"A case to deal with herself-" Silas looked away again and turned to think. Maybe Canstella gave her a job? Maybe she's on her own now. It was all speculation, but did Liam have a conversation with her?
"What kind of case?" He furrowed his brow as he turned to face him again. "Did she mention Canstella at all?" There was no way she would have time to visit Liam before the meeting-it'd have to be after. "I need to know everything she said."
"Did you find him?" Her voice went from sleepy to hopeful in the matter of seconds. She sat up on the edge of her bed in her pajamas. She couldn't quite get a read on his tone, but a brief thought of dread entered her mind. "Is he alive?" Vivian clenched the sheets next to her.
Silver walked out onto the sidewalk and looked at Tails with a weary expression. "So, um-how does this work exactly?" He rubbed the back of his head. He had never seen Tails pick up anyone before, but he did offer so it must not be a big deal to him. He wasn't used to the thought of people giving him a ride, in fact, this would be the first time.
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Liam took a deep breath. Everything was a bit much, wasn't it? He held heavy doubt over her witnessing this device's functions. She would've mentioned something, if anything happened, surely. In a way, talking with Silas was like speaking to the big croc himself. He had to pick his words carefully. "Canstella sent her to look for Jon."
"Yes, 'course he is! He's sleeping here in the office, waiting for you to pick him up." Sweet, sweet bonus, here we come.
Charmy yawned and sat on the edge of Vector's desk. He looked at the gun, then at Espio. "What do we do with that?" He pointed at the weapon as Espio turned his head. There wasn't a crime for it to be used as evidence, nor did they have a need for anything like that. He grabbed a plastic bag and sealed it inside.
"We'll deal with it tomorrow." He grabbed the device, contemplating for a second. All that fuss, and Tails accidentally leaves his device here. No problem, they'd come tomorrow, he reassured himself. "Put these in the safe." The bee nodded, flying over to the safe to open it then retrieved the bagged gun and memory device.
Tails slowly rose as his twin tails twisted. He reached down to grab Silver's hands and brought him off the ground. Huh. He started flying home. "You weigh just as much as Sonic." Tails commented, half-surprised.
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"And she came here to tell you that?" Silas raised a brow. He huffed and crossed his arms. "Was there anyone with her?" He knew Canstella would send his own associates with members that were high risk. It wasn't really a stretch.
"Great!" She looked at the time. "But-I don't know if I can get him home by myself and I need to collect your payment from the Casino." She bit her lip. "If you let him stay the night I can compensate for your troubles along with the bonus we agreed on." Vivian leaned back onto her headboard. "I'll be there first thing in the morning."
Silver laughed softly as he relaxed his body. "Is that a good or bad thing?" He didn't think Sonic would weigh a whole lot, honestly. Kind of an odd thing to think about, he admitted.
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"A stork, I reckon." That tall guy was supposedly a pain in the ass. Then again, Saima wasn't the type of girl people could usually get along with. "She thought I knew where he was." He shrugged. "Can't say I do."
Compensate was the only word he needed to hear to make him say, "Sure thing. We'll keep him safe and toasty until you come."
"It's good I guess. Hehe, sorry. It just came to mind and-yeah." Mental note: Keep thoughts to yourself. He hoped he didn't accidentally call him fat. Sonic didn't look like it, but he was pretty chubby and heavy back then. He changed physically, but his diet certainly did not.
Tails carried him another couple of yards before feeling a little tired. He'd have to take a break soon or else they'd both crash to the ground.
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Trevor? Silas gave Liam a pensive look. It felt like he was holding back, but what if he was being honest? Why would he have a reason to lie if Jekyll's mind was at stake? The snake felt a strong wave of anger envelop him. "I'll kill the fucker responsible." He avoided eye contact. "Are you absolutely sure that you don't know anything else?" Silas was giving him a free chance now, it was obviously a courtesy. He didn't want his trust in the coyote to falter.
"Thank you, Vector." She smiled and started to lay back down. "Good night." Vivian hung up and let out a relieved sigh. She felt tears prick the corner of her eyes as she started to close them. Maybe tonight she could finally get a good night's sleep.
Silver could notice Tails starting to slow down. "We can walk the rest of the way if you want." He looked up at the young fox and noticed his worn-out expression.
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"Not anything concerning the device or their whereabouts. Jek's gonna be fine, Sil. Couple smacks on the head and a night's rest should do him fine." He told him dismissively. "I feel like you'll find that fox soon enough and get exactly what you need to help Jek out in this mental dilemma."
Vector hung up the phone triumphantly. "Victor's staying for the night, boys." He laid back in his chair with a toothy grin of satisfaction. "And we're getting reimbursed for it."
"What if he wakes up during the night?"
"I'll stay up until she comes to get him."
"I don't believe that's a very good idea, Vector. How about I stay up to watch him?"
"What? Espio, you've done a lot today. Maybe you should rest."
"A few more hours wouldn't hurt me. Besides, it'd be terrifying to wake up at night just to see a crocodile sleeping in front of you."
"You know, Vector, he kiiiinda has a point."
"Shush!" Vector grunted. "And who said I'd be falling asleep anytime soon?"
"I can handle this."
"Who's to say we both can't?"
Espio sighed. "Fine."
"Then it's settled. We'll both stay up. Charmy, go to sleep."
"Aww! I want in on this staying awake-" He yawned, "stuff..."
Tails carefully landed Silver on the floor, then settled to the ground himself. "I just need a sec." He rubbed his eyes and his tails fell flat.
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Silas shook his head. "You make it sound so easy." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked through his contacts. He had most of Canstella's associates numbers, but not Trevor's. Fuck-wait, Silas eyed one particular name on the screen. Trudor-isn't that his partner? Silas clicked the call icon and held it to his ear. Finding Trevor could help him find Saima. From there, he hoped she knew something about the device.
He looked at the yellow kit and gave a tired smile. "Okay-" He spotted a bench behind them and sat on one side. The mention of Sonic earlier had him thinking about their friendship and in turn made him think about Blaze. They had been early childhood friends from the start, but what about the outgoing hedgehog and clever fox? "Hey, Tails-" Silver slowly leaned forward. "How did you and Sonic become friends?"
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Canstella and his men were on their way to the next location. The horned mammal wondered about Trevor and Saima. They were a horrendously toxic duo and the way he treated her prior to stepping in the doughnut shop told him things would not go smoothly.
His phone began to ring loudly and he quickly muted it before Canstella could give him a slow glare. He told his wife not to call countless times. Shaking his head after the surprise, he checked his phone to see the name Silas. Ever since they exchanged numbers, he never suspected he'd need to speak with the stuck up snake. He answered the phone and coughed softly. "Hello?"
Another yawn escaped him. "Night." Charmy flew to his room to get some sleep. Espio sat in his corner of the room and Vector looked at the ceiling.
"Oh," he sat next to the light grey hedgehog. "I was really young when we met. I don't remember much about my parents, just that I spent a lot of time looking for new ones." He scratched the side of his head with a single finger. "Uh, nobody really wanted a 'mutant' fox as a son, I guess. But I found Sonic. We had a bunch of adventures, I made inventions and we've had sooo many plane rides." He smiled. "He's pretty much my entire family."
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Silas cleared his throat before hardening his voice. "Trudor, I apologize for the late call. I need to get in contact with Trevor. Could you give me his number?" It was simple and straight to the point. The wildebeest had never been difficult in the past so he didn't expect any resistance.
Silver nodded. "Having two tails made you a mutant?" Imagining a young fox being treated badly over something he couldn't control was saddening. He shook his head. "That's awful, but at least you have Sonic now." He leaned back on the bench and stretched.
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"Oh, sure." Why didn't he have his number already? Why did he need the number now..? Ah...he wouldn't question it. Not like he'd inform him, he was sure about that. He looked through his contacts, pulled up the white bird's number and told him. He hoped that was it.
"Yup!" Tails pushed off the bench and readied himself for the next lift. Once in the air, he grabbed Silver's hands again. "There's not too much left to go." He pulled him up a yard or two off the ground and continued onwards.
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Silas entered the number into his contacts while he had Trudor on speaker phone. "Thanks." Very simple. Silas hung up and looked at Liam. "I'm going to figure out what happened. Just-keep me updated on Jekyll." He gave another weak huff and wiped away beading tears. Silas looked away and admitted a sacred thought to himself. He wanted a fucking hug.
Silver relaxed and let the soft whooshing sound of his tails lull him into a peaceful sleep.
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Vector and Espio sat silently for a while.
"He makes an excellent agent."
"I know. He'd be a great addition."
"Would you consider it?"
"You know I can't, Espio. The three of us can barely live off of what we're making now. No way I could maintain someone else." Vector sighed. "'Sides, he has to go back home." Espio stared at the floor solemnly.
Tails flew until they eventually reached the front of his house. As he descended, he realised Silver had dozed off. He couldn't help but simper. Out of all the times he's carried someone, nobody except Silver fell asleep. It really let Tails know how tired he was.
He entered the house and sat Silver on a puffed armchair, pushing the lever at its side. The bottom portion extended so the hedgehog laid comfortably on the deep brown faux leather. Tails stuffed some ultra soft pillows behind his head and back, topping off the sleeping arrangement with fleecey blankets. That should be comfy enough, Tails thought as he admired his fortress of softness.
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"I should probably pass." He shifted his weight. "Thanks, Liam." Silas stepped forward and gave the coyote a pitiful attempt at a one arm hug, he avoided his eyes as he pulled away and cleared his throat. "I'll let you know how I'm doing."
Silver pulled the sheets up close to his muzzle in his sleep. His quills laid awkwardly on the headrest of the recliner.
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Liam scoffed. "C'mon, boy. Was that supposed to be a hug?" He pulled the young reptile into a bear hug. "This is a hug." He tightened his embrace for half a second before letting go.
Tails yawned loudly at the sight of him cuddling up in the blankets. He noticed the way his quills pressed against the top of the seat. Hm. It'd be weird to adjust them, and they seemed pretty flexible either way. He took one more glance at the snoozer before getting ready for bed.
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The bear hug caught the snake off guard. Silas grunted and hid a small smile in his shoulder. "Heh, okay." He took a deep breath and waved. "I'll see you around." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to leave the alleyway.
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Hey-I'm so sorry for the long wait. I hope you've all been well!
Life has been a little weird, but I am glad to say that this fanfic will not remain unfinished.
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Thank you for your time and patience. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for the next to come!