The Winged Wolf

Written by catsamurai16.

An Idea from TalosLives.

Chapter 12: Love, Lore, and Ambushes

Moxxie stirred in the covers of the bed. He opened his eyes and yawned. The early morning light from the Pentagram shone through the shades. He felt Millie snuggling his side and running her hand over his chest. He slowly brought his arms around her.

"Morning, honey," Moxxie said with a chuckle.

"Mornin' sweetie," Millie said, "Did ya sleep well?"

Moxxie said, "Whenever I sleep beside you, I always sleep well."

Millie giggled, "You're so sweet."

She moved up and kissed him. Millie started moving her hand down Moxxie's body.

"I asked because we kinda stayed up later than usual last night," Millie said.

Moxxie moaned, "Hmmm, yeah. Yeah, we did."

"Feel like picking up from where we left off?" she asked as she moved to lay on top of him.

Moxxie caressed her sides and said, "Always. But isn't there something we should be getting ready for?"

"Nah. All I wanna do today is stay right here in this bed and fuck my loving husband," Millie said, smiling.

She kissed him deeply and started moving her hand down lower. Moxxie moaned into the kiss. He quickly grabbed her and rolled them over so he was on top.

"Are you sure we don't have plans today?" he asked in a coy tone.

Millie rolled her eyes and giggled. She used her strength to push Moxxie off her and practically into the air. Moxxie bounced back onto the bed and Millie pounced on him. She straddled his hips and ran her hands along his chest.

"Okay, mister," she said, smiling down at him, "What could be more important than making love to your wife?"

Moxxie shrugged ,"Oh, I don't know. We paid for a very expensive lunch at the hotel restaurant today."

Millie laid on top of him, "Room service is just fine."

Moxxie brought his hands up and ran them along her shoulder blades, "We still have two Hoardway shows to see."

Millie kissed him, "And five more days to pick 'em."

Moxxie started kissing her neck, "I guess you're right. We can go on that tour later."

"Hmm, tour?" Millie hummed as Moxxie moved lower.

Suddenly, she bolted up.

"The tour!" she shouted, "Oh, shit, is it today? Are we going to miss it?!"

Millie scrambled from the bed and started gathering up her clothes. Moxxie smiled as he watched her. Millie had always been a weapons enthusiast. From the time she was young, she always enjoyed holding something deadly in her hands. Other girls wanted to play with dolls, Millie started collecting weapons. Whether a club or an ax, Millie had to have one. And what she couldn't have, she at least had to see. That's why this tour of the Fallen Legions weapons cache was so important to her. There were types of weapons there that hadn't seen the light of the Pentagram in hundreds of years. Moxxie sighed happily as he watched Millie hastily pull on her pants.

Millie quickly said as she ran around the room, "Are we going to be late?! What time is the limo gonna pick us up? Oh, please, Satan, don't let me miss this!"

Millie looked at Moxxie. He was laying on his stomach with the covers still covering him. He had his cheeks in his hand and his tail was flicking back and forth.

"Urgh, Mox! What are you doing? We gotta go!" Millie said, finally putting on her usual black top. She ran to the door as Moxxie started talking.

"The tour isn't until this afternoon, Millie," he simply said.

Millie stopped at the door. She turned to her husband with an angry look on her face.

"What?" she asked.

Moxxie said, "I said the tour isn't until this afternoon, dear."

"And you let me run around this room like a basilisk with my head cut off?" she asked, sounding very annoyed.

Moxxie shrugged, "What can I say? I like watching you run around."

Millie scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. After a while however, she smiled and walked over to him. She put her arms around his shoulders and kissed him.

"You are so gonna get it, mister," she said.

"Oh?" Moxxie asked, "Is Mama going to punish me?"

Millie said, "You know it."

Then, she tackled Moxxie back onto the bed and giggled.

After another quick tumble in bed, Moxxie and Millie got dressed and made their way downstairs to the lobby. They were kissing each other as the elevator doors opened. The pair happily made their way outside to the limo where Becky was waiting for them. She smiled at the imps and opened the door for them. She bit her lip as she watched the couple practically jump into the back seat. She closed the door and twirled herself around. She couldn't get enough of these two cute little imps. She hopped into the driver's seat and they rode off. Paul had also been watching them from the front desk. After they drove off, he sent out a text message.

It read, "They're leaving now. Keep an eye out for any backup. Once you're clear, kill them all."

The limo sped quickly through the traffic on their way to the elevator station. When they got there, Becky parked and led the imp couple to a deep red SUV. While the limo had been fine on the streets of Lust, the trio had to switch to something more practical if they wanted to reach their destination in the Wrath Ring. Centuries before, the fires of Wrath had fueled the armies of Hell. Now, the fiery planes of Wrath were mostly used for farming crops and raising animals. Nearly all of Hell's produce and meats came from Wrath Ring farms. However, relics of the Rings past could still be found. Many ancient forges and weapon caches had been found over the years by farmers and ranchers all over the Ring. The traps and spells that protected them had long been destroyed or deactivated by time. Most imps sold the weapons and used the spaces left over for storage. Others would sell the land to scholars to study the ancient forges. Moxxie and Millie were on their way to see one of these old weapons caches and forges. But unlike previous finds, this one was special. The Fallen Legion's protection spells had somehow held out all this time. The weapons and forges were said to be in perfect condition. And since the find was so important, the scholars decided that they needed to keep money coming in anyway they could. So, they turned the site into a tourist attraction by day and continued their research by night. The Sin and Ring Lord Satan made a rare appearance to open the site to the public, with the promise that none of the weapons or artifacts were sold if they managed to lower the spells. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it kept away the more troublesome "investors." Millie had her head sticking out the window as they drove over the dusty roads to their destination. Moxxie sighed happily as he watched her. Becky glanced back at them through the rear view mirror.

"Might want to pull your head in, honey," she said, "I wouldn't want you to fall out."

"If we don't get there soon, she'll probably jump out and run the rest of the way," Moxxie said, not looking at Becky.

"Well, it's a good thing we're nearly there," Becky said, laughing, "I'll put on some more speed."

Moxxie watched as Millie's tail wagged back and forth. He reached out and gently began playing with it, curling the end of her tail around his fingers. Millie pulled her head in and looked back at Moxxie. She bit her lip and shook her ass a bit. Moxxie jumped up and pulled Millie to him. She laughed as he held her close and kissed her face over and over. Becky was watching them now. She bit her finger and wished she could join in. Suddenly, a set of loud honks got their attention. With a shriek, Becky swerved to avoid the truck speeding she was about to hit. She quickly pulled over and parked the SUV. She had a tight grip on the wheel as she took deep breaths to calm herself. She turned around and looked back at Millie and Moxxie. They were taking deep breaths too and holding onto each other tightly.

"Uh, sorry about that," Becky said, nervously, "I normally pay better attention to the road."

Millie chuckled, "Er, it's fine. We all get distracted from time to time. Ain't that right, Moxxie?"

Millie looked up and saw Moxxie was staring straight ahead and looked very afraid. Millie started rubbing his back to try and calm him down. After taking a moment to calm down herself, Becky turned around to look at the imp couple.

"So, how long have you two been married?" she asked.

Millie smiled wide, "It'll be two years on Saturday. We've been looking forward to this week for a long time. It's been amazing so far. Right, Mox?"

"Truck," Moxxie said, weakly.

Becky asked, "Will he be okay?"

Millie waved her hand, "He'll be fine. We've been through worse at work."

"Yeah? What do you do?" Becky asked.

"Crash," Moxxie choked out.

Millie said, proudly "We're assassins."

Becky's eyes widened, "For real? You two cutie pies are cold blooded killers?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Millie said with a wide smile, "And we're damn good at it, ain't we Moxxie?"

"Uh-huh," Moxxie said, slowly. He was still a little out of it.

"Well, it takes all kinds," Becky said, "I was in that kind of work for a while myself. The money was good. I liked the action. My partner and I had some good times. We split up after a while though. I tried going solo for a while, but I just couldn't get into it. I guess I'm too much of a people person to be the lone assassin type."

Millie chuckled, "I don't think a girl like you will ever be lonely."

Becky giggled, "Yeah, very true. So, are you two independents or do you work with a company?"

"We're working for a small company called I.M.P." Millie said.

Becky's eyes widened, "Wait, what?! You work with Blitzø?"

Moxxie and Millie exchanged a look before Millie asked, "You know Blitzø? Where from?"

Becky smiled and said, "He was my partner I was telling you about. How is he?"

Moxxie rubbed the back of his head nervously and Millie bit her lip and rubbed her hands together. Becky shook her head and laughed.

She said, "Let me guess. Still a hot mess?"

Millie smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, that's Blitzø Buckzo for you," she said, "Well, the company must be doing great if he can afford to send you on this week-long honeymoon," Becky said.

"Not really," Moxxie said, "We've been saving up for this trip. Blitzø's horrible with paperwork and money. It's been a wonder we haven't closed by now."

Becky sighed and said, "Yeah, that sounds like him too."

She turned back around and started the SUV.

She asked, "So, is that where you two met?"

"Yes," Moxxie said smiling at Millie, "It was back when Millie was job hunting and I.M.P. was just a start up company."

Millie said, "Blitzø thought I was there to try and be a secretary. He was surprised when I told him I wanted to be a new assassin."

"If my memory serves me right, Blitzø asked and I quote, 'a gentle looking little girl like you wants to be a killer?' They were words he regretted," Moxxie said with a smirk.

Becky asked, "What happened next?"

Millie said, quickly, "I challenged Blitzø to a fight. And after I won, he hired me."

Becky laughed, "Uh-uh. There's more to that story. I can tell."

Millie looked a little embarrassed.

She said, "Well, honestly, I'd been getting put off like that for a while. So, when Blitzo said that, I… uh… kinda snapped."

"What'd you do?" Becky asked.

"She didn't so much as challenge Blitzø to a fight as she grabbed the nearest chair, broke it into pieces, and dove at him with two of its legs," Moxxie said, smiling at the memory.

Millie blushed a little and said, "Well, like I said, I'd been brushed off before so who could blame me for seeing red for a bit."

Becky laughed, "So, what happened?"

"Well, after a few minutes, Millie had Blitzø pinned down by his neck. She was just about to bust his head in when he told her she was hired. Once she calmed down, Millie was very apologetic, but Blitzø said he didn't care. He was just happy to have found another good assassin," Moxxie said.

"Well, it's good to know he's doing good," Becky said.

Moxxie glanced at Millie. She was looking a little ashamed of herself. Moxxie put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled. She rested her head on his shoulder. Becky glanced back at them.

She said, "Hey, don't sweat it, sweetie. I can tell you Blitzø's been through worse."

Moxxie said, "We know. We've seen it."

Millie sat up, "So, how'd you and Blitzø meet?"

Becky shook her head and waved her finger, "Oh, no. If you know Blitzø like I know Blitzø, you would know he wouldn't like me answering that."

The imp couple had to admit she was right. After all, she only asked about them, not Blitzø.

Moxxie said, "You're right. We're really-"

Becky said, "Don't be sorry, honey. Honestly, I've been fighting off asking a question or two myself. In fact, uh… if you don't mind, I'd like to drive in silence for a bit."

Both Millie and Moxxie nodded. They knew Blitzø had a bad history with his exes. The drive was a bit awkward after that, but thankfully they reached their destination pretty quick. They pulled up to a gate that had a large banner hanging on it.

It read, "Fallen Legion's Weapons Cache and Forge Tours! Parking beside the house."

Millie was bouncing in her seat as they drove into a large parking lot. Several different cars were already parked all around. Becky pulled into a spot and parked the SUV. Moxxie and Millie got out and looked around. Millie saw a sign held up by a RoboFizz cardboard cut out pointing down a path. The RoboFizz had a brown bush shirt tied in a knot and khaki short pants with a dark brown fedora on its head. Moxxie rolled his eyes at the cut out. Millie didn't seem to mind as she pulled Moxxie toward the path. Becky smiled as she watched them go. She sighed and pulled out her phone. She went to the gallery and chose her favorite picture. It was of her and Blitzø. They were at a shooting range wearing jungle camouflage. They were both holding high powered rifles. They were standing back to back with each other with their rifles pointed in the air and smiling for the picture. She ran her finger over Blitzø's face. She really had to fight the urge to ask if Blitzø was still single.

The path Moxxie and Millie were going down passed a few food stands and souvenir stalls. One stall had tiny weapon keychains. Moxxie picked a tiny battle ax and a spear for Millie and himself. They were surprisingly cheap. Moxxie looked around. He was surprised when he saw no sign or stall that had Mammon's trademark face on it. It was odd because he knew barely any money changed hands in any Ring without Mammon getting a piece. He wondered if Lord Satan had stopped Mammon dealing in his Ring for some reason. Moxxie was pulled from his thoughts by Millie.

"The next tour should be starting soon. Let's go, hon!" she said, pulling him towards the dig site.

A crowd was gathering near the entrance of a tunnel that was sloping down to the entrance of the forge. Apparently, the farmer who owned the property was digging an outhouse when he stumbled onto it. At the entrance, there was a young imp scanning tickets and giving out bracelets. Moxxie and Millie moved closer to him. Once they reached him, Moxxie pulled out his phone and showed the imp the ticket code. The imp then handed Millie and Moxxie two bracelets. They looked like hospital identification bracelets.

Moxxie slipped his on and asked, "Why do we have to wear these bracelets?"

The young imp said, "They're to make sure that we can identify your bodies if the worst happens."

Moxxie laughed nervously and said, "You're joking, right? I mean, surely they would have made this safe for the public to go in."

The ticket imp shrugged, "Okay."

Before Moxxie could ask anything else, Millie pulled him along with the rest of the group. A few minutes passed before everyone was checked in and gathered around the entrance to the tunnel. Once that was done, the ticket imp moved from his counter and stood behind the group.

"All right! Everyone's ready! You can come out now!" he shouted.

"Not without a proper introduction, I won't!" a robotic voice shouted back from the tunnel.

The ticket imp groaned and rolled his head back, "Fuck, three college credits aren't enough for this shit."

He then moved to the front of the crowd and said with very little enthusiasm, "Ladies and gentle imps, allow me to introduce your amazing guide on this journey into the past, Harrison."

Then, two long robotic arms came up from the tunnel. The arms pulled up the rest of the body which did a triple flip in the air. As he landed, he started to cartwheel in a circle. Then, he leaped and twirled into the air again. When he landed, he struck a pose with his arms on his side and standing tall on his extended legs. It was the same RoboFizz from the signpost cut out. He smiled wide and looked over the crowd. A couple of imp clapped at the quick display of acrobatics.

"Thank you. Thank you. Good day, everyone! How's it hangin'? I'm Harrison, your RoboFizz guide for today's tour!" he said.

He then stretched out an arm and grabbed the ticket imp and pulled him into an obviously unwanted side hug.

Harrison said 'I'm here because John here's terrified of small, tight holes. But I hope he grows out of that. Because small, tight holes are fun! It's that right, folks?"

John the imp pushed away from Harrison as several imp started laughing.

"I'm claustrophobic, tin dick!" the young imp said angrily.

Harrison rolled his eyes, "Oh, these new lifestyles the kids are trying these days."

John growled, "Next time you're recharging, I'm gonna take a piss all over that smug face of yours."

"Save that kinky talk for after work," Harrison said, giving him a cheeky smile and dual finger guns.

John groaned and stomped back to the ticket stand. Harrison then extended his legs to stand higher over the crowd.

"Now, folks, we're about to head inside, but before we do, I need to give you all a few warnings," Harrison said, "One, the roped off areas are off limits. Two, a bunch of displays also have white lines painted in front of them. If you like having all your bits attached, don't try and cross them. And three, even if you follow these rules, we still can't guarantee your safety. This is old ass magic we're dealing with and it can be unpredictable. That all aside, is everyone set? Good! So, let's go."

Harrison turned and started down the tunnel. The crowd followed close behind. The first thing they saw was a broken stone forge. It was cracked in half with one side fallen into the other. After that, the ground leveled out and electric lights were hanging on the ceiling. They walked down a stone corridor to another room. Inside were sharpening stone wheels and smaller whetstone's on work benches that were blocked off by some of the ropes Harrison mentioned. A few weapons laid about on the benches and leaning on the walls.

"Don't worry about them," Millie whispered to Moxxie, pointing to the weapons, "Prop fakes. I can tell."

"I guess they didn't want real weapons at arms length of the public," Moxxie whispered back.

They continued to move with the group. The crowd entered another room. This one was wider and had several different weapons on racks, stands, and on tables. The weapons were all roped off and had white lines painted around them. Millie couldn't contain her excitement and bolted off to look at them all. Moxxie smiled and started to look around himself. He stopped in front of a rack of curved swords. He was always more of a gun enthusiast, but even he could tell the swords were incredibly well made. As sharp and deadly as the day they were made. Moxxie noticed an imp child was reaching towards a spear in one of the racks. Moxxie moved to stop the child, but Harrison moved quicker, scooping up the unattended child in his hand.

"Whoa, there, little one! You don't wanna touch that," he said, shaking his head, "Let me show you all why."

Harrison stretched out his hand to a nearby table with a cup on top. The cup was labeled "Testing Sticks" and had several small sticks inside it. Harrison grabbed one and tossed it at the spears. The stick was blown to pieces by the protection spell around the spear. Everyone stared at the display of powerful magic, then took a step back from the ropes. The noise must have upset the imp child because he started to cry. Harrison bounced him gently in his arms.

"Hey, hey! None of that! It was just a little light show. Here, I got something for you," he said.

Then, he opened his mouth and reached inside. He pulled out a large, colorful lollipop and handed it to the child. The child smiled as Harrison handed him off to his mother. Moxxie watched as the mother moved back into the crowd, holding her baby tight. He sighed.

"I wonder if we'll ever have kids," Moxxie thought.

Moxxie had never given much thought to being a father. Given his own unhappy childhood, he often worried that it wasn't in him. With money being so tight, he was able to put off thinking about starting a family. But after Millie saved him from Crimson last year, Moxxie told Millie the truth about his fear of being a parent. Millie reassured him she was fine with waiting. After all, they did need a bigger place if they were going to have kids. And since then, despite his fears, Moxxie started feeling more and more willing to be a parent. The chain of thought made him wonder where Millie was right now. He walked through the crowd, excusing himself as he went. He saw a stand with several small pamphlets on it with another cut out of Harrison. This one was holding a sign that read, "Take one, losers!" The word "losers" was crossed out. Moxxie rolled his eyes and took a pamphlet off the table. It had a picture of an old mural depicting the soldiers of the Fallen Legion fighting angels. The title read, "Myths and Legends of the Fallen Legion." He was about to read it when he noticed Millie standing in front of a rack holding three swords. He put the pamphlet in his jacket pocket and walked over to her.

"Having fun, honey?" he asked.

Millie didn't answer him. Moxxie stood next to her and saw she was staring intensely at the swords.

He nudged her and laughed, "Find something you want to take home?"

Millie still didn't answer him. Moxxie looked and saw she was crying.

Moxxie took her hand, "Millie, what's wrong?"

She turned to him and smiled a little. She wiped away a tear and said, "This is all so much, Moxxie."

"What do you mean?" Moxxie asked, sounding concerned.

Millie said, "The trip, the hotel, this tour, everything. It just hit me how expensive it all was. I know I normally don't fuss about money, but… Honey, we could've spent the money on something more important than this."

Moxxie took Millie's other hand and turned her to face him.

"Nothing is more important to me than your happiness, Millie," he said, confidently, "I would pay triple what we have just to see you smile."

Moxxie raised his hand and cupped Millie's cheek. She smiled and leaned into his hand a little.

"What did I do to deserve you?" she asked.

"I ask myself the same question every day," Moxxie said, smiling.

Moxxie wrapped his arms around Millie and pulled her into a kiss. Millie giggled and dried her eyes when they pulled away.

She said, "Come on. I wanna show you these weird axes that have blades like duck bills."

She took his hand and led him toward another rack of weapons.

A while later, two imps were sitting in a small white freight truck. One imp was short and heavy set with a blue painter's jumpsuit and black boots. The other was younger and thinner. He wore the same clothes as the other imp. The short imp grunted to himself and looked at his watch. Then, he looked at the red SUV they had been following. After their target's had gone into the tunnel, the driver headed for a food stand nearby. They had been given orders to watch and wait. It was those orders that were driving him crazy.

"For fuck sake, I could've planted a bomb on that SUV and we'd have been done by now!" the short imp moaned.

The young imp said, "No way. The boss said he wants this hit to look like a road rage thing and bombs aren't a road rage thing."

"How long have you been away from Imp City, kid?" the short imp asked.

"Fuck off," the young imp said.

The short imp leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling.

"Hey! Here they come!" the young imp said.

The short imp sat up and looked over at the SUV. The driver and the lady imp were playing sword fight with two foam blades while the guy stood back and opened the door for his wife. The lady imp jumped in the back and her husband followed behind. The driver tossed in her foam blade and closed the door. She got in and soon they drove away.

"Okay, let's go," the short imp said.

The young imp started their truck and drove after them. Once they were on the road, the short imp put out his phone and called a number.

After a ring, a voice answered, "Yeah?"

"They're on the move," the short imp said, "Are you sure you didn't see any guards or back up around?"

"We've been watching the road and no one else seemed to be tailing them. You're clear," the voice on the phone said.

The short imp said, "Fine. We'll call if there's any trouble."

He hung up and turned to the young imp, "Which I doubt we'll have. A scrawny twink, his bimbo wife, and a slutty driver. This'll be easy."

The young imp shrugged, "I don't know. Something about this guy got the boss spooked."

"Well, whatever it is won't be a problem much longer," the short imp said, "Let's get this over with. I'm hungry."

Becky was having the time of her life listening to Millie describe the tour like an excited child. Millie was sitting in Moxxie's lap with a huge smile on her face.

Millie said, "And then we got to see these amazing daggers! They looked so sleek and almost shined like candle light. I bet you could skin someone paper thin with one!"

Becky laughed, "I bet she was like a kid at Sinsmas in there, huh?"

Moxxie chuckled, "More like three kids."

"Well, I"m glad you both had a good time," Becky said.

"The best yet!" Millie said, her eyes sparkling, "We've still got the rest of the week to ourselves."

Moxxie said, "Yeah. The best it yet to-"

*CLANG!*

Moxxie, Millie, and Becky were thrown forward. Becky nearly lost control. She swerved hard to avoid hitting anyone in front of her and sped up.

"What in Satan's name was that?!" she shouted.

"Look!" Millie said, pointing out the back window.

They all looked back and saw a freight truck was speeding after them. Its front end was busted a little from hitting them.

"Is that the same truck as before?" Millie asked.

Becky said, "I don't know. I didn't get a good look at it. But if it is, how did they-"

*Bang! Ba-bang!*

Moxxie pulled Millie down away from the back window as the gunshots busted through it. Becky ducked down a little in the driver's seat.

"They're shooting too?" Becky asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Moxxie said.

Becky reached for her glove box and opened it. Inside there was a semi-auto 9mm pistol.

She said, "I have most of my guns back in the limo, but I have this. Think you can take them out with it?"

Moxxie said, "No, thank you. I have my own."

Becky looked back and saw Moxxie had pulled out a high caliber rifle from… somewhere. Millie had a glock in one hand and a dagger in the other. Moxxie started taking aim at the truck. Becky smiled and shook her head.

"No wonder Blitzø likes you two," she said.

The short imp leaned out the window and took a few more shots at the SUV. The young imp tried to move closer.

The young imp said, "I wish you'd waited until I drove them off the road."

The short imp asked, "Why? Worried we'll hurt an 'innocent bystander?'"

"We could lose them in traffic, you know," the young imp said, "And we could also crash into someone and die ourselves."

The short imp groaned, "Look, I just wanna get this done. A few more shots and we'll-"

*Crash-Sposh!*

Suddenly, the short imp head burst open. Blood and broken glass flew everywhere, covering the young imp.

"Unholy shit!" he shouted and slammed on the brakes.

Another shot hit the truck. The young imp saw the shots were coming from the SUV. He quickly pulled out his phone and swerved to avoid another shot. He hit the speed dial and put it on the speaker.

The voice from before answered, saying. "Ya'll are finished already?"

"We've finished nothing! They've got some kinda heavy weapons in that thing! They blew Murphy's head clean off!" the young imp shouted.

"What?! How?!" the voice said.

The young imp said, "Nevermind how! We're coming up on your position on the road soon. Be ready!"

The young imp hung up as another shot came at him. It missed his head by an inch.

"Fuck, this is bad," he said.

"My, he's a pretty good driver," Millie said as she watched the truck behind them weave to avoid another shot from Moxxie.

"That he is," Becky said, "Do you need me to slow down, Moxxie?"

"No, ma'am. Just keep an eye open for any backup this guy may have," Moxxie said.

Becky nodded, "You got- Whoa!"

Becky swerved off the road to avoid another freight truck coming at them. A busted up gray pickup truck was following behind it with four imps sitting in the bed and a hellhound and an imp inside driving. Becky turned back onto the road.

"Here's their back-up," Becky said, "What now?"

"Can you get us close to the other truck?" Millie asked.

Becky looked and saw the freight truck and the pickup were to the rear left of them. The imps in the bed of the pickup had knives and clubs.

"Which one?" Becky asked.

Millie stretched a little and said, "The freight truck."

"Got it. Hold on," Becky said.

Becky hit the brakes and brought the freight truck right next to the rear doors. Moxxie opened up the door and Millie jumped out, holding her dagger high. She landed on the roof and stabbed her dagger in to hold on. The truck spun out as Millie started shooting into the cab. Becky watched with concern as they sped away from it.

"Will she be okay?" she asked.

"Of course she will," Moxxie said.

Suddenly, the pickup truck came up from behind and to the right. It sped up and passed the SUV. A hellhound was sitting out of his window and pointing a small SMG over the cab of the truck. He started shooting for their tires. The imps in the back ducked to avoid getting shot. Becky slowed down to avoid the shots. The first freight truck was catching up with them. It seemed like it was going to try and push the SUV into the line of fire. Moxxie put the rifle away, wanting to save the ammo. He pulled out two 9mm handguns and fired at the truck behind them.

"Can this thing handle going off road?" he asked.

"Of course. Why?" Becky asked.

"I've got an idea," Moxxie said.

The hellhound had finished reloading his gun and moved back out to keep shooting. He aimed at the driver this time. He was about to pull the trigger when the SUV turned off the road. The imp driving the pickup turned and followed them. The young imp driving the freight truck didn't follow and kept driving. The hellhound leaned out of the window and started shooting again, despite the heavy cloud of dust the SUV was kicking up. The rocky terrain of the Wrath countryside made aiming difficult, but the hellhound figured one shot was enough to kill their targets. A few shots came from the SUV, but they avoided them easily enough. The SUV turned hard again, with more shots coming at them. The pickup skidded in the dirt, but turned after them. The hellhound moved back into the cab and pulled out an AK-47. He checked the clip and moved out to start shooting again. The SUV sped up and the pickup truck matched their speed. Suddenly, the SUV stopped dead. The pickup truck swerved to avoid hitting them. A door flew open from the SUV and something was thrown out. It crashed through the pickup's windshield and landed on the floor. It was a hand grenade without its pin.

Becky and Moxxie watched as the pickup truck blew up. Becky laughed loudly and slapped the seat.

"Okay, I'll admit. That was a good plan," she said.

"Thanks," Moxxie said, "Only one thing to do now."

The young imp finally had a moment to wipe the blood and brains of his partner off his face. He'd lost sight of the pickup truck and SUV a while before he heard an explosion. Surely, that was their targets getting killed, right? He drove for a while. He thought about calling the boss and telling him what was going on, but he decided against it. As much as a cluster fuck this turned into, it was better to have good news to go along with it. He looked in his side mirror and saw something that made his blood run cold. It was the SUV turning back onto the road. It was a bit more shot up, but it was coming up right behind him.

"Oh, fuck," he muttered.

He was just about to put on the gas and try to run when he saw the other freight truck coming too. It moved fast behind the SUV. The young imp laughed and slowed down. They could still pull this off! Suddenly, his phone rang. He pulled it out and answered it.

He turned on speaker mode and said, "I don't know whose driving, but keep coming! If we can sandwich them between us, we can-"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, sweetie, but you're alone now," a female voice with a Wrathian accent said before hanging up.

The young imp stared at his phone in shock. He looked back at the SUV. It was speeding up and moving to pass him on the left. The other freight truck sped up too. He saw that the female target was driving it!

"Oh, for Satan's sake!" he shouted.

He floored the gas pedal, but it was too late. The SUV was in front of him. As he passed them again, he saw the male target was wielding a shotgun. He was aiming for his tires.

*BOOM!*

The freight truck lurched forward and to the right. The young imp lost control. The truck flipped on its side. It slid for a while before stopping. For a moment, the young imp was laying on top of the dead body of his partner. He groaned and tried to move. His body hurt from being thrown around the cab. He pulled himself up and out of the cab. He looked around. He couldn't see either the SUV or the other freight truck. Maybe they kept on driving? Either way, he needed to move. He started to stumble away from the wreck and went down the road. He pulled out his phone and started dialing.

An anxious voice answered, "Hello?"

The young imp said, "Sir, we've got big problems here."

Meanwhile, a long way down the road, Moxxie was laying on the roof of the freight truck, watching the young imp through the rifle scope.

Becky and Millie were standing beside the SUV, looking over the damage.

"Gosh, this looks bad," Millie said.

Becky said, "Nah, I've had worse than this. Besides, I've got good insurance."

"What's insurance?" Millie asked.

Becky laughed and looked back at Moxxie.

"I'll admit you two are good, but you'll never make that shot," she said.

"My Moxxie can hit anything he aims at," Millie said with pride.

Becky shrugged, "I don't know. That's pretty far."

"He can do it," Millie said.

Becky said, "Hey, I've seen some amazing snipers in my day, but I don't even think the best of them could make that shot."

Before Millie could say anything, Moxxie gave a quick, "Shh!"

Becky and Millie turned and looked at Moxxie as he took the shot.

"Got 'em," he said, proudly.

Becky climbed up onto the roof and held out her hand, "May I?"

Moxxie handed her the rifle and she looked through the scope. She saw the young imp laying on the ground. She lowered the rifle and smiled at Moxxie.

"Satan bless, I'm impressed," she said.

Paulie stared down at his phone in shock. He had been getting the worst news he possibly could and then the connection was cut off. He felt his breath start to catch in his chest. The room started to spin. He couldn't believe it. Some of his best men were all dead.

"Fuck," he said.

They had one thing they had to do and they were wiped out. Now, the kid was sure to know he was being targeted. He would call Crimson.

"Fuck!" he shouted.

Crimson would send more men. They'll hunt him down and kill him this time for sure!

"FUCK!" he screamed.

He threw the phone against the wall, breaking it to pieces. He bolted from his chair. He started pacing around his office, frantically trying to think of what to do next.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck," he muttered, running his hand over his face.

Steve opened the door to the office.

He asked, "Paul, what's going on?"

"I'm dead, Gorger," Paulie said, "I'm dead. You're dead. We're both dead! It's all over!"

"What happened? Didn't the guys take care of 'em?" Steve asked.

"They're dead too! They killed 'em! Crimson's men killed them all! And we're next!" Paulie shouted.

Steve ran over and grabbed Paulie's shoulders, "Hey! Hey! Calm down!"

Paulie said, "How can I be calm!? He's going to find me! He's going to find me and I'm going to end up on his sick fucking wall!"

"Pull yourself together, imp!" Steve yelled.

Steve slapped Paulie's face and shook him.

"You're not some weak chump anymore! Calm down and think!" Steven said.

Paulie took a few shaky breaths. Steve moved him back to his chair. He went to the cabinet and pulled out a liquor bottle and glass. Steve poured a glass half full and handed it to Paulie. Paulie took a swig and coughed.

"Better?" Steve asked.

"Y-yeah. Yeah," Paulie said.

"Good. So, what happened?" Steve asked.

Paulie took another deep breath and said, "The ambush failed. All the guys are dead."

Steve stepped back and started pacing himself.

"Well if that's the case, then we do this the way it has to be done. Right here," he said.

"Wha? Here? At the hotel? But that'll hurt our reputation!" Paulie said.

Steve stood at the front of Paulie's desk and said, "It's either let our rep take a hit or we're hit ourselves. Crimson sent that kid here to find us, remember? So, we need to get them before they get us! I mean, we can still make it look like we weren't involved. Maybe make it look like a murder/suicide or something?"

Paulie said, "Well, what about Crimson? If he find out about me trying to take out his son-"

Steve shook his head, "You've got to stop being afraid of that little shit. We've got a gang now to rival his. This is the perfect chance to get some revenge for what he did to you. And if push comes to shove, we take his son and daughter-in-law alive and use 'em as bargaining chips."

Paulie leaned back in his chair. What Steve was saying made sense. He could do this. He took a few more breaths to steady himself. Yeah. A murder/suicide could work. He ran his hand under his sunglasses and felt his eye socket. He took one last deep breath and sat up straight in his chair. Paul stood up and put his hands on his desk.

"Okay. But we've only got a few more days before they leave. We need a team of experts," Paul said.

Steve smiled, "I'll think of something."

End of Part 12.