Anthony flinched from the sound of explosions over his headphones, the bomb making the van around him tremble from its proximity.
His drone wavered in the air as another sea breeze tried to whisk it away, but he kept the camera trained on his friends, trying to find where the explosion had gone off.
The last one had been scarily close to Smitty and John, but both had made it out of the rubble unscathed. He found the newest plume of dust and tumbling rubble, and hovered above the afflicted area.
Tyler and Jonathan had been there, staking out a heavy group of Alphas with their snipers.
However, now Anthony could only see Tyler pointing his weapon as he skirted around the rubble. Anthony did another scan of the nearby area, still no sign of the blue-winged Omega.
Poking into his coms, he spoke to Tyler directly.
"Do you have eyes on Jonathan?"
The Alpha grunted as he let off another shot, this time retreating behind a different container as he leaned heavily against the steel.
"No. He went into Heat and was right next to the grenade when it went off."
Anthony felt his heart stutter in panic.
Tyler bashed his head back against the container before spinning out of cover and taking down a few more Canaries. Returning fire scattered the air around the longhorn, and a bullet lodged itself in his calf.
"Fuck!"
Tyler snarled, his leg buckling as he crawled back to cover.
"Hang on, I'll send backup,"
Anthony said immediately, raising his drone to see who was nearest.
Spotting an Alpha and two Betas, Anthony tapped into Marcel's earpiece.
"Marcel, Tyler is down to your southwest. Take Nogla and Scotty with you."
"On it,"
Marcel replied, beckoning both Betas to follow after him.
***
Marcel kept a firm grip on his submachine gun, darting between bits of cover before firing at the onslaught of Alphas.
Scotty took a few shaky shots behind him, Nogla reloading.
Marcel made eye-contact with Scotty when the Beta ducked down for cover.
"My offer still stands; do you want to use my gun?"
Tyler and Scotty had traded guns so that the boss and Jonathan could both snipe, and although the Beta was somewhat trained on the use of an assault rifle, it was obvious he wasn't comfortable with it, even with all the tips Nogla gave him as he used the gun's sister.
Scott shook his head, gritting his teeth as he muttered,
"I'm fine. Where's Tyler again?"
Marcel chanced a glance toward another grouping of containers, seeing some of them twisted and ruined from a grenade.
He spotted the longhorn holding his leg behind one of the still standing ones.
"Over there,"
Marcel said, nodding his head in the direction of the downed Alpha.
They let another round of bullets fly, then dashed toward Tyler's cover.
"Got him Anthony, we'll bring him toward you."
Marcel said into his earpiece as he took in the pained boss.
"Great, I'll call Brock in."
Marcel nodded, unsure and not really caring if the drone was looking at him or not.
However, as he helped Tyler to his feet, the smell on the longhorn's clothes made Marcel remember why something felt missing.
"Wait, where's Jonathan?"
Tyler winced, and for a moment Marcel couldn't tell if it was out of guilt or pain as he leaned on Nogla's lanky frame.
"I...I don't-fuck,"
Ty let out a hiss as his leg tried to give out again, but he caught himself with Nogla and Marcel's help before continuing.
"I don't know. He-he went into Heat and then had a grenade thrown at him. I don't..."
The Alpha didn't finish before he collapsed again, defeat and anger practically floating off of him in waves.
However, none of them needed the boss to continue to follow his thoughts.
"Scotty, Nogla, get Tyler to Anthony and Brock. I'll look for Jonathan."
The Betas escorted Tyler off as quick as possible, leaving Marcel with several guns and a fading scent.
Alright,
Marcel huffed to himself, adding his gun to the neat pile for someone to come back and retrieve later.
For now, he had to find Jonathan.
Marcel took a deep breath of the salty air, ignoring the thousands of different Alpha scents that tainted the air.
Almonds.
Peanuts.
Salt.
Ash.
Blood.
Steel.
And his own, mud.
Then, he found it.
Melting vanilla and warm lavender.
His heart began to pump harder at the obviously Heated scent, his inner Alpha flaring with interest.
With a growl, Marcel shoved it down and began following the scent.
He needed to get Jonathan to safety.
***
Joe leaped back as the Alpha in front of him crumpled.
He pulled his rifle to his chest, ducking behind one of the cranes that lined the port.
He blinked, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
He was facing the ocean, the crystal blue waves rippling and perfect against the rising sun.
Sapphire against ruby.
An explosion boomed from somewhere behind him, and he was pulled from his trance.
His eyes focused on the sinking, mangled bits of a boat in front of him.
"Squirrel!"
Joe turned to look at the Alpha that called his nickname, chocolate eyes settling on one of the other members of his group.
"I think I shot one of the Alphas that was near that jay, let's go get him!"
Joe blinked, then nodded.
"Where did he fall?"
"Where Ken threw that grenade, just over there."
Joe looked at where his partner was pointing, then nodded.
"Alright let's-"
Joe cut off when a bullet was lodged in the Alpha's skull.
"James!"
Joe still called out, even though he knew the older Alpha was already dead. With a growl, the young Alpha dropped into a crouch, dashing behind cover as he dared a peak where the rubble of a container was piled.
The Alpha had been downed there.
He could find the injured Omega and bring him back to Kite.
He had heard the rumors.
He had heard the price their buyer had offered for the blue jay.
He could leave Los Santos and pay for college with that kind of money.
With a gulp, Joe sent fire toward an elk-horn and a pigeon-wing before dashing toward and behind a container.
It hit him strongly, the smell of an Omega heat making his oryx horns itch.
What on earth is an Omega in Heat doing out here?
Joe shook off the haze that the scent was trying to trap him in, ignoring the growing scent of blood that was seeping into the air.
He had witnessed worse than the piles of bodies of his coworkers.
He hat seen his boss perform worse on the poor Omegas that were trapped in their clutches.
He had also seen the regret and pain that shone in his commander's eyes.
He needed to be strong.
Strong like Lui.
With a snarl, Joe followed the warm and inviting smell.
When he saw the crimson pooling out from under the rubble, he paused.
Aquamarine feathers scattered like bullet shells.
A garnet sea that reflected the fiery sky.
There was a scuffle from the other side of the vanilla and lavender.
A strong scent of mud hit Joe's senses.
The hair on his neck and arms pricked as he let out a low growl.
An ivory-horned deer clattered to a stop upon finding Joe and the bleeding rubble.
He saw the Alpha's gaze hover on a mess of limp inky hair that protruded slightly from the piles of shrapnel.
Joe didn't react when he saw the terror fill the Alpha's eyes.
He had learned long ago to not look at the Omega's faces.
It made it easier to do his job.
When the deer-horn looked back at Joe, his eyes narrowed and head lowered.
"Scram, or you'll end up like him."
Joe snarled, gripping his rifle tighter.
The deer-horn didn't respond, just let out a growl.
When the weaponless Alpha leaped, Joe fired.