Business

Production Facility - Day 7, 2:34AM

Viper stalked the halls of Anna's workplace. Just a minute ago, she and her assistant had one hell of an argument, leading to her storming out for a coffee. They quickly tranqed Damion and hid him behind a counter. Now they stalked Anna, making sure she wouldn't get jumped by Reza.

The lights came on automatically at her entry. They crept in. They got up close and pressed the barrel of their Ruger into Anna's back. Their hand clamped her mouth shut. Her form was pulled into theirs, with her struggling before getting struck.

"Evening, miss." Anna's own voice rasped in her ear. "Don't struggle. He'll hear you." Anna writhed to get her muzzle free.

"If you mean yourself-" She snarled before her windpipe was wrapped with the crook of their elbow. She struggled again to no avail. Whoever this was, they weren't going to just let her walk away.

"No. I need to borrow you." They clamped hard onto her throat. She writhed and kicked and clawed for all of ten seconds before falling limp. She wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. Laying Anna in a natural pose, Viper stalked off to find Reza. Their visor flashed white, their vision being flooded with gray. They were glad Mongoose managed to finish that little project she was working on. They looked at their own hand, a pulse turning it bright white. Sonar. That made things stupidly easy.

Viper scanned the halls with this new gadget. No signs of life were present. No employees, no intruders, nothing. They kept to the walls as though it would hide them. What a tactic. The place was mostly lit by moonlight, and they couldn't just shoot out the moon.

A white figure suddenly appeared to their right. The person was cloaked, crouched, and moving toward them. Viper deactivated their sonar and hid in a doorway. One second passed. Two... three... four... five...

The Administrator passed by on her way to Anna's location. They had the perfect moment to strike. Drawing their pistol, they aimed for the back of her head...

One single click, and she went down like a sack of potatoes. This was it, they had her right where they wanted. They just had to make off with the body so nobody got suspicious. When she woke up, things would not be pleasant.

Reza crept down the halls of the production facility. He was on his way to steal more generators when he noticed something. A dragon, the one in charge of their trade, lay still on the floor. He inspected her from afar. She appeared to be unconscious. From what cause, he knew not. He kept his distance in fear of this being another trap. Those two lunatics could be anywhere, and one of them was obviously trying to kill him.

Reza checked around the dragon's body for any sign. Nothing registered. Good. He crept closer, to just a few feet. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. She was in a deep sleep. He began to ponder what knocked her out like that...

Something rammed him into the ground. His head hit the linoleum, stinging pain and ringing in his ears hitting immediately. A pistol barrel was forced against his temple.

"Hello Reza." His own voice growled. He glanced up at his attacker. A pitch black figure stood hunched over him, their weapon of choice being a suppressed pistol. He could barely see the butt of some rifle slung over their back.

"And you are?" He asked through the barrel.

"An omen." They whispered.

"Well, 'omen'. It was nice meeting you, but I have things to do!" Reza grunted as he took Viper's boot. In one swift twist, he tripped them up and started running. They fell to the ground as he bolted down the hall he came from.

Viper let out a gravelly chuckle. "Oh, Reza. You'll learn eventually." They reactivated their sonar and let the pulse run. "You will learn..."

Reza sprinted through the maze of hallways. Whoever that was should've been long gone with the speed he was going. He rounded a corner, only to see them in the shadows. Their bright visor stuck out like a sore thumb. He turned tail and made a beeline for the nearest lab. Perhaps he could escape out a window without that freak following him.

Whatever lab he ended up in was thankfully empty, with all the experiments having been put up. He crawled toward the window and looked for any way to open it. Glancing out, he only saw some trees below. In their swaying branches was the figure. They waved at him. They wanted him to come outside. He wouldn't. He hightailed it back to where he was originally running. Something hot and bright zipped right past his head. He turned to find the figure holding their smoking pistol. Reza fired a round back. They didn't flinch, even when he hit them square in the head. Then the fire alarm went off, and he used the chance to escape...

Anna rose from her unwanted slumber to a loud crack coming from the end of a hall. She scrambled for the fire alarm, thinking something exploded. Water rained down from the ceiling as deafening sirens blared. She peeked around to see that person again. They ran after something with some kind of weapon. She used the opportunity to get back in her lab and get her research before the flames could get to it. That was when she found him.

Laying on the floor was Damion, unconscious with a small dart protruding from his throat. That person who got her must've been responsible. As little as she liked him, letting him die would bring unwanted attention. 'Research first,' she thought...

The fire brigade was there quicker than Viper anticipated. They'd only gotten to the roof when the sirens started echoing. At least Anna and Damion made it out safely. Good. It was a shame that the latter wouldn't remember any of this...

Upscale Suburb - 11:40PM

Viper glanced up at Emera's home, looking for a way in. After taking care of business with Bryce and that wyvern, they made their way over. They'd only been there once before when the minister tried to coax him in. Funny how things turned out. They thought they'd have to intimidate her into stopping with Bryce. Instead, they were about to do the same for Remy.

They climbed up to a second story window and glanced in. It was just a small guest bathroom. Nothing of note. They pushed the thought aside as they pried the window open with their knife. It seemed like she forgot to lock that one. Good for her. That saved them the trouble of having to shoot one out.

They climbed in and cleared the hall. For a townhouse, this was rather luxurious. They had to give her credit, some of the stuff she had made them jealous. The upstairs had three bedrooms, and two baths. The largest bedroom held a slumbering Emera, laying on her back with her legs spread out. Every bit of her was visibly exposed.

They glanced to her side table and noticed something. A single book lay with it's bookmark haphazardly thrown between its pages. It was some trashy romance novel, maybe the one that made her feel so lonely as to harass Bryce. They carefully took it and slipped it in the pouch on their left thigh. She didn't need to be reading that, she needed to be socializing with others. In particular, others of her own age group.

The predator found a pen in another room and scribbled something on the bookmark. They'd be subtle for now, leaving 'little' hints of their presence. Notes she didn't make were another step. They tore a back page from the book and wrote a note. Her having fridge magnets was expected. If not, they'd set it by her coffee maker.

With their little hints left, they exited through the same window they came. They almost relished the thought of her finding those tomorrow. The fear in her eyes knowing she wasn't safe. They'd just have to see...