Surveillance chapter 17

July 26th

Unknown location 2:42 PM

Amy's heart pounded as the area they trailed into became more and more sketchy. It seemed as if the longer her and Shadow followed the young skunk deeper into whatever town he was leading them to, the more feelings of foreboding rose in her heart. Shadow kept his eyes alert; one hand around his waist area which housed his gun. His ears swiveled at every sound on both sides of the street. The sun didn't appear to even shine here. Various run down homes lined the sidewalks, squashed together like some forced jigsaw puzzle. A lot of the windows were boarded, and the few that did have glass were shattered; some completely blown out. Every now and then Amy would see a mobian beating a dusty rug on a porch, or a couple clusters smoking who knows what.

The young skunk skipped ahead nonchalantly, making Amy's heart sink. This was his environment. This was his normal, and for whatever reason it tore Amy to pieces. "Hey", she called out to him. He stopped and pivoted around. "We're almost there. You need to rest?" As a matter of fact, she did need to rest. Although she couldn't say she felt safe stopping.

"No, but I was just thinking. You've lived here your whole life?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Ma and Pop were killed when I was 6. I survived by stealing scraps and squatting in abandoned homes for two years until uncle Knuckles found me and took me in. He taught me everything I know!", he said happily. He then looked around with sudden realization. "I know it's not pretty around here, but I claim it. I'm proud of where I come from", he said with a defensive frown.

Amy waved her hand. "No, no. I'm not putting it down or anything. We all come from somewhere. Just trying to wrap my mind around how a child...never mind", Amy trailed off. She motioned for him to continue leading the way. He obliged and marched on with a purpose. Shadow fell into pace with Amy.

"What was that about?"

Amy shrugged. "I don't know. Something is off."

"You think-"

"I SAID GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Shadow and Amy jumped as a female cat pushed a male cat out of her front door from across the street. She was bruised from head to toe and her breathing was labored. She also had a crusted streak of blood running down the right side of her face. The male tumbled down the wooden porch steps, his elbow catching on a nail that was sticking out. He cursed in pain and stood up, suddenly flying at the woman with raged fists. She screamed as he grabbed a handful of her hair and dragged her back into the home, kicking the door shut behind him. Amy took a step off their side of the curb, but the young skunk's hand caught her elbow before she could cross the street. Amy looked back at him to see him shaking his head solemnly.

"It's best not to get involved. Trust me. She'll be okay."

Shadow huffed. "He's probably beating the living shit out of her. What do you mean she'll be okay?"

The boy sighed. "I know this place, alright? Let's keep going. Just trust me."

The woman's screams could be heard once again. They slowly turned into agonizing groans. Amy clenched her fists. "I can't stand for this", she said, and took off across the street. Shadow pulled out his gun and followed suit. "Wait!" the boy cried out to them as they busted into the old home.

Amy skidded to a halt after entering the home. She stepped back repulsed as a large cockroach scuttled across her path. Listening intently for the sound of the woman, Amy crept through the home silently. Shadow stayed right behind her, often turning around to check their back side. His eyes traveled around the furniture of the home, lingering particularly on a moldy green couch that had stuffing spilling out with stretches of gray duct tape across the surface. long dried blood stains decorated the couch and the hardwood floors. Shadow cursed under his breath. "The hell is going on here", he muttered to himself.

Both paused as they heard the soft sound of a bed squeaking around the corner. Amy looked briefly at Shadow, fear and anger flashing simultaneously across her expression. He nodded, approving what they needed to do and stepped around her to enter the bedroom first. Shadow peeped into the cracked door and grimaced at the sight before him. The cat lady laid across a dingy mattress limply as her husband, or boyfriend, laid on top of her caressing her face. Shadow nudged the door open fully with his shoulder and aimed the gun at the boyfriend's back. Before he could wound the guy, the girl opened one eye and screamed at the sight of the gun. The boyfriend whipped around and rolled off of her, reaching for a shot gun lying on the other side of the mattress.

Shadow fired a shot before he could grasp the shot gun. The bullet grazed his wrist enough to deter him. "I wouldn't if I were you", Shadow growled. Amy pushed her way into the room and ran over to help the girl sit up. To her surprise, the lady pushed away from her and ran over to the guy.

"WHO ARE YOU? GET OUT!" She screamed in fear. Her pupils dilated sharply. "Get away...GET AWAY FROM US!"

Amy tried to reason with her. "I know you're afraid, but you need to get away from him now. We're here to help you."

The guy growled in anger. "You heard my wife. Get the fuck out of my house before I call the cops."

Shadow scoffed. "You sure you want the police out here? And judging this area, they'd make it here some time next week. Stand up." When the guy remained seated, Shadow fired a shot into the roof. "I said stand up!"

The guy rose shakily with his wife attached to his arm. He opened his mouth to speak, but froze at the sight of the young skunk in the doorway. His expression then turned to rage. "Joshua! Did you bring them here?!" Amy looked back to see the little boy trembling slightly. So Joshua was his name, she thought briefly to herself before turning back to the married couple. The wife had lowered her head now, sobbing silently.

Joshua nodded slowly. "I told them to ignore it. I told them not to pay attention!"

"I"LL KILL YOU", the husband yelled and lunged at the boy suddenly. Shadow fired again, this time catching the man in the thigh. He stumbled down and hollered in agony, clutching his leg as blood poured out. The wife screamed again and crawled over, trying to press down on the wound to stop the bleeding. The husband elbowed her away roughly, causing a sickening crack to her nose.

"That's enough!" Amy called out. She stepped over the husband and pulled the wife to their side of the room. The wife wrenched herself free and slid down the wall slowly, holding her bleeding nose and crying harder. "What the hell is going on?"

"ASK HIM!" the husband yelled, baring his fangs at Joshua who stood frozen in the doorway. "I was doing you a solid you son of a bitch!"

Shadow pointed the gun at the husband, silencing him. "I think i'll do the talking from here on out." He turned over to Joshua as Amy attempted to calm the wife down. "Do you know this couple?"

Joshua nodded slowly.

"And what exactly is your relationship to them?"

Joshua began to tremble violently. "I...well I-"

"Don't lie to me", Shadow growled. "We have shit we need to get to. You tell me the damn truth right now!"

The soft click of a gun silenced the room. All eyes turned to the doorway where a red echidna stood with a group of at least 8 behind him. He had two guns in his hands. One pointed at Shadow, and the other at Amy. A cigarette hung limply from his thin lips and an eye patch covered one eye. Shadow frowned, his gun still aimed at the husband who was looking back and forth frantically between him and the echidna. "And who the hell are you?" Shadow growled.

The echidna ignored Shadow and took in the room scene with his eyes silently. The wife began to weep again. The echidna maneuvered his gun aim from Amy to the wife. "Be quiet", he said with an eerie gentleness. The wife silenced herself with shaky hands covering her mouth, blood still running over her mouth from her nose. He then turned to Joshua who appeared very much like a toddler who had just been questioned on who broke a glass vase.

"Hi uncle Knuckles...", he whimpered.

Amy looked from Knuckles to Joshua and back to Knuckles. "You're Knuckles? I need-"

"How about I tell you what I need instead", Knuckles interrupted. "I need you", he nodded at Amy, "and you", he nudged his gun in Shadow's direction, "to get the fuck out of my town and then...erase everything you saw today from your minds."

Joshua opened his mouth in shock. "But Knuckles, they need-"

"I'm not one to repeat myself", Knuckles said, not bothering to glance over in Joshua's direction. Amy came closer to Knuckles, causing him to raise his gun straight to the middle of her forehead. "Back up."

"No", Amy said defiantly. For a brief moment, Knuckles eyes showed an expression of shock. It was gone all too quickly and replaced with a threatening frown. "Like I said, I don't like to repeat myself."

"And I don't have time to waste", Amy retorted, "If you were going to shoot you would have done it by now."

Knuckles gave Amy a wicked smile. "Oh but you're wrong. I would have shot you by now, but there's one problem. I only have one bullet sadly." Without taking his eyes off of her, Knuckles pointed the gun at the wife and fired. A bullet went clean through her chest. Amy tensed and looked behind her as the woman slowly leaned over to the ground, her eyes staring blankly at the floor. "Now then", he said calmly. "Let's talk."

Unknown Mental Facility 3:15 pm

The sound of heels echoed softly down a lone corridor as a nurse walked with a silver tray in hand to the last door on the right of the hall. She balanced the tray in one hand and knocked softly on a patient's room. "Coming in", she said with a gentle tone. She smiled warmly at her patient as she laid across a simple bed with her legs crossed, staring blankly at the ceiling tiles. The patient didn't bother looking her way, not that she ever made direct eye contact with anyone anyway. The nurse set the tray which held a paper cup of water and two powder blue pills on the bed side table and dragged a chair across the floor. She sat across from the patient, folding her palms neatly on her lap.

"You don't have to take your medicine for another ten minutes, but I thought i'd bring it early today so we could have some time to chit chat." She then pulled a small notepad and pen out of one of her scrub pockets. "How are we feeling today?"

The patient smiled loosely. "Bare", she said to the ceiling. "I miss my make-up you know."

The nurse, whose name badge read Emily G., nodded politely. She was a young, petite hedgehog with her quills tied up in a bun. "I understand. But until we're sure you're completely...feeling better...we can't let you have small things yet. I think you're very pretty without makeup either way you know", Emily said cheerfully. "Were you a model before your incarceration?"

The patient licked her lips and took a deep breath. She exhaled slowly. "Sure...something like that."

"I know you're glad to be out of jail. You've been here about 2 weeks now. Have you settled in okay?"

"To be honest", the patient said smoothy, "I still feel like i'm in prison. Only difference is there are people trying to chew on my bangs and convince me that this building is actually suspended in outer space."

Emily giggled slightly. "Oh, Ms. The other patients are quite nice when you get to know them. Just give it time."

"I'm not like them", the patient mumbled softly.

Emily's facial expression straightened out. She looked sympathetic. "I know how you must be feeling-"

"But do you really?" The patient blew her bangs out of her face with a steady blow of breath. "You come here in your freshly pressed scrubs Monday through Friday passing out meds and giving back rubs to patients throwing up their guts every morning before breakfast. You obey every shrink's orders, going door to door, spending time observing and taking notes on all the others that are here. You report any new changes, helping doctors decipher whether or not a patient is ready to be discharged or whether a couple months needs to be added to their sentence here. You go on your lunch breaks with the other nurses and sip your fancy teas and gossip about your most craziest experience of the day. After lunch you supervise activities in the social square and laugh at jokes from the patient's that you know good and well don't make any damn sense to you. And after that you finish the rest of the day with that mock cheerfulness you carry around all day. You go home, tell your boyfriend about your day and fall asleep. Only to turn the alarm clock off at 5 a.m just to repeat the previous day all over again. Am I wrong?"

Emily clenched and unclenched her sweaty palms in her lap. It bothered her how observant and spot on this specific patient always was since her first day here. How the hell did she know she even had a boyfriend? She swallowed. "You're right. That pretty much sums up my day."

The patient nodded in brief satisfaction. "I know. But you're different."

"How so?"

"I think you actually do care for everyone locked away here. Your mock cheerfulness is for our sake, not your own. You do it so some of these patients here can have something to look forward to. Whether it be one of your chit chat sessions or simply sharing a brief joke over a paper cup of stale water. Can't say I don't enjoy our talks myself." The patient paused. "Well i'll be damned. I guess I am just like everyone else here in some ways."

Emily scribbled something on her notepad and smiled warmly. "You truly are one of a kind Ms. Rouge. One of a damn kind."

Unknown location 3:36 pm

Amy and Shadow were shoved down a dim hallway roughly by the 8 guys that Knuckles had brought with him. Their hands were zip tied behind their backs rather tightly and Joshua kept whispering apologies as they trekked all the way to some abandoned warehouse with a dirt floor. They were eventually seated in two rusted chairs across from a large cushioned chair where Knuckles perched himself. He took his sweet time lighting another cigarette and leaning back in his god father styled setting. He folded his legs and blew out a long line of smoke. "You have one opportunity to tell me the truth of why you're really here" he finally said after four more puffs.

Shadow bared his teeth. "First off, what the hell was that back there? You shot an innocent woman in the chest for fucks sake!"

Knuckles's eyes trailed slowly to Shadow. He placed his cigarette back up to his lips. "You don't know a damn thing", he said nonchalantly. "She deserved to die."

"And for what excatly?!"

Knuckles glanced over at Joshua. "Have you told your new friends about her?"

Joshua stared down at his torn up shoes in shame. "No."

"Hm", Knuckles said. "Interesting. Guess i'll do the honors then." He stood and began to circle the room slowly. "The lady that I killed had an agreement with me. In exchange for the crime she committed against Joshua, she would be taken as the wife of one of my workers, whom you injured", Knuckles said with a slight tinge of anger towards Shadow.

Amy frowned. "And that excuses domestic violence?"

"It excuses what I would have done to her personally had this one not begged me to leave her be", he grumbled, jerking a thumb in Joshua's direction. He then took another long smoke.

Amy wore a look of disgust across her face. "She was getting beaten and raped for who knows how long!"

"I know", Knuckles said nonchalantly.

"You know?! What could she have possibly done to deserve that?!"

Knuckles stopped his pacing and motioned for Joshua to come to him. The young skunk came to him slowly. "Take your shirt off and turn around", he told him. Joshua did as he was told and removed his dirty red t-shirt. He then turned his back to Shadow and Amy, revealing long lines of puffy scars and stitches. There were so may of them that his natural fur couldn't be seen. Amy shut her eyes tightly and looked away. Shadow stared directly at the boy's back and breathed slowly. Knuckles nodded and Joshua put his shirt back on.

"His back got the worst of it. Now imagine those marks all over his legs and arms and chest. As a matter of fact, whatever you're picturing, add to that the image of walking in on him being forced to penetrate an adult female and being beat upon not complying. Got that image in your head? Good. Now you're in my boat by at least ten percent." He continued to pace the room again. "Now, then. After I had my dealings with her, I gave her away to a guy who would never let her forget what she had done. In agreement to this arrangement, her life was spared. Until today of course. Now i'm not a bad guy that promotes violence against females. Although, I can't say I was particularly moved to stop him from hitting on her." Upon making another full round of the room, Knuckles sat back down and spun a full circle in his chair. "So that's my reasoning for that. The main reasoning you two haven't joined her is because little dude here brought you to me. I trust his judgement. Yes, an 11 year old I do trust. So, that brings me back to my original thoughts. Why are you here?'

A series of mixed emotions flooded Amy. She was suddenly aware of the type of guy Joshua had led them to. "I don't...I don't know if you know who we are-"

"I know who you are", Knuckles said. "How could I not? Your faces are all over the news."

Amy looked over to Shadow and back to Knuckles. "Then you know the situation. Mina Mongoose was abducted 48 hours ago. I know she's still alive, and-"

"-and this has what to do with Joshua and I?"

Amy paused. "I...we...need help. I need criminals. I need masterminds to aid with Mina's rescue. The people who kidnapped her...there's something different about them. I don't believe we can take them alone." Amy waited for Shadow to protest that statement, but he remained silent; his focus more attentive on Joshua. Knuckles chuckled softly to himself. It got louder and louder until he doubled over on his knees, holding his stomach as his laughter rolled out. "Gentlemen...untie these two please."

Two buff squirrels came up and cut the zip ties on Shadow and Amy's wrists. Amy rubbed the raw areas gently. "So...?"

Knuckles wiped his face and finally stopped laughing. "You're free to go."

Amy stood up abruptly, causing some of the surrounding guys to pull their guns. "What do you mean we're free to go? I've just requested your assistance."

"Yeah, and i'm supposed to rise up like a knight in shining armor and say lead the way? I don't even know you. Now get out of here before I do some real damage, princess."

Amy's heart skipped a beat at the change in tone in Knuckle's voice. He wasn't bluffing this time. Shadow touched her shoulder, slightly startling her. "Let's go find the others. You tried." Amy stepped away from Shadow's grasp gently.

"We can offer you money."

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "You have no idea what kind of things I run here, do you? I have money to take care of my grandchildren's children. No reward of yours is of any benefit to me. Escort them out gentlemen." Knuckles waved them off like fruit flies as Amy and Shadow's arms were grabbed by the men. Amy resisted and tried calling out to Knuckles. "Please! You don't understand!"

"Don't beg. It only makes you look worse", he called back to them as they were dragged down the hall. After many stairs and turns, the men shoved Amy and Shadow outside, slamming the door behind them. Shadow dusted himself off and kicked a rock on the pavement. "Don't you see now? This little hero team of yours is no good. Our lives were just on the line and we're still walking away with what we started with. Nothing! Rose, we are wasting time. Me and you can save Mina, I know it. We...we make a good team."

Butterflies attacked Amy's stomach. She quickly suppressed them and gained her footing. "I guess you're right. I don't know, I just feel like...", Amy trailed off as she heard voices trailing out from behind the warehouse. She held a finger to her lips while looking at Shadow and pressed herself against the wall of the building. She maneuvered silently until she could peer around the corner. A small group of masked men in all black were silently assembling guns and passing weapons to each other from a white van parked a couple of feet away. Shadow peered around her suspiciously.

"Something isn't right. We'd better get going."

"We can't", Amy whispered frantically. "Joshua is in there, I can't walk away knowing a child is in there."

Shadow growled quietly. "Damn it, Rose. You can't keep-"

POP POP POP

Shadow pulled Amy down quickly as shots rang out toward the building. The shots weren't aimed at them, but bullets were flying everywhere. Approximately six masked individuals entered the warehouse after shooting down the back door. Amy drew her gun and ran in behind them. Shadow reached for her, but she had moved away too fast. "Oh for christ's sake!" He drew his own gun and followed suit.

The inside was chaos. The six individuals were firing at the 8 of Knuckle's men. Amy quickly scanned the room for Joshua, but he was no where to be found. A bullet whipped past her face by a couple of inches. Amy fired at one of the masked men, bringing him to his knees. His mask rolled off, revealing a red hedgehog who was holding his arm in pain. Amy stepped over him, keeping low. Shadow was firing behind her, bringing two more of the masked men to the ground. The other three had moved to another area of the warehouse.

"Shit", Shadow cursed to himself as he looked at the mess before him. Five of Knuckle's men had been fatally wounded and were sprawled across the dirt floor, quickly turning the brown dust to a rusted red. Amy began to panic. "Joshua!", she called out. She began to wander around, searching small corners for the young boy. Shadow went a different direction, making sure the area was safe.

POP POP...POP

Shadow took off toward the gun fire. He rounded a corner and skipped steps as he charged up a stair case. He froze at the sight of one of the masked men with a gun pointed at Knuckles' head. Knuckles saw Shadow and widened his eyes. The masked men turned to see what he was looking at and fell limp as Shadow shot him in the shoulder. There were two left somewhere. "Where's the boy?" Shadow whispered to Knuckles. Knuckles frowned.

"Somewhere safe. Why are you here again?'

"You're going to say that to the guy that just saved your life?" Shadow retorted.

"UNCLE KNUCKLES!"

"STOP!"

Shadow and Knuckles jumped up at the sound of both Joshua and Amy's voices. They sprinted down the hall and held their guns steady. One masked man had a gun pointed at Joshua's head and another had his gun pointed at Amy while she pointed hers at him. "You're out numbered", Knuckles growled. "Let him go!"

"I want my money, Knuckles. I want it now or the kid goes!"

Amy looked up at the single light bulb that was swinging on a chain from the ceiling. Without a second thought, she fired a bullet into it, making the hall go dark. Right after the bulb shattered, Shadow shot at the silhouette that had been aiming at Amy while Knuckles fired at the one holding Joshua. The other two lunged forwad with fists and all four became tangled in the darkness.

POP

"MOVE MOVE MOVE", the other three of Knuckle's men rushed in and jumped on the two masked men. One stood back and waved a flash light over everyone as the masked men were pinned to the ground. Amy shielded her eyes as the light passed over her. "Could you-"

"You saved my life", Knuckles cut her off. He got to his feet and waited for Amy and Shadow to stand. "Joshua-"

"Uncle Knuckles...it hurts", Joshua said calmy with a hint of fear. The flashlight was pointed at Joshua making Amy inhale sharply. A small hole was in his lower side, steadily pulsing out blood. He stumbled over weakly, falling into Knuckles arms.

"Kid...kid...hey, you're gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. Knuckles held the boy tightly over his lap which was quickly staining with Joshua's blood. He was panicking. "Hold on. Just...just hold on."

"I'm sorry uncle Knuckles. I should have stayed hidden like you told me to", Joshua whimpered.

"You were only trying to help", Knuckles replied as tears began to roll down his cheeks. "You idiot."

Joshua smiled weakly. "Uncle Knuckles...i'm getting sleepy. Is it time for bed?"

Amy watched on in horror. She glanced up at Shadow who simply shook his head. There was nothing that could be done. Amy seethed. She was tired of things being out of her control. "He'll live", she reassured Knuckles. She then leaned over one of the now unconcious masked men and fished out a set of keys to the van they had parked outside. "Somebody take off their shirt and start applying pressure. I know where to take him."

"A hospital", Shadow concluded.

"If we take him there we'd all be arrested on the spot. I know someone who'll be just as good. Get him up. Time is of the essence."

And it was. Time was running out.