Awesome. I look forward to it.

Chapter 35 Perilous Proceedings

"We go now, live, to the campaigning base for the Parker administration. Gary what do you thin..."

Tony flipped off the screen as the room filled with a melancholia. It had seemed for a while that the election was going to be a clear defeat for Parker, but the results were simple and plain to see. The group seemed to be distracted momentarily from Yakira to let the news sink in. Tom paced around shaking his head, with Susan patting his back in a vain attempt of comfort. Tony still seemed fairly lost in this new setting, and stayed at Yakira's side for lack of a better idea. Alexander's green-blue pupils dilated as he imagined the implications of an undead overlord in power. Nervously, he pushed up his silver-rimmed glasses. Tier and Michelle were withdrawn to each other, quietly whispering. Louie braced himself on the foot of Yakira's bed, staring straight down. Majo held her hand to her face with one finger pressed lightly against her lips. Yakira was drawing pained and short breaths, while coughing occasionally.

A loud snapping noise erupted in the room, to which everyone was taken completely by surprise. Majo, looking excited, had snapped her fingers.
"I got it. Why don't we just kill Gary Parker?" she proposed. "He's just one rabbit. With a lot of influence. We easily have the power to take him down."
Louie scoffed and shook his head. The unexpected reminder of Estella's existence, and the fact that she was so close now, made him sick. He felt his blood hammering away in his neck. He cocked his head to look back at Majo now. "We, meaning myself, do not have to power to face off the legions of very angry followers, living and dead, that will be triggered against us if we even so much as think of doing that. Let's leave political assassinations to the paid professionals." Louie finished bitingly.
Majo was taken aback. She drew her right paw up to her chest in a gesture of surprise. Inwardly, she had been expecting full support for her plan. The idea seemed decent enough. "You're forgetting about Alexander. Schism will cover up the murder, right?" She had turned to Alexander and looked up at him hopefully. Alexander paused briefly before giving his own reply.
"What makes you think I want to help you? Or anybody here for that matter. My job here is done and I didn't have to lift a finger. A vampire with a massive bounty on his scalp is in the same room as me. And if that wasn't valid enough, your predicament in no way affects me." Alexander smirked and shot a glance at Louie. "Personally, I think your troubles would be easier solved if I killed this guy and got out of here." Louie was in disbelief at this. He couldn't imagine what would trigger Alexander to say that. He opened his mouth, remembering to bare a couple of teeth, and was about to browbeat Alexander in return.
"You have a lot of gall." Susan uttered. She had turned away from Tom on the other side of the room, and began to walk up towards Alexander, finger raised. Louie snapped his mouth shut and looked at Susan. "The nerve of you, to come into our house and threaten our friend like that. We gave you our hospitality, and he even spared you your life." She was yelling at this point, barely inches from Alexander.
"Why I oughtta-" She stopped for a second, quivering with fury, and then whipped her paw across Alexander's face with a satisfying slap. Alexander's head was turned slightly to the right with a very surprised expression. Nobody had expected Susan to be capable of that level of anger. The whole room feel into an unsettling silence again, spare for Yakira's uneasy breathing.
"I think...she needs help." Tony timidly submitted. The tension of the environment ebbed as people began to remember Yakira's pain. Susan's face turned utterly pale as her head drew towards the ground. Tom sprung up to guide her into a chair.
"We're doing the best we can." Louie grunted. He relaxed his arms and let them fall to his side. Michelle got up and quietly hurried herself to the kitchen. Louie took to the back porch. He pushed open the sliding glass door, and leaned against the railing with both arms. He let his anger flow out from his body as he tried to cool down from the heat of the moment, but it was ineffective. His anger towards Alexander quickly manifested itself into his anger at Estella. Ever since Yakira arrived, he had felt something about her. Pity, perhaps, but it was unimportant until now. All of her problems, they stemmed from Estella Bane. Curse that name, Louie thought, as he slapped his palm down on the railing. Susan was working on re-applying Yakira's bandages up in Yakira's bedroom, like she did thrice a day, and Louie felt the urge to help her. But something was holding him back. Louie was anchored by some indescribable emotion that prevented him from walking over to aid her. It was a combination of his feelings against Estella, and the disturbance he felt about Yakira. Susan came down into the living room, and looked outside at Louie. He was pre-occupied in his own thoughts and wouldn't have seen her anyway. After a moment, she took a seat by Tom's side

Up in Yakira's room by her bed, Tony was standing there, his mind reeling. He felt around behind him for a place to sit, and grasped the seat of a chair. He drew it up next to Yakira's bed and fell into it. He had just diverted a crisis. The last thing the group needed was in-fighting. Tony let the thought of Mayo's plan sink in a little bit. To kill a prestigious leader of both the living and the dead? It seemed an almost unthinkable plot. But still, he couldn't help toy with the idea of it. That hero's mentality; he could almost taste the satisfaction now. He couldn't help but smile a bit while fathoming the plot, the rewards, the banquets in his name. His facial expression must have seemed vastly out of line for the current mood, as Majo gave him a queer look. Noticing this, Tony quickly wiped the smile from his face and began to focus on the situation at hand. He let his vision drop onto the broken rabbit next to him, and he felt her pain inside himself. Tony began to feel a bit disturbed, and was compelled to do something. He reached out with his paw and placed it on her shoulder.
"Are you still awake?" he asked quietly.
Yakira's eyes slid open. She looked back at Tony's nervous face.
"Y...yess. Is there some...something you needed to..to ask me?" she queried. Tony thought for a second, and then said no.
"I just wanted to tell you that you're safe now, from wherever you came from and whatever hurt you so badly." Tony declared "Louie and I are gonna make sure of that." Yakira smiled at this thought, giving Tony a sense of reassurance, before her eyes shut once more. Tony felt slightly at ease again.

Susan Bradhurst, though looking quite flustered, was sitting upright on a couch under a window with Tom trying to comfort her by her side. He repeatedly stroked her arm and asked how she was doing.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just got myself carried away a bit for a moment." she answered. Susan looked around for a second, and then leaned in to Tom's ear. In a whisper, she continued.
"But the nerve of that man. I swear."
Tom felt hesitant before saying what was on his mind. He let in a good breath and then spoke.
"We need him though. If we want to kill Parker."
Susan pushed Tom away and looked struck in shock. "You're not serious, are you?"
"In all honesty, it needs to be done. And why not by people we've only you know, just met? It's imperative that we get him out of power as soon as possible. Who knows what he might do with that position. We can't run that risk." Tom asserted.
"I am agog." Susan stammered. "In all my days I would never consider you one to even think about doing something like that. I never should have let you surround yourself with this horror show."
Tom looked away from Susan's eyes. He couldn't belive himself either. Susan bowed her head and placed her paw on Tom's.

Alexander was checking his person to make sure that he still had everything he came with. He reached into his coat's inner pocket, and felt around, counting to himself. One...two...three syringes of Silver nitrate. Injected into an artery, the chemical would easily kill a rabbit, and spell a very excruciating death for a vampire. He felt his face and ran his fingers across his slightly uncomfortable stubble. He pushed up his glasses, and then ascertained that the rest of his belongings must be up in the room they placed him in. He walked up the stairs and walked up to his bedside. Much to Alexander's relief, his crossbow was still intact. He picked it up, and felt the incredibly heavy Rocktree wood in his arms. He hefted it, grasped the strap, and slung it around his shoulder, letting it rest on his back. Alexander then bent over to pick up another piece of his equipment, a simple combat knife. However, he was still missing his most prized possession. He felt around under the bed for it nervously. Finally, he felt his fingers grasp it's wooden handle. He pulled it out, and held it in front of him to bask in it's glory. Alexander placed his pipe firmly in between his lips and began to dig around in his pocket for a small parcel of tobacco.
"I didn't take you for a smoker."
Majo's voice came as an unexpected surprise to Alexander. She was standing in the doorframe with one arm rested against it, leaning in. Alexander paused to give her a dirty look.
"Nothing helps you get through the hard times like and addiction." he uttered, and then drew out a small bag of tobacco. He ripped it open and filled up his pipe.
"Does that make you feel badass or something stupid like that?" she asked. Alexander gave no reply, instead he lit up and inhaled deeply.
"It's a shame that second hand smoke stuff is so terrible, because what I'm breathing in is great stuff." Alexander mocked. Majo rolled her eyes and set her paws on her hips. She walked in farther to Alexander's room, and stood across the bed from him.
"I was hoping-" she started. "That I would reconsider your proposition?" Alexander finished. "No deal. Besides, I highly doubt I'm welcome with your pack any more." he released a small plume of smoke with each syllable, and then took in another long breath with one hand lightly supporting the end of his pipe. Outside on the staircase, Louie was creeping up to eavesdrop. He began to listen at the edge of the hallway.
"Pack eh? You make us sound like dogs. And after all that time we spent working together to give a home to those Diamondus war refugees, and you still want to break away from us and go back home? What happened to companionship?" Majo accused. Alexander exhaled another cloud of smoke, and then removed his pipe to talk again.
"My job here is finished. Nothing more, nothing less." Alexander stated in a definite manner. Majo threw up her arms while turning and walking away.
"You're impossible. Honestly. Think about it this way. When you go back and talk to Schism, they'll probably just make it your next mission to kill Parker anyway." Majo said, tying to coax Alexander to her side. However, Alexander still remained defiant. He placed his pipe back into his mouth and smoked again.
"My business is with killing the undead, not with killing a political figure head." Alexander declared. Majo's head was searching for an argument to this point, but before she could find one, Alexander had started heading towards the doorway. Louie tensed, and began crouching while laying flat against the wall. He waited.
"I'm almost flattered that you want my help. But sadly, I just can't see why I should have anything to do with you." Alexander finalized, and then continued to head towards the door. Louie sunk back farther into the shadows in preparation. Alexander walked out of the door, merely inches from Louie's jaws. He turned and walked down the stairs. Louie shot up almost instantaneously, and entered the room with Majo.
"We're not going to kill Parker. What ever the hell made you think that was a good idea, you had better cut it out. Plus we've got a much bigger problem on our hands now. Yakira, that girl. Estella tore her to shreds just to send me an ultimatum."
"Oh, so that explains your inability to stay in the room with her. You're scared, aren't you Louie?" Majo derived.
"Of Estella, no." Louie replied nonchalantly and totally dodging what Majo was trying to get him to say. "I'm not scared. I'm angry. I want to know why she's trying to destroy me. And that girl probably didn't deserve to be Estella's vessel of misplaced anger. All I feel is hatred towards her now." Louie was now talking in a low hiss. Majo felt defeated inwardly. For the second time, she had tried to drive at something with Louie, only to be rebuffed. She was attempting to unearth empathy in him, but realized that Louie was more undead than ever before, and growing colder, at least towards her. She almost began to feel jealous that Louie's attention was spread across the board now that they had settled in with Tom and Susan and everyone else, and that she was no longer under his vigilant eye.
"Cold, calculating vampire." she replied with a bitter tact. Majo immediately felt childish for chiding Louie like that. She tried to cover-up what she said by mentioning Parker again quickly, but didn't listen to his reply. Inside, her brain was racked with one massive dilemma. Why did she lash out at Louie like that? What had made her get so upset about him? Did she love Louie?

Tier walked out from the room where everyone was gathered and down into the kitchen to find Michelle. He stepped onto the tiled floor and leaved up against a counter. Michelle was racing from station to station preparing a platter of what looked like rat omelettes. Tier smiled a wicked looking, but sincere, half smile.
"You're not cooking for yourself. Did you forget that or something, Michelle?" he taunted. Michelle looked down at the food she had prepared between her mitts.
"I...I guess you're right." Michelle set down the tray on the counter next to Tier's arm. He took the liberty of grabbing one and taking a monstrous bite out of it.
"I'm nervous about these people. I'm just trying to earn my keep with them right now." Michelle admitted. Tier finished swallowing before opting to speak, minding his manners of course.
"They're not too bad. They're hospitable enough. But when you're acting like a vagrant, it's best not to be too picky." Tier commented. His paw was moving around wildly as he spoke, making small gestures and sending egg and rat meat everywhere.
"Great, now you've made a mess too." Michelle sighed. As she bent over to pick up some of the scraps, she continued talking. "I guess the vampire one is alright. Louie was his name." Tier laughed at this statement.
"Don't get too attached. Especially to a fickle minded vampire who's more powerful than you. As our kind says, let the vampire deal with the vampire troubles. All this masquerade crap does is slow one down."
Michelle laid her paws against the edge of the counter and gripped down with her fingers.
"That Parker is spelling out trouble for us, isn't he?" She asked. Tier shoved the remaining slab of food into his mouth, and licked his digits.
"What's gotten into you and suddenly caring about the affairs of vampires? You need to become a bit more detached from the world of humans. You're dead, remember?" Tier said while giving Michelle a light tap on the arm over the counter. Although a reassuring gesture, Michelle was slightly unsettled by the fact that she could feel her bones slightly cave with the pressure of Tier's paw. Her body was still decaying, and she was far from used to this new sensation.

Tony was sitting alone at Yakira's bedside. He felt a bit sick. Of all of the people he was with, why did it seem like he was the only person who cared about her well being still, he wondered. Tony banished the thought though, realizing that so much has happened recently, and that they're already doing the best they can do. He almost began to feel guilty. Everyone was going through some personal drama at this point, and he didn't have anything to occupy himself. Except for this girl's troubles. He reached over with his left paw to pull up the sheets closer around her neck. He grabbed the hem of the spread, and felt a slight irritation on his skin. He let the sheet fall out of his grasp, and looked at his paw quizzically. A light powdery film had collected on his fingers, and it was making his skin itch. Tony left Yakira's room and made his way down to the kitchen to wash it off his hand. Michelle and Tier were still talking when he entered.
"Hey, where is the sink? I've got to wash this stuff off." Tony asked, preoccupied by holding his wrist. The irritation was turning into a terrible pain.
"It's over there." Michelle said with a head jerk. She resumed talking to Tier. "I wonder..what's going to happen to use next? Are we going to sta-"
She was interrupted by an unholy cry of pain. Tony had withdrawn his hand from the running water and was holding it above his head. Blood flowed freely from gouges that had etched themselves deep into his skin.
"What the hell? What happened?" Tier bellowed. He locked eyes with Michelle for a minute, whom mirrored his expression of confusion and fear. They both rushed over to Tony and tried to restrain him, whom all the while was screaming.

At this point, Susan had made her way into the kitchen. She began to announce that everyone was to go up to the living room, but quickly began to shout and run over to the scene that was unfolding in the kitchen.
"His arm...it looks like Yakira's." She commented in disbelief. "The ointment we use is up in her room. Michelle, run up and get it, and be swift." she commanded.

"I don't care if you think it'll work. It's way too dangerous, and no way in hell am I going to work with that nutcase who's trying to kill me." Louie shouted. Majo had her arms crossed, and had a look of fire in her eyes.
"And what is so much more dangerous than Parker coming into power anyway? It could be the start of...uhh...a civil war. Or at least an open war against the undead. And why risk it?" Majo yelled back. Michelle suddenly burst into the room at this point. She looked around confused, and then embarrassed. She drew her paws up to cover her mouth as she gasped.
"I'm so sorry." she stammered. She pivoted and was about to step back into the hallway, before Louie called out to her.
"It's fine. What's going on? You seem to be very upset by something." he questioned. Michelle stopped moving and dictated over her shoulder that they would have to go to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Alexander was in the living room of the Bradhurst house, stopping his exit long enough to thank Tom for his generosity.
"It was no trouble. Besides, this town has certainly entered an empathetic spirit, what with all of the giving to the refugees, no?" Out of the blue, their conversation was decimated by the sound of Tony's cry of pain. Tom drew his paws up to his ears, and all color left Alexander's face. In pure silence, they both dashed as quickly as they could to the source of the sound, joining the entire party minus Yakira, for obvious reasons, and Michelle, who was entering right behind them. She forced her way up to Tony, who had been held down into a chair and his paw was thrashing around. He was pressing down with his right paw on his wrist to try and keep it from moving. Susan was kneeling by his side, clutching the armrest. Michelle forced her way past the onlookers, and began applying the lotion onto his lacerated hand. Tony winched in pain, but the affects of it's application began to take in, and his arm started to relax, but still occasionally twitch. Susan took the bandages that Michelle was holding out of the crux of her arm, and prepared them.
"Thanks." Tony said with a gasp after Michelle had finished rubbing in the ointment. She turned a color that put red to shame when she realized that she was still holding on to his paw, and stepped back.
"No problem." she said quickly, and retreated back to Tier's side.
Louie was standing side by side with Alexander towards the back of the crowd around Tony, and leaned over.
"What the hell do you think caused that?". Alexander's mind ran through every possible substance he could think of, and came up blank. He gave a frightened no, and then began to sort out mentally what was going on.
"(-), do you think Yakira is cursed? Her wounds aren't healing, and now it's spread onto Tony." Louie suggested.
"Don't kid yourself. You would've been able to sniff out a curse on her a mile away." Alexander submitted bluntly. This statement however, shocked both of them back into remembering exactly what the other person was. Louie pushed the feeling aside, and tried to make light of the situation.
"And I'm sure with your experience, you could have told us that from the start."

And as such, the seeds of an awkward friendship, or at the very least mutual respect, were sown in an unsettling moment.

A silence grew between them, and Alexander took the time to walk up and ask Susan what had happened.
"I...don't know. He was washing his hands and suddenly, his left one began to be sliced apart by it."
Alexander looked down around his feet, and lifted his leg up a little to see beneath it and realized that Tony's blood was indeed pooling on the tiles below. He stepped back into a dry spot on the floor, and looked up again. Tony was in the chair, now looking comfortable but shaky. He repeatedly rubbed his left arm, either out of nervousness or for relief.. Susan had gotten up and was holding Tom in a long embrace. Michelle was glancing up into Tier, who was staring straight ahead towards nothing in particular. Majo was leaning against a counter lost in a trance of though. Louie stood alone at the end of the room near the doorway. In the center of the kitchen stood Alexander, taking one last puff on his pipe, and pondering their next move. Everyone was quiet. But Michelle became restless. Her ability to see life forms was acting up in an alarming manner. Finally, she had to say something.
"I think all need to talk. Let's find a nice place to sit." she expressed, and to which the whole silently agreed.

After the group had taken their seats and settled into the living room, Susan was the person directing the meeting.
"Let's all relax and try to think what is going on. Maybe make a list of some sort." She said from the couch at the end of the room. All of the furniture had been arranged in a circle to accommodate the impromptu council. Tom sat beside her, resting against the arm of the couch. Across the room from them was Louie on a window seat next to Majo. In a recliner to their left, Tier was sunk in a half-listening state. Alexander was one more over from Tier in a fold-out chair. Tony was seated to the right of Louie, his paw bandaged up and with a glove covering it all. Lastly, between him and Tom was Michelle, fidgeting around and unable to sit down, instead swaying incessantly. Susan continued to address the group.
"Yakira is in a very serious condition, but she is stable, and will remain that way probably. We're doing the best we can for her. So long as we continue to provide a healthy environment for her, she will recover slowly but surely. Tony's injuries are minor and will heal rather soon."
Susan paused for a moment. Tom, who had been feeling a bit usurped as master of the house, decided to control the direction at this point.
"Gary Parker has taken the position of governor now. He's gaining political prestige at a massive rate. He's a substantial leader of all walks of life now, and a man as shady as he in power...I don't know what will come of this." Tom quivered. The rest of the people in the room remained still, giving Tom cue to continue.
"The idea of killing him is out of the question as of this moment. But mayhaps..it'll come to that someday." Tom appealed. Susan tried to inconspicuously shoot Tom the evil eye, but he evaded meeting her look. Undaunted, Susan directed the discussion to other topics.
"Michelle, why do you look so rattled dear? Is something the matter?" she asked. Michelle wasn't expecting being thrust into the center of attention, and thus awkwardly began to clear her throat.
"I...uhh...ahem. I have this thing, where I can see...uhh, people. What I mean is that-" she shuddered. Thankfully, Tier interrupted her at this point.
"What she's trying to say is that her ability to see life forces has been acting up considerably, and in a greviously distressing manner. Namely that hundreds of bodies are closing in on this village as we speak, and are already encircling it." he finished. Without missing a beat, Louie's eyes gleaned.
"Are they rabbits, or-" he began to ask.
"Nope. Werewolves." Tier answered. "And they look in the mood for trouble." he added. Alexander looked surprised, and then smacked his forehead.
"Oh crap. I must have lured them here when I ran into their pack earlier." he grieved.
Tier gave a hearty laugh.
"No pack is this big. Plus their movements...they're acting like an army, not a group of hunters." he ascertained. Tom stood up to take charge.
"We have to warn the town. I'm going to leave right now to try and shout out for a call to arms. Louie, Alexander, Michelle and...uhh... Tier. Get ready, you've all probably got a fight to look forward to." he ordered. Tom turned and grabbed a jacket off of a coat rack, and burst outside of his house. Tony got up and went the other direction towards the stairs to the bedrooms.
"What're you doing? You're injured." Susan said, getting up to usher him back to his seat.
"I'm going to my pistol. You can't stop me from a good fight." he said defiantly. Susan gave up and retracted back onto her couch. Alexander walked up to her and spoke.
"Don't worry. You're work is cut out for you. If there truly are hundreds of werewolves out there, there will be much blood and injured for you to handle when the day is through." Alexander walked outside the door following Tom and disappearing from sight. Susan crossed her hands in her lap, feeling utterly helpless against the dawning chaos.

Alexander was walking along the dirt path up to town at a hurried pace without trying to look too urgent by running. Louie and Tony were close behind, while Tier and Michelle hadn't left yet. They were making their way up to the mansion, where the greater bulk of the people in the town were clustered and unaware. Louie and Tony jogged up to fall in line with Alexander as he started to ascend the large grassy knoll up to the mansion. Louie's mind filled with the realization that this was going to be where most of the upcoming foray would occur. That the grass of his own house was the be watered in blood.
"Can you still fight?" Alexander grunted to Tony, who was carrying a compact version of the standard blaster pistol in his right, non-dominant paw. His other one had been bandaged up almost to the point of immobility.
Tony shrugged. "How hard could it be?" he replied, while wondering to himself how good of a shot he was right handed. Alexander turned back to inspect Tony at this point. He looked up and down, from Tony's head to feet.
"You may have won a few bar fights in your time, racer. But when it comes to the undead, you're a total newbie. I don't want you to be a liability, and I don't think it's in your best interest to die today." Alexander berated after finishing his judgment.
"You certainly take your work seriously." Tony miffed. His grip on the blaster tightened a bit, as Alexander's words began to fill him with a self-doubt.
Louie broke the run-in up before it could get out of hand. The trio was almost at the door to the mansion. "Stop. We make our stand here." he dictated. "You two need to go inside and inform the inhabitants of what is about to happen. Make sure they don't panic."
Tony and Alexander glared at each other for a second, before confirming their order and walking inside. Louie remained standing outside of the entry-way with his arms folded defiantly over his chest. He waited until a breeze flitted by, and sniffed deeply. Trace scents of blood and rot lingered in the air. The a small crunch was heard from the undergrowth to Louie's left A small mammal? Squirrel maybe, or. Louie knew better. He darted over into the trees, and grabbed a werewolf by the scruff of his neck. He twisted him around to stare at Louie directly in the eyes.
"Found you." Louie hissed. The werewolf's eyes filled with panic. Louie felt his fangs growing in his mouth. The urge to bite was whispering softly to him; tempting.
"Leave us to do our business. There are an uncountable number of my brothers and sisters in these woods behind me. If I don't report back, they'll know something has happened. And believe you me, their revenge with be painful and deadly." the werewolf said in an attempt at intimidation. Louie rebutted.
"I'll revel in their dismemberment." he paused just long enough to let it sink but short enough so that the werewolf couldn't reply.
"Why are you here?" Louie asked, and he jerked his other paw, nail outstretched, like a knife into the werewolf's belly. The werewolf jerked around, and then gasped for a breath.
"Let's just say that we're serving a higher cause than our own selfish packs now." he said. With that, he thrust his left foot into Louie's sternum, sending him fly backwards in surprise while letting his grip go. The werewolf howled and panted at Louie, before scampering away back into the woods. Louie laid on the grass for a moment. That kick much more out of him than it should have. He rolled back up into a standing position, and glared into the woods.

Simultaneously, Alexander was inside the mansion. He had let Tony do the talking, as he might have seemed a recognizable figure with a more charismatic nature, and instead chose to lean on the inside hallway spanning from the door to the area where most of the refugees were settled in. Tony had attracted a large crowd around him as he vividly explained what was going to happen to a mass of grim faces. Alexander realized the enormity of what must be happening to them. The recent destruction of everything they had every had, and now they weren't even safe. However, nothing seemed to answer, in Alexander's mind, why he was still here. He didn't care about the lives of everyone he had met. But he still felt a very strong attraction to stay with them and support them. Or at least protect them. Susan was right, they had given him everything, including his own life. And he still remembered the face that he woke up to the first morning he arrived, and how he was struck breathless in a heart beat. Alexander buried his thoughts suddenly as deep as he could muster, realized that he had to focus on the situation at hand. Tony had finished talking to the refugees, came up to Alexander, and said "They're ready, let's go.". The two exited and met up with Louie who was standing just outside the door now. He made no effort to hide the blood soaked claw, and made a shot at Alexander.
"You're still here? What appeals to the big bad hunter to stick around with us?" Alexander smiled and gave a smug reply.
"Ten coins for every pelt I bring back when off duty.".

About five minutes later, Tom had wound his way into town square. Rabbits were walking past going about their daily business. A couple had taken a seat on the giant fountain that dominated the square. Beyond them, a shop owner was sweeping his stoop. In Tom's mind's eye, he saw the fountain in rubble and blood soaking into the golden cobblestone and dust beneath his feet. Tom swallowed and climbed onto the lip of the fountain.
"My fellow rabbits." he bellowed. The entirety of the people nearby locked their eyes on Tom. He was on the spot now. "Hear my call. Do you strive to be a part of a cause that needs you more than ever before? I urge all of the vigilante in each of us to my side. Our heart beat's are mimicking the sound of the footsteps of fire, destruction, and death which clamor to our little town. An insurmountable darkness is encroaching on our lands to reduce it to ashes. I beseech all of you to join up arms by my side, and strike a blow deep into the heart of despair, and fight off these blasted, twisted concoctions of evil."
The crowd was hesitant. Tom's heart sunk as he wasn't met by thunderous applause or raised fists at all. All hope felt lost, when suddenly a voice rung clear above the din.
"What are we waiting around for? We need to make a stand, both for ourselves and for the refugees." Tom smiled. Susan was right in the nick of time. The group's attitude shifted, and and a flame of resolve spread through the crowd, dancing in each of their hearts, compelling them to stay and dare fate. They quickly were shouting plans, yells of valor, and began to run to every which way to stir up the entire town. Tom smiled in front of the teeming mass, inspecting his handiwork before stepping down to find Susan. She had separated herself and was standing next to a bench with her paws crossed in front of herself, beaming.
"You certainly still know how to rile a crowd. You had them eating out of your hand." She said, clasping her arms around him.
"Without your addition, it would have been a miserable failure." Tom replied. Susan looked down and to the right while still smiling.
"Every great leader needs an activist to promote him." She maintained. Tom simpered affectionately.
"Nobody better than you." he said, and pressed his lips against hers tenderly.


Tier and Michelle were standing outside on the path leading up to the Bradhurst estate. Tier was hanging back at the doorway.
"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Michelle asked with a quiver in her voice.
Tier gave a very certain reply. "Yes. You will be fine. What better way to find out if you can hold your own than your first battle? And besides. I need to stay here and watch over Yakira." Michelle looked down at her feet and felt the dust beneath them.
"Fine. I guess I'll head over there right away. Don't want to keep them waiting. Oh Susan. I didn't see you coming."
Susan had returned from the rabble rouse and was making her way back home again without Tom.
"Yes, I'm opening my house up as a home for the injured again. I have to clean up and make sure everything is ready for the rush. Will you be staying here Tier? I'd love to have some company. Tom is in his leader of the land mood. You should see him, strutting around like a king, airs and all. I think he's up with Louie and the others preparing for the assault. Looks like you're going to go meet up with them."
"Yes missus Bradhurst." Michelle affirmed with utmost respect. Tier shrugged his shoulders.
"I'll be glad to help you. I'm at your service." he said coyly. Susan smiled.
"Good. I wish you all the best of luck Michelle. Oh and bring back our boys safely, alright?"

Michelle met up with Tom, Louie, Alexander, and Tony at the foot of Greenthorpe mansion turned haven for the war victims. Susan was right. Tom was prancing around with his shoulders raised and chin held high. She chuckled at the fact that she knew him so well. Tom caught notice of Michelle's arrival and gave a heart felt greeting.
"Ah, hello Michelle. I didn't fancy seeing you joining us here. Thirsting for glory, perhaps?" Michelle couldn't help but smile at his carrying on.
"Why yes, commander. In fact, I heard it that you were quite the man of words down with the people." she lilted falling right into her part and boosting his ego. Tom's eyes lit up.
"Oh ho, most definitely. I must have turned a hundred men, maybe more, down there. They are just straining at the leash, ready to take their shot." he delivered, internally bursting with a sense of pride.
He continued. "I'm sure Louie and the others would be more than happy to know you're here, so why not settle in with them? I'm sure they've got plenty of jobs to occupy you." Michelle bowed her head, and then worked her way over to Louie, who was busy tentatively setting up snap traps for their unknown enemies. This was it, she thought to herself.

It was a most intense day of hard labor, crafting traps and building a gun barricade for the minute men to make their stand in. Slowly, the mansion's peaceful but dilapidated demeanor changed into a menacing fortress overlooking the town. The wooden fence around it's yard was torn down and used instead to construct a gun barricade that half-circled the hill, ready to fill up with eager vigilantes. Bear traps and trip wires had been supplied by zealous townspeople, and were being put to use all around the mansion. It was nightfall by the time it was all said and done. Torches had been propped up every few feet to help them all see. Tom, Louie, Alexander, Tony, and Michelle were seated around a campfire made behind the barricade in a small alcove that had been dug into the hill. The flame's light danced across people's faces and the moist dirt wall behind them. Everyone except Louie was relaxing, almost meditating, to prepare them for the fight. Louie was poking his head out of the alcove to look up.
"(-). A full moon." he cursed. Tony sighed.
"Are you serious? Ahhh crap." he moaned. Tony looked over at Tom, who seemed to be in a trance. Louie laughed at Tony.
"It gets worse. They're already here." The people in the group all looked at Louie in disbelief. He was pointing outside of the alcove towards a figure in the darkness, a bestial silhouette was in front of the empty barricade, standing tall. He seemed to be waiting.
"Go on general." Michelle urged, her voice shaky and meek. Tom felt queasy the whole walk up to the figure. Tonight he would discover whatever higher power had in store for him. He grabbed a torch from the barricade as he walked around it. Each step felt like a million pound weight on him. However, he kept his resolve, and walked up to face their envoy. As he approached, the light revealed to him a very shadowy looking werewolf. His fur was grey with eons of life beneath him, a very old werewolf he must have been. His left eye was lame and had rolled to the back of his eye lid. Or maybe it was a glass eye. It drew in a raspy breath and then taunted Tom.
"Hahaha..." It's voice personifying decay. "The town of Greenthorpe lays asleep and comfortable in their beds, yet you're still here? Not quite the fight my gentlemen were expecting." he finished. Every word spoken was heavy in the air. He gave a very wheezy cough.
"I have a few tricks up my sleeve. You've all fallen into a trap. My troops have encircled the entire forest, and will be creeping up behind your bandits as we speak." Tom declared with confidence.
"I see. Then I'll just start the attack now so you'll have to play..catch-up." the decrepit beast insinuated. He reached into his cloak and slowly drew out a large red flag. As he raised it above his head, faces sprung out of the underbrush surrounding the mansion. Tom ran back to the barricade, torch in hand, and saw Louie and the others taking a defensive stance. Louie turned back at Tom and almost menacingly demanded to know where their allies were.
"I'll have to run down to the village to get them." Tom said. With that, he ran back up without hearing what Louie or the others had to say.

Gary Parker rest the phone back on the receiver as an advisor opened the door to his office. The advisor looked very up tight and angry. He came over to speak to Parker over the desk in the room.
"All I have to ask is what the hell do you think you're doing?"
Parker's face was devoid of humanity at this point. He started speaking in a very machiavellian, almost ungodly tone.
"I will not have it any other way. The fools. They embarrassed me. They gave a full around slap to my face. Betrayed politically by my home town. Well, all I can say is that if you sign up for the wrong outfit, you get what you deserve. Do you know what I mean? By the end of tonight, Greenthorpe will burn. And all those refugees won't be missed. They've already probably slipped through the cracks and go uncounted for. Nobody will notice their disappearance until it's far too late. And then you know what I'll do next? I'll use it to further my political career. I'll just keep on using the empathy of the oh so terrible events that happen to me and just ride my way to the top. The beauty if it is that nobody knows what I did tonight." Parker reveled. He turned menacingly to the advisor.
"Not even you." Parker loomed over the advisor, fangs coming to bare.

I'm not cut out to be a general. Tom said that to himself over and over again as he ran down to the village. He had been disillusioned. Nobody came to help build the barricade. Nobody helped set up traps. Nobody was up on the hill, guns poised to kill. Tom cursed himself, a tear running down his cheek. He had been holding out on hundreds of his friends at his side on that hill, but he didn't persuade a single heart to his cause. As Tom pushed open the creeky iron gate to the grounds, he saw just further down the path lights in the town square. Perhaps people were there. Tom practically lept down, but well before he even made it, he had slowed to a jog. Then a trot. Finally, when he reached the fountain at town square, he was walking. Four people were huddling around a fire one of which was female. She looked up at Tom and bit her lip.
"I'm sorry. It looks like we're the only ones who came to you." she said.

Technically it should have been 4 parts max, but I didn't want to cut paragraphs in half.

EDIT: Stupid censor.

You did Tier too cheerful, he's a grumpy old sod, like Derby.

Meh. I tried to make him more or less the cynic of the group actually.

Wow Strato, that looks like it could have been two or three chapters.

I have a penchant for writing very long, slow-paced chapters these days.

Cobbie's up next. Tick are you still planning on writing?

Like I've told you before Starto, brilliant writing.
And I still stand by that. You've given us a brilliant cliffhanger as well.

Cobsie, carry on then

Go Cobs go!!!

Someone should either tell her about this or we should carry on.

Hey guys, I wrote a little flashback to explain how Gary Parker came to be such an evil person.

I hope no one minds that I'm posting before my turn and this doesn't count as the actual chapter I'll write later on. But I thought it'd be good to keep this thing alive and it's the first time in a long while we see another bit of the story posted nine days from the previous chapter

This shouldn't lead to any mix ups incase someone started writing their next chapter. It's a flashback and I am planning on writing one about Majo as well.



---


The life and death of Gary Parker.



Everything that is evil starts out as something good.

“Gary? Where are you Gary?”
Several childeren where playing their favorit game, hide and seek.
It’s funny how something as simple as that can entertain us so in our younger days.
“This isn’t funny anymore Gary, please come here.” Meya shouted. “I’m going to tell your aunt about this and you’ll be in trouble.” She paused to see if he would respond to this threat, but he didn’t. “I swear, I’ll do it.” But she knew that Gary wouldn’t believe her if she heard him. She was to fond of him to tell on him and get him into trouble.
She’d have to miss him for days if she’d tell on him. And who would she play with then?
Marcus, who she had found in less then a minute because he was to fat to fit in the barrel he tried to hide in. Or Reglia, who always pulled her ears if Gary wasn’t looking.
Timmy wasn’t to bad, he was a little quiet ever since the kids went on an adventure that took them to Greenthorpe mansion. Nobody knows what he saw and nobody ever asks him for it.
Somethings are best left unknown and even though they were still young, they knew this was one of those things.

“Gary?” Reglia shouted. She was starting to get worried as well. She knew that he liked a joke but this had gone on long enough now. “Let’s go look for him.” Marcus said lazily.
Even talking costed him to much energy and it didn’t look like he was going to get out from underneath that tree even though he suggested to go look for Gary.
“What do you think we’ve been doing lardhead?” Reglia said. “This game is called hide and SEEK for a reason, geek.” Meya giggled.

“He may be a lardhead but he is right.” Timmy said. “It’s getting dark and if we don’t get home in time our parents will start to get worried.”
Marcus wanted to get up, but after a few sighs and puffs he decided that it was best for him to stay behind in case Gary came back.
Reglia gave him a soft kick against his big behind and shook her head. “One day you’ll sit still forever because you’d be too fat to get up.” Timmy smiled.
He thought she was pretty, two golden brown pony tails were hanging down her shoulders and her eyes would sparkle if she made one of these mean comments. He enjoyed hearing her voice, he had enjoyed it ever since they started to play together. The people in town called them ‘The little pack.’ Wherever they went. They always went together.
If only they had stayed together this time…



“Gary? Where are you Gary.”
Dear Meya, if his feelings could be described for her in adult terms, they’d be called love.
But how does a child call those feelings? All the signs were there.
The blushy cheeks underneath his fur when she talked to him. The way he teased her to hide what he really felt. It’s funny how little rabbits at that age did that to show a girl they liked her. His dad always said that he would never understand a woman, but he could imagine that it was just as hard for women to understand them.

He walked a little further into the cave he had discovered.
Gary was looking for a good place to hide and stumbled over something underneath the grass.
When he looked to see what it was that made him stumble he noticed a hole in the ground, just big enough for a small rabbit to squeeze through.
In the eyes of an adult, his next move would have been one of great courage or stupidity.
But in the eyes of a child, it was the perfect hiding place.
A narrow tunnel crawled through the thick and dark earth towards the north. Several strange crystals in the sides of the tunnel lit everything up so that he could see where he was going.
His mind told him to stay put but he decided to ignore the good advice and he wandered on.
“I’m going to tell your aunt…” Sweet Meya. ‘I know you won’t’ He thought to himself.
He reached the end of the tunnel and entered a massive cave underneath the earth. Lit up by hundreds of Crystals. He stood there in awe over the size of this cave.
A cold stream of wind playfully teased his earlobes. He didn’t know why and he knew he should not do this. But he took a few steps into the cave and stepped into a small stream of icy cold water. His foot blocked up the path of the water like a dam and it felt like the cold water bit in his feet. But he was to bedazzled to feel anything.
This was how the archeologists must have felt when they discovered the grave of king Nozz. The first king of the old times that had united the rabbits of Carrotus.
The air in here was thick and smelled sour, could he have been the first person that had entered this cave in thousands of years or more maybe. He could have even been the very first person that entered this cage since the beginning of time. His imagination seemed to have no limits, but he soon found out that his last assumption wasn’t correct when he noticed a drawing on the far wall.



“He must’ve dissapeared somewhere around here.” Timmy said.
The sun was setting over the treetops now it would not be long untill it would be dark. An hour, maybe less.They all searched down the area in which Gary had dissapeared, inch by inch. Untill Meya noticed a hole underneath a patch of grass.
It seemed that Gary hadn’t covered up his little secret as well as he hoped he had.
“Here, look.” One of his wristbands was resting in the sand.
Timmy, Meya and Reglia were all looking at eachother. They looked rather scared.
“Gary?” Meya said. Softer then before, scarder then before.



The drawing depicted the monsteresque form of a man, thick black lines where drawn over him. As if he was locked in a cage.
Gary was drawn to it’s eyes, as if the drawing had placed an enchantment upon him.
‘Touch me Gary, touch me and free me. Please Gary I’ve been alone for ages.’
The drawing had gotten inside of his head. The young rabbit’s mouth hang open and a small stream of drool fell from the corner of his mouth.
A muffled “Yes…”. Barely audible escaped from his lips and he brought his fingers to the drawing. ‘Good boy. You’ll be rewarded Gary, you’ll be a rich man. I’ll give you everything you want Gary, free me.’ The monsters voice was so friendly and calm it was soothing and it was not long before his fingers touched the cold rock.
Gary’s heart stopped, for a second, for a minute. For one brief period of time he had lost all track of time. It felt like an eternity of pain and anger soared through him.
He did not scream, he could not scream. The monster was his throat, the monster was his head, his eyes, his ears. And then, all of a sudden. Everything seemed to go back to normal.

“Gary, you scared us. Didn’t you hear me? I called out your name.”
The young boy turned around and looked straight into Timmy’s eyes.
All colour left Timmy’s face. He had looked into the eyes of a monster before and it had left him crippled. He wasn’t sure what too say and decided that it was best not to say anything at all. It had helped him out before.
Gary gave the two girls a big hug and then turned his back on them to look at Timmy.
He grinned and placed his pointer finger on his lip. His eyes glowing.
‘This could be the start of a beautiful friendship Gary.’

Ooooh! Niceness!

Nice, Slayo.

I think Cobra will be away for a week or so.

That's ok. I'll just write another one of these then just to keep things going.
Maybe some of you guys should do some flashbacks.
I find them a lot of fun to write and it gives the story and characters some more depth.

Hmmmm, you got a point there, they *are* fun. I may start on one, just to copy you. [Not an origional thought in my head I tell you]

oh wow!!! I can't read all that! honeycomb big yeah yeah jeah, it's not small, no no no. see! I'm crazy as a coconut! I have no chance unless it's comedy.

please write an overview of what has happened. Is it about the characters created by you people?

There *is* an overview of everthing that has happened; its even color coded.

It is located here: http://www.jazz2online.com/jcf/showthread.php?t=10912

http://treacle.hewwo.com/jazz/story.html

^ That one is better since it's updated untill the last chapter.

Cobra told me that she would like to go after me which means that it is either Spaztic's or Coppertop's turn.

ugh. I asked for a SUMMARY slaYer. Not the whole thing.
Put Jax the runemaster in... go on I dare you.
he's orange by the way. he wears a medieval helmet etched with runes because he scratches them on things when he's asleep. that's the extent of his power.
the only feature of his face you can see are his blue glowing eyes. he wears a rune etched suit of armour under his cloak with those generic dangly sleeves. only his feet poke out the bottom of his cloak. hos cloak is one of the 'Circle of Mages' cloaks and therefore it is covered in runes (only on the chestpiece, not the sleeves)his cloak is black and red in gradient. he is 27. he carries a purple gun, similar to jazz's exept it has a cartridge, a scope, a laser sight and a torch. he has the abitity to cast a great many spells and is a grade 8 (out of 10) exorcist. his spells include shield, summon, fireball, lightning and curse of the runes.

I plan on writing a chapter next week from my cottage in the fields of Ohio.

Originally Posted by Ninja 101

ugh. I asked for a SUMMARY slaYer. Not the whole thing.
Put Jax the runemaster in... go on I dare you.
he's orange by the way. he wears a medieval helmet etched with runes because he scratches them on things when he's asleep. that's the extent of his power.
the only feature of his face you can see are his blue glowing eyes. he wears a rune etched suit of armour under his cloak with those generic dangly sleeves. only his feet poke out the bottom of his cloak. hos cloak is one of the 'Circle of Mages' cloaks and therefore it is covered in runes (only on the chestpiece, not the sleeves)his cloak is black and red in gradient. he is 27. he carries a purple gun, similar to jazz's exept it has a cartridge, a scope, a laser sight and a torch. he has the abitity to cast a great many spells and is a grade 8 (out of 10) exorcist. his spells include shield, summon, fireball, lightning and curse of the runes.

We have enough characters as it is.
(I might have considered it, if you had actually read this story, go hide in shame.)

SlaYo you idiot. You were supposed to write one out for him D''':

SlaYo, he dared us. We have no choice.

Those are all good points guys. I don't know what to do now.

We could use some cannon fodder.

Is that all it takes? A simple dare? In that case I dare you to put in MY character, Billy bob jimmy bo billy.
He's a frog THATS INVINCEABLE!!! AND HIS LORI'S COUZIN!!1!

Deal! [He's about to find out he's not so invincible]

We could use some cannon fodder.

You can shoot my characters; being already dead means they can have nasty accidents...or cause nasty accidents to happen to reccently arrived characters.

Originally Posted by The SlaYeR

Cobra told me that she would like to go after me which means that it is either Spaztic's or Coppertop's turn.

Ugh, been away all week. If Spaztic would rather wait I can start writing.

For anyone wondering, I finished my chapter last night and will post it as soon as I get home from work. Consider this a placeholder post.

EDIT for chapter

As Jesse fled far from his homeland, other events were taking place.
The fires had died down in the police station, leaving smoldering heaps of debris within the gutted building. Firefighters had come and gone, speaking vaguely about beginning the work of salvage soon. The media hounds came also, describing the fire as an act of terror, emphasizing the depravity of an enemy that would do such things. The death of one officer and injury of another became yet another political tool, a weapon of a different sort in the war.

Adrian sat in an uncomfortable metal-framed chair, bandaged hands wrapped around a thick ceramic coffee mug. He stared fixedly down at the waterstains marking the cheap pasteboard table in front of him. Across from him, looking equally uncomfortable, sat an elderly-looking rabbit, fidgiting and looking frequently at the clock that adorned the otherwise bare wall.
Adrian shifted his attention to that wall. It might have been white once, but was yellowed with age and grime. Cleaner streaks, carved through the dirt by water, marked where the roof leaked. The paint peeled near the ceiling. Bare, dirty lightbulbs adorned the ceiling, casting a distinctly yellow light over the room. The lighting did not flatter the other rabbit, making him look even older and wearier. It sparked off of Adrian's dark fur.
Adrian's companion cleared his throat rustily, clearly hoping to break the awkward silence but instead making it even more awkward. The old relic ought to have been retired years ago, Adrian thought uncharitably. He had been answering the same questions for the past half-hour, and was in a decidedly uncharitable mood.
"So," the aging rabbit said unctuously, clasping his pudgy hands on the table in front of him. He leaned forwards, making the chair creak dangerously. Adrian entertained thoughts of the overburdened chair collapsing beneath the substantial weight of his interrogator, depositing the ineffectual idiot in an undignified heap on the floor.
"So," the other repeated again, the chair having held up despite Adrian's fantasies to the contrary. "Can you describe your attacker once more for me?"
Adrian lifted chilly, pale eyes to the other's weak face. He had described Jesse, in detail, four times already, losing more patience with each repetition. Now he was past anger, feeling only numbness. He was tired, so very tired of this. Something must have shown on his face, for the other swallowed with some difficulty and repeated the question. Adrian deliberated, looking down into his still-full cup. His wintery eyes lifted again.
"No," he said thoughtfully. No inflection betrayed the emotion he might have felt. His back hurt. The bandages felt wet again. His hands still bled, freely though infrequently. He suspected that they were bleeding again. "No ... I do believe I'm done for today," he said, making a token effort at politeness. If anything, it frightened the other rabbit all the more. Adrian rose from the rickety chair and gently set the cup down on the table.
"We're not finished, Adrian," the other told him. Adrian smiled humorlessly.
"That's where you're wrong," he said. "We are. Good day." He turned and walked out of the room. The dented metal door shut behind him with a satisfying finality.
Adrian walked aimlessly, seeking only to leave the run-down hospital behind. His thoughts centered on the cause of his current woes, Jesse.
Adrian was an experienced spymaster. He had directed numerous operations, and executed countless others on his own. He was not stupid, nor careless, but he had to admit that he had seriously erred with Jesse. Syamin's loss was more than acceptable; had the moronic officer not died in the fire, Adrian would have seen him executed for his fumbling.
Even Syamin's disastrous error could have been rectified. But somehow, somehow, a boy ten years Adrian's junior had not only defied them, but fought and escaped him. And that was not acceptable
Adrian was not satisfied with the promises he had recieved, that Jesse would be found and dealt with. He had been a government agent for too long to rely on the empty words of his employers. If it was to be done properly, he would have to do it himself.
He found himself at the ruined station. His hands ached. He really shouldn't have been walking yet, but the pain in his feet wasn't so bad. He would have to watch how he moved; the burnt stripes across his back were newly healed and would break open easily. The fire had left Adrian badly hurt, skin completely charred in places. The hospital had patched him up but the pain still lingered. Another indignity that Jesse had to answer for. And he would answer.
Adrian's cell rang. He answered it without taking his eyes from the ruins.
"Adrian."
"Adrian, I heard what happened. Are you all right?" The tinny voice, full of over-done concern, belonged to the man who had been Adrian's handler in the government. The spymaster had worked without him for the past six years.
"Raspen. I assume you have a good reason for contacting me."
"Look, Adrian, I know we didn't part on the best of terms -"
Adrian snorted. Their parting words had been less than civilized. He still seethed inwardly when he considered how Raspen had abandoned him to the wolves, so to speak, at the height of an operation.
"- but I'm calling you onto a job."
"I'm already on a job. Get yourself another operative."
"Not anymore. They're pulling you off and putting you on a different one. Low-profile. In case this guy comes after you."
"Oh, sure. Now tell me the real why."
"You have too much publicity up there," Raspen almost shouted. "We both know it, Adrian! You can't operate as efficiently."
"And what about the kid?"
"Forget Jesse. We'll deal with him. You screwed up, Adrian. Now you get to work it off."
Adrian snarled wordlessly. Raspen's words had been anticipated.
"Screw you, Raspen. I'll deal with Jesse myself."
"Not happening. We'll do what it takes to bring you in, Adrian, if we have to."
"Try it," Adrian said, feeling an icy calm settle over him. "I dare you to."
"Threats don't work, Adrian. It's over for you, my friend."
"Spare me the melodramatics. I will deal with Jesse."
"Adrian -"
Adrian snapped the phone shut and pocketed it. It began to ring again, insistently. He ignored it.
It was time to deal with Jesse.

The roads were clear as Adrian left the town behind, at the wheel of a "borrowed" police vehicle. He would have to ditch it soon, it was too easily traced. He ran a thumb over the fresh bandages on his hands, which had stopped bleeding finally.
He intended to know who exactly Jesse was before he traced the boy's steps. Knowing his enemy would give him ways to anticipate and get at Jesse, so that he could silence the boy. Adrian was a perfectionist. Leaving an error like Jesse unrectified was unimaginable.
He flipped his cellphone open and stiffly thumbed in a number, glancing frequently at the mirror. There would be no pursuit for some time, Adrian being the only surviving agent in the town. Demyas would have his hands full, and explaining why he was chasing his superior would take time.
The phone rang without answer. Finally, a recording came on.
"Hi, you've reached Fierro Dembarra. I'm not in right now, but if you'll leave your name and number, I'll get back to you." The standard voicemail greeting. Adrial swore but didn't hang up.
"Fierro, it's Adrian. Call me ASAP. No official channels." He ended the call and dialled another number.
Two rings and a breathy female voice said, "hello?"
"Hayley, it's Adrian," he said calmly. "Can you talk?"
"Adrian," she said, losing her breathiness in record time. "It's been a while. Go for it."
"I need an ID on someone." He described Jesse briefly to Hayley, who remained attentively silent. "He may be in trouble with the law," he added. "No official channels, Hayley."
Hayley was quiet for a moment. "You gone rogue, Adrian?" she asked, a strange tone to her voice.
"In a sense," Adrian said. "Unofficial assignment. I need this fast."
"I'll call you when I have it," Hayley assured him. Adrian thanked her and hug up.
Other agents would have lied to Hayley and assured her that they were still clean. Adrian knew better. His contact system was built on mutual trust. One lie found out, and it invariably would be, would muddy the waters, break the trust, and Adrian would suddenly find himself unable to trust the information he was being fed. He expected Fierro to ask the same question. He would answer similarly.
Adrian had one more call to make. Fierro and Hayley were excellent informants and would get back to him soon, but more needed to be done to give him time. Flipping open his phone one last time, he punched in a 12-digit number from memory and listened to it ring.
On the fifth ring, the phone was picked up on the other end in silence.
"It's Adrian," the spymaster said quietly. "I need your help."
"You screwed up," the other said quietly, in a soft androgynous voice.
"Yes," Adrian admitted. "I need you to keep my trail clean."
"You know what I require."
"I'll see what I can do. I'll fill you in later on my plans. Call me when the pursuit starts and keep me updated."
The other did not have to reassure Adrian that it would be done. There was a brief pause and then the reciever was gently replaced in the cradle and the line went dead.
Adrian hung up and drove on.

That night Jesse dreamed, and as he did his sleep became restless and light, for the face that haunted his dreams was the face of Jonathan.

Very nice Copper, I enjoyed reading it. Good job on the details and keeping an alternate storyline going. I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as possible.

Yeah I'll try to write more action into the next one. I look forward to reading yours, Slay.
(Tick, as soon as you're ready.)

Ah, the story is picking up; I blame my signature.

Lets see the talent flow people!

[Good stuff Copper, very good stuff]

...Uh...May I join? I've got too much free time on my hands...

Yeah, c'mon Strato, let 'im join!