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Parasite is the third part of The Underground series

Chapter 15 of 29

Interloper

Alias

I don't question my own niche in The Underground. I may not always enjoy it, or think highly of the role I play, but I never question it. I've heard of things such as survivor's guilt before. It's when someone feels guilty about living through a calamity. Like the person who survived the plane crash and wonders why the little kid behind him didn't. I've never felt that way. Not how they describe it. I feel a sense of guilt, but it's not guilt over me surviving. It's a guilty feeling that I'm glad I was the one who survived and not the other person.

_ But that's just the way things are. Call it fate, call it luck, call it whatever you like. It doesn't change anything. I'll still be alive; he'll still be dead. Maybe that's egotistical of us not to question our own right to live, but at the same time, it's not like any of us were given a choice._

_ Not really, anyway._

The Downtown district of Arcadia was always busy at night. It was much different from the areas of the city claimed by The Underground and the Invisible War-torn urban and industrial districts. Downtown was populated by those who lived in the real world and had no concept of Underground life. Doctors, lawyers, and business executives would spend their evenings out, under the buzz of the neon lights that blocked out the light of the stars. Expensive five-star restaurants, yuppie coffee shops, and hotels lined the blocks, interspersed among the corporate high-rises and towers. It was about the only section of the city that was updated from it's original design. The closer you got to the center of Downtown the more modern it became. From there the architecture spread outward like a cancer, infecting and destroying the buildings of old. Although the Art Nouveau looks of the ancient buildings that made up the majority of Arcadia's skyline held their ground keeping the infection quarantined. Stepping into Downtown always reminded Alias of another world; one that he would never be a part of.

Although a far cry from the environment Alias was used to operating in, it wasn't anything he hadn't done before. More dead drops, deals, transactions, and meetings took place in areas like Downtown, the areas of light and glamor, than the dark alley's of The Underground. You'd never expect someone who was drinking a latte behind you was leaving a data disk of new weapon technology under his table to be picked up. Nor would you guess that the business two people are discussing in the plaza of a government building were assassination contracts. And how often would you suspect that the girl of that seemingly cute couple at the restaurant is actually informing on her own organization to a rival for a price. Seemingly ordinary people doing dangerous illegal things, but who would ever be the wiser? Not too many, and Alias would know. He'd done all those things and walked away as if he were simply there for no apparent reason.

And just like tonight, two seemingly ordinary foxes drove down West Main Street toward the center of Downtown under the deadening white noise of the city lights. The Mercenary kept one paw on the wheel in a death grip. Whatever Isis was having him go fetch for her, Alias knew that it was probably dangerous and illicit. Something that if he was caught with he'd either be killed or at worst wind up in Federal custody. Alias didn't care what was in this dead drop. He didn't care because it wouldn't matter to him. What mattered to him was earning Isis's trust. Considering he was doing this for free, the black fox did feel like an errand boy. It was a means to an end. Whatever this was, it'd wind up with the OCB once they popped this digital bitch, and as far as he was concerned there were worse places such material could end up.

Hitting his directional Alias merged left into a turn lane, waiting to turn onto Forth Street, pulling to a stop at a red light.

"Ok," he said pensively to Jenna who sat next to him, "go to the bar down the street. They have an outdoor area where you'll be able to see the car. Find a table and sit on the right side. Don't go near the car or me until I give you the all clear. If anyone so much as ties their shoes next to it, switch sides and that'll let me know to walk away."

Jenna didn't say much in reply, only nodded her head in confirmation. She was dressed like she belonged here; something that was easy for her to do. Her dark blue jeans, green figure fitting baby-t and tan corduroy jacket gave her a contemporary, stylish look without attracting attention. She'd just look like another college student enjoying a study break at one of Arcadia's finer dining establishments.

"Universal abort code: metro south." Alias continued. "If you get a call, or text saying that, just get up and walk away."

"Where do we meet up again?" Jenna asked looking over at him.

"Not here." The fox replied. "Hail a cab, get to Ethel's, stay there until I arrive. They know who you are now, so they won't give you any trouble like last time." Alias paused for a second before continuing. "Give me twelve hours, if I'm not back by then I won't be coming."

At this he could hear Jenna let out a distressed sigh. "Jesus, please don't talk like that..."

Seeing that his light was green, Alias hung a left, but quickly pulled to the curb to allow traffic to pass.

"Jenna," he started in a more comforting voice than before, "I know it's not the most pleasant thing to go over, but you need to know what you should do." Alias explained to her. The vixen's chin dropped as she began looking out her window away from him. "I don't make plans like this because I'm paranoid, or because I like playing "spy". I do this because I know what can happen. I've gotten those metro south calls, and I've waited those twelve hours for someone I was working with, and when they didn't show up, I knew what I had to do." Gently reaching over, his fingers gingerly directed her focus back to him. They sat there looking at each other for a few moments. Jenna didn't look scared, he knew that expression well enough. She just looked like she wasn't happy about both of them being there tonight; frustrated at the circumstances that had gotten them this far. And Alias could sympathize with her. He hated it just as much as she did.

"I know you understand how serious these things can be, but I've done this a thousand times before. It's just a dead drop. Someone leaves a package in a particular place; someone else comes to pick it up." He reassured her. "We'll be fine, and when were done here we'll laugh about all of this, okay?"

"Yeah, I know..." Jenna said, rubbing her forehead with her paw. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about this."

"If it makes you feel any better, I want to be here about as much as you do." He confessed. "But this is The Underground... we don't get that luxury of doing what we'd rather do." The black fox paused for a moment before continuing. "You'd better get going. If they have scouts they might take notice of us parked here."

Again, Jenna said nothing but simply exited the SUV and shut the door behind her. He watched her walk around the front of the car, illuminated briefly by the headlights, and then hit the concrete sidewalk. The Mercenary followed her with his eyes as she made her way to an outdoor cafe along the street. The "better" part of Alias kept telling him it was a mistake to involve Jenna in all this, but the logical part of him dismissed this. She was involved whether or not she wanted to be. Alias had no memory of when his former life was shattered by the realities of the Invisible War. In a sense, that did make his absence of memory a good thing. Having only memories of the harsh Underground he had nothing better to compare it to. Jenna was another case. Thing was, Alias took situations like this for granted, and easily forgot how jarring and disruptive they truly were. If nothing else, the vixen was a good reality check, but all sides of Alias knew it was much more than just that.

Checking his mirrors for oncoming traffic, he slowly slinked out into the right-hand lane. Driving halfway down the block, he passed a familiar dark blue and indigo figure who made eye contact with him as he passed by. He then navigated into another parking spot that could easily be seen from the cafe across the street.

Killing the engine, Alias stepped out onto the street, casually looking back at the cafe to see Jenna taking a seat. He fully acknowledged that he was paranoid to the nth degree, but Alias also knew of the many transporters who had left their car, picked up the package, and met a fiery ending because of a bomb planted on their car while they were away. Having a second pair of eyes to watch his ride was a good thing.

But that didn't seem to put his nerves at ease.

Jenna had taken the words from his mouth. Something wasn't right. He didn't feel good about this either. Why couldn't Isis have some of her cronies pick up this dead drop? Why contract a highly qualified assassin to perform a job the local pizza delivery boy could do? It lacked efficiency...

Walking down the street away from the SUV and the cafe, the fox could only guess at her reasons. Maybe Isis was glitchy.

These puns are getting old... He heard his inner monologue complain.

Before Alias knew it, he was standing in Clayton Plaza. The plaza itself was actually around the block on South Forth Street that ran perpendicular to West Main. It was almost like a miniature park in front of Clayton Tower. The good news was there were few people around at this hour. Lights illuminated the artistic fountains that were scattered about the area. Normally, there would be the ever-present sound of water falling from these fountains, but they since been shut down for the winter months. Looking to the left his keen eyes found the park bench with a darker object hidden in its shadows.

Alright... game on...

Game plan was simple: walk into the plaza, grab whatever was waiting for him, walk out. Like automated security cameras, his eyes scanned the area around him, slowly rolling from the left, to the right, and back. But there was nothing that seemed threatening. Making it to the bench, Alias stooped down, and his paw met the nylon material of a gym bag. Picking it up, he quickly noted how light it was. Although his curiosity begged him to sneak a peak at what was inside, he repressed the urge and simply turned on his heels and started walking back the way he came.

He wasn't sure when he first took notice of them. It had been years since anyone had truly gotten the drop on Alias. He hardly counted the other night as a blunder on his part, simply because he had been relying on others. That was always a risk you took when you worked as a group. This was something different. This had been all Alias. As he began walking back toward his black SUV, suddenly it seemed to register. Jenna was still sitting so she was facing the car and nothing was out of the ordinary. As if they materialized before his eyes, there were suddenly two conspicuous people in grey suits, some kind of dog and a reptile of sorts, making their way toward him from the other side of the block.

But that's not where it ended.

Still walking casually, Alias took a quick glance over his shoulder and felt the icy feeling of a shock run through his body. Two more in grey suits behind him; the cut of the suit, and the matching black tie, completely identical to those in front of him.

He felt the fur on the back of his neck stand on end and suddenly he became hypersensitive to the world around him. At first he thought maybe he was being tailed, but this was something completely different. Alias wasn't being tailed, he was being intercepted. The fox felt his throat start drying as his mind raced for his plan of action. It couldn't be the OCB or any government agency. Trilby assured him that he'd keep the G-Men off his ass for this. They were Invisible War players... but for whom?

Stepping to the curb to cross the street and avoid both parties, Alias suddenly felt a surge of horror as he looked over at Jenna. Two more, this time a cat and a rabbit, sitting at the table directly behind Jenna, dressed in identical grey suits. How had he not noticed them before? This wasn't government. He'd be damned if it were The Nine. This wasn't even Isis. What the hell was in this damn duffle bag?

Trenchcoat flapping gently in the wind as he speed walked across the street heading to the cafe, Alias started frantically punching numbers on his phone typing a text to Jenna. These bastards had appeared out of nowhere, and Alias hadn't had the slightest idea he was being watched. He wasn't going near his car right now. He had 'metro south' typed in, but suddenly thought better of it. If Jenna were to get up and move, she'd walk right into whoever was sitting behind her. As he made it to the sidewalk, Alias knew what his plan of action had to be.

Son of a bitch. The black fox thought to himself. This wasn't good...

It was hard to describe the feeling Alias was experiencing. It wasn't panic or fear, but it held elements of both. Almost like drinking too much coffee, his muscles felt like they would burst with energy if he didn't move quicker. Alias didn't feel like these grey suited people had realized that he'd taken notice of them yet. They had come out of nowhere; literally nowhere. As he had seen nothing there and suddenly these uniformed operatives had snapped into existence. Had the insomnia played a part, or were they really that good? Twice. Twice now, someone had managed to do this. What the hell was wrong with him? Had he truly lost his edge that much where he couldn't even see a simple ambush waiting to happen?

Unless... they weren't expecting you to be here either.

His eyes slowly panned down to the black bag in his grip. He hadn't seen an ambush because there hadn't been one planned. Alias's presence here was just as much of a surprise to these grey suits as they were to him. Whatever he was holding in his paw, it hadn't been meant for Isis...

Alias was walking away with someone else's package; a dead drop meant for another courier. Of course, his immediate thought was to drop it and walk away. But just looking at these grey people who were closing in fast told Alias they weren't going to let this go. They would want explanations and Alias had a feeling they'd do more than simply ask questions. This looked like the kind of people who took their job seriously. They were too professional for Isis's crew, too effective to be OCB or any government agency; this was someone much more serious about their work. Just by the way they walked and carried themselves, Alias would bet the shirt on his back they were packing heat, wearing body armor as well.

Grip tightening around the bag, Alias knew that he still had the element of surprise on his side... but he'd be the one starting the fire fight. It was clear that Isis sent him here, knowing full well that he'd be intercepted. Oh, would they have some words if he made it past tonight...

No time to debate the logistics in his head. He'd already made up his mind on a plan of action before he finished the thought. Still speed-walking, he entered the cafe area and walked straight up to Jenna.

"Hey, are you ready to catch that train?" Alias asked, forcing a cheery tone.

Jenna looked up at him, confused as hell as to why he was addressing her, blowing all his painstaking planning, and why he was asking about a train.

"Uh... yeah sure..." Jenna replied, not sounding sure of herself. She took the verbal cue and rose to her feet. Turning around they started walking back the way Alias came, turning their backs to the two grey suits, who slowly stood up almost in a mechanical unison.

His right paw gripping her gently by her upper arm, Alias pulled Jenna in closer to him, his left was inside his coat near his hip.

"Get ready to run..." Alias hissed at her under his breath.

Before Jenna even had time to question him, the black fox pulled her close to him, directing her away from the two in grey. As he did so, he pulled his left paw from his coat, light falling on the flat black forty-five. Spinning around in a elegant flash, he felt Jenna jump as the loud explosion of a lead slug being fired from a gun shattered the white noise of the city.

The rabbit didn't even have time to react as his chest exploded in red crimson blood that misted around him. As he fell backwards, his partner reached inside his blazer, but a second explosion resounded through the night almost immediately after the first. However, the second shot only dug itself into the feline's shoulder. The force of the forty-five knocked him flat on his back regardless, unfortunately Alias knew it hadn't killed him.

Screams filled the air as the people around Alias and Jenna began to panic because of the gunshots. It mattered little as Jenna and Alias were already running in the direction they had started in. Feeling his heart pounding in his temples, Alias half ran, half dragged Jenna along as he saw the four grey suits running across the street in pursuit of them.

"Down here!" Alias shouted to Jenna, as he pulled her down the first alleyway they came across.

"What the hell was that?" Jenna demanded to know as her feet began to catch up with his.

"Not really a good time!" Alias growled as he sprinted.

Almost to the end of the alley he risked taking a peek over his shoulder. What he saw he didn't like. The other four were gaining ground on them, and they had back up as well. He caught sight of a sedan pulling up to the alley, let out a few more grey suits and sped away.

"Keep running! You don't want to know what's behind you!" Alias barked as he saw Jenna start to look back.

They hung a left at the end of the alley, running down the street. Alias didn't know where he was going. He had to get them away from the grey suits. Throwing the strap of the duffle bag around his neck, Alias threw his elbows as he passed people on the sidewalk forcing them from his path violently. Some cursed and yelled at the foxes who ran like they were part of a jail break.

There were too many things that could go wrong here. There were civies who littered the street, cops on duty around the area, and Alias knew that if he were to start a shooting war here in the middle of Downtown it would get very bloody. Feeling like he had no other choice, Alias kept his paw clamped around Jenna's wrist, rabbiting her so that she would keep up.

There came the thunderclap of a gunshot, and directly to the left of Alias's head there was a hollow metallic bang. The Mercenary jumped in shock as the street lamp he was running by caught a bullet from their pursuers. The grey suits didn't seem to care about causing a disturbance as Alias had already shot two of their men. But still, he had Jenna to worry about.

Still gripping his gun, Alias ran up to a food kiosk vendor. Eyes narrowed and bearing his fangs Alias stuck the gun straight in the chubby dog's face, pulling back the hammer.

"Get the fuck out of here. Right now!" He growled in a bloodcurdling tone.

Not needing to be asked twice, the vendor quickly abandoned his post and took off fleeing into the night in a panic. The pair of foxes took cover behind the kiosk, hearing their surroundings pinging with bullets that drove themselves home in the kiosk.

Knowing that a small war was about to erupt on non-Underground turf, Alias acted as quickly as he could. Metro Police would be showing up soon if they hadn't heard the gunshots already.

"Take this!" He commanded Jenna, offering up his prized forty-five. "It kicks a little rougher than what you're used to!"

To Alias, his weapons were his tools. No different from the hammer you'd use to nail something down, or a screw driver you'd use to assemble an entertainment unit. Each weapon had a specific reason and purpose. They had different uses and different times when they were needed; some more frequently than others. Furthermore, he liked using certain ones more than others. But there were jobs that required the use of specific tools. You don't use a hammer on a screw. As Alias reached inside his coat with both paws fell upon the cold metallic grip of two M9 Berettas; which hadn't been used in a blue moon.

The beauty of an M9 was that it's edge wasn't in the size of the slug, it's strength came in numbers. When these "wonder nines" were first produced, they quickly gained popularity because each clip held close to eighteen rounds. The recoil was smooth and controllable, therefore draining two eighteen round clips and making sure your bullets went where they were supposed to go was much simpler than trying to duel wield two ACP's. It was like duel wielding two short-lived MP5's, which fired the same caliber bullet as the M9.

The black fox burst from behind the kiosk, letting loose a firestorm of lead slugs no larger than nine millimeters in diameter. The hollow tipped slugs laid down a suppressing cover as he held his guns horizontally, one over the other, to keep his accuracy. The recoil was so light and tame compared to his forty-five, it almost seemed like he wasn't shooting a gun. The grey suits jumped to the sides of the streets, some taking cover behind cars parked along the curb, and others taking cover under the awnings of the buildings. As one of the grey suits caught a bullet in the shoulder, sending a spray of crimson blood along the concrete, Alias remember why at one point he had held such a loyalty to the M9.

As his clips drained and the slides of his pistols racked, showing they were empty, Alias suddenly remember why he had eventually ditched his old M9's. As they shot smaller rounds, they had less force behind them. The grey suit he had shot took the hit, but was still moving about on his feet. One round from a forty-five would have had him on his back from the force alone.

Unfortunately, Alias hadn't packed much ammunition for tonight. It was supposed to be a simple dead drop, not a shooting war. He quickly replaced the clips on his M9's, taking note that he didn't have many left.

"Go! Just start running!" He shouted at Jenna.

He could read the reluctance to leave him on her face, and could only hope she saw the same thing looking back at her. But he could giver her cover while she escaped, and if he was lucky, maybe even get away himself.

Jenna, with his pistol gripped in her paw, broke from the tiny, bullet pock-marked kiosk. She ran in a mad sprint away from the war zone and toward freedom. Standing up straight, Alias began running as best he could backwards, keeping the grey suits covered. As one of them popped up from behind a car, Alias sent several bullets his direction, convincing him and his buddies to stay where they were.

Dropping his cover, Alias too broke into a sprint following the vixen. She was a good half a block a head of him when he heard the familiar squeal of tires coming from down the street. Sprinting, his gut crunched inward as he realized it was the same sedan that had dropped off the grey suits back at the alley. Their backup was coming in.

His lungs began to burn as he forced himself to run faster after Jenna, knowing that she didn't see the intercept course she was on. People on the sidewalks were in a panic, running and screaming when the shooting started. When people panicked, they were stupid. It never failed to amaze Alias how often some dumbass bystander would accidently run straight into a bullet barrage. But in times like that, you had to remind yourself that it was them or you. You could hesitated to take a shot at an assailant for the sake of innocents around you, but if they had the same opportunity they wouldn't. In the end there was always collateral damage that ensued. It was The Invisible War; anyone was an acceptable loss.

Alias knew this rule was true for him as well.

Looking up, he saw two sedans power-slide to a stop, rubber wheels screeching like animals as they raked across the asphalt. Each of the doors produced another grey suit, multiplying like an infectious disease. Jenna had slid to a stop, attempting to start moving the other direction, but her feet had slid on the slick, wet concrete, and she nearly ended up falling on the ground. Bobbing and weaving, trying to confuse his assailants as best as possible, one word was on his mind, like the letters were written over his eyes: evade. He was out numbered, out gunned, and on neutral turf.

His mind was jerked back to reality as a grey cat's head exploded in a dark, red substance. On instinct, Alias dropped down slightly, darting in a different direction. They were coming at them from in front and behind. Pushing off his toes and launching forward, Alias speared Jenna around her waist and flipped over on his back. Angling himself just right, he crashed through the glass window of a store along the street. Their combined weight crashed down on the floor, pushing Alias's back onto the shards of glass. He felt the cold slicing penetration of the glass fragments cut through his fur and into his skin. As his back arched upward instinctively, trying to keep the shards from slicing into him further, a sticky, metallic, salty substance entered his mouth as his fangs crashed down on his tongue.

Immediately after the glass was broken, there came the ringing of an alarm. Its shrill whine resounded through the night, and almost drown out the sound of gunfire. Looking around him, Alias saw why an alarm had immediately sounded. In all his haste, he hadn't taken into consideration he was smashing into the window of a jewelry store. All around him, plate glass cases housed precious stones, embedded in platinum, and other gold metals. If this wasn't causing a scene, then Alias didn't know what would. Especially considering there were no Underground rules that governed Downtown. The pair of foxes took cover behind the display window The lower section was made of brick, which was great for stopping bullets. He painfully reached inside his coat, pulling out an extra clip. Glass tinkled as he released the spent aluminum casing from the handle of the pistol, and wasted no time sliding the fresh one in. Rolling Jenna to the side, away from the glass, Alias held his paw up, squeezing the trigger of the Beretta, exploding flashes of light erupting from the barrel as he let out blind fire.

As bullets crashed through the store's windows, making homes in the walls and display cases, the foxes did a belly crawl toward the back of the store. There had to be a side alley, or back exit that could get them out of here. They definitely were not going out the front door. Jenna followed as Alias launched himself over the cashier's booth and back into the employee's section, looking for an alternative exit. As it happened the loading dock led to Forth Street behind the store, where all the violence had started. Moving in a hurry, and worrying about what was behind him, Alias didn't see who was waiting for him out the back way. Throwing his weight against the door, the black fox burst through with Jenna in tow.

"Drop the gun!" A commanding voice shouted out.

Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me... His mind seemed to speak for itself.

The blue and red lights atop their car spun around, almost creating a Delirium like atmosphere. Alias looked out at the black and blue cruisers, emergency lights illuminating the night, and four pistols pointed at them as they hid behind their car doors. The air had suddenly gone silent. Not even the white noise of the city buzzed around his head; it was all blanketed in a sea of silence.

The cops remained fixed in their positions, covering Alias. Dropping four street cops wouldn't be difficult for Alias, but he knew better. A cop killer was an instant manhunt, and the last thing he needed were the wires buzzing about him more than they would be already. He felt paws staring to grip the back of his jacket tighter, and he remembered Jenna behind him.

"APD! I said drop the gun and get on your knees! Now!" The cop yelled at them again. Clearly they thought Jenna and Alias had tried to knock over a store. It was ironic how shooting blatantly in the street hadn't gotten this kind of response time from APD.

Alias didn't feel like he had much of a choice right now. He couldn't stay there, as the grey suits were probably coming through the store right behind him.

"Okay... just stay calm." Alias whispered quietly to Jenna, who stared wide eyed into the bright lights of the law. "No sudden movements..."

Slowly walking out to them with his paws in the air, dropping his gun on the ground, Alias moved to his knees.

"Look, we jumped into the window because they're shooting at us, we're not-"

"On the ground, bitch!" He yelled, gun going to Jenna, who followed Alias's lead, dropping the forty-five.

"Paws behind your head, interlock your fingers!" The cops screamed at them.

"What the fuck?" Jenna cried out. "There are people with guns, shooting up the other side of the building!" Alias detected the panicky urgency in her voice.

But they didn't listen.

One of the cops, covered by the other three, moved around behind Jenna. The tall doberman took one of her wrists from her head, and moved it behind her back, pulling out his handcuffs.

"You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right to remain silent-"

"Jesus H. Christ!" Alias growled, sounding more pissed than fearful. "People are dead! They're shooting up the motherfucking sidewalks!"

The officer droned on, like Alias wasn't even speaking to him. "You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford an attorney one will be-"

"I know you people think the Invisible War is a myth, but you're about to find out how real it is!" Alias pleaded, knowing if the grey suits were to attack right now, there was little he could do. "What do you think is happening here?"

The doberman paused, holding the handcuffs over Jenna's wrists and looking back at his colleagues.

"All units in the vicinity, all units able to respond," a feminine voice crackled over the cop's CB, "we have shots reported being fired on South Fourth Street, north Third, and West Main Street, Downtown Arcadia. Turf war, or possible gang rivalry. Reports of civilian casualties. This is a priority call."

There was a silence, even the shooting had stopped.

"What do you think?" The doberman asked, sounding unsure.

"Hurry up and cuff 'em! We're taking them in." The lead cop shouted.

Alias mentally prepped himself for what he would have to do; deadleg the doberman and once he was down use him as a meat shield so he and Jenna could escape. Point was, there was no way in Hell anyone would get Alias in the back of a squad car alive. This was something his mind was sure of.

His ear twitched as he heard the growing rumble of engines. He heard Jenna protest as the cop brought her other arm behind her back to cuff her. It was that feeling. That spine tickling feeling. Like a voice telling him something was about to happen. Like a film moving in silent slow motion, Alias jumped as he saw the sedans close in from both sides of the street. His body again collided with Jenna's. The cop, distracted by the e-brake slides, stood there dumbfounded as four matching black sedans slid to a stop in the middle of Fourth Street.

The cops had standard issue nine millimeter pistols.

The grey suits had state of the art UMP submachine guns augmented with laser sites.

Alias threw his body over Jenna, trying to protect her from the flying lead projectiles that exploded in fast numbers from the grey suits. Collectively, the cops probably got off about three rounds. Alias watched as their bodies were peppered with red splotches of blood, staining their uniforms. They convulsed about like a bad puppeteer was jerking the strings controlling their bodies. Blood, like a black oil, sprayed over the cars, concrete, and Alias even felt it mist on the back of his head like a dew.

They never had a chance.

When silence fell again, his first thought was to get up, fight and run. But they would be running in the open and the door to the store was a good ten yards away. Looking underneath the cop cars, Alias saw the grey suits slowly moving forward, guns at the ready. Keeping his body over Jenna, Alias slowly reached out and took the dead doberman's pistol from the ground where he had dropped it.

"Don't make a sound..." Alias hissed to her, pulling the trigger back on the gun.

The feet were coming closer, making sure everyone was dead. He wasn't sure if the grey suits knew he and Jenna were here, or if they had only seen the cops.

He gripped the pistol tighter, his knuckles almost aching with anticipation. The black suit shoes moved in closer, nudging some of the bodies with their toes. Alias's mind raced as he tried to think of something, anything, that could get them out of this. As far as he knew, there were grey suits in front of him, and grey suits behind him. The real question was where would the bullets be coming from first?

Out of nowhere, more police cruisers rounded the corners, sirens blaring. The cavalry of APD officers responding to the disturbance caused a shift in priorities for the greys, and created a window of opportunity for the foxes. Forgetting about checking bodies, the grey suits turned and open fire in both directions down the street. Not missing his chance, Alias grabbed Jenna helping her up, and gathered his guns as they sneaked around the cruisers. They stepped over the dead bodies of the fallen cops, and sprinted their way back toward West Main. Thunder claps of both small arms fire and the rhythmic sound of machine pistols reverberated down the street as Alias tried to put as much space between them and the war zone as possible. They bolted down the sidewalk, passing their SUV that Alias didn't even chance going near, and moved through the cafe where he had shot one of the greys. However, Alias noted that there was only a dark stain on the sidewalk; no body.

Main Street was still busy with traffic going in both directions. Gripping his gun, Alias stepped out into oncoming traffic, holding his pistol out at the cars. A small red economy car slid to a surprised halt, headlights illuminating the black fox.

His paw grabbed the door handle, jerking it savagely open.

"Sorry, need your car." Alias said rushed, still pointing the gun at an obese squirrel behind the wheel who was far too large for his impossibly small environmentally friendly car.

"What the fuck?" He cried out in panic at the site of Alias's gun.

Alias swiftly brought the conversation to an end as he sent the handle of the gun down on the base of the squirrel's neck. Going lax from being knocked out, Alias pulled him from the car, leaving him in the cold street.

"Get in!" Alias shouted at Jenna, who pulled the passenger door open.

Sliding in, Alias dropped the automatic into 'drive' and pressed the accelerator to the floor. The tires screeched slightly as the traction control kicked in, lurching the car forward. It wasn't long before they passed several blocks, leaving their worries behind them. The hybrid engine gave off a slight whirr as they buzzed down the street. The Mercenary, with the bag he picked up from the drop around his neck, leaned his head back, doing a steady forty miles and hour down East Main.

He looked over at Jenna, the two breathing heavily in regular intervals as they caught their breath. They had made it, but Alias wasn't sure if that was necessarily a good thing. If they put up that much of a fight tonight, then they surely would be looking for the two of them. The light at the next intersection turned green as they sped toward it, and Alias began to relax. He never even saw it coming until he looked over at Jenna to say something.

His paws jerked the wheel in a desperate attempt to avoid the oncoming SUV that defied the traffic laws and ran a stoplight. Jenna screamed as the airbags deployed and the rear passenger side of the car collapsed inward. Glass shattered, the bits scraping their faces, as the grill invaded the car, and both foxes were slammed to the right side. Alias's head cracked against his window; eyes erupting with explosions of light . However, the large, brute SUV didn't even attempt at stopping. Instead, the engine started straining as they were shunted across the street. Looking up, Alias knew it was the grey suits, he just had no idea how they found them again.

Jenna in a blind panic, pulled out her gun, and pointed it at the SUV. Gunshots exploded in the car, sending the hollow-tipped rounds into the engine block until the slide blew back and open signaling the clip was empty. Alias followed by example, even though he knew a nine millimeter was like shooting BB's at an armored car.

The SUV shunted the small econo car across the street, smashing the wooden fence surrounding a construction site. They felt the sudden sense of falling, as their car dropped off the edge, where the construction crew had dug out the foundation of a new skyrise. Both cars crashed down the dip, but their smaller, more maneuverable rice burner hit first, and was able to break away from the SUV.

However, they didn't make it far. They drove up a ramp, then the wheels dropped into a ditch, bottoming out and stopping. The airbags released the smell of ammonium, bringing Alias down from the daze he was in. He had cracked his head pretty good against the window. Enough that spider web-like fractures radiated from a central location, stained by a bit of blood where the sharp glass had cut his head. He pulled his seat belt off, looking behind him. The SUV had dug it's grill into the soft dirt below it where they had crashed through. It's back wheels were suspended in the air, and it's front ones were crushed up into the frame, useless.

"Come on..." Alias groaned in pain as he reached down unbuckling Jenna as well. "They're coming..."

Sure enough, the grey suits were starting to file out of the spent SUV. Jenna's door was destroyed, bent inward from the crash. Grabbing Jenna under her shoulders, Alias pulled her from the wreckage, and out his door. She slowly gathered her sense and the two hobbled away, each with a menagerie of pains circulating through their bodies with dull throbbing aches. Even though they were a good distance away, Alias heard the popping sounds of their guns, and directed Jenna to the center of the site, where they had constructed a stairwell, leading up the unfinished skyrise.

Alias ran as fast as he could, muscles burning in weariness. Jenna's paw gripped her right side in pain, bruised from the crash. Through painfully clenched teeth she sucked in the needed oxygen. They rounded the corner of the stairs on the first floor, and continued to go up. Their feet smacked against the hard cement, creating echos off the walls. Alias soon realized that there were more echoes in the stairwell as his assailants ascended in pursuit.

Not remembering if he was on the third or fourth floor, Alias burst through the door and looked around. Construction equipment littered the floor; rebar was everywhere, various saw horses and power tools lay around, ceiling tiles lay in stacks and drywall material made up a carpet of dust along the floor. If Alias had a chance at all tonight, it would be here. Pistol in paw, Alias looked down, pulling the slide back and ejecting the remaining bullets, however nothing met his paw. Confused, he pulled the clip, and to his dismay, found his gun to be dry. He was completely empty.

"Goddamn it..." He cursed, his last offensive weapon now useless. "Hide!" Alias commanded turning to Jenna.

"But I-"

"Just go!" Alias cut her off, shoving the bag, the one that might cost them their lives, in her paws. Jenna's eyes held a look of fear, but something else at the same time. "Twelve hours..."

A look of faith passed from the vixen to him. She hesitated for a moment, then took off into the darkened construction site.

Looking at a table, Alias saw a fire hydrant wrench laying there. It quickly found it's way into his paws. He rested the heavy end in one paw, while gripping it firmly by the lighter handle in the other. Moving quickly around a corner, he pressed himself hard against the wall next to the stairwell, out of sight from the doorway.

Then he waited. He could hear the thumping of his heart in his ears like a tribal drumbeat. He then saw the end of a pistol slowly edge its way through the door, swiftly darting left to right. The fox felt sweat beading on his brow and held his breath. As a full arm made it through the door, Alias brought up the wrench, and with all his might, brought the heavy end down onto the bastard's forearm. There was a loud crack and a howl, as the pistol was dropped from the grey's paw, clattering on the concrete floor. In a dark blur, he grabbed the heavy end with his paw, and swung the light handle around, meleeing the feline several times along his muzzle, forcing him back away from the door. Drops of blood, and a few teeth were thrown about.

In a flash, Alias spun around, bringing the heavy end of the wrench down on the grey suit who had been behind the cat, knocking this fox's glossy silver pistol away as well. Sweeping his boot around he kicked the gun away, then swung the end of the wrench upward, catching the fox under his muzzle. Teeth cracked together as blood from his mouth decorated the dusty floor like Alias had carelessly swung paint from a brush around the room. Alias wasn't sure if he had killed the grey or if he simply rendered him unconscious, regardless, he flipped backwards, landing on his back.

Still moving in an elegant blur, the black fox looked behind him and saw the cat had grabbed a piece of rusty, brown rebar from the floor, swinging it like a bow-staff. He tried to bring the rebar down on Alias like a samurai sword. Alias held the wrench out horizontally, the pieces of metal clanging together. Leaning back, Alias kicked outward, boot meeting the chest of the cat, knocking him backwards.

A blunt pain like no other exploded into Alias's mind. He dropped to the ground as the fox behind him struck him hard in the side with another piece of rebar. He clearly hadn't knocked the grey out like he thought. Alias cried out in shock and agony, taking a knee and dropping the wrench. A cold chill whipped through The Mercenary as he caught sight of the fox pulling a pistol out from his under his coat and then bashed Alias mercilessly against the base of his skull. Alias let out a winded grunt as he doubled over, falling to the ground in a heap as he nearly blacked out.

As the grey with the rebar brought the steel rod down on Alias once again, blunt pain exploded through his back. The force alone should have splintered his bones, but for reasons the fox could only speculate at, his unnatural abilities withstood the brutal abuse. His ears suddenly picked up on a shrill, high pitched war-cry.

Jenna popped out from her hiding place, and jumped and latched onto the grey holding the gun to Alias, choking her target. A look of shock came over the grey as he spun around, Jenna swinging as she hung from his neck. The centrifugal force of the grey's spinning was enough to loosen Jenna's grip, swinging her body around. This was enough for the grey to latch his paws onto the fabric of her clothing. With a mighty heave her petite frame was flung from the grey, and slammed into the far wall with a thud. She was on her feet again quick enough, only the grey whipped around with his pistol level with Jenna. From his position on the ground, Alias could only witness what happened next.

The black fox watched in horror as his gun exploded, and Jenna screamed, falling to the ground; her voice sending out a shrill cry of pain breaking the silence. A dark, viscous spray coated the wall behind her.

What happened next, not even Alias could properly explain. It was like a trigger went off in his head. He watched Jenna's body collapse to the ground with a sickening panic radiating through him. This panic was short-lived, soon replaced by the unrelenting wrath of a firestorm. Things slowed almost to a halt around him, and he forgot any pain his body was feeling. Grabbing the wrench, he brought it over his shoulder, and launched the tool forward, spinning it end over end. The heavy end crashed into the grey suit holding the pistol, nailing him square across his jaw. The brute force knocked him down on his muzzle, blood spraying from his mouth like a broken water valve. He moved to the feline, still gripping his rebar, and grabbed the rusty weapon. Alias twisted the rebar in a clockwise motion so the cat's arms contorted painfully around each other, causing him to let go. The black fox then slammed the bar into the suit's forehead in a barbaric manner, a disgusting crunch echoing off the unfinished walls of the skyrise as his forehead fractured. The cat cried out in pain, paws snapping to the gash on his head, which had already started bleeding profusely. Tossing the rebar up, he gripped it like a javelin and hooked his boot around the grey's ankle, pulling it out from under him. With a dull thud, the dazed grey slammed to the ground and Alias thrust the rusty steel bar downward with all his strength as if he were planting a flag to claim his territory. The thin, blunt rebar burst through the cat's right eye like he was lancing a festering boil. The feline couldn't even cry out as the bar impaled his eye and punctured his brain, killing him instantly.

Feeling the bile feelings of the napalm-like rage that festered in his veins, Alias let out a battle cry as he sprinted over to the final grey, who was getting to his feet. Dark, sticky blood mixed with drool from his shattered jaw ran down the thin fox's chin. Showing absolutely no leniency, Alias brutally kicked him in the gut, sending the grey crashing to the floor on his face. Pinning him down, Alias's paw met the hydrant wrench, and he flipped the grey over. Pure terror graced his muzzle, as the grey suit watched the bloodlusting black fox grip the wrench with both paws, bringing it well over his head. As he brought the heavy metal object down with all his strength, Alias could feel the fox's cartilage crush and snap, a sick joy warming Alias from his core. Again he brought the wrench up and again, with all the strength he could muster, brought it across the grey's face, hearing the grossly satisfying crunches of flesh and bone breaking and ripping. The Mercenary struck again, and again, and again; faster each time. He struck and struck, watching as teeth and other chunks of bone splintered, and broke free splattering around him. Alias continued to strike until his wrench hit the unforgiving surface of the concrete with a thud; a dark stain in place of where the fox's head used to be. Paws shaking, he dropped the wrench with a clank and stood up, feeling the warm, sticky crimson blood mist his face and arms.

Without even thinking about the carnage he just committed, Alias sprinted over to Jenna, laying on the floor, a dark stain growing around her legs. Wiping his face of the blood, he dropped down, slipping his trenchcoat off his shoulders. Taking one of the sleeves, he jerked it at the seam savagely, ripping it free. Alias looked down at her leg, blood pouring from the gunshot wound in her upper thigh, her jeans stained beyond salvation. Jenna laid on her back looking slightly disoriented. With only the pain registering, her fangs were exposed and gritted, trying to suppress a torment Alias knew all too well. Acting quickly so the vixen would lose as little blood as possible, he wrapped the torn sleeve from his coat around her thigh, and pulled tight compressing it, causing her to cry out in agony.

Alias knew how much pain Jenna was feeling. He had taken enough bullets to know how the rabid bite of a hole in your body feels when you get shot; the hot lead burning your insides like a tiny glowing ember. But they couldn't stay here. She needed help and it was only a matter of time before whoever these bastards were found out what happened to their men. They had to move, they didn't have a choice if they wanted to keep breathing. Grabbing his ripped coat, and reaching around Jenna, he slowly hoisted her to her feet. Keeping an arm around her, he watched as she tried to walk, only her leg immediately collapsed under her own weight, but Alias steadied her.

Alias held onto her frail body, helping her down the flights of steps which seemed endless, all the while not letting go of her. The pains of his bruised, broken body started to re-register in his mind again, and the rush of adrenaline began to subside. Neither of them said a word, as they disappeared into the night, leaving their path of destruction behind them. There was a slight queasy feeling churning in his stomach. The whole time, Alias never let her go. Not for a second.

"I don't think..." Jenna started, looking up at him, "I'm going to be..." she swallowed hard in pain, grimacing, "...laughing about this one for awhile..."