Love Struck Eternal
Chapter 38 - Step after step.
Sam's POV, A few hours later.
The plan was simple in the end. I found Violet's email easily and much like I expected most of her messages weren't encrypted. A preschooler could access them with the right information and thanks to some knowledge I got from G.U.N's special training program; I managed to steal all her files without her even knowing from a remote location I hand picked for this moment.
If time was on my side then I knew she would still be with Esteban at the capital for the next hour or so while he was addressing the public on the condition of the government with Roman's passing. I knew this because I was watching it all live using my phone. It was being streamed all over the fucking place. My little attack really stirred the pot.
With luck she wouldn't know she was robbed till someone found out and that wasn't going to happen unless she checked her email personally or if I tipped her off with a bullshit burner phone I bought from one of the local pharmacies.
Plan was to text her about the breach in her security then see how she would react. Any luck and she would run right over to the base that was a good twenty minutes from the capital. If she was panicked and wanted to get there faster then she would have to take the highway from route one; which I was currently watching. The ramp to get onto the highway overlooked a massive spillway. Inside the spillway was mostly concrete; except for the middle which was a fairly long strip of water that ran most of the distance the highway itself covered. Had to be a few miles out in fact and thanks to some poor architecture; the ramp going up had no railings along its foundation. With little effort I should be able to knock her car off the ramp and into the spillway without much trouble. All I needed was a truck and thankfully I already owned one.
Going to the burner phone, I put in Violet's number and sent her a quick message about what I've done. No details. It was short and to the point.
"Not so secure are you? See for yourself." Then I attached a link to her own email and sent a second message stating.
"Gonna have a good time learning all about you and your business. I'd invest in two step verification next time if I were you."
The second I hit send on the last message I broke the phone in half and threw it out the window.
"Let's get a good view now." I whispered to myself as I reached over into the passenger seat to grab onto a small bag I had that held my laptop which I already used to tap into the city's camera network.
With so many cameras around I had every angle I could ever want to see her coming. Starting with the capital which I knew she was still at; judging by my phone's stream. You couldn't miss that ugly bitch. She was standing right behind Esteban as he was giving the speech and a minute later I began to laugh to myself when I noticed she went into her back pocket to pull out her cellphone. She at first held it off camera but soon brought it back in front of her with a look on her face that showed nothing but fear and panic.
With Esteban still going strong, the cat ran off stage and I started my camera show to make sure she was on her way. Fingers crossed she was. The only way this could go wrong is if she for some reason decided to take the long way to the base. If that happened I'd have to think of something else.
Camera to camera, I watched as she ran to her car with two men. Both of these guys were special forces. I could tell from the uniforms. Together they drove out of the capital and were headed in my direction. So for a moment I took my eyes off the cameras and prepared my gear.
I already had most of my uniform together. Dark blue jeans and a simple black hoodie sat underneath my new harness and leg guards. Both of which were pure black at the moment. I planned to trick them out at some point, but I wanted this to be the test phase. I had to make sure everything I paid for worked and that included the mask which sat next to me alongside my rifle.
Now every part of my armor was connected to each other thanks to some advanced kinetic barriers the network installed inside the armor plating of my harness. My helmet had them too, but it was its own system simply because I wanted no power getting drawn from the rest if I was to get shot in my head during combat.
If everything worked as I planned the armor itself should deflect incoming rounds as they come in. To be more exact the rounds themselves should break when they come into contact with me. Now if I get hit with enough of them the kinetic barriers will fall leaving me open, but if given enough time they should come back online after a few minutes. That was the only problem I had to deal with in reality. Killing a few minutes in open combat could prove hard. I'll have to look into the armor myself next time I get the chance.
In the front of my harness I held four spare rifle mags for my T91. Down on my waist would be a belt that connected it to the harness. It came with a standard holster to hold my Luger and about eight clips for it. Four on my left side and another four on my right.
Behind me on the belt were two flashbangs and three smoke grenades I had clipped on. My knife was the only thing missing and I wanted that to be kept on my chest with my spare rifle clips. To me it was a lot easier to access if I kept it that way. I never really liked keeping it on my leg somewhere while I was training.
With my vest and the rest all secure and ready to go, I leaned over to grab onto the mask. It was in perfect shape. The mask itself was just as advanced as the rest of my gear. The material it was made from was some degree of carbon fiber and ballistic weaves thrown together. It weighed about five pounds, but I could manage that if it meant I wouldn't get killed by a stray or lucky round to my noggin.
Design wise the mask was based around Anubis. It was more or less his face, but the face itself was nothing more than bone. It looked scary to all hell and that's what I wanted from it. Inside this baby however sat the few other details I aimed to have added on to its design. First was a built-in motion tracker. Now I had Roslin's gift to detect anyone at any given time, but I was trying to be smart and think ahead a little. Open combat is a lot different then training. I was predicting that I'd mentally get distracted and ignore my power in the middle of a fight. That or I could for some reason run out of energy to use it. I wanted this installed as a helpful way to make sure I never was without a watchful eye. It had a range of about thirty meters and that would be more than enough for any fight up close I'd be having
Now lastly the mask was designed to stay cool inside for the wearer. Minky promised me he could do it and just from holding it I could tell I would never have to worry about sweating too much in this thing; which was more of a personal want than a need in all reality.
Regardless, with this all together I knew I was ready for anything. So with my time closing in, I threw on the mask for the first time and got it adjusted to my face. I heard a small beep go off in my ear a moment later which told me that the shields were functional. It should make a different noise if they go down for whatever reason, but I wouldn't know until the moment came.
Letting out a small sigh once I had my hoodie thoroughly covering the fur on my arms, I nodded my head and reached over to take my rifle. Putting it on my lap, I took a look at the cameras and found Violet about two minutes out. She was coming my way for sure which made this all the more real. My second major offensive. Here we go.
Before I could take another breath, I widened my eyes when I felt Roslin enter my mind. In a calm and relaxed voice he asked me.
"Are you sure about this? Do you even have an escape plan?"
"I do." I replied internally as he then urged me.
"Well make it count. You miss her car and you'll be pulling yourself out of that spillway. That wouldn't look good."
"I know." I replied again within my own head as he then said with some laughter behind his voice.
"Good luck then. Don't get yourself killed. I'm expecting you back at the condo in one piece."
"No promises." I then informed him as I saw Violet zoom past the last camera I had set which meant it was go time. So taking my mind off of Roslin, I put my foot to the gas and drove right at the entrance to the highway.
Holding my breath, I floored it and looked right ahead for her car and with god as my witness it came right at the perfect time. The force I threw at her was more than enough to do the job. I slammed her car right in the middle of the driver side door going about sixty. My airbags went off right on impact, but not before I saw her car get sent clear off the side of the ramp and down into the spillway. The whole time her car rolled over and over till it ended up on its roof right next to the stream. My truck hung over the edge of the ramp by its two front tires and before I knew it I felt my legs race out the door, but not before popping the pin on a single grenade I had inside my laptop bag.
Dropping the grenade onto the floor, I took my laptop and the bag and exited the truck before long. The grenade blew up a few seconds after and took the truck with it. It was a burning mess that was now blocking the ramp perfectly. However I still didn't have all the time in the world, so I slid my way down into the spillway to find the car still turned on its head.
Inside I could hear someone coughing. It had to be Violet just by judging the depth of her voice. As for the other two men she had with her it appeared the one sitting in the backseat had died from the accident. He hung upside down from his seat belt motionless as the other soldier struggled to crawl out from the wreck from the passenger side. Violet was driving and was stuck much like her dead friend, so my attention was on the only person who had a chance at doing anything.
Raising my rifle up and taking aim at him as I walked around the front of the car, I caught his eyes for a moment before putting three rounds in his chest and another in his head. After I took the shots I heard Violet scream out in confusion. She had no fucking clue why this was happening to her of all people.
Taking my time to confirm the kill, I leaned down a bit just so I could put a bullet into the skull of the man who I considered dead already from the crash. Again Violet screamed out in fear as I was just concerned with making sure everyone here was really dead.
"Who are you!?" I was asked by the cat as I took the short route back around the car. I didn't plan on answering any of her questions. She had to die and that's all that mattered to me right now. So without a response I opened her door and reached in to see the damage. Her right arm was broken and from what I could tell it looks like her legs were as well. This would be painful for her but I didn't care. I thought to myself as I reached in to undo her seat belt.
"Wait! I can't move! Stop!"
The cat began to scream out in agony as I used my strength to pull her out from the wreck. Her legs were indeed broken into pieces. She was done here with this life. So with my hand holding her by the back of her neck, I dragged her over to where the water was and threw her face first into it. The stench covered her body and I'm sure there were thousands of germs and creatures crawling all into her wounds as she resurfaced a second later to keep screaming. She wasn't asking for help. She was just in so much pain it was the only thing she could do for herself.
Lowering my rifle, I grabbed onto my Luger and waited till she turned to look at me once more. This time she begged.
"No!"
I didn't hesitate. Putting one round in between her eyes, I watched as her fat body fell back into the sewage. Once I was satisfied, I went to my belt to grab onto my smokes. Popping all three, I dropped one at my feet and threw the other two towards my exit which was a tunnel that rested a few meters back where I came. I waited for the smoke to expand before moving from my spot. I knew help would be on the way soon; so I put my Luger back and ran for the tunnel.
Hopefully no one got a good look at me. Judging from my senses I had a good feeling that no one really had the chance. We were directly under the highway and no one would be stopping up there to get a look just due to the speeds at which they were traveling. As for the rest of the area, the only spot I had to consider was the other side of the highway where the second on ramp was. I didn't see anyone up there and I'm sure if there were people they didn't have time to get a good look before the smoke went up. I think I was safe.
Entering the tunnel, I just kept my pace till I was about half a mile into the sewers. I kept my gear all on just in case I came across anyone down here. Old or young I'd have to kill anyone that got in my way from here on out. I couldn't risk any information getting out about me. So with that in mind I proceeded with my plan and soon found myself walking the rest of the way to the exit. Thankfully there wasn't anyone between me and the ladder. It would be bad if I had to open up fire so close to my escape.
Putting my rifle on my back, I looked up and began the short climb back to the surface. The surface I aimed for was an alleyway behind a shopping center about a mile from the highway. It was here I decided to park another car I managed to lift before this hit.
There weren't any cameras in this area and it was such a tight alley that barely any vehicles could fit. Mine was just small enough to squeeze in. So with my head going back and forth to check the area, I ran over to my car and opened the backseat. Inside was another one of my bags where I would stow away my gear; starting with my weapons then my armor. The mask came off last and the first thing I thought about was how I regretted not getting shot at to test it. I didn't expect this to go over so well.
I could hear sirens in the distance back at the highway and that was my queue to get out of here officially. My senses gave me all the faith I would need to get into my car without being worried. No one was around apart from the people inside the stores of course. No one saw me exit that sewer so I had confidence I did my job correctly.
Zipping up the bag, I pulled my hair back and reached down into the pocket my hoodie had to pull out my hat. Quickly getting it open, I put it on backwards to keep my hair in place and walked around to the other side of the car to get in and toss down my laptop bag onto the passenger seat next to me. Once I was on the road, I focused on getting back to the condo. During the ride I did my best to relax. Killing got my blood going and I wanted to scream in a good way, I was just so damn excited to do crazy shit like this.
I knew what had to happen next though. I'd have to put in the time to figure out what Esteban would be planning now that he was missing his head of security. Shouldn't be too hard to see what he has planned though. I'm sure he'll be under a complete lock down now. Probably gonna hide in that fortress he calls a capital. A direct attack won't work on that level of defense, but I'm sure given enough room to work with; I'd figure out a way to get to him. Nothing is impossible. I thought to myself as Roslin's voice came calling to me in my own mind asking curiously.
"You really wanna go through all the trouble planning something like this out?"
"What do you mean?" I asked him back within my own thoughts as I focused mainly on the road. A moment later he replied.
"Figure out exactly where this guy will be and I could just send you there. He wouldn't have any way of knowing and I'm sure the last thing he would expect would be Anubis showing up uninvited.
"That kind of option goes against what I'm aiming to do though. I want this to be hard Roslin. Using you defeats the purpose." I informed him back kindly as I then heard him wonder.
"And what if you made it impossible now instead of just hard? This isn't a simple kill Sam. You're aiming for a president and this isn't some small nation we're talking about. This guy's security rivals your dad's. In fact I'm pretty sure your father has his hands dipped in this country's military. I'd be willing to bet you that these guys are part of the M.E.A.F in some way or another and you're making your end goal very obvious to them. Esteban isn't gonna come out till you're found and dealt with properly. You have to know that."
"I do and I've been thinking about it, trust me. I'm sure he's not gonna do any public appearances now that his security leader is dead."
"So again I have to ask. What the hell do you plan to do to reach him? You just said that a direct attack won't work and it's gonna take time to figure out his plan, so why waste time?" Roslin asked me as I took a moment to ask myself the same question. Halfway through my thoughts I replied.
"I'm gonna talk to Royce. Like it or not I need to keep G.U.N informed."
"He's not gonna let you just go after this guy Sam."
"I'm aware, but this needs to happen. I was tasked with doing whatever I thought would be best to get to Dusk and if I believe this is how I do it then I need to convince them of that as well. Royce trusts me and I'm sure Ajex and Fenning will agree. It's a huge gamble, but if I do this I can guarantee them I'll have my foot through the door with Dusk and his people. I just need to tell them that. If this mission means what I believe it does to them; they'll authorize the assassination. They might not like it, but we have to take risks and make certain sacrifices to get where we want to be." I said out loud as I pulled up outside my condo to shut off the engine to my car.
"Let me deal with the backlash from G.U.N. I got this."
"And let's say they do. What then?"
Grabbing my bags I replied.
"Then I just need to spend some time thinking over my options. I have the intel and I have the skills. I can pull this off. I know I can, but…..well if I need your help, I'll let you know. If it's impossible using conventional means, then I'll resort to your offer."
"If it's impossible and we go my way, then won't this just look all the better for you? An impossible assassination and somehow you pull it off without a trace? It might work out better this way Sam. It really could."
He was right. It could really have an impact, but I had to talk to Royce first. They have a right to know what I'm planning. So with my bags in hand, I walked my way inside the condo.
Inside the safety of my home, I got my bags down and looked up as Roslin finally appeared before me to wonder.
"You calling him now?"
Nodding my head as I got out the secure phone G.U.N gave me, I called the only number it held inside its contact list and proceeded to take a seat down on the couch while its first or so ring went off in my ear. A few moments later I looked over my shoulder to find Roslin staring into my bags. His hands were on my mask and judging from his face he looked genuinely interested in it. I would have to wait to ask him as to why, because after the fourth ring Royce answered.
"Hey Samantha. My bad I wasn't expecting you to call, I'm out with the wife."
"Should I call back later?" I proceeded to ask him as Roslin put down my mask to then go to my armor.
"No. I'm here. I just needed to excuse myself for this. She understands. So what's going on with you? Must be important if you're calling me this soon after our first planned talk."
"Ahh where to start? Well I guess this should go without saying, but I'm making some moves in order to get into contact with Dusk or someone from his organization. But it's coming at a cost. I'm sure you've been kept into the loop about the news going on around the city."
"Major Fenning is more up to date than I am personally. I've heard about the recent attack on Azerbaijan's secretary of state though. Did that have something to do with them?"
"No sir. That was my operation."
My ability to read minds was getting better. I managed to read him the last time we spoke like this and Roslin was impressed that I was able to reach that point on my own without his training, but using it here made this conversation simple when it came to knowing his personal feelings towards what I was about to drop on him. I could already tell that he was somewhat stumped. A moment later he questioned me to be sure of what he heard.
"Repeat that for me. You did that?"
"Yes sir." I replied to him as he then urged me.
"Explain to me what's going on with you Sam. Last time we talked you weren't planning on making any moves just yet. Why all the sudden did you do this? You know Azerbaijan and its people are our allies right?"
"I do, but let me explain my thought process." I begged him back as he went silent.
Leaning up a little bit on the couch, I took off my hat and stated to Royce.
"I'm following the advice Major Fenning gave me. What he said made a lot of sense the more I thought about it. People like Dusk aren't doing good things with their time and most of that time I believe is spent making money from various illegal activities that are present in the city. Most of which are arms deals and drug running. They probably have their hands dipped into other rackets, but most of their money looks to be coming from those two main sources. Both of which are in danger thanks to men like Roman and Esteban; Azerbaijan's president. They're both heavily involved when it comes to shutting them down and so far they've done a great job. But that's a problem for me."
Royce remained quiet as I took a second to stand back up from the couch to approach Roslin who had taken a seat at the small table we had in the kitchen. Taking a seat next to him as he was still looking over my gear, I went on to say to Royce.
"I'm going to get more work done if I can find a way into their inner circle. It's so well hidden that I can't find any conventional means to get inside. So I'm resorting to some wet work. Dusk and his people are paying attention and I'm sure if they could have done something to stop Esteban and his people by now; they would have tried it. Since I'm acting on my own as a third party, I'm gonna put my neck out there and help them get some control over their business again. Getting rid of Roman put a wrench in Esteban's operation. He's scared and he's trying to keep the situation under control, but it's clear he's worried. He has no clue who could have done what I did and as far as I'm aware they still haven't found anything out. So I made another move just before I called you. Esteban's head of security is no longer with us."
"Violet?" Royce questioned as I nodded to myself and replied to him at the same time.
"I just got done with her. No casualties apart from the two men she had guarding her and I'm certain I wasn't recorded or made by anyone. In fact I'm sure Esteban still thinks she's alive."
Royce was overwhelmed it appeared. I could sense his feelings from here. So I gave him a moment to just process it all. After that, he said to me.
"So let me get this straight. You killed both Roman and Violet?"
"Yes sir." I replied as he then wondered.
"And you think that will get you into contact with Dusk or his people?"
Without wanting to lie to him, I replied.
"No sir. It's a start, but I need to think bigger if I want to attract their attention like that. That's why I'm calling to let you know that I plan to go after Esteban. Killing him should get me that face to face."
"Hold the fuck on Sam." Royce ordered me out of sheer confusion for what he just heard leave my mouth. A few moments after he questioned.
"Are you insane? I mean that in as nice of a way as possible. You're planning to go after Esteban? Sam, that's not a good idea. First of all you're thinking of killing a fucking president and second of all he's an ally and a huge supporter to G.U.N and the M.E.A.F. Killing him is gonna set us back how far? Not to mention the legal problems we'd face if someone found out G.U.N was backing the assassin."
"No one is gonna find out. Major Fenning was clear with what he said before I left. I'm not gonna talk and that's because I won't get caught to begin with." I informed the jackal as I heard him laugh slightly before asking me.
"You're first real assignment and you're going off the handle. Sam, I can't let you go through with this. There is too much on the line. What happens if you kill Esteban and Dusk or his people still don't decide to show up? You got any clue what kind of shit we'd be in if the public ever found out?"
"Talk to Major Fenning about it then. I'm sure he'll approve of the operation if you give him my word we'll make progress on the situation with Dusk."
"You yourself aren't even that sure! You want me to lie to him?" Royce questioned as I simply replied.
"Not lie. I just need you to have my back and support my claims. I'm not a hundred percent sure it'll play out the way I want it to, but if you back me then Fenning will tag along and I'm sure he can get into contact with Ajex and make some moves before I pull the trigger."
"Sam?" Royce groaned as I snapped and proceeded to order him.
"I'm not out here to make an ass out of myself Dom. I'm making progress, but I need you to help me. Not hold me back or pull me out. Call Fenning and talk it over with him. Tell him the same shit I told you and see what he wants to do about it. If he wants to pull me out? Let him. If he wants to deny the hit? Let him. But regardless you guys deserve to know what the fuck I'm doing out here; and yes it's not excatly helping our cause, but this will pay off. I swear to god it will. Please Dom. See what Fenning says before you make a rash move. Call me back or text me when you hear something. I have to go now. Take care." And with that I hung up the phone and looked over at Roslin who picked up on my attitude a moment ago, yet he didn't say anything. He just stared right into my eyes as I threw the phone onto the kitchen table to ask him.
"What do you think?" The echidna took one look at my mask then back at me to reply.
"I think you took some inspiration from yours truly."
I gave him a smile as I sat back down then mumbled to him.
"Maybe a little. Can't deny that you gave me some ideas to work with when it came to the design. I think it turned out pretty fucking badass. Don't you think?"
Roslin simply chuckled then asked me.
"So what's on your radar for now then? Sit down for a day or two and relax? Or are you gonna go right out there and see what Esteban does now that his security has been breached?"
"For right now I'm gonna relax. I want to look over the new armor Minky got me. I need to test the shields. I was hoping to get shot back out there, but this will have to do." Roslin kept his eyes on me as I moved my hands over to my bag. Taking out my Luger which still had the suppressor on it, I undid the suppressor and handed it to him while ordering calmly at the same time.
"Shoot me." The look he gave me was a funny one. He didn't take that command seriously as I strapped on the vest once more. As I buckled up, he finally questioned.
"Wait, are you serious?"
Nodding my head, I reached behind my own back to make sure I had the vest on completely. After that I put back on the other pieces of the uniform. When I took back my mask, I replied to him sanely.
"Of course I'm serious. Put that on your own gun and shoot me a few times. No one is gonna hear it."
"Not what I'm concerned about frankly." He muttered back as I put on the mask. Adjusting myself back into the armor, I made sure my mask was lined up and stared at him the whole time as he hesitated to reach under his cloak for his own weapon. After about ten seconds or so, he pulled it out and screwed on the suppressor. Looking back at me once that was done, he chuckled.
"You're crazy. You know that right?"
"I do." I laughed back as he stood up from the table to wonder.
"Where should I aim?"
"Start with my chest. Gotta make sure the systems are all working like they should. Once in the front and another in my back. The shields should stay up for two rounds hopefully. Otherwise I'm gonna ask Minky for a refund considering how much I spent on it all."
"Oh this is gonna feel weird. Don't take this personally. I have nothing against you." The echidna jokingly said as I readied myself by inflating my chest with a held breath. Roslin and I had our eyes locked and after a second he pulled the trigger.
The round broke on impact with the vest and for a split second you could see a flicker of blue light appear from the energy source zapping it to bits. My body physically however felt the round connect at the end of the day. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be. It just felt like someone slapped my chest with their backhand. That was something I could handle considering the alternative was death.
Roslin widened his eyes when the bullet vanished from reality. Giving me a playful laugh, I quickly urged him while turning around.
"Once more. Hit me."
This time Roslin didn't flinch. He just shot me square in my back to get the same result. I was more than happy now. The vest held and the shields were clearly okay. No beeping in my ears to hear yet.
Nodding my own head, I turned back around to then order him.
"This time get my arms and legs. I'll let you know if the shields get close to dropping. Just do it."
Roslin nodded and very gently I lifted my arms up and spread my feet apart. He proceeded to hit each of my limbs and by the time he was done I began to hear the beeping coming from my mask. The rounds I took were adding up to the technology. That and when I was hit in my limbs; it provided a bit of force to contend with. More so than with my chest or back.
Checking my body physically for any signs of damage I took, I looked back at my master to urge him.
"Last one." Roslin knew I meant my face and giving me a worried look back he questioned.
"Are you sure?"
"Just do it. The shields are gonna break if you hit my body again. The mask itself runs on its own power supply. It should take most of the force. Just do it before I lose my confidence." I begged him now as I readied myself for the worst possible outcome. Crossing my fingers I begged inside my own head.
"Please work."
Roslin fired off the round not long after my words and the second it came into contact with my mask the round broke apart. However the force was a different story. I stumbled a foot backwards after the round disappeared and for a second I felt like I had just been hit in the head with a baseball. It rocked my world and the moment it did Roslin lowered his gun to ask me out of concern for my own health.
"Are you good?"
It took me a moment to recover, but as I did I said back to him while reaching up for my mask.
"Yeah. I'm good. I just wasn't ready for that pressure to hit me. I thought I was, but fuck that was hard. At least I know the gear works now at the least. Thank you."
Unscrewing the suppressor, Roslin handed it back to me while replying.
"You're welcome. That gear isn't a fucking joke. The fact that you just stood there and took one to the head and you're still standing shows me just how crazy you mortals play around with technology. If we had this back in my days….?" Roslin came in to touch my chest with the hand that held his gun. Even with my mask on I knew he could read my reaction to his touch. So very gently I reached up to place my hand on his, then I said to him softly.
"You'd probably be strung up and put to the fire if you walked into that era with this gear."
Roslin gave me an honest and heartfelt laugh back as he soon put his gun back under his cloak. At which point I reached out to grab onto it. He stopped laughing the instant I had him held in place with my one hand. Looking back into my mask he questioned.
"What?"
"What's with the cloak? You never told me about it. It's clear it has meaning to you."
I now let him go and in all honesty I expected a vague answer back, but I was rewarded with an honest explanation as he gave the cloak he wore a good look.
"It does have meaning. The cloak itself is a symbol. When you're chosen to become a god or when the current ruler of this realm names a demi worthy; they are given one. Marcus has one and he gave one to your dad a long time ago. He wore it into battle for the majority of his life. The cloak ages with the man."
"It doesn't feel like normal material that it's made out of ether." I stated; which got him to nod his head.
"It's not something I can explain to you in detail. I don't really even know what it's made of. All I know for a fact is that the cloak itself is a badge of honor that either the god or demi carries with them throughout their life cycle."
"Is there any chance I can get one? I'm your demi right? It makes sense. That and it would go very well with my armor set, I think."
Giving me a small stare before breaking off a foot's distance, I listened and kept my mouth shut as the echidna thought over my request. After a few moments he looked back at me to reply.
"You're not official though. Your dad is because of Marcus. You and I are not even supposed to be in the mix when it comes to secession. You wouldn't get one for yourself until Marcus and your father had been dealt with."
I took a moment to look over my own body. My armor almost felt like skin. I was already growing attached to the look and the feeling of being scary. I knew Roslin didn't care, but I felt strong just standing here in all this. Even without a cloak like his to really nail home the point.
"Sam?"
"Hmm?" I hummed back as I refocused on the echidna who proceeded to ask me with a small smile.
"Do you really want one?"
Nodding my head, I watched as he proceeded to unbutton the top of the cloak where his neck was. One button was all it took for it to come off him and once it did he walked forward and handed it over. I didn't know what to say or do. I felt honored he would even consider this an option.
""Are you sure?" I asked him out of confusion as my hand came up to take the cloak from him.
Very slowly as I waited for an answer, I looked over the inside of the cloak for any symbols or anything interesting to look at. I found nothing at first glance, but towards the neck I located the same symbol I had under my ear on the inside of the cloak. I assumed it to be the same thing. It was simply a mark. So with care I wrapped myself under the cloak and buttoned the one button up top nearest my neck like he had. Once that was finished I just proceeded to look at myself using my own two eyes. If I didn't feel good before about my appearance, I now knew that I didn't really care now that I had this honor wrapped around me. It even had his smell. I thought to myself as I soon looked back at him to listen as he finally replied to my question.
"I'm sure. It fits you well. You look….?"
"Menacing?" I wondered as he nodded his head and then added.
"I was going for something along the lines of attractive, but menacing works too. Just don't lose it and please….for the love of god….don't throw it into the wash. Hand wash it only. No machines. You'll shrink the fucking thing in an instant and I can't get another anytime soon."
"I'll keep it in working order for you. Hehehe." I was happy to have one. I couldn't fucking lie about it. It made him happy as well, I could feel it.
Grabbing the cloak by my chest, he replied.
"You better. Hehe." Letting me go and taking a step to the side, I smiled from under my mask before taking it off my face. From there I proceeded to step out of the cloak and then my gear. Once I had it all sorted out, I took a second to smile again before throwing back on his cloak. I just loved the feeling it gave me for some strange reason.
Dusk's POV.
"What the fuck are we doing man?" The question came to me from my unfortunate companion as we shared a beer over a game of cards. He wasn't my fucking friend. I didn't want this guy anywhere near me, but I was stuck with him. A hedgehog who goes by the name Gwent. All I really knew about him was that he was with a group of our collective further out west. That and I knew he was a fucking annoying little shit. Always had fucking questions. One after the other and I never heard the end of it; just like now. I thought to myself as I proceeded to ignore him again by continuing to enjoy my drink.
"Dusk?" He proceeded to call my name. I didn't want to even look at him. He annoyed me this much.
"Are you listening to me?" He asked bluntly which got me to reply after putting my cards down.
"Unfortunately."
"What the fuck is your problem man?" He wondered out loud as I looked up at him from the table to examine his face more closely.
Gwent was in decent shape despite not working at it. He was a self taught boxer from his youth and I'm sure he could still fight if put up to it, but for his size he had a lot of bark to go with it. A pure green coat of quills and two blue eyes and he was dressed much like me considering this was our day off. Just a simple pair of blue jeans, brown sneakers and a blank blue t-shirt. Mine was black however. Once I had fully accepted his look, I proceeded to give him a proper response back to his concerns.
"What's my problem? Are you a fucking idiot?"
"Sure I am. Kinda why I'm asking you instead of assuming you're pissed for no reason." Gwent said back calmly as he took a sip of his drink.
"I don't enjoy company. I'd rather be left alone right now, but instead of that I got assigned you. For what reason? Beats me, but your fucking annoying. Can't you just shut the fuck up and let me relax if your gonna be here?"
"I'm just trying to make conversation, man." He admitted which got me to urge him back.
"I don't want to have a conversation with you. This is already too long of a talk, so please just leave me alone ad let's continue the fucking game."
"Can you answer my first question before that though?" He then wondered as I finished my glass of soda. After that I let out a burp then decided to say to him bluntly.
"I don't know what the fuck we're doing. I never do. As far as I know we're just supposed to be keeping our heads down till someone higher up calls for something. So again, just please shut the fuck up and chill the hell out before I decide to leave you here."
Gwent began to laugh and with my eyes giving him a confused look back, he said to me.
"Leave me? Brother you couldn't dream of outrunning me. I'm on your ass like a bumper sticker."
"Then do us both a favor and act like a bumper sticker then. Don't talk to me. Don't ask me any more questions and please just shut the fuck up."
"Hahahaha! Your a funny fucking guy. You know that Dusk?" He proceeded to ask me as I felt my phone vibrate inside my front pocket. As I pulled it out, I whispered to myself.
"We'll see how funny I am once I break your jaw."
Gwent took this small moment to officially leave me alone. He went back to drinking as I saw the message I just recieved. Widening my eyes slightly I questioned.
"What the fuck?"
Gwent heard me and just like the sun shining he asked me after.
"What the fuck what?"
With my phone still in my hands, I looked back up at him to reply.
"Someone just took out Violet."
"Huh? The president's security advisor?" Nodding my head I replied.
"Yeah. What the fuck is going on?"
"Was it one of ours who did it?" Gwent asked me as I shook my head to reply.
"It can't be. We weren't tasked to it and the only other operator we have in this fucking city is Ace. You think for a second that guy could take down that whale? We're supposed to be keeping clean noses ever since Iran. It has to be a contractor. Probably the same one who killed Roman too."
"Why, though? Those types only work for money. Him and the fat bitch were closed contracts. Why take the risk if there isn't gonna be anything in it for them at the end?" Gwent asked which got me to reply.
"Fuck if I know, but I'll be damned if this isn't a coincidence. Two blatant attacks on two power figures almost back to back? Something else is going on. Something we don't know about."
"If we don't know shit about it then I'd be willing to bet this contractor knows what they're doing. Especially if they haven't been caught yet. Should we look into it?"
I was already texting my boss back as he asked that. So with my intent clear, I said back to him as I finished writing.
"I'm not gonna do anything until we get word back. We should though. This involves us. Killing those two is gonna fuck up everything Esteban has on the table when it comes to closing out our military contacts and our money operations here in the city."
"Sounds to me like we're getting handed a present. Intentional or not, the guy behind the killings is throwing us a bone here Dusk. Chances they're gunning for Esteban?"
"That's suicide and you know it about as well as I do. Violet and Roman weren't planning to get killed. Esteban is clearly our problem, so they must have been expecting him to get taken. Not the other way around like this. A direct attack now against Esteban is impossible to coordinate alone. So unless they have a death wish; I doubt they'll attempt that. This has to be personal beef though, because like you just said, there isn't a rainbow with a pot of gold waiting for them at the end. No one is stupid enough to just gun down government figures like this without a proper reason behind it."
"But if they are? We should look into it. Sounds to me like they could help us out. Aren't we looking?"
"We are, but we can't just assume they'll be on our side. We should wait and see what happens before we make any calls like that." I replied to Gwent as I looked back at my phone when the next message came back from my boss.
"Start looking. See what you can learn, but keep your heads down and out of trouble. We don't know what we're dealing with yet. Ace is already out looking. Information came from him."
Putting my phone on the table, I pushed it towards Gwent who looked over the message before groaning.
"Ace is already on this shit? How the hell does that little rabbit always know when something is about to go down?"
Taking my phone back, I replied.
"It's what he's good at. Well that and playing cute with everyone wherever he goes. That's why he's our best informant and that's why he gets the job done. No one expects a rabbit with his level of blood lust to show up and start fucking shit up."
"I heard he's pretty good with a knife. That true?"
Smiling slightly, I replied.
"Don't ask me. Ask him if you're that curious. I'm sure he'd love to show you."
"Ha! I'm good dog. You ready to get out of here then?" He asked as I looked back at my drink to see it was empty. So giving him a small look back, I replied while collecting my jacket from the seat next to me.
"Yeah. Let's go. We should split up from here though. We'll cover more ground that way. You learn anything; you better call it in. We aren't taking any chances. I'll take downtown. Ace should still be close to the capital and the upper flats residence. You take the slums and uptown."
"You just got done telling me how annoying I am. Do you really wanna split up the search? Or is this just you politely telling me to fuck off now that we got a job to do?"
"Both." I replied bluntly back as I proceeded to stand up and leave the hedgehog to the rest of his drink.
Getting into my car, I prepared myself mentally before taking off. I had questions, but I'm sure Ace would already have them answered by the end of the week if we have any luck left on our side.
Raptor's POV, Two days later.
After much delay I finally got an answer back from Esteban. He's requesting some of my operators to come assist in his protection. It only took the death of his secretary of state and his personal security advisor to convince him he was in serious enough danger. Right now I was with Vetra and two others I'd be sending for this operation. All three of them were finishing up with packing their gear then they would be on their way.
"You got this right? We can't afford any more losses. I asked Vetra to be sure as she was busy packing her rifle into a nearby bag.
"We got this. I won't let you down." She replied as I suddenly began to hear my phone ringing from behind my back. Verta thought nothing of it as I quickly pulled it out from my back pocket to see it was Ajex calling. In confusion I answered.
"What's going on?"
In a serious tone of voice, he replied.
"Something important that I need to discuss with you. Do you have a minute?"
Nodding my head, I replied back.
"Yeah."
"I know Esteban got into contact with you earlier this morning. What did he want?"
Keeping myself together, I replied.
"Security. What else? I'm sending three of my best out to him now. They'll be at the capital within the next two hours to provide close protection."
With Vetra ready to go a moment later, Ajex went on to order me.
"Cancel that request, Commander."
Widening my eyes in confusion, I questioned.
"What? Why? What the hell are you talking about? I can't cancel. He's in danger, Ajex and he's requested my help."
"I know Raptor, but hear me out first before you make our lives harder here. I have an operator of my own working on making first contact with Dusk and his group."
"Okay? What does that have to do with this?" I asked him back.
"It has everything to do with this. My operator is taking measures to ensure a meeting with the man and hopefully the rest of his group in Azerbaijan. Measures that require a precise touch."
"Stop being vague already. Just tell it me straight. What's happening?" I asked him back as Vetra waited for me to finish up the conversation before departing on her trip.
"We have reason to believe that Dusk and his people may be looking for more recruits to join their cause. However we won't ever know if we sit on our hands and wait. And to make matters worse, we have reason to believe that this can't be done by inquiring within the city with one specific person. We have to make noise and it has to be loud enough that this group will hear it. So my operator has already been making moves to ensure that happens. Starting with the assassination of both Roman and Violet. Esteban's comrades."
Now I was caught completely for a loop. Somewhat mad I questioned.
"Wait…you were behind that?"
"Not me specifically. I never gave the order. However the person I have in place is tasked with doing whatever is necessary to make progress towards getting us the information we so desperately need. We've been in contact thanks to their handler and we now know that the next target is Esteban and with him gone we'll surely be able to get into contact with Dusk. So I need you to withdraw your people and let my operator handle this."
"You gotta be joking right?" I asked him back with a small chuckle of anger behind my voice.
"I wish I was, but I'm not."
"Do you have any clue what will happen to us if people find out about this? Do you even know what you're asking me to do?"
"I do and I know it's hard, but no one is gonna know except you and I. Please Raptor. I need you to trust me. It wasn't easy for me to accept ether, but I'm looking at the bigger picture. This is our best shot at getting more information on these guys. And if it makes this matter any easier for you; I've already made contact with the VP. He's on our side with this and he's fully aware of the responsibility that comes with a forced term of office. All the peace talks will survive and all the work Esteban has been putting forward will remain in play. It just won't be carried out until we've dealt with Dusk and his people. Azerbaijan will be safe at the end of the day, but Esteban has to go."
I didn't like this one bit. I've had to make calls like these before, but it didn't make it any easier. Looking into Vetra's eyes considering she was mere inches away, I asked Ajex calmly.
"Help or not from my end, how can your man pull this off without getting killed?"
"I don't know, but I trust their judgment and their skill. If anyone can do this, it's them."
"This is insane." I admitted which got Ajex to reply.
"Have faith. If this all goes well, we'll be one big step closer to finding the people who killed Char. Now please….your men?"
"God damn it. Alright. I understand."
"Thank you. Now I have to go. I'll be in contact."
"Okay. See ya." I replied as he hung up the line.
Now left with my men, I looked back at Verta as she asked me.
"What's going on?"
I didn't want to answer that question. This was already bad enough to begin with and if I told them the truth it could potentially get worse. So with my feeling at an all time low, I replied.
"I'm withdrawing the request for support. You guys can unpack your stuff. You're not going anywhere."
"Excuse me?" Verta questioned as I again ordered her.
"You're not going. None of you are. Now unpack your gear and return to your duties. I'm sorry."
Verta had a million questions, but I gave her no chance to ask them. I ran out of the room as fast as I could and made my way back to my office where Yoga waited. Inside the room he asked me over a cup of coffee.
"What's wrong?"
For about thirty seconds I struggled to answer that. But in time I told him what was going on and it was no shocker when he began to go off about Ajex and the operation he had running. We had the same mindset. This wasn't right, but Ajex still had a point. We had to look at the bigger picture. No matter how hard it was.
mT Shadow.