Bryan sat in the darkened parking lot, radio help up as if he were about to speak when in fact he was waiting for General Pepper to be patched through.
"This is General Pepper."
"Want to tell me while two uniformed officers just tried to take me in?"
"Bryan, that you? What happened?"
"Two police officers just tried to pull me over and arrest me! That's what happened!"
"Alright..."
Something in the General's tone didn't sound very good to Bryan.
"What?"
"In order for something like this to happen it would have to come from someone with purview over you. Only two of us have that. Me and Major Syphon."
"I know you didn't do this so… what would Syphon have out on me?"
"Maybe he's in on it? If Aramov was there is no doubt that one of the others could have been corrupted. Just stay low, I'll order off the warrant and have a chat with our friendly Major. I will contact you soon."
Bryan was about to talk again when Brea's voice cut in.
"Bryan you copy?" She asked, her voice sounded panicked.
"Yah, what's up?"
"Thank gods your okay… someone called and said you had been shot and killed."
"Get a ring on the caller?"
"No, I dropped the phone for my radio. You're alright though, right?"
"Just fine, Brea. I'm on my way back."
"I'll be waiting."
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As soon as Bryan shut the door, a black bolt slammed into his chest, tackling him to the floor. He took a quick deep breath, having all the wind knocked out of him before looking down to see just who had ran into him.
"I thought you were dead!" Brea cried, while Bryan hoisted her and himself back onto their feet, returning her hug. "I'm alright." A moment later Brea took a step back, whipping her nose and taking a deep, slightly embarrassed breath. She looked off to her low left slightly, chuckling. "Its good to see you're okay." She muttered a moment later. Just in time for Bill to swing into the main room. "Good to see the rumors aren't true. I've tracked the number. It leads back to the CFFL complex. Looks like a dead end."
Bryan nodded, waiting for Bill to leave before turning back to Brea. She was still looking slightly embarrassed. Bryan sighed, taking the step forward to take her into another hug, knowing she needed it more than he did.
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"First they attack Brea, then they attempt to take down Bryan?" Fox growled. "Not to mention using my father's image to get to me and attacking Falco! Then there is the whole incident with Teresa and her band! There have been so many attacks I'm not sure we can keep up with them all."
"We are in way over our heads," Mei added. "There is no doubt about that. But if we back down, we show weakness. That is what they are looking for. Not to mention that we had taken an oath to the public to protect them from attacks like these! If we go underground, what will that say to them?"
"Alright, Mei, but what good will we be if we do get taken out? So what if we have some bad PR with the public. I'm sure they will understand it was necessary to deal with such a large threat." Jackie argued, Krystal quickly broke in.
"We're making this a lot more complicated that it needs to be. Besides, we are still missing an important factor. There is some sort of Army out there building up its forces, we have no clue how to stop them, nor what they plan to do. We have a single clue as to where the came from thanks to several Gate Keeper appearances, but other than that - nothing. I really don't think going underground it a good idea. But… I wish to try something."
Krystal closed her eyes for a moment, gripping Fox's paw under the table.
"I want to cross to the other side, see what is truly upsetting the Gate Keeper. Maybe it will provide some clues. There is obviously something upsetting his balance. We just don't know what."
"What! Krystal, you cannot be serious! I won't let you! We have no way to protect you should something happen!" Fox was quick to apply the brakes to the plan, there was just no way his mate was going to put herself in that situation; to save a planet or not.
She was quick to respond. "Fox, we are mercenaries! The only thing that has changed is that now we get a steady paycheck for our services! We put ourselves in these situations for money, pride, or planet! You know it, and I know it! If there is a way to help, I want to go for it!"
"What if something happens to you! You and I both know that this is far from safe!"
Krystal's eyes landed on her lap. "Look, Fox. We both know that nothing at this point is safe. No matter where we go, there is a threat of attack. Even as we sit here, in our own house, there is still that threat that someone crazy enough could attack us. Look, if we know where all of those soldiers came from, we might be able to find some way to defeat them massively. It's the only way, Fox."
"Krystal…" He sighed in aggravation. "If anything happens to you…"
She grinned at him. "You need not worry. I've got plenty of reasons to come back."
Krystal's attention turned to Bryan when she saw him falter a little.
"Are you alright?" She asked. He was silent for a moment before answering.
"I'm not sure." He cringed slightly, reaching his right hand across to pull his left arm's sleeve up a little. He noticed the small rip and trickle of blood.
"It doesn't even hurt." He said; prodding the wound slightly. He suddenly felt hot and light headed. He faltered on one foot again.
"Hey, maybe you should lay down." Bill suggested, moving over to Bryan's side. His plan was to take one of his arms, have someone else take the other, and lead the leader back into the living room to rest. His plan changed quickly however when he had to lunge forward to catch Bryan as he collapsed.
"Geeze, he's burning up." He stated aloud, placing a paw on the commander's head. Mei was already crouching next to him, doing the same with her hand. "That's way too high. We need to get him to a hospital." She said, reaching for her radio. "Dispatch, we need medics to respond to the main house."
"Copy, medics responding, code three."
"Come on, we need to get him out front." Mei said. "Brea! Jackie! Grab lots of ice. We'll need it to try and bring down his body temp until the medics can get here."
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He could feel the bright light on his face - and that sterile smell wasn't any better. Bryan groaned slightly opening his eyes slowly so that his pupils had time to adjust to the light.
"What happened?" He asked, moving to sit up.
"We don't know yet. The doctors pulled some blood." Krystal responded, being either the only one in the room or the only one awake to answer his question. He sat all the way up now, surveying where he was. He was still dressed, in fact the only thing different was the needle in his arm providing fluids and the bandage wrapped around his arm.
He also recognized the room his was in. He looked off to his right to see Wolf sleeping in his bed. He turned back to Krystal who grinned. "Mei's idea." She said, like that would explain everything. In truth, it did.
Just then Mei and Jackie came through the doors, handing Krystal some food and drinks before turning to Bryan. "Gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?"
Bryan opened his mouth to respond, only to have a doctor enter the room.
"It's good to see you up and running. We have an ID on what is in your system. It's called cyanide-chlorophorm-naratripamine. Nasty stuff really. You're not so lucky… they didn't get the full dose in you."
Everyone looked strait at the doctor now. "What do you mean? Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Jackie asked.
"No… he would be much better off with the full dose. That would mean instant painless death. But… with the current dose… it will take only two weeks. And… it will be rather painful."
Bryan wasn't so worried about himself. "Will it be contagious?"
"No, CCN is blood based. They had to make it pacifically for your DNA. No one else will contract it… from you anyway."
"What about a vaccination or some sort?"
"No such thing exists. Because it's such a filtering poison, we never had a way to make it. But… we've got two weeks so with the blood work we have now. We'll work on something… who knows, maybe you'll make the history books. But… statistically… this thing has a one-hundred percent mortality rate."
Bryan hopped off the bed, pulling the IV line from his arm before fixing his jacket, placed on the chair, over his shoulders.
"What do you think you are doing? You need to rest!" The doctor pleaded. "Sir!"
"You said this thing is deadly right?" Bryan mused. "Well I'm not dead yet, and there is no way in hell I plan to die in a hospital." He finished, fixing his collar. "Come on, we have work to do."
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"You're my friend. So I'll yet you have it… but as your friend… I beg you not to use it."
Aramov was replaying the warning over in her head. What had Trinidad meant when she had said that. "As your friend, I beg you not to use it…" She whispered aloud before shaking her head.
"Commander Aramov!" A voice called from outside her office door.
"Come in."
Major Canine entered the room, saluting her superior before taking a seat.
"Well?" Aramov prodded.
"The operation was a slight success. We were able to get the poison into him during the scuffle with our man but… we weren't able to get the whole dose in."
"Good." Aramov said, turning to some paperwork. The Major blinked. "Permission to speak freely, Commander?"
"Go ahead."
"Miss, in all the years I've served under you, anything less than perfection was normally punished. I must ask what has changed your mind this time."
"Do you wish to be punished, Major?"
Canine blinked a few times. "Not at all, Miss. My apologies." She stood to leave.
"The reason why I'm letting it slide is because that human has caused nothing but trouble for me. Now he will die a slow and painful death. See?"
Canine blinked a few more times, nodding to her Commander before leaving the room.
Aramov turned back to her work for a moment before pounding her fist on the desk. Her friend's warning becoming crystal clear now.
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"It must have happened when he was attacked before." Jackie stated, referring to when Bryan had been pulled over. "During the scuffle or something."
"The doctor said that they found a local numbing agent in his wound. That would be why he didn't feel anything too." Mei added, pulling to a stop just outside their house. They watched Bryan walking sternly out towards his unit, Brea was behind him pulling on her jacket.
"Get back here!" She was yelling at him. Mei got out of her car, leaning on the side panel as she watched the two start to argue.
"Will you stop walking?" Brea yelled. Bryan stopped in his tracks, taking a big sigh he turned on his heel, snapping slightly at her. Brea blinked a few times before growling at him.
"We can't help you if you go out and get yourself killed!" She said, getting right up into his face. The commander did not back down.
"They've already killed Ivan, turned Tommy, and attacked you, twice! Now they've decided to come after me. Why shouldn't I bring the fight right to their doorstep?"
"Because we need you here! You won't do any good if you go out and get yourself killed! Not only we will be down another man, but we'll also lose our commander! Do you know what damage that could be to team moral?"
Mei and Jackie watched as Bryan gripped the inside of his pockets tightly, making a crease form on the outside.
"Listen to me. We are not the police, we are not SWAT, we are not M-TAC." He took a breath. "We are not a full military battalion. We are a five man team fighting hundreds of terrorists a day. We do not suffer moral losses. We are supposed to be the elite or the elite, that means no time for grief."
He was actually starting to scare himself slightly, he had never been this rough with any of his officers, yet alone her.
"But you still forget! We are human! Well… most of us anyway… but we still have the same emotions! Why can't you accept that?"
"Look at me, Brea! I'm dieing over here! At the hands of the enemy no less! It'll be a cold day in hell that I let them kill me without making some large dent their operations."
"Look at you… dedicated to the job to the day you die…" Brea felt the pinpricks of tears forming in her eyes. "What about us, huh? We're the only family you have and you know it."
he turned, starting for his car again. He pulled the handle and stopped, looking over his shoulder. "I've thought of that already, you may not think I have… but I have." He turned to face her one last time. "I was told today that I have a very slim to none chance of surviving this thing… those are odds I've never faced before, and… I would just hate to think I went down without a fight." He said, jumping into the driver's seat of his car and speeding off.
Mei was in shock as Jackie quickly turned to her.
"We need to go after him." She said. "He's on a suicide run."
Brea watched the second unit speed off as she ran back into the house.
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Bryan saw Mei's lights behind him. He ignored them until she started to call over the P.A. system.
"Bryan, pull over. We need to talk."
He clicked his radio on.
"Make it quick, I'm in a hurry."
"I'm not playing radio tag with you, pull that car over now!"
Mei was being surprising cross towards him, even for her.
"Talk to me first. Maybe it'll convince me to do otherwise." He was just buying time.
"What the hell do you think you are doing? You're going to get yourself killed!"
"I'm already dead. Try again."
"No you're not! They've got an entire research department at the military base looking for a cure. Don't make them do it for nothing."
"Oh? And when did that start?"
"Brea called Dracous after you called her from the hospital. He has the entire base riled up so to save you. Don't make them do it all for no reason."
"We don't play on ifs and when's Mei. Until I know for sure, I have a mission."
He looked into his rear view mirror just in time to see Mei toss the radio to the ground and curse. A moment later his unit lurched forward as she slammed into his bumper from behind. She fell back a little, moving up, this time slamming into the quarter panel, spinning his car around. Before he could even react Jackie was out of the car with a less-lethal shotgun pointed right at him.
"Don't make me do this commander. You really aren't in the right state of mind." She said as he stepped out of his car to look at the damage. Mei had drawn her weapon by now, loaded with the rubber bullets as she aimed it at him.
"Come on, you know the drill." She pushed. Bryan just walked up to Jackie so that the barrel of the shotgun was pressed to his chest.
He stood there for a moment before ginning, slamming the barrel of the shotgun up with his first, causing Jackie to lose her grip on it. He caught it, aiming it for Mei's hand. Years of experience went into knocking the pistol from her hand without hitting her at all. He tossed the shotgun to the ground.
"Never pull a weapon on someone who has trained you. I know the tricks, inside and out." He said, only glancing back to make sure the two were okay before speeding off.
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Brea was grinning as she jumped on her laptop, even if she was in a pissy mood. "Stupid Bryan… thinks he so smart. But he forgot about the tracking device on all of the units." She was grinning until the page loaded and she realized that the beacon was coming from her desk drawer.
"Son of a bitch." She cursed, pulling it out and finding a note tapped to it. She was about to read it when Teresa came into her room. "I just heard… what's going on?"
She saw the note in the other girl's paw, and in turn, she moved to read over her shoulder.
Figured you would try and track me down, Brea. You always were the smart one. But… I know better - I mean, come on, you've known me long enough to know that I always plan ahead and rarely am I caught off guard.
Look, I know you aren't happy with my decision, but I also know that deep down, you do respect it. Now I don't know if that is because you served under me or you have a deep professional respect for me… but I would be more than willing to bet that it was something more personal.
Either way… by the time you get this I'll already be on my way down a one way road. And with a little bit of luck - your jobs will get a lot easier.
See you in the next life.
-Bryan
P.S. I love you, too.
Brea was beyond tears at this point as Teresa gripped the younger girl's shoulder tightly. She took a step back when Brea stood quickly, knocking the chair over in the process. Teresa took another step back as the cat's tail swished violently behind her. Before she could stop her, Brea had grabbed her keys and ran for the door.
Teresa chased the faster cat out to the front just as Mei and Jackie pulled up with their smashed unit. Seeing another DCTU car speed past them Mei groaned. "Why can't everyone stay put." She sighed before noticing Jackie's grin. "What?"
"It's simple… she'll pull him from the brink… she always does."