InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mukunda ❯ Competition ( Chapter 7 )

It seems my muse was whispering in my ear all night. I finished the earlier chapter and just felt the flow so I went with it. This will never happen again I'm sure so don't expect this. I will, however, try to get the chapters out with less than a month gap between. Keep with the reviewing. I'm finding myself liking it more and more. ^_^ Toodles.

Insert useless disclaimer here.

Here she was, heedless of Inuyasha's warning, staring through binoculars at the large container ship. Kagome couldn't help but question herself again about her sanity. Inuyasha was right. There were far too many of them for her to handle alone. This would take much more firepower than the two .45's in her arm holsters. She had maybe enough ammo to handle one firefight and that was it. Four speed loaders wouldn't help much against 20 or so guards armed with ak-47. The ship's deck was well patrolled by the guards while the big money sat comfortably in the wheel house, finalizing the deal, or so the former detective surmised.

"What the hell am I gonna do now? I can't back down after investing so much but I can't possibly accomplish this myself." She continued to speak to herself in the shadows near the warehouse. The dock was poorly lit, but that was almost certainly the idea in this case since too many lights would certainly alert customs to the fact that something shady was going down. The dock smelled of salt water and rust, neither of which was surprising. One surprising smell, however, was the stench of decay. This wasn't the smell of trash or compost; it was a smell any cop would know. Somebody had died nearby.

Creeping along the wall, Kagome followed her nose as best she could, trying to locate its source. She slid against the wall further, avoiding the light as best she could and focusing on the smell. So focused was the young detective that she nearly screamed when a rat ran across her foot.

When she'd finally regained her composure, she raised her binoculars again and looked toward the deck to make sure she wasn't seen. That's when she found the source of the smell. One container stood open on the deck and bodies all but spilled out. The sheer number of people in the container astounded Kagome. How could so many people fit in one container? Apparently they couldn't fit too well since so many were dead. She counted almost 15 bodies being loaded into a large cart like trash. It was enough to make her see red. So what if she was outnumbered. These fuckers had to pay and she would see to it that she returned their evil on them a thousand fold.

If she was to have any chance of success, she would have to steal up to the wheel house and take out the bosses, which was easier said than done, of course. These guards were nothing if not professional. She couldn't see a single weakness in their defenses. They stuck to their rounds and moved like clockwork. She must have watched them for ten minutes straight before she noticed something strange. One of the guards seemed to be missing. She took the binoculars from her eyes and blinked several times before looking again. This time, she noticed another guard missing. What the hell…shit! She cursed to herself, finally realizing what must be happening. Mukunda was making their move.

Now, she had to work a whole hell of a lot faster.

<*>

"Third one down. Pathway 40% clear. Inuyasha, the next one is yours." Sango's voice crackled through the hanyou's earpiece, causing him to smirk. This was what he lived for and nothing else gave him so much pleasure. He gave a "keh" of affirmation into the mask and leapt to the second level deck. Had he forgone the mask like usual, the smell of death and human decay would have overwhelmed his sensitive nose. Usually, he detested something like this with all of his might. It hindered one of his most important senses and made him more vulnerable but after watching those bastards cart away the bodies, he thanked Sango's persistence in getting him to wear it this time.

The sound of footsteps approaching set Inuyasha's back against the wall. His target was approaching quickly and he was itching to hit something right now. The guard soon came into view, completely overlooking the hanyou while staring out at the dock at something that seemed to catch his attention. That was the perfect chance for Inuyasha to strike. The guard was out before he even knew there was anyone near him, so strong and fast was Inuyasha's fist. A fist to the top of a man's head may lack subtlety but it certainly worked. Setting the guard's unconscious body in the shadows, Inuyasha spoke again into his mask, "60% clear. Sango, it's time to get out your cannon."

"Affirmative. First target up. I am awaiting the order," chimed the always serious voice of their female member.

Darting along the multitude of stairwells without a sound, Inuyasha was soon in place, "Miroku, are you in place?"

There was a moment of silence between the question and Miroku's answer as the dark haired man arrived at his position, "Affirmative."

"Alright," Inuyasha barked, "Sango, take down the first target."

He didn't have to hear Sango's agreement to know that the order was carried out the moment he gave it. A silent dart flew from the barrel of Sango's rather large rifle, embedding itself in a guard's neck. Before the man could fall, however, Miroku caught him, setting him softly on the metal walkway. "He's down. Good shot."

"Keh. Flattery won't help you get into her pants, perv. Take out the next target, Sango." Inuyasha crouched, watching the next guard come around the corner. His eyes darted to the tarp on the dock that concealed Sango's position and he nodded, leaping toward the guard just as the shot was fired. Their timing was perfect, something that could only come from years together as a team. The man had barely begun to slump when Inuyasha's strong arms caught him and kept the noise from giving away their position.

"The way is clear. Move in." Inuyasha barked into his mask in a gruff whisper. Now, he could finally see the bastards responsible for this atrocity and beat the living shit out of them.

<*>

Kagome climbed the rusty ladder as quietly as she could. Everything was easier when someone else did the work. She followed the weak spots in the defense and was nearly to the wheelhouse. She though she was caught at one point when she locked eyes with one of the guards. Thankfully, that guard fell a moment later. Though she never saw the one that took him out, she knew who it was. She didn't doubt for a moment that Inuyasha was the one she followed. She didn't know how she knew; she just attributed it to her finely honed cop instincts.

She made little noise as she ran up stairs and walkways, trying to beat her competitor's to the wheelhouse and to the real criminals. Movement to her right caught her attention and she immediately stopped, hiding behind a crate and hoping she wasn't seen. To her surprise, she saw Inuyasha crouched low and staring at a guard. Were it not for the silvery hair and triangular ears, she would have never recognized him. He looked, for all intents and purposes, like a ninja, dressed all in black with a mask that covered only his nose and mouth. What was he waiting for? Well, it didn't really matter anyway. That guard was obviously next which meant that they had taken care of all of the other obstacles already. If she moved fast enough, she could beat them there and claim the bust and the profits.

Finally, she found her way to the fourth deck and into the wheel house through the side entrance. She was in and it was hers. She drew both of her guns and put her game face on. Criminals didn't like to take a woman seriously when she was emotional even if she was brandishing two guns with enough kick to just about knock a weaker man off of his feet. Guns leading the way, she followed the sound of men's voices to the main room just off of the control room. She didn't know much about boats, but she assumed from the layout that this room was used mostly for planning and charting courses.

"Hands up, this is a raid!" yelled the young detective, her guns sweeping left and right to gain the attention of everyone. Her yell had caught them all completely unaware and caused one of the men to literally fall out of his seat. Kagome stared them down, daring anyone to make a move. She took stock of the room and grumbled to herself, "What a bunch of pigs." All around the room lay discarded alcohol containers and greasy snack foods. Set carelessly on a table in the middle of the room were several of the men's guns, though she didn't doubt for an instant that they had more.

It was her turn to be caught off guard when those in her sights began to laugh, "Look at this! Little girl thinks she can come in here and order us around with a couple of pea shooters." The man who spoke was the very man that had been pawing at her the night before in the bar and she couldn't help the vicious smirk that came to her face as he stood up.

"Pea shooters, eh?" She pulled the trigger once, firing into the fat man's leg and sending him immediately to the ground, screaming in pain. This effectively silenced the laughter and earned her glares.

"You just fucked up, girlie," a large man rose from a chair designed for someone half his size and advanced on the former detective menacingly, "You're gonna be added to the batch down there after we have our fun."

She pulled the trigger again, this time aiming for a shoulder to stop his approach. She smirked when the bullet hit its mark but gasped when the man simply laughed, "I'm a demon, bitch. You're gonna have to do better than those puny guns."

Kagome took a step back and unloaded on the demon, emptying both guns directly into the youkai before her. When he didn't even slow, she continued to back up, "Shit…"

<*>

The sound of a gunshot behind the door nearly deafened the hanyou who'd had his ear pressed to its cold steel a moment earlier. "Fuck!" he all but screamed, rubbing the ringing appendage until he managed to calm himself. He looked at the door as if it had attacked him and yanked off his mask to better growl, "The fuck was that?"

"Perhaps they're having a little squabble and are killing eachother off. It would be far less work for us," responded Miroku who stood behind his comrade. When Inuyasha's ears flattened on his head, Miroku knew that something was up, "What is it?"

"They ain't killing themselves," the hanyou spoke, "they're getting ready to kill someone else and I know exactly who it is." Reaching for the door handle he snarled, "I told that fucking girl to stay away. She's way too fucking reckless! Let's go!"

Miroku barely had time to grab Inuyasha's collar to restrain him, "Hold it. Remember the place. Put your mask back on and drop a canister. If this girl's in trouble, she'll just get knocked out by the gas and she'll be safer than if you went in there in your usual fashion."

Inuyasha growled but pulled up his mask while producing two black canisters from his belt pouch. At Miroku's nod, he flung the door open and tossed them inside, catching a glimpse of the chaos inside before slamming the door closed again. Two pops heard through the steel door let them both know that the canisters had indeed detonated and had begun releasing the knockout gas. Within a minute, they began to hear the thuds of bodies hitting the floor. When three minutes had passed, the duo rushed into the room, masks securely in place and guns drawn only to find everyone sleeping peacefully where they fell. In the middle of the room lay a rather large demon atop a very petite detective.

Inuyasha immediately ran over to the woman and shoved the demon away to check Kagome for injuries. Satisfied that she had none, he growled down at her, "Stupid woman! Told you to stay the fuck out of this!"

"When you're done wasting your breath, Inuyasha, we have work to do. Sango will be placing the call in ten minutes." Inuyasha growled but nodded, knowing Miroku was right. They had other things to do. Within eight minutes, the bosses were all tied together in the middle of the room. The large demon, however, hung from the ceiling by several thick cables and bled from a multitude of wounds left by Inuyasha's claws. That only left Kagome, still sleeping on the floor.

"What do we do with her, Inuhyasha?" Miroku asked, looking down at her still form.

Inuyasha stared at the detective for a long moment. She was certainly beautiful but she was also stubborn as hell. She shouldn't have been here in the first place and it would serve her right if he just left her there to answer the questions of the police who were bound to show up soon. Crouching down, he slung her over his shoulder and looked at Miroku, "Let's go."