Jeremy 097; Making A Splash
Dominic resurfaces.
Jeremy had been ready for days. He had waited to make it seem should there be any investigation, the likely pool of suspects would be fairly large. He'd kept asking around to others from his academy days. He'd contacted anyone that he thought might remember Allen Alversten. From that large a number of leads to follow Jeremy would be lost in the crowd.
He'd waited until past two in the morning to implement his plan. The city would be as its most lethargic in the hours ahead. Jeremy changed to his favorite hawk form. At three times the size of a normal raptor he'd rule the skies. Grasping in a talon the pack he'd prepared, Jeremy leapt to the rail and paused a moment. While the conditions were far from perfect he couldn't wait any longer.
Taking flight from his apartment deck he started tracking Allen's location with PATOMES. This was the first time he'd flown in rain. His feathers kept him dry but he found it annoying that he had to constantly blink away raindrops from his eyes. The pack he carried barely weighed him down at first. After a few minutes he felt its weight increase. It was quickly soaking up water from the rain. Jeremy made a note to himself to buy a better backpack.
As he narrowed in on the cheetah's location he grew ever more curious. He'd never traveled to the wharves before. He guessed most in the city hadn't either. Dropping in altitude Jeremy perched on the apex of an idle and unlit crane. Checking the operators cabin carefully he saw it uninhabited. The crane he'd picked to observe the area from was empty.
According to PATOMES Allen would be in one of the buildings below and to the west of the crane. The two buildings in question were about the same size as the containers that were everywhere. The shipping containers were stacked together anywhere between two to sometimes four high. It looked like a jumbled together skyline all to itself. There were only two cranes moving at the moment. Both were unloading a ship docked to the northwest of his location.
Except for the few people and vehicles moving about Jeremy could see no one that looked to be out of place. Even after watching for ten minutes he could see nothing out of the ordinary, at least to what a novice to the area might expect. With the unloading likely taking everyone's attention Jeremy felt free to act. Satisfied for the moment Jeremy took to the air again and flew closer to Allen's location.
He passed over stacks of container boxes to glide over the two small buildings at the edge of one of the docks. As Jeremy passed over the outbuildings PATOMES informed him which held the cheetah inside. He took the risk of passing over it several more times before he was satisfied. If there were any watchers he couldn't see them, and with the vision his raptor body gave him that would be quite the feat. Choosing a location that was just a bit out of the way and also hidden from any casual observers Jeremy landed on a convenient container box.
Changing to his Dominic persona he pulled his clothes out of the pack and dressed. His disappointment in the backpack flared into anger as he was forced to pull on wet clothing. It would likely be seen as the price of caution when he encountered anyone but it was still unpleasant. Even though the jacket he'd bought was advertised as waterproof Dominic was soaked by the time he'd finished dressing.
Dropping to the ground Dominic started making his way to the building Allen was inside. He had to assume the cat was being held by several people. He circled the building but saw no one in the area. He found a spot where he would be in shadows and could watch the door and stay out of the rain as well. There was just one door and the few windows were covered. If it weren't for the vapor coming from an exhaust vent on the roof, the building would look unoccupied. Allen was inside though. Dominic eyed the door for a little longer, thinking things through one last time before committing himself to acting.
For a moment he again considered the possibility that he was walking into a police trap. He dismissed that almost as quickly. It would be very unlikely the police would expect Dominic to have any interest in Allen after so much time had passed with no further contact. This had to be a play from someone else to get his attention.
While the police had kept the cheetah's identity confidential there would likely be plenty of people who would know of Allen's involvement. The talk Jeremy had had with Allen and detective Frick had been in a public place. There would have been a large number of officers involved in the case. After enough time it would seem less and less important to keep confidences. Even cops tend to talk, especially when what they had to say made them feel important.
No, this was someone that wanted to draw Dominic out. From what he'd seen it didn't look like a trap either. This person wanted to talk. Allen Alversten was the only connection to Dominic left.
Dominic stepped out of the shadows and crossed to the door. Slowing only enough to turn the knob he opened the door and pushed his way in. He took a quick look around the room adding everyone's profile to PATOMES as he closed the door. With the door closed behind him Dominic took a step to the side keeping his back to the wall and waited for the occupants to make the first move.
Allen was sprawled out on a couch apparently sleeping. The only other occupants were sitting at a table playing cards. It was so cliche Dominic almost smiled. Two rats and a badger, they all had looked over and watched as he'd come in. They were still watching him seeming to also be waiting for him to make his move. Two seconds went by with no one moving or making a sound. It was plenty of time for Dominic to throw quick glances around the rest of the room.
The small space heater next to he couch gave off enough heat for Dominic to feel from several feet away. Allen's couch was even closer to the heater. The cat had his back to the heat and was still not moving. Dominic guessed the male must sleep like a stone. The rest of the room gave the impression of a tool shed that had been cleaned out and repurposed as an office. There were various marks of old paint patterns all over the walls, indications of shelves being mounted and removed over the corse of years. The wall Dominic had his back to was filled with clipboards and other paperwork taped and pinned to the wall. It was the perfectly stereotypical catnapper's hideout.
The badger made the first move by setting his cards on the tale. "Well, it's about fucking time you showed up." He pushed his chair back from the table while holding his paws a foot above the surface. The two rats followed suit, moving even slower than the badger. It was a clear indication that they meant no harm.
The lone female spoke up next. "We assume you're Dominic. If so our employer desires to have a chat with you."
The other rat held his place and added "We're just here to deliver that message, nothing more."
Dominic stayed silent a moment longer. The rats and badger were clearly afraid of him. He had no doubt they knew what he was capable of. With the command to shrink them all in a matter of seconds at the ready he walked over to stand next to the cheetah. The cat was still sleeping. He smelled a bit unwashed but other than that healthy. There wasn't even a hint of blood in the air. Dominic could even hear a slight rumbling purr coming from the feline. He understood the purr, he could feel the radiant heat on the back of his legs. He shook his head in amazement.
Turning back to the three messengers Dominic saw they hadn't moved. "Just who is your employer?"
"Cecil Faraday." The female said. "He's willing to allow you to pick the place but wants to meet tomorrow. Well, today actually."
"He intends you no harm." The badger added.
They went silent and kept their paws still a foot above the table staring at Dominic. With a motion of his head toward the sleeping cheetah Dominic asked "What about him?"
The badger shrugged as the rat replied "You can take him, or we take him back. We were told to hold him only for as long as it took until you showed yourself."
Dominic stared at the three. He'd heard of Faraday. He was a dominant alpha rat. Beyond that he could remember little. Jeremy had come across his name when he'd first learned he was to become a dominant. When he wasn't one of those that had interviewed him in the academy he'd not followed up on researching the male. There had been no detectable sign of them waiting for him to drop his guard. He could think of no reason he'd want to involve himself in their ambitions. "I'm not interested in playing revolutionary. Tell him to find someone else."
"Thats not what he wants to talk about." The badger answered. He gave an upward motion with his paws indicating things were as simple as that.
Dominic sighed. Walking toward the door he said "Fine, if he wants to talk have him here midnight tonight." He paused with the door open and his paw on the knob. "To make in interesting, just the four of you."
He turned from the three nodding at his answer. Looking around at what he could see of the wharf Dominic could see no changes. There was still no one in sight of the out of the way building. Turning back at the three messengers he saw they hadn't moved. "And take him back wherever you found him. He might still be useful to me."
Closing the door behind himself Dominic sidestepped a couple paces and waited for any of Faraday's messengers to come out to follow him. From where he stood at the side of the building he could hear voices but could make none of the words out. A few seconds later the door opened and the two rats came out. Dominic could see they were looking around, clearly nervous as they made their way away from the building.
Dominic withdrew to the container where he'd left his pack. He was using the locking mechanism to climb the container's door when he heard the sound of a car engine starting. Laying flat on the top of the container he watched as a van drove to the front of the building and stopped. From his vantage Dominic couldn't see between the van and the front door of the building. Less than a minute later the van drove away from the building.
As the vehicle made its way through the docks PATOMES told Dominic all four were inside the van. Waiting until the van was out of sight he got to his feet and stripped. Stuffing the sodden clothing in the backpack Dominic changed back to the huge hawk. With the bag in his talon he leapt to the air.
He spent little time in the new storage unit, just enough to hang the jacket out to dry. The rest of the Dominic sized clothes he left in the backpack. He couldn't risk bringing any of the wet clothes to his apartment. Even Sam would be able to smell the wet fur of rat with his weasel senses. Dominic padded through the hallways of the storage facility in just his fur. He had picked this facility for its absence of cameras and general lack of security. The door to the roof was not even alarmed.
Changed back to a hawk Jeremy took off from the rooftop and headed home. Once again safe inside his apartment Jeremy took a long hot shower even though reseting to his own body removed the chill from Dominic's soaking. He was in bed and drifting toward sleep soon after.
The next morning started normally. He was expecting a call from Allen almost constantly. His training with Alex done for the day he returned home and continued through his daily routine. He was soon heading home from his appointments at the Floor still anticipating a call from the cheetah. After saying his goodnights to his brother and retreating to his own bedroom Jeremy had begun to wonder if Faraday's people had had other intentions than returning Allen.
With no word from the cat he had to start making preparations to meet Faraday. It was just after eleven when he launched himself from the deck of his apartment.
* * * *
So, its time to let you lot know I was down down to just six buffer chapters when I posted this on Patreon. Unless I start getting a lot more productive than I have been I'm going to pause the story at chapter 100 for a while.
With nothing to justify my Patreon account I'll be suspending any charges by the end of this month. Or...I have a very old story most of you may have never seen before. I'd have to go through and edit it again since its more than ten years old now and the last time I looked at it I cringed at just how bad my writing was back then.
Up to you lot.