(no subject)
Packages tumbled soundlessly to the dirty orange carpet as the hooded figure threw the man to the wall. He uttered a small, pained sound that was choked out of his throat as small, powerful hands grabbed his collar.
“What the hell is this all about? The feds been talking to you?”
He shifted as best he could under the shadowy glare of the Hood. “I dunno what you want my stuff for, but I ain’t sellin’ to ya no more. Yer little creeps can find someone else.”
“You didn’t answer me.” A snarl was heard in the words. “Have the feds been talking to you or not?”
He panted uneasily under the tight grasp. He gasped and coughed when it tightened.
“The feds talked with you?!”
“Yes!” His voice was almost pleading.
“And you told them ‘bout us!”
He gagged against the pressure, and the Hood’s nose twisted with disgust. There was a hollow thump as the man fell to the ground beside crimson army boots. He gasped for a moment, then was urgently kicked in the side.
“You told them about us…?”
“No.”
A snort. “Lucky for you. I don’t think either of us would have liked it if I had taken out the Mister.” A shiver, then silence. The whisper of denim bending and twisting as the Hood kneeled beside him. “I’m taking the supplies we paid for. I have my notice; we’ll be off your back and looking for another supplier soon. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you.”
With that, the Hood quickly walked out of the main shop, stepping into the back area where large loads were kept. An exasperated sigh. Quick and precise hands, accustomed to years of this practice, unlocked the plastic-vacuumed packs from their metal holder. The nimble fingers fumbled in the hooded jacket for a moment before taking out a small tag, which was placed onto the packs. With a huff, the Hood then pushed the packs down a huge garbage chute and quickly jumped in after them.
The free fall went on for several long, stomach-turning seconds. Pant legs flapped wildly about the Hood’s feet, revealing armored shoes and leg pieces. Alert eyes watched with dizzy anticipation as the ground seemed to fly to meet those boots; knees bent reflexively on contact, saving the legs from being broken.
After a moment, the Hood turned on a small com link. “I need a pick up, Chaos Spear.”
Almost immediately the reply came. “Be right with you, Riding Hood.”
The Hood nodded, setting to the task of dragging the packs out of the pile of outdated canned goods. Despite the immense size of the wrapped goods, Hood made short work of the package. A soft hum was heard through the deep tunnels, and eyes searched out from the shade of the jacket.
A sharp beam of white light highlighted the red fabric that earned the Hood’s code name. Behind the light followed and old GUN model, a hover bike. On it perched a black and red hedgehog with loose pants and a coat. He stopped the bike and stepped calmly off before facing the Hood.
“You took longer than usual. You okay, Amy?”
The Hood sighed, throwing the jacket headpiece behind her back. Her pink hair drifted past her ears and tickled her cheeks. “We need to find a new supplier and start blowing holes to their chutes. Raff got pinned by the feds.”
Chaos Spear’s eyes darkened. “He told on us?”
“He said not. Who knows though.” The pink hedgehog woman let her face fall a bit. “We should start being more careful, Shadow.”
He nodded. “I know.” He glanced down, then at the packs. He spoke without looking at her. “Help me tie down the goods.”
She nodded, unhooking several bungee cords from the side of the bike and began to pry apart some of the boxes. When the amounts were about even they fastened the materials to the side of the vehicle. Shadow stepped on and waited stiffly for a couple moments as Amy threw her leg over behind him. She hugged him gently from behind.
“It’s going to be okay. We’ve worked through this before.”
He looked back to her smiling face and couldn’t help but smile a bit back. “I know.” His foot toyed with the acceleration anxiously and he chuckled. “If it’s not one apocalypse, it’s another.”
---
“Red Ranger!”
He threw the door aside, a short rush of adrenaline jumping in his stomach. Stabs of stark panic shocked his calves every time another sprinting footstep hit the hard ground.
“Red Ranger! Get over here already!”
The tone and words made him suddenly relax. It told him that there was nothing to fear just yet. He stepped out of the main cubicles and into the tunnel. Several packages got shoved into his arms.
“Take that to the safe will you? You gotta get running soon.”
He huffed. “Why am I always get to be the carrier boy?”
“Because you were gone yesterday, so it’s my turn to slack off.”
He growled. “I wasn’t slackin’, Amy. How many times I gotta tell you that before you get off my case?”
She giggled. “Oh Knuckles, since when am I ever off your case? We’re a team, hon. We don’t stop pestering the other person ‘til their six feet under.”
“Well shit. I gotta put up with you and Shad that long huh?”
A “hmph” emerged from behind the pink hedgehog girl. “Whoever said it would be a long time ‘til we’re six feet under? Especially you, being the dim and ignorant fool that you are.”
Knuckles grasped the package a little bit tighter. “Nice to see you’re back to your usual pissy self, Shad. I was getting’ worried with you practically weeping over Amy bring late.”
A growl. “I warn you, do not provoke me, echidna.” The black-and-red hedgehog shimmied out from behind his smaller, brighter counterpart. “You were the one who decided to abandon your position yesterday. I don’t feel politely inclined to you at this moment.”
“Okay boys. Stop. Now.” A large obstacle came between the men. Two long, fierce metal spires stretched from the center, reaching stiffly toward the ceiling and floor. The fluorescent lights glanced off of the stoic silvery surface.
After a moment, Shadow stepped back and exited without a trace.
Knuckles flipped the package over one shoulder and turned to the safe area. “So Amy, what’s going on with Shadow anyway? Something happen?”
A pause. “We lost out supplier, Knuckles.”
He huffed as he cracked open the immense metal door and threw the goods inside. “So? We’ve lost sellers before; it’s not like we can’t find another one.”
“I know that, but it’s one more thing on top of it all. And you aren’t helping Shadow by being a smart aleck, or by sneaking out.”
“Sneaking out? You make it sound so…” The red echidna cracked his namesake, carefully avoiding the spines that protruded from his hands. “Whatever. I was checking the scene, you know? Making sure I had my route down before I have to go shut down the bots.”
Amy nodded. “And hey, that’s not half-bad. Next time, just… try to let me and Shadow know ahead of time, okay? And let us know where you’re going to be so that we can contact you if anything goes wrong.”
“Yeah, sure.” Knuckles nodded, making a mental note to never let Amy find out where he was. “So. How soon do I move?”
The pink hedgehog glanced at her thin wrist where a digital wristwatch clung to her skin. “It’s 23:17. I suggest that you leave at five or so. That will give you plenty of time to get in under the twilight, which will lower the security around the building.” She glanced at his face. “I also recommend you a get a couple hours of sleep before you go.”
“As if I hadn’t just gotten loads o’ sleep.” Knuckles rolled his eyes, walking toward his room.
Behind him, Amy’s eyes furrowed. “You haven’t been back at the base for more than two hours!”
The door slammed.
...And now, I want to do art that I can make into a God of Second Chance icon. And then I can use it exclusively for these posts. <3