Chapter 15: Paint the Town Red
His codename was Rabbit, silly to some, but a name he treasured nonetheless. It was a term of endearment that someone important to him had often used in the past and he'd decided to adopt the nickname fully after starting his new career. He'd never actually possessed a real name. After being rescued by Mal and witnessing the humorous berating that the man received from his wife when he attempted to come up with a suitable name for him, the wounded and emotionally battered little boy who would eventually grow up to become one of the Terminus Hunter's best spies simply decided to live with no name, at first anyway. That decision would quickly prove to be a costly one. His lack of an identity coupled with his short stature made him a target for several of the bullies that had unfortunately cropped up on Cartagena. School was initially a nightmare for him, few would enjoy being on the receiving end of beatings and ridicule. Fortunately, the better among the youths who occupied the station outnumbered the more despicable and it hadn't been long before he'd met the eldest among the Terminus Hunter's children after they intervened in a somewhat dangerous skirmish that he'd been dragged into.
It was the first time he met the girl whom he considered to be the epitome of perfection, flaws and all and the first time she'd refer to him as Rabbit. Her brothers instantly protested against her using such a soft and pathetic sounding nickname, but she insisted. She thought it was cute like the boy she'd given it to and the youth immediately decided to accept the title. As time wore on, he grew to enjoy the name and it wasn't long before he wore the designation even more proudly. He was after all, a rabbit who ran with wolves. He wasn't a superhuman, krogan, asari, vorcha, drell or turian. He wasn't a biotic or a human of any considerable skill or pedigree. But none of that stopped him from being one of the most dangerous agents within the Shadow Fangs. What he lacked in brute strength or prodigious skill, he simply made up for with sheer tenacity and a penchant for employing underhanded tactics. He was a liar, cheater, con artist, thief, manipulator and worse if the situation called for it. And he wasn't afraid to resort to any dirty trick in the book in order to win a fight or gather the intel that he needed.
His successes and effectiveness hadn't gone unnoticed within the organization and it hadn't taken him long to gain his colleagues' respect. But the young man called Rabbit hadn't joined the Terminus Hunter's elite shadow operatives for accolades or personal gain. He'd done it simply so that he could eliminate anything that might threaten his leader or his family quickly and quietly. And to also keep an eye on his children, especially Olivia Hunter. As far as he was concerned, he was expendable and the life expectancy in his line of work was grim to say the least. With that thought in mind, he'd decided to dedicate his life to safeguarding the girl he cared about more than anything, even if she'd never know the truth. And even she had her heart set on someone else.
"Fucking Vince…" he muttered while sitting at a small table on the second floor of a seedy nightclub in one of the rougher areas of Nos Astra. He then took a moment to down a shot of tequila. "Mal found me first and actually adopted me. Plus I'm big and cool and a genius and everyone loves me." he mockingly added while pretending to be Vincent Hunter before pouring himself another shot and drinking it. "And I'm banging Mal's precious angel behind his back, tee-hee." he irritably continued. "Out of all the kids you saved, Mal. Why him? Why the hell did you invite him into your family? Bastard doesn't deserve it or Liv's attention. Let Angelica keep his dumbass. They deserve each other." he quietly raged before pouring himself another shot.
As he prepared to once again drain the contents of his glass, he suddenly took notice of a commotion on the lower level of the club as a crowd of gawkers flooded the dance floor. "Must be another asari peep show." he casually surmised. He briefly allowed his curiosity to get the better of him and stood from his table to get a better look. The scene that met his eyes nearly caused him to drop his bottle of liquor. Dancing in the center of the club were a pair of beauties that he was quite familiar with. One happened to be an associate but the other was the last person that he ever expected to see outside of Cartagena.
"Fox?! Liv?! Dafuq?!" he spluttered as the sounds of music and revelry increased while the flashing lights in the club intensified highlighting the appeal of the two women dancing beneath them. Olivia Hunter was drawing stares from nearly every male patron in the establishment and several asari as well with the black, deep v party dress that she was wearing. The ample assets that the dress was barely concealing were garnering far too much attention and the backless, white garment that her escort happened to be wearing wasn't helping matters. "Damn it! Fox what the-Okay, calm down." Rabbit told himself. "Liv hardly ever goes anywhere without Lou and Leon. And there's no way that all three of them would be wandering Nos Astra without a few squads of Fangs chaperoning them."
After taking a moment to scan the club, he was immensely relieved to discover that his suspicions were right on the mark. Both Lucas and Leon were at the bar below buying drinks for a small horde of Fangs from varying divisions. The humans, vorcha and trio of krogan appeared to be thoroughly enjoying the boys' hospitality and the female members weren't being shy about clinging to their charges, no doubt in an attempt to 'protect' them from danger. "Unbelievable, those are the same shameless little gossips from earlier. Just wait till Tess gets her hands on them." Rabbit stated in frustration.
He took a moment to smirk while observing his friends as they received increasingly more flirtatious advances from their older female bodyguards before eventually spotting potential trouble at the other end of the club. A large gang of vicious looking criminals were growing more agitated by the minute with the trio of youngsters and their entourage. This particular gang happened to control the district that the club occupied and they weren't accustomed to having outsiders barge in and steal their thunder. "The Gorgons, damn. This just keeps getting better and better." Rabbit lamented. "I guess I'm back on the clock." he added while drawing his Spider and quietly slipping into the shadows.
"You should let your hair down more often, Fox." Olivia cheerfully suggested as the two women departed the dance floor and joined her brothers at the bar.
"Perhaps I already do and you simply don't know." Fox replied mysteriously before taking a seat next to Olivia at the bar.
"I can believe it." Leon earnestly stated. "Don't take this the wrong way Fox but you are one seriously sexy assassin." he added while admiring his chaperone's figure.
"I wonder how your girlfriend would feel if she heard you say that." Fox playfully pondered. "Or how yours would feel if she knew how intensely you've been gazing at me." she teased after glancing at Lucas who immediately snapped himself from his stupor.
"What they need is a little diversion to work out the hormones. The boys and I know a few places where our young princes could have a good time." an older, burly Blood Fang Veteran with a beard suggested causing his men to unanimously voice their approval at the idea.
"No," Fox sternly replied. "Now get back to your drinks." she commanded with a slight edge in her voice. Her order was instantly obeyed with no small amount of grumbling from the more boisterous among her associate's subordinates. "I suppose I'll have to stay close by to make sure Barney doesn't drag the two of you into any unpleasant dens of ill repute that could possibly compromise your virtue. Or cause our den mother to become upset…"
"Don't worry Fox, we'll keep a close eye on them." one of her Spirit Fang colleagues assured her while scooting closer to Lucas.
"That doesn't ease my mind in the slightest." Fox replied disdainfully.
"Fox, you don't have to worry. I'll be with them. And even I weren't, Lou would never-"
"Hey, you!" an angry voice suddenly interrupted before Olivia could finish. A moment later, an agitated asari and a mob of her associates approached the group and it was clear that they hadn't come for a friendly chat based on their demeanor and the fact that the bartender and the club's other patrons were already discreetly making their way towards the exits. "Did you enjoy yourself, human? Walking in like you own the place, shaking your ass for everyone here to see, reveling in the attention, was it fun?"
"Yeah, it was. What's your point?" Olivia replied in a cavalier manner. Her escorts were already quietly preparing themselves for a fight.
"Jan, the symbol on their armors…" one of her allies whispered while pointing out the Terminus Wolf insignia on one the Fangs' gear.
"Terminus Wolves? Why would-" she abruptly stopped herself to get a better look at Olivia and her brothers. "No way." she added in shock before smiling. "I'm afraid you wandered into the wrong part of town, little girl. Your father has a lot of enemies, enemies who'd pay a fortune for the heads of a few Fangs and even more for the precious heirs of the Nemean Abyss.
"Curb your tongue, bitch." Fox calmly ordered. "Or I'll have to remove it." she warned.
A brief but intense standoff ensued but was quickly broken when the gang of asari unleashed a flurry of stasis bubbles that trapped most of their opposition while the others scattered. "The Gorgons always get what we want!" their leader shouted in triumph before being promptly kicked in the face by a biotic focus fueled kick that sent her careening across the club and crashing through a table.
"Oh, for crying out loud! Liv, your chest!" Leon shouted indignantly while simultaneously covering his eyes and warding off several shockwaves from the enemy with a biotic sphere.
His sister quickly adjusted her slight exposure after noticing the fray on the chest area of her dress. "Definitely not the best thing to be fighting in." she muttered before firing a warp at her downed opponent, wounding her even further.
The pandemonium quickly escalated as enemy reinforcements started to pour in from the club's front and rear entrances. "Leave it to Liv to piss this many people off at once." Lucas lamented before flooring a pair of asari foes with a biotic charge. Afterwards, he executed both with a phase disruptor and grabbed their armaments before bolting through the chaos across the club while firing both newly liberated heavy pistols with lethal precision. After fighting his way to his sister, he erected a barrier before handing her one of the guns he'd picked up. "Here, I think you'll like it. It's the newest model hand cannon, an actual Samaritan. It makes the Paladin look like a peashooter by comparison. These scumbags are pretty well armed."
"Always thinking about me, aren't you?" Olivia joked before using her newly acquired weapon to execute a nearby asari before she could fire a warp at the pair.
"Let's be honest here, Liv. None of us actually needs a weapon to deal with this trash but if we all get serious, Fox and the others might get caught up in the carnage. Not to mention the collateral damage." Lucas explained before firing his own weapon after modifying it to shoot warp rounds.
"So have you given Leon this warning too or are you just gonna lecture me since I'm the one with the temper?" Olivia irritably replied.
"Liv,"
"Fine, I'll stick to the basics. For now." she reluctantly agreed.
"Just kill her, damn it!" a frustrated asari ordered as she and her sizeable gang of cohorts struggled to target Fox who was proving to be quite elusive thanks to her cloak. She had killed for too many of them ever since disappearing and mocked them further by laughing in the shadows. After another Gorgon gang member fell to a well aimed headshot from a particle pistol, she finally reappeared and immediately multiplied into seven images. Her decoys then released a violent torrent of electrical currents that decimated her remaining prey. Afterwards, her shadows disappeared leaving her thoroughly satisfied with the destruction she'd caused.
"Silly children." she whispered in amusement.
"Too much…never imagined…have to bring in the big guns…" the Gorgon leader called Jan groaned while bleeding on the floor. She then used her omni-tool to contact further reinforcements before being killed by a shot from an unknown source.
Someone else was assisting the Hunters and their entourage while doing a superb job of keeping themselves concealed in the process. After a flurry of shots appeared out of nowhere and brought down the opportunistic asari who'd been attempting to take advantage of the Fangs who were still frozen in stasis, they all quickly realized they weren't alone.
After detonating a barrier that he'd created and scattering a trio of enemies, Leon immediately finished the women off with a biotic slam and a few well executed punches after increasing his muscle mass with his focus. "I hope our mystery friend really is a friend." he cautiously mused.
"I'm the best kind to have, but you already knew that." Rabbit whispered after suddenly appearing behind him.
"Who-"
"Don't turn around. I'm not a cloaker like most of my associates, so hiding behind your brawny ass is my only way of staying hidden right now until I can get to cover." Rabbit joked.
"Wait, Rabbit?!"
"Glad you remembered. Listen, we don't have much time. Jan managed to call for backup before I could snuff her out. That means mechs, a lot of 'em. Luckily those bitches keep their toys stashed close by and I managed to slip out before this mess first started and rigged a few to explode. But they'll still be too dangerous for you guys to handle alone. You and Lou should grab Liv and get the hell outta here while you still can." Rabbit explained.
"Really? You're worrying about us now?" Leon joked. "You've got a lot of nerve, Short Stack. But it is good to see you again, kind of." he added earnestly. "The Hunters don't back down from any fight and we never abandon our people either. You should know that better than anyone."
"Why do I even bother?" Rabbit sighed. "Now I'm gonna have to stick around to make sure this doesn't go bad. I just wanted to get wasted and fall asleep in some hole in the wall tonight." he humorously complained while readying his pistol.
"Sorry to screw your plans up. But you know how it is and how we are." Leon replied before smiling. "It really is good to have you back."
"Shut up and get ready." Rabbit whispered. "I want to finish this up and disappear before anyone else realizes I'm here."
"Why?"
"Because I said so, now concentrate." his friend commanded.
Before Leon could press him further, several explosions shook the club as two Gaia mechs appeared on the scene after blasting their way inside, creating two large holes in the walls of the club. They were being accompanied by an army of smaller, white, heavily armed humanoid mechs that had five visual sensors on their faces and reinforced armor.
"Gaia and Blitz Mechs, are you kidding me?" Leon raged.
"What can I say? Red Sand dealers are making a lot more credits these days." Rabbit casually informed him. "We'll only have to deal with half anyway." he assured him only moments before a number of the mechs went haywire and abruptly exploded, damaging and destroying even more. "See?" he added afterwards before once again disappearing during the ensuing gunfight.
At that point, all of the Fangs had recovered and wasted no time in laying waste to the mechs while the Hunter siblings mopped up what remained of the asari gangsters with a little help from a certain thief who darted beneath tables and around counters, taking shots whenever he saw an opportunity while also planting proximity explosives on every enemy mech that he passed before they could identify him.
"I recognize these duplicitous tactics. It would seem we stumbled into one of our dear rabbit's watering holes." she quietly mused after witnessing another Blitz Mech explode.
"I love you too, Fox." a familiar voice joked for a brief moment before the person to whom it belonged disappeared from her vicinity.
"That's for threatening the brats, that's for ruining my night, that's for spilling my drink, that's for-Shit, I don't even care at this point." the old Blood Fang Vet Barney roared while raining punches on the unfortunate pilot that he'd torn from the cockpit of a nearby Gaia mech after his krogan subordinates had disarmed it, literally. The human pilot's face was practically pulp but that didn't stop the old soldier from continuing his assault on the man.
The krogan proceeded with their own rampage by using the severed cannon arm of the mech to destroy the other Gaia in the area while the vorcha swarmed and shredded the remaining Blitz menaces with omni-claws and carnage blasts from their shotguns.
"This is so humiliating. Lucas actually had to rescue me. If he hadn't shoved me out of the way when those damned asari-God, he must think I'm useless." one of the Spirit Fangs lamented after demolishing another mechanized nuisance with a reave.
"Quit complaining, he saved all of us. Personally, I think it makes him more charming." her friend chastised her after tossing another mech across the room with a biotic throw.
"And it makes us look incompetent. That's it. I've decided. I'm definitely making this up to him later. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep tonight." the first woman vowed.
"We all know what you want to help you sleep tonight." her friend replied before scowling. "And you won't get it from him on my watch." she added, instantly earning the other woman's ire in the form of an obscenely crude gesture.
"I think that's the last of them." Lucas announced after taking down his final asari opponent with a shot from his Samaritan. "Military grade war mechs, the latest model firearms…if some two-bit street gang can get their hands on this kind of hardware, it's no wonder Dad keeps having trouble with pirates. This is ridiculous."
"You're right. Someone has to be supplying them and we already know all the big name dealers in the Terminus Systems. Aria may have a few leads." Olivia pondered.
"If she does, she won't bother discussing it with us. Other than Dad, you're the only one she ever really talks with." Lucas replied in exasperation. "I don't how either of you manage to deal with her. I guess being her student makes it easier."
"Is that jealousy I hear?" Olivia teased.
"Liv,"
"What?"
"Cover your chest." Lucas advised her before turning away.
"This isn't my fault!" Olivia fumed while once again readjusting her dress.
"I don't recall me or Leon forcing you to buy that outfit when we all went shopping for new clothes to wear tonight." Lucas sternly replied.
"Shut up!" she shouted in embarrassment.
Before their argument could escalate further another explosion erupted in front of them. Lucas reacted instinctively and shielded himself and his sister from the blast by creating a barrier around them both while grabbing Olivia and protecting her with his body as another dangerous adversary made his entrance.
"Asari, you can't count on them for anything." a voice from the dust cloud that was now slowly dissipating from a newly created hole in the wall scornfully announced.
It belonged to a human, a rather large human who appeared to have an unnatural amount of prosthetics. Both his arms and legs were artificial and half of his face appeared to be metallic. He was also being accompanied by a squad of other humans with similar augmentations.
"I don't even want to know." Lucas muttered in agitation.
"Me neither. You think he got his dick replaced too?" a familiar voice joked.
Both Lucas and Olivia turned to discover an old friend standing beside them. He had already draped Olivia in a jacket and was casually observing the newcomer to the battlefield.
"Rabbit?" Lucas asked in confusion.
"Yeah, it's me. In the flesh, which is more than I can say for these guys." Rabbit humorously responded while eyeing the opposition.
"What are you doing here?"
"Later, Liv. Right now I have to deal with these bastards. I can't have you trying to fight them with those beautiful breasts of yours bouncing everywhere." Rabbit thoughtfully replied before winking at her.
"You're still a perv." she stated before slipping his jacket on and smiling.
"Did I hear you right, midget?" the modified man shouted in utter disbelief before laughing with his men. "Do you know how many credits my boys and I spent swapping in these geth parts? There's nothing better than synthetic muscle tissue. It gives us an edge, even against krogan-What the hell are you doing?!"
"Oh, sorry. I was bored, so I decided to play this new game I got a few days ago for my omni-tool." Rabbit replied nonchalantly. "I'm still trying to decide if I should roll a krogan tank or a drell who does DPS. Decisions, decisions." he playfully mused. "Wait, you just mentioned something about krogan. Maybe you can help." he added in a laid-back manner before swiftly pointing his omni-tool at the squad of hostiles. "Don't blink or you'll miss the intro."
A split second later, a brilliant flash of light was released from his omni-tool and his enemies were momentarily blinded. He took advantage of their confusion and began planting sticky grenades on all of the targets in his path while closing in on the leader of the miscreants with his pistol drawn. As the detonations laid waste to his men, the modified giant quickly retaliated by expanding the muscles in his limbs and pulling out a pair of Revenant machine guns before opening fire at everyone in range.
"Lou! Liv!" Leon shouted in desperation after several Blood Fangs dove on top of him in order to protect the teenager from gunfire.
"Son of a bitch!" Rabbit spat while darting towards Olivia. After narrowly shielding her from a barrage with his kinetic barrier, he promptly sabotaged both of the madman's weapons.
After both of his guns overheated, the lunatic found himself on the receiving end of a monstrous biotic charge that sent him flying back outside the hole in the club that he'd created. Once he stumbled back onto his feet, he found himself face to face with Lucas Hunter who had already increased his own muscle mass with his focus and was closing in fast. The augmented bruiser immediately lunged at Lucas after extending a small, black shiv from the wrist of his left synthetic arm. Lucas responded by parrying the man's thrust and breaking his arm before unleashing a slew of punches to his adversary's face and midsection. After bringing the modified criminal to his knees, he then lifted the brute over his head and performed a back breaker before dropping him to ground.
"To hell with you and your black market upgrades." Lucas snarled. "My dad fought machines and men fused with machines during the war and you're nothing like them. In fact, you're less than nothing." he furiously continued before pulling out his Samaritan and executing the thug. He gave the man's corpse a brief look of contempt before finally making his way back to the club where his siblings and escorts were already reconvening.
"Damn, you're actually stronger than you were before I left." Rabbit remarked appreciatively after his friend rejoined everyone. "I guess you really are Big Bro Dynamo." he joked while glancing at Leon who laughed.
"Where have you been?" Olivia suddenly asked while facing Rabbit. "One day you suddenly just left after announcing how you were going to make it big mining palladium on Bekke. That was two years ago and we haven't heard anything from you since!"
"I've been working for Mal and that's all I can say." Rabbit informed her. "Sorry." he quietly added.
"You joined the Shadow Fangs, got it." Leon casually speculated before stretching. "You could've told us, Fox."
"No, I couldn't. You all understand the rules when it comes to our division. Your parents are the only ones who know the full details. We are their shadows after all." Fox explained. "Be grateful that you even know of our existence. Many don't and your brothers and sisters are among them." A brief but serious silence followed Fox's response.
"So, what sort of assignments has Dad been sending you on?"
"That's enough, Liv. He can't tell you and you shouldn't ask." Lucas reminded her before turning to face their friend. "You can at least grab a bite with us though, right? I promise you won't have to talk about work." he cheerfully added.
"Why do my plans always end up going to shit when it comes to you three?" Rabbit joked. "Come on, let's go. I know a few late night spots we can hit."
"You heard the man, let's haul ass before the authorities get here!" Leon shouted to the rest of their entourage before leading the way outside with his brother.
"You look good with a ponytail." Olivia mused after playfully stroking Rabbit's hair. "The soul patch looks stupid though."
"Everybody's a critic." he replied in exasperation while making a mental note to shave.
"I'll bet you're glad we didn't bring Elle along." Leon humorously surmised before tossing an arm over his brother's shoulder.
"That'd be a pretty safe bet." Lucas replied before coming to a stop outside the battered club, momentarily halting the retinue of companions who were following him. After surveying the destruction around the club's exterior, he took a moment to look up into the night sky and released a laugh. "I love being a wolf."