Sudden Stop

The blacked-out Cadillac CTS-V comes to a halt next to the sidewalk just before the rusted gates of the abandoned residence. Hidden from view behind the heavily tinted windows, Adrian Kesselton checks his laptop, the car's satnav, and the mapping app on his PAD. All three confirmed that he was indeed at the location he had been seeking. For a brief few moments, he scans his surroundings, keeping an eye out for suspicious individuals lurking in the area or vehicles he'd recognized as belonging to said suspicious individuals.

There was none, though, strangely, there was an Einsdorf Cruiser Special that seemed to have been parked haphazardly; the car was parked directly in front of the gates and would've blocked everything except foot-traffic going in and out of the vacant residence. The car was the equivalent of a Ford Model A and it certainly looked like one. More importantly, this was the civilian version of the Einsdorf Pursuit, which was the primary cop car of Etria. Was this just a coincidence? Or was a cop, albeit an off-duty dirty cop, at the residence to conduct some legitimate business? Or maybe it wasn't any of that at all?

Maybe it was just an Einsdorf Pursuit dressed up as an Einsdorf Cruiser Special so any cops behind those smoked windshields would stand out less?

Whatever the case may be, the human didn't really care. He had a purpose for being here and, if necessary, he had the firepower to shoot his way out and explain things later. He shuts off his laptop and PAD and steps out from his Cadillac, making his way round to the trunk. Adrian removes an IWB holster from his waistband that contained his carry piece, a Glock 19, and attaches a G-Code XST holster which contained a Heckler & Koch USP onto an RTI mount he wore on his belt. Next, he puts on his plate carrier which contains a Level-III plate, two rifle-magazine pouches that each held two 30-round P-MAGs, a pair of pistol-magazine pouches that each held a magazine for his USP, and a pair of auxiliary pouches that contained a smoke and flash grenade respectively. Last, but not least, he retrieves a MK18 MOD 1 carbine and chambers a round before putting his head and left arm through the two-point sling.

Once he shut the trunk and locked his car, Adrian briskly made his way over to the entrance while keeping an eye on the Cruiser Special. Nothing. Perhaps those inside had dozed off? He thought. Not to worry; he'd be gone before they even find the first body.

As Adrian made his way into the residence, he had absolutely no idea what he was about to stumble upon. Up in the derelict main house, Boberg Bare watched with silent glee from the second-floor railing while local thugs beat up a female Anthrofox in a bid to get information from her. A much older captive, an Anthrorex, could be seen sitting opposite her, utterly helpless to stop the assault. Boberg's little partnership with an Etrian gang was starting to pay off and he could feel it; just a matter of time before either of them break.

"Y'know, I���ve always been a big fan of law enforcement." Boberg thundered. "They keep the streets safe and prevent the nation from falling into chaos."

The Anthrorex rolled his eyes. Fan my ass, he thought.

"But you see, there is a small portion of cops that taints the entire organization." The Anthrobear continued. "They're the ones that get too nosy; the ones that don't know how to stay out of people's business. Both of you are good examples of these nosy ones."

The thugs stop beating the Anthrofox, who, at this point, could only feel a numbing pain all over her body.

"So, what brings you two to my humble home?" Boberg asked.

"Answer the man!" One of the thugs shouted.

"To come say "hi" to your mother." The 19-year old sneered defiantly.

"Your sense of humor is strong, Officer Brunns." Boberg smiled. "Let's see how strong it really is."

While the thugs resumed their beating of the Anthrofox, Boberg turned his attention to Donovan Szabo, his right-hand man and second-in-command of the whole operation. There was a wee bit of a problem, for you see, Boberg had put in place a radio in every patrol sector around the compound and sentries on each sector were supposed to radio in every time they had finished their rounds or when they spotted something, the former of which usually taking around two to three minutes or so. Trouble was, the sentries who patrolled the guesthouse and courtyard were both unresponsive, the former of which was way late while the latter was "getting in there".

"Send a couple to check up on them." The Anthrobear gestures towards some of the goons below.

"Give them tools; it's probably just a radio issue. These things are about as finicky as anything."

"You sure we don't want to handle it on our own?" His Anthroraptor right-hand asked. "What if it isn't just a simple radio failure?"

"These two are off-duty cops; they aren't supposed to even be here. The only ones we're going to stumble upon are urban explorers and vagrants. We can take both types easily."

"Good point."

Donovan whistles to get the attention of those below.

"You two, grab some tools and head over to the courtyard and guesthouse." He said while pointing a pair of Anthroraptors standing guard near the main entrance. "Check if the radios are alright."

The captive Anthrorex smiled as the two goons departed.

"Looks like you've got a situation." He sneered.

"I'll call your bluff, Sgt. Lynn." Boberg shoots back. "Both of you aren't here officially; no one's gonna know until we want them to know. Actually, hold that thought for a second."

Boberg gestures for the thugs to stop torturing the Anthrofox before coming down from the second floor. Through her groggy vision, a severely wounded Officer Brunns watches as the ringleader of her captors approached with a pistol in hand, a pistol which immediately caught her attention. It wasn't any of the guns commonly available on the black market and more importantly, it didn't seem beat up like the weapons the thugs who tortured her were carrying. More importantly, it was precisely the type of gun she saw in a file her partner had given her: a Model 14 semi-automatic pistol.

"So that's what you are, huh?" The Anthrowolf wheezed. "NIO spies."

"Your senses have remarkable resilience, Officer Brunns." Boberg smiled, actually feeling impressed with his captive. "I take that you recognize my weapon?"

The Anthrobear gets uncomfortably close with his captive to "give her a better view of his weapon" before pulling back.

"Eight rounds of 7mm." He extolled. "Low recoil high-velocity rounds capable of penetrating thick clothing."

"Really? A seven-mil?" Officer Lynn chuckled. "Y'all really are a bunch of sissies."

"Oh, I reassure you, Officer Lynn, that this cartridge is about as deadly as the forty-fours your fellow officers pack." Boberg grins. "Lucky for you, there is a bit of a redundancy. You see, your partner here knows about as much as you do, therefore, it seems your purpose has become null and void. Not to worry though, for I shall now demonstrate the power of this Type 14 pistol."

BANG.

Officer Brunns screamed in terror as her partner slumped forward with blood oozing out from his forehead. She snarled in anger, but there was very little she could do with her hands and legs restrained. All she could do was watch as Boberg turned towards her and raised his sidearm.

"You see, your partner and you are the only ones who know about us." He stated coldly. "While we'd like to learn much more, it seems far easier to just throw your secrets into your graves."

It was at this very moment that the Anthrofox realized that everything up until this point had been a farce. All the torture; all the threats of execution if they refused to speak; it was just her captors' way of having some fun before they actually killed her and her partner. Escape or release was never an option, though they've made her believe it was. When she was first caught, she had come to terms with death and had accepted her time has come. Yet, in the span of a few minutes, they've undone every preparation she made and now she would have to face death the way she dreaded most: as a helpless fearful little girl.

In desperation she squirmed, trying desperately to move away from the muzzle of the Model 14 pistol. But there was nothing she could do. The ropes that kept her secured to the chair were designed to keep Euruses restrained and she was nowhere near a Eurus in terms of strength.

BANG BANG BANG…

The roar of a semi-automatic carbine pierced through the room as Boberg and several goons fell under the staccato of the MK18. From the kitchen corridor, Adrian stepped out and swung his weapon towards the top railing, lighting up a pair of thugs who stepped out from one of the bedrooms and onto the walkway. Neither of them had the chance to even raise their guns before they fell. All of a sudden, a male Anthrowolf pops out the storeroom underneath the staircase and lets off a few shots from his Model 14 pistol. Three of his four shots strike Adrian, but the carrier and Level-III plate does its magic.

As for the Anthrowolf, he is mowed down with the remaining ammunition in Adrian's MK18 carbine. His proficiency clearly evident, Adrian retrieves a fresh magazine from one of the two pouches on his plate-carrier by grabbing it with the last three digits of his left hand and clasping it against his palm. He then grips the empty magazine in the gun with his left thumb and index finger while simultaneously pressing the release with his trigger-finger. Once the empty magazine is out, he presses the fresh one home, puts the empty into the slot in the pouch previously occupied by the new-full magazine, and slaps the bolt-release to put a round into the chamber.

His gun now loaded, he makes his way over to the Anthrofox and cuts her loose with a Kershaw pocket-knife. A hysterical Officer Brunns rushes to her partner's side after being freed, trying desperately to knock him back to his senses while shouting that help has arrived. But it was of no use. Sgt. Lynn had been dead long before the barrel of Boberg's gun was even pointed at her.

"Help's on the way." Adrian stated.

"I should've…" The Anthrofox sobbed. "I should've been more careful!"

"It wasn't your fault, Officer."

"If I had been more careful, I wouldn't have been caught! And if I hadn't been caught, he would still have been alive!"

"Look, even if you hadn't been caught, there is no way you would've shot your way out of this!"

"You did."

"Yeah, because I came prepared. I have a vest, a carbine, a pistol, a backup pistol, and a knife. And I almost got clipped too! If even I, someone dressed to go to war, nearly got clipped, what makes an off-duty officer with nothing more than a six-shooter and her wits?"

"Who are you anyways?"

"What do you mean "who am I"?"

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I'm after the same guys you two are."

Adrian explains that the bunch of goons in the residence were alleged members of a suspected Preudian NIO-cell that operated in Regentston. Activated following the surprise attack on Regentston, its mission was to gather intelligence and, when the time came, conduct a decapitation strike to knock out the Etrian Government and senior command and turn what was supposed to be an invasion of Etria into something more akin to annexation. He also reveals that the man who killed her partner looked a wee bit like Boberg "Red Bear" Bare, the head of the Regentston-cell.

The human goes on to reveal his surprise that Boberg was seemingly such an easy catch, stating that he'd been anticipating a manhunt stretching months or potentially years.

"Then again, he probably wasn't expecting any trouble." He said before realizing his mistake.

"Sorry… Too soon…"

"Apology accepted.�� The Anthrofox nods.

"What's your full name, by the way, Officer Brunns?"

"Kaylanni Brunns." She answers. "Yourself?"

"Kesselton. Adrian Kesselton."

"No shit…"

Kaylanni glared at the human in surprise. "Adrian Kesselton" was once a popular figure on the news due to his relationship with King Axton Fauster and his adopted daughter Lyrana Fauster, the latter of whom he was purportedly dating. But when news of their breakup started to spread, Adrian seemingly disappeared from Etria, as if nothing more than a ghost. Yet here he was, decked out in tactical gear, having just blasted his way through a hoard bad guys like nobody's business.

Just to be sure, Kaylanni took another look, at least, one as best as her still slightly groggy vision would allow her. And yeah, he was the Adrian Kesselton she saw in the newspapers.

"Y'know, I never took you for a fighter." She sneered. "You were so sweet to her and to just about everyone around her."

"You've been missing out then." He smiles. "Ever since I left, I've been a contractor. You need muscle for an operation and you have money? Drop me a call and I'll be right there."

So he did leave, she thought.

Before Kaylanni could ask questions about what happened between Lyrana and Adrian, however, she was interrupted by the sound of sirens. At long last, the cavalry had arrived.

…

Curious locals gawked at the sight of dozens of police vehicles gathered outside the abandoned residence. Rumors were rife; apparently some sort of shooting involving a local gang had happened inside and there were several casualties. The presence of an unidentified car that looked nothing like those on the local market also drew interest, mostly from conspiracy the few conspiracy theorists nearby who theorized that it was some sort of government operation that had gone bad.

But while the locals gossiped and debated among themselves, an Anthroraptor walked in the opposite direction. He sported a fedora hat and wore an orange trench coat over his white button shirt and dark brown pants which were held up by a belt and suspenders. Briefly, he pulled back the left sleeve of his trench coat and shirt to check his Timekeeper watch: it was a little over half-past three in the afternoon. With haste, the Anthroraptor made his way over to a phone booth at the corner of the street and popped in.

He slots in a 20-shell coin and dials the number of Bare's Break and Breakfast, specifically one connecting him to room-15.

"Bridget, it's me." He said. "We've got a problem. Boberg and Antoni are dead; the girl's still alive and she's got some serious heat backing her up. I'm coming over to you once the heat dies down."

��

King Axton Fauster sits quietly at his desk while staring blankly at his fountain pen. Moments earlier, a messenger boy had brought news of the deadly shooting to him, and while most were still clueless as to what precisely happened, Axton knew exactly what had transpired behind those rusty gates. Or at least, the gist of it. He'd had his suspicions about a Preudian spy-cell operating in Etria long before the surprise attack on Regentston was even conceived, yet every single individual he assigned to the case had come up empty… Except for one guy, who for some bizarre reason chose to submit his resignation and disappear when he was just about to hit a major break.

Perhaps it was a change of heart? Or maybe he'd been blinded by the propaganda spewed by those he was supposed to catch? Or perhaps it was just personal reasons, like family members in Preudia who were held hostage. After all, this ISS agent who disappeared was a Preudian refugee who clawed his way up from nothing. In any case, King Fauster, despite having all the suspicions in the world, had no way to prove his case. That is, it seems, until the incident which transpired today.

From what he heard, the Anthrowolf could roughly piece together the scene of the incident. There were eight dead bad-guys in total: two in the courtyard, two outside the guesthouse, one at the back of the main house, and six in the main house. And, of course, there was a fallen officer; Sgt. Gregory Lynn, a veteran of the force who was a mere two years away from retirement.

King Fauster's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of the double-doors to his quarters swinging open. Two members of his Kingsguard escorted the Anthroraptor in before departing at Axton's command.

"Prime Minister Cowling." Axton greeted.

"Your grace." The Anthroraptor bowed slightly. "I… Take that you've been informed?"

"Unfortunately, yes I have. A messenger boy brought it to my attention."

"Your Grace, I don't know about this new guy of yours, to be frank. He has done quite the job, but he's a bit… "Loud", in my opinion."

"I agree, he can be a bit of a bull at times, but he's getting the job done. If nothing else, his efforts are serving as a deterrent and putting a spanner in the Preudians�� plans."

"You seem to have plenty of faith in the man."

"I know him personally, Ian. If anyone is going to get the job done, it's him."

"Aye, given his background, I'd have no reason to doubt your judgement, your grace." Ian presents a file to his king. "The northern invasion."

"Ah yes, bring me up to speed, Ian."

The PM begins giving a brief rundown of the situation to the north, specifically regarding the sudden invasion and the current position of the enemy, the latter of which was kindly provided by acquaintances on Kesselton Island. The news isn't great. Despite fierce resistance, in particular in the city of Mons, the Preudian advance remains steady and their momentum shows no signs of slowing down, not until they've reached Regentston, at least. Worse still, given the speed of advance, the "Peninsular Defense Line" proposed by Etrian Central Command might not be ready in time.

…

A warm yellowish hue could be seen emitted from the two bottom-floor front windows of Adrian's beachside home. Contrary to what most would expect of a man of his caliber, the house was no mansion or gigantic three-story residence. Rather, it was a modest two-story house with a garage where his Cadillac resided. There wasn't any flashy furniture on the inside either. The stairs were made from locally sourced wood, as were all of the other wooden furnishings, and apart from a display holder on the wall behind the TV which held a Winchester rifle, the walls were barren and completely free of things wealthy people tend to hang, like expensive paintings for example.

The same was true upstairs; the guest room and master bedroom were decorated with your average furniture. Even Adrian's king-sized bed was just a regular bed from the furniture store instead of some bespoke masterpiece plated in gold. In fact, the only differences between this house and a regular Etrian family home, other than the more 21st Century interior deco, by the beach were the flat-screen TV in the living room and a complete air-conditioning system that covered the entire house.

Kept company by acoustic covers of his favorite songs, Adrian studied the pictures he'd taken of the crime scene, more specifically pictures of the dead shooters, at his study, which was sandwiched between the living room and sliding doors out back which led to the beach. Most of them were just local street thugs who were at the wrong place at the wrong time, but two of these dead goons stood out. One of them was the Anthrobear who tried to kill Kaylanni; the one whom Adrian identified as Boberg Bare, while the other was the Anthrowolf who shot him from the storeroom underneath the stairs.

Both of them appeared along with two other individuals in a pair of photographs taken by the ISS Agent who disappeared while the Anthrobear also appeared in a third photograph showing him eating at a café in downtown Regentston, the final photograph bearing the words "Boberg "Red Bear" Bare" and "Leader?" on the back.

Briefly, the human turns his attention on the weapons carried by both, the Model 14, of which one was provided to him by Royal Police at the request of King Fauster along with two full magazines of ammunition. It very much resembled an old 21st Century Type 14 Nambu pistol, though the base of the magazine was flat instead of rounded and it sat flush with the grip. Also, in the position where the safety lever of a Type 14 was, there was instead a bolt-release. Last, but not least, the sights were also significantly different from the Type 14. While the Nambu featured a sharp slender front sight and traditional V-notch rear-sight, the Model 14 had a more squared-off front sight while the rear sight was, rather peculiarly, a ghost-ring.

Equally intriguing was the ammunition for the pistol, which was a 7mm bottlenecked cartridge that traveled way faster than even the 9mm fired by Adrian's Glock 19 and USP. Clearly, it was optimized for penetration, though that was what confused Adrian. Why would the NIO give their operatives a gun optimized for penetration when their primary Area-of-Operations was in Etria, whose military and civil defense personnel only wore flak vests at best?

What am I doing? Adrian thought as he snapped out of it. He'd accidentally let his interest in guns get in the way of actually investigating the case. The human briskly places the pistol back on his study and returns to the case-file, this time reading the letters found at the crime scene which was generously "donated" to him along with other key pieces of evidence at the request of the king.

CLING-DUNG.

Adrian raised his eyebrows in surprise; he wasn't expecting any visitors today and certainly not at this hour. Ever the cautious man, he makes his way over to the door with his Glock 19 drawn and peeks through the peephole. There was an Anthrofox on the other side, more specifically THE Anthrofox he'd met earlier. How the heck did she find out where I live? He wondered. Curious as to why she would be paying him a visit, yet still slightly wary of her presence, he opens the door slightly while keeping his piece hidden behind his back.

"Officer Brunns." He greeted. "How did you find me?"

"National registry." She answers. "Pretty easy as a cop."

"What brings you here to my humble home?"

"I just wanted to thank you for saving my life today." Kaylanni presents a box of chocolates. "I remember Lyrana said you liked dark chocolates."

"Yeah, I do…" He chuckles as he opens the door. "Come on in."

As Kaylanni steps into his house, Adrian quietly stuffs his Glock 19 into the small of his back and takes her chocolate.

"Can I get you anything?" He asks. "Water, coffee… Maybe 12-year old single-malt whiskey?"

"Heh, I'm good." She glares at his rather cluttered study. "Working on something?"

"Case this afternoon. Guess what? The bastard who tried to kill you was indeed Boberg Bare while the idiot who shot me is also a member of the cell."

"Wait, what?" Kaylanni's eyes light up in shock.

"Have a look yourself."

Adrian leads Kaylanni over to his study and allows her to go over the evidence. She is quick to notice that all of her late partner's files are present, as is her notebook. Without skipping a beat, she takes the pictures of the two dead Preudian operatives and opens a file which Adrian hadn't gotten to yet. And what do you know? Adrian was right. The man who tried to kill her was indeed Boberg "Red Bear" Bare. Better yet, the second photo also matched, this time with the cell's purported explosives expert: Antoni Kresselback.

"And both of them are dead…" Adrian remarks. "Talk about luck."

A brief moment of awkward silence followed before Adrian, again, remembered what happened.

"Sorry, I'm an idiot." He covers his face with his right hand in embarrassment. "Filter doesn't work sometimes, you see…"

"It's fine." She huffled. "Hey, mind if I uhm… Hang around for a bit? I'd like to study the case a bit more."

"You sure about that? I mean, don't you want to take a break before getting back on the case?"

"I'm on administrative leave, Adrian. Once I get back to work, I won't have a chance to touch this case anymore; this is my only shot."

"Don't worry about the case, Kaylanni. I'll handle it; your partner's death will not be in vain."

"Just like how everyone else before you handled it?" She snarled, very much riled up by his statement. "Look, no offense, but every single person assigned by the king to investigate has come up empty-handed and the one guy who did get close disappeared without a trace. Greg was a good man and his son lost a father figure because of those bastards. I'm not taking any chances, not this time!"

Despite being reluctant to let her in on his case, Adrian couldn't help but sympathize with Kaylanni. Given how emotional she is right now, Gregory was probably a mentor to her and perhaps even a father or older brother figure. Adrian, too, once had such a figure in his life and he knew how hard it can be for one to lose such an important figure in their life. How could he possibly deny her to chance to avenge the important figure of her life?

"Alright, I'll do you one better." The human said. "I'll officially make you a part of the investigation. That way we won't have to worry about red-tape and bureaucracy."

The Anthrofox's eyes lit up once again.

"But you have to bear in mind one thing: if this goes south, your career in the force will be forever jeopardized." He explained. "If you are willing to accept the risk, I'll transfer you to my team by royal decree."

"I've already expected such a risk." She said firmly. "Sign me on."

"Then let's get to work. I'll call the king first-thing tomorrow morning to confirm your new posting."