~Hired Guns~
Vector kept his grip on the passenger door of the semi truck as it barreled through the deserted town. He'd been hanging off the side for a few miles, looking to the moon-lit horizon for any police in pursuit but they were still very far behind. Behind the wheel was a focused bandana clad male, and a nervous female seedrian in the passenger seat. One more turn and the truck was fast approaching a sky bridge so the bruised crocodile readied himself.
"This is your stop!" The masked driver yelled out.
"Copy that, Ray. Make sure she gets to the rendezvous point in one piece!" Vector shouted back. "Once she's received, take the trailer another few miles then dump it!"
The flying squirrel flashed the "peace" sign, and the seedrian girl turned to him next. "I'm really sorry for all the trouble this has caused you!"
"There's no trouble, Galaxina. You just take care of yourself and the little one." Vector said in reference to the small bundle wrapped in her arms. "Go live good lives."
The seedrian squeezed his large hand and smiled. "Thank you."
He waved goodbye and kicked off the door just as the semi truck began climbing up the steep bridge. The crocodile cleared the railing, dove for the water and took his time to resurface. A helicopter shined a search light over the sky bridge but with dozens of other truckers racing by, the police couldn't identify Ray through all the traffic.
Vector was taken back to Music City, treated for minor injuries, and sat in an interrogation room. A few detectives grilled him about the seedrian's whereabouts but he gave them nothing. Ignacio, his superior officer at the agency he worked for, met him once he was released from custody.
"Please tell me you're pulling our legs here, that alien is worth MILLIONS! We need this contract!"
Vector shook his head. "I lost track of her at the bridge. That's what happened."
"God damnit, now's not the time to have a heart! The boys were counting on this payday!"
"And I'm telling you she slipped past me. That's all she wrote, boss."
The officer was fuming. "Well here's what's gonna happen next: I'm firing you and filing a motion to revoke your license for incompetence. You'll never work in this zone again. Get back to HQ and clear out your office immediately."
"You can fire me but I'm owed my overtime. And I'll fight this for as long as I have to, Iggy."
The superior pushed the front doors open. "Hope you set some money away 'cause you're gonna need every cent."
VECTOR: I'd been appealing to have my private investigator's license reinstated for two years now. Almost all of my appeals were rejected until I finally won, but my hearing with the Tribunal keeps getting pushed back. Wonder why.
In the meantime, I took work body guarding spoiled rich kids until I slapped some sense into one. Nowadays, I'm the guy you call to scare the alpha males off, or traumatize the local drug pushers and all that. I'm looking forward to opening my own agency once I'm reinstated because I can't do this dirty work for the rest of my life.
The crocodile went out of his way for the locals so he had support once the cash started to dwindle. He had a lot of friends here but not everyone was familiar with him.
The Golden Circle District was the destination to be for the young, the rich, the serious musicians and the cut throat producers in town. Espio impressed with his mastery of multiple instruments and musical versatility, gaining him session work for various artists and spots on the biggest shows filling in.
He was the most skilled hired gun that wasn't in a band, until Mina Mongoose' label persuaded him to join her full time. Now under the stage name "Ocelot", Espio made twice as much money touring with the newest pop sensation in town. But indulging in a variety of excesses with Music City's elite was never his cup of tea, so he'd often smile for the cameras and then leave right after.
Mina joined him in the elevator on his way out. "Hit the 10th floor for me, would ya. I'm leavin' this party after I give management hell."
"You got it." Espio replied. He then blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "..for the record, I don't touch blow, so-"
"Ya know, I kinda figured that since you leave every one of Desmond's parties first. What exactly do you do on your own time?"
"My neighbourhoods' been quiet since the local joint got burned down, but I found a few spots. Very low key."
"Hm... we haven't really talked, have we? I feel like it's just been 'studio, press, tour, party' all summer."
Espio pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket before speaking. "Got to know your security guards, though. Nice guys."
"Ugh, tell me about it. I'm still getting used to the whole 'celebrity' thing, so I'm sorry if it seemed like I didn't wanna talk to you."
He lit the smoke and offered one. "It did come across that way but it's cool, I'm gettin' paid good money to keep my mouth shut and play."
The singer chuckled and lowered her head. Management had her 'dolled up' everyday for sponsors, while Espio could hardly be bothered to wear a button up, vest and tie. He lit her cigarette but caught himself staring into Mina's blue eyes so he put the case away and faced the mirrored glass.
"You're the only one 'round here who doesn't pander to me, and you're the best musician by far. But you act like you don't belong. Is something wrong?"
He adjusted his tie quickly and looked at her. "I'm just quiet.. put a bottle of Jack on my guitar case and you wouldn't recognize me, heh."
"I wouldn't mind a night out to one your low key spots, away from this circus."
Espio smiled back and the bell sounded as they reached the 10th floor. The doors opened and Mina was met by two massive body guards, but not her's.
"Desmond? Who is this?" She asked.
"Just some uh, associates! I really can't talk right now-"
The music producer was visibly scared to move while the group of heavies turned to the hallway where Mina stood. One look at their waistbands told her this was an extortion, and her heart began to race.
"I'm calling the cops!"
"No, Mina, it's alright! They're just here for business!" Desmond yelped.
"Nah, she wants to sit in so let her in," the leader said. "No point in keepin' secrets, now."
A burly henchman took her arm. "Come on, popstar."
"No!" She shouted while burning his hand with the cigarette. He smirked and yanked her out of the elevator.
Mina turned to Espio but he was already gone, then she was pulled into the office. It was no coincidence that her security detail was missing at this time. As she was guided to the table, an invisible force caught her eye in the corner of the room. One by one, the henchmen's blasters were discretely taken without anyone but Mina noticing.
"So, here's how it goes-"
Espio fired warning blasts as he reappeared at the head of the table. "You bozos were just laying your fat asses on the floor!"
The leader saw the blasters were now tucked in his pockets. "What the? The new guy?!"
"That's right, Porky, new guy's got skills! On the floor!"
The henchmen stood their ground. "You ain't gonna shoot shit, grab the girl!"
The first thug's shoulder was burned with plasma energy, forcing the rest to run for cover. Espio slid across the table, grabbed Mina's hand and ran for the stairwell.
"How did you do that?!" She asked.
"There's a lotta things I can do!"
Desmond closed the hidden bookcase door before the leader could grab him, then an alarm blared out. Espio heard the leader shout, "Trap them on the stairs!" as they raced down, then looked over the railing. More thugs in the lobby were making their way up so they had to find another route.
"Here!" He said while passing a blaster to the singer. "In case we get split up!"
"What do you mean?"
"We gotta jump to the next rooftop!"
"Are you crazy?! We can't make that jump!" She protested.
Espio looked into her eyes. "Trust me, I hate it too but the other option is death so come on!"
She heard the heavies racing up the stairs so she agreed and Espio shot the glass out. They stepped onto the ledge, he fired warning blasts while Mina jumped first. She cleared the fifteen foot gap and rolled upon landing, then Espio did the same.
"See, not so bad! You got this!"
A second after he said this, the roof collapsed around Espio and he fell inside. Mina screamed out while back pedaling to avoid the drop. She heard the leader directing his men toward them so she had to run.
"I gotta go!"
She disappeared into the neon lit streets, while Espio was sound asleep. He woke up in the hospital hours later surrounded by police, Mina's body guards and news reporters trying to cover the story. The chameleon was hung over and the shouting only worsened his headache so he checked himself out, shoved everyone out of the way and took a taxi home. By now, the incident was being reported on by every outlet in Music City and Espio was the butt of their jokes.
("Outside" by Staind played through a speaker)
...are shocked to report up-and-coming pop musician Mina Mongoose is missing after chaos erupted at the Platinum Sphere record office early in the evening hours. Police are investigating whether foul play behind the scenes was involved in her disappearance...
"What the hell happened last night?" He asked while looking over his bandaged hands.
"Quite the party you guys had up there, Mr. Ocelot." The cabbie responded.
"..I feel like SHIT! I can't believe I lost her, man! She could be in trouble and I can't stop it!"
"Don't beat yourself up over it, there's only so much you coulda done."
"Yeah, and now everyone's laughing at me!..."
"You did more than any of those loudmouths could ever hope to do. Keep your head up. They'll find her."
Espio said nothing for the rest of the ride and thought this over. He made sure to give a generous tip and made his way to his penthouse, skipping the coolers and going straight for the expensive bottle of Bourbon in his fridge. His blood boiled while flipping through TV channels so he shut it off and turned on his sound system.
"Mr. Ocelot? It's Saffron!" A girl's voice said while knocking on his door.
"Hey kiddo, sorry I missed you guys last night but some sh - crap went down, I'm really not in the mood, I'll uh, come by tomorrow!"
Espio was helping the female bee's mother with rent and supplies while she healed in the hospital.
"A private investigator wants to talk to you so I let him in!" She said.
"You what? I'm not talking to any more influencers!"
"He's not with anybody, he's from here!"
"Mr. Ocelot? My name's Vector, I've been hired to find Mina Mongoose. I won't bother you for too long, I just need a couple minutes."
"Ah, christ.. alright!"
The buzzed chameleon unlocked his front door and let them into his penthouse. Saffron stayed by the door while the large crocodile followed Espio to his minibar in the back.
"You can afford this place playing in a band?" Vector asked.
"Cut the shit. I don't know where she is, I helped her escape the building and then... I told her to keep moving. That's it!"
"I saw the security footage, you disarmed those guys pretty easily, like you've done it before-"
"My daddy sent me to boot camp as a kid, okay? Playing music paid more than playing mall cop. And by the way, that jacket is HUGE! Where the hell do you even get one of those?"
The crocodile chuckled while looking over his aqua blue leather jacket. "Custom shop."
"I'd get my money back 'cause that things' butt-ugly!"
Vector knew Espio was acting out because of the bourbon but he noticed the chameleon kept checking his laptop screen. "You expecting someone?"
"That was my question for you, cop. Someone's been circling the block for a few minutes now."
Vector looked at the screen and Espio recognized the driver. "That's him! Porky! I know that round face!"
"Slow down, who is that?"
"One of the guys from last night! Move!"
The chameleon grabbed a weapon but Vector stopped him from leaving. "You're not gonna do anything with a pellet gun-"
"Your buddies in blue took the blasters I had so this'll have to do! Get outta my way!"
Espio ducked under the massive arms but was shocked when Vector swiftly dismantled his gun and pellets bounced off the floor.
"You're picking all those up, dickhead!"
"You're drunk, don't escalate this."
Espio ignored and struck first, Saffron yelled for them to stop fighting but neither backed down. A liver punch stunned the chameleon and a hard wristlock flipped him to the floor.
"Stop!" The bee cried out.
"You're going to get hurt out there, Ocelot. Stay home and drink. I'll find the girl."
Espio could only let out a frustrated growl and Vector released his wrist. Saffron glared at him on the way out, then she ran over to help her friend up.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Ocelot, I thought he was cool! I didn't know he was gonna do that!"
He only nodded his head while clutching his right hand. "You know what, Saffron, I need to be alone so just uh, take some money to your mother and leave me to it, okay? That's the plan alright, see ya later!"
"Espio-"
"I said Good Day!"
He handed over a thick stack of bills and grabbed his bottle of bourbon, so the teenager left the penthouse and closed the door.
Outside, Vector popped the hood of his blue car and pretended to work so that he could snap a photo of the suspect across the street.
"Ocelot was right, he is a Porky Pig-looking fella. Won't be hard to point him out in a crowd."
He slammed the hood down and started the car, determined to find more clues across the city. Finding Mina was the priority, but exposing the brains of this operation would help his case and get his license back.