Chapter 24
A week earlier, shortly after Star Wolf sold the case to Sable...
The coffee machine burbled, pouring a fresh stream of the stuff into the pot. As it finished, Peppy poured some creamer into a cup before topping it off with coffee, the black liquid turning a more pleasant shade of brown as the two mixed. His hand shaky, Peppy moved back to his desk and waited with impatience for the beverage to finish cooling. He glanced out the window to pass the time. Far away from the CDF's main base, Corneria City glowed on the horizon, twinkling so bright it almost looked like the rising sun from here.
And it also reminded him of how goddamn late it was too.
On his desk, the computer's hologram monitor glowed pale blue, as he waited for Fox to pick up on the other end from the Great Fox II. Peppy had been at home and about to go to sleep when he'd gotten the call from Fox about how they'd missed getting the case back, but had picked up a few new passengers. That was a couple hours ago now, Peppy having put on his uniform in a hurry and driven back to his base to listen in on Fox's interrogations with them. He'd done his best to make his red dress uniform look presentable, although there were buttons and belts askew here and there. It didn't feel right wearing this at such a strange hour, but he refused to show up at the base in plain clothes.
He could have let one of his aides take the call instead, but this was too important to miss.
Nearby, a line of portraits ran along the top of the wall, showing Peppy's predecessors as commander in chief of the Cornerian forces. General Pepper's picture occupied the most recent position on the far right, with conspicuously fresh paint compared to the rest. Peppy let out a little sigh, observing it. Though Pepper was alive, the old hound dog had been mostly bed-ridden since the Aparoid invasion, infected by the Aparoid contagion. Doctors couldn't remove the contagion without killing him, so little could be done but give him drugs and treatments to suppress the effects until his death. Such a terrible end for such a great soul like him.
To everyone's surprise, Pepper had requested Peppy take over the role as commander of Corneria's forces. Was he the right man to fill these shoes though? After all, he hadn't had much experience commanding except for helping R.O.B. run the original Great Fox before it was destroyed a year ago. As soon as the announcement was made, there were already people calling him an illegitimate replacement. Not to mention Wolf's theft of the case had boldened his critics, saying he couldn't even keep his own base secure, let alone the rest of Lylat.
Peppy hated to admit it, but it had been part of the reason he'd been hard on Fox in their last conversation. In fact, the hare was projecting some of his own insecurities about his own position. That was why he did not want to sit out of this call. It wasn't only Fox's reputation at stake here.
Anyway, Peppy hoped they could get some actual information about why Star Wolf wanted to steal the case. From the reports he'd been getting, the antiquities section of the vault had been hit, of all places. Why would Wolf go to so much trouble to steal an ancient relic from there?
The coffee had reached an acceptable temperature by this point. Peppy raised it to his lips, about to take a sip, but a knock at the door startled him. He almost spilled some of the coffee on himself, but managed to catch it at the last second.
Grumbling, he set the cup on the desk, looking at the door. Who was that? He wasn't expecting anybody to join him for the interrogation. Sure there would be others listening in on the call and taking notes, but Peppy had expected to have his office to himself.
"Come in?" he said, the words sounding more like a question than a command.
The door opened, and in stepped a white goat wearing a clean black suit with black tie and white shirt…an ambiguous G-man look about him. What department or agency was he from, and how he had come into his office unannounced for this late night interrogation?
"How do you do, General Peppy? I apologize for the sudden intrusion, but I needed to get here fast. My name is Stan Krubish." The name sounded unknown government bureaucrat-ish, like an accountant or economist. Stan smiled, alert and friendly in spite of the late hour, as he reached over the desk. "I'm from the OIC."
Peppy accepted the handshake, although the mention of OIC took him by surprise. The Office of Intelligence and Counseling. Also known as the Counsel or the Counselors. Corneria's spy agency.
"Why's the OIC interested in this? This is a military matter." Peppy asked, sitting back down in his chair as Krubish took a seat on the other side.
"We've had a passing interest since we heard about the break in, especially once it was reported it was something from your antiquities department that was stolen. Also, didn't the CDF detect a strange energy surge from the Great Fox II a few hours ago?"
Peppy did a double take. He'd gotten the news on his phone from one of his officers as he was leaving to come to the base. At first he thought the Great Fox II had self-destructed or something, but when he called shortly after Fox said the ship was fine. Canma had plugged something into the systems that allowed communications all the way to Thaljista instantly. If that was real, it was an impressive feat. Peppy wanted to ask more questions about it during her interrogation. But the Counselors already have this information too?
"We…did?" Peppy raised an eyebrow.
Stan's face became more animated. "The level of power, not to mention the wavelengths it's on… It's familiar to us. Tell me, the people who Star Fox has picked up, is their planet of origin Thaljista, perchance?" He still had the eager grin on his face throughout. In fact, it was so eager it almost looked hungry.
"Thaljista?" Peppy's ears perked up. "I…think so?" He knew that already too?
Fox also mentioned Canma was talking about that planet, plus the civil war between the Separatists and Royalists there.
Peppy had some of his aides look into the matter in the meantime. He didn't know the finer details about the situation on Thaljista, as he had bigger things on his plate to deal with in Lylat. Sometimes his men on the ground there sent him status reports, though he only gave them the occasional glance and forgot what was in them a few minutes later, preferring to defer authority to Foreign Affairs on Thaljista.
Nonetheless, what all did Stan know if he had this information already? How did he get it so fast?
Stan smiled, a look of anticipation on his face. He glanced at the pot of coffee nearby, still steaming. "Do you mind if I have a cup too?"
"Oh, of course." Peppy stood up, getting him a cup. "Want any creamer or anything?"
"No, straight black is fine."
As Peppy handed him a cup and sat, the speaker next to the hologram trilled, indicating Fox was trying to connect to them. Peppy punched in a command to open up the video connection.
"Hey Peppy." Fox held a camera in his hands, the lens pointed straight at his face. He looked terrible, between his bleary eyes and the weary look on his face.
Peppy felt crappy about being partly responsible for him being in that state, with the tongue lashing he'd given him before. Nonetheless, the case's trail was growing cold, so they had to proceed with the interrogations quickly.
"Hey Fox." Peppy smiled, trying to cheer him up. "Ready to go?"
"Almost." The vulpine adjusted the camera in his hands. Glancing behind himself, he moved out of the way, revealing he was in the Great Fox II's brig, the camera pointed at one of its cells. Fara leaned against the wall next to the cell, on the far left edge of the picture.
Behind the bars, a green iguana sat on the cell's cot: Tadao Samorin. He wore Venomian jungle fatigues, dating back to the Lylat Wars. They looked filthy and tattered, heavily patched together to keep them from falling apart. The lizard's hands trembled, his legs knocking together as he stole glances at the camera before looking away again.
Bottled water and a small tray of food sat on the floor near his feet, untouched.
"We need to be careful with this guy." Fox whispered, as he glanced at the food, then looked at the camera again. "He's being super paranoid. Won't drink water even if it's bottled and sealed."
Peppy knew why. During the Lylat Wars, Andross often told his subordinates that to be captured alive by Corneria would be a fate worse than death, and they would be tortured within an inch of their lives for days, weeks, or months before being put out of their misery. Of course it was all a lie to prevent Venomians from spilling intelligence to Corneria, but Tadao didn't know that. No doubt why he had refused the water and food before him. Maybe he thought it was poisoned or had truth serum in it or something.
"Okay." Peppy nodded in agreement. "Let's get started."
Fox pulled up a chair next to the bars and had a seat, facing his prisoner. Peppy noticed a coffee cup sitting on the floor nearby, the vulpine reaching down and taking a sip. "Tadao." Fox gestured to Peppy's hologram, which would be displayed next to the camera. "This is General Peppy Hare of the CDF. Believe me, you can trust him. He's one of the greatest, most honest men I know. He used to be a part of Star Fox, and—"
"I know who he is already." Tadao mumbled, clenching his fist as he looked away from both Fox and the camera. "Andross often called both of you out as some of the greatest enemies of his revolution."
Fox went quiet, glancing at the camera before he cleared his throat. "Well, okay…" Fox forced a smile, trying to move on. "Anyway, Peppy raised me after my father died. If you help us out finding the case, I promise you Peppy will do all he can to make sure you're well taken care of."
Tadao's yellow eyes narrowed at the words 'taken care of'. Peppy frowned. Fox made a poor choice of words there, given their ambiguous nature. Stan watched the monitor from the other side of the desk, indifferent so far.
Peppy muted himself on the call, whispering to the agent. "Do you want to introduce yourself?"
"No, I only want to listen."
Peppy narrowed his eyes. "Do you mind if I tell them you're on the call?"
"Go ahead if you like, but don't mention I'm from the OIC."
Peppy opened his mouth to ask, but Stan raised a hooved hand to cut him off.
"Let me explain. It's not because I have an agenda or something." He smirked. "Tadao would react poorly to my presence, because of my job. Andross had an especially brutal spy agency of his own for investigating internal affairs, trying to weed out spies and moles and whatnot. Lots of people imprisoned and killed with little to no evidence. So Tadao might stop talking if he knows someone like me is listening."
Hmm... It is a good point.
"Hey, Peppy, you still there?" Fox asked, taking another sip of coffee.
Peppy unmuted himself, looking at Fox. "Yes, I'm here. Uh listen Fox… I've got a Stan Krubish here but he's only going to listen in on the call."
Fox nodded in reply, but Fara gave a curious glance to the camera upon hearing the name. Stan appeared to take notice of this himself, glancing back at Fara's image. Peppy found that a bit odd, but paid it little regard and shuffled some papers before him.
"Anyway Tadao, let's begin."
~X~
Fox watched Peppy's hologram above the communications machine, as the hare put on some reading glasses and pulled out a pen. The glasses were a good touch, as they made Peppy look friendlier and less threatening. "I'm sorry to hurry this along, but the case's trail is growing colder by the second. You have to tell us everything you know about Wolf's plans as soon as possible."
Tadao looked up at the word 'sorry', gazing at Peppy with interest.
Hmm…he reacted the same way when I said 'sorry' as well, Fox mused. No doubt the small gestures of politeness came as a surprise, after all of the Venomian propaganda Tadao had been subjected to.
Tadao straightened up where he sat on the bed, looking at the camera next to Peppy's hologram. His shakiness wasn't as evident as before. Peppy returned a smile, liking how Tadao appeared to be calming down a bit, and waited for the lizard to speak.
Tadao hesitated at first, and when he talked, his voice halted, his words stiff. "I…um…I must admit I…ah…don't know a lot about Wolf's plans. During the time we worked together, he—" Tadao paused, making a gulping sound like something was caught in his throat. "H-he lied to me. A lot. Pretended the Lylat Wars were still going on, and I was a part of some important mission he'd been personally given by Andross." The lizard's hands clenched the blue mattress pad between his fingers, squeezing the fabric into heavy creases.
Fox leaned back in his chair, bracing himself. Here it comes again. He remembered the outburst Tadao had upon hearing Wolf's name back on Fortuna.
Yet this time, Tadao released the pad in his hands, the mattress expanding back into its natural shape as a deep sigh exited the lizard's mouth. "He never told me Andross had been dead for years." A nervous laugh came out of his mouth, but the frown soon returned. "I wasted ten years of my life on Fortuna for nothing, and spent it idolizing a man who turned out to be nothing but a fraud." Though his voice was low, seething rage crept underneath the surface, like it was ready to boil over at the slightest provocation.
Out of reflex, Fox's hand hovered near his blaster, while Fara's hand touched a taser on her belt.
Fox wasn't sure if he preferred this to the Tadao who'd been flailing around trying to grab a machete while ranting about his betrayal. The lizard had calmed down, but the anger for Wolf was still there.
Peppy cleared his throat, speaking with a gentle voice. "I'm sorry about what happened Tadao, but I have questions I need answered as soon as possible. Did Wolf tell you what was inside the case? Do you know where he was taking it? Do you know what he wanted to do with it?"
Tadao glared at the camera as he listened to the questions, folding his arms across his chest as he tried to stare straight into the hare's soul. Peppy leaned back away in the image, his hand gripping his pen as if he were ready to stab with it, even though he was all the way back in Corneria.
"He only told me it was for Andross, and didn't say what was in the case." Tadao spoke Andross' name with a particular sarcasm, but the rest of his speech sounded precise and measured, like a computer's, although as before he seemed a hair trigger away from snapping.
Fox remained leaned back in his chair, as he sloshed the coffee cup in his hand. I don't think I need caffeine to be alert anymore.
"I don't know where he was taking it, or why he wanted it…and I don't care anymore." Though Tadao had intended for those words to come out with the same understated anger as before, his face softened upon the end of his sentence, a sigh escaping his lips as his entire body deflated, slumping in its seat like a ragdoll. "He doesn't care about me. He doesn't. He used me and left me behind when he didn't need me anymore…" He looked at the floor, eyes shut as he shook his head.
Everyone watched the lizard in silence. Fox mused they should move onto Canma and Nail now, given Tadao didn't appear to have any useful intel on the case. Yet Fox hesitated to make the suggestion to Peppy, and nobody else appeared inclined to do so either as they watched Tadao wallow in his pity.
Fara moved closer to the bars, stepping up right in front of them. "That's rough, Tadao." She said. "Can't imagine how you managed to stay sane during all your time on Fortuna."
Tadao looked up at her, his hands clasped in front of him, a defeated look on his face. "It's because I believed all this time the Lylat Wars were still going. Still thought Venom was out there, fighting Corneria. Thinking I was still a part of something bigger than myself…it gave me strength. Sanity. I had a cause to believe in, to guide me." A smile almost seemed to return to Tadao's face, but it was fleeting, soon settling back into his distressed expression.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, right?" Fara offered a smile, trying to cheer him up. She didn't think the interrogation would go this way, but oh well. "You don't have to stay on Fortuna anymore. You can build your own life now. Be your own person."
"How?!" Tadao looked at Fara as if she'd grown a second head.
"Huh?" Fara's eyes widened, as she leaned back. She and Fox exchanged a glance.
"Andross was the guiding force in my life. We didn't need to worry about anything, as long as we always did what he told us to do." Tadao sniffled. "Now I don't have that anymore. I have nothing now." His voice rose in volume with every word, as he stood up from the bed. "You hear me? Nothing!" Tadao shook his head, as he sat again. "Why didn't I listen to George ten years ago? He only wanted to help me."
"Hmm?" Fox raised an eyebrow. "Who's George?"
"Another Venomian, like me." Tadao sniffled. "Ten years ago, my unit was assigned to Fortuna. Our objective was guerilla warfare. Attack Cornerians and sabotage their operations, and run back into the jungle before they could catch us. Our area of operation was around a place called the Boneyard, a town built out of a spaceship graveyard on the surface of the planet. But our numbers dwindled fast. Most of us were captured or killed by the Cornerians. By the end, there were only four of us left: myself, Quint, Keenan, and Momo. One day I do one of my routine scouting missions around the Boneyard, and I discover Wolf is there, along with three others: George, a kitten, a gorilla. You have no idea how excited I was to see the famous Wolf O'Donnell." Tadao said the last bit with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
"What?" Fox asked. "He was there? Why? And why the heck would he have a kitten with him?"
"I don't know." Tadao shook his head. "I never found out. George lied to me and told me Wolf was there for some secret mission given to him directly by Andross."
"But didn't you say you regret not trusting George?" Fox leaned in. All of a sudden he found himself intrigued by this story. "Why would you say that if you know he lied to you?"
Tears came to Tadao's eyes. He scrunched his fist around the mattress pad again.
"George lied to me…because I wanted to be lied to."
Fox's eyes widened. "What?"
"It's a long story, but I'll try to keep it short." He blinked several times, his mind looking like it was busy. "This memory…It's unbelievable. I'm seeing it in a whole new way, knowing what I know now." Tadao glanced at Fox, as he picked up a napkin from the food tray on the floor and patted his face. "Anyway, one night I shadowed Wolf's group through the town to see what they were up to. They got cornered by some Cornerian soldiers. The gorilla ran off with the kitten, leaving George and Wolf behind to fight the soldiers. I fired at the soldiers to distract them. Wolf and George got away, but Wolf got captured later at the Boneyard's spaceport. I found George hiding in the jungles on the outskirts of the town afterwards.
"After I found him, he told me the Lylat Wars were over." Tadao's tail thrashed behind him, the spikes on his neck and his head seeming to jitter with anger and regret. "I refused to believe him. In fact, I considered it traitorous for him to say such things. I thought he was buying into Cornerian propaganda. But now I know it was the truth. I was the fool, not him. When I wouldn't listen to the truth, he changed to lies… Told me the Lylat Wars were still on, and the whole story about being on a secret mission for Andross. In hindsight, I don't blame him for what he did. I don't know what I would have done to him if he kept telling the truth."
Tadao clenched his fists, glaring at the cell's nearby mirror. "That was the day I started lying to myself about the war having never ended. George had told me the truth, and deep down I knew it to be real, but I didn't want to face it. I was too prideful and too caught up in my patriotism to admit my mistake." He shook his head.
"What happened next?" Fox asked. "Wolf obviously didn't stay caught."
Tadao glared at the mirror again, appearing to seethe about what he was about to say next. "I knew Wolf would be held at the Cornerians' camp within the Boneyard, so my unit organized a rescue operation with George's help. We planned to steal a Cornerian shuttle and escape into space after we rescued Wolf. George had a secret coded message saying we could link up with other Venomians if we made it to a certain set of coordinates. The plan worked…for the most part. I was left behind, but the rest of the group got away." Tadao shook his head. "I don't know what happened to them afterwards."
Tadao shook his head turning back to Fox. "It's been running through my head over and over again over the past several hours… How different would things have been if I had listened to the truth? Would I have escaped with the others? I don't even know if it would have been a good thing for me to know. If I had stayed stuck on Fortuna, knowing my existence there was meaningless, would I have given into my despair and…" He made a line across his belly. "…ended it?"
Given the state they'd found Tadao in, Fox could imagine it happening with ease.
"Well Tadao, you've been through a lot." Peppy cleared his throat. "But now we need to figure out what happens with you next."
Though Peppy hadn't meant for those words to sound ominous, Tadao didn't hear it that way. The lizard cast a fearful glare at the camera. He went back to trembling on the bunk again, looking around like a feral animal trapped in a cage. He eyed a nearby air vent, even though it was far too small for him to fit inside. It was as if Peppy were a judge, about to sentence him to some horrible fate.
"Tadao, relax!" Fara gestured with her hands, lowering them. "He didn't mean what you thought he meant." The fennec glanced back at the camera. "Right, Peppy?"
Peppy offered a smile for reassurance. "I'm sorry Tadao, I didn't mean to frighten you. Don't worry, Corneria's not like your propaganda says we are."
Tadao didn't appear reassured, with that fight or flight expression still on his face.
Well, can you blame him? Fox studied the lizard. I wouldn't be surprised if he's had nightmares about being captured and tortured by Cornerian forces for the past decade. In a way, what he's going through right now is like his worst nightmare come true.
"Anyway, anything you've done during these past ten years on Fortuna, you did it thinking the Lylat Wars were still going on." Peppy kept his smile up. "I would be willing to pardon you, Tadao. Give you a fresh start."
That sounded good to Fox. He waited to see how Tadao would reply.
"What fresh start?!" Tadao snarled at Peppy's hologram. "I have nothing left! I have nowhere to go! I abandoned all of my old family and friends on Macbeth to work for Andross! If what you say is true, Venom as I know it is gone."
"Listen Tadao." Peppy adjusted his seat. "We have programs for ex-Venomian soldiers. They've been around since the end of the war. You could learn a trade, find a job, become a proper citizen of Lylat. Lots of other people like you have done it."
"A proper citizen?" Tadao raised an eyebrow. "You make it sound like you're going to brainwash me."
Fox winced. It was hard to talk to someone who didn't trust you and interpreted everything you said in the worst possible way.
"Sorry, bad way to put it." Peppy cleared his throat, reining in his patience again. "But what if I told you the Venomian military was still around? It's in a different form, but it's still there."
Tadao didn't look like he had high hopes for what Peppy was about to say, but nodded for him to continue.
Peppy typed some commands on a keyboard near his monitor. His hologram was replaced by a poster showing Venom…except it showed green grass with blue skies, the smog gone and the landscape thriving with plants and clean rivers. The top of the poster declared 'Venom Restoration Project – A Better Tomorrow for Us All'. Cities rose up amongst the mountains sprouting up across Venom, the rocky crags covered with soft snow and pine trees.
"We've allowed remnants of the Venomian military to reform now that the war's over," Peppy said. "They've been building colonies on Venom and working towards making it a more habitable place. In the long term it benefits everyone in Lylat. No more need for us to fight each other, and we have a new habitable planet full of life and resources." The poster changed back to Peppy's face, as he offered another smile. "Sound good to you? I could arrange for you to go back to Venom now, if you wish."
Fox found himself impressed by Peppy's speech. Surely Tadao will take this well, right? He gets to be around his old comrades again and he has productive goals to build towards. Sounds like a slam dunk to me.
"I don't believe it." Tadao glared at Peppy on the camera. "You tamed them…turned them into your servants. Disgusting. Cowards, the lot of them. I want nothing to do with them!" He turned away from the camera, crossing his arms.
Fox wanted to sigh at how difficult Tadao was being, although it wouldn't be good to do it in front of him.
Peppy didn't seem to expect Tadao's reaction either, as he needed a minute to recollect himself. "Tadao, please…" His words were wearier now. "I only want to help you. That's all."
The iguana wasn't listening anymore, lying on his bunk with his hands folded over his chest, while his scaled tail laid on the padding next to him.
Fox and Peppy turned to each other, shaking their heads, both of them taking another drink of coffee.
"Peppy," Fara looked at the camera. "Maybe we should put this aside for now. Tadao isn't ready for this conversation yet."
Fox had to concur. Andross had done a fine job drilling all those negative beliefs about Corneria into this poor guy's head, and those would not be easy to change.
"Yeah…" Fox stood up, looking at Peppy before glancing back at Tadao, who still laid without moving. "This is a lot for him to take in. I'd feel the same way if I were in his shoes."
Peppy glanced at the two foxes, adjusting his glasses. He let out a sigh. "I suppose you're right. We should move onto Canma and Nail now anyway. I hope they know more than Tadao does."
The remark deflated Fox, reminding him they still had an entire other interrogation they had to do after this one, and it was already late. All the energy he had before seemed to have leaked out of him, as he finished off the coffee cup in his hand in one big gulp, even though it was cold by this time.
"Okay Peppy, we'll get comms set up in the sick bay now."
"Sick bay?" Peppy raised an eyebrow.
"Nail's still in a critical state and can't speak, and Canma won't leave his bedside," Fara explained. "It'll be easier to do the interrogation in there."
Peppy considered this for a moment, as he wrote something. "Okay. We'll be standing by. Call us back when you're ready."
"Bye Peppy," Fox said.
Peppy's hologram winked out of existence, the communications machine powering down.
Fox yawned, stretching as his tail curled behind him, his ears curled back, and his fur stood on end...all of it snapping back into place afterwards.
He nodded to Fara, and the two of them began packing up the comms machine. Fox and Fara disconnected all the requisite wires and disengaged the brakes on the wheels. How's the interrogation with Canma's going to go? I hope she's not as difficult to deal with as Tadao, and she knows something that can help us. Sheesh, I wish I could drop into bed by this point.
Fox let out another big yawn, looking at Fara. "Take the machine to the sick bay, would you? I need a minute."
Fara nodded, as she moved the cart out of the cell block, leaving Fox alone in the cell block.
Fox leaned against a nearby wall, trying to blink the spots out of his eyes and get his mind back together. He spared a glance at Tadao, still lying on his cot, eyes unblinking as they stared at the ceiling. I hope Peppy asks most of the questions this time. I'd like it if I could sit there and nod off every once in a while, as unprofessional as it would look. Maybe I could sit far back where the camera can't see me.
Looking one more time at Tadao, he headed for the door.
"Fox…" the iguana said.
Something about the way he said it made the fur stand up on the back of Fox's neck. The vulpine turned around, seeing Tadao at the bars of his cell. Within the second he'd looked away, the lizard had gotten up and made it to the bars, all without making a sound, like he'd been there the whole time. Creepy. Sure, Tadao was behind bars so he couldn't do anything, but it startled Fox nonetheless, since the two of them were alone in the cell block now.
"Um…what is it?" Fox asked.
"Why did you stop me from killing myself?"
Fox raised an eyebrow. Was that a trick question? "Well, wouldn't anyone?"
"Even though I'm your—was your enemy?"
"The Lylat Wars have been over for ten years. You dying over it now would be pointless. I saw you were in danger, so I saved you." He chuckled. "Being a hero is kind of my job, you know?"
Tadao grasped the bars in his hands, eyes widened. He froze in place, like his mind had stopped working trying to process Fox's words.
"What's wrong?" Fox asked.
"You said all of that, without hesitating. Like it's natural to you. You meant what you said."
"Well, of course I do, Tadao. I know foxes have a reputation for being sneaky tricksters, but…well, I never wanted to be like that. In fact, when I was younger, I had to work extra hard at being honest to get people to trust me. I couldn't even let people have the perception I might be lying." By this point, Fox had sat down in the chair near the cell again. Fox smiled, fond memories coming to his head. "My dad was the same way."
A dark look crossed Tadao's face. "After what happened with Wolf, I don't know who or what to trust anymore." He clenched his eyes closed, his mouth curling into a grimace.
"Come on, you can trust Peppy. Like I said, he raised me like I'm his own flesh and blood." Fox offered a warm smile, remembering his time growing up in the Hare household. He stood up, directly on the other side of the bars from Tadao. "I know him better than anyone else alive right now. If he says something, he means it."
Tadao kept leaning against the bars, not saying a word as his eyes wandered, like he hadn't made up his mind yet. "Do you know anything about that Stan Krubish guy who was on the call with him?"
Fox blinked. In truth he'd forgotten Peppy had mentioned him. The guy hadn't spoken once the entire call.
"Well, no I don't but—"
"Do you know who he is? Why was he listening in on the call?"
"I don't know, but—"
"Doesn't that bother you at all?"
Fox didn't know what to say. Should he be bothered Stan hadn't introduced himself or talked any? The guy's name was so unmemorable Fox had forgotten about him within five minutes. Why was this such a sticking point for Tadao?
"It's probably one of his aides or something." Fox tried to wave it off. "I wouldn't think too hard about it. Are you saying you would've felt better about Peppy if Stan wasn't on the call?"
Tadao nodded. "I've had run ins with people in the Venomian military who looked unimportant and faded into the background, but they usually turned out to be the most powerful people in the room. Undercover agents." He pressed his face against the bars, his yellow eyes shifted left and right, as though he were trying to search for hidden cameras, mics, or eavesdroppers. "They could end your life with a signature or a hand wave, if they so pleased. Ever heard of an unperson?"
Fox froze upon hearing the word. Unpersons?
The vulpine's comm device trilled. "Hey Fox!" Fara said over the comms. "We're ready in the medical bay. You coming?"
"Be there in a sec," Fox spoke back, muting himself again. "Sorry Tadao, I have to go." He offered one last smile. "Look, if you can't trust anyone, can you at least trust me?"
Tadao frowned, not liking Fox's hurried reply, but gave a gentle nod from the other side of the bars.
"Okay, good. We can talk later if you want. Let me know. I'll see you later."
The iguana slid back from the bars, taking a few steps back. "You too." However, Tadao looked like he didn't want Fox to leave yet. Nonetheless he took a seat on his bed, looking at the unconsumed food tray and water on the floor.
As Fox turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of Tadao reaching down to eat a dinner roll.