AN: I do not own any characters portrayed in this chapter except Yellow Fire. He is mine and mine alone. Now I sound just plain selfish -.-' but it's true. Cal Poline and Naomi are just random characters. Use them if you want.
Yellow Fire Chronicles
Book 3: The Leave
Chapter 1: The Dress
The next couple of days were extremely busy. Yellow Fire, however had to stay at Carmelita's house until the wedding day, mostly because of the fact that Interpol has been granted permission to "apprehend," as Carmelita had said it, him.
"So where's Sly at?" Yellow asked several days after arriving in Paris.
"He's still living in his hideout with the guys," Carmelita answered. "But he comes over every now and then," she added blushing slightly.
"Carmelita," said Yellow surprised. "Talk about too much info," he added laughing.
"Alright, you," said Carmelita, trying to change the subject, "you have to come with me to Cal Poline. We're going to get me fitted for a wedding dress."
"Do you even know Cal Poline?" Yellow asked.
"Not really," Carmelita replied, "but her dresses are somewhat cheap seeing as her shop is small."
"So why do I have to come?"
"Rumor has it that she works on both sides of the law."
"So..."
"So...that means she might think I'm there to bust her."
"And you think she might have armed workers?"
"Yep, and I also don't plan to go in alone."
"I'll pack my favorite 'toy' then," said Yellow Fire grabbing what looked like a toy rifle for a G.I. Joe.
"O...k...," Carmelita said nervously. I hope that thing packs a powerful punch, she thought.
They headed out of the building and got in Carmelita's red convertible and headed straight for Poline's.
Naomi looked up as two new customers walked into the shop. One was a fox with midnight-blue hair, crimson-orange fur, and the body that any man could not keep their eyes off of. As for the other, it was a young male husky with pitch black hair that was long enough to cover his eyes completely and half white, half black fur. But there was something strange about this boy; he have off something that gave her the chills.
"Welcome to Poline's," said Naomi. "How may I help you Madame and Monsieur?" she asked attempting to keep her voice calm as the pair walked up to the counter.
"I was wondering if you had a catalog of your wedding line," said the vixen.
"Qui," said Naomi, "I shall check the back," she added heading through a door that lead to the offices of the shop.
Naomi headed not to the storage room but to her boss' office. She politely knocked and entered when asked.
"Naomi my friend," greeted Cora Poline. "You seem troubled," she added seeing Naomi's nervous look.
"I believe you need to check the security cameras, Madame," said Naomi.
Cora's eyes widened. She quickly looked at the screens and saw Carmelita leaning on the counter out in front of the shop. "Let me greet them...and make sure you bring your friend."
In the front of the shop, Carmelita had taken to walking around looking at some of the fancy dresses that lined the walls. "Oh wow," Carmelita gasped when she saw a beautiful white dress.
"Bonjour, cheris," called a cool female voice.
Yellow, who at the time was lurking in a darker part of the store, saw that the female was a snow leopard with blonde hair and a body that bettered Carmelita's.
Carmelita looked over and saw the female and said, "Hello."
"I'm Cora Poline," Yuri said, walking around the counter to greet Carmelita.
The two women shook hands and as they did Cora shivered. What on earth? she thought. She looked over and saw a teenage boy walking up to them. "Is this your son, Ms...?"
"Fox," Carmelita finished for her, "and no, he's not my son, but he's a dear friend of mine."
"Ah, qui," Cora said. "What can I do for you, Ms. Fox?"
"I was looking for a wedding dress," Carmelita simply replied.
"What about this one?" Yellow asked pointing to the dress Carm and been looking at earlier.
"Ah, qui," Cora repeated, "one of my more beautiful dresses."
"How much is it?" Carmelita asked, fearing the answer might be too much.
"The tag says," Yellow answered, "two hundred euros."
Carmelita gasped. It's cheaper than I expected, she thought.
"Than we shall get you fitted for the dress, no?" Cora asked a smiling Carmelita.
"Oh, yes!" Carmelita nearly screamed.
"Please follow me," Cora said. "I'll have one of my available workers fit you," she added leading them to a room in the back of the shop. "Please wait here until one of my workers arrives," she said as she left the room.
Carmelita sat down in a chair, breathing quickly because of her excitement.
"Calm down, Carm," Yellow joked. "You look like you're about to have a heart attack."
"Shut...up...Yellow," gasped Carmelita.
The door opened and a cheetah walked in. It was Naomi, and she was carrying an AK-47.
Cora walked in seconds after Naomi did and said, "So, Inspector," she grinned, "what really brings you into my shop?"
"What?!" Carmelita asked, surprised. How did she know who I was? Carmelita thought.
A gunshot rang through the room and Naomi dropped her AK-47, falling into many pieces as it hit the ground. All eyes turned to Yellow, there were three things different about him: half his hair was white, there was a small glow coming from underneath his hair (where his eyes would be), and he was holding a long, powerful looking rifle.
"This is exactly why I brought this," Yellow said, his voice now contained a low demonic growl.
Then something clicked in Carmelita's brain, the rifle had looked familiar, she realized that it was the same rifle that Yellow had put in his pocket back at the apartment.
"Here's what we're going to do," Yellow said, a trace of the demonic growl still in his voice. "You're going to fit Carmelita for her dress, we're going to purchase the dress, and we're going to pick it up after you've finished it."
All was still until Naomi gasped and nearly screamed at the top of her voice, "You're Yellow Fire!"
"Silence," Yellow hissed at Naomi.
Naomi quickly shut her mouth.
After that Carmelita was fitted for the dress and it so happened that there was a dress that was a perfect fit for her. With the dress paid for, Carmelita and Yellow left Cal Poline, driving as quickly as they could back to the apartment.
Chapter 2: Change of Life
Back at the apartment, Carmelita was packing her suitcases before they left for the Cooper Gang's hideout. "They should be picking us up at midnight," Carmelita said as she struggled with her suitcase.
"Shut all ready," she said, "you piece of...Ahh!!" Yellow had easily pushed the suitcase shut as if it was a daily thing.
"Thanks," she gasped as she stood up (she had nearly fallen to the floor when Yellow had closed the suitcase). "Show off," she added under her breath.
"I heard that," Yellow said as he walked out of the room. "But you love me anyway."
"As if you were my son," Carmelita agreed.
Several hours later the Cooper van pulled up in front of the apartment. As he was helping load the suitcases, Yellow noticed a cop car nearly hidden in the shadows in an ally. "I'll take my bus," he said.
"Why on earth would you do that?" asked Bentley nervously, he noticed Yellow had been staring into the same ally for a while.
"I think we're going to have a bit of action heading our way," Yellow answered.
Sly looked into the ally that Yellow had been staring at and noticed a police cruiser crudely hidden and said, "Let's move."
"Better buckle up," Murray stated, "this is going to be a rough ride."
Yellow quickly got in his bus as the cop car came out of the ally.
Sly, Bentley, Carmelita and Murray jumped into the van just as Yellow's bus roared to life and sped through a half a u-turn blocking the entire street and the oncoming cruiser.
As Murray drove the van away, everyone inside heard the resounding screech of tires and a crash as the cruiser smashed into the side of the bus.
"Yellow?" Bentley said into the microphone of his headset.
"I'm fine, Bentley," Yellow responded, "but I can't say the same for the police cruiser."
"Can you get out of there?" Bentley asked, noticing the worried look on Carmelita's face.
"Sure, but," Yellow began.
"But what?" Bentley asked, dreading the answer.
"I won't be able to meet up with you guys at the hideout," Yellow finished.
"What?! Why?!" Bentley asked utterly perplexed.
"Put him on speaker, Bentley," Sly said, reading the look of horror on Carmelita's face.
"I can't," Bentley said sadly, "not only is the radio not designed that way but he's also signed off."
"But how's he going to get out of there?" Murray asked.
"I don't know," Bentley answered.
"We have bigger things to worry about," Carmelita and Sly shouted.
Six police cruisers and two helicopters had started chasing the Cooper Gang's van. Bentley quickly turned on a couple of monitors and tuned in to the Cooper Gang chase on the right screen and the bus chase on the left.
"We bring you breaking news," an unseen male announcer said on the right screen, "police are currently in pursuit of the elusive Cooper Gang, whom police officials believe kidnapped Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox of INTERPOL from her home approximately five minutes earlier today."
"What a great way to discredit us, right guys?" Sly said jokingly.
Bentley shushed Sly as a female announcer on the left screen began to describe the events that led to the present chase.
"Officials believe the suspect to be none other than Yellow Fire, whom officials also believe, helped in the kidnapping of Interpol's Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox. Currently the police have set up several barricades that should stop the bus. The ETA until we reach the first is one minute."
"Speaking of blockades," Sly said, "there's one dead ahead of us."
Murray quickly slammed on the brakes, bringing the van to a screeching stop. As the police officers attempted to surround the van, Bentley flipped a switch that covered the van in the same armor that was used to keep the van from being broken into on the freeway in the U.S. over a year ago.
"Apparently, the Cooper Gang's van is now covered in some type of armor," the announcer said from the right screen inside of Yellow's bus, "We just received word that a SWAT team is going to attempt to break through it in approximately two minutes."
NO! Yellow thought.
He was about to turn the bus around when he noticed the first police blockade about five miles up the freeway.
On second thought, he thought, let's bust some skulls.
On his left screen, the female announcer had pointed out the obvious fact that Yellow had not slowed up and that apparently the officers at the blockade had not noticed.
Yellow stepped on the gas reaching a speed of 110 miles per hour and climbing. 120…130…140. Yellow pressed a button on his dashboard and a giant metal plate extended forward from the front of the bus to create a bulldozer as he got within firing range of Interpol's firearms.
Yellow was mere meters from colliding with the police cruisers when he pressed a second button and flipped a switch on the dashboard. The bus launched forward with a sudden burst of speed and another jerk a second later when the bus finally collided with the cruisers, destroying them almost completely.
"DID YOU SEE THAT?!" the female announcer was shouting, "The suspect literally drove right through the blockade and…is…. turning around? Why is he turning around?"
The bus was pulling off a spectacular u-turn across all five lanes on the freeway. As soon as it had finished the turn, Yellow slammed the accelerator to the floor causing the bus to what appeared to be a stalled engine, but Yellow had one last trick up his sleeve.
"It seems the suspect has stalled his engine," the female announcer said from Bentley's left monitor, "and the police are quickly moving in."
"What the hell is he doing?" Carmelita wondered aloud.
"It's impossible to stall an engine with that much horsepower in it," Murray said matter-of-factly.
"Knowing Murray's expertise in automotives," Bentley said, "he's right. An engine that powerful couldn't possibly just breakdown."
"Exactly how powerful is that engine?" Sly asked.
"I'm not quite sure…"
A large explosion erupted on the left monitor. The bus had sent a sonic blast that cleared its immediate area of cops, and sped off towards where the Cooper Gang's van sat, surrounded by cops.
Yellow was pressed back into his seat as the bus had jumped to speeds that had broken the sound barrier.
"JESUS CHRIST!!!" both announcers' shouted, "All of the cruisers have been blasted away and Yellow Fire has disappeared."
Everyone in the Cooper Van was in shock.
"I don't remember him adding that to the bus," Murray said perplexed.
"Neither do I," Carmelita said.
"He must have been traveling at supersonic speeds to do that," Bentley said in awe.
"Damn right I was," came a voice over the radio.
Bentley jumped.
"What's up?" Sly asked in shock.
"It's Yellow Fire," Bentley smiled. "I'll transfer the sound waves to theses speakers," he added as he pulled out a pair of speakers.
"Give me the headset then," Carmelita said impatiently.
Bentley obliged and began tinkering with the secondary output of the receiver.
In the bus Yellow stopped ten blocks away from the Cooper Gang's location.
"Where are you?" Carmelita asked.
"Down the street," Yellow answered, "I have a plan, Carm, but I need your guys' help."
There was a moment's silence. Bentley gave the thumbs up that the speakers were in fact working.
Carmelita responded, "We're listening Yellow."
Chapter 3: Quick Escape
Yellow considered the risks involved but had no choice, but to tell Carmelita the truth. "An attack helicopter is on its way to..."
"A WHAT?!?!" everyone in the Cooper Van yelled.
"An attack helicopter," Yellow repeated and continued before he could be interrupted again, "It's going to provide some cover fire while I blow a path for you guys."
"But why an attack helicopter?" Sly asked.
"I really don't want to be blown to bits," Yellow said exasperatedly.
"That really doesn't answer my question," Sly retorted.
"Not the point," Yellow retorted back.
"Breaker, breaker. This is V.A. Sup Co inbound to yellow signal," came a voice over the radio.
"V.A. Sup Co, this Ad YF. Signal is out. Engage the hostiles when in range," Yellow responded. He pressed a button and a flare rocketed from the bus up into the air and detonated a hundred feet above the spot where the Cooper Van sat trapped. "Murray, get ready to punch it," Yellow said into his headset piece.
"Right," Murray responded. As he prepped himself, he saw the attack helicopter closing in on their position. "Oh boy."
Everyone in the van looked out of the windshield and saw a black helicopter flying in their direction. Carmelita quickly noted the sheer size of it revealed that the attack helicopter was mostly likely carrying more than just the pilots and their payload.
The helicopter was only a half a block away when it launched several missiles at the closest group of police cruisers. The cops panicked and began to flee or attempt a poor takedown of the helicopter. The police cruisers went up in flames as the missiles hit their mark and another set of missiles flew through the smoke. A second detonation confirmed yet another direct hit in the police blockade.
"Ad YF, we have confirmed hits. Continue with operation, sir?" said the pilot on the radio.
Before anyone could answer, Murray stomped his foot on the accelerator. The van jumped forward, through the wreckage of the police blockade and down the street.
"The van's gotten passed the blockade, sir," the pilot announced.
"Good," Yellow said with relief. "Call in an EV large enough to carry a small panel van and a large bus, and return to base."
"Right away, sir." The pilot quickly flew off in another direction.
Yellow quickly hit the gas and followed the Cooper Gang's progress trough the seemingly empty city.
Something's not right, Yellow thought. Why is the city so empty today?
Yellow's answer revealed itself with a bang, literally. A military hum-vee had broadsided the side of Yellow's bus, nearly causing the both of them to crash.
Chapter 4: The Military Intervention
Yellow flipped a switch and spoke into his headset. "Better luck next time gentlemen," his voice rang through the exterior speakers, "You'll never catch me."
Gunshots began to ring around the bus and the sound of armor piercing bullets attempting to penetrate the bus's heavy armor reverberated against the walls.
Damn, Bruce thought. He pressed a few buttons and flipped several switches. I hope this feature is finally going to work.
The gunman for the hum-vee stopped firing and shouted to the driver, "I think he's slowing down!" Sure enough, the bus was loosing speed but it was not stopping. "Orders, sir?!"
"Hold your fire and only fire if he tries something," the driver answered, "I'll match his speed." The driver took his foot of the accelerator and the hum-vee began quickly matched the bus's speed.
After another mile's drive, the gunman noticed an opening in the front of the bus. "Sir? I think he's trying to pull something."
The driver took a quick look back and noticed the opening as well. "Brace yourself!"
Yellow sat in the dark, all systems were ready and the doors were finally opening.
"Launch in t-minus one minute," his computer indicated.
Let's do this, Yellow thought. A blockade of military vehicles was up ahead. I should be able to go right through them, he thought, The bus is obsolete once it takes so much damage.
The bus's front doors finally sprung open and Yellow slammed his foot on the accelerator.
The armor piercing gun let out a barrage of bullets at the opening, missing the target by about a second. "Where'd he go?" the gunner asked.
Yellow had dodged all the bullets in his temporary ride. The vehicle was painted beige, with a yellow pattern on the top and the words The Vigilante Army, Road Rocket along the side. His windshield was that of a jet. The vehicle was riding low against the ground.
As the blockade came into view, Yellow flipped several switches forcing his on board computer to give an error message. "Damn," he said as he stepped on the gas, forcing more error messages to appear. Yellow flipped one last switch just feet from the first of the military vehicles. The military vehicles were launched several feet from their original spots as Yellow pulled yet another dissappearing act.
AN: stay tuned