Chapter 8: The Almost-Naked Truth
After a successful and fun date with Terry, Fiona stole a quick kiss before rushing off. The seed had been planted...and Terry was growing ever-more sure that Fiona had feelings for him, just as he did for her. The next day, work is calling...and someone's gotta answer it.
Fiona's POV
Last night, I had the best time in my life. A friendly date with Terry...a simple thing, really...ended up with me kissing him on the cheek. You know what? It was fucking stupid of me to do that...but man, what a rush! He must have LOVED that...the lucky guy. Afterwards, I just jumped into bed...and just laid there...grinning like an idiot. Amy was probably wondering what the fuck was going on with me...but she'll find out, one day.
This morning, I got into work feeling so refreshed. I swear, I've never felt so eager to work in my life. The reason? Cos Terry would be there...and I wanna see what he has to say about last night's kiss. Oooh...I can't wait! Man, I'm acting like a total schoolgirl, over here! I should grow up...but I'd miss out on all the fun. I even said 'hi' to everybody in the building, which must have confused the fuck out of them. Before, I never said a word to any of them. Now, I'm just too pleased with myself to care about who I speak to.
I walked into my office...and there he was. Terry...facing away from me, reading over a couple of files. Aww...he's trying to focus on his work...but I'm sure he's fucking crazy for me! "Hi, Terry." I greeted him, causing him to turn around. "Hi...Fiona. Ahem...er...I...um..." he stammered. Poor guy...he's tripping over his words. "Did you...sleep well, last night...after I...walked you home?" he spat out a question. I know he's avoiding that kiss. "I slept like a baby. And you?" I asked, smiling. "Just...er...just fine. I..." he began to stammer, so I stopped him, early.
"It's OK, Terry. I gave you a kiss on your cheek...No need to get worked up about it. Did you...enjoy it?" I asked him. A blush descended on his muzzle...and he was avoiding eye contact. "Y-yes...I did. It was...a kiss...between friends." Terry still had trouble speaking. I didn't wanna give the game away...in case he wasn't that into me. "Yeah. That's right. A kiss between friends." I lied. I wanted to kiss him...not cos he's a friend...but because I wanted to show him how much I liked our date...and how much I want another one.
Just then, as if on cue to shit on people's emotional moments, the Chief came through the door holding a heavy looking box. "Fiona...Terrence. A member of our team has acquired some CCTV footage...and I want you two to review it. ALL 10 DAYS OF IT!" he raised his voice, once more. Jeez...does he have a condition?! Seems like it. "Yes, sir...right away." Terry's blush disappeared and he took the heavy box of tapes from the Chief. "Excellent. I expect a full report if you find anything. NOW GET TO IT!" again...with the volume! The Chief slammed the door, leaving me and Terry alone.
"I suppose we'd better make a start...there could be something on here that we can use. We don't really have anything, yet." Terry unpacked a few of the tapes, whilst I got the computer all set up. Hmm...this computer looked ancient. I knew funding wasn't exactly growing on trees, right now...but seriously? "This computer looks older than you, Terry!" I remarked. I kinda felt mean for saying that...considering that Terry's an old guy...I'm insulting him a little bit. "Uh, sorry. That was a joke" I blushed in embarrassment at my remark. "I don't mind. If it makes you smile...I'm OK with it." he replied. Awww...he cares about my happiness.
We spent about 20 minutes reviewing the footage...all 10 days...across over 300 CCTV cameras across the city. The city had invested in full-colour CCTV...which must have been pretty pricey. Uggghh...so fucking boring! Now I know what a security guard feels like on a regular day. I just kept flicking over to other camera views...and hoping that something would appear on screen. One view was outside a nightclub. Just your typical night...people drunk out of their minds...falling over...and puking. How nice to see (!). Next one...strip club. I once worked in a strip club...wasn't to my taste. All the men were pervs with sweaty armpits and dead eyes. Yuck. I was about to change the camera, when Terry stopped me.
"Hang on...Did you see that? Go back a second..." he told me. I had no idea what the fuck he saw...but it's worth a shot. I rewound the tape...and THEN I saw what he saw. There, outside the strip club, was Bryce...and he was giving something to a girl...presumably working there. "What's he doing? Wouldn't he just, you know...go inside if he wanted to see some action?" I reasoned. Something wasn't right. "Indeed. Can you move it forward to the next day? I wonder if he does this often..." Terry had an idea...and it was a good one, it turned out. The next day, at around the same time, Bryce was handing something to the same girl.
Even going to the next WEEK, he was still doing the same thing every night. "Perhaps we should talk to this girl...She must know something, at least." I thought out loud. I wrote down a couple of details about her appearance...we didn't have a name, so we had to go by looks. She was a young wolf...in her twenties...with pink highlights in her hair...grey fur...and bright red lipstick, as well as pink eye shadow. Now...what's the name of the club? I zoomed out and saw the huge neon sign. "The Playhouse, huh? Sounds about right. Let's go, tonight. We should tell the Chief." I told Terry.
Terry's POV
Later on that day, night had fallen. Strip clubs opened early in Central City...about 8PM. I guess they wanted to get as many customers as possible, so they stay open longer. Had I ever been to a strip club? Yes...several times...only for work purposes, though. Am I against them? No...the girls who work there are trying to make a living...and getting money from preying on men's sexual desires...is a very clever idea. Did I look at the dancers? Occasionally, I did...but I always treated them with respect, even though they offered me lap dances.
We entered through the red double doors and were greeted by a lavish red carpet, leading to another set of double doors. Opening them up revealed the world beyond. Loud, pumping music...a dimly lit room, only illuminated by flashing lights...and a stage for the dancers. Typical place, really. "OK...I've got the description here...let's look around and see if she's here. Better split up...cover more ground." Fiona smiled at me and walked in one direction. I took the other...going over what I should be looking for in my head.
Let's see...two girls were performing on the stage: one wearing a cowgirl outfit, one in a nurse uniform. Both were revealing a lot of themselves...but neither resembled who we were looking for. Just then, I felt someone tap on my shoulder. "Hey, cutie! Fancy a show?" a young tiger asked. A schoolgirl outfit...how quaint. She couldn't have been more than 24. "No, thank you. Do you know a wolf...grey fur...pink make-up who works here?" I asked her. "Nah, big boy. Sorry. But...if there's anything else you need...just come and find me. Name's Bubblegum..." she winked. "If I think of anything, I'll let you know." I smiled...I didn't want a lap dance...unless it was from...Fiona. Damn! I've gotta stop thinking about her! I'm supposed to be on a mission, here!
"Hey, Terry! Come on over, I think I've got something!" Fiona called over to me. It was a little hard to hear her, though. The music in this place was way too loud for quiet conversations...or even ones at normal volume. I rushed over to her...and saw who she was talking to. A brown wolf...wearing a cop outfit. A light blue shirt, cut off just above her belly, complete with silver 5-pointed badge. Black rubber miniskirt, pantyhose and thigh high boots, also black. To top everything off, a black, peaked police cap, with another badge. Authority figures are often fantasised about, sexually...and I'm assuming that was why she was dressed up, that way. Did I like it? Actually...yes.
Fiona's POV
I had found this girl, who said she knew who I was talking about. Her eyes turned to look at Terry, who was by my side. "Hi, sugar. I'm guessing you're a cop, too, huh?" she smiled at him and winked. "That I am. And...your name? In case we need it for paperwork, of course." he asked her. "It's 'Cuffed Dreams', darling...but, off the record...Kylie." she told him, and he noted it. "So...tell me...'Cuffed Dreams'..." I used her 'strip club' persona, mostly to protect her identity in case anyone was listening in. "...What's the girl's name?" I asked. "From your description...sounds like 'Storm'...Come on, I'll take you to her." Cuffed Dreams said, turning around and heading through a door marked 'staff only'. We followed.
Kylie...or 'Cuffed Dreams'...whatever...certainly had an exaggerated stride. Her ass moved with her legs...probably to attract male customers. I hope Terry doesn't get hooked on her, or anything. He's my boy...wait, did I just think that? Yes. Yes I did. And did I mind it? Nah...cos I hoped he would be my boy, one day. Kylie led us through to the dressing rooms, where the dancers put on their outfits and did their make-up. I suppose it was also a place for them to talk, without there being customers around. I noticed that a lot of the conversations were...normal, actually. No real work-related stuff. Stuff like shopping and talking about their boyfriends or husbands.
"Storm, hun? Some people here to see you..." Kylie told her. Storm saw us in the mirror. "Oh...great (!)" she sounded like she wasn't happy to see us, that's for sure. Before leaving, Kylie grabbed hold of Terry. "If you wanna come back, any time, handsome...Come see me, won't ya, honey? First dance is free...for you." she told him, with a lusty tone in her voice. "Of course...I'll...keep that in mind." he chuckled, awkwardly. Kylie blew him a kiss as she exited the dressing room, going back to her job. I hope he doesn't come back here...I don't want HER stealing all his attention. I should have it!
"So...Storm, right? We wanna ask you..." before I could finish, she raised her hand to shut me up. "Look, before you start talking...I'm just gonna put it out there. I know relationships can be pretty rocky, after a while...but I DON'T do lap dances for couples. It ain't my thing." Storm told us. Couples? Oh...she must think me and Terry are...together? "No, we're not a couple...um...we're not...uh...yes, you see. We're cops and we wanna ask you some questions. Have you got time?" Terry asked her. He was stammering a bit, there...which was quite cute. "Yeah...I guess. What is it you wanna know?" Storm turned around to face us. We took a seat on some stools, facing her. Now...let's find out about Bryce.
End Of Chapter 8