A/N: Helloooo everybody and thanks fur reviews and suchlike! Chapter Ten. Another backflash. Read, review, enjoy, dance. :D ~ Mika
Two years previously
He knew that thanks to the activities of the Underground, the Guard patrols were more frequent and larger than ever. He also knew that they were watching more closely than ever, getting more paranoid about when the infrequent but sudden attacks from the Underground would happen, and how strong they were going to be.
This supposedly meant that he was supposed to keep his head down and not attract attention to himself. However, Jak being Jak and also the best friend of someone whom the phrase "not attract attention to himself" were as alien to him as a series of Metal Head grunts, he ignored the warnings completely.
"...so, what I'm sayin' is, maybe you should just...what's the word...LISTEN to her more!"
"Since when have you become the expert on love? He who can't hold a relationship for more than six hours,"
"Buddy, keep talkin' with that sharp tongue and you'll cut yourself."
"That a threat?"
"Ya want it to be?"
Jak shook his head. "Not particularly. Keira's the only one who I'd let kill me. She finds out, she'll kill you too,"
"Whatta way to go..." Daxter said, eyes half-closed. "Mmmm yeah. Crushed to death with her, er, tools,"
"Ya mind?" Jak glared at the ottsel.
"Yes, I do mind, especially being looked at like that!" Daxter said defiantly. "Anyway, what's the Tattooed Wonder want with us now?"
"You're really fixed on that nickname, aren't you?" Jak shook his head again. "He just wants us to deliver a few parcels off to Krew,"
"That tub o' lard?" Daxter shrieked, wrinkling up his nose.
"Now who's behaving like a girl?" Jak raised his eyebrows to prove his point.
"Oy," Daxter said shortly. "At least I don't have a ridiculously narrow waist. I could probably put my arms around it and I'd still have some space for a leg or two in the gap,"
Jak growled, narrowing his eyes.
Daxter simply looked smug.
"You think Torn's quit the Guard yet?" the human wondered, hauling the subject away from him.
"Do I?" the ottsel snorted. "I think he can't make up his mind 'bout which side he wants to be on, that's what I think!"
Jak said nothing, continuing the walk towards the Underground Hideout. After crossing an uneven square and rounding a corner, it was waiting for them, shiny and new, with stacks of dark parcels tied to the back of it.
The best friends looked at each other.
"That is suh-weet!" Daxter exclaimed, whistling. "Ol' Tub o' Lard sure knows his vehicles..."
"He should do, Dax, he's a crime lord who frequently bets on the races that take place there." Jak swung a leg over the seat and turned the key, causing the engine to purr. Pushing his foot down, it took off quicker than expected and he had to yank the handlebars to stop it crashing into the nearby wall.
"It sure don't ride how it looks," Daxter commented dubiously.
"It's a Zoomer, what do you expect?" Jak snorted, squaring his shoulders and increasing the acceleration.
~x~
Today will be the day, a young Captain thought as he led his patrol through the streets of Haven. Today will be the day that I capture this boy and I will not stop until he's out cold and in my hands.
He sighed, shaking his head. He was the fifth Captain to be assigned to this task in the five years since the boy and his gang had literally crash-landed in Haven before disappearing, assumed to be working with the Underground. Word had soon quickly spread of the hot-headed blonde man and his bright orange rat assisting the Underground in more ways than anyone could have guessed, albeit in small ways.
The young man had logically (and wrongly, though he didn't know that) assumed that if this blonde man was caught, then he would lead him to the rest of the Underground. The result being no more resistance against the Baron, the "disappearance" of his double-agent right-hand man Torn and, possibly, a promotion for him.
He grinned to himself at that thought process, continuing his patrol.
Suddenly – irritatingly – a vehicle zoomed by over his head before rounding a corner. The KG Captain caught sight of a flash of orange and a streak of bright blonde.
Got you, Jak.
"Follow that Zoomer!" he yelled, pressing a concealed button calling every Guard to the square.
~x~
They hadn't been travelling for very long when suddenly, an alarm sounded.
"Whassat?" Daxter yelped.
Glancing quickly behind him, Jak saw swarms of Krimzon Guard gathering and amalgamating into one red and black mass, like a swarm of vicious bees.
"They're onto us!" he yelled, increasing the acceleration. He knew they were near Krew's, but he had to shake them off.
The swarm got larger.
Shit. Shit, there's loads of them!
A burning shot narrowly missed Jak's arm, singing the material.
"Faster, Jak!" Daxter yelped again. "They're behind us on those Zoomer-cycle things!"
Shit, Jak mentally cursed again, taking a sharp turn. He was disappointed to hear a lack of explosions as a KG or twenty had a meeting with stone walls. Dropping lower, narrowly avoiding a deadly shot, he doubled back, squeezing the handles so hard he thought his fingers were going to break. Gotta get this stuff to Krew, whatever it is.
"Suspect in Sector Five," he heard behind him.
"WATCH OUT FOR THE TOWERS!" Daxter screamed.
"Fffuuu – " Jak pulled the Zoomer up against yet another tight curve, narrowly avoiding the large concrete towers in the middle of the port. If I can just –
That was when a Guard pulled up in his path.
Oh, for the love of Mar! The blonde man thought, racing up in the air again. He was almost at Krew's with the packages – if he could just –
And that was when he saw the typical beam of yellow light that marked where he should park.
"Almost there!" Daxter yelled, as if to vocally confirm this.
"I KNOW!" Jak yelled back, dropping height again and braking hard. The vehicle squealed, but was parked directly in the centre of the yellow beam, where it disappeared instantly.
The Krimzon Guard, however, were not.
"RUN!" Daxter yelled, and Jak did. He took off quicker than anyone could draw breath, spotting a Zoomer directly above him. Knocking the poor owner off, he flexed his fingers and hammered on the accelerator pedal to oblivion just as the swarm of Guards closed in on him. This Zoomer, however, had seen much better days, and whilst in the Guard section of the city, one well-aimed shot blew the Zoomer up and sent the duo sailing to the ground.
They barely had time to shake off the dust before a patrol marched up to them, led by one unmasked redheaded man.
"Ah, Jak," he said, spitting the name with obvious relish. "We've found you at last,"
"Took you long enough, Erol," the blonde hissed. "You guys too busy worrying about your wasitlines to catch me sooner, huh?"
This snarky comment earned him a wallop in the face from a Guard.
"Don't, we need him in one piece!" Erol hissed to the offending Guard. "Well, I will give you some measure of credit. You were very good at hiding...though I'm sure going Underground would do that to someone,"
Clever fucker. Jak instantly knew what he was getting at. Spitting out blood and a molar from the smack in the face, he laughed again. "Thankyou, Erol. So what's your plan, huh? Torture me for information on the whereabouts and people of the Underground?" He folded his arms. "You picked the wrong Havener to chase,"
"We'll see," Erol hissed, rattled by Jak's comments, "after a few Dark Eco treatments. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Dark Warrior Programme?"
"What, the series of experiments you run on innocent civilians because you guys are too weak to fight the Metal Heads? Oh yeah sure, I've heard of it,"
This earned another whack from another Guard. The rest looked at Erol as if for permission.
"Get him," was all he said, and additionally in an icy manner.
As hard as Jak fought over the next minutes, he was severely outnumbered. He liked to think he was a good fighter, but even he knew this was one he couldn't win.
A crack around the head from a Guard's gun butt finally sent him spiralling into darkness, his last thought the last grip on reality.
Keira...