FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"We take customer service VERY seriously."

The doe looked like she had dealt with problem customers a hundred times before. Probably because she had. The wolf wasn't even the worst of them, he was demanding and hostile, but she'd been assaulted before and he didn't look like he was on the verge of that. Odd, because she'd seen him a few times before and he hadn't been like this.

"Then give me my service! Give me my withdrawal!"

"Mr. Bernson-"

"DOCTOR Bernson."

"Dr. Bernson. You're requesting to withdraw $250,000. That kind of withdrawal requires a manager's approval. This was in the agreement you signed when you joined Charter National. It won't be much longer."

"Grrr...I don't have time to wait around for him! Listen...Matilda?" The wolf whipped out a pair of glasses and squinted at the doe's name tag. "I'm a busy man, and I'm in a rush. Have the manager call me afterwards, just give me my money!"

"I can't do that, sir. I don't have access to the safes that contain that much cash. My manager will be here shortly. And pitching a fit won't get him here any quicker."

That reprimand didn't seem to assuage the wolf any, but before things could escalate further, a tall, brown-furred horse stepped up to the desk next to the doe. "Okay, sorry for the wait. Mark Bernson, is that correct?"

"Yes, yes, that's all correct, could you please give me my money now?"

The horse raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to ask you to calm down, Mark. We have procedures in place to protect our patrons, and behavior like this...well, I have the power to say no to a withdrawal like this if it something seems to be shady."

That finally seemed to get through to Mark, and he settled a bit, though his expression remained quite agitated. "You're right, of course...I apologize, Mr., ah...Graylock. I've been a bit out of sorts lately, but I shouldn't be taking it out on you, of course not. I just...really need to take this money out, and I'm...kind of on a time limit."

"Well, we'll try to get through things as fast as possible. Matty, what was the amount on this transaction?"

Matilda looked up at the horse with a bit of an odd expression. "A quarter million, Percy."

"A quarter million." Percy's reply was almost contemplative. "This is almost everything that's in this account, Dr. Bernson. Are you sure you want to withdraw this much?"

The wolf nodded tightly. "Yes, yes, absolutely sure."

"...Very well. It is your money, after all. In cash, in hundreds...I of course have to advise you to be extremely careful with that amount of cash in your possession, you will be a target if anyone is aware of what you're carrying."

"I know, I know."

"Good enough. Give me a few minutes, and I'll be back with your money. Matty, write up the paperwork."

"Yes, sir." The doe went straight to work, printing a form and making some marks on it as the horse disappeared into the back. Mark kept fidgeting at the counter, looking around anxiously, eyes frequently darting towards the clock. It felt like an eternity, even if it was such a short amount of time...all these processes and procedures that he usually didn't think anything of, never really encountered before, were mountainous frustrations to him. He didn't even notice the twitching and drumming of his own fingers against the counter, loud enough that they were drawing looks from the patrons at the next desk.

Finally, Percy returned with a rather sizable envelope. "All right, Dr. Bernson, a quarter million, just for you. I just need you to sign this form stating that you're authorizing this withdrawal personally."

Mark nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes, anything. Thank you!" He scrawled his signature on the form, barely even reading it, then grabbed at the envelope. "I'm sorry again, I'm rather in a hurry. Thank you!" And with that he rushed out, nearly knocking into an entering patron, barely issuing a hurried apology as he exited the building.

Matilda and Percy exchanged looks. "Quite the encounter, wasn't that?" The horse remarked offhandedly. "Wonder what he needed with a quarter million in such a hurry?"

"I suppose it's not really our business, is it?" Matilda's tone of voice certainly suggested a curiosity beyond the content of the words. "Some people just need a lot of money on very short notice."

"Yes, I suppose you're right..."

---

Mark had always been a careful driver, especially with his fairly upscale, expensive car - he didn't want to have the vehicle of his dreams destroyed in a crash or impounded for recklessness, even if it was capable of quite the zip. But he was breaking every traffic law in the book now, racing down the highway at over a hundred miles an hour, weaving through traffic with barely a care for anyone around. It was rather a miracle that no cops were around to catch him, they would have probably had him arrested with the speed he was going at, not just a ticket.

He was a good 40 miles out of town when he turned off a side road from the highway and drove into the woods. Another mile or so out there and he emerged from the car, visibly shaking and clutching the envelope with almost all the money to his name. There was nothing around, no houses, no people, no phone reception...he was well and truly alone, and it was terrifying.

He walked...walked forward, into the woods, ears twitching at every sound, paranoia at the peak of his mind. It was difficult to think about anything, in the state he was in there was a confusing mishmash of things, whirling around so fast he could barely grasp a thing. Never in his life did he think something like this would happen to him...this was something that happened in movies or shows, or to other people in news stories. Not to him.

He was well out of sight of his car when he heard the voice. "So, Mark...you came."

Mark twisted around. Standing just to his right was a lion, significantly taller than he was, his mane messy but with hints that it had once been well-kept. One hand held a gun; his other arm was wrapped around the neck of a wolf boy, only 10 years old, who was shaking and whimpering, eyes red from crying. Mark's voice shook with fear and anger as he finally spoke. "Walter...let him go. I got you your money...give me back my son."

Walter Gallin shook his head slowly. "Throw me the envelope. Nothing happens until it's in my hands."

Mark knew he couldn't trust this, but he didn't see any other choice - not with a gun in one hand and his one in the other. Jaw clenching, he threw the envelope at the lion's feet.

"Heh...that's a good boy." The demeaning comment made his ears twitch, but he held his tongue. "A quarter million, just like I told you in the note...and no cops around. Perfect."

"I did everything you asked. Let him go!"

Walter's lips parted in a menacing, toothy smile. "Mm...no. I think not."

"You bastard!" Mark barked angrily. "We had a deal! Let Oliver go!"

"Oh, we had a deal. The deal was, if you want to see your son again, a quarter million. No one said anything about releasing him."

"Don't you fucking play games!" Mark took a step forward and was frozen by the gun being raised at him.

"Now, now, Mark...I really don't want to kill you, but if you force my hand, my itchy finger may just move on its own. And with no one around here to find you and save you, even if I don't hit anything vital, you might not make it back."

"I did...everything you told me to! You said...dammit, there's nothing more I can do! What more do you fucking want?!"

"What more do I want? Simple. I want you to suffer. I want you in agony...constant, never-ending agony. I want you to feel pain every day when you wake up, dread every passing minute of your life, lose sleep every night in the torment of your failure and the lack of knowledge about the fate of the one you care about. I want you to be ruined, utterly and completely, just as you ruined me."

"You were committing a crime, Walter! You were stealing drugs from the pharmacy and selling them on the street, and to known addicts! Abusing your position to line your pockets! You knew it was wrong, you had to know you'd get found out at some point!"

Walter glared down at Mark, breaking from his confident smile for the first time. "You should have just kept your nose down. I could have cut you in, paid you some hush money...they wouldn't have cared, so long as the esteemed Dr. Gallin and Dr. Bernson kept doing their work. Three years I kept at it without a hint of scrutiny...and then I hear that they're looking for me, that you of all people turned me in. I suppose 12 years of friendship meant nothing to you after all."

"It wasn't worth this! Not helping you commit a felony! You think you feel betrayed, how do you think I felt, knowing that a long-time friend was a criminal? I was supposed to just say nothing, let you continue hurting people?"

"Yes, you were! But I guess I should've known better. You always were too much of a boy scout, passing up the best opportunities because of some overbearing concern about right and wrong. There's no judge at the end of the line, Mark, what never gets found never has consequence...if you had seen that, you'd have raked it in as well."

"It doesn't matter whether there is or not," Mark snarled; it was a feeble attempt to claw back some intimidation, but he had nothing to intimidate with. "There's still a right and wrong, and we doctors NEED to do right, trust is the most important thing we have! You betrayed that trust, there are consequences!"

Walter remained utterly unimpressed. "Hmph. Yes...indeed, there are consequences. For you. I'm going to take your money, and I'm going to take your son. And I'm going to disappear. And you're never going to find me. You can search for the rest of your life, bankrupt yourself and abandon your career, scour the nations, and you will never...EVER...find me or your son again. And rest assured, I have plans for him..." His lips curled back into that twisted grin, and Oliver's whimpering increased. "I've told him about them in great detail...the look of terror on his face, so delicious. But I think, I'll simply leave it to your imagination...all I'll tell you is that there will be suffering, long, arduous suffering. And the best part is, he'll know you're looking for him, that you want him back, and that he'll still never see you again...he'll know how much pain you're in, and you'll know he's in such pain, and there's nothing either of you will be able to do about it."

"You...you...monster..." Mark spat out shakily.

"These are your consequences, Mark. Oh, and I'm going to shoot your legs, just to make sure you don't follow me. I imagine you'll probably survive...I wouldn't want you to die without experiencing a lifetime of agony, after all. Such a pity, that I won't be able to see it personally...but I think I'll be able to see it through your son's pained face, day after day."

Mark watched helplessly as the lion lowered himself down, drawing the envelope with the money towards him. The gun was lowered off to the side, but still in his hand, too close for him to be able to make a break for it, try to rush him...but he still had to try, didn't he? Before the lion made good on his promise to shoot his legs and disable him...he had to try, had to take one last desperate chance to save his son, maybe wrestle the gun from Walter...but he was so much bigger, had always been stronger, could he really do it? He braced himself, he had to try, he couldn't just watch Walter walk away and win...

"Freeze! Don't move!"

Walter stopped dead in mid-crouch, eyes going wide and wild. His smile turned into a snarl. "What the fuck? I said no police!"

"I...I didn't-"

"Liar!" The lion rose back up and pointed the gun at him, clearly aiming for a kill shot, one last attempt to get some measure of revenge. He never got it off - without warning, a shot rang out from above, going into Walter's wrist; he let out a pitiful cry as the gun dropped from his wounded hand. A moment later a lizard dropped down from the trees above, grabbing the lion and breaking his grip on Oliver. The wolf cub rushed to his father as the reptile got the rapid edge on Walter, pinning him to the ground and subduing him completely.

Mark dropped to his knees, embracing Oliver; the tears were now flowing freely between them, the razor-thin miss indelibly marked in their minds. How close they'd come to losing each other...just those two days of anguish had been such a weight on them both, and the relief of being reunited finally was overwhelming for them.

The lizard finally rose up, with Walter cuffed and held fast; Mark could now see the badge on his suit, he was a special forces member, an elite with a strong military background, even though he was a bit smaller than Walter the lion had never stood a chance of overcoming him. "Walter Gallin, you're under arrest for kidnapping, extortion, attempted murder, illegal sale of a controlled substance, attempted manslaughter, manslaughter, and murder in the first degree. You have the right to remain silent..." It was a terrifying list, especially the last one, Mark hadn't known about that. The lion had clearly been more than willing to kill...how close had he come to losing his life here, even with his claims that he wanted the wolf to live and suffer.

Another officer, a younger avian, helped him stand up. "Dr. Bernson, we'd like to get statements from you and your son. Will you be all right to do so?" He nodded; he was still shaking, but he didn't want to wait, he wanted it to be over as soon as possible. "All right...let's get you back to the cruisers, we'll get the detective to get you addressed as soon as possible."

"Can't fucking believe it..." His ears perked a bit as the lizard pushed Walter past them; the lion was clearly furious, but unable to muster the strength to break free, the lizard must have done a number on him. "Follows every instruction to a tee, but this time he breaks it...calls the cops, never believed he would've called the cops if he was told not to..."

Which was the outstanding question that nibbled at him while he was being escorted back to the police cruisers...because although he knew he probably should have, Mark HADN'T called the cops. How had they known where he was? Not that he wasn't about to worship them for what they'd done, but he couldn't imagine how they'd known about all this when he hadn't said a word...

They emerged from the woods, where Mark had parked before. There were half a dozen cop cars around his, all with flashing lights. Walter was pushed into one, which appeared to have extra restraints inside; they were taking no chances with him. Officers were milling around, as well as what looked like a couple of bystanders talking to one of them...

No.

Not bystanders.

He'd been in such a haze earlier, but he still recognized them. The brown-furred horse who'd given him his money at the bank. The prim, patient doe he'd rather harassed trying to get the ransom for Walter. Both standing there, completely calm and professional just as they had been scarcely an hour ago.

The avian officer noticed him staring. "You're a lucky man, Mr. Bernson. We got a call from the bank about a suspicious withdrawal and a possible ransom. Our highway patrol saw you speeding along and we were able to mobilize our men quickly. I don't know that we would have been in time if we hadn't gotten the information so quickly. You'll be next, talk to Detective Smits, he'll take your statement."

Mark just nodded blankly, still staring at the two bank employees. It seemed crazy to think that they had called the cops because of him...true, he hadn't exactly been in a state of mind to hide his agitation, and no one would be that anxious to get out that big a sum of money that quickly, but still. It was unreal that that had happened...

"Ah...I think we're all done here, Mr. Graylock." Detective Smits had noticed Mark and Oliver approaching, and was speeding things along. "I have to say, you and Miss Plumosa continue to surprise me, I've lost count of how many times you've come forward with information key to solving some pretty heinous crimes. I've never seen or heard the like of it anywhere else in the country."

"Just part of the job for us, officer." Percy Graylock looked over at the two wolves, giving them a nice warm smile.

"We take customer service VERY seriously."