16
The Best of You
Chapter 4: Wild Dogs
Serena opens the door of her truck and makes her way down the two large steps to the wet loading dock pavement below. This time of night in the rainforest district, especially near the coast, where the sea is so close, the pavement always seems to be damp. The cougar's hind paws grow wet from the pavement surface as she makes her way to the back of her truck. She pushes her paw under her shirt behind her back, double checking to make sure her pistol is securely stuffed into its concealed carry holster in her waist band. She gets to the back of the truck, steps on another step and up onto the small tailgate where she finds the door latch for the cargo bay. She slides the cargo door open, revealing the mostly empty hold except for a few empty boxes and wooden pallets. On cue, a forklift pulls up to the back of the vehicle out of a large and decaying storage facility.
Serena steps to the side, allowing the lift operator to slide the pallet of crates into the truck. The forklift lightly bumps the front of its runners against the vehicle, making a hydraulic whining as it lowers the pallet into the bed. As it slides backwards, pulling away from the truck, Serena smoothly steps from the bed and onto one of the forks of the lift. The forklift does a tight 180 degrees turn and starts back into what's left of the warehouse. The operator, another cougar, moves the forks down while driving so Serena is eye level with him.
"Well Well, aren't you a good-looking kitten, care for a drink?"
"You ask me that every time we see each other, and every time, what has been the answer?"
"Well, the first few times I asked you, you said, 'Oh yes!' and then later in the night you were screaming 'OH YES!' but now you've been turning tail and giving me that look." The lift operator points his finger out at her, his claw extended accusingly. Serena's muzzle scrunches up and she frowns. "And come on, there are only but so many of us Cougars in this shit hole, give me another chance!"
"I told you, Richard, it was a one-time thing, get it through your thick fur! You're like a dog barking up the wrong tree, and you're a cat for fuck's sake!" Richard frowns at her and then looks away dejectedly. He turns his attention down the decrepit hallway of the storage facility. At the end of the wide hall made for lifts, a few mammals mingle around wooden crates stacked on pallets. Each pallet had a number poorly spray painted on it. It is difficult for Serena to make out the numbers, but she can manage well enough. She turns back towards her past mistake, Richard.
"And hey, speaking of you barking up the wrong tree, I heard you pounced on something that was a little funny too, eh?" Serena smirks at him and Richard winces as if the words physically hit him. His ears push flat against his head.
"Oh, so there is some truth to it after all? I thought It was all just rumor, ya'know? But it seems you did have a little rough'n'tumble with someone, or should I say, something?"
"What other pallet do you want in the back of your truck?" he deadpans back. Richard's tail flicks back and forth as it sits beside him in the seat of the forklift, his ears stay pushed up against his head. His lips threaten to pull up in a hiss, but he manages to keep his composure.
"OH HO! So its got more truth to it then I first believed, tell me, Richard dear, are those lionesses much different from us? She had six nips like us, right? I mean I knew you liked to play with mine well enough and I 'heard that those other cats don't have as many as us', is that true? I figured you'd be the man that'd know. Asking for a friend, of course." Richard stops the lift near the crates.
"What other pallets do you want? Number 2 all you wanted? When's the others getting here to pick their shit up?" Richard pulls up to the jumble of crates sitting on the wet concrete floor. A few mammals mingle around the crates. An Irish-spotted wolf sits on a stack of pallets nearby but gets up at the approach of the lift, anticipating having something to do. His actions go mostly unnoticed by the two cougars as Richard crosses his arm over his chest and looks at his female counterpart.
"Don't give me that, what was her name, tell me that at least! What was it, Felica? No, was it-"
"Faye is her name, and I appreciate it if you keep your muzzle stuffed in your own shit. I don't ask questions about your illegal business and do the grunt work for protecting your god knows what." He gestures to the crates on the floor with one paw while his other stays across his chest. "How about you just get your shit and don't ask me questions about the lion I fucked, huh?"
"Hey! Serena!" Serena and Richard turn towards the spotted wolf yelling at them. He's leaning against the newest shipment of good just a few yards away, cigarette sticking out of his paw, giving off a low glow in the dimly lit building. He points it at Richard and smirks. "You hear that Lion Fucker fucked a lion!? Crazy shit, huh?" Serena turns back towards Richard. He glares at the wolf, then towards Serena, a low growl rolls out of his throat.
"Great, just fucking great, now you've got them on my tail AGAIN with this bullshit..." Richard thumps his forehead against the steering wheel of the lift.
"Look man. Fuck, sorry. But we all make mistakes, I mean you were drunk, we look a lot alike anyhow, I'm sure when your drunk as hell a Lionesses looks even more like a cougar an-" Richard cuts her off, bring his head up from the steering wheel.
"I wasn't drunk, unlike my 'rough'n'tumble' with you, Faye actually meant something" Richard glares back at her, deciding that everyone seems to know anyways, so he might as well get his side of the story out there. He frowns at the shock on her face. Of course, she's shocked, who isn't, he thinks. The hint of regret on her face also does little to calm his nerves. Once his 'friends' had found out about his outing with a Lionesses his life had quickly spiraled out of his paws. Those that know either avoid him, make fun of him for it or tell him how sick and twisted he is. Richard thinks that this is "real rich" coming from a bunch drug runners and killers, but he has little say in the matter. "Yeah, imagine that. I'm going for a smoke, tell Knot Lover over there what we need to know. Hopefully won't see you around anymore." With that, Richard hops off the lift and pulls a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. Walking towards what's left of a door frame and another loading dock he begins to light his smoke. Serena stares in his direction, shocked at what she has just learned. Not only did he not see it as a mistake they also seemed romantically involved. She shakes the stupor from her head and turns towards 'Knot Lover' and quickly changes the subject, not wanting to try and wrap her head around interspecies relationships. Her job was complex enough and thinking of some grotesque off species pairing as being able to be serious and not just to satisfy some freakish kink is way more than she wants. She barks her orders to the grunts around her. They are good subordinates and do as their told. A wolf and black bear get the next pallet of crates onto the lift and the wolf takes it back to the truck.
Serena double checks her notes; she has pallets 8 and 1 on the truck and pallets 2 through 7 are still sitting on the floor. She walks around them, double checking that they haven't been tampered with or opened. They aren't, which is good; pallet 3 has, as far as she can tell, more than what's their normal run of cocaine in it, based off its origin and destination in her notes. She keeps her maw shut about this. The last thing she needs is her subordinates getting funny ideas and snooping through the crates. She finds 'Knot Lover' and relays the needed information, no more and no less. He grumbles at his new nickname but takes the information in stride as he's done in previous meetings. He finds his sentries and switches them out and makes sure the next shift is prepared as well. He double checks their routes too, checking that there are no blind spots in his watch. After this he makes his way back into a makeshift break arear. A few barrels and a piece of plywood are used as a table which currently has beer cans and various guns strewn about It. He lays himself across a makeshift couch which is constructed of an old wooden crates and heavy cargo blankets. Serena has to give it to this particular relay point for their ingenuity. They had done the most with what they had, left a small paw print and despite the odds they turned out to be the better of the bunch. Organized crime works so much smoother than other mammals know, thinks Serena.
She makes her way out of the building. She stops just outside of it, looking off to the side the warehouse noticing Richard. He looks back over at her, just outside of striking distance. He brings his cigarette up to his muzzle while his other paw stays stuffed in his pocket. He drags in a long pull of the wretched smoke and holds it in. The glow hardly lights up his face, but the glimpse of his somber expression made the situation clear as day. He is more upset with the situation than Serena first thought, and for different reasons too. For the second time that day she stares at him with surprise. She quickly shoves it from her head and moves on; some things are better left alone. She doesn't need to get a wet tail if she can help it, especially from someone else's problem. She closes the door on the back of her truck and then gets in the cab. She looks over to the passenger seat and then frowns.
"Twitch, what'd I tell you about hiding? You've got nothing to worry about here, you're being ridiculous." Serena looks over her shoulder, between the two seats and back into the cab. A scrawny wolf sits in the corner of the back seats with a hood pulled over his head. His ears poke out two self-made holes and the tip of his muzzle just makes it out the front of the hood. His beady eyes catch the street light near the abandoned loading dock and glint in the dark.
"I don't like it here."
"Well I don't give two fucks what you like, you were supposed to be keeping watch from up here in the cab." Serena watches as the wolf reluctantly gets out from his hidey hole and moves up to sit in the passenger seat.
"If there's nothing to worry about here, why watch?" Serenas groans and puts the truck into gear.
"God why does Victor make me baby sit you!" She pulls away from the rotting complex and onto a back street near the docks of the rainforest district. This region of the Rainforest district, where it and the Savanah district meet, is closest to the bay. The area features many small islands dotted around the coast. Many ports make use of the small islands that are conveniently connected to the mainland by bridges. The ports are well versed in sizes for different species of mammals. Some are privately owned while others belong to the city, and some of them are somewhere in between. Many shipping companies own their own ports, these are easy to pick out among the rest simply because of their massive size. Some companies will even ship from select warehouses in the rainforest district into the bay and then circle around the whole city and end their short trip over in the far end of Tundra town. This turns out to be useful for one day shipping fiascos and transporting larger things that can't be moved through the middle of the city, such as steel bridging trusses or other large sing piece objects. However, with so many companies using docks of all sizes, competition is fierce and not all companies can keep up. Many have failed or are failing, and some come and go with the seasons. The particular one Serena pulls away from once belonged to a small shipping company that tried to compete and failed miserably. Their dock and storage facility were left behind when they turned tail and cut their losses. What is left is now proudly being repurposed for movement of illegal goods and contraband.
She pulls out onto a lesser-used road near the coast of the Rainforest district and makes her way towards the slums of Savannah central. She runs along the limits of the two districts, using back roads and avoiding anything that would lead to a dead end if worse comes to worse. Their ride goes smoothly despite the risk and the unsuspected van pulls into a back alley between Pack Street and Trip Street, evenly splitting the mile or so between the two. She backs up to another deserted building. This one is what's left of a newspaper printing company. They conveniently have a loading dock as well and the cargo truck fits snuggly up against it. Serena gets out and, with a reluctant Wolf in tow, walks around to a seldom used door and unlocks it. Her first job now is finding Victor in this place, she thinks as she opens the door.
The inside of the printing shop has seen much better days, especially when it was once running and producing paper. The short hall quickly opens into the main floor of the building. The main floor runs the length of what is left of the structure. A building-long machine sits squarely in the center of the structure with stairs and scaffolding all around it. Paint flakes off every visible surface, it peels up and away from what's left of the metal, surely carrying some type of lead poisoning or cancer-causing chemical to the over-exposed. The light covers sit dry rotted over bulbs that have long since burnt out, protecting them for no reason more than that they had before and will now. The great machine once served a fine purpose. It made paper that carried news to the many mammals of Zootopia. It printed out thousands, then hundreds of thousands and finally millions of newspapers. The papers carrying both news of good and bad and tales from far and near. It was rebuilt over the years and had countless repairs performed by countless mammals. Some mammals had once even thought of this beast of a machine as some type of home. At one point a small rebel mouse colony tried to live within it but soon fell victim to the chemicals and poisonous ink left inside and they left It like everyone else. It had outlived its purpose, the digital age phasing out the past. It now rots away, broken, beaten and forgotten by most, its only visitors the small group of mammals currently repurposing what's left as a temporary lab and home.
Serena and Twitch walk to the side of the massive machine and into a small office area beside it. There she finds Ivan, a brown bear, sitting on a desk he had pushed up against a wall. He has a beer the size of Serena's head and has lazily drunk through half of it while she was away.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching Doug?" Serena stops in the doorway of the office, putting her paw on the door frame and her other on her hip. Twitch walks past the bear and sits beside him in a decade's old plush office chair, not minding the dust and rotting padding that fly's out of it when he plops down.
"He go nowhere, I watch him all day, it make him nervous when I around, and his helper, and beside I leave Chalk-y outside the door, he smell them if they leave." With that Ivan takes another swig of his beer and glances at Twitch who stares back at him. "I missed you, talkative kitten, does not matter if Twitch stays or goes, he never say much, but you good company, all I had is my beer tonight and as you know, Chalk-y is no talker either!"
"Well you've got Victor, don't you? And stop drinking that, we need your help unloading whatever the hell it is that he got from his buds from wherever the hell he comes from."
"I think is arms, yes? Seems to me from what I heard. And Victor leave, go to whore house, again! I never see his kind anywhere, but I know now he Is most definitely dog! HA-HA!" Ivan laughs and slaps the desk he's sat on, causing it to crack and make Twitch jump. The dust from his movement swirls up into the air and about the room from the heavy breathing of the bear before settling in a new place. They had cleaned Doug's "lab" room out very well and had done a fair job cleaning out their makeshift living arear but had left the rest of the place the way they found it. This room was no different. Serena coughs a few times in a poor attempt to clear her lungs of the dust.
"Well shit, I've gotta go and get him, don't I?"
"Chalk-y no talk and I too big for door, you the cat that must get his tongue, yes?" Ivan gives Serena a look and she deadpans him. Again, he's the only one that laughs at his joke.
"Well you keep Chalk at the door I suppose and get all that shit off the back of the truck and into floor of this place, I'll go and try to get Victor out of his slump again, seems like I'm the real leader here sometimes." Serena turns and makes her way out and towards the back exit of the place.
"Oh-Ho! Don't let him hear you say that! Then it will be HE that gets YOUR tongue! HA-HA." Ivan slaps the back of Twitch as they get up and head out the door with Serena. The playful slap nearly sends Twitch through the rotten wall and out the other side. He stagers back to his feet and follows the huge bear out the door and towards the loading dock. Ivan opens the garage door and is met with the back of the cargo truck. He unlatches and opens the truck door and walks into the back of it. He starts to unstrap the pallets and pick up the larger crates and move them into their repurposed office. Twitch, being much smaller and scrawny, picks up the smaller crates but still struggles with them. Serena watches for a moment before sighing.
"Alright, I'm leaving to get Victor, again, he's at his club, right?"
"You will find him there, of that I'm sure." Ivan groans out under the heavy weight of his box.
"Great, just great." She throws up her paws in defeat and goes to the door. "This is wonderful." She grumbles as she steps out into the dark alleyway and closes the door. She walks around to the back of the building where a sedan is parked. She unlocks it and gets in. The sedan is a nice blue, she's fond of the color, she picked it out, after all. She notices the 'truck gun', as Victor calls it, an older beat-up Uzi, is coming out of its mount that is mostly flush with the door. She groans and smacks it back into place with her foot. The gun snaps fully back into its mount. She much prefers a shotgun over what she considers a pea shooter. Although, the length of one would make it much to unweildy to get into and out of the car in a pinch, which is exactly what a "truck gun" is meant for, Victor had told her. She starts the car and turns the radio on while she carefully drives past the cargo truck and towards one of Victor's more private clubs.
After a few minutes of driving into the rainforest district, she makes it to the club. The front is hidden and hard to find. This particular one is invite only, and if the mammal wanting in isn't on the list then they're not getting in. Simple as that. Once in, however, the club has the full arsenal of good time inducing substances and entertainment; Dance floors, lounges, strippers, private show rooms and bars that serve all manner of alcohol and drugs, both legal and illegal. Serena wraps her paw against the door a few times, she waits a few moments before a tiger much bigger than herself opens the door. She steps into the hall way. Blue LED lights line the upper and lower parts of the walls leading to double doors that make way into the main lobby. The only other door in the hallway is a side door that leads to a small room meant for storing items that aren't allowed, like firearms. The tiger holds out his paw expectantly. Serena sighs and pulls her pistol out from behind her back. She removes the magazine then swiftly ejects the round in the chamber. The round flips up and into the air, reaching its maximum height before getting snatched by the cougar's paw. She sets the now empty pistol in the tiger's paw, but he keeps it extended, waiting impatiently. He glares at Serena while she puts the ejected round back into the magazine, returning it to its full capacity.
"The rules for this place are 'no firearms', it doesn't say anything about magazines or bullets. We've been over this before anyways, everybody knows who I am, I'm sure you also know I don't need to follow any of the rules, just like the owner." She puts the magazine into her cargo pocket and walks away from the glaring tiger. Serena doesn't like the idea of giving any mammal her gun, especially her loaded gun, so she meets the rules halfway.
Opening the doors, her ears fill with the blistering noise of the club. Electronic dance music is always the choice for such places and this establishment is no different. The cougar goes unnoticed as she enters the room. Directly to her front there is a large circular bar and behind that a dance floor full of mammals. The dance area is big enough to fit 100 or so mammals, but if the crowds are good, they can fit more. To the left and right of the DJ area are small stages made for dancers and in front of those, to the left and right of the dance floor are two long bars serving most types of alcohol. A few small groups of mammals linger in front of the bars, talking and watching the girls dance on the small stages. Serena could tell from the tigress dancing on the left stage and a Wolf on the right that this is a mixed species night. These nights are always the most profitable but also more hazardous and complicated to arrange and make happen. Most clubs and other such business had found that throwing every kind of species they could find off the streets of Zootopia into an alcohol, drug, and sex fueled party doesn't end well. Most normal clubs that are more accepting of customers don't do it at all. Canine nights are complex enough on their own. The territorial tendencies and alpha mixing can cause fights, which aren't too uncommon. It's also difficult when there are so many different subspecies of canines and having a good selection of girls across the spectrum can be difficulty to obtain. Then, throwing felines on top typically causes a pissing match between them with who could agitate a dog the most. Having cats come into the wrong "territory" that canines will sometimes set up for the night causes even more problems. This is usually just between wolfs and other big cats but not restricted too them and having conflicts between something like a Fox and Ocelot isn't too uncommon either. With Catnip being a common party drug amongst cats and its known side effect of nausea and vomiting if ingested by a canine it commonly gets slipped into food and drink.
All this being the case, most places found it best to let each species have their own night. A few specific types of canine could be picked, for example, wolf and coyote, and then just those subspecies would show up for that night. Then the next night could mainly focus on rabbits and hares or some other similar group of mammals. Victors private clubs, however, rarely have fights break out since they are so selective of their members. Mixed species night are often the more profitable ones simply because of the increase in mammals that show up. While felines won't stay and watch the canine strippers of course, they will often mingle around the bars and lounge area with friends after their shows are done. This is where most of the extra profit comes from, by selling more alcohol to the lingering mammals in the club. Although, there is a more public club that she had been to that has mixed species nights, but she had always thought it much to hectic and overwhelming. There always seems to be some conflict at those few places, she remembers.
Serena walks around to the right of the circular bar and towards the canine area. At the furthest two ends of the club, two smaller stages are set, meant for specific species. The stages are to the left and right of the dance floor, which is a good buffer to sperate the different types of Mammals. They are mirror copies of each other, and a walkway comes out from the front leading to a small circular platform with a poll staked in the middle. Semicircular couches sit around it and as excepted on this side of the club, Serena can see the seats are filled with Wolfs. A gorgeous black wolf dances on the smaller circle stage while another gray wolf works her way onto the main. Serena had seen the black wolf here a few times since she is so noteworthy. Her black fur covers all her body except between her breast and up the underside of her neck. There the color turns a deep crimson and one would have to be very close and in good lighting to notice the difference. Although, the black fur makes her unique and a huge attraction for the males sitting around the stage watching. She is halfway through her act, Serena guessed, since she still has about half her clothes on. She grabs the poll she's dancing around and swings around it, flipping her tail out over the small stages. She tempts the males to try and grab it as it skirts just out of reach in front of them. She walks towards the space in between the dance floor and the walkway stage. At the back of the club to the left of the specific species stage is a door that leads to private rooms and this is where she expects to find Victor.
She makes it a few paces towards the door before a paw taps her on her shoulder. She quickly turns her head around and is muzzle too muzzle with another cougar. In the oddly lit blue flashing lights of the club, it makes it difficult for her to focus. In her current environment she can tell from his smell he is male much quicker than she can with her eyes.
"What are you doing? Your going towards the Canine staging section, the felines are on the other side of the dance floor. I can take you pretty much to the door of the changing room, if you would like." The male cat shows great discomfort and Serena can't tell if it is from over drinking or something else. He points hit thumb over to his side while his other paw keeps his drink from spilling. Serena stares at him. He seems to think she is a lost dancer getting ready to change into more appropriate attire for stripping. She doesn't know whether to feel flattered since he is calling her attractive enough to do so or mad since he is basically calling her a whore. At least, that is how Serena sees the situation, or maybe he is just hitting on another cougar, it is hard for her to tell.
"Oh, I know where I am, I'm not going to the staging area, no worries." Serena watches as the male cougar's face twist around in confusion. He flicks his ears, testing to see if they are still there and working. They are.
"Well you're not going to watch the girls, are you? I don't think that's allowed, cats really aren't supposed to be over there or sit on that side, nor do I think that it would be a good idea, there are a lot of male wolves over there."
"Oh, No no no, that's ridiculous, I'm going to the private show rooms to see someone." The other cats face distorts and his ear skew in different directions. He looks to the side and goes into deep thought, trying to logically reason out the facts that he has been given by the other cougar. Serena sees the look on his face and tries to quickly reason out why her response caused such a reaction. She opens her mouth to further explain but doesn't get anything out before he speaks first.
"Ok, yeah… Um yeah, I'll leave you alone, sorry." The male Cougar gives a quick head node and slight wave with his paw. He takes a glance at her, trying to better judge the situation. He then looks scared for a moment while looking to the side of Serena, eyeing the wolves behind her. He quickly makes his way back to the circular bar beside his buddy. Serena finds the whole encounter odd and even more peculiar that he is sitting so close to the canine side of the club in the first place. Although his friend does seem to be a wolf of some type. Serena shakes her head and starts back towards the door leading to the private rooms. Surely, they don't think I'm going to preform services on a wolf in here, did he? And why are they on the wrong side of the bar? She contemplates the odd details as she gets to the door with a wolf standing beside it. He looks down at serena and smiles.
"Serena! Back so soon to come and get Victor again? He might be a little busy still… I'm not sure if he wants to be interrupted at the moment."
"Hey Tim, and I better try and get him, he told me to come and inform him of how my latest task went."
"Well you know best, he should be in his private room." Tim opens the door to let Serena though. This first time they had met he wasn't near as nice as he is now, but once he understood the situation and rank Serena carries within Victors unlawful empire, he happily assists her with anything she needs.
Serena steps through the door and is met with another long hall. The sound proof door shuts behind her and the hall becomes happily quite; She can still hear the music behind her but it's much quieter. Serena walks down the hallway past a few doors till she gets to the last one. The unmarked door leads into Victors personal room. To the uninformed mammal, this door most likely looks like a door for a service room or closet, but Serena has been through it before. She also knows her boss likes unsuspecting things that blend in. She knocks on the door and listen for an answer. Not hearing anything after a few moments she knocks a few more times, much louder. Catching a groan and then a "Come in!" a few moments later she quietly opens the door.
Her nose is assaulted with the stench of nicotine and marijuana with an aftertaste of liquor mixed sex. She scrunches her nose as she waits a moment for her eyes to adjust. Once she can make out the curtains hanging from the ceiling, she enters the room. The LED lights line the tops of the walls in this room as well and is the only source of light currently on. Instead of blue lights, like the rest of the club, Victor prefers Violet in his personal room. The odd contrast in light disorients the cougar, but she pushes through to find Victor setting on the couch. She takes a few steps towards her boss sitting on the couch but stops dead in her tracks as her eyes finally make out the situation at paw.
He sits on a half circle couch with his arms laid across the back. Another of Victor's species, an African Wild Dog, sits legs spread over his lap, facing him. She has her head pushed to the side of Victors and over his shoulder, her arms wrap around his neck and behind the couch. Victor is aware enough for his eyes to look up and stare into Serena's, but his huge circular ears shows no signs of life or that they detected her approach. It becomes clear extremely quick that both the wild dogs are completely nude. Serena hates that she could count this as the second time she had walked in on him. She stares at the scene in front of her, her nose now focusing on the heavy scent of sex stuffed into the small room. Her eyes focus on the back of Victors Female companion. Her odd brown, black and white pattern is extremely disorienting, and Serena has trouble making out the physical characteristics of her back. Her tail hangs straight down, thankfully covering Victors manhood.
"Fuck sorry, I'll leave you two alo-" Serena is cut off before she can make her escape.
"No No No, its fine, come on in, the bitch OD'd anyways, were just knotted up so I'm stuck here, what'd you need me for?" Victor turns his paws up slightly. In his right she can see the faint glow of a cigarette that he somehow managed to keep lit in his current position. She could now tell by looking at the female canine that she wasn't so close to Victor by choice but rather that is the way her body laid limp. Her shoulders are laxed and her head is slumped over to far to the side to be comfortable.
"It's fine, I'll just leave you be, really, and I-um- I'll get the doc and have him check out your fri-"
"I already got the doc in here and he shot her up, she should be ok, she just passed out, I think, still feels warm so not dead yet at least. But I said come in and sit!" He points with his cigarette at a spot on the couch near him. She walks further into the small room, tensely heading towards the seat he gestured at. "And not like It matters that were stuck anyways, were different species, you and I, what's it matter, you know? Anyways, what? You get the stuff? I take it that's what you're here for." He leans his head back and opens his mouth to let out a long whine. Serena couldn't tell wither it is form being drunk, the drugs, or being knotted to his play mate, but whatever it is, it doesn't sound like he's in pain. Maybe it was a combination of all the above, she isn't sure. She sits with apprehension on the couch beside the groaning canine. She waits a moment until he's done.
"I picked up the stuff just like you asked, gave the guys at the docks the information you wanted as well, no more, no less. They seemed to be doing good too, by the way, a healthier lot than who you usually employ."
"The other stuff there?"
"Yes, it was, 2 through 7 just like you said. None of it was tampered with either."
"Good, I was a little worried about the increase in drug running, we needed a bit more money to pull off this plan, you know? Like a lot more, Ha-ha, fuck, hmm." Victor lets out another groan while Serena stares at him stock still. "God, even passed out she just keeps squeezing! Fuck!" Victor paws slam down onto the hips of the limp Wild dog straddling his lap. His cigarette sticks out between his digits, up and away from his playmate while he tightly grips her legs. He bucks his hips into her, grinding for a few moments. The pushes slightly lift up the passed-out Wilde Dog and her head oddly bounces around against Victors shoulder. He pushes his mid-section up one last time, holding the position while releasing another groan. Serena covers her face with her paw and turns her head away. This cannot possible be happening, she thinks.
"Woo! Anyways, damnit. We need to get going, that's enough of that for me until everything's said and done. Give me a second, need a few minutes before I can pull out, ha, you understand don't'cha?" he looks over at Serena who's ears are laid flat against her head while looking away.
"Ah, wait, you're a damn cat, sorry, yeah anyways, too much to drink, or whatever the hell I had, I think I haven't had enough yet, I can still see straight. Anyways. Yeah, just so you know I had to really pick up some shit, I liquidized some assets, you know. That was part of that deal. You probably caught on, but you just witness a shit load of coke getting moved around. I haven't moved that much in years! Fuck it felt good. I could feel the others watching me thinking 'what's ol'Vic up to now?' You know? And actually speaking of that, we might need to do some housekeeping to keep the others off our tails until were done. I'm worried about Big thinking were going to make a move on him. Anyways, I'm still looking for an LER specialist to get us in. I'm not sure how that'll work yet. That and what Doug's been up to have been the most stressful parts. I should be meeting some guy soon says he can get us to where we need to be in that behemoth of a structure though." Victor leans back and takes another drag from his cigarette. He brings his left, free paw up to the back of the female dog's head. He rubs her gently in an oddly caring way.
"About Doug, Sir, he said he needed some more medical equipment, he said what you got him was half rate at best and that he could have done better raiding a high school chemistry lab."
"He's full of himself, can't wait till I get to rip his throat out, that'll be better than the half rate drugs and sex here." Victor huffs and repositions his hips for a moment, attempting to pull his member out of his playmate. It is still stuck. "Hmm, well anyways, will be sure to get what he wants this time, I'll make sure of that. I still want him to feel likes he's a little in charge though? You know? Keep him on his hoofs until its to late. I know he still trying to wrap his little pea brain around why a bunch of predators want him to do this. But just like with Bellwether all he can think of is that money reason. God the drug thing is hilarious too, I'll have to give Twitch a good lick for that one! It might had even been a legitimately good idea if there'd be mammals left to pawn it off on afterwards"
"I don't think he suspects a thing. He's been good too, hasn't tried to run or anything, just asked for better quality clover. Are-… are you still sure about all this vict-" Serena stops the thought as quickly as she can. Victor looks across the small distance with a glare Serena will count herself lucky if she never gets to see again. "Sorry sir!" there's a long pause.
"Don't question me anymore."
"Yes sir… Sorry, it won't happen again."
"They going to get what they wanted, that sheep was half ass-ing it and couldn't do the damn job, I've suffered to much at the paws of weak scum who claim there all for harmony and peace." He points at Serena again with his cigarette, the shift causes the head of his passed-out playmate to lay over limply at an odd angle. He keeps staring at Serena. "It's time to start stacking bodies. That little ewe wanted fear and she never came close to it. She wanted scary predators and now she's going to get them." The unconscious Wild Dog lets out a small whine and Victors attention snaps over to her. He opens his mouth in an instinctual snarl. His lips come up reviling the rows of his perfect teeth. Not one even slightly out of place, all white, not a chip or filling to be seen. Serena stares at his fake teeth. She had known this fact for a while, noting it not to long after meeting Victor. She had first noticed it when he laughed, his teeth simply looking too perfect, although she had never brought it up nor does she plan to. The snarl makes her much more uncomfortable than she will ever admit. While her teeth are sharp, near surgical precision, his are meant for more brute force. Pure and unimpeded rage would have the teeth of mammal like him, and that's exactly what is boiling inside him, which is what sets off Serena's shaky demeanor.
Victor calms himself after a moment and while he's doing so, he plants a few affectionate licks on the muzzle of the passed-out dog. From what Serena had heard about her, he had gotten her from his home country, which she still isn't quite sure where it is. She tries to ask as few questions about that as possible to avoid conflict or knowing to much. She's been his right-hand mammal for quite a while. She got there by doing exactly what is expected of her with a touch of cunning and taking things into her own paws when need be. This last bit is what got her to be where she is now. It is now apparent to Serena, however, that she is fast becoming the main line of support that Victor relies on and if he isn't going to clean his act up soon then she will have to take over everything. This dreadful thought causes her to shiver, she pushes it away, she plans to jump ship and leave Zootopia soon anyways. She just needs to hold out a few more months or so. After a few more moments of awkward silence mixed with licking she finally clears her throat, snapping Victor out of his drug induced stupor.
"Sorry, Sorry, cats don't lick like that, do they? It's a dog thing. Anyhow, time to get going! Hey also, make sure I stay clean for a while. We're getting close to crunch time and I'm also worried that some of our other drug running buddies might think we're trying to make a move on them or something. And like I said, we cannot have them messing with us. Not right now. I need your help now more than ever."
"Yes sir."
"Ok, let's make some head way now, shall we?"
With a slight pull Victor finally separates himself from the other wild dog. He grunts while he scoots her hips away from his. The product of their love making runs from her and onto the portion of the couch between his legs. He sighs and carefully leans the other Wild Dog over to his side and across the couch. He stands up, and with his knot still swelled, his dick flops around in an almost comical fashion, flinging excess cum across his legs and the couch. Serena couldn't help but stare. She had honestly never seen a canine fully erect, at least not in person, and the anatomy is completely alien to her. Victor easily leans his playmate for the night the rest of the way over. He lays her sideways on the couch, making sure her muzzle sticks over the side of the couch in case she throws up. He puts his arms out and stands on his toes for a second, stretching himself out. His member sticks straight out from his torso and as he takes a step around the couch it lags behind and then springs around following his movements. Serena catches a better look than she wants. After staring for longer than is polite she finally Is able to tare her gaze away from the dog's crotch and look at his chest. She turns her attention to the odd thin strip of furless skin that runs down the left of his front shoulder. As he turns around, she gets a look at the circular furless patch of skin on the back of his shoulder, opposite from the front. The front looks surgical to her, it is very neat, while the back had to be some injury from something. It is about the size of her paw and has long tendrils of furless parts around it. She had seen the scars before and judging from his answer of "surgery" and nothing more she had determined it best to leave it at that. Although the scars look bad, it is a welcome relief from what she was looking at earlier. The knot is easily the most hideous growth she has ever seen attached to anything living and she could go with never seeing one again.
Victor makes it around the couch without falling and finds some of his things and clothes. He fools with his shirt for a second, and after determining it is turned inside out, he tosses it to the side. More trouble than its worth, he thinks. He then finds his shoulder holster and straps it into place under his left arm. He grabs his jacket and with the help of muscle memory, is able to put it on. He sighs and stretches again. He smiles at Serena.
"I feel much better getting all this out of my system for once though." He walks around the couch, his dick flopping around but leading the way. He puts a little skip in his walk while going past the OD'd Wilde Dog and short table filled with lines of cocaine and empty glass bottles. He stops and swishes his tail back and forth while shaking his hips to a beat in his head.
"The smell of your wet furrrr… ohhh, I wanna get close again!" his poor singing accompanies him across the room. Making it to the front of the room he finds his discarded boxes and pants. He puts them on with a lot of trouble, stumbling around while trying to get his legs into the holes. After longer than need he gets them on. He does his best with his pants and stuff his man hood mostly into his boxers. The knot isn't going away anytime soon and when he turns around to face Serena a clear-cut outline of it and the rest of his dick shows through his jeans. He finishes tightening his belt and looks up at his companion. Her blush is easily visible through her tan and unique black muzzle fur, her tail is stuck out bushed upped behind her.
"What? Never seen a dog dick before?"
"No, I haven't, not in person, I'd rather not think about it, honestly."
"Well fuck it's not the worst thing you've seen since you've been with me, is it?"
"It's the least pleasant thing I've seen on something living, that's certain." Serena had learned in the past that being as honest as she could with him is in her best interest. Victor huffs air through his nose.
"And here I was beginning to think your staring was a sign of admiration and that I'd get a go at a cat before I die, what a shame." He walks around to the table and picks up his wallet and phone, disregarding the line of cocaine his wallet had made its way into. "And excuse me, cat, but don't your kind have fucking spiked dicks? Or barbs or some shit? Really? And your making fun of my knot? Mines not even that big compared to some! Jesus, the youth these days." Victor makes his way out of his personal room and into a blue lit hallway. Serena decides not adding onto the awkward conversation is best, so she silently follows the most likely insane Wild Dog down the hall.
The music slowly grows louder as they make their way from the back of the club to the front. It seems to revive Victor somehow and he adds a little skip in his step again and wags his tail back and forth a few times. He starts to hum to a tune of a song in his head and then sinks his ear and tail shake to it as well. "put 'em up, put 'em up, put 'em up, or go awayyy." He sings while the offbeat techno gets louder as they approach the doors that lead into the main room of the club. "What am I supposed to dooo, in this hazeeee" he drags out the poorly pieced together lyrics of some song as he gets to the door. He places both paws on the double doors and throw them open. He strolls out into the club and goes mostly unnoticed by the participants. He walks up to a circular bar and slaps and smacks the counter. The bar tender, a well-dressed tiger, comes quickly to the spot and awaits his orders.
"Get the doc and double check on what's her name back there, I'm done with her, for good now, she's about a month left of free stay at my apartment till she's getting kicked out, make sure that the doc knows that and relays the information when she's coherent." Not waiting for an answer or even a head nod, Victor starts to stroll away from the counter as the tiger runs off into the club. He makes it half way around it before stopping when he spots the male cougar that Serena ran into before. He and the wolf sitting beside him stare back at Victor with wide eyes, as if being caught with their paw in a cookie jar.
"You're on the wrong side of the bar you know, Cats are on the other side." Victor adjust his jacket absently mindedly while waiting for an answer. The male cougar regains his composer and straightens his posture slightly.
"I know this is the canine side, but I wanted to talk to my friend here," He gestures towards the wolf sitting beside him. "and I thought it would be ok if I just stayed way back here near the lobby." He gives a small smile and head nod. He looks off to his side at Serena. He then glances back at Victor, who is looking him over. Seeing them both come out of the private room area for canines was a revelation on it own but smelling the post sex on the canine caused even more alarms to go off for the cougar. The situation is made more confusing though since he can't smell Serena on the Wild Dog.
"This cat causing any problems?" Victor asks the unknown cougar's supposed wolf friend.
"No sir, were just sitting and chatting, and I wanted to watch Olesya tonight, not often you get to see a black beauty like her." He nods his head towards the staging arear.
"Hmm, glad you like her, she expensive, let me tell you." Victor rubs his chin for a moment before continuing. "well, don't cause the wolves any problems or you can kiss your tail goodbye. No pissing matches here."
"Yes sir." The wolf answers for his friend, he seemed to know who Victor is judging from the way he addresses him, Serena guessed. However, she still couldn't figure this other cougar out, he seems off to her. The wolf jabs his elbow into his cat friend, getting him to answer as well.
"Yes sir, not getting into an um, pissing match." Victor narrows his eyes at the cat. A tense moment passes before he sighs, relaxing his shoulders. His ears go slightly limp, laying out to either side of his head. He turns and waves his paw at Serena, signaling her to follow him. She does and they begin their short trip to the exit of the club. As she passes the cougar and wolf, she catches the wolf give a sniff in her direction. It's subtle and if she didn't hang around Victor as much as she has, she wouldn't have caught it. She had found that wolfs really can be subtle with sniffing and that they often do it to better judge a situation or mammal. She waits a few more steps before taking a glance back at them. She sees the wolf shaking his head at his friend. The cougar gestures wildly out with his arms and then points at his crotch, he then gestures back towards Serena and Victor. The Wolf shakes his head again and points at his nose while saying something back to the cat. Serena can't hear what they're saying but determines that they must hang out with one another since they both are so odd.
She makes quick time getting back to the main entrance with Victor. The Tiger stationed at the door quickly retrieves their firearms and has them ready to go when they approach. Serena grabs the magazine out of her cargo pocket and jams it back into her pistol and chambers a round. She stuffs the pistol back into her holster just to the right of her tail. Victor grabs the grip of his revolver and snaps out the cylinder while spinning it, checking to make sure the chambers are still loaded. They are and he puts the Casull back under his shoulder. They make their way out into the street and towards the unsuspecting sedan.
"You know it's dangerous to carry that thing with all the chambers loaded like that, Victor."
"Dangerous methods for dangerous mammals, Serena."
"You know best."
"Damn right I do, now, off we go! We got shit to do." Serena opens the driver side door and unlocks the car. Victor get in on his own accord while she takes the wheel and puts the car into gear. He watches the private club disappear behind him. They make way back towards abandoned newspaper factory. He turns back around and looks down the road ahead of them.
"It's gonna be a shame, you know, all the work we put into my whole business going up in flames, but I just can't take it anymore. All the looks and the staring, and not the good kind either, god how I loathe creatures that stare."
"Sorry."
"HA no no no Serena, you mean no harm and besides its not me that you were looking at hmm?" He winks at Serena while she rolls her eyes and grumbles as she makes a turn. "it is a shame though, you show a lot of potential, really, are you sure YOU want to go through with this, you're really the most level headed of us all, I mean, you're the only one who invested in stocks! Well, real, not illegal stocks, not fake drug stocks, but still." Serena flicks her ears at his statements. They are true, she invested in some stocks when she had gotten paid for her part to play in the whole scheme and even before that while she was employed by Victor, she is always carful with her money. She hates when Victor crashes down from his high and starts his random, and oddly heart felt, ramblings.
"You told me the terms and conditions of what is going to happen, and I decided to be a part of it, I could have walked away then, but I didn't and I'm not going to now."
"But why? I mean look, I'd offer you my drug running empire but when fur start flying, they'll be nothing left, you and I both know that, I mean shit I'm throwing everything away for myself too you know, why get caught up in it?"
"Something to do?" The answers cause Victor to pause. His stupor getting the best of his thoughts it takes some time before he can recover from the answer asked as a question.
"You remind me of my wife, and that makes me sad. Maybe that's why I like you?"
"Oh, don't tell me your jumping ship now and getting on with the cougars?" Serena laughs attempting to change the subject. This exact subject is what got her smacked the last time it came up. She is careful now to not make careless comment when this topic of conversation comes up. Victor had never laid a finger on her in a malicious way until then and had many times protected her when things got out of paw. She had overplayed her position last time though and wasn't about to make the same mistake again.
"Ha – Ha – Ha, tell you what Serena, I'll jump ship and start eating pussy…" he pauses and winks at her, getting a deadpanned look from Serena. "…when our Ivan gets killed by some small prey animal, I die by some savage mammal, and you don't land on your feet when you jump off something! HA!" He laughs and fumbles around in his seat awkwardly. "But really, Serena dear, when all is said and done, before you leave, make damn sure you dart me and if you can't dart me, make sure you shoot me at least." He turns towards Serena and stares at her for a moment. "Serena?" She tenses up and turns her head slightly towards him doing her best to pay attention to the road and him at the same time. She hates the look in his eyes. His look is filled with determination and determined is when he is his most lethal.
"Yes sir?"
"I spent way too much money on that other Wild Dog that we left in that club, do you wanna know how much I spent on her? Its more than I've ever spent on a whore in my life, its going to shock you, you should pull over." Serena lets out a small laugh and with it a huge weight falls off her shoulders. The tension that could have been cut out of the air with a razor blade is now, somehow, miraculously gone.
"How much? I know you're a real shewed when it comes to spending on things like that, that's how you got to where you are now, ill take a guess, say I get it right, you gotta take me out to a nice restaurant, as nice as I want, and I can g-"
"Deal. If you don't get within 1,000 dollars you have to tell me what you know 'bout your ex Richard fucking that lioness." Serena looks over at her boss with a pure shock-stricken muzzle. She has never heard of Victor spending any more than he absolutely had to on anything and girls and good times are out of the question until of late. He usually doesn't partake in the games high rollers play but here lately he slipped into pure insanity from what Serena could tell. The fact that he cut her off so quick and accepted her proposal without getting the full details frightened her as well. It also shows he is confidence she couldn't guess the amount either, which is unsettling to her.
"I- I, um Oooook? Um, a thousand dollars? Within a thousand, fuck. Um, ten thousand dollars?" That seems radically high to her. She throws all thoughts of feeling bad for Richard away. She wants to know more than ever how far her boss has come unhinged and how deep the shit she's currently standing in is.
"Little low there, Serena, but I'll still take you out either way, might actually be nice, haven't done that in a long time." Victor nods in contentment, envisioning a nice and easy-going dinner at a fancy restaurant. He can almost think of it as a date, but without all the stress that one brings given that they are different spices. No obligations, he thinks, similar to friends going out.
"But… How much did you spend?" She looks over at him and Victor obtains a wicked grin. She's seen this look before. He had dawned it after a drug deal went bad. Himself and Serena stood on top of what was left of the mammals that proposed the deal, ears ringing from the gunshots and blood splattered across one another from the close quarter fighting. The deal had fully solidified their relationship, after that night, she was in, and in for good. While Serena feels good to be on his side, the look is out of place causing warning alarms to go off in her head.
"TWINTY-EIGHT THOUSA-N-D big ones. Serena, I brought her over from another country, made the docs look her over for medical, gave her housing and then PAID her on top of that! HA!" he starts to laugh as Serena swerves back onto the road. He was right, she should have pulled over for that.
The shit is well over my head. Fuck.