Hello everyone!
New chapter here, though it's a bit shorter than the recent ones. That's due to the plot line and the ending of this chap was a good stopping point.
MUSIC NOTE: The soundtrack (badass one!) is "Jekyll and Hyde" by Five Finger Death Punch. It's a great match with the atmosphere of this chase.
IMPORTANT: The morphed voice was inspired by Sovereign from Mass Effect. If you want to hear what it would sound like just listen to "Conversation with sovereign" on Youtube. That scene was AWESOME!
BIIIG thanks to BCRE8TVE for helping me with edits and being patient with me ;P You're a lifesaver, my friend.
My additional thanks to oggie for his consultation about motorbikes.
To answer some of the reviews:
Dagonn - Where is Vasily? IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! :D
Cimar - You think that was creepy? Wait till we get to some reeeally interesting stuff ;D
As for the general confusion about the new characters - those are members of the organization. I asked for your ideas about possible members and now I'm introducing them bit by bit. It will become clearer in the next chapter, when that group will make its move. (cackles like John Kramer) Oh yes, there will be blood!
To explain about few of the mammals I've introduced so far:
Foxy - zoosona of Fox in the hen house (great author and enthusiast of "Kill Will" campaign - read his stories on this site)
Conny - zoosona of AWildeHoppingTaco (like above, except the "Kill Will" part XD)
Midnight - zoosona of midnightopheliac (amazing author, be sure to read her story Safe Paws!)
Ramic - zoosona of Cimar (do I even have to introduce this guy? XD)
Please do NOT use these characters without permission!
Okay, that's that.
Let's get this rolling!
The Rainforest district offered limited space for walks in the higher levels of the giant trees. The wooden bridges with roads and sidewalks were scattered in various locations, but in some places they were rather scarce. Besides that, some regions were more adapted to mammals with night vision and lighting was limited. This presented a slight problem for other inhabitants whose sight wasn't used to such darkness. Moving through one such area was an elderly mole lady, marching with her purse tightly held in her small paws. Her appearance was practically screaming 'easy target' and someone jumped at the chance in one of the dim sections of the bridge, right next to a giant Kapok tree. A smudge of orange and grey ran past the lady and snatched the purse from her grasp. The female mole squeaked from shock and called for help, but at this hour barely anyone was in the area. This left the thief with plenty of comfort regarding escape, except for one small detail.
As the mammal with the purse was getting closer to the motorbike parked just around the tree, a loud crunch on the verge of the bridge made the thief look to the side. A dark gloved paw appeared from below the bridge and grabbed the edge of the wooden road with enough force for it to crack under the pressure. In the next instant a figure swished past the edge from beneath it and landed right next to the thief. In a blur too fast to follow it with normal eyes, the purse was snatched away from the perp and tossed aside.
The gray fox vixen who had stolen the purse in the first place yelped at the sight before her. She was facing a figure clad in a full body suit, along with a mask and goggles that hid its features. The coloristic of the apparel reminded her of a soldier's uniform, as it was a mashup of dark colors that somehow melded together in a pattern that easily blended in with the dark surroundings. If this mammal were to stand still in the shadows she would walk right past him, not even noticing any presence.
She instinctively sniffed the air between them, trying to asses what she was dealing with, though the initial introduction provided her with enough material to make a guess. Though her sense of smell hit a wall when all she could feel was some mild aroma of unknown origin. It was something she had encountered for the first time in her life and couldn't tell even the gender of the mammal, not to mention the exact species.
"What do you want? Who are you?" She inquired nervously while taking a step to the side, trying to edge herself towards her bike. By the size and shape of the mammals body she guessed the the masked figure was probably a fox, maybe a small coyote.
Nick struggled with himself, holding the agitated beast on a chain. He never thought that he would have to use this suit for such purposes. It was something he held onto as a last resort if everything went south. A reminder of old times, when a step in the wrong direction could bring a very painful chain of events. The risks he had to face back then forced him to spend a small fortune on this suit. It was one of a kind, designed with only one goal in mind - anonymity. To not give away the identity of the wearer through scent, look or even a strand of fur.
It was meant as a tool to escape, not to hunt it wasn't difficult finding someone proper for this kind of thing. There was no way he would've gone after a random person, so he headed to one of the most dangerous parts of the district. The fox was certain that he would find suitable… material for what he was about to do.
Nick eyed the young female in front of him as he tried to properly assess the right course of action for this. After all, he had never hunted down anyone before. Then, a growl echoed within the confines of his mind, demanding a chase, demanding blood. Nick shook his head and grabbed it with his left paw, while he used the other to steady himself on the Kapok tree. It wasn't the disarming migraine that kicked in whenever he tried to open up to someone, rather an overbearing desire that he had to shove back to the deeper parts of his mind.
Seeing the behavior of the masked mammal before her, the vixen took a cautious step to the side, moving away.
"Run…" Came a voice from the mysterious figure. It wasn't a normal voice of a living mammal, but a morphed one, deep and robotic, whose distorted tone made her spine tingle with fear.
She blinked, not sure if she heard correctly. "Wh-What?"
Nick withdrew his arm from the trunk and swished it back in a blur, his savage side adding to the force. The fox's fist smashed into the tree, the wood giving up under the savagely enhanced strength of the strike , sending pieces of bark flying in all directions.
Seeing this, the vixen let out a strained squeal and took another step towards her motorbike.
Nick raised his head and stared at the girl from behind his night vision glasses. "You deaf?!" He growled, the sound rattling through his chest with an ancient, predatory vibe. "RUN!"
The girl didn't need any more encouragement than that. With a sharp yelp, she spun around and bolted towards her bike.
While Nick could've used that moment to pounce on her, easily tackling her to the platform, he still had to rein in that nasty growl in his head that wanted to shred the victim afterwards. And being trapped with the same mental space as his savage twin, Nick could now tell from how he felt, that catching the vixen right now could end up bloody. Facing his potential victim he needed a few more seconds to make sure that his mind was stable enough for this not to turn into murder. Therefore, only when his mental state balanced enough for him to still be in control of the savage fox did Nick dash after the thief.
It felt weird.
The feeling of doing something morally questionable, mixed with an overflowing joy that comes from freedom. While part of his mind was still in doubt, his entire body relished the sensation of liberation. The only bright side Nick could see was the fact that he could feel the tension in his skull easing. Letting go of the chain for a bit had made the savage inside him extremely excited and hungry for his first victim.
In this time the girl had managed to jump on the bike and ignite the engine, making it roar and jolting the vehicle forward. It wasn't some high end model, not even a sports bike, but still would let her move far faster than her own legs. The tires screeched on the road as she accelerated to get away from her attacker as quickly as possible. When she cast a glance over her shoulder however she almost lost her grip on the handles as the mammal in the strange outfit was right behind her.
The body was too small for a cheetah so she couldn't fathom how it could be so damn fast. The girl let out a terrified gasp and focused on the road again. She accelerated and prayed for a safe escape. The young vixen dared not to look back again and kept her eyes firmly on the road ahead. A turn, a long straight, two more turns and only then she risked to peek behind her.
Quickly shifting her eyes to the road again, the girl swore under her breath when she noticed a large fan-shaped leaf from one of the trees right in front of her. The vixen turned the handlebar a moment too late and the front wheel ended on the leaf at the worst possible time.
The bike jerked to the side and the girl had time only to clench her teeth and shut her eyes to brace for impact. Her vehicle hit the road, throwing off the young vixen and making her roll on the wet surface while the bike scraped the road on its side. "Ack!" She squealed when the hit deprived her lungs of air. With the world being a whirring blur the vixen hoped to stop soon and that her injuries won't be too severe, but that all stopped when she felt a sudden lack of surface beneath her. This made her peek from behind her eyelids to give her a view of the grassy ground many meters below.
She couldn't know earlier, but the inertia from her fall had been enough to toss her over the edge of the road. And now she was gazing at her death below, when her body would meet with the ground and smash into a broken pile of flesh and bones.
That's when she felt a jolt.
Her drop stopped and something was squeezing on her wrist. The vixen dared to look up and gazed straight into a dark mask. The mammal chasing her so far had his gloved paw around her wrist. At the same time he was holding the very edge of the suspended road with the claws of his second paw. They were both hanging outside the road, held only by one paw.
As if the feeling of terror wasn't enough, now confusion nestled in her mind. Here she was, saved from falling to her death by the very mammal that chased her into this situation. She couldn't ponder on that any longer, as she felt being hauled up. It seemed ridiculous to her, as the mammal holding her was roughly similar in size, yet still managed to lift her with one paw while hanging on the other. It was beyond her comprehension how this mammal could possess such strength. Just as she thought that, the girl felt the grip on her wrist tightening. Right after that she experienced a powerful jolt and her body was suddenly catapulted upwards.
Her brief flight back onto the bridge was accompanied by a loud and surprised squeal, which was cut short when she landed on her butt on the road. Her savior-slash-pursuer followed suit, launching himself in the air using just one arm and landing firmly on both legs. He was now towering over the gray vixen, but did not make any more moves.
She looked up at him while rubbing her sore shoulder. Just when she was about to ask why did he save her, he spoke again.
"Run…"
Her ear perked up in alert. "W-what?"
The masked face leaned a bit towards her. "Run."
Confusion reigned supreme in the girl's mind, but her body was much smarter at the moment and started to inch towards the fallen motorbike. While she hadn't got the foggiest idea what was happening right now, she finally agreed with her body that running away was the best option. As much as her pained body allowed, she got up to her hindpaws and started backing away to her bike.
Even as she moved, the masked figure stayed still, only kept looking at her. With her own eyes fixed on the weird mammal, she picked up the scratched and battered vehicle. The girl was fully aware that she was doing exactly what this mammal demanded from her, but it wasn't like she had any choice. This was also her only chance to escape. Therefore, she got into the seat and ignited the engine. After that, she was on the road again, gaining speed.
Driving for about a minute, she dared to peek over her shoulder.
The female's blood froze when the mammal was still there, its legs working in a blur to catch up with her. Then she saw it pounce, aiming directly at her back. With a sharp squeal and a reaction more instinctive than logical, the vixen pulled the right handle lever as well as stomped the right hindpaw to use both front and rear brake. The action nearly threw her over the handles, but luckily for her the tires didn't lose their grip on the road and the vehicle didn't send her over the edge. The same couldn't be said about the mammal chasing her. The sudden decrease in her speed caused her pursuer to leap over her head. When his flight ended the masked mammal used his paws to balance his landing, but for a moment he slipped on the wet leaves.
Her bike finally coming to a halt, the vixen watched as the mammal tried to correct his landing, but he was a split second too late. He crashed onto the road with full force and skidded over the slippery surface. The momentum of his jump was enough to send him sliding towards a nearby tree, one of those that kept up the suspended roads. Unfortunately for him, it was right where a couple of heavy, metal trash bins were placed. It was the city's policy for mammals to remember about properly throwing out the trash.
And now Nick crashed into them with great force and smashed into the hard surface of the tree behind them. Various pieces of garbage flew around, dropping down in a messy pile on the vulpine, along with one of the trash bins.
Right then, beside the pain, he felt something very dangerous stirring within him. There was warmth that rapidly heated up, becoming a blazing flame that surrounded his mind in a suffocating fire.
The beast was angry.
The vixen watching this scene finally regained her ability to breathe and tried to calm down after this short, but certainly crazy chase. She placed a paw on her chest, feeling it's rapid movement, hoping that she could stabilize her breathing by applying some pressure to her lungs.
But she didn't get to do that.
The trash pile exploded and the heavy, metal container was catapulted for a good few meters before hitting the road. The mammal that emerged from under the trash was the same one that chased her, but it now behaved very differently. With its back hunched and its whole figure leaning forward, the mammal assumed what looked like an almost feral pouncing position. Even from this distance, she could faintly hear a growl, the sound crawling down her spine and raising her hackles in fear. Without wasting any time, the girl turned the bike around and hit the gas to get away as fast as possible. Seeing the change in the mammal that chased her, she clearly understood one thing.
If she were to be caught, she will die.
Just as that thought formed in her head, she felt a rush of air near her left ear and could've sworn that something brushed the fur on said ear. Her heart almost burst out of her chest when, against all reason, she dared to glance over her shoulder from the corner of her eye.
The mammal was right behind her.
Her pursuer reached out again, but Lady Luck bestowed her blessing on the girl and Nick's hindpaw stepped on another pile of leaves. The sudden loss of traction send the fox rolling on the road, while the girl got away.
The young vixen's mind was desperate with thoughts of escaping, of getting somewhere safe and doing it fast. She didn't look back this time, only kept her gaze fixed firmly on the road. The girl reached an intersection and took a right turn, following a road that led down to the ground level.
.
.
Unknown to her, Nick was still on her track and when he noticed that she was taking a road to the lower level his savage body didn't show an ounce of hesitation when it leapt over the edge of the suspended road. It was a several stories high fall and the fox's body instinctively rolled over the shoulder after his powerful legs hit the ground. This let him absorb some of the impact and he instantly pressed on, following the girl.
The savage within demanded a victim
Now, without any conscious decision from the mind, the fox's body switched from running on just his hindpaws to all fours. The muscles of his arms added to the speed generated up till now by just two limbs and Nick accelerated, turning into a dark blur rushing between the thick leaves and massive trees. Approaching a river that was running through the district the fox didn't even slow down. Instead, his muscles made an extra effort and forced his body to an even faster dash. On the edge of the riverbank his hindpaws stomped heavily into the dirt and launched him over the streaming water. After a short flight, that would've been impossible without the savage muscles, Nick gracefully landed on the other side and continued his chase.
His victim may have been using a motorbike, but she was up against a beast. A thinking, stubborn savage that knew every alley of this city like the back of his paw and whose enhanced sense of smell could trace her in whatever mice hole she would hide in.
This was a hunt and he couldn't help but enjoy it, even with the anger rolling in his mind. The faint trace of fear in the vixen's scent and the enormous effort he had to put into running after her sent his mind into an exhilarated state. A nasty grin forced its way to his face behind the mask. One that was full of teeth.
.
.
The doors to the car parked in a brightly lit Savanna Central promenade opened from its right side and two mammals got in. A cheetah in a loose, blue shirt took to seat in the back while a jaguar in a grey jacket and a black shirt beneath it sat in the front one.
"Took you long enough." Grumbled the driver as he put away his glasses and the book he was reading. He was casually dressed wolverine, that was now busy with giving them a scolding glare.
"Hey, it's not easy to get these." The cheetah raised a box that smelled of food.
"Tch!" The dark faced predator clicked his tongue with a frown. "You and your eating habits."
"Hmph, I am eating just fine." The spotted feline tapped the jaguar in front on the shoulder. "Ace, you tell him."
"Tell him yourself, I ain't your servant." The fellow feline replied,his eyes scanning the area through the window..
A pair of spotted paws suddenly hugged him from behind, almost causing him to drop the phone in his paw. "Awww, that's not what you said yesterday night!" A cheerful voice chirped right into his ear, the warm breath tickling his fur.
The jaguar quickly swatted away the friendly arms from his body. "Knock it off, Clawhauser!" After this the spotted predator backed away with a huff and a pout.
This scene got them a look from the brown furred carcajou. "Wait…" His mouth began forming a nasty smile. "Are you two-"
"Yes!"
"No!"
The answers were spoken at the same time, followed by a sigh from the jaguar, as he leaned his head back on the headrest. The cheetah chuckled in the back seat.
"Just… drive." The feline in the front groaned.
.
.
The young vixen could feel her heart pounding in her chest like crazy when she was speeding along the road. Her destination wasn't too far away now and last time she looked over her shoulder, the raging mammal wasn't there.
Then she learned why.
Nick jumped out of the leaves on her right and landed on the road behind her. He immediately picked up speed on all fours and was closing in on her once again. She yelped and the shock of surprise made her shift the bike to the left. This could have cost the vixen her life, as a car whooshed by in the opposite direction, nearly grazing her. The poor girl's heart wasn't getting any rest, as just as she corrected her course, her pursuer managed to level with her on the left. Panic and survival instinct dictated her next action and the vixen performed a desperate kick to the side. Nick swiftly avoided it by dodging to the left, but that was his mistake.
The car in the opposite lane screeched when its driver hit the brakes, but it was too late.
The girl heard behind her a sickening thud and crunch when flesh met with the hard frame of the car. She drove on, her head spinning from the act she just have committed, even feeling nauseated by it.
She drove on, fear of dying gradually turning into a crushing feeling of guilt.
.
.
The girl almost kicked down the door to get into the apartment on the second floor in the old building. She practically flew inside and slammed the door behind her before slumping down to the floor. The vixen huddled herself and felt shivers starting to shake her body, now that she was off from her bike and out of the chase.
"Lydia?" A male voice broke through her trance.
She unwrapped herself a bit and looked up with teary eyes. "Ethan…" She mumbled with trembling lips. The vixen reached up to the grey fox who approached her and wrapped her arms around him before sobbing into his t-shirt.
"W-Wha-" He stuttered, seeing his sister's reaction and her dirty clothes. "What's going on, sis?!"
"Oh, Ethan… I-I did something terrible!"
The fox helped her up and gently led her deeper into the tiny apartment.
"Calm down and tell me what happened."
"I-I-I don't know! I mean, there's no way a mammal that size could survive-"
Her brother frowned at her words, now holding her at arm's length. "What mammal? Survive what?!"
The young vixen took a step back and swallowed with difficulty. "The-"
Her answer was interrupted by a crash of glass. They snapped their heads towards the window in the room only to see a dark figure landing between them, while shattered pieces of glass sprayed across the floor.
None of the siblings had the time to even form a thought when the intruder spun in a blur and suddenly both of them got catapulted backwards. Ethan felt numbing pain in his chest from the punch he just received, as he landed on the floor,. He managed to lift his head enough to see the aggressive mammal approaching Lydia, who was still on her hindpaws and has been apparently just pushed away.
"S-Stay away!" She squealed and grabbed the closest thing her paw could find and threw it at her attacker.
Without losing rhythm in his strides, Nick deflected the thrown night lamp and it crashed against the wall of the apartment. At that point Lydia's brother managed to get up and hurry to help his sister. He snatched the old baseball bat from the table on the way and swung it down on the back of the intruder's head. In a blink of an eye the savage fox turned and his paw shot up and snatched the bat in the middle before it could hit his head.
"W-Wha-" The young fox muttered, dumbfounded as to how was this possible.
Nick cocked his head to the side and squeezed. The wooden weapon snapped in his paw like a matchstick. The grey fox didn't get the time to be shocked by this as Nick grabbed the smaller fox by the throat and, without any visible effort, lifted him from the floor.
"Ack!" The young vulpine gasped while trying to pry open Nick's fingers. His legs were flailing helplessly in the air.
"Let him go!" The vixen screamed and she jumped to grab the savage fox's arm. However, her efforts were cut short when Nick moved his other paw to push the girl away. The unexpected result was that his claws caught the material of her blouse and ripped open its side as she fell back. This caused the savage fox's eyes to involuntarily focus on the flash of bare fur before it. With gaze now focused on the female, he tossed the young fox aside like a paper doll. Ethan hit the wall and collapsed to the floor, gasping desperately for air that had been denied to him by Nick's grip.
The masked fox turned to face the girl again, gaze focused solely on the cut on her clothes and the fur beneath it. Lydia was backing away and couldn't help but notice where their attacker was looking. She quickly glanced down and gasped at the sight of the tear, desperately trying to cover it by pulling the torn cloth together. But as she did that, the mammal approaching her let out a low growl and her fingers froze. The girl looked up to see the masked attacker right in front of her, his paw slowly reaching for the cut in her shirt. Realization what he was doing hit her hard and her knees trembled at the thought.
"S-Sis…" The young fox on the floor wheezed, struggling to get to his knees.
Seeing her suffering brother, the young vixen focused her gaze at the mask before her and swallowed hard. She didn't want this, she was terrified, but it was the only thing that came to her mind regarding saving her brother. By now Lydia was fully convinced that they had no chance at running or fighting this mammal. The only thing she could do was to keep him occupied long enough for her brother to escape.
With a trembling arm, she cautiously lifted her paw and placed it on the attacker's chest. The mammal didn't move, except hooking one finger on the cut in her clothes.
"Eth…" She mumbled, with her gaze still focused on the mask. "Please, get away from here."
"Wh-What?!" Her brother rasped, trying to stand up but his legs gave up and he collapsed to all fours. "Are you crazy?!"
His raised voice caused Nick's head to snap towards the young fox and a growl to build up in his throat.
Seeing this, in an act of desperation that had nothing to do with logic, Lydia moved her paws to grab both sides of the masked muzzle and forced Nick to look down at her again. The rumble stopped. "I'm right here!" She declared in a loud, albeit slightly shaky voice. Her breathing was fast and shallow. "If…" She licked her dry lips. "If I give you what you want… Will you let my brother go?" The girl asked of the mammal before her. And, not waiting for a response, bracing all courage that was left in her, Lydia grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled the piece of clothing over her head, leaving herself naked from waist up, save for a simple, cheap bra. "You can have me. Let him go." The last sentence was a plea that she hoped was understood by their attacker.
Meanwhile Ethan managed to get to his hindpaws with the help of a wall. "No! Do-"
"Get away, Eth!" She cast him a brief glance, begging him with her eyes to listen. "Please…" Then she focused on Nick again and, having a bit of time to cope with this situation in her mind, Lydia was now more determined than before. "Don't hurt him and take me."
She gazed at his face with her amber eyes, which were now gleaming with resolve that resounded in Nick's skull with strange familiarity. The courage to not step back, even under overwhelming circumstances, the courage…
Nick took a step back with a grunt and a mumble and his body shuddered.
Lydia and Ethan eyed this strange behavior with surprise.
Their attacker took another step back and leaned down while grasping his head with both paws. Then he flexed his spine back and let out a horrible howl that made the younger foxes cover their ears to protect them from this piercing sound. It lasted for several seconds before the masked mammal wobbled on his legs and then collapsed to the floor.
The siblings gazed in shock at the motionless figure before them. Eventually, Ethan made his way towards his sister. "Lydia! Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah… somehow." She stuttered with her reply. "He just… stopped."
"Rather looked like some kind of attack and how do you know it's 'he'?"
"Because…" Lydia blushed and before she continued, she grabbed her discarded shirt and hurriedly put it on. "He wanted me. The way he acted… It felt that he, uh, desired me." She embraced herself protectively and looked away from her brother.
The grey fox's jaw dropped down as he stared at the vixen. "And you wanted to let him go through with it?! Have you lost your damn mind?!"
This time his sister frowned at him. "What else could I do to save you?!" She fired back.
Ethan's eyes widened and he froze, whatever he wanted to say simply dissipated in his throat. He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry for raising my voice." The young fox shifted his gaze to the unconscious Nick. "So… what do we do now?"
.
.
First thing he registered were the voices. Nick heard them muffled, as if he was submerged in water, but they rapidly gained in clarity. Someone was in a middle of an argument. With the improving quality of sound he lifted his eyelids to survey his surroundings.
He still had his special goggles on, which meant that they didn't take off his suit, which was good. He was locked in some small space, surrounded by darkness and the smell of old clothes. These two clues led him to believe that the young foxes confined him to a closet of sorts for who knows what reason. *I mean, yeah, I did crashed into their house and threatened them... But a closet? So cliche.* Right after that he felt a pang of guilt when the picture of terrified faces of the two vulpines surfaced in his mind. Nick felt especially despicable about himself regarding the girl. He almost...
Shaking his head to realign his thought process, Nick got to his hindpaws and that caused a wave of pain to flood his body. Since his sanity returned, the muscles were now presenting the bill for the crazy chase and all the bruises he sustained during it. Almost every part of his body ached, especially after that crash with the car. Again, if not for the changes in his physique due to the serum, he would be a dead fox. Plus he'll have to check later if that driver won't get any ideas about reporting the accident to the ZPD. But that was just a secondary issue for now.
Amidst that pain Nick also noticed that his wrists were tied. Judging by the feeling on his fur it was some sort of a thin plastic band, probably a zip tie. And that was also the moment he started to hear more clearly the argument on the other side of the door.
"...we will!"
"You already had a week. Time's up. Where's the money?."
"Please, just one more week!" Said a female voice, which Nick recognized as the one belonging to the girl he had chased earlier. "We'll definitely-"
There was a slap that cut her words short, followed by a hollow thud around the floor level. The fox officer didn't need to see the scene to know what just happened. He decided that it was high time to act. Nick strained the muscles in his arms and it didn't take long for the plastic to lose against savage strength. With his paws free, the next step was to say hello. The space was limited, so instead of a kick, Nick went with a knee strike to the lock on the door.
They busted open and Nick could finally review the scene from the visual point of view.
A black bear was towering over the two foxes on the floor, Lydia laying on her side and with a paw on her cheek, Ethan kneeling next to her, placing his arms around her in a protective embrace. There was also a caracal in his forties, dressed in a typical 'modern gangster' outfit - an unbuttoned at the top shirt plus a dark jacket.
And now all heads turned towards Nick.
"The hell is this?" The caracal turned to the masked fox before glancing at the youngsters on the floor. "Some kind of performance? What's with the costume?" He didn't seem intimidated one bit, most likely due to having a bear thug on his side and the fact that their opponent was fox sized. And while cunning and deceptive, they weren't generally considered dangerous fighters.
What the caracal did not know, was that they were facing a savage fox, whose strength, reflexes and agility were far above what was considered normal.
Nick didn't bother with a reply, only approached the bear.
"Oi, freakface." The feline snapped at the masked fox. "You better don't ignore me or my friend Bobby will make you sing in a really high voice." At these words the hefty predator cracked the knuckles of his massive paws.
"I am disinclined to acquiesce your request." The fox replied in a calm manner with his morphed voice. The bear squinted down at him with a dumbfounded expression. "Means 'no'." Nick attacked.
Five seconds later the young foxes and caracal stared slack jawed at the unconscious bear sprawled on the floor.
"Now…" Nick's robotic voice brought their focus back on him, as he flexed fingers of his right paw. He started slowly approaching the feline who, seeing the fox getting closer, regained enough sense to shove his paw under his jacket.
"You fuc-"
Nick covered the remaining distance in a blink of an eye. He was now standing almost muzzle to muzzle with the criminal and his paw was gripping the caracal's wrist. The sand colored predator let out a squeak while his eyes grew even wider than before.
"Wh-Who the hell are you?" He stuttered into the expressionless mask.
Nick reached with his other paw and took out the gun which the caracal had tried to reach for. "Think of me as a messenger." He tossed the gun to the floor. "Under Mr. Pink Plushie's orders I am to inform you that these two are now the organization's business."
The young foxes on the floor had no idea what this conversation was about or knew nothing about any pink toys. Still, they clearly saw how the caracal deflated and his arms went limp. His facial expression, that was so cocky moments ago, now showed pure horror. He moved his jaw in an up and down motion several times before he quickly stepped back and started repeatedly bowing his head. "I'm terribly sorry! I-I-I didn't know! I'm sorry! I'm-"
"Leave." The fox interrupted his barrage of apologies.
The caracal raised his head to look at the slightly shorter mammal. "L-Leave?" He asked like a prisoner not believing he received pardon.
"Now."
It was not an offer, nor a suggestion. It was a downright order.
The gangster bowed his head again. "Yes! Thank you!" With his head kept low, he started walking backwards to the exit. Reaching the door, he spun around to leave.
"Just one more thing, Edward." Said the morphed voice behind him, freezing the feline in place. There was only one thing going through the terrified mind of the caracal.
Where did he learn his name?!
He swallowed nervously and slowly turned around to see the masked mammal standing a mere inch behind him. He would've jumped out of his fur if the fear hadn't already turn him into a trembling mess.
"Y-Y-Yes?" Edward yelped in a high-pitched voice.
"If we ever see you around our prey again, we will dispose of you. Understood?"
The tough caracal who, moments earlier, threatened a pair of young mammals now let out a quiet squeal like a little girl. "Y-Yes, sir."
"Then go." Nick didn't lift a finger, he didn't even move an inch. Yet, the caracal threw himself at the stairs with a speed born from dread, as if he was being chased by the devil himself.
Listening to the waning sound of pawsteps, Nick turned to the young siblings. He began approaching them and the two wrapped paws around each other in a fearful hug. Their ears fell lower and lower as he got closer.
"Now, to deal with you two…"
The grey foxes trembled.
.
.
A brown furred rabbit entered the room and headed towards the wolf seated in the centre in a large armchair. The place was quite brightly lit, lamps splaying light over numerous book cases by the walls. The armchair the wolf was sitting on wasn't the only one in the room and various other ones were spread around the available space.
The rabbit approached the master of assassins who was talking over the phone. Seeing the rabbit he raised a finger to instruct him to wait.
"Я перезвоню тебе." He hung up and placed the phone on a small table beside the armchair. "So, how did it go?" Mr Pink Plushie put his paws on the armrests.
The buck nodded. "You were right, boss."
"Good. That simplifies matters. Now," he reached to the table again, "I can focus on more important things." The wolf picked up a small, rectangular grey box and opened the lid.
This prompted the rabbit by his side to crane his neck enough to see the contents of the box. He cringed. "Uh… boss, you do realize how dangerous this is?"
Alexander couldn't stop himself from showing a smirk. "Maybe to you." He shut the lid. "For now we must prepare for tomorrow."
"Uh, we?"
The one eyed wolf nodded with a smile. "Of course. You are coming with me and we're visiting a lady. That's why I would like for you to make yourself presentable again." Alexander nodded towards the rabbit.
The buck looked down at himself. Then he let out a sigh while putting one paw on his hip and rubbing the back of his head with the other. "Fine, I get it." He turned around and headed to the door.
"Also…" The wolf's voice made him stop and the rabbit looked over his shoulder. "Get rid of that uniform, it doesn't suit you at all."