Class is over, time to get to work (Cyd)

Less than a week to prepare, but it felt like a month. Five long days and nights of grueling training and practice. Cyd was a hard taskmaster who demanded nothing less than perfection because she understood what it was they were putting on the line with such exploits. The preparations weren't the only taxing part of setting up for their adventure, acquiring everything that Cyd included on her shopping list was a miracle. He'd spent almost every credit of seed money they had on purchasing or paying off someone to look the other way while others, acquired it for him. Never the less, all the leg work had been done, all the blood, sweat, and tears were shed, and the night had finally come. They were now hiding beneath the roof of a collapsed in shed that was atop the roof of a building that was across the street one thousand yards away from the complex's fence, waiting for their opportunity.


Malik shifted uncomfortably where he crouched. His hands pawed at the skin tight black spandex like material that did far too good a job of conforming to his body like a second skin. Modesty was getting the best of him, and he felt that he might as well be named for the world to see. "Do we really have to wear these things? Why can't I just wear my fatigues and a mask? They'll do the same thing." Malik wasn't one to complain often but from time to time he did give voice to one. However, once it was addressed for better or worse, he let the issue die and never brought it up again. This particular argument was about his attire for the mission. New breed soldiers were equipped with standard issue gear that was engineered to fit and accommodate a human body that transformed into a much larger animal hybrid form. After the war, a number of Military surplus suppliers still sold them, while other companies marketed clothing that did the same thing.


The black material body suits that they wore now were designed to accommodate a changing physiology. What made them different were the purpose and resources put into making them. The form fitting black material were created to be used by stealth agents in the human army. It stretched and altered its form with the wearer as needed, tears and cuts resealed when the torn edges touched, and the fabric could be seen through from the inside of the garment almost perfectly, eliminating the need for eye holes with the mask was drawn up over the face. Wearing them would allow complete stealth, and a disguise that would not be useless if they transformed. Tips of claws would pierce through so they could be used, but their features and coloring would be completely concealed.


Raising a pair of night vision enabled binoculars to his eyes, Malik peered through the darkness in search of the patrolling guards. The two of them had already scouted the locations of the security cameras and watched the patrol patterns of the guards. With Cyd's guidance, she and Malik had done their homework, now he was just going over the points of interest. There were a total of eight security cameras that were set at the four corners of the fence in pairs pointing their lenses in over lapping fields. Four guards patrolled the outer property at each of them seemed to wander at random so there was no discernible patterns.


Lowering the enhanced green field of vision from his eyes, Malik turned his head to look at Cyd. He couldn't help that his eyes took the long way up to hers, taking advantage of the suits she demanded they wear. Unfortunately it was dark, and she blended into the shadows far more than she did normally. It was like seeing her when she was transformed, covered in sleek black fur, but the things that made her a woman still remained. He would have enjoyed it more but his mind was focused on the task of going over the checklist and mentally touching everything he wore on his person in the many pockets and compartments of his suit. There were so many tools, contraptions, and weapons both lethal and non lethal, all of them silent. "I'm ready to go when you are. Lead on," he said with a smile forming on his full lips. Excitement had finally hit him. He was going play with his new toys, the skills that Cyd taught him.

She had been bred for this. Not a concern within for the pockets of the wealthy. Cyd's world came with a minimal view. There was Cyd, and then there were the ones who were assigned to her unit. That unit now came in a hodge podge collection of felines and a couple extras. Not exactly the best fitting puzzle, as there were still a lot of kinks to be worked out.

Trust. It would seem that, unlike the rest of the unit, he had already given the panther his full confidence. He believed in her, where the others still remained skeptical.

Cyd remained crouched. Clothed in nothing but tight black material, one gloved hand rested on the gravel of the roof. Her hair tied back and worn beneath a head cover, there would be nothing but the line of mutated green gold eyes scanning the distance, that could be seen. She leaned forward, unseen muscles stretching the slender weight of her body. Cyd reached up to tug the bottom of her mask, and pushed it up over her face. Her nostrils flared, suckling in the air around them. Here, they were downwind. And nothing but the cold aroma of steel, asphalt, tar, and the hint of sweat surfaced to scrape through her senses. The pink tip of her tongue slipped a quick lap against her lips. The air repeating the answers just before. The place wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold either. They would have to find the locations of the guards outside, and slip past them. Then, they would deal with those inside.

Her mouth flickered into a lopsided half smirk and frown. Her chin dipped downward, as Cyd turned her attention towards Malik, and his fussing, "You already know. Now quiet, Lion. We aren't here to cause a scene."

She offered him a playful wink, then turned her attention towards the Bri-Tech building just beyond. She didn't need the night binoculars to see what was moving on the other side of the fence. A couple of them held rifles close to their chest, while the other two seemed to consider tonight would be quiet. Their judgment call was most likely right on all the nights of their shifts, save this one. It would take a lot of effort to get through the several barriers to protect their prized data. A risky venture, that most wouldn't accept.

That is. Except for someone who had little left to lose.

Cyd gave a silent nod. She turned on her toes. The uniform of the night chosen having shoes that formed around each toe individually. It was more like a second skin, then clothing. So, every muscle, even of her individual toes, could be used and unhampered. Gloved fingers pulled down the mask, shadowing away her pale chiseled features.

Feral nature would take over here, as the woman he had begun to know moved in a slow crouch that used fingertips at times on the dark roof surface. Almost, as if she were moving in her feline body. Keeping close to the roof, she could keep hidden, and continue to take in scents, and sounds that bounced off of the building.

She led him to the far edge of the structure, where she had already unwired and turned off the side lights. Cyd prowled to the brim, and looked over. Lips twitched quietly beneath the mask, as another inhalation of scents was drawn through the mask material. Cat eyes flickered across her view, searching for movement. When she saw nothing, she slid forward. Not a sound was made, when she took grasp of the ladder hooked over the building's side. Muscles shifted like a dark sea underneath the uniform. The dark panther descended down, further into the aphotic night.

When they got to the end of the ladder, where a locked cage enveloped it with false security, Cyd took a glance upwards towards Malik. He had been trained well. Already blessed with his own military background, here he learned to read Cyd with only his eyes and by use of scent. Following her cues, just as her partners had in the distant past. Her mouth twisted in a crooked grin. Content, she seemed to melt over the lip of the cage. Her fingers grasped the hard lined edge. Toes rubbed along small groves of the cage, as Cyd used her unnatural arm strength to lower herself down it's side. Positioning herself, she took a glance over her shoulder, then pounced. Bounding silently to the ground, she landed on all fours with only the whisper of sound coming from dirt caught under the pad of one foot. The data pad strapped into a thin pack on her back moving only sightly. Only the strongest of senses would have questioned the barely audible warning of the two thiefs moving.

She didn't continue, until Malik joined her. Again, her nostrils widened, then she took off. A dark curved shadow darting behind barriers, remaining nearly one with the ground. Scuttling in the direction where one of the lone security had wandered without gun in hand.

Her body finally found a stationary form. Just beneath the windows of a sentry outpost. Inside, she could hear the bored and quiet sounds of a guard, texting on a smart phone device. Golden green eyes gave a look over her shoulder towards Malik. Her chin lifted, motioning towards the guard walking just beyond the compound gate. Then, he would see the ivory flicker of sharp dagger talons moving like a razor through her special team gloves. She prowled around the front of the small outpost, and disappeared from his sight.

The quiet muffle of a last breath would sound, as death slid into through the half opened door. Her maw shifted, Cyd strangled him before he could think twice. Long feline fangs sunk into his throat. His phone fell to tap a dance on the guard post floor. His struggle was more for the nerves that orchestrated his body, than anything else. And when the puppetry of human wires gave, Cyd released him. Claws retracted, as she began to tap out the code that opened the door which allowed the walk through gate to click unlocked.

The time for playfulness quickly passed and Malik innately sensed the change in mood.  She gave him a smile that seemed to appreciate the attempt to break the stressful tension that came with waiting, but her mood quickly shifted to business.  Malik followed suit without hesitation, and put on is game face.  The serious face of a soldier watched as she reached up and tugged the mask down over her face.  He watched her fine featured visage disappear into the night, and raised his hands to join her in darkness.  He pulled the black mask down the rest of the way to cover his face, and tucked it beneath his chin so that there was no chance of it riding up and revealing who he was.  

 

Following in her footsteps almost perfectly Malik skulked across the gravely rooftop, his footsteps unnaturally quiet in the loose collection of rocks.  Once he reached the edge of the roof, he waited for Cyd to make her way down and over before he melted over the side like a puddle of ink, and flowed down the ladder.  Once he reached the bottom he performed the same careful climbing over the fence without causing a single jingle.  His decent as leaping from the top of the fence, but he did land evenly on all fours as Cyd had.  He could land easily on all fours, but each foot and hand increased their chance of being heard by raising the odds one of them would make noise.  Instead, Malik simply let himself fall straight down, feet first.  The balls of his toes touched the surface of the ground, and his entire body collapsed down onto the spot as if he were without bones in his body. 

 

All of the force  of falling was transferred downward, straight into the  center of Terra.  His legs bent ant the knee, allowing him to drop into a crouch, and his shoulders rolled forward so that he could place his hands down like a frog.  Landing perfectly balanced on the balls of his toes alone, Malik was whisper quiet like his teacher.  After his body absorbed the shock of landing, the lion rose smoothly and fell into quick step behind Cyd following the contours of the shadows cast by the surrounding terrain and the clouds above.  Bowing to something as ephemeral as the clouds above was one of the hardest lessons to learn.  Malik dealt with concrete tangibles and things he could influence, and this particular skill was completely passive and at the whim of something that had no will of its own.  Cyd was patient and worked him through it as she had everything and soon it too was a part of his arsenal.  


The guard house was their first target, and they each had their own job.  Cyd as the master had the hardest task to accomplish.   Malik's had its own difficulties but it was made infinitely easier thanks to her.  He slipped into the guard house only moments after Cyd, but she had already gotten hold of the guard unawares, and put him in the death hold.  Malik didn't hear a sound other than the sound of a cellphone clattering to the floor as the guard died without making a sound much less raising the alarm.  It was a shame the guard had to die, but leaving him unconscious was far too risky.  He could wake up before they were ready for him too and ruin the mission.  His own fate and that of his Pride took precedence over anyone else's.  


While the guard's life was ending Malik made his way over to the guard station computer and pulled out the small palm top computer that he had packed away.  He attached the data cable to the input port of the terminal that showed all the security camera feeds.  Most thieves tried to hack hard lines or intercept data feeds.  They were given security pass codes by the group that hired them, and with those could hack parts of the system to use to their own advantage.  After a few finger strokes the program was running and doing its worked.  One by one the computer feeds jumped just a bit.   After each clear frame and rotation of pass cycle, the data feed was repeated.  Once each camera output was usurped, a green bar showing the progress of the of the computer's other task hit 100 percent.  Instead of leaving the data pad behind as a clue, the program was now imbedded into the complexes own security system, and would not only delete itself and cover its tracks after thirty minutes.  By then they would be long gone or dead.  


With the security system infiltration complete Malik pulled the data cord, and put away the palm top computer.  He looked over to Cyd who was no doubt waiting for him to finish since she had the experience and skill and worked far faster than the computer.  A closed fist turned sideways was the signal that his task was complete successfully.  While he waited for Cyd to disengage the locks on the gate that would allow them entry into the compound Malik made a quick pass near the guard who lay dead on the floor.  He pulled a small spray bottle from a metal case that he kept tucked away.  Holding it over the guard's head he gave it a few pumps to spray the liquid inside on the guards face and neck.  Immediately after the liquid touched the guards flesh, it started to hiss and sizzle, eating away at the man's flesh.  Anything left behind could be evidence, even the death wounds.  Her method of killing the guard was tell tale of a feline, or at the very least, a Moonchild.  Destroying the guards face and throat would remove the chance of the wounds being examined.  Malik wouldn't leave anything to chance, not when it could hurt one of his own.


Once the code was entered and there was a soft click of metal moving within the lock's housing, Malik was up and moving to his next task.  Cyd had disengaged the lock and only the lock.  The gate was large and motorized, had she opened it using the mechanisms the entire gate would go through the very loud process of opening completely, before it could shut itself.  They didn't want to draw any unnecessary notice, so it was Malik's job to be a gentleman and open the door for the lady.  It was like a dance between them.  Cyd pulled the data cables off and moved out of the way while she wound them up, and Malik moved smoothly into the position on the spot she had just vacated.


 His body pressed flat up against the massive gate to minimize his profile against being seen, and planted himself for optimal leverage.  Large hands wrapped around bars, and dug into the frame in reverse grip and held tight.  All at once every muscle in his body tensed and applied pressure to the gate.  It was just like back at the Mule.  As she had taught him, he became one with the door he was trying to open, felt what it was that happened with the opening, and anticipated where the noise would come so he could work to silence it before it sounded.  Slowly the gate parted from its frame without making a single noise.  He stopped it before going any further than the crack they needed to slip through.  His legs were parted already so that Cyd could slip between them, underneath him and secure the other side  When he felt her ghostly presence pass between his legs, he swiftly slid his body through the opening, turned 180 degrees, and repeated the same process to close the gate behind them.  Malik was never a dancer, but tonight he was becoming an avid fan.

The taste of the sweet and coppery fluid in her tongue made her mouth water. The feline within stretching and sniffing the air for the sanguine scent. But, this wasn't a kill for food. Someone here at the wrong time, wrong place. She licked her lips, as she let his head fall gently to the side. His body slack in his chair. She cradled his head, easing it against his shoulder. Smoothed his damp hair away from his forehead, then let him go to 'rest' where she left him. Blood dripping down his neck from puncture wounds that could belong to any of the shifted creatures that roamed the night.

The air within the small security station changed with the hint of feline musk and an aroma that belonged to only Malik. It permeated through the stench of metal and the tang of blood. Cyd turned her head, lifting her chin to raise high above her shoulder towards her leader, her partner. A flicker at the corner of her mouth would suggest the warmth that came with recognition. And only that would come, nothing more. Yet, even in the flow of their current pursuit, her feline calling suggested both attraction and ease.

Her blue eyes flashed towards the small pad. Then she took a balletic step forward. One long leg straddling the slacked thigh of the dead guard. She leaned over the console. Her fingers flowing like dark wheat in the wind, dancing over the keys. A small display changed, showing their point of entry, and then a few further locations just beyond. Her eyes squinted, narrowing on the one guard that stood near a door they would need to get beyond. The panther captured Malik's attention with the bright twin azure lights of her eyes, then set his upon the guard that would be 'waiting for them'.

Another flash of fingers across the board, and the locking mechanism was open. She heard the hiss, smelt the stench of rotting flesh. Cyd yanked her mask back up over her ivory jawline and covered her nose, then, with a shift of her hips, and graceful turn, and she took to unlacing the data cables from their ports, wrapping them up in a perfect loops, then tucked them away beneath her shirt. Clipping a hidden snap, where the cables would lay against the warmth of her body.

Then she took one back step. Just in time, to where she found Malik standing at the gate. Already, and without a sound, it had been pried open. Quiet steps were taken towards him. Then, like a dark shadow falling so near to his body it could have been Malik's own, she lowered to skulk between his legs. The heat of her moonchild body seeping through the fabric, 'brushing' against his, as she slid within an inch of his inner thighs.

Unfolding like a willow that had been bent by the force of a great wind, she stood up. Her spine a silent chain that unlatched and stretched her tall slender body back to it's natural height. Cyd's chin dipped low, sensing Malik near to her more so with her hearing and sense of smell. And as he joined her, she once again moved.

Night spilled across the gravel, then took to the black top road. Silent and quick, the inky figure slipped towards the far wall, where she stood just a second to wait for the lion to join her. Only a fraction of movement in her jawline would be a recognizable nod, before they moved again. Staying against the wall, then suddenly stopping to listen. Her hand reached back. The cold leather of her gloved palm placed against his upper thigh, fingers splayed to halt Malik in his tracks where she held him.

Looking just barely about the edge of the building, she saw what she had scented. One guard, his heavy gun in hand was moving towards them. Instantly, she pressed herself flat to the building. She would let Malik's own keen senses pick up what she had seen.

Even though she didn't touch him, Malik could somehow feel Cyd's presence moving between his legs as surely as if she decided to arch her back and brush up against him. It made the corner of his mouth curl slightly, but the task at had kept him from enjoying the moment fully. She was already through the opening, and he quickly closed it silently while she secured the area behind him. When the doors came to a silent seal Malik quickly spun, and fell into step behind Cyd.


The clouds in the sky danced across the world blocking the light of the moon to create pools of shadow that Cyd managed to keep through as if she could feel them like water wetting her skin. He followed her lead in the strange flowing crouch of a step that she had taught him. It was the complete opposite of the way that Malik moved naturally. Malik lopped and used his weight and musculature to his advantage to gain momentum and power. This used none of that. Instead it kept his weight even over the ground and motion was used to keep him floating. Moving forward felt more like he was being pulled instead of doing the pushing. As foreign as it felt before, it was now second nature because Cyd made him spend hours doing it in the darkness of the wastelands.


Malik flowed to a stop, and pressed himself to the wall beside Cyd. The hand gesture she gave was understood perfectly, and Malik held his ground. Just like she had taught him, Malik ignored what his eyes told him, and filtered the world through his other senses. They were just as acute as hers, but she was better at using them. She taught him as much as she could in the week they trained, and he made some progress but she was still better. Malik could hear the footsteps on the pavement coming closer, and he could almost feel the heart beat thumping contrary to his own. A guard was coming and she was waiting for him to deal with him.


The Lion shifted his body slightly forward so that they almost occupied the same space. The round of his ass was pressed into the small of her back, and she could feel the weight of his presence trapping her between him and the wall even if he didn't press back. His back fell still because his breathing slowed that much. The heart beat and steps were coming closer. Just as the reached the corner Malik suddenly spun out on the ball of his foot. Hands moved out in unison towards the guard. Malik's eyes were trained on one spot because that was the important target, the trigger of the gun the guard held. His thumb forced its way behind the trigger, so the gun couldn't be fired, and his other hand grabbed the guard by the chin. Malik pushed his arm forward, and gave the guards neck a quick push. The Lion's unnatural strength made the guards head twist around almost a full 180 degrees with a sickening crack, but that was the only nose he made.


The presence of the guard was an unexpected boon for them. He was a part of the plan, but now they wouldn't have to wait for him to show up. Using the gun arm and broken neck like handles, Malik lifted the guard off of his feet, and carried him to the main gates. Because of the hardened outer perimeter and surveillance, the inner patrols were more lax. They had seen guards passing into the facility to use the bathroom, and take breaks randomly throughout the night so one entering now would not be seen as out of the ordinary. At the door Malik lifted the guard by his throat, and used his other hand to swipe the coded badge over the scanner. The door lock beeped and Malik held his eye open so that the retinal scanner could confirm his identity. Inside the structure bolts rumbled, disengaged, and the door swung open.


Inside the door was a twenty foot hallway that ended in a T shape. It was a security choke point that most places employed. Five feet in front of them there was a guard who's job it was to watch the door, and the comings and goings thorough it. He was armed with the same tactical uniform and assault rifle as the others. Beyond him at the far end of the hallway was a security desk with monitors, and a guard behind it running the switch board, and manning the alarm switches. The room that held the data they came for was somewhere in this complex, but first they would have to get passed these two guards. Malik was busy holding up a dead body, and closing the door behind them so none of the guards outside could see that they had been breeched. These two were Cyd's to deal with. It was time for Malik to see his teacher in action. It was Cyd's moment to show him how it was truly done before either of them raised an alarm, without raising the alarm herself.

Cyd closed her eyes. Listening to the steps upon gravel moving closer and closer towards them. Her palms pressed to the wall, fingers splayed against the rough brick. Even if it was faint, the slight pressure of Malik's body holding her to the wall brought to mind other things. The blonde leaned her forehead against the building, clenching her eyes together to push away the thoughts that teased towards something else. This was not the time, nor the place. But, he was certainly tempting the heat that had continually began to rise between them.

Where his heart slowed, her's had quickened. The blonde pinched her lips into a firm line. Then fought away the sigh that wanted to lift, in the moment that Malik had stepped away. She could focus. And so she did, spinning about in time to see Malik deliver a quick and sudden death to the guard.

She followed Malik and the rag doll guard. Her attention kept to sweeping the perimeter for any more surprises. As they stepped up the door, she took a step back, then turned. The long line of her back to Malik. Her bright blue eyes scanning where they had been. Then she heard it. The click and whirl of a lock freeing inside the door frame.

A swivel of her hips, the panther seemed to dance in line behind him. A dance that would be short to live, as the two now stood at another crux of their journey. Two guards now stood between the duo and the further depths that held the jewel to which they had come to take. Blue eyes trailed up towards the lighting, then down the walls. Seeking the invisible cord that she knew by the map he had given her to study throbbed with electrical light.

Cyd paused, falling into the silence that surrounded them. Only a slight cant of her head, as the woman listened, told of a hint of what she was doing. Beyond the corner where they stood, her senses spoke to her. They told her a story. Listening to every breath they made, and each movement as the two guards kept up their duty to keep anyone from moving beyond and further into the center seat of the building.

Knees bent, giving way to the pull of gravity. Bringing her down, until she skulked across the hall in a moment freed by both guards not paying any attention to the stealth grace of the feline woman. She slid, slipping up along the wall. The front of her body hovering a breath away from the wall. She pulled out a sharp knife, and in time with the voices around the corner, she sawed into the painted sheet-rock. Baring the metal deep into the plaster, until she found her mark. The sharp tip of the blade slashed at the wires that she could hear humming on the other side.

Lights flickered, and then all vision was lost. At least, the vision of those with only human sight. With a tilted grin, Cyd spun about and immediately leapt into the inky black of the scene. Her body flying like none should ever, she looked more like a ballet dancer moving through the space of a stage. The knife in hand. It's tip pointed down, she struck at his heart. Cutting through to the beating pulse of the muscle, just as the leather palm of her other hand pressed to his mouth to silence the promise of a scream.

Through the thin fabric that hugged his body, Malik felt the ghosting of air over his side. That was the only sign that Cyd had danced passed him. Move wasn't the word for what she did. Every action was a production of skill and experience. No sound at all. If he couldn't see or feel her, then he wouldn't even know she was there. Even though he knew she was there and was looking directly at her, his eyes felt like they wanted to slip off of her. Something about the way she moved made it a conscious effort to keep his attention on her. Malik moved to the side and shoved the body of the dead guard he carried in an alcove in the wall. There weren't many options for hiding a body here, and taking it with him was not one of them. The alcove would have to do.

When the body was stowed away he turned his eyes back to the hallway where Cyd had gone, and had to search for her. It didn't take long because he knew what he was looking for, but if he hadn't known she was there, he would be dead. With his eyes finally on her, there was absolutely no trouble keeping his attention on her. This was the heart and soul of what she did, and this was the first time that he was truly able to watch it. Malik had seen her practice, he'd paid attention to her teaching him, he'd even seen it outside, but it was nothing like this. From the edge of the corner he watched Cyd hide and plain sight, slinking a long in the blind spots of the guards. The inky pool of shadow flowed along the floor and up the wall, mimicking the curves and shapes of a woman's body. His pulse quickened out of both desire and astonishment. Suddenly the world plunged into darkness and his eyes adjusted almost instantly. He couldn't see her in the darkness, but one heartbeat ceased forever. That was his cue to make his move.

In the darkness Malik could see the form of the one living guard behind his desk looking around in surprise. He was wondering why the lights had suddenly gone out in the hallways, and had absolutely no idea his fellow guard had just been skillfully sent into the embrace of the Divine. Malik tore himself free from the need to watch Cyd as she went after the second guard, and set into motion. Placing his trust in Cyd, the Lion ghosted down the hallway silently, turned the corner, and disappeared into the distance. The layout of the building firmly fixed in his memory. Malik could have made this run with his eyes closed. Finding the door without any issue, Malik focused on the security panel. From the secure fold of his body suit, Malik produced the security card that their employer provided. This part was the greatest gamble of the entire mission. They had to trust the word and work of someone that they didn't know.

The plastic card slipped through the reader and the light turned green. Malik let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding when the soft beep sounded and the lock clicked open. The door slid to the side smoothly and Malik's eyes searched the interior. There was nothing but a series of computers hooked to a large server in the center of the room. Their objective was on that massive collection of circuits and hard drives. Malik his pack around to the front of his body, pulled a pneumatic brace from it, and barred the door open so that it could not slide shut again. The door was secured so that Cyd could enter, and when the fireworks started, it couldn't shut during security lockdown. Walking into the room Malik pulled another device from the pack, located the right server port, and plugged it in. The small black box came to life, and that life spread across the entire room. Screens booted up and the data transfer started.

Malik turned back to the door, forgot the box, and started the next phase of the plan. The bones of his body began shifting and breaking. Muscles tore and started to grow, as he was being reborn to the world. It took all his control to keep quiet, to stifle the need to scream, and desire to roar. Cyd's specialty part of the plan was over and now it was time for his specialty, whole sale destruction. The download and erasure of the data completed and the fireworks started. Red lights began to flash all over the room and throughout the building. Power to the computers were cut but it was already too late. The pneumatic brace on the door began whirl as the door tried to close on it.

Malik's suit had expanded and changed to fit the form of his body. He was a giant mass of shadowy cloth standing in the room, shifting muscles waiting to be unleashed. Tight fabric held back his mane, and kept his tail from lashing about wildly. The cameras were still dead so any accounts of what he was would have to be from eyewitnesses and there were a great many hulking monsters in the world. Malik looked over his shoulder at Cyd. She was supposed to retrieve the device, and get it out safely. Malik was the door opener, and the distraction so that she could disappear. When she was ready he gave a growl and tossed his head forward.

It was time to go. Those muscles that were waiting impatiently exploded forward knocking the brace from the door, allowing it to slam shut behind him. His massive frame sprinted down the twisting and turning hallways. He was heading for the main entrance, and an unknowing response team was right in his path. The five man team was double timing it up the hallway towards the room that set out the alarm, and they found a locomotive of black clad muscle coming for them. They didn't get any shots off until it was too late. Malik was among them, the first was slammed by a fist into a wall, and had his chest completely crushed. Another was crushed beneath a massive padded foot. As rifles were leveled at the monster, his claws were pushing them out of the way, and killing the men who held them.

The massacre was over in mere seconds, and Malik began his sprint towards the main doors once again. After a few steps, Malik had a full head of steam behind his bulk, and it was directed at the door. Every ounce of strength Malik possessed was directed at the steel reinforced door, because he needed to get Cyd clear of this place. Even if he died, she had to escape. They would be together again, all he had to do was survive, because he knew they would never find her if she didn't want to be found. The doors buckled and tore away from the wall like cardboard, and Malik burst into the world without declaring his presence. It was strange not to roar, but he didn't have much time to think about it. Response teams were on their way. He could handle armies, he'd been born for that, it was like the old days again. Malik happily strafed towards the first fire team, and sent them flying, but there were no screams as they soared. When they landed, none of them stirred, but Malik was already on his way to the next group. Rule one, never stop moving. Rule two, never leave anything alive to get up and start fighting again. Cyd was on her own until they met at the rendezvous.

Only the sound of the guard's body hitting with a hushed thump on the floor could be heard, as Cyd fell with him. Her knees to either side of his abdomen. Her hand held tight to his mouth, muffling the last song of breath he would ever bare. With her other, the knife twisted. Cutting away into the cavern of his chest. Tearing into the once beating muscle of his heart. The large muscular form spasmed beneath her. Then stilled. The air tasting of rich copper fluid, as it gushed from the cavity she'd created.

Feral hungers struck a swipe of her tongue, salty sweat against her lips. Then she turned. Twisting upon one ankle that bore all of her weight. She rose swiftly. Her nostrils flared to seek Malik's masculine scent, and then she gone. Tearing through the corridor towards him on inaudible steps. She made it to him, just as the little blip signaled the release of the doors. Moving like liquid through the air, she twisted about. Her weapon raised, Cyd guarded Malik's back. Brilliant sapphire pools searching through the darkness for the faintest sound. It was silent. Deadly silent, but she knew it wouldn't last for very long.

Keen hearing heard his steps behind her, and soon Cyd fell in between the narrow gap of the door. The long slender and soft curves of her frame slinking like a shadow between, then turning on her heel as if in a dance. The panther moved to the forgotten box. A rush of adrenaline swept through her veins at the sight of secretive data flashing across the screens. Codes, designs, puzzles dissolving away as firewalls were broke one after the other. She lifted her fingers to a touch screen, and entered a series of numbers. A sly grin rose upon the tilted line of her lips. She had thought she recognized that code. Now, they had a little more time, before the whole place would turn red hot with a total electrical shut down.

Reaching for the wires, Cyd yanked the box against her chest. A glance over her shoulder towards the magnificent lion, she gave him a nod that she would be gone. And before he would breath his next breath, the air would seem displaced in the very place she had once stood. The dark line of her form no where to be seen.

Having memorized the layout of the building, Bishop had devised her own way out of the building. A narrow line of air shafts that ran between the ceiling and the upper floors. Fine lines of sinew and bone poured like black smoke through the small passage, making nothing of hard sharp turns, where air ducts met and split. She scurried quickly, meeting a square mesh guard. Soft lips suckled between her teeth, as she bent. Folding into a tight u shape, her rib cage brushing against the slender muscles of her thighs. The blonde reached up for a seam in the shaft, gripping it with sharp claws. She unfolded her body. Bones popping back into place, one by one. The soft pads of her boots rested for a moment against the mesh. Then knees pulled up, rubbing the top of the shaft. Muscles coiling tightly like a spring, before a sudden thrust slammed the soles of the boots against the mesh and thrust it out into the night.

Scooting out of the shaft, Cyd feel from the height to land in a perfect roll. Springing up on her feet again, she ran. All of the focus of the company's forces now on the wild large beast that had burst outside from another part of the building. She ran with full force, leaping against the mesh of the fence ten feet in the air. She scrambled upwards quickly, until she met the line of sharp wire at the top. Cyd bit into the wire between to spikes and held on with her teeth, holding her weight from falling backwards. Still holding to the box, she reached into the small pack on her side and pulled out a set of wire cutters. In the flash of a few seconds, the wire was cut. The feline panther sailing over the top of the fence to land without a sound on the other side. And then she ran. The frightening sound of sharply cut screams falling further and further behind her.

Malik rampaged across the concourse between the building and the fence.   Guards ran in from every direction, firing guns at him, and Caplin for more reinforcements.  The black clad lion pounced on one group after another as they came near him. Screams and breaking bones drowned out gun fire, but there was not a single roar overwhelming any of the sound.  The beast knew it had an important task, one far more integral than killing.  He was drawing attention from one of his Pride to keep her safe. When it was apparent that every eye was on him, and enough time for her to escape had passed, he ran towards the fence. Once he neared it, mighty legs propelled him into the air, and over the fence. 


The muscle heavy monster landed on the other side of the fence with a rise of dust that swirled about when he sprinted away. He ran into the night and the guards scrambled to get the doors to the gate open, because there were no living guards manning them.   That was the head start he needed to disappear into the warehouses.  He knew the path to the one he was looking for, and found the double doors wide open by the time the guards mobilized vehicles, exited the compound, and began the search for him.  In the relative seclusion of the closed warehouse Malik too the time that was necessary to regress his form into that of a man once more.  The process was just as painful as was when he unleashed the beast, but there was no sense of liberation to accompany it. 


It too even more mental restraint to keep from crying out in pain, but the threat of drawing the guards down upon his mor vulnerable form kept him quiet.  The inky fabric clung to his skin, accommodating his changing form as it was designed to.  Once the ordeal was over, Malik pushed his panting body up off of the floor.  Struggling to his feet Malik felt trapped inside his skin, but he pushed those feelings aside and started the run towards the near by corner.  It's floor held a sewer access panel that had no pad lock on it.  That was his own escape route.  The guards were searching for a huge monster that made a spectacle of itself.  There was no way it could fit through the small access hole, and quietly run through the utility tunnels beneath the city. 


The change back always let him feeling exhausted.  Each step was a labor, but he pressed on.  Malik leaned his body so that gravity kept him moving forward, and he needed to keep his feet beneath him lest he crumple into a heap on the floor.  The tired lion occupied his mind with reciting he memorized route through the tunnels to his destination.   'Three, left, four, right, two, five left, ten, right, two, left, five, up.' The trance-like run continued until he came to a ladder that lined the walls and a hatch above his head.  He'd passed so many on the course, but this one was his exit.  Malik came to a dead stop, and listened to the darkness for sounds of pursuit.  There were none, he was alone.  Reaching into an alcove in the wall, he pulled out the backpack that he had stashed there earlier that day.  Inside was a chance of clothes that he quickly donned, and stuffed his gear inside the now empty pack. The final piece was a baseball cap.  Finally he scaled the ladder, pushed the hatch open, and emerged into an alleyway.  


The manhole cover thumped back into place and Malik walked out into the crowded street where there were no surveillance cameras watching any stores that could possibly catch an image of him merging into the crowd.  Cyd thought of everything, covered every possible angle.  Following her plan to the letter removed almost any chance of him being seen. She was truly a master of stealth.  The overwhelming proof made it hard to not appreciate his teacher's skill.  In silent isolation Malik walked a winding path through the city, loosing himself again and again in the crowd, so that he could watch behind and see if he was being followed.  Nothing behind, above, or below was following him.  He even gave them ample opportunity to catch him before he made the rendezvous point. That was also part of the plan to keep one from leading trouble back to the other.  


Finally Malik reached the rendezvous, McGregor's Bar.  They were there so often that anyone would have trouble pinpointing the time they arrived of left.  It was the Pride's territory and its owner would validate any alibi without being prompted.  It paid to treat people well and have good friends.  Time and time again Malik was living proof of that.  He slipped through the door with a crowd of people instead of bursting on to the scene as he had a habit of doing.  It was another one of Cyd's lessons that changed his natural behavior.  If no one noticed him entering they would just assume he was here all night.  Malik made his way to the back of the bar where dimmer lights shone on high top tables and bar stools.  Cyd would be there waiting for him. He knew it deep down in his soul. They had done the deed and gotten away with it.  All he had to do was make the drop tomorrow, get paid, and complete their business.  It was still too early to celebrate, but he needed something.  The closer he got to the back of the bar the stronger a familiar scent became. She was here.  He followed his nose to the corner farthest corner of the bar with every intention of picking Cyd up around the waist, pressing her back into the corner, and kissing her until he could taste her soul.  They'd fought a corporation in Librium and won thanks to her. 

The task was completed. And despite the inevitable deaths that would happen in any war, Cyd felt the satisfaction that came with being able to conquer a task and make it her own. No walls, no high tech security could out do the covert panther. She had beaten yet another game. And even though, she knew this had been the 'design' of her breeding by others, it was something in which she could accept and crave.

It also felt good that she had been able to prove to Malik that she could be of use to his pride. He had done well under her tutelage. The large husky lion had managed to stalk right into the compound, slip through the guards and armament without being detected. They had moved well together. And the thought of that brought a tilted smile to her lips, even as she remembered the way their leader barreled through the oncoming guards like an indestructible monsoon.

Picking up her bottle of beer, and letting it's glass amber mouth brush against her bottom lip, Cyd continued her sly smile. His scent carried in the push of filtered air through the bar. She knew he was here, and he had made it safe.

The blonde had already stashed away their prize. And changed. A pair dark jeans, an ebony Henley, and her leather jacket, she sat relaxed on a bar stool, curled over the bar with her elbows on it's edge. Her brilliant blue eyes remained in a stoic gaze, that glanced at the moving bar back every now and then. His young muscled body certainly not too hard on the eyes.

Then she felt him. Those strong hands taking grip of her waist. Lifting her from where she sat. Like a dancer, she moved in fluid ease. Long legs sliding away from her seat. The bottle of beer still held in one hand, as the other captured the masculine line of his jaw. Her lips to his in a hard bruising kiss, as he moved her in a backward dance. The door to the back office banged open, then thrown closed behind them. It was time for a little celebration.

/end