Chapter Text
For a good, long minute, the only thing audible in Commander Tower’s office was the sound of Shadow flipping through paperwork.
Well that, and the incessant sound of the fluorescent light buzzing overhead. It was a staple of G.U.N. Headquarters, the cheap lights equivalent to white noise in the drab, dreary place. The hum was constant, and while it typically faded into the background on most occasions, as Shadow tried to focus on the file in front of him, he found it to be exceedingly obnoxious.
He didn’t comment on it, though. Complaints would fall upon deaf ears, seeing that Commander Tower had far bigger things to worry about than the quality of G.U.N.’s lighting system. That, and Shadow was hardly present at the office anyways, so it would be a waste of his breath to bring it up.
Ideally, this would be a brief meeting. In and out; soon, Shadow would be on his way, leaving the dreadful gray building with its dreadful gray people behind him.
While Shadow was no longer classified as an agent for G.U.N., his days of full-time employment in the distant past, he would still return to do conscription work for the organization. It was a delicate contract, one where Shadow had made it abundantly clear to Commander Tower that he only wanted an assignment if there was no one else capable of doing it, and this was a request that had mostly been honored throughout the years of their arrangement.
At least until now, that was.
Because skimming the file that Commander Tower had slid his way with a derisive sneer upon his face, Shadow couldn’t help but feel like the whole thing was more than a little beneath him, an objective that even a mid-level agent could accomplish.
“You don’t need me for this.” He tossed the file back onto the desk, where it slid for a few inches before coming to a stop. Commander Tower’s face remained impassive, his hands clasped upon the desktop as his gaze flitted dispassionately from the folder to Shadow’s sneer.
“This is a mission of the highest caliber. We only summon you when it is of utmost importance,” came his clipped reply.
“Protecting a package across the country? Please. Send one of your squads to accompany it. Don’t waste my time.”
Commander Tower shook his head, the calculated coldness in his expression betraying none of his inner emotions. “A squad of soldiers would attract attention. This mission needs to be discrete and stealthy; not only do we want to avoid having it stolen from the enemy, but we do not wish for them to know that we even have it in our possession.”
Shadow frowned. “And what exactly is it?”
He probably shouldn’t have asked. Hell, he didn’t even really care; whatever G.U.N. sent amongst their bases scattered across the country concerned him about as much as the dirt beneath his shoe. Shadow was pretty far removed from the inner-workings of G.U.N. at this point, though he knew that under dire circumstances, important circumstances unlike whatever this trifling mission was, he would have top-level clearance to all pertinent information. Ultimately, however, the operations of the organization were a mystery to him.
Which was fine. He preferred it that way. Less to worry about, especially given that other than Commander Tower and a few other higher-ups, G.U.N. was comprised of a bunch of bumbling morons in Shadow’s most humble opinion.
In response to Shadow’s query about the contents of the package, the flat line of Commander Tower’s eyebrows somehow became flatter. “That information is classified.”
Shadow should have known better than to ask. The contents weren’t detailed in his brief skim-through of the file, and Commander Tower rarely deviated from the rules.
“And what would you do if I said no to this?”
“You won’t.”
Shadow bared his teeth in a scowl. Damn. Commander Tower had him there.
Reaching for the file again despite himself, Shadow perused the contents once more. If he was going to argue against this insanity, he at least needed to be a little more informed on what exactly was expected of him.
Commander Tower settled back in his chair as Shadow hunched over the paperwork, clasping his hands atop the desk as he waited patiently. He was gracious in quiet ways— while his outward demeanor might have been rigid and militaristic, his consideration showed through quieter actions. Actions that most didn’t pick up on, save for Shadow who had known him for far too long at this point.
However, Shadow didn’t care about Commander Tower’s subtle show of kindness, not as he finally found the weak point in the file he could exploit.
“Why am I traveling by car rather than aircraft.” He crinkled his nose in displeasure. “Seems rather counterintuitive to the supposed importance of the package.”
“Aircraft is far too conspicuous,” Commander Tower replied. “And it is the method we would be expected use when transporting something of extreme value. Dr. Eggman would never expect us to send this delivery by motor vehicle.”
“This will take far longer and is much more vulnerable.”
“And that is precisely why we are hiring you to oversee the safety of the package.”
Shadow wanted to pull at his ears. To call this conversation frustrating would be a severe understatement— Commander Tower was as unyielding as Shadow was stubborn. “There’s just one small problem with that,” he retorted through gritted teeth. “I can’t protect the package and drive at the same time.”
“We understand. That is why we assigned you a driver.”
Shadow blinked, before surging to his feet and slamming his palms to the desk as he leaned forward dangerously. “What do you mean, I’m doing this with a driver.”
While it may have seemed like an overreaction on the surface, Shadow’s abrupt display of anger was unsurprising to Commander Tower, who simply sat there with a stern look upon his face, unwavering. The destination outlined in the file required him to travel across the continent. Coast to coast. That was a long trip by aircraft, and by car? Easily a couple of days if not more, depending on how far he could push himself each day.
But now, he had to account for someone else. The travel time would certainly increase, probably spanning a week at this point.
“You said it yourself. While you have many talents, Agent Shadow, you are only one person. Protecting the package and driving the motor vehicle is too much for you to handle on your own. Placing you in such a position would severely compromise the success of the mission.”
He was right. Because of course he was; while there might have been many things that Shadow disliked about Commander Tower, that didn’t change the fact that he respected him. It was rare for Shadow to encounter an individual so rational and level-headed, a personality trait that was sorely lacking in the cast of characters he was surrounded by.
With that being said, though Shadow knew he was correct, he was still unhappy about the situation. However, knowing that there was nothing he could say to argue with the sound logic of Commander Tower’s reasoning, Shadow folded his arms tightly across his chest as he sat back in his chair. “Very well,” he relented, not bothering to conceal the derision in his tone.
“Excellent.” As he reached down behind his desk, fishing out a pen and sheet of paper, Commander Tower didn’t sound relieved in the slightest. No, he was more assured, as though he had known that Shadow would agree despite his initial misgivings. “You are to meet your driver in Hangar Bay 2, Section C, Spot 06. They will be waiting for you there.”
He jotted down the destination onto the crisp piece of paper and handed it to Shadow, who snatched it out of his hand with a huff.
And with that, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the office, not even bothering to offer Commander Tower an amicable word of farewell.
It was his own way of being polite. Because as Shadow stormed down the hallway, fists clenched at his sides and the sound of his air shoes slamming against the floor echoing across the walls, it took everything within his power to keep the scowl adorning his face from becoming too grotesque. His irritation towards his assignment emanated off him in waves, causing any passerbys to give him a wide berth and sidelong glance of concern. For all intents and purposes, he was an inconsolable beast, a demon hellbent on taking out his frustration on the next person who crossed his path.
Of course, this didn’t stop Rouge from falling into step beside him, matching his stride with a casual saunter of her own, and where she had come from Shadow didn’t know and didn’t care.
If it were anyone else, he would have probably decked them across the face for having the gall to invade his space so brazenly, but since it was Rouge, and she was about as close of a friend that Shadow had in his lonely and pathetic life, he allowed her to stay.
“So,” she preened, drawing out the word to such a ridiculous degree, it only made the glower on Shadow’s face worsen, “how’d it go?”
“Terrible,” Shadow snapped. “This assignment is something any idiot could do. I fail to see why they need me for it.”
Rouge let out a long, contemplative hum, tapping a finger to her chin in a theatrical display of pondering. “Maybe Commander Tower just wanted to see you. It’s been a while since you’ve dropped by Headquarters, you know.”
Shadow snorted at this. “As if. Our relationship is strained at best. He only calls when he needs something, and I tolerate it because I have nothing better to do.”
It was the truth. While Shadow no longer worked directly for G.U.N., no longer wishing to slave away for a corporation that cared about his personal wellbeing about as much as they had cared about Maria’s when they had pulled the trigger, he could recognize the good that they did for the world now. They wanted to help humanity, and Shadow wanted the same thing, so he offered up his services in times of dire need.
Which apparently meant that at times, he had to play delivery boy.
Ugh. Just the mere thought of it made his blood boil, the fact that he had been demoted to such a menial task irking him to no end. He was supposed to be summoned during extreme, world-ending circumstances, damnit, not when Commander Tower needed a personal postman.
Shadow was shaken from his brooding at Rouge’s next question. “What did he want from you this time?”
He gave her a skeptical side-eye. While the inquiry was posed innocently enough, he could read between the lines. Rouge was nosy, almost to a fault, and she wanted to know every juicy, gossipy detail about his assignment.
Which normally, he wouldn’t indulge. Shadow might not have been as much of a stickler for rules as Commander Tower was, but that didn’t mean that he was lax either. Rouge had accused him of being uptight far too frequently for it to not somewhat reflect on his character, although with that being said, given his current disenchantment towards the ridiculousness of his mission objective, Shadow didn’t really give a damn.
“I’m accompanying a shipment across the country.” He didn’t bother to hide the annoyance from his tone. And why should he have? It was just Rouge, she had seen worse sides of him. Not to mention, he hadn’t bothered to conceal his ire from Commander Tower, who for all intents and purposes, was his boss for the time being.
“That’s it?”
“Yes. That is it.”
Rouge let out a whistle, her stride never faltering alongside Shadow, which was impressive considering how brisk Shadow’s gait was. “Woof, must be some shipment,” she commented, and Shadow couldn’t even bring himself to feel surprised as she sneakily followed up by asking, “And what exactly is in this shipment, hm?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.”
With a theatrical sigh, Rouge expressed her dismay. “You never have any juicy details,” she complained, and Shadow did nothing more than roll his eyes at her antics.
They walked in silence for a little while longer, Shadow perfectly content to have the conversation end right then and there. He hated small talk, which was why once he met up with his driver, he was going to lay down some very strict and blunt ground rules. He did not want there to be conversation of any kind during this stupid little road trip, and was going to be sure to demand that he only be spoken to if absolutely necessary. No commentary on the weather, or the scenery, or how cute the cows were along the side of the road, or any of that nonsensical mumbo-jumbo that Shadow didn’t have the patience for.
To put it shortly, he was here strictly for business. Not to make a friend. Not even to make an acquaintance. For all he was concerned, he was never going to speak to them again after the fulfillment of the objective.
“Where are we heading, anyways?” Rouge asked after they had traversed a few more hallways. Her adamance on keeping up with Shadow was somewhat admirable, if it weren’t for the fact that Shadow knew that she was doing it because she was a perpetual nuisance that had nothing better to do with her time.
“I’m going to meet up with my driver,” Shadow grumbled. “Bay 2. Section C. They’re supposedly waiting for me.”
Rouge, much to Shadow’s dismay, visibly lit up at this. “Ooh, a driver!” she exclaimed with far too much enthusiasm for Shadow’s liking. “I didn’t realize you would be assigned a partner for this mission!”
“Neither did I.”
“I must say, I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t ask me. We would have had such a great time together, Shadow, and think of all the bonding we could have done!”
“I think I’ll pass.”
“We could have had movie nights, painted each other’s nails, told each other our deepest darkest secrets… and now you’re going to do it with some stranger!” she lamented, completely ignoring Shadow’s dismissal. “Without me!”
“I’m not doing anything with the driver,” Shadow retorted, the mere thought of it filling him with repugnance. “I’m not even going to ask for their name.”
“You say that now, but just you wait! This could be the trip of a lifetime!”
Letting out a dismissive hmph!, Shadow didn’t bother to acknowledge Rouge beyond that.
Because as it was, he was rather irked about the fact that he would have to drive across the country with someone else. It was a rule of thumb that he preferred to work alone. He would occasionally make exceptions and work with Rouge and Omega here and there, the bonds of their days as Team Dark running deep even after the years had passed, but overall, Shadow was a solo act. Especially for something as inconsequential as delivering a package from one side of the country to the other.
He hoped that his driver didn’t like to talk much; Shadow preferred his peace and solitude, and if he was going to spend nearly a week with someone chatty, he might have to stop at the morgue along the way to the final destination.
That would be the first rule he would establish. No unnecessary talking.
Rule number two would probably be something along the lines of not even looking in Shadow’s direction, but perhaps he was getting a bit carried away.
“Well, whoever it is, I hope you two have fun,” Rouge said, interrupting his simmering. They were almost to the hangar bay, the number of employees gradually increasing as they approached. There were more people outfitted in flight suits and mechanic gear here, their uniforms all pristine and pressed to G.U.N.’s typical elevated standards.
Shadow scoffed at Rouge’s ridiculous comment. “Nothing about this is going to be fun. It is strictly professional.”
“As things always are with you, Shadow,” Rouge teased, and Shadow waved off her comment as they entered the hangar bay.
The massive room was best described as organized chaos. G.U.N. personnel milled about like ants, all shouting orders at one another as they fulfilled their respective tasks and objectives. If there was one thing that Shadow liked about the organization, was that it ran like a well-oiled machine— he preferred things orderly and neat, and that was one of the core tenets of G.U.N.’s operation model.
Glancing down to check the note once more, Shadow led them towards Section C. There was a long row of tanks that they had to pass in Section A that spanned a good chunk of the hangar, though as they approached their target destination, the vehicles decreased in size, going from hulking tanks, to the mid-sized Humvees, to the smaller, armored SUVs.
And it was at Spot 06, in Section C, in Hangar Bay 2, that Shadow came across an unfortunate discovery.
It was enough to make his bad mood even worse. Because leaning up against the sleek black vehicle in the marked spot, tapping his feet against the ground as he twirled a set of keys between his fingers, was Sonic the Hedgehog.
He flipped the keychain up into the air, where it spun in a dazzling trail. As he caught it, the keys disappearing into his palm, he noticed Shadow and Rouge approach, and a brilliant grin split his face as he pushed himself off from the side of the car to offer them a casual wave.
“Heya, Shadow, Rouge! I wasn’t expecting to see you guys here!”
Resisting the urge to punch Sonic in the face for merely existing in his presence, reminding himself that he was here for a mission assignment and not to brawl with his rival in G.U.N.’s Headquarters, Shadow instead ground his teeth together as he simply glowered at Sonic in response.
“Well hello to you too, Blue!” Rouge greeted in her typical sultry tone. “Fancy seeing you around these parts.”
Shadow, on the other hand, did not offer such pleasantries. “Leave,” he demanded. “I’m here to meet my….”
Shadow trailed off as understanding dawned upon him, and glancing between his sheet of paper with Commander Tower’s impeccable handwriting, and then up to the steel wall with the number ‘06’ emblazoned upon it, he was struck with a terrible realization.
Beside him, Rouge seemed to reach the same realization, and a wild giggle escaped her lips. It was quickly stifled by a gloved hand that flew up to smother it, however, after a few long seconds, she gave up on holding it in and erupted into loud, uninhibited laughter.
Sonic smiled, his brows furrowing in confusion as he glanced between Rouge and Shadow. “What’s so funny?”
Shadow’s answer to that was that nothing was funny. Not a damn thing was funny, and he certainly wasn’t laughing as his mouth hung agape for a moment while he stared dumbfounded at Sonic, before he clicked his jaw together and stated:
“No. Absolutely not. I’m not doing this.”
And with that, Shadow turned on his heel and marched back the way he came.
If he had possessed an imposing, threatening aura before, one that conveyed that he was not one to be trifled with, that had now increased exponentially. This time around, those he passed, faceless and nameless people in stuffy uniforms that he was wishing had been his driver instead, literally hugged the wall as he stalked back through the corridors. It didn’t take a psychic to see the miasma of thick, blackened rage that roiled off of him, and his fury only escalated the further he stomped and ruminated over his situation.
Which meant, by the time he returned to Commander Tower’s office, he announced his presence by opening the door with a deafening slam!
“What. The. Hell is your problem,” he snarled.
The poor agent who had been meeting with Commander Tower let out a squeaky yelp and jumped out of his chair, while Commander Tower simply looked up to appraise Shadow with his usual stoic demeanor.
Shadow knew he cut quite the figure. Sharpened quills were raised, his nostrils flared, chest heaving in fury, his hands clenched into tight fists that were ready to demolish a wall at any given moment… yes, he could be quite terrifying when he wanted to be, and yet, Commander Tower merely sat there unperturbed.
After a few long seconds, his boss seemed to reach a decision, as he dismissed the agent quivering between them with a crisp wave of his hand. The poor, timid fellow practically fled the office, clutching a thick bundle of paperwork close to his chest as he squeezed past Shadow and took off down the hall.
Shadow paid him no mind. He couldn’t care less about some meek, no-name grunt, not as he glared down the tip of his nose at Commander Tower, who had the audacity to ask him, “May I help you, Agent Shadow?”
And with that, Shadow exploded. “I’m not traveling with Sonic the Hedgehog as my goddamn driver!”
Commander Tower nodded once, a short bob of his head. “Ah, I see,” he said, as if such an explosive reaction from Shadow was completely expected. Which to be fair, it honestly should have been. The two hedgehogs weren’t exactly known for their blossoming friendship.
“Have you lost your damn mind?!” Shadow interrogated. “Or shall I give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was some careless mistake.”
Gathering up some of the papers the departed agent had left behind, Commander Tower organized them in a neat stack before placing it into a drawer beneath the desk. Overall, he looked wholly unbothered, which only served to further spark Shadow’s indignation. “I can assure you that this decision was quite intentional.”
"Intentional in trying to screw me over?!”
Whatever Commander Tower had been planning to placate Shadow’s theatrics with would never be known as right at that very moment, the two of them were interrupted.
Shadow should have locked the door behind him upon entering, that much was glaringly apparent, as the exact person he was speaking about piped up in his nettlesome, chafing voice.
“Hey, uh, is there a problem in here…?”
Shadow whirled on Sonic, who had materialized in the doorway with Rouge lingering in the hall behind him. There was a cheeky glint in her eye that was matched with a poorly veiled smile, and Shadow knew that if given the chance, she would have been shoveling popcorn into her mouth at this despicable spectacle. “You. Out,” he growled, pointing at Sonic.
“No, no, he can stay,” Commander Tower said, counteracting Shadow’s sharp dismissal with a beckoning wave of his hand. “Seeing that this matter pertains to him, after all.”
Despite Shadow’s vitriolic glare that promised bodily harm should Sonic step one foot further into the office, he entered anyways. Much to Shadow’s total and absolute dismay.
Once the two hedgehogs were standing side by side, one completely unbothered if not a little confused and the other seething with rage, Commander Tower splayed his hands out upon the table. “So. Shadow,” he began. “What seems to be your main issue with this arrangement?”
The audacity of the question had Shadow sputtering incredulously for a few long seconds, before finally managing to muster up something coherent. “My issue?!” he parroted in disbelief. “Commander Tower, in what world is he qualified for this position?!”
“The qualification of the driver is none of your concern.”
“None of my— of course this is my concern, if I’m expected to travel across the goddamn country with him! I would expect you to at least hire someone who is competent!”
Beside him, Sonic lifted up his hands in protest. “Hey now, I’m somewhat competent!”
“I have plenty of firsthand experience indicating otherwise,” Shadow shot back, before turning back to face Commander Tower. “Does he even have a driver’s license?!”
Commander Tower opened his mouth to reply, however, in a rare bout of unconfidence, he faltered and shifted his gaze to Sonic.
Who, super unhelpfully, offered up a paltry shrug.
Shadow was livid. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said, addressing both of them now. At this point, he didn’t know who he was more furious with. “You’re telling me that for a mission of this level of importance, one where you decided to hire me, you didn’t even bother to do a background check on the fool you picked up off the street to drive the car?!”
“Certain legalities can be waived by the organization,” Commander Tower offered in smooth reply, the response doing absolutely nothing to placate Shadow’s ire.
“That doesn’t change the fact that he is about the worst possible choice you could make!”
At this, Sonic planted his hands on his hips, playfully petulant about the blatant disrespect. “I’m standing right here, you know.”
“Zip it,” Shadow snarled, before addressing Commander Tower once more. “Surely there’s a better option. Someone. Anyone.” Shadow almost tacked on a pathetic ‘please’ at the end, but deciding against it in the last possible second to avoid looking too desperate, he held his tongue.
“Very few agents have the same level of clearance and trust that we have in Sonic. This is a mission in which we can take no risks. You two are our most elite employees; it only makes sense to have the two of you fulfill both roles of the mission.”
Resisting the urge to snap that he wasn’t technically an employee, not anymore, Shadow refrained from nitpicking the semantics as he braced his hands on the edge of the desk. His fingers arched, and through the thick fabric of his gloves, the sharpened points of his claws left thin lines in the mahogany wood. To his credit, Commander Tower’s mask remained unreadable, even as Shadow growled, “I’m not doing this. Not with him.” His claws curled, dragging further across the desk’s surface. “Pick another driver. Or I’m out.”
Commander Tower’s attention flickered from his marred desk back up to Shadow, his eyes narrowing not in anger, but decisiveness. “The selection is final. The importance of this delivery supersedes your comfort.”
Shadow snarled, livid that Commander Tower had read him like an open book.
Because it was the truth. Driving with Sonic would be uncomfortable. Excruciating even, because Shadow found Sonic to be one of the most annoying, obnoxious creatures he had ever possessed the misfortune of meeting. Sonic was like a thorn in his side, his inability to take anything seriously enough to drive Shadow batty. He had absolutely no desire to get to know his rival on a more personal level, and he knew that being essentially chained to Sonic for an entire week would be enough to render him clinically insane.
Besides. More often than not, even without forced proximity, he and Sonic were always at each other’s throats. Bickering, arguing, squabbling... they rarely saw eye to eye on anything. Sitting the cramped quarters of a truck was sure to result in them fighting not just verbally, but physically as well, so it was probably best that the conflict was avoided altogether.
In short, their personalities clashed, and this mission was sure to be a disastrous failure because of it.
“This isn’t about my comfort,” Shadow lied through clenched teeth. “This is about the success of the mission. We don’t get along.”
Commander Tower fixed him with a stern look, one meant to chastise even though Shadow didn’t really give a damn about the purported threat. “Is that so? You and Sonic the Hedgehog have an extensive history of working together. This was an intentional choice made when selecting operatives for the mission. You have many instances of collaboration.”
“That was against my will. Those stakes were higher, I was forced to for the greater good of the planet.”
“And you will be forced to put your feelings for the greater good of humanity once again,” Commander Tower said, which once again begged the question of what was in the package, even though Shadow knew that asking would yield no actual answers.
Shadow’s eyes thinned, and with that, he and Commander Tower engaged in a standoff. It was a staring contest of sorts, one that Shadow was determined not to lose. Not with his pride and dignity on the line, as well as his future for the next week as the stakes.
Finally, Commander Tower broke the spell, his steely gaze shifting to address Sonic. “May you excuse us, Agent Sonic? I would like to have a private word with Agent Shadow.”
Sonic gave him a snappy salute, one that was almost certainly mocking given how he delivered it with a dopey grin on his face and his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth, and with that, he sauntered out of the office. Rouge let out a noise of protest in the hall as Sonic shut the door behind him, delivering privacy that was definitely superficial as Shadow was certain Rouge was pressing one of her massive ears to the door to hear every piece of their conversation.
But that was inconsequential. Let her listen. Hell, let both of them listen; Shadow didn’t care to hide his true feelings on the matter.
“I’m not traveling with him. I refuse.”
Commander Tower steepled his fingers against his temple. Under the harsh fluorescent lights, still buzzing throughout all of the commotion that had transpired, the lines on his face looked particularly exacerbated. The years hadn’t been kind with what they always seemed to throw his way, his age showing a little more every time Shadow saw him. “Please don’t make this difficult.”
“I could say the same to you. Hire a new driver.”
Dropping his hands from his forehead, Commander Tower sighed. He seemed exhausted, and Shadow felt a sliver of sympathy that he quickly squashed under the heel of his shoe. “What can I offer for you to accept this mission.”
Folding his arms tightly over his chest, Shadow jutted his chin out. “I don’t have a price.”
“Just name one.”
Shadow hesitated, before saying, “Double my pay.”
“Done,” Commander Tower said with missing a beat, and well, damn. Shadow almost wished he had asked for triple pay. Hell, even quadruple pay. It clearly would have been approved without a question, G.U.N.’s coffers spilling over from an abundance of taxpayer money.
However, it was too late for that.
“I still think this is a mistake,” Shadow insisted, not hesitating to make his resistance known.
“Your concern is noted.”
“I don’t want to do this.”
“I am very well aware.”
“We’re probably going to kill each other.”
“You won’t.”
Shadow wasn’t so sure.
Before he could shoot back another snarky response, Commander Tower slid something across the table, and as Shadow picked it up, he realized that it was a communication device. It wasn’t quite like the one strapped to his wrist, but rather a PDA, bulky and heavy with what he could only assume was a bunch of encryption hardware weighing it down.
“This will track your progress. I expect a full report every evening, delivered before midnight.”
Shadow rankled at the homework, knowing full well that Sonic didn’t have the same expectation placed on his careless shoulders. He was beyond irresponsible, which once again begged the question of why Commander Tower had even hired him to be a driver in the first place.
Perhaps they needed to stop teaming up to save the world together. That certainly sent the wrong message in terms of their ability to collaborate.
“The package will be transferred to you where the vehicle is stationed,” Commander Tower continued as Shadow tucked the communicator into his quills. “I suggest you and Agent Sonic make your way back over to the vehicle. We are running behind schedule as it is.”
His expression settling into its habitual look of contempt, Shadow shot him one last glare, putting every ounce of his rancor into the pointed action. “Yes, sir,” he snipped, and with that, turned to exit the office.
And as Shadow shouldered past Sonic and Rouge, failing to acknowledge either of them as they scrambled to keep up with his breakneck pace back to the hangar bay, Shadow couldn’t help but fear that this was about to be the worst mission he had ever embarked upon.