My Wonderful Little Sister- Crimson Ghosts
Disclaimer: You know the drill the by now...either be 18 or older to read this or get out. ...still here? Well, I admire your persistence. Okay, you can stay, but I'm NOT responsible if your mom catches you on here...or dad if your mom is dead or something. If both parents are dead then don't sweat it....although come to think of it that is god awfully depressing, and you have my pity (something not easily earned in this world). So, read on at your own risk. Just check the tags for what may or may not be in the following paragraphs. Also, all characters belong to me Casonova, so don't get any ideas about doing a fanfic without my permish...m'kay? I think we understand each other now, so read on! cough Pervert! ;D Hey! Who threw that?
6:15 A.M. Panama City I gently kissed Katie on the cheek as a slipped on my shorts and finished lacing up my shoes. I'd already taken a quick shower to wash off the scent of our illustrious activities, and so far Katie was still fast asleep in bed without a care in the world. Normally I'd have been more than happy to stay put in bed with her, but today I had to save the world...or at least a very small part of it. Quietly stepping out onto the balcony, I closed the door behind me and gazed out at the glimmering skyscrapers that stole the day back from the gloom that seemed to hang over the city. At first glance one would think this place to be a Latin paradise, a hidden jewel wedged between two oceans on a thin stretch of land dividing the Americas. A closer look would show you it's just a glimmering cesspit, a polished apple eaten rotten to the core from within. The government was fighting a losing battle against corruption in its police forces, and several politicians had been caught taking bribes from known rebel lieutenants. This let Noriega's men roam the city streets like roaches through a Brooklyn basement. You could always find them hanging around the markets in the western suburbs of the city, but they managed to keep themselves clean enough to avoid drawing any serious attention to themselves. So far, any attempt to discover what they were planning had either failed or turned up useless info. Hopefully that would all change today. Baker didn't tell me I'd be meeting anyone, he just instructed me to be ready to leave by 6:20 this morning. My head was still a little fuzzy, but that was more from the humidity than lack of sleep. The sun was just starting to creep over the horizon, it lingered as if afraid of what the rest of the day had in store. Slowly I walked out the front gate and down the city street, my eyes scanning the occasional early morning pedestrian or car that passed me by. Being on the northern edge of the city, things would stay quiet in this part of town for at least another hour or so. It was strangely relaxing, considering that later I'd be trying to uncover a plot that would likely kill over half the people residing here. Looking back, I tried to uncover how it all came to this. My mind walked in circles, unable to move forward or backward towards a definitive answer. Had it really been my relationship with Katie? No, without her I'd be dead by now, that's for sure. A cool breeze picked up, the icy chill relieving me from the intense humidity that plagued this part of the world. The air was practically so wet you could drown if you ran hard enough. It'd be scorching hot soon, although after my time in the Arizona desert I'd come to tolerate the heat. And that's when it hit me. Arizona, the gold, Elsie...my friends. The memories raided my mind like Vandals sacking Rome, showing me no mercy as the truth burned painfully in my head. I thought back to how they all died because of me, because I was too scared to tell Elsie the truth and too horny to keep her emotionally distant. Now they were all just shades of the past sent to haunt me with everlasting guilt. I've tried to stop thinking about it, maybe because I know I can never forgive myself for what happened. All he shrinks in the VA hospitals told me to move on, to not cling to the past since I can't change it. The only thing is I've changed it before, and I guess part of me was hoping I'd get to change it again. Heh, of course I knew deep down that wasn't possible. My friends were gone for good, and with them any chance of me being sane again. I knew that if I ever lost Katie that was the end of it for me, I'd have no reason to go on. She's really the last person on earth I care about, everyone else I knew is either dead or better off without me wasting their time and probably getting them killed at some point. For the moment I'd won her back, but the seed of dissent was still there, and I knew it would grow if I didn't prove to her that we belong together, no matter what. Why I thought tagging along on her mission trip to aid the CIA would help, I don't know. The last time I thought clearly was when I was contemplating whether I wanted McDonald's or Burger King. The whole time I'd been walking I'd been wondering where I should go. The embassy was downtown, although Baker told me to avoid it since if I was seen there it would blow my cover. Baker had to know where I was, I still had the phone he gave me that was implanted with a tracker chip. Was he even up this early? One way to find out. Me: U up? BigBoss: I told u not 2 use this # unless it was & e-mer-j-n-c. I smirked. Even for a fifty-something year old he had the texting habits of a fourteen year old girl. Me: Sorry. Where 2? BigBoss: I think you have work that needs to be done at the church. The church huh? Considering there were over a hundred in this city alone, I could only fathom he meant the large Catholic mission that had been converted into a worship center where we'd be working for most of the trip. Well, Katie would, I'd be out trying to not cause an international incident. Maybe, I thought, when this whole thing blows over I can finally get a normal job and just settle down with her someplace. Then again, all "normal" jobs for me have so far included guns, foreign combatants and severe injuries, so maybe I needed something a little out of the ordinary.
I awoke with my mouth feeling...and tasting...like it was full of sand as a ray of sunlight came in through the window shades and hit my eyelids. Slowly I flopped out of bed, my mind coming to as I also remembered I was naked and still smelt the way you'd expect after last night's sexcapades. "Kyle? Where'd you go?" No response. I rubbed my eyes and quickly inspected the room, not finding Kyle anywhere. His suitcase was still here, although his clothes from last night were now in a plastic gym bag and his shoes were no longer by the door. "Dang it Kyle, you sure know how to treat a girl," I sighed while heading to the bathroom for a shower. I figured it was about seven in the morning, maybe a little later. I didn't want to wait for Pastor Eric to come wake me so going back to bed was out of the question, and I'm pretty sure none of the other students smell quite as musky as I did at the time. Plus, my hair was a mess since I made the mistake of letting Kyle be on top again. All I know is, the people who invented "missionary position" must've either yiffed while wearing hats, or had really short hair. As I washed off the scents and stains from last night, I pondered about what Kyle and I said last night. For all intents and purposes we were back together, but for how long? A hot late night romp doesn't change the past, and it won't do anything for the future except potentially ruin it if we get caught. My stomach hurt as I thought about it. Breaking it off one time was bad enough, I didn't know if I could do it again. Maybe we could tough it out; get through life's problems together and actually live normal lives. The more I thought about that, the more the memories of the past filled my mind and told me otherwise. My stomach panged me again, although this time I realized it was from hunger. I finished washing up and toweled off, wondering where I could get some breakfast around here. Throwing on a white t-shirt with the Zune logo (don't ask why I have that, I'm usually a Mac person), some blue jeans and my shoes, I stepped outside and noticed a grocery store across the street had just opened. I'd exchanged some of my money for Panamanian Balboas at the airport, and now it was time to put them to good use. I wasn't sure what was safe to eat in this country, so I played it safe and bought a bunch of six bananas. They're safe right? I mean they come in their own wrappers. "Gracias señorita," the owner said with a smile and a wave as I paid for my breakfast. "De nada," I replied, "Tenga un buen día." Those middle school Spanish classes didn't seem so dumb anymore now that I'd gotten to make good use of them. I'd actually started re-learning Spanish a year ago, and while I wasn't "fluent," I knew enough to get by without needing a translator. I peeled open my first banana and took a bite as I strolled back to my room. It's a good thing my parents weren't here, they'd freak if they knew I was about to eat a half dozen bananas...again. There's a reason why they're my forbidden fruit. I wonder what daddy would say if were...here. Oh, right. I looked at my bananas again and remembered just where he was now, suddenly no longer hungry.
St. Luke's Catholic Mission - 8:15 A.M. Baker met me at the church around 7:30 to discuss with me and Eric what was going to happen today. Eric had left one of the chaperones in charge of getting the rest of the kids fed and bussed over to the church, which gave us a window of time to operate in relative privacy. The church wasn't very large, only two priests and a nun were present, and they knew enough to leave us alone in one of the offices in the back. "Now, around 5:00 in the afternoon, Noriega and Caldwell meet at the Arroyo Cantina here in this uptown market district," Baker said while pointing at the map. "That's a good distance away from where we're staying," Eric mentioned with obvious concern. He had a point. We were staying near the embassy, which was near the airport on the west side of the city, well away from any potential action that would come from a coup de tat. This market put us smack dab in a poor neighborhood that we really had no business being in. "It'll be fine, we'll have three other agents in the area keeping watch. Any sign of trouble and we'll call you and tell you to get out of there. You can leave Kyle behind, we'll pick him up later if need be." "Gee, thanks," I grumbled. Baker ignored me and continued his briefing. "Now, if anyone asks why you're heading to this market, it's because their prices are better and they have more of what you need. Just say that, and refuse to give more details. We can worry about those after the mission." "Which is?" "To listen in on Noriega and Caldwell's meeting, remember? They do things old school, no electronics so we can't hack or phone tap them. Each are in charge of a cell here in the city. We believe Caldwell's men have the vials of Hellfire, and will likely be using them in the city to deal with the government's police forces. Noriega's men are mostly in the country and will likely attack the canal to try and force us to ignore what's going on downtown. Their most likely targets are the presidential palace and city hall, where they can formally declare themselves the new heads of state." Baker paused to pull up a black briefcase and opened it for me and Eric to see. In it were a pair of Bluetooth phone headsets, a pen, and a pair of sunglasses. "These are your tools of the trade for today," Baker explained. "Each of you gets a Bluetooth so you can be in contact with me. Kyle, your toys are the glasses and pen." "And how do I spy with these? Write down what I see while looking cool?" "Very funny wise guy," Baker sneered, "No, that pen is actually a laser microphone. Point it at a window or surface near where Noriega and Caldwell are talking, and it'll pick up the vibrations of sound from their conversation. It's linked to your Bluetooth so I can listen in with you and record their talk from my station at the embassy. Your sunglasses also have a backup laser mic built into the left temple arm. In case you can't use the pen without looking suspicious, you can just look at them and it should work all the same. The controls for it are in an app on your phone, so make sure you get comfortable with them before the actual mission." "I have to admit Baker, this is pretty cool," I said while picking up the glasses. "Hah, Panama Jack brand. How appropriate." Baker smirked. "I had a feeling you'd get a kick out of that. Alright, I think we're good to go. Eric, get your people ready to leave by 4:00 and drop Kyle off at the designated spot I showed you. Then it'll just be a matter of waiting for our dynamic duo to arrive and hopefully spill the beans on what they're planning, and when things are going down." Eric sighed as he got up to go return to the motel. "Mr. Baker, I know this is important, but do you really have to use my youth group to conceal Kyle's arrival? What if they spot him anyway and start shooting?" "They won't do that, it'll bring too much police attention. They don't know how the Public Defense Forces will respond to a coup, since not all of them have been paid off." "Still...they'll have guns or something on them right?" "Well," Baker cautiously admitted, "That's a given. But I assure you, your people will be far enough away it won't make a difference." Eric sighed and folded his arms across his chest compliantly. "Fine. I'll go start making preparations on the bus. I know the elementary school we're going to can lend us one, and the church is going to lend us a large Ford van for the rest of us." Baker smiled and nodded. "Good. I think that covers everything then. See you at 4:00 gentlemen."
Eric dropped us off at the church around eight and sent us to go sort through a pile of packages in the basement. Most of them contained donations from back home, things like non-perishable food, clothing, shoes, that sort of thing. Panama wasn't the poorest of central-American countries, but the war hadn't been kind to their country and many people were now living in poverty, trying to rebuild what had been lost. While we were busy organizing the donations, Eric disappeared to go meet with someone. I had a feeling as to just who it was, and when no one was looking I slipped upstairs and wandered into the back of the church where they had a hallway with a few offices. Sure enough, Eric was sitting inside one with that old fox I'd seen back home, and...Kyle? I blinked as I saw my own brother sitting inside with them, his attention focused on their conversation. I crept closer to listen in, their words just barely audible as I waited outside the door. My heart began to pound like a drum as I overheard talk of rebels, guns, and the fact that several of us were going to be in close proximity to such things. Eric protested several times, but the fox snidely reassured him that everything would be okay. My mouth suddenly felt very dry as my mind raced, already contemplating various disasters that could befall us. This whole thing sounded like a bad idea, and with Kyle's track record for attracting danger I knew that something bad was just around the corner. I suddenly realized they were standing up to leave, and before I could turn around to escape the hallway the door opened and Eric walked out. "Katie? What are..." "Shhh!" I hissed as I tried to sneak away. He nodded and paused in the doorway for a second, giving me time to leave while Kyle and the fox looked at him incredulously. "What's wrong Eric? Someone there?" I heard the fox ask. "No, I thought I saw an alley cat sneak in here, but it was just my imagination," he calmly admitted. I heaved a sigh of relief as I tried to head back downstairs. However, just as I made it to the door I felt a paw on my shoulder. I stopped, sighing dejectedly as I recognized the familiar grasp of the fingers resting on me. "What gave me away?" "Well, the fact that Eric said your name for starters," Kyle said with chuckle. "Never was a great hide and seek player," I said. "Kyle, be honest with me...are you really here to spy these terrorist...rebel...whoever they are?" Kyle tightened his grip on me and turned me around to look at him, his face taunt with emotion. He went to say something, but his words failed him and after a few seconds, he simply nodded. "So you weren't lying when you told me that you were here to save the world," I realized. "Well, I may have been exaggerating a bit, but no. Katie you'd know I'd never lie to you," he said, "You're my mate, after all." I cringed as he said that, turning my gaze to the floor as I felt him await an answer. "We are still mates, aren't we?" "Kyle...I...I can't be your mate and your sister," I replied hesitantly. "Well I'm not...we're not related remember?" "You know what I mean," I countered, "It's just...dang it, why do we keep suffering so much? Every time I think the worst is behind us something new comes up and...I'm just afraid one of these days we're going to lose everything else around us." "What do you mean?" he asked thoughtfully, his ears perked and at attention. "What if something happens to mom or Shelly? Or if your friend Scott has an accident and dies...it's not his fault he's friends with you. Should he be punished just because we wanted to be together?" Kyle placed a finger under my chin and gently scratched under my muzzle, coaxing a subtle "murr" from me as I looked back up at him. "You're right, they shouldn't be punished for our mistakes. But who's to say that if we give up on each other our problems will just go away? Is that atonement enough, or is fate just gonna keep sending things our way till we're six feet under?" I blinked a couple of times, unable to think as I felt my eyes start to water up. "We've fought together before Katie, and we won. Heck, we beat Death himself. Things only get better when we stand together. I'm not saying it's gonna be easy, cause Lord knows it ain't, but if we don't put up a fight, we're doomed." I nodded reluctantly, taking a deep breath as his words sunk in. "You're right, you're a perv and a goof, but you're right." I hugged him and he returned the favor, neither of us caring who might be watching. "Thank you Katie," he whispered as we embraced. "Love you." "Mmhmm, me too," I sighed, "But if you're serious, then you're going to have to do something for me." "Anything." "You're quitting the military after this is over." He broke our embrace and looked at me, his eyes reading my countenance to see if I was serious. "Sis, that's...I mean, why? I'm good at it, it's a job I love..." "More than me?" I interrupted. "I had to go without you for eighteen months. Eighteen months of not knowing if you were even still alive. The few times you called, the few times I got a letter, they were knives reopening a wound. They just reminded me you weren't here and wouldn't be for a long time." "Katie, it wasn't easy for me either, but that's over now. They'll just put me on some base in the States or Europe from here on out." "Bull-oney," I retorted with an almost curse, "This Baker guy, he's not going to let you go. If you sign on after this he'll turn you into a spy just like him, and then you'll be all over the world doing God knows what instead of being here with me. If you're serious about us standing up to fate together, then you tell him off and quit, or else say goodbye to me right now." His face softened as he noticed my paws bundle up into fists and my brow remained stiff as I tried to not choke on the tears collecting in the back of my throat. "Alright Katie, but only because I love you," he said with a consenting smile. "Now c'mon, let's go finish helping downstairs before anyone notices we're missing."
4:45 P.M. - A road in western Panama City The day had passed by surprisingly quickly considering how stressed I was about the upcoming rendezvous in the market. And now, here I was sitting in a bus full of school children and their parents along with Katie and a few of the other kids from the church back home. It was about as noisy as you can imagine, so I tried to maintain my sanity by opening the window and letting the sounds of angry drivers honking and yelling at each other in Spanish drown out the sound of sugar fueled kids who were still feeling the effects of the candy we gave them. Eric was doing his best to keep things business as usual, namely because he was afraid of what would happen if the parents back home found out their kids were part of a CIA sting operation. After the donations were organized we headed out to a nearby Catholic school where the faculty had organized the various classes to watch the kids from our church put on a series of plays, followed by Eric giving a sermon before breaking for lunch. Normally we'd leave the food up to the school's cafeteria, but this one lacked necessities like meat and dairy products. Most of the food was just rice and beans, a staple of any third-world Latin country. Fortunately, we brought along enough canned chicken and salsa to make something resembling tacos in soup form. It was good, if not particularly filling. Still, it was a better meal than what these kids usually got, and they certainly weren't complaining. I'd seen similar levels of poverty in California during the final days of the war. There was no economy there, so people just starved or tried to loot something only to get shot by a patrol. Compared to that, Panama was practically Paris. I wasn't any less grateful for my life back home though. These kids didn't have much a chance of finding riches in their lifetime. Most would probably finish school, get a salaried job and then work till they died, never getting to enjoy the boring solitude of retirement. The situation was further compounded by the irony of looming sky scrapers to the east, their glass fronts rivaling New York or Tokyo's skyline. The lucky ones who'd been born into wealthy families and got to go to school now reaped the rewards of their parent's hard work while doing their best to turn a blind eye to the needs of the poor. I guess that's why we were here; to help pick up the slack and maybe show these poor kids that at least one person outside their family gives a damn about them. I pushed my thoughts aside as I felt the bus come to a stop as Eric parked us in a large vacant lot near the market. Officially, we were taking several kids from the school who were also members of St. Luke's on a grocery shopping spree paid for by cash donations. This wasn't entirely false, since a lot of the money actually came from Baker's expense account. Naturally, their parents wanted to come along since they weren't about to trust their kids to a bunch of American teenagers. I waited inside as everyone piled out and flooded the market with their excited cries as Eric tried to tell them they were still on a budget. Katie waited with me, eyeing me curiously as I put on my Bluetooth headset and sunglasses and dialed Baker. "Good to see you're on time Mr. Blackmon," he said immediately after picking up. "Where are you now?" "Still on the bus, where do I go from here?" I asked. Baker could tell where I was thanks to the GPS in my phone being linked to his laptop. "Well then get a move on, Caldwell and Noriega will be there soon," he said urgently as Katie followed me off the bus. I muted my headset to tell Katie to go off and help Eric as Baker gave me turn by turn directions on where to go. It took a few minutes, but I eventually came to the Arroyo Cantina. It was a nice looking place, although it didn't quite fit in with the poverty stricken market and run down houses with red clay tile roofs that were missing an occasional shingle. I sat down on a bench next to a bus stop and pretended to play with my phone as Baker talked me through what was going to happen. It didn't take long before a large, black SUV pulled up and a middle-aged fennec fox stepped out along with a pair of large ocelots wearing Izod polo shirts and aviator sunglasses. They didn't bother hiding the fact that they were armed, since they both wore hip holsters. A third guard, this one a coyote, stepped out with an AK-74 slung across his back like it was nothing. "Noriega's here," I whispered. "Don't stare at him, his guards are looking out for people like you, remember?" Baker growled in my ear. I looked at the ground while continuing to toy with my phone, only glancing up from time to time to look at them. Hopefully they thought I was just some ignorant gringo waiting for a bus. The only thing was that if a bus came and I was still there would they get suspicious or just assume I was waiting for someone? Hopefully the rush hour traffic around here would be good for something and keep them at bay long enough for me to get what I needed. A couple minutes later an old Ford Crown Victoria pulled up and illegally parked in front of a hydrant. Four guys got out, one a lion, two wolves, and one a red fox. Clearly they were American, furs like that are rare around these parts. "Okay, Caldwell is here too. Looks like he and Noriega both brought three guards each," I reported. "Then turn on your laser mic and let's hear what they have to say," Baker ordered. I flipped on the mic in my sunglasses and looked at a window on the shop near where Caldwell and Noriega were sitting. They had both chosen to sit in a booth by the window, which worked in my favor since their section was relatively quiet compared to the rest of the cantina. "Let's make this quick, we don't have much time left," said a voice that I assumed was Caldwell's due to the accent. "Si, my men are ready to move at a moment's notice. We have squads ready to hit the police precincts here, here, and here," Noriega replied while probably pointing at a map. "The TV station is already under our control, we'll be able to hijack the airwaves in as little as fifteen minutes." "Baker are you getting this?" I asked. "Yeah, this doesn't sound good," he replied. Caldwell spoke again. "Excellent. My men just finished moving our Hellfire canisters into our Guatemalan outpost. We can get them into Mexico and back into the States in about a week. Hopefully that won't be too long for you." "Don't worry," Noriega said reassuringly, "My men will have the hostages locked down tight. The Americans won't attempt a rescue if they think we'll be able to kill them before they arrive." "What if they decide to just let us kill them so they can retaliate at will?" "No chance, the Americans won't let innocent children die on live TV," Noriega said with smug confidence. "Baker, what are they talking about? Hostages, this sounds bad," I said into my Bluetooth. "Shut up and keep listening," he snapped. "We'll figure it out when they're done." Noriega pulled out a phone and started dialing someone. I couldn't understand him, as he spoke in Spanish, but I recognized a few references to the jungle and the Panama Canal. Likely he was calling a lieutenant stationed outside the city. I tried to focus, but my mind started to race as I realized that today could be the very day that things go down. Taking over a TV station would likely alert the police, and that meant the next step of their plan would follow. They mentioned taking children as hostages, which wasn't too difficult considering the number of schools there were to choose from in this city. However, an icy steel arrow of pure fear jabbed me in the heart as I heard Noriega make another call. "Hola, Raul? Si, ha llegado el momento, a su familia y llevarlos a la cantina." He paused and said something to Caldwell. "He says we're being watched. Something about an American spy." "What? Lewis, go look outside and see if you spot anyone," Caldwell replied. Oh shit. Quickly I got up and moved behind an empty street vendor's cart that had once been loaded with cheap tie-dye t-shirts. Sure enough one of the wolves came out the front of the cantina and looked around suspiciously. I ducked down, hoping no one else around me would look at the crazy gringo hiding behind the cart. After a few seconds I peeked back up to see the wolf heading back inside. I resumed my position at the bus stop, hoping I hadn't missed anything. "...saw no one out there, sir," I heard as I came in the middle of the wolf's report. "Good, good. Noriega, I think our friend here was mistaken," Caldwell said calmly. A fourth voice piped up, this one in Spanish. He sounded flustered, and the next thing I saw was a jaguar looking straight out the window at me with both Caldwell and Noriega joining him at his side. I froze as the trio looked at me, my glasses doing nothing to hide the fact I was watching them back. The jaguar looked familiar, and at that moment I realized he had been on the bus with me earlier! Baker hadn't considered the possibility of one of Noriega's supporters going to the same church we were operating out of, and to be fair neither had I. It's always that one crucial detail that gets people killed, and in this case it would probably be me. Thanks a lot Baker, you asshole. "Sonuva bitch!" Caldwell yelled. "Lewis you idiot, get out there and finish him off!" Time to leave! I jumped up and took off running down the street, turning to look over my shoulder in time to see all six bodyguards bursting out the door and giving chase. Two armed with AK-74s wasted no time firing at me, both furs dumping a pair of clips into the crowded street with reckless abandon. Chaos erupted like a volcano, people screaming in panic, others collapsing in the street as they caught a stray bullet. A nearby police officer looked on in shock as he radioed for backup while hiding behind his cruiser. "Blackmon!" Baker shouted in my ear, "What the hell did you do?" "I got compromised, that's what!" "You fucking chump, how?" "One of the parents from the school bus is on Noriega's payroll, he recognized me from the ride and saw me spying on them," I answered while panting for breath behind a car. "We gotta get our people out of here pronto!" "I'll call Eric, you just focus on not getting shot," Baker ordered before hanging up. I felt a rush of heat as a bullet passed by my cheek, followed by the guttural cry of the unlucky fox that got struck by it. The whole market was a mess, a screaming, swirling cacophony of panicked furs. Colors seemed to blend together as brightly colored storefronts and tropical shirts from tourists rushed by as I sprinted down the street. Ducking into an alleyway to catch my breath, I drew my M1911 and peered out as dozens of people continued to flee past me. The police had arrived, along with rebel reinforcements. The rebels seemed to crawl out from every alley, every door or unmarked garage, sort of like roaches in a Hoboken basement 'cept with guns. Taking off again, I nearly barreled into a cop who gave me a funny look as he noticed I was packing heat. However, his attention quickly shifted to a pair of ocelots wearing red scarves around their faces and carrying AKM rifles. I didn't stay to see what happened, I knew the cops in this area were badly outnumbered and that if I didn't get out fast I wouldn't be the only American going home in a box. I tried to remember where Eric parked the bus, but that problem sorted itself out when it suddenly appeared around the bend and nearly hit me. "Kyle, get in! NOW!" Eric screamed over the chattering gunfire that lit the streets. I stumbled into the bus, tripping over the stairs and landing in a heap in the center aisle. Katie was by my side in a second, giving me a hand to stand up when the driver swerved the bus to the right down an alley and everyone was thrown to the left. I finally managed to get to my knees, with Katie and Eric both looking at me urgently as the rest of the passengers, mostly Panamanians and their kids from the church, looked on in fearful awe. "Who the heck are these guys?" Eric asked as I felt my ear and noticed I was missing my Bluetooth. "Noriega's men, they were in position to attack the whole time," I replied while looking for my phone. Damn, I'd lost it while trying to get in the bus. "What?! I thought Baker said the coup wouldn't happen for a few more days?" "That's what he assumed, but obviously his intel was off. Look, we need to get these people to the Embassy now. Where's the rest of our guys?" "Just around the bend, I had everyone get back to the van when I heard the first shots fired before coming to look for you," Eric said. Sure enough he was right, as we turned out of the alley back onto the main road to find the white Ford van parked on the side, engine idling at the ready. The bus driver honked twice as we passed, and the van quickly began to follow us as we sped to the embassy. "How far is it?" Eric asked. "About seven miles, I think. Shouldn't take long to get there," replied. I walked to the back of the bus, steadying myself on the rows of benches as we hit the occasional curve of bump. Katie followed me and grabbed my arm, distracting me from the blur of red clay roofed buildings passing in the windows. "This is what I was afraid of," she growled at me under her breath. "Katie, this was going to happen regardless of what we did," I countered, "But God put us here for a reason, so let's just stay calm, keep sharp and try to get everyone out safely, okay? You can yell at me when this is over." She nodded and let out a sigh as we both watched out the back window. Despite it being rush hour we were making good time. In fact, the road behind us was eerily empty, and there were very few cars ahead of us. I turned to look back behind us, and that's when disaster struck. We just started to roll through an intersection, when a large red pickup revved into gear and t-boned the van behind us, crippling it and causing it to spin out in the middle of the street. "Oh god!" Katie yelled in pure, unadulterated terror as another truck pulled up and dropped off a squad of rebels. I stared in disbelief as I watched them rip the van open and begin tearing our people out. Everyone in the bus had heard the crash, and Eric was with us in an instant. "No! God please no, NO!" he screamed while nearly ripping his fur out. A split second later they disappeared from view as we rounded a curve and got onto the highway leading to the airport. Eric started to yell for the driver to stop and go back, but I shouted him down and ordered the driver to press on for the Embassy. "We can't just leave them back there!" Eric yelled in anger. "There's nothing we can do for them Eric, they're surrounded by at least a dozen rebels," I protested. "The rebels won't hurt them; they just want them as hostages to keep the U.S. from intervening in the coup." "Yeah, well what if the army decides not to negotiate with them?" I bit my lip. Eric wasn't dumb, that was for sure. He knew America had a policy of not negotiating with terrorists, and Noriega's rebels fell under that category pretty well. It'd take about twenty-four hours for the main U.S. assault force to mobilize, get airborne and deploy in Panama. By then, the rebels would see that the U.S. wasn't backing down and would probably start triaging a few hostages off every hour to show they mean business. I guess Eric knew that those kids were as good as dead, and a part of me felt like I was the one who put the guns to their heads. CRACK CRACK CRACK SMASH!!! Suddenly the back windows shattered in a spray of shards and splinters. I pushed Eric and Katie to the floor as I saw a pair of pickups coming up behind us, both filled with rebels in red scarves brandishing AKs. A tiger in the back of one stood up and beat his chest while looking right at me and jeering gleefully. He wasn't too happy when I laid a pair of .45 slugs in his chest. BLAM BLAM! "Everyone get down!" I yelled only for most of the bus's inhabitants to just stare at me while holding their ears in pain. Right, they only speak Spanish. "Katie, tell them to get down!" Katie understood what needed to be done and yelled in Español for them to hit the deck. This time they understood, the parents putting their kids under the benches while they lay in the center aisle or crouched wherever they could, so long as they didn't stick out from the windows. I focused my attention on the two trucks, both of whom had slowed down after my first volley. I only had one spare clip though, and I knew I'd need more than that to stop both trucks. "Eric, where's my bag?" I yelled while shooting off the rest of my magazine into the windshield of the closest truck. Eric didn't reply, his mind finally grasping just how close to death he was. Without a word he grabbed my backpack off a nearby bench and hurled it next to me. I had just finished reloading when one truck's passengers decided to start shooting at me. Hot lead whizzed past me for the second time that day (and for the billionth time that year), the armor piercing rounds easily cutting through the thin aluminum walls of the bus. Dust and seat stuffing filled the air as several benches were ripped apart, the rounds miraculously missing the people cowering between the seats. Even in Spanish, I could understand the distraught cries of several people saying a Hail Marry or two. If I'd remembered the words, I'd probably have said one myself. I paused to take a breath, and also make sure I wasn't shot. Not feeling any severe pain or wet spots on my fur, I opened my bag to retrieve another little present from Baker. Matte black, three pounds heavy and only eighteen inches long sat my Magpul PDR-C. Chambered in 5.56x45 NATO, this little puppy was barely the size of my forearm, and yet it packed the firepower of an M-16A4. Baker had also been kind enough to attach a quick acquisition set of iron sights, complete with tritium reticules for use in low light situations. And of course he'd stacked with half a dozen thirty round STANAG magazines loaded with 63 grain FMJ bullets. "Three, two, one, SUPRESSING!" I yelled on pure instinct as I popped up and began firing in single shot mode at the nearest truck. I traced a series of white, dot-like holes into the closest truck's windshield. He was only three car lengths behind us, making the driver an easy target. Seven rounds right above the steering wheel and the next thing I knew the truck swerved across the street and slammed into oncoming traffic, which had the side effect of catapulting the six rebels riding in the bed thirty feet into the air and to a gritty demise on the pavement. Being me, I couldn't help but cut loose with a... "FUCK YEAH! Did you effing see that?!" I cackled. What can I say? I'm a sadistic asshole even when getting shot at. A few stray rounds quickly brought me back to reality as the second truck approached us from behind, its passengers cutting loose with AKs and an RPD. I hit the floor as bullets shredded the back of the bus, causing the rear emergency door to actually fall off and the front windshield to shatter in several places. The driver wisely swerved the bus left and right, trying to make it as hard as possible for the rebels to accurately aim at us. Another "crack" echoed past my ear as a round nearly connected with my head as I peeked out the hole where the door used to be. Switching my PDR into full auto mode, I emptied my mag into the truck's engine block. Smoke began to poor up from the hood, but the truck kept on coming at us. I promptly reloaded, gritting my teeth while trying to ignore another salvo of bullets coming at me. The truck began to close the distance despite the damage I'd done, but it also made itself an easier target. I'm just glad the idiots shooting at me didn't realize they needed to aim lower. WHHHIIIIIZ-THUCK! I blinked as a round grazed my shoulder, only to hit something with a sickening sound behind me. Damn, I thought, someone just got shot back there. Focusing on the task at hand, I took aim and fired at this truck's driver as well. The first burst missed, seeing as how this guy was smart enough to duck while his passenger guided him. Unfortunately for him, that meant driving in a predictable straight line that allowed me to aim for the front left tire. Another burst later and the tire blew open like a whale carcass on a hot beach day. I breathed a sigh of relief as the truck slowed to a halt far behind us, disappearing beyond the horizon as we left the city limits and past the airport for the embassy. Standing up, I began to look around to see if anyone was hurt, only to feel a sudden pang in my gut. I stumbled and fell to the floor, my vision blurred in pain as I felt a cold, wet tingle across my abdomen. Katie's voice was frantic, but I couldn't understand her words. Tears filled my eyes while my brain tried to get a grip on what had just happened. My mouth tasted coppery, and I felt cold all over despite the burning summer heat outside. Looking at Katie, I tried to make sense of what she was saying when I felt her paws grab my left arm and try to pull me up. The bus suddenly hit the brakes, knocking her down on top of me as we began to swerve to the right. The driver was making a sudden turn, and a sharp one at that. Unable to move, I rolled with the inertia...right out the back of the bus and onto the pavement.
I shook my head as I realized I was now lying in the street. In my attempt to pull Kyle to safety I'd ended up getting dragged out with him as he rolled out. My paws were all scraped up from landing on asphalt while still going twenty miles per hour, and I probably had a cracked rib or two judging from the soreness in my chest. Kyle wasn't much better; he'd landed on his side and was covered in bruises. Fortunately, it looked like nothing was broken or torn off, although that gaping bullet hole in his stomach looked worse now. His shirt was soaked through with blood, and the fact that it was also dribbling out of his mouth sent my heart racing in panic as I realized just how hurt he was. "Kyle, c'mon get up, we have to go!" I said urgently while getting up and trying to drag him to his feet. "F-forget it sis," he groaned with slurred speech, "I-I'm just gonna go get...lay lie down, it's cold in here...f-fucking hell man, where's my shoes?" He was clearly delirious, and probably had a concussion from hitting the street. Biting my lip, I pressed my paw to his stomach and tried to remember my basic first aid lessons. Severe bleeding...direct pressure right? I wanted to throw up, both from fear and from the wet, gooey feeling of his shirt against my palms. His blood was still warm and stickier than maple syrup, which made it all the more gross as I desperately tried to keep anymore from coming out of him. All around me I heard the sounds of police sirens and rifle fire echoing through the streets. It was like something out of a movie, only the horrified screams of the city's inhabitants quickly diminished any feelings of awe one might have felt. "K-Katie?" I looked down at him, his eyes meeting mine with curious pause. "Kyle, thank God! How you feeling? Can you move?" "Not really, I think I broke my left shin when I landed," he groaned. "I dropped my gun too." Looking behind me, I saw it lying in the street several yards away. Wow, we'd rolled further than I thought. "Katie, I don't think I'm gonna make it," he coughed. "No, you're gonna be okay," I countered. "Just help me stop the bleeding and we'll get you to a doctor." He nodded and replaced my paw with his over his wound. I felt a little better, since it looked like our efforts were starting to work, especially since my paw was now covered in scabbing over blood. Subconsciously I rubbed my paws off on my shirt, only to then remember I was wearing a white shirt. Dang did I pick the wrong day to do that. "Come on, let's get you out of the street," I groaned while trying to drag him over to the side walk. Kyle did his best to help push himself along, but I could tell he was getting weak from blood loss. The fact that he weighs about twice as much as me certainly wasn't helping things either. Finally, I got him onto the sidewalk and out of danger as dozens of cars fled past us in a mad dash for the countryside. I tried to flag someone down, a cop, a tourist, anyone who could give us a lift to a hospital. At last, a white SUV pulled over and rolled down the windows. I started to rush over to it when I saw one of the passengers wearing a bright red bandana across his muzzle. The light brown wolf stepped out of the car and pointed a pistol at me, yelling at me to get down...in English. I'd have further pondered the fact that he sounded American if I hadn't been utterly terrified right then and there. BLAM BLAM! I yelped in surprise as the wolf was thrown against the car whilst leaving a bloody mist where he stood. I looked over my shoulder to see Kyle still had his pistol, although he was clearly having trouble aiming it with only one paw. Back in the road, I could see his other gun, the bigger one, still lying in the middle lane. Without thinking I rushed for it as the other three rebels in the car hopped out and took cover. I heard two more shots from Kyle's gun and another rebel screamed. A sedan nearly hit me as I dashed through the first lane, causing me to trip and fall again. Bullets bounced off the pavement next to me as one rebel shoot at me, only for Kyle to shoot once more and force him back behind the car. RATATATATATAT! I ignored the sound of their guns as I scurried over the pavement, scooping up Kyle's gun and turning to run back when I saw that he was no longer sitting up, and a massive blood stain coated the wall he'd been leaning on. "Kyle....no..." HOOOOONNNNNK! My head snapped to the right just in time to see a pair of blinding headlights when... THUD!
U.S. Embassy to Panama "Damn it Blackmon, answer the phone!" Baker muttered to himself as he paced the embassy lobby. Just then a marine in full combat gear burst in, his face covered in dust and sweat. "Sir, we've got a school bus loaded with refugees coming in, plus a few of our guys. What should we do?" "Get them inside you idiot," Baker retorted, "And is Blackmon on that bus?" "Don't know sir, it was mostly Panamanian civilians and their kids. I counted two other American girls, and your friend Eric who wanted to see you." "What about the rest of the kids that were with him? There were at least fifteen American kids out there," Baker asked as he felt a growing sense of doom in the back of his mind. Just then a Dalmatian in a sweat stained dress shirt came rushing up behind Baker. "Sir! We've got a situation here." "Do you think I don't know that? Just look out the friggin' window, the whole city looks like Fallujah in '04!" "No sir, this is even worse," the Dalmatian replied. "Come look at the TV." Baker followed the dog to the lounge on the first floor where several other embassy employees were huddled around the flat screen watching a local news channel. Baker's eyes near left prints on his glasses as he saw a dozen high school age kids lined up on the floor, blindfolded and handcuffed to one another. Behind them stood two coyotes wearing red balaclavas and armed with shotguns, Ithaca 37s by the look of it. The camera paneled over to a fennec fox wearing a red beret, smugly grinning as began to speak in heavily accented English. "Attention leaders of the imperialist states of America. We have captured twelve of your spoiled brats as they attempted to spread your propagandized greed and tyranny to our humble nation. As you are no doubt aware, my men are bringing great change to my country right this second, something you will no doubt feel the need to meddle in. I give you this warning; should any American soldiers leave your embassy's grounds, or enter the country via airdrop, ground invasion, or amphibious landing, I'll know. And I will personally execute one of your precious children every hour they remain in my country. Furthermore, if you try to kill me, or any of my lieutenants, I will not give my daily stand down order to sleeper agents hidden in your country. These agents possess a new strain of your vaunted Hellfire virus, something your pathetic vaccine can't hope to stop. Within twenty-four hours you'll lose five of your most precious centers of capitalist decadence to a horde of mindless bloodthirsty savages. The choice is yours; know your place and stay out of my way, or watch your country burn around you." The camera cut off and left the TV showing nothing but static. Everyone in the room began murmuring amongst themselves, wondering just what they were going to do. All Baker could think of was how to kill himself in his office.
Meanwhile...back...wherever they got shot. I forget, Arctic stopped paying the original narrator overtime and the bastard formed a one man union and is out in the parking lot picketing like a douche monger and so I'm having to get caught up on this whole series in like two days, so bear with me. Cue the music! Hopefully this conveys a dark, tragic tone for the scene.
Gawdammit! Despite being dead I felt surprisingly happy and stress free. Maybe it was because I knew I'd never have to wait in line at the DMV to get my license renewed again, who knows? By this point in my life, I'd come to expect the unexpected and learned to just roll with the punches. This was...what, the fourth time I'd been shot and killed. Most people only have to deal with the one, which begs the question am I lucky or cursed out the ass? However, after a couple of minutes of just hovering over my corpse I began to recall the words of my guardian angel from the last time I got shot. You beat death, so you and Katie get to live to be eighty something before you finally kick the bucket...or something like that. Tomas is busy keeping some meth head from getting cavity searched by his dealer. Man, I need to work on my paraphrasing. But yeah, I was pretty ticked as I recalled that I wasn't supposed to be dead yet. That's like having your car battery die on you six weeks after you buy it from Auto Zone. "Hey God, you hear me? Tell that idiot Tomas he sucks at math! I'm not eighty yet, I'm twenty friggin' years old! I mean that's probably eighty in chinchilla years, but c'mon!" "Kyle hush already, it's bad enough we're dead," Katie groaned to me as her soul climbed out of her corpse. "Wait, you're dead too?" I asked and then noticed she'd eaten a fender sandwich. "Ooooooooh." "Yeah, ooooh. Dang, after all that money daddy spent on my braces too," she quipped. "You're surprisingly upbeat for a dead person," I added. She shrugged and looked over at me, "Eh, I figure once we're in heaven I'll have plenty of time to make you wish you were in the other place for proving me right about how we should have stopped." "Yeah...and now that I think about it, it's gonna be really awkward when God calls us out on that," I said uneasily while scratching the back of my neck. "At least all our relatives are still alive and won't be around to hear about it!" "Oh gee, that makes this so much better," she replied with emphasized sarcasm. Oh hold on! I found the right music! Just pretend that scene didn't happen...or that it happened with more fitting music...
Before Katie and I could argue further, I noticed how the sky had now clouded over, and a familiar stretch of fog began to roll in over the street. Katie and I looked around anxiously, knowing full well just who was around the bend. "Alright, same plan as last time?" I asked while looking for something to use as a weapon. "Same plan? We don't even have a rock to throw at him!" "Not sayin' we won't need to improvise a little," I muttered as I laid eyes on a familiar shape creeping out of the mist. Death was right on time, dark cloak and all, minus his usual scythe. "Hello Kyle, long time since I'd heard from you." "What can I say, I'm accident prone," I joked. "Yes, you always were a bit of a clutz. I was surprised you made it this far, especially after your little screw up in Arizona," Death quipped. I felt a shiver go up my spine at that. I wanted to say something clever, but my wit had left me. "What's the matter? Aren't you excited you'll get to go meet your old squad again?" Death asked with snide arrogance. "You really want to play this game again? You remember what happened the last time Katie and I faced you," I fired back. Death paused, as if this memory made him uneasy. "You...and Katie?" "Oh don't tell me you forgot how I chopped your frickin' arm off and beat the tar out of your bony butt in the underworld." "What are you...you never did that to me you idiot," Death retorted. "I think I'd remember getting my ass kicked by a jerkoff like you." "Well you don't, bonehead!" "Oh bravo, you remember your insults from kindergarten," Death replied with a peeved groan. Katie then tapped me on the shoulder and whispered, "Kyle, I don't think this is the same Death as before." "What are you talking about, of course it's him!" I said back at normal volume. "Him?" Death asked. "Ha! Hardly. I may be the spiritual embodiment of the transitory path between this world and the next, but that doesn't mean I forgot who I was." "Wow, if I'd known you were a chick I'd have probably felt worse about hitting you earlier," I replied while also noticing that she did indeed have a different voice. It was still gravelly, but it was also more feminine and higher pitched. "How many times do I have to tell you, you never hit me, not even when we were kidding around," Death answered indignantly. "Kidding around? What the hell are you talking about?" I inquired as the metaphorical gears started to turn in my head. "You talk as if you know me, yet you don't remember our last encounter." "Oh no, I remember that too. That's how I got this job in the first place," Death replied coolly. I blinked, short of breath and in disbelief. "You're not the same death as before." "Finally, you see that," Death sighed with a rather feminine tone. "Which means my pact with him is gone too, isn't it?" "Right again," she said menacingly. "You know, I'm not surprised you managed to beat him. He had a bit of an overconfidence problem. What does surprise me is how you managed to avoid filling his shoes." "I was a tad lucky, I guess." "You've always been lucky, Kyle. I guess that's why you got to have a mate and I died alone," Death replied solemnly. "I wonder, would Katie here even still want to be with you after what happened in Arizona?" "I already told her about that," I growled. "Now quit bringing it up and try to kill me already!" "Aww, I'm sorry? Is it painful to be reminded how you got your friends killed on a treasure hunt all because you didn't have the balls to tell a certain girl you didn't love her back?" "How do you know all this," Katie asked her, "You're not some omnipresent being like God, you can't see our whole lives, how do you know this?" "Oh please, don't tell me you haven't figured it out by now," she said while lifting her skeletal hands up to pull her hood back. I expected to see a fleshless skull with fire burning from its eye sockets, but instead I saw the familiar red panda face of... "Elsie?!?! You're alive! Or..." My gaffe was promptly met with raucous laughter on her part. "Oh sorry, sorry, but that was by far one of the stupidest things you've said to me. The only thing that tops that was your plan to start an internet porn business with your future wife." Katie looked at me with a quizzical scowl. "I'm sorry, I think I missed something, what plan was this?" "Trust me, you'll get a kick out of it. Especially the part how he'd bribe you with a tour of a pickle cannery or something, I mean why in the heck would that work?" Elsie chuckled. I just blushed as Katie facepalmed. "So what happens now?" "Well," she said while summoning her scythe from thin air, "It is kinda my job to send you guys on your way..." "But you don't want to have to fight us?" "What? Hell no, I'd dropkick your skinny butt in a heartbeat after what you did to me," she quipped. "Don't mistake my positivity for forgiveness on your part. You're the whole reason I'm cursed as it is." "Don't remind me," I groaned. "Oh but I intend to," she said. "See, I've kinda been stalking you in my spare time when I'm not busy collecting souls, and I've seen how you at least feel remorseful for what happened to me." "You...saw...how?" "I could explain the science behind it all, but to save time let's just say that I can be anywhere, at any time I want so long as someone has died close by. That little time you were in the Phoenix airport breaking up with Katie was also the scene of an old guy stroking out in the men's room. I saw you were close by and decided to listen in on your conversation with dear Katie here." "God, and I thought the NSA with the Patriot Act was bad," I muttered. "So what, you're gonna give me a second chance...or fourth?" "No." "Then what?" She smiled deviously and looked at Katie for a second. "I'm going to offer you the chance to restore both your and Katie's lives back to the way they were. But like all things, there's a catch involved, and it's a pretty serious one." "How serious?" I asked warily. "That's the fun part, I can't tell you unless you accept it." "Can't? Or won't." "Won't, technically," she grinned. "I'll tell you this though, it has three parts, each more difficult to bear than the last, and once you agree to it there's no backing out. You fail to keep up your end of the deal and I'll never show my face to you again." "And that's bad because..." "You'll be trapped between worlds in limbo, stupid," she said with an exasperated huff. "I thought we went over that already." "Riiiight." I looked over at Katie. She'd been pretty quiet this whole time, mainly just watching and listening to the whole surreal scene as it unfolded before her. The irony of the situation wasn't lost on her either, how the two women I'd both let down in life were now dead and standing before each other. I'm not even sure that counts as irony, but it sure had that indescribable feel of implausibility to it. "So sis, what should we do?" I asked. "What do you think I want to do?" she countered. I took a deep breath and replied, "Well, considering that our parents would miss us and a bunch of your friends got kidnapped by communist rebels, not to mention our promise to fight together to the end, I'm guessing you want to go through with it?" Katie smiled and nodded. "Alright then, I'm with yah sis. So Elsie, what's the catch?" She just smirked and motioned for us to follow her into a swirling cloud of fog. "You'll see."