Hail To The Thief
Chapter 2: Deadly Encounters
It was almost 8:00 p.m. and Rouge had yet to prepare for her meeting with the mysterious GUN Agent. After lounging around for a bit, she finally decided to get ready. She opened the hotel closet and found a red dress, sealed in plastic, hanging inside. "Well now, this sure is a surprise. Looks like GUN's Interpol has some pretty decent fashion sense. But why red?" She quickly changed into the dress, surprised by how well it fit, complimenting her curvy figure. Before long, she was out the door and heading to the restaurant where her contact was meeting her. Rouge arrived at the "Crem de la Crem" with very little time to spare. The hostess showed her to a reserved table and offered her a selection of wine. "I'll just take the most expensive wine you have." She said. The hostess walked off. Rouge was studying the people chatting at the other tables when suddenly Espio The Chameleon appeared, sitting across from her.
"You!" She blurted.
"You're late." He said in a low voice.
"You're my contact?" Rouge asked him.
"That's right. I've been monitoring the Black Market deals for some time now." He said professionally.
"I didn't even know you worked for GUN." She said.
"Well," Espio said uncomfortably, "Vector got sent to a… child abuse seminar. And Charmy… he's not doing too well right now... So I decided to free-lance."
"Hmmm…" Rouge mumbled.
"Were you expecting someone else?" He asked her.
"No." She told him, snapping back into reality, "I just wasn't expecting you. So what's the deal? Why are we meeting in a place like this?"
"Over there." Espio said, pointing to a booth in the corner of the restaurant.
Rouge glanced over. At the table sat a well-known Russian arms dealer with two scantily clad women. "Vladimir Korkofsky" Espio told her. "From the information I've gathered, it appears that he's the ticket inside the underground weapons trade." "Really?" Rouge said, half-interested. "Intel says he knows how to get the stones that these new weapons of mass destruction are created from." He said. "Stones? What kind of stones?" Rouge inquired. "Black Jewels." He told her. "Interesting…" She said, "Just leave this to me, Espio." Rouge got up and walked over to Vladimir's table swinging her hips, which definitely caught Espio's attention.
"Hi." She said seductively. "What do you want?" Vladimir snapped. "I was just looking to make some new friends and I hear that you're the guy to talk to." She said. He took a moment, examining her body. "Hmmm… Maybe we can work something out. I have some clients who have an interest in… furries. How much do you charge?" "Oh, no, silly. That's not what this is about. I'm more interested in rare artifacts." She said with a smirk. Vladimir's expression dropped. "Ladies, it's time for you to leave." He said to the women next to him. They walked off in a huff, leaving Rouge and Vladimir alone. "Have a seat." He said.
"She's good." Espio thought, watching the two from across the room.
"So, you know who I am. Now, who exactly are you?" Vladimir said coldly. "I'm Rouge The Bat. But you can call me Rouge." She told him. "Rouge, huh? Well, Rouge, what is it you're looking for?" He asked her. "Me? I'm just a girl looking for jewelry. And I hear there's a special kind of jewelry on the market… Black Stones." Rouge said. "That's a pretty big request for someone I've never heard of." He said impatiently. "Well, that's how I work, handsome. The less you know, the safer it is for everyone." She retorted. Vladimir took a moment to think. He watched Rouge intensively. She stared at him, seducing his conscious with her blue glassy eyes. "Alright." He said finally. He took out a piece of paper and scribbled down instructions on it. "Meet me here tomorrow." He told her, sliding the paper across the table.
Rouge looked at it. "This is where I'll be picking up the jewels?" She asked him.
"We'll see." He said. He got up from the table and called the two women back over to him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."
After watching Vladimir exit the restaurant, Rouge soon followed. Outside she looked on as he entered a limousine with the two women. "Gotcha." She exclaimed. Rouge was about to take flight when Espio reappeared. "No." He said, bringing her to a halt. "I'll go. You can't afford to be compromised now." He told her. "You've got to be kidding me? I didn't come to France to sit in a hotel all-" Espio had already vanished. "Great… Well, since I've got the rest of the night off, I might as well pay that jewel a little visit…" She grinned.
* * *
The next day, Rouge awoke in her comfortable 5 star hotel bed. It was the second day of her overseas mission, and waiting for her at the foot of her bed was a tray of delicious Paris delicacies. After a quick breakfast she jumped in the shower and went over the information she'd receive about Vladimir Korkofsky. "This guy's a small fry." She thought. She glanced over at the news report that was on TV, "It seems a rare gem was stolen from a local jewelry store last night around 9:00. Government Officials have no leads." The cunning bat giggled to herself as she held her new treasure up to the sunlight. The clear green gem sparkled, illuminating the room. "It's just too easy!"
Later that day, Rouge met with Vladimir in an abandoned warehouse. "What's up, Vlad? She greeted, "I assume you've got my stones?" "On the contrary, Ms. Bat." He said, pulling Espio out of his limo. Espio's mouth was duct taped and his hands bound with chains. Vladimir's henchmen kept their guns steadily pointed at him. "A friend of yours, I assume?" He said. Rouge had no time to think. Espio got caught, but how? What could she do or say to keep her cover AND save Espio? "What's this all about, Vladimir?" Rouge said apprehensively. "I was hoping you could tell me. We know this man works for you!" He shouted. Rouge gained her composure. She said, "Of course he works me! Do you really think I'd do business with someone like you and not have a little research done first?! Now, let him go before you cause yourself more trouble than you're worth!"
Korkofsky stood silent for a moment. After a few seconds he finally said, "Alright. Let him go." "But, Boss…" One henchman said. "Shut up and do as I say!" He ordered. They took the chains off of Espio and removed the duct tape from his mouth. Espio punched out one of the henchmen and disappeared. "Now, can we get down to business? I didn't come all this way to play "Pin the tail on the jackass!" Rouge said. Vlad looked confused for a moment. "Right... business..." He stuttered. Rouge sighed. "Let me guess, you didn't bring me the Black Jewels because of this little misunderstanding?" She said. Vladimir nodded like a scorned child. "Great. Thanks a lot, Vlad! I guess I'll have to take my business elsewhere…" Rouge turned to walk away. "No, wait!" He shouted. "I don't have the gems with me. But I can take you to them. And then we make deal, yes?" He said.
"Hmmm… Fine. But if you can't deliver, then we're going to have a much bigger problem, Vladimir Korkofsky." Rouge threatened. "No, no problems. Please, we will take you to compound, yes?" He said, showing her to the limousine. She got in, followed by Vladimir and the limo made it's way to the Nuclear Testing Compound. Not far away, Espio tracked the limo's movements from the Paris rooftops. "Rouge is on route to the underground facility." He said into his earpiece. "Good. Stay on her. If things go wrong she's gonna need backup." The voice replied. "Copy that."
The limo pulled into an underground parking lot, and after a series of long tunnels and hidden entrances, they arrived at a large reinforced door guarded by soldiers and gun turrets. The limousine pulled up to the soldiers. Vladimir rolled down the window and flash the Sergeant his entrance level card. The Sergeant nodded and flagged the door open. The car pulled in. Inside the Headquarters, the compound was massive. Trucks and heavy machinery were carefully hauling dangerous weapons of all sorts throughout the facility. The limo parked and several armed guards escorted Rouge and Vladimir to the upper observation room. Upon entering the room, the two were apprehended and held at gunpoint.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Vladimir shouted.
A man stepped out of the shadows. His face was covered by what looked like a satanic mask of some sort and he wore a large black cloak. "Vladimir Korkofsky." He said in a low growl, "What do you think you're doing?" "What're you talking about, Boss? I brought you new business!" Vladimir stressed. "New business?" The man said looking at Rouge. "Bringing me 'new business' is NOT your job, Korkofsky! For all you know she could be a spy!" "This guy looks like trouble." Rouge thought to herself. The Masked Man pulled out a knife and held it to Vladimir's throat. "Do you know what happens when people disobey me?" "Please, Boss. I was only trying to help!" Vladimir pleaded. Without hesitation, the Masked Man cut his throat and Vladimir Korkofsky was no more.
He turned to Rouge, holding the bloody knife. "Now, who might you be?" He said menacingly. Rouge kept her composure, trying her best to ignore the dead body next to her. "I'm Rouge." She said. "Fascinating." The man said sarcastically. His voice now like a snake's hiss, "Why are you here, Rouge?" Something about this guy sent chills through Rouge's spine. She could barely think. All of the spy skills she'd accumulated seemed to disappear from her. She jumped back into her offensive. "Look, mystery man. I'm not here to play games. You're the guy selling the Black Jewels, right? I need those jewels. And money is not a problem." She said firmly. "No, of course not. Money is never a problem. It's trust. Trust in this world is far more valuable. You see, if I can't trust you, how can I do business with you?" The man said.
"I could say the same thing about you." She retorted. Just then, Rouge caught a lucky break. A siren went off, alerting the facility that an intruder had entered the base. The Masked Man turned to his guards, "Rally the soldiers! Kill the intruder!" He shouted. His guards ran out of the room. "An ally of yours?" He said to Rouge. "I came here alone." She told him. "Hmmm… We'll see." He hissed, pulling out a remote control device. He pushed a button and Rouge was thrown into a chair, her arms and legs held down by metal restraints. "Think of this as an insurance policy." He said. "What's wrong? Don't ya trust me?" Rouge replied with a smirk.
The masked man pulled up holographic monitors and stood examining them. Watching the screens, Rouge could see a vague blur crashing through the guard robots and decapitating soldiers left and right. The screens soon cut to static, throwing the Masked Man into a panic. He got on the loudspeakers and yelled, "ALL EMPLOYEES ARE ORDERED TO KILL THE INTRUDER! KILL HIM NOW!" "Looks like we've got company." Rouge told him. The path of destruction was heading straight towards the observation room. Suddenly, an explosion blasted a hole straight through the wall and standing in the wreckage was Shadow the Hedgehog, surrounded by a flurry of burning red energy. "WHAT'S THIS?!" The man yelled. Shadow jumped across the room, reaching for the Masked Man, but he quickly disappeared. The black hedgehog stood in silence for a moment staring at the ground. "Dammit." He muttered.
"Shadow?" Rouge exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Shadow glanced at her but didn't reply. He held up a radio, "Objective failed. Target escaped." He said. "Return to HQ" A voice replied. He knelt down in front of Rouge and broke the restraints from her arms and legs. After taking one last look around the room he made his way back through the facility. Rouge followed him, "Hey, hold up!" She yelled. Shadow stopped and turned around. "Thanks for your help but you just let my target get away!" She said. "You're target? I have orders to eliminate him." He said. "Orders from who?" She asked him, her hands on her hips. "That's none of your business." He replied coldly. Before Rouge could respond, Shadow used his Chaos Control and vanished into thin air. "Damn!" She shouted.
* * *
Later that night, Rouge was back at the hotel arguing with Espio, who was questioning her about what had happened at the underground base. "I already told you everything!" She yelled. "You're hiding something." He stated.
BEEP BEEP
"Rouge, status report." The General said.
"Mission failed, sir." She said reluctantly.
"What? What happened?"
Espio grabbed her wrist and spoke into her watch, "She won't tell me."
Rouge yanked her arm away from him, "Hands off, Lizard Man!"
''I think she's hiding something, General!" He yelled.
"Rouge, what the devil is going on??"
Rouge sighed, "Shadow, sir. He was there. He destroyed the lab and compromised my mission."
"Shadow? Did you say Shadow?!"
"Yeah." She said.
"Listen you two, Shadow has been official blacklisted! He's gone ROGUE!"
"What?!" Rouge and Espio gasped.
"Rouge, after that accident a few months ago on your last mission, Shadow disappeared. We recently received surveillance footage that clearly shows Shadow using his abilities to assassinate several top military officials around the world."
"Why wasn't I told about this?" Rouge asked him.
"We didn't want your relationship to Shadow to interfere with this mission."
"Relationship?" She said.
Suddenly, the transmission cut to static. "Hello? General? Are you there? General, do you copy?" She shot a look of worry at Espio. "I can't get through." She said. Espio checked his connection but couldn't get a signal. All of the sudden, warning sirens began sounding off all throughout the city! "We must be under attack!" Espio warned. The two looked out the windows. The city had erupted in urban warfare as missiles cut through the sky, taking down military fighter jets. "All hell's broken loose!" Rouge shouted over the sirens. Espio grabbed her arm, "We can't stay here!" He yelled.
* * *
As they escaped through the city, Rouge received a distress call from the President. "Rouge here." She said. "Rouge, your mission's been compromised!" The President said sternly. "Yeah, no kidding. Just what are you guys doin' over there anyway? This whole country's gone haywire!" She complained. "We're pulling you out. Europe has become too unstable. We're sending you coordinates for an extraction point. Is Agent Espio wth you?" He said. "Yeah. We just barely made it out of Paris." She told him. "Good." His voice sounded weak and somewhat worrisome. Espio looked down at his handheld computer. "Our location isn't too far from the extraction point." He said. "We've also received information that an unknown assassin is the one who set all of this off. Be careful." The President said, ending his transmission.
"He's probably talking about Shadow." Espio said. "No doubt." Rouge agreed. The two set off towards the extraction point. It wasn't far, but the escalating situations surrounding them would make it difficult to get there. They took to the small grassy areas around Paris, avoiding most of the mayhem that had consumed the city. But as they suspected, they would still have to fight their way through. A group of anarchist thugs stood between them and the bridge leading to their extraction point. Espio used his superior Ninja skills, rendering most of the thugs unconscious, as Rouge Screw Kicked through the barricade they had set up.
They swiftly bolted down the decaying bridge, dodging bullets and air raids. Cars were thrown from one side of the bridge to the other, causing it to crumble under the explosions. Out of the mask of smoke and fire, they could see a GUN helicopter circling around. Rouge spread her wings and jumped into the air with Espio hanging on her ankles. They ascended to the helicopter. Now only a few feet away from rescue, they could see the welcoming faces of the soldiers fending off enemy attacks. But before they could reach it, the chopper exploded in a furious blaze and went crashing down into a war-torn highway.
"NO!!!" Rouge and Espio screamed. The explosion had knocked the two of them through the air. Rouge quickly grabbed onto a piece of debris hanging off the side of the bridge, but Espio fell back down into the city. Rouge pulled herself up from the ledge but fell to the floor. "Ahh!!!" She screamed, holding her leg. A large piece of glass had shot into her thigh from the helicopter's explosion. Blood poured from her wound and she was beginning to lose consciousness. She struggled to stand up, but as she did, immense pain began to course through her body, sending her back to the ground.
As her eyes grew heavy, Rouge could only hear the deafening sound of sirens and gunfire. "I… can't… die here…" She thought. Suddenly, out of the smoke and flames, a figure appeared. She could barely make out the image and she was losing blood fast. It moved towards her slowly. As it drew closer, Rouge could see the silhouettes of other figures following it. They circled around her and as she closed her eyes she could finally see who it was that was standing in front of her.
"Shadow…" She whispered.