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Description
(Swearing, violence, animals that walk in this. One of these tends to offend folks more than others.)

~~~~~
That night…
~~~~~

Blumberg wasn’t exactly the safest place to store experimental tech and weaponry. But the strong presence of Packers in the city with the Gaunts Correctional Facility demanded it. Every so often, a call would be sent out to the warehouse, requesting a case of whatever tech was stored inside it to be delivered to the GCF. Sometimes it would be a weapon that would be needed when rumor of an unruly and naturally armored anthro was causing a ruckus. Or someone fast that needed to be captured. The tech inside was designed to handle anthros of all kinds. And if need be, in lethal manners as well.

But Zinnick didn’t know the details of the tech inside. Just that it was worth a lot, and he needed to get in there.
The warehouse was a fully equipped supply depot. Security office, barracks, small armory, and of course the storage floor, which was what dominated most of the large building. The whole thing was surrounded in a perimeter fence about five yards away from the building on all sides. Plenty of cameras and lights, but no guards. They were inside. After all, why patrol when tech does it for you?
It was right on the edge of the city, in a sparsely populated area with no buildings close enough for anyone to be able to leap from a neighboring building onto the roof of the warehouse.
Wearing some black ops gear over a tight catsuit, a classic thief’s mask covering his eyes, Zinnick looked on the perimeter fence from a few buildings down. Chain link topped with barbed wire. Child’s play for someone like him. Unless it was electrified...

“Shoot out the camera just above the door, then cut through the fence and wait for someone to come out.”

The voice caused Zinnick to let out a small meow of fright as he pressed his hand against his ear.
“Yeah, I know.” He responded.

“Remember the camera blind spots? Someone sees you, they’ll raise the alarm, and backup will come running.”

“I know, I know.” Zinnick rolled his eyes. This is why he liked working alone…
Taking a few deep breaths, Zinnick waited a few minutes until he felt the clouds overhead provided just the right amount of cover on the moon before he raced from his hiding place in the shadows of the nearest building to just outside the fence, throwing himself to the ground in the shadows.

From their van, parked in an alleyway across the street a good day before the heist, sat Purgatori and Qi, Wendigo crammed into the back with his motorcycle, which he would be using to escape since the back of the van would be loaded up with as many crates as they could. There would be no room for the large, armored bear.

“Not bad.” Qi shrugged, squinting into a pair of night vision binoculars as she observed Zinnick.
“He’s faster than I thought.”

“Sounds like a certain bear I know.” Purgatori chuckled, earning a resentful glare from Wendigo.

As soon as Zinnick disabled security, Purgatori was going to drive the van right through the front gate. They’d bust in, kill the heavier armed personnel inside, then make off with as much tech as they could load up.

“Not yet.” Purgatori spoke into her radio to Zinnick as his hand strayed to his hip.
“If they saw movement, they’ll be looking. You start moving now, then you’re gonna give yourself away.”

“If he screws up,” Qi began.
“Then we leave him. Plain and simple. I’m not going to jail for this.”

“Qi, Qi. We have enough firepower with us to fight off the entire Blumberg PD.” Purgatori cackled.
“If he gets caught, we’ll just swoop in and grab what we can. Here’s hoping the kid ducks when the bullets start flying.”

Back on the street, unaware of what was riding on his being able to disable the security system, Zinnick did as Purgatori instructed. His eyes, glowing dimly in the light of the building, observed the camera he was meant to disable.
Several minutes passed, his body blending in effortlessly due to his dark clothing. His now pink hair fur was covered in a simple black beanie he’d been given, the cat begrudgingly having put it on. What was the point in having a trademark if no one got to see it?
Feeling that any normal human would have relaxed by now, Zinnick’s hand against strayed to his hip, waiting to hear an objection from Purgatori. But none was heard.
Smirking, Zinnick drew out his prized possession. A clockwork, tension autoloading crossbow pistol. The primary firing mechanism was nothing special for a crossbow. But the reloading mechanism, which was a separate mechanism, was wound up so that after firing, it would automatically draw the bowstring back, loading in the next bolt in the small clip of 8 bolts.
Zinnick held the crossbow at the ready, squinting as he lined up the night sights with the camera. Once he did, he gently squeezed the trigger…
A soft twang echoed in the night, the specially designed bolt shooting right through the lens of the camera. A clean shot that disabled all the primary tech inside the camera. Zinnick had his blind spot.

It wouldn’t be long before someone came to check on the camera now. Zinnick folded the crossbow back up, sliding it into the holster at his leg before he drew out the small wire cutters Purgatori had given him, beginning to cut a small flap of the fence away.

“I’m in…” Zinnick whispered, his neck microphone sending the update to Purgatori.

“Good. Get to the security office. Plant the charge, then sit back and watch the fireworks. Once we have the guards… taken care of, we’ll need your help loading up.” Purgatori said, choosing her words carefully.

“Got it…” Zinnick responded, lifting up the flap of the chain link fence he’d cut away as he proceeded to scoot under it. Much like his feral counterpart, Zinnick always had a knack for sneaking through pretty small spaces.
He crawled through the hole he’d made, letting the flap fall back into place with a jingle. He was in.

“Wait to the right of the door. When someone comes out, take him hostage, make him send an all clear signal to whoever he has on the radio, then dispose of him.”

“I know…” Zinnick growled in annoyance. He’d spent the whole day being lectured on the plan by Qi. He knew what he needed to do. And he didn’t plan to spill a single drop of blood.
Zinnick took his position outside the door, crouching low in the blind spot he’d created. Unless the person on cameras was on break, someone would be out momentarily. Hopefully just one someone…

“Should I set up a sniper?” Qi asked.
“I bet the kid can handle one guy, but if they put the camera failure at sabotage, they might send out several guys.”

Purgatori looked thoughtful.
“... nah, leave him be. Might be fun to watch.” Purgatori chuckled, confident Zinnick could handle himself.
And he’d have the chance to prove himself very soon.
Zinnick flinched as the primary door clanked as the lock was disengaged before being pushed open. A single man, carrying a silenced handgun in one hand and a toolbox in the other, stepped out of the doorway, looking to the opposite side of the door Zinnick was on to the busted camera.

“What the hell…?” He muttered as he saw the bolt.
Zinnick took the opportunity to strike, rising up and clamping one claw over the human’s mouth, the other arm wrapping around his neck as he dragged the human back into the shadows, cutting off his air.

“Not bad.” Purgatori chuckled as she watched. How she was able to see what was happening without the aid of binoculars like the ones Qi had was unclear.
“Remember, don’t knock him out. Just let him squirm a bit, then have him send the all clear.”

Zinnick heard Purgatori’s orders, slackening up on his grip just a little bit. A small twang sounded as the human got off a shot with his silenced weapon before dropping it, now fighting with Zinnick’s hands to draw in breath.

“Ssssshhhh…” Zinnick whispered to the human.
“Calm down, and you don’t have to die.”

That got the guard’s attention, causing him to stop struggling for now. Zinnick allowed him some breath in return.

“Now, can you do me a favor and just tell whoever you have on your radio that everything is ok and the whole bolt in the camera thing is just a… tech… malfunction… thing?” Zinnick asked

The only response was heavy, muffled breathing from the guard. Zinnick rolled his eyes, removing the hand over his mouth.
“Oh, if you shout, I’m going to poke you. Like, super hard. In the neck. With something sharp. Now don’t tell me the stuff in here is worth dying for.”

The stiff human internally weighed his options. He was employed by a private security coorporation. It wasn’t like he would be killed for this. This wasn’t the military. Worst case scenario, he was fired, maybe even fined.

“Deal or no deal, fleshy?” Zinnick asked, hand twitching.

“… deal.” The human said, his voice slightly muffled by Zinnick’s arm.

“Awesome.” Zinnick smirked, removing his arm from over the human’s mouth while his palm against the human’s neck.

“… camera looks fine.” The guard said into his radio.
“Might just be an electrical issue. Have Lincoln look into it.”

Zinnick and the human both waited on a response, Zinnick poised to strike if the human raised the alarm.
“Alright. I’ll call maintenance out here tomorrow.” A lazy sounding human responded over the radio.

That was enough for Zinnick, who cocked his wrist while his palm was pressed against the human’s neck.
“Aaaaaand… poke.”
There was a small twang, and the human let out a small yelp… before passing out in Zinnick’s arms, a dart with a murky green capsule on the base now protruding from his neck.
Zinnick chuckled as he lay the human against the wall in the blind spot, reloading his wristbow with another tranquilizer dark.

“Nice takedown.” Purgatori said through Zinnick’s radio with a chuckle.
“Now get to the security office and plant that EMP.

“I don’t have to worry about being too close to this thing when it goes off… right?” Zinnick asked as he pat the charge strapped to his back.

“You want cancer?” Purgatori asked Zinnick.

“… no.”

“Then make sure to put some distance between you and that thing when it goes off. An EMP is nothing to mess around with.” Purgatori informed, lying through her teeth.

“Uh… ok.” Zinnick nodded, pulling open the door the guard had walked through before slipping inside, closing the door softly behind him.

“You didn’t tell him it’s an incendiary charge?” Qi asked.

“Hell no.” Purgatori said.
“The kid might be a thief, but he’s kinda a little bitch where killing’s concerned. Not a single body to his name.”

“So what do you think he’ll do when the bloodbath starts?” Wendigo asked as he checked his weapons over.

“If he’s smart, he’ll sit back and shut up.” Qi grumbled.

“And if he isn’t… well, he’s had a good run.” Purgatori smirked.
“Best case scenario, we sell him off. Worst case, we collect his bounty.”

~~~~~

Zinnick looked over the warehouse floor. It wasn’t exactly a big place by any stretch, but the wooden crates and plasteel hard cases were stacked nice and high. Plenty of blind spots for Zinnick to utilize. Not to mention lots of shadows to move through when in view of any internal security cameras.

“.... brings home some dumb animal, you’re damn right I was pissed.” A gruff voice grumbled as Zinnick moved over towards the security office through the warehouse.

“What kind was he?” A more calm voice asked.

“A bull. Like hell my little girl is going to date some upright bull.”

“Well, what can you do. Maybe I can arrange to have him put away? My brother works at the Gaunts Correctional facility as an accountant. I’m sure he could pull a few strings to help you out.”

“You do that, every drink you want is on me.”

Zinnick rolled his eyes. Human prejudice never ceased to amaze him. The fact that he was helping to rob these guys of their valuable, shiny tech just made this job all the more sweet.
Standing outside the security office door, Zinnick unstrapped the charge Qi had given him from his back. She’s instructed him on how to use it. A simple flick switch to arm it, two arrows for setting the timer, and a green button to start the countdown. Already a ten second time was input into it. That’s all Zinnick needed.
Now right up against the security office door, crouched in the shadows, Zinnick slowly reached up to try the handle. The conversation between the two humans led him to believe they weren’t too focused on the security monitors at the moment.
But much to Zinnick’s frustration, the handle just barely pulled down. Locked. With enough time, Zinnick could easily pick the lock, but he didn’t want to risk getting seen while he was…
Zinnick froze, a mischievous smirk lighting his face. Maybe he DID want to get seen.
Zinnick lowered himself down to his hands and knees, pulling his knees up to his chest while he rested on his elbows, sphinx style. If this worked, this would be a story to tell.
Swallowing some spittle, Zinnick cleared his throat… before reaching a claw forward and scratching at the door.
“Maow.”

The conversation inside stopped.

“... what was that?”

“Sounded like a cat.”

Zinnick lightly scratched more, meowing even louder.
“Maow. Maaaaoow.”

“How the fuck did a cat get in here?”

“Hold on a sec…”

Zinnick kept up the act, knowing that one of them was checking the security cameras right now.

“Holy shit. It is.”
What the human inside saw on the camera very much looked like a cat. He saw an all black, barely visible and very compact body laying on the ground, a small paw outstretched to claw at the door. Zinnick’s small physique was working well in his favor for this instance. He was indistinguishable from an ordinary housecat.

“Well chase it out of here!”

“No way! We won’t have to worry about calling exterminators ever again if we keep a cat around.” The calmer voice said, the squeak of a swivel chair sounding as the human stood, his boots thumping as he walked towards the door.
“Heeeeere kitty kitty kitty.” The guard cooed as he walked towards the door.

“Maaaaaaoooow.” Zinnick let out one last time, pawing furiously at the door with one hand as he gripped the charge in his other, said charge now primed for detonation. The literal cat burglar heard the click of the lock as the guard pushed open the door… stopped by Zinnick’s body.
“What the hell…?” The guard muttered.

Fast as a snake, Zinnick pressed the detonator switch before tossing the charge through the crack of the door, throwing his body against the door to close it back, the lock re engaging as he did.

“Jesus Christ!” The guard shouted as he was thrown back by the surprising weight behind the door slam.
“What the hell is…!”

There was a boom, a flash, an intense wave of heat that left Zinnick feeling lightheaded… and then nothing.

Back in the van, Purgatori and her crew got the reading they needed.

“Let’s hit it.” Purgatori smirked, flooring the van as it shot out of its hiding place, heading right for the warehouse loading dock. The fence between them and the dock was of no consequence. The modified van plowed right through the gate to the loading dock, swinging to a stop as Qi, Wendigo, and Purgatori spilled out. Qi carried a grenade launcher and her signature flamethrower. Wendigo carried two light machine guns supported by metal braces clamped onto his arms over his body armor. And Purgatori carried an M6C-SOC with an extended clip along with her favorite short sword. They were ready to leave no witnesses. Starting with the poor guard Zinnick had left outside.

“Torch him.” Purgatori nodded, messing with her wrist computer.

Qi turned to the unconscious guard with no hesitation, consuming him in a torrent of flames.

Wendigo took in a deep whiff.
“Ah… toasty.”

“Shut up and get that door open.” Purgatori snapped. In the heat of an operation, her bloodlust was an all-consuming force in her.

“On it.” Qi said, letting her flamethrower down to her side, supported by the sling she kept on it. She then leveled her grenade launcher at the latch on the bottom of closed loading dock, squeezing the trigger. The launcher popped followed by a small boom as the latch was completely seperated from the rest of the door, Wendigo setting one of his machine guns down to lift the door up for his two partner before disappearing inside with them. Then the screams and gunfire began.

~~~~~

Zinnick’s head was throbbing as he came to, heat all around him. He rapidly blinked his blue eyes, shaking his head. Purgatori hadn’t been kidding about the EMP. He’d seen them in movies, but never knew they were so… violent.
Zinnick rose up onto his feet, some buzzing still in his ears while his senses cleared up. Zinnick turned his head towards the door he had been scratching at.
“Huh…” He mused as he took it in. The metal looked… warped. Twisted. He at first attributed that to his own blurry vision, but even as it cleared up, the door remained the same. Zinnick reached towards the door with his gloved hand, pulling on the handle…
Only for the entire door to fall backwards, Zinnick jumping back to avoid it as it fell to the ground. He looked into the now doorless security office. One body was lying just inside the doorway. Another was lying next to an overturned , almost unrecognizable office chair. And both bodies were still burning, the clothing looking fused to their charred remains. All hair had burned off them at this point, and their facial features were unrecognizable.

“... b-but…” Zinnick stuttered as he took in the grizzly scene, stomach curling. It took him a few seconds to come to a realization. The charge he’d been given hadn’t been an EMP.
And at this point, he realized the buzzing in his ears hadn’t stopped. In fact, it was clearer than ever. It was gunfire. This whole job had been more than a simple heist after all.
And he’d been used.

Zinnick was snapped out of his thoughts by a panicked sobbing and the thud of feet. His head swiveled just in time to see a guard rush around a stack of crates, freezing when he saw Zinnick.

“PLEASE! Don’t kill me!” He screamed, arms covering his face.
“Please!”

“Whoa whoa!” Zinnick said, raising his arms.
“I’m not going to kill you.”

The guard looked at ZInnick in surprise.
“... wha..?”

A single shot rang out, and the guard’s head exploded, his body thudding to the ground.
Zinnick looked at it in shock.

“Well well. Still alive.” A familiar, cold voice chuckled.
Zinnick looked to see Purgatori stride into view, red eyes aglow
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised. Good to see you can duck.”

Zinnick was in shock at what he’d just witnessed. He’d been looking forward to the cavalry arriving… but now, as he looked at this shark, he felt terrified.

“Buck up, kid. Your role is done here.” Purgatori chuckled, patting him on the back.
“It feel good? Throwing that bomb? A bit impersonal, I know. Just take a breather on one of these boxes while I tidy up the place.”

Purgatori grabbed the headless body by the uniform, dragging it off to who knows where, leaving Zinnick to his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Qi and Wendigo were finishing things up.

“Of course you got more than me.” Qi said, rolling her eyes.
“I’m cleanup. You’re the bullet sponge.”

“Well, I did my job better than you then.” Wendigo chuckled.
A pile of 15 bodies lay in a cleared out space on the warehouse floor. Four still living humans were on their knees in a line in front of Wendigo, who had one of his guns leveled at them while he talked with Qi.

“My job is burning that pile and this place when we’re done.” Qi said.
“I haven’t done mine yet.”

Purgatori came into view, dragging the body.
“Two more in the security office. Qi, bring them here. Wendigo, stop fooling around and finish up here.”

“Yes ma’am.” Wendigo nodded, sweeping his machine gun over the line as the gun flashed, sending them all to the ground in a fit of spasms.
“I was expecting more of a fight, honestly.”

“They’re humans. Only the good ones put up a fight. These guys are loyal to their next paycheck.” Purgatori said.

“Well so are we.”

“But we’re not human.” Purgatori smirked, licking some of the human blood off her arm.

“Thank God for that.” Wendigo chuckled.

Qi soon came back with one of the bodies, tossing it into the pile with the others.

“Alright, one more and that takes care of the bodies.” Purgatori said.
“Wendigo, get to loading up whatever you can. Preferably the plasteel cases. They’re smaller with more valuable tech in them.”

Wendigo nodded, dropping the guns he’d been carrying as he made to the first pile of cases, grabbing two of them from a stack and lifting them over his shoulder, heading to the van.

Qi came back with the other body, throwing it into the pile before she set about dousing them with gasoline.
“Think the rest of this place will go up well enough?” She asked Purgatori.

“Doesn’t matter. The crates are wood, and they’ll go easy enough, and that’s all I’m worried about destroying. If it doesn’t come with us, it goes up in flame. Now get to loading. We need to get out of here before any cops show up.”

Qi rolled her eyes, joining up with Wendigo to begin loading up the van.

Purgatori began to fiddle more with her wrist computer, prepping to give the team some more help with loading when a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows. Zinnick.

“Need any help with this stuff?” Zinnick asked.
“The more we get loaded before we have to bolt, the bigger my cut is.”

Purgatori gave a chuckle, surprised Zinnick had gotten over the bloodbath so quickly.
“Get started on that stack over there.” She ordered, gesturing to the stack Qi was working on before turning her attention back to her wrist computer.
Qi and Wendigo walked back in to grab more packages, bickering under their breath about their weapons of choice.
Zinnick walked over to join them, ever so slightly cocking his wrists.

“Grab that one, kid.” Qi growled, jabbing a finger towards one of the cases. Qi grabbed one of her own, while Wendigo grabbed a massive wood crate in his beefy bear claws.

“Might have to fund my next little kidnapping with my haul from this job.” Wendigo laughed heartily.

“You stay the fuck away from me.” Qi glared at him.
“Or I will roast you alive.”

“I wasn’t planning on you again. Those scales did not feel good on me.” Wendigo chuckled, turning to Zinnick.
“What about you, kid? What’re you gonna use your money on?”

“Hmm?” Zinnick asked, acting as if he wasn’t even focused on them.
“Oh, probably some more equipment for myself. I don’t like buying fancy stuff.”

“Smart.” Qi nodded.
“You live large, people will notice you more. All I need is a roof and a b…”

Zinnick acted quick and precise. One hand thrust out towards Wendigo, his other towards Qi, his wristbows twanging loudly in the confines of the warehouse. The darts found their mark, one embedding into Qi’s neck, and the other into Wendigo’s leg.
Neither of them had time to even react before the fast acting tranquilizer took affect, Qi collapsing into a heap on the ground, the case she was carrying clattering beside her, while Wendigo fell to one knee, able to cast one last glare at Zinnick before it overtook him entirely.
But Zinnick wasn’t wasting time to make sure they were properly neutralized. Already he had reloaded one of his wristbows, spinning on his heel before firing one into Purgatori’s neck as well, the shark woman having glanced up just in time for the dart to find its mark.
Zinnick watched her, waiting for her to collapse.

“You shouldn’t have trusted me to keep quiet when the killing started.” Zinnick said, sticking his tongue out at Purgatori as he waited for her to collapse.
… except she didn’t. She just looked at Zinnick, her eyes looking into his soul with their fearful gaze.

“Kid…” She said plainly as she reached up to her neck, plucking the emptied dart from it.
“... what the fuck?”

Her free hand snapped down to her hip, drawing her specialized handgun out of its holster before leveling it at Zin, all in the space of half a second. And even a shorter time than that as she squeezed the trigger, sending three of the caseless projectiles flying towards Zinnick.
But he was already running, ducking under the shots as he disappeared behind one of the rows of crates.

“You’re fucked, kid!” Purgatori roared, inputting a few more commands into her wrist computer before pressing the execute key on the touch screen.

Meanwhile, crouched low in the shadows of the warehouse, Zinnick caught his breath. Somehow, his tranquilizer dart hadn’t affected her in the slightest. He had to get out of here…
There were two exits he knew of. The loading bay, and the one he’d come in through.
Zinnick wondered why he’d shot two of his job partners. He could have walked away…
He’d acted on impulse. He’d wanted to see all three of them unconscious when the police arrived. He’d wanted justice done for this.

”Come on, Zinni. You’re not a good guy.” He lectured himself, setting off at a crouch through the warehouse, crossbow drawn. He wasn’t out for blood, but he would defend himself if he needed to.

“Honestly, I knew you didn’t have the stomach to kill.”

Zinnick froze as the voice carried around the warehouse.

“But goddamn, kid. You’ve got more guts than I thought to turn on us like that.”

Zinnick made his way towards the door. Just a few more steps…
But it wasn’t meant to be. Purgatori spotted Zinnick, having kept a line of sight on that door. She leveled her weapon, trigger finger squeezing in on the gun rapidly as she fired off several rounds at Zinnick’s body. But once again, Zinnick’s reflexes were too fast for even her, and he was gone again, back into the warehouse.
Purgatori knew if she went in after him, he’d just outmaneuver her and get away. Luckily, despite her two partner’s status, she still had some help. And it was already moving in on Zinnick.

“Lady, can you just chill!?” Zinnick shouted out, starting to get a little panicked. Purgatori was no common thug. If this kept up, she’d get him for sure.
The other entrance was wide open, and if Purgatori was at the other one…

Zinnick ran at a full sprint for the open loading dock, leaping over the unconscious Wendigo as he made to run right out of here…
Until something slammed into him from the side, throwing him to the ground.
“ACK!” He yelped as he landed on the ground, crossbow sliding from his grip. He turned over, swiping his claws at his attacker.
It was Purgatori! But… her outfit was completely different from what she’d been wearing earlier. At least Zinnick thought so. He was too busy trying to push her off to really observe the difference in her combat gear.
Crossbow out of his reach, Zinnick did the only thing he could. He turned himself around underneath Purgatori and sank his claws into her face.
But there was no reaction from her. Not a flinch. Not a roar of pain. She just continued trying to restrain him with clumsy, mechanical movement.

“Get off!” Zinnick shouted, futilely trying to shove the shark off. Something felt wrong with her though. She had no texture. She felt like glass. Liquid glass…
Zinnick’s ear twitched. In the rush of combat, his senses were dialed up way past their usual state. And despite his struggles, he had heard a noise he’d heard twice that night. The faint rattle of a gun being levelled at him.
Zinnick twisted his body under this weird Purgatori, getting his legs up under her before kicking her off, claws drawing down across her face as he did. No blood had even been drawn.
As the lookalike stumbled up, the shots rang out and slammed into it. And the shooter… was Purgatori?
The lookalike began to glow brightly, starting to disintegrate. But Zinnick didn’t stop to think on how this was even possible. He dove for his crossbow, snatching it up before spinning around, sending a bolt hurtling right for Purgatori’s knee.
At the same time, Purgatori got a shot off of her own that went through Zinnick’s side. Not hitting any bones, but still earning a screech of pain from him.
Purgatori just let out a grunt of annoyance as her leg gave out under her from the bolt stuck, but she readjusted her aim towards Zinnick’s head…
Only for a second bolt to slam into her shoulder, knocking her aim off course so the bullet just barely grazed Zinnick’s ear.
Zinnick didn’t want to kill her… but this was survival. Self-defense. And besides, he’d already killed two others tonight. What was a third in self-defense?
Another bolt to Purgatori’s chest, and his last one to her neck.
But Purgatori wasn’t done yet.

“God fucking damn…” She groaned, trying to use her free hand to tear the bolts out of her.

Zinnick looked at the scene in terror. HOW could she possibly still be alive after that!? Or even capable of speech!?
“Just… st-stop!” Zinnick begged, fumbling to draw out another five bolt magazine for his crossbow while simultaneously trying to wind the clockwork mechanism back up to rapid fire another five.
“I’ll shoot you!”

“You already fucking did, kid!” Purgatori cackled.
“I can take a few more hits! What about you!?”
Purgatori made to raise the gun back up… but found she couldn’t. The bolt in her shoulder had lodged into her shoulder “muscles”, preventing her from moving it.
So she did what anyone would do.
She tossed the weapon into her other hand, which snapped up to fire some more shots.
Zinnick dove aside, avoiding one of the shots. But another went right into his stomach, lodging in there.
But before Purgatori could finish him off… the gun clicked empty.
“Well shit.” She chuckled, dropping the magazine from the gun. But with only one useable arm, she couldn’t reload.
“Fuck, it’s been a while since I’ve been like thi…”
Purgatori was cut off by another bolt to the chest. Then another. Then another.
Soon she had five more bolts protruding from her body. She looked at Zinnick incredulously.
“R-r-r-r-r-r-r-really-y-y?” She asked, glaring at Zinnick.

“Why aren’t you dead!?” Zinnick exclaimed.

Purgatori just laughed.
“I’m n-n-not something any-y-y-yone can kill off just like that-t-t-t-t.” She said, voice skipping like a record player.
“But d-d-damn, I was starting to g-g-get used to this bod-bod-body.”

Purgatori could feel it. Her body was failing her. Too many bolts in too many vital areas. She could already feel her hardlight generator failing her…
She looked to Wendigo and Qi, the former already starting to wake up.
“D-d-don’t think this means you g-g-get my cut-ut-ut-ut. I’m still gonna get it when I-I-I come back.” She chuckled, looking back to Zinnick.
“And you.”

Zinnick was shaking as he looked at Purgatori. It looked like her skin was starting to melt off her body now…
“Nice job, k-k-kid. Not too many folks can say they’ve be-be-beat me. I may not try to kill you, but I will have a lot-ot-ot of fun hunting you down every so often. Just to remind you that-at-at there is nowhere to hide from me when I want to find you.”

A low hum began to fill the warehouse. One the now conscious Wendigo recognized.
“Oh shit!” He shouted, grabbing Qi in his arms, tearing for the exit of the warehouse. Zinnick tried to do the same, only to let out a pained meow as he collapsed back to the ground. The bullet in his stomach was still there, and he could not move.

“Bye kid!” Purgatori laughed, flipping Zinnick off with her free hand.
The humming stopped abruptly.
Then there was a flash of light as Purgatori’s hardlight generator failed, revealing what she was under her fake skin.
Then her body exploded.

Description
(Swearing, violence, animals that walk in this. One of these tends to offend folks more than others.)

~~~~~
That night…
~~~~~

Blumberg wasn’t exactly the safest place to store experimental tech and weaponry. But the strong presence of Packers in the city with the Gaunts Correctional Facility demanded it. Every so often, a call would be sent out to the warehouse, requesting a case of whatever tech was stored inside it to be delivered to the GCF. Sometimes it would be a weapon that would be needed when rumor of an unruly and naturally armored anthro was causing a ruckus. Or someone fast that needed to be captured. The tech inside was designed to handle anthros of all kinds. And if need be, in lethal manners as well.

But Zinnick didn’t know the details of the tech inside. Just that it was worth a lot, and he needed to get in there.
The warehouse was a fully equipped supply depot. Security office, barracks, small armory, and of course the storage floor, which was what dominated most of the large building. The whole thing was surrounded in a perimeter fence about five yards away from the building on all sides. Plenty of cameras and lights, but no guards. They were inside. After all, why patrol when tech does it for you?
It was right on the edge of the city, in a sparsely populated area with no buildings close enough for anyone to be able to leap from a neighboring building onto the roof of the warehouse.
Wearing some black ops gear over a tight catsuit, a classic thief’s mask covering his eyes, Zinnick looked on the perimeter fence from a few buildings down. Chain link topped with barbed wire. Child’s play for someone like him. Unless it was electrified...

“Shoot out the camera just above the door, then cut through the fence and wait for someone to come out.”

The voice caused Zinnick to let out a small meow of fright as he pressed his hand against his ear.
“Yeah, I know.” He responded.

“Remember the camera blind spots? Someone sees you, they’ll raise the alarm, and backup will come running.”

“I know, I know.” Zinnick rolled his eyes. This is why he liked working alone…
Taking a few deep breaths, Zinnick waited a few minutes until he felt the clouds overhead provided just the right amount of cover on the moon before he raced from his hiding place in the shadows of the nearest building to just outside the fence, throwing himself to the ground in the shadows.

From their van, parked in an alleyway across the street a good day before the heist, sat Purgatori and Qi, Wendigo crammed into the back with his motorcycle, which he would be using to escape since the back of the van would be loaded up with as many crates as they could. There would be no room for the large, armored bear.

“Not bad.” Qi shrugged, squinting into a pair of night vision binoculars as she observed Zinnick.
“He’s faster than I thought.”

“Sounds like a certain bear I know.” Purgatori chuckled, earning a resentful glare from Wendigo.

As soon as Zinnick disabled security, Purgatori was going to drive the van right through the front gate. They’d bust in, kill the heavier armed personnel inside, then make off with as much tech as they could load up.

“Not yet.” Purgatori spoke into her radio to Zinnick as his hand strayed to his hip.
“If they saw movement, they’ll be looking. You start moving now, then you’re gonna give yourself away.”

“If he screws up,” Qi began.
“Then we leave him. Plain and simple. I’m not going to jail for this.”

“Qi, Qi. We have enough firepower with us to fight off the entire Blumberg PD.” Purgatori cackled.
“If he gets caught, we’ll just swoop in and grab what we can. Here’s hoping the kid ducks when the bullets start flying.”

Back on the street, unaware of what was riding on his being able to disable the security system, Zinnick did as Purgatori instructed. His eyes, glowing dimly in the light of the building, observed the camera he was meant to disable.
Several minutes passed, his body blending in effortlessly due to his dark clothing. His now pink hair fur was covered in a simple black beanie he’d been given, the cat begrudgingly having put it on. What was the point in having a trademark if no one got to see it?
Feeling that any normal human would have relaxed by now, Zinnick’s hand against strayed to his hip, waiting to hear an objection from Purgatori. But none was heard.
Smirking, Zinnick drew out his prized possession. A clockwork, tension autoloading crossbow pistol. The primary firing mechanism was nothing special for a crossbow. But the reloading mechanism, which was a separate mechanism, was wound up so that after firing, it would automatically draw the bowstring back, loading in the next bolt in the small clip of 8 bolts.
Zinnick held the crossbow at the ready, squinting as he lined up the night sights with the camera. Once he did, he gently squeezed the trigger…
A soft twang echoed in the night, the specially designed bolt shooting right through the lens of the camera. A clean shot that disabled all the primary tech inside the camera. Zinnick had his blind spot.

It wouldn’t be long before someone came to check on the camera now. Zinnick folded the crossbow back up, sliding it into the holster at his leg before he drew out the small wire cutters Purgatori had given him, beginning to cut a small flap of the fence away.

“I’m in…” Zinnick whispered, his neck microphone sending the update to Purgatori.

“Good. Get to the security office. Plant the charge, then sit back and watch the fireworks. Once we have the guards… taken care of, we’ll need your help loading up.” Purgatori said, choosing her words carefully.

“Got it…” Zinnick responded, lifting up the flap of the chain link fence he’d cut away as he proceeded to scoot under it. Much like his feral counterpart, Zinnick always had a knack for sneaking through pretty small spaces.
He crawled through the hole he’d made, letting the flap fall back into place with a jingle. He was in.

“Wait to the right of the door. When someone comes out, take him hostage, make him send an all clear signal to whoever he has on the radio, then dispose of him.”

“I know…” Zinnick growled in annoyance. He’d spent the whole day being lectured on the plan by Qi. He knew what he needed to do. And he didn’t plan to spill a single drop of blood.
Zinnick took his position outside the door, crouching low in the blind spot he’d created. Unless the person on cameras was on break, someone would be out momentarily. Hopefully just one someone…

“Should I set up a sniper?” Qi asked.
“I bet the kid can handle one guy, but if they put the camera failure at sabotage, they might send out several guys.”

Purgatori looked thoughtful.
“... nah, leave him be. Might be fun to watch.” Purgatori chuckled, confident Zinnick could handle himself.
And he’d have the chance to prove himself very soon.
Zinnick flinched as the primary door clanked as the lock was disengaged before being pushed open. A single man, carrying a silenced handgun in one hand and a toolbox in the other, stepped out of the doorway, looking to the opposite side of the door Zinnick was on to the busted camera.

“What the hell…?” He muttered as he saw the bolt.
Zinnick took the opportunity to strike, rising up and clamping one claw over the human’s mouth, the other arm wrapping around his neck as he dragged the human back into the shadows, cutting off his air.

“Not bad.” Purgatori chuckled as she watched. How she was able to see what was happening without the aid of binoculars like the ones Qi had was unclear.
“Remember, don’t knock him out. Just let him squirm a bit, then have him send the all clear.”

Zinnick heard Purgatori’s orders, slackening up on his grip just a little bit. A small twang sounded as the human got off a shot with his silenced weapon before dropping it, now fighting with Zinnick’s hands to draw in breath.

“Ssssshhhh…” Zinnick whispered to the human.
“Calm down, and you don’t have to die.”

That got the guard’s attention, causing him to stop struggling for now. Zinnick allowed him some breath in return.

“Now, can you do me a favor and just tell whoever you have on your radio that everything is ok and the whole bolt in the camera thing is just a… tech… malfunction… thing?” Zinnick asked

The only response was heavy, muffled breathing from the guard. Zinnick rolled his eyes, removing the hand over his mouth.
“Oh, if you shout, I’m going to poke you. Like, super hard. In the neck. With something sharp. Now don’t tell me the stuff in here is worth dying for.”

The stiff human internally weighed his options. He was employed by a private security coorporation. It wasn’t like he would be killed for this. This wasn’t the military. Worst case scenario, he was fired, maybe even fined.

“Deal or no deal, fleshy?” Zinnick asked, hand twitching.

“… deal.” The human said, his voice slightly muffled by Zinnick’s arm.

“Awesome.” Zinnick smirked, removing his arm from over the human’s mouth while his palm against the human’s neck.

“… camera looks fine.” The guard said into his radio.
“Might just be an electrical issue. Have Lincoln look into it.”

Zinnick and the human both waited on a response, Zinnick poised to strike if the human raised the alarm.
“Alright. I’ll call maintenance out here tomorrow.” A lazy sounding human responded over the radio.

That was enough for Zinnick, who cocked his wrist while his palm was pressed against the human’s neck.
“Aaaaaand… poke.”
There was a small twang, and the human let out a small yelp… before passing out in Zinnick’s arms, a dart with a murky green capsule on the base now protruding from his neck.
Zinnick chuckled as he lay the human against the wall in the blind spot, reloading his wristbow with another tranquilizer dark.

“Nice takedown.” Purgatori said through Zinnick’s radio with a chuckle.
“Now get to the security office and plant that EMP.

“I don’t have to worry about being too close to this thing when it goes off… right?” Zinnick asked as he pat the charge strapped to his back.

“You want cancer?” Purgatori asked Zinnick.

“… no.”

“Then make sure to put some distance between you and that thing when it goes off. An EMP is nothing to mess around with.” Purgatori informed, lying through her teeth.

“Uh… ok.” Zinnick nodded, pulling open the door the guard had walked through before slipping inside, closing the door softly behind him.

“You didn’t tell him it’s an incendiary charge?” Qi asked.

“Hell no.” Purgatori said.
“The kid might be a thief, but he’s kinda a little bitch where killing’s concerned. Not a single body to his name.”

“So what do you think he’ll do when the bloodbath starts?” Wendigo asked as he checked his weapons over.

“If he’s smart, he’ll sit back and shut up.” Qi grumbled.

“And if he isn’t… well, he’s had a good run.” Purgatori smirked.
“Best case scenario, we sell him off. Worst case, we collect his bounty.”

~~~~~

Zinnick looked over the warehouse floor. It wasn’t exactly a big place by any stretch, but the wooden crates and plasteel hard cases were stacked nice and high. Plenty of blind spots for Zinnick to utilize. Not to mention lots of shadows to move through when in view of any internal security cameras.

“.... brings home some dumb animal, you’re damn right I was pissed.” A gruff voice grumbled as Zinnick moved over towards the security office through the warehouse.

“What kind was he?” A more calm voice asked.

“A bull. Like hell my little girl is going to date some upright bull.”

“Well, what can you do. Maybe I can arrange to have him put away? My brother works at the Gaunts Correctional facility as an accountant. I’m sure he could pull a few strings to help you out.”

“You do that, every drink you want is on me.”

Zinnick rolled his eyes. Human prejudice never ceased to amaze him. The fact that he was helping to rob these guys of their valuable, shiny tech just made this job all the more sweet.
Standing outside the security office door, Zinnick unstrapped the charge Qi had given him from his back. She’s instructed him on how to use it. A simple flick switch to arm it, two arrows for setting the timer, and a green button to start the countdown. Already a ten second time was input into it. That’s all Zinnick needed.
Now right up against the security office door, crouched in the shadows, Zinnick slowly reached up to try the handle. The conversation between the two humans led him to believe they weren’t too focused on the security monitors at the moment.
But much to Zinnick’s frustration, the handle just barely pulled down. Locked. With enough time, Zinnick could easily pick the lock, but he didn’t want to risk getting seen while he was…
Zinnick froze, a mischievous smirk lighting his face. Maybe he DID want to get seen.
Zinnick lowered himself down to his hands and knees, pulling his knees up to his chest while he rested on his elbows, sphinx style. If this worked, this would be a story to tell.
Swallowing some spittle, Zinnick cleared his throat… before reaching a claw forward and scratching at the door.
“Maow.”

The conversation inside stopped.

“... what was that?”

“Sounded like a cat.”

Zinnick lightly scratched more, meowing even louder.
“Maow. Maaaaoow.”

“How the fuck did a cat get in here?”

“Hold on a sec…”

Zinnick kept up the act, knowing that one of them was checking the security cameras right now.

“Holy shit. It is.”
What the human inside saw on the camera very much looked like a cat. He saw an all black, barely visible and very compact body laying on the ground, a small paw outstretched to claw at the door. Zinnick’s small physique was working well in his favor for this instance. He was indistinguishable from an ordinary housecat.

“Well chase it out of here!”

“No way! We won’t have to worry about calling exterminators ever again if we keep a cat around.” The calmer voice said, the squeak of a swivel chair sounding as the human stood, his boots thumping as he walked towards the door.
“Heeeeere kitty kitty kitty.” The guard cooed as he walked towards the door.

“Maaaaaaoooow.” Zinnick let out one last time, pawing furiously at the door with one hand as he gripped the charge in his other, said charge now primed for detonation. The literal cat burglar heard the click of the lock as the guard pushed open the door… stopped by Zinnick’s body.
“What the hell…?” The guard muttered.

Fast as a snake, Zinnick pressed the detonator switch before tossing the charge through the crack of the door, throwing his body against the door to close it back, the lock re engaging as he did.

“Jesus Christ!” The guard shouted as he was thrown back by the surprising weight behind the door slam.
“What the hell is…!”

There was a boom, a flash, an intense wave of heat that left Zinnick feeling lightheaded… and then nothing.

Back in the van, Purgatori and her crew got the reading they needed.

“Let’s hit it.” Purgatori smirked, flooring the van as it shot out of its hiding place, heading right for the warehouse loading dock. The fence between them and the dock was of no consequence. The modified van plowed right through the gate to the loading dock, swinging to a stop as Qi, Wendigo, and Purgatori spilled out. Qi carried a grenade launcher and her signature flamethrower. Wendigo carried two light machine guns supported by metal braces clamped onto his arms over his body armor. And Purgatori carried an M6C-SOC with an extended clip along with her favorite short sword. They were ready to leave no witnesses. Starting with the poor guard Zinnick had left outside.

“Torch him.” Purgatori nodded, messing with her wrist computer.

Qi turned to the unconscious guard with no hesitation, consuming him in a torrent of flames.

Wendigo took in a deep whiff.
“Ah… toasty.”

“Shut up and get that door open.” Purgatori snapped. In the heat of an operation, her bloodlust was an all-consuming force in her.

“On it.” Qi said, letting her flamethrower down to her side, supported by the sling she kept on it. She then leveled her grenade launcher at the latch on the bottom of closed loading dock, squeezing the trigger. The launcher popped followed by a small boom as the latch was completely seperated from the rest of the door, Wendigo setting one of his machine guns down to lift the door up for his two partner before disappearing inside with them. Then the screams and gunfire began.

~~~~~

Zinnick’s head was throbbing as he came to, heat all around him. He rapidly blinked his blue eyes, shaking his head. Purgatori hadn’t been kidding about the EMP. He’d seen them in movies, but never knew they were so… violent.
Zinnick rose up onto his feet, some buzzing still in his ears while his senses cleared up. Zinnick turned his head towards the door he had been scratching at.
“Huh…” He mused as he took it in. The metal looked… warped. Twisted. He at first attributed that to his own blurry vision, but even as it cleared up, the door remained the same. Zinnick reached towards the door with his gloved hand, pulling on the handle…
Only for the entire door to fall backwards, Zinnick jumping back to avoid it as it fell to the ground. He looked into the now doorless security office. One body was lying just inside the doorway. Another was lying next to an overturned , almost unrecognizable office chair. And both bodies were still burning, the clothing looking fused to their charred remains. All hair had burned off them at this point, and their facial features were unrecognizable.

“... b-but…” Zinnick stuttered as he took in the grizzly scene, stomach curling. It took him a few seconds to come to a realization. The charge he’d been given hadn’t been an EMP.
And at this point, he realized the buzzing in his ears hadn’t stopped. In fact, it was clearer than ever. It was gunfire. This whole job had been more than a simple heist after all.
And he’d been used.

Zinnick was snapped out of his thoughts by a panicked sobbing and the thud of feet. His head swiveled just in time to see a guard rush around a stack of crates, freezing when he saw Zinnick.

“PLEASE! Don’t kill me!” He screamed, arms covering his face.
“Please!”

“Whoa whoa!” Zinnick said, raising his arms.
“I’m not going to kill you.”

The guard looked at ZInnick in surprise.
“... wha..?”

A single shot rang out, and the guard’s head exploded, his body thudding to the ground.
Zinnick looked at it in shock.

“Well well. Still alive.” A familiar, cold voice chuckled.
Zinnick looked to see Purgatori stride into view, red eyes aglow
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised. Good to see you can duck.”

Zinnick was in shock at what he’d just witnessed. He’d been looking forward to the cavalry arriving… but now, as he looked at this shark, he felt terrified.

“Buck up, kid. Your role is done here.” Purgatori chuckled, patting him on the back.
“It feel good? Throwing that bomb? A bit impersonal, I know. Just take a breather on one of these boxes while I tidy up the place.”

Purgatori grabbed the headless body by the uniform, dragging it off to who knows where, leaving Zinnick to his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Qi and Wendigo were finishing things up.

“Of course you got more than me.” Qi said, rolling her eyes.
“I’m cleanup. You’re the bullet sponge.”

“Well, I did my job better than you then.” Wendigo chuckled.
A pile of 15 bodies lay in a cleared out space on the warehouse floor. Four still living humans were on their knees in a line in front of Wendigo, who had one of his guns leveled at them while he talked with Qi.

“My job is burning that pile and this place when we’re done.” Qi said.
“I haven’t done mine yet.”

Purgatori came into view, dragging the body.
“Two more in the security office. Qi, bring them here. Wendigo, stop fooling around and finish up here.”

“Yes ma’am.” Wendigo nodded, sweeping his machine gun over the line as the gun flashed, sending them all to the ground in a fit of spasms.
“I was expecting more of a fight, honestly.”

“They’re humans. Only the good ones put up a fight. These guys are loyal to their next paycheck.” Purgatori said.

“Well so are we.”

“But we’re not human.” Purgatori smirked, licking some of the human blood off her arm.

“Thank God for that.” Wendigo chuckled.

Qi soon came back with one of the bodies, tossing it into the pile with the others.

“Alright, one more and that takes care of the bodies.” Purgatori said.
“Wendigo, get to loading up whatever you can. Preferably the plasteel cases. They’re smaller with more valuable tech in them.”

Wendigo nodded, dropping the guns he’d been carrying as he made to the first pile of cases, grabbing two of them from a stack and lifting them over his shoulder, heading to the van.

Qi came back with the other body, throwing it into the pile before she set about dousing them with gasoline.
“Think the rest of this place will go up well enough?” She asked Purgatori.

“Doesn’t matter. The crates are wood, and they’ll go easy enough, and that’s all I’m worried about destroying. If it doesn’t come with us, it goes up in flame. Now get to loading. We need to get out of here before any cops show up.”

Qi rolled her eyes, joining up with Wendigo to begin loading up the van.

Purgatori began to fiddle more with her wrist computer, prepping to give the team some more help with loading when a familiar figure stepped out of the shadows. Zinnick.

“Need any help with this stuff?” Zinnick asked.
“The more we get loaded before we have to bolt, the bigger my cut is.”

Purgatori gave a chuckle, surprised Zinnick had gotten over the bloodbath so quickly.
“Get started on that stack over there.” She ordered, gesturing to the stack Qi was working on before turning her attention back to her wrist computer.
Qi and Wendigo walked back in to grab more packages, bickering under their breath about their weapons of choice.
Zinnick walked over to join them, ever so slightly cocking his wrists.

“Grab that one, kid.” Qi growled, jabbing a finger towards one of the cases. Qi grabbed one of her own, while Wendigo grabbed a massive wood crate in his beefy bear claws.

“Might have to fund my next little kidnapping with my haul from this job.” Wendigo laughed heartily.

“You stay the fuck away from me.” Qi glared at him.
“Or I will roast you alive.”

“I wasn’t planning on you again. Those scales did not feel good on me.” Wendigo chuckled, turning to Zinnick.
“What about you, kid? What’re you gonna use your money on?”

“Hmm?” Zinnick asked, acting as if he wasn’t even focused on them.
“Oh, probably some more equipment for myself. I don’t like buying fancy stuff.”

“Smart.” Qi nodded.
“You live large, people will notice you more. All I need is a roof and a b…”

Zinnick acted quick and precise. One hand thrust out towards Wendigo, his other towards Qi, his wristbows twanging loudly in the confines of the warehouse. The darts found their mark, one embedding into Qi’s neck, and the other into Wendigo’s leg.
Neither of them had time to even react before the fast acting tranquilizer took affect, Qi collapsing into a heap on the ground, the case she was carrying clattering beside her, while Wendigo fell to one knee, able to cast one last glare at Zinnick before it overtook him entirely.
But Zinnick wasn’t wasting time to make sure they were properly neutralized. Already he had reloaded one of his wristbows, spinning on his heel before firing one into Purgatori’s neck as well, the shark woman having glanced up just in time for the dart to find its mark.
Zinnick watched her, waiting for her to collapse.

“You shouldn’t have trusted me to keep quiet when the killing started.” Zinnick said, sticking his tongue out at Purgatori as he waited for her to collapse.
… except she didn’t. She just looked at Zinnick, her eyes looking into his soul with their fearful gaze.

“Kid…” She said plainly as she reached up to her neck, plucking the emptied dart from it.
“... what the fuck?”

Her free hand snapped down to her hip, drawing her specialized handgun out of its holster before leveling it at Zin, all in the space of half a second. And even a shorter time than that as she squeezed the trigger, sending three of the caseless projectiles flying towards Zinnick.
But he was already running, ducking under the shots as he disappeared behind one of the rows of crates.

“You’re fucked, kid!” Purgatori roared, inputting a few more commands into her wrist computer before pressing the execute key on the touch screen.

Meanwhile, crouched low in the shadows of the warehouse, Zinnick caught his breath. Somehow, his tranquilizer dart hadn’t affected her in the slightest. He had to get out of here…
There were two exits he knew of. The loading bay, and the one he’d come in through.
Zinnick wondered why he’d shot two of his job partners. He could have walked away…
He’d acted on impulse. He’d wanted to see all three of them unconscious when the police arrived. He’d wanted justice done for this.

”Come on, Zinni. You’re not a good guy.” He lectured himself, setting off at a crouch through the warehouse, crossbow drawn. He wasn’t out for blood, but he would defend himself if he needed to.

“Honestly, I knew you didn’t have the stomach to kill.”

Zinnick froze as the voice carried around the warehouse.

“But goddamn, kid. You’ve got more guts than I thought to turn on us like that.”

Zinnick made his way towards the door. Just a few more steps…
But it wasn’t meant to be. Purgatori spotted Zinnick, having kept a line of sight on that door. She leveled her weapon, trigger finger squeezing in on the gun rapidly as she fired off several rounds at Zinnick’s body. But once again, Zinnick’s reflexes were too fast for even her, and he was gone again, back into the warehouse.
Purgatori knew if she went in after him, he’d just outmaneuver her and get away. Luckily, despite her two partner’s status, she still had some help. And it was already moving in on Zinnick.

“Lady, can you just chill!?” Zinnick shouted out, starting to get a little panicked. Purgatori was no common thug. If this kept up, she’d get him for sure.
The other entrance was wide open, and if Purgatori was at the other one…

Zinnick ran at a full sprint for the open loading dock, leaping over the unconscious Wendigo as he made to run right out of here…
Until something slammed into him from the side, throwing him to the ground.
“ACK!” He yelped as he landed on the ground, crossbow sliding from his grip. He turned over, swiping his claws at his attacker.
It was Purgatori! But… her outfit was completely different from what she’d been wearing earlier. At least Zinnick thought so. He was too busy trying to push her off to really observe the difference in her combat gear.
Crossbow out of his reach, Zinnick did the only thing he could. He turned himself around underneath Purgatori and sank his claws into her face.
But there was no reaction from her. Not a flinch. Not a roar of pain. She just continued trying to restrain him with clumsy, mechanical movement.

“Get off!” Zinnick shouted, futilely trying to shove the shark off. Something felt wrong with her though. She had no texture. She felt like glass. Liquid glass…
Zinnick’s ear twitched. In the rush of combat, his senses were dialed up way past their usual state. And despite his struggles, he had heard a noise he’d heard twice that night. The faint rattle of a gun being levelled at him.
Zinnick twisted his body under this weird Purgatori, getting his legs up under her before kicking her off, claws drawing down across her face as he did. No blood had even been drawn.
As the lookalike stumbled up, the shots rang out and slammed into it. And the shooter… was Purgatori?
The lookalike began to glow brightly, starting to disintegrate. But Zinnick didn’t stop to think on how this was even possible. He dove for his crossbow, snatching it up before spinning around, sending a bolt hurtling right for Purgatori’s knee.
At the same time, Purgatori got a shot off of her own that went through Zinnick’s side. Not hitting any bones, but still earning a screech of pain from him.
Purgatori just let out a grunt of annoyance as her leg gave out under her from the bolt stuck, but she readjusted her aim towards Zinnick’s head…
Only for a second bolt to slam into her shoulder, knocking her aim off course so the bullet just barely grazed Zinnick’s ear.
Zinnick didn’t want to kill her… but this was survival. Self-defense. And besides, he’d already killed two others tonight. What was a third in self-defense?
Another bolt to Purgatori’s chest, and his last one to her neck.
But Purgatori wasn’t done yet.

“God fucking damn…” She groaned, trying to use her free hand to tear the bolts out of her.

Zinnick looked at the scene in terror. HOW could she possibly still be alive after that!? Or even capable of speech!?
“Just… st-stop!” Zinnick begged, fumbling to draw out another five bolt magazine for his crossbow while simultaneously trying to wind the clockwork mechanism back up to rapid fire another five.
“I’ll shoot you!”

“You already fucking did, kid!” Purgatori cackled.
“I can take a few more hits! What about you!?”
Purgatori made to raise the gun back up… but found she couldn’t. The bolt in her shoulder had lodged into her shoulder “muscles”, preventing her from moving it.
So she did what anyone would do.
She tossed the weapon into her other hand, which snapped up to fire some more shots.
Zinnick dove aside, avoiding one of the shots. But another went right into his stomach, lodging in there.
But before Purgatori could finish him off… the gun clicked empty.
“Well shit.” She chuckled, dropping the magazine from the gun. But with only one useable arm, she couldn’t reload.
“Fuck, it’s been a while since I’ve been like thi…”
Purgatori was cut off by another bolt to the chest. Then another. Then another.
Soon she had five more bolts protruding from her body. She looked at Zinnick incredulously.
“R-r-r-r-r-r-r-really-y-y?” She asked, glaring at Zinnick.

“Why aren’t you dead!?” Zinnick exclaimed.

Purgatori just laughed.
“I’m n-n-not something any-y-y-yone can kill off just like that-t-t-t-t.” She said, voice skipping like a record player.
“But d-d-damn, I was starting to g-g-get used to this bod-bod-body.”

Purgatori could feel it. Her body was failing her. Too many bolts in too many vital areas. She could already feel her hardlight generator failing her…
She looked to Wendigo and Qi, the former already starting to wake up.
“D-d-don’t think this means you g-g-get my cut-ut-ut-ut. I’m still gonna get it when I-I-I come back.” She chuckled, looking back to Zinnick.
“And you.”

Zinnick was shaking as he looked at Purgatori. It looked like her skin was starting to melt off her body now…
“Nice job, k-k-kid. Not too many folks can say they’ve be-be-beat me. I may not try to kill you, but I will have a lot-ot-ot of fun hunting you down every so often. Just to remind you that-at-at there is nowhere to hide from me when I want to find you.”

A low hum began to fill the warehouse. One the now conscious Wendigo recognized.
“Oh shit!” He shouted, grabbing Qi in his arms, tearing for the exit of the warehouse. Zinnick tried to do the same, only to let out a pained meow as he collapsed back to the ground. The bullet in his stomach was still there, and he could not move.

“Bye kid!” Purgatori laughed, flipping Zinnick off with her free hand.
The humming stopped abruptly.
Then there was a flash of light as Purgatori’s hardlight generator failed, revealing what she was under her fake skin.
Then her body exploded.