Second Chances & New Beginnings: Chapter Eight

Story by Chakat_Shadowstripe on SoFurry

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#9 of Second Chances & New Beginings

Now Daren has to explain to people that he really doesn't trust, what is going on. Let's hope that they believe him.


Once we dropped Vivian and most of the things that we'd purchased while out shopping, and changed me into a clean and dry diaper, Jack headed for the nearby police precinct with a me dozing in my seat hugging my new Stripes close to my chest. It had been a long day so far but I was already well aware that it was about to get a whole hell of a lot longer.

I came fully awake when Jack pulled into a parking spot at the station before getting out and unfastening me from my seat.

I found myself whining softly because I wanted, at that point in time, to do nothing more than fall completely asleep.

"Come on kitten, I know that you're tired but those are your friends out there and they need your help." Jack said gently as he picked me up and pulled me into his arms.

"I know daddy," I replied tiredly, "But I am really tired right now." I complained. I knew what had to be done, but my body was getting to that point in the day where it was almost calling out for sleep.

"I can do most of the talking and we can probably arrange to do most of this stuff in the morning but for now we need to get the ball rolling, and that means you being more open about what you did prior to getting arrested this time." He said as he carried me into the station.

"Sir what can I do for you?" The desk officer asked Jack as stepped up to the desk.

"We have some information that may cause a certain amount of damage to a local gang, and perhaps even close out some of your unsolved robberies." Jack said, "Though you will be rather surprised at the source of some of this information."

"Okay can I get your name sir?" The rather tired looking desk cop asked.

"My name is Jack Mackenzie and I am the primary legal representative for Mr. Daren Ross."

The officer grumbled, "That one is trouble, we're sure that there is more to him than he presents, but he's smart, canny, and very tight lipped."

I nodded tiredly spoke up, "Yes, I'm sorry about that. I learned long ago that in order to survive out there that I had to play my cards very close to my chest."

The desk man did a double-take before he looked to Jack, "What's the meaning of this?"

Jack for his part chuckled, "I am sure you're aware of giving a person a new body, right?"

"Yeah, but that generally is only available for those who have plenty of money." The man answered while looking at me.

"Well I suggested it as a form of punishment that would keep him out of a place that would be the death of him." Jack said softly. "And, this was the best that we could come up with."

The officer nodded before he smiled slightly. "He reminds me now, of my sister's adopted son, he's a snow leopard." He chuckled softly, "Though to be fair this one looks like he wished you'd waited till morning he's about to fall asleep in your arms."

"Yes, it has been a long day for him, and his nap was quite a while ago, but this issue is rather time sensitive." Jack said, and from his tone of voice I could tell that he was trying to let me get what rest I could in his arms.

"Okay I've passed it on to the chief, and we can get the ball rolling, but I suspect that tomorrow is when things will really start moving because this cub will be able to help instead of being half-asleep."

After looking at me carefully Jack nodded and sighed, "Daren did say that it seemed that the matter was time sensitive, but he's only a cub now and he has to live with the limits of his own body."

"That much is true, there are times when a little one tries to push themselves to keep going, but the result the next day is rather unpleasant." Jack stated while looking down at me.

I smiled and yawned softly hugging Stripes before sitting up in his arms. "Jack, we need to get started as soon as we can. I think I can survive for a bit longer before getting some rest."

"Kitten you're still new to that body, and you have to realize that you've pretty much hit the wall."

"I know that Jack, but I have to only close my eyes and I almost know what those bangers will do to Amanda. She's only eleven and..." I shivered slightly as I recalled her from my memory. She'd only recently lost the last of her spots and graduated to the full tawny coat of an adult cougar. "Sir," I turned my attention to the desk officer. "Can you talk to your chief, or at least your senior duty officer and get us a private room so that I can pass on some information?"

The man looked at me, then at Jack before nodding and pressing a button.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay kitten?" Jack asked me while we waited for somebody senior to the desk officer.

"I need to be Jack, we need to get this started as soon as possible, though it would help if I had access to the web." I told him honestly. "I know that's on my list of restrictions but,"

"No kitten I don't think that will be required." He contradicted me.

"Jack this will be hard enough without me exercising my abilities, even with the inclusion of the police, which won't be an easy thing to get Belinda to accept. Without my talents we may be resigning Amanda to her death." I said as firmly as I could. "I know that you think that there are other people with my rather unique set of skills, but how many of them would be willing to work for the police, and of those that are, how many are available right now?" I asked him rather pointedly.

Jack opened his mouth and then paused as he considered what I said. "Daren just how good are you at what you do?" He finally asked looking down into my eyes.

"I have no really accurate metric to measure my own abilities Jack, but in the community of web-wizards that I am a member of online I am one of the top twenty most respected in the group."

"Why didn't you turn that talent to legitimate ends kitten?" He asked me, and I could see a rather large hint of disappointment in his eyes.

"Jack... I'd have been legitimate if I could get anybody to admit that a man without any professional accreditation could actually more skilled than they were." I growled softly. "The way things are if you don't have a fancy piece of paper from some school that says that you can do something than there's no point trying to get a job in that field. I didn't have that fancy piece of paper, let alone one from a high school saying that I'd graduated."

"You've never graduated high school?" He asked, looking more than a little shocked.

"That's what I said Jack. When I fled my father and our rather dilapidated double-wide, I lost the ability to attend high school, but instead I got into a much tougher school where failure wasn't an option."

"The school of the streets," The desk officer said grimly, "For every kid who survives there are dozens who don't"

"How did you manage?" Jack asked, looking a bit surprised.

"Dumb luck really," I said simply, "I managed to hook up with Belinda Hamilton on my second day away from my drunken father and as they say the rest is history."

"She was your teacher out there?" Jack asked.

"If she was I'd say he chose well, that lioness is probably one of the toughest cats in city, nobody messes with her, or her crew unless you want a one-way ticket to the morgue."

I nodded since I'd witnessed it on more than one occasion. It was rather frightening what a lion morph could do with her teeth, claws, and prodigious strength.

"Okay what do we have here Jumaris?" a short stocky human asked as he came around the desk to look at Jack and myself."

"Well sir, from what these two have told me, the man is Jack Mackenzie, he's a lawyer, a rather well-known defense attorney while the cub in his arms is a former client of his, Daren Ross."

"Daren Ross eh? Fancy seeing you like this Hot-Fingers Ross." The man said gruffly.

"Yeah, I guess my circumstances have changed O'Flannigan but regardless I'm not here to make your life more difficult." I paused and then considered my current problem and then made a soft, childish sounding giggle, "Well I guess that isn't entirely true, but I'm not here to hack your net or walk off with your keys." I continued smoothly, "Frankly I am here because I need your help to get some of my friends out of a rather dangerous situation."

"Daren, your kind of friends aren't friends of mine, and from what I know they all could do with some time in small cage."

I found myself growling slightly, "Just because they aren't friends of yours doesn't mean that one of them should find her eleven-year-old sister with her neck cut and unspeakable things do her body by the Nailheads." I said grimly.

The expression on O'Flannigan's face changed and he looked grim before turning, "Follow me sir." He said to Jack walking across the busy station floor. "The Nailheads are the worst of the inner-city gangs and they're trying to completely eliminate the Paladins and the Nightrunners from the city."

I was well aware of the major gangs in the city, and I knew that all three of them avoided any kind of interactions with the Mob, who was the primary client of the Shadows of Night. I'd even made a point of not dealing with any dealer who was affiliated with any of the gangs, particularly the Nailheads as they had a nasty habit of cutting their drugs with things like Fentanyl to increase their potency.

Once we got into O'Flannigan's office he closed the door and had Jack sit down. "Now what can you tell me young one?" He asked me pointedly.

"Well earlier on, in the Food Court of Lake Ridge Mall I overheard one of my former colleges talking, on her phone, with another one. From the conversation, I was able to gather that the Nailheads had kidnapped her eleven-year-old younger sister." I stated, without mentioning names.

"You're going to have to give me names if you want this to work Daren, I can't help you if you don't first help me." He said, and I recognized it as a normal police tactic.

I sighed, "O'Flannigan, you're aware that I am trying not to violate and agreement we all have with each other. Nobody has ever violated it, and you've caught three former members too."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose before Jack leaned down and softly whispered in my ear, "Kitten you're going to have to tell him everything, they are in over their heads.

"Jack by trying to make the Shadows do what they want the Nailheads may actually be crossing the Mob since the Shadows usually work for the Mob on Jobs."

"That could get ugly," O'Flannigan said, "The Mob tends to look very harshly on these street gangs stepping into their bailiwick."

I nodded, "The thing I am worried about is that a lot of people could get hurt or killed if there is a war between the Mob and the Nailheads, and a large number of those could be innocents like Amanda O'Shea."

O'Flannigan paused and wrote the cub's name down on a piece of paper. "From what I know she's under the care of her older sister Helen O'Shea."

I nodded, "Though the truth is that most of the Shadows care deeply for that cub," I said softly, pausing to yawn widely.

"Yes, I would imagine so, they would also teach her their bad habits."

I sat up and growled, as much as a tiger cub could growl, "Listen we were doing our best to make sure she stays clean and on the straight and narrow. She goes to school and gets a lecture if her grades aren't good enough from Mel, Simon, and Helen! We don't want her to live like us... stuck in the hell of never knowing if our door is going to be kicked in by the cops or worse."

He leaned back, slightly surprised at my vehemence. "Okay, take it easy and please... we need details on the situation."

"I can only tell you of what we've done in the past, up until my most recent arrest." I told him plainly.

"Start from the beginning then."

After taking a breath and composing myself I quietly began telling him how the Shadows had gotten started and what we were known for throughout the city's underworld. I also informed him of the full roster of our group and our specialties. I kept talking for more than an hour, though at that point I was running on the memory of fumes. I don't even remember when Jack stood up and we headed home for the night.