"Thank you." She followed him out of the diner and let him lead. She withheld a yawn and curiously looked around at her surroundings as they walked.
After conversing with the degenerate, the snake headed to Cooper's. He decided that catching Jekyll at the Enterprise would be the safest way to make contact, but he needed to know if he had contacted his father at all. Silas went around the back and pulled out his phone. If anyone knew he had the coyote on speed dial it would certainly raise brows. Silas paced the dark alley and sent a quick text to Liam asking him to come out. He had no doubt that he was inside the seedy establishment.
Relief flooded over her as she tightened her hold on his hand slightly. "Let's get somewhere safe and talk about it." Her ear twitched as she heard sirens not too far from where they were. Finally responding to the gunshot, she presumed. They could stay at the bunker tonight and put together some sort of plan. Saima winced as she stepped away from the light post.
Silver let out a deep sigh and rearranged his hold on the device. He was used to working with quiet people, but this was starting to grate on him. If not now, when exactly? He swallowed hard. "No. Tell me now." He sped up and cut him off. "Just-summarize it for me. Details later." He raised a hand, his brow furrowed.
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They stopped in front of a hotel with the typical 'Vacancy' sign glowing in red neon lights by the main office. "It's not the cheapest hotel, but it's the best one that won't destroy the budget you may be working with. Believe me, you do not want to stay at the cheapest ones." He crossed his arms, looking up at the barely lit sign displaying its name.
Liam checked his phone at the fourth vibration. Who the hell was-oh. He stood up from his seat and walked to the back, shooing away one of the girls who approached him with a flirtatious comment. "Not now, doll." He retorted as he opened the door and stepped outside, soon sprouting a smile when he saw Silas. "Well, if it isn't the molten Mafia man himself! What can I do for you, Sil?"
His eyes searched the ground. Shit. Where is it? He looked around frantically before he picked up Saima and tried to run back to their old shed. Damn it, that gun was gone. Another loss, but there was no way it could be used against him, he thought. "What happened to your leg?"
"I had to." Espio told him bluntly. There was no way he could possibly delay this conversation, not when he knew how adamant Silver was when he set his mind on something. "We needed the money, and I got it by working for them. It's as simple as that."
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Blaze looked up at the flickering sign that read: Bag'n Baggage. The name would have made her laugh if the enigmatic hedgehog wasn't standing next to her. "I really appreciate your help, Shadow." She held out a gloved hand for him to shake.
He looked up from his phone and quickly slid it into his jacket pocket. "Liam-" The snake swallowed an uncomfortable lump in his throat. "Have you heard anything from Jekyll?" Silas' voice came out shakier than he had intended. Hearing his partner ask who he was on the phone struck a chord in him. Their relationship, as far as he knew, was ruined. The thought of it made him want to rage and cry at the same time.
Saima hooked an arm around his neck and placed her other hand on his chest. "I was ambushed at the bunker when I went out looking for you." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Fucking Espio." She cursed quietly. She had no idea it was him at the time, but she should have been more careful regardless. She rolled her eyes. "Because of my need to drink away the pain I found you."
His reasons were purely motivated by money. Silver shook his head. "I know you're not law enforcement, but what kind of jobs did they give you?" Espio seemed like a moral person, but the Mafia was obviously not known for being ethically correct. "I can't see you hurting civilians." He pointed at Victor. "I don't even want to imagine it."
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Shadow's eyes darted to her hand then back to her face. "I hope you can find him soon. Goodnight." He gave her hand a firm shake before turning away.
"No." He furrowed his brows in confusion. First Jon with his move, Saima with urgency on finding Jon, and now Silas questioning news over Jekyll with this worrying tone. He grabbed his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. "Calm down, boy. What happened with Jek?" Something had better not happened to his son.
"Espio hurt you?" Jon grimaced at the image of the chameleon's face in his mind. He seemed to care more about that agency than he did him or anyone from the Mafia. "I can pick up some bandages and booze." He sighed. "We need it."
The sleeping body was readjusted on his back. "Never. My missions were only to collect information and provide locations, just like I do in our agency. I've never killed anyone-nor will I ever." He took a step toward him. "Let's go already, Silver."
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She watched him for a second before turning to enter the old hotel. Only temporary, she reasoned to herself.
Silas took a quiet inhale and shifted his weight, the gun strapped to his chest felt like it was getting heavier by the second. "Jekyll was with Canstella earlier today to oversee my report being delivered." He sighed heavily and looked down at Liam's jacket. It looked just like his. "I didn't hear from him for some time and called him about an hour ago-" Fuck it, Liam was the only person he'd allowed see him like this. "He doesn't remember me at all." He looked up with tears in his amber eyes. Silas brought a hand to his face to hide his disappointment.
Saima nodded and relaxed her head on his shoulder. It felt like she hadn't slept in weeks, she was definitely ready to drink and sleep tonight. Maybe she might have some pleasant dreams of their future life together. Leaving the country-where, exactly? She looked forward to having that conversation with Jon. "I missed you." She said quietly. "W-why didn't you leave me a note?" Saima buried her head into his neck.
Silver moved out of Espio's way and lagged behind. His mind churned with thoughts on their brief conversation and the conflict from earlier. He felt like he was about to pass out. Waffles and energy bars, a great source of nutrition for an entire day. If he was given a plate stacked with food from the Pavilion he would devour it all, no doubt.
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"Maybe it's one of those dumbass pranks of his." Liam tried to come up with a decent reason. Jekyll not remembering Silas? C'mon, it had to be a sick joke just to fuck with him or see how he'd react. "Talk to him again." He moved his hand away from his face. "If he's still on that bullshit, I'll set that boy straight." He crossed his arms. "Figuratively, of course."
He brushed his muzzle over the top of her head. It was impossible to say he didn't miss her at all. "I-tried. I didn't know what to write so I just...left." Admitting it dropped a sudden weight of guilt onto him.
Espio sighed in relief when the slanted building was finally in their sights. Before he could even struggle to open the door, Silver did it for him. The three heads instantaneously snapped at the turn of the knob.
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Silas sniffled. He would absolutely strangle him if it was some type of sick joke. He reached into his jacket pocket and flipped his phone open. God, he hoped Liam was right about this. "Do you mind if I put it on speaker phone?" He clicked the side to make sure it wasn't too loud. "He called me a punkass stranger, so I'm not certain if he will even answer." He let out a wavering sigh. "He didn't even say my name right." The bright screen started to blur as his eyes pooled with more tears.
The white cat felt her ears drop and a sigh escape her. She stayed quiet for a moment and let the events of today run through her mind. She closed her eyes and weakly gripped his vest with her fingertips. "Just-don't leave without saying goodbye." She placed a small kiss on his neck and drifted into a peaceful sleep.
As they walked in Espio was greeted by his teammates. Silver walked over to the desk and set the device down alongside the gun. He rolled his neck and stretched. Charmy flew over to him as soon as he set Victor on the couch. "Espio!"
The young bee wrapped his arms around his neck. He had been worried that something had happened to the chameleon. "I knew Silver would bring you back!" Silver simpered and promptly slumped into a chair.
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"Hell, I'll give him a call if he doesn't answer you. Now, if he doesn't answer me?" Liam rose a brow at Silas. "Hehe, ahh. He'd better be busy."
Jekyll felt the subtle vibrations in his pocket and pulled out his phone. Silas again? He scoffed and silenced it, shoving it back in his pocket.
Jon reached their little wooden shack and turned on the hall light. He opened one of the room doors to lay Saima on the bed. Inside, there were glass and ceramic shards on the floor and the dresser rested on the floor. W-what? He sighed, honestly not wanting to question it. He set her on the comfortable mattress, then pushed the dresser back to a stance and brushed the shards aside with his foot.
Vector abruptly stood up when he saw the purple figure. "You're finally back!" When Espio sat the hedgehog down, his jaw dropped. "You found him!"
He grinned, dollar signs soon pranced through his head. Espio smiled at the warm welcome from his teammates. After a workday full of negativity, it was nice to come home to some smiles.
The joyful crocodile was about to call for a celebration before he noticed Silver set a gun on his desk. Tails seemed to notice the weapon next to the device as well. "Wow, uh,"
"What the hell happened out there?" Thank God I didn't let Charmy go. He had a hunch shit would go down. However, seeing as they were safe, it probably wasn't so bad...but still.
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Silas watched as his call went to voicemail. "He ignored it." If this was a prank it went way too far. The unsettling feeling started to grow again as his false hope started to fade. "I-don't think this is a prank, Liam." His voice was heavy. "How about you try calling him." Silas looked back up at the gruff coyote. "Whoever used the device-I need to know how much he actually remembers."
Silver was still trying to wrap his mind around everything that happened tonight. When he came back to the agency earlier he had caught them up on what he accomplished with the device. Espio's side was still unknown, however. "I went looking for Espio and eventually found him-confronting Jon." His eyes went to the chameleon.
Better to leave Espio to do the careful explaining of what happened. Silver looked away with disappointment and laid his head back, he could feel a headache coming on now.
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Liam squinted. As idiotic as the prank seemed, he was really hoping it'd be the case now. He speed-dialed the number and waited a few seconds.
Jekyll groaned when he felt the vibrations again. This fucker sure is persistent-oh. He cleared his throat before answering. "Hello?"
"Boy, what the hell is wrong with you?" He pressed the speaker button so Silas could listen.
Jon started back to Rango's Liquor store to pick up a bottle of their favourite alcohol. Out of all the shit he'd been through today, he felt that glimmer of happiness with Saima at his side once more.
"I followed one of the Mafia workers to a deserted cabin. I found Victor there and escaped with him, that's when I encountered Jon." Espio explained slowly, "He pulled a gun on me, but thankfully Silver was there to prevent any actual use of it. There was a romance drabble that allowed us to escape and well, we're here. Safe, and with the client's father."
Vector nodded in approval. "Excellent work, the both of you." He glanced at Silver who seemed distraught. Was he upset about not getting paid? He did risk quite a bit, and this mission wasn't an easy one. With the bonus they'd celebrate, but it was only fair to give him a little something extra for effort. "Say, uh, Silver. Where are you going after this?"
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Silas fidgeted with his hands as he stared at Liam's phone. He was eternally grateful for his father's willingness to help him. The snake vividly remembered the day he had met Liam, his expectations had been mostly negative at first, even if Jekyll had reassured him a million times it was going to be okay. He nervously awaited Jekyll's answer.
He looked over to Vector. "Home, I guess." Silver sighed. "I've been away for too long anyway." The thought of going back wasn't all that appealing, to be honest. It seemed as though the future wasn't worth living in without Blaze. He looked away and slouched even further into his chair. It felt unfair for his other friends and his mother, but it's how he felt deep down. "I appreciate you letting me stay here, Vector."
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Jekyll stiffened. "What are you talking about?"
"Answer the damn question, Jek."
"Dad," he whispered, "I really don't know what's happening, just fill me in."
"Why are you ignoring your husband's phone calls?"
His eyes widened. "W-what?" He tried to keep his voice low. "The fuck-husband?"
"You should stay here!" Charmy declared. "You've barely been here at all, and I reaaaallyy want you to hang out with us."
"Cool it, Charmy." Vector was used to the shrill voice, but it didn't make it any less annoying. "But, yeah. You shouldn't go just yet." He looked at the meager pile of bills. Something could be arranged, but he wasn't sure what.
"Hmm, you could stay over at my place." The small fox offered. "I don't stay there often, and I've actually been meaning to rent it out. You could stay for a month." He shrugged. "It's nothing, honestly."
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Silas facepalmed. He wiped away whatever tears were left on his muzzle and leaned against the cold brick wall. Jekyll had totally forgotten their relationship. That fucking device was still out there somewhere with that two-tailed fox. That little piece of shit! Silas held back a sob and clenched his fists.
Silver watched the back and forth. "That's-nice of you to offer, Tails. Thank you." Maybe staying around would give him more time to speak with Espio. The story he gave them held back on a lot of details which frustrated the young hedgehog. What if the chameleon's involvement with the Mafia put the agency in danger? Of course, Espio seemed to know what he was doing to prevent it from happening, but those two people from earlier-could they be a problem? All of this thinking made the pain worse.
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"Well, boyfriend-point is, you're ignoring him."
"You mean that Silace guy?" He chuckled. "Damn, you got me good. Don't prank me with that weird shit, dad. My mind was spiraling for a second." He must've put in that contact during his last visit. Jeez, he had a real twisted sense of humour.
Liam's brows furrowed in perplexity as he listened to the flippant responses from his son.
"We're moving soon. I'll talk to you later, pa." The other coyote hung up.
He stuffed the cellular device in his jacket and turned to Silas. "Silace?"
"Yep. Just let me know when you want to go." His tails swished joyfully when he accepted the offer. Vector looked at the slumped green bat. "You brought him alive, right?"
"Of course." Espio retorted. "He'll wake up soon enough. We should contact the client now."
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"That's what he called me the first time we met, until I corrected him." Silas sighed harshly and looked away towards the opposite wall. "That fox-I'm assuming he has help." He felt his chances of finding the young inventor starting to dwindle. "I don't have any leads-" He started to slowly pace while looking at the concrete floor.
Silas stopped abruptly. She was there to deliver the report, maybe she saw it happen? Maybe she was mind wiped, too? If he went to Canstella directly it would put him at a big risk, but finding her could be even more of a hassle. It's worth a try. "I need to find that whore." He practically growled. "She must've seen it-" Silas turned to Liam. "Heard anything about Saima recently?"
Charmy flew over to the phone and moved it closer to Vector. "That's you, Boss!" He looked over to Silver. "Hey-are you okay?" The bee gave an expression of genuine concern. Silver wanted to find a nice quiet spot to lay down for a couple hours, he raised a hand to let him know he heard him. "Just tired." He looked over to Espio and sighed quietly. Maybe staying at Tails' old place could give him the quiet time he needed.
"Could we go now?" He sat up wearily. "If it's closeby, I mean."
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"Whore?" Poor girl didn't seem to catch a break, either. "I've seen her, 'cept she's busy with something else now." He scratched the back of his neck. She's out of here. Even if I knew where she was, it'd be a bitch to spill. "What's this about a fox?"
Vector grumbled as he pulled up a sheet of paper and started inputting the digits on the rotary dial. Espio caught Silver's look and turned away. There was so much to explain. The need to explain could've been avoided, but it was either admitting his daytime job or receiving an unsightly demise.
"The house is in Emerald Town, so about 20 minutes from here by foot. I could try to fly you over if you're too tired." He'd carry Sonic before all the time. Silver didn't seem like he'd be a hassle-in fact, he looked lighter than the speedster.
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"The young fox that created the memory device-" Silas started to pace again. "His name is Tails. Everyone should be looking for him." He wanted to scream in frustration, if he had been able to persuade him-Jekyll would never have lost his memories. "You've seen her? When?" He gave him a serious look.
"That-sounds pretty nice, actually." He had to admit that getting a non-energy wasting trip would be pretty helpful. He slowly got out of his chair and released a loud yawn as he stretched. Silver stepped over to Victor who was still passed out on the couch. He wished him the best, Vivian will definitely be happy to have her father back. The ivory hedgehog walked over to Tails. "Let's go." He half-smiled.
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"Yeah, she...she came by earlier, but I don't know where she is now. Had a case to deal with herself." He crossed his arms and sighed. Liam cared about Jon and Saima, but his son's memory depended on what he knew. Silas clearly didn't give a shit about either the hedgehog or cat. If he found them...Fuck, Liam, think.
"Hello, Vivian? Sorry to call late, but we've got some important news." Vector listened for the female voice on the other side.
Charmy circled Silver then huggled his fuzzy chest. "Byyyye Silver! Come visit us tomorrow!" Tails stood from his chair and opened the door, waving at the trio. "Goodnight, guys." The crocodile waved back in acknowledgment and Espio nodded in their direction. "Sleep well."