I couldn't get my head together to write this, but its finished now.
Chapter 7: Bonding and Bullets.
Shadow skilfully dodged the hurled TV remote.
"Why do I always end up with the broken TV!" Exclaimed the irate feline lying in the hospital bed. Shadow had decided to begin the new day by visiting Sheba in Station Square hospital. As expected, she had been terrorizing the nurses and interns alike.
Her usual clothes had been replaced by a basic white gown. Her right side was heavily bandaged and her left arm in a sling. She had fractured it when she had dived for cover.
Chuckling, the ebony hedgehog reached up and switched off the buzzing screen.
"Now what am I going to watch?" Complained Sheba, folding her arms as best as she could.
"I find it very hard to believe you like watching daytime television." Said Shadow, sitting in the chair next to Sheba's bed.
"Of course not! Daytime TV is crap! But it does give me something to do." Shadow chuckled again, earning a grin from the ginger cat.
"Why are you here anyway Shadow?" Her right hand reached out and plucked a few grapes from the bunch brought in by the hedgehog.
"I've arranged to meet Cassie and Knuckles here to discuss the case and your findings." He nabbed a couple of grapes for himself, dodging out of Sheba's reach as she swiped at him.
"Great... Even in hospital I can't escape work."
"Don't give me that. If you had your own way, you would've marched down into the morgue and be working on the latest cadaver." With her mouth full, all the feline could do was glare at the smug looking hedgehog next to her.
Shadow threw one of his grapes into the air ready to catch it in his mouth, when he was distracted by the opening of door, causing the grape to bounce off his head.
"Sorry I'm a little late; I had to pick something up from the office." Said the lavender hedgehog who came in. In one hand she was carrying a bulky folder which looked like it would fall apart at any minute, while in the other was a bunch of flowers and a card. She handed the card and flowers over to the cat lying in bed. "These are for you."
"Who else would they be for? Shadow!" Sheba admired the flowers for a moment before looking up at the lavender hedgehog. "Thank you Cassie. All Shadow got me was this lousy bunch of grapes."
Shadow rolled his eyes, hardly surprised that he'd be the butt of the cat's jokes.
As the trio settled back down, Cassie began rifling through the heavy folder. A number of sheets fell from her grasp which Shadow stooped down to retrieve.
"Hey Cassie, what are these?" He held up a partly filled GUN employment and back pay requisition form. The name written at the top of them was clearly, Knuckles.
Cassie blushed and grinned sheepishly.
"You said Knuckles was helping you with this case and I couldn't find an 'Agent Knuckles' on the database so..." Sheba burst out laughing, causing the embarrassed hedgehog to hide her face behind the folder.
"She's your partner for one day, and she's already trying to screw the system! I'm loving this girl!"
"Command always said I was a bad influence." Shadow chuckled.
"Knuckles did risk his life yesterday, and we can't have him working for free." Said Cassie, lowering the folder, her face still a light shade of red. "You did mention in your Black Doom report that he helped you a number of times at great personal risk. Besides, it's not like anyone checked the amount of new recruits we got after the Chaos incident and Black Doom invasion."
Shadow looked impressed, a small smile in the corner of his mouth.
"So you know your way through all the loopholes?" The lavender hedgehog shrugged her shoulders.
"Not personally no, but I do know someone who does."
They spend the next few hours filing through reports, eye witness accounts and other case reports similar to their shooting. Knuckles had arrived not long after Cassie and was surprised to find out about her handiwork at making him a GUN agent.
They discussed potential avenues of investigation, and agreed that they would visit the scene of the crime as soon as they had left the hospital.
"So who's performing the autopsy's on the new dead guys?" Sheba asked.
Cassie flipped through the files in her hands. "A Dr. Gracian."
"Oh that's it!" The ginger feline threw the bed covers off her and swung her legs off the side. "I'm not having that inexperienced goat working in my lab!"
As her feet touched the floor, the blood rushed from her head. She teetered slightly, a hand coming to her forehead.
"Whoa, easy there." Knuckles had been first to his feet and helped steady the swaying feline.
"Thanks Knuckles." She breathed sitting herself down on the edge of her bed.
"You've got to be more careful Sheba, you lost quite a bit of blood." Cassie sat down next to the pale cat. Sheba smiled weakly at the three agents.
"Just need a drink of orange juice and I'll be fine." Shadow grunted.
"If it were up to me, you'd be working on those cadavers till your hearts content. But that's not my call to make." The ginger cat looked downcast as she wiggled back into bed with some help from Cassie.
"Don't worry, we'll keep you updated about everything."
"Be sure you do." Sheba replied, mock anger in her voice, but a smile on her lips.
"Sign here and here." Knuckles scribbled his signature where Cassie pointed.
"So now what?" He asked as she took the piece of paper from him and returned to the passenger seat in the front of Shadow's Landrover.
"Now I get my friend to file you into the system and you'll have been a GUN agent for two years." She carefully folded the piece of paper and slid it into her pocket.
They were on their way to the town hall and scene of the assassination, with hopes that they'd find something that the original team missed.
"So what does it mean, now that I'm a GUN agent?" Asked Knuckles.
"It means you need to get a bank account before the government realise their getting screwed and have me shoot you." Knuckles grinned until the awkward silence caused him to falter.
"They wouldn't make you do that, would they Shadow?" The ebony hedgehog answered only with a stare through the rear-view mirror. "Shadow?"
Cassie couldn't contain her amusement and burst out laughing. Shadow grinned, his eyes returning to the road.
"That's not funny Shadow." Knuckles pouted.
She reached her hand to her ear. The buzzing of her communicator told Rouge that she was nearing the edge of the radio dead-zone. She darted between the metallic rubble, sticking to the shadows as she attempted to avoid contact with Robotnik's sentries. Her legs felt like they were on fire as she ran from one piece of cover to the next.
She lent on what was left of a metal girder, panting hard to get her breath back.
"Topaz, come in." She dared to look over her hiding place, darting back down when she saw two patrol robots sweeping slowly towards her position.
"Topaz, if you can hear me respond. Please." Her heart was thudding hard and fast under her heart shaped breastplate.
Rouge sprinted from the shadows and ran as hard as she could towards another piece of debris. She spun into cover, reaching gingerly for her pistol,
"-spond! Repeat! Rouge can you hear me?" Her heart leapt at the sound of her partner's voice.
"Topaz!" She responded in an excited and relieved whisper. "I'm in it deep Topaz, I need out! Now!"
The crump of metal footsteps were getting closer. Rouge's palms were sweating. Holding her pistol in her right hand, she peeked out from cover.
"Intruder sighted." Her breath caught in her throat as the teal coloured death machine turned its body towards her and levelled the barrel of its weapon, its targeting laser sweeping over her.
"Topaz! I'm compromised!" Screamed the white bat as she sprinted away, firing her pistol back at the two patrol droids.
With a roar of jets, the yellow robot leapt into the air, firing its machine gun wildly at her. Bullets ricocheted off metal, buried themselves into the dirt and hammered down around her.
With a dull thunk, Rouge was sent sprawling to the floor. Crying out in pain, her right hand dropped her pistol and on reflex flew to her left shoulder. She struggled to her feet and staggered a few paces before coming face to face with the teal robot. With a crash the yellow one landed behind her, crushing her pistol underfoot.
"Target captured. Awaiting further orders."
Rouge's ears flattened in despair, tears of pain running down her face as hot blood seeped through her fingers. The sharp buzzing in her ear told her that her communicator was being blocked.
"Understood Master." With a hard shove, Rouge started the long walk back towards the Death Egg and an unknown fate.
Topaz sprinted down the corridor, barging past other agents. Reaching the stairs she hardly slowed down, taking them three at a time. Breathing heavily she barged through the door and past the surprised looking squirrel and through into her Commanders office.
"Sir! Agent Rouge has been captured!" Her breathing came in short ragged gasps in-between words. The greying Commander looked up from his desk. He was silent for a time before he looked away, anger in his eyes.
"Shit..." Her fixed Topaz with a sharp gaze and pushed his office intercom. "Contact our top agents. Code Red."
Picture a camera shot where we zoom out from Rouge and the two robots to see the wreckage surrounding them with the Death Egg in the distance. That's the kinda image I was after. Whether it worked is another matter.
Yes I made Knuckles a GUN agent, so sue me. On second thoughts, don't do that.
This chapter is a bit slower than the others, but you've got to do character development some time.
Anyway, Corrupt TE is out!