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All In	By : Ringshadow Category: +S through Z > Star Fox 64 Views: 2826 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Fox 64, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-All In
- 1
All In

            Wolf spent the trip to Sapphire Lighthouse in frustrated, sulky silence. Felix had closed the door and told him to get his ass to the back of the bus because he wasn’t letting Wolf anywhere near the controls. After that, any attempt he’d made at conversation had been roughly rebuffed. It was clear that Felix was not any happier than he was with this situation. Eventually, he got himself into lotus position while still buckled in, hands on his knees and trying to calm himself down.
            Soon enough they were in a holding pattern around the station, waiting for dock clearance, and Felix glanced at him. “I’d ask if you would have let Powalski kill me, but I don’t think I’d like that answer.”
            Wolf shrugged. “I don’t ‘let’ him do anything. If he feels the need to act... I’m not going to be in his way. As long as he follows my commands when vital, I don’t question him.”
            “So, you would have.”
            “You had a gun on me asshole. Frankly I’m more flattered that he felt the need to defend me than anything else.”
            Felix snorted in a way that seemed to indicate that he wasn’t entirely surprised, and didn’t say anything else until the shuttle was docked, merely standing and making his way down the ramp. “Come on, let’s get this over with. Least you seem a bit less petulant, now.”
            “Yeah like that attitude’s going to help my mood. You do know Fox is probably not that long behind me, right?”
            Felix looked over his shoulder, and the seriousness of his stare actually caught Wolf off guard. “James and I are counting on it.”
            “What? What the fuck is going on?”
            “You’ll find out soon enough.”
            Wolf bared his teeth at Felix’s back, and by the time they reached James’ apartment he’d worked himself back into one hell of a pissy mood, frustrated with being drug here, frustrated with being out of the loop, and by the time the door opened he gave up even thinking clearly. He stepped into the room, greeted James in a bland voice then lunged. The older man was caught so off guard he wasn’t able to stop his feet from being taken out from under him, yelping then protesting in pain when he found himself pinned on his stomach, arms held behind himself in a very uncomfortable pose, one of Wolf’s knees driven into the small of his back.
            “What the fuck?” James wanted to know, trying to look at Wolf over his shoulder and finding himself unable to break the pin, even on his arms. He couldn’t believe he’d gotten that much weaker, so he could only guess the larger man had never actually used his full strength when with him.
            “Take a fucking walk, Felix.” Wolf said, shooting the other man in the room a scowl. Felix had his hands on his weapons but hadn’t drawn them yet, face contorted with anger but not opening fire yet.
            “Let me up oh you asshole OW!” James protested, struggling again and getting his arms cranked on more in the process, shoulder joints straining briefly then giving up and relaxing on the floor. “I don’t believe this.”
            “That is my husband you are pinning. I will walk over there and gut you like a fish for all your word is worth, O’Donnel.” Felix snarled.
            “What am I missing, oh yeah, care.” Wolf shifted to a one handed pin, holding James’ wrists one handed and using the other to dig a gun out of the small of James’ back, pointing it at Felix, who responded by pulling both his guns and returning the aim. “Just take a fucking walk for ten minutes. I’m not going to actually hurt him but he owes me an explanation, without your ass in the room.”
            Hearing Felix’s snarl crescendo into a near roar and sensing blood about to fly, James winced and twisted to look over his shoulder. “I really don’t think he’s going to hurt me. But seriously this is unnecessary, Wolf.”
            “This from a man who ordered his husband to drag me here at fucking gunpoint.”
            “What? Oh, son of a bitch, Felix.” James knocked his head into the floor. “Please, please step out and let me diffuse this situation.”
            “You can try to beat me up later.” Wolf promised, lifting the aim of his gun then letting it dangle from one finger.
            “You will learn, O’Donnel, and I will teach you.” Felix snarled and holstered his weapons, storming back out of the room and slamming the door behind him.
            “He’s insane.” Wolf observed, studying James’ pistol (a slug thrower, old, heavy, and beautiful), tightening his hand when James tugged at his wrists. “You know that, right?”
            “Right now I’m mostly aware of how much my back hurts.” James grunted. “You have really bony knees, you know that?”
            Wolf rolled his eyes, setting the gun aside and moving to straddle the other man, setting his free hand on the back of James’ neck to keep him where he was, leaning down to speak into the older man’s ears. “You violated my trust, then had the gall to be smug about it. You lied to me the second day you knew me. I have no reason to trust you, work for you or with you, and no reason to be here. I’d just as soon avoid you, and I sure as hell won’t be fucking you ever again. I have no reason to listen to a word you say, and the fact that your husband drug me here against my will is not helping you. And don’t say you’re sorry… you aren’t, and you don’t even comprehend you did anything wrong. You self centered, oversexed jerkoff. So give me a reason not to walk away right now.”
            James winced, ears folded back, struggling to digest this information. The last real contact he’d had with Wolf was before Wolf’s business contract with Fox was even settled. He’d known Wolf was upset but this level of venom? It’d certainly caught him off guard, and a lot of the younger man’s words just flat out hurt. “Because all of the shit you’ve ever stepped in is about to slam at mach one into the world’s largest fan, and we’re all going to get covered in it.”
            Wolf considered that for a few moments, then released James from the pin, standing and stepping away to lean on a wall, crossing his arms. “You’ve bought yourself five minutes of me listening. By the way, if Felix ever touches me again, I swear, there will be blood. Kindly impress that upon him.”
            “Done. Not easily… but done.” James grunted and pushed to a kneeling position, holstering his gun then standing, twisting to pop his spine. “I’ve been losing contacts. They’re either going silent, or have been silenced, and I don’t have a clue why or how. Felix has been dealing with the same problem… and the bad part is the few voices I’m still hearing from are mumbling about some seriously ugly shit going on.” He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t have any real specifics, but it looks like it’s pointing to some sort of uprising or a flat out military coup, and so far it looks like Corneria, Corneria’s military structure, and some big names are targeted.”   When Wolf just lifted an eyebrow at that, he shook his head. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say Andross is back to his old tricks, he was king of the black bag shit right before he got exiled.”
            “Far as I know, Andross was killed by feedback from one of his own machines. Not all of his people are dead though.”
            James nodded. “Andrew’s still alive, and he’s been up to something for months now, but nothing I really took notice of. Really, this carries the stink of Pigma Dengar.”
            “I haven’t seen much of either of them since the war. Hell, haven’t seen Dengar at all, which suits me fine, and all I did with Andrew was trade with him, those stealth craft for attack craft.” He paused. “In retrospect, not the brightest idea.”
            “I agree, but I understand why you did it. Thing is, if he got his hands on some money could have replicated those craft.”
            “Given.” Wolf huffed out a sigh. “And you still haven’t gotten around to why this has anything to do with me, and why it was so urgent I had to be dragged here by force.”
            “Because your name came up on the list of targets. Mine would be, but they don’t know I’m alive. All of StarFox, StarWolf, some people from Arspace, General Pepper, and a few dozen other people going up to the President and high government positions. Even Felix has felt some pressure.”
            He lifted an eyebrow again. “Targets. As in, take these people out?”
            “Yes. Which is why it’s looking like a coup, but we’re still sketchy on who’s commanding it.” He folded his arms. “Which is why I had you brought here. I did recall you were… upset with me and knew I’d need you in a state of mind where we could work together without getting each other killed.”
            Wolf huffed. “Well, I don’t approve of your contract methods for getting a hold of people but… fine. I’ll stick around. Doesn’t mean you’re forgiven though.” He paused. “Look, Leon stepped in when Felix had a gun on me. He’s not the sort to just give up information but I’m sure people have asked questions by now… which means that by now, everyone else is probably on the way here to find out what’s going on.”
            “Leon talking is not your problem.” James made a disgusted gesture. “Eyes and ears are everywhere, and Felix knows fucking better than to cause a scene like that, especially when we’re in such a compromised position.”
            “Well it isn’t like he’s ever presented himself to me as stable, I mean the last time I saw him he’d broken into my hotel room in Corneria City.” He cast a look at the closed door. “And I’m stunned he hasn’t plowed back in here by now. I bow to your power over him.”
            “We’re married. Some things just come with the territory even if he’s a bit paranoid at times.” Seeing the angry glare this got, he sighed. “Yes, he’s a dick but I love him so you two are just going to have to not kill each other for a while longer. You can beat the hell out of each other later, I swear, but for right now we have a shitstorm approaching and we can’t just wait this one out.”
            “Whatever.” He pushed away from the wall, stepping into James’ kitchen and firing up his coffee pot.
            James blinked, moving to lean in the doorway of the kitchen, watching the other man. “Mind telling me why you’re more upset now?”
            Wolf looked at him over his shoulder. “It honestly didn’t occur to you that referring to someone as your husband while talking to someone else you were fucking might upset that person?”
            He blinked slowly. “No, actually.”
            “Wow. Just wow.” He blew out a sigh, not incredibly surprised. “I’d scream at you but I don’t think we have time.”
            “We probably don’t.”
            “Rain check then.” He poured himself a cup of coffee, sidled by James without touching him and opened the door. “Felix? We’re good for now, you can come back in.” This said, he retreated to James’ couch, not surprised when Felix didn’t so much enter the room as somehow fade into existence. The man was good at what he did, he admitted to himself begrudgingly.
            “So, when do I get to murder him?” Felix asked James, glaring at Wolf, who sat calmly sipping his coffee.
            “You don’t. You’ll sit down, shut up, and like it.” James was rewarded when Felix did just that, sitting on the far opposite end of the couch from Wolf.
            “I’m not happy about this either but we have more pressing concerns.” Wolf said to Felix, and wasn’t surprised when all he got was a disgusted scowl.
            “If Wolf’s right we’re going to have Fox knocking at our door fairly soon.” James got himself and Felix coffee, passing one of the mugs off and sitting down at his console.
            “They’re maybe twenty minutes out. The Great Fox may as well be ripping a hole in space getting here.” Felix said, glancing at the screen of his phone.
            “Alright, let’s go through some intel then. I want to be able to explain this as succinctly as possible, because no one’s going to be in the mood to listen.”

            “Alright, Leon, talk to me.” Fox said, checking the charge on his gun out of habit and holstering it, waiting for the Great Fox to fully line up with the docking collar and form a seal. Getting a dry dock would have taken too long, so he agreed to the collar and was now standing in the hallway where the seal door was, impatient. He knew, from personal experience, that Wolf was a strong, tough son of a bitch who could take a lot of punishment before going down. Still, the idea of the other man being escorted away at gun point had nearly panicked him, and now he wasn’t in the most tactical frame of mind, instead just focusing on wanting to know the other man was ok.
            “Nothing I say will convince you this isn’t a combat situation, will it?” Leon blew out a sigh, hands in his pockets.
            “No, because you don’t know that. Now tell me what you do know, because I get the idea you know more than you’re letting on.”
            He sighed again and looked at everyone else, who’d also gathered in the hallway. “This is going to be a clusterfuck. Alright, Wolf used to have a close contact on this station, an informer who goes by Devil’s Advocate or sometimes just J if you know him. The guy started up right after the war and Wolf bankrolled him, though he did get paid back. While after that, big fight and Wolf stopped talking to him. I never heard details, I just know of it in the most basic of terms.”
            “So where the hell does Felix Leopard fit into this?” Peppy asked.
            “Felix is a close ally of J, so I assume it’s not Felix that’s upset, exactly, more that he’s acting on J’s behalf.”
            “Joy. Any idea where they’d be?” Fox sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
            “My guess is J’s residence. I’ve been there before so I should be able to take us there, whether or not he’ll let us in is another question.”
            “Burn that bridge when we come to it.” He braced a bit as the seal was created, the hatch opening to the station proper. “Let’s do this thing.”
            Leon shrugged and stepped onto the station, walking the hallways from memory, going first to Keely’s diner and orienting, then backtracking from memory, this level, that wing, everyone else following behind him. “Is there a reason everyone had to come along?” He finally asked as they turned down the right corridor and he started counting doors to the one James owned.
            “Possible team mate in distress, why wouldn’t we come along?” Falco wanted to know. “Also, I hate not knowing what’s going on.”
            Leon stopped in front of one of the doors and nodded at it. “J’s apartment. He lives on the station.”
            “He must have some money then.” Peppy said, voice tone odd.
            “I have been left with that impression.” He replied, resigned. He didn’t enjoy participating in drama, but leaned next to the door’s keypad. “Hey. RIO. You online?”
            “Rio?” Fox asked.
            “Oh, Powalski. Yes, I’m here.” RIO replied, meanwhile putting on her screens inside a list of people who were at the door while she identified them, flashing the screens until those inside noticed. “I’m not sure you’re expected.”
            “Yeah, but we need to talk to him anyway. He in?”
            “We’re not kicking the door in why?” Fox asked, impatient.
            “First, because this is a pressure door and you’d just hurt yourself young man. Second, because I’d electrocute you out of spite.” RIO replied primly. Leon smiled a bit. “I’ll let him know there are visitors. Just a moment.”
            “That was an AI, right?” Falco asked.
            “Sounded like it. No accent, and Leon did ask if she was online, not if she was awake.” Slippy replied. “This guy has a panel AI?”
            “Yeah, home built from what I understand.” Leon shrugged.
            “Nice.”
            There were several long moments of waiting, and just before Leon was sure Fox was about to snap and start screaming at the keypad to be let in, the door quietly opened and Wolf was there, leaning on the door frame and looking at everyone, looking harried but offering a relieved smile. “Hey. Figured you guys weren’t too long behind me.”
            Fox gave up on being professional and jumped on him, giving Wolf a quick hug around the waist before stepping back again. “Hey, asshole, thank gods you’re alright. What the fuck is going on?”
            Wolf oofed and returned it with one arm, and at the question only shook his head and stepped back. “One hell of a mess, honestly. Get in here, we have a situation.”
            “Really, care to elaborate?” Fox wanted to know, stepping into the apartment proper then freezing up, locking eyes with James, who had his arms folded and was leaning on the back of his couch silently, smiling a bit nervously. Then Fox folded like a house of cards into Wolf’s waiting arms.
            “Fuck!” James stepped over, watching Wolf carefully shift Fox then pick him up, cradling him to his chest and stepping past him. “I did not expect that.”
            “Well you should have asshole.” Wolf replied, nodding at Felix to move then laying Fox down on the couch, crouching and putting to fingers to Fox’s neck. “Think it’s just a faint.”
            James rubbed his eyes. “Just… fuck. Felix, there’s smelling salts in the medkit, would you?”
            “Yeah, I got it.”
            James turned to address the group just in time to be met with one hell of a roundhouse punch, reeling back and getting his balance with effort, holding his jaw. “Ah. Hi, Peppy, glad to see you too.”
            “James Edward McCloud, you have some explaining to do.” Peppy replied, hands on his hips and scowling furiously.
            Wolf watched this and snerked, having shifted to sit beside Fox.
            “Are we done hitting my husband? Because I’m really fucking sick of it.” Felix said, stomping back into the room carrying a medkit, opening it and finding the smelling salts.
            “Too bad, he deserves every blow.” Peppy replied darkly.
            “I think you knocked some of my teeth loose.” James ran his tongue around his teeth slowly.
            “Good.” He looked at everyone else. Panther and Leon had eyebrows up, Falco and Slippy were gaping. “Well, if you all didn’t know, this is Fox’s father, who is apparently not dead.”
            “What the hell, man?” Falco wanted to know.
            “I’ll explain later, right now we have more pressing difficulties.” James said, watching Wolf take the smelling salts from Felix and crouch by Fox again, setting his free hand on one of Fox’s shoulders then waving it.
            Fox jerked and woke up, head steady by Wolf’s hand, reeling a bit then shaking his head once, looking at Wolf. “I… could have sworn…” He glanced around the room, saw James again, and was up and over the top of the couch before Wolf could grab him, landing a blow square to James’ jaw then grabbing him into a hug, whimpering continuously.
            James hissed in pain, both sides of his jaw aching, but returned the hug, pulling his son in tight and closing his eyes. “I’m sorry kid. I know nothing I say will change the past, but I’m sorry.”
            “Fucking asshole.” Fox managed around his choked off whimpers, not moving.
            Wolf shook his head, standing and walking around the couch and past the two into the kitchen, loading up the coffee pot on the suspicion that they were going to need it. “Thank you for coming and finding me, guys. Trust me it means a lot.”
            “No problem. I’m just glad that Felix didn’t do anything rash.” Leon said, joining him in the kitchen. “Such drama, though.”
            “It was inevitable and a long time coming.” He huffed, leaning back against the counter and shoving his hands into his pockets.
            “You said there was a situation?” Panther asked.
            “Yes, and one hell of one. We’ll probably get into that in a few minutes.”
            “I hope so, because I hope like hell you have a good explanation for not telling Fox his dad’s still around.” Falco crossed his arms, glaring.
            “Just professionalism, sorry. He was deep cover. I respected that.” Wolf shook his head. “Not to say I was comfortable with it but if I demanded to be comfortable with every situation I wouldn’t last five gods be damned minutes in this job, you know? Wasn’t my place to judge him or his actions, still isn’t, unless they directly involve me.”
            Falco hmmed to himself, thinking that over.
            “I swear if you ever, EVER leave again…” Fox finally said, letting go of James and stepping back to look at him.
            “I won’t.” James rubbed his jaw. “Alright, everyone, much as I hate to say it the reunion is basically postponed because we got a huge amount of shit coming our way and if we’re not ready, we’re all as good as dead.”
            “Right, this aforementioned situation. Care to elaborate?” Panther asked, having accepted a cup of coffee from Wolf, moving back into the living room as the others grabbed refreshments and also did so.
            “Alright, keep in mind going forward that we don’t have a lot of solid information. We’ve tried to get more but trust me, it hasn’t been easy.” Felix said, moving to stand in front of RIO with James. “James has been working as an informer, and in my educated opinion he’s pretty good at it, but we’ve both been losing contacts in the last few months. Silent or dead we don’t know, and at first it was just a few but now it’s a sizable amount and the majority of them.. the vast majority… are attached to Corneria’s government or military.”
            “It gets more fun. Not long ago the fringe forces out here underwent a massive restructuring. I had contacts there, yeah, only one’s still talking and he’s damn near silent and not giving me any actual information.” James said. “But there have been strong implications that it was damn near mutiny. There was a total command change, and now the fringe forces have been redeployed. To what end we don’t know, but it doesn’t make any sense in comparison to what’s actually going on out here.”
            “Yeah, we saw the redeploy but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it either.” Peppy said.
            “This doesn’t sound like anything immediate yet. More… preparation.” Fox said slowly. “I mean I don’t like it, it sure as hell is suspicious, but…”
            “RIO, pull up that menu and full screen it will you?” James asked, and RIO did, showing the document. “Hacker ally of mine skimmed this. This, folks, is a hit list authorized by someone in Corneria’s government. Do note the names.”
            There was a few second pause as everyone’s eyes registered the wording, then stood, walking closer to the screens and swearing.
            “General Pepper, the President, all of us, Arspace, lots of officials.” Felix said. “Well, not me but they’re trying hard as hell to find me. James is still “dead” so they missed him too.”
            “All of these Arspace employees work with the Cornerian government accounts.” Slippy said. “Dad’s not on here but he’s R&D, so maybe that’s why. Either way they are in for a nasty surprise if they actually go into Arspace buildings because after the war dad programmed defensive strategies into all of the production robots. They can take a siege.”
            “This is a fucking military coup.” Falco said, darkly. “Is the VP involved?”
            “Actually, we don’t think so. Theory is he’s the fall guy, can’t prove it though.” James said. “This is our only real solid indicator. We don’t have any real names as to who’s responsible but… We have reason to believe Dengar’s involved.”
            “That backstabbing fuck, it wouldn’t surprise me.” Peppy said, rubbing his eyes.
            “Can I use your setup? I can compile this better and faster.” Slippy said.
            “Knock yourself out.” James said, Slippy sat in James’ chair and pulled the keyboard over, fingers flying, screens opening and closing rapidly on the displays.
            “So where does this leave us?” Panther asked. “We seem to be lacking vital information.”
            “Agreed, and we’re trying to fit in the puzzle pieces, but you’re all safer here than on Corneria. Once we know more we can try to pull some of the others out of harm’s way.” James sighed. “Once no one’s in the line of fire, then it’s dealing with the threat.”
            “Why target us in the first place is what I’ve been trying to figure out.” Wolf said, flopping on the couch. “We’re mercenaries. All of us. I’ve worked against Corneria, Leon too. Why put crosshairs on us? I’ve met Pepper and liked the man, but it’s fairly obvious I have no real political affiliation.”
            “My guess? A laserblast is cheaper than bribery.” James was sour.
            “Depends who you hire.” Panther smiled vaguely.
            “Well, I’ll be honest. If the General came under threat from within I’d report in for free.” Fox said. “I’ve known him a long time and he’s been a steady paycheck.”
            “Goes for most of us.” Leon said. “Including me, though I didn’t work directly for him.”
            “Shit.” Slippy said, sitting back. Everyone looked at him, waiting. “The good news is… my security clearance is still good. No one’s thought to cancel it.”
            “You have security clearance?” Fox asked.
            “Er, yes. Fairly high security clearance. Intelligence.” Slippy coughed. “Which means I knew where to look for this stuff. Between that and hacking they didn’t hide it real well, and that hit list? It’s been updated and none of you are going to like it.” He hit some keys, the document expanding to take up all the screens again.
            “Names added… Oh. Fuck.” Fox’s jaw dropped. “Katt? Why… what...”
            “Oh did this just get personal.” Wolf growled, long and low.
            “Pigma. Fucking. DENGAR.” James snarled, scanning down the list. “Fannie. Fuck. Why Fannie? She’s retired.”
            Leon didn’t bother saying anything, just stepped over and set a hand on the screen next to one of the names, ‘Alec Porter.’ Wolf saw this and looked at him, saw Leon’s body language go silent, and felt his hackles go up. Peppy took several steps away from Leon, rubbing one of his temples as the usual silent void that was Leon opened up in a massive yawning cavern of nothing good.
            “They are specifically gunning for known personal contacts.” Felix said. “Beyond the fact that it’s fucking low it helps us. It means this wasn’t just politically motivated. So yes, possibly Pigma Dengar and who knows who else.”
            “Andross’ nephew is a possibility. Smart, but not up for wetwork. Could be the brains of it.” James said.
            “He was pissed about the war going sour. Andross promised him all sorts of shit if it had gone off in their favor.” Wolf said.
            “Monroe fought in the war and works for the Academy. Fannie, I know of her, former informer. They make sense, in a way.” Leon’s voice was dead and flat, spooking most of the people in the room. “Alec is a civilian. His only connection with this is me.” He looked at everyone else, life out of his eyes. “I am not going to let him die.”
            “Obviously not.” James said, vaguely disturbed.
            “I have some names connected with this. Sender of the memo, some recipients.” Slippy brought the information up. “Looks like an Admiral is the biggest name connected. There’s lots of talk of money and power. There’s a code name in here, I think it’s Dengar, Andrew they’re actually just using his name. My god, for nearly pulling this off, this is so badly hidden it’s unreal.”
            “This young man has rather disturbing icebreaking abilities.” RIO remarked, calmly.
            “Yeah, this is one of the things I’m actually good at.” Slippy sat back. “I can’t find anything as far as a time table goes, so I don’t know when this goes down.”
            “Which means we need to extract these people and fast.” Fox said.
            “I have some people I can trust that can cover some of it.” Felix said. “Problem is, it’s kind of hard to quietly kidnap a President or a General.”
            “Might be best to just inform the General and directly contact those close to us.” Falco said. “The General can probably arrange something for the President or get us into a position where we can.”
            “I agree. I think we should all head to the Great Fox and move back in the direction of Corneria, make the call from there.” James said, rubbing his jaw. “Any arguments?”
            “No but I suggest we move toward Aquas until we talk to him.” Wolf remarked.
            “I’ll go with that.” James stepped into the bedroom and came out with a duffelbag. “RIO, can you keep contact with ROB and ZAK?”
            “Of course.”
            “Please do so. Fox can the Great Fox accept another plane? I’d like to move my arwing there if it’s alright.”
            Fox stared at him. “It’s… your ship dad.”
            James sighed. “No, it isn’t. Commander.”

            Wolf sat on the command deck of the Great Fox and watched everyone else. Fox was in discussion with James and Felix, Peppy with them but just listening. Professionally speaking, getting the General and President out was top priority, but personally? That was another matter, as was what exactly they were going to tell Pepper… and who was going to do the talking.
            More pressing, to Wolf at least, was Leon, who hadn’t spoken since his remark in James’ apartment. He’d paced a bit at first, but was now just standing at the command deck’s view glass, clearly withdrawn. Leon had actually been more social when he’d first met him, even after the war there was a bit of that, but as time passed the reptilian had quieted and backed off. Wolf had asked him once if something was wrong, and was shocked to get the truth: Leon didn’t think he had to pretend around Wolf anymore.
            Wolf stood up and stepped over slowly, standing next to Leon and waiting to be acknowledged, eventually one of the reptilian’s eyes rolled to focus on him. “I don’t like how you’re acting. You seem like you’re on an edge. Are you?” He kept his voice quiet.
            “Yes.” Leon replied. “But, I’m in control.”
            “Hmm. Good. Forgive me if I think I’m right to worry.”
            “No, you are.” Leon focused on staring out at the blur of stars again. “If this goes down and gets violent… I have no problem killing to protect Alec. I’ve done so once before, I’ll do it again. Got a problem with that?”
            Wolf shook his head. “No. Do what you have to.”
            “… Thank you.”
            He settled for patting Leon’s near shoulder once before retreating to where he’d been seated before, focusing back on the debate happening near the command chair.
            “ROB, are you having any luck?” Fox wanted to know, looking at the AI.
            “Negative. I have not received any response from the typical bands we use to hail Corneria’s main command. The bands do seem functional, and I am able to communicate fine on commercial band. It would seem that main command either isn’t receiving, or isn’t responding.” ROB replied, bringing the room to silence in the process.
            “No response at all?” Wolf asked, stunned.
            “None.”
            “Oh fuck that is not good.” James rubbed his eyes. “You tried their old black bag line?”
            “Yes sir, no one picked up.”
            “How about the Special Ops bands? They’ve got at least three in Corneria City alone.” Felix said, rummaging for his phone to find the frequencies.
            “Tried the military space port and the aquatic shipping port for Special Ops, both are silent.”
            “Holy shit. Total military silence in Corneria City?” Falco said, standing in the doorway.
            “Seems that way.”
            “That’s bullshit. Try space port maintenance ops, those assholes never shut up.”
            “Checking… Silent.” ROB replied. “No response.”
            There was a long pause as everyone looked at each other.
            “Shit’s hit the fan.” Leon said quietly.
            “Yeah that’s what I’m thinking too. Destination change, Corneria City.” Fox told ROB, and the Great Fox changed heading easily.
            “I’d like to know for sure. ROB, I’m bouncing a cell phone call through your array, could you put any audio/video I get on overhead? Thanks.” James replied, taking one of the chairs, dialing and holding the phone to the side of his head, waiting.
            After a moment ROB was able to connect James’ cell phone to the Great Fox’s overhead, and the phone rang several times, everyone waiting it out before a hasty rattled answer came through, static and noise riding the line along with the scrape of someone’s hand fumbling the phone. “Who the FUCK has this number?!” General Pepper’s voice barked, nearly overriding the phone’s mic in the process.
            “General, what you forgot you gave it to me?” James replied.
            There was a pause, then Pepper replied cautiously. “Jimmy?”
            “Yeah, seems that way, you remember I owe you from that time with the thing in the place? I’m coming to even us out. Seems there’s a shitstorm heading your way.”
            “Hate to tell you boy but it’s already in motion.” Pepper replied, accepting his reloaded gun back from one of the marines he’d holed up with in his office. They’d closed his curtains and tipped his desk, sitting on their floor with their backs to it. Him and six marines, the President, and two secret service. They’d shoved his bookshelves in front of the door but that wasn’t going to hold forever.
            “Fuck. What’s your status?”
            “It’s me, the President, and eight brave souls versus more assholes than we currently have ammunition for.” He turned on the video phone option, turning it to show James who was currently crowded around him. “Say hi to James McCloud, boys.”
            “McCloud’s alive? Best news I’ve had in the last hour.” The president replied.
            “We’re on our way but we have very little intel, what can you tell us?” Fox said, moving to stand behind his father and look at the phone so Pepper could see him.
            “Fuck me running boy, you think you have little intel? Not long ago I was having lunch and preparing for a boring day then fucking Admiral Bradhorn called me, and I fucking quote, “This is just a courtesy call to tell you that your job is no longer necessary.” I barely have time to demand what the hell he means by that, and these marines barge in saying they accidently caught a radio transmission and sir we need to get you out. Then as we try to leave, these two agents run in dragging Mr. President here, and here we still are.”
            “Honestly they’re not trying very hard to get in.” One of the secret service remarked. “They know we’re pinned down, so they’re keeping us pinned down.”
            “We’re only here because we got fucking lucky.” The other agent replied. “We got a bad goddamn feeling and it paid off, sort of. We avoided the snipers and got stuck here instead, we were going to grab Pepper and head for high ground but…”
            “I’m not sure there is high ground now.” Pepper said, one ear hitching up a bit as noise came from the hallway. “We don’t have a lot of time here, Jimmy. Got any ideas?”
            “That window of yours bulletproof?”
            “Hell fuck yes, it’s probably the only thing saving our asses right now. Three inch thick and leaded to boot.”
            “We’re about twenty minutes from planetfall, think you can hold out that long?” Peppy wanted to know, checking their course.
            “We can try, and while we wait, feel free to tell us what’s going on besides half of command going postal.”

            “I don’t like splitting up. Splitting up is the last act of anyone ever killed in a slasher movie.” Falco remarked, checking the charge on his laser pistol. The Great Fox was less than a minute out from Corneria.
            “With so many targets needing to be pulled to safety we don’t have much of a choice in the matter.” Wolf replied. “Pepper and the President are one target now. Katt, Fannie, Alec, Arspace, officials. We may have basically every goddamn mercenary ace in one room right now but that’s still pretty spread out, how do you want to split this up?”
            “I’m going after Alec. I don’t need backup.” Leon replied.
            “I’ll go after Pepper and the President. Panther, Falco, I’d like both of you with me.” James said, and got nods from both Falco and Panther. Panther had pulled a rifle from the cargo bay of his plane, saying only that snipers were sometimes best countered with another sniper. “Felix? Do you have enough resources to pull those random officials?”
            “Short fuckin notice but I’ll do what I can.” Felix replied.
            “I’ll go after Katt. Wolf? Want to give me some backup?” Fox asked.
            “Yeah but we need to get Fannie on the same run, assuming she hasn’t caught wind of this.” Wolf replied.
            “I’ll get Arspace.” Slippy said. “The robots that will be on defense know me so it’s for the best anyway.”
            “Alright, assuming no one needs me as another body it may be best if I keep contact with everyone on headset and coordinate what’s going on. Where are we taking the people we’re pulling out though? Assume current safehouses are compromised.” Peppy said.
            “I have a friend with a safehouse I was going to take Alec to.” Leon said. “He might be open to the idea of housing more… trusted acquaintances.”
            “You trust this friend?” Felix wanted to know. “And does he have the ability to possibly safely lock down a president from attack?”
            Leon smiled thinly. “He’s mafia. I’ll radio in if he’s alright with it.”
            “Right…”
           “Headsets on everyone, we’ve got asses to kick.” Peppy said, stepping over and assuming the command chair. “We’re not landing the Great Fox down there. I’m assuming that all landing space is compromised by this cluster fuck. Take fighters down... you can land those in civilian streets if you really had to. Keep in contact with me and watch your backs.”
            Fox tossed everyone headsets and they moved out, scattering to fighters, Felix grabbing Peppy’s arwing as his shuttle wasn’t prepared for a hostile landing environment. “Wolf, you up?”
            “Yeah, man. Gunna have to go in on the ground which means we need to land, which means we need landing room. If I may make a suggestion?”
            “Fire away, we’re all listening.” James said.
            “The Academy has a back parking lot that’s used for training vehicles. There’s a stadium right next to it. There’s no antiair anywhere near that area and there’s no reason for there to be hostile forces.”
            “Works for me, let’s go.”
            The fighters launched and hit the atmosphere, forming up into groups based on who they were going to be working with. Wolf wasn’t entirely surprised when Leon cut away the second they’d made it through the atmosphere, heading to a separate landing location. “Leon? Stay in touch.”
            “I’ll keep you informed.” That said, Leon’s radio went dead.
            “As will I. Wish me luck.” Slippy’s arwing cut off from the groups. Felix’s shuttle had already disappeared off the radar.
            “Spaceport looks like a clusterfuck but none of it’s coming after us. Whatever this is I don’t think they have space fighters coming to meet us.” Panther remarked.
            “That’s because the clusterfuck is on the ground and we’ll have to fight through it to get to our targets. Air rescues aren’t going to work.”
            With the fighters abandoned inside the left open stadium, the group split up, Fox and Wolf heading for a Humvee, James taking Panther and Falco in the direction of a cluster of black armored cars.
            “Not going to say bye to him?” Wolf asked, glancing at Fox.
            “No. I’ll see him later.” Fox replied after a moment, not allowing for argument. “Can you hotwire a car?”
            “You can’t?” Wolf wanted to know, then simply opened the driver side door and took the keys from inside the sun visor. “Training vehicle. Get in.”
            Fox didn’t even bother blinking, swinging into the passenger seat and buckling up. “You’re willing to speed I do hope.”
            He threw the heavy car into gear, slamming on the accelerator and crashing through a chain link fence, leaving the Academy grounds and jumping onto the main roads, heading toward Katt’s apartment. “What’s our game plan? She’s what, six stories up? Makes extraction difficult.”
            “There’s only three doors going into the apartment building itself. A front a back and one off a parking garage that’s shared with another apartment complex.” Fox said after a moment.
            “If I were a jackass I’d take the garage entrance.” Wolf looked at him. “Which means we should go in through the front like we live there.”
            He considered that for a moment, then grinned. “Did you just use villain logic?”
            “No, I used asshole logic. Asshole logic is free of any particular moral standing.” Wolf spun the wheel of the car, dodging around a traffic jam by jumping the Humvee onto a sidewalk briefly.
            Fox grinned in spite of himself, digging his phone out of his pocket and putting it on the speakerphone setting, dialing Katt. “Please pick up, baby, please…” After a few rings, the phone picked up, and Fox spoke before Katt could. “Listen to me very, very carefully. Act like this is someone else.”
            There was a split second pause, then Katt laughed. “Oh my god, Stacy! We haven’t talked in ages! How are you?”
          “Good lord I love you woman. I really don’t have time to explain now. You need to be armed. Get your gun.”
            “Oh, I’m so glad to hear that you and Trevor are getting on.” Katt bubbled happily.
            Wolf blinked at looked at Fox. “Trevor.” He said flatly, leaning as he took them around a sharp turn on only two wheels.
            “Just go with it, man.”
            “Sure, I might still have that dress, but I’ll have to go look. I never did get my walk in closet very organized…” The sound of a door closing came, then Katt said, “What the fuck is going on, Fox. And was that Wolf?”
            “Short version: you’re in danger, we’re on the way, you really do need to be armed right fucking now.” Fox replied, hanging on for dear life and gaping as somehow, some way, Wolf drifted the Humvee around a corner. “Never do that again, man.”
            “Pussy.”
            “You owe me a full explanation soon.” Sounds came through the phone of a gun being loaded and powered up. “Back to happy make believe fairy tale land,” The door opened back up, “Yes I still have it, but I’m not sure it’ll fit you right. What’s your bust size again?”
            “She’s awesome.” Wolf decided.
            “You’re just catching onto that?” Fox wanted to know. “The way he’s driving we’re five minutes out Katt. Can you convincingly stay away from windows?”
            “Oh, really? Let me take a seat here and you can tell me all about it, I’m just dying to know.”
            “Stay on the line. Tell us if anything goes down.”
            “Oh, of course you can tell me the details, it’s not like anyone can hear us right?”
            He hesitated. “If you’re asking what I think you are, no idea if your place is bugged. I doubt it. They’d more likely just have eyes on you, not ears.”
            “Who the fuck are ‘they’, exactly?” Katt’s voice went from happy to tense.
            “Pigma Dengar and Andrew Oikonny.” Wolf replied. “Some serious shit is going down in Corneria City right now, you catch wind of it?”
            “News has something really bad going down at the capital buildings but no one can get close enough to find out. We know there’s gunfire, but no one’s making statements. The cops can’t get in so they’re just trying to keep everyone out now. I guess they lost some of their own trying to find out the situation so they’re just at the perimeter now.” Katt replied, dropping the dress aside and holding the gun in a two hand grip, sitting on the floor with her back against her bed on the far side from her bedroom window, looking toward the half open bedroom door. “What the hell has this got to do with me?”
            “Fuck all but it didn’t stop someone from dragging you in. Safe word’s apples, get me? Anyone else comes into your place and says ANYTHING else, open fire, I don’t care who they are.”
            “Shit, Fox.”
            “We’re there in a few minutes babe.” Fox glanced at Wolf. “If we go up there and open her door, we’re in line of the windows. If they have her windows watched, we’ll be seen.”
            “And in line of sight of any guns they have if that’s how they’re doing it. And a lot of windows could have line of sight on her windows.” Wolf blew out a sigh, the tires screeching as he took another corner hard enough Fox grabbed for handholds again. “Nothing to be done about it. We enter it like it’s a hostile room and don’t let your girlfriend shoot my ass ok.”
            “Your ass is too nice to shoot.” Katt offered.
            “Thanks. I think.”
            Wolf slowed down to the speed limit as he turned onto the right street, turning gently into the parking lot and finding an open spot on the outskirts. “Holster your gun.”
            “What the fuck?”
            “We live here and aren’t you glad to be home. Dammit Fox look inconspicuous already.” Wolf gave him a look, getting out and walking toward the apartment’s front entrance.
            “As inconspicuous as an urban camouflage military vehicle gets.” Fox jumped out and followed him.
            “Yeah… but they won’t be watching for those right?” Wolf shrugged, watching Fox unlock the door and let them into the apartment complex. “Just a second.”
            “What, why do you…” Fox cut off when Wolf dug into one of his cargo pants pockets, opening a metal case and shaking the cybernetic lens out into his hand. A few quick practiced motions and he’d put it on, it hooking up like it belonged there, the pale blue lens lighting up, Wolf’s dead eye behind it suddenly seeming to focus. “Oh wow. I’ve never seen you with one of those on. How long do you need?”
            Wolf held up a finger, eyes half closing. “Coming online. Thermal up. Scanners up. Calibrating.” He lowered his hand. “Good to go, let’s move.”
            “I thought those really bothered you?” Fox asked, ignoring the elevator and going to the stairs, starting up. “This set isn’t connected to the parking garage before you ask.”
            “Yes, they do. But I want the edge it provides now.” He followed Fox up the stairs, pulling his gun again, and smiling when he saw the look. “Do keep in mind that all the times you’ve seen me fighting I was not wearing this. I had no depth perception.”
            “So, isn’t putting it on now equally as much of a disadvantage? You have depth now but you’re not used to it.” He kept himself from running up the stairs.
            “Doesn’t work that way. There’s as much head side as lens side. There is no ‘warm up time’ if you will. Once it has finished start up it’s like I always had binocular vision. It’d be perfect if not for, you know, the hallucinations I get after taking it off.” Fox didn’t bother trying to find a reply, going silent and stopping at Katt’s floor. Wolf gently stepped ahead of him and opened the door, glancing up and down the corridors. “We’re clear. Go.”
            Fox paced up the hallway, keys still out, getting the door unlocked while Wolf covered for him, pushing it wide open while remaining against the wall outside. “Katt, we’re here.”
            “Babe?” She called from the back of the apartment, hanging up the phone.
            “Apples.”
            “Stay put, I’ll come to you in thirty seconds.”
            “Apples. Seriously?” Wolf wanted to know.
            Fox smirked. “I told you she’s sent me to ER for stiches before, right?”
            “Time and a place, man.”
            Noise came from inside the apartment, and Katt dove out, gun at hand, pulling the door closed behind her and rolling to her feet. “Hi boys. Can I get an explanation now?”
            “No uninvited guests, I take it?” Fox pulled her into a hug.
            Wolf turned an ear, looking toward the elevator as it ticked up floors. “Guys?”
            “What?”
            “Fucking move!” He shoved them back toward the stairs, looking over his shoulder as the elevator opened, the lens highlighting weapons already drawn, firing over his shoulder as he yanked the door open and shoved them through. “Run, for fuck’s sake!”
            “Holy FUCK, were you here in the nick of time!” Katt leapt down the stairs, them close on her ass, listening to the stairwell door bang open above them.
            “Don’t talk just run!” He ducked as shots took out the lighting above them.
            Fox hit the bottom stairwell door first, yanking it open and dragging Katt and Wolf through then charging forward, firing ahead of him so the plate glass shattered out of the apartment building door and leaping through the gap it left. Wolf shoved Katt ahead of him, covering the rear.
            “Doors are unlocked just get in!” He skidded to a halt next to the Humvee, bringing his gun up and ducking when a shot zipped over his head. “That should have hit me, what the hell is with these guys’ aim?” He wanted to know, returning fire.
            “Stop critiquing their aim and get in here!” Fox replied, pulling him in when Wolf opened the door, all wincing and ducking as the door slammed and more shots pinged off the vehicle’s armor. “Shiiiit.”
            “No kidding.” Wolf started it back up and sped backwards, then turned it to face the three figures standing in front of the apartment building with guns drawn, revving the engine. “Oh you want to play assholes?”
            “What the fuck. Those are MP uniforms.” Katt wanted to know, watching as they wisely retreated farther into the building where the heavy vehicle couldn’t run them over.
            “Well that kind of fits with what we know.” Fox said thoughtfully as Wolf drove them away from the building at nearly the same speed he’d arrived, taking an erratic path through town.
            “What DO we know?” Katt demanded.
            “Pigma and Andrew have organized a coup of the government and some of the high command is in on it. Pepper and the President are not.” Wolf replied. “So it stands to reason some of the actual boots on the ground are involved with this spectacular fuckupery too.”
            “But why the hell would they want to kill me?”
            “Because Pigma Dengar is a fucking asshole.” Fox spat. “He added a bunch of targets to a hit list for no apparent reason but to dig at us. That included you.”
            “But who else was on the list?”

            Leon abandoned his Wolfen in a public park caddy corner from Alec’s apartment building. Not subtle at all, but he wasn’t worried about that, letting the few pedestrians stare as he sprinted through the park then crouched at the edge of it, assessing the situation while he calmed his breathing.
            He’d said he could handle this alone, and he could only hope that he wasn’t putting Alec in danger by doing so. Working alone meant he didn’t have to hold back on his responses. No matter what his commander said, he doubted Wolf wanted an up close and personal look at Leon, the unchained psychopath, going on a killing spree.
            He allowed himself a vague smile at that phrasing in his own head, eyes flicking over the apartment building complex and going still when he noticed the black, tinted SUV in guest parking. Innocent enough, but the government plate confirmed it as far as he was concerned. Only able to hope he wasn’t too late, he jogged across the street, letting himself into the apartment building and taking the elevator up, hands crossed behind him, a knife in each one.
            The elevator opened to an empty hallway, and he stepped out and strolled down the lushly carpeted corridor, tail swinging and turning a corner, then Alec’s door was hanging open and the world boiled down to a sharp edge, red fogging in and ‘Leon’ fading out, the twisted paths in his head lining up as he strode down the corridor and shouldered the door open, not bothering being careful, just storming in.
            And bursting out laughing, unable to help it. Three men in black, guns drawn, in a standoff with Alec, who had cut off in the middle of what had clearly been a spitting furious legal tirade. When Alec got scared, he got technical, and as a tax lawyer he knew more technicalities than anyone else Leon knew. Smiling in a vague way that he knew was totally terrifying at Alec, who had forgotten about Subpart C of Conspiracy to Murder (section 4.3) and was now nothing but big ‘I love you’ eyes, he shrugged open armed at the men in black. “What. Surprised to see me?”
            Then those guns swung toward him, and Alec dove down and covered his head, and Leon moved, serene and gone, Alec was safe but oh these fuckers had pointed guns at him and they weren’t surviving THAT offense. They were across the room but he was there before they got the guns fully on him, up over the back of the couch and leaping, landing on two and bringing the knives around with all his bodyweight. One missed home but the other struck, the unknown agent going down with a throat shot, the other screaming as the blade scuffed up his chest and broke. Fucking ceramic, Leon fumed, ducking sideways as the third agent had already dropped his gun and gotten out an extending baton, the metal whistling over Leon’s head.
            “Who the fuck…?!” Demanded the baton wielder, cutting off with a scream when Leon just grabbed it and yanked him in, not showing a flicker of pain from the hand strike, using the baton wielder’s weight against him to drag him into a blow, elbow connecting and shattering the enemy’s muzzle, bone fragments driving into the brain and the body going ragdoll.
            “Your worst fucking nightmare!” Leon spat in reply, letting go and going for a whole knife in the same motion, on the last agent in a blink and finishing him off, only then standing straight and shaking his struck hand once. “Alec.”
            “Oh gods, Leon.” Alec was already getting up, shaking off, he’d already seen this level of gore from his master and he didn’t even care it had happened in his own home, staggering over and tossing his arms around Leon thankfully. “Thank you. Just… thank you.”
            “How long were you arguing with them?”
            “Fifteen minutes.” Alec caught Leon’s struck hand, sliding his fingers over the bones inside. Leon wiggled his fingers obediently.
           “I love you.” Leon pressed a kiss to Alec’s forehead. “And we’ll deal with the bodies later because right now, I need to get you somewhere safe if you’ll let me. I’ll tell you what’s going on on the way there.”
            “Of course.” Alec stepped away, grabbing his wallet and stepping into a set of loafers for the sake of speed, not surprised when Leon checked over the bodies. “Anything good?”
            “Nothing I didn’t expect. One’s got a radio though.” Leon smirked, grabbing it and standing. “Your car in the usual spot? You’re driving.”
            “Yes sir.”

            Slippy dodged through the mess at the spaceport, coming around as fast as the arwing could handle in all range mode, heading for Arspace. Arspace had become a huge facility during, and indeed after, the war, and flying it was only seconds from the spaceport itself. Even from a few hundred feet up, it was easy to see the facility was in chaos. Many of the side buildings had taken damage, but the main building held stubbornly on, obviously barricaded up, activated production robots defending it against a sizable force of attackers.
            The main display of his arwing scrambled out for a split second, then his father’s voice came on. “Well, well, son. Just you?”
            “Yeah for the moment, the others had to split off, and I figured it was best. Want me to drop a bomb on this mess?”
            “Hell, no, you’re not fucking up my combat tests. Building’s shielded but the bots aren’t!”
            He laughed. “Dad, what the hell. How did you forget to…”
            “We’ll fix it later, scatter’em with lasers will ya? Then land on the roof and get in here, I’ve got a riddle for you.”
            “The old one about what’s stronger, muscle or will?” Slippy wanted to know, diving the arwing in and hammering on the fire controls, watching people and a few of the vehicles below scatter away from his shots then banking back up around, touching down gently on the roof and popping the cockpit glass, grinning at the sounds of the battle around the facility.
            A hatch on the roof opened and Beltino stuck his head out, grinning. “Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out.”
            “Oh, I have.” He leapt down, strolling over and climbing down onto the stairs, helping his father secure the armored hatch.
            “So, this new team mate of yours, Powalski. He as good as they say?” Beltino wanted to know, walking through the facility.
            “I don’t know yet honestly, I haven’t watched him work yet.” Slippy shook his head. “There’s a master in there though, I’m hoping we work together someday soon. What’s the status here?”
            “We’re pretty solid here for the moment. I’m not going to say we have it in the bag, but they haven’t been able to get into this facility. They breached the engineer’s building early on and broke a bunch of the windows out…”
            “What? How?”
            “Production flaw, I suspect, we’ll have to computer model it later. All staff that was on site is here now, a few minor injuries from flying glass. And a little bonus from that too.” He opened the door to his office, nodding at a figure duct taped to an office chair, who looked up and glared.
            “Holy shit, a prisoner?” Slippy lifted his eyebrows, walking into the room and pondering the figure. A guy, probably a bit older than he was, basic black BDUs.
            “Yeah, his buddies left him behind. What do you say, maybe when this is over we could get some father/son bonding time in?”
            He grinned. “Maybe but let’s make sure the facility makes it through first.”
            Another Arspace engineer came to the door, an experimental hand carried version of the arwing level two laser propped on his shoulder. “Big fuckin problem. They just got backup in the form of RPGs and the robots are taking a beating. Without them keeping people physically back, they could breach this building in fifteen minutes.”
            The two Toads looked at each other, grinned and left the prisoner alone in Beltino’s office, off to join the makeshift Arspace war room.

            Fannie barely twitched when the phone rang, reaching up and hitting the button on the headset, knocking the spent round out of the gun as it picked up. “Glass Factory Art Gallery.” She sang cheerfully.
            Wolf paused, knowing that sound. “Bolt action? Really? I take it you know something’s going down.”
            “Don’t you diss my choice in weapons young man, the three men who just did regretted it the rest of their very short lives. And yes, I have caught wind of this mess, but it was only when these guys showed up that I realized I’d been drug into it.” She huffed. “Where are you?”
            “About a block away from you. Want a pickup?”
            “Yeah, better somewhere else than here. You armed or you want me to bring some weapons to the party?”
            “Fuck, given this mess, the more the merrier.”
            “Understood. See you in a minute.” She hung up, cheerfully hanging the bolt action back up over her fireplace, and opening the gun cabinet under her bed, pulling rifles out.
            Wolf had just hopped the curb and parked in front of the gallery doors when she strolled out, wearing a loaded backpack and carrying three assault rifles, two on straps and one propped on her shoulder. “Damn, woman, you came prepared.”
            “I hate a party without proper party favors.” She hopped in the back next to Katt, passing Katt a loaded assault rifle, then passing one up to Fox, buckling in as Wolf pulled away from the gallery. “Where to?”
            “Good goddamn question.” Wolf said after a moment.
            “On it.” Fox hit his headset. “Peppy?”
            “Fox, what’s your status?” Peppy wanted to know.
            “Katt and Fannie are safe. What about the others?”
            “Leon has Alec and is taking him to a safe house. Slippy’s at Arspace, which is taking a beating but he’s assured me it’s a beating they can deal with.”
            “You believe him?”
            “I have no idea. James, Panther, and Falco are stuck trying to find a way into the capital buildings. It’s a fucking mess.”
            “Just a second.” He relayed this on to the others.
            “We go to Arspace. If we can undo that clusterfuck, we can use their defensive robots to force our way into the capital plaza.” Katt said. “I’ve done some part time work for them when my hours are short at the Academy, I know their gear.”
            “Sounds like a plan to me. You get that Peppy?”
            “Yes, and I agree. Should I have Leon meet you there?”
            “Tell Leon we’ll be there but if he shows up, I’ll be stunned.” Wolf replied, heading through Arspace. The closer they got, the more the roads got empty, eventually he just drove up the center of the street, watching the flashing lights in the distance from a fight. “And given the mood he’s in I wouldn’t want to be in his way anyway. Any word on Pepper or the Pres?”
            “They’re still in Pepper’s office. No one’s gone and rousted them but they can’t get out. I guess the soldiers not involved in this started fighting back so those who turned are having to defend the building. But these assholes used to work side by side so everyone’s quite reluctant to shoot each other.” Peppy made a frustrated noise. “It’s by far the most inane stalemate I’ve ever seen.”
            “Understood, keep us posted.” Fox said, hanging up, then blinked when a ten foot tall spider legged robot loped past them on the road.
            “You saw that, right.” Wolf said slowly.
            “Yes. Yes, we did.” Katt said, looking out the back window of the Humvee.
            “Good. Then I’m not hallucinating yet.”
            “No, not at all. That’s one of Arspace’s combat robot prototypes, looks like it’s running a perimeter.” She replied.
            “This is going to be fun.” Fannie shook her head. “I know Beltino has good toys but I haven’t personally seen his work in years.”
            Fox shook his head, dialing Slippy and relieved when his long time friend picked up. “It’s Fox, you alright man?”
            “Yeah, we’re taking a beating right now but we don’t have any casualties. Any living casualties anyway we’ve lost a lot of robots.” Slippy replied, also holding one of the laser cannons now, sitting in his father’s office on the edge of the desk, keeping an eye on the prisoner, who was trying to look anywhere but at him. “And once they all go down, we’re nearly sitting ducks here.”
            “That your friends?” Beltino asked, appearing in the doorway.
            “Yeah, you guys on the way?” He saw his father raise a finger, and turned his mic off, lifting an eyebrow.
            “I suppose father son bonding time is postponed for another day then.”
            Slippy grinned, if for no other reason than he loved how his dad put this sort of thing. It sounded so totally innocent, the man was such a good actor when he wanted to be. “I suppose it is. What shall we do with him.”
            “Well, I can’t rightly save him for later.” Beltino rubbed his chin.
            “You people are fucked up.” The terrified man duct taped to a chair announced.
            “Yes, how can we help?” Fox asked, having noticed the mic had quieted for a moment.
            Slippy came back on. “Is Katt with you?”
            “Yeah, I’m here, how’s the weather?” Katt wanted to know, having accepted a radio headset from Fannie and put it on, getting it on the same frequency that the boys were using.
            “You’re the most familiar with our facilities. If you could get to Hanger Fifteen and fire up our backups we could have this mopped up in short order. I can’t connect to there without the power on, and readouts are showing the breakers have tripped.” Slippy replied.
            “It should be noted the good stuff is tarped over.” Beltino remarked.
            “You copy that?”
            “Yeah, I copy that.” Katt replied. “How’s access look? Can we use the main entrance?”
            “That’s a big no, it’s a clusterfuck out there. Use the back employee entrance, none of these assholes are by the outer hangars as far as we know.” Slippy shook his head, looking at what camera feeds they had left.
            “Understood. Wolf, can you follow my directions?”
            “Sure.” He replied, making the final turn toward Arspace.
            “Overshoot the main entrance and go around.” She gave him step by step directions, leading them to a narrow two lane access road at the back of the facility. Wolf drove through the empty security shack’s pole barricade, driving around the outer hangars of the massive production plant, the sound of a huge firefight omnipresent less than half a mile away. “Okay, this is the one we want, pull up to the door.”
            “You didn’t tell me you were working for Beltino.” Fox said, watching her tap something into her phone that made the hanger door partly open.
            “Pull in, Wolf, quick. And yes I did, remember I was thinking about going back to school?”
            “Later kids.” Fannie said, amused, as they pulled into the dark hanger, the humvee’s headlights the only light source in the building.
            Katt got out of the car and stepped around, gun at hand and gesturing for Wolf to follow close behind her, eventually pointing the headlights at a wall of breakers she started throwing, then the lights started coming back on.
            “And we’re coming up. Thanks for that.” Slippy said, fingers flying on the keyboard. “Start some of our stuff out there up. Especially anything that has a smiley face on the tarp.”
            “I won’t ask.” Fox snorted, and started pulling tarps with Wolf, gaping as each tarp revealed another ugly armed robotic monstrosity that Katt powered up, Fannie standing and watching the situation to make sure the enemy didn’t walk in while they worked. “How the hell long have these been here?”
            “Most since after the war. We got some great ideas from it.” Slippy said. “And we’ll be clear in under five minutes. Go ahead and start coming this way.”
            “Understood.”
            Wolf was walking back toward the Humvee when his phone rang, and he picked up, only glancing at the screen. “Leon?”
            “Alec’s safe.” Leon said, sitting on a park bench across from the capital plaza, looking at the frozen mess. Not a shot was currently being fired. The status of the General and President? Unknown. Cops roved at the edges, holding back reporters and concerned public and emergency services as they could, but he’d walked right by and being he was still bloody they’d looked the other way. A lot of cops knew him, anyway, because he’d worked with several of the departments over the years. “Where are you?”
            “We’re at Arspace. Slippy says it’ll be secure here soon. Are you alright?”
            “Well enough.” He sighed, working his sore hand without thinking about it, other holding the radio he’d lifted off the agent. “So what’s the plan?”
            “I think all we have left is our two largest targets.” Wolf sat in the driver’s seat of the Humvee, everyone else climbing in and listening to him. “But how we’re going to pull off getting to them, I’m not sure.”
            “Put me on loudspeaker, volume and mic all the way up.”
            “Done.” Wolf held the phone over the center console of the Humvee so everyone could hear well.
            Leon sighed, having done the same on his end, and keyed the radio. “I stole this radio off an agent I gutted like a fish.” He said it in a pleasant voice. “Care to tell me who’s listening?”
            There was a long pause, then Pigma’s voice came on. “Powalski?”
            “Ah, Dengar, THERE you are.” He tilted his head back, staring at the sky.
            “Dengar you opportunistic backstabbing son of a bitch.” Wolf said, having no idea if the radio Leon apparently had could pick him up.
            “O’Donnel? Well fuck the gang’s all here.” Pigma laughed.
            “So is turning on commanders a thing for you?” Wolf wanted to know.
            “The only reason you were even in charge during the war is because you’re prettier, you half assed faggot.” Pigma replied bitterly.
            Hearing Leon heh-heh on his side, Wolf had to laugh. “Prettier? You’ve got to be shitting me.”
            “Yeah, prettier. Like ManWhore McCloud and his little bitch of a son.” The pig snorted.
            Fox bared his teeth at the radio. “I can hear you asshole.”
            “Oh, what are you going to do, sparkle at me? Cry?”
            “We’re not the ones you have to worry about, Pigma.” Wolf said, holding up a finger at Fox to suggest he wait a moment. “Leon is.”
            “Why the fuck would I worry about Leon?”
            “If you had seen the look on Leon’s face when he saw you put Alec on your little list of people you dislike, you would have pissed your pants.”
            There was a pause. “Really. He saw that, huh.”
            “We all did.”
            “He raises a valid point.” Leon said, still looking at the sky. “I’m coming for you, Dengar.”
            “Pfft, I’ll kill you like the rest.”
            “The difference between Leon and I, Dengar, is that if you shoot me, I’ll probably go down.” Wolf spoke slowly. “If you shoot Leon, he’ll laugh and get back up.”
            To punctuate this, Leon laughed, high and maniacal, letting the noise echo through the radio to anyone who happened to be listening. Pigma sputtered on the other end, then the radio went dead. “He’s in the capital building.” Leon finally said, dropping the radio aside.
            “You’re sure?” Wolf asked, starting the Humvee and driving toward the getting quiet main building.
            “Yeah. I’ve had this thing on since I got Alec and the reception here is quite good. Generally that means he’s close by.” Leon stood. “I imagine you’ll arrive soon enough. I’ll see you inside.”
            “Leon? I know it’s not how you do things… but try to leave Pigma and Andrew alive.” Fox finally said.
            The reptilian let out a hissing laugh. “Please. When I’m through with them they’ll wish I shot them on sight.” That said, he hung up.
            “He’s off the rails.” Katt observed.
            “Pigma put Alec on the same list you were on.” Fox replied.
            “So, he’s rightly off the rails, but off them regardless.”
            Wolf huffed and restarted the Humvee, driving it under Katt’s direction to the main part of the Arspace complex. “Leon never liked Pigma and the feeling was mutual. Leon took double pay from Andross and that made Pigma spit nails.”
            “Everything I heard about him was that he was a greedy fuck with a bad attitude.” Fannie said.
            “Spot on. Working with him was far from my choice, trust me. Still it’s petty and beyond scum to strike at Alec. Pigma has stirred up a hornet’s nest by doing it and he deserves every bit of what’s coming to him.”
            “Amen.” Fox snorted.
            Wolf took the Humvee around a corner and stopped, staring as the robots they just helped activate finished neatly clearing the road and path, pushing aside rubble and damaged vehicles. If there were actual bodies, they weren’t in line of sight. “Why make any attempt to take this facility?” He wanted to know, pulling up in front of the main building. “It’s a hard target.”
            “Got me, man.” Fox rolled down the window and grinned when Slippy walked down the front steps of the building, test rifle still propped on one shoulder. “Guess you guys managed to clean up.”
          “Yeah, if you hadn’t been able to start that stuff up we’d have been in a world of hurt though. What’s next?”
            “Well, I guess we head for the capital. No one’s able to get in, but I guess Leon’s going to try.”
            “Leon will get in. Don’t ask me how but he will.” Wolf said.
            “Guess I’m coming with then.” Slippy offered the rifle back to his father, who smiled and told him to keep it for now.
            Fannie climbed out of the back, passing her rifle off to Katt as she did. “I’ll stay here. You young pups be careful.”
            “Yes, ma’am.”
            That said, Wolf put the stolen vehicle back in gear, and they headed toward the capital square, which had long gone suspiciously quiet in the distance.

            James huffed, propping an assault rifle on his shoulder and staring off into the frozen, empty square. Corneria City’s capital had arranged the main buildings of importance in a square with the actual capital building in the center on a large lawn. But that wasn’t where the focus was. The focus was to the east of the capital building, where a blocky battlescarred building housed General Pepper’s office… and currently both the General and the President.
            The Military Headquarters Building was not something that had existed until recent years. Damage from the war had forced much of command to move where they had their offices, and this building had survived the bombing, siege, and counterattack. Since then it’d seen some renovation and the windows had been upgraded to bulletproof and mirrored. And it had become disturbingly convenient. The spaceport and navy port were both less than half an hour away in traffic, fifteen on a train. The building was within ten minutes walk of a glut of restaurants and upscale apartments, and half a block from a train line. And so the majority of Command had been seduced by convenience.
            But now, that meant that the majority of the high dollar players of Lylat were stuck in a building surrounded by hostiles.
            Which were surrounded by angry, hostile military totally willing to shoot half of the high command in the fucking face to get the General out.
            “I think these assholes severely underestimated military loyalty to Pepper.” James remarked thoughtfully, looking at Falco.
            “I’m thinking this whole mess stinks to high heaven.” Falco replied. “Yeah, they’re uncomfortably close to military coup but they’re fucking up all over the place. Have they accomplished any objective?”
            Panther replied without moving. He was lying prone on top of a black SUV. Dressed in black, with black fur and a black sniper rifle, he was practically invisible. “We’ve made some dangerous assumptions about their objectives.”
            “Well, it’s a coup right?” Falco looked at Panther.
            Panther kept looking through the scope, tracking between the windows of the Headquarters building. “We assume. The emails never came out and said, did they?”
            “Not exactly.” James admitted. “They’ve got part of the military riled up and trying to take down the government though. And they targeted people who they knew would loudly take issue with such. So what else is it?”
            “Destabilization.”
            “Shit.” Falco gaped up at Panther. “Keep going on that train of thought.”
            “Well, what do we know?”
            “We know Andrew and Pigma are directly involved in planning this. We know they’ve got some of high command involved.”
            “Suggestion: they’ve sold the high command on a coup but don’t figure it’ll actually happen. If it does, they’ll take it, but even if it doesn’t, this will turn into a fuckin witch hunt the likes of which Lylat’s never seen because some of Corneria’s own is involved.” Panther rubbed his chin.
            “I’ll give you that one and that’ll make no one happy.” James admitted.
            “And consider the clusterfuck this is already on the news.”
            “I don’t like this idea but given who’s behind this… that is a very good possibility.” He sighed.
            “And disturbing as all hell.” Said a nearby cop, sitting on the hood of his cruiser.
            “Any word from your guys in charge?” James glanced at him.
            “None. No one seems to know what to do. Getting the President out alive is priority one but no one knows who’s on what side. Military’s pretty well in the same bag.”
            “Can’t blame you.” He shook his head, then smiled when a humvee rolled up alongside the black SUV, the crowd parting to let it in, watching Fox hop out. “Glad you could join us.”
            “Any change?” Fox asked, walking over.
            “None and we could use some bright ideas.”
            “Leon’s going in. I like to think he’ll report back to us.” Wolf said, having shut the Humvee off and hopped out himself. Katt was already out, and Slippy had climbed up on the SUV next to Panther, using the scope of the test rifle to look as well.
            “I heard that on the headsets. Do you think he can actually get in? That place is seriously locked down right now and I’m usually really good at getting into places I’m not supposed to be.”
            “I’ve learned not to question Leon.” As if cued, Wolf’s phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket, looking at the ID. “Speak of a literal devil.” He put it to speaker phone. “Give us some good news man.”
            “Sshhhhut up.” Leon hissed, the phone going to video phone, showing Leon crouched in a tight poorly lit spot. “Do not blow my cover but I need to show you something.”
            That fast, everyone closed around Wolf, who tried to angle the phone so as many people could see the display as possible. Wolf glared everyone into silence then gestured at the screen. Leon almost smiled, then the feed of the video blurred, looking over an edge down below.
            The video feed came into focus, and everyone gaped at top down views of Pigma, Andrew, various brass by uniform and some foot soldiers. Pigma, Andrew, and the brass seemed to be in an intense conversation, but nothing could be heard over the phone. Instead the audio feed was dominated by loud ventilation white noise.
            “That’s the building’s main great hall.” James said quietly. “From the perspective, Leon’s up in a catwalk in the ceiling. How the fuck…”
            The video of the phone moved wildly again, Leon showed a one-minute finger to the feed, and the call ended.
            Wolf looked at the cop, which had joined them. “Tell me you have maps of that building.”
            By the time the phone rang again, the cop had gotten floor maps of the building from a nearby soldier, and they were spread on the hood of a cop cruiser, everyone crowding around it. Wolf answered the phone and simply set it on the hood. “Leon, man. Can you talk now?”
            “Yes.” Leon peered out. “Kindly change your video so I’m not looking at the sun.”
            Wolf propped the phone against the windshield. “Can you still hear us?”
            “Five by five. You get what I was seeing?”
            “Yeah. James said that was in the main great hall…” Wolf looked at the maps and set a finger on the room. “Looks like first floor, practically in the center of the building.”
            “Yeah. It was a parliament meeting room. Not full, mind you, but it can hold thirty people easy.” A soldier who’d shrugged into the front said. “But there’s only two ways in and out so it’d make sense that they’d meet there.”
            “Where are you now? Are you safe?” Wolf peered at the screen.
            “I’m in a networking room on the third floor behind a locked door. No one can hear me, no one saw me. I’m as safe as I can get in here.” Leon replied, flipping the feed to show endless server racks. “Well, besides those two IT nerds.” The nerds, sitting at desks with sodas, waved, and Leon turned the feed back to himself. “They’re not in on it, before you ask. Hell they’d leave if they could. That being said I imagine you want to know what I know.”
            “That’d be nice.”
            “From what I overheard, Pepper and the President are still pinned in Pepper’s office. That’s what the big argument is about. Half the assholes want them alive, the other half just want to cap them. The office door is blocked with several hundred pounds of furniture. They’ve been trying to coax them out, to no avail. And Pigma himself pointed out Pepper has a bathroom, a mini fridge, and a liquor cabinet so they can hole up a while without discomfort.”
            “Pepper’s office is, what, second floor?” Wolf found it from memory on the maps, and Fox nodded.
            “No easy or direct path there and there’s lots of guns right in front of the door.”
            “What are we up against?” Fox asked.
            “Well, there’s actually two factions at work.” Leon accepted a bottle of water from one of the geeks. “These guys, nice fellows that they are, were able to pull up a bunch of security feeds. First faction is Pigma, Andrew, and some cronies. Maybe a dozen, all hired gun power. Section faction is the splintered Brass, maybe half a dozen Sirs and a few dozen soldiers. I don’t have exact numbers, nor am I able to say how loyal the soldiers are. From what I heard, Andrew and the splintered Brass aren’t getting on well, and Pigma’s not helping because he’s being a smirking callous prick.”
            “So, probably fifty assholes between us and who we have to rescue and no back way in.” James rubbed his face.
            “How did you get in and can you get us in the same way?” Falco asked.
            Leon lifted an eyebrow. “I’m surprised it took this long for someone to ask. These buildings are very old and are connected by subterranean hallways in the sub basements.”
            Everyone blinked and started shuffling the floor maps. “They aren’t on here.” Katt said, frowning.
            “Of course not.”
            “But they do exist.” Slippy said. “They connect the museums and government libraries too. Hey, Leon, can I talk to the IT guys for a second?”
            Leon shrugged and passed his phone to one of the geeks. “Coworker.”
            Slippy meanwhile had pulled a tablet from his pocket and folded it open, powering it up with flicks of his finger. “Hey. Slippy Toad, Arspace. You guys still have security feeds?”
            “Yeah but all of our outgoing lines have been cut.” The geek replied, disgusted. “The assholes sledgehammered our panel AI too.”
            “Holy shit, you’re kidding.”
            “No. They’ve left us alone because we’re effectively cut off. We’ve got the AI running off a backup in a computer here, it’s disoriented and blathering a bit but we think that’s pretty goddamn understandable.”
            “Okay, well listen, I’m going to stay out here and feed my friends information if I can, is there any way for me to hook up to you guys?”
            “Is that an Arspace tablet? Because if it is, the one thing still going is our data uplinks, mostly because the assholes didn’t realize what they were. They’re Arspace gear so you should be able to find them.”
            Slippy tapped at the tablet for a few seconds. “I’m up. Thanks, Leon.”
            He took his phone back. “I’ll need some time to backtrack to how I got in but you’ll need time to get there so it works out. If we hurry we may get back before someone gets frustrated and starts opening fire.” Leon said dryly. “Up the street to the west there is a Financial Services building. Go there. Go to the second floor, there’s a security inquiries office. Go in and wait for me.” That said, the phone went dead.
            “Okay we need a fuckload of ammo and we need it now.” James said, shoving away from the cruiser and looking at a nearby military officer who’d been listening in. “Gear us up. We’re going in. We’ll give you our radio frequency and as we make progress we’ll tell you.”
            There was a split second of frozen silence, then everyone around them mobilized. Ammo and weapons moved forward, as well as body armor, dozens of hands helping load them up. Slippy stayed where he was, and the hands offered him more building maps, tunnel maps (what there was of them), and various computer equipment.
            “Okay, listen, I’m in their computer system and talking to the AI. They’re right the AI is pretty lost but, I was able to get headcounts for different rooms and floors.” Slippy said. “If you can keep contact with me on the headsets, I’ll be able to give you a good idea of what enemy is nearby. It won’t be exact because not everyone is badged and not every security camera is functional…”
            “It’s enough, that’ll be a huge help.” Fox said. “How accurate are those badges?”
            “Not very.” Slippy admitted. “Thirty feet. But if the cameras are up I can use those to confirm.”
            “Suggestion: we split into fire teams and keep contact through the headsets.” Wolf said, propping an assault rifle on his shoulder. “Three sets of two. Sweep the building as best we can.”
            “And Leon?” Falco asked.
            “Leon flies solo and I think we can all agree that might be for the best.”
            “You call us and we will give you as much backup as you need.” Said a listening soldier whose rank suggested he may be in charge of those in the square. “I understand you wanting to make this surgical, and we respect the hell out of you people, but we want the President and the General safe.”
            “Understandable.” James said. “Trust us if we need you, we’ll call. Slippy can you keep them updated?”
            “Of course.”
            They started up the street, failing into pairs. Wolf and Fox walked together in even step, leaving Katt to salute James and fall in with him. Falco settled for fist bumping Panther, the two of them bringing up the rear. Some of the soldiers and cops paced them, giving them a loose escort to their destination.
“I admit… I’m not used to being trusted like this.” Panther remarked, sniper rifle slung to his back.
            “They trust us because this is how it’s supposed to work.” James replied, grinning. “The heroes are supposed to go in and save those in distress. The heroes are supposed to win. Welcome to being a hero.”
            “We haven’t won a damn thing yet.” Wolf replied. “Fox, you know where we’re going?”
            “The building, but not the office.”
            “I know.” Panther said, stepping forward once they got to the building door. One of the cops let them in, and Panther led them through the hall and up the stairs. “It’s a secure door, though, I don’t know how he expects us to…”
            And the door opened, Leon leaning out. “What kept you?”
            Fox nearly jumped out of his skin. “Holy SHIT! Your timing today is spectacular!”
            “You have no idea. Come on.”

            Pepper sighed, opening a bottle of water and leaning on the wall, taking a slow drink. His desk had joined the furniture against his door, and everyone had given up hunkering down. It was still a long, tense wait, with no information coming in.
            “Well, something’s going on out there. I can see movement at the edge.” The President remarked, having moved the edge of the curtain slightly to look out.
            “All due respect but get the fuck away from the window sir. I don’t trust the bulletproof glass that much.” Pepper took another drink and half smiled when his suggestion was taken.
            His desk phone, sitting on the floor now that the desk was elsewhere, started ringing. The marine sitting next to it rolled his eyes and hit the speakerphone button.
            “Still alive in there?” Pigma Dengar wanted to know, leaning on the wall outside the office door, blowing out an exasperated sigh.
            “Blow it out your ass, Dengar.” Pepper made a face at the phone.
            “Now, now, General, that is no way to talk.”
            “I’ll talk to your greedy traitorous ass any way I fucking please.”
            “Getting to the point, what do you want?” The President wanted to know.
            “Just curious how long you intend to stay locked in there. No one’s coming to rescue you, you know. No one dares risk it because they figure we’ll just shoot you all.” Pigma lit a cigarette, taking a long slow drag off of it and blowing out the smoke in a thin stream, feeling the drug-laced tobacco kick hard almost immediately. Zonessians thought regular cigs were boring, and he agreed. “So what are you waiting for?”
            “Frankly, we have a better chance in here than out there with you.” Pepper said. “And we can wait a long, long time for help.”
            “None’s coming.”
            And as if cued from beyond, the PA system of the building squawked and screamed piercingly, making everyone in the office cover their ears reflexively. Then James McCloud’s voice drawled, “Would my backstabbing fuck of a former friend kindly call the following number? Thank you VERY much.” Then rattled off a cell phone number before hanging up.
            “Now what were you just saying?” Pepper asked, and laughed when the speaker phone went dead.

            “How the FUCK did he get in?” Andrew nearly screamed.
            “I have theories.” Pigma replied, checking his ammo. “And if he’s here, he’s not alone.”
            “You worked with him. What is he going to do?” Demanded Admiral Bradhorn.
            “James? Oh, I can nearly guarantee he’s planning something stupid, dangerous and ‘heroic.’” Pigma put finger quotes on the word.
            “You going to call that number?”
            “No, because that’s what he wants.”
            “Okay, priority change. We have hostages and we need to guard them if we expect to have any leverage at all.” Andrew said, thinking fast. “If we secure the entire floor and wait, they’ll come to us.”
            “We outnumber them, I nearly guarantee that.” General Parker said. “Why not just sweep the building?”
            “General, you know that scene in a horror movie, where the idiots split up to find the killer and get picked off one by one?” Pigma asked. “Yeah.”
            “I agree.” Andrew said.
            “Fucking pussies.” Bradhorn snarled. “Fine, I’ll take my men and go find them, if you won’t.” When the two former Venomians just looked at him, he stomped off, snarling orders at half a dozen soldiers and kicking the door open ahead of them, drawing his own gun.
            “Over/under on seeing him alive again?” Andrew asked out loud.
            “There’s some footage on the internet of Powalski jumping on a guy and sticking a knife straight into his aorta.” Pigma replied. “And his exact wording to me was ‘I’m coming for you.’ I’m taking no fucking chances right now. Those guys are toast. Let’s get ready for a siege.”

            Leon crouched in a shadowy corner, watching his cohorts as they finished sweeping the basement. The enemy hadn’t bothered coming down here much, as the entrances and exits were limited to service doors mostly. Mostly it was file storage, clean but the lights a bit neglected.
            “Was the phone call really necessary?” Wolf was asking James.
            “Yeah. I want him shaken.”
            “He’s shaken. They’re moving.” Slippy said over the headsets. “Looks like everyone’s on the first and second floor. A few people on the third, but a fire team is moving and they might be heading your way soon.”
            “Leon, can you get us out of here without getting our asses spotted?” Falco asked.
            Leon stood, popping his neck, and started moving without saying a word, one hand to the small of his back. The others took the hint and fell in behind him, following him to a set of stairs then up. He skipped the first two floors, stopping at the third floor and nodding at the door.
            Falco and Panther stepped up, the others moving out of the way as Falco stood beside the door with his gun at the ready. Panther opened it, and Falco glanced out, then took a longer look, eyes scanning the hall. “We’re clear. Slippy? Talk to us.” He said this quietly, ducking back to safety.
            “You’re less than clear. The hallway is an H and there’s no one on this span right now. The room across the hall from you is empty. Also, that patrol is coming your way fast, up the other stairwell though.”
            James tapped Katt’s shoulder and started up the stairwell to the fourth floor. Leon was already gone, back down the stairs without a word, leaving Wolf, Fox, Panther and Falco. They glanced at each other and Falco and Panther stepped into the hallway, guns at the ready, Fox and Wolf stepped out behind them. A few hand gestures later and the two pairs split up, Panther and Falco moving up the hallway, Fox and Wolf heading the other direction toward the nearest corner.
            Wolf twitched his ears, standing with his back around the corner and leaning. A single soldier paced up the hallway away from them, rifle resting on shoulder. A glance at Fox and they walked quietly behind her, footfalls hushed by the carpet, the barrel of Fox’s rifle touching the soldier’s back moments later. “Drop the weapon.”
            The soldier froze and did so, hands going to the back of her neck and Wolf relieved her of her handgun then stepped around her, looking at her. “You going to cause trouble?”
            “I didn’t sign up for this.” She replied sourly. “I do hope you’re not going to shoot me.”
            Fox sighed, pulling zip ties out of an inner vest pocket and pulling her wrists behind her, securing them there. “No. Just have you sit out for a while in one of these rooms.”
            “Good. My girlfriend would be pissed if I came home shot.” Hanging her head, the soldier moved willingly, Fox opening the nearest door and finding empty offices. They left her sitting on the floor out of view of the door on a sofa, one of her ankles zip tied to one of the sofa legs.
            They’d just returned to the hallway, closing the door behind them, when multiple voices started shouting on the radio, Falco’s voice overlapping Slippy’s and gunfire breaking out seconds later. Fox put a hand to his headset, trying to make out what was happening as he and Wolf ran toward the gunfire, weapons at hand. “Falco?”
            “Fuckers!” Falco spat in reply, he and Panther crouching around the corner from Bradhorn and his men. Laser blast burns peppered the walls but somehow, none of the shots had hit, and now the fire team was making their way up the hallway from the stairway door toward the corners.
           “Well, well, gentlemen. Seems you’re outnumbered.” Bradhorn remarked, glancing at the charge on his pistol.
            “Seems to me you’re a prick hiding behind his men.” Falco replied, palming a flashbang and looking at Panther.
            “Fox, Wolf, stop. Center hallway, move slow, they’ll be on your left.” Slippy said, swapping between the cameras. “And they’re watching their backs so be careful.” Fox turned up a short corridor, moving slower with Wolf beside him.
            “That is no way to talk to command. Drop your guns and come out with your hands up, we’ll take you into custody.”
            “Fuck you very much, Admiral.” Falco replied, pulling the pin on the flashbang and sending it ricocheting around the corner, shading his eyes as Panther did.
            The fireteam swore and backed up, the flashbang lighting up the hallway and prompting a wave of disoriented shouting. The stairway door opened right after, James ducking out and charging into the panicked group, slamming one of the soldiers aside with the butt of the rifle then shoving the barrel against the base of the Admiral’s skull. “Okay. How about we all play nice and drop our guns. Hello, Admiral, nice to see you again.”
            “James fucking McCloud.” Bradhorn replied, freezing up, well aware what that cold metal he felt meant. The soldiers froze up, then more so when the two other teams closed in around both corners, rifles at bear. “You wouldn’t dare shoot me.”
            James sighed, moved the gun, and squeezed the trigger, sending a blast sizzling past the Admiral’s ear and into the ceiling close enough to singe fur before putting the now warmer barrel back where it was. “Don’t test me today. I’m dead on paper so it’d be really hard to charge me with murder. Sir.”
            The six soldiers tossed their rifles down wordlessly, putting their hands on the back of their necks as the two fire teams approached. “Slippy, anyone else coming our way?” Fox wanted to know, offering zip ties to Panther before seeing he had some of his own, so passing them to Wolf instead.
            “Not yet.” Slippy replied, watching the elevator for movement on one readout and watching them on a security camera with the other, sighing when the crowd behind him jostled him and glaring over his shoulder silently until they gave him some space.
            “Okay, listen up.” Fox said, holding his gun on the soldiers while the others worked on restraining them. “I don’t know how far into this you are but you really, really don’t want to be on this asshole’s side.”
            “You have no idea how far down this goes.” Bradhorn snarled, trailing into a grunt when James dug the barrel of the gun in further.
            “We’re going to find out.” James replied sweetly. “Slippy, got somewhere we can secure these idiots?”
          “Two doors down on the left there’s a bathroom, you could secure them to the bars of the handicapped stall.” He suggested after a second. “And there’s no cameras in there so…”
            “Works for me. March.”

            Leon leapt up and grabbed the bottom rung of the catwalk ladder, pulling himself up and out of immediate view just as Andrew and Pigma came into the room. He held his breath and kept climbing until he was on the catwalk proper, laying down and listening, a knife in one hand, keeping his body and his breathing quiet. He’d turned his radio headset down to the quietest he could while still being able to hear it, but for now, turned his attention to what was going on below him.
            “I think we’re losing control.” Andrew was saying, rubbing his eyes.
            “We never had control of these assholes in the first place.” Pigma replied bitterly. “Give me one fucking reason why we shouldn’t take Pepper’s door off the hinges and fill the room full of grenades.”
            “Tempting as it may seem, I’m not sure it’d help.” Andrew said after a long pause to consider. “Left alive they’ll damn near dismantle the military from inside out.”
            “You say that like I care. I’m telling you, cut the head off the snake. We’re better off with them dead, especially with James and whoever else loose in the building.”
            “This is the problem, Pigma. You lack vision.”
            “Oh, I have plenty of vision. What you lack is some fucking balls.”
            Andrew snarled, spinning and putting a finger in Pigma’s face. “Don’t you DARE address me like that. I planned this. I bankrolled this, even down to your little allowance, and don’t you dare forget it.”
            “Get your finger out of my face.” Pigma’s voice was deathly quiet, continuing once Andrew lowered his hand. “Oh, I do remember, but you’d still be crying into your pansy ass mixed drinks on a station if I hadn’t given you a kick to the ass.”
            Leon quietly put his face in his free hand and struggled not to start laughing. These idiots had caused this much trouble? He made a mental note to help retool Corneria’s intelligence system.
            “I’m going to go deal with Pepper. I’m sure our ‘friends’ will be glad to help me. You going to fucking stop me?” Pigma demanded. Andrew went for his gun, and Pigma lunged, backhanding the younger man and removing it. “Fucking please. Revise the plan, bankroll. This is happening whether you like it or not.” That said Pigma chucked the gun over his shoulder and stormed out of the room, taking some of the hired muscle with him, leaving Andrew leaning on one of his bodyguards.
            “I cannot believe he fucking did that!” Andrew screamed after a moment, appalled. Leon took the opportunity of the noise to start moving, crouched on the catwalk, shifting until he was over those below him, crouched on his toes and watching over the edge, tail up in a loop around a support to balance himself.
            “I told you he’d be trouble.” The bodyguard replied, standing Andrew up fully and dusting him off.
            “Do not patronize me.” Andrew pulled away, rubbing at his stinging face. “Cutting him out of the plan will be a pain in the ass but it’s doable. The President and Pepper dying, a bit tougher but I can work with it. The VP isn’t very movable but a lot of his friends are. If I have a couple months I should be able to rig something…”
            Leon chose that moment to stand and simply step off the catwalk, landing on top of Andrew and driving him to the ground, hearing bones snap under him. Andrew hit the ground on his stomach with a howl of pain, then went still when Leon dug a knife into the side of his neck. “I can move this faster than any of you can pull those triggers. Step back right now.” He kept his voice mild, gentle, and the bodyguards scrambled back, guns at hand but not lifting them to aim. “Hello, Oikonny. Bad day?”
            Andrew grunted, shivering on the floor. Pain lanced up one his legs, which had caught most of the weight and impact of Leon landing on him. “Powalski? I think you broke my gods damn leg.”
            “How inconvenient.” He turned his eyes to the guards. “I don’t need him alive so don’t think I won’t. Drop the weapons.”
            “What the hell do you have in this?” Andrew wanted to know.
            “Are you trying to barter with me?” Leon asked, digging the knife in hard enough to draw blood and satisfied when that finally got the message across, the guards dropping their weapons and putting their hands up.
            “OW. Listen guys, you do not want to mess with him.” Andrew whined.
            “I could break this fuck with my bare hands.” Replied the main bodyguard, grinding one fist into the palm of his other hand.
           “Very sweet of you but he’d be dead before you even got a chance to try it.” Leon replied, eyebrow up. “But, maybe we can work something out. I don’t need any of you dead, either… just out of the picture until this is over. Give me your cards and I can talk to the General about it later.”
            “Yeah, like we’re going to trust you.”
            He rolled his eyes, holding the knife between his teeth and pulling a zip tie from one of his pants pockets, locking Andrew’s arms behind his back with practiced hands then standing up, moving a foot to plant firmly between Andrew’s shoulders and looking at the guards. “So, what’s it going to be?”
            The bodyguards were fast. He was faster. Blood splattered and it was Andrew’s sobbing howls for them to stop that drew it to a halt, two of the guards down and dying and the main one on his knees, one of Leon’s knives to his throat, the fourth and last holding a gun on them both, hands violently shaking.
            “That’s enough!” Andrew barked. “Fucking hell, what part of do not mess with him did you assholes not get?! He’s a psychopath! He thinks this is fun! He’d leave me here watching all of you bleed out so much as give any of you the time of day! Let him tie you up and let him leave!”
            There was a frozen moment, the two living guards staring at Leon and wincing when they heard a death rattle from one of their former coworkers. “Okay, boss. Okay.”
            Less than two minutes later, Leon was out the door. He’d been kind enough to leave them sitting near their wounded, hysterical boss, and didn’t let his mind linger on what had just happened, heading for the nearest staircase and breaking to a sprint when he heard gunfire on the second floor.

            “This is fucking stupid.” Falco said as the group crouched, backs to the wall and guns brought to bear. “Slippy, man, talk to us.”
            They’d started down to the second floor but the gunfire had brought more of the enemy to them. Shots were fired and the groups got split up. James and Katt were somewhere on the second floor, keeping their heads down, the rest were back on the third floor, pissed off.
            “Leon did some damage on the first floor and is in the stairwell, waiting for an opportunity to come up, but there’s enemy on the stairs waiting. Looks like this whole mess is falling apart. Pigma’s on the first floor talking to a bunch of them, something’s going down, not sure what yet.” Slippy replied. “The hallway running up to Pepper’s office is empty right now because everyone’s in the hallway by the stairs or trying to figure out where James and Katt are. Are you guys safe?”
            “Not as such.” James’ voice was barely a mutter. They were in an office, crouched behind a desk that went to the floor, wincing every time footsteps went past. They’d locked the door, and after the door had been checked once it hadn’t been checked again. “We’re in an office. Not sure whose, she’s got good taste in booze though.”
            “Office, chick, second floor…” Slippy looked through the building roster and checked the floor plan. “Looks like she’s Air Force not that it matters.”
            Wolf blew out a sigh and stood. “Okay. If we wait we’re dead. Fox, you’re coming with me. Up a floor and over, flank them.”
            Fox stood, nodding. “Sounds like a plan. Falco, Panther? Can you stay here and keep their attention?”
            “Sure man, we can try but don’t take too long or we’re done for.” Falco replied, staying crouched. “Good luck.”
            Wolf and Fox jogged back down the hallway, finding the other stairway door and heading up a floor. The fourth floor was still quiet and they moved quickly, turning a corner to the other stairs and nearly running facefirst into another fire team, heading the other direction in a two by two formation.
            Fox swore, finger jamming on the trigger as Wolf just brought the butt of his gun up and around, clocking the one immediately in front of him and sending him staggering backwards into the other two, throwing their aims off in the process. Fox meanwhile dropped his aim and took two knee shots, then a third when the one Wolf had clobbered decided to go for his gun again instead of go down.
            “Are we that good or do they suck that much?” Wolf wanted to know.
            “Yes. Help me with them, will you?” Fox replied, yanking more zip ties out of his pocket. A few minutes later they’d left them all zip tied to each other in the middle of the hallway, and had moved for stairs again. “Slippy?”
            “Shit, guys, sorry. Move quiet on the stairs and they may not notice you, because things are getting nasty.”
            “Understood.” Wolf replied, easing the stairway door open and carefully stepping into the stairwell behind Fox, somehow not surprised when gunfire and screams echoed from below.

            Leon had been crouched under the stairs on the first floor for under two minutes before getting sick of the situation. He could hear people above him, and people outside the stairs on the first floor, putting him in the unfortunate position of being able to get killed from basically every direction. So, he’d simply walked out of the stairwell and started looking for someone to pick a fight with.
            He’d moved less than ten feet before someone appeared. One of Pigma’s hired thugs, he realized, the guy was a rhino, towering over Leon by at least a foot and easily double the reptilian’s body weight as well. That being said he looked quite surprised to find Leon, who was wearing a mild smile and carrying a knife in each hand, still splattered in some blood from his encounter with Andrew’s guards.
            “Now what do you plan on doing with those toothpicks, asshole?” The rhino demanded.
            Leon sighed. The rhino’s shocked and panicked screaming brought the rest of the first floor running, and Leon’s response was to run at them, knives up. When they stopped so fast their shoes skidded on the tiles, he added a maniacal laugh, and they fled, spraying gunfire behind themselves mindlessly. He dove under the hail of laser blasts, catching up and zigzagging up the corridor. Three dropped before they managed to scramble around a corner and collect themselves, firing back frantically, so he stood around the corner and wiped one of his knives off on his shirt patiently.
            The laserblasts stopped, and he could hear the surviving thugs trying to calm themselves. “Well, I know this fucking handiwork.” Pigma was understandably pissed.
            “Hello Dengar.” Leon wiped off his other knife carefully. “How many of your friends do you have left?”
            “More than enough to deal with you.”
            “Why do I doubt they’re as confident as you are.” Leon looked back up the hallway, considering, then holstered his knives, stepping over to the last thug he’d killed and relieving the body of its assault rifle.
            “Well I’m not the asshole that brought a knife to a gunfight. For fuck’s sake you assholes take him out!” Pigma shoved on the thugs, who stepped around the corner and blinked when Leon wasn’t immediately visible.
            “Learn to look down.” Leon sighed, prone on the floor by the wall, and pulled the trigger, catching the remaining three thugs in a full auto blast until the gun overheated and the bodies fell. Only then did he roll to his feet, discarding the assault rifle and looking around the corner, not surprised when he saw Pigma already bolting down the hallway. “Do not make me chase you.”
            Pigma fired off shots behind him mindlessly. The minute he saw the thugs start to catch shots, he’d started to run. He didn’t need another red flag that this was going to shit: time to go. Behind him he heard Leon say something and ignored it, skidding to a halt and yanking a door open, charging down the stairs into the basement and sprinting full out for the door to the tunnel out. But, overweight and not a sprinter at any point in his life, Leon caught him in the open doorway, turning his momentum into slide and planting a boot behind one of Pigma’s knees.
            Pigma dropped like a sack of potatoes, cussing a storm then louder when his gun was kicked away, then went still, swallowing slowly, the tip of one of Leon’s knives hovering about a centimeter away from one of his eyes.
            “And here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to get up, you’re going to let me restrain your arms. Any attempt.. ANY attempt… at anything, and you’re losing both eyes. No, I’m not going to kill you Pigma. Not yet. There is much you have to answer for. Do you understand?” Leon’s voice came out flat and cold, and Pigma nodded slowly. “Good. Now get up. We’re leaving.”

            “Okay that was far too close for comfort.”
            Panther sighed and looked at Falco, who was contemplating his singed pants. “I think that’s the closest you can get brushed without it being a legitimate hit.”
            “If it was a hit I’d be a castrati.” Falco frowned and turned his head, yelling up the hallway. “You guys are assholes and you have shitty aim!”
            “Well fuck you too!” Replied one of the enemy, around the corner. Several were nursing minor wounds.
            “The hell are you talking about. Your nads are internal.” Panther said after a moment, giving Falco a quizzical look.
            “And your point is what, exactly?”
            “A lot of screaming and gunfire just happened downstairs, we heard it through the floor.” James said. “Also, I’d just as soon keep discussions on the position of Falco’s nads off the radio.”
            “Second.” Slippy said, rubbing one of his temples. Behind him there was a constant dull roar from the shifting crowd as different people took turns watching the action over his shoulder. So far, those stuck outside took heart in there being a very small number of casualties.
            Fox managed not to snerk but grinned at Wolf anyway. They were sitting in the staircase, keeping an eye on four knocked out, thrussed up soldiers they’d managed to immobilize without making a lot of commotion. The play by play from Slippy had made them decide to stay put momentarily. Wolf smirked back.
            “Alright, here’s the situation as it stands. First floor appears to be clear. You do not want details beyond the fact that those out here are getting ready to move on that information.” Slippy said. “Remaining enemy forces appear split between second and third floors. Looks like two Brass in each group. Third floor forces aren’t moving, second floor forces are sort of roaming. The two Brass on the second floor appear to be arguing, I don’t have sound.”
            “Yeah, I can hear them but can’t understand what they’re saying. Why they haven’t kicked in the door I have no idea.” James said.
            Slippy scowled when one of the people watching over his shoulder started frantically pointing at one of the security cam feeds he had shuffled to the side, but made it larger and gaped. “Oh fuck. Situation change guys. Pepper is out of his office and has four foot soldiers with him. He’s armed and looks pissed as hell.”
            “What.” Fox stated.
            “What in the fuck is he doing?” Falco wanted to know.
            “Not sure. Can’t see the President, guess he’s staying in the office and that is a very good thing.” Slippy shuffled camera feeds so he could watch Pepper and the enemy.
            “Okay, enough hiding.” James stood and moved, and Katt followed without asking, yanking the door open and stepping out behind James, bringing their guns to bear. No one was currently in that hallway so they moved toward the arguing voices, turning the corner as Pepper and his men did.
            “Drop the weapons soldiers!” Pepper roared, a handgun up in a two hand grip, the four foot soldiers flanking him with handguns up as well. “NOW! Weapons down now! You will fucking obey my order or so help me you will all get size twelve leather enemas!”
            James grinned over the butt of the rifle he had up, as almost involuntarily four of the eight soldiers standing there dropped their guns, hands frozen in midair before coming up to salutes in sheer reflex. The other four stood with weapons up but not firing, frozen where they stood with the two Brass behind them, also holding guns on Pepper.
            “Gentlemen.” Pepper said, not moving, staring past the soldiers at the two Brass. “Parker, Miles.”
            “Pepper.” Parker replied, not moving. “Decided to join us?”
            “Decided it was time to take control of my house.”
            “Well, we seem to have the upper hand in firepower.” Parker barely quirked an eyebrow.
            “Yes, but I always seem to have friends in the right places.” Pepper smirked.
            James put the barrel of his rifle to Parker’s back as Katt did the same to Miles. “Gentlemen. I’d drop the weapons, if I were you.”
            “Son of a bitch.” Miles replied, looking over his shoulder at Katt. “We knew you two were down here somewhere but if you were pussy enough to hide behind a locked door…”
            “What can I say, I’m good at waiting for the proper moment.” James replied. “Drop the guns or we drop you both.”
            “Ah, the James McCloud I know and love: not afraid to abuse authority to get his way.” Pepper said, walking over. The remaining footsoldiers had already lowered their guns, having sensed a shift in the odds, but the two Brass only tightened their grip. Pepper shook his head and dropped his aim, shooting both in the thigh. “Weapons down, boys.”
            “What the fuck?!” Miles screamed, dropping his gun and staggering backwards, hand clutching his leg over the wound.
            “Keep screaming, I’ll make it a matched set. I am not fucking around right now so if you could all sit on the floor with your hands on the back of your necks I’d be very grateful.” They all sat, the two Brass having to be assisted. “Except you four.” He pointed at the four that had followed his orders. “Up.” They stood. “Secure these idiots for me then keep an eye on them. James you got fast cuffs or something?”
            James grinned, lowering his gun and producing a handful of zipties. “I missed you, man.”
            “Yeah, yeah, we’ll catch up later.” Pepper grabbed the zip ties and passed them to the recruited foot soldiers, who followed Pepper’s orders in a semi daze.
            “Second floor is mostly secure, Slippy.” Katt said.
            “Oh it’s secure. Isn’t it.” Pepper glared at the four recruits, who nodded quickly. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
            “You’re not going to get away for treating us like this.” Parker snarled, glaring up at Pepper.
            “I already am and I’m sure I will in the future.”
            “Guys? We’re about to get raped up here.” Falco said. “We’re now cut off from both stairwells and we’re trapped in the center hallway and they’re quite aware of it.”
            “Understood, help’s on the way.” James saluted Pepper. “Gotta go help upstairs, I’m afraid.”
            “Oh, you think you’re leaving me here?” Pepper grinned. “I don’t think so, Jimmy. Got a plan?”
            Wolf meanwhile had stood up and gestured to Fox. Fox tossed him a flashbang, Wolf pulled the pin, cracked the door, tossed it in, and closed the door again. He leaned there for a few seconds, then they opened the door and charged in, guns up. No one was there, but gunfire sounded from down one of the hallway and they ran that way, charging full sprint. Wolf didn’t bother stopping as they turned a corner, charging into the enemy and bringing his gun around as a blunt weapon, snarling.
            Fox skidded and went in low, one of his boots coming down hard on the side of one of the enemy’s knee and realizing a second later he’d just destroyed a General’s knee. Said member of the Brass shouted in pain, twisting and bringing up a handgun to aim at Fox, only to catch Wolf’s rifle butt to the face as Fox swung an arm, knocking the gun away.
            Then there was a moment of stillness, the group of nine enemy turned back to back in a cover formation, the two Brass and a few soldiers holding weapons on Fox and Wolf, the others holding them on Falco and Panther, who were up the hall in a doorway, pinned down but at least under some cover.
            “Who the fuck just charges in like that?” General McPhee demanded, one hand on her destroyed knee, the other holding a gun. To her credit, the gun wasn’t shaking.
           Wolf snorted, holding the rifle to bear less than a foot from one of the soldiers’ faces. “You guys aren’t scary. Your friends are all dead or incapacitated. The first floor’s about to be taken by the cops. Give. Up.”
            “Oh, fuck off mercenary.” Spat General Jones.
            “No you.” Fox stuck his tongue out.
            “Gentlemen, Lady.” Pepper said, walking around the corner on the far side of Fox and Wolf, now carrying an assault rifle and flanked by four soldiers, Katt, and James. “That’s no way to talk to a hero now is it?”
            “Hero?” Jones nearly choked on his own spit, turning to face Pepper and leveling his gun at him. “This is what’s fucking wrong with you! These people aren’t heroes!”
            “They’re stopping you aren’t they?” Pepper looked at the soldiers. “Drop the weapons. Now. That is an order.”
            Two did, then dropped and covered their heads as the hallway dissolved into a mad circular firefight. Wolf lunged back around the corner and drug Fox with him, Fox yelping as laser blasts barely winged one of his legs and his tail. Pepper barely moved, just dropping his aim and firing steady as everyone else leaned to full auto. But it barely lasted ten seconds, then the enemy was all in various stages of down, all alive and holding wounds.
            “Any injuries?” Slippy wanted to know. “I have no camera angle on you right now.”
            “A few minor scrapes.” Fox said, leaning on the wall and watching Wolf look at his leg and tail.
            “Light bandages and he’ll be fine.” Wolf said.
            “Same.” Panther said.
            “How the hell did all of us discharge six rifles worth of laser charge and manage to kill no one?” James wanted to know, walking up the corridor to help Pepper sort the enemy out.
            “That kind of sums up the whole cluster fuck in my opinion.” Pepper replied.
            “This wasn’t what was supposed to happen.” General Jones said, smiling grimly from where he was lying on the floor.
            “The fuck are you smiling about?” James wanted to know.
            For an answer, Jones rolled and put a gun under his chin and yanked down on the trigger before anyone could react, let alone stop him. The pistol, dialed up to full charge, went off with a crack, Jones’ body jumping once and going limp.
            “Holy shit!” James leapt backwards reflexively.
            “Last act of a coward.” Wolf said sourly.
            “We are not going to speak ill of the dead.” Pepper replied in a flat voice, rubbing his eyes. “Whatever the circumstance may be. Call outside to get some backup, let’s get this shit cleaned up.”

            Fox sighed, sitting on the hood of a humvee and watching a medic look over the scrapes on his leg. Panther sat next to him, a medic looking at Panther’s arm. “We got fucking lucky.”
            “Agreed.” Panther said, watching the never ending parade of people going in and out of the capital building. Andrew had already been pulled out on a stretcher, and it had nearly embarrassing to watch. He’d been a hysterical mess, barely coherent and nearly screaming bloody murder when his bodyguards had been taken away, only falling silent when he was heavily tranquilized by an EMT. Bodies were being removed now, and while it wasn’t being said, everyone was pretty sure it was Leon’s handiwork.
            “Not so sure.” Wolf said, sitting on a cop car and drinking out of a bottle of water. “Leon’s still silent on the radio and has anyone seen Pigma?”
            “No one’s seen either of them and the building’s been swept twice, including the tunnel.” Slippy said.
            “Worrying about me? I’m flattered.” Leon walked up, carrying a sports drink. “Sorry about the radio silence but it was necessary. Pigma is elsewhere.”
            Fox lifted an eyebrow. “Elsewhere?”
            Leon lifted an eyebrow in return. “Elsewhere. To be dealt with later.”
            Wolf burst into laughter. “You sneaky evil son of a bitch. Keep doing shit like that and I’ll give you a raise.”
            “The first is free the second will cost you.” Leon replied. “I take it everything went well while I was away.”
            “Building’s clear, Pepper and the President are secure.” James said. “So as well as it could get.”
            Felix faded in from the crowd, walking over. “I think it’s time for you all to leave. The press is fighting to get past the sawhorses and if they see all of you it’ll be an even bigger shitstorm than it already is. This sort of press needs to be controlled.”
            “Have we been dismissed?” Panther wondered out loud.
            “Hell, they know where to call us.” Falco replied. “Let’s get the hell out of dodge and get back to the Great Fox at the very least.”
            “We need to make a side stop first.” Leon said. “And I am telling you nothing else, here. Shall we?”
            Felix had apparently called in a few favors because he led them all to a series of large black SUVs and handed out keys. The group piled into two separate ones, Wolf driving one with Leon navigating, James driving the other and following. Felix merely said he’d catch up later. Leon’s directions led them quickly away from the mess to downtown Corneria City, old downtown not far from the warehouse districts and docks, eventually pulling up in front of an old monolithic building. It wasn’t obviously open for business at this hour, though a welded iron sign above a set of carved wooden double doors read simply “The Glass Shackle.”
            “Friend of mine. Alec’s here, and so is Dengar.” Leon led the group up the sidewalk, looked at the security camera that was facing the doors, and cheerfully flipped it off.
            “This place’s name seems really familiar.” James said thoughtfully.
            “That’s because it used to be a money laundering front and probably still is.” Leon replied. “It’s also a rather good fetish club.”
            After a moment one of the doors opened, revealing a large, bulky big horned ram in a suit. “That was quick. Luther said you and your friends are free to come in.”
            “Thanks, Divo. How’s the wife anyway?” Leon wanted to know, leading the group into a nightclub that was obviously not open for the night yet. Chairs were upturned on tables, the bar stood empty, and everything was surgically clean.
            “Augh, got divorced last year. You came by more often you’d know that.” Divo replied, still leading them. “Saw on the news the shitstorm’s over.”
            “Yes, hence why I’m back so fast.”
            “Not to ask the obvious but where the hell are we?” Falco wanted to know.
            Panther gave him a look. “This is Luther Bianchi’s night club.”
            “Wait, you’ve been here before?” Falco looked around. “This place looks tight, actually, what’s the cover?”
            “Game face, Falco, please.” Fox managed not to laugh.
            Divo led them through a back door and up a set of stairs, opening a door there. “Mr. Bianchi? Powalski’s back and he has company.”
            “Well, get your ass in here, Leon.” Luther replied, standing from his desk and watching the group come in. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about company.”
            Alec got up from a sofa and leapt across the room, throwing his arms around Leon and hanging there. Leon patted his back, looking at Luther. “Yeah, and I owe you big time. How’s our guest?”
            “So far four of my guys have asked if they’re allowed to rough him up. And these are guys with some pretty thick skins mind you.” Luther walked over. A lion with a mostly shaved mane, he wore a suit that’s price was obvious in its understatement. “And you must be the Fox McCloud I’ve been hearing about. Welcome to my club.”
            Fox shook hands amiably. “Indeed. Always glad to meet a friend of a friend.”
            “Well, we’ll have to talk more under better circumstances because I’ll be honest, I want you to get that rude cuss out of my basement before something nasty happens to him.”
            Fox laughed. “Understood. Can I come to the club some night?”
            “You and your friends are welcome here. Follow me.”
            Luther led the way back down the stairs, then down another flight, a few other suits falling in with them as they moved.
            “How the hell do you know this guy man?” Falco wanted to know, moving to walk with Leon down the stairs.
            “He’s a former employer.” Leon replied. “I can’t say much beyond that, I don’t discuss past work contracts. Personal policy.”
            Luther snorted. “Leon’s worked for me several times, on the behalf of my family, to send messages.”
            Falco balked, looked at Leon, and mouthed “Mafia?” Leon gave him a look implying that Falco should have figured that out before they entered the building in the first place.
            The basement of the building was nicely finished, with polished cement floors. Luther led them down the hallway to where two more suits stood on either side of a door. “So?”
            “He never shuts up. Ever.” Replied one of them. “I doubt a gag would stop him because he’d eat it.”
            James laughed. “Alright, alright, we’ll get him out of your hair. Everyone’s still armed right?”
            This got a wave of affirmatives as Luther unlocked the door and pushed it open, revealing Pigma tied to a chair and looking very pissed off. “Well well, Manwhore McCloud.” He said by way of greeting, looking at James. “And your faggy kid, too.”
            “So if we just kill him here can we pay you to deal with the body?” Fox asked Luther in a conversational tone.
            “No, we’re not dealing with him here.” Leon replied before Luther could. “That would rather strain our host’s hospitality. We have a brig on Aquas. We are going to deal with him there.”
            “I take it we’re not bringing official authorities into this.” Slippy said, quirking an eyebrow, and got a bunch of looks. “Not arguing, just making sure.”
            Luther worked on unlocking Pigma from the chair while the others had a brief discussion, and in the end Panther, James, and Wolf all held guns on him, the others would walk ahead and behind in case Pigma tried to make a break for it.
            “You can keep the shackles, I sure as hell don’t want them now.” Luther remarked, hefting Pigma to his feet with a grunt.
            “Leather lined. Classy.” Pigma made a face at Luther.
            “I’ve disappeared people for less disrespect than you’ve paid me in the last hour. These people have saved your life. Contemplate that.” He replied very quietly, and shoved Pigma forward, forcing him to walk in a shortened gait due to the chains.
            Five minutes later the group was in the main part of the club and was discussing how to go about travel from here on out when the front door jerked open and two more bulky men in suits came in. The only one who paid it any mind was Leon, who turned to face them and promptly caught five shots to the torso.
            Leon staggered once, then fell backwards roughly, rolling on his side reflexively. Wolf lunged and stood over him, leveling his handgun at the intruders but not firing, hands shaking as the rest of group also turned their weapons, Pigma’s laughter echoing in the room.
            “Luther?” Wolf demanded. The two intruders had already dropped their weapons, watching Luther’s men stride at them.
            “They aren’t mine. They fucking broke the door lock and set off the silent alarm. I already cancelled it.” Luther replied, snarling and striding over. “Who the fuck are you?! Do you know who I am?!”
            “No, they don’t.” Pigma giggled. “They were just following the tracker on me.”
            Wolf knelt, putting a hand on Leon’s neck. “He’s alive. Fuck. You better not die on me, asshole.”
            “No.”
            Wolf’s hackles went on end, and he slowly looked over his shoulder at Alec, who was frozen and wide eyed, pale as a sheet and shaking slightly. Then something changed and the broken expression contorted to one of rage, and Alec started moving, breaking into a sprint and picking up one of the club stools in passing, charging the two thugs. One of his hands brought the stool up and the other took hold, and the stool came up and roundhoused one of the thugs, sending him flying backwards in a shower of broken wood.
            Luther’s men only watched, gaping, as without missing a beat Alec used the broken stool leg he still held and ran the second man through with it with apparently very little effort. The thug screamed briefly, then spat blood, and Alec still held the improvised stake, rage breaking to something like serenity. “You. HURT. Him. This… is NOT acceptable.” Alec’s voice came out distant as he let go, and the thug fell. This done, Alec turned to look at the others, looked at the blood on his own shirt, and hit the ground like a ton of bricks.
            “Holy. Fucking. Shit.” Fox said in a numb voice. “That all just really happened, right?”
            “Police and emergencies would be nice.” Wolf said to Luther.
            “Working on it. Divo, Nicola, take the living one downstairs for me.” Luther’s voice came out hard edged and his men obeyed.
            Slippy moved to help Wolf carefully roll Leon onto his back. “Three gut shots, two chest.”
            “Still breathing.” Wolf replied, taking out a knife and cutting Leon’s shirt open only to find another layer of sheer shiny black material. “And that’s body armor you lucky smart son of a bitch!”
            Leon hissed, eyes barely open. “Not like it stopped the shots.”
            “Yeah but it very well may have saved your life.”
            “Alec?” Leon wanted to know.
            “He’s okay!” Falco said, kneeling by Alec, one hand on his neck. “Looks like a flat faint.” Leon struggled to get up and was shoved back down to the floor by Wolf and Slippy combined. Falco sighed and scooped Alec up in a bridal carry with a grunt, walking over and setting him down next to Leon, not surprised when Leon rolled and put a hand on Alec’s neck to satisfy himself.
            “Oh that’s just fucking pathetic.” Pigma complained.
            “Can we please, please kill him?!” Katt snarled.
            “No. We get him out of here right now.” James replied. “If he is being tracked, the sooner we get him on the Great Fox the better. Let’s just have Peppy land it and take back off immediately.”
            Wolf looked up. “You guys go. I’m Leon’s Power of Attorney. I’ll stay with him and Alec and keep you updated.”
            “I don’t need you yet, jerk.” Leon replied, swatting at him with one hand as Wolf tried to put pressure on some of the wounds.
            “Just wait until they hit you with the narcotic painkillers.”
            “You’ll be okay?” Fox wanted to know, stepping over to Wolf.
            “Yeah, go, man.” Wolf accepted the headfur ruffle from Fox, watching them leave dragging Pigma, having to dodge around the ambulance that had just arrived.
            “Powalski, if you die I’m going to be very disappointed in you.” Luther remarked, setting a medkit down and getting the smelling salts out of it, waving them at Alec.
            Leon tried to laugh and went into a coughing fit as EMTs knelt next to him, taking over for Wolf. “You’re not that lucky. You could have gone with them, Wolf.”
            “No. Absolutely not.” Wolf moved to help Alec up, who was disoriented and almost immediately went into hysterics, holding Leon’s hand and refusing to let go. “Fallen men, right?”
            “At least it’s over, right? No one else is going to try to hurt him.” Alec’s voice bled with panic, and Leon reached up a hand as the EMTs shifted him to a stretcher, touching Alec’s face and trying to shush him.
            Wolf considered the fact that Pigma Dengar was probably going to be locked in his Aquas base until Leon was out of the hospital, and the shitstorm that was probably already happening in the media and various political realms, and only shook his head, helping Alec into the ambulance.

Author's Note: One more chapter after this.
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