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Okay guys the second one in this hopefully sustainable series. This was a commission for DB (DarkBane-T) over on FA who came up with this idea which somehow seemed to work with this particular song which I had a rough idea initially but didn't know how to plan out. So Story number 2: The Gauntlet

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Source of Inspiration

Song title : Run for your Life (from Command & Conquer: Red Alert)

Artist : Frank Klepacki

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"So remind me again why we're here?"

"You're here to protect the package from getting captured or destroyed,"

"So what's in it then?"

"Listen is my father paying you to think or is he paying you to protect me?"

"To protect you Miss Clara, my apologies for all of the questions,"

"You're lucky my father isn't here. He'd be less sympathetic to all your questions,"

At the age of 15, most would have expected Clara Whitlow to be in school and potentially working part time to earn a little pocket money for whatever tickled her fancy. What many didn't realize was that she had connections with the criminal underworld, a life which provided much more danger and excitement than she could have ever have dreamed of. Others had always seen her as the innocent vixen with the russet fur that excelled in all aspects of her education and had never drawn the connection between her and her father. Many would have feared for their lives if they had known that such a prediction would have been correct.

The vixen shifted uncomfortably as her gaze flicked over her driver and the two passengers in the back seat. They had been given strict orders to make sure that the package was to be delivered on time to its destination and that no harm was to come to its contents. The fact that Clara had voluntarily opted to partake in this mission only meant that it was to be completed without any errors whatsoever. Getting the boss's kid killed was not going to be met with any sympathy whatsoever.

"We're approaching the drop zone, area looks secure,"

Clara looked over at the driver with her one good eye. Graeme Cloverfield was a stout raccoon in his mid thirties and she had known him for five or so years now. As one of her father's trusted associates she had grown to like him even though he could be extremely crass at times. She pulled her jacket closer around her as a cold shiver ran down her spine. Something had seemed odd when they had passed through the toll booth on the highway an hour ago and the uneasy feeling had not left her since. For a Friday there was hardly any traffic on the route they took which was unusual given how busy it was almost every other week.

"I don't like this... it's too quiet here,"

"Phillip's right, do you have any new orders Miss Clara?" Graeme asked her

The vixen gave this some thought before coming to her decision.

"Graeme take us through Highgate, if we have any pursuers we'll lose them in the slums," she ordered as she checked the pockets of her cargo pants for her switchblade. Turning towards the two in the back she reached into the backpack that sat at her feet to check for her crowbar.

"Prepare yourself you two; we might be heading into an ambush,"

"We're ready when you are Miss Clara,"

Nodding her approval Clara turned back to the road in front of her.

"What the hell is that?" she muttered as the sound of a rifle resounded through the street full of apartment buildings.

"Everyone down!" cried out one of the voices in the back as the car's tyres squealed loudly before careening into a wall.

Clara's head was swimming as she rubbed her forehead with a paw. Releasing the seatbelt that had undoubtedly saved her life she turned back to see if her two other companions had made it out alive.

"You guys okay?" she asked as she glanced over to take a look at their driver, "Oh crap they got Graeme!"

The raccoon had been shot clean in the head as blood continued to trickle from the wound. Sighing quietly, she carefully closed his eyes with two of her fingers while she muttered a quick vigil as a mark of respect.

"We're still a few blocks away from the drop zone, we'll cover you for as long as we can Miss Clara but first cover your ears and keep your head down while we clear the area!" one of them cried out as he loaded up a rifle and pulled the pin on a grenade before tossing it out of the window, "Fire in the hole!"

Doing as she was told and closing her ears as best as she could, Clara heard a loud bang before the rattle of automatic fire rang in her ears.

"Alright kid let's go!"

Opening the door, Clara quickly grabbed the bag between her feet before slinging it across her back. Crouching behind the wrecked car with a throbbing headache she looked around in the dark night for an escape route.

"Miss Clara over here!"

Following the source of the voice, Clara saw one of her guards taking cover behind one of the apartment buildings that stood tall into the night. The tall and lanky coyote, gave her a quick gesture before peeking out and firing his rifle down the street.

"Keep your head down kid, these guys aren't playing around!" he called out

Clara glanced up at the wolf that was crouching next to her behind the car. Christopher Lam had been one of Clara's father's closest associates from when she was a little girl and a close family friend as well. Many a time he had come over to play with her, the fact that he was a good ten years older than her not fazing him in the slightest.

"We must get you to safety Miss Clara. Your father wouldn't be too happy with us if you got hurt again," he told her as he fired a few rounds blindly into the street. Clara growled softly at this comment. If there was one thing that she couldn't stand, it was people talking down to her.

"I'm not a little girl Chris, I can take care of myself,"

"I'm not doubting your ability to take care of yourself Miss Clara but your father was adamant that no harm come to you. Okay on my mark make a dash for Phillip over there, we'll cover you,"

The two of them were showered with glass a moment later as one of the windows was shattered by a barrage of stray bullets.

"Goddamnit! You guys want a piece of me!" Christopher screeched as he stood up and returned fire at the approaching enemies.

"Come on kid let's go! Let's go!"

Waiting for a lull in the crossfire, the athletic vixen made a mad dash in between a few parked cars to behind the wall which the coyote was taking cover behind, bullets peppering the ground around her as a few of their assailants opened fire upon her.

"Phillip take Miss Clara and fight your way towards the drop point I'll catch up with you guys later," Christopher called out as he fired his weapon

"I'm not leaving you behind Chris!" Clara called out as she felt the coyote tugging on her arm.

"Don't worry about me, what matters is that you get to the drop zone safely!" the wolf yelled back as he slammed another magazine into his rifle, "Now get the hell outta here!"

Clara was reluctant to leave her childhood friend behind but the drop was currently more important than any one of their lives at the moment. Taking point, Phillip led the way through the back alleys between the sets of apartment buildings, gun at the ready as they set out at a modest jog. The sound of gunfire in the street soon pattered out to silence, causing the both of them to pause momentarily.

"What do you think happened?" the coyote asked.

"I have no idea but we gotta keep going, we can worry about him later," Clara muttered as she prepared to move onwards.

"Hey you stop!" called out a voice before the sound of automatic fire filled the air.

"Get down!" Phillip bellowed as he dove behind a wall before returning fire, "Go! Get outta here!"

A line of bullets soon decorated the wall which the coyote was taking cover behind, forcing him to move towards another source of cover. This alone gave Clara enough time to make a mad dash down the alleyway, knocking over a few garbage cans in the process to slow down their pursuers. The exchange in gunfire was succinct and violent. Clara had already made quite a distance before taking a moment to glance back, enough time to see a figure fall to the ground.

"It's me now... only me," she reassuringly told herself as she sprinted forward, the sound of her footsteps on the ground and the pounding of her heart in her chest resounding in her ears. She could tell that her assailants were giving chase but as a creature of the night, Clara knew that she would have to make the most of what little advantage she had now. There would be no doubt that the area would be crawling with potential enemies intent on stealing the package.

As the distance between her and her immediate pursuers increased, Clara decided to take a quick breather in a small alleyway with the hope that she would be able to catch her breath. She had no idea just how much distance she had managed to cover in that time but she was sure that she was getting close. As the sounds of one of her pursuers footsteps got louder, Clara pulled out the crowbar which she had stashed in the bag.

"Come on Rusty, don't let me down," she muttered to herself as she gripped it tightly and cautiously waited.

"Come on you bitch come out! You called those pieces of meat bodyguards? I've met children who were tougher than they were!" she heard a voice call out. The approaching footsteps slowed to a careful walk as Clara crouched down behind a garbage can.

"You know we got you surrounded, why don't you make our lives easier and surrender right now? I promise we won't rape you,"

"It'll be a cold day in Hell before you ever get that chance," Clara thought bitterly as she finally managed to sneak a glance at one of her pursuers. He couldn't have been older than his mid twenties but judging from the determined look on his muzzle, the husky had no doubt been indoctrinated into the rival outfit only just recently.

"Such a shame that pretty face of yours will soon be black and blue," Clara mused as she carefully popped out and smashed one the huskies knees with her crowbar. Screaming out in pain, the husky fell to his knees before Clara slammed the crowbar into his jaw. As his weapon fell to the ground with a clatter, Clara carefully dragged the whimpering husky into the alleyway, leaving him in the shadows. The soft crying, nor the stream of tears that flowed from his eyes made her turn back as she dumped his weapon into a bin before moving on.

Her attack hadn't been as silent as she had hoped meaning that the sound of it would have attracted some unwanted attention. As her light steps on the concrete echoed off the surrounding walls, the sound of voices caught her attention, forcing her to quickly clamber up the fire escape of the nearest apartment building.

"It came from down here, I'm sure," called out a female voice.

"If we don't come up with anything I am going to kick your arse do you understand me?" growled a deep voice.

"I heard the gunshots coming from down here trust me!"

"That will probably be the last thing you'll hear for a while," Clara thought as she waited for them to pass by underneath her. She could make out the silhouettes of both a zebra and a lion in the darkness and as the zebra strode ahead of her male companion Clara knew that in order to take the out the both of them she would need the element of surprise. Jumping down from her position on the fire escape she slammed into the lion, bringing him to the ground with a well aimed blow to the back of the head. What Clara hadn't countered on was his weapon discharging two or three rounds as it hit the ground, alerting the zebra in the process. In the relative darkness Clara quickly covered the distance between herself and the other female. Without time to aim properly, the zebra swung the weapon she was carrying in a wide arc, hoping to catch Clara with the blow. The vixen managed to deflect it with her crowbar but even so the force was enough to make Clara stumble backwards from the impact. The zebra soon took advantage of Clara's imbalance and quickly slammed into her, knocking the vixen to the ground.

"Alright you bitch you wanna fight?" she growled, "Hand to hand come on!"

Picking herself up off the ground, Clara put away her crowbar, seeing that her opponent had already done so with her weapon.

"If it's a fight you want it's a fight you'll get," Clara snarled as she studied her opponent as best as she could. She was probably a little bit taller than her and from the looks of things a lot stronger as well.

"There's no way I can match her blow for blow. I'll have to be careful," Clara thought as the zebra threw herself towards Clara in a frenzied attack. Managing to block two well aimed attacks, a brief lapse in concentration allowed Clara's opponent to get in a kick to the gut followed up by a punch to the jaw. Easily knocking the vixen to the ground, Clara gritted her teeth as she landed roughly on the concrete, grunting loudly as she collided with the cold, hard ground.

"Come on... get up!"

Shaking away the disorientation, Clara got back to her feet, a little sore but otherwise unfazed by the attack. As the zebra started on her onslaught of punches, first a right followed by a left, Clara quickly ducked before lashing out with a kick to the knees and followed up with a kick to the chest. The zebra recoiled from the attack, allowing Clara to sweep her opponent off her feet.

"It's time to finish this," Clara thought as she grabbed her crowbar while the zebra attempted to get up. Bringing it down with full force on her opponents head, Clara slammed her knee into the zebra's jaw, sending her sprawling to the ground. A little blood coated Clara's crowbar as she put it away, both of her opponents groaning in pain on the ground.

"You could have joined us by my father's side. Such a shame that you had to take this path," Clara muttered before bounding off into the night.

The concept of time had long since been lost on Clara as she rushed forward. If there were too many more delays she would miss the drop and that did not bode well for the business proposal that her father had set up a few days ago.

"This is taking too long," Clara thought bitterly as she rounded a corner and sprinted down another alleyway_, "We're gonna be in serious trouble if the Dragon Head Nine don't get this on time,"_

Hiding in an alcove, Clara waited as the sound of footsteps caught her attention.

"Where is she? Damnit I'm not paying you to get beaten up!" cried out a voice.

"We've lost contact with three of them not to mention those who were killed by her guards," answered another. "Well find them and get their arses back on duty! We're not getting paid to let this delivery go down. We don't know what's in it but it damn well can't be good for business,"

"Alex? That sonofabitch! I knew that he couldn't be trusted! But oh no dad's always right," Clara muttered to herself as she poked her head out and looked around with her good eye. The shadow of somebody appearing then disappearing again mentally urged her on as she darted out in the opposite direction. Knowing too well that she was bound to run into somebody else at this point, she carefully grabbed a hold of her crowbar as she ran, taking one turn after another to potentially throw off anybody else who had managed to track her thus far.

Turning down a narrow alley, Clara could clearly see the apartment building where the drop was going to take place and she had a sweeping sense of relief as it came into sight.

"Almost there! Just a bit further!"

The sound of a bullet hitting the brick wall next to her though startled her enough to make her trip up on a box. Losing her grip on her crowbar, Clara tumbled to the ground roughly, her clothes preventing her from injuring herself on the rough ground.

"Well, well look who our courier is, little Clara Whitlow. I'm surprised really. Your father doesn't seem like the type to let his precious little daughter out on something like this,"

Picking herself up off the ground, Clara shook the disorientation from her head before glancing around for her fallen weapon

"I'm growing up and dad recognizes that," Clara huffed as she picked up her crowbar and turned to face the individual who had fired the bullet, "Unlike yourself who has merely stagnated into the piece of crap before me. Was my father's offer not good enough for you so that you had to defect?"

"You presume too much Miss Clara but yes your father's offer was pitiful compared to what I was being offered elsewhere,"

Stepping into the light, Clara finally managed to get a good look at who she presumed was behind all of this. Alexander Thompson had been a friend when she had been younger and while he had tried to distance himself from Clara's connections, he still worked for her father by doing errands every now and then. Yet as of late the leopard had seemingly disappeared and neither Clara nor her father had known just what he had been up to. Clad in a plain jacket and trousers, he holstered his gun as he stared down at Clara a short distance away.

"Why are you doing this Alex? Surely money couldn't have been your only reason to backstab us," Clara growled.

"You're not as stupid as I thought you were Miss Clara. But yes there is more than just money here. What you're carrying is much more valuable than you think it is. The Dragon Head Nine want this 'gift' more than you think they do. Did you honestly think that they would do a fair trade with you?"

"The Dragon Head Nine may seem stuck up but they adhere to honour and respect. They are the only people who actually stick to what they say,"

Clara started to carefully pat down the lump in the bag that adorned her back, now a little curious about what it contained.

"So naive for somebody so young and involved in the family trade but enough chat, hand over the package and I'll let you go free,"

Clara narrowed her eyebrows as her grip on her crowbar tightened.

"The both of us know that's not gonna happen," Clara snarled, "You'll take it from my cold dead paws,"

"So be it, it's going to be a shame reporting this to your father. He always did like you the most,"

Despite her backpack being a potential liability in combat, Clara knew better than to drop it somewhere, lest somebody came along and snatched it. She knew little about how skilled Alex was in melee combat but she was not going to show any mercy. He was five to six years older than her meaning that his combat expertise would no doubt be better even if he was going easy on her.

"I have to grab what little advantage I can," Clara thought to herself as she rushed towards Alex_, "He's gonna kick my ass otherwise,"_

The leopard remained still as he watched Clara approach him, shifting only slightly to account for Clara's charge. As the vixen swung her crowbar he quickly grabbed a hold of it and yanked it out of her grip before kicking her in the stomach.

"You'll have to do better than that," he sighed before tossing the weapon aside next to a few garbage cans. Reeling back from the force of the blow, Clara stumbled back towards a wall, bracing herself against it as the burning sensation churned in her midsection.

"A little girl like you shouldn't be out like this. Hand over the package!"

Clara growled aggressively as she eyed the fallen weapon before balling her paws into fists. Throwing herself back into the fray, her thoughts resided solely on how she could get out of here alive, preferably with the package intact.

"I see you won't listen to reason... why must you be so stubborn?"

Blocking Alex's first attack, Clara quickly took a punch to her gut, winding her slightly as she hit her opponent with an ineffectual blow, her fist glancing off his chest as he shoved her backwards. As Clara tried to regain her balance, Alex lunged forward with a powerful kick, missing the vixen by mere centimetres. Taking advantage of his current weakness she slammed her foot into his exposed back, knocking him to the ground in the process

"Alright kid warm-up's over, now we really get into it," he laughed as he picked himself up off the ground and launched himself back at Clara.

Unable to dodge to the side in time, the leopard's tackle connected with Clara's midsection, making her wince in pain as she landed on the ground with a thud. Kicking Alex in the face, she scrambled to her feet and looked around for her crowbar. With some blood trickling from his nose, Alex snarled angrily as he yanked roughly on Clara's tail. Letting out a cry of pain, the vixen turned around only to be punched in the jaw no less than three times followed up with a quick kick to her chest. The impact of the blows sent her sprawling back against a wall, clutching her muzzle with her paws as her body burned with pain. A little blood stained the white fur of her fingers pink as she breathed heavily, hoping that it would help ease some of the pain that was currently engulfing her body. Clara barely moved as Alex slowly approached her, picking her up by her jacket and lifting the vixen a little into the air.

"One last time," he spat, "Hand over the package and I will take you safely back to your father,"

"Nn.... never!" Clara hissed as she summoned whatever strength she had left and attempted to kick his shins. Growling angrily, Alex punched her in the gut one more time before throwing her into a few garbage cans with a loud clatter. Groaning loudly, Clara held her stomach with one paw as she attempted to drag herself away as far as she could from the leopard. It was only then did she manage to spot her crowbar and she started to drag herself towards the weapon, hoping that she would have enough strength to reach it. The sound of a handgun being reloaded and cocked soon caught her attention as she reached for the crowbar with her free paw.

"I had always hoped that it would never have had to come to this but it's business, don't take it personally,"

"Almost got it," Clara told herself as she reached for the handle of the weapon. Looking up with her good eye, she soon found herself staring at the barrel of the handgun.

"We could have been teammates, The Spectres were interested in taking you on when you turned 18 for much better pay and a safer working environment. Such a shame that you wouldn't have that chance... I'm sorry... Clara,"

Closing her eyes, Clara waited for the sweet embrace of death to take her as she managed to grab a hold of the handle on her crowbar.

"What are you waiting for? Pull the trigger!" she snarled at him. Alex hesitated a little; this was the chance that Clara was counting on for despite all the tough guy talk he was still very reluctant to kill a stranger, let alone somebody he had known for several years.

"You're a coward Alex... plain and simple," Clara hissed.

"What was that?" he bellowed.

"You heard me... a coward. You let your greed get the better of you. I know why my father asked you all those years back to help him and to play with me when we were younger. He considered you a son and this is how you repay him? By stabbing him in the back?" Clara continued.

"Liar! You know nothing of my past!" he bellowed.

"Oh really? If you weren't having second thoughts you would have pulled the trigger already. You can't hide from your past Alex... I know you too well,"

"Your father threw me out! He said that he had no place for an outsider,"

Clara laughed cautiously as she shifted slightly into a more combat ready pose.

"You're a fool; dad was testing you to see how loyal you were to the family. It seems that his faith was misplaced in you,"

The leopard's grip on his weapon tightened slightly as he stared down at Clara. Wiping some blood away from the end of his muzzle, he sniffed once as he kept the weapon trained on the vixen.

"He purposely threw you out to see if you would be tempted by some of the other syndicates. If you came back to him he would have officially welcomed you in as a part of the family, he would have offered you a better life... with us,"

"Your father would never take me in, he doesn't like outsiders messing with his affairs," Alex snarled, his voice starting to crack slightly.

"You give him too little credit. Some of his closest friends are foreigners. You had your chance but now you blew it," Clara responded, her voice now dropping to barely above a quiet whisper, "Perhaps if you go back begging to him on your paws and knees to be taken back he might listen... but for now... you'll have to learn your lesson,"

Springing up from her crouch, she violently shoved Alex's arms up before slamming her crowbar into his midsection. As the weapon discharged a round she slammed her knee into his chin before bringing her crowbar down with full force onto his skull. As he slumped to the hard ground, blood streaming from the top of his head, Clara pulled a mobile phone from his pocket and called for an ambulance.

"Trust me Alex, I didn't want to have to do this but you left me no choice. Abandon you new ties and go back to my father. I'll ask him to show you mercy. I've called an ambulance to come and patch you up. Make sure that you never make a big mistake like that again," Clara whispered, as she started to limp off, the burning sensation in her limbs slowing her down as she pressed on.

Continuing through the back streets at a significantly slower pace and clutching her stomach, she finally came to the address of the drop zone. It was a simple hotel with five floors, nothing out of the ordinary and obviously for those who were staying on a cheap budget. The distant sound of a siren relieved her a little as the thought of Alex receiving some form of treatment allayed her fears of her actions potentially killing him. Checking that her backpack still held the item intact she carefully walked up through the door and to the only individual still on duty at this time of night. She was a young rabbit, probably no older than 25 and probably quite new on the job as she looked up at Clara, wincing slightly as she caught sight of the blood trickling from the corner of Clara's mouth.

"Can I help you madam?" she asked in a bouncy tone.

"Yes I'm looking for a... um... a Dr. Xia?" Clara responded.

"Ah yes, a dragon, you'll find him on the third floor, room four. Have a pleasant evening madam,"

Nodding her understanding, Clara headed to the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor when it opened. The fur on the nape of her neck prickled slightly as the elevator went up from the ground floor and opened again on the third.

The corridor was completely silent as she walked towards room four, the sound of her footsteps echoing in the corridor.

"Something's wrong... it's much too quiet for this time of night," she thought as she knocked on the door. When there was no response, she knocked again before cautiously turning the knob.

"Dr. Xia? Is anyone here?" she asked as she walked inside. The stillness of the room unnerved her slightly as she explored the hotel room. Walking into the bathroom she found the body of a dragon in the bath-tub, his eyes bulging slightly from their sockets and his body showing the telltale signs of strangulation. Walking back out a small patch of blood soon caught her eye and as she followed it under the bed, she found the bodies of two other individuals stuffed underneath, their weapon holsters empty and each with a clean bullet shot to the back of the head.

"This is bad... I'd better get out of here while I can," Clara thought to herself as she quickly fled the room and went back down to the lobby.

As she left the elevator, Clara found that the receptionist had mysteriously disappeared and the few people that had been there were also gone. Hiding behind the receptionist's desk, she peered over and noted a few people wielding guns patrolling around the entrance... it was an ambush.

"Come out Miss Clara, we have you surrounded! Come out peacefully or we will capture you by force," called out a voice.

"Alright paws up and behind your head now!" a voice called from behind her. Not daring to turn around Clara slowly complied, resting her paws behind her head.

"Now move! Outside!" the same voice gruffly ordered before poking her with a weapon. There was no escaping now as Clara slowly strode forward.

"I'm sorry father... I'm sorry for having failed you," she thought mournfully as she marched out the doors of the hotel and towards the unknown fate that awaited her.