Snowfall

The Hunt Begins

"So, you didn't see where it went," Sparrow stated. The three of them, Ace, Sparrow, and Angel were sitting in a small, relatively empty grey room, the only thing in the room being a round table and three chairs. Sitting on the round table was a small metal disk projecting a light blue hologram depicting the city's map.
"If it went down this street, Arlington, it could have branched out to anywhere else. It's connected to a lot of main streets. There's no telling where the Hunter went," Sparrow explained as she pointed at where the storage facility was and the street the broken fence pointed to. Ace stared at it thoughtfully for a moment.

"Actually, I can bait it out if I get in a close enough range," Ace stated, drawing a surprised stare from Sparrow.

"How can you possibly get a Hunter's attention? Leave out meat?" She asked, confused. Ace gave her a hard look.

"No, that's silly. I can give it live bait it wants," Ace answered. Sparrow stared at him curiously.

"The only thing the Hunters craved were the kids Mettalion experimented on when they tried to make their own super humans. But now they're all gone," Sparrow said slowly. Ace shrugged.

"I have my methods," he stated simply. Sparrow raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so. I can drop you off a couple blocks away from the site but no further. The place will be crawling with police for hours after our little show. Those people we fought off were Mettalion, but I've never seen them use that equipment they had before. It seems they're upgrading their forces. You'll have to be extra careful," Sparrow explained, her voice a touch doubting of Ace's baiting skills. Ace shrugged.

"Probably better I start off a short distance from the sight. Are we getting a new car? The old one is heavily damaged, or at least it's obvious it's been in a big fight," Ace queried. Angel and Sparrow shared a knowing smile.

"The car is taken care of," Angel assured. Now it was Ace's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Taken care of? We've been hiding out in here for a couple hours," he stated, confused. Sparrow chuckled.

"During our 'hiding out' I had someone stop by and switch cars. We'll be in something different and inconspicuous," Sparrow explained.

"You sure were prepared. You get into fights often?" Ace asked as he glanced at the door. Sparrow grinned.

"Miss Sparrow may not start may fights, but she has the tendency to become involved in them," Angel said with a touch of annoyance, looking at Sparrow pointedly. Sparrow picked up and pocketed the disk, shutting off the hologram.

"Well, what can I say, the fight likes me," Sparrow said slowly as she stood up. Angel was the first to the door, and as she opened it for Ace and Sparrow, she gave one final remark.

"As your guard and friend, Miss Sparrow, it is part of my duty to prevent you from being in harm's way. I appreciate any attempts at avoiding conflict." She looked pointedly at Sparrow again, who sheepishly exited the room without a word. Ace marveled at their behavior. His old operator and guard rarely spoke to one another and had no relationship other than being coworkers. Ace also exited without a word before seeing the new car in the alley.

"Inconspicuous, huh?" Ace asked as he stared at their new ride. It was a dull silver car. It was surprisingly a little blocky. Most cars were designed nowadays to be more smooth and sleek-looking. "It looks a little outdated to blend in to the crowd."

"It's an older model, which is something they won't expect us to use," Sparrow explained as she entered the car.

"Sparrow has an expensive taste, so they will certainly not expect this," Angel commented before entering the driver's seat.