Orders

Alex lay in the empty lot, where he watched fireworks with Bryce so long ago. He couldn't believe it had already been almost a month since then. Now he lay, staring at the evening clouds, thinking about his and Emera's short conversation. It plagued his mind ever since yesterday. Seeing her snap and break down like that hit him hard. He usually didn't have much empathy for those out to hurt him, if any. So why was he feeling such all of a sudden?

It just didn't make sense. He hated her. He hated her, and now he had to consider playing matchmaker. He saw the logic in it. It would give her a relationship to build while keeping her away from Bryce. But the more he thought about it, the more he questioned if he should be the one to do it. Such a thing would be a lot of work. He knew as much from Chris. There were more than a few late nights of him venting about it, completely piss-drunk.

"Hey." A feminine voice came from above. He glanced up to see Mongoose, standing just a couple of feet from him. He simply patted the spot next to him on the open shirt he lay on. She followed with a low 'thanks'.

"Finally decide to get some sun?" Alex quipped.

"Yeah... lot on your mind?" Mongoose plucked a blade of grass, bringing it up to the light.

"Yeah. Emera and I had a talk earlier today." His face turned downtrodden.

"What about?" She asked, her interest piqued.

"Me and Bryce, Viper, herself."

"Specifics?"

"She accused me of being Viper and leaving cards at her house."

"Did you? I mean, I know you're Viper obviously."

"Yeah. I did, Selena. But she obviously can't know that. But you know, what really got me was her explosion."

"What? What the hell did she say?"

"She accused me of writing those notes, saying she 'knows me by now'. So I said she didn't, nor did she know my situation with Bryce. Then she snapped and said she never found love, that people treated her like some forbidden object and that Bryce was the first person to ever show her basic courtesy. She asked me if I knew what it was like to want something so desperately that you'd kill for it." Alex gazed wistfully at the clouds again. His head swirled with that moment.

"Wow... I can't believe she just unloaded on you like that. What did you say back?" Mongoose, Sel, cocked a brow at him.

"I said I wasn't going to stop with Bryce. I love him, and I only want him. But I would try and help her find someone else like him." Alex explained.

" Alex Thompson, that's crazy."

"What's crazy is her making me give the ultimatum. You've seen what happens, right? With the comet?"

"Sort of. I got a hold of Reza's PDA once before. You can point it toward that thing and it'll tell you about it. It is going to cause a mass extinction. I just haven't seen it firsthand."

"I see... so we know the obvious."

"Yeah; save the dragons by any means necessary."

"And that means formulating a plan to do so. You got any ideas?"

"I think so. If Emera and Maverick remembered everything when they went through, maybe we can form a group to take him down." Mongoose speculated.

"That'd be great if I knew more than six people." Alex deadpanned.

"Seven."

'Whatever. How many do you think we'll even need?"

"These are dragons. Maybe the six is all."

"So that's Remy, Anna, Bryce, the postman, the waitress, and Maverick, assuming we both know the same people. You think we can gather them up?" Alex asked. Mongoose just shook her head.

"I'm more than confident you can do it." She placed a hand on his bicep. His eyes darted over, to which she gave a reassuring smile.

"Thanks. So what about you?"

"I'll be laying low, keeping the Administrator off your back."

"How have you been doing that anyway?"

"Doesn't matter. She's not trying to kill you." She said nonchalantly. Alex narrowed his eyes for a moment.

"Right... just don't do anything reckless. I don't know whether or not you'll stay dead if you die." He commanded, his worry shining through.

"Right? I'd best be off, though. You know I like to get an early start on things."

"That I do. See you later, Mongoose." Alex bid his farewell. But before he could get back to what he was doing, she turned back around.

"Say. While I'm out, which place did Reza attack again...?"

10:00PM

Viper sat in front of the orphanage waiting. Waiting for Reza to come. The night so far had been boring as all get-out. Only the waitress and a few others left the building for a shift change. They didn't know she worked there.

"Viper to... Viper. You still up?" They muttered. The other end was silent for several moments. Figuring Alex was asleep, they shrugged and kept looking. One more person left the place. That was when he revealed himself. Reza, in all his haggard glory, stepped out of a bush. He honestly looked no better than when they last saw him.

He snuck around the building before cursing silently. Something about the dragons and back entrances. They waited a few seconds after he entered before following. They always found close quarters fun and challenging. It was a nice change of pace from Onyx's open industrial district.

Closing the door, they hid behind a wall just in front of the hall Reza crept down. A dragon peeked out of the room adjacent to see what was going on. She could've swore she heard the front door shut. And yet, all that was there was an empty lobby.

"Hello?" She called out. Her deeper voice cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter. She was an earth dragon, stout in stature, gold in color. Her paws carefully padded into the lobby, giving Viper the perfect chance to slither by undetected. And just in time. Their cloaking ran out just as they hid in a small office.

They caught Reza sneaking further in when they peered out. Taking a pen, they lobbed it in his direction. It clattered to the floor, causing him to dive for another room. The caretaker whipped around just as their arm disappeared back inside.

"Who's there?!" She called nervously. Viper felt sorry for what they were about to do, but it was for the better. Maverick would kill someone if more people died than necessary. Just as she crept close, they fired a dart. The poor caretaker glanced over in horror before crumpling to the floor in a heap. They stepped into fresh darkness, created by the flick of a light switch. Reza's silhouette rounded a corner, and so they followed. He was not about to steal from an orphanage.

Reza rounded another corner into a room, where a dozen incubators sat with eggs. Each one gently hummed as it did its work. He started opening them and taking eggs. The case he had could only fit three, but it was more than enough. The sound of something scraping against the wall outside made him jump. He quickly closed the case back and drew his revolver. He saw that maniac in black. He wasn't about to let them get the jump.

Viper's visor flashed white. Reza's outline showed itself clear as day. He was waiting for them, gun drawn and ready to fire. They were forcing him to be sloppy. Good. The dirtier his work is, the more likely he is to mess up. They barely stuck their P90 out, only revealing the suppressor...

Reza caught something round slowly poking out from the door frame. He tucked himself in further. His aim focused on the thing. It wasn't actually round, but cylindrical, and relatively small. It looked like a .22 caliber suppressor the more it stuck out. That was confirmed when the stubby front of an FN P90 showed itself. He crept forward, ready for the upcoming grapple with this damn psycho...

Viper was about to round the corner when Reza lunged for their SMG. A few shots coughed out into some counters as he whirled around and punched them. His fist caught their throat, grazing their helmet. Despite the padding, it still stunned them enough that he could make a break for it. They crumpled to the floor holding their neck.

"God... damn. Should've expected that." They muttered as soon as they caught their breath. Slinging their P90 back over their shoulder, they casually strolled out of the place. At least, until a tiny pattering of footsteps caught their attention. They glanced over to some stairs where a small child attempted to hide. Her splotchy pink and white feet stood out against the dark wood.

"Hey... it's past your bedtime, you know." They said firmly. She only tried to hide more. "Go back to bed. It's dangerous right now." The child fearfully clambered back upstairs. Once she was hopefully in bed, they dialed the police...

Viper sat in a tree in front of Emera's house. They'd been waiting for Bryce to leave since ten, when they got there. It was midnight now, and he just started back home. They crept behind him and up to the trellis Alex used the first time. A hand made contact with the wood and dry ivy. They climbed up and through the open window quickly.

The darkened house held a different air tonight. The silence was tense, and paranoid. Viper took note of it as they stalked through Emera's house. Their boots noiselessly padded through the upstairs hallway. Cracking doors open, they went through one-by-one until they found the master bedroom. Emera's form lay there, her side rising and falling with each breath she took.

Viper gently closed the door back on their way in. They contemplated what to do once she's awake and alert. Alex specifically said not to kill her, but Viper's whole thing was killing people who do wrong. Emera did a lot of wrong to people Alex cared about, and this especially meant Bryce. What to do...

They climbed onto the bed, looming over her. Placing a hand over her throat, they squeezed tighter and tighter…

Emera was sleeping peacefully. Not dreaming, not caring either. Just sleeping. That was, until she began to feel a pressure on her neck. It grew tighter and tighter, clamping down like a boa constrictor. She couldn't breathe. She writhed and struggled to no avail. Her eyes snapped open. She leaped from the bed. A figure went with her, hitting a window. She made eye contact with those brightly glowing slits, and her eyes widened. She immediately knew.

"Please. Just tell me what you want. I'll give it to you. Just don't hurt me!" She pleaded to a dead stare. They only walked, slowly. A weapon found itself in their hand. She backpedaled, hitting the opposite wall. They stalked up to her, pulling her up by the horn on her nose.

"It's not me who wants anything." Aiming their P90, they fired a single shot just inches from Emera's eye. The sheer intensity from that bullet filled her with such fear that stopped her struggling instantly.

"Who- who are you working for? I'll pay triple if you leave me alone." She stammered, breathless. Her body dangled from her head like a useless sack of rocks.

"My client doesn't pay. I just get the satisfaction." Viper growled.

"Of... what?"

"Making sure people like you never cause harm again." They smiled under the helmet. How they wished Alex were here to see her face.

"P-please... don't..."

"Then you'd better pay attention and listen. I will only say this once, Minister. Stop bullying your employees, and stay away from the chief. I will be back otherwise." With that, Viper threw Emera to the side, letting her scuttle away. They picked up their bullet casing and headed for the door. One more round buried itself into her phone. "Fucking politicians." They muttered as they shut the door...