"Anna! Anna? Are you home?" Dmitri, Anna's brother, called out. "I have to talk with you." The male fox searched through out the two-floor rental unit, his sharp, military trained eyes flicking from room to room. There was not a sound of her music going, or a sound of life anywhere. "Where could she have gone?"
--
The black vixen wandered through the town square, the black jacket over her shoulders being pulled tighter. The night last night had left brilliant white snow on the ground everywhere. She had to shield her eyes from the brilliant white in the sun. Her tail flicked from side to side as she searched out her favorite coffee shop just around the corner, the familiar sound of jazz music meeting her ears. The atmosphere of the coffee shop was alive, everyone laughing and talking, the typical weekend afternoon. As she progressed to the counter, her silver eyes scanned the menu for a holiday favorite of hers. Ah, yes, it's here... she thought, offering a smile to the barista behind the counter.
"Can I have a Pumpkin Spiced Latte, please?" Anna asked, her light Russian accent peeking through.
"Right up," the Calico feline replied. The barista rang in the drink, repeating the total before going off to make it.
Anna fished around in her wallet for the change, setting it on the counter, none too soon before the barista returned, offering up the drink. The fox nodded in thanks before she returned to the snow-ridden street, sipping the hot, creamy drink with mild satisfaction. Slipping her wallet back into her purse, she set off for home now.
The coffee shop was moderately noisy, which irritated the dragonfox a bit. He'd been given his assignment by a rather shady figure a few weeks ago, and it had taken him a while to find Anna and her brother. They definitely were used to hiding, he had to give them that much. He lowered the newspaper that he read just enough so that he could peer over the edge, watching Anna closely as she ordered and paid for her coffee. She moved with a lithe agility that definitely gave away sophisticated combat training. As she left, he slowly got up and waited a few seconds before following after her.
The search for Anna and Dmitri had taken quite a while, and was a source of great frustration for the young bounty hunter. It had taken him almost a week simply to get a basic idea of which city they lived in, much less the exact location. The city that they lived in was small, but it had somehow taken another week for him to find their rental unit, and a couple days for him to figure out their schedule. He had tracked them for another week, learning every detail of their schedule and entering it into the computer on his arm. There wasn't much to it, simply because they didn't leave the rental unit very often. He found that it made a good amount of sense, given that they constantly had people after them.
He followed a safe distance behind Anna as she walked home, keeping his pace brisk to match hers and keeping his wings folded to allow himself a thinner profile as he darted between bystanders and other pedestrians. His eyes were looking ahead, but she stayed in his peripheral vision so that it would look a bit less suspicious. His tails swung low behind him as he walked, maintaining a predatory position as he followed after her.
The vixen was unaware of her pursuer, sipping on her latte-cappuccino with a soft murr. It was one of those days where a warm drink felt nice. Her free hand tucked into her jacket pocket as she walked, her eyes looking about the different people she passed. As another block passed by, she found the "short-cut" home, leading her through a relatively open park that had a forest off to the right. Her previous footprints showed the trail she took before, almost following it exactly back, having walked that way numerous times before.
Finding one of the benches, she set her drink down, removing the toque she wore on top of her head. Anna brushed her dark hair back before pulling on the toque again, her ears folding down in the process. Her hearing was a bit muffled, but she didn't mind. The lack of having to feel the cold made it more worth while. Her pink tongue flicked across her lips, snatching up the large paper cup once more.
Sabata waited outside of the small park, leaning against the wall and pulling out a cell phone. He opened it up and pretended to carry a conversation albeit feeling a bit foolish. It was necessary for cover, however, and it was the only solution that was possible at the time. He waited until everyone else had left from the park (there weren't many) before closing the cell phone and approaching Anna as she sat on the bench. He moved quickly, yet stealthily. As he came up to the side of the bench, he slid his right paw into the pocket of his jacket, where his Steyr M-1A was hidden. He'd taken it out of the shoulder holster before leaving to wait in the coffee shop, and it was a good thing now since he wasn't sure what she was capable of-- or armed with, for that matter. He spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Take me to your house immediately. Make a sound or resist and your brother dies."
It was a huge bluff, but it usually worked when there were multiple targets.
The vixen tensed, sipping her drink slowly one last time before she set it down on the bench. The voice that spoke to her was unfamiliar to her, a fleeting look of agitation gracing her visage. As the threat about her brother looped around in her head several more times, she stood without a word. She didn't care to look at him, she didn't care to speak to him, she just began to walk in the direction of the house.
Anna's tail hung still behind her as she walked, her hands limply at her sides. Dmitri spoke of times that this would eventually happen, but she allowed her guard to fall. Her gaze watched straight ahead, her mind now running through what she should do.
He kept his paw around the butt of his pistol, following behind her as they trudged through the snow. "Walk naturally. Are you trying to attract attention?" he snarled at her. He walked a few feet behind her, his ears flicking as they walked. His gaze was never in the same place for more than a few seconds before they left the park, when his gait became more natural and calm. He kept his paw in the pocket of his jacket, ready to pull his pistol out at the first sign of resistance. He expected her to run at any moment, and was ready to chase after her if he needed to. He stretched his wings a bit as he walked a bit closer behind her, preparing to take off at the slightest sign of resistance.
Anna didn't even acknowledge he had spoken, hearing him come just a little more closer. Her ears gave a little bit of a twitch, the only indication that she had come to a conclusion. Rounding the corner sharply, her arm flung out from beside her, twisting back. Her body was aimed at him for a strike with her forearm, aimed at his neck more precisely. It had only taken a second for her to move, having already scanned the area for anyone who could be by, but there was no one.
He walked behind her, keeping his gaze fixed on her as they rounded the corner. He had half-expected her to try and resist, and the ear-flick gave her away. He wasn't quite quick enough to avoid or block the sudden attack, but he did manage to move so that her elbow only struck a glancing blow on his shoulder. Thinking quickly as he had been trained to do, his first instinct was to draw his pistol and fire. He would have gone with the much simpler solution, but the report would definitely attract attention, and he hadn't brought a silencer. His shoulder throbbed from where she'd hit him-- she was definitely more of a challenge than he'd been expecting.
He lashed out at her with his razor-sharp claws out, aiming to grab her shoulder and drag her backwards if she tried to run. He flared his wings out, ready to take flight if he happened to miss and she managed to get away.
The black vixen's leg now came up as she spun quickly on her heel, aiming to connect a blow to his ribcage while his arms were raised. She could feel his claws dig into her shoulder, flinching some. Her gaze was cast over him slightly, taking in a few simple features. Who was he? And who did he work for? The thoughts ran though her head. And why? She couldn't help but give off a small growl, frustrated now, and it was showing.
The thoughts continued to rampage her mind.