Work Text:
◇
The taser fizzed in his hand with comfortable enthusiasm for the scream it illicited. It was a sadistic, buzzing thing that liked nothing better than leaping for it's prey, and Vector clicked it menacingly. The bonobo man on the ground jerked as the shock left him and he scrambled to stand, only to find a heavy boot had landed on his back. The taser fizzed in his ear, sparking in the corner of his eye.
"So glad we could have this little catch up." Vector growled, his long nose and teeth close to the man's head too, as he strapped him up in a belt and smacked tape over his mouth, for a moment obstructing his nose so he squeaked and thrashed in panic. Vector hefted him easily over his shoulder into the back of a borrowed van, letting him roll about in the loading bay and bash his head as he turned corners.
He stopped off at the police station, reversing around the back to the deliveries bay. An officer - a toucan with a disarminly cheerful perpetual grin - tipped her hat back and opened the trunk.
She flashed the dazed ape her signature scary smile and had him in cuffs before he could stand, tossing the belt back in the van.
"Clean work, croc; that's got to be some kind of record turnaround. Take it you won't tell me how you found him?"
"Do you want my services or not? Just tell me what you need and let me do my thing."
"Sure, suits me. Stay in the van, then - there might be cops about."
The Toucan chuckled and threw a wad of notes over Vector's partially opened window. Vector leafed through them, and narrowed his eyes.
"Mighta been a bumpy ride. Potholes are getting out of hand out here. You'll be lucky if the next one arrives conscious."
The Toucan smiled at him angrily, but opened her wallet. As she counted out a few high-numbered notes, the bonobo over her shoulder squirmed dizzily, and Vector felt something like reflux burn his throat. Toucan slipped a few more hundreds in through the van window, and Vector closed it, engaging the clutch quickly and spurting away.
He watched in the wing mirror as the cop dragged the man in through a maintenance lift, and that sick feeling bothered his gut again, so he reached for an antacid. Crime, clearly, made him sick. It was these useless layabouts: causing nothing but trouble for decent folk, and also his stomach. He was far passed seeing them as 'bad', because to be bad you had to be sapient, and most of the guys he brought in were something two shades below that; drug bound, or hollowed out by some other vice. Beyond mortal redemption: they were in the hands of The Judge, or Anubis and his scales, though Vector didn't like to think about how many feathers his heart weighed.
He dropped the van off at the rental and paid his fee in cash, then paced the street, eyes pinging with new sins to spot and nosy in on if anyone offered to pay him. Toucan wondered how Vector knew so many leads, Vector wondered how she didn't see them: just walking back to his crappy apartment he saw ten people doing things and going where they shouldn't. Perhaps cops didn't enter the world of ordinary people enough - keeping your hands clean had to have some drawbacks.
Speaking of crime, Vector stopped off at a bakery open strangely late, and a toad at the till boggled his eyes greedily at the sight of him.
"And what would you like today?"
"Daily bread, as ever."
Vector handed over most of the wad of cash in exchange for day-old bread in a bag, but waited to take it until the toad had gone through it all, checking the hundreds were real by the light of the pastry display cabinet.
"That's tidy of you, Vector. Covering next month's dues too."
"Yep. And a bit more."
"Sure does. Not far off the black now." The toad said sarcastically, and Vector laughed.
"Uhuh. And I'm sure that'll be the last I see of you." Vector sneered, taking the crust from the counter. The toad gave him a look; something like pity, something like disgust, something like looking at a creature just below sapient. Vector wondered if that man's stomach ached too, and the Toucan's, and the Bonobo's where he lay in custody. Maybe they were all lying awake tonight: belly-aching from stale bread and takeout - but still hungry, and scheming in how they could prey on eachother. He turned over on his sofa, his lungs aching like they had a stone pressing down on them.
◇♤♡
Vector gently grasped the helmet as a bee tried to barrell past him, causing Charmy to lurch and his body to swing.
"What's the hold up?!" He barked, gnashing his teeth as he spoke. His enthusiasm buzzed under Vector's fingers, and he wiggled his stinger impatiently.
Beside him, Espio tugged a lasso looped around the rodent, dragging them towards the Chaotix.
"Hold up is - it's not necessary. We got 'em."
Espio grunted, tugging the rope forcefully. With the squirming of the thief and the sudden tug, his rope slipped from around their chest to their neck and they squawked. In two strides, Vector batted Charmy back and grabbed the knot, tugging it loose again. As soon as the captive found they could breathe, they made a break for it, socking Vector in the jaw and attempting to kick off his stomach into a sprint. Vector grabbed them in his arms and squeezed them still, tilting his nose away - they stank of tooth decay and old sweat.
Espio was already at Vector's side, invisibly cuffing their hands in front of their chest, as well as rifling in their pockets - he laid bare several kitchen knives and a couple of hefty wallets, which Espio placed in a clear bag before materialising. He scowled as he looked at the red mark forming under Vector's chin.
"They would have been fine for such a short time. You shouldn't have-"
"I'm good. Made of tougher stuff. You got Mister So-and-so's?"
Espio rifled through the wallets quickly, checking for ID's, and nodded.
"Great, you can probably catch 'im up before he makes it to the police station. I'm sure he'll give you a reward." Vector said quietly and calmly as the rodent in his hands tried to scratch his eyes.
Espio rolled his eyes at Vector's softness, then glared at them sharply.
"...never know how lucky..." he muttered to himself as he turned on heel and ran with the bag in the direction they'd came.
The person howled and tried to chase, but Vector just shushed them. Charmy wrinkled his nose as he hovered at his side, inspecting the thief curiously.
"You're dirty." He said flatly. Vector tutted him.
"Oi, that's not nice! Keep it to yourself, and how 'bout being useful and getting the flask from my belt?"
Charmy snickered: Vector didn't think he would ever take his reprimanding seriously - a consequence of Charmy seeing how Vector treated regular criminals was that he knew there was nothing he could do that would actually get a 'real' punishment. He probably wouldn't even believe Vector capable of such a thing if they'd never met Eggman, and even then he'd been known to hold back.
Charmy fiddled at Vector's old belt, once used for bounty-hunting and holstering real weapons, and unclipped a flask with a cup over the cap;
"Want some soup?" He said grumpily, wafting the steam under the thief's nose. That was his soup, after all, and Vector knew he would owe Charmy something else if they accepted it. That'd be another 20 down since they were out in town, he added the expense to his mental spreadsheet.
The rodent looked at Charmy oddly, then shifted to peer at Vector.
"What are you doing?"
"Offering you lunch. What are you doing?"
"... being kidnapped?"
Vector laughed, arms still around their torso.
"Nope. Probably dropped off at the 'hostel' downtown, if you need it." He barked, shifting so they could release their cuffed hands and take the cup Charmy held out.
"... why?" They whispered to Charmy as he poured the soup into the cap. He shrugged and nodded to Vector.
"Ask him. I'da knocked your lights out, buddy!"
"Watch it. No he wouldn't." Vector said easily, finally letting the person go and subtly brushing himself down; "I just found, in my years of studying at the school of hard knocks, that most people can act right when they're not so damn 'hungry'."
Charmy could understand hungry, so he shrugged again and raided Vector's fanny pack for a pack of cookies, eating them purposely in front of the thief were they stood gormlessly with an inferior snack. What Charmy didn't get was the other kinds of 'hunger', the kind that left your eyes darting and body sweating profusely. He squinted at the person, who seemed to be in shock still, because they shook violently: they jumped half out of their skin and shrank to the ground as the sound of Espio running echoed in the skinny walled offroad they were stopped in.
"I couldn't find the owner of the other items, so I had to hand them in." Espio reported to them, but he didn't look Vector in the face.
Vector snarled unintentionally. He didn't think anyone would be getting all their money back from the precinct, and no doubt this unidentifiable rodent - or worse, the Chaotix - would be blamed for the missing cash, and neither were liked at the police station. If Espio hadn't believed him before about what bad blood he'd left there, they were surely about to find out all about it this time...
Or, he could believe in people. He chose to believe in everyone, not least his trustworthy teammates.
"Thanks, Espio, I'm sure it'll be fine. We're heading to the 'hostel' with this one."
Espio glanced them over and nodded once, helping them walk once they'd drunk all the soup in the flask.
Vector maintained eye contact, if only to tell them how sorry he was, as they deposited the person at the hospital. They glared at him viciously and hissed at a nurse as they were escorted in.
"Why did they have to go to the doctors? They weren't injured?"
"Because I might have strangled them accidentally. They need to be taken care of." Espio said smoothly, and Vector held his hands behind his back and nodded.
"Yeah, and here maybe they can get a shower and a good nights rest. That's what helps."
"They have showers and and pillows at the police station, no doubt." Espio muttered.
"Do you know that, Espio? Is that what you think it's like in jail?"
"True, I wouldn't know, but-"
"Trust me, it's better this way."
Vector paid a little of the upfront cost to the receptionist, and they left with their consciences clear.
Back in their dingy agency, Vector washed up the stewpot from dinner, one ear out listening to Charmy splash in the bath. At their desk, Espio stacked the small sum they had been paid for their hard work today, and frowned at the books.
"What's the damage, then?" Vector called. Espio glared at him.
"I think we'll have to sell the bee." He sighed, Vector cackled:
"Find a buyer, then we'll talk."
He sidled up behind Espio nonetheless, but he didn't need to. His mental chequebook was always, sadly, accurate.
"Well, money is the root of all evil 'nd all. I'd rather keep Charmy, if it's all the same."
"Right you are. Besides, he's not the one stopping us from getting real payouts."
"This again?"
"I don't disagree that most of these people need help, not trial. But we can't keep helping the needy if we're the ones going hungry." Espio sighed, a finger to his brow in pain. Vector looked down at him, and found him younger and angrier than he usually did.
"Are you hungry, Espio? Did I not make enough for dinner?"
"... no, it was enough. I'm fine."
"Then we're fine."
"Yes, but for how long? We don't breakeven, we're circling the drain as slowly as we can, but without something big coming up-"
"Something will come up." Vector said firmly, and closed their records book. Espio rolled his eyes, but looked at his hands on the desk.
"I suppose it always has before."
Charmy tipped his head back and let Vector wash the soap out of his fur. Fur was different to scales - it had to be scrubbed clean of oil, then have oil added back in, so it didn't get tangled. Inconvenient stuff. Vector combed his, while Charmy looked at the underside of his chin, suddenly poking it.
"Oof! Watch it!"
"So they did hurt you." He buzzed menacingly, splashing his wings in the water. Vector grunted.
"Yeah, a bruise to my chin is better than them have a crushed windpipe."
"Why? They're a bad guy."
"Sure, but still a guy. And a little one at that, I can handle it."
"Why?"
"Why am I big? Eating lots."
"Why are they bad?"
"Because they're stealing. And that's bad, don't forget it. We don't steal."
"So if they didn't steal, they'd be a good guy?"
"Or just a guy, sure."
"So why did they steal from people?"
"... they're hungry, remember? People aren't their best when they're hungry. It's not all their fault."
He drained the bath and hosed the bee with the showerhead, then bundled him in a towel. Charmy meditated deeply on hungry criminals as Vector tugged his pyjamas on and brushed his teeth for him. The smell of that person reminded Vector to budget for a dental checkup soon for Charmy and Espio. His own teeth were probably already too misshapen and cavity-riddled, but he'd be damned if he let that happen to them...
"Hey! I 'an do i'!" Charmy grumbled through the toothbrush and over-foamed toothpaste. He took the brush from Vector's hand and finished messily on his own, wiping his face with his sleeve.
"Sorry. You good for bed?"
"Depends, is there any pudding?"
"We have fruit."
"Nevermind, I'm full."
Vector paced around the house quietly, closing the curtains and locking the doors, before he lay down on his rickety, too-short bed with a glass of water. It was hard to stay full at three times the size of the rest of the household, but you could trick yourself with enough water. Besides, his stomach didn't ache these days like it used to, and slept easier, if just as hungry. As he drifted off he thought about that person, so grimey he couldn't have identified them anyway, and wished them the best with a featherweight chest.