VIXEN - The Legend of the Five Totems

Chapter 26 - The Gored Ox

The rendezvous with Tabu goes without a hitch. They meet in a Big Belly Burger restaurant that has seen better days. A pickup truck is sticking out of the front window and many of the same cheap tables that can be found in any Big Belly Burger joint anywhere in the world have been smashed to pieces thanks to the presence of said truck.

"I can't believe Big Belly has chains here," Peekaboo says, recognizing almost everything on the picture menu even if she can't understand the names of the various combinations of beef or vegetable patties and buns.

"It is too expensive," Pyro says. Today, she has decided to skip out on the tan shorts she wore yesterday, and instead is wearing dark athletic pants and a dark blue long-sleeved tee-shirt. Without her powers, she felt the need to cover up a little more.

"When I first arrived in America, I was surprised to find Big Belly," Mari admits, while waiting for Taby to actually arrive. "I had long thought they came from Zambesi. I guess I never thought of how small the world is."

"And it is getting smaller," Tabu says, entering into the dining area from the kitchen. She is dressed quite differently from when the trio have seen her in the past. For once, she is not wearing green fatigues. Instead, she is in black. The webbing of her body armor has two pistols strapped in under her armpits. Just like yesterday, she has two more pistols strapped into her lower back below the sheath for her flyssa. She is carrying a heavy duffel bag and the face of her mask is a brute of an image, with a heavy singular eyebrow and dark, sullen eyes over a thin slit of a mouth that protrudes slightly, the way a chimpanzee's does. "Weapons. For you."

"Tabu," Vixen says in greeting.

The de facto leader of the remnants of General Maksai's forces nods at her and unzips the duffel bag. From it, she withdraws a XM2010 enhanced sniper rifle. The long-barreled weapon is like a deep void of darkness that summons death. Peekaboo stares at the long-distance precision rifle with hesitation and fear. She does not like it at all.

"Are you alone?" Pyro asks her.

"Yes. The government has started a recruiting drive, and my men have been drafted. The loyal ones would not have been able to follow the path I took to get here. Arm yourselves. Once we start shooting, it will not be long before the military closes in. We will need to be quick in our attack."

"And if worse comes to worst, you will be able to take him down?" Pyro presses, hoping that Tabu really is as cold-hearted and professional an assassin as they have been led to believe.

"I am a soldier. And that thing is no longer my father. Just as I have been corrupted by the power of the Lifeweb, he has been destroyed by the totems. I will not stand by and watch him destroy his country because he has been corrupted from the inside."

Vixen nods. She hates the idea of anyone else dying, but Tabu is right. There is no other way. Not that she can see, in any case. Perhaps, once they have caught up to Red, another option will present itself. But until then, she is bound by an unfavorable decision.

Reaching into the bag of weapons, Vixen withdraws a belt with a number of spare clips and a glock attached to it. She also takes up one of the four M85s. Tabu nods at the weapons and explains what they are and what kind of benefits they will give their wielders. "They are smaller arms, but they are precise and can do great damage. The bullets are hollow. They will explode the flesh on contact. Do you know how to change the clips and remove the safety?"

Pyro, Vixen, and Peekaboo show off their knowledge to Tabu's acceptance.

"Then we are ready. Where is the location of the Ox?"