Chapter 16: A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing
He cursed under his breath as yet another crossroads presented itself.
There weren't any carvings on the wall showing him where to go this time, so Crow had to make his way back through the maintenance tunnels on intuition alone. He was initially distraught at the number of paths at his disposal, as it made the task of retracing his steps a challenging one, and his progression was slowed due to being unsure of himself. However, feeling his way forward, he began to notice that some of the contiguous passages were older than others, leading to grimy sewer tunnels that had been there long before the time of the Rickman Equipment and Supplies store. He theorized that when the Processing Plant was built, they connected the older tunnels to the newer ones, thereby connecting the Plant to the subterranean Shapeshifter network at large.
It was this discrepancy in age that Dan's new navigation strategy relied upon, reasoning that if he kept to the more recent corridors, he would still remain within the confines of the compound; at least, that was his hope. Alas, seeing as he had no other ideas on how to approach his escape to the surface, he had little choice but to trudge onward in the dimly-lit stone passages, armed with nothing but a segment of rusted pipe he found earlier which he had equipped as a precautionary measure.
His stratagem proved efficient, and once Dan started to recognize passages they had traversed earlier, he pressed on with renewed confidence. In little time, he found the steps leading to the red door with the First Wave insignia. He unlocked it with Brian's key, and proceeded up the stairwell. He soon found himself in the closet once more. He opened the closet door slowly, peeking through the crack, and, seeing no one, entered the storage area. There was no activity so far as Dan's senses could detect, so he abandoned the pipe in the closet and swiftly went out through the back door and into the night, though not before placing a small wooden block off to the side to keep the door wedged open.
A cool wind made the trees at the edge of the lot sway, causing their leaves to rustle. The lot was dark beyond the light of the lamp affixed above the door. He passed the dumpster, then took the long way around, sticking close to the fence until he made it to the perimeter's midpoint; one could never be too careful, he figured.
"Guys!" whispered Dan. "Is anyone there?"
When no one answered, Dan began to rattle the fence.
"Identify yourself!" said voice on the other side.
"Spock!" said Dan. "It's me, Crow."
"Crow!" exclaimed Spock. "Quick, hop over before anyone sees you!"
Dan scaled the fence and landed on the other side, where the rest of the team awaited. Enigma was leaning against the fence to his right, cigarette in his hand. To his left, Polaris stared at the shifting river, cross-armed in an effort to stave the cold. Some way down the path, the Druid was urinating into the Charles; his hunting rifle – which he insisted on bringing along – was strapped into his back. And a few feet past Polaris, there were the explosives, six duffel bags arranged in a row, with each housing several of her homemade satchel charges.
Noticing Crow's arrival, the others began to group around him. They were all clad in black; it made them look like bona fide resistance members. Although, they could just as easily have passed off as amateur bank robbers, thought Dan in bemusement.
"Where've you been, man?" asked Spock. "We've been waiting here for almost forty minutes. Did you guys secure the Titan site?"
"The Watchdog's down there right now, guarding the entrance," explained Dan.
"So, what's it look like?" asked the Druid.
"I hope you all brought an extra pair of underwear," was Dan's reply.
"I brought two, just to be safe," said Spock, head tilting to his backpack.
"Alright, enough standing around," said Enigma, stomping on his cigarette. "Crow, give us the low-down of the place, will ya?"
At Keane's behest, Dan proceeded to brief his crew on their plan of action, describing the layout of the site in detail and giving them a general idea on what to expect. Once the necessities were dealt with, Dan was entrusted with a handgun and a walkie-talkie, which he shoved into the inner pockets of his coat.
"Let's go," said Spock. "The final frontier awaits us."
Dan and Keane climbed the fence, and the others began transporting the bags over, narrated by Becca's periodic pleas to be careful. When all six bags were safely deposited on the other side, the rest crossed over. The Liberation Front followed the fence in single file, each one carrying a bag, and Nelson, being the strongest among them, carrying two. They stopped at the door, the wedge thankfully still in place, a sign they had not yet been found out.
Dan went in first, placing the bag down and stationing himself behind a ride-on lawnmower, handgun at the ready. One by one, the rest of the team entered the storage area until all five of them were safely inside. After Polaris checked the bags, Dan gave the go ahead, and the team transported the explosives to the closet. The secret door was opened once more, and the Liberation Front began the trek to the Titan Processing Plant.
The going was slow due to the explosives, but in about fifteen minutes, they reached the facility. The others decreased their pace, taking in the magnitude of the chamber in wonder. Upon seeing the tanks, Nelson uttered a long string of obscenities, which echoed slightly in the stone hall.
"Dude, these things are incredible!" declared Spock in amazement.
"We don't have time to stop and stare, unfortunately," said Dan. "Come on."
The Watchdog was there waiting for them, and was pleased to see his crewmates return. He approached the group as they came to rest their bags between the second and third incubation tanks on the left. Polaris then started to wander off, and when she gasped aloud, the rest came to her side. Shock and disgust filled the air at the sight of Brian's disfigured body, which hadn't moved since Dan had left it there.
"What happened to the critter?" asked the Druid.
"Let's just say securing this place was harder than we thought it would be," replied Dan, giving Gary a knowing glance. "I'll tell you guys about it later. We can't waste any more time. Let's get these babies up and running."
There were twelve tanks in all, but only six bombs; each operative therefore placed one bag between every tank in order to maximize their explosive yield. Once the charges were in place, Polaris went to work, removing the components from the bags and assembling them before connecting a few colour-coded wires to the digital timer. Since she was the only one among them qualified to handle the explosives, the others were left with nothing to do. They watched on, intrigued, while Dan paced in thought.
As Polaris began work on the second set of charges, the Watchdog came to meet him and pulled him aside.
"Listen," said Gary. "I'm not too keen on standing around and doing nothing while she does all the work. We should make good use of our time."
"What are you suggesting?" asked Dan.
"We should split into two groups," proposed the Watchdog. "Half of us will stay down here to assist in the bomb-making, while the other half goes back to the storage area to hold the exit for the bomb-makers once they join the other group upstairs."
"Good idea," said Dan after some thought. "Yeah, alright, we'll do that."
While Polaris connected the second bomb to its corresponding timer, Dan called the rest into caucus.
"Here's the deal," he began. "Since setting up the explosives is going to take some time, we're going to be splitting into two groups. Spock, you stay here with Polaris and give her a hand in activating the charges. The rest of us will head upstairs and secure the exit. When you two are done, we'll join up and escape through the riverside path before the whole place comes crumbling down."
"Wouldn't it be better if we split in threes?" asked Gary.
"We'll need more muscle upstairs in case something unexpected happens," said Dan.
Watchdog appeared ready to contest the decision, but he then receded. Dan turned to Polaris.
"When you've set them all up, give us a holler through the transceiver," said Dan.
"Gotcha. Spock and I will assemble the rest and set the timers for ten minutes. Won't we, Spock?"
"Yes, ma'am!" said Spock, saluting. "We'll be with you guys shortly."
"Good," said Dan. "Let's get moving."
With the Watchdog at the head, the four operatives made for the entrance and initiated the ascent to the surface. In stealth they went, peering around corridors and keeping close to the walls. Dan was at the rear, looking behind from time to time and scanning the tangent sewer tunnels for any questionable details. Their trek was uneventful, though (apart from a passing rat that made all but the Watchdog jolt), and they reached the janitorial closet without any further hindrance.
The storage area was once again devoid of shifters, so the group crept up to the back door.
"Okay," started Dan in a low voice. "Nelson, go outside and hide somewhere to keep an eye on the exit. The rest of us will cover this area."
The Druid complied, making for the door.
"What in the hell?" said Nelson suddenly, twisting the knob repeatedly.
"Don't tell me it's locked!" said Dan in exasperation.
"No, no, it's sumthin' else," explained the Druid. "It's like there's sumthin' blocking it."
The Druid shoved against the door, but it wouldn't budge; Keane tried as well, only to confirm the Druid's hypothesis.
"What could possibly cause the door to jam like that?" wondered Keane.
"The only thing big enough to block that door," said Dan, speaking in increasing concern, "would be the dumpster outside."
At that moment, they all grasped the context of the situation, with Gary voicing the realization aloud.
"They know we're here!"
They immediately tensed and lowered themselves, staring around in shared paranoia.
"Damn it," hushed Enigma. "Now what do we do?"
"The only way left now is the front entrance," said Dan after some reflection. "They must have closed off our exit to try and smoke us out by the front. I don't like it, but we don't have much of a choice."
Dan was breaking into a cold sweat. Somewhere along the line, one of them screwed up, or they had underestimated their adversary. He was clenching his jaw in frantic thought when the Watchdog spoke.
"I think we should attempt a pre-emptive strike," he began. "If they know we're here, they're probably waiting for us already. The way I see it, they're going to spot us the moment we move towards the entrance anyway, so we might as well sneak our way up there and use the element of surprise to take out as many of them as we can while we're at it. We'd only have to fend them off long enough so that the others downstairs rejoin with us."
"I don't know," said Dan, holding his chin. "Maybe we should wait for Spock and Polaris first before going ahead. I mean, we'd have a bigger advantage if we were six instead of four."
"That won't do us any good," argued the Watchdog. "If we sit here and wait, by the time they come to the surface, the timers on the bombs would have already counted down several minutes, and the firefight might take longer than we can spare. If we want to get out of here before the charges detonate, we'll have to clear them out as fast as we can."
The prospect was far from enticing, and Dan attempted to find alternative solutions to the dilemma, but in the end, he was forced to agree with Gary's plan. Their options were too limited to try anything else; and the act of killing Brian still left a bitter aftertaste. But he figured it was inevitable that many more Shapeshifters would have to if they were to succeed, so he prepared himself for the worst.
At that moment, a voice called in through his transceiver.
"Crow! Crow! Do your copy?"
It was Polaris.
"Loud and clear," responded Dan. "What's the situation? Over."
"The bombs are all set," she announced. "I'm going to initiate the timers now. Over."
"Listen, there's been a slight change of plans," explained Dan. "The back door's been blocked, so we're going to have to go out by the front and probably fight the Shapeshifters. Get up here as fast as you can, 'cause we'll be needing all the firepower we can muster. Over."
There was a slight pause on the other end before a solemn Becca replied.
"Understood. Over."
The four of them prepared their respective weapons.
"We should probably pan out and take them out from various angles so that they can't react as fast," suggested Keane.
"That's probably exactly what they want," said Watchdog. "We need to stick close so that we don't get separated in the event that they're waiting for us."
"I agree," said Dan. "It'll be easier for them to take us out if we're scattered across the store."
Polaris buzzed in once again.
"Crow, I've initiated the timers. Repeat, the timers are counting down. Spock and I are coming up now. Over and out."
The countdown began; they could delay no longer.
"I'll lead the way," offered the Watchdog.
"Alright," said Dan. "Move out."
The quartet proceeded as they did earlier, with the Watchdog at the head, followed by Enigma, the Druid, and Crow in the back. They followed Gary through the inventory area, then into the rear of the store's public area. They ventured into the central aisles, keeping a low profile. He could hear the Shapeshifters talk in low voices in the distance; while they might know that intruders are in their midst, they seemed oblivious that the humans were already onto them. Dan's pulse accelerated. As they neared the edge of the aisle, he thought to himself that they might actually have a chance.
His transceiver suddenly kicked in from inside his coat pocket. He stopped to take the call while the others continued to advance.
"Spock to Crow! Spock to Crow!"
Spock's voice was feverish in its urgency.
"What is it? Over."
There was a pause on the other end before Spock relayed his message.
"We found the Watchdog. He...he's dead."
Dan's mind went blank. Then, a glacial chill ran down his spine as everything started to fall into place, a single, barely coherent thought coming to the forefront of his mind, drowning out all others.
...No...
He looked back to his team mates. Watchdog was peering around the corner, kneeling beside the aisle, with Enigma and the Druid close by.
"Get out of there, Crow!" yelled Spock. "Do you hear me? You need to get out of there NOW!"
Dan was stricken, not yet grasping the severity of the situation in full; it was only when the Watchdog readied himself and his comrades when Dan regained control.
"Ready?" whispered the Watchdog. "Now!"
He ran headlong into the open, handgun brandished; but instead of turning to shoot as Enigma and the Druid did, the Watchdog simply continued to run, dropping his weapon, hands in the air as a sign not to shoot him, fleeing outside of the range of the Shapeshifters who were waiting for them.
"Wait!" cried Dan. "It's a trap!"
Keane and Nelson, distracted by the Watchdog's irrational behaviour, saw the Shapeshifters rising from behind the check-out counters only too late. They fired almost as soon as the two emerged, missing a ducking Druid and hitting Enigma in the right shoulder, who yelled aloud in pain. The Watchdog joined his brethren behind the counters, aiming his weapon at those he had just duped.
Seeing his ally fall, the Druid let out a furious war cry. He aimed his rifle and began to fire, causing the three Shapeshifters to duck as the bullets tore holes through the cash register and the wall behind them. As he did so, Crow came to Enigma's aid, who fell to the ground upon being shot. The Shapeshifters began shooting back, however, and the Druid tried to hold them off with his rifle while the three Liberation Front agents retreated to the safety of the aisles.
"What the hell was that?" yelled Enigma, holding his shoulder.
"It's Gary," said Dan. "He's been dead this whole time. A Shapeshifter must have taken his identity while I was out fetching you guys at the river. He's been fooling us this entire time."
Anger, frustration, grief, despair; so many emotions and thoughts raced through Dan's being as he knelt as Enigma's side. But of all the states of mind he currently entertained, that of crippling guilt became the predominant one.
Gunshots continued to resound, Druid firing to try and pin the Shapeshifters in one place. Soon, however, Druid was soon forced to reload, which he attempted to do as fast as he could.
"Get 'em!" said one of the Shapeshifters, seeing their targets ceasefire.
Hearing this, Crow of the Liberation Front rose to his feet, and with a fierce cry, emerged from the aisle, unloading leaded vengeance upon those that took the life of his ally. The four Hybrids were caught off guard by the sudden attack; three returned to the cover of the check-out counters, while the one in the guise of Gary Saunders fled down the farthest aisle. Dan dove behind stacks of sand and gravel bags, landing hard on his shoulder.
I should have known.
"Nelson!" said Dan. "There's one that went in the aisles!"
The Druid nodded. He looked down to Enigma, who gritted his teeth as he examined his wound.
"You alright?" asked the Druid, helping him to his feet after terminating his reload sequence.
"They got my good arm," said Keane. "I think I'll manage, though."
"Don't get dead, kid!" counselled the Druid, patting Enigma on his good shoulder and cocking his rifle before setting off after the stray shifter.
Crow and Enigma continued to hold their positions opposite the check-out counter. Enigma, though his aim was sloppy from having to use his opposite hand, managed to shoot one on the hand; the shifter screamed, looking at the hole in his palm, leaking mercury. Bullets grazed the bags behind which Dan knelt behind, sand and gravel drooling out of the holes. In a short time, the shootout veered to stalemate, bullets being exchanged pointlessly in the air with neither side gaining any significant advantages.
"Cover me!" said Enigma.
Crow fired, keeping the Shapeshifters at bay while Enigma ran to his partner's side, sliding the last few feet across the tile floor with great effort.
"If we keep this up, we'll be running out of ammunition in no time," said Keane. "We have to get closer to them somehow."
"Right," acknowledged Dan. "But how?"
No sooner did he finish his sentence that the Shapeshifters broke their static formation. One escaped into the aisles, and the other two began hopping over the counters, trying to bridge the distance between themselves and their flesh-and-blood opponents.
"They're trying to corner us!" said Enigma.
Then, to their joint surprise, one of the Shapeshifters performed a superhuman leap all the way to their cover behind the stacks of gravel and sand. Dan moved out of the way, but Enigma chose to aim his gun high as the Hybrid came down in a display of fearlessness, intent on dealing a mid-air blow; this proved fruitless, for the Shapeshifter landed on him before he could get a clear shot.
"Isaac!" cried Dan.
He was poised to come to the rescue of his friend, but the second Hybrid was closing in on him. Seeing this, Dan ran for the nearest aisle just as it opened fire on him, missing him by a hair's width.
This is all my fault.
Meanwhile, the Druid was on the prowl, looking left and right as he traversed the aisles of the store. He saw the Watchdog shifter and fired, missing as the Hybrid ran the other way. They pursued each other in a game of cat and mouse, one firing, the other soon afterwards, a dance of gunpowder and predatory instinct being lead along the rows and columns of the store's wares. The Druid cut across, following the sound of footsteps. He came to the wall at aisle's end before turning to see the faux-Watchdog. Seeing the human, the Hybrid took an assortment of items off the racks and chucked them at his assailant, distracting him long enough to flee down the corridor.
"Hold still, will ya?" yelled the Druid in frustration after missing his shot.
He ran after him, following the shifter's movement along a parallel aisle in hot pursuit. Left, right, down an aisle, up another; it was just like hunting game back home, senses alert, searching for clues. Turning, he found the faux-Watchdog, peering around an aisle. Seizing the opportunity, the Druid emerged and stuck the barrel of his rifle to his back.
"Game over," said the Druid.
He pulled the trigger.
Click.
The Shapeshifter slowly turned as the Druid pulled again, and again, evidently displeased to run out of bullets at the most inopportune moment possible. Both their eyes widened as they both saw the balance shift in the blink of an eye. The Shapeshifter outstretched his arm, but the Druid stepped in struck a blow with the butt of his rifle, causing the Hybrid to stumble. Nelson then started to run down the corridor when the Hybrid caught himself. When another Shapeshifter surged from one of the aisles to his left in ambush, he simply shoved it aside as absent-mindedly as one would swat a fly, before turning abruptly in an effort to shake off both of them.
In the front of the store, Enigma and the leaping Shapeshifter had rose to their feet following the tumbling and rolling on the floor that resulted from their collision. When they did, they drew their guns at each other in a flash. A tense silence followed, gazes interlocked; realizing the futility of their little Mexican standoff, they fell back to the nearest cover they could find.
I failed him. I failed all of them.
Sprinting through the aisles and shooting behind him to keep his pursuer at bay, Dan could see Druid and Enigma through the shelves of the aisles, defending themselves against their respective adversaries. Dan stopped at the entrance to the surplus repository to reload; only one clip remained. He would soon run out completely, and when he did, the only thing that would prevent him from being at their total mercy would be how fast his legs could carry him, and they too would wear out eventually. The Shapeshifters have managed to splinter the Liberation Front so that they could pick them off one by one, just as he had feared. Things looked grim for them; he was beginning to realize that he bit off more than he could chew when he thought he could form an entire resistance movement. The Shapeshifter appeared around the corner; Dan shot twice, grazing the shifter's shoulder on his second try, and Dan ran for it, breathing hard.
...I'm sorry.
"Set course for the entrance, Mister Spock!"
A shopping cart came careening from the equipment storage area in the back of the store, taking a sharp turn to the left, teetering dangerously on its side as it did.
"Out of the way, Crow!" yelled Polaris, crouched inside the cart.
Dan ducked and rolled out of the way into an adjoining aisle at the last possible moment, and the cart Spock was pushing wheeled past in a blur. The Shapeshifter that was chasing Dan came to a halt, taken aback at the sight of the thing he least expected to encounter. Polaris, armed with two pistols, unloaded her fire into the Hybrid, who fell as bullets pierced his collarbone and right flank. Spock placed the soles of his shoes on the wheels as improvised brakes, and the pair stopped in the central corridor. Spock aligned himself parallel to the passage.
"Maximum Warp!" ordered Rebecca Stone. "Engage!"
Spock complied, pushing the cart down the avenue and gaining momentum as he did. Polaris held out her arms on either side of her, and proceeded to shoot at every Shapeshifter they passed by as they appeared down the aisles that surrounded her. They soon came to the front of the store, and Polaris shot the Hybrid that was locked in a fierce firefight with Enigma, delivering a killing blow. Spock braked once again, and Polaris blew the smoke from the barrel of her handguns before hopping out the cart to meet Enigma.
With most of the Shapeshifters temporarily incapacitated, Crow and the Druid were able to take advantage of this momentary respite to rejoin their comrades at the front end of the store. The six of them then took cover behind the counters and the stacks of supplies as the Shapeshifters regained their composure and hastened to the Liberation Front's current position.
Becca hopped over a counter and came to Dan's side.
"You guys seemed in quite the pinch there," she began. "Good thing you have a girl hanging around to save your ass."
"What took you so long to get here?" yelled Dan, letting loose a few rounds.
"After you called, I realized that I forgot my handgun at the Titan site, so after we found Gary..."
She paused, still distressed at the memory of the body that was carried into the sewer tunnels, lying limp, with three puncture wounds embedded in the soft palate.
"...after we found him, we hurried back there to retrieve it, since you said there would probably be a firefight, but there was another Shapeshifter down there. I guess he must have made his way down there through some other passage, 'cause by the time we got back, it had already disabled two of the bombs. But we were able to take it out and reactivate the charges."
Dan saw the gash on her cheek, which a bullet left when it grazed her face.
"It's a good thing you guys went back, then," acknowledged Dan. "That Shapeshifter would have disabled all of them at this point. Crap, the bombs! How much time do we have?"
"I don't know," she said, "but this place isn't going to stand much longer! We need to get out, ASAP!"
In the throes of their skirmish, Dan had almost forgotten that their battlefield was scheduled to implode. His sense of impending danger went on overdrive.
"We need to distract them somehow," said Dan, "or they'll just follow us out the door.
Becca's eyes lit up.
"Right! I almost forgot!"
Polaris placed her backpack to her side and removed a glass jug from within. It held an explosive core, and the rest of the space was filled with bits of sharp metal.
"What the hell is that?" asked Dan.
"I made a nail bomb in case I needed a little pick-me-up," she explained with a smirk.
"Everyone, pull back!" rallied Dan as she lit the fuse with a match.
The others looked over to see Becca's contraption, and instantly clued in on its nature. They began to move for the door in unison while Polaris took the device and rolled it along the floor like a bowling ball. One of the Shapeshifters noticed the jar out the corner of his eye. At first he was curious, but when he saw the humans making for the exit, he figured out what it was, and was very afraid.
"They've got a bomb!" he warned his fellow Hybrids. "Run!"
The three that were left ran to the back of the store, seeking to escape; but the jar continued to roll down the aisle, following them to their hiding spot.
Out front, the Druid held the door for the rest of the Liberation Front, ordering them along.
"Move! Move! Move!"
They broke out into the refreshing embrace of night. They barely made it a few feet when they heard a loud, muffled clang resound from inside the Rickman facility, coupled with faint, distant screams.
"Come on!" said Enigma, cradling his right arm. "We have to get out of here!"
Exhausted, breathless, the team ran with all the strength they had left down Pleasant Street. Then, suddenly, a great tremor shook their feet. Seconds later, an enormous fireball welled up from where the facility once stood in a monstrous explosion, knocking them all to their feet. The shockwave sent Dan into a daze. When his faculties started to return, he looked back at the orange maelstrom; what remained of the establishment imploded into the ground, along with some of the street before it. The team stood in the middle of the road, staring at the column of black smoke that arose, the yellow-orange light of the raging fires beneath dancing on its rippling form.
"Hey, did you guys hear that?" asked Spock, panting. "I could have sworn I heard a whale or something."
"Who cares?" shouted the Druid. "We need to keep moving!"
Dan complied, standing upright with some difficulty. And there he was, standing some way down the road, peering at him through those bizarre, compact set of binoculars.
The Man in Black.
"It's him!" shouted Dan.
Once again, the figure seemed vexed to have been spotted, replacing the specs in his suit pocket. Without warning, Dan immediately chased after him, all of his exhaustion and soreness dissolving into thin air.
"Crow!" said Polaris. "Where do you think you're going?"
He paid no mind to their cries, all of his willpower focused into apprehending the Man in Black. The man retreated down the nearest alleyway, and seconds later, Dan entered the same way. He turned the next corner, which lead to a dead end. The man stopped in his tracks, then turned to look at Dan, seeming as though he honestly wasn't expecting to be caught.
"Who are you?" asked Dan.
The Man in Black said nothing.
"What are you doing here?" continued Dan. "Why the hell do you keep on following me? Answer me!"
The man tilted his head, and though his face was stone in expression, Dan could have sworn that that he could detect a mixture of perplexity and bemusement in those omniscient eyes and naked brows; but all trace of it was lost when the Man in Black proceeded to reply in a monotonous voice.
"It is not you that I am interested in," he said.
He appeared to have regretted to have said those words even before he finished his sentence. He averted his gaze for a moment, staring obliquely to the floor as though he was calculating something before looking back at Dan.
"I have said too much," said the man. "I am not supposed to get involved."
"Wait, what?" asked Dan, terribly confused. "What are you talking about? Get involved in what?"
Instead of answering Dan's queries, the Man in Black drew a pistol from inside his suit and pointed it directly at his inquisitor. Before Dan could react, the Man in Black pulled the trigger. An electronic whirlwind of a noise reverberated in the small enclosure, though no bullet was shot. Dan's entire body felt heavy all of a sudden, and he dropped to his knees. He tried to remain conscious, fighting against the growing numbness in his mind, but he soon gave in, his tired body unable to resist any longer. His vision blurred, and the suited man before him became a hazy silhouette, continuing to stand idle at the end of the alley. He fell to his side, the world turning blacker than the night sky above him as he passed out, the still image of the Man in Black fading away entirely.
And Crow of the Liberation Front knew no more.