you think you're doing!"
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Back in real time - Brea hoisted herself up onto the roof, looking around briefly before declaring it all clear to the others down below. Only a few joined her up there while others guarded the ladder.
"Well… I've got foot prints. And…" Mei stopped talking, causing Brea to turn around.
"What is it?" She asked, jogging over towards where the other girl was standing.
"Officer down! Need a Med-Evac!" Mei called into her radio.
"What? What's going on?" Bill was on the radio quickly, dispatching medics while still trying to grasp the situation as set laid out by the team on scene.
"We've found Falco. His got a weak pulse! Get those medics moving now!"
"Copy."
"Guys, how bad is it? He gonna be alright?" Fox pled over the radio, hoping his best friend was ok.
"Little while longer and he'd be DOA. He'll be fine if I get First Aid moving."
"Medics in route. Estimated time: one minute, fifteen seconds. You guys gonna pull out?"
"Yah, guys pull Teresa and the others before they go back on stage. I'll make an announcement over the PA that everyone is to leave the building now. Evacuation." Bryan answered over his radio, being one of the ones to stay down below.
He nearly ran towards the stage area while Fox began to speak over the radio.
"We were told they were not to be disturbed by Maria, that manager. They're in the green room… scratch that, only Teresa is in there… want me to go in anyway?"
Bryan inwardly groaned. This whole missing was getting blown and he didn't know where the shots were coming from. Was it really Aramov's crew? Or a different cell that they hadn't dealt with yet?
"Hold on, I'm on my way."
"Got it. Krystal is making the announcement for you."
As Bryan hit the back stage, Krystal's voice boomed over the arena. She was most likely on the stage using one of the microphones.
"Please evacuate the building to your nearest exits. An emergency situation has rose and we require your cooperation. I repeat, we ask that everyone please evacuate the building. An emergency…" Her voice continued while Bryan met with Fox.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"Well, when you guys found Falco we made the discussion to call this whole thing early just to be safe. We were about to go in and get everyone out when Teresa's manager bumped us out of the way, saying she would tell them. A moment later, the rest of the band shuffles out, but no Teresa." As soon as he finished his sentence two silenced shots from a plasma pistol rang out in his ears.
He rushed the door, leaving Bryan just to follow in his wake since he didn't have the better hearing, he had to follow Fox instead.
Fox broke the door and rushed in, finding Teresa sitting in a corner with a shot through her arm and one in her leg. Maria stood before her, readying to fire the kill shot strait through the singer's head.
Fox fired first, taking out the manger while Bryan ran to Teresa to began tending to her wounds.
"Everyone pull out now! We're out of here!" Fox yelled into his radio, helping Bryan get Teresa to the extraction point.
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"Well that did not go as planned." Brea sighed, sitting back on the couch back at the house. "How is Falco doing?"
"He's alright. We got him to the hospital and they released him an hour ago. Right now, he's in his room sleeping." With a slight grin, Bill added. "Katt hasn't left his side yet."
"And Teresa?" Krystal asked, taking off her holster so she could curl up on the other couch. "She's sleeping in the guest room. Her wounds were nothing more than just flesh wounds. Manager had shaky aim, lucky girl." Bill finished, folding his arms. "We're really coming under fire lately. Looks like we are close to finding something out that Aramov doesn't want us to know."
"Looks that way." Fox finished.
"This just doesn't seem right. Teresa said that Aramov was one of Akita's apprentices. Yet… she's made more mistakes than Akita would ever dream of. You would think that the first thing he would teach his underlings would be proper planning." Brea sighed, rubbing her temples as she felt the headache starting to pass through her front lobe.
"So… you think it's her organization, but someone else is pulling strings?" Bill asked, looking up from a folder he had just picked up off the table.
"Something like that… like she isn't there and someone is calling the shots. And if that is the case, where is she and what do we have waiting ahead of us when she gets back?"
Fox just looked around the room, everyone was tired and well ready to sleep, he stretched, walking towards the stairs. "I don't know about you guys - but I'm beat. I'm off to get some rest. 'Night."
Krystal stood too, following Fox. "Count me in. Couch is no place to get some rest."
Bryan bid them goodnight as he passed them on his way down the stairs. He stopped by a chair in the corner of the room, grabbing his jacket. Brea yawned slightly, turning to see what he was up to.
"Where are you going? Its close to midnight."
"Heading out for a drive." He responded. Heading strait for the door without another word.
"What do you mean 'out for a drive'?"
"I need some time to think, I'll be back in half an hour."
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Fox tossed and turned in his sleep that night. His nightmare was replaying in his mind again, only this time… it seemed slightly different. He was watching it from a corner, like before, but instead of seeing himself standing there with the gun in hand, he saw Bryan instead. While he watched himself bust the door down and enter the room.
At the last moment, Fox shot awake to Krystal shaking him.
"Hey! You alright? You were panting loudly and your mind was crying for help." She whispered to him. Fox gasped a few quick breaths of air. "I… I'm fine."
"Don't you lie to me Fox McCloud. Lets have it." Krystal pushed, trying hard to look stern in her tired state. Fox just rolled over, pulling the blankets close to himself. "I'm fine, nothing to worry about."
Krystal sighed, knowing full well that when her mate's mind was made up, there was no changing it at all. She layed back down, snuggling closer to him before trying to fall back asleep.
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"Do you know what these means?"
For the man behind most of the attacks until this point - the proverbial shit had hit the fan. He sat in a chair stationed in front of the desk while she sat on the desk, glaring at him before closing her eyes.
"How could you fuck this up so badly?" She growled. "I can't trust you with anything!"
She opened her eyes, standing and heading for the door. "Fall in, we're going to gather the troops and I'm pulling the strings now."
They walked down a long hallway before hitting a pair of double doors. They swing open to reveal a mess hall of sorts. All of their troops were busy eating until she had entered, now they stood at attention.
"Sit." She commanded, they listened, knowing full well that if they didn't, they wouldn't be leaving the hall.
"Corporal Canine." One of the soldiers stood at attention again, her eyes staring strait forward.
"You and your men have been taking orders from Major Edmund, yes?"
"Yes, Commander Aramov!"
"At any time did his orders seem unreasonable to you?" Aramov asked, looking over her shoulder at the Major, glaring at him again. She waited a moment for Canine to answer, when she didn't she whirled around, getting right in the Corporal's face.
"I asked you a question Corporal!"
Canine stuttered a moment before answering. "Yes, Commander Aramov! The Major's orders did not seem practical to me nor my men!"
Aramov smirked. "Good. Why didn't you question his orders?"
"You told us to always follow our superiors, Commander Aramov!"
Aramov's grin turned wicked as she spun on a heel. It took the people in the room a moment to realize what had happened. Blood began to squirt from Major Edmond's neck as his body collapsed to the floor. Aramov pointed two fingers at two different soldiers to her left, they both sprang to their feet and carried the body away.
She raised her voice loud to make sure she was heard without problem.
"Should anyone else have any more stunts they would like to pull, in my absence or not, prepare to face the same painful death. We cannot suffer any more losses thanks to Major Edmond, but our cause is far from lost." She turned to face Corporal Canine. "You have proven yourself in the field, even your men have too. You have been promoted to Major. Now, feast with your men and rest well tonight, there is much to be done in the upcoming days. Now, I must leave to call in some favors…"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Later That Night xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What the hell…" Bryan muttered, see the flashing lights behind him. He pulled off to the side a little bit to see if they were going to pass him, but they stuck right to his bumper.
"Five-five David to dispatch."
"Dispatch, clear."
"I've got a local unit behind me signally for a stop. Unit number Two-seven-five. There a problem."
"Copy, hold on, contacting locals."
"You! Pull over now!" The police car's PA system yelled at him. He didn't recognize the voices at all.
"Dispatch to Five-five David. Best you pull over to I can figure out what's going on."
Bryan sighed, pulling to the side of the road and hitting his own bar lights.
"Driver! Hands in the air, now!"
"Well this is new." Bryan groaned, noticing how both officers were now standing outside their car, weapons drawn. That's when he noticed something, one of their badges was on the wrong side of their uniform. That was something that was never done by a Cornerian officer or soldier. He reached for his gun slowly, sliding the clip out before reaching for the clip of rubber bullets.
With it loaded he slid it into his belt line, removing his holster from his hip as he got out of the car.
"What's going on here?" He asked, folding his arms and leaning on the rear quarter panel of his unit.
"We have orders to bring you in for questioning. Don't resist."
Bryan waited for them to approach him, when one of the holstered their weapon to try and handcuff him, he pulled his gun. Shooting the paw of the one that still had his weapon drawn, he dropped it before taking another hit to the chest. Meanwhile, before the other had a chance to draw his own weapon, Bryan had him on the ground gasping for breath after just receiving a shoulder to the gut.
The agent took a few steps back, keeping his weapon pointed at them.
"What did you do to him? You shot a cop?" The gasping one asked. Bryan had already taken note that the one he did hit had his uniform in proper control. Walking up, Bryan hit a bundle of nerves on the imposter in order to make him fall asleep before moving to the true officer's side.
"You shot me… oh man…" He gasped out, holding a paw to his chest where the rubber bullet had hit. "I've got a mate and kids and you shot me."
Bryan ejected his clip, reloading a fresh one before pulling the remaining rubber bullet from the old one. "They're rubber tipped. Hurt like hell, but no death. You'll have a bruised hand and chest, but that's it." He said, holding the cop down when he tried to get up.
"Ut! Stay down. Not done with you just yet. Where's your partner from?"
"I don't know, he just transferred in today."
"Who gave the order to pull me over?"
"One of the higher ups. Look, they're sending another unit out to help us take you in… you spared my life so… I owe you… just get in your car and go! Hide it somewhere and just stay low for a while…"
Bryan stood up walking back to his car when he heard something clatter behind him. The fake cop was already back on his feet, reaching for his gun. Bryan was slightly stunned, the sleeper hold was supposed to work for at least another half hour.
Before he had a chance to fire, Bryan pelted him with a few rubber bullets, knocking him down while his 'partner' pinned him to the ground. Bryan jumped in his unit, killing his lights and speeding off into the night.
"Dispatch, get me General Pepper!"