The guard laying down punches on Shroud reels back form Mesa's attack. He loses his balance and is knocked back a short distance, but recovers. With his firearm dropped, he pulls out a switchblade and charges towards the pegasus. With the one guard distracted, the noctral is able to get back up in time to parry her second assailant. Hoofs fly as the two duke it out face to face. The other guards, well, the ones that can still fight, are found by Scarhoof as they lay down suppressing fire onto Foxtrot and Pepper. The stallion in white does see Mesa preparing a shot, and ducks behind cover well before the dart can come close. Cursing under his breath, he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a cylindrical container. He lights the fuse sticking out of one end and tosses it over to Pepper and Fox.

Pepper at this point has been steadily losing blood. His aim becomes shaky, and soon he can't even stay up. Foxtrot looks over to find him in his condition and sits him back down, "Hold on, Pepper! We'll get you some help soon!"

"D-Don't-" the stallion coughs, red spitting onto the floor. "Don't worry bout me kid. Just focus on blasting that mook." Pepper, with whatever energy he has left, lifts his hoof over the crates he's hiding behind and fires a few more shots before bringing it back down.

Roni hasn't been seen by anyone at this point. The stallion decided to sneak through the crates, boxes and gunfire to get around to Foxtrot's and Pepper's side. Once he finds a clearing, he makes a break for it. His heart pounds as he races over to them. Suddenly, a sharp pain hits his flank, and he goes down a short distance away. Pepper looks over to find his partner crawling through the ground, a trail of blood flowing from his leg. Inch by inch he gets closer to them, almost home free.

Foxtrot himself keeps up the fire until he sees a canister lobbed towards them. His eyes widen at the realization of what it was, and where it was going. He raises his hoof and envelops the explosive into a ball of magic. The unicorn then swings his hoof back towards the source, sending the bomb right back at Scarhoof. BOOM! Splinters of wood, shrapnel, and a cloud of smoke and dust choke the air. As it clears, Scarhoof's guards are seen knocked out, But the stallion in charge is nowhere to be seen.

Foxtrot's ears twitch as he hears Mesa's voice through the chaos. Looking over to the source, his heart stops when he sees the crates crashing to the ground. Instantly the unicorn drops his weapon; by the time it lands onto the ground, he's already at the scene. Shroud was recovering from the impacts, slowly getting to her hooves. Her attacker is out cold. The distressed stallion looked over all the boxes. His hoofs glow brightly as the symbol appears in the unicorns vision again. Raising his front two hooves, the crates he aims at begin to brighten. The whole area lights up with magic as the boxes shuffle about. First, the lighter packages rise halfway up the warehouse. Heaviest was only several feet. Fox couldn't move though, only looking over to the mare next to him, "Shroud! Go!" The Noctral spreads her wings and vaults forward. Her eyes scan for any signs of movement.

*click*

The barrel of a revolver lines up to the stallion in the green jacket. Scarhoof himself was ducking behind cover just to be sure. Two shots, no compromise.

BANG!

The bullet flies true to its target. However. It only gets hallway there before being repelled by a shield.

Foxtrot's magic starts to run thin; the crates are getting heavier, his shields are beginning to fade. The toll it takes on the physical being is becoming apparent. His legs tremble. Cold sweat pouring as his heart raced.

BANG!

The last projectile travels the same path as the previous one. But this time it keeps going. A shutter of magic emerges to deflect the bullet. It's not enough. A sharp pain in Foxtrot's side rattles the stallion to his core. He looks back to find the rear end of his assailant escaping. He'll have to deal with him later. For now, he keeps up the crates for as long as he can.

It wouldn't take long for Shroud to notice Mesa after she falls to the ground. The Noctral's eyes widen, 'What!? How did she manage to get up after that? I'd better hurry!' Her wings part, allowing her to glide through the narrow level straight to the injured pegasus. Her coat flutters as she slows down to a stop. She couldn't wait for a response. Shroud lifts the wounded mare onto her back and runs towards safety.

With the strange symbol etched in his vision, Foxtrot tries to stay focused. He sees Shroud returning. Mesa looked worse for wear. But then again, he wasn't in prime condition either. His heart begins to beat slower. Deep breaths control his breathing.

"Clear!" Shroud shouts a short distance away. A loud rumble goes off as the mountain of crates comes crashing down. She lays Mesa on the floor, keeping all pressure off the injured wing.

Foxtrot sits down for a moment before getting to his hooves. The symbol in his vision has faded, along with most of his overall energy. Still, he marched on towards them. He had to see. See if she's ok. The unicorn still hasn't even looked at his own wound. Fox didn't care. He just wants to be sure. Physically numbed, each step had no feeling. Each drop of blood that splatters onto the cold ground goes unnoticed. Things get blurry. Balance becomes a challenge. Only a few meters away; he drops. His eye lids start to feel heavy as he still crawls over. "Mesa..." Soon, he stops. His strength is gone, but he was close enough. Her wing. It was the first thing to draw his eyes. But she's alive. For now, all he could do was lay there, regretting plenty of things right now.

Once Shroud placed Mesa on the floor, she turns her attention to her coat. Her golden eyes glance up for a moment to see her commanding officer on the floor as well. She'd have to move fast. Suddenly, she's caught off guard by the attacking Pegasus. Shroud backs off enough to get away. Well then... Shrugging, she gets back to work. First is rolling Mesa to relieve pressure on her wing. Second, the noctral dashes over to Foxtrot. Reaping the benefit of being prepared, she pulls out what appears to be a syringe style dispenser. Shroud places it on the entrance wound; a green foam emerges and covers the injury. She repeats the process for the exit wound as well. "Alright, that should be ever- oh." Roni and Pepper caught up with them, both badly wounded as well. The Equinox soldier reaches into her coat and turns on her radio,  "Intel Actual, this is Corporal Shroud. I have a code 29B. Officer and civvies injured, need medical dispatch, over?" Seconds later, she gets the confirmation. Nodding, Shroud resumes her work on the two stallions.

Foxtrot immediately feels the familiar effects of the medicine kicking in. Both wounds instantly numb under a chilling sensation. The affected areas swell to prevent blood loss as the foam itself hardens to keep it all sealed. The unicorn looks back up. He didn't see the warehouse, he saw a cave. The crates around him are replaced with stone, rubble, and bodies. Against his reasoning, he gets up and hobbles over to the wounded mare. Step by step he gets closer. Voices of those long gone start to ring in his head. Despite it all, he keeps going. Finally he makes it. His legs unresponsive, Foxtrot lands down next to Mesa. Lightheaded, he lays down on his back and looks towards the ceiling. His vision blurs; then, he's out cold. Several hours pass. The feint beeping of a monitor stirs the stallion awake. White lights hit his eyes, forcing him to slowly open them to adjust. A... hospital? Immediately he looks around. To his left, Mesa is found on her bed. Her wing has been placed in a light cast. The mare's vitals are normal. Foxtrot takes a sigh of relief as he rests his head back on the pillow. What a night...

Foxtrot watches Mesa wake up in silence, letting her adjust to where she was. Once she sees him and over, he simply gives her a warm, endearing smile. "Now I am. I'm glad to see you awake, Mesa. His ears fold back as guilt starts to set in. "Hey, I... I'm sorry. For this. I shouldn't have gotten you involved in something like this."

Setting his companion get teary eyed broke Foxtrot's heart. Come to think of it, his stuff was missing too. His suit wasn't on and his jacket is nowhere to be found. "Well, I lifted the crates so Shroud could get you. While I was doing that, Scarhoof shot me. Twice. Honestly Mesa, I can't say I recall much after. I passed out shortly after you did. I know Shroud was still up and about. When we see her, we'll have to ask. I'm sorry about your bow."

"Her bow is fine. So is your stuff, sir." Silver Shroud walks through the open doorway, dressed in her guard attire. "We have it all locked up in storage." She gives the lieutenant a salute, "The brass is rather surprised. The warehouse held more crates than we imagined. 126. The largest arms bust in years."

"What happened to Scarhoof? Roni? Pepper?"

The noctral sighs, "Scarhoof got away. By now hers halfway across the country somewhere. Roni and Pepper are recovering in another room, they'll be fine." Shroud looks over to Mesa, "By the way, thanks for helping me out back there. Sorry about your wing."

"Hey now..." Foxtrot reaches over to put his hoof on her shoulder. He's a bit too far though, so it's just him grabbing nothing. "Ok, imagine I'm placing my hoof on your shoulder for this. But yea; Mesa, having you safe and sound is all that matters to me. Heck, Scarhoof could've walked out with all of his crates and I'd still count it as a win if you're still by my side." Although his words are meant to be reassuring and uplifting, they hold a certain tone of endearment as well.

"It's a good thing he didn't though," Shroud adds in. "Command wasn't too happy with us doing what we did. But since we got results, we're all getting medals. And then Fox and I are gonna get chewed out afterward." She chuckles for a moment before trotting back to the door. "Rodan and Newton are informing the rest of the platoon about the news. For now, you two get some rest."

After she leaves, there's some pause between them. Foxtrot looks forward, "Mesa. I really appreciate you coming along for all this. You didn't have to, but you took a chance with a rougishly good looking stranger. I wouldn't... I wouldn't mind doing this again with you sometime. Granted with less blood loss and bullets and such."

Upon hearing Mesa's words, the monitor on Foxtrot's side would beep just a little faster; telling of the unicorn's opinion on the matter. "Sounds good, I promise next time won't be so intense. For now, I guess we just lay back and enjoy the hospital. I mean, we may be here for like... a couple of weeks... or months." Regardless of the amount of time spent there, the two would spend it swapping tales, hospital food, and laughs.