The diamond ring felt like a frozen teardrop beneath Gabriel Mossberg's lips as he kissed Mr. Big's prized heirloom. It was the coldest thing in the room by far, the air a close second. Gabe remembered the first time he'd set foot in Big's office; when he'd seen the snow gathered in the corners of the room and the icicles hanging above the dark fireplace he'd thought someone had left all the windows open. He knew better now, but all the same he rubbed his arms and cursed the room for somehow being colder than the garden outside.

Since the civil war started, Gabe supposed he should like Mr. Big more. The shrew had seemed genuinely sorry to have gotten his family dragged into this mess; for many years Mr. Big and Koslov had maintained a steady peace, with each side making only covert attempts to steal turf from their rivals, knowing that blatant violence would bring the wrath of the Triumvirate down on them both. Then Koslov's partner, Sedor Valentino, disappeared and Mr. Big became Koslov's prime suspect, plunging Tundratown in a figurative and literal cold war. Gabe had once been tasked with eliminating Koslov to, as Mr. Big had eloquently put it, slay one mammal and save a thousand. The discovery that Koslov had purchased bulletproof glass had put any plans of assassination on hold for now. Then the Arctic House shootout occurred, and just like that, Tundratown was at all out war.

Gabe should approve of Mr. Big more than Koslov. It was Koslov who started it, and the feline knew full well of Mr. Big's innocence as far as Sedor was concerned. But beneath his feet lay the ice pit that served as the shrew's favored method of execution. A horrendously painful death, compared to Koslov's preferred method of a bullet to the head. Throughout the cold war Mr. Big had shown more concern with destroying his enemies once and for all than proving that he was not responsible for Sedor's supposed death. Both shrew and bear were cold in their own way, and equally unpleasant. Once Gabe was reunited with Starlight, he was going to take her and little Lance and then they were going to get the fuck away from the bloodbath he'd helped create.

After paying his respects, Gabe straightened up with Lance keeping quiet in his arms and waited for the shrew's instruction.

"Thank you for coming at this hour, Gabriel. How is the little one?"

"Perfectly healthy." Gabe looked down at the baby and smiled despite himself. Perfectly healthy and beautiful. And mine. And Starlight's. I wish she was here.

"You may be wondering why I called you here at this time of night." He said. Gabe nodded, wondering where this was going. Just in case he was about to be told he'd outlived his usefulness, he had a submachine gun loaded and waiting. One paw should be enough, even with his son in the other. "You have done me a great service these last few months. The intelligence you've garnered concerning Koslov's forces has been invaluable to our ongoing conflict."

"It's least I could do, sir." Gabe said politely. "Considering what you are doing for me in return."

"Yes, ensuring that your presence here goes undiscovered by the mammals that are hunting you." Big said. Indeed, several informants who relayed information from the streets to Swinton or one of the Triumvirate had disappeared under 'unknown' circumstances. Though it sometimes perturbed Gabe, he never complained because he couldn't say for certain that he wouldn't have done the same. "But somehow I feel that isn't enough to reward you for your services."

"I don't know what you mean, sir." Gabe said, ready to decline payment if offered. A salary would mean he was officially an employee of Mr. Big, and Gabe was adamant that the arrangement would only last until Starlight was saved.

"Earlier this evening, I received a tip that may be a good start in properly rewarding you." Mr. Big said. "Two hours ago, one of Koslov's enforcers travelled to the Nocturnal District to purchase weapons from a local dealer, and discovered he and his group were being followed by one individual. They attempted to capture and interrogate the little shadow, but found themselves severely outmatched. There were two survivors. My own men interrogated them and discovered that the attacker bore a strong resemblance to your missing wife."

Gabe's breath misted very slightly as it caught in his throat. It couldn't be. It had to be Alyssa Skyefall or somebody else. "Seriously, sir?"

"The attacker was wearing a mask that was knocked off in the fight. A white vixen with a pale blonde mane tied like a ponytail deadly enough to slaughter two polar bears, a jaguar and a black bear. I am old enough to know that that's not very common."

Gabe planted a paw on the edge of the desk beside Mr. Big, his breath misting heavier than before. Big's bodyguards approached, but the shrew waved them back; Gabe wasn't acting at all in a threatening manner. In his arm, Lance woke up and whimpered.

"It can't be." He tried not to growl. "It can't be, sir. She's a prisoner."

"If you escaped from whatever ungodly prison that had driven you to the savagery that maimed that caribou, so can she. It's possible she may be looking for you at this very moment." Gabe looked up at Mr. Big. He would have made fierce eye contact if it weren't for those eyebrows. "I will give you two days to investigate this tip, after which I will give you a new assignment."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

Gabe's heart was pounding as he left the mansion, soothing his son into silence before pulling the swaddling cloth closer around his face to keep out the cold. Noir Rd. was the street where they'd allegedly encountered Starlight. Allegedly. First thing first: make sure it wasn't Alyssa.

He used his headset to contact her. "Alyssa, you there?"

The vixen sounded weary when she answered. "Still waiting for the espresso to kick in but yeah, I'm here. What's up?"

"Several hours ago, did you encounter a group of Mr. Big's people in the Nocturnal District? Noir Rd.?"

"No, I was up all night looking for Slothfeld's mind controlled psychos. Why?"

"If you're lying to me, I swear to God…"

"Woah, are you threatening me? What gives?"

Gabe sat down on a bench in the snowy thick blanket that was Mr. Big's front garden. "Sorry, Alyssa. Mr. Big just gave me some big news. A white vixen matching Starlight's description reportedly attacked a group of Mr. Big's goons."

"Seriously?"

"He seemed serious enough. He's given me two days to follow up on it."

"I'll meet you at Noir Rd. straight away."

"No, you need to continue your mission. I'll handle this on my own."

"Okay, if you're sure."

Gabe shivered slightly as the thawing frost beneath his legs seeped into his pants. "Speaking of which, when do you plan on returning to Founder's Mountain?"

"Tomorrow night. Our plan is to investigate Founder's Asylum for unusual activity. See if it's indeed where XIBALBA is located."

"Good." Gabe said. His memory of his imprisonment, experimentation and escape had been as patchy as a paper target shot at by a minigun as a result of Slothfeld's serum, but over the last few days the patches had gradually filled in. Many of them had been filled by the utterance of the words 'Founder's Asylum,' something he'd heard repeatedly during his time in a glass cell. He remembered now being strapped to a metallic chair, remembered Slothfeld's flat face, white like winter, black markings trailing down the sides of his face like sharpened tears. He'd smiled like the Moona Lisa as he'd injected Twilight Serum 113 directly into Gabe's vein.

It had been in the External and Internal Behavioral Alteration Laboratory and Beta collar testing Area where Gabe had put his escape plan into action. A maze of concrete hallways that made up most of the asylum's basement, in which resided several tests Gabe had to face in order to test the new TAME Collar. Gabe had been forced into the testing area of XIBALBA twelve times, the five times with the collar alone. There were still larges patches in his memory of that particular place, but he remembered hearing Slothfeld's voice through the built in microphone in the collar, issuing commands and stating notes out loud. Gabe had followed the orders in a dream-like haze, be it drawing a triangle on a whiteboard, shooting down a security guard with a gun he hadn't known was full of blanks or throwing himself from a height onto a safety mat disguised as solid stone. Slothfeld had noted by the end of the test that the borderline zombifying state had rendered Gabe unable to fulfill more advanced tasks like filling in a word search puzzle, cracking a safe or taking down a guard in hand-to-hand combat. He'd decided to see if a serum of low potency would make any difference.

It was during the remaining tests that Gabe remembered very little, except for the injection he received before each test and the moment he regained his free will just enough to fake a stroke and collapse in the middle of the sake-cracking test. He'd been convincing enough to be declared brain dead and deposited through the waste disposal chute. They'd only discovered the ruse when Boris Antlerson spotted him fleeing through the forest while delivering Sherry to XIBALBA.

"Gabriel? Are you okay?"

Gabe realized he'd fallen silent. "Sorry, I was just thinking about my time in XIBALBA."

"Anything else come back?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay. What you've remembered already has been a great asset to the mission. Hang in there, Gabe, you'll be back with Starlight before you know it."

Gabe was about to thank her for her empathy when he heard the beep of an incoming call. "Hold on, there's another caller."

Alyssa fell silent as Gabe pressed a button on the headset. "Hello?"

"Gabe?"

"Sherry?" Gabe's eyes turned to the side of the headset. He'd told her not to use the headset unless it was an emergency. "Sherry, what's wrong?"

Sherry sounded more annoyed than scared. "You know how you said you needed to get Nick and Finnick out the bunker before they do something stupid? Well, they did something stupid."

"Oh my God, what did they do?"

"They went on Honey's computer and looked through her files, even though she told them not to. They got pretty upset when they found out you hurt the caribou who kidnapped me."

"Fuck!" The curse came out before he could stop himself. "Do they know I was savage at the time?"

"There was a diary about the serum stuff, so I think so."

Gabe put a paw on his face. This would either be a necessary development or a minor disaster, depending on how the two foxes felt about Gabe now. The hybrid got up from the bench, his damp pants warming as he marched to the front gate. The polar bears guarding the gate recognized him and let him out. He waited until he was out of their earshot before continuing the conversation. "Well? What did they say, Sherry?"

"They were freaking out. They said they had no idea you were like the crazy mammals who attacked them before. They were mad that Honey didn't tell them."

By now Gabe was mentally beating himself to the ground. Definitely a minor disaster. "And?"

"They did a bit more looking. They found out that Honey was hiding Benji in another safe house and didn't tell them that either."

Gabe started toward a nearby bus stop. The foxes might calm down if he explained everything in person. "I'll be there soon, Sherry. Best not talk to them until they calm down."

"But Gabe, they're not in the bunker anymore! I told them not to go but they did!"

Gabe stopped with one paw on a waist high wire fence beside the bus stop. "They did what?"

"They left the bunker! I told them they were being stupid but they didn't listen!"

Gabe's fist tightened and twisted the metal frame of the fence. The disaster wasn't so minor anymore. He couldn't shout. Sherry was alone and shouting would scare her. "This isn't your fault, Sherry, it's mine. Do you have any idea where they went?"

"The map said Benji's safe house was in the Nocturnal District. Maybe they went there to talk to him."

Nick and Finnick had spent the last few weeks riddled with guilt over dragging Benjamin into their mess. It was plausible. "Is the map still on the computer?" Sherry confirmed it was. "Can you tell me exactly where in the district the safe house is located?"

"Uuuuuuuummmmm… the corner of Chi… rop… tera Avenue."

"Got it. One last thing, do you know how long ago they left the bunker?"

"Twenty, thirty minutes maybe. I'm looking at the computer clock."

Good girl! "Thanks, sweetheart. Do me a favor and stay in the bunker until Honey gets back. She needs to know what's happened."

"Okay. I'll tell them."

"I'll be there soon to drop off Lance. Then I'll find them and tear them a new one, Sherry. It's going to be okay."

"Okay. I love you, Gabe."

Gabe felt a lump in his throat. "I love you too, Sherry."

The bus came quickly. Gabe seethed in the back of the bus all the way to the Rainforest District. His mood was not helped when he returned to the bunker and found Honey treating the monitor, mouse and keyboard rather violently as she closing all the opened files while she raged at her foiled security system. Sherry was on him in a second, hugging him in relief. "You came back! You gotta talk to Honey, she'd gonna break the computer if she keeps hitting it like that!"

"Hold Lance." Gabe passed Lance into the delighted Sherry's embrace, strode over to Honey and gently pulled her away from the computer by the back of her chair. "Honey, enough! We've got bigger things to worry about than a security breach!"

"They figured out my password! They know about ZI6! Neither of them have phones or headsets! How am I supposed to contact them?!" Honey was on her way to hysteria. He could see it in her manic eyes and flailing body movements. Gabe didn't want to shake her in front of Sherry, so instead he grabbed the ice-cold cup of coffee on the desk and threw it in her face.

Honey blinked liquid caffeine from her eyes as Gabe leaned down to eye level. "Honey. Cool. Down."

He handed her a smudged towel to dry herself with. Honey rubbed her head, angry but calm. "I can track them on the jam cams so you can intercept them. In the meantime you should head straight to the safe house in case they've already made it."

"Got it. Alyssa knows what's happening. You should update her as well." Gabe accepted the remote for the security shutter from Honey and found Sherry on a beanbag with Lance in her lap. "Can you look after Lance while I'm gone?"

"Sure!" Sherry beamed as she lightly held Lance's tiny paws between her fingers.

"I need you to keep an eye on him while Honey looks for Nick and Finnick. Hopefully he won't need feeding or changing until I get back, but if he does, ask Honey to do it for you."

Sherry nodded, still beaming. Gabe had to remind himself that it was for the best that she didn't fully comprehend the seriousness of the situation. No child should have to understand such terrible things. The loss of her parents and her abduction at Antlerson's hooves had been terrible enough.

"I'll be back soon, Sherry." Gabe kissed her forehead, kissed Lance's, and went to the ladder. "I promise."

Without Lance's wellbeing to worry about, Gabe was free to take to the rooftops as he always did when he didn't have access to a car, and he reached the entrance to the Nocturnal District in record time. Like Arctic House, the Nocturne Gate was one of the oldest buildings in the city, and the first of three entrances to be built in Savanna Central, Tundratown and Little Rodentia, beneath which the Nocturnal District was directly located. Gabe stopped at the edge of the roof on a building overlooking the Gate, a tunnel entrance of Georgian design, built entirely of black brick. There was more security at the checkpoint than he'd anticipated, including officers of the ZPD. Even now a car full of felines was being stopped and searched, the driver positioned in a five-pointed star as an officer scanned him with a handheld metal detector.

There was no way Gabe was getting past while armed. With a heavy heart he removed his kukris, pistol and shotgun and hid them in the tiny gap between a vent and the parapet. Then he climbed down a drainpipe into the alley, pulled down his hood, removed his headset and put on his best poker face as he took to the footpath alongside the road leading to the gate.

They searched him thoroughly, only refraining from a strip search when the only piece of metal they found on his person was his wedding ring. They allowed him past and he continued on foot down the tunnel, a metal rail with tiny lights separating him from the cars. Within fifteen minutes he had reached the Nocturnal District.

If it weren't for the emergency at hand, Gabe would have stopped to marvel at the cathedral-like caverns that made up the district. In a state of perpetual night, the district had two sources of light- the electricity powering the billboards and screens currently displaying Nick's face and offering a reward for any information leading to his capture. The lights were seldom and shone in rich purples and blues, contrasting the bioluminescent greens and pale blues of the plants and fungi filling the streets and walls. The light was not enough to pierce the darkness above, but Gabe had heard that bats were often employed to maintain the unseen ceiling of the cavern, cutting away stalactites, roots, anything that could plunge into the urban jungle below and cause a disaster.

The first thing Gabe did upon exiting the tunnel was to check the digital map built into his watch. He was fourteen blocks away from the safe house. He wondered for a moment if Nick and Finnick would be able to get past the security at the gate, or if the security at the other entrances were weak enough for them to slip through. He contacted Honey first, but she had yet to find them on the jam cams. There were thousands of them after all. He contacted Alyssa, who was on her way to the entrance in Savanna Central. Gabe pulled his hood back up and continued onward.

Having gone too long without a weapon on his person, Gabe stopped by a supermarket and bought a pack of kitchen knives. Buying a gun would take too long, so he forsook that in favor of heading straight to the safe house. He contacted Honey again, but the signal was weakening. He could barely hear her say 'negative.'

After a fair bit of roof hopping he reached Chiroptera Street and spied the safe house across the road from the bakery he stood on; an abandoned jewelry store missing its sign. Two things put him on high alert the instant he laid eyes on the store; the security shutter closing shut, and an unmarked car parked right next to it.

How the hell did they get it open?

Gabe dropped to the ground via a fire escape and crossed the empty street. With the remote Honey gave him he opened the shutter, which silently slid open just enough for the feline to crawl beneath it. How the badger had managed to get the security system back up and running was one of her most treasured secrets.

The store itself was a derelict. The safe house itself was the apartment two floors above. Gabe heard footsteps ascending the stairs just through the back door. He passed silently through the empty glass display cabinets, long bladed kitchen knife at the ready. The footsteps on the stairs stopped. Gabe stopped too. His ears pricked.

Captain Mansa Bogo was almost supernaturally silent as he dropped back down to the bottom of the stairs and aimed his gun square at Gabe's face.

Gabe ducked behind a display cabinet that had once held watches faster than Bogo could say, "Freeze!" A plan was already forming in his mind. Nick and Finnick weren't here. They wouldn't have gotten past the shutter, which was built to withstand an elephant's strength. He had to create a distraction, take down Bogo without popping the stitches beneath the dressing around his neck, and find out what he was doing here. Then he heard the footsteps of another mammal seriously complicating matters, coming down the stairs and stopping beside Bogo.

Gabe couldn't kill a good officer. Even if he could start the shutter's descent with his remote to cut off pursuit, he'd never make it outside before taking a dart to the read. He'd read Bogo's file after the Arctic House Shootout and knew of the buffalo's marksmanship skills.

"Come out! Now!" Bogo said.

Hoping he wouldn't be recognized down at the station, Gabe reluctantly pocketed his knife and stepped out with his paws up. He stiffened when he saw Commissioner Elba standing slightly behind Bogo, his mouth open in shock.

"You were at the Arctic House. You work for Mr. Big." Bogo demanded. "Whatever weapons you have on you, drop them!"

Gabe started removing his knives one by one. "Bogo, let me explain." He had to be very careful with what he said next. He couldn't mention his connection to Elba without landing him in hot water.

"Save it for interrogation." Bogo's eyes narrowed above the gun barrel. Elba stepped forward, mouth closing and opening to form an order.

"Captain, wait!" Another set of footsteps, and then a frightened Benjamin Clawhauser appeared at the bottom of the stairs and ran into the store. The black sweater and charcoal grey pants suited the underground district. Was it Gabe's memory lying to him, or did the feline look thinner than he used to? "Wait, don't shoot him!"

For a moment Bogo looked stunned and happy to see the cheetah. "Ben!"

Benjamin grinned almost tearfully at him before he remembered the situation and went back to pleading. "Bogo, I don't think you should arrest him!"

"You know this feline?"

"He helped save my life at the Arctic House." Benjamin said. "I think you should hear him out before you arrest him."

Gabe stayed silent and still, refusing to even look at the knives he'd been forced to discard, even as Elba gently urged Bogo to listen to the feline, eventually convincing the buffalo to put away his gun. He knew there was still a high chance that this could all go south and become the clusterfuck he'd feared since Sherry had called him.

Especially when he heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Clawhauser?"

Gabe spun round, his eyes immediately falling upon the massive figure standing beneath the open shutter. He was wearing black commando clothing better suited for a mercenary than a police officer, and that made it all the more easier for Gabe to recognize him.

He'd rammed down the door with nothing but his guarded elbow, leading the charge into Gabe and Starlight's apartment before they could so much as blink…

Gabe hissed instinctively with murderous hatred.

… before putting a gun to a nauseated Starlight's head, leaving Gabe no choice but to surrender without a fight.

"I've been looking for you, Clawhauser." Former Commander Cunninghorn said with cheerful relief. "And lucky me, Gabriel Mossberg. Long time no see."

Bogo reached for his gun, but was too late. Cunninghorn already had a massive colt python pointed squarely at Gabe's face. Gabe froze, internally fighting with himself to suppress the Section Eight that was about to sent him lunging straight at the giant mammal holding a gun. "You stay right where you are. Throw your weapons down and kick them away. All of them. Cane, too."

Elba dropped his cane and put his hoof on a display to hold himself steady. "I don't know what you hope to gain from this, but-"

Blam!

The display shattered beneath Elba's hoof, somehow not cutting him. "I'm a fugitive now, and that means I'm fired." Cunninghorn said as he returned his aim to Gabe. "Which in turn means that I don't need to take orders from you anymore. So shut up and give your cuffs to the cheetah. The fat one." Elba hesitated, but passed his cuffs to a visibly frightened Benjamin. "Now put them on Subject Fourteen." Cunninghorn ordered. Benjamin warily approached Gabe, who glared hatefully at the rhino as the larger feline cuffed his paws behind him. The berserker inside him screamed for blood. Keep it together, Mossberg. "Now step away from him." Cunninghorn switched his aim to Bogo "I know you've got your own set, Bogo. Take them out." For a few seconds, Bogo did nothing. Cunninghorn sighed and shattered another display with a bullet. Benjamin stifled a cry from the sudden explosion of noise. Bogo reluctantly pulled out his cuffs. "That pipe behind you. Put the cuffs around it then cuff yourself and the old man. Stall again, and I'll put another one through your kneecap."

Once Bogo had done as ordered, Cunninghorn walked over to the two felines. Gabe stayed still as the rhino searched his body and found the remote for the shutter. Cunninghorn must have seen him use it. Had he followed him all this way, or had he followed Bogo and Elba? Either way, someone had gotten careless, but that was the least of their problems. Gabe's anger gave way to fear as he noted the slight twitch in Cunninghorn's otherwise calm features, the ice cold look in his eyes as he turned to Elba and forced him to relinquish his own remote. He's going over. He's lost everything he'd coerced, kidnapped, and murdered to achieve in less than twenty-four hours and now he's losing his grip. If only I didn't have these cuffs on!

"What are you going to do to him?" Bogo asked furiously.

"You've fucking butted in enough, beefcake." Cunninghorn didn't even look at him.

Bogo strained against the pipe the cuff's chain was wrapped around. "I swear if you hurt him I will fucking end you!"

Cunninghorn raised a massive foot and kicked Bogo hard enough to crack the aged wall behind him. The buffalo slid down to his knees, winded, dragging Elba down with him.

"Mansa!" Benjamin ran forward, stopping dead when Cunninghorn pointed the python at him.

"We're all out of cuffs, unfortunately, but I've got tape in the car." The rhino said. "You're coming with me now. Both of you."

Gabe understood then what Cunninghorn hoped to gain. If he gained Slothfeld's approval by delivering him the escaped test subject that killed and maimed dozens of his men, it may be enough to save him from Swinton's wrath. As for Benjamin, his motive was evidently more personal.

"I don't want to kill Bogo yet. I've got way too many plans to do it here." Cunninghorn said. When Benjamin didn't move, Cunninghorn grabbed Elba by a horn, tilted his head until he was wincing and stuck the barrel of the gun under his chin. Gabe felt the berserker inside rise up in fury. "But he's another story. You come with me now, or he dies."

"Don't you fucking dare!" Bogo growled.

Elba glared up at his captor in defiance. "Don't listen to him, Clawhauser. I wouldn't trust him to hold my beer."

Cunninghorn slammed the butt of his gun into the water buffalo's jaw, sending blood spatter across the floor, then did the same to Bogo just for the fun of it.

"Stop it!" Benjamin yelled.

"Don't tell me what to fucking do!" Cunninghorn fired back at the cheetah and grabbed him tightly by the arm. "When Slothfeld's done with you, you're gonna wish you'd let Bogo die!"

Benjamin struggled, causing Cunninghorn's hip to knock into Gabe's body. It wasn't enough to send him to the floor, but he fell anyway. He grabbed a tiny peeling knife before Cunninghorn lifted him back up. He'd had to holster his python to hold both hostages. Perfect. Bogo and Elba were both pulling at the pipe. Benjamin was pulling against Cunninghorn's iron grip as he dragged them toward the entrance.

Looping his arm under Gabe's cuffed paws, the rhino pressed on the remote. He ducked under the descending shutter, not noticing Gabe rotate his body until the chain of his cuffs passed beneath his feet. With his paws back in front, he spun the knife and slammed it into Cunninghorn's wrist with all his strength. The rhino bellowed as Gabe kicked into his side, propelling him out of his grasp and back into the store. The shutter slid shut, separating them completely. Cunninghorn swore and fumbled for the remote as the other cheetah continue to resist him, when there was an almighty crash; Bogo and Elba had broken free of the wall. The buffalo scrambled toward his gun, forcing Cunninghorn to forgo any attempt to reclaim Gabe. "Stop struggling, you little shit!" When Benjamin didn't listen, he pulled out a tranq dart and jammed it into the feline's shoulder. "I was saving that for Sedor." Cunninghorn muttered as he lifted the rapidly fading Benjamin onto his shoulder.

Bogo grabbed his gun, Elba struggling to keep up as they both raced to the shutter, but it was too late. By the time Bogo was aiming through the shutter, an unmarked van was speeding off down the street.

Bogo kicked the shutter hard enough to warp it. "I'LL GET YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

Elba locked eyes with Gabe, gave him a nod, and tossed him the keys to the cuffs. Within ten seconds Gabe was free and charging up the stairs.

"Easy, Captain!" Elba said as Gabe reached the upstairs apartment, smashed open a window, and slid down a drainpipe. "We need to return to Precinct One and formulate a strategy. Listen to me. We've got time."

"Fine." Gabe heard Bogo snarl as he ran round to the front of the store and picked up the remote Cunninghorn had dropped. He pressed a button, reopening the shutter to free the two bovines. Before either of them could do anything he took off into a nearby alley, tapping a button on his headset to give Honey the bad news.

Honey was still raging bloody murder when he stood beside one of the glowing blue and purple billboards five minutes later. "ONE THING, GABE, WE COULDN'T DO ONE THING! NO, SCRATCH THAT, TWO THINGS! FIRST NICK AND FINNICK, THEN BENJI! WHAT IS IT WITH MALES AND NOT STAYING OUT OF TROUBLE?!"

"Honey? Honey?! HONEY?!" Gabe had to shout into the headset to get her attention. "Shut up and think! You already had a plan in place in case something like this happened, remember? You had Elba give it to him when he took him to the new safe house!"

"Oh, right! The bug in his collar!" Honey said. "Hang on… it's on the move. Heading to the east tunnels on the edge of the district. You'll never catch him on foot, so just focus on getting past the security out of the district for now. I'll update you once you're out."

"Okay. In the meantime, you should call Skyefall and tell her what's…" Gabe stopped talking when he saw an unmarked van speed along the street beneath him. It wasn't Cunninghorn's van, he realized. It was a shiny black and red van barely visible in the natural darkness, and it was only the first in a line of five vans all going in the same direction.

A sense of foreboding fell over Gabe as he watched them fade away into the distance, which didn't break even when Honey's voice in his ear demanded his attention. "Gabe? Gabe, what is it?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." Gabe kept his eyes down the street, but he couldn't see the vans anymore. "I think."