Dance of the Macabre
Chapter 3
The room was quite different with a bunk bed, bigger TV and a separate bathroom with no shower.
"Calyx, what brings you here?"
"Well, it looks like we're assigned to a room together." The panther jumped gracefully down to the floor and I sighed.
"So tell me how you got the D on your arm." I sat down on the bed and Cal leaned against the wall as I told my tale.
"I was doing a job for a local drug lord on Zoness and my ship was spotted by a rival lord's crew. I don't know how they spotted me since I was cloaked but they turned me in and I was branded." I looked at the D and Calyx nodded.
"I see. So, are the legends about you true?"
"Legends? What legends?"
"Well, I heard that you kill at the drop of a hat; you know twenty Cornerians isn't a bad record."
"Oh that, well, most of it is true but I won't kill at the drop of a hat. You ever hear of 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth'?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's how I operate sometimes; if someone gets in my way I kill him or her." Cal nodded and I saw that he admired my coldness. "Don't think of me as your hero."
"McCloud, I'm just like you; we are two different animals and yet, we are the same. Would you like me to consider you an equal?"
"Only if you can live up to it." I responded and he sat down next to me.
"So what is Zoness like? I've only heard of it since I'm from Delta Sector."
"It's literally a mercs heaven; I learned many things there. I learned how to fight, kill, and almost get killed-"
"That's another legend. I heard that you got shot in the chest and somehow you died and came back." I stripped off my shirt and I showed him the wound.
"That one is true. Have you ever died before Calyx?"
"No, I've never even got shot before."
"Well, if we live through this, I'll take you to Zoness. The only problem is that the Feds are moving in and clearing it out." Calyx nodded and we sat in silence for a moment.
"Have you ever been with a vixen McCloud?" I looked at him and a small smile creased his muzzle.
"Yes, a few times in fact. And not just vixens, panthers, tigresses, the like."
"So you've done other species too?"
"Yeah, my personal favorite is probably the panthers."
"And why is that?"
"I don't know, they just have something that I like a lot." I responded.
"Lights out!" Calyx jumped onto the top bed and he sighed.
"Well, see you in the morning." I laid down and I didn't respond.
Imagine a surreal setting; a family playing in the park. The kit was running with his dad, playing Frisbee and his mother was watching from the picnic table. Dinner was on the grill and the mother realizes that she forgot something in the car; she opens the door and by mistake clicks in the cigarette light.
Now imagine that the car explodes, killing her. The father and kit run over and another explosion detonates as they are blown back. They both live and the kit's life is shattered at that moment.
That was me, age ten. Life after that that was pretty shitty considering that I was thrown out a few years later.
I tossed in the bed and I feel that I could not wake up from the dream that was haunting me. However, my body stopped shaking when I thought about Zoness.
I pulled the ship into another larger craft's docking bay and a group of heavily armed tigers walked out; they surrounded the drug lord I was delivering to and I walked out of the ship.
"Fox, do you have my shipment?"
"I do, it's in the cargo hold." The lord walked up to me and he handed me a small disk.
"500,000 credits as the deal stated."
"That's not what I was informed. The deal was for 750,000 credits." The drug lord was silent and I knew this was a standoff.
"No, you get what I give you." He turned to the tigers and he waved his paw. I pulled my blaster and my ship also turned its guns on them
A nice little feature. The drug lord wasn't fazed as my AI came up on my wrist Comm.
"Shall I vaporize them now Fox?"
"Now wait just a moment," The drug lord said as he held up his paws.
"Let's have the rest of the money." I said and the tigers started to raise their weapons. "Put those down or I'll have my AI vaporize you." I motioned with my blaster and he tossed me another disk.
"Ok, you have your money, now get out of here."
I pushed open the door to the strip club and the loud music blared into my ears; flashing lights played all around me and fur was exposed everywhere. A vixen with a lace dress on walked up to me and she smiled as I looked her over.
"Hey, want to fool around?" I pushed past her and I walked up to the bar. I sat down and a panther with a red dress on who was behind the bar walked up.
"Can I get you anything?"
"Yes, a shot of vodka please." She turned around and my breath caught in my throat, it had no back to it. I looked around and the dance floor was littered with furs as they grinded against each other. Two stripper poles were on either side of the floor and two felines were dancing on the poles; I never had a thing for felines, only vixens, panthers, tigresses, etc.
"Here you are." The panther said and I took the glass. She looked at me with a smile and I raised my glass to her. "Are you looking for someone?"
"Yes, a falcon by the name of Lombardi." The female nodded and she walked into a side room. I felt a paw on my shoulder and I looked over; a feline had her paws around me and she started to lick the side of my muzzle.
"Come with me." I pushed her away but she came back. "I'll give you the wildest ride you have ever had. Come wit-" She stopped because I had my blaster between her ribs.
"I'm here on business, not pleasure." She removed her arms and her body began shaking. "I don't do felines anyway." She moved into the crowd and I downed the vodka as the panther came back.
"The flacon you seek is in the back room; I'll take you there." She opened the bar door and they walked into the back room. She left me and I sat down at the small table.
"Fox McCloud." The falcon was blue feathered with a streak of red running down his forehead.
"Lombardi, lose the bitches." I said as the two female falcons looked at me.
"Oh come on Fox, I thought you'd like some company. And you can call me Falco."
"You brought the goods?"
"I did, now we have to play for it." Falco said and I shook my head.
"The deal was that I pay you the money for it."
"The deal has changed; Dead Man's Draw." It was a lethal game that he mentioned. Falco pulled out a deck of cards and he dealt me a hand. I looked at my cards and I smiled inwardly; Aces and Eights was the second winning combo and I had them.
"Show it." I said and Falco laid his cards down.
"Four aces, the goods are mine." The falcon said and he smiled.
"Lombardi, you rigged the deck."
"McCloud, why would you even suggest that?" I stood up and we instantly had our blasters pointed at each other.
"Because I have two aces." Before I had the words out of my moth, he fired. I fell back onto the floor as blood exploded from my chest.
"Back luck Fox." He lifted up the case of goods and I blacked out.