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The jackal felt a strange, unsettling air hang over the warehouse before he entered. The night weighed heavy. He knew that damn hedgehog would be here, they'd agreed to make it easy on the both of them and do the deal where it was most convenient. It should've been one and done, but lo and behold, Shadow the Hedgehog couldn't make things easy. Ignoring all of Infinite's invoice, his calls, his demands for some kind of answer or bargain.
Bargaining was already off the table at this point, frustration bubbling under his skin thinking about the already discounted price he proposed to Shadow. He'd only commissioned a simple (though questionable) pump-action MP5, and he knew Shadow had the money for it. Regardless, they'll talk it out. And if they didn't, he'll take the payment by force.
But entering the warehouse had his blood run cold. The warehouse was practically empty, only occupied by dozens of empty scattered crates and a couple folding chairs.
"Fuck." Hundreds of guns, explosives, ammunition and the like were gone. Stomping over to the empty crates, Infinites tail thrashed wildly as he ran a gloved hand through white hair and pulled out his phone, punching in his assistants number. Shadow wasn't here, and he had absolutely nothing to recover.
Riiing riiing riiing
"Chaos, when I get my hands on that damn hedgehog, I'll-"
"You'll what?"
Before Infinite could process the voice mere inches away, a hand roughly yanked him by the hair and slammed him face first into the edge of the wooden crate. Dizzy, the jackal barely registered being thrown onto his back and his phone skittering across the concrete floor. Holding his head, his eyes struggled to focus on the figure in the dark. Blood gushed from his nose, but that was the least of his worries.
In front of him was a black and red streaked hedgehog, one who Infinite had initially taken quite a liking to. It was hard to see exactly what the other was wearing in the dim light of the warehouse, but it was distinctly different from the casual, leather-clad jacket and white gloves he was accustomed to. Now, it seemed more tactical, and the lack of gloves altogether had Infinite raising a brow.
"Resorting to an ambush, I see," regaining some semblance of composure, he stood face to face with the object of his aggression. "Is it you whos responsible for all this missing product?" The hedgehog a few feet away didn't seem interested in entertaining conversation. He simply gave the jackal a roll of the eyes.
"What do you think?" With that, Shadow readied his fists, and sprung in his direction. Unfortunate. Not here business, or pleasure, it seemed.
Infinite caught the fist hurdled his way, attempting to throw his own before being kneed in the stomach and doubling over in pain. Shadow's free hand connected with the left side of his face, nearly throwing Infinite off balance and freeing his other hand.
Pushed back slightly, Infinite regained his footing and lunged with a vicious growl, knocking the both of them to the ground. Sprawled on top of Shadow, the jackal quickly took advantage and landed punch after punch on the hedgehogs muzzle, blood splattering over his black gloves. He wore black for a reason.
"What's wrong, hedgehog? Thought I'd go down easy if you got the jump on me!?"
Shadow pushed at Infinite, hands trying to find purchase while getting the lights beat out of him. Finally, he reached up to the other's face, and dug a claw into flesh, quickly raking down when he heard a loud howl of pain, the weight on top of him disappearing.
Getting his bearings as fast as he could, Shadow stood again, eyes hardening on the furious gaze of his 'business partner', who was now covering his right eye, blood oozing between his fingers.
"You shouldn't have come here, Zero." Despite the throbbing pain of the slash over his eye, the adrenaline pumping through Infinite's veins made it impossible to focus on anything but the anger and confusion that grew with each passing moment.
"You..." another growl. The expression he wore would have terrified any man lesser than Shadow. "You don't get to call me that, not anymore. Who the hell do you think you are?" A step forward, and another. The black hedgehog seemed largely unaffected by their scuffle, save for the blood and the slight heaving of his chest.
When Infinite took a third wobbly step, Shadow wasted no time in zooming past and kicking the other in the back of the head, onto the ground with a loud thud. What was going on? He should be beating Shadow into the dirt by now! Why is it the other way around? The bastard caught me off guard, it's unfair! The jackal tried justifying in his mind, cold floor unforgiving on his limbs as he turned to face the hedgehog he previously trusted, even if it was just slightly.
Before he could stand, or even raise his gaze, he was grabbed painfully by the chest fur poking out of his shirt and heard the cocking of a gun. His ears shot forward and eyes widened. That, Infinite wasn't prepared for. Of all the things he decided not to bring, he didn't bring a gun.
"Chaos, Wait! I thought—– You..!" The jackal sputtered, mulling over the last few weeks of what he thought was... something. "We‐ We had a deal!" Shadow pressed the gun to the jackals temple, twisting it painfully against his skull, Infinites hands scrambling to lessen the grip on his fur to no avail.
"No deal was made. This... partnership was unsavory, but a strategic decision on my part to get this location out of you. My morals don't align with the likes of you or Robotnik." The hedgehog snarled down at the jackal on his knees, his words bouncing off the cold metal walls of the warehouse. Ragged breaths heaved from Infinite's chest, his right eye was forced into a squint before closing entirely as blood continued to gush from the wound.
What the hell was this guy talking about? Morals? They met at a damn underground fighting ring for heavens sake. Shadow casually approached him and they got roped into a conversation for hours just after Infinite... won his bet on one of the fighters... Gaia, don't tell me I was stupid enough to believe a--
Finally able to focus on what the hedgehog was wearing, it was very clearly a G.U.N uniform. That ridiculous group of vigilantes who'd been trying to stop any and all illegal arms trade from Eggman Enterprises. Ironic that they named their organization after the very thing they restricted. Infinite himself had done away with plenty of their personnel, yet Shadow all too easily put him to shame.
"If you want to live another day, you'll forget about me. About the weapons. You'll tell your boss there was a sting operation and you just barely escaped." With his ears pinned back, Infinite glared past the gun to meet Shadow's ice cold gaze. "Any word about me or G.U.N and I will find you. You know by now that I can and will." A small growl of retaliation passed the jackal's lips, resulting in a harsher press of the pistol that made him flinch.
"Behave." The low command that often fell on Infinites ears under much more intimate circumstances, now inspired nothing but a rush of fear through his body that he desperately wanted to suppress. "Robotnik surely won't be happy, but how can you help being so weak? I'm certain he'll understand." Shadow let go of his grip on the jackal and straightened his back, keeping the gun pointed.
Infinite felt small. Gullible. Weak... Right now, he wasn't sure if he wanted to run away with his tail between his legs, or to let Shadow blow his brains out onto the cold concrete floor, just to escape Robotnik's wrath. For the first time in a very long time, he didn't know what to do. What to say. How to come back from this. Really, it was his fault for underestimating the hedgehog that now loomed over him.
An irritated tsk yanked the jackal out of his self-pitying reflection.
"It seems like I expected too much from you, thought you'd at least put up a bit more of a fight. Or maybe beg for me to let you live." Shadow sighed loudly, lowering the gun from Infinite's forehead. He still didn't move, watching Shadow's movements.
He felt like a damn dog.
One golden eye watched as Shadow released the pistols magazine from its compartment, tossing it onto the floor in front of him. Empty.
Hah. Now this is just pathetic.
"Even still, you don't know what I stand for. Don't look so surprised." Dropping the emptied pistol as well, Shadow cracked his back and dusted himself off. As if Infinite's presence didn't threaten him in the slightest. It probably didn't. "Go home. Maybe find a less distasteful occupation. Otherwise, we may meet again, and I'll make sure it'll be the last."
The other turned away without another word, footsteps echoing loudly within the cold, quiet walls. Somewhere under his ragged breaths, Infinite registered the resounding shut of the insulated warehouse door.
He sat there, staring at the empty magazine, paralyzed by a whirlwind of emotions. His gut twisted into knots of fear and anger. These feelings clawed and ripped at his insides, unable to force their way out. He wanted to move, wanted to beat Shadow down for embarrassing him like this. Instead, he sat unmoving. Was Shadow still outside? Was he just waiting for Infinite to walk out those doors so he could humiliate him a second time? Did he have another gun that was actually loaded?
His heart pounded again at the thought, but before he could spiral into deeper anxiety, his long since forgotten phone rang several feet away. Eyes wide, Infinite crawled over and snatched the device, revealing a cracked screen and his assistant returning his earlier call.
With a shaky sigh, the jackal tried to steel himself as he swiped answer. "Gadget." he growled, slowly getting up from the floor. Under normal circumstances, Infinite would've immediately had his assistant alert Robotnik of the stolen goods and G.U.N's involvement, but with Shadow in the picture, with what he said...
Infinite allowed his hand to hover over his wounded eye, a scowl souring his features further.
"I'll be back within the hour." He just needs more time to think. Hanging up and slowly making his way to the exit, that uneasy feeling came back. It was hard to tell if it was related to Shadow, or anxiety surrounding the situation, or just...something about the atmosphere that was dark and heavy, but it felt like Like the warehouse itself was watching him.
He stepped into the cold night, wiping the dried blood from his nose on his sleeve with a sniffle. It was just him out here. No Shadow in sight. It must just him being paranoid.
Regardless, Infinite needed to get himself out of whatever rut he dug himself into. Either he stays useful to Robotnik, or he's as good as dead.