ARC II: Dystopia

Chapter 11: Arrival on Skallis

The hours dragged by as Fox, Krystal, and Scarlet traveled through space in their fighters. With Scarlet's interceptor set to autopilot, Fox used the long journey to explain his objective to Peppy and to verify to General Pepper that instead of merely confirming the existence of the weapons dealer's possession of nuclear weaponry, he had taken him out entirely. The old hound dog was overwhelmed by the news; and instead of paying him the miniscule fee that he had intended to give to him, he raised the payout significantly. With the new funds due to be transferred into the Star Fox team's bank account within the week, Fox and his crew would finally have the monetary resources to make repairs on several of the Great Fox's most important systems.

Now, though, Fox had a new objective on Scarlet's homeworld of Skallis. From the limited amount that the red vixen had explained to him, he knew that it was a harsh metropolis word not too dissimilar to Eledard. Unlike Eledard, however, Skallis lacked a strong central government. The police forces on the planet routinely found themselves overwhelmed by the local thugs, gangs, mercenaries, serial killers, bounty hunters, mafias, corporate militias; and sometimes, their own comrades. Law and order was virtually nonexistent; and it was this world of strife that Fox was about to enter. Understandably, he was concerned about Krystal's safety. As an innocent girl of an exotic species, she would be a potential target for predators of many natures.

The vixen had spent the vast majority of the trip locked away in a meditative trance, but when the dark planet came into view, she opened her eyes and smiled at Fox. He smiled back at her and rotated his chair back into its normal position before taking stock of the planet in front of him. Planets such as Corneria and Fichina cast auras of blue into the space around them, but the planet Skallis radiated a dark air that put Fox on edge immediately. As far as he could tell, the oceans on the planet were either very small or nonexistent. The surface of the planet appeared to be a dark obsidian color, most likely because of the towering urban sprawl that overran the entire sphere and hid any signs of water or plant life.

In seconds, Scarlet's voice came through his dashboard comms. unit. "This is it, Fox—paradise. Follow my lead. We'll land at the District 7 spaceport in the planet's upper hemisphere. My boss has agreed to meet us there."

"What does he look like?" Fox asked, falling in behind the Arwing that Scarlet was piloting.

"You won't miss him," she replied with a chuckle. "He has a certain way about him."

"I see," Fox mumbled, thumbing the controls for Scarlet's interceptor and preparing for the entrance into the planet's atmosphere. The red-hot flames began to dance across the fighter's canopy as the vehicle itself began to shake. In the seat behind him, Krystal gritted her teeth and braced herself against the g-forces that were far stronger than those generated in her transport ship. Moments later, the vibrations stopped, and the two fighters descended into the upper atmosphere.

The night that had fallen over District 7 was visibly cold. Small snowflakes flitted through the air and collided with the Artemis Interceptor's canopy. The temperature readout on Fox's HUD read 33 degrees—a far cry from Yaruit and the Oasis Resort. The sprawling city yawned before them. Bridges and roads built on raised platforms towered over the small buildings of the city, while hulking skyscrapers dominated the skyline, reaching more than 10,000 feet into the air in some cases. Smoke poured out from the smokestacks of large factories and manufacturing plants that flanked the city streets, which appeared to have been built in layers. The tallest of all the buildings in the nearby vicinity sported an elegant spire with a digital clock below it. The time read '11:50 P.M.'. Below the clock was a blue letter 'G' that was flanked by two horizontal arrows with the words "Gaia Corp." written below it.

Following Scarlet's lead, Fox fell in behind her and mimicked her every move as she set a course for a large spaceport that stood roughly ten miles from the Gaia tower. Blue-white lighting illuminated the airspace that was overrun with space traffic of all shapes and forms. On a large lot on the far left perimeter of the spaceport sat a large white battleship that slightly resembled the Great Fox, although this ship had two forward-facing wings instead of four rear-facing ones. No voices came through Fox's speakers, leading him to believe that Scarlet was coordinating the landing.

"Fox, we've got clearance to land on Lot 40. Put the ship down next to mine and then we'll head inside," she ordered, slowing her borrowed Arwing and lowering it to the concrete below. After flying over the worn-out control tower that looked like it was far past its prime, Fox cut the Artemis' throttle and descended to the ground next to his Arwing, which Scarlet was climbing out of. Clad only in her tight bodysuit, the vixen shivered as she dropped from the Arwing's aileron to the concrete surface of the landing area.

After touching down on the spaceport deck, Fox opened both the Interceptor's fore and aft canopies and helped Krystal out of her seat. Out of courtesy, he clambered down the ship's wing and held out his paw to help his Cerinian friend to her feet on the ground before he opened the fighter's luggage compartment and removed his cargo along with Krystal's.

"Thanks, Fox," said Krystal, patting him on the shoulder while Scarlet shot her an evil glance and motioned towards a nearby staircase that led into the spaceport's terminal area.

As the red vixen began to climb the stairs, she turned back to face Fox and Krystal. "This way. My boss is waiting for you," she explained with a tinge of expectation in her voice. Fox wasn't sure what to think about the proposition of being employed by Scarlet's boss, who had formerly been her romantic partner as well. However, the possibility of being paid even more was very enticing.

Opening the door after Scarlet and holding it for Krystal, Fox stepped into the terminal, which was much warmer than the area outside. Scarlet stood next to an informational kiosk with her tail whisking back in forth impatiently. "This way," she ordered, walking towards the glass doors that led to the terminal's short-term parking garage. As it had before, Fox's attention wandered to Scarlet's hips, accentuated with her skin-tight apparel. However, the instant that his mind wandered, Krystal pinched him in the arm, causing him to yelp in pain. He looked into her eyes in shock and was met with a jealous stare from her. Scarlet turned around after Fox whimpered; but after shaking her head in disapproval, she redirected her eyes to the exit doors and continued walking.

Being careful to look anywhere other than at Scarlet's hindquarters, Fox followed the red vixen with Krystal at his side. The glass exit doors slid open on their own accord, allowing a stinging blast of icy air to sweep into the building. Scarlet attempted to ignore it, but it was clear that she was freezing. However, her attention was quickly averted away from the plunging winter temperatures. In the drop-off/pick-up zone twenty feet from the door was an imposing white luxury sedan with a winged emblem on its trunk lid. The name 'Briggs-Taylor' was written below it in a script font. A dull-furred red vulpine stood next to the car, clad in a long dress coat that reached to his ankles. A set of modern, squared glasses rested on the bridge of his nose.

"Good evening, Scarlet," he curtsied, holding out his gloved hand for her to shake.

"Hello again, Felix," she replied, shaking his hand and then pointing to Fox, "This is Fox—the man I've been talking about. You'd do well to think about employing him."

"Indeed," he mumbled, stroking his muzzle. "Perhaps—but who's this?" He pointed to Krystal, who stepped back and dropped her ears in fear and embarrassment. "Don't be afraid, my dear. I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke in a warm—if monotonic—voice, beckoning for her to step closer to him. "What's your name, my friend?"

"Krystal," she replied. Trembling slightly, she walked up to the fox and looked into his cold, light blue eyes. She slipped into his mind with her telepathy, attempting to determine if he was someone worthy of her trust. Nothing particularly evil came to her mind as she sifted through his, causing her to abandon some of her fear.

"A Cerinian? Here?" asked Felix, turning his attention to Fox.

"It's a long story, sir," Fox replied.

"I'm sure. Get in the car and we'll talk about it on the way back to the Collective. And by the way, my name is Felix Sparta, CEO of the Gaia Corporation. Scarlet told me a lot about you. I hope you don't disappoint."

"I don't intend to," Fox asserted, although he was anything but confident in his new surroundings.

The dapper vulpine opened the white car's rear door and motioned for Fox and Krystal to load their luggage into the trunk and get in before he pried open the passenger door and helped Scarlet into her seat. With his passengers inside the vehicle, Felix walked around the front of the car and climbed into the driver's seat.

Fox and Krystal found themselves seated next to each other in the back of the car, separated by a thick armrest with two cupholders. Genuine wood trim was interspersed throughout the interior, which was dominated by sublimely supple ivory-colored leather. On the left side of the car, Krystal thumbed through the buttons near the window controls and unintentionally activated her seat's heating function. The warmth began to spread through her seat and through her clothing until it warmed her chilled body. She sighed in bliss and glanced over at Fox while Felix shifted his car into gear and drove out of the terminal parking area.

The downtown area around them was a paradox in the truest sense. Advanced, high-tech architecture dotted the city, although much of it was unkempt to a disgusting degree. "This is the lower portion of the city," the driver explained, avoiding a pothole in the road. "There are three levels to this city, and the place we're going is on the third one. It's much nicer up there."

The lights that bordered the asphalt did a decidedly poor job at illuminating the road, and some of them appeared to have been neglected for quite some time. Glancing out her window, Krystal let out a sharp gasp when she saw three felines step out of a nearby alley. All of them held contraband submachine guns.

Hearing the vixen's astonished gasp, the driver looked at her via his rearview mirror and reassured her, "Don't worry—they can't hurt you. This car could survive a bomb if it needed to." He reached for his hip and produced a diminutive automatic pistol. "And I can personally protect you, as well."

The white car continued down the darkened city street until Felix switched to the far right lane and moved onto the next onramp. The exit had a heavy incline, but the vehicle's powerful engine was more than capable of handling it. The ramp led to an interstate that ran fifty feet above the city and weaved through the high-rise buildings of business and commerce; and the vulpine driver followed it until another inclined onramp came into view.

Now more than a hundred feet above the city, the scenery around them began to reflect a different form of lifestyle than the dingy streets below. Establishments built into the sides of buildings jutted out towards the road, while the high-speed expressway began to morph into a road reminiscent of a boulevard in a modern city. Restaurants, nightclubs, shops and places of residence welcomed all visitors with crisp, bright xenon lighting. However, the most amazing part of the upper district was a floating landmass that seemed to hang in midair, more than a thousand feet above their heads. In the front seat, Scarlet cracked a smile and whispered, "Home again."

While Krystal drank in the scenery that was completely alien to her, Fox asked Felix, "Where are we going? You said something about a 'collective.'"

"Yes, that's right," the vulpine replied, turning his head to face Fox. "The Vulpine Collective is a fraternity that my father established more than twenty years ago. Essentially, it's a safe house and a social club reserved only for foxes like us."

"That's a bit racist," Fox mumbled.

"Maybe, but I'm the one making the rules here. I can do what I want with my property. If you're working with Scarlet, I'll consider giving you your own room, free of charge."

"Well, um… that's nice," Fox awkwardly replied. "What did you have in mind for me to do here?"

"We'll work that out a bit later," Felix answered, flipping on his right blinker and pulling up to a gate that stood in front of a large, unmarked building. The white vulpine in the gate booth recognized his leader and opened the gate for him with a nod and a salute. "That's Hanson, my head of security," Felix explained. "He helps keep the—shall we say—'suspicious' people out." Reverting back to the previous conversation topic, he explained, "I've got an upcoming meeting with someone who claims to know more about Asgard's dealings than I do."

"And who would that be?" Fox asked.

Sternly, Felix retorted, "You ask too many questions for your own good, Fox. In this city, you're going to have to learn to quiet down if you want to survive. I'm on your side, but if you get in too deep, don't expect me to save you."

"Got it…" Fox whispered under his breath.

The mansion that housed the collective held many vehicles within its spacious hangar, but instead of parking his luxury car in the main building, Felix slowed the vehicle and drove around the backside of the building, where an assortment of lush plants was kept. Nestled between several thick shrubs was a rustic garage with two parking bays. The vulpine reached up and pressed his opener, raising the garage door and allowing him to stow his car in its designated storage space.

Turning the engine off, he climbed out of the car and motioned for Scarlet, Fox, and Krystal to do the same. "We'll use the back entrance," he explained, "Follow me."

Scarlet walked beside her boss while Fox and Krystal trailed behind, admiring the beauty of the first plant life they had seen on the planet, all while toting their respective luggage bags. Both of them were amazed that such a place could exist more than a hundred feet above the planet's surface. Even more astonishing were the myriad towers that reached into the clouds high above them. The snow continued to fall on the cobblestone pavement at their feet in small flurries. With the back entrance to Felix's mansion still more than fifty feet away, Krystal stroked Fox's arm and asked him, "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Never," he whispered in reply. "This is unbelievable."

Looking into Fox's eyes with a look of longing in her own sea-green lenses, the vixen asked him, "Please—will you try to get me a room with you? I don't want to be alone."

"Don't worry, Krystal," Fox warmly replied, patting her on the back. "I'll make sure you're taken care of. I won't let what happened last night happen to you again."

"Thank you, Fox," she murmured, a ghost of a smile on her face.

When Felix reached the door, he opened it and held it for his guests, who were eager to set foot inside the sumptuous structure and escape the cold weather outside. Scarlet merely nodded her thanks, while Fox and Krystal verbally recognized his generosity.

"Take the next left," said Felix, directing them towards his office that stood at the end of the hall. The interior of the estate appeared to be even more remarkable than the outside. The halls were appointed with dark red walls that sported metallic black trim. Sumptuous oriental carpeting covered the floors, while a series of modern, white lights brightened the hallways with a sharp form of illumination very dissimilar to the warm, off-white lights that were in vogue on Corneria.

After digging through his coat pockets and pulling out his office key, Felix opened the exotic wood door that led to his office. The wood on the door had been taken from a fallen rainforest tree that Krystal quickly recognized as being from Cerinia. While Fox, Scarlet and Felix entered the office, Krystal ran her fingers across the wooden ridges in the door that brought back the feelings of her homeworld. She missed Cerinia, but the same could not be said about its residents. Ever since she had met Fox, she hadn't felt the same way about going back to her birthplace. Fox wouldn't be there if she returned; and without her friend Jasmine, she would be the loneliest that she had been in her entire life. At the moment, she would have rather been with Fox, as opposed to traveling back to Cerinia.

"They don't miss me," she thought to herself, "They could care less if I was dead—actually, I wouldn't be surprised if they planned my crash. Someone was out to get me back there, and my ship never did that to me before…" She sighed and shook her head. "No, Krystal; you're just being delusional."

She set foot into the office, where Felix had seated himself in his black leather office chair behind his Cerinian-wood desk that was topped with a hard black surface. A silver laptop sat upon the desk next to a small lamp that the vulpine had left on before he went to pick up Scarlet from the spaceport. Pictures of several elderly vulpines dotted the office's wood-grain walls. Due to their remarkable similarity to their host, Fox and Krystal assumed that they were representations of Felix's ancestors.

Tapping his paw on the desk, Felix spoke, "Welcome to the Vulpine Collective. Scarlet, I'm leaving you responsible for making sure our guests are satisfied." Scarlet nodded, albeit in an unenthusiastic manner. Felix cleared his throat and directed his attention to Fox and Krystal. "Are you two romantically involved?" he asked.

"Er…I…um…" Fox stammered, nervously glancing over at Krystal, who began to giggle.

"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Felix replied with a smile, causing Scarlet's face to light up in shock and horror. She knew exactly what he would do; and if he did, it would put a yawning gap between her and Fox.

"Um, Felix, can I…" she worriedly interjected, reaching out her hand and motioning for Felix to stop talking.

"What's wrong, Scarlet? Do you have a problem with me putting these two in a room together?"

"Well, yes I…" she looked over a Krystal in time to see her contort her face into a frown and raise her eyebrows twice as if to say, "I'll tell Fox about what you did if you get in the way." Shirking back in fear, Scarlet mumbled, "Never mind…it's not a problem."

"Good then," said Felix, digging through a drawer in his desk and pulling out a key, which he handed to Fox. "Here's the key to your room, Fox. For now, it's on me. If you can prove that you're as good as Scarlet says you are, you're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you, sir," Fox replied, taking the key and shaking Felix's hand. The meeting adjourned shortly thereafter, and the four vulpines went their own separate ways. Fox and Krystal began to explore the halls and corridors of the Collective, while Scarlet wandered off on her own and headed in the direction of her suite. Felix remained in his office, where he prepared for his upcoming meeting.

In time, the hall that Fox and Krystal were in opened up into a large, airy atrium accented with ferns and palm trees that decorated the space around a square fountain. Several red couches were positioned in various places around the stone-colored chamber, where a small number of vulpines lounged, relaxed, or conversed with each other. Upon seeing Krystal, a few of them turned their heads to look at her, causing the Cerinian to blush and lower her ears and tail out of fear. Noticing her trepidation, Fox stoked her back and whispered into her ear, "There's nothing to be afraid of. They won't hurt you—I promise." Looking around the area, Fox asked his companion, "Do you want to sit down here?"

Krystal shook her head and instead suggested, "How about we see what's close to our room?"

"Fair enough," Fox replied, looking at the small tag attached to his room key for clues to his room's location. He and Krystal walked out of the open area, away from the prying eyes of the Collective's residents and into another hallway similar to the one they had first stepped into. From what Fox could tell, his room was on the base level—which he was on at the moment. As they walked along the hallway along the front side of the building, they looked out at the street and watched the cars drive by on the busy street that was still heavily occupied even in the late hours of the night. Fox and Krystal had been awake for less than twelve hours; however, a small digital clock mounted on the nearby wall read '1:05 A.M.' Most of the Collective's residents had turned in for the night, but Fox and Krystal were far from tired. Fortunately for them, the building never truly closed for the night.

On the way to their room, the two vulpines noticed an area defined by heavily tinted glass with a white sign on the door that read 'Pool and Spa.' Fox quickly returned his mind to thinking about his possible future employment with Felix, but the blue vixen's thoughts moved to the warm waters that called out to her from inside the room. "Maybe later," she thought, looking behind her to make sure that something hadn't gone wrong with her suitcase.

Soon, Fox reached his door and inserted his key into it. The black door swung open, revealing a well-decorated space with the same red and black coloration that defined the Collective's interior. The color scheme had been designed as a form of homage to traditional vulpine colors, although Krystal felt badly out of place with her blue fur. The room featured two windows that granted the residents a view of the road and the local scenery, along with a suite of black furniture. The overall size of the room was unimpressive, but it lacked nothing that Fox or Krystal needed. A small kitchen was built into the room, and the bathroom featured a full bath and a separate shower enclosure. The overall feel of the room was edgy and modern, with a mildly dark element that caused it to feel somewhat mysterious.

Krystal set her luggage down on the floor and dropped onto the bed, letting out a sigh in the process. Fox stared out the window before turning his attention to Krystal, who seemed to be content with her circumstances. "Do you like it?" Fox asked, lowering himself onto the bed and resting his head on the red pillows.

Krystal closed her eyes for a moment and then looked over at Fox. "It's alright," she murmured, almost silently. "It's not home, but I can live here. How long do you think we're going to be staying in this place?"

Fox curled his lip and looked up at the ceiling, where a motionless fan with rectangular blades hung. "I don't know. As long as it takes for me to finish my objective, probably. It could be a few days, or it could be a few months. You're okay with that, right?"

Krystal smiled and answered, "As long as you're here, I don't care."

Fox felt his heart flutter. From the very beginning, he had attempted to keep his friendship with Krystal just that—a friendship. However, as the days rolled by, it seemed to him that she wanted something more. Fox found himself drawn to her, not because of her body or any seductive action she had made; but because of the calm, beautiful air that surrounded her wherever she went. At the same time, though, his body burned for Scarlet, despite his remorse for mating with her and causing Krystal to feel degraded as a result. Still, if he was given the opportunity to satisfy himself with her once again, he knew that he would be unable to refuse.

It was the last thing that he wanted to admit to Krystal, but he loved both her and Scarlet; albeit in different ways. However, he did have to concede that it was probably better for him to room with Krystal, as opposed to Scarlet. He could control himself around the Cerinian, but Scarlet—she was a different matter entirely.

For a number of minutes, Fox and Krystal laid on the bed, looking into each other's eyes and relaxing after the long flight from Morraia to Skallis. The silence continued until Krystal broke it with a question. "Do you want to read your book with me?"

Fox's eyes widened as he gulped in fear. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead, and his breathing quickened. The one thing he didn't want Krystal to know about was the one thing she had just asked him about. Feeling the blood rushing to his cheeks, he stammered, "Um…if you w…want to… I didn't really think you'd…"

Krystal silenced him with a playful pat on his nose and inched closer to him until her muzzle was less than a foot from his. "Don't be ashamed of yourself, Fox," she said with a smile, "Anything that helps, right?"

"Sure…" Fox halfheartedly replied, climbing off the bed and opening his duffel bag that now contained a pair of swim trunks, a bottle of cologne, and—of course—the book that he had tried to keep hidden from Krystal. He pulled it out of the bag, knowing that the vixen was smiling behind him. After a quick glance at the blue cover, he sat down on the bed next to Krystal and asked her, "Where do you want to start?"

"How about we start from the beginning? We've got plenty of time."

"Sure thing," he replied, uneasily turning to page 1 and holding the book out in front of him so that both he and Krystal could read it.

Meanwhile, just outside the building, Felix Sparta stepped across the cobblestone courtyard separating him from his garage. At the building's side entry door stood Hanson, his head of security. The white fox was dressed the same way that his master was. He stood at attention, barring the door from any unauthorized access until Felix approached him and said, "Stand down, Hanson. Did you tell Vincenzo to rendezvous with us on the way?"

"Yes, sir," Hanson replied, opening the side door and ushering his master into the garage.

Felix opened his sedan's passenger side door and sat down in the seat that still bore Scarlet's scent. "Good. You drive tonight."

"Yes, sir."

Hanson walked around the front of Felix's car and climbed into the driver's seat. After opening the garage door with the vehicle's opener, he backed the car out and turned around, heading towards the Collective's gate that opened for them thanks to a pressure sensor underneath the stone driveway. While Felix played with the purple scarf that dangled from his neck, Hanson turned onto the avenue outside the mansion and began his journey down to the lower city, where Felix was scheduled to meet up with an old acquaintance that he truthfully wasn't very excited about seeing.

"I don't trust him," Felix muttered, adjusting the car's heat settings.

"Pietro?" Hanson asked while checking his mirrors prior to switching lanes and taking the next exit that led to the second level of District 7.

Felix sighed and answered, "Yeah, him. These meetings never turn out well. I bet he just wants to raise the cost of my 'protection,' as he calls it."

"Probably," Hanson concurred. "Still, he might have something else in mind. You do realize that he's actually going easy on you compared to Carache and the brass at Asgard, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It's probably just because my dad knew him. That doesn't mean that I like him, though. He's just like all the other mobsters—he doesn't care about anything other than money. He'd probably knock off one of his kids if it made him 50 credits richer. It's people like him that ruined this planet."

"That's not what the media would say," Hanson remarked.

Felix raised his eyebrows and shot his head of security an evil glare. "Does anyone really care what they say anymore? The Democratic Republic of Skallis went bankrupt and died out twelve years ago. Sure, it still technically exists, but they don't have any real power anymore. Those bureaucrats can play the media card all they want; but when it's all said and done, the people in power are the ones with the money—namely, me, Pietro, and that whack-job over at Asgard.

Hanson smiled. He enjoyed listening to his employer heap insults on the CEO of Asgard industries, mostly because the iguana deserved every bit of hatred that he received. It was no secret that he routinely violated ethical practices and health and safety regulations for the sake of cranking out more of his company's products. The approach had—unfortunately—paid off, allowing Carache's industrial juggernaut to increase its growth by more than 10 percent in the last five years and to pass Felix's Gaia Corporation in total revenue and sales for the first time in its existence.

From a fiscal standpoint, Felix needed to find a way to increase his company's profitability to keep pace with his business rival; but he couldn't stomach the thought of cheating and violating his way to his goal.

"The only way out is to kill Carache. I won't stoop as low as he did. Business is a two-way transaction; and when it stops being a deal where both the producer and the consumer can get something out of it, it becomes a form of tyranny."

He thought about Scarlet and how close she had been to completing her objective. If she had been just a few seconds quicker, she might have been able to take down Carache. Now, things were going to be much more difficult. Instead of being holed up in a small weapons warehouse on Morraia, the shrewd lizard would be hiding out in the sprawling, expansive Asgard Central complex—the center of his business empire that extended across the planet and many of the other worlds in Skallis's solar system.

"Incredibly difficult, but not impossible," he thought, "But I think Scarlet can do it. She's pretty consistent when it comes to collecting bounties."

His thoughts were interrupted when Hanson drove the white sedan down an off-ramp leading to the lower part of District 7. Unlike the spaceport area, this part of the lower city reflected a classy, dignified air.

"Mob territory."

Without warning, a large, red SUV pulled out behind Hanson and Felix and flashed its high-beam headlights at them. "There he is," said Hanson, announcing the arrival of their third man, Vincenzo. Momentarily, the SUV pulled alongside the luxury car on Felix's side. The vulpine glanced over to his right and nodded at the black wolf behind the wheel. For all intents and purposes, Vincenzo's job description mirrored Scarlet's. A for-hire mercenary willing to work for whoever would pay the most, he had become known as one of the best bodyguards that money could buy. It was fortunate that Felix had plenty of it to spend.

Hanson glanced at his navigation screen, noticing that their destination was less than a half-mile away. The neighborhood they found themselves in was best described as an upscale suburban area. Valuable houses with lush green yards stood on both sides of the street, and several expensive vehicles were parked on the unmarked residential drive.

"Here it is," said Hanson, pointing towards a well-appointed house located on the left side of the street. "Wait a minute, there's something wrong here. Did he send us to his own house?"

Felix furrowed his eyebrows and replied, "It looks like it. I didn't expect that at all."

"Neither did I. I've got to say, it seems really suspicious. Keep your guard up and let Vincenzo do the work if Pietro tries anything. Got it?"

"Sure thing." Felix allowed his head of security to open his door and step out first before he followed suit. Vincenzo parked his vehicle on the curb next to the residence's yard and fell in behind them. The lupine had dressed himself in a heavy jacket that did a very poor job of hiding the bulletproof combat armor that he wore under his outer clothing. Felix glanced at him and whispered, "Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. This could be a trap. I don't trust this guy, even though he's technically my godfather."

"Sure thing," Vincenzo growled in reply.

Allowing Hanson and Vincenzo to walk ahead of him, Felix ambled up the sloped driveway leading to Pietro's house until the three of them reached the building's ornate front door. "I'll knock," Felix whispered.

Uncertain about what lay behind the door, the vulpine balled up his fist and rapped on the wooden slab. Almost immediately, a heavy set of measured footsteps became audible from inside the house, followed by a voice dominated by a heavy accent. "Sparta?"

"Yes, Pietro," the vulpine replied. "I'm here."

"Excellent! Come on in." After a momentary delay, the door swung open, revealing the middle-aged, overweight, well-dressed vulpine figure of Salvatore Pietro. As with Felix, the mobster wore a set of spectacles, although his made no attempt to be fashionable or trendy in any way. He wore a generic black suit with a matching white shirt and a red tie that contrasted well with his gray fur. Noticing Felix's two counterparts, Pietro shook his head and laughed. "Bodyguards? Really? I'm not going to kill you, Sparta! What would make you think that I would do that?"

"You're asking me that question?" Felix retorted, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Why don't you tell me why I should trust you? You've done some pretty dodgy things before."

"Okay—so maybe I pushed it a little bit in the past; but it's different tonight," he admitted. "I brought you to my house because what I have to tell you is very important."

"How important?"

"Come in and I'll explain it," Pietro replied.

Reluctantly, Felix stepped across the threshold into the lavishly-decorated house that smelled strongly of cigar smoke. His two counterparts followed him in, ready to draw their weapons at any time. The large fox led his guests down the hall and up a flight of stairs until they reached the door that separated Pietro's study from the rest of the house. "I'm afraid that only Felix can come in," he explained. "I promise that I won't hurt him."

Hanson was quick to deliver a biting remark. "Your promise means nothing. You've gone back on your word so many times in your life that it would make your head spin if you really thought about it."

Pietro chuckled and turned the office's doorknob. "Maybe, but if you don't stand down, you'll have come all this way for nothing. Capisce? Come now, Felix—let's get to business, shall we?"

Hanson shook his head as Felix disappeared into the study with his godfather. Turning to Vincenzo, he muttered, "What a waste of time. We can't even protect him!"

Vincenzo shrugged his shoulders and leaned against the wall at the top of the staircase. "Hey, at least I'm getting paid. I don't know about you, but that counts as a win for me."

Closing the door behind him, Salvatore Pietro snatched up a cigar from a nearby box and pulled a lighter out of his pocket. In seconds, the aroma of burnt tobacco began to fill the room. "Sit down," he said, dropping down into a comfortable armchair across from the couch where Felix seated himself and leaned forward expectantly.

"What's so important here?" Felix asked, glancing out the window to make sure that he wasn't being watched by something or someone.

Pietro took a puff of his cigar and leaned back in his chair. "It's about your rival Carache. He's up to something."

"When is he not up to something?" Felix grumbled, rolling his eyes in contempt for the owner of Asgard Industries.

He expected Pietro to let out at least a chuckle; but the serious, stone-dead expression on the mobster's face told Felix that the situation may have been more serious that he thought. "Felix—tell me what you think about this. As you know, I have eyes and ears everywhere on this planet—in the government, in your business, in Carache's business…everywhere. Anyway, last week, I received word from one of my sources that Asgard Industries is opening a facility on the planet Cerinia."

Felix's eyes widened in shock. "That's insane! That's the corporate equivalent to putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger! No one's ever had a successful business endeavor on Cerinia. There's just not enough demand for offworld products! I know Carache's not that stupid. There's got to be an ulterior motive."

"Correct," said Pietro. "Something very suspicious is at play. If you'll excuse me for a second…"

Pietro stood up and walked over to his work desk, where his laptop awaited him. After unplugging it from its charger, he opened the screen and set the computer on the coffee table in front of the couch where Felix sat. The image of a long-haired female raccoon dressed in a black tank top appeared on the small display. "Good evening, Felix Sparta," she said in a refined voice.

"Good evening," he replied.

The raccoon brushed a strand of hair out of her eye and continued, "Listen, Mr. Sparta—I don't have much time. First off, let me explain myself. My name is Victoria Thane. I work—or, I should say—used to work as Antoine Carache's personal secretary. Last night, an attempt was made on my life; and I'm absolutely certain that my boss was behind it."

Felix raised an eyebrow and asked her, "Why would he do that?"

Victoria replied, "I believe he thought that I was getting too close to discovering something that he was trying to hide."

"Any examples?" asked Felix.

"Yes, Mr. Sparta. Three weeks ago, I overheard my boss talking with the head security officer in charge of the Asgard Central complex's surveillance equipment. I very distinctly remembering my boss telling him to turn off the security cameras to the auxiliary building that houses a good deal of Asgard's military inventory. Bear with me, though—it gets stranger."

She paused and brushed her hair again, then resumed her narrative. "He started acting very secretive not too long after that. Normally, he would talk to me about everything; but he clammed up and hardly even acknowledged me after a certain point. Four nights ago, I decided that I had to get to the bottom of it. I had to work late hours to make up for a day that I missed due to illness; and the building was almost empty except for the security staff and Carache himself. This was the fifth night in a row that he stayed past midnight. As Carache's secretary, I had access to all the administrative codes to the building and its systems; so after I made sure that no one was looking, I left my post and sneaked into the security office. The head of security must've been on a coffee break or something, because the control room was empty. Using the codes my boss gave me, I turned on the security cameras in the auxiliary building. What I saw after that gave me goosebumps."

Felix leaned closer to the computer screen and demanded, "What did you see?"

"I saw my boss walking down one of the hallways with someone dressed in a black hooded robe. I couldn't see anything that identified him with any species. His movements were like those of a ghost. He seemed to float across the ground, although it might just have been his robe that gave that illusion. I overheard a bit of their conversation through the camera's audio feed. He said something like 'I'm going to ship out the troops. I'm afraid that someone will find out about them before it's time.' The black-robed man replied, 'Fine. Do what you have to. I am willing to wait for a new tomorrow.'"

Felix scratched at his muzzle and looked up at Pietro, whose face bore an expression of absolute seriousness. "That's disturbing," he muttered.

Pietro put his cigar up to his lips for a moment and then replied, "Felix, you need to act quickly. I don't know what Carache is doing with this man, but his last words alone have me concerned."

"I'll see what I can do," Felix replied. Rising to his feet, he shook Pietro's hand before both of them exited the study and stepped back into the hall, where Hanson and Vincenzo were waiting.

Immediately after Felix stepped through the doorway, Hanson grabbed him by the arm and whispered into his ear. "What was that all about?"

"I'll explain later," Felix answered, "But it looks like Scarlet's friend might be getting a chance to prove himself soon."