Loose Ends

*Capital City*

Before the calamity, most cities would have a bustling nightlife. Plenty of dance clubs and bars to service all the fine people that were looking for a distraction from the monotony of their everyday lives.

However, now cities adhered to a curfew set in place by the government. Just about everything closed up not long after the sunset. A Reaper could be active at all parts of the day, but they do most of their hunting at night. Especially when it comes to packs as it becomes easier to ensnare a sleeping defenseless prey than a fully alert one.

Due to this, cities have the curfew in effect so that there's less noise to draw hungry Reapers and the posted military can put their full focus on defending the borders of the city rather than keeping an eye on loud, drunk civilians.

Over at the military outpost in Capital City, they were all preparing for the usual night watch.

In a few pairs they would roam the outer parts of the city while at least one person stayed behind at the outpost to keep an ear out for any occurrences in the inner part of the city. It was usually their Post Commander with the weird bowl cut that took the privilege of staying behind.

"Alright you boys know the drill! A team - you patrol the East side of the city. B team - you got the West. And C team - you'llThe Post Commander barked.

"Yes, sir!" They all shouted in unison. They then filed out of the outpost and to their respective areas.

B team begrudgingly headed towards the West side of town. It consisted of Private Connors and Private Yilmaz.

"Are we seriously getting West detail, AGAIN?" Connors grumbled.

"I mean are you surprised? The PC has his favs and we're at the bottom of the barrel in that category." Yilmaz responded.

"It's just bullshit, you know? No one wants to work the West side. Those freaks over in the ghetto will give anyone a bad taste in their mouth. Meanwhile Jenkins is working the interior as usual so he could sharpen up that bowl cut of his."

They both laughed and continued on their way as they continued to trash talk the Post Commander and lament their luck for being stationed here instead of at Alpha or Savatore base.

They made their way to the West side of the city which was by far the worst sector. Most of the buildings were in need of renovations even without the damage from the war. About 95% of the housing was government sponsored. Since hybrids couldn't officially hold a job in the city, they were allotted a room in one of the houses or apartments in this part of the city. However, the landlords were always looking for reasons to evict people whether they broke any of the laws or not. So there was still a homeless population in this part of the city.

This made the West part of the city a very undesirable place to be. Especially at night.

Connors and Yilmaz arrived in the West sector.

"Remember, safety off." Yilmaz stated. Connors nodded and they both pulled out their sidearms and pressed the button near the trigger to turn the safety off. They then reupholstered their guns.

"Did you remember to load up the right ammo this time?" Yilmaz asked.

"For fucks sake, yes! I slip up one time and I get shit for it every day since."

"Haha. I only do it because I care." Yilmaz said, winking at him. "You know regular bullets don't do shit to Reaper skin."

Enlisted military are issued a sidearm as well as an assault rifle to only be used when needed. Along with that, they are given special bullets that are uniquely shaped and made out of a rare material that allows them to penetrate the hard skin of a Reaper.

This is what the Major General used in his capture of Azrael.

They passed a few people crowded around a fire that they lit inside of an old barrel. There were 3 of them trying to cook some kind of questionable meat over the fire.

One of them looked up as Connors and Yilmaz approached and you could see the immediate nervousness set in. The man quickly shifted his eyes down towards the fire.

Connors looked over at the man with his head held down and saw him periodically peek out the corner of his eye at him. He nudged Yilmaz a little and nodded his head over towards the man with a grin on his face.

"Evening…'gentleman'." Connors said in a pompous tone.

The 3 men looked at each other and one of them spoke up, "Good evening, sir." He said in a soft tone.

"You guys out here roasting a pig or something? Smells….a little foul. Don't you think so, Yilmaz?"

Yilmaz dramatically sniffed the air around them and made a face. "Damn, you're right. Something must've died around here or something. You fellas know anything about that?"

The same one spoke up for the group again, "No, sir. We've just been here. Keeping warm and trying to put something in our stomachs."

Connors walked closer to them and sniffed around the one who was peeking at him earlier.

"Ahhh. There it is. It's just you guys!"

Connors and Yilmaz laughed as if they told the best joke and then walked off. The three men simply sighed and continued on with their lives.

Not far from where they harassed the group, there was a park that was home to some rather shady characters during the night. People would randomly show up and leave only minutes later. It was well known that this was a popular spot for illegal deals and services.

Yilmaz tapped Connor's on the shoulder. "Hey, let's cut through the park today."

"Why? We never go that way."

"Exactly. It'll be something new and excitinggggg." He said as he pumped his arms a bit in a joking manner.

"Hah, fine, whatever."

They turned off the usual path and headed into the park. The park was mostly an open area with a few benches and trees scattered throughout. But in the dead center of the park was this large ramp that was about 30ft wide and had a small walkway that went underneath it. On top of the ramp was a statue as well as a few other sitting areas. The statue was of the city's savior and current President, Salvatore. It had since been decked out in all sorts of graffiti.

Connors and Yilmaz decided to just cut through underneath the ramp through the tunnel. There were a few dim lights on the ceiling of the tunnel so that it wasn't completely jet black inside of it,

They entered the tunnel and made sure to keep their hands near their sidearm. The parks in this sector were like little hubs for crime to take place and in a uniform you might as well paint a target on your back.

"So, what did Jenkins say about the pay raise?" Yilmaz asked.

"He told me that the budget was tight this year and that the raises were going to soldiers stationed at the bases."

"Wait, didn't Carey, Muller, and Phillips JUST get a raise like a week ago?"

"Yepppp. What he meant was 'the raises are going to everyone but you two fuckers' haha."

Yilmaz didn't respond.

"Like am I right? Year after year of this. I wish he was a freaking hybrid so we could just *bam* and be done with him. Am I right or am I right?"

Still Yilmaz didn't respond.

Finally Connors turned to him, "Listen you don't have to be afraid of Jenkins hearing us or anything-"

Yilmaz wasn't there.

Connors quickly turned around but didn't see him. He looked to the sides and even on the ceiling for some odd reason, but still no sign of him.

"Yilmaz?" He scanned the area around him but saw nothing.

"What the fuck…Yilmaz! Yilmazzzz!"

That's when something large dropped from where the tunnel exited out back into the rest of the park which was about 20ft away. It dropped down and then just hung from what looked like a rope. The light was too dim to tell from a distance what the object was.

"Huh? What is that?" Connors pulled out his side arm as well as his flashlight from his utility pouch. He held the gun out in front and the flashlight closer to his chest.

He approached the dangling object slowly while shining his flashlight to hopefully get a better scope of what he was looking at.

".....wait…" Suddenly Connors picked up the pace and ran towards the object.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." He ran full speed until he was right under it. His eyes were wide and shaking as he couldn't quite believe what he was looking at.

His flashlight illuminated the body of his partner Yilmaz who was hanging from a rope that was tied off somewhere on top of the ramp.

"How…how did this happen…WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?!"

Connors was confused and scared. Yilmaz was just beside him a moment ago, he thought to himself. How could someone have dragged him off and killed him that fast? Not to mention there were no signs of suffocation in his face. The only logical answer is that he died prior to being hung. But no more than a minute or two had passed! Unless…

He clenched his teeth and started flashing his light around. "Alright, where are you?! I know you fucking halfie bastards are behind this with your special little powers! Come on out. I have a bullet set aside for each and every one of you!"

"Is that what you said to her too?"

Connors hastily turned around at the sound of another voice echoing in the tunnel back towards the entrance where they first walked in. His light fell on a cloaked figure wearing a mask with a question mark painted on.

Zero had arrived.

"A little old for dress up, dontcha think?" Connors said, seething under his breath. "Take off the mask. Walk forward. Get on your knees. NOW."

Zero didn't budge.

Connors pulled back on the hammer of the pistol. "I'm not going to say it again."

"You know…they were right."

"They?" Connors asked, frustrated and confused.

"Two. And the other Zero."

"Two?...Zero?..." Suddenly it all clicked in his head. "You're one of the freaks from Alpha Base!"

Zero stepped forward towards Connors.

"Stay back! I swear I'll put you down!" He said as he took a step back.

"Then do it. You didn't hesitate with Nora, right??"

"Who the fuck is Nora?!"

"....So you shoot her down in the street and don't even bother learning her name?"

Connors sneered as he began to sweat. "You're gonna have to be more specific, pal. If I took the time to learn the name of every little hybrid we shot down, I'd never get anything done."

Zero felt something start to crack inside him. Connors words had started a chain reaction in him.

Zero stepped forward more so that he was clearly visible to Connors. He reached up and removed his mask, showing his actual face.

Connors' eyes widened and his mouth went agape. "It's…you. You're the one that was with Sgt. Sadiki a few weeks back! How did you get out of the base?! I suggest you back the hell up right now before I radio the outpost and have you reported!"

Zero ignored his warning. "Two said that the only one that would look out for those like us, are us. And the old Zero knew that if justice was to be done, it would have to be one of us to enact judgment. No one else would be able to understand our pain."

Zero placed his mask back on his face.

"You and your friend back there were part of the group that showed up with Sadiki when you took Nora away. Then you took her life even though it wasn't yours to take. I made sure your friend found the guilt he didn't know he had as I snuffed out his life."

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Connors finally fired off several shots at Zero as the fear set in.

But Zero had disappeared from sight. Only his disembodied voice rang through the tunnel.

"Now, I'm going to take yours."