Throughout the entire ride in the elevator, Suki had shut her eyes tight and took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing thoughts and throbbing nerves as she and Jerry followed Kendall and Roman to the office office. While it was only a short distance from the elevator, the saluki could almost feel the blue hallway stretching out as the large, gold-plated door seemed to get further and further away from them. But eventually, they finally reached it, and even the leopard and grey wolf on either side of her stood up stiff as a board while she reached forward and turned the handle.
The very first thing that caught her attention was the new portrait that took up the entirety of the left wall, depicting their employer in a Bonaparte-esque military uniform, as a testament to the powerful figure and great man he believed himself to be. Jimmy had this painting commissioned about a month prior - before all of this had occurred - and Suki could only assume that he'd had it put up today to soothe his badly wounded ego.
At the very end of the room, right behind his desk, Jimmy was stood in the sliding glass doorway that led to the balcony, overlooking the vast Redshore skyline. As he turned around to see his visitors, they saw he was holding a cup from his finest ornate china teaset, and he gave it a light blow to make the small trail of steam disappear from it.
"Well, great job, everybody..." He finally said after a good few minutes of complete silence, seeming far more calm and casual than expected as he stirred the tiny golden spoon in his cup. "That treacherous little leech has been put in her place, my daughter's safe at home where she belongs, and everything's goin' just great... yeah... we're doin' great work here... great work..."
Suki and Jerry exchanged a glance, then looked over to Kendall and Roman, both of whom remained completely stone faced despite sharing in their confusion. The little cat then cleared his throat, hesitated another moment or two, and finally took a step forward.
"Well, uh... w-well actually, Mr. Crystal, we haven't exactly -"
"YEAH, I KNOW YA HAVEN'T, JERRY, I WAS BEIN' SARCASTIC!" Jimmy finally bellowed as he threw the cup down on the floor, before sending most of the items on his desk flying with a single stroke from the back of his hand. "GOD! What the hell do I even pay ya for?!"
Roman stepped forward. "Sir, we've been searching the entire city for the last week, but there's no sign of Mrs Crystal or your -"
"The city?! She said it herself she wasn't stickin' around here, morons!" Jimmy cut in, pinching the bridge of his before he looked down to the cat grovelling at his feet. "Ya got her the damn Sealattle ticket. Didn't ya, Jerry...?"
"Oh, uh... y-yes sir, of course." Jerry stammered, clutching his tablet tight with both hands as he frantically flicked through the screen . "But... b-but it says here the ticket was never used. So I guess, uh... I g-guess that means she just didn't get on it."
"Um, if I may, Mr. Crystal..." Suki cut in, finally seizing the opportunity to lay out the alibi she'd privately concocted. "I also reached out to the RCB terminal in Sealattle, and they've not seen any sign of her on their side either. Wherever Stephanie and Porsha went, sir, it wasn't there."
"Ugh!" Jimmy paced back and forth, grunting and muttering to himself, before looking past his two assistants to see the two thugs stood behind them. "And it goes without sayin' you two are fired!"
"Fired...?!" Kendall and Roman spoke in-sync, though the grey wolf seemed especially taken aback as he removed his dark black sunglasses.
"B-but sir, you... ya can't be serious, Mr. Crystal!" Kendall's voice was naturally rather gruff, even more so than Jimmy's at time, but Suki had never heard him sound so desperate, and almost scared as he approached his soon-to-be-former employer. "But... b-but we've worked for ya for years! We've never let ya down before, sir, and we -!"
"Let me down...?!" Jimmy then turned his piercing gaze towards Kendall, almost laughing as he got right up in the other wolf's face until they were eye to eye. "Lettin' me down ain't even the half of it! Havin' to get rid of that conniving little gold digger was bad enough, but you two mutts let her break into my mansion and steal from me!"
Kendall remained silent with nothing else to argue - though even if he had, he'd still have held his tongue in Jimmy's presence - and as much as the grey wolf liked to put on an intimidating tough front, even he had to bite hard on his bottom lip as his employer continued ranting.
"So I'll tell ya what this is, buddy, and it ain't lettin' me down. It's a complete DISASTER!" Jimmy snarled. "And now that she's got the kid, I ain't even thinkin' about what's gonna happen if she ends up talkin' wherever she is!"
Everyone else's eyes widened a little in surprise for a good few seconds, though after some hesitation, Roman was the first to ask. "Uh... t-talking, sir...?"
"Yeah, of course talking! You boys know what talkin' is, don't ya...?!" Jimmy scoffed, clenching both his fists before slamming one on his desk. "This ain't about finding that little traitor anymore, this is about silencing her!"
Suki let out a small, horrified gasp - though thankfully, it seemed Jimmy hadn't heard her - and she tried her best to remain straight faced as he continued ranting to his two thugs.
"All I wanted was for you two boys to make this little problem disappear, and instead ya let her disappear with all the leverage and crap she wasn't even meant to have!" Jimmy seemed to have finally gotten most of his more visceral rage out of his system, and turned back around to race the balcony window again. "Now get out, the pair of ya!"
Suki took one final look at Roman and Kendall, noticing how the more defeated expression on the leopard's face contrasted with the more rageful look on the grey wolf's, before they both turned and left the room without a word. She felt a lump forming in her throat as she turned her attention back to Jimmy, who had slumped down onto the golden seat behind his desk.
"Well, Mr. Crystal, that um..." She hesitated for a moment. "I'm not trying to suggest that was an overreaction, sir, but Roman and Kendall have worked here since -"
"Y'know I got one rule in this whole damn company, Suki: Be useful or be gone!" Jimmy cut her off. Suki knew from previous rants that he actually had many other arbitrary rules and restrictions, but he'd often say this just to emphasise which ever one he was currently ranting about. "Those two nitwits can't come in here actin' like Stephanie's some kinda strategic genius, when they're too dumb to know their own head from their ass!"
"Right, sir. Of course..." Suki took on a more submissive posture as she stepped back, exchanging a rather spiteful glare with Jerry as the cat pushed past her.
Jimmy let out a groan, before reaching for the decanter of scotch - the only thing that he hadn't knocked off his desk - and pouring himself a glass. "Well, while I'm here... any other bad news...?"
"Uh... well, Mr. Calloway's lawyer got back to us about using his songs in the new hotel ads..." Jerry sounded cheerful as he looked at his tablet, though his smile quickly faltered. "They uh... they sent a cease and desist. Again."
"Terrific..." Jimmy snarled as he downed his glass in one go, slamming it back down on the table while he pinched the bridge of his nose with the other hand. "Guy's wife kicks it and he puts his whole career on hold. Pah! I'd count myself lucky if Steph were able to just drop dead like that. It'd save us all a hell of a lotta trouble!"
Suki winced at Jimmy's callous words, but she knew better than to speak up or show any signs of disagreement. Instead, she forced herself to maintain a neutral expression, her tail flicking anxiously behind her.
Jerry, sensing the tension in the room, quickly shifted gears. "But, uh... but on a more positive note, sir, the auditions are still set for two o' clock. I um... I really think we've got a lot of really impressive acts trying out today, Mr. Crystal."
"Ugh... fine..." Jimmy finally stood up, straightening his suit and shirt as he headed out the door, and Jerry followed behind him, leaving Suki to clean up the mess he'd made of his office. "They better be good, Jerry. I think I've had my fill of folks wastin' my time for this week."
As she tidied up, Suki couldn't shake off the thought of Stephanie and Porsha out there, possibly in danger. It was preferable to think that she'd done all that she could, helping them pack and erasing the security tape of their escape, but there was no way to be certain. But for now, she had to play her role and maintain a facade of loyalty.
Once she placed the last broken piece into the trash bin, Suki took a moment to compose herself. She straightened her posture, wiped away any tears or other traces of frustration that she was sure would be visible on her face, and headed back to the elevator.
"RRRAAAAGGGGHHH!"
Kendall kicked the door to his apartment open, the power and momentum almost sending it flying off his hinges before the grey wolf slammed it shut with just as much force.
As he dropped to his knees and gripped his head tight with both hands, the walls of his already small living space seemed to close in even more, which only worsened the wildfire of humiliation, grief and pure fury that raged within him. He forced himself back to his feet as he struggled to remove his black suit jacket, eventually tearing it off and throwing both ends halfway across the room, before giving his grey shirt and black tie a similar treatment as they all landed in a messy heap on the floor.
His primal roars and the sounds of various furniture, decorations and other valuables being tossed and shattered echoed throughout the entire apartment block. After a good half hour of releasing this pent-up fury, Kendall - now clad in an unkempt white tanktop - collapsed back onto his torn up couch, as what was once his sole place of relaxation and comfort now resembled a chaotic, war-ravaged battlefield.
In the midst of the chaos that swirled in both his mind and his home, the grey wolf shut his eyes as he remained fixated on the one who had caused his downfall, and the thought of the smug, victorious look that must have been on Stephanie's face when she escaped only fuelled his hatred even more. The grey wolf's heart pounded with a dangerous mix of anger and determination, and his knuckles almost turned white as he clenched them tight, while the thought of her scrawny neck in his grasp and the life slowly leaving her eyes played out in full, vivid detail in his mind.
"You're gonna pay for this, ya little tramp..." He seethed through gritted teeth, his voice laced with venom. "Mr. Crystal wants ya silent... oh-ho, I'll make ya silent alright!"
It was after midnight when Suki finally returned home and retreated to her bedroom, holding both her shoes in one hand while her jacket was draped over the other. After changing into her bedclothes - or rather, just stripping down to her tank top and leggings - the saluki sat upright on her bed and switched on the cassette player on her side table, resuming the tape she'd been listening to before leaving that morning.
"Porsha's the only good thing I've ever gotten outta this, and there's nothing I'll ever regret more than having her with you!"
Her heart was heavy with conflicting emotions at the sound of Stephanie's voice, and her hands trembled slightly by the time Jimmy started shouting as well.
"YOU'RE LUCKY YOU AIN'T LEAVIN' OUTTA THAT WINDOW!" Though she hadn't been present for this argument, Suki could tell that Jimmy was red in the face with rage, and the sound of Stephanie's strained choking made it apparent that Jimmy had taken a tight grip of her collar. "No one makes me look like a fool! Especially not some pathetic, low-life little loser like you!"
Jerry, always the loyal assistant, had instructed Suki to erase the tape that very same night, naturally to protect their employer from any potential consequences. But while for a brief moment at the time she may have seriously considered doing so, something within her had rebelled against the notion. And now listening to the conversation play out in full, she still wasn't sure if this was the right decision or not.
"NO!" The last few seconds of the tape caught the sound of Stephanie's feet being dragged across the floor, and her frantic struggle to escape Kendall and Roman's grips. "No, you... Jimmy, please, ya can't do this! Ugh... PORSHA!"
Suki's eyes were gushing with tears when the tape finally ended, and she removed her glasses and wiped her face with one hand while carefully taking the cassette from the player with the other. Taking a deep breath, the saluki slowly opened the drawer of her bedside table and placed the tape inside, nestling it amongst the keepsakes and other little trinkets that held sentimental value to her. She then closed the drawer, shutting away this dark little secret with it, and finally sprawled back on her bed.
"Stay safe, Stephanie..." She whispered to herself, quietly repeating it a few times before she finally drifted off. "Stay safe."