FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Mercenary is the first arc of The Underground series

Chapter 19 of 32

Leap Of Faith

Alias slammed both paws on the kitchen counter and leaned on them in exasperation, face burning in humiliation. He felt so stupid going on like that in front of Jenna. If she didn't think he was a freak already, she probably did now.

You are a freak, you always have been.

Why he cared about what she thought of him personally, Alias couldn't quite comprehend. Over the short time they had been together, Alias had become extremely protective of her, which was odd. He had extracted hostages before, and escorted them to a safe haven. He had viewed each of these individuals as paychecks, not people. He would do his best to see to their safety, but if worst came to worst, Alias would simply not get paid.

But Alias felt hatred towards the people who had threatened Jenna. He knew this because hatred was the emotion he knew better than any of the others. He nearly broke that rat's neck, on several occasions wanted to slit Atir's throat, and if Jenna hadn't stopped him, he would have killed every member of that gang. Alias had to pull it together somehow, he had to get back to his old way of thinking. His cool was his meal ticket, and if he lost that it was game over.

Then there was that damn zebra.

For years, Alias could not figure out where she had come from and why he was cursed with her haunting beauty. It was like an answer to a question that was on the tip of his tongue, but he could not find the right answer. Night after night, and day after day it drove him to the brink of madness. Sometimes being so frustrated, he would punch the wall, leaving a paw-sized dent in its wake.

It hit him like a kick to his face. Alias straightened up like a board, the fur on the back of his neck stood on end, and his ears shot up like two antennas. Moving quickly, he walked to the table and grabbed his two black Berettas, and pulled the hammers back, arming them. When this happened, when this feeling hit Alias, he had learned not to ignore it. He didn't know what it was or how to describe it, besides as a general unease about everything. Something was wrong.

Working quick, Alias flipped the lights to the kitchen, then reached around the doorway to the living room and found the switch there as well. The entire apartment was dark. He looked over at Jenna. He knew she didn't understand what was going on, but could only hope that she had enough faith in him to trust him.

Then all was quiet. The only sounds Alias could here was the sound of his own heart beating. The rhythmic thumping in his chest had escalated in tempo and felt like a drum beating in his ears. Edging over the window covered by a blind, Alias stood behind the safety of the concrete. He extended his paw and pulled the blind back. He scanned the tops of the buildings and the streets below; nothing was out of the ordinary. The dark streets were deserted, except for the few passer bys. The lamps produces a noir look to everything. What was out there that had him so spooked?

Alias waited. Minutes dragged by. Jenna grew more and more concerned, but said nothing, waiting for Alias to say something. But nothing happened.

Alias let go of the blind and turned to Jenna. Now she probably really thought he was a freak-

From the kitchen, the sound of glass shattering broke the silence. On instinct, Alias jumped and threw himself away from the kitchen door and on top of Jenna. The two foxes crashed to the ground, but the deafening explosion that riveted through the apartment drowned the sound of them hitting the floor out. Pieces of drywall and concrete rained down on the two.

A fear gripped Alias and he pushed himself up and onto his feet, grabbing Jenna by her back and pulling her to her feet as well. The air was full of smoke and heat. There was a smell that Alias could only assume was the smell of superheated ceramic tile from the kitchen, and he was pretty sure something was on fire. He could hear the familiar crackle and snap of flames.

Alias shunted Jenna towards the back room with the pictures of the nameless zebra, trying to cover her as much as possible. Another bang reverberated, this time, through the living room. The force of the explosion knocked Alias on his knees, nearly bringing Jenna down with him. More debris fell on them from the ceiling, temporarily blinding them both from the dust. The room immediately turned into an inferno. Alias realized what their assailants were firing at them. They were incendiary mortars, which were designed to catch their surroundings on fire.

He felt Jenna's arms grip his, and she pulled him back to his feet. The smoke in the air made it difficult to breath, and Alias was shell shocked enough where he wasn't thinking clearly.

Just as they entered the back room, there was another explosion from the windows in there; and more fire. Jenna screamed and backed away, having nowhere to run. Alias and Jenna were against the back corner of the living room, as the fire swept the apartment, growing larger and larger. Alias could feel the heat and knew they would not last long. It was already growing uncomfortable and very soon it would turn painful. Backed into the bathroom, the pair of foxes tried to shield themselves from the heat. Alias's heart then stopped as he realized what he forgot in the kitchen.

The Blackwell.

Alias looked across the living room, alive with the fire of an inferno. Alias knew he was stupid, but it was his only shot at survival in the long run. He turned to Jenna, inches away from her face.

"Stay here!" He commanded, as he rose to his feet. Grabbing the wet towel of Jenna's, Alias pulled it over his head for cover. Then took a deep breath and ran as fast as he could.

The flames licked at his feet, and Alias could feel the pain from the fire extending throughout his body. He could smell the pungent odor of his fur smoldering. Finally he reached the kitchen, which was also starting to catch on fire, but not as much as the living room. Through the smoke and flames, Alias looked for the laptop. The table had been overturned, and Alias's initial fear was that the computer had fallen into the fire in which it surely would have melted. Just as the heat was becoming too much for Alias and he was about to make a break back to the bathroom for Jenna, Alias spotted the dark object in the corner of his kitchen. When the table overturned, it must have slid across the floor to its current spot. He quickly plucked it from the floor and hurried as fast as he could back to the bathroom. He landed in the door, smoke rising from his body, and choking.

Through his coughing, Alias handed the Blackwell off to Jenna. "Guard this with your life!"

Jenna took the laptop, huddled next to Alias. "What are we going to do?"

"Front door is blocked, too much fire!" Alias replied. Trying to think, he considered all possible exits. There was always the fire escape, but he knew they would be sitting ducks for those who had launched the mortars into his apartment. There had to be another way!

Then, a sudden thought hit him. Reaching around the threshold of the bathroom, he reached into the bottom drawer of the green filing cabinet that was next to him. Shoving his whole arm into the drawer, Alias's fingers made contact with the small metallic square he had subconsciously tossed in there. He opened his clutched paw and looked at the antipersonnel mine he had been given as a sample. As Alias pulled the filing cabinet down on its face for cover, he never would have guessed he would have used it in his own house.

Tossing the mine into the flames, he pulled Jenna down so that they were laying next to the cabinet. Judging by where he threw it, Alias held his arm out over the cabinet and guessed at where it was. Alias pulled the trigger, once, twice, three-

The mine went off, either by the flames or the gun. This explosion shook the walls and blew out whatever windows were near. Alias looked over his makeshift cover and saw that the mine had blown through the floor into the ceiling of the apartment below him.

"Put your paws around my waist!" He commanded to Jenna.

Jenna was taken aback. "Do what?" She yelled.

"Do you want to get out of here alive? Put your damn arms around me!" Alias barked.

Not having to be told again, Jenna wrapped her arms around Alias. He could feel the warmth of her body pressed close to his. Her chin rested gently on his shoulder. Alias could feel the vixen tremble slightly, and her arms tightened almost uncomfortably around him.

They both stepped onto the filing cabinet, which was growing hot from the flames. Alias could feel the blaze licking at his back. Shutting his eyes he could only pray that this would work. "Don't let go..." He whispered to Jenna, and jumped backwards into the inferno.

Alias found out the hard way that the entire floor wasn't gone. His back landed against some of the support beams, but the fire weakened them. They crashed through the ceiling of the apartment below and landed on an equally hard floor. Between landing on the hard unforgiving surface, and having Jenna's weight from above, all the air in Alias's lungs was squeezed out, winding him. He lay there coughing, trying to get oxygen back. Alias only remained stunned for a second. His paw quickly went to his neck, brushing away the hot coals that he had caught on his way down. There was already a splitting pain going down his neck where he had burnt himself on the floorboards. It felt like Satan himself had licked the back of his neck, but right now he had larger concerns.

Forcing himself to his feet, Alias made his way out of the apartment and to the hallway. He could only assume the tenant was not around, or the apparent was vacant. Either way Alias wasn't going to stick around and find out. Moving to the door, he opened it slightly, peeking out to see if anyone was around. Whoever launched this attack must have followed them back here. Alias wasn't listed on the registry; he paid off the super to keep it that way. Regardless, he could only assume it was Atir. Alias was just surprised at such a public attack. This was supposed to be an invisible war. Then again, it's not like Alias had been being very subtle lately.

Alias stepped out into the dimly lit hallway, Berettas clutched in both paws, and eased on foot in front of the other. It wouldn't be long before the authorities showed up to put out the blaze that used to be Alias's house, and investigate the disturbance.

Deciding it was safe for the moment, he quickened his pace with Jenna following close. Right now, his only plan was to get the two of them out of the building. After that...he would figure that part out later. Passing an old laundry chute, he stopped at the staircase. A couple of flights down Alias could see figures starting to move upward, flashlights in paw. His first assessment of the situation was that they both held automatic weapons. He glanced over his shoulder at the vixen.

She had to go. There was no way he could protect her and disable two guards with automatic weapons. Taking her by the paw, he dragged her back a few steps, and opened the ancient laundry chute.

"Are you kidding?

Alias glared back at her.

Jenna sighed, realizing that she really had no choice in the matter. "What are you going to do?" She whispered, making her attempt to squeeze into the chute.

"If I don't meet you in the basement in five minutes," Alias whispered to her, "go." Jenna's blue eyes looked back at him with concern. "Promise me." Alias reiterated.

Jenna didn't say anything for a second still gripping the Blackwell, and Alias was starting to feel antsy. He could hear the footfalls on the staircase growing louder and louder. It wouldn't be long before they reached this floor and if they saw them both it could ruin any chance for escape. As it was Alias could take care of these two easily, so long as he didn't have to worry about Jenna getting caught in the crossfire. He did not want to leave Jenna, but it was for her own good, as well as his.

She looked up at him from the chute. "Promise me I won't have to."

Something bright caught Alias's eye. He looked over and saw the beams from the flashlights. They were directly below them and would be here only in a matter of moments.

"I'll see you down there." Alias replied, causing Jenna to smile. Then Alias's paw connected with Jenna's shoulder, knocking her back into the chute and sending her down into the black abyss. She let out a yelp as she made her descent. Some people just didn't know how to be timely about anything. However, Alias knew she would be fine. He had checked the laundry chute before to make sure it was safe to use, in case he ever needed to make a quick escape. Yes, it did pay to be paranoid. But all in the same, it was not a path that Alias would take a lot.

"Don't move, motherfucker!"

Alias turned to see two shadowy figures in the dark, flashlights blazing at him.

"Drop 'em, fox!" the voice said again. Squinting from the bright light in the dark hallway, Alias made out a figure that looked like a otter, although he wasn't sure. Still clutching his Berettas, Alias raised his paws slowly.

"Where is she?"

"Who?" Alias stalled, taking a step forward.

"Don't fuck with me, and keep still!"

"She's not here anymore." Alias replied, halfway telling the truth.

"No matter." The voice replied. "We'll find her eventually. Now, drop the fucking guns!"

Alias nodded. "Alright..." He agreed. They wanted him to drop the guns; he'd drop the guns. Putting his paws up to his face, Alias released his grasp on the black metallic pistols. At the same time, he kicked his feet out from under him. Alias fell faster than the guns and hit the ground on his side. All he had to do is reach out with both paws and catch the pistols. Squeezing each trigger, Alias aimed at the two flashlights. The hallway illuminated in a strobe fashion, creating tiny explosions of light as lead burst from the barrels of the guns. Both of the thugs were so surprised, that they literally had no time to react. Their bodies were suddenly punctured by the small projectiles as they collapsed to the ground; dead.

Alias waited for a second, making sure they both didn't move. Their bodies leaked out blood onto the wooden floor. Guns smoke rose elegantly from each Beretta in silent requiem for the fallen enemy.