Spectre opened his eyes from his gentle slumber, returning to his reality, one that has grown mundane and stale, even with all its unique meanders. He mumbled and groaned as his eyes opened more and more, absorbing more light from the unforgiving sun. He looked around blankly, seeing his room in a mess. Although, the walls were still neatly stuck against the wall. The shelves that were strung up on them were heavily disorganised and knocked over. A couple of the shelves were even missing screws but were barely hanging on. The floor had many things knocked onto it, some dust, some books, even his phone laid in the centre of the room. His desk had papers and pens randomly scattered around his open laptop and desk lamp, which was on, hurting his eyes even more. He stood up and his foot stomped on something that crinkled. He turned his attention to his feet and noticed a couple empty packets of crisps and an empty bottle of what he could only guess was whisky. "Right, I drank that." He grumbled, not feeling anything from it.
He headed towards the mirror and looked at himself with dread. He then licked his paw and tried to fix his fur and then went to his metallic bathroom to brush his fur.
He stopped in front of the pale door and grabbed the cold handle. He sighed in early morning exhaustion, pushing the door open. He grabbed the brush and considered starting to work on his tail. The room was surprisingly clean, considering the previous room. He grabbed his tail with his other paw then smelled himself. "I forgot to wash yesterday, fuck." He then rolled his eyes and pulled back the shower curtain, revealing a clean shower that was about to be used by the fox. He twisted the small metal valve and cold water sprayed from the shower head, dowsing the fox in extreme cold. He didn't care any more, he was used to it. He ensured the water covered his entire body, then grabbed some of his shampoo, removing any unwanted remains of what was his last night off of his body, making him much more presentable. After a good ten minute scrub, he applied some conditioner to his fur and ensured to rub that in.
After another ten minutes, he got out and started to dry himself with his towel as he wanted to keep some moisture on his fur. He then brushed a vast majority of his fur and made sure that it was clean, neat and tidy. Finally, he put on some deodorant. Looking at himself in the mirror, he sighed, knowing what he had to do next. "Damn, I look like an acceptable member of society." He then smiled to himself. He then left the bathroom, thinking to himself that he had to clean up the bedroom when he gets back. He groaned at that thought and mentally slapped himself. He then started to play some songs to get him woken up and ready to do his job. He listened to the music, humming along, and moved over to his wardrobe He opened it up and looked at the wide selection of his 'uniforms'. He picked up a certain suit set and slowly put it on, also putting on the bunch of throwing knives and the tie.
In the suit now, he stretched, making sure that it was put on nicely. It was a snug fit and still let him move freely as if he was in nothing. He placed the blazer on the edge of the bed and slung his weapon holsters over his shoulders. He pulled it tightly, making sure it was not going to fall off no matter what was happening. He smiled as he felt a sense of comfort when having all this on.
Spectre picked up his blazer and put it on, pulling the sleeves down and making it straightened out. His body was definitely now appearing as a professional and had high visual standards. He then cracked his neck and headed towards the door to his living room.
While heading to his living room, he threw a knife, having it bounce off of the floor and impale itself in the wall with high accuracy, hitting right underneath a fly that was on the wall. He then smiled and winked at the fly.
He then opened the door and walked through, making sure he was well-looking.
Now that he was in the living room, he decided to head to his kitchen to have some breakfast, and as much as he wanted something filling and plentiful, laziness got the better of him and he just ate some cereal. He stared blankly at the bowl and thought carefully whether he should pour the milk or cereal first. He quickly scanned the area then nodded when looking at the microwave. "Milk first it is." He grabbed a carton of milk then the bowl and started to slowly pour it in. "I wonder how many mammals would be annoyed if they saw this." He commented to himself. He then threw the bowl into the microwave and twisted one of the dials to 50 seconds. He hummed to himself the song that was playing in the background.
Eventually, the microwaved went ding and stopped. Spectre pulled out the bowl and smiled, pouring the cereal in now. Finally, he stabbed the meal with a spoon and started to slowly enjoy the crunch of every bite that he took. Slowly, his bowl got emptier and emptier as he was more satisfied by the small meal he has consumed with every passing bite.
After the final spoonful, he returned the bowl into the sink and grabbed his two guns: foxtrot and encore. With both pistols holstered, he hid all his weapons and straightened his suit to have a professional look. Now he looked in a mirror and smiled, liking what he saw there.
He headed towards the front door and grabbed his M14 EBR with an ACOG and a silencer. "Well, lets get this show on the road." He comments to himself before leaving. He opened the door slightly and checked to make sure no-one was there, before heading to the roof and surveying his area. This was so that he could plan out a route to his target mentally to avoid being spotted, avoiding unwanted attention from passers-by.
After a couple seconds and a smile, he slid down a drainpipe and darted towards a different building to head through the sketchy alleyways, bobbing and weaving past bins and trash that laid loosely around. It wasn't a surprise, barely anyone cleaned this area and mammals that had to go here spent as little time as possible.
As he was reaching the end of the alleyway, he climbed up the fire exit. The fire exit was rusty, squeaky and definitely infected with countless diseases. It was supposed to be black but was more brown mixed with red and white. It definitely got worse as time went on; time was no friend. It never was to anyone. Nick reached the top, not looking at any of the windows, knowing it would slow him down. As he reached the top of the stairs, he jumped up and pulled himself up to the top. From here, he knew it was a straight shot to his target destination.
He walked over there, knowing that he still had time to move to where he had to set up. It was best not to be too early as it would increase chances of being spotted. He walked on but then heard a plea from beneath him. Crying, begging for help. Spectre looks down at where the noise is coming from and sees an antelope being mugged. 'Come on, you have to help that mammal.'
"No, I don't." Spectre responds, knowing that he is essentially speaking to a voice in his head. "You can't tell me what to do." He now laid down and watched what was happening. Then he laughed a little. "But you know what, I wanna kill 'em. Is it okay if I do it brutally?"
'Not really, but it's better than nothing, Spectre.' The voice replied.
"Thanks Nick, you're a real one."
'No, I'm THE real one, you don't really exist.' Spectre raised his eyebrow. 'You know what I mean.'
Spectre jumped down and grabbed a pipe, sliding most of the way down before he jumped off the wall and landed with a roll. "So, who wants to get this started?" He asked coyly with a wink. His arms were spread out wide, leaving his entire body open to an attack. He quickly scanned the mammals in front of him and they were all confused about what was happening. "Hey, just do something." He commented to the trio that were standing frozen still.
Spectre shook his head and slowly stepped towards the three muggers, of which two were larger than the fox. "You never saw a fox before?" He smiled gently and turned to the antelope. "You'll remember this for a while." Spectre then scratched his back then grabbed a single knife, throwing it into the middle of the central mammal's foot. "Took too long."
The two mammals that were on the side, one a rhino and the other a coyote, both started to approach the fox. "You fucking lost ya mind pelt?!" The rhino asked.
Spectre smiled innocently. "Maybe a while back but who knows, maybe I'll find it again." He shrugged calmly as the coyote redirected his knife and lunged at the fox. Spectre pushed himself back and grabbed the coyote's wrist. "A tad bit slow, wouldn't you agree?" He asked with a whisper, forcing his face closer to his adversary. He then pulled the arm closer to him and kneed the coyote in the stomach. As the coyote flinched, Spectre brought the arm up and sent an uppercut through the joint, creating a strong crunch sound. The coyote's eyes popped open as he held his scream in. "Let it all out, you won't have long to do so." He then let go and kicked the coyote away, waiting for the rhino to attack. The coyote fell back and dropped onto the knife that was thrown, annoying the last mammal that was a badger. "Oops." Spectre added, seeing what has occurred.
The rhino threw a left hook, which missed as Spectre rolled backwards. Spectre then landed on all fours and threw himself towards the rhino, climbing up the arm slightly and plunging his claws into the rhino's back, causing the rhino to release a large cry of pain. He then pulled the claws down while holding on to the back of the rhino's head.
The badger pulled the knife out of his foot and used it to try and attack the fox that was uninvited. Spectre turned around and faced the badger. "Wanna test your luck?" The badger tried to slash at the vulpine but his paw was grabbed, lifted then he started to panic. "Oooh, better luck next time." Spectre just shook his head in disappointment. "But, you still earned a prize, let me show it to you." He unsheathed his claw and grabbed the badger's muzzle, stabbing the sharp claws into the skull. He then turned around, rapidly blocking the unexpected punch that came from the rhino, causing further damage to the badger. The badger's back was now completely ruined and his muzzle was in a much worse state than his back. "Seems you can't stand up for yourself." Spectre quickly responded while letting go of the badger.
"Next, you." He pointed to the rhino, who was now stunned by the fact that the badger was now killed. His body was mangled and limp to the point that his innards weren't so in anymore. While the rhino was still stunned but the coyote got back up and charged at the extreme threat. Spectre rolled his eyes and stepped backwards, dodging the attack completely and tripping the coyote up. "I'll deal with you later." Spectre gently whispered to the coyote. He returned his focus to the rhino, who started to realign his priorities to the fight.
Spectre charged at the rhino and revealed his claws. He evaded the oncoming hook by sliding, reaching the rhino's leg, which he slashed in the process. The fox then stood up and rolled, creating a bit of distance between him and the muggers. Spectre turned around. "You don't seem to have a leg to stand on." He cackled, pointing at the rhino. "Let's end this." He then adds, being bored by the fight that was happening. He sprints at the rhino then jumps onto the wall to be able to gain more height to reach the rhino's head easily. From there, he used his claws to constantly cut, hack and stab into the rhino's flesh, ripping his neck apart. The rhino started to suffocate as blood poured into his throat. "Yeah, I wouldn't hold my breath either." He spoke with a sadistic joy in his voice. He then planted both feet on the rhino's back and jumped off, getting behind the coyote.
He grabs the coyote by the shoulder, stabbing his thumb in. "I really do need to apologise, this fight was quite..." He paused for a second as his unused fist entered the coyote's stomach. The coyote flinched then just gave up. He looked down and saw the arm nestled inside the coyote's belly. Then all he heard was "Disheartening." The coyote shook his head, pleading for mercy. Spectre's arm seemed to tense up as it gripped something then it jolted out of the body. The body went limp and dropped to the ground as Spectre dropped the coyote's heart beside him. "He didn't have the heart to continue fighting, what a shame."
He then finally turned to the antelope, who was cowering in a corner, shaking manically. He reached for something in his pocket and pulled out a small roll of cash. He gently chucked "You didn't see me." Spectre softly yet menacingly said, pointing Encore at the victim. The antelope nodded in a rushed panic. "Glad we agree." He turned away, hid his paws and walked, leaving the alleyway. The antelope then quickly but quietly crawled to the money and kept it in his pocket. When he was in the clear, he climbed back up to the top, now needing to run to his destination. He sprinted, ignoring all outside stimuli.
He jumped over small gaps between the roofs, making sure his footing is constantly stable. He avoided any loose parts of his current ground. After a couple minutes, he reached a rooftop that he had to, to get his contract fulfilled.
He dropped his blazer to the ground and laid it out flat, giving Spectre a clear and stable point to lay down and place his firearm. He released the bipod that was neatly folded up and planted it on the neck of the blazer. He then adjusted the ACOG to have clear focus on the distance that he was firing at.
He watched the window that his firearm was pointed at. Many individuals passed that window but none were who he was aiming for. He steadied his breath, knowing that he had to make sure that he was ready to fire at a moments notice. He watched carefully and attentively, knowing exactly who was where.
After a single minute, one unarmed and unarmoured mammal. That was the moment Spectre smiled. He pointed the gun at that mammal's knee and pulled the trigger, dropping that mammal to the ground. He then quickly turned the gun to hit the shoulder, disabling the arm from usage. The mammal cried and hissed.
Other mammals ran over to see what was happening, however their armour was not able to stop the bullet piercing their skull. Each dropped like flies, collapsing to the ground and spilling a little blood and brains onto the neat orange carpet and white walls.
Finally, Spectre aligned his sights to hover over his targets head. He then lifted his head a bit and waved as he saw that his target saw him now. The target panicked a bit more as they couldn't run away anymore and were stuck in this limp position with a gun being pointed at them. Spectre finished the job, killing that mammal with a bullet to the head. "I guess I blew his mind." He commented jokingly with a slight chuckle, opening his other eye and standing back up.
He grabbed the sides of the blazer and funnelled all his casings into one neat line and scooped them all up into his pocket. From there he re-equipped his blazer and started to head home, knowing that the police wouldn't know about that death until a bit later. He had time. Spectre turned away and started heading towards his home.
After about 20 minutes, he returned to his home and was removing all his gear, hiding back where it was originally. During his small chore to ensure he was safe generally, he noticed a small black box. He remembered what the black box was for a couple seconds, looked at it for a couple more seconds and put it in his pocket. He only had Foxtrot on his hip and his full suit, fortunately cleaned the second he came home.
Nick headed towards a local hospital, one that he knew was hidden away from the general public. He walked around the neighbourhood, seemingly walking around randomly. Realistically, he wanted to ensure that he wasn't followed by anyone before he went in. He headed to a random apartment block and knocked in a particular pattern. Then a cougar opened the door and looked at the fox with curiosity. "Here to see a friend, Jack Savage."
"No idea what you are talking about, no-one like that lives here."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Can I enter to continue this discussion?"
"You do not live here, so I would have to decline that."
"The reception is a public space, but it would be private enough to let me continue my discussion, so I ask again, can I enter to continue this discussion?" The cougar groaned and opened the door a bit wider and let the fox in, before closing the door behind the fox, nearly clipping his tail. "I am fully aware that this is a function discreet hospital for ZIA agents when they are injured. It functions just as well if not better than actual public hospitals, furthermore Jack Savage has been administered after a concussion and carbon poisoning last week. Do I need to say anything more."
The cougar walked back behind her desk. "What is the reason for your visit?"
"To observe his condition and provide a little gift for him." He spoke without hesitation. "I care for whether he would make it out or not."
The cougar moved a clipboard across the desk and turned it towards the fox. "Sign your name here."
Nick looked at it for a couple seconds and noticed that it was only signed by one other mammal: 'Skye Frost'. 'Must be Jack's specific attendance allowance.' He thought to himself. He then pulled out a pen from his blazer pocket and signed himself in under the name 'Dominic Sharpe'. The cougar taken the board back and looked at it for a couple seconds. "Head that way and take the second left, keep going until you see 'Apartment 072'. You will find your friend there."
Nick smiled radiantly, infecting the cougar slightly. "Thank you." He walked over to his destination. As he was walking, he reapplied his fur dye to ensure that if Jack woke up, he wouldn't be recognised. He walked through the wooden corridors with a very homely and comforting feel. "Apartment block my ass." Nick mumbled. After a couple minutes of walking, he saw the door he was told to enter. He gently opened it and instantly had a completely different feel about the place.
Chemicals and sterilisation stung his nostrils in an instant, so much that he started to lightly cough. As he opened the door a little wider, he saw an otter tending to a machine that was strapped to an unconscious jackrabbit. The two locked eyes and the otter started to leave. Nick moved out of the way to let the otter through.
Now that the room was empty and the door shut, he checked to see if there were any cameras and to his surprise there weren't. But that made sense, you wouldn't want the system to be breached and have all this surveillance and information about secret agents. Armed with this newfound knowledge, he pulled out his pistol and aimed it square between the sleeping rabbit's eyes. He squeezed the grip harder and harder to the point his entire arm shook. After a slight discomfort in his arm, he dropped his aim and reholstered his firearm. "Fuck! Why the fuck can't I kill you? This should be easy, I rid myself of the one mammal that could even get close to stopping me. Yet here we fucking are." As he spoke he shook his head. He sat down in a chair, disappointed with his actions.
After a couple minutes of breathing, he finally regained his composure and looked at the patient with a stone cold expression. He waited a couple minutes to let his mind and body calm down. He stood back up and reached into his pocket and brought out the small black box and placed it on one of the window sills. Just then as he was doing that, Jack started to stir and slowly opened his eyes. Nick heard this and waited for something from the rabbit that was now behind him.
Jack didn't see colour in this very moment and could only see shadows and outlines. "Skye?" He asked weakly as his mind instantly jumped to that conclusion as it was the only logical conclusion to have in this situation.
Nick smiled and responded. "Took you long enough to wake up. I was getting bored." He then turned around, the black box still in his paw. "Didn't wanna disturb ya." He snarkily remarked. "I'd ask how you are but you just woke up and feel like shit given all the drugs and pain you have coursing through your veins."
"Spectre." Jack growled. "Why are you here? Wanna kill me while I'm weak, come on then."
"Kill you? If I wanted to do that, you wouldn't have woken up, now would ya." Nick commented, inadvertently answering the question Jack asked.
"You... care?" Jack asked, not believing his own words that came out of him mouth. "You wanted to visit me? Why?"
"Can you move your arms?" Jack nodded then lifted his arm. "Catch." Nick threw the small box towards the rabbit.
"What is it?"
"It is yours, I just held onto it for the time being."
Jack opened up the box and looked inside. As he saw what was inside, there was a wave of emotions, depression, rage, confusion, but also comfort in a weird way. He pulled out the contents of the box and examined the ring. "You had my brother's ring all this time."
"It looked nice then I forgot I had it until I was cleaning."
Tears formed around the rabbit's eyes. "Thank you."
A little earlier – reception area
The cougar smiled as Skye walked in. "Wanna see Jack again?"
"Yeah, I'd like to."
"Be aware, someone else came to visit him today, a Dominic Sharpe."
"Thanks for telling me. I'll be careful?" She wasn't sure what the right word was, hence continuing with a question. She signed herself in. "I'll be heading over there now." As she said that, she started walking over, with a little faster stride than usual. There was only concern running through her mind, and she feared what could happen now. She gripped the handle of her gun and the door, pulling both simultaneously.
Now inside, she saw her beloved and a different familiar face in the back of the room. "Skye, so nice of you to join us, was wondering when you would show up today. In the course of a week, 10 different visits. Impressive and concerning." As she was about to point her gun, Nick tried to assure her that it wasn't necessary. "Hey, if you wanna play that game, I can play, but there is no reason to play this here, considering he is not exactly in the best condition, but you are in a hospital so you would probably be okay."
"Why are you here? Get out."
"I was about to, give you two a moment. After all, you probably need it." He spoke directly to Skye.
Nick headed towards the door but was stopped just outside the room by Skye. "I'm in no joking mood, try anything and we will have a parley."
"Can't wait." Said the fox that was pinned against the wall. "But I have my own things to do, and so do you, before you are called again for something I did."
"Just give us a break."
"Too late." Spectre responded with a chuckle. Skye in retaliation, punched the wall, creating a small dent and her knuckles to bleed. "His face was priceless as I put a bullet between his scared eyes."
"Run, for I will kill you. That was the last straw."
"But you don't kill."
"Every rule has it's exception."
"Shame I'm not the only exception." Skye let go as she heard that. "Besides, once you cross that line, what keeps you from staying on that side?" He smiled, while putting his paws in his pockets. "Actions have consequences. I learned that the hard way." He then walked away. "Some food for thought." He finally declared from the end of the corridor. Then he disappeared.
Skye returned to the room and hugged the rabbit. "I'm just happy your alive and awake." Jack reciprocated the hug, wearing his brothers ring.
"I'm happy your alive." Jack responded.
So finally after multiple weeks and a couple corrupted files, I finally finished this and am going to post it. Sorry it took so long but honestly, I have no time anymore, from work to extra curricular programmes to just simple rest.
Well, at least I finally finished this one. It was meant to be something else but corrupted file, again so this is what is left.
With that being said, I hope you all had a good day, sorry for the wait; thank you for your patience and finally wish you all a good one. See ya guys.