War Is Always An Option

Money in my paws meant that I was able to move around a lot easier. I couldn't fly but I did take a bus to Florida, hop on a second, and head back to some old stomping grounds. There were going to be words had with one General Parson. I can't track down the mysterious agent that sent us on that mission. He's my best lead to the next step. Or this would be where it ends.

I grabbed a taxi to take me to the front gate. He can't drive up without being stopped and causing me issues. I don't have my military ID anymore. I'm confident they don't have my records anymore. It was clear that everything about me was burnt to the ground. The shepherd working the gate comes out to stop me. "Sir, this is a restricted area. Civilians are not allowed without clearance."

"2nd Lieutenant Welch to see General Parson."

"ID?"

"I don't have it anymore. General Parson might be able to explain."

His eyes look uneasy as he heads back into the hut. I see him pick up the phone making a quick call. He shuts the door as someone picks up so I'm unable to hear. Whatever the conversation is, it's not in my favor. The phone goes down as he comes back out. His sidearm is unhooked and ready to be drawn, "Sir, you are not authorized to be here."

"Did they mention anything about me? Or just nothing."

"You are not allowed to be here."

I don't want to play this game. I don't want to have to deal with this. I also don't want to use force. "Did they give you any warning about me? That I might be dangerous?" His paw goes to the weapon on his hip. He has a light grip on it as he tells me again that I'm not authorized to be here. This poor guy has no idea what he's up against. They gave him nothing. He has no chance. "Let me ask one question then. Who do you go home to? And do you want to go home to them again?"

He's drawn his weapon as he's shouting orders. It goes in one ear and out the other. Oh well, I tried. But I'll make it easy on him. I push him back into the hut with an airblast that knocks him off his feet. I slam the door shoving my paw where the door meets the small building. I superheat the metal to weld the door shut. As he pulls on it I run around to the other side doing the same to the other side. He'll have plenty of air. Someone will get him out eventually. But for now, he's stuck.

I hear the pop of his firearm going off. The glass spider webs but nothing comes through. His next action would be to call and set off an alarm. They'll know I'm here and they're going to do what they can to stop me. I'm on a time limit now. With a light jog, I start moving on to the base to the building where I remember where General Parson's office was located. I don't get very far before I hear an alarm going off. There are quite a few folks running around getting to their stations. I hear yelling and orders being given.

I can try to pick up the pace but I know it won't be long before vehicles are rolling through. I step off the street and stick to the buildings. I know they're going to search in between them. It's going to be a matter of time before I'm found. After that, the real fight will being. I just need to get as far as I can with as little resistance as I can before it kicks off.

Engines roar as they pass on the road. I hear more shouting as the echoing sound of boots hit the pavement. I see a small squad run by in between a building. Three had sidearms and one has a rifle. I wonder what the orders are. Am I to be captured alive or shot on site? I'll ask the General when I get there.

Every hundred feet feels like a mile to try and getting anywhere is a slog. The building I need is in sight. The many soldiers that are posted there are proof that their high-value individuals are inside. It's still a ways away but there are lines of defense set up. And the patrols are going around sweeping every inch they can.

I may need to start getting my paws dirty. Or I can just go in head-first and use that as my announcement that I am here. If I was more confident in my ability to make barriers this would be a lot easier. Instead, I have to be the sneaky fox everyone expects me to be. I might as well make it worth their time then.

I make my way further around the building. I can't go in the front door. Moving around is still hard. I'm doing my damndest to avoid partols as the sirens are still going off. They are moving quickly and covering a lot of ground. It was only a matter of time before I ran into someone. It was obvious that I was not supposed to be there by my plain clothes.

A group of four didn't get the drop on me but they outgunned me. With four barrels pointed at me, I had no choice but to keep my paws up by their orders. They shouted and yelled at me to get on my knees. I comply of course, but not for very long. One reaches for the radio when a shock goes through their body. The radio is fried and all four fall to the ground. No one is telling them what they are up against.

Now that I've been engaged with some of these soldiers, there are going to be more. They check in regularly. When no one answers, someone is going to go looking for them. When they find them, the hunt is going to get harder. It's a race against time.

I can move as fast as I want. There's a hole in the line now. I have my way to move in closer to where I need to be. There's still yelling going on all around me. The engines are still roaring as they move around. There are a few times I swear someone saw me but they kept rolling along. The riskiest portion was crossing an open road that I had seen multiple vehicles drive by.

They have groups posted at every door around the building. They know where I'm going. They know my goal. Or at least where my goal is set. They are incredibly underequipped to deal with me. They have no idea what they are up against.

I spot one door that is guarded but only by three soldiers. They have a good sightline to everywhere but I may be able to get in close. I take a deep breath before I step out of my hiding spot. They haven't noticed me. I exhale and close my eyes as the distance between us closes in a flash. Quickstep is one of the best spells I've got in my book. I drop out close enough to all of them that they're caught off guard. Before they can react, they're shoved into the wall with a hefty thud. They're out of commission and my way in is secured.

The door is locked but nothing that a little pressure can't solve. It cracks with ease allowing me entry. From here on, it's smooth sailing. There should be fewer patrols inside the building but there will still be posted guards. A little concussive air blast won't kill them yet still has the effect of getting them out of my way. I only remember a small portion of this building but once I find an area I'm familiar with, it's easy to find General Parson.

His door is labeled with his name. It's shut and probably locked as well. I knock and get a reply from inside, "We are in lockdown until the threat is cleared." That doesn't sit well with me. I knock a bit harder this time breaking the lock on the door. The door flies open as I step in. The general scrabble for a desk drawer pulling out a pistol. "You can try to fire it, but it won't." I exhale releasing a small focus of magic that freezes the entire firing mechanism in place.

I shut the door behind me. It can't latch since I blew it out but it'll provide some privacy. I take a seat across from him. There's no need for formalities. "I sure hope you know why I'm here. Otherwise, this is going to be a long conversation." He keeps quiet as he glares at me. "General Parson, I want to make this as clear as possible. You ruined me and left me for dead. I watch the team you sent with me be killed one by one except for one. I have no idea where she is. I tried to get back home to report what happened and I was abandoned by my country and burned."

"That was the mission."

"The mission was not to leave us for dead. We didn't even arrive where we were supposed to be and instead of trying to help I was left on my own."

"You seemed to do just fine getting back here."

"No thanks to you."

He finally sat back in his chair as he rubbed his muzzle, "I don't know what you expect me to do, Welch. I can't just magic you back into the world."

"You can take responsibility."

"You failed your mission. It's as clear as that."

"The only failure on my part was trusting that we would be able to rely on assistance from the country that we swore to protect! I was stuck in Havana for three weeks, had to smuggle myself back into the states, and dealt with a whole load of shit trying to get myself somewhere I could get help."

"So invading a military base was your idea of getting help?"

"I don't need your help anymore. This is a personal visit to let you know that I'm displeased with you."

"Committing a federal crime isn't how one typically goes about expressing their displeasure."

"I don't go about things in the typical fashion."

I shuffle myself into the seat with a smile. He's not defensive. He's just not happy. I understand. I'm not happy either. The reason is much more different than his own. "Since you refuse to acknowledge that I exist, how do you plan to prosecute someone who doesn't exist? How does one go about that? And if you kill me here, how does that work since everyone on this base knows there is an intruder?" He refuses to answer any of my questions. He just stares at me while he looks at the frozen pistol on his desk. It's not going to defrost until I say it's OK.

We sit in silence as a radio on his desk chatters away with soldiers reporting their positions and which areas they've cleared. I hear a few that catch my ears. They found one of the teams I removed from rotation. They're rattled, but not injured to where they won't recover. They'll be moved to medical and patrols will continue until called off.

General Parson breaks the silence, "You were trained in war. Why didn't you kill them?"

"This isn't a war. Unless you want it to be. I came to offer an olive branch if you're willing to make things correct. You seem rather reluctant so I may just retract that offer."

"What would you consider making things correct?"

Now we're getting somewhere, "I've been removed from the face of the Earth by whatever agency sent us to god knows where. I would like to have my life back. But I also have a feeling that they had an influence on another personal part of my life."

I have no evidence that they had any involvement. But their ability to make people disappear into the shadows is strangely similar to how my parents disappeared. "I want to know what happened to my family. I want to know where my parents went." He clammed up quickly. The silence continues as we sit in the room. Minutes pass as I wait for something.

That something comes in the sounds of footsteps in the hallway. There's a knock on the broken door that slowly swings open. A soldier steps in, "Sir, we request that all doors remain locked until…" He noticed the stern look on the General's face before seeing me in the chair against the wall. His rifle takes too long to shoulder. I swing my paw up blasting him with the same air blast I've used to disable the others. He crumpled to the floor. He's not dead, but he'll be out for quite a while. I stand up to close the door again.

"General, I don't want to go to war with a military force. I'm outnumbered and outgunned but I am not out-skilled. You would lose. I just want my family. My mother is expecting twins. She's older so she needs extra care." He looked away for that brief moment telling me that he knows something. He refuses to tell me. And in his silence, that tells me everything I need to now. "Call off the alert and I will leave peacefully. But as soon as I step off this base, you had better be ready. This is a transgression I will not ignore."

I dispel my illusion to show all five tails. He can try to hide it all he wants but I saw the moment there was a break in his face. It was fear if only for a split second. He reaches for the radio that's been chattering nonstop, "Break, break. Everyone stand down. The drill is complete." There is a cluster of replies that groups are returning to their regular duties. Even in a crisis, he's able to cover up a mistake. I leave him with one last bit, "You're going to want to cut the guy standing at the gate out of the hut."

I leave out the front door of the building to see the soldiers that were running around everywhere heading back to their regular posts. A few stopped as they noticed me walking out. I waved at them as though nothing was going on. They seemed unsure of what to do. I was the intruder but not anymore. I'm one to keep my word. I knock on the doors of the hut to the dog stuck inside before I take my leave.

Things need to change. This exchange shows me that there are fundamental flaws that need to be corrected. First and foremost, these actions are an affront to me. He did something to my family and I will find out what. I'll need help though. I need a network who can help. I know just where I can go. As much as I don't want to, there are two sects of a religious group that I can rely on to assist.