She thought of the torment and hurt they had caused. She thought of the hotel earlier tonight. She thought of Tiger and how they now had to run for their lives for reasons unknown still. And she thought of Jocko, the selfish, immature computer hacker who had surprisingly been so valiant when it had counted.
It was time to stop running. It was time to take the fight to them, let them feel what it felt like to be hunted.
It was time for payback.
***
“Alright, boys!” Three shouted to the two operatives ready to disembark as their gunship touched down. “We gotta lot of making up for! Let’s make the man proud now! Especially since there’s twenty-five thou extra on the line!”
Eleven turned to him and smirked. “Hell, we’re not the ones that let ’em get away at Monte Sano! You and Nine there … you’re the ones that’s gonna have to kiss up to the boss for that … not us!”
“Well, you’re gonna make it a lot easier for me to stick my lips to his ass by bringing in the asset!” Three shot back. “Either that or I’m leaving your ass here!”
“Threats and intimidation will get you nowhere.”
“Ain’t no threat, hoss! I’ll just cut your comlinks and tell Frost y’all never made it back! I doubt he’ll find any trouble replacing your sorry asses.”
“Just ain’t no honor among thieves, anymore,” Eleven told Twelve, shaking his head sadly.
“Ain’t that the truth.” Twelve said, eyeballing Three quite sourly. “Y’know, when I was at Luna Five, we had a cocksucker El Tee like you. A real Custer when it came to putting our asses on the line! We tossed a frag grenade into his shuttle right as they were taking off. Swore the Colonials took it out with ack-ack.”
“Hey now! Whoa!” Nine spoke up. “I ain’t no part of this! Don’t be talkin’ ‘bout fraggin’ no craft now! I ain’t gonna be no collateral damage! Y’all know what I be sayin’?”
“Well you better talk some sense into this motherfucker!” Eleven warned, just as the ship touched down.
“Get your ass outta her and bring back some furry poon tang!” Three yelled as he popped the hatch.
The two jumped from the craft, as Nine quickly quelled the engines, in order to remain undetected. The sounds of the night, crickets chirping, an owl hooting, started to filter through the open hatch. Seconds later, all hell broke loose.
***
Eleven and Twelve were out the door and moving fast, rifles ready. They assumed the textbook Space Guard advance formation, Eleven to the right flank and Twelve ten paces to the left and slightly behind. Fifty feet away from the ship they entered a thin line of hardwoods that bordered the pasture. Its depth varied, between ten to twenty yards deep in the thickets spots. It was mostly younger trees that had grown along the now-abandoned fence line, and they had grown thick and wild, interlaced with saw briers and vines. Still, they would be through them and at the nearest outlying houses in mere seconds if nothing went wrong.
Unfortunately, it only took mere seconds for everything to go wrong. Twelve never saw the creature swing down from the limb of a sweet gum, flying feet-first through the air. The impact into his left side, one foot right under his left arm, the other hard into the side of his face, almost knocked him out cold, and would’ve surely broken some ribs had he not been wearing his armored tac-vest. Nevertheless, it still had enough force to bowl him over, and he hit the ground addled and disoriented.
She was on top of him in an instant. Somehow, she had no idea how, she instinctively knew she had but milliseconds before the other turned, separated her from his comrade through the night vision and took her out. However, her mind seemed to have already figured out the complete scenario. All her body had to do now was execute it.
“What the fuck!” Eleven heard his partner go down. Turning, he now saw the unbelievable sight before him. For a moment, shock and disbelief. It really was true! There really was a fox-girl! It bought her precious time.
Seconds slowed to minutes as everything now seemed to move in slow-motion for her, her mind processing, analyzing, prioritizing and reacting to every bit of data it was receiving. The man below her had been dazed by the blow to his midsection, but he was quickly recovering. She had to incapacitate him now. At the same time, she had to deal with the threat of the other. As he struggled to shed her, his head rising, his body writhing, trying to buck her off, she delivered a quick fist to his throat. He gasped and fell back, his hands going to his bruised, damaged windpipe. As he did, she raised the Spacehawk with her other hand and took hasty aim at his comrade. It turned out to be more difficult than she anticipated with him still writhing in agony, and she was almost too late.
They fired simultaneously. His first shot went high, missing her by mere millimeters. She felt the heat from the pulse round, as it scorched a small hickory just behind her. Her aim was better, and she hit him square in the chest. He yelped in pain and surprise as the impact knocked him backwards, but the armored vest absorbed most of the energy. Instinctively, he pulled the trigger again, but the shot wasn’t even close
