by Tom Jones
Arcades jumped back outside again, and he turned on his EOTech EXPS3 sight before pushing the G43 magnifier out of the way. The fox turned on the visible flashlight on his PEQ-15 laser/light module, and he stared directly into the van yet again as he approached it at a rather quick pace. This time, Arcades saw the man inside of the van draw a weapon from within the vehicle. For only a split second the fox could see a Smith & Wesson M&P45 emerge from the window, and he instantly began to fire at the van. His first two shots missed; one of his shots did not even hit the van at all. The other shot hit the door of the van, but Arcades watched as the driver went limp and dropped the weapon onto the ground. The fox continued to stare at the van, and he now began to realize that he may have just killed somebody. Arcades shook his head; he knew that this was no time to think about whether or not he took somebody else’s life. The fox knew that killing in self-defense was justified, and that was just what he did; However, Arcades was not used to taking life himself. The fox now knew without a shadow of a doubt that his place was definitely compromised. He knew that not only would more unbadged men likely come to his house, but he also knew that he would likely be framed as some sort of killer from this invasion. The police would definitely detain him practically for an indefinite period of time if he was caught, and Arcades knew that if he was incarcerated, it would be a matter of time before these Foundation operatives or whoever they were would be able to take him away. The fox was in a race against time yet again. He had to get as much as a head start as he possibly could, so he immediately rushed back to the building to meet with Jason again.
“Jason!” Arcades announced as he went back into his home. When the fox stepped inside, he saw the wolf taking the weapons from the incapacitated Mobile Task Group members. Jason had already collected several handguns and primary weapons, and he was laying them all on the front counter. Though a few of the humans had already succumbed to their injuries, a few of the men were still alive, but they were too injured to do anything but sit and writhe in their pain. Arcades looked at the men who appeared to be still alive, and he figured that he should at least try and give them medical attention if possible. Before Arcades began, he gave the wolf an order, “Jason. Load up our cars with everything that you can pack in there. We are leaving tonight. Get the essentials first, and then put as many weapons as you can fit in them.” The wolf turned back to Arcades and acknowledged him, “Got it, Kurt.” After leaving his Salient GRY on the counter, the fox started by approaching a human who was sitting with his back against the wall. There was a small pool of blood accumulating under him, but Arcades squatted down to remove the human’s helmet. The fox undid the chin strap, and he pulled the entire helmet and headset from the human’s head. The human was wearing a black balaclava as well, so the fox removed the operative’s ESS Crossbow glasses and mask. After the fox had removed all of the human’s headwear, he rubbed his hand along the human’s cheek to try and get his attention, “Hello? Can you hear me?” The human’s eyes were halfway opened, but his eyes still appeared to track Arcades as the fox waved his hand in front of the operative’s face. The fox asked another question, “Are you conscious?” The human rolled his head around, it was clear to the fox that the operative was in great pain.
Arcades knew that he would be unable to do anything if the human was still wearing the plate carrier. After all, he did not even know where the human had been shot from. The fox lifted up the front MOLLE panel, and he undid the cumberbund of the plate carrier. After disconnecting the radio from the headset, Arcades was able to lift the armor carrier from the human’s body. The fox tossed the tactical gear aside, and he started to feel the human to see if he could locate any sort of injury. After a quick bit of feeling for injury, the fox found out that the human had been shot multiple times in the arms and legs. Arcades knew that such injuries would likely become fatal, especially since the human was quite unresponsive already, but he decided to do what he could. The fox stood up to retrieve a first aid kit, and when he came back, he noticed that the human was already slumped over. Arcades felt the human for a pulse, but he could not feel anything. The fox believed that the human had become deceased from the time it took for him to get the medkit. Arcades shook his head, for he wished that there was something he would have been able to do to help the human, even though the human was opening fire on them mere moments ago. The fox looked to his left, and he could see Jason picking up the deceased human’s LWRC SMG-45 from the floor. The wolf spoke, “Most of ‘em are dead already, so you’re wasting your time trying to revive them. We could use that medkit for ourselves; you’d better keep it.” Before Arcades could say anything in response, Jason had already exited the storefront, and the wolf went to get Jackie. The fox could hear the wolf speaking from the bedroom, “We can’t stay here; we’re leaving tonight. We’ll be out of here faster if you help us move some things. Can you do that?” Arcades looked back at the human who was now slumped to his side, lifeless, and the fox shook his head. He wished that he could have done something to at least preserve the human’s life, even if the operatives did arrive with the intent to kill.
Jason sat down the CZ BREN 2 he was carrying, and he started carrying a few bug-out bags into the garage. As the wolf began to load the two vehicles with essential supplies, Arcades started carrying things to the garage as well. Since the fox did not own too many possessions outside of what he needed to survive and work, it did not take him too terribly long to move everything he technically needed to live from his vehicle. Arcades did not know how long he had until the bodies would be discovered, so he figured that he had at least somewhat of a head start. Since he figured that the police would probably be looking for him soon, he would have to figure out a way to get as far away as possible without drawing attention from any law enforcement agencies in the meantime. It would be harder for Arcades to do so since national agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation would likely end up trying to track him down if it got to that point. Arcades believed that he would have both police agencies as well as the organization behind this unmarked armed unit trying to find him. He knew that the longer he stayed at his home, the less time he had to get a head start. The fox had to hurry.
It took only thirty minutes for the three anthros to load the two vehicles with everything that they would be able to carry in them, and they also changed out of their nightwear into the clothes they wore from the previous day. Arcades was actually able to cram every weapon that he had at the store into the two vehicles. The fox would not be leaving much behind: Furniture, unnecessary electronics, and appliances would not be coming with them. On the bright side, Arcades had stocked up on plenty of non-perishable foodstuffs, and the fox actually had enough that the three of them would be able to easily survive for a little over a month without replenishing anything. Combined with an ample supply of $2,000 in cash, Arcades would have enough to survive for the time being. They would be able to make their essentials last longer if they rationed their food and cash a bit better as well. Once the wolf returned from a sweep of the building, looking for anything else they would be able to bring, Jason said, “Well, mate. Whereabouts are we going?” Arcades looked at the two anthros that were standing before him, and he sighed, “I’m not too sure. Right now, anywhere is better than staying here. We have a head start, so we’d better get going.” Jason looked at the two vehicles sitting behind Arcades, “Who’s gonna drive these, Kurt?”
Arcades turned around to view the vehicles and said, “I’ll drive the 4Runner. Jason, you should drive the Mustang since nobody is probably looking for it yet.” The fox turned back around to face the two anthros again, but he directed his attention to the vixen, “Who do you want to ride with, Jackie?” The vixen looked at both Arcades and Jason, and she did take a moment to consider her two options. After a moment of contemplation, the vixen made her choice, “I’ll ride with you, Kurt.” Arcades did give a warning to the vixen about the risk associated if she decided to ride with him, “Are you sure? The pol
ice are already trying to find the 4Runner.” Jackie reaffirmed her decision, “I’ll still ride with you, Kurt.” Arcades figured that he would not be able to change the vixen’s mind, not that he was trying to do so anyways. The fox addressed both anthros now, “I want you two to remember this: Do not attack any policemen. They’re not on our side, but we cannot harm them. If we do, they’ll double their efforts to find us, and we definitely do not need that kind of trouble. I’m not sure how many Foundation operatives are in their ranks on a state or national level, but it’s not worth taking those chances. If you absolutely have to shoot somebody, make sure it is a Foundation trooper. Even if we somehow get into a scuffle with CDI, don’t attack them, either. CDI helped us out before. Are you two following what I’m saying?”
Jason acknowledged the fox first, “Sure thing, mate. What if they catch us?” Arcades replied, “That depends on who catches us.” The wolf clarified the question he was trying to ask, “The coppers.” The fox took a deep breath, “Well… I would say it’s best to comply with them. A court likely would not recognize what we’re going through. They probably would dismiss the Foundation existing in the first place, and that won’t change no matter how much evidence we have. If you were to fight against the police, they would only come down harder on us, and there would be practically no chance of getting out at that point. They wouldn’t give up, and that’s for sure.” The fox then added on to his statement, “Like I said, if you must shoot somebody, then make sure that it is one of the Foundation troopers. Even then, it would be unwise for us to seek out targets. We’re playing defense here; they have to come to us. If we can get by undetected, that would be the best option. I’m not sure how much money they dumped into the fund to find me, but his tactical team that attacked us tonight seems to be worth a couple hundred thousand dollars from the look of just their equipment alone.” When the fox finished speaking, he looked at Jackie and Jason to see if they had anything to say. After a few moments of silence, Arcades asked, “Any questions?”
Jason spoke, “I would ask where we’re going, but I guess we don’t really know that right now.” Arcades nodded, “Yeah, we kind of don’t. If we had more time, we would be able to figure it out, but I don’t even think we’d be safe staying here for the rest of the night. We’d better get going, but first, we should pray.” The wolf agreed with the fox, “Yeah. If that’s one thing we’re gonna need, it’s gonna have to be the Lord’s help.” Arcades looked downwards and closed his eyes; Jason did the same, but Jackie only watched the two anthros. The fox started praying, “Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that You will look after us as we seek a more safe place to stay. We pray that You will provide us with everything that we need, and we also pray that You will protect us against our enemies. Lord, we would like to pray for our enemies, and we pray that they will seek You instead of seeking us. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.” Jason repeated the last word of the fox’s prayer once he finished, “Amen.” When the two anthros looked up, they saw that Jackie did not appear to have been participating in the prayer. Arcades disregarded this detail, “Well, are you ready to get going, Jackie?” The vixen nodded, and the three anthros entered their respective vehicles for the drive.
“Rho-2, this is Sorcerer, what is your ETA on the target location? Over,” the mission controller’s voice sounded over the radio inside of a black 2028 GMC Yukon XL. One of the operatives picked up a speaker microphone and spoke into it, “This is Rho-2-3. We are about five minutes away from the target location. What is the status of Rho-1? Have they secured the target? Over.” Sorcerer replied to the Mobile Task Group operative, “Rho-2, this is Sorcerer, we lost contact with Rho-1. The unit has likely been terminated.” Sorcerer ended the transmission, but his voice was soon heard again once he switched his radio to broadcast to all MTG units, “Attention all units, this is Sorcerer. Our UAV has spotted two civilian vehicles exiting the target location: A gray SUV and a gray coupe. We’re working on details at the moment. Vehicles are currently heading northbound from the target location. All units, divert your course and intercept the vehicles.”
After Sorcerer’s transmission ended, Rho-2-4, the driver of the Yukon XL, kept his eyes on the road as he spoke to the other members of MTG Rho-2, “You guys all hear that?” The squadron leader spoke next, “We’re going in the right direction. Make sure that you have your guns ready, but don’t fire into a car if you can’t see who’s inside. You don’t want to shoot the target by mistake; we need him alive.” When Rho-2-Actual finished addressing his unit, he checked the chamber of his suppressed SIG MCX Rattler, and he toggled the SIG Romeo5 that was on the top rail of his short-barreled rifle. The operative unfolded the stock of his rifle, and he undid one of the velcro retention straps of his plate carrier to allow him to easily access his next magazine. All of his magazines had red bands around them to indicate that they were for .300 BLK rather than 5.56x45mm NATO rounds; the two cartridges were not compatible with the same rifle barrel, but they were able to be inserted into STANAG magazines such as Magpul PMAGs which the operatives carried..
Arcades had been on the road for about five minutes, and he did not see too much activity in the middle of the night. The fox did not live near a busy street, so he was not really expecting traffic anyways. Even though the tensions were pretty high at the moment, Arcades was not exceeding the speed limit. The fox did not want to be stopped by a policeman, so he was doing everything he could to stay as discreet as he could. Jackie did not have anything to say; the vixen was just sitting in the passenger seat of the 4Runner with her hands held together. Occasionally, she would look at Arcades and then back to the road, but other times, she would just look down at her lap. She would also adjust her tail from time to time since vehicles did not have any holes in their seats to accommodate for the nuances associated with being an anthro. The silence was broken by the wolf’s voice heard over the Kenwood NX-5400 that was sitting in one of the cupholders of the 4Runner, “Kurt, we’ve a black sport ute right behind us.” Arcades looked out his rear vision mirror, but he could only see the headlights of the Ford Mustang which Jason was driving. The fox picked up the radio and spoke into it while he held the PTT button, “Where? I can’t see it.” Before the wolf could reply, Arcades could now see the headlights of the GMC Yukon XL appear over the roof of the Mustang. It was clear to the fox that the SUV that was behind them did not have a stock suspension configuration installed.
“Sorcerer, this is Rho-2-4. We are now tailing the target vehicles. What is our current ROE? Over.” Sorcerer replied to the vehicle crew, “Rho-2, this is Sorcerer. We do not know which vehicle the target is in. Do not fire into the vehicles unless you are sure that the target is not on board. How copy? Over.” Rho-2-2 took the microphone instead, “Affirmative, Sorcerer. To confirm, the target is a black and white red fox? Over.” Sorcerer returned a prompt response, “Solid copy. Proceed with your mission. Out.” Rho-2-Actual spoke to the driver of the SUV, “Take us to the side of that Mustang. We need to see who’s inside of it.” As the driver turned the wheel of the vehicle to move into the oncoming lane, Rho-1-Actual spoke to the rest of the occupants of the SUV, “Get your guns ready, everyone. This guy may not be our target. If he isn’t, then we are cleared to engage.” Rho-2-2 turned on the EOTech HWS 558 that was on his FN SCAR 16, and he tightened the suppressor that was on the rifle. Though the rifle was suppressed, it still fired 5.56x45mm rounds, and they would still be heard breaking the sound barrier since they were not subsonic loads. Suppressed weapons which fired supersonic ammunition were considerably louder than suppressed weapons which fired subsonic ammunition.
Jason looked to his left as he saw the GMC Yukon XL drive up to the left side of his vehicle, and he could see that the occupants were indeed armed. The wolf saw a rifle barrel point in his direction, and he quickly stepped on the brakes as he saw the window of the SUV roll down, and he struggled to evade the vehicle’s line of fire. As the wolf performed evasion maneuvers, he spoke ov
er the radio, “Kurt, they’re here! They’ve found us!” Jason ducked down in the vehicle to avoid potential gunfire, but he was not fired upon just yet. The wolf peeked his head just enough above the dashboard in order to see out of the vehicle’s window, but he still knew that his wolf ears were giving his position away. Jason reached across the seat, and he grabbed the weapon he loaded specifically for such a scenario, a Heckler & Koch MP5K. The submachine gun was already loaded and had a round chambered, so all the wolf would need to do is simply disable the weapon’s safety and pull the trigger. Jason held the weapon in his right hand, but he did not hold it above the dashboard yet; he did not want his enemies to see that he was armed. With his right hand full with the weapon and his left hand occupied with steering the vehicle, Jason saw that the SUV was already trying to pull beside the fox’s SUV. Jason flashed the high beams of his Mustang to get a better view of the Yukon XL, and he could briefly see the men inside raising their rifles at the 4Runner.
Arcades spoke to Jackie as he saw the Yukon XL get closer to the left of his 4Runner, “Get your head down and cover your ears, this is gonna be loud!” The fox reached for his custom Salient Arms Glock 17 he had in his center console, and he thumbed the selector switch to fire fully-automatic. Arcades ducked down for himself as he held the button to roll down the windows. When the windows had rolled down enough, Arcades sat up, held the Glock close to his body, and he pulled the trigger as he tried to keep stable control of the handgun firing in a fully automatic fashion. The fox successfully struck the vehicle that was beside him, but they had already begun taking evasive action: The driver slowed down, and it did not take long for the Yukon XL to exit the fox’s shooting angle. The black SUV was now directly behind the 4Runner, and Jason used this opportunity to speed up and attack the vehicle. The wolf moved into the oncoming lane, and he started rolling down the right passenger window as he stepped on the gas to bring himself closer to the vehicle. Since the Mustang was running on a 5.0 liter V8 engine, it did not take long for the wolf to pull up directly to the side of the Yukon XL. Jason held out the MP5K with his right arm, and he pulled the trigger once he had a good view of the enemy vehicle.
