Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Shadow were all sat on the couch, playing a 4-player online game. Sonic played an offensive hero, Shadow was on defence, Knuckles was the tank, and Tails was the healer, rushing to fix Shadow's character back up.

"We almost have the point!" Sonic said. "We just need to push a little more!"

"I'll head up to one of the pillars and see if I can snipe that annoying flying enemy," Shadow said. "Damn rockets..."

"All right, I'll hang back and help Shadow," said Tails. "Knuckles, you push from the front. Sonic, see if you can wipe them out from the side."

Sonic chuckled. "I like how Shadow's aim in video-games is just as good as in real life."

"Only problem is I'm only good as sniper characters," said Shadow. "I get it." His character started losing some health. "I need healing!"

"I'm on it!" Tails said.

Knuckles stormed through the enemies at the point, smashing through with a hammer before smashing the ground with it. "There we go! Enemies are down!"

"I've got them in my sights," Sonic replied. "Tails, Shadow, group up!"

Tails and Shadow's characters soon met with Sonic, Knuckles joining and providing a shield to protect them as the black and red hedgehog spoke. "You guys ready?"

"Ready," said Tails.

"On my mark," said Sonic. "3... 2... 1... now!"

Tails' character activated a healing aura that patched up his teammates as Sonic activated his characters ultimate ability where he could target anyone on the screen without having to aim, as well as being able to cycle through them. He chewed through the opposition, with Shadow picking off sniper shots from behind to help, as Knuckles kept the shield up and Tails kept healing the team. Soon, the circle in the top middle filled up, and the game was won.

"10 seconds to spare!" said Sonic. "Almost breached overtime there."

"I love playing WatchTower with you guys," said Tails.

"You're good at keeping us patched up," Sonic smiled as his phone vibrated. He opened it up and saw a text from Amy. "Getting ready to leave now," he read. "See you soon."

"You're really going through the talk of the ex beau with your current beau, huh?" Knuckles asked.

"At this point, it'd just be straight up rude if I didn't," Sonic said. "I should get ready."

"You want me to take you?" asked Knuckles.

"I'll take my own car," said Sonic. "Thanks for the offer, though." He then got a phone call, and opened it to see Rotor's name, so he answered it. "Well, if it ain't the good doctor!"

"I prefer the good mortician," said Rotor with a dry tone of voice.

"So, what can we do for you?" Sonic asked as he put the phone on speaker.

"I actually wanted to see if I could get you guys to come over," Rotor said. "I've been looking at the results from your mission last night and have been comparing them to the samples you gave me. And... well..."

"Well what?" Shadow asked.

"The results are actually pretty good," Rotor chuckled. "Sorry if I worried you."

"No, you're not," said Tails. "You were doing that on purpose to get the intended effect."

"Sure worked on me..." Knuckles muttered.

"Regardless," Rotor continued, "I wanted to let you all know."

"So, you don't need another one from us?" asked Tails.

Rotor shook his head on his end. "Nope. The toys I have where I am keep your blood as fresh as the day that I drew it from you. And as I watch over your missions whilst checking on your samples, I get the pleasure of seeing them change around the more you do. See, an implant works like muscle memory; the more you use it, the easier it gets acquainted into your body, and the more powerful you both become. It's like making a pact with an inanimate object that gives you powers."

"Or keeps us alive in Shadow's case," said Knuckles.

"Technically, you were all kept alive because of the implants," said Rotor. "Regardless of if you could have survived being physically disabled from the crash itself, the injuries otherwise sustained may have killed you."

"Good thing we have the best doctors working to patch us back up," Sonic said. "And that medicinal paste was a huge help."

"I hear that they're thinking of re-purposing that somehow," Rotor said.

"Oh, really?" Tails asked.

The purple walrus chuckled. "It's just some theories going around, but they're thinking of maybe mixing them with pharmaceuticals so that drug stores can benefit more from it."

"I know a certain someone who could benefit from that," said Sonic.

"Speaking of that certain someone," Knuckles interrupted, "hadn't you best get ready?"

"Get ready?" asked Rotor. "Does blue boy have another date?"

"Um... well, yeah," Sonic said.

Rotor chuckled. "I'm just joshing you. Where are you off to nice?"

"Jade Mountain," Sonic answered.

"Ah, right," said Rotor. "Well, good luck with your date. I'll keep you guys posted on any more news in regards to the blood samples or the medicinal paste."

"Both would be helpful," Tails said. "Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem," Rotor said. "Take care."

Sonic hung up before quickly rushing upstairs. He checked over his quills in the mirror, seeing that they were a bit messy, so he tried to slick them back. He then added some cologne before heading back downstairs.

"So, how do I look?" he asked.

"Like Sonic, but with nicer hair and you smell better," Knuckles said. "Who are you and what have you done with Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog chuckled, then decided to pull out his phone to send a text back to Amy. "On my way now. See you in a little bit." He then sighed and grabbed himself a black jacket on the way to the front door. "All right, guys! I'm off out for my date!"

"And what are we supposed to do?" asked Knuckles.

"Hold down the fort to the best of your abilities," said Sonic. "If you get called for backup, don't hesitate to help."

"But aren't you our battle strategist?" Shadow asked.

"Usually, yes," Sonic replied. "But I'm leaving that up to you for today."

"Yeah, let's leave the guy who doesn't talk to anybody to tell us what to do in the heat of battle," Knuckles said. "I see absolutely no negative effects."

"The only negative one here is you, Knuckles," Sonic said. "I wouldn't put my faith in Shadow if I didn't think that he could handle it."

"Why can't Tails or I do it?" the red echidna asked.

"Because Tails is the smartest one here, but his first lady is the wrench and not the gun," Sonic said.

"You know me so well," said Tails.

"And you're the best fighter here," Sonic said to Knuckles, "but you suck as a strategist."

"Wow," Knuckles said. "Thanks, dick."

"Knuckles, we almost lost that last game because you wanted us to rush in behind you on the first objective," Shadow said.

"What, that's not an effective strategy?" Knuckles asked. "Hit the thing in the face until it dies usually works well enough for me."

"Well, this isn't a video-game," Sonic said. "We can't just hit the thing in the face until it dies. We need to be more precise and accurate. We need to plan this out. And that is why Shadow's in charge, and you're not."

"What about me?" Tails asked.

"You're our healer," Sonic grinned. "Heal yourself and the others with some good lunch."

"You're bringing us back stuff from Jade Mountain," Shadow said. "Remember?"

"Dammit... I keep hoping that you guys will forget that," Sonic chuckled. "All right, I'll bring you back something when me and Amy are done."

Shadow nodded. "Better get a move on, dude."

Sonic nodded back, waving. "See you later, guys!"

"Adios!" Knuckles said as Sonic left. When the blue hedgehog did leave, Knuckles turned to the others. "So, another game?"

"Eh, why not," Shadow said. "I'll run offence this time."

"Let's see if we can run a good three on three," Tails added.

Sonic shook his head as he overheard more of the conversation before getting into his blue car. He started up the engine with no trouble at all and pulled out of the parking lot, heading straight for the road. Despite the harsh traffic in the early afternoon, Sonic managed to make it to the Jade Mountain, seeing Amy sat at a bench outside of it, who waved when he saw his car.

Sonic waved back as he found a place to park his car, with only a few others popping up, with a few leaving after going around the back, getting their food from the drive-through. Sonic killed the engine to his car and walked up to Amy, noticing her clothing; a pink tank top under a dark grey jacket, tight dark blue jeans, and red heeled shoes, along with her purse draped across her right shoulder.

"Hey there," he smiled, reaching to hug her.

Amy accepted the hug, and sniffed a bit as something went up her nose. "You got yourself smelling all nice for me, huh?" she smirked.

"Eh, I figured that it wouldn't harm the situation," he smiled, offering his arm. "Shall we go inside?" he asked in an overly done and terrible British accent.

"We shall," Amy replied, giving the same accent.

They both walked inside the restaurant proper, giving a wave to the owner as they found a booth to sit at. Before Sonic could ask Amy anything, she put a finger up to stop him talking, pulling out some of her pills from her purse and a small bottle of water. She put the pills in her mouth before swallowing them down with the liquid, putting her finger down when she was finished.

"Sorry about that," she said.

"It's cool," Sonic smiled. "I just wanted to ask what you were having."

"Just a small box for me," Amy said. "The drive back is a long one, so I can't have much to eat."

"Fair enough," Sonic nodded, standing up. He headed over to the counter and smiled at the owner again. "Yo, Wong!"

"Sonic," Mr. Wong nodded, smiling. "How is the big hero today?"

"You saw the news too, huh?" Sonic asked. "And I'm not too bad. Yourself?"

"Was hard not to notice it," Wong admitted. "I'm also not too bad."

"Good to hear," Sonic said.

"So, what would you like?" Wong asked.

"Five small boxes of sweet and sour ribs, five packets of fries, and four cokes," Sonic said.

"That's a lot for just two people," the restaurant owner said with a chuckle as he wrote the order down.

"Oh, I've got some to take back to the others," Sonic shrugged. "No biggie."

"You're a good friend," Wong smiled.

"Sure, let's call it that," Sonic laughed.

Wong laughed with him, calling out the order as he went to the kitchen to help. Sonic decided to head back to Amy, sitting down across from her. He noticed her looking at her phone and smiling, and he cleared his throat.

"So... everything okay?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah," Amy nodded. "It's... well, it's Sally on the phone. She's offering to take over my class whilst I'm on my break."

"How does that work, exactly?" Sonic asked. "The lunch break thing, I mean."

"Oh," Amy said. "Well, there is a school cafeteria since Little Hill is a smaller part of the main school. But with the nursery classes, we do get more freedom to leave when it comes to food. Usually, Honey takes over my classes, but since Sally's returned, there's no need."

"It's cool when she does stuff like that," Sonic smiled.

"She do that for you often?" Amy asked.

"It's what got me to like her," Sonic reminisced. "She's always had this great sense of selflessness that I don't think that I could ever accomplish. We met when I went to get a chilli-dog from a street vendor. Unfortunately, since I was a college dropout who wanted to focus on being in the police force, I didn't have much cash on me. That's when she stepped in and paid for my food for me."

"She kinda mentioned that," Amy smiled. "She never brought you up much, but since you were her super ex by that point, I can see why."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. There was a little bit of animosity between us."

"Was it the choice to become a police officer?" Amy asked.

Sonic shook his head. "No. She supported that fully, and I'm thankful that she did. What caused the animosity was the not coming home as often, overworking myself with the tests to get into the academy so that I couldn't do a whole lot with her when we got back... she saw that the signs were there too. I guess she thought that us moving quicker could have helped things between us."

"But they didn't?" Amy asked.

Sonic shook his head again. "No. They didn't. Call it a mixture of getting more dedicated to the academy and her wanting to move too fast."

"Coming from you, that's kind of ironic," Amy giggled.

Sonic grinned and was about to reply, but was called up by Wong to pick up the food. The blue hedgehog stood from his seat and went to get the food, stopping to pull out his wallet and pay before bringing the food back, making sure to thank the owner when he returned to his seat.

"Where were we?" he asked, setting aside the boxes and drinks for his friends and handing Amy her own box.

"You were about to come up with a witty retort of some sort," Amy reminded as she opened her container.

"Ah, right," Sonic nodded. "Thanks for remembering the script for me."

Amy giggled. "So, everything that you've told me is word for word what Sally said. Not fully verbatim, but still."

"And how did she drop off the face of the planet after we split?" Sonic asked. "I never got that part."

"She went backpacking," Amy said. "After her split with you, she needed to be on her own for a while. It's strange, though. She wasn't teaching at our school for too long beforehand, and I didn't get to know her well, but we became really good friends."

Sonic chuckled. "So, my current girlfriend and the ex who I used to hate were best friends who both taught at the same school?"

"Seems weird, but yes," Amy giggled. "How long did you hate her for, by the way?"

Sonic gulped a bit. "Well, this next part might make me sound like a huge ass-hole."

"Sonic, you've been many things to me, but an ass-hole is not one of them," Amy smiled.

"You sweet talker, you," Sonic chuckled. "Anyway, after we split and I went back to focusing on the academy, I did try to reconnect with her, but she always had her phone off or just didn't take it with her. I guess because she wanted to be alone, and I don't blame her." He then sighed. "Then, after two weeks of trying to contact her, I gave up and basically said good riddance to the whole thing."

"And that's the part that's meant to make you seem like an ass-hole?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Sonic replied. "Trust me, I was really pissed off about it. It was weird to flipflop between my emotions like that. I got angry at her for wanting to move too fast, then I started missing her when she left, then when she didn't say anything back, I got even more angry and... well, I forcefully cut her out of my life. It didn't feel good, but I started putting my job before my feelings for her." He sighed. "No wonder I did so well."

"You think that Sally still thinks that you hate her?" Amy asked.

"I'm hoping not," Sonic said. "Because I don't hate her. Not like I did at the time. But now that I know what happened, I can rest a bit easier."

Amy smiled. "That's good to hear."

Sonic reached to touch Amy's hand with his. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about all of this earlier. I honestly didn't know if it would come up, or if it was relevant."

Amy giggled. "For what it's worth, I have some exes myself, and to my knowledge, none of them were ever your friends at some point."

"I dunno," Sonic said. "We have a friend named Espio who's a chameleon. He's got a similar brooding charm to Shadow, only with more scales and less chest fluff."

"Does he have anything cool going for him?" Amy asked.

"He can turn invisible," Sonic said. "Like a ninja, almost. He just needs throwing stars and the black garb."

"He'd be useless in the snow, though," Amy giggled.

"True," Sonic said. "Or it could be reflective garb, like a polar bear's fur."

Amy giggled more. "It'd be nice to meet more of your friends."

"Well, I did give you a tour of our new place," Sonic shrugged. "I see no reason why I can't get you into G.H.P.D. to take a look around."

"It might be nice," The pink hedgehog smiled. "Now, let's get to our meal, shall we?"

Sonic nodded and checked his phone, seeing that they were running short on time, and nodded. He opened his own container, soon starting to eat his own food, as did Amy. Both happily enjoyed their ribs and fries before Amy was all finished with her food.

"Ah... that was delicious," she smiled. She then felt her phone vibrating, and checked to see a text message. "My taxi's outside," she said, standing up from her seat and picking her bag up. "Walk me to it?"

Sonic nodded, standing up with Amy. They both started leaving, but the blue hedgehog turned back to face Wong. "I will be taking the food to go, but I'm just walking her out to her cab, so don't throw it away."

"No problem," Wong nodded.

The two hedgehogs held hands as they walked out to the taxi, seeing it waiting by the road at the entrance to the Jade Mountain parking lot. Sonic walked Amy over to it, and opened the door for her, but she stopped before getting in.

She turned to kiss Sonic deeply, briefly catching the blue hedgehog off guard. Sonic chuckled and soon kissed back, even grabbing Amy by the waist as the two made out. Soon, the passionate embrace broke, and Amy giggled.

"You taste like ribs," she noted.

Sonic laughed too. "I didn't have time for a breath mint, and I didn't think I'd need one. Can't blame me."

Amy shook her head. "Fair enough." She kissed him on the cheek, showing another smile. "See you when I see you, Sonic."

"Eh, I'm always available," Sonic said.

"Except for last night..." Amy smirked.

"Am I in the shit-house for that?" Sonic asked, visibly worried.

Amy shook her head. "Nah, I'm just messing with you. You did worry me, but I know that you'll be okay."

Sonic smiled. "For you, I'll always be okay."

"I hope so," Amy replied. She got into the taxi itself and gave a wave to Sonic as it started off.

Sonic waved back as the taxi left, chuckling to himself and shaking his head. "That girl... man..." He shook his head again and went back into the restaurant, waving to the cooks behind the counter as he grabbed the containers of food, putting the empty ones into the trash before picking up the other ones. He gave another goodbye wave to Wong and his workers before leaving the restaurant and heading to his car, starting it up.

"Time to head back to the base," he said to himself. He placed the food into his glove compartment to keep it from being over-spilled, even placing the fries inside the containers with the ribs. He pulled out of the parking lot, soon finding his way to the main road and starting his drive home, thinking of his date with Amy. "You know, all things considered," he said to himself, "that could have gone a lot worse."

As he kept driving, he got a message on his phone. He saw that it was Knuckles and answered it, putting it on speaker mode. "What up, big red?" he asked.

"Sonic!" Knuckles said. "You were right about Shadow!"

"Really?" Sonic asked. "It's almost like I put him in charge for a reason."

"Dude, we're on a ten match winning streak because of him," Tails said. "I even got a new legendary skin!"

"Is it that one that you were after since last month?" Sonic asked.

"I'm nodding very enthusiastically right now!" Tails answered.

Sonic laughed. "I'm on my way back, so just hold the fort until I get back."

"Will do," Knuckles said. "We should have a celebratory lunch when you get back."

"Good thing that I remembered to order for you guys then," Sonic smiled. "See you in a few."

"Adios for now," Knuckles replied, hanging up shortly after.

Sonic shook his head as he hung up as well. "Got to love those guys," he smiled to himself, continuing his drive back to the headquarters.

Meanwhile, in Westopolis...

Nack sighed as he sat in the back of his car, his two henchmen driving him to Lara's brothel. "I do hope that she isn't mad at me."

"Why would she be?" asked the driver. "She said that you could take care of it. She only asked that you didn't kill them. And you kept your promise."

Nack nodded. "I did. But still, with how badly we roughed that ass-hole and his men up, Lara may have lost a customer."

"Maybe Lisa did, but not Lara," said the passenger henchman. "Devin and his men probably won't mess with that poor girl any more. And even if they do return, they won't be as bad as they were."

"They were drunk," Nack pointed out. "They could very well have forgotten by the time that they woke up."

"Drunk and unconscious," the driver added. "Nobody's conversation ready when they're in that position."

"Beau can still hold a pretty good conversation when he's stoned off of his head," Nack joked. "I've had normal conversations with Lara after she's fucked someone or whilst I've fucked her. And Manuel can keep a steady tone even after getting into a fight."

"You know, I've never seen him fight, now that you mention it," the passenger said.

Nack smiled. "Manuel isn't just muscle. He's brainy too. And he can be quick. But he prefers not to get into fighting too much. Nowadays he just does it to keep his physique in check." He chuckled to himself. "Lara probably has sex for the same reason. As for Beau... well, he's not unfit, but he's pretty skinny. Then again, he is a snake..."

"Eh, if you've got a bad enough drug habit, you can lose weight that way," the driver smirked.

Nack nodded. "Well, heroin used to be a big vice of his, and many users that I know did lose weight from it. Of course, they're all dead now, so."

"Becoming a skeleton is often regarded as a good weight loss technique," said the passenger. "Those who go through it never complain about it."

Nack chuckled. "Good point. Luckily, we don't have to worry about making anybody become a skeleton just yet."

The others nodded, remaining silent as the rest of the drive continued. Within the next ten minutes, they had reached their destination, finding a place to park that wasn't too far from the entrance. Nack was the first to exit the car, soon followed by the others as the drive cut the engine.

The door to the brothel was already open, and Nack smiled at the girl who held it open for him. "She's waiting in the kitchen," she said. "Along with some special guests."

Nack cocked an eyebrow, but lowered it and smirked when he understood what was being said. "Got it," he smiled. "Thank you."

The girl nodded, waiting for Nack's henchmen to enter as well before she closed the door. The purple weasel made their way to the kitchen, seeing Lara sat there alongside Beau and Manuel. Lara wore a silvery blouse, a black skirt, and small black heels; Manuel wore a red muscle shirt with a black sleeves, green cargo shorts, and dark brown boots; and beau wore a sleeveless dark brown hoodie over a long sleeved white shirt with blue jeans and red trainers.

"Didn't expect to see all of you at once," Nack admitted, still smiling.

"Well, we have a reason to be here," said Beau. "And it doesn't have anything directly to do with you."

Nack's eyebrows raised as he took a seat. "Well, it must involve me in some way if you waited to tell me about it."

Manuel nodded. "You remember those four that you almost killed?" he said. "They made the news this morning."

"What did they do?" Nack asked.

"Stopped an armoured truck from being robbed," said Lara. "It was apparently heading for the Green Hill Bank, but got hijacked by a shitload of robbers on the way."

"How much money was in there?" Nack asked.

"People are saying round about 10 million," said Lara.

"I'm more amazed that so many folks are still using paper money," Beau admitted. "The cash that Lara just mentioned isn't a patch on what there could have been digitally."

"And how much would that be?" asked Nack.

"Add another six zeroes on the end of that 10 million," Lara smiled.

Nack chuckled to himself as he put the numbers together in his head. "That's a big save indeed. Good for them."

"Good for them," Manuel agreed. "But maybe not so good for us."

"If it's a money issue, then I should remind you that I'm still paying you," Nack said.

"That's not it," Lara said. "It's those four pricks."

Nack shook his head. "They won't be a problem, okay?" he smiled. "Remember the plan for tomorrow?"

"We do," said Beau. "But we weren't told the part of the plan that involved freelance agents maybe being a part of it. We could wind up getting killed because of this shit."

"Just relax, my southern friend," the purple weasel said, his voice calm and disturbingly even. "In fact, everyone around this table should just take a deep breath. I get that tensions are high, but we won't get anywhere if we keep raising our voices."

"We're sorry," Manuel said. "But those guys could throw a huge wrench into the plan if we're not careful."

"It's a good thing that I have such an immaculate plan then, huh?" Nack smiled. "We stick to it nonetheless."

"It's not so immaculate if there are a lot of elements that could go against us," said Beau. "Not least of which being your dirty cop friend."

"He's trustworthy, Beau," Nack said. "If he wanted to sell any of us out, don't you think that he would have done it by now?"

"You mean, if he wanted to sell you out specifically," said Lara.

"I warned you, all of you, that this plan wouldn't be without risk," Nack said. "Unfortunately, more risk just got added. We can work around that, but the method that I have for that is also risky."

"It just keeps getting better and better with you," Beau said.

"Just calm down and hear me out," said Nack. "It's all in what we're doing anyway, remember? We're staging a jailbreak and busting those poor sons of bitches out before they get transferred."

"And that helps us how, exactly?" asked the Southern snake.

Nack smiled, turning to Lara. "How many men were caught trying to rob the armoured bank truck last night?"

"Between 10 and 20," the tigress replied. "Why?"

"With those men being caught that close to the transfer date, it does stand a chance that they might not be transferred," said Manuel.

"Actually, that works to our advantage," Nack said. "Because it doesn't matter how late they catch somebody; when they get taken over to the big house, they could get caught even an hour before the date and still be pushed over there."

"I think I see what you're getting at," said Manuel. "So, if we bust out all of those guys that the others have caught, we'll have more forces to fight back with."

"It would make sense," Beau said, nodding in agreement. "If those guys hated the authority before, imagine how badly they're itching to get back at them so soon after getting caught."

Nack smiled, turning to Manuel. "Can you push some more weapons out just in case?"

Manuel smirked. "I've got more than enough ready for tomorrow, hombre."

"I had a feeling that you'd say that, but we can't get lax at the moment," Nack said. "With more men to rescue, we may need more guns."

"Rescue, huh?" Beau smiled. "That's the word that you're going to use for it?"

"If you have a better one, I'm all ears," Nack said. "But we shouldn't speak more on empty stomachs." He turned to Lara. "What's the plan for lunch?"

"Whatever you wish," Lara smiled, saying the words to all who were sat at the table. She snapped her fingers, and one of her girls walked over.

"May I take your order?" the girl asked.

All of them placed their orders in, with Nack deciding on some chocolate bars and packets of crisps as snacks for his henchmen. Nack himself went for a sausage roll and a bottle of soda. Manuel picked the same, but with a ham and cheese sandwich as well. Beau went for a packet of cookies and orange juice, and Lara went for some wraps as well as some soda.

After the orders were placed in, Lara looked at Nack again, more seriously this time. "We need to deal with those four."

"I know we do," Nack nodded. "I'm not neglecting them in any way. They're not just a thorn in our sides any more; they're a much more serious threat."

"Do you think that they might have suspicions around the docks?" Beau asked.

"That is possible," Nack admitted. "Our only real shot is hoping that enough people that we break out decide to join us."

"And what if they do?" asked Manuel. "You might have the men after that, and the weapons, but if you break them all out and it's still not enough, what do we do?"

"We lay a trap," said Nack. "Freelancers can only go to different places if they're called up, right? Well, it's simple. We just have to call them up here somehow."

"And only those four can come, right?" asked Lara.

"That's right," Nack asked. "Normal cops can't get away with that. But the freelancers can."

"Is it a good idea to do this so close to the deadline?" asked Beau. "You really should have considered this beforehand."

"I'm aware," the purple weasel said, remaining calm still. "But I didn't. I can't see the future, unfortunately." He paused. "But I do have something in line for all of you..."

"And what would that be?" asked Manuel.

"If I get caught or killed, then I want you three to take the money that I'm sending you for this job and run away with it. Take all of your best men, weapons, drugs, and girls and find somewhere safe to hide out."

"The fake IDs..." Lara said. "They won't know it's us at Green Hill. Even if we get caught out for trying to break the others from the prison transfer, the real cops can't follow us here, so they won't know who we really are."

"And I won't be seen at all, since I'll be hidden for most of the job," Beau added, looking to Nack. "But we can't just leave you behind."

"You're not leaving me behind," Nack replied.

"So, you want to get caught?" asked Manuel.

"No," Nack said. "If I get caught, then I get caught. If my men can kill those four pests, then we're fine. If not and they chase me, then I want all of you to do what I just told you to do."

"Who do you have in line to try and take them out?" asked Manuel.

"Myself, my two friends here," Nack said, using his hands to gesture to his henchmen, "and the good old boys in brown of Westopolis Police Department."

"Is there enough of them to take out those four?" asked Lara.

"It might not be the most morally aligned police force," Nack said, "but they have a lot of men who are willing to play dirty. And all of those men have access to police grade weaponry."

"And they have some military hardware too," Manuel grinned.

"Yes they do," Nack smiled back. "Now, are you all apologetic for doubting me in the first place?"

"We are," said Beau. "Sorry. There were just a lot of factors that didn't make sense at first."

"We do need to get a handle on the Green Hill docks situation, though," Manuel pointed out.

Nack nodded. "Indeed we do. The drugs being pushed there are slowing down. We need to stop moving out stuff out there."

Beau nodded. "I'll talk it over with my guys. Where do you want me to move it?"

"Star Light," Nack said. "We push Manuel's guns there anyway, so why not add your concoctions to the mix?"

"And my girls stay put, right?" Lara asked.

Nack nodded again. "Human, or in this case, Mobian trafficking, is not something that I look upon fondly. Your girls make enough money here, as much as I would like to spread them to other cities."

"Well, most of my girls are used to hearing the word spread," Lara chuckled.

"Um... Nack?" asked a timid voice.

The purple weasel's head moved up to see Lisa bringing over their food and laying it down for them. "Hello, my dear," he smiled. "How are you?"

"I... wanted to thank you for what you did last night..." she smiled, walking over to sit on his lap.

Nack smiled. "It was no problem. Luckily, they were all dumb enough to hang around in the same place for too long."

Lisa ground against Nack's lap and got off of him soon after. "Maybe I could thank you more privately later?"

"I'd like that," Nack nodded.

"Good. I'll see you then." Lisa turned to walk away, but then stopped. "And I'll do anything that you want for free tonight. As a thank you."

Nack cocked an eyebrow, looking to Lara. "This okay with you?"

The tigress shrugged. "It's a policy here. You help a girl with something personal, you get a free ride, as it were."

"Well, that is a damn good policy," Nack chuckled, turning to Lisa. "You've got a deal."

Lisa gave a nod, walking away with a jaunt in her step, causing Beau to chuckle. "Man... Lara, you certainly do have the best girls that I've ever seen."

Lara smiled. "Thank you, Beau."

"Wow," said Manuel. "That might be the first time that I've heard Lara compliment Beau."

"It is a rarity, but it happens," Nack chuckled. "Back to lunch?"

The others nodded, turning their focus back to their food. Soon, they had all finished, even Nack's henchmen, and a couple of Lara's girls came to pick up the empty plates and pieces of trash to put away, but Manuel stood up.

"I've got it," he said. "I don't mind."

"You looking for a free ride tonight too, Manuel?" Lara teased.

The bull chuckled. "Not at all. Just wanting to offer some help wherever I can."

The two girls smiled and kissed either of the bull's cheeks in thanks as he went about putting the trash away. Nack looked over at his friend, smiling. "I often worry that he's way too nice to be in this line of work."

"Try saying something bad about his girls, and he'll probably prove your worrying wrong," said Beau.

"I'm not that stupid," Nack chuckled as Manuel soon returned.

"Well, it was fun," said Manuel, "but I should be heading back now."

"As should I," Beau added. "Got a big batch of Fokus to begin pushing out soon." He turned to Nack. "Thanks for getting the spare ingredients to us, by the way."

"No issue, my friend," Nack smiled. "I'd also best be leaving. Whilst I didn't expect to see you all here, I can't say that it was unpleasant."

"Before you guys leave," said Lara, "I'd like to talk with you more privately in my office, if you have the time."

Beau hesitated before nodding. "I guess my guys are still under the influence long enough."

"Yeah, and I've got enough men to watch over my fights too," said Manuel. "They can do without me for a little bit more."

Nack turned to his two henchmen before turning back to Lara. "You want these guys to come too?"

"I don't see why not," the tigress replied. "You're probably going to tell them all of this anyway."

The purple weasel chuckled. "Good point."

They all stood up, walking out of the kitchen and finding their way up the stairs to Lara's office, with the woman herself leading the way. She opened the door, letting the others enter first before walking in, sitting at her desk.

"Sorry about the lack of seats," she said. "I was so focused on buying nice pieces of ass that I wasn't so focused on buying pieces of furniture on where to rest your own asses."

"I don't mind standing," Nack said. "Beau, Manuel, take the seats."

The snake and bull nodded, not arguing as the former spoke. "So, why did you want to see us privately?"

"I want to go over Nack's plan better," said Lara. "If that's fine with you."

The purple weasel nodded. "Is there a problem with my plan?" he asked, more concerned than threatening.

"I'm just worried..." she said.

Manuel nodded, understanding. "You don't want to bring this up in front of your girls, right?"

Lara nodded. "Right." She sighed. "I'm just trying to think... what could be the worst case scenario? Like, what would happen if we fuck this up?"

"Lara, relax," Nack said. "You, Manuel, and Beau aren't recognised in any other criminal databases except maybe the one for Westopolis. And even then, that's a long shot."

"I think that what she means is," Beau said, "we could wind up in the wrong criminal database if we do this the wrong way."

"We know that it's risky, before you start that again," Manuel said. "But if I get caught, what happens to my girls? My men? And my guns?"

"What about my drugs and areas?" Beau asked. "I ain't as emotionally attached, but I still have people to look after."

Nack nodded. "I know, guys. And I also know that, if the shit goes sour, I can't take control over the other parts of Westopolis, especially now that we're starting to spread out more." He then looked to Lara. "And I understand that you're worried about your girls more than anything."

Lara nodded. "I am. They... well, they are pussy. But they're more than just that. More than giving them jobs that satisfy multiple people, I want to provide a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. I want to give them a family."

"What if one of them winds up pregnant?" Beau asked.

Lara let out a chuckle. "I don't think that there's a red-blooded man or Mobian in all of Westopolis who's emotionally involved enough to stick around for that. I mean, heck, it happened with my own father."

"We don't want more runaways," Nack said. "If Lara is to stay in business, especially when it has yet to fully boom, then we need to hope that the guys wrap it up."

"It is extra for no safety," said Lara. "Luckily, most men are willing to pay that much."

"And women too, right?" Manuel asked.

Lara laughed. "Damn right."

Nack chuckled. "I hate to ruin this moment, but we need to focus here."

Lara took a breath and nodded. "The thing is, I really want the plan to go well. And, yes, all of your other plans have usually gone well. But if you can't kill four rookie cops on their first day, how the hell are we going to manage this altogether?"

"Not to mention that he can't go over there himself," added Beau. "It makes sense, though. He did just run from there to here."

Lara smiled, turning to Nack. "I know that you want this to all go down well, but... I can't shake this worrying feeling..."

Nack nodded. "I know. You want your girls to be looked after if it all goes to shit, right?" He turned to Beau and Manuel. "And I trust that you two want the same?"

They both nodded, with the bull speaking first. "We either do this perfectly, or not at all."

"Then put your trust in me for this plan," Nack said, "and it will be done perfectly."

"I think that we're doubting Nack a bit too harshly here," said Beau. "Just because his plan to kill those cops fell through doesn't mean that this one will."

"Well, now you've jinxed it," the purple weasel chuckled. "But, yes, I will keep things all set up. We have a lot of good men coming, and I only ask that we all take extra precautions." He turned to Manuel. "So, do I have your promise that you'll have an arrangement set up to get more weapons?"

"It might be cutting it close, but I'll give it a shot," Manuel said with a nod.

"I truly do appreciate it," Nack said, turning to Beau. "And can you bring in some extra drugs for them?"

"Why would I need to do that?" Beau asked.

"When we get those men over here, we may need to put them to work quickly," Nack said simply, turning to Lara. "And that's where you also come in."

Lara raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Nack sighed. "This isn't easy to say, and I doubt that it'll be any easier for you to hear, but... your place is the biggest of all of ours put together. Not even my prison can compete with this."

"You want me to bring guns and drugs into my brothel?" asked Lara.

"Wouldn't be the worst thing that's been in here..." Beau said under his breath, earning a glare from Nack.

"I know that it's a lot to ask, and I don't want you to think of this as you owing me just because of last night." Nack sighed. "You know that I wouldn't ask this of anyone at this table otherwise."

Lara sighed. "I know..." She shook her head. "I guess that I could give the men that you're bringing over rooms."

"So, why the baddies from Green Hill specifically?" asked Beau. "Will mine and Manuel's men need to shack up here too?"

"No," Nack shook his head. "Just the ones that we can bring over. Your men will need to stay put." He turned to Manuel. "Same goes for you too."

Manuel nodded, turning to Lara. "I've got too many guys where I am," he said.

"And my own place is too small," Beau added. "It wouldn't be any good."

"Suffice to say, but yours is the only place where we can hide them," Nack said. "And when the freelancers follow, they won't hurt your girls."

"That's if they're smart enough to come up here," Lara said.

"Which they won't be," Nack assured. "I'm calling them up for myself alone. The Westopolis police station is closest to me, after all."

The tigress nodded. "All right. All right, I'll find your men a place to hole up when you bring them over."

Nack smiled. "Thank you, Lara."

"Anything else?" she asked. "Would you like me to find a place for your two bodyguards as well?"

Nack looked back and forth over his two men before turning his attention back to Lara and shaking his head. "Nope. Just the ones that we bring over from Green Hill."

Lara nodded. "Seems fair." She chuckled. "I'm sorry for the hesitance before."

"It's fine," Nack said. "No doubt that the other two were feeling the same."

"Eh, we've got some rushes to do, but the new guys aren't coming over to bother us, so we'll be fine," Beau replied, turning to Lara. "Having said all of that, I do hope that it all goes well for you and your girls."

"Same here," Manuel added. "I'll make sure that your girls have guns to protect themselves if they need it."

"Maybe not that far," Lara said. "Melee weapons, maybe?"

The bull chuckled. "I'll see what I can get my hands on."

Nack smiled. "So, we're all in agreement with the plan so far?"

"Hey, as long as the pay is good and we all keep our own bits of land," Beau said, "I'm cool with it."

"I do wonder why you might be willing to get caught out," Manuel said to Nack as they all stood up. "Surely, this plan would be more flawless if you didn't get caught at all."

"It's like I said," Nack shrugged, "if it happens, it happens. I'm not the important factor in the plan, after all. I came up with it, yes, but you three are the ones with the biggest roles to play." He chuckled. "And tomorrow, I'll be the one to open up the curtains for you."

"It's rare for you to use such analogies," said Lara. "But I do appreciate it, along with your helping me."

Nack nodded. "It's to help all of us, remember?" He turned to walk away, followed by the others. "Remember, the fake ID cards are the biggest key to all of this, and they're not easy to forge, even in this city."

"How are they coming along, by the way?" asked Manuel.

"I have no clue," Nack said. "Martin said that he'd tell me when they're done. I gave him yours and Lara's pictures for reference, along with all of the other important information."

"It'd better come soon," Beau said. "Tomorrow ain't too far away, and I have a tendency to get antsy when it comes to stuff like this."

Nack chuckled. "I'll make sure that it's all sorted, along with extra cash for you guys in your accounts."

"Let's just try to keep our heads on straight," Manuel said. "I sure hope that my acting is good enough to fool the cops tomorrow, though."

"Are you kidding me? With your handsome face?" Lara smiled. "You've got nothing to worry about."

The bull chuckled. "I appreciate it, senorita."

They all shared a laugh as they reached the door, with Nack letting Beau, Manuel, and his own two henchmen out first. He watched the snake and the bull go over to their vehicles, wondering how he didn't notice them earlier before snapping his fingers.

"I still need to check up on mine," he said.

"Well, whatever car you so choose, be sure that it's a good one," Lara smiled. "I assume that we are using it for tomorrow, yes?"

"You assume correctly," Nack smiled. "Any specific style that you prefer?"

"I don't do cars," Lara shrugged. "But I'm thinking something versatile. It's got to be quick enough to get us in and out of there, as well as hide an extra body. Not to mention the others that we need too."

"I'm setting up some cars for Manuel's men too," Nack said. "I'm thinking maybe two more extra to follow will help."

Lara nodded. "That's reasonable enough," she smiled. "Should keep us protected, and have enough to bring the others back."

"If all else fails, we'll take the transfer vehicle," said Nack. "That'll not only be big enough, but will make the trap setup more believable."

"Smart thinking," Lara giggled.

Nack smiled in thanks, and then turned to the tigress. They both moved in and shared a kiss with each other. Not overly passionate, but more reassuring if anything. The mingling of their mouths didn't last long, and they broke it, with Nack going to his car. He waved at Beau and Manuel as they did the same before taking off, and then he turned to Lara, giving her one last goodbye wave before getting back into his own car.

"That was some good lunch," said the passenger.

"It was indeed," said the driver, turning to Nack and starting up the car. "What now?"

As it started, he smiled to himself. "Straight back home, boys. We've got some last minute preparations to make for tomorrow."

The two henchmen nodded, soon pulling out into the main road and making their way for the prison. As they did, Nack saw Lara waiting at the door of her brothel still, waving to Nack, who waved back, smiling to himself more as the car took off back to the prison.

And here it is! Another one is finally up! I hope that you guys enjoyed it. We build ever closer still to the prison transfer in Green Hill. Sick bars for days there, son. Anyway, the next chapter will be a little bit more experimental. It will be filler, so just some warning, but I want to test something out with it, so... yeah. Until next time, take care, and stay tuned.