I washed the sins of the day off of me in John's shower. I wasn't the biggest fan of B.A.T.H.s but it was a necessary evil. Thankfully the fur on my chest was black so the blood hadn't left any noticeable stain.

Unsurprisingly John was out of shampoo so I used dish soap instead. I watched as the bloody suds circled the drain and when the water ran clear I got out and shook myself dry. I had entered the washroom as a blood covered demon and exited as a normal hund. No hint of what I had done remained besides a faint aroma of death.

My vest and groin protector went on first followed by a metal reinforced leather collar. There had been some debate in my mind whether I should wear my uniform or something more discreet. In the end I settled on a set of gray coveralls like a custodian or handyhund might wear and a battered cap. Nobody would look twice at a Döbian in gray coveralls.

I grabbed some shitty domestic beer from the fridge and laid down on the couch. There was no food to be had. Apparently John had been living off takeout and cheap beer since he murdered his wife. I considered ordering something but that would just be reckless.

With my tools laid out on the table in front of me and my duffle bag at my feet I closed my eyes and took a nap. My body armor was better than the standard issue stab vests the department issued and had a decent amount of flex to it so I wasn't uncomfortable. At the very least it kept me warm. Usually I left it at home but this was a special occasion.

I awoke to my phone vibrating in my pocket sometime later. Groggily I pulled it out and looked at the screen. My doorbell was telling me that there was someone in front of my apartment.

I switched on the video feed in time to see six Möhin bruisers in full tactical gear lined up outside the door ready to make entry. I couldn't help but notice that they didn't bother to disable the camera built into my doorbell. I wondered if maybe that was intentional as I lit one of John's cigarettes and perked up my ears.

I got my answer a few seconds later when I heard the patio door between John's apartment and mine slide open followed by the distinct "Thunk!" of metal hitting a door frame. Someone was being clumsy with their rifle. Too bad I wasn't there for them to envelope in a pincer movement but it had been a tactically sound decision to try. That at least told me these weren't regular mindless thugs.

A few commands wiped the storage on my doorbell and disabled the recording function. Then I hit send on the text I had prepared earlier and turned my phone off.

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Nobody ever used it but emergency services were text enabled and I had just sent a message saying that I was a police officer and Bone Syndicate thugs were trying to smoke me out of my apartment with some kind of gas. The other police wouldn't come to help me, but the message would hopefully lead investigators off the scent of what really happened.

Lazily I grabbed my things off the table and sauntered over to the door. I smoked my cigarette and waited. The first thing I heard was the distinct sound of a shotgun blast followed by the tearing of wood and muffled swearing. Gas would be leaking into the hallway. All it was waiting for now was a spark.

"Wait!" Called out a voice in Möhin. "I smell something!"

Oh well I thought, my cigarette dangling from my lips. You couldn't win them all. I opened the door into the hallway and stuck my head out. "You sons of bitches lost or something?" I asked.

There was a moment of surprise and shock on their faces as they turned to look at me. Time seemed to stand still. The one with the shotgun racked his weapon and started to aim at me as his reflexes took over. I winked at him before I ducked back into the apartment and dove to the ground with my hands over my ears.

I heard a muffled "No!" from one of the smarter gangsters but it was too late. The doorframe behind me erupted in a shower of splinters and instantly there was a deep "Thump!" almost too loud to hear as the gas ignited.

The floor shook beneath me and even two apartments away the air was forced out of my lungs by the overpressure. I caught my breath and bolted onto John's balcony. The remaining gangster had his back to me and was watching dumbly as black smoke billowed out of my apartment. Quick as a Katzen I vaulted over and shoved him from behind.

He screamed in surprise and terror as he fell. Three seconds later his cry was cut off and I heard a wet thud as he hit the pavement. I was dizzy and disoriented from the blast but I didn't feel hurt. But then again that might have been the adrenaline.

I shouldered the weapon Sacher had given me and clicked the first trigger as I walked through the apartment. The concrete walls were cracked but seemed to be holding. An intense blue flame came to life at the end of the weapon's muzzle as I stepped out into the hallway.

The gangsters were half dead from the blast and blood was running out of their ears as they rolled around on their backs screaming into the smoke. I stalked closer, the smoke stung my eyes but I needed to be close for this.

One of them saw what was in my hands and tried to scramble away. "No! No! No!" He screamed.

"Tschüss." I said softly as I pulled the second trigger. He couldn't hear me and he probably didn't speak Döbian but he got the gist of what I meant when the wall of flame washed over him.

When I was sure they were dead I tossed my phone through the ruined doorway into my apartment. It wasn't fully engulfed in flames yet but it would be soon. Alarms were ringing now and doors were beginning to open down the hall as the residents of the building started to evacuate.

I ducked back into John's apartment and tucked my micro-flamer into the duffle bag with the rest of my things. Then I headed down the stairs to safety, my mission completed. Tears welled at the corners of my eyes but that was just irritation from the smoke. All I felt was the satisfaction of a job well done.