FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

All characters copy-write to the author (me Ghosty / Ghostwolf). Please do not redistribute this story in anyway. No sexual content in this story. Mild action and some strong violence do occur. Adult tagged due to themes covered.

Enjoy reading and please post comments. Ghosty

**Shadow Games

Chapter 1: Field Test**

Silence; that was all she had heard for the last four hours. The last thing that had made any noise around her was an upper story window when she had broken into this millionaire's home. She had crept through the building and evaded every security measure that was in place and now she crouched high up in the exposed rafters of a rather exquisite office.

Her mission was simple: Execute the target and withdraw without drawing any further attention to her-self. The target was one Richard McDermott, a high profile weapons developer who had been experimenting with germ-warfare after international bans had been put in place to prevent the development of micro-biology weapons.

The trap had been set perfectly; a government agent had managed to infiltrate Mr McDermott's house hold and had picked up enough recordings to end his career an ideal media storm. The government had chosen to forgo a media frenzy and opted for a quiet take over. To do this they turned to the Black Dragon Corporation. A rival weapons developer, Black Dragon had spent its last few years experimenting with genetically and cybernetically enhanced soldiers and one of the few success stories that had been produced was her. Bandit - a highly skilled intelligence officer and skilled assassin. While she had received training in all forms of warfare, her natural skills had singled her out for more specialized training.

She had considered everything; his time of arrival, the position of his staff, what weapon to use and her escape. Her focus was singular, but there was something at the back of her mind, some shadow of doubt that teased at the corner of her consciousness that there was more to her existence than this. The mission did offer her one thing that none on the battlefields had in the past; a chance to talk to the target. The crunch of tires over pebbles brought her full focus to the fore again. She remained quiet and ready, tensing and releasing each muscle in turn so that she would be ready to move without hindrance when the time came.

Bandit focused on her enhanced hearing and was quickly able to pick up everything that was happening; doors opening and closing, a brief conversation between McDermott and his butler, footsteps through the house, the dropping of his brief case on the stairs and a curse that followed before he retrieved it. He was close now and Bandit was ready for him.

The door to the office opened and the fat lion entered his office, but Bandit did not flinch lest she give away her position too early. McDermott rounded his desk and came into her field of vision as he found his seat and dumped his briefcase on the desk. He sat back in the large comfy chair and relaxed for a moment, weary from the day's stress. So lost was he in his thoughts that he failed to hear the slight creak from the rafters above that was to spell his doom. He barely registered the blur that dropped both gracefully and effortlessly in front of him; he merely caught a figure raising up and bringing something to bear on him before a dull thoom sound and a deep pain in his throat. McDermott gasped for air, whatever had hit his throat had nearly choked him and he struggled to look at his assailant.

"Don't try to call for help Mister McDermott. The damage done to your throat will just make it worse for you." A calm metallic sounding voice called out to him. McDermott finally managed to focus on his aggressor: It was clearly female, the black body suit overlaid with small hex plated armour made that perfectly clear as it clung to its user. The matching combat mask obscured the wearer's face and the cold blue visor hid eyes that he knew were looking for the best place to land the killing blow on him. He also noticed the unusually large mass of hair that came from the female before him, and its purple-red colour with white streaks.

McDermott coughed heavily as he tried to speak. "So this is it? I try to keep an option open for the future and my competitor's home grown super-soldiers are unleashed on me?" He watched as his would-be assassin leisurely rounded the desk, gently rocking her hips with each step. "You don't understand me do you? You're just a weapon grown to follow orders blindly without fear of the true consequences." He suddenly became aware of a loud click from the weapon in the female's paw. The top stacked, double-barrelled weapon had been switched from it's incapacitate rounds to a high calibre assault shell. "You don't even feel remorse that you're about to take a life; do you?" The fat lion growled.

There was a brief silence before Bandit decided to answer. "No more than the remorse you'd feel when your bio-weapons would be used to slaughter millions while you rest easy in your bed." She said coldly.

"Then you don't understand the nature of what we tried to do here." He growled back and tried to find some strength to perhaps knock his assailant off guard with. "The weapons we tested were to be kept as a deterrent, not for use unless all other options failed."

"Simply having such a weapon only makes allies and enemies nervous and builds desire to have weapons like these themselves. You broke a fundamental and powerful international law; you knew this would be coming as a result of your actions." Bandit retorted. "Don't think for a moment though that I don't feel sorry for your family losing you, but in the end it's not my job to care about that."

"And what if you did care? What if you weren't ordered to do this 'job' as you put it? Would you still have taken it on?" McDermott quizzed her.

Bandit was quiet for a moment. She had never really though about being in control of the missions she took part in or the significance they would have, not just in the grand scheme of things, but down in the small details. The shadow at the back of her mind she had hidden away earlier suddenly seemed to grow deeper and larger than before. McDermott could see his chance to at least go out fighting closing but his assassin simply stepped back from him. She was sharper than he had thought and was more aware of each of his actions and her own than he had given her credit for.

Bandit lowered her weapon to her side and removed her mask slowly. McDermott was stunned. The female before him was an unusual but truly beautiful curiosity. She was clearly of wolfen gene-stock but her fur gave no such hint of that. Most of her facial fur was a brilliant snow white while a racoon style patch across her eyes and tufts to the side of her cheeks matched her purple-red hair. Her piercing dark blue eyes however seemed the most deadly thing about her at that moment. The second her eyes locked with his, McDermott felt almost powerless. She could see through every lie or question he might pose her in order to escape his fate. He was in no doubt that an angel of death had indeed been sent for him and no words or actions could remove her gaze or stop her relentless fury to make sure he would be dead, one way or another.

Bandit stared at him for a long moment before addressing him; her soft and calm voice floating to him as she spoke. "I am a soldier, I was created to fight and follow orders. I have learned more than that though, but your world makes little sense to me, it is clouded and unclear. Mine is simple, direct and serves a purpose." She paused and took a moment to look out of the large office window. "Tell me, is there more to your world than mine?"

McDermott was a little stunned at her question, but suddenly saw an opportunity to damage the Black Dragon super-soldiers. "Yes." He said softly. "Because in my world people have a choice. In your world, you simply follow orders given to you by someone you'll likely never meet. In my world, people make a life by making choices."

Bandit thought for a moment and continued to gaze out of the window and across the mansions gardens. "Is it worth it?" She asked, a slight tremble in her voice making her suddenly seem more child like than the grown female she was.

McDermott smiled, and nodded "Yes, in spite of all the consequences we may deal with, it is worth it to know you got were you are by your own decisions and by your own paws."

"Thank you." Bandit's voice was suddenly cold as ice as she turned towards him again and levelled her weapon at him. "You've been most informative."

"Wait!" He coughed. "Can I at least know the name of my killer before I die.

Bandit looked at him curiously. "Bandit." She said grimly.

"No, no, not your codename, did your creators not give you a real name when you first came to be?" McDermott asked, in an almost fatherly manner.

Bandit lowered her aim and looked at the fat lion with a degree of sympathy. In all her previous missions she had never met an enemy who had been interested about her other than as another target. "Epona." She said softly.

McDermott nodded. "Very well Epona. Do what you must now, but let others like you know that there is more to life than simply the next mission and orders."

He had barely finished speaking when Bandit levelled her weapon again and gently squeezed the trigger. An almost inaudible choom echoed around her as the bullet caved in the lion's skull. His lifeless body slumped in the chair then slowly slid to the floor. Bandit slipped her mask back on and activated her comm.-system. "Bandit to Odin; mission accomplished, heading to extraction point."

There was a quiet static hiss before a strong voice came over the comm-channel. "You're call in is two minutes late. Patch and I were getting worried."

"No need to be worried boys. I just had something else to think about when the target got here." She said, repressing a sigh.

There was a brief pause. "Was the mission compromised?" Odin's voice grumbled over the comm-channel.

"Negative; I'll explain when I see you." Bandit said softly and readied herself to leave quickly and quietly.

"Dually noted, your extraction point ETA is fifteen minutes. Can you make it in time?" Odin said mockingly.

"One of these day's Odin you'll learn that you'll never get to an extraction point before me." She said with a smile, before giving the corpse at her feet one last look and considered his last words. "Over and out!"