Miles the Cy-Fox
March 4th, 2008, 06:00 PM
I decided to release this a little bit early. Note that I still have a bit of work to do on the first two stories in the series, so bear with me if I don't update this much. I would however, appreciate reviews and critique.
Cy-Fox: Terminator
Book One: Firestorm
Prologue
Parker Center
Los Angeles, California
1984
Daryl F. Gates, Chief of Police – LAPD, rubbed his graying temples and sighed. He had black and white photographs scattered around his desk on the sixth floor of the Police Administration Building, better yet known as Parker Center for former beloved LAPD Chief William 'Bill' Parker. The photographs were pulled from the Records office and their subjects were all cops. 31 of LAPD's finest, blown away at Rampart Station by a terrorist. What really gotten to Daryl was that two of LAPD's best detectives, Detective Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Sergeant Hal Vulkovich were cut down as well. There was another photograph lying face down nearby.
Chief Gates glared at it, an involuntary shiver running down his spine as he reached for it, flipping it up. It was a surveillance photo from one of the new cameras at Rampart, of the assailant. He was a big guy, with close cropped dark brown hair, with the build of a serious weightlifter. He was wearing Gargoyle sunglasses, and a leather jacket over a gray T-shirt. The Man with No Name also had some serious firepower in both hands. A SPAS-12 shotgun and a cut-down AR-15. He was holding them like they were toys. This guy scared the living crap out of Gates, because he simply marched through 31 cops, with revolvers, shotguns and assault rifles and blew them away. He was shot several times, but he still didn't go down. And Daryl knew he wasn't even wearing a Kevlar vest.
Three people survived Rampart that night. Two of them were civilians, one of them a suspect in a serial murder and the other was the station's criminal psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Silberman. He got out lucky, just because he was called to the University of California's Med Center. He had passed that crazy killer and even muttered a hello.
All of this, right after LAPD's finest days during the '84 Olympics. 31 cops, 31 funerals with 31 flags to hand out, 31 families without their husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, nephews...hell...grandparents. This prompted the biggest manhunt in LAPD history. They were the best.
And they came up with nothing. The killer had disappeared without a trace.
Like a ghost.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Wambaugh was assigned the case and Gates was relieved at that. Wambaugh was a thorough and respectful guy. He also radiated an aura of toughness, that he translated into several best selling fictional novels. He'd even coined a name for their quarry.
The Terminator.
It sounded like a title for a godawful B-movie. But the name stuck.
The Terminator. Yeah, it fits. Daryl thought. It sounded clean, and inhuman. Just like their killer. He stared at the Terminator's photo and then reached for the phone. Daryl punched out his home number. At the third ring, a woman picked up. “Hello?”
“Hi Sam.” Daryl said tiredly.
“Hi honey. Long day?” his wife replied.
“The longest.” he said. “Look. I think I'm going to be home late. So go ahead and start on dinner.”
“All right..” his wife then paused. “Daryl. You and your friends are going to find that man. You're the leading man of LAPD. World class.”
“I know.” Daryl said, and slightly smiled. “Thank you Sam. I needed that.”
Cyberdyne Systems Corporation Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
1995
Chief Gates stared at the smoking ruins of Cyberdyne Systems in disbelief. Other cops, paramedics and firefighters were running around, carrying out orders. Four people had broken into Cyberdyne and had managed to blow the place up. Two of them were wanted. One was a thirty year old female inmate from Pescadero State Mental Hospital, the other, her ten year old son, a suspect in his foster parents' murder. The other was Cyberdyne's own lead scientist from Research and Development, a mathematician and cyberneticist named Miles Dyson. The other wasn't identified yet. SID was still getting footage off of the cameras that survived.
Someone cleared their throat nearby and Gates turned. A middle-aged man in his late 40s, with graying hair and a dark suit was holding a manila folder. He set the folder on top of Gates' dark blue unmarked Ford Crown Victoria.
“Evening Chief.” the man said. He opened his jacket and started to produce his wallet but Gates waved. “There's no need to show your badge, Bill. I'm perfectly aware of who you are.” Bill Buchanan, Special Agent in Charge of the Counter Terrorist Unit's L.A field office then relaxed a little bit. “SID finally got photos of the fourth man out and copied. He's linked to an earlier unsolved case of yours.”
Daryl went over to the hood of his car and grabbed the folder. Then he pulled it open, tucking the cover under the bottom. A familiar figure stared out at him, holding a grenade launcher. “Christ! The Terminator!”
Buchanan nodded. “Strangely enough, he didn't seem to terminate much of anything. The SWAT team told Agent Burke at debriefing that he only shot them to wound. The officers outside only remembered him using one of their own CS gas launcher against them. He even made sure the SWAT van's driver didn't land on his head. Odd behavior for a wanted cop killer.”
Daryl nodded.
“What makes this even more interesting is that the woman is the very same one that survived Rampart.” Buchanan said. “Sarah Jeanette Connor.” Daryl nodded again idly. “It's too bad about her. Getting chased by a psychopath, then ending up becoming one herself.” Buchanan remarked. “This is one crazy world.”
“One small world.” Daryl said. One of the uniformed officers approached them. Jim Harrigan from Hollenbeck.
“Sorry to interrupt you Chief. But I was wondering if you've seen Lucky.” the red haired, beefy cop said.
“Lucky?” Buchanan quirked an eyebrow.
“Joe Austin. One of the uniforms.” Daryl said. “Unfortunately I haven't seen him Jim. Why?”
“Well. 10-X-91 saw him outside of Pescadero talking to a guy from motors. Haven't seem him since, even though he was near this when the All Units call came out.”
“Maybe he lost his cool and went home.” Buchanan said. Gates gave the fed a steely glare. “Sorry.” Buchanan said.
“Joe's a good guy sir. He wouldn't run from a firefight.” Harrigan said.
“Who knows? After all. We're only human.” Buchanan said and sighed, looking at the flaming wreck.
That we are, Gates silently agreed.
Well...some of us.
Chapter One
Cyberdyne Systems Corporation
Station Square Headquarters – Police Fleet Pool
Mobius, 2028
Station Square Police Department Chief Julian Fleming and Deputy Chief Gary Collins were accompanied by a black and red quilled hedgehog in the typical attire of a Homicide detective, a Detective Sergeant named Shadow, and another cop, the strangest of all of the Mobian cops, for this cop was several feet taller than a regular Mobian. Six feet exactly. His uniform consisted of an armor suit of Tungsten, Cobalt, Kevlar and Titanium, as well as a helmet of the same material. He was a Mobius fox. He was known as Miles “Tails” Prower, Badge No. 636 – Sergeant at one time, but now he was OCP Crime Prevention Unit 002.
Wait. Not anymore. He was given a longer description since possession of the City of Station Square changed hands, he was now Cyberdyne Systems Domain Security Cyborg 001. But his shortened name was still the same.
Cy-Fox.
Since the day he was born, he was never considered to be a 'stock' Mobius fox. He had orange-yellow fur, and under his protective helmet, blue-green eyes with a hint of gray. What distinguished him even more was the second tail that he had, and also the firepower he packed.
Cy-Fox/Tails was the only successful merging of OCP's RoboCop cyborg technology and the body of a Mobian. He was killed in the line of duty when he walked into a no-win situation set up by former best friend and Station Square Police Department Special Response Sector Commander Sonic the Hedgehog, OCP's secret Director of Security and lead mercenary. Long gone since Tails had sent him to a watery grave in 2026. Sonic's betrayal of honor for money had sent shockwaves through the police department. Other corrupt cops were rooted out and replaced with honest true-blue cops.
Like Shadow, Tails' best friend. After Tails had 'died', Shadow with the help of Cyberdyne's own Director of Security, an enigmatic Mobian hedgehog named Echo Hawk, located the cyborg and helped him destroy OCP's headquarters. They had also kept OCP's programming from taking hold of his mind, erasing what wasn't essential for him to do his job or function. Cyberdyne was always there when the fox needed them, and when the City needed them.
The four cops were there to accept Cyberdyne's latest gesture of its endless generosity. A replacement fleet of Ford Motor Company's latest replacement for the aging Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and its ill-fated Pursuit Taurus, the 2028 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interdictor. Also present were Cyberdyne's CEO - Paul Warren, the Director of Civil Defense Concepts – Graham Clarke and of course....
Hawk.
Tails caught the hedgehog's eye as she watched Fleming and Warren exchange compliments and jokes. She looked bored until she noticed him staring at her. She smirked and sauntered up to him. She was black like Shadow, except instead of the patches of red, she had patches of a strange lavender-gray color. She was wearing what she believed to be businesswear, which was really a dark gray polo shirt with Cyberdyne's logo stitched against her slightly noticeable bust, and also khaki colored utility slacks, along with a holster that had Sonic's Smith & Wesson Model 500 revolver tucked inside. The spoils of war gone to the victor.
Hawk wiggled her ears. “Like what you see so far Cy?” she asked in a playful tone.
“Are you referring to the cars or yourself?” Tails replied. He had three voices. His normal pre-death voice, which was a slightly deep monotone, his true cyborg one which was a combination of the first and third voice, which was a purely mechanical voice. He was in his second voice.
“Both.” Hawk wiggled her ears again.
“The new fleet seem to be 83.44 percent more efficient than the last fleet.” Tails replied. “As for you, I decline to comment.”
Hawk half-lidded her eyes. “Just because you're supposedly off the market, doesn't mean you can't still look.”
Tails made a half-mechanical grunting noise and turned away as Chief Fleming raised both arms. “Take 'em home!” the dark purple hedgehog yelled. Hawk snorted. “Reminds me of my brother.” Tails ignored her, proceeding to one of the Interdictors. No more dark gray, ugly Tauruses. Back to the traditional black and white and the CV. The only sign of Cyberdyne's presence was the logo on the front doors. A small Station Square cityscape with a metal hand clasping a Mobian's hand. Below it in futuristic script was: “Cyberdyne Systems – Our specialty is the future itself.”
Tails opened the front left side door and slid into the car. It was made with humans and Mobians in mind. When patrol assignments were made in the morning by Central Dispatch, special computers built into the cars were told whether or not the driver would be a Mobian. If it was a Mobian, the computer automatically adjusted the steering wheel and the height of the seat, and also the position of the pedals. Tails would always be assumed as a human driver because of his frame.
He looked for the keys, which should have been hanging on the rearview mirror. They weren't there. Puzzled, the cyborg fox began to pan its head to the right, when they dangled in front of his face and jingled. His ears picked up the giggle of a human woman who was sitting beside him. He raised his hand, palm up and the keys dropped in his hand.
“Thank you Maria.” Tails said, his voice changing to the first mode. Maria Robotnik, one of Cyberdyne's many network administrators and also one of the specialists for Cyberdyne's SKYNET artificial intelligence project smiled and kissed him on the ear. His ear twitched. Maria Rebecca Robotnik was 5 feet, 7 inches (7.92, Tails would say) tall and weighed around 104 pounds. She was 28 years old and still looked 22, with long blond hair and a slim but also curvy figure. Maria knew Tails since they were both 15, and they were close friends, who over time, got even closer. She was the granddaughter of revered biologist Gerald Robotnik, the cousin of the notorious reformed criminal Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik and inherited the intelligence of her paternal side of the family. She received her associates degree in network security at 19, her MSCE, CNE, CSCSE and CCNA at 20 and her doctorate in mathematics and artificial intelligence at 23. She was well qualified to take the place of Miles Bennett Dyson. But besides having a good brain, Maria had an even better heart. She put others before herself, and wouldn't hesitate to help anyone that seemed to need assistance.
Someone like Tails. She knew that the life of a cop contained many hardships. The stress of dealing with blood, violence and bureaucracy of the old days. She would get up whenever he came home, and help him stumble out of his uniform into a bath, and a clean bed, also having food and drink in case he wanted either. She was especially helpful after he 'died'. Maria didn't push him away. She calmly accepted Tails' transformation and loved him even more.
He was lucky to have her. If Maria wasn't around, he would have probably killed himself in 2027.
Maria put one arm around his neck and then rested her head on his armored shoulder. “Surprise.” she said quietly. Tails took her hand and raised it to his muzzle. He then kissed the tips of her fingers and put her hand back on his shoulder. “Thank you.” he said, just as quiet. Maria smiled and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them. “Hawk made a pass at you again, didn't she?”
“She's relentless.” Tails said.
“Corporate security chiefs are like that.” Maria then laughed softly. “But she's like a dragon. When she wants something, she won't let anyone get in the way.”
“Sounds like a match for Shadow.” Tails mused, putting the key into the ignition. He turned the key and started the Interdictor. The car rumbled and then purred as its specially made pursuit engine woke up. Maria then kissed him on the nose. “Could you please let me off at the lab complex?” Tails nodded and Maria kissed him again, this time on the mouth, very quickly.
Cy-Fox: Terminator
Book One: Firestorm
Prologue
Parker Center
Los Angeles, California
1984
Daryl F. Gates, Chief of Police – LAPD, rubbed his graying temples and sighed. He had black and white photographs scattered around his desk on the sixth floor of the Police Administration Building, better yet known as Parker Center for former beloved LAPD Chief William 'Bill' Parker. The photographs were pulled from the Records office and their subjects were all cops. 31 of LAPD's finest, blown away at Rampart Station by a terrorist. What really gotten to Daryl was that two of LAPD's best detectives, Detective Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Sergeant Hal Vulkovich were cut down as well. There was another photograph lying face down nearby.
Chief Gates glared at it, an involuntary shiver running down his spine as he reached for it, flipping it up. It was a surveillance photo from one of the new cameras at Rampart, of the assailant. He was a big guy, with close cropped dark brown hair, with the build of a serious weightlifter. He was wearing Gargoyle sunglasses, and a leather jacket over a gray T-shirt. The Man with No Name also had some serious firepower in both hands. A SPAS-12 shotgun and a cut-down AR-15. He was holding them like they were toys. This guy scared the living crap out of Gates, because he simply marched through 31 cops, with revolvers, shotguns and assault rifles and blew them away. He was shot several times, but he still didn't go down. And Daryl knew he wasn't even wearing a Kevlar vest.
Three people survived Rampart that night. Two of them were civilians, one of them a suspect in a serial murder and the other was the station's criminal psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Silberman. He got out lucky, just because he was called to the University of California's Med Center. He had passed that crazy killer and even muttered a hello.
All of this, right after LAPD's finest days during the '84 Olympics. 31 cops, 31 funerals with 31 flags to hand out, 31 families without their husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles, nephews...hell...grandparents. This prompted the biggest manhunt in LAPD history. They were the best.
And they came up with nothing. The killer had disappeared without a trace.
Like a ghost.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Wambaugh was assigned the case and Gates was relieved at that. Wambaugh was a thorough and respectful guy. He also radiated an aura of toughness, that he translated into several best selling fictional novels. He'd even coined a name for their quarry.
The Terminator.
It sounded like a title for a godawful B-movie. But the name stuck.
The Terminator. Yeah, it fits. Daryl thought. It sounded clean, and inhuman. Just like their killer. He stared at the Terminator's photo and then reached for the phone. Daryl punched out his home number. At the third ring, a woman picked up. “Hello?”
“Hi Sam.” Daryl said tiredly.
“Hi honey. Long day?” his wife replied.
“The longest.” he said. “Look. I think I'm going to be home late. So go ahead and start on dinner.”
“All right..” his wife then paused. “Daryl. You and your friends are going to find that man. You're the leading man of LAPD. World class.”
“I know.” Daryl said, and slightly smiled. “Thank you Sam. I needed that.”
Cyberdyne Systems Corporation Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
1995
Chief Gates stared at the smoking ruins of Cyberdyne Systems in disbelief. Other cops, paramedics and firefighters were running around, carrying out orders. Four people had broken into Cyberdyne and had managed to blow the place up. Two of them were wanted. One was a thirty year old female inmate from Pescadero State Mental Hospital, the other, her ten year old son, a suspect in his foster parents' murder. The other was Cyberdyne's own lead scientist from Research and Development, a mathematician and cyberneticist named Miles Dyson. The other wasn't identified yet. SID was still getting footage off of the cameras that survived.
Someone cleared their throat nearby and Gates turned. A middle-aged man in his late 40s, with graying hair and a dark suit was holding a manila folder. He set the folder on top of Gates' dark blue unmarked Ford Crown Victoria.
“Evening Chief.” the man said. He opened his jacket and started to produce his wallet but Gates waved. “There's no need to show your badge, Bill. I'm perfectly aware of who you are.” Bill Buchanan, Special Agent in Charge of the Counter Terrorist Unit's L.A field office then relaxed a little bit. “SID finally got photos of the fourth man out and copied. He's linked to an earlier unsolved case of yours.”
Daryl went over to the hood of his car and grabbed the folder. Then he pulled it open, tucking the cover under the bottom. A familiar figure stared out at him, holding a grenade launcher. “Christ! The Terminator!”
Buchanan nodded. “Strangely enough, he didn't seem to terminate much of anything. The SWAT team told Agent Burke at debriefing that he only shot them to wound. The officers outside only remembered him using one of their own CS gas launcher against them. He even made sure the SWAT van's driver didn't land on his head. Odd behavior for a wanted cop killer.”
Daryl nodded.
“What makes this even more interesting is that the woman is the very same one that survived Rampart.” Buchanan said. “Sarah Jeanette Connor.” Daryl nodded again idly. “It's too bad about her. Getting chased by a psychopath, then ending up becoming one herself.” Buchanan remarked. “This is one crazy world.”
“One small world.” Daryl said. One of the uniformed officers approached them. Jim Harrigan from Hollenbeck.
“Sorry to interrupt you Chief. But I was wondering if you've seen Lucky.” the red haired, beefy cop said.
“Lucky?” Buchanan quirked an eyebrow.
“Joe Austin. One of the uniforms.” Daryl said. “Unfortunately I haven't seen him Jim. Why?”
“Well. 10-X-91 saw him outside of Pescadero talking to a guy from motors. Haven't seem him since, even though he was near this when the All Units call came out.”
“Maybe he lost his cool and went home.” Buchanan said. Gates gave the fed a steely glare. “Sorry.” Buchanan said.
“Joe's a good guy sir. He wouldn't run from a firefight.” Harrigan said.
“Who knows? After all. We're only human.” Buchanan said and sighed, looking at the flaming wreck.
That we are, Gates silently agreed.
Well...some of us.
Chapter One
Cyberdyne Systems Corporation
Station Square Headquarters – Police Fleet Pool
Mobius, 2028
Station Square Police Department Chief Julian Fleming and Deputy Chief Gary Collins were accompanied by a black and red quilled hedgehog in the typical attire of a Homicide detective, a Detective Sergeant named Shadow, and another cop, the strangest of all of the Mobian cops, for this cop was several feet taller than a regular Mobian. Six feet exactly. His uniform consisted of an armor suit of Tungsten, Cobalt, Kevlar and Titanium, as well as a helmet of the same material. He was a Mobius fox. He was known as Miles “Tails” Prower, Badge No. 636 – Sergeant at one time, but now he was OCP Crime Prevention Unit 002.
Wait. Not anymore. He was given a longer description since possession of the City of Station Square changed hands, he was now Cyberdyne Systems Domain Security Cyborg 001. But his shortened name was still the same.
Cy-Fox.
Since the day he was born, he was never considered to be a 'stock' Mobius fox. He had orange-yellow fur, and under his protective helmet, blue-green eyes with a hint of gray. What distinguished him even more was the second tail that he had, and also the firepower he packed.
Cy-Fox/Tails was the only successful merging of OCP's RoboCop cyborg technology and the body of a Mobian. He was killed in the line of duty when he walked into a no-win situation set up by former best friend and Station Square Police Department Special Response Sector Commander Sonic the Hedgehog, OCP's secret Director of Security and lead mercenary. Long gone since Tails had sent him to a watery grave in 2026. Sonic's betrayal of honor for money had sent shockwaves through the police department. Other corrupt cops were rooted out and replaced with honest true-blue cops.
Like Shadow, Tails' best friend. After Tails had 'died', Shadow with the help of Cyberdyne's own Director of Security, an enigmatic Mobian hedgehog named Echo Hawk, located the cyborg and helped him destroy OCP's headquarters. They had also kept OCP's programming from taking hold of his mind, erasing what wasn't essential for him to do his job or function. Cyberdyne was always there when the fox needed them, and when the City needed them.
The four cops were there to accept Cyberdyne's latest gesture of its endless generosity. A replacement fleet of Ford Motor Company's latest replacement for the aging Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and its ill-fated Pursuit Taurus, the 2028 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interdictor. Also present were Cyberdyne's CEO - Paul Warren, the Director of Civil Defense Concepts – Graham Clarke and of course....
Hawk.
Tails caught the hedgehog's eye as she watched Fleming and Warren exchange compliments and jokes. She looked bored until she noticed him staring at her. She smirked and sauntered up to him. She was black like Shadow, except instead of the patches of red, she had patches of a strange lavender-gray color. She was wearing what she believed to be businesswear, which was really a dark gray polo shirt with Cyberdyne's logo stitched against her slightly noticeable bust, and also khaki colored utility slacks, along with a holster that had Sonic's Smith & Wesson Model 500 revolver tucked inside. The spoils of war gone to the victor.
Hawk wiggled her ears. “Like what you see so far Cy?” she asked in a playful tone.
“Are you referring to the cars or yourself?” Tails replied. He had three voices. His normal pre-death voice, which was a slightly deep monotone, his true cyborg one which was a combination of the first and third voice, which was a purely mechanical voice. He was in his second voice.
“Both.” Hawk wiggled her ears again.
“The new fleet seem to be 83.44 percent more efficient than the last fleet.” Tails replied. “As for you, I decline to comment.”
Hawk half-lidded her eyes. “Just because you're supposedly off the market, doesn't mean you can't still look.”
Tails made a half-mechanical grunting noise and turned away as Chief Fleming raised both arms. “Take 'em home!” the dark purple hedgehog yelled. Hawk snorted. “Reminds me of my brother.” Tails ignored her, proceeding to one of the Interdictors. No more dark gray, ugly Tauruses. Back to the traditional black and white and the CV. The only sign of Cyberdyne's presence was the logo on the front doors. A small Station Square cityscape with a metal hand clasping a Mobian's hand. Below it in futuristic script was: “Cyberdyne Systems – Our specialty is the future itself.”
Tails opened the front left side door and slid into the car. It was made with humans and Mobians in mind. When patrol assignments were made in the morning by Central Dispatch, special computers built into the cars were told whether or not the driver would be a Mobian. If it was a Mobian, the computer automatically adjusted the steering wheel and the height of the seat, and also the position of the pedals. Tails would always be assumed as a human driver because of his frame.
He looked for the keys, which should have been hanging on the rearview mirror. They weren't there. Puzzled, the cyborg fox began to pan its head to the right, when they dangled in front of his face and jingled. His ears picked up the giggle of a human woman who was sitting beside him. He raised his hand, palm up and the keys dropped in his hand.
“Thank you Maria.” Tails said, his voice changing to the first mode. Maria Robotnik, one of Cyberdyne's many network administrators and also one of the specialists for Cyberdyne's SKYNET artificial intelligence project smiled and kissed him on the ear. His ear twitched. Maria Rebecca Robotnik was 5 feet, 7 inches (7.92, Tails would say) tall and weighed around 104 pounds. She was 28 years old and still looked 22, with long blond hair and a slim but also curvy figure. Maria knew Tails since they were both 15, and they were close friends, who over time, got even closer. She was the granddaughter of revered biologist Gerald Robotnik, the cousin of the notorious reformed criminal Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik and inherited the intelligence of her paternal side of the family. She received her associates degree in network security at 19, her MSCE, CNE, CSCSE and CCNA at 20 and her doctorate in mathematics and artificial intelligence at 23. She was well qualified to take the place of Miles Bennett Dyson. But besides having a good brain, Maria had an even better heart. She put others before herself, and wouldn't hesitate to help anyone that seemed to need assistance.
Someone like Tails. She knew that the life of a cop contained many hardships. The stress of dealing with blood, violence and bureaucracy of the old days. She would get up whenever he came home, and help him stumble out of his uniform into a bath, and a clean bed, also having food and drink in case he wanted either. She was especially helpful after he 'died'. Maria didn't push him away. She calmly accepted Tails' transformation and loved him even more.
He was lucky to have her. If Maria wasn't around, he would have probably killed himself in 2027.
Maria put one arm around his neck and then rested her head on his armored shoulder. “Surprise.” she said quietly. Tails took her hand and raised it to his muzzle. He then kissed the tips of her fingers and put her hand back on his shoulder. “Thank you.” he said, just as quiet. Maria smiled and closed her eyes. After a moment, she opened them. “Hawk made a pass at you again, didn't she?”
“She's relentless.” Tails said.
“Corporate security chiefs are like that.” Maria then laughed softly. “But she's like a dragon. When she wants something, she won't let anyone get in the way.”
“Sounds like a match for Shadow.” Tails mused, putting the key into the ignition. He turned the key and started the Interdictor. The car rumbled and then purred as its specially made pursuit engine woke up. Maria then kissed him on the nose. “Could you please let me off at the lab complex?” Tails nodded and Maria kissed him again, this time on the mouth, very quickly.