Chapter 6: Clove meets Dogg
Angel walks into a morgue to identify his friend's body for the police. Mr. Tuner is laid out on a cold, metal table and most of the blood has been cleaned off, but the gory result has been left intact.
"Yeah, that's him" Angel tells the officer
"I'll have his records processed, Mr. Lefthand"
Angel puts his hand on the Timberwolf's forehead and sighs
"You were a good friend to me, Callum. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you the way you did for me.."
The gothic hedgehog steps away from the table and a worker zips up the body bag. Angel is escorted to a black 4 door car in the parking lot, and clears his throat before speaking to his men.
"I want that motherfucker in the ground TONIGHT. Get Geneva Cathcart on the line right away, I don't care how late it is"
"A couple of our guys have his location. He appears to be drinking inside a small warehouse on Fountain street"
"Get a team ready"
A half-robotized lieutenant with a Cobra Head sits across from Angel, waiting to show his boss his newest device.
"Mr. Hood, have you finished your latest patent?" Angel asks
"Yes I have, sir. Tested and ready to ship out" The forked-tongue Snake says in a raspy voice
"Give me the details"
Mr. Hood holds a touchscreen device in front of the gothic hedgehog.
3 small, white shoe-like devices appear onscreen, each with two tiny gun barrels on both sides, and ultraviolet blue lights on the front for scanning. Each device has miniature wheels on the bottom.
"I call them Tracking Wheelers. Small enough to go undetected through any sensors or gateways. Each comes with over 200 rounds of C02 powered ammunition that shoot out as as fast as the average machine gun, with specially fabricated bullets. Everything is non-metal, making it able to bypass metal detectors"
Angel looks at the Wheelers closely "Are the bullets lethal?"
Mr. Hood swipes over to the next picture and displays an unfortunate young man who was tied to a chair and shot in the body multiple times by the Wheeler.
"Very lethal" The Snake smiles
"I want you to find Jonathan, Sonia and the rest of those losers, and put a bullet in each of them before they can cause another scene. They can't be allowed to speak to the police, understand? I've almost got everything set, I just need them taken care of. I'm counting on you, Mordred"
"I won't let you down, boss"
A Flock member in the passenger seat passes his cellphone back to Angel and he speaks to Geneva Cathcart.
"Geneva, how are you? Yes, I know it's late, but I have some fantastic news. You remember Mr. Dogg, yes? Well, my men have him tracked to a small warehouse - exactly what I was thinking... You have my word on that, Ms. Cathcart... right. Oh. believe me, I know what I'm doing. My friends will all benefit from my actions, I assure you. Alright. Talk to you soon"
Angel gives the thug's phone back and leans back in his leather seat.
"Mr. Olive, please make the arrangements for Mr. Tuner. Prepare a package for his mother... I'm really hoping we can sort this out tonight. I don't need to lose anymore friends. I'm on my last card, gentlemen. If things work out, we could have all the decks in this city"
Angel's car drives through the rainy streets, while hardly anyone is outside after this evenings events.
Sleuth Dogg takes apart his Sniper Rifle and puts it in a metal box, then tucks it under an old car. The warehouse he stands in hasn't been occupied in a while, and no one has bothered to tear it down. Before Dogg, the homeless would camp out in the building, but the hitman put an end to that.
He rolls up his sleeves and leans against a metal desk, waiting for his attackers to come.
"Don't be shy, fellas. I've got enough to go around"
Dogg watches over 50 hooded figures run inside from all sides of the warehouse, and he cracks his knuckles before meeting them.
Across the street, the mysterious Clove sits on a rooftop ledge and cringes at the carnage and violence displayed by Dogg as he rips through wave after wave of the Cathcart gang. She can't believe how easily the hitman takes these men apart, while being stabbed and punched from all angles. Dogg bites into his enemies, then claws out their faces, and spits their own blood back at them.
"Clove, come in" Maggie Bloodmoon says over the phone
"Here"
"Report"
"I found Dogg"
"Bring him in"
"..I'm not the only one whose found him" Clove says
"Angel's Flock?"
"No, I don't recognize this outfit. But whoever they are, their men can't fight"
"Don't let them kill Dogg, we need him!" Bloodmoon shouts
Dogg jams his claws in a thug's eye sockets and quickly rips them out
"I don't think they'll get the chance..."
As the fight continues, Clove starts to think this Dogg is invincible
Until he eventually gets shot in the back of the leg and drops to one knee.
Dogg still fights but is limited with his attacks, then a thug hits him with a taser, shooting the electricity through the hitman's body,
but he simply pulls the prongs out from his chest and growls angrily.
It takes three Cathcarts with tasers to finally drop him, and quickly tie his hands with zip ties.
"Damn.." Clove says
A blockade of Silver cars surround the warehouse, and more Cathcarts escort their leader into the building.
A bloodied thug pushes a button on the wall, and the big door is slowly closed. Clove quickly jumps across the rooftops until she finds a window with a vantage point.
"Oh, shit" she says
Inside, Dogg has been chained to a rusty metal chair, and Geneva Cathcart steps over the bodies of her men and stands in front of the hitman.
"Those young men I sent to Angel were my nephews, Dogg.. do you know how it felt when I had to tell my sisters their sons were dead?"
Geneva's right hand man puts on a pair of brass knuckles, equipped with tiny razors, and punches Dogg across the face 10 times.
He aims his attacks to the body, and then the legs, finally causing Dogg to howl out in pain.
The leader lights up a cigarette and watches the attack.
"You're dying here, but slowly. A piece of shit like you deserves no less.."
Clove looks on from the rooftop, contemplating if she should help Dogg or not.
Shadow drives down a dark back road that goes out of town, with only the car's highbeams as a source of light. Duncan rests his head against the back window as he sleeps, Starr lightly wipes the dried blood from AJ's head, and Knuckles sits next to them quietly, grasping his abdomen where Tuner ripped his flesh off.
Sonia looks back at them "Is everyone alright?"
"A lot better, now" AJ says
"He needs stitches" Starr adds
The pink hedgehog looks at Knuckles
"Hey, Knux. Knuckles!"
His head shoots up "Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. Never better..."
"You don't sound okay"
"I just need to uh - to rest... been a long day.."
Sonia turns to the driver "Shadow, where are we going?"
The android scans the numerous houses, trying to find an empty one.
"..Over there. We'll camp out for the night and regroup in the morning"
He pulls into the gravel driveway of a small house
"Is this place even empty? I think I see a light on" Sonia says
"I don't read any heat signatures. Nobody's home"
"Park the car here, we don't want to attract-"
The android smashes the front end of the car into a garage door and it falls to the ground.
"Or just knock the damn door down.."
Knuckles looks at Shadow "Nice one, retard"
"You've been bleeding all over the back seat, leaving your DNA for the police to find. I'd say that's not the smartest thing to do. Jonathan" Shadow says as he puts the car in park
"Enough of this Jonathan shit.. ay, gimme the keys, I don't wanna get stuck out here with no ride"
Shadow drops the keys on the gravel and heads to the front door.
Everyone gets out and Shadow picks the lock on the front door of this house. AJ looks out and notices there are no houses anywhere near this one, and there's only one street light on the road, making this look like the middle of nowhere. The group walk inside and can finally rest.
Duncan opens the fridge and sees its fully stocked
"Sweet, Pizza Pops!"
"They got any beer in there?" AJ asks
"I don't see any - oh, wait, yeah they do!"
AJ puts his hands out and Duncan tosses a can to his friend, but Knuckles swipes it away before he can catch it.
"I don't think so, pal. You're still a little young. Only ones drinking are the adults"
Sonia finds a first aid kit and puts it on the kitchen table
"You can drink that while I clean up that wound, come here"
Knuckles pops open the can and sits down next to the pink hedgehog. She douses a cloth with rubbing alcohol and lifts up his long sleeve shirt.
"This is gonna sting" She warns
"It seems everything does with you.." Knuckles says with a chuckle, then takes a big drink from the can
Sonia dumps the bottle over his wound and the echidna spits out his beer, while the teenagers laugh in the other room.
"Sorry. Hand slipped"
Knuckles winces quietly and takes another drink. The smell of rubbing alcohol fills the entire kitchen, so Starr goes outside, while Duncan and AJ turn on a TV in the living room.
Shadow stands on the back porch, scanning the land for anything suspicious. Starr sits on the wooden railing next to the android and notices his right eye is completely black, except for a small red light in the center.
"What happened to your eye?" She asks
"Some asshole shot it out"
"So, you're a robot?"
"Android"
"What's the difference?"
"Androids always take the form of a living being, while robots aren't limited to that" Shadow clarifies
"Oh, like Dragon Ball Z"
"Like what?"
"You don't know Dragon Ball Z? You been living under a rock?"
"I lived in a laboratory for most of my existence"
"That sounds sad. Have you ever kissed a girl? Or guy? I don't judge"
"I wasn't programmed with emotional attachments, so I can't feel love. I only care about completing my mission"
"And, what is that?" Starr asks
"...finding the original Shadow"
"Did he order you to do that, or something?"
"No. I took it upon myself. This is actually the first time I have had free will over what I do, and I must do this"
Starr thinks about this for a moment "...wait, so what happens when you find the original? Do you get to live a normal life after that?"
"Once I finish my mission, I will be shut down and decommissioned. Terminated"
"What? Why?"
Shadow steps off the porch "I will have accomplished my mission. My presence will no longer be required"
Starr jumps off the railing
"But-"
"I'll stay on overwatch, tonight. Go inside. Rest... don't worry about me"
Starr sighs and walks back inside, while Sonia stands at a window, having listened to the whole conversation.
"Did you hear that, Knuckles?" She asks
He takes another drink "..Yep, and I can't wait til he hits the off switch"
"Why do you two hate each other?"
"That guys' been nothing but a giant sack of shit who only cares about himself. Fuck him"
Sonia crosses her arms "You ever think that everyone else might think the same about you, Knux?"
He finishes his beer and tosses the can in a recycling bin
"I don't care what everyone thinks of me. I know I'm an asshole. I won't pretend to be something I'm not, and I have no problem speaking my mind"
The echidna opens the fridge and grabs another can of beer
"You're better than this" Sonia says
"You know this for a fact, do you? Because I think I'm about as good as I'll ever be... I told ya, I ain't no hero. When we were in your penthouse, you told me that I haven't changed. You don't get dragged through ten tons of shit, watch your buddies die and still put on a fake smile. Me, Sonic and Tails? That's done and over with. Ever since your brother got iced, I've been living my life, the kid lives his. And I choose to be what I'm meant to be"
"..what happened to you, Knuckles? What made you give up?"
"Give up? Ha! More like I woke up. Bad shit keeps happening, and the only thing that stops that is a guy as bad as the problem. That's me. Get used to it"
The pink hedgehog puts the first aid kit away and leaves Knuckles to be alone. AJ and Duncan look at him from the living room so he throws them two beers
"I changed my mind. Do whatever the fuck you want"
Knuckles leaves the kitchen, walks through the door that leads to the garage and he sits inside Shadow's stolen car. He puts the keys into the ignition and turns on the radio.
"Dr. Funkenstein" by Deadmau5 plays
"Ain't there any real radio stations this thing can catch?..." Knuckles mumbles
"Fly By Night" by Rush plays
"Good enough"
Geneva Cathcart stumbles backwards, slipping in a pool of blood as she retreats from her attacker.
Clove fought off every single member of the Cathcart gang and mortally wounded them all. Arms and legs have been broken by the female thug, and she gives them all a chance to leave, so they take it.
Except Geneva.
"Last chance. Walk away" Clove says
"I'm not walking away from my revenge, you little skank!" Geneva shouts angrily "He dies, then I will walk away"
"Not an option"
Clove roundhouse kicks the gang leader and knocks her out.
Dogg is barely conscious, and very weak from losing so much blood, but he gets a look at his savior.
"...don't tell me you have a 10 year old waiting outside (cough) ..that would be awkward" Dogg says in a weak voice
Clove grins "I can see they didn't beat the sense of humour out of you. No, trust me, if we had a kid together, and you ran away? You wouldn't be alive"
The hitman spits out blood before speaking "You're not with Geneva, you're not one of Angel's thugs, and you're clearly not a cop... don't tell me - Bloodmoon's crew"
"That easy to tell?"
"Nah. You smell too good to be one of her's"
Clove sits on the trunk of an old car "Oh yeah? What do I smell like?"
"...Anastasia Strawberry perfume. The $70 bottle"
The female thug raises an eye brow "You seem to know the specifics of a woman's perfume, Mr. Dogg"
He smiles "My old lady, she wore the same kind. (laughs) Used to buy her 5 bottles at a time.."
Clove looks for any rings on his fingers, but only sees blood and scars.
"This lady still around?"
Dogg shakes his head "...old friend took her head, so I took his balls and fed 'em to him. They capped my boss and I had to send my kids away. They're gonna hate me for the rest of their lives, but at least they'll get to have normal ones. I don't won't them anywhere near me, or the shit that I'm into. I don't know what you heard, but I ain't a complete piece of shit...You understand?"
Police sirens start to get louder, so Clove grabs a pair of bolt cutters and breaks the chains around Dogg's wrists and ankles. She helps the hitman up and carries him out the back door, just moments before police reach the warehouse.
"Holy shit!" one officer shouts
The next officer grabs his radio "This is X-16, we got bodies all over the place, here... only 1 survivor"
Clove and Dogg stick to alleyways and back streets to avoid being seen, then they rest under the canopy of a pizza shop that's closed for the night.
"...so, what's your name?" Dogg asks
"Clove"
"I like that name"
"What, you wanna marry me so we can share the name?" She responds sarcastically
"No, I just uh.."
"Plenty of pigs have pulled the whole Nice Guy routine on me, and buddy, it ended badly every time. Lets just stay professional"
"Alright, then. What's the plan?"
"I'm taking you back to Bloodmoon, she'll know what to do"
Dogg stands up "Yeah, that's a no-go for me. She probably didn't mention it but, she had a demon shoot me in the head last time we met"
Clove looks at him "Demon? Stop bullshitting"
"I know, I didn't believe it, either, until I saw this fuckin' thing in person. Called it Enerjak. It was like Knuckles, you know Knuckles, right? Anyway, this was him, but a foot taller and on steroids. Couldn't be killed, and had the face of the devil. They got some freaky shit on Angel Island, lady. Demonic shit"
Clove crosses her arms "And let me guess, you came back to Vace Beach to kill this thing?"
"And Knuckles. He's the reason Enerjak was brought here. And he led them right to me, so I think payback is in order"
"Wait - Does this Enerjak have anything to do with Angel?"
"He was Enerjak's controller! Fucker is a devil worshipper and wants to bring stuff like that around here! ..He's another guy I have to kill.."
"So work with me, use Knuckles to get to Enerjak, and we can track down Angel. I don't care what you do to him, just as long as he's gone... but we need Knuckles alive, Dogg"
"...fine. I'll spare him, but Enerjak and Angel are dead"
"Fine with me" Clove says
"Now that we got that out of the way, what's the plan?"
"Knuckles' girlfriend is in Vace Beach, and as far as I can tell, she's looking for him. We use her to get to him"