FSE

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Phase 1, Chapter 4.

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Minutes passed, and Hannah could only stare wide-eyed at her wildcat companion as he began to speak to something or someone she couldn't hear. The doe's expression paid literal credit to the phrase 'deer in the headlights', as the female slowly made her way down from the table to huddle up beside Kalevar. Wrapping her arms around his warm torso, she whimpered lightly, shaking her head as she listened to the only side of the conversation she could hear.

"The Crimson Sting, is that the organization belonging to our target?"

"A part of it. Espinoza's syndicate operates in cells, with a tier-structure."

"In other words, specifically designed so that cutting off one head doesn't reveal the others."

"Exactly.."

"Well, cutting off one head will at the least limit the others, correct?"

"There's no way of saying how much damage the destruction of any one cell will cause the organization as a whole."

"Sounds like we're about to have a science experiment."

"Kalevar, don't do anything rash! Do you hear m--"

An abrupt click would be the last thing Fayah heard as Kalevar began to unbutton his overshirt, looking over at the doe who was clinging to him. He tried his best to offer a smile that would seem reassuring, but it came out as more of an apologetic wince. Lightly kissing the top of Hannah's head, Kalevar removed the button-up and placed it down on the table, drawing out his knife with skillful fingers in order to begin cutting the fabric into portions. He offered no explanation for his movements, but in due time everything would become apparent. Sections of the longer strips of fabric were knotted together before being wrapped securely around his knuckles and wrists, using the strips of buttons as substitues for studs. Any remaining fabric was fashioned into a last-ditch balaclava to conceal his lower features, and while it was little more than shreds of fabric, it was better than nothing.

"Hannah, I need you to stay here. Don't leave this booth. Not unless the building is coming down around your ears, or I come and tell you it's safe. Do you understand? I can't let anyone see you with me, not anymore than they already have."

"I.. I get it. But, Kain?"

"... Yes?"

"When this is over... I... Nevermind, this is silly."

"When this is over, what?"

"Just.. When this is over... Could you tell me who you really are?"

"Hannah... It's more complicated than that."

"That's what I thought you'd say... I told you it was silly.."

"It's not silly, it just isn't.. That easy. In a way, I am who I choose to be."

"I see... Well, if nothing else then... I hope that whoever you choose to be, chooses to be my friend."

"That much, I can promise you."

There was a grin on both faces as the conversation came to an end, and the two pressed into one another for a goodbye kiss.. Hannah was more than a little reluctant to let go of her new friend, gasping as he bit down on her neck. She wanted to complain, wanted to tell him it wasn't fair to tease her this way before running off to get himself killed, but nothing in her body could make her tell him to stop. The rough texture of his feline tongue caused her to shiver in pleasure, wishing he would go a bit lower than just her neckline. Kale shared that wish, but he simply didn't have that kind of time on his hands. There was no telling how difficult this hunt could become, and every hour was precious. Rising to his paws and leaving a breathless doe behind him, the wildcat rendered a sharp salute, before quietly slipping out from the curtains.

The noise in the club hit his ears again at full force, without the insulated barriers of the booth to mute out some of the bass. The dancefloor didn't seem to have lost any of it's life, a positive factor in the current terms of engagement. The more bodies available to blend with at this moment, the better. Like a shadow, he wove between the many intoxicated patrons of the bar, sharp emerald eyes searching for specific tools. Efficiency was key here, and in a matter of minutes the wildcat had taken what he wanted. A backpack stolen off of a passed out college student in the corner, who would be waking up to find his coursework neatly sorted in a pile underneath his head. A three-quarters full bottle of tequila, which was tucked into the elastic side holders on the pack intended for waterbottles. An unconscious man in the bathroom stalls would be waking up later to find he was naked, due to the extra pair of clothing that was inside Kalevar's pack. It was funny, how saving the city could make Kalevar feel more like a criminal than anything, but the entire situation was giving him quite the headrush. The danger, the borderline immorality, the fine line between black and white that he was walking.. It was so far different from the usual Kill the bad, save the good which was his everyday calling that he felt chills everytime he stole an object for the greater good. If this was how special operatives always felt, then this contract was more than worth it. Even if he didn't know who he was, he felt alive. He had a purpose. That was more than enough.

A few circular walks around the club, and Kalevar felt that he was prepared for his assault. During his passes, he had eyed down both of the bouncers thoroughly, using his psionics to map over their forms for any weapon concealment. Both bears appeared to be entirely unarmed save for their massive amounts of muscle, which did not look too good for them. There was a reason that weapons were often referred to as 'the great equalizer.' Nomatter how big you thought you were, it didn't take much more than a few bullets or a knife to the kidneys to send you down the dark road to hell... And that was precisely where Kalevar intended to send more than a handful of people tonight. Unfortunately, there were no bullets to be had. A little bit of up-close and personal improvision would be required. With the pass-card he had pilfered earlier that night held out in his left paw, the wildcat began his stride towards the back doors.

"Here for business or pleasure?"

One of the bouncers questioned roughly, stepping in to swipe the card from Kalevar's paw, looking it over for half a second before tearing it in half. So, it was like a ticket system then, was it? It looked as though he could simply walk right in, and literally get away with murder... But somehow that just didn't feel like enough. There was a deep hatred burning inside Kalevar's core as he looked into the near-black eyes of the grizzly, and he knew there would be no satisfaction until every last one of these men were dead. Men who preyed upon the weaknesses of those too fragile to protect themselves, who abused and manipulated.. These were the prey he had been trained to hunt ever since he had enlisted at the age of seventeen.

"Pleasure. Definitely pleasure."

In accordance to his grim words and the cold smirk on his face, Kale's right paw came forward from its resting place in his rear pocket and he stepped into the bouncer, raising his left to the grizzly's throat as if to pin the massive animal to the wall and strangle him. In reality, it was only to tuck his body against the massive brute to hide his right paw from view from the other bear as it brought all seven deadly inches of steel plunging into his target's lungs. One sharp twist, and an upward push into the heart, the bouncer was dead before his partner could even react.

The second bear, seeing his coworker being choked out by a small wildcat, roared angrily and moved to grapple the feline from behind. Kale winced in pain as the massive arms of the bouncer caught him in a literal bear-hug, crushing the air from his lungs and causing him to nearly drop his blade. Hissing ferally, Kalevar spun his weapon into an icepick grip and brought it crashing down into the thigh of his opponent, biting into the bear's arm as the creature cried out in surprise and pain in order to free himself and drop to the ground. Pivoting quickly, he lashed outwards with the reverse grip on his blade, cutting out the grizzly's throat in a spurt of gore. The crimson liquid splattered over his face and into his eyes, momentarily blinding him as he stumbled a pace back while struggling to catch his breath. Half of the eyes in the club were on him, but he paid it no heed. Something in their faces showed that they were both terrified but amazed, and Kalevar had the reassuring feeling that many of the clubgoers wished these men dead as much as he did. Without further reason to pause, the wildcat made no effort to move the bodies of his felled opponents, knowing they were far too heavy for him to lift. Instead he settled for rifling through their suit pockets, happily claiming their wallets and jewelry. One of the bears had been wearing a rather nice watch, an accessory which Kale wasted no time in tightening around his own wrist. He had been feeling a bit naked without something to help time his movements. Aside from the cash in their wallets, the two bouncers also appeared to be carrying something that resembled a common access card, likely used for logging into some sort of network or disarming an electronic lock system. In an obvious display of their intelligence level, one of the grizzly's had written a four digit set of numbers across the back of the card in black marker. Kale decided to keep that one.

"Goodnight, sweet prince.. Thanks for the parting gift."

He muttered under his breath, ruffling the dead bear between the ears. Straightening up, it was on to round two. With obvious feline grace, the hunter made his way through the partitions and into the back room, only to find himself in a cross-section of long hallways. Left, right, and straight ahead, each corridor was filled with rows of rooms. The loud thumping, moaning, and even screaming suddenly made it very apparent as to why the outer layer of the establishment played their music so loudly. There was a lot to cover up. Hissing under his breath, Kalevar had a decision to make. Instinctively, he wanted to break in every door one at a time and kill whoever was not the prostitute inside, but in that assumption lay the catch. It was not possible to assume that every whore bore ill will against their owners, and he could be setting himself up for failure by trying to play the hero here. He was not a knight in shining armour anymore, and the shock-and-awe tactics he so comfortably employed would not work in this enviornment.

Forcing himself to disregard the numbered rooms, he instead focused on trying to find a doorway with security on it. Anything that looked as though he could use one of the cards he had looted off the bouncers outside. Much to his dismay, there didn't seem to be any apparent panels or keypads with which to work. With his frustration mounting ever higher, and the whimpers of sexual crimes grating against his ears, Kalevar was struggling to remain in control.

"Zulu-Three to Fayah. Come in Fayah. Over."

"Kalevar! You.. You hung up on me!"

"Yeah, yeah, listen. I killed the guards and now I can't fi--"

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Listen to me!! I killed the guards, and I took their shit, okay?! I need your help. You say this building exists? In our time?"

"I.. I can't believe this..."

"Focus, damnit! This is critical! Unless you want me to just tear this fucking place apart brick by brick, you've got to work with me. I need a thermal imaging of this establishment. You can give me the results over my HUD. Club Vandenburg, eight-oh-seven-oh-two, West Haralds street. Do it now."

"O-okay.. I'm requesting the scans.. It will take--"

_"two minutes and thirty seven seconds, I know. Yes. Do it." _

Impatient eyes watched as the images began to spread over their view, piece by piece, the imaging bar running downwards across the planes of his cornea and leaving behind a series of coloured blueprints. He could only hope that the place had not undergone any extensive renovations in the upcoming months between when he actually lived, and this parallel existence in which he now stood. There was the bar, and the main floor of the nightclub... The incoming transmissions seemed to match up effectively with the psionic mappings Kalevar had created and stored himself. Laying the two images overtop of one another, he checked for anomalies. When none seemed to be forthcoming, he accessed the second layer of scans, turning the images on their side and shifting them to only his left eye.

"Alright, I think I've found what I need. There appears to be a secondary floor beneath the foundation of the club itself.."

"Yes, I see it. Where are you now?"

"My location is here, at the end of the western hallway. The entrance appears to be at the center of the northern corridor.. I'm moving towards it now."

"Kalevar, wait.. The scans show that the entire lower floors are outfitted with cameras at all access points."

"I noticed. But what choice do I have?"

".... You're going to get yourself killed, Kalevar. I don't think you understand. If you die, it's for real. You don't just wake up here in our labs, it's over. There is no coming back."

"I never assumed there was, Kitten."

"Then why aren't you more careful??"

"Time for me to go."

Black paws grasped the knob to the door, twisting as quietly as possible. The wildcat sidestepped quickly into the darkness, taking a few moments to let his eyes adjust before moving along the edges of the walls in accordance with the thermal maps displayed over half his vision. The schematics lead him directly to a control panel for the elevator, and sure enough there was a slot for an identification card. Pulling the ID from his pockets with a smirk, Kalevar was careful to glance at the numbers on the back once more before sliding it into place. When prompted to enter a personal PIN, the four digits did the trick.

_ "Simple enough... Elevator to the top floor, please and thank you... And let the games begin." _