AN: To the people who think that this isn't Tails, I have to say that you are absolutely right. This is not Tails. Read on, review, and feel free to tell me if and why I suck!

Renegade

Chapter 5: Evac

I honestly didn't know what to do. I knew what God was calling me to do, and I figured helping him meant being around him and understanding him. I also thought about what a great story this would make. It made me feel kind of like Lois Lane, hanging out with an extraterrestrial superhero as a job. I did, however, feel a little guilty, as if I was exploiting Miles. About five minutes after Miles left, my landline suddenly rang. I wondered who still called landlines as I lifted the receiver to my ear.

"Put me on speaker!" I could hear labored breathing on the other line. I turned the speaker on.

Nick was next to me. He heard the long, drawn breaths. "Miles, is that you?"

"Yeah, I need an evac, now!"

"What? What happened?"

"I don't know. I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time." Suddenly we could hear gunshots. I looked worriedly at Nick. "Can't talk! Courtyard and Maple!" The line went dead. We rushed out the door and hurried into my car.

"I really hope this isn't what we think it is!" I said as we drove off.

Nick gave me a worried look. "What do you think it is?"

I sighed. "Richard Snell is a big time mob boss. He owns clubs all around town. His base of operations is the Calizar, on Courtyard and Maple."

"Wait, why would Miles get caught up with him?"

"Well, it seems they've met, multiple times in fact. Snell was just sent to jail again, after he was paroled. Miles didn't seem too happy about it. It probably doesn't help that Snell likes to get girls off the street and sell them as sex slaves. If he got involved with some of Snell's goons so close to home, we're probably gonna drive up to a full scale siege." We drove in silence for the rest of the ten minute trip.

I inched up to the intersection. There were no other cars on the road, and I was pretty sure I knew why. I looked around, ready to wet my pants at the first sight of any human life. To anyone else, this would be an ordinary inner-city intersection, four stoplights and a manhole to top it off. Of course, anyone who knew what I knew wouldn't dream of showing up here. I had done an article on Snell two years ago, just when he had begun to climb the social ladder of the underworld. It was suicide to come around with a cop then, how much worse would it be for someone aiding the guy who put the big guy in jail at least twice?

Nick took a device out of his pocket. It looked like some sort of beetle. "It's Miles" he told me. "Go ahead."

"Open the sun-roof." I did as I was instructed, then began looking around ot the tops of the buildings, wondering where Miles could be. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was out there, along with Snell's boys. We waited in the car for what seemed like hours. Still nothing.

Then the manhole cover suddenly blasted into the air. Miles followed it. My eyes lost him for a second as he quickly snatched the cover from the air and held it in front of him, facing the Calizar. He barely got it up in time before a wall of bullets erupted from the club. We could hear the metal ringing from 20 feet below. As he reached the peak of his motion, Miles pulled a back flip, in the same motion kicking the metal disk at the club. It crashed through the window as Miles came through the open sun-roof. "Go!" he yelled, although I didn't need much encouragement. I peeled out.

After I was sure that we weren't being followed, I gave a sigh of relief. "So, Miles, want to tell us what ha-Miles! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" I about lost my mind as I turned around and faced a bloody mess. I pulled over and stopped the car.

"Don't stop! I'll be-gah- fine! We'll be si-(cough)-sitting ducks out here! It's nothing!" It was obvious that Miles was in a lot of pain, and I could see why.

I jumped out of the car and opened the back door. "Nick, there's a first aid kit in the trunk!" Nick hurried over and got it to me. He seemed to be handling this rather calmly. Probably not the first time he'd seen Miles like this. "Miles, I'm going to need you to tell me where your hurt."

"One gunshot wound on each tail-grr-and another on my right shoulder. And a stab wound on my back." I went to work bandaging these areas, as Miles tried to stifle his pained cries. When I was finished, he looked around frantically. "Did anyone follow us?"

"No. I can't bel-"

"Dang it!" Miles yelled in frustration. "Who knows what they're doing to her!" He pulled out a com-link and flipped it on. We could hear whimpering on the other side. Miles dropped to his knees, a defeated look in his eyes. That look was quickly replaced by determination. He spoke quietly into the communicator. "Cassie, I'm sorry I couldn't save you." I looked over at Nick for an explanation. He just shrugged. "I failed you. I wish I could tell you that everything will be ok, that no one's going to hurt you, but I can't. All I know is that I will never give up. I will not abandon you to this fate. I will come back for you." Miles began to cry.