Hunter and Prey chap.4

Story by HELLCat Cudo on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , ,

#4 of Hunter and Prey


"We've already begun moving forward with the operations Gavin. You no longer need to be involved..." Gavin growled over the phone, his fur nearly standing on end as he accelerated his car down the road.

"You said that I was going to head the operation. Why the hell are you superseding me?"

"You had your chances before... The comity is tired of waiting around for the loose end to be dealt with. We'll contact you again when we have another operation for you." The phone disconnected leaving Gavin listening to static.

"Fucking comity can kiss my furry ass!" Gavin growled as he sped up even more, his car flying down the back country road at nearly eighty. He figured that he had less then an hour to get to his destination, barely enough but still acceptable. The small sports car that he was driving was built for speed, but not for the roughness of the road that he had been forced to travel. He was knocked around quite a bit, but managed to keep control and reach his destination without crashing. He could see the door to the porch swing open as he skidded to a halt in the driveway, giving a quick praise to the gods that it wasn't Dante who saw him first.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Karmin shouted as he barged through the screen door on the porch and rushed over to Gavin, shoving the badger hard when he got out of his car. Before Gavin had a chance to answer though, the sound of gunfire had both of them scrambling behind the car for cover.

"I see the kid's still as sharp as ever..." Gavin winced as the tail light lens closest to his head exploded in a shower of plastic. Karmin growled at Gavin a moment, then gave a strong left jab to the badgers jaw. Gavin was nearly knocked out from behind the car, but quick scrambling allowed him to avoid the bullets plucking up little clouds of dust from where he had been laying.

"What the fuck are you doing here Gavin?" Karmin finally asked when the gunfire ebbed. Both where visibly shaken, both trying to resist the urge to fire back knowing it was Dante that was shooting at them.

"Be glad I got here first..." Gavin growled back as he slowly looked over the back of the car to try and see where Dante was shooting from. He barely managed to duck back down before three more bullets tore through the trunk lid of the car. Karmin grabbed his arm and shook the badger, trying to get his answers. "They're coming..." Was all he got out before Dante rushed around the car, gun in paws and a killing glint in his eyes. Both Karmin and Gavin threw both paws up, shouting for Dante to wait before he shot them.

"I'm not here to kill you..." Gavin blurted out quickly, searching Dante's eyes for any understanding. He kept his paws in front of him, but slowly managed to stand up. "I'm here to warn you. The comity scent some guys out here to take you and the bear out..." Both Karmin and Dante looked at him confused before Dante turned the gun to Karmin.

"I already know that you were giving me the drug, but what the hell is he doing here?" This time it was Gavin and Karmin who were confused.

"We don't have time for this..." Gavin finally interrupted. "Look... We have to get out of here now cause those agents are on their way right now and I didn't have much of a lead on them... You can take your own truck if you want but we need to get out of here now!" Dante could hear the urgency in Gavin's voice, his mind reeling to try and understand just what was going on.

"WE HAVE TO MOVE!" Gavin finally screamed as he pushed his way around to the driver side of the car. "You guys can sit and wait but I'm not about to blow my cover for you..." Dante looked over to Karmin, then rushed over to his truck.

"You better not be fucking with me Gavin or I won't let you get away this time..." Karmin scrambled out from behind Gavin's sports car as the badger started the engin, nearly getting run over as he backed out. He rushed over to his car while Dante backed out as well, moving quickly to catch up to the two as they tore away.

The caravan made it's way quickly from the house, winding through back country roads to avoid anyone who could be following them. Dante was more then annoyed with having to trust Gavin enough to follow him; but he realized that the badger wouldn't have risked coming out to their little patch of nowhere and getting shot without a good reason. He gripped the wheel tighter and looked in the rear view mirror, watching Karmin follow in his beat up old sedan. It wasn't long until the three pulled into the parking lot of an old abandoned gas station out in the middle of nowhere, all three parking next to each other and filing inside uneasily.

"What the hell is this about Gavin?" Karmin growled, leaning against a wall and staring down the badger for an explanation. Gavin looked between Dante and Karmin, a slight smirk coming to his muzzle. "I want answers...now!"

Dante hadn't waited for Gavin to begin explaining; instead walking up to Karmin and slamming his fist into the side of the bears head. Karmin was knocked over, his paws flailing at the air to try and stop himself before he landed heavily on the floor. He slowly rolled over and held a paw to the bump that was slowly forming. "W-what the hell was that for?" He asked the fox puzzled.

"That..." Dante growled before walking up and kicking Karmin in the stomach. "Was for trying to lie to me and giving me that crap to try and control me! Now get up off your ass and tell me what the hell is going on before I re-paint the walls with your head..." Karmin winced away when Dante drew his gun and leveled it at the bruins head.

"now kit... There's no need for all this hostility." Gavin had walked up and put a paw on Dante's shoulder gently, trying to keep from startling the young fox and getting a bullet through his own hide. "We have plenty of time to explain everything so why don't you just calm down and put that gun away..." Dante growled over to him, but finally relented and lowered the gun before walking over to the counter of the gas station and hopping onto it so he could listen to the two comfortably. Gavin helped Karmin to his feet, slapping him on the shoulder in a kind of mock congratulations for pissing Dante off so much. The two began explaining almost immediately, starting with why the two had been in contact.

"So let me get this strait..." Dante sighed a few minutes later, having heard both's explanation. "Karmin and you both work for the government but you had to keep that a secret even from me... You tricked me into taking out the major players in the company that basically raped my mind and still didn't tell me a thing... Then, when all this shit started, you decided to play up to the company to get them off my backs and keep me from killing anymore by giving me the drug that ruined my life..." Gavin and Karmin looked between each other for a moment, then turned back and nodded.

"Alright... Then I have a few questions." Both the badger and bear shared a deep sigh of anxiety. "First of all, I want to know if you were with the government when I was first taken by the company and you trained me?" Gavin nodded with a wince, recalling all that he had put Dante through in his training. "And what about that night? Was that part of the plan when you recruited me?" Gavin blushed when he realized what Dante was talking about while Karmin looked between the two confused. The fox glared at Gavin for a few moments, then turned to Karmin. "And you... Did you know that my brother was an agent this whole time?"

"Yes, but I had a good reason for not-" Karmin clamped his muzzle shut when Dante gave him a death glare.

"So you two basically used me for your twisted little reasons and fucked my life up beyond all reason..." Both gave slow nods again, trying hard not to laugh at the way Dante had said it. The fox gave a deep sigh as he let his mind figure it all out before leaping off the counter. He walked over to Gavin and looked up into the badgers eyes for a moment before decking him.

"That was for using me and leading me on and letting me think that you were my friend when I was with the company." Karmin busted out laughing, holding his stomach as he looked down at the badger. Dante gave the bear his own serving of fist before Karmin could react. "...And that was for not telling me about my brother so I had to kill him!" Both Karmin and Gavin lay on the floor for a bit before they dared to get up, both still a bit wary of the angry fox.

"Are you done?" Gavin finally asked nervously, shying away from Dante's glare. He nodded to Gavin with a snort, walking back to the counter and leaning against it while he let his anger dissipate. "Well, if you are then we should really get going again. I don't know how much longer we'll be safe around here and everyone at the company knows your truck so we need to get rid of it and out of here..." He may as well have told Dante that he needed to shave off all his fur and paint himself pink. Gavin knew that Dante wasn't about to give up his truck, so he quickly came up with a compromise. "We need to leave it until we at least get you off of the company's radar.... Then you can have it back and do whatever you want ok?"

"Alright..." Dante finally sighed as he turned and walked out of the gas station. "Then we better get started..." Gavin and Karmin quickly followed to see Dante pulling guns out from behind the seat of his truck and throwing them into the back seat of Karmin's car. They watched for a few moments until Dante had moved his entire stock of weaponry and noticed them.

"Well, are we going or am I gonna have to leave you two here?" Both Gavin and Karmin finally moved, walking over to the car and climbing in as Dante crawled into the back seat and began to check over his weaponry.

"You sure that you want to do this?" Gavin asked as Karmin started the car and backed out of the parking lot. Dante's only reply was to cycle one of his many hand guns, the mechanical noise making the fur on both Gavin and Karmin's neck stand on end.

"I think we created a monster..." Karmin joked as Gavin turned back to the front.

"I think we created Rambo..." Gavin mumbled with a peek at Dante through the rear view mirror. Dante couldn't help but chuckle at the two while he worked, knowing he wasn't helping their opinion of him in the least.

"So, where are we headed Gavin?" Dante finally asked after assuring that all of his guns were in working order. Gavin had to think for a moment, having not thought that far ahead yet. Dante slapped a paw to his forehead and groaned, knowing that the badger hadn't planed much of anything yet.

They drove in silence for a while, stopping occasionally at gas stations for bathroom breaks and snacks. The trio didn't want to talk much, and the day's events made it all the more awkward. Gavin decided to keep his muzzle shut until he figured out where they were going, and the other two decided to wait for him.

"They are so gonna pay for all this..." Dante thought to himself as he lay down in the back seat, his eyes drifting to the window to watch as the tops of trees flew past the window.

It wasn't much longer before Karmin got tired of waiting for the badger to come up with a safe place to hide so he headed for one of his own safe houses. Gavin was a bit annoyed but didn't argue about it when they pulled into the driveway of a run down farm house. Dante was nearly asleep by that time, so he looked around confused for a moment before Karmin finally explained.

"I found this place a few months ago and figured that it'd make a good place to hide for a while. It's not much to look at but the roof doesn't leak and it's got a fireplace to keep us warm so don't bitch..." Dante and Gavin grudgingly made their way inside while Karmin pulled the car around the back of the house to hide it, then joined them.

"I don't know about you guys..." Dante finally sighed when he noticed a bed in a side room, his body almost as tired as his mind. "I'm going to go and get some rest... Come and get me when you guys have figured out what you're gonna do..." Gavin and Karmin watched Dante walk off, their jaws working but no sound would come out making them look like fish. Both wanted to stop the fox and explain further their involvement in the mess that was unraveling around them, but neither could find a good reason to stop him. Dante slammed the door and flopped down on the bed and closed his eyes, not even bothering to take his cloths off or get under the covers.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Karmin asked as he made his way into the kitchen to fix them some dinner. Gavin followed and leaned against the counter, watching Karmin work.

"I don't know really... Considering that by now they must have figured out that I warned you guys my cover must be blown so I don't have any idea what is going on in the company..." Karmin sighed deeply, resting his paws on the stove to think for a minute.

"What did Dante mean by 'that night'?" He finally asked, turning to lean against the stove and watch Gavin. The badger flushed through his fur and looked away, his embarrassment obvious to Karmin.

"You don't wanna know..." He finally answered quickly, walking out of the kitchen to avoid any further probing by the bear. Karmin chuckled to himself and went back to work fixing dinner. The thought of what Dante and Gavin could have done together to cause the badger that much embarrassment making the bear turn a bit pink under his own fur.

"What a group we make..." Karmin finally sighed, letting his mind work over the day's events while his paws worked almost automatically; dicing vegetables and working meat in a skillet. "What a group..."