The Knight of Lead - Relapse
#3 of The Knight of Lead
center] The Knight of Lead - Relapse [/center]
By XP Author
Dr. Sarah Fillmoore, better known to her usual patients as Doc S, walked down the hallway of the old, mostly empty apartment building. Trash littered the sides of the hall, with homeless squatting in most of the abandoned apartments. It was one of those places that no one really knew who owned, and the city ignored instead of knocking it down. It made for the perfect hiding spot for one of the vigilantes traipsing about the city these days.
The 38 year old squirrel looked a little out of place in somewhere like this. For one, she looked like she had access to working plumbing and could groom her gray-brown fur regularly. While her dark blue blouse and matching pants were not exactly high fashion, they were not threadbare or had holes and patches in them. Even with her shoulder length blond hair, it was tied into a ponytail and clear it had seen a brush some time in the last day.
She eventually stood in front of an unassuming closed door. There was no number on it, and for all the world, it looked like a wooden door that had seen better days, scuffed and missing paint in places. It was a very clever disguise. It was just the front of what was in reality a reinforced metal door, with heavy bolts to rival bank vaults keeping it closed. She touched a part of the wall beside the door, sliding away the hidden panel to expose a small keypad. After punching in a twelve digit string of numbers, she heard the bolts clack open. Sliding the panel back in place, she pushed the door open. While it was heavy, it also swung open easily enough for her thanks to some slight mechanical assistance from the door itself. She was sure it was made this way in case the occupant was in bad shape and did not have the strength to push it open upon returning to his safe house.
She stepped into... a mess was the best way she could describe it. The whole room looked like a tornado had come through, and someone had tried to organize it afterwards. Poorly. A sofa was thrown onto its back against a wall, but had neatly folded clothing piled on top of it, but were also soaking wet. A wooden table had been bashed to splinters, but those pieces were set in neat little mounds. She looked around and saw more oddly organized damage. There was the metal handle of a broom embedded into one wall, but the brush of the broom was set on the table under it. Plastic plates had been snapped into pieces, set on top of each other, then jammed into place by combat knifes. She noted that the blade of the knifes were embedded into the stone counter top.
"Alec?" She called out, only to jump as the door shut behind her with a loud clack as the locks reengaged themselves. At least the inside keypad for the door seemed undamaged. "Alec... are you here? It's Doc S. I came to check on how you were doing..."
"Back here!" She heard the voice of the raccoon from another room nearby. His voice sounded almost giddy, which was a marked change from the dour attitude he usually had, even at the best of times. He had not been at his best lately, either. Over a month ago, had been dosed with a powerful psychotropic steroid that induced a rage-like state, something apparently called Purgatory. The side effects of the overdose had left him broken mentally. He had told her he was suffering from repeated blackouts, where he would fall back into the rage and attack anyone or anything around him. She assumed that was what had happened with the room around her. She had hoped he would get better once the drug had fully left his system.
Clearly, she was wrong. She stepped through the rubble of broken and organized furniture and decorations to the room she heard his voice come from. She stopped at the doorway at the sight before her. Sitting on the floor of his armory was Alec, stark naked, his tail swaying about like a happy dog. Before him were the pieces of his guns. Not just his usual pair of pistols, either, but every gun in his armory was stripped down to the screws and gears, all of them sitting neatly on what looked to be a red bed sheet spread out on the floor.
He looked over his shoulder and smiled at her. "Hey, Doc!" Something in his grin and his eyes was not right, but she saw none of the fury he told her about when he had one of his episodes. He seemed almost euphoric. "Good to see you! Sorry if you were worried... I'm feeling better now." His voice had a giddy lilt to it, like he was drunk... or stoned. He was not a user, so this was definitely not normal behavior from him.
She did her best to ignore his state of dress... or lack there of. "Alec... are you high?"
He just let out a high pitched trill of laughter. "Yeah... I think I am!"
There was no odd scent filling the place, so whatever he had dosed himself with wasn't smoked. That ruled out a few of the options. "What... did you take? And how much?"
He turned back to the array of bits and bobs in front of him, grabbing something his body had been blocking from her view initially. "I took this. Don't remember how much..." He held it out to her. It was a small glass bottle with a clear liquid inside. It looked like the kind of bottles insulin came in, only instead of the medical label around the middle, there was just a small sticker with the letter 'U' on it.
Sarah's light brown eyes went wide. "You took Utopia!? Alec, are you insane!?"
He let out a low chuckle this time, setting the bottle back down on the red cloth. "Yeah... yeah, Doc. I kinda am." He sniffed and cleared his throat, and seemed to become a little more lucid quite suddenly. "I thought... I thought if the stuff they made was the opposite of Utopia... maybe it would help me balance it out! Or at least... I dunno. Make me calm? Not all ragey and feral..."
She stepped inside cautiously. "Did... did it work?" It was a terrible idea, and that really wasn't how drugs worked, but his was something of a unique case.
He shrugged, staring down at the pieces of his guns. "Kinda... but kinda not. It comes and goes." He giggled again. "Sometimes I'm super mellow, and like... really just wanna clean stuff. Then I'll suddenly get all pissed off and wanna break things I just cleaned... then I wanna clean up the mess I just made, which makes me angry that I have to clean up what I just cleaned up..." That did explain the oddly organized mess behind her. "I'm also super hungry... but I kinda threw all my food in the trash. And I don't wanna like... go out to get something. Don't wanna accidentally hurt someone, y'know?" He sniffed again before continuing. "It also gave me a wicked boner I can't do anything about!" He turned around, pointing to his lap. Sure enough, his seven inches was throbbing hard. "And I can't find my clothes, so this would be kinda awkward to walk around with."
She tried to not look and stay professional. "Your clothes are on the couch... it looks like you were trying to wash them."
He gasped and nodded. "Oh yeah! I was! Tried to wash 'em in the shower. Cause, y'know, it works for fur and hair and stuff, so why not clothes! But then I really wanted to clean up my guns, too. I mean, I haven't done a full strip clean of them in a couple weeks! And also I thought, if they're in pieces, I won't be able to put a bullet in my head!" He looked up to her, and she saw the giddiness fade quickly into sorrow. "I kinda want to, y'know. I've done bad things!" After a second, he snapped back into the giddiness. "Hey, you didn't bring food, did you? I'm super hungry."
Sarah shook her head slowly. It broke her heart to see him like this. Alec was always one of the strongest willed people she had ever known, and stoic to a fault. Seeing him so... broken like this was almost painful to watch. "No, I don't have any food with me. But I can go get some for you if you want. How about I go get you a couple of burgers and you... put some pants on?"
Alec suddenly bolted to his feet, moving so suddenly she flinched away from him. His hand grabbed her wrist painfully tight. "NO! Please don't leave! I... I can't... be alone right now! I... please!"
She winced at the grip at her wrist. "Alright... I'll stay here and keep you company. But I still think you should put some pants on." She pulled to try and get her arm out of his grip, but he held fast. "And please let go of my wrist... you're hurting me."
He gave her a dull look, as if he didn't understand what she was saying. He looked down at his own hand, then his eyes went wide. He jerked his hand back away from her as if she had burned him. "OH! I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He looked up to her again. "I-I sometimes break things when I hold them... It's hard to... control it."
She nodded, taking a step back away from him once her hand was free. "It's alright. I understand. A lack of proper muscle control is a side effect of a lot of drugs, especially ones like Utopia." She cleared her throat. "Now let's see about getting you some clothes, okay?"
Just as she was turning to look for something to dress him in that wasn't soaking wet, he spoke again. "You're really pretty. You know that?" His voice was almost wistful.
She looked over her shoulder at him, seeing the dream-like grin on his face. "Um... thank you, Alec." She would describe him as ruggedly handsome, but not her type. For one, she would never date one of her patients, let alone a vigilante.
He reached out and ran a hand through her hair. "You've got such pretty hair and fur... your tail is so fluffy... and you always smell so nice..."
She shifted her head to the side to move her hair out of his grip. "Thank you Alec, but that's not appropriate. Please don't to-AH!" She cried out as he suddenly gripped her hair this time, pulling her head back a little.
"I didn't say you could walk away!" His voice was suddenly no longer giddy, but angry and growling. In the blink of an eye, it was like a whole other person had replaced him.
She tried to pull away again, but like with her wrist before, his grip was tight. "Alec, please let go! You're hurting me again!"
He ignored her protests. "Yeah, you pretty types always act like that, don't you? You flaunt it and want people to look at you, then you get all offended when someone wants the goods on display!" He pulled on her hair harder, yanking her a step back and off balance. "Well, I want those goods, Sarah!" His other hand ran along her large tail, sending a shiver through her spine and making the tail twitch under his touch. It wasn't from any kind of pleasure, but fear at the sudden shift in his demeanor.
She tried to remain calm, but it was hard when someone tweaking was yanking on her hair. "Alec, please! Let go!" His hand ran down her tail to the base, then lower to grab her shapely ass. "ALEC!" She turned as best as she could in his grip. Enough that she was able to give him a slap across the face, hoping it would shock some sense into him long enough for him to let go. She got the shocked effect, but the result was not what she intended. Instead of just letting her go, he grabbed her shoulder to turn her to face him, only to slam his fist into her belly. Her eyes went wide as all the wind was knocked from her lungs. Before she could even double over in pain, he shoved her hard, practically throwing her backwards. She toppled over into the main room, collapsing onto the floor in a heap and holding her stomach, trying to catch her breath.
Alec walked two steps before suddenly stopping dead, eyes wide as he saw his friend on the floor, wheezing in pain and looking at him in fear. He snapped back to the other side of his mental state, fury replaced by worry. "Oh my god! Sarah! I-I'm so sorry!" He rushed closer to her, bending down and reaching out. "Are you o-"
"Stay away from me!" She shouted, crawling back away from him. She surprised herself that she had the air in her lungs for a shout so loud.
He flinched away from her. "I'm sorry!" He put his hands up to his head, gripping at his own hair. "Ahh! I'm so stupid!" He walked away towards the kitchen area, punching the counter as he passed it. "I'm hurting the only people who care now!"
Sarah pushed herself up, wincing a little as her stomach still hurt from the blow. "It's... it's okay, Alec. I know you're not... you right now." She grunted as she pushed herself up to her feet. Looking over at him, she could see tears in his eyes. "Just go... go lay down for a little while. Okay?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah. That sounds like a really good idea..." He just shuffled in place.
She started towards the door. "I'll tell you what. I'll go get you that food, and you try and get some rest. Does that sound good?" She reached out as she got near the touch pad for the door lock.
" NO!" The shout rang out from the kitchen, and before she could even turn to look at him, she cried out as a knife flew an inch past her head, thrown so hard it jammed itself an inch into the concrete of the wall. The only reason the blade didn't bend from the impact was due to the quality of the tempered steel. She just stared at it for a moment, feeling herself shaking from the shock, her fluffy tail twitching wildly behind her. "You can't leave!"
She stumbled back a step away from the knife that nearly hit her head, then turned to look where he had been standing. He was not there, but instead coming around the counter towards her. She held up her hands in front of herself. "Okay! Okay! I won't leave. But you... you do need to lay down!"
He stomped over to her, his tail thrashing about behind him now. "I don't want to just lay down!" As he got closer, she stepped back away from him, only for her back to hit the locked metal door. He ended up right in front of her, staring down at her. He may not be a tall man, but she was still a few inches shorter than him, and in this state, he seemed to tower over her. "I... I need you!"
She tried to shrink away from him even more, but the metal surface behind her remained unyielding, uncaringly solid against her plight. "Alec, I need you to calm down! Take some deep breaths!" She felt her panic rising quickly. She hoped he would snap back to his more placid, giddy self again. "Please!"
He did listen to her, taking deep breaths through his nose. "Deep breaths..." He leaned against the door, looming over her. "Deep... breaths." His breaths got slower, but deeper. Then he leaned in a little closer. "You still smell nice..." He then took another deep breath, and she realized he was sniffing her, taking in her scent.
She nodded slowly. "Y-yes, focus on that! Focus on the nice smell." He took another deep inhale, filling his nose again with her scent, letting it wash over him. He seemed to be calming down. "Okay... now just take a step back and-"
He gripped her shoulder, shoving her against the door again. "No!" He leaned down and practically buried his nose in her hair. "I need you close to me... I need you..." She squirmed under him as he pressed closer, feeling his erection prodding against her. This was not the kind of help she was willing to give.
She tried to keep an even tone, but her panic was starting to rise again, creeping into her voice. "Alec... Alec, I need you to back up please." She winced as he gripped her shoulder tighter. "Alec please! Your hurting me again! And you're starting to freak me out a little. Please just step b-" She flinched when his hand slammed against the door beside her head, the sound echoing through her ears as much as the metal.
"You don't want me." His voice had a tremble to it. "Y-you hate me. Of course you hate me. I hate me, why wouldn't you?" He slammed his hand against the door again, and this time she let out a little squeak of fear. "You just want to run away from me? Don't you?"
Sarah couldn't keep the fear from her voice anymore. "Alec, please! You're scaring me! Just... please back up! I won't run away!" She very much wanted to.
He growled at her. "You're LYING!" He backed up only enough to glare down at her, hate filling his eyes now, making her shrink back away from him again. "Don't lie to me, DOC! You want to get away from me! You want nothing to do with me! You hate me! Everyone hates me!"
She shook her head. "I don't hate you, Alec! I care about you! I'm worried about you!"
He grit his teeth. "Stop lying to me!" He slammed his hand against the wall this time. "You lying bitch! You've always hated me! Well I hate you, too!" He gripped the handle of the knife he'd thrown earlier, yanking it out of the wall. Before even he knew what he was doing, he jammed the knife forward, slamming the blade into her stomach. Blood started to run out against his hand, soaking into her shirt and dripping onto the floor.
Sarah let out a grunt, her eyes going somehow wider with shock. She just stared up at him as he glared at her. In an instant, he snapped out of his fury again, staring down at the terrified and pained look she gave him. She opened her mouth, but didn't say a word. A horrible sound came out instead, wet and wheezing. He looked down and saw his hand covered in blood, the knife in her abdomen. "Oh god... what have I done?" In his panic, he pulled the knife free, which only made the blood start running faster with nothing blocking it. He took several steps backwards, staring at his friend numbly.
With him no longer pinning her to the door, she slumped to the floor, holding her stomach. She did not even scream, the pain seeming to not fully register with her brain. Or her brain was denying it. She looked up at him, her expression disbelieving, like she was asking him why he would do this. How could he do this? He started to panic, looking around for anything. She hadn't brought a medical bag with her, so there were no bandages on hand. He was panting hard in his panic.
"Sh-shirt... use... a... shirt..." He looked down as she spoke weakly to him. Ever the doctor, she was telling him to use a makeshift bandage. He nodded, looking back at the couch at his folded clothing. It was still soaking wet. He couldn't use them. His hands patted his own chest, having forgotten he was wearing nothing at all. He looked back at her. He had to use her shirt. He bent down, reaching out to hold her shirt. He realized he still had the bloody knife in his hand and brought that closer. When she flinched away from it, he paused. "I'm... going to just cut your shirt. Use that... need to see the wound anyway, right?" She nodded after a moment.
He slid the knife under her shirt and dragged it up, cutting it open. He was very careful not to cut her again. In a second, the shirt was cut open along her middle, exposing her belly, the fur soaked with blood. It also exposed her bra to him, simple cream fabric covering her breasts. He hesitated as he saw her bra. Her breasts were pretty big for her short size. He guessed maybe large c's. Without thinking, he brought the knife under the bra and cut the middle open. The fabric snapped to the side, revealing her breasts to him. They looked so perfect and soft.
"Alec... please..." Her voice was weak. Some part of her knew she wasn't going to survive, even if he got a bandage on and managed to stop the flow of blood. He had cut something inside of her, making it hard for her to breathe. There was definitely internal bleeding happening as well.
Tears filled his eyes as he saw her expression. It wasn't angry, or even panicked anymore. She gave him a look of worry, of sadness, knowing how hard he would take this when he came back to himself. "You're... you're so pretty. Please stop looking at me like that!" He took a deep breath, shaking. He knew he couldn't save her. "I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm so sorry!"
She shook her head. "Don't... p-please... don't..." She couldn't even finish her words, feeling too weak already. Her tail twitched at her side, as if it could somehow keep her alive, keep her heart beating longer.
He shook his head back at her. "I'm so sorry! I... I can fix this!" He gripped the knife in his hand. "I'll make it stop!" At first, she thought he meant to kill himself. She realized what he meant as the knife was brought instead up to her chin. She felt the blade bite into her throat as he pressed down, dragging it across her neck and slicing open the arteries. Her mouth opened wide, now feeling the pain as he slit her throat wide. "I'll make your pain stop!"
As soon as the blade was through, her hands came up to her throat, holding the gash as blood poured freely through her fingers. She looked up at him with a wide eyed look of fear. She knew she was going to die, but he had made so sure of it so totally now. Her whole body started to squirm, breasts bouncing on her chest, tail not just twitching, but thrashing against the floor. He watched as her eyes grew unfocused, the life fading from them quickly. Her hands fell limp at her sides, her tail ceasing its thrashing and twitching, her legs growing still. She was gone.
He sobbed over her, dropping the knife to the floor and doubling over in grief. He let out a wail of anguish, reaching out to hold her pretty face, pressing his forehead to hers. "I'm so sorry!" Tears streamed from his eyes unbidden and unopposed. He leaned down to kiss her slack mouth. Then again, pressing the kiss deeper. He had always thought she was so pretty, but knew she would never want a man like him. His tongue slipped past her open lips, sliding along her tongue, tasting her for the first time. She not only smelled nice, but tasted nice. One hand slid down from her face, avoiding the gash in her neck, and down to her blood-soaked breast. He gripped it firmly, feeling how soft it was. She would never choose to be with him... but now she couldn't make a choice anymore.
He pulled back from the kiss and got to his feet. He leaned down to slide his hands under her, one under her legs, the other her shoulders, and gently lifted her. She felt so light, even as her arms and tail dangled in his grip. Her head fell back, opening the wound in her neck wide. The blood was no longer rushing out of her, as her heart had stopped, but with the wound so open, more leaked free and dripped onto the floor. He carried her away from the door, laying her gently on her back in the middle of the room. He gently brushed her hair back, only to flinch his hand away as it was so covered in blood it just made her already messy form that much more messy.
He ran his hands down her body again, feeling the softness of her fur, at least the parts that weren't matted down. When he had carried her, cut shirt and bra had slid a little, and he finished removing them, sitting them carefully to the side as if they were precious. His touch returned to her body, down to her soft belly. She had just a little extra softness to it, not in the best shape, but hardly what he would call overweight. He found it appealing all the same.
His fingers trailed down to the waist of her pants, and he took some time fumbling with the buckle before managing to get it opened. He unfastened her pants, pulling down the zipper, then hesitated. He took a deep breath, then another, gripping at the waist and slowly pulling the clothing down her legs. His breath caught in his throat as he revealed her panties. A cream color to match her bra, they were simple, but clung to her hips. He could just barely see the bumps that were her lips through the fabric. He finished sliding the pants down, setting them aside the same as the shirt. His hands returned quickly to her legs, running along her thighs. Like her belly, they had just a little extra softness, and he squeezed them while slowly parting them just a little.
He had to see it. Had to see her. His hands reached up, trembling as he gripped the waistband of her panties. Ever so gently, he pulled them down, and again his breath caught in his throat as he finally exposed her pussy to his gaze. He finished sliding the clothing down, setting the last piece on the little pile beside him, and turned his full attention to his prize. Her lips were slightly puffy, and ever so slightly parted, letting him see the pink flesh inside.
He leaned down between her legs and breathed in her scent. It was intoxicating to him, even if the overwhelming smell of blood tainted everything in the air. He ran his tongue gently across those lips, the taste sending a thrill down his spine, making his tail puff out slightly. His tongue ran up, finding her clit hidden at the top and giving it a few teasing licks before moving back down. He pressed closer, diving his tongue into her, tasting her inner most secrets. Another trill ran through his spine. So few had ever fasted her like this, touched her like this, and now he would be the last. He imagined her moaning and squirming under him, begging him for more. Begging him to take her. Begging him to fuck her.
Who was he to deny her request? He slipped his tongue free, giving her lower lips a gentle kiss before sitting back on his knees. He slid forward, gripping her by her ass and lifting her up. His cock was so hard it hurt, aching to feel her deepest reaches. He touched his tip to those lips, then pushed in. Her lips parted for him, welcoming him as he slid inside of her. He let out a loud moan as her inner walls accepted him. She was noticeably cooler from the blood loss, and she didn't squeeze around him. He knew she would have.
The raccoon pushed his hips forward, sliding himself deeper into her, moaning loud as he filled her. Even with her muscles slack and unresponsive, she was still so tight. He had never fucked a squirrel before, and wondered if they were always this tight. He pushed more and more, until his tip bumped against something. He looked down in confusion. He was almost fully into her already, only a little over an inch left outside, so it wasn't a virgin barrier blocking his way. He had already found her cervix? He smiled, looking back at her face. "I'm going to start fucking you now, Sarah. I know you would love this."
True to his word, he started to pump his hips. Slowly at first, wanting to enjoy her as much as he could. Each time, his tip would ram against her cervix, and he would grunt in frustration at being denied. He leaned down over her, pressing his lips to hers in another deep kiss. He held her like this, suckling on her limp tongue while fucking her tight pussy. Harder and harder he started to thrust as his lust took over what little reason he had left. He had to feel all of her, he had to give her everything.
He grunted as sat back again, reaching down to grip her hips hard. "You'll take all of it!" He started to pull her back as he thrust deep, slamming his tip against the inner barrier. It was a little painful, but he was so hard and determined, he did not care. He watched her breasts bounce and jiggle and flop about as he jerked her body back against him again and again. Each time he swore he felt the barrier give just a little more, weakening to his insistence. He felt his balls tightening, the pressure rising, but he denied it. He would not finish until he felt every bit of her loving hole. He gripped her hips so hard, his short claws dug into her soft flesh.
Finally, with one hard thrust, he broke through, her cervix tearing within her to allow him access to her womb. He cried out at the feeling, like soft, wet velvet coating the tip of his cock, squeezing him for all he had. He shoved himself as deep as he could into her, then again and again, tearing the cervix wider to allow him to feel her deepest love, where no man had ever felt. He finally stopped denying himself, and with a final thrust, let out a loud cry as he came. His cum blasted out of him, seed filling her dead womb so full her belly bulged slightly. Shot after shot, he filled her, the pleasure washing through his whole body. He shook as he held her, his tail thrashing about behind him.
When he finally stopped cumming, he fell upon her, face buried in against her breasts. He panted heavily, keeping himself buried as deep as he could, even as cum leaked out around his cock and dripped to the floor. He nuzzled into the soft mounds on her chest, giving each nipple a gentle kiss and a lick. He tasted her blood upon them, letting it coat his tongue and fill his nose with her scent again. As he kept kissing, he gave her little nibbles, scraping his teeth against her flesh. Then slightly piercing, leaving little marks upon her. His kissing trailed up to her shoulders, to her face, her lips, then back down to her breasts again. His hips started thrusting once more, but he was more interested in the soft flesh under his lips, in his mouth. In his teeth.
He bit into her again, sinking his teeth deeper now, tasting more of her blood, and now the fatty tissue of her tit with it. He felt another shiver run through him, his cock twitching within her womb. He bit the other breast, deeper than before. Then again as deep as he could. He had forgotten how hungry he was until just then, and she tasted so wonderful. He ripped his head back, tearing a large chunk of her left breast away. He chewed on the raw, bloody meat, not caring it had her fur still upon it as he swallowed. He had to have more. He leaned in, bit deep again, tore another large chunk of meat off of her. He started to fuck her harder again, while continuing to bite into her breasts, her shoulders, her arms, tearing pieces away and slowly devouring the woman he had once called a friend.
* * *
Alec sat in his armory again, now dressed in his black clothes and trenchcoat, reassembling his guns once again. He had finally come to his senses some time ago. He would not have to wait for the memories to come back to him in flashes to know what had happened this time. He woke up with his face buried in the remains of Sarah's ribs, his cock lodged into her ass... what remained of it. He was covered in her blood, could taste it in his mouth. Her body had been half devoured, her legs torn into, one arm pulled free and stripped nearly to the bone. Her head sat on a shelf, removed from her body and set as if she could watch him at his gruesome feast, her face covered in blood and what he could only assume was his own cum. Her guts had been torn free and set carefully upon her torn clothing, like a prized trophy. Her tail had been torn free as well, gently folded beside the clothes like a pair of pants.
He had spent the next half hour throwing up most of what he had just eaten. There was no saving him now. Taking Utopia had only driven him further into madness. There was no telling what the new side effects it would create would be. He had become a threat to anyone that got near him. An uncontrollable beast, no longer a man. He had to end that threat, like any other, but he would not just eat a bullet. Simply shooting himself would not do the city any good. No, if he was to die, it would have to be doing something useful.
Beside him sat his burner phone. He had it on speaker as he listened to voice mails. Most of them were useless and ignored. He stopped when he heard Sarah's voice in one. "A-... Knight... this is Doc S. You haven't contacted me in over two weeks now. I'm getting worried about you. Are you still experiencing those blackouts?" She was worried about him. He closed his eyes as the message ended. His eyes hurt, red and burning. He sat there, rubbing his eyes as the messaged played. "Look, I'll come by your safehouse tomorrow, around 7:00... uh... I mean 1900 hours. Don't worry, I still remember the door code. Please... just don't do anything stupid before I get there. I'll see you soon."
He sighed heavily as the message ended. "I'm so sorry, Sarah. You didn't deserve... I'm sorry." There were no tears left in him, only a dull ache remained. He returned to reassembling his gun as the next message played.
"Hey, Knight. This is Slide." Slide was the alias of a hacker contact of his. Slide had once gotten his thrills stealing from big corporations. However, he got caught and traced when he tried to mess with a business owned by the mob. As punishment, instead of just killing him, they shattered his legs and left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Now the spiteful ram had a vendetta against organized crime, and fed useful information to various vigilantes around the city.
"So, I know you're kinda out of the game for a bit, not feeling yourself and all. But I got some new info you might wanna hear. I found out where a triad chem factory is." Alec stopped what he was doing and looked at the phone, his attention fully grabbed now. "I'm not 100% on it, but I am pretty sure it's where they're making that Utopia shit they're tossing around on the streets." Now he was definitely interested. "And here's the real kicker. Rumor has it, the big bitch boss lady herself will be making a visit some time in the next few days. I know you got a real hate-boner to take her out. Might be your best bet." Alec turned back to his pistol to finish putting it back together.
"So all the info I got will be sent to your usual blacksite." Slide's voice got a little more concerned. "And... hey, I know you're not the kind to play well with others. Not since what happened to G... but maybe take some backup on this one. Trying to take these guys on solo didn't work so well for you last time. Just... ah, forget it. You take care, Knight. Slide out." The message ended. It was sent only a few hours ago by the time stamp.
Alec clicked the slide of his gun back in place, now fully cleaned, reassembled, and loaded. He aimed down sight to make sure they were aligned properly. "Sorry, Slide. The only people who will die at my side will be those triad fucks." He nodded as he figured the gun was done and slid it into the holster in his coat. "And I'm going to make sure that fucking panda cunt doesn't walk away this time. Even if it kills me."
* * *