Hunted... Or Hunters? [PoChaNoWriMo]

[Rex]

Deep within the bowels of a large scientific research facility located in the outskirts of a small, otherwise boring, town, sat a small creature. It looked very much like a weasel; however, the proportions seemed wrong. The creature sat as if a human would, leaning against the wall with its legs splayed out in front of it, tail a bit to the side. Its dark gray fur almost concealed it in the dark room, away from the prying eyes of scientists who would occasionally peak in through the window on the sole door to the room.

The room itself was rather drab. It contained a few blankets for him to lie on, courtesy of one of the interns, and a food and water dish. The creature was rather dirty, and wore torn black jeans that had been fashioned for him, again, thanks to one of the interns. It was really the only thing he had to call his own. The creature sighed to itself, before getting up to walk over to the blankets for the night. It would be a long day tomorrow, full of tests and needles. He might as well get as much sleep as it could.

Suddenly, the room brightened a bit, and one of the walls started to distort itself. A gaping white hole appeared in the wall, through which, a man stepped. He was tall, at least over six and a half feet, dwarfing the two foot tall weasel-like creature. He wore a crisp gray trench coat, along with a fedora, pants, and waistcoat of the same color. He also wore a white dress shirt, a black tie, and polished black shoes that looked large enough to smash his head.

The man looked around the small room, apparently undaunted by the fact that he had appeared in a locked room. Then he looked down at the creature, and he could feel the man’s eyes pass over his weasel-like tail, muzzle, and ears. After a moment, the man crouched down in a mocking attempt to look him in the eye. Even then, the man had to be at least a foot taller then him.

“Excuse me, you look like a native of this place,” the man smirked, “do you know where I can find a Dr. Calvin Marks?”

Dr. Marks was the head of this facility. He considered the creature to be his pet project, and had been studying him for the better part of ten years. Why this man, who had come through a hole in the wall, wanted the doctor, the creature couldn’t tell. However, the creature had no love for the doctor, and something about this man made him want to tell him what he wanted to know.

“At this time, he’s probably in his office,” the creature muttered, still a little stunned at the man’s sudden appearance.

“Ah, good, it is nice to see a creature like you who still has a strong pair of vocal cords on them,” the man nodded, before standing, “the information will prove somewhat helpful. However, it still might be a bit hard to find the man before he gets word of my arrival. I know, you can be my map!”

Without even giving the creature the chance to respond, he picked him up by the scruff of his neck, and walked over to the doorway. The door was locked from the other side, and the weasel doubted even the man could open it. However, the man didn’t seem daunted by this either. He simply kept walking, as the temperature suddenly seemed to drop. A spear of some sort of ice formed in the room, and impaled the door with extreme prejudice.

The door wasn’t all that thick, only designed to stop the creature from escaping, and thus fell rather quickly to the icy attack, being ripped off its hinges and slammed into a wall across the hallway. Understandably, the sirens blared, and the lights flashed red. The man wasn’t bothered by this, only starting off down the hallway, following the creature’s directions, which had to be shouted above the noise. The doctor had his office right next to the lab the tests on the creature were in, so he had passed it every day when he was dragged to the lab.

Of course, they hadn’t gotten halfway there before the guards started to stream into the hall all around them. The two of them were goners now. The guards opened fire, but a wall of ice met their bullets instead of the man and the creature’s soft flesh. The creature heard horrid gasps and shouts of pain, then silence. When the ice disappeared, every single man was dead, with rather large holes in their chests.

A few more corridors and several more guards later, they finally arrived at the office. The man quickly dispatched the men guarding the door, then entered. Dr. Marks was waiting for them, a gun in his hand. The man put the creature on the floor then smirked at the doctor.

“What the hell do you want!?” the doctor shouted.

“Dr. Marks, for crimes against humanity, you’ve got a lovely bounty on your head,” the man smirked, “I’m just here to collect.”

The temperature dropped, drastically. Even though he was covered in black fur, the creature shivered. Dr. Marks dropped his gun, the cold making the metal bite at his hand. The man took this opportunity to walk over to the doctor, and grab him by his neck. However, instead of squeezing his windpipe, the man just held his hand there. A look of first confusion, then horror, then finally pain swept across the doctor’s face, as the creature noted that he appeared to be freezing from the inside out.

Once the deed was done, the man simply turned his arm, and broke the man’s head off his neck. It was at that moment that more guards decided to stream into the room. Taking Dr. Mark’s head in one hand and the creature’s scruff in the other, the man created another ice wall to separate them from the guards, who immediately started to open fire on the wall. Another ice spear took out the far window, and then the man jumped out, landing on a slide of ice and riding it down to the ground.

From there, he took the now thawing head and creature to a nice black car, throwing them both in the back seat, and hopping in the front seat himself. After that, they took off down the road, away from the lab. Throughout all this, the creature had remained silent, beyond shouting out the occasionally direction. Now that he was in relative safety, he finally was able to work his voice for a little more.

“What the hell was all that!? Who, what, are you!?” the creature yelled, “What are you doing with me, and with the doctor’s head!?”

From the front seat, the man sighed. For a moment, the creature feared he went too far, and that the man would kill him to. However, after a moment, the man spoke, “My name is Alexander Silver, as you saw, I have complete power over Ice, but otherwise, I’m a human, just like most of the people here. I am an Interdimensional Bounty Hunter who hunts the Multiverse for people like the doctor. Opps, I guess I told you too much, what to do now.”

The creature’s heart plummeted. He was dead. The man, Alexander, was going to kill him. He definitely sounded crazy, but with what had occurred in the lab, the creature was tempted to believe him.

“I suppose I’ll have to take you back to HQ, so my superiors can decide what to do with you,” Alex sighed, thought the creature could imagine him smirking as well, “You got a name?”

“No,” the creature answered, “At least, not one I can remember.”

“Well, then I guess you’ll have to think of one yourself,” the man chuckled.

The creature simply nodded, and thought to himself for a moment. The man, Alex, controlled Ice. The creature kind of wanted to distance himself as much as possible from the man. The opposite of ice was fire, would that work? He was as gray as coal, so maybe he was on to something there. Alex created ice, so what created fire? A flint, of course. That was it! The creature knew what he would call himself!

“Alright, call me Flynt,” the creature answered, “Flynt Incansia.”

“Flynt, how wonderfully cliché,” the man chuckled.

Without another word, the man pulled a small badge out of his pocket, and pressed the button in the center. There was a flash of light, and the world outside the car disappeared. After a moment, the light faded, and they were parked in a large parking lot that surrounded an even larger building. Alex got out of the car, and stepped into the back, pulling the head out.

Flynt climbed out of the car after the man, and the door was slammed behind them. This was the first time the weasel-like creature had ever felt asphalt under his paw-like feet, and it left a peculiar feeling, that stung a bit. Before he could comment at all, the man started off towards the building, and Flynt quickly followed behind. If things went right here for him, this could be the start of a new life. If not, then his life would be over before it even began.

 

[Rex]

The building was far larger on the inside then it had looked on the outside. There were also seemingly hundreds of people streaming through. As not to lose the small weasel, Alex had picked Flynt up by his scruff again, and was holding the head by its partially thawed hair. No one seemed too interested in either Flynt or the head, but the creature wasn’t sure if that should worry or calm him.

Alex carried him and the head into a corridor. There were significantly less people here, and all of them seemed to be hauling either a head or a body along. A few of these people did turn to glance at the small weasel, who immediately tried to shrink into himself. It wasn’t long before the two reached the end of the hall, where a small line had formed. Most of these people made way for Alexander, apparently out of respect or fear for the man.

Flynt found himself carried into a small office-like area. There was a woman sitting behind a desk in the center of the room, and a man in a uniform standing near a chute in the back. The weasel could only imagine what the chute was for. The tall Bounty Hunter dropped both him and the head on the desk in front of the woman, who looked up at Alex from her paperwork.

“Another head Alex,” she sighed, “what about ‘Dead or Alive’ do you not understand?”

“Obviously, the ‘or Alive’ part,” Alexander chuckled.

The woman picked up the frozen head, and looked it over. Despite being frozen and contorted with pain, she quickly put it back on the table, and shuffled through some paperwork, pulling out a file on none other then Dr. Marks himself. She put a stamp over the picture, which read “deceased”. Then she had the uniformed man take the head and drop it down the chute.

“Mr. Dekker will have your payment for you, and he’ll also be asking you about that thing you’ve decided to bring along with you,” the woman said, before returning to her paperwork.

Alex simply nodded, and picked Flynt up by his scruff again. The man lead him back out of the office, down the hall, and back into the main lobby. From there, it was down the hall to the right of the lobby, where a rather large group of people were making their way through. Alex simply walked on, undaunted by the throng. After a few moments, Flynt asked him a question.

“Who is Mr. Dekker?” the weasel asked.

“Tom Dekker is my boss, the head of my division of Bounty Hunters,” Alex asked, “He makes sure I get paid, and he’ll be the one to decide what to do with you.”

Flynt simply nodded, or, as close to a nod as he could get with his scruff still snagged. After a moment, they came to yet another small, humble, door. Alex let himself in without announcing himself, and took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of a rather impressive desk. He dropped Flynt into the other, and waited. After a moment, Thomas Dekker entered the room.

He was a man in his middle ages, with pale skin and slightly gaunt features. He had average length brown hair that was a bit messy, and wore brown dress pants and waistcoat, a white dress shirt, and a brown tie. Square rimmed glass sat on his nose, and he was reading a small file. He took a seat behind the desk, and dropped the file on the table.

It was the file on Dr. Marks, the “deceased” stamp over his picture. How the man had gotten the file was beyond Flynt’s comprehension. The Weasel certainly hadn’t seen anyone holding a file pass them in the halls. Alex, of course, didn’t seem too bothered by this. Dekker didn’t allude on it at all, just pulled a bag full of what sounded like coins out of a drawer on his desk, and handed them to Alex. Then, he looked towards Flynt.

“Any particular reason why you brought this creature along with you?” the man asked.

“I picked him up along the way, and forgot to drop him off again,” Alex said cheerily.

Mr. Dekker sighed, then quickly looked Flynt over. The weasel sunk into his chair again, fearful of the man. What happened to him next was the man’s decision. Suddenly, the man spoke to him, “Creature, do you speak? Do you have a name?”

Flynt nodded, “Yes Sir, my name is Flynt Incansia.”

“Flynt Incansia, that’s a new one,” Dekker nodded, “Alright Flynt, any particular reason why Mr. Silver picked you up along the way?”

“He wanted to use me as a map, I knew the way to the doctor’s office rather well,” Flynt answered.

Dekker nodded, then leaned back into his chair. He thought for a moment, then muttered, “I suppose it is too late to send you back where you’ve came from, so what to do.”

“We could just put him down?” Alex asked, causing the fur on Flynt’s back to rise a bit.

“Seems a bit too drastic,” Mr. Dekker sighed, “Alexander, as it stands, you’ve yet to take on a partner. You know Bounty Hunters work best in pairs, and you do need to contribute to this little organization some how. This is your fourth year with us. By now, most other members have already found a partner to work with, adding a member to our organization.”

“I do find that I work best alone,” Alex added cheerfully.

“Even so, you do have an obligation to this organization,” Tom Dekker smirked, “And until we can find a better use for our little friend here, you can take him as your partner.”

Alexander leaped to his feet, obviously a bit angry at this. However, Dekker didn’t let him get a work in edgewise, and fearlessly continued on.

“I’m also reassigning you. You are to go to Aiag, into the territory run by the United Trade Corporation. There is a resistance fostering there, and you are to aid it in any way possible. Take Flynt to the armory, then head to the portal room. The two of you are going to be dropped on the outskirts of Las Vegas, where the resistance members were last seen,” Dekker ordered, “Overthrow the UTC, and return with Dr. Albert Kain, dead or, well, dead, knowing you. I’ll be giving you files on the Resistance members that are left and on Dr. Kain when you get to the portal room.”

With that, the man shooed them from the room. Alexander looked pissed, but he picked up Flynt by his scruff and carried him out of the room, quickly composing him again. This man scared the weasel, and Dekker scared him even more. Still, when Alex next spoke, when they were half way to the armory, he seemed happy enough, remarking on their situation. The weasel imagined that by the end of this, he would indeed be dead. So he should enjoy the time he had.

 

[Rex]

The Armory was a rather large room. As one would imagine, the walls were lined with weapons. A young man in combat fatigues was waiting for them there. Alex remained at the doorway, deciding to have Flynt do the talking instead. With a sigh, the weasel walked up to the man, who, just like Alex, crouched down to try and look him in the eye. However, unlike the giant of a man that was Alexander Silver, this man was short enough to catch the weasel’s eyes without him having to strain.

“So, your Alex’s new partner?” the man said, with a hint of humor in his voice.

“Yes Sir, word really travels fast around here, doesn’t it?” the weasel asked.

The man nodded, “It kind of has to; we are a rather large organization, no matter what that Dekker told you. In any case, with a partner like Alex, you’ll want a long range weapon, so you don’t get caught in the cross fire.”

The man stood up to his full height again, and led Flynt to the wall devoted to long range rifles. The all looked rather large, and the weasel had no clue how he’d hold such a weapon. The man didn’t seem to worry, immediately looking for something Flynt would be able to use.

“These all look rather unwieldy,” the weasel commented worriedly.

“Don’t worry, they’re actually pretty light,” the man chuckled, grabbing a rifle and looking it over. After a moment, he handed it to the weasel, and, just as he said, it was fairly light, despite being larger then he was. “We’ve also reduced the recoil, but had to sacrifice some power as a result. Though, with Alex as a partner, I double you’ll be needing much in the way of firepower. Try it out, there’s a firing range through that door.”

Flynt followed the man’s arm, carrying the rather large rifle into the firing range after the man was kind enough to push the door open for him. After a bit of trouble, the weasel managed to climb up onto one of the stools, and clumsily aimed the weapon. He aimed, braced himself for the fall that he was probably about to be thrown into, and fired.

The recoil barely shook him, and the bullet pierced the target on the other side. The weasel smirked a bit, obviously pleased with his work. He emptied the rest of the clip, another nine rounds, into the target. The shots were a little wild, and didn’t all hit the fatal areas, but they still all managed to at least strike the target. He exited the range, and walked over to the desk the man was sitting at, rifle in hand. The man had some paperwork; most of it was the weapon’s schismatic, which he read off to the weasel.

“The Dragunov SVD Sniper Rifle,” he began, “Fires ten 7.62x54mmR rounds, is 48.2in long, has a reduced weight of 4.74lbs, a maximum range of 800m, and is Gas-Operated. A bit long for you, but seems to be well within your lifting and firing abilities.”

Flynt nodded, “What do I need to do to get it?”

“Nothing, actually, the weapon is complimentary with your joining our organization. We’ll also give you ten clips of ammo, which for this weapon is 100 rounds. You’ll have to buy more yourself, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem with the high level targets the two of you are bound to bring down,” with that, the man chuckled, before handing the paperwork for him to sign.

A moment later, Alex was at his side. Flynt signed his new name to the best of his abilities, then Alex took it and signed his own, further down. The man came back, reloaded the rifle, and gave it to him, as well as a strap to carry it easily. He also turned over the magazines he had promised, then took the paperwork. With that Alex slung the rifle over his own shoulder, and led the weasel away. Light or not, there was no way Flynt could carry around a weapon that large.

Once they had started off down the hall, Flynt asked him what he had signed. Alex responded, saying that he, being a senior member and Flynt’s partner, had to vouch for him. This was perfectly normal; everyone had to have someone vouch for them if they wanted a weapon. Alex, like many people who joined the organization without a partner, normally had their superior, in his case, Thomas Dekker, vouch for them. Flynt listened carefully, incase the day came that he actually vouch for someone.

Afterward, the two were silent until they reached the portal room. It was down the hall opposite of the entrance door. The portal room was simple enough. The center of the room was empty, but there were many consoles lining the walls. People sat at each of them, typing away. Dekker stood near the door, waiting for them. Before he said anything, he gave Flynt an amulet on the chain, and instructed him to keep it on his person, as it was the only way he could get back to the HQ in the event that he and Alex were to be separated. Not knowing what else to do with it, the weasel put it around his neck.

“The portal to Aiag will open shortly, you do remember you mission?” Dekker asked Alex.

“Of course,” the man smirked, “Kill Dr. Kain, and aid the Resistance in taking over the country.”

“Good, your car has already been transported there. The files are waiting for you on the driver’s seat as normal,” Dekker smirked, “You’re going into a warzone here, don’t die on me.”

“I don’t plan to,” Alex smirked, “And I suppose I’ll take care of our little weasel friend.”

With that, the portal opened. It was a hole of white light in the middle of the room, much like the first one had been. Alex picked Flynt up by his scruff again, and stepped through. In a flash, the room was gone. Instead, Alex walked out into a desert. His car was sitting a few feet from them, parked on the edge of a road. In the distance was the city Dekker had mentioned, Las Vegas. It didn’t look very friendly, but it would probably be the first place they went.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road,” Alex smirked, before dropping Flynt in the sand and starting towards his car. With a sigh, the weasel followed, ready to venture on into parts unknown.

 

[Rex]

Alex had stuck Flynt’s rifle and ammo in his trunk, then climbed in the car. Flynt climbed into the passenger seat next to him, and the man sped off. Alex drove incredibly fast, which was a lot more noticeable when the weasel sat in the front with him. The man had handed him the files, and was listening as Flynt read them off to him.

The first file was on their target, Dr. Alexander Kain. He was a giant of a man. Shorter then Alex was, but bigger. He had a bit of a tan, and well kept black hair. Apparently, he was a Geneticist, working at the White Plateau labs close to Vegas. He was also the President’s right hand man. Well protected and very good at protecting himself.

The other seven files detailed the people that they would be working with. They were all Genetic Experiments that had escaped the White Plateau Lab. Their first priority was to meet up with these seven. They were all creatures that at one time had been human, but were now very much like animals. The file referred to them collectively as Halfers

The first file detailed their leader, a Red Fox Halfer by the name of Zeke Flare. He was the oldest of the seven, aged nineteen. The picture showed something that stood like a human, but had a fox’s ears, tail, and muzzle, as well as traditional red fox colors. The second was on Nicholas Anderson, a Cougar Halfer, who was seventeen. His fur was a dusty gray color, with the tail turning black near the tip. The third was on Lisa Simms, a Domestic Cat Halfer, aged eighteen. Unlike the first two, she had normal human hair, which was brown, as well as cream fur. The fourth Halfer was Rex Thompson, a North American River Otter. He was fifteen, and had both black hair and fur. Fifth and sixth were the brothers Andre and Wesley King. Andre was a weasel with gray fur, much like Flynt, but he also had black hair. Wesley was a Domestic Ferret with pure white fur and blond hair. They were aged seventeen and sixteen, respectively. Seventh was the Meerkat Halfer, Kris North. This one had tan fur, with a brown tail tip and hands. They would be the ones that Alex and Flynt would cooperate with.

Getting a little motion sick, Flynt didn’t read any further. He carefully placed the files on the floor, then settled down in his chair, waiting feeling in his stomach to pass. Even with his small stature, the weasel could see Las Vegas looming over them. By far the tallest, and oddest, building was in the center of the city. It looked like an old antenna that one would see on a radio, a tall tower, with what appeared to be a ball attached on the top. There was a halo glowing around the building, just under the ball.

“Las Vegas’ City Hall Tower,” Alex chuckled, noticing what the weasel was staring at, “Also known as The Iron Fortress.”

“City Hall? What kind of mayor would work out of a building like that?” Flynt asked.

“That would be General Amanda White, Commander of The Western Front,” Alex answered, “I’d tell you to read up on this place a little more, but then I remembered that this is your first time on a world that isn’t yours. You’ve taken it all very well.”

“Anything is better then living in that cell,” Flynt answered, before yawning.

“I see the adrenaline from that little flight of ours has finally worn off,” Alexander smirked, “You might as well rest; I’ll need you to be alert tomorrow.”

Flynt nodded, then settled down into his chair a bit more. Sleep soon overtook him, taking him away from the craziness of the day. When he awoke, he was still in the car. It was the middle of the night, and he was alone in the city. The door had been locked, and it wasn’t a type that could just be pulled open. The windows had been cracked, allowing the cool night air to flow in. The files were gone, as were the keys. The weasel was trapped here until Alex decided to let him out. He slumped back into his hair, and waited.

It wasn’t long before Alex found his was back to the vehicle. He was munching on a soft pretzel, and waved at the weasel when he saw he was awake. After a moment, Flynt was let out of the car. The weasel looked up at the man, all but demanding to know why he had been locked in the car in the middle of an alley.

“I was getting some info around town,” the man grinned, taking another bite out of his pretzel, “Couldn’t wake you up, and something looking like you would almost certainly set the community on edge, so I left you in the car.”

The weasel couldn’t argue with that reasoning. He sighed, then asked, “What time is it?”

Alexander shrugged, “About midnight I think, curfew was two hours ago.”

“Past curfew? What do we do if the cops find us?” Flynt asked, a little worried.

“You’ll stay in the car, and I’ll kill them,” Alexander answered.

Flynt nodded again, then followed Alex down the alleyway. The streets were abandoned beyond the occasional soldier. The two were able to avoid them for the most part, but there were a few Alex had to freeze. They were headed for the city hall in the middle of the city. According to Alex, it was the place most likely to hold information on the location of their target and the revolution members.

Avoiding Main Street was rather annoying, but patrols regularly went up and down the road, so it wasn’t safe for them. It didn’t matter anyway, as before they could get within five hundred feet of the building; they found a wall between them and it. One of the larger roads nearby had a gate that lead further on towards the city hall, but it was too heavily guarded for them to want to try breeching it.

However, Alex was not one to be deterred. The man picked up Flynt by his scruff, and disappeared down a side alley, following the wall all the way. Once the soldiers were well out of their sight, Alex created himself a staircase made of ice, mounting it and climbing over the wall.

The section of the city they were in now was even more heavily guarded then the outside had been. It was most likely a section devoted to higher ranking soldiers and other people of importance. Every street was patrolled, even the alleyways. Before a patrol could spot them, Alex led the weasel into one of the many buildings lining this side of the wall. They were in an apartment building of some sort. The room was completely devoid of life, the employees most likely following curfew regulations as well. They could rest here, for the moment.

“Well,” Alex sighed, “Looks like we’re going to have to sneak in.”

 

[Rex]

The two bounty hunters had made there way to the roof. The buildings around them were all generally the same height as the one they were on. There were also no helicopters or any of the like in the air. Making their way across the roofs would be the best way to approach city hall.

Alex picked up Flynt by his scruff and created a bridge of ice between the building they were on and the one next to them. From there, onto the next, and then further, and further on, ever closer to the city hall. Somehow, they managed to make it to the building’s walls without incident. However, there was no way they could just walk through the front door, and any others would probably have a silent alarm attached.

Alex didn’t seem daunted. The man quickly started to search the walls, eventually finding a grate of some sort. However, the vent on the other side was far too small for the man himself to fit in. Still, he pulled the grate from the entry to the vent, and peeked his head it. Seemingly satisfied, he pulled his head back out, and looked towards Flynt.

“What?” the weasel asked when the man grinned at him.

“Get it, scope it out,” Alex chuckled.

Flynt sighed, but climbed into the vent as asked. Alex returned the grate behind him, and promised to wait for the weasel’s return. Doing his best not to make any noise, Flynt carefully made his way down the vent, until he reached a rather steep incline. Digging his claws into the places the metal formed small indents, he continued onward and upward.

The climb was long and strenuous, and many times the weasel was almost blown away by sudden bursts of cool air. Most of the grates he passed on the way up showed nothing of interest, but he continued on, battling the incline and the gusts. It was almost how he had imagined mountain climbing to be, except less cramped and colder.

Finally, he reached a level area that went on for quite a ways, and started off down it. There was only one grate in this place, and it showed a rather interesting scene. He was looking down into an office of some sort, with three people in it. Sitting at a desk was a woman in a black uniform. Her crimson hair was tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes. Her presence was very commanding; she seemed like very important person.

Across the desk from the woman was an older man wearing a clean white suit over a black turtleneck sweater. His hair was a platinum blond that looked to be slowly fading to gray. He had a silver briefcase sitting no the floor next to him, and he seemed to be making a report of some sort. Flynt didn’t like the feeling he got off this man.

The third person was a man completely covered in a black cloak, hood up to hide his face. Along with that, the man wore a pair of black gloves, jeans, and boots. This man was leaning against the wall a bit away from the other two, and was very quiet. Despite this, he seemed like he might actually be the nicest of the bunch.

Currently, the white suited man was talking. “As such General, I’d like to recommend that a larger security force be sent out to deal with these ever increasingly violent riots. The President is sending his Right Hand to visit the western front in a few days, and we don’t want to show him that we are not capable of protecting this city from its own people.”

The woman nodded, “You do have a point Mr. DeLaroca. I’ll see to it that the soldiers have all provisions necessary to make sure the next riot is the last.”

The man, Mr. DeLaroca, nodded, “Thank you General White. Now, I’d also like to request that Dr. North is taken off the team searching for the Halfers, his recent success rate has been rather abysmal.”

The cloaked man, presumably Dr. North, leaped forward a bit at this. “Damn it Vincent, how could you ask of such a thing? It is because of me that the Halfers are down to the numbers they are now. Without my help, I doubt you would have managed to even find them, let alone kill them! Besides, they are my subjects; I should have the right to put them out of their misery.”

“Enough Isaac!” the General woman shouted, making the cloaked man flinch back a bit, “The experiments are property of the White Plateau facility, and therefore, the Government. I have seen your failure rates myself. Thrice you allowed the same Halfer to escape your grasp, and thrice you did so without so much as a wound on either of you. You are lucky I don’t have you investigated for treason against us.” At this, the man attempted to interrupt the General, but she silenced him with a glare, “As of this moment, you are no longer in charge of the search. You are to return to White Plateau, and continue you work there.”

“But who will lead the team then?” the man asked weakly.

“That would be me.”

Another man strode into the room. Flynt recognized this one as their target, Dr. Albert Kain. He wore a black suit, with an equally dark fedora. Both Isaac North and Vincent DeLaroca backed away a bit, giving the man some space. The General seemed unfazed, however.

“Dr. Kain, I didn’t expect you for another few days,” the General smirked.

“Hello Amanda,” Dr. Kain smirked, “Yes, I decided that I’d head out early, just in time to join the fray, hmm?”

“Yes, you’ll be replacing Dr. North as head of the search team while he returns to the lab,” General Amanda White answered, “There are seven Halfers still remaining, Dr. North will supply you with files on all of them. Now then, I want you all to get out of my office; I have work to attend to.”

With that, the three men nodded, and filed out, Albert leading the way. Once the door had been closed behind them, the General got on the phone, and started to relay orders to someone. Afterward, she started filing through paperwork, nothing very interesting. Deciding that he had seen all he could see here, Flynt made his way back down the vest, towards the incline again.

He caught sight of Vincent again on the way down, in a different room, possibly his own office. The man wasn’t doing anything of importance, so Flynt continued onward. It wasn’t long before he finally reached the grate, and knocked on it impatiently. After a moment, Alexander appeared, and let him out. The man picked him up by the scruff again, and walked silently into the night.

On the way back to the man’s car, Flynt filled him in with everything he had heard. The man listened silently, simply nodding every so often. By the time they reached the car, Flynt’s neck fur was starting to hurt from being crunched up for so long. He didn’t protest when Alex returned him to the car for the night, locking the doors behind him. After a while of resting on the back seat, making sure not to move his neck too much, Flynt dozed off again, having decided that a quick nap wouldn’t hurt him any.