Angels with Newfound Hope

Act 2 Chapter 11: Control

Alex's Apartment - Day 4, 9:05 AM

Alex Thompson sat fiddling with his newly acquired gloves and old sidearm. He had hardly gotten an hour's worth of sleep totalled last night due to the nightmares. Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see Bryce's mutilated corpse on the grass, hear the deafening explosion of that generator, and feel Maverick's teeth sinking into his throat.

It filled him with bloodlust. What good would his own life be if he didn't avenge his fallen dragon?

"Don't worry, Bryce. I'll go back to before that happened and kill him before he can even say a word." He reassured no one in particular right as the doorbell rang. That fiery red that brought Alex so much bliss, and so much ripping pain greeted him as it was pulled open. His demeanor flipped like a switch at the mere sight of the Chief of Police.

"Hey Alex." The stocky reptile greeted warmly. Even with that winning smile, could he not bring the brunette to.

"Hey. I take it there's more work for us today?" Straight to the point went the ambassador. And straight to a saddened nod did it lead Bryce to. "Then let me grab something. It's just on the coffee table. Wait right here." With that, Alex plodded over and grabbed the Ruger pistol, clip and all. It was kept on hand until he could hand it over to his dragon.

"You might love me for this." He flashed a confident grin once back, and kept it as they began walking.

"Love you for what...?" Bryce cocked a brow at his companion. Just what did he end up doing that had him in better spirits?

"I stole back the murder weapon." The smaller male flashed both guns for emphasis. Both were in stark contrast from one another with their general looks and suppressors. The Ruger sported a traditional round one, whereas the Five Seven's was much shorter and more square, almost looking like another part of the barrel.

"You what?! You really are insane, aren't you?" The chief blurted out. The mere thought of such a move was life-threateningly stupid to him.

"No. I just wanted to help put this bastard away and clear my name. After all, you were the one to blame me in the first place." Alex pointed out in a depressed manner. He hated how that made him feel. It tore out his heart to see his dragon recoil out of that very guilt. But before either could get another word out, someone came up to them.

"Hey Bryce." The wyvern named Camilla greeted them with some serious bedroom eyes. Eyes that gave Alex thoughts...

"Hey, Camilla. What've you been up to?" Bryce's warm smile being directed at this conniving bitch only made those thoughts worse. Why was she in pursuit of him anyway?

"Nothing new. Just been thinking about you lately, and I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime tomorrow. Just the two of us?" Her question made the larger reptile hesitate a little. That was when Alex holstered his weapons and got their attention. "Oh, this must be the ambassador. It's nice to meet you! I'm-"

"Camilla. I heard." The brunette's cold disposition hurt her a little. But to him, it felt damn good to see her downtrodden.

"Oh. Right... I hadn't even noticed you this whole time." The wyvern admitted sheepishly. The ambassador knew the truth, though. She was just trying to take his dragon away.

"Whatever. So I heard you ask about Bryce's plans this evening." Alex replied, adjusting the other gun to keep it from falling.

"Uh, yeah. I wanted to see if he'd like to do something tonight. Why do you mention this?" Camilla cocked a brow. Her wings tucked together out of discomfort toward the conversation.

"I was going to ask him the same thing." The smaller male finally directed his glare towards her. Her tannish scales glittered like diamonds in the sunlight. Quite unlike most others, where they're instead iridescent. Her sapphire eyes held a hint of suspicion. Not like Maverick's typical Smolder, but also not completely cheery either.

"Pardon? What do you mean?" Bryce interjected. His reigning in of the conversation captured the two before anything could fly out of control.

"I was going to ask if I could cash in my end. You know: for the thing that shall not be mentioned." Alex mocked holding a glass to better show what he was talking about. That was when his dragon put two and two together, exhaling a subdued 'Oh'.

"Might have to take a raincheck tonight, Camilla. I promised this one a date if he could beat me in a contest." The chief respectfully declined, much to his human company's gratification. That man was soaring for the moon with joy on the inside.

"Awh... What about tomorrow? I know you're busy, but I think a break of any kind would be appreciated. Am I right?" And yet that wyvern persisted. The rage-filled brunette began to wonder just why she wanted him in her bed so bad. Was every girl this desperate to have a hot guy? And if so, why his man? He'd have to make it clear that Bryce was off limits.

"Maybe. We'll have to see how my schedule ends up. You know how bad some nights can be." Alex couldn't believe what he just did. That reptile was teetering at the edge of a hole he may not be able to climb out of. He had to do something to keep her away from him. Even if it meant...

"If he's busy, why not check with me?" The smaller male proposed with a forced smile. Like hell if he would let that sex-driven cunt steal Bryce away. She hummed a moment, looking him up and down before speaking up.

"No thanks. I think I'll stick with him." Camilla placed a wing on Bryce's shoulder. This nearly made Alex boil over until an idea struck.

"What, you scared of a little human?" He sparked a miniscule ember...

"No, you just don't seem like my type." ...And she snuffed it out. Plan B: activated.

"Who said I was asking for a date? Or are you already revealing an ulterior motive here?" And that got her. Her disinterested expression shifted. Just barely enough and too quick to be noticeable to Bryce, but not him. He had her in his grasp now.

"What are you talking about? I just wanted to see an old friend after so long." The bitch tried to parry, but it was too late.

"Those bedroom eyes don't exactly say 'old friend' to me." Alex deadpanned, to which his adversary gained a subtle glare of her own.

"Like you're any better. I saw you bringing him down the other day." Camilla backhanded his comment with one of her own. One the man was immediately provoked by. His face twisted into a menacing smolder, his voice lowering into a guttural growl not unlike Maverick's.

"You don't know a hundredth of that story. Don't you dare go there." He stalked up in her face like some sort of animal. Not like she was fazed, instead shoving at him. He swiftly evaded and grabbed her forearm.

"Ack! Let go of me, you-"

"Both of you stop right now!" Bryce finally intervened. His paws found themselves on each of their chests, shoving them both back hard. Camilla stumbled back whilst Alex tumbled over. "Why can't I go five seconds around you and somebody else without a fight?" The larger male directed his ire toward his wyvern 'friend', who looked as though she wanted to just implode.

"And you. I don't care what your problem is, you take it out on me if you need to, not my friends!" The enraged reptile fired off at the human for a third time in as many weeks. Said human got up without dusting himself off, instead turning away to spot Sebastian intercepting them.

"Chief! There you are... I was looking for you..." The runner heaved. He was coated in a thick glaze of sweat, as though he'd been bolting about in search of them.

"Great. Now what's going on?!" The chief spouted off angrily, making his coworker shrink back a bit. His gaze changed immediately to something more apologetic and stressed as he grabbed at his nose horn. "Sorry, Seb. Some people decided that now would be a good time to start a fight." He fired another irritated glare back at the two for emphasis.

"It's- It's okay I guess. We've got a problem at the Wyman apartments. Could you and Alex please come with me?" Sebastian requested. Bryce immediately made for his side as the aforementioned human stood there.

"Are you coming or not? We still need your help, you know." He urged, waiting as their company joined up sluggishly. "We're discussing this tonight." Was all that was said between the fiery male and his friend before he started off. Meanwhile, Alex flashed his pistol as a warning...

"So here's the deal. There's been another murder. The wounds seem to only be made from a knife, so Reza's... whatever it's called is out of the question now." Sebastian tried to brief before being cut off by none other than Alex.

"His gun. Or rather, mine. I can explain that at least." The brunette pulled his old pistol from his shirt. The other one was drawn for comparison, initially surprising the runner.

"Where'd you get that? Tell me you didn't do something rash." The smallest male groaned in frustration.

"Hardly. I stole it back when he dropped it. That guy is dense for a fugitive." Alex happily insulted his enemy without hesitation.

"Okay...? Anyway, The victim's a maintenance person for the area. The power went out around one in the morning according to reports. Guy shows up to fix it and is killed before making it to the building. That's my theory anyway." Sebastian finished. Bryce grasped his chin between two claws in thought.

"So I'm willing to guess the power's still out for the whole block." He double-checked, to which his coworker nodded in confirmation. "Then we should get that fixed ASAP. We don't need people showing up complaining." Alex, whilst his dragon was talking, spotted Maverick in the distance. His stride was a bit different than last time. There was a morbid determination noticeable even from the brunette's position. That probably couldn't mean anything good, but he may be wrong.

"Good point. Alex, were you listening to this?" Sebastian flicked his eyes over to the human.

"Yeah. And a heads-up: Maverick will be here momentarily." Bryce cringed out of distaste, remembering the last time his friend intercepted them. Another encounter like that was the last thing he wanted today.

"Don't even think about it, Maverick. I know what you want to do, and it's not going to happen." The chief called out once he was close enough. The target of his ire stepped closer only to have a seat and a chat.

"Relax. I only need to talk to Alex about something." The silver male brushed him off with a single mention. Alex himself shrugged before heading over. Meanwhile, the other two busied themselves with speculation.

"What did you need?" The ambassador spoke in a somewhat hushed tone.

"To discuss last night. Something seemed off about your gear being there, did it not?" Maverick requested simply. His passive posture helped ease the brunette from previous tensions a tiny bit.

"I'm not sure. Meet me at Tatsu Park around eleven, and we can discuss it further." Alex proposed, ushering the injured dragon out. "Now go on. I'll be there."

"What was that all about?" Bryce questioned the instant he whipped back around.

"This may come as a shock. Maverick just wanted to talk once this is done." The human softened his gaze toward his escaping comrade. If only he could tell the truth. If only he was even able to without breaking down...

"Yeah right. Maverick doesn't hang out with anyone except me. Come on, joker. Let's go get the power fixed." The chief outright laughed at the mere concept. At least he wasn't pressing any further as they reached an uninteresting looking steel door...

The moment they got in, Sebastian swiftly pulled his cap up and flipped his headlamp on. A small portion of the stairwell was illuminated the moment Alex activated his own night vision. This ended up making his dragon chuckle even more.

"Can't handle the light there?" He tittered as though this were nothing. "Either way-"

"I'll lead the way." Alex stated bluntly, drawing his Five Seven and proceeding before they could object. The two dragons just shrugged and went after him.

The trio's attention focused almost exclusively on the several flights before them during their descent. Bryce even tripped up on some steps like before, prompting the ambassador to catch him.

"Thanks. Ugh, I hate stairs. Especially those made for smaller dragons like you." The chief grumbled. Sebastian's light flicked in his direction.

"Having it the other way around isn't so great either. You can trust me on that." He couldn't help but agree with great disdain. Bryce's silhouetted head lowered into Alex's arm at the retort.

"Fuck them. I can't tell you how many times I've tripped and twisted an ankle." The brunette added his spite into the melting pot, creating a scornful brew of distaste for stairs.

"And it's an overwhelming vote: all stairs suck." Bryce shot off. The ambassador noticed just how old this room appeared to be, what with nearly decrepit looking wallpaper, and the dusty flooring.

"This kind of reminds me of when we found that underground base. You remember that?" Sebastian reminisced, eyes glancing toward the two.

"Hard not to. It wasn't even that long ago. I bet you'd be interested, Alex." The stocky reptile cocked his head to the side to allow access to the human's face. The only problem was his hardened glare never leaving.

"Right. I noticed the entrance right before I was attacked. Maybe that was my mistake. Either way, I'm one scar away from looking like you." The man glanced back at his dragon, revealing a portion of his similarly detailed blemish. Its jagged appearance gave the chief flashbacks to when he got his own.

"How long were you waiting there anyway? I could have escorts waiting a few minutes early if you decide to come visit again." Bryce offered with much worry. The last thing he possibly wanted was anyone else dying on his watch. Especially a human ambassador like Alex or Reza, despite all the latter had done.

"About five minutes. Not like that'll matter next time..." The brunette trailed off. His eyes refocused on the last staircase as they reached it.

"What do you mean?" Bryce cocked a brow.

"Just another thing I'll tell you when the time is right. For now: we're here." Alex focused his aim toward the basement door sitting slightly ajar. Flashbacks from last time ran through his mind as he pressed it open...

"So what exactly are we looking for here?" Sebastian queried, glancing around the generator room. Not like the ambassador was focused on anything but the back. Most notable was the conspicuous large sheet standing just at eye level for him. He honed in on what was assumed to be the Administrator. She had his rifle as far as he knew, and wouldn't hesitate to use it if it meant killing him.

"Looks like the generator's gone. Mystery solved, I guess." The larger reptile commented. Alex activated his shield just in case she'd try to shoot him instead of the light. This stole the attention of Bryce right as something penetrated the still air. A tiny cough just barely audible between all of them.

"Alex, what-" The combined assault of glass breaking and an electronic hissing cut him off as a bright cyan disc whipped over his human companion. "Oh shit! Are you-"

"Cover now!" The stormy-eyed man commanded right as a hefty 'Thunk!' sent him to the ground. Another person bolted past with a barrage of glowing projectiles forcing the officers behind several boxes.

"Why are you shooting at us?!" Sebastian screamed from his quickly degrading grate.

"I'm not, that's not me!" The human began his own assault on the woman with both of his own weapons. Just one bullet managed to sink itself into her leg right as she whipped around the doorway. His doubled firing continued until the door slammed shut.

"She's going up the stairs! Hurry!" Alex rammed it back open, leaping up the first flight and onto the handrail. What a huge mistake of his. Several bullets nailed him in the stomach right as Bryce's head poked over.

"Oh crap!" He yelled out of shock. His new friend collapsed to the ground in a bleeding heap, his guns clattering to the floor.

"What happened?! I can't see past your stupid huge butt!" Sebastian, who had been all but forgotten about, called out from behind his boss. The ambassador could just barely see his muzzle managing to peek out from behind.

"I can't help being stuck between the rails. These damned stairs are too narrow for me!" The chief fired back, slamming the ground with his tail out of frustration.

"Maybe if you didn't drink so much-"

"Would you two shut up?!" Alex managed to prop himself up in his weakened state, now holding an irritated scowl. "What the hell does it matter anyway? The perpetrator just got away, and it's all my fault." Bryce's jaw fell to the floor when he noticed the ambassador. But that only left him with many, many questions.

"How... are you still alive? I just saw you get peppered with holes!" He threw a paw in his friend's direction.

"Even I don't know at this point. Maybe it's my augment, maybe it's blind luck that nothing completely vital was hit. Doesn't matter either way. You focus on getting unstuck. I'll need a minute or two to recover." The smaller male trailed off, leaving his dragon to help himself...

"I'm starting to get the feeling this manhunt won't ever end..." Bryce groaned the instant everyone stepped back into the sunlight. Sebastian shuffled over to a wall where he posted himself, completely exhausted.

"At least you guys are unharmed. I couldn't live with myself if it happened to you." Alex reverted back to his depressing state as the forbidden thought took over. Why did he let that happen? All it would've taken was one bullet, and his life with his dragon would've been better off. Maybe he would've even been able to take him back to his world, introduce his daughter, maybe even-

"Alex. I need you to focus. Tell me what happened down there before you got injured. You seemed to have had close contact with Reza down there." The chief snapped him out of his fantasy with some effort. Focusing, the human began recounting what led up to his injuries.

"There wasn't much to it. I was suspicious someone was in there with us, they shot the light down, I knocked it away, then they started that firefight." He explained in sadly minimal detail.

"You mean Reza, right?" Bryce queried. All Alex could offer was a mere shrug. He had exactly zero clue how to explain who the person down there was.

"I can't say I'm completely sure. Whoever it was had a mask on. What I'm concerned about is them possessing my rifle. That thing is silenced, just like my pistols." The ambassador flashed the grip of his Ruger for emphasis.

"Okay first: why did you need so many weapons in the first place anyway? And second: why do you think that? It bloody well couldn't have been anyone else." The stocky reptile deadpanned, not buying anything tossed at him.

"Forget about that, then. As for the weapons: it's more of a personal matter. Just something I'd rather not talk about right now." The brunette lowered his gaze. He already knew he messed this up. That was readily apparent without even having to look back up.

"Like everything else. Could we at least get something to work with?" The annoyed chief threw a paw into the air, his temper growing shorter with each refusal.

"Past trauma..." Was all the human said in return.

"Maybe we should get back on topic. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, like why Reza would even wear that whole getup." Sebastian finally interjected. At least Bryce's irritation was quelled a tiny bit as he redirected his attention.

"Right. Sorry... I'm guessing some sort of camouflage. There was a reason why I kept going toward the back of the room. But this begs the question of why he'd return to the scene." Alex tried weakly to pull himself from the abyss yet again. If that failed, he could at least put on a mask.

"Maybe he wanted to tie up loose ends, hide the corpse and such. But we caught him before anything could be done." The golden officer repeated. His boss' rumbling voice joined back in, much calmer and more focused.

"You think he'd do the former first if that were the case. Maybe he was just here for the backup generator. But why would he steal them in the first place? We would've carried the trade out, had he not snapped like this." Bryce countered.

"There's still that thing he mentioned happening. Some people were talking about a comet as I was walking about last night." The vigilante reasoned. His grim tone of voice really didn't help ease the building tension.

"That? They say it's supposed to pass safely by. No harm to come except a show." Bryce argued much more casually than before.

"Only one way to find out. We take Reza alive, and make him talk." Alex pounded his gloved palm with a fist. "In the meantime: here. Get his fingerprints off this ASAP. I'd really like it back by tomorrow if possible." He handed the chief his old pistol.

"Sebastian, get that weapon to forensics and tell them to extract all possible evidence. I need you to be quick since we still have to hunt Reza down. And Alex? Take this." The stocky male pushed his anticipated list into the hands of his companion.

"A list of some sort, I take it?" The brunette played dumb. Opening the list revealed absolutely nothing out of place. He didn't even know why he was looking to begin with. Of course the Administrator wouldn't have slipped anything in there. It's a literal slip of paper.

"Yeah. I was going to tell you about it before you interrupted me with Reza's gun-or-whatever. It's a list of places Reza had been to before the incident. Be quick in investigating them. We're meeting back up at my office around five." Bryce urged, turning around to start the manhunt.

"Right. And if I find Reza, I'll tie him up with some pretty ribbon for you." Alex joked dryly, getting shockingly nothing out of his dragon...