Dark horizons. Part 6

The adventures of Red Team.

 

The sheets where cold and soft, not a nice feeling in the warm morning sun. Flickering on the hazy background was a morning alarm linked with the coffee machine, which was now pouring out a boiling cup of espresso black blend strong enough to maim a donkey. The heavenly aroma of springtime plants and herbs wafted through the open windows and the light curtain blew softly in the warm morning air. It was going to be a lovely morning, like always and a beautiful day.

 

But despite that a certain female echidna couldn’t and didn’t want to get up.

 

Ringing for the thousandth time, the high-pitched alarm clock was silenced with a well-aimed pillow shot courtesy of firearms school. Despite the now destroyed mechanism the sound still played on the air and in the mind, piercing through all mental defences anyone could raise and eventually driving her mad.

 

In an effort to clear her mind, she sat upright suddenly and scowled at her reflection in the large mirror, the appearance was so frightening she nearly shivered.

 

“You look like death warmed up, too much to drink?”

 

Julie-su pouted and sunk back into the covers quickly as Knuckles walked through the door. He had two cups of coffee and his own styled Stetson lay hanging from his neck, bouncing as he moved. “Thanks, I appreciate your honesty…really I do”

 

“Your quite welcome, and I must say that the smudged eyeliner is a touch of class”

 

“Keep talking red boy and ill break you into little bits”

 

“Now now, one step at a time….”

 

Julie-su ignored the last comment because she really didn’t have an answer; in the distance she thought she heard a contented sigh. “How are they all?”

 

Knuckles rubbed his coffee mug with a gentle hand and took a deep sniff, the relaxing aroma of coffee was much more satisfying than any up-class perfume or smell. “Drake took off about half an hour ago, he was giving Hazel a lift home on his bike…Maverick is asleep on Pink and God is lying upside down from your settee…oh and Mexican is sitting outside smoking a huge cigar” he moved his arms to emphasise the point.

 

“Don’t you ever get hung over?”

 

“My metabolism doesn’t allow me to get drunk, let alone have a hangover…where as you on the over hand…”

 

“How much did I drink?”

 

“By the time I put you to bed three hours ago, id lost count of the rum bottles”

 

Julie-su gasped with horror as she realised Knuckles had put her too bed, was she really that drunk, was she really that stupid?

“Don’t worry, your still clothed…”

 

“Its not that…im…im…oh well what the hell do I think?”

 

Knuckles chuckled and yawned heavily. Spreading his arms out tensed all the muscles in his chest and torso. Julie-su couldn’t help just taking a devoted look. “Im going for a ride, I need to check the western areas…new orders from the brotherhood, I think Remington might have some more jobs for you and the team today…good luck”.

 

“Okay, thanks for the coffee…are we still on for the meal?”

 

Knuckles lowered himself into a comfortable stance and then bowed slowly, “I would not miss it for the world m’lady”

 

Bringing the powerful motorbike to a silent halt, Knuckles removed his large helmet and scanned the surrounding buildings carefully trying to detect the smallest amount of movement; anything in these parts was a potential threat. They’re where a few vagrants and other mind your own business types stalking and skulking around talking in some form of a gutter code, completely oblivious to his understanding. It would be hard for his to pity these people, placed here for their own good by the constable. To wild and dangerous to be integrateable with ‘real’ society and to many in number to treat individually they where commonly referred to as swarmers, a good comparison to a swarm of bees that protected a queen fiercely.

 

This area, like all others had a queen bee. Usually elected because of a limited intelligence they tended to be very hostile and territorial to anyone except Knuckles. They had a large argument saying that you where trespassing on their ground, but even swarmers realised that the island was his property and no amount of bartering could change that.

 

Throwing caution to the wind, he revved the engine slightly and began to curb crawl slowly, checking all of the individuals that turned their dirt-encrusted heads in turn. No doubt most would be armed with something ranging from a knife to a rocket launcher, and in vast numbers they where more than capable of harassing the E.S.T with riots and other democratic stands aimed to heighten their social status. It was a common joke that the only social status a swarmer was allowed would be the right to have a fair trial and burial…if the worst should ever happen of course. The intercom on his bikes display flashed green silently and Knuckles flipped the receiver in an instant, though to his surprise, it wasn’t his father on the screen like normal. 

 

“Guardian…im reading you….”

 

“The tests have come back from the labs and from the body of one of those creatures delta team caught up with, they seem to be a plasma draining symbiotic life form” 

 

“Hazel, slow down and speak sense…what’s one of those?”

 

“In layman’s terms Knuckles…. it’s a vampire”

 

“A vampire, like the kind you get in old ladies tails made to scare children?”

 

Hazel shook her head and next to her on the screen a small display appeared with a spinning vial of green liquid. “These are something much worse, they are altered deliberately by genetic modification, their DNA structure changes rapidly once they are treated…a test one the body resulted in us finding that the creature has a 90% higher muscle to weight ratio than the average echidna”

 

“You must be joking, there is no way that’s possible, is it?”

 

“Im afraid you’re wrong there grandson, it is highly possible and feasible…it’s just a case of molecular and biological physics”

 

Knuckles turned his head to find Sabre standing next to his purring vehicle, he was standing with his arms folded across his chest and all but his face was covered in the blue robes he wore. “Jees I wish you wouldn’t do that” he snapped whilst removing his heart out of his throat.

 

Sabre smiled wryly and continued. “The creatures you found are bred from some form of livestock…they where echidnas once but all vestige of echidnanity was ripped from them at the operating table, we have been following you as well, that is why you are here”

 

“We need you to come back soon so we can register a detoxant Knuckles, there might be an off chance that it has been able to fester in the wound you have…we cant take that chance” Hazel was deeply serious and looked completely different in her casual clothes.

 

 “TOO MUCH INFORMATION!” he growled whilst shaking his head. “Hazel, ill come back as soon as ive finished here…over and out” The link was suddenly severed with a swift flick of the button. Knuckles focused again on Sabre who was standing bemused.

 

“We traced the ‘host’ back here to this area, and we want you to check it out…we have a sickening feeling that this could all be something small of a larger part”

 

Revving the bike to keep it going Knuckles replaced his helmet and nodded to his grandfather quickly, “Im going to take a look around and ill keep you posted, just try and stay around”. Taking a quick look behind him, he wasn’t surprised to see Sabre had vanished.

 

“Damn I hate it when they do that!”

 

Remington banged down his iron fist hard on the table making a coffee cup bounce and float through the air, shattering the hungover delusions of Red team. “This is not the way you are supposed to act, you are professionals ladies and gentlemen…I demand professionalism!”

 

Julie-su raised a sluggish eye at her superior and saluted wryly. “Yes sir, the point has hit home”

 

Stalking over to where Drake was stretched out on his chair, the Constable ripped his hat from his head and threw it across the room. “And you…. you are more trouble than you’re worth!”

 

“So sue me” He hissed in retaliation.

 

“I can do much more than that boy, I can make you disappear just like I made you…you owe me for that….”

 

Drake turned his eyes from Remington’s fierce glare and tried to concentrate on nothing in particular. He had a point; if it weren’t for his hard work most of the Red Team would still be gutter hopping through the west zones. “Okay, so what is it you want us to do?”

 

“From what ive been told there is to be a delegation meeting in seven days, some of the most important people in existence are going to be there” Remington was noticeably calming now as he had the undivided attention. “The ‘Royal Guard’ have been assigned to cover the meeting but as we all know they cant organise a piss up in a brewery, the Brotherhood in their divine knowledge have ordered me to assist in the protection of the V.I.P’s”

 

“We are not diplomatic protection agents sir, with all due respect I think…”

 

“You think nothing Lieutenant, not until I tell you to think….”

 

Julie-su bit her lip and scowled silently. “Yes sir”

 

“I want you all there, dressed to kill and armed with as much firepower as you can take…their will be a gunship waiting for you on the landing pad and you will have one of our ‘Hotshot’ armoured vehicles to play with” He took a breath as the rooms atmosphere suddenly became quite chirpy. “For Edmunds sake, don’t get it blown up”

 

Drake rubbed his hands together and cackled manically as Remington left the room, leaving a swinging door in his wake. Hazel gasped as soon as he was out of earshot and held her head in her hands. “What a complete and utter…”

 

“Great guy” Knuckles interrupted as he steeped though where Remington had left seconds earlier. God rolled his eyes and leant back in his soft chair. “Not quite the words we where looking and far from sufficient”

 

Pink walked over to where the bemused guardian stood and poked at the large brown bag he had draped over his right shoulder. “Whatsat?”

 

Knuckles leant over the coffee table and emptied the contents on its glass surface, the resulting hysteria being something he had already planned for. Drake stood up and screamed with interest, “Dude you’ve got a head?”

 

Knuckles nodded and smiled as Julie-su began to wretch, “I found it in the slums missing a body, looks like a fairly recent kill…the most interesting thing is the marks in the side of the neck, looks like someone just drained him of blood”

 

“That thing is absolutely disgusting, it must be the most off-putting thing ive ever witnessed bar Drake” Jules had covered her mouth and nose with a forearm trying to block out the smell. “Damn it stinks…. put it away please!.”

 

“Hazel, I thought this thing could come in useful for some sort of research you weirdo’s do, besides…I think its kinda cool” Knuckles took the sack and rolled the head back in.

 

“Thanks, that’s great ill just get the rest of the ‘weirdo’s’ together and we can have a ‘complicated’ debate over the smell, and while were at it…hey we might as well just go and get a computer and oogle over that as well!”

 

Knuckles sniffed for a second and then shrugged, “Okay…whatever takes your fancy”

 

Hazel scowled at him and then hung her head in desperation.