FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The snow danced through the air on a chilly January morning while the city began to stir. As the sun started to rise behind the clouds, lights started to gutter and die one by one. The streets soon filled with the familiar wintery sounds of snow shoveling and studded tires treading on ice and with the smells of homemade breakfasts for the children who were still deep in slumber. A chill embraced the town with an icy grip that nipped at the citizens' flesh, but somehow they all managed to carry through with their activities without complaint.

Hexin sat at his desk on the thirtieth floor of Revel Tower, browsing through the organization's assignments for the upcoming week. Most of the jobs remained open, but none of them were very attractive to him. He clicked around, blankly looking at basic 'Bronze'- and 'Silver'-rank missions, until an alert for an urgent mission popped up on his screen.

"Gold Rank +: Urgent Mission Available - View Assignment?" the window read. He looked quizzically at it for a moment before clicking 'Yes'.

The computer screen went dark for a moment as a projector and screen descended from the ceiling. The windows darkened almost instantly and large metal bands extended from the floor and attached themselves to Hexin's feet. The projector activated and a small black box appeared on the screen.

"What is your agent ID number?" asked a computer-generated voice. Hexin sat back in his seat and looked up to the screen.

"5XG-7L," he responded calmly. The box on-screen emanated a blue light before morphing into a checkmark. Hexin felt a wave of contentment roll over him - for the first time in over a month he would be able to carry out a mission and not sit in the office and do boring paperwork.

"Number confirmed; please enter your voice password."

"Nixeh Flow Downstream," he responded. He shook his head at the ridiculous password he had picked back when he first joined the Revel Agency, but knew there was no way to change it now. The computer took a moment to process his response.

"Welcome, Agent 5XG-7L. There is a new 'Urgent' message available. Would you like to view the transmission message?" A small orange exclamation point appeared in the middle of the screen, flashing and wobbling side-to-side waiting for a response.

"Show the message, computer," he stated firmly. The silhouette of a feline appeared on the screen; soon, the figure started to speak.

"I am in need of a special report prepared by a research team from an undisclosed location discussing a very confidential occurrence crucial to my business's success. I would have it delivered by normal means, but a rival company wants to get its paws on the information and we cannot take any chances. It is imperative that the copy is delivered to me as soon as possible without any information being leaked. If you choose to accept the mission, you will need to report to the third floor of the Elox Tower immediately and tell the secretary that you wish to see an individual by the name of Xero."

The screen went dark and the computer's voice filled the room once again. "Do you choose to accept the mission?" Hexin looked down at his shackled paws before responding, being aware of the possible consequences he could face of knowing too much about a case he didn't accept - demotion, demerits, the list goes on.

"I accept." The screen and projector returned to the ceiling while the windows reverted to their original tint.

"Please report to Agent 5XG-1L immediately for your mission materials. Have a nice day," the computer chimed. The shackles opened and returned to their original position in the floorboards. Hexin sat for a moment and ran the details of the mission through his head again before standing up and leaving his office to collect the mission materials.

His supervisor, Agent 5XG-1L, resided in the largest office on the floor and was in charge of all 5X-L Gold Agents. Her office doors stood menacingly at the end of the hall adjacent to the employee break room. He grunted as he pushed the solid oak doors open. Agent 5XG-1L, who had been writing something on a calendar on her desk, looked up at him as he stood in the doorway. She glared at him from her desk, her eyes burning through his soul, tearing him apart silently. He gulped.

"7L?" she called to him, snapping her fingers and pointing to the floor in front of her desk. "Here. Now," she commanded. Hexin scrambled to the spot and stood at attention, waiting for his assignment and items. "I see that you accepted the new urgent mission." She pulled out a notebook from her desk and slapped it to his chest. "Don't open it, don't ask questions, and don't screw this one up," she smirked. "I'd hate to have to tell 5XD-1L about how you cannot even complete a simple mission such as this one."

"At least I take missions," he muttered.

"What was that?" she barked. Her eyes seared with anger at such an insolent remark.

"Nothing," Hexin grumbled.

"That's what I thought." She pulled out a small thermos from under the desk and a small key card as well. "Now, this," she held up the key card, "will get you into the Elox Tower without security checks, and this," she held the thermos to him, "is a thermos of hot chocolate. I'd hate to have to report another case of hypothermia related to our missions."

"How generous of you," he responded sarcastically.

"Watch the sass, 7L. Now get out," she snapped and swatted a hand towards him. "And don't forget to shut the door on your way out." Hexin rushed out of the office and jerked the doors shut behind him. He stomped down the hall, stopping in his office to grab his jacket and hat.

"What gives her the right to speak to me like that? We are both 'Gold' spies, yet she acts like she has tight connections with the 'Diamond' rank agents. Pssh, I'll show her how a real spy handles missions. Everyone knows she hasn't taken a mission in years - that's why she hasn't advanced ranks since the 80s; at least I do my fair share of work." He continued to gripe as he made his way to the elevator, pressing the down button with a little more force than necessary. When the doors opened, he pressed the first floor button and waited as he slowly descended, stopping occasionally for others to get on. At long last, he made it to the first floor. Slipping on his jacket and hat, he strode to the doors. Before stepping out onto the street, he looked to the clouds and realized that daylight was quickly nearing. If he wanted less of a chance of being spotted, he'd have to move fast. As soon as he stepped through the doors, he took off in a dash.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, he began to run quicker, clearing large piles of snow in just one bound, all while pressing the notebook firmly to his chest. In the back of his mind were the thoughts of the taunts he would get from 5XG-1L if he screwed up. He panted as he rounded a corner onto a secluded side street. His eyes shut involuntarily from the sting of the cold. He tried to open them again, but by the time they were open he had already slipped on ice and dropped the notebook, thermos, and card key several feet in front of him. He scrambled to reach for them, but the wind had already started to whip loose leaves of paper from the metal binds of the notebook and carry them far into the air and his hot chocolate had already melted the surrounding snow. He grabbed the items before any more paper could fly out or any more chocolate could spill. By the time he had managed to scramble to his feet, the free-flying papers from the notebook were already well beyond his reach. They quickly crossed the tall wooden fence to his right and continued to ascend. He shook his head, grunted, and continued to run towards Elox Tower. 'Maybe Xero won't notice...' he thought as he made his way faster through the labyrinth of streets and alleys.

The papers freely mingled with the snowflakes, joining in the dance as they made their way upward, crossing over entire streets in mere seconds. However, as they continued to rise, their ascent slowed until soon they had changed directions. Slowly they fell, until they landed on a street several miles from where they were freed. A few minutes passed before they were picked up by a large paw and slipped them into a fleece-lined pocket.

"I have the papers - bringing them back to headquarters now," he muttered. His earpiece buzzed for a moment before receiving a response.

"Excellent."