"They must have hopped over the fence," Vale mumbled.
"Or maybe it's nothing." It wasn't unheard of a critter getting inside a few buildings and tripping the alarm accidentally. "Let's check it out any—” The words died on Fox's lips when Vale climbed and hopped over the fence with ease, not taking into account his large frame.
"Hey, what the fuck do you think you're doing?"
"My job," Vale reasoned, giving Fox a look that said he'd asked a dumbass question. "You go and find another way in while I go take care of this." With that, he jogged off, leaving Fox with no recourse than to follow his lead.
"Fuck, he can be reckless sometimes."
I'm seriously going to have his head checked when we get back to the precinct.
Once he was over the fence, he quickly caught up to Vale walking into the warehouse. Fox grabbed the man's arm, stopping him when the alarm suddenly stopped. Fox knew it wasn't the warehouse owner. Dispatch would have informed him if they showed up. The hairs on the back of Fox's neck stood on end—something felt off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Vale gave him the signal that they should split up, and Fox wasn’t going to object, figuring he was probably overreacting.
With his weapon and flashlight in front of him, Fox slowly entered the building and went to the right while Vale went to the left. He walked around the shelves paying close attention to his surroundings, ignoring the life-like statues and figures made of ceramic and clay. The warehouse was dark, enormous, and silent, which added to the creepiness of the place.
Hearing a noise behind him, Fox whirled around, aiming his gun and flashlight at where he figured the sound came from. His shoulders relaxed just a bit when he spotted a black cat with glowing blue eyes that hissed at him then dashed across his foot, disappearing into the dark.
Fucking cat.
Fox was about to start moving again when a gloved hand covered his mouth and a muscular chest pressed into his back. The gun and the flashlight fell from his hands as he wiggled his body, trying to dislodge and get away from his attacker, but his attempt failed.
He sent a hard elbow in what he hoped was the person's stomach and was disappointed that it didn't have any effect. The hand tightened around his mouth, stopping him from making a sound or trying to bite. Fox felt immobilized and wondered if there was some kind of chemical laced in the gloves his attacker was wearing.
He raised his leg to stomp the person's foot but froze when he felt a pain in his side. A sharp object was tearing into his flesh, and he could feel his rib bones break as the object exited through the other end. Fox mentally howled, unable to voice the agony in his sides.
In all the times he'd been in dire situations, he'd never felt such pain or thought he was going to die until that very moment. His knees buckled, yet Fox didn't fall. His vision blurred from tears as his life flashed before his eyes making him realize he wasn't ready to die.
He hadn't accomplished all he'd set out to do.
I guess my luck has finally run out of time. I'm too young to die.
Fox wanted to adopt a couple of kids. Whether he got married or not wasn't a factor, but he wanted to fall in love at least once.
Maybe I should have given Vale a shot.
He wanted to open his law practice and earn a shit ton of money.
I regret never taking risks and going for what I wanted.
The hand over his mouth was removed as well as the sharp object that had sliced through his body. Blood pooled in Fox's mouth, making him gasp for whatever breath he could muster.
"No hard feelings," a gruff voice whispered in his ear. "You're simply a causality of war. You shouldn't have been so important to him. He grew careless in our little game which is why I must take all he holds dear."
Who am I important to? Fox thought as his body slowly fell to the ground, and his world went black.
Fox screamed, snapping his eyes open but unable to see anything since his vision was blurred. He whimpered as pain wracked his entire body. He couldn't speak, think, or move. He felt as if his life was draining out of him.