Chapter 5 – The Oligarchy

Like a spire, Saffron Unlimited towered near the heart of Redshore City, a skyscraper housing a menagerie of businesses and firms ranging from law to tech. Once, it was the tallest building in the city, but time marched on, and it was overshadowed by Crystal Entertainment. Saffron Unlimited didn't reach quite as high, didn't have the fancy signature, lacked the polished glass exterior that shimmered like the surface of the sea. But one thing it did have over Crystal Entertainment was the rooftop restaurant, Chateau de Starling, that drew patrons from all over the city and beyond. Today, Jimmy would be one of them.

"This is supposed to be daddy-daughter time," Porsha complained as she, Jerry, and her dad walked through the lobby of Saffron Unlimited. "I'm not supposed to be helping you run your errands. I'm Mr. Moon's intern now. I don't have as much free time."

"What could he possibly need an intern for? Keeping track of every lie he's ever told? Better hire a hundred more for that!" Jimmy chuckled at his own joke, though Porsha was less than amused and Jerry was too busy quaking like a fuzzball of anxiety and distress. "It's not an errand. I just need to check on something... I won't be long, baby. I promise."

They reached the elevator that was a straight shot to the restaurant. Jimmy could tell his daughter was still not pleased with this arrangement. "Look, it's almost like a mall on this level. Do some shopping while I'm gone. Buy yourself something nice, okay?" He stepped inside the elevator and Jerry began to follow until he saw the wolf shake his head in a quick, stiff motion. But the glare Jimmy was giving spoke much louder. Jerry quickly backed out of the elevator, shoulders hunched forward, hands awkwardly clutching the air before him.

When Jimmy was gone, Porsha looked to Jerry and asked, "What was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, wringing his hands.

"My dad usually screams when he gets angry, but that look he gave you... what happened?"

"I-it's n-nothing."

Porsha frowned but let it go. She slid the pair of shades resting on her forehead over her eyes. "I'm gonna see if they do validation here. Then I'm gonna shop so hard Daddy will have to carry the bags back to the car. That'll teach him!"

"Mr. Crystal!" the young jaguar hostess exclaimed. "Your... the table is ready, sir. I can take you—"

"Don't bother, I know the way," Jimmy said. He barreled past the hostess and into the restaurant, through the twinkling light décor, murmurs, stares, and soft piano music, beyond the tables and booths nestled near sprawling windows. Soon he was at the outdoor seating half of the restaurant, famous for its sweeping view of the city and beyond. Petite trees dotted the area while ivy snaked along the glass railings. Sounds of water trickling from a small fountain coalesced with the music to serenade guests. The space had the feel and atmosphere of a rustic garden in the sky.

Jimmy made a beeline for the most powerful table in the city, where five members of the Redshore Oligarchy were already seated: White the moose, Sarbanes the polar bear, Astor the hyena, Dallas the opossum, and his old nemesis, McCray the walrus. He joined them at the table, sitting between Astor and White to stunned silence and relished in the stares and glares. Dallas was the first to recover and speak up.

"Well, well, well. Didn't think you had the cojones to show your face after everything that happened," the opossum said.

An alligator waiter tried to take Jimmy's order and was waved off. "I won't be here long. I just didn't want these losers thinking I was down and out."

"Crystal, it's all right if you need someone to cover your meal now that you're unemployed," White said, playfully sloshing the red wine in his grip. "We understand you've fallen on hard times."

Jimmy threw the moose a pointed look as sharp as daggers. "I have more money than everyone at this table combined!"

"More arrests, too," Dallas retorted. The table broke out into laughter. Astor slapped his knee as he guffawed into the air.

Jimmy hated that hyena's laugh.

"I offered him a job," McCray said. "He gave me the classiest response."

"We can make it a reality right here, right now," Jimmy said with a crook of a smile.

The walrus refused eye contact. "No need for vulgarity."

"I for one thought it was brave of you to venture out in public," Sarbanes said. "I don't know how you get through the day with all the pointing and laughing."

"The same way you've gotten through the years after your wife got caught at the Zeus Hotel," Jimmy retorted. "With Zeus himself."

The polar bear locked steely eyes with Jimmy. His nostrils flared for just a second. "Ex," he clarified before taking a bite of his ratatouille. "I did feel a faint bit of pity for you, though I must be honest... a dweeby little koala in a bow tie tells you he has Clay Calloway in his contacts, and you believed him?"

Jimmy pointed a claw at Sarbanes. "Hey, he got him to show up eventually, didn't he?"

Dallas did a doubletake. "Are... are you defending him?"

"I told him to make that show happen and he did!"

"At your expense! His success is in proportion to your destruction. His ability to get Calloway was entirely predicated on his ability to exploit you! How can you not see that?"

"Dallas, down. Crystal's still coping," White said. "But deep down he knows what happened. Now, I would've never made an attempt on the koala's life, but I understand the level of hubris on a scoundrel like that needs to be stamped out. He disrespected you from the moment you met him."

There was a small round of agreement. Jimmy wasn't sure what stung more: the ridicule or the pity.

"Speaking of... Crystal, come on," Dallas said. "I thought you were smarter. A wolf versus a koala? Society was never going to take your side. At least not before he left your life in shambles and had you crying in that Kilborn interview."

Astor raised his shoulders, lowered his eyes for one of his grumpiest looks, and began his impression of Jimmy. "That teeny tiny loser humiliated me and my Porsha! Then he ruined my life!" The table broke out into another round of laughter.

Jimmy really hated that hyena's laugh, and he was about to do something about it before a chair was jammed in the space between him and White. An emperor penguin in a Hawaiian shirt with a tie hastily assembled around his neck took a seat at the table.

"Who the hell is this?" White demanded, recoiling as if the penguin's mere presence would stain his cream suit.

"Heya fellas, I'm Ernie Boyd!" the penguin introduced himself. "I can tell by those looks of confusion and disdain that you don't know who I am. I own the Redshore Reef Hotel."

Bewildered muttering filled the table until a stark and unpleasant image flashed in Jimmy's memory.

"That junkheap with the busted mer-otter display?" He asked, voice coated in skepticism. "That's you?"

"I thought that building was condemned," White said.

Ernie chuckled. "Just a dirty rumor."

"Sorry, your net worth must be this tall to sit at this table," Sarbanes said.

"That's a good one. I have a private investor that's going to help turn the Redshore Reef Hotel into a juggernaut. Things are looking up for me. I'm one of you guys now!"

"If we ignore it maybe it'll go away."

"If that worked Crystal would've evaporated a long time ago," Dallas chimed in, kickstarting another burst of laughter.

Ernie leaned over to the wolf and whispered, "They really don't like you."

"Stop talking to me," Jimmy growled.

Ernie quickly took the hint. "Alrighty then! What are we discussing today, fellas? Eh?"

"Whether or not we should let Crystal get arrested again by dropping you off the roof," Sarbanes said.

"What's the rush to get rid of him?" McCray asked, absently stroking one of his gold-encrusted tusks. "He has a poverty-stricken charm to him. It's not every day we mingle with the unwashed masses."

Sarbanes glare of contempt never left Ernie. "The unwashed part isn't supposed to be literal."

Ernie forced a jovial smile as he said, "You got a mean streak, you know that?"

"Psst!"

Jimmy's ears flickered from that annoying sound. When he heard it again, he traced it to the indoor portion of the restaurant, where Porsha and Jerry were peering at him from around a corner.

"Psst! Daddy, they don't do validation here!" Porsha whispered so loudly every head at the table turned in her direction.

"Porsha, I told you to wait down in the lobby!" Jimmy complained.

"I'm the one that's paying! Have you seen the cost of parking?"

"She's right," Ernie added. "Costs an arm and a leg."

Jimmy fought the urge to bring his palm to his face. "Don't worry about it, okay!?"

Porsha glowered and retreated inside.

White snorted so hard wine almost went up his nose. "Is your daughter your chauffeur now? You really have fallen on hard times!"

"The company provided everything, so he lost it all when he got ran out of it," Dallas said. "His drivers, his security, everything."

"I didn't get run out of Crystal Entertainment, I resigned." Jimmy seethed as his defense fell on deaf ears and was drowned out by more laughter.

"The alternative is public transportation," Sarbanes said. "Can you see him riding a bus?"

"He could always do rideshare so long as he doesn't strangle the driver," White suggested, barely keeping a straight face.

"Fat chance at that!"

The ensuing laughter was deafening, especially with Astor's high-pitched yipping and giggling drilling in and out of Jimmy's ears. Something snapped and he lost all his tolerance, for this meeting, for Astor's obnoxious laughing, for everything.

"Hey Astor, you barely touched your soup," Jimmy said with a dangerous inflection. "Let me fix that."

Jimmy shoved the hyena's head into the tomato basil soup. Astor emerged from the bowl with a dazed look and his snout stained red with tomato.

"Look at you. You're a mess," Jimmy said, unfurling a cloth napkin. He held Astor by the back of the neck while forcefully cleaning his face. "You're just like Porsha was when she was a baby. More food on your face than in your tummy."

"That was uncalled for," Astor managed through gritted teeth.

McCray let out a grunt of disgust. "I can't believe we used to think you were intimidating. A year ago, you'd be dangling someone over the side of the building. Now you're just a schoolyard bully. Pathetic."

"Big words coming from the guy that barely said two sentences since I got here. You don't have to be afraid anymore, I was just leaving." Jimmy stood, his scornful gaze sweeping the table as he said, "This was a waste of my time."

"Good riddance," Astor mumbled.

Jimmy left the Oligarchy behind. McCray tensed up as the wolf passed him, a quiet warning chilling him like a frigid wind.

"I didn't forget you stole Out of This World from me."

The only thing worse than the lingering threat was all the eyes watching McCray.

Porsha and Jerry struggled to keep up as Jimmy's feet beat the floor in a bitter march back through Chateau de Starling.

"Those men were awful. Why would you willingly come here?" Porsha asked.

"We have a routine. We meet up for lunch and I remind them that I'm better than them."

"And you still thought about coming here after everything that happened?"

Jimmy's pace slowed, his tone becoming thoughtful as he admitted, "I thought I was missing something."

"Maybe you are missing something, you're just looking in the wrong place. If you're looking for friends... I happen to know some really cool people—"

Jimmy's arctic eyes snapped onto his daughter before she even finished her sentence.

"No."

"Come on! They're good people once you get to know them!"

They stopped by the elevator to the lobby, waiting for it to arrive. Jimmy pointed a thumb back in the direction they came.

"Those guys over there? They're jackasses, but I know what they're about. Moon and his people are liars and con artists. They smile in your face but will stab you in the back in a heartbeat if it means making their little 'dreams' come true. They don't care who they hurt if they come out looking clean."

"And what about all the people you've hurt over the years?"

"Don't make me out to be some kind of supervillain. I'm not going around the city destroying lives and sewing chaos. Occasionally some loser wanders into my territory and I have to put them in their place, that's it."

Several patrons departed the newly arrived elevator. Porsha waited for the area to clear out before responding.

"Look around you, Daddy. All these years putting people in their place, what do you have? Who do you have? If I didn't give you a second chance, who would be here for you? Jerry, maybe Cleo? And don't think I haven't noticed you haven't said a word to Jerry all day."

Jimmy glanced at Jerry and caught the flash of a nervous smile.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you're about one meltdown away from being all alone forever." Porsha locked her arm around her father's and rested her head on his shoulder. "I promise they won't hurt you. But you have to promise not to hurt them too."

Jimmy let out a long series of grumbles that Porsha took as affirmation.

"Crystal!" someone called before they could get in the elevator.

Dallas weaved his way through the wave of new patrons with all the expertise of someone used to living in a world where their peers could be several times larger.

Porsha smacked her lips in distaste. "Daddy, one of those jerks is following us."

Jimmy pushed her into the elevator with Jerry. "You go on ahead; I'll get rid of him."

Dallas waited for the elevator to leave before speaking his mind. "I meant to ask earlier but... why did you stop your campaign against Buster Moon? It was actually really effective, and we all know he had it coming."

"What's it to ya?" Jimmy snapped back, but as he looked down, he saw the sincerity in the opossum's eyes. "I decided to focus on myself. You can't heal yourself by harming another."

"That's cute, but we both know that didn't come from you. Moon gets a free pass and suddenly you and Porsha are reconnected. I wonder, did she have something to do with that?"

Jimmy's eyebrow twitched while a fang revealed itself. "Spit it out, Dallas. What are you getting at?"

"Watch your back, James. From my perspective it looks like a lot of people have been taking advantage of you over the past year, and Porsha is one of them."

"You don't know anything about my daughter!"

"Everybody knows Princess Porsha. She used you like a genie in a lamp. She'd make a wish and you'd make it happen."

Jimmy clenched his jaw. He buried his hurt and his pride to be with his daughter. That's what a good dad would do, right? But not dealing with his feelings is how he got this screwed up in the first place. It was unhealthy, and the opossum's words resonated with what he was denying.

"I watched the interviews," Dallas said. "I heard you and Moon tell your sides of the story, and one part was always the same. They waged war against you and Porsha gladly helped. She could've told you what was happening. She could've convinced them to try something that wouldn't have hurt you so much. She didn't. When it came down to it, she chose strangers over family."

"I'm surprised you'd be against me getting a second chance with Porsha considering what happened with your son," Jimmy said before something ate at him. Guilt? There was a sudden urge to clarify. "That wasn't a dig, by the way."

There was a quiet moment before Dallas said, "I know. And I know my son loved me before he passed away. He would've never pulled a stunt like she did."

Jimmy regarded the opossum under the grave cloud that suddenly blanketed the conversation. This was too real, too serious to be a trick. Dallas could give him hell sometimes, but not like this.

Dallas finally shrugged. "You don't have to listen to me. I don't like you, and you don't like me. But I do respect you... to an extent. If you don't like what I'm saying, at least trust your gut. Does your daughter have your best interests at heart? Did she ever?"

The whole way down to the lobby, Dallas's words haunted Jimmy. No matter how caustic their interactions could get, that opossum was always a straight shooter when he and Jimmy spoke. That's how Jimmy knew this wasn't some diabolical attempt to shove a wedge between him and his daughter.

He'd have no choice but to trust his gut, but that would be a lot easier if it wasn't a chaotic entanglement of doubt and raw emotion.

A/N

Alternate chapter title: The Roast (of Jimmy Crystal)

Anyways, I didn't plan on being gone for so long, but I'm back now! Long story short, I went on vacation, then I got sick. I didn't write for weeks. But I'm back in the writing groove again, and to make up for my absence I'm going to give a little update on some of the stuff I've been working on.

I'm in the middle of two more one-shots. One is a crossover, the other is comedic like A Cheat and a Fraud. I want to put the first chapter of Jailbird Rhapsody up before the end of the year. It's lower priority than Moonfall, but it's also not planned to be as long as any of the main Moonfall stories so hopefully it won't take me forever to finish it.

It was fun expanding on the Oligarchy mentioned back in Operation: Moonfall. These are only a few of the members that qualify overall. Jimmy and Dallas have a bit of a frenemy thing going on and that may come into play later. It's my headcanon that Jimmy was going to meet up with these guys when he got in the helicopter during the movie.