FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Augtober_ 32

Gabriel sat in his car, waiting for his partner to finish up inside the precinct. He'd been partnered with another rookie, though they had one and a half years of actual experience. They were decent enough, but Gabriel could tell they were a bit annoyed by the attention he had received for saving the lieutenant and bringing down several wanted criminals. Although the fanfare among the police force had mostly subsided, the resentment was still clearly present.

Given the nature of his success, Gabriel had been placed in the precinct's gang division. So far, there hadn't been much excitement aside from a few tense confrontations involving petty disputes between several of the cities smaller gangs. Although it hadn't been what he'd originally intended, he supposed it was still making a change for the better. In recent days, he was more concerned with what Fox had gotten him into. So far, he hadn't seen anything suspicious, but nonetheless, he stayed very on edge.

He heard a tapping on the window. It was his partner, Nathaniel Checkers. An average sized husky, with ordinary grey and white patterns, he wasn't anything uncommon. He clambered in the cruiser, "Alright, chief wants us to patrol mid-town Manhattan. Said to keep an eye out for 'hooligans'." Despite having just gotten out of the academy, he hadn't seemed very interested in his job. Gabriel had decided to put up with it for now, hoping that he would eventually come around. "Sounds like fun. Who knows, if we're lucky, maybe we'll find a place to give us free drumsticks." Gabriel hoped to lighten the mood, but Nathaniel simply groaned in response. Realizing he wasn't going to budge, Gabriel started the engine, and headed off.

***

The city was busy as always, and as expected, other than minor rules being broken and some heated arguments, there wasn't a great need to keep a super close eye on things. It was around noon when they decided to get lunch, stopping by a relatively empty restaurant. It was a Britannic restaurant called "Crowell's Cuisine," offering the food of Britannia.

"You ever come here before?" Checkers asked Gabriel, as he scrutinized the interior. "No, but it looks nice enough." He replied. Old artifacts were on the walls, from armor, to swords, to old flags and banners. Although there were plenty of decorations everywhere, it didn't feel cramped; instead, the atmosphere was quite a cozy and welcoming one.

A young human female, around 25, walked over to their table. "Hello, my name is Mary, I'll be your server today." She said, with a notable, pronounced accent. She handed them both a menu enthusiastically. "If you need anything, just give me a shout." They both said thank you, and she hurried off to another table.

Although it was easy enough to understand most of the items on the menu, Gabriel was unfamiliar with a few items. "Uh, hey, do you know what 'haggis burger with chips' is?" he asked Checkers. Checkers shook his head, "No. Do you know what a 'Yorkshire pudding with bangers and mash' is?" Gabriel shook his head, and they both continued to study the menus.

Mary returned after a few minutes, "So, have you decided what to order?" Both Gabriel and Checkers were reluctant to answer. Gabriel decided to be safe, "Almost. We just had a few questions about a few of the items on the menu..." Mary appeared to be almost embarrassed, "Oh, yes, of course. I always forget most people here aren't familiar with Britannia. I'm so sorry, what was it you wanted to know?" "Well, there's just a few things here that are a bit unclear." He held up the menu so she could see, and pointed to a few of the items. "Ah yes. The haggis burger is fried haggis, which is a mixture of various bits of rabbit pluck, onion, oats, and spices, served in a bun with a side of chips- ahem, 'french fries'. The Yorkshire Pudding is a bowl of bread with sausages and mashed potatoes. And the Treacle tart is a tart shell filled with a syrup made from treacle- I think you call it 'molasses' here?" Gabriel was thankful for the explanation, "Ah, that clears things up a little, thank you. Well in that case, I think I'll have the Yorkshire pudding." Checkers decided to play things safe, "Just the regular burger and fries for me please." "Of course, I'll have that for you right away." She bounced away to give their orders to the cook.

When she returned, they were surprised by the dishes. The Yorkshire pudding was indeed a new sight, but more surprising was the size of the meals, which although not exactly small, were definitely smaller portions than either of them were used to. "Here you go," She said, handing them the plates. "I hope you enjoy your meals, if you need anything else just give me a shout." They both thanked her, and turned to the meals in front of them.

"This is... smaller than I expected." Checkers said, examining his burger. "You're right... maybe's it's a cultural thing?" Gabriel suggested. "Well, here goes nothing." He said, preparing to try out the Yorkshire pudding. He went for a little of everything, opting for the full experience. "Mmm, this is actually really good. Wanna try some?" He asked, holding up a forkful of mash. "I think I'm good thanks." Checkers replied, going in for another bite. "Suite yourself."

They finished their meals, and asked for the check. "Here you go. I expect you found everything okay?" "Yep, everything was fantastic. I think I'll definitely have to come back sometime." Gabriel answered. Checkers was much less enthusiastic, "It was decent, I guess." "I'm glad to hear it!" She exclaimed, clearly delighted by the feedback. She went to leave, but Gabriel stopped her, "Actually, before you left, I wanted to ask you something." She stopped, confused, "Yes, what is it?" "Well if you don't mind me asking, are you from Britannia?" She seemed to be slightly embarrassed by the question, but still did her best to answer. "Y- Yes, actually. In fact, my whole family is. We moved here twelve years ago, and my parents opened up this restaurant." "I figured, based off your accent. So you've always worked here, haven't you?" "Yeah, how did you know?" "Well, you seem to really enjoy your work, and you look really at home in the place." "I guess that's true. Only, I guess I'm not that familiar with it anymore." Checkers butt in, "What do you mean?" "Usually we only really get the same patrons everyday. In fact, you two are the first new faces I've seen in a month." Both Checkers and Gabriel were taken aback, unaware of how unusual their presence was. No doubt it was why Mary had seemed overly excited serving them.

"If I may ask you a question," Mary stammered, "can I... touch your fur?" Gabriel was surprised by the request, and it was obvious she was incredibly embarrassed by it. "Can I ask why?" He asked, nervously. "Oh, that came out wrong, didn't it?" She exclaimed, "You see, in Britannia, it's almost all humans. And even here, we only really have humans come into the restaurant. It's just, I've never had the opportunity to touch a canines fur, and it just looks so soft". She looked away, nervously, afraid she'd just said something horrible. But to her surprise, Gabriel smiled at her. "Well, in that case I don't see the harm." Surprised, she tried to compose herself, "R-Really? Are you sure?" Gabriel sighed, "Yeah, I mean it's unusual, but it doesn't bother me much. Considering... well anyway, being an officer, it's the least I could do." Checkers gave him an odd, judgmental look. "Alright, well while you let yourself get fondled, I'm going to wait in the car." Both Gabriel and Mary blushed, and Checkers simply walked off, leaving his half of the payment.

Gabriel was suddenly very self aware; he felt as though he had a hundred eyes gazing at him. "Sorry about him-," He said to Mary, "He just hasn't fully settled in to his position yet." "It's okay." She replied, "So, how should we-?" She shifted nervously, unsure of how to proceed. Gabriel held up a hand, "I think just here's fine." He pushed up his sleeve slightly to give Mary some more room. She approached nervously, grasping his arm with both hands. "Oh, my. It's just like a rabbit's." She said, touching his fur. "No, it's softer than a rabbits. But then, you must condition it." "Y-Yeah." He said, still feeling awkward. She quickly noticed, and let go of his arm. "S-Sorry. I shouldn't of-" "It's okay." He interjected. "I just forget how different things must be there." He said, with a nervous laugh. "Yeah. Thanks for letting me do that. Please, feel free to come back anytime!" She said, with a smile. Gabriel couldn't help but smile back, "I'll be sure to!" Mary apologized again, and quickly headed off to attend a couple that had walked in. Gabriel couldn't help but keep smiling. Although the experience had certainly been a weird one, seeing how happy she'd been had made the whole thing more than worth it. He paid for his meal, and made sure to leave a generous tip.

When he got back to the cruiser, Checkers was awaiting him impatiently. "Got a call from dispatch. All units." "Right, where to?" "Penthouse. The Spire." "Got it." He turned on the lights and sirens, and they headed off.

***

The Spire stood at the north end of Central Park. A decades old building, it was a conversion of the remains from an old space elevator from the Re-Modernization era. Now little more than a shadow of a much more prosperous time, it served as a space for several elite businesses and upper class residences. Gabriel and Checkers were awed by the interior architecture, much of which had remained exposed despite all the years.

"It's amazing what the people before were capable of, huh?" Gabriel asked. Although he agreed, Checkers still tried to seem uninterested. "Yeah, whatever." "Do you ever think we'll be able to achieve this sort of advancement again?" Checkers genuinely wasn't sure, "Not as long as idiots keep killing each other." With that, Gabriel sensed the topic was over.

They didn't have too much trouble getting to the penthouse. Although they both had uniforms, the clerk had still requested ID, no doubt in response to nature of the recent crime. The elevator ride up had been quite quick and smooth, a relief given the lingering awkwardness between the two officers.

The penthouse was quite lavish. While there was still much of the same structure showing as before, here great care had been taken to try and restore the building to what it had been like long ago. Odd and extravagant sculptures lay around the floor space, and crystal chandeliers hung from the very high ceiling. Several pieces of very ornate furniture dotted the main room, and a massive gilded wooden desk sat in the far back center of the room, in front of a massive glass window, reaching from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

"Fancy place." Checkers remarked, admiring the various decorations in the room. Gabriel was astounded, "Geez, this whole place must be worth trillions of dollars." "2.5 Billion, actually." Said a man in a suit. It was NNYPD detective Emerson Craft. Both canines composed themselves, "Detective Craft." "Easy you two. No need to be so formal." "Whats the situation?" Gabriel asked. "So far, all we know is one Stephan Fuller, the owner of this fine establishment and long time corporate billionaire was found dead at his desk by his personal secretary." "What do you need us to do?" Checkers asked. The detective sighed, "We've secured the crime scene, but so far, we have nothing. No motive, no murder weapons, and not even any witnesses. Right now, I've got all hands looking for anything and everything that might tell us exactly what happened here. I want you two to go search the bedroom, see if you can't find anything." "Yes sir." They responded, and made their way to the bedroom.

Although the room was intended for sleeping, it was still massive in scope, and was as extravagantly decorated as the main room. While the ceiling was much lower, it was still at least twenty feet high. It was filled with much more furniture, clearly serving as an office space. A grand bed stood at the far end of the room. On one side of it was an ornate desk, not as big as the one in the main room, but just as expensive. "This guy didn't spare any expense, did he?" Checkers remarked, somewhat blown away by the ridiculousness of the decor. "Well, I guess we'd better get started." Gabriel said. "I'll take this half of the room, you take the other half." Checkers grunted in response, and headed off to start his search. Gabriel went over to the desk, and began searching through the drawers to try and find anything interesting.

In most of the files he came across were simple business letters and invoices for common, typical expenditures. Or at least, what counted as typical for a prestigious corporation. There were a few notable exceptions, namely threatening letters and hate mail, but that was to be expected. There was one letter however, that Gabriel found quite odd. While it was a business letter, it was formatted in an atypical style and was worded much less formally than the others he had come across.

Mr. Fuller,

I understand your previous reservations, but I assure you this

is the deal of a lifetime. While the financial gain is minimal

at best, that's true, the overall gain is something that exceeds

even the most successful of all your previous ventures. As for

what we can do, do not underestimate us. If you truly doubt me,

be prepared for the worst.

Most unusually of all, the letter was unsigned. There was no indication of who had written it at all. While this may have been some sort of mistake, Gabriel was sure that this letter was a key piece of evidence.

"Think I found something." He called out to Checkers. "Good. So far, the only thing I've found out is all this guy cares about is money." Checkers took the letter, "That's it? A business letter? It doesn't even have a name." Gabriel snatched it back. "Just because it doesn't have a name doesn't mean it isn't relevant. I'm going to go give this to the detective, see if you can find anything else here." He could tell Checkers didn't believe the letter was important, but given the otherwise spotless crime scene, he felt as though if anything was going to lead to some answers, this would be it.

"Detective Craft, I think I found something." Gabriel handed him the letter. "Good work officer Smith. I'll have this sent over to the precinct right away. You're dismissed." "Yes sir." He headed back to get Checkers, but couldn't help but feel that he hadn't actually done much. He supposed he had done his job, and now it was up to the detective to piece together what had happened based off the evidence he had found.

*****

The next day began fairly similarly to the previous day. Gabriel sat in the car, waiting for Checkers. Today however, Gabriel had decided to grab a paper on his way in. It was mostly the same stuff as always, but there was one item that caught his attention. "Billionaire and CEO of Green Agriculture Inc. found dead from apparent suicide in penthouse apartment" As he read the headline again to make sure he had read it correctly, he wondered if there had been some sort of mistake. He thought about what to do, and decided Checkers would have to wait on him for once.

He found the detective's desk quite easily; the detective was well known at the precinct for being one of the best. Despite the recent murder, he seemed quite at ease. "Detective Craft?" He said, confused by the whole situation. "Ah, officer Smith. Good work on finding that suicide note. You really saved us a whole lot of trouble." Gabriel was really confused, "Suicide note?" "Yes. It's tragic what happened, truly. But now we can all put this behind us and move on." "With all due respect sir, I don't think this case is solved yet." At this, the detective clearly got irritated. "Look, I know you feel that there's more to this, but we found the body and the note and that's that. Alright? Now, if you're done here I'm sure you have some teenagers you need to stop from spray painting a park bench or something." "Understood." Gabriel said, not having any real intention of backing down.

***

Back in the cruiser, Gabriel told Checkers about the situation. Checkers didn't seem too concerned or interested, as usual. "The detective said case closed. So that's that." "But he says the note was a suicide note, when it clearly wasn't. I mean, you saw the note!" "You mean the one with no name?" Gabriel was frustrated by Checkers inattentiveness, but realized he had a way of continuing the investigation regardless. Checkers noticed his silence, "Look, even if there was something more, the case is closed. Its over. We have other work to do." "No, its not over yet." He got out of the car, "Where the hell are you going?" Asked Checkers. "To make a phone call." Gabriel shouted back, pulling out the data pad Fox had given him.

"Fox, I know this isn't exactly what you want us to be focusing on right now, but I need your help." "Mr. Smith, what is it that you need help with exactly?" "There's a case that came in yesterday, a billionaire found dead in his penthouse." "I read about that. But I thought the police ruled it as a suicide?" Gabriel sighed, suddenly not as confident in his suspicions, "Well, they did, but I was at the crime scene. I found this letter, which everyone is calling a suicide note, but I saw what was on it and it definitely_wasn't_ anything like that." "What do you mean?" "I think it may have been a threat. I don't know from who, but it seemed like whoever sent it wanted Fuller to invest money in... something. I'm not sure. I just feel like there's a lot more to this than what everyone thinks." "Are you sure that's what you saw?" "Well, yeah." "If what your saying is true... Mr. Smith, do you know who was overseeing the case?" "Yeah, detective Craft." "Thank you, Mr. Smith. I'll be in touch." With that, Fox closed the line. Although relieved to have some help, Gabriel was surprised by Fox's sudden interest at the mention of Craft. He decided the best thing for now was to go back to work, which for now meant patrolling the park again.

*****

Fortunately for Gabriel, crime in the city had returned to its usual dull state. Although there were a few calls, they were all shoplifting cases or false alarms. While taking a break in the car, Gabriel heard his data pad go off. He took a look, and saw Fox had messaged him, requesting a callback as soon as possible. "What kind of phone is that?" Checkers had taken note, as nothing else was going on. Gabriel did his best to lie, "The rare kind. Look, I need to make a quick call, I'll be right back."

"What's up?" Gabriel asked over the line, curious as to what Fox had found out. "I think you might be right about there being more to this case than a simple suicide. I did some digging on Mr. Fuller's company, and I found some very interesting things." "Like what?" "Over the past few years, there have been several offers to buy out his companies. He has at least 51% shares in all of them, and has continually refused to sell." "Nothing unusual about that." Gabriel remarked, aware corporations would regularly attempt to engage in hostile takeovers. "That's what I thought too at first. But when I looked into the companies engaging in the offers, I noticed this." Fox sent Gabriel a list on his data pad. "Hold on, I recognize a few of these. Aren't some of them 'Claviger' companies?" "They all are. Every single one." Fox said starkly.

Gabriel worried of the implications. "You don't think they had him killed over refusing to sell, do you?" Fox sighed, "I'm not sure, it's certainly possible, but from what I can tell they usually avoid killing as it can draw unwanted attention. It's possible that may have been part of the reason, but the only way to know for sure would be to find some solid evidence connecting the two incidents." "Considering the case is officially closed, there's not much more the police can do." Gabriel barely held back a swear, as he felt the more they found out, the more it became clear there wasn't anything they could do. "Actually, there might be something that can be done." Gabriel heard Fox typing on a keyboard, "I noticed Mr. Fuller met a few times with a Ministry of Finance director. I'm not sure what for, but according to his personal calendar, it had to do with the company." "I'm not sure how that helps us." Gabriel said, fully aware the police had no say in MOF operations. "I've obtained a special warrant for the directors office on the grounds of possible stolen property. As long as you don't draw to much attention to yourself, you should be able to get away with it." "Wait, me? Why me?" Gabriel knew that the ministries were very intolerant towards those who decided to "bend" the rules. Much less so to anyone who broke them. "Quite frankly, Mr. Smith, you are in the best position for this task. I've already made sure your car got the call. Although you are our newest member, I'm fully confident that you'll be able to handle this assignment." Gabriel thought about the consequences for failure, but what ended up convincing him was the realization they couldn't afford to give the Clavigers a win. "Alright fine. But you owe me." "Very well. And Mr. Smith? Good luck." The line went dead, and Gabriel tried to steel himself for the looming task ahead.

*****

The MOF headquarters were fairly nearby to the city center. Although not as heavily guarded as other government facilities, there were still thorough security checks in order to get access to the building. Fortunately, whatever Fox had done allowed them to get through them all without issue. The real challenge still lay ahead however, as the warrant was very specific.

After reaching the right floor, they headed to the directors office. The secretary was a young female cougar, who wore a very formal dress. "Hello, how can I help you today?" She spoke in a clear tone, with not much emotion in her voice. Gabriel pulled out the warrant they'd picked up from the courthouse. "We're here investigating a potential robbery. We shouldn't be long." She verified the document, and handed it back. "See that you aren't." She opened the door for them, and closed it behind them.

The office was typical of a high ranking government official, with not too many personal items, aside from a few awards and photos. "Alright. Where do we start?" Checkers asked, unhappy as always. "How about why your here?" They both turned to the corner, and saw a vixen with brownish fur and white highlights, back to the wall and head down. They both pulled their weapons. "Who are you supposed to be?" Gabriel asked, suspecting the worst. "And here I thought we could be friends." She looked up, red eyes staring directly at him; it was Helena. Gabriel stopped himself from saying anything foolish, but couldn't help but feel she hadn't been sent here by Fox. He decided to try and ask her in an inconspicuous way, but Checkers beat him to it. "I suppose your our little thief. Looks like your cornered, with nowhere to go." Helena simply stood up, but made no sudden movements. "Guess you caught me." She said, haughtily. Checkers moved in to arrest her, while Gabriel kept an eye on Helena. Much to his surprise, she gave a wink, before promptly kicking his gun out of his hand and knocking Checkers to the ground. Before either of them could react, she headed to an open window, and climbed out. "Son of a-" Checkers scrambled to his feet, and ran to the window. "She's gone. Dammit!" "Come on. Let's finish up here and call it in." Checkers groaned. "You finish up. I'm going to go call it in." "... Alright then." Gabriel said, realizing Checkers had been hoping for a commendation. On the bright side, this meant he'd have the office to himself now.

He searched the drawers and cabinets for anything relating to Fuller or his company, but there was nothing relating to either of them. There was a computer on the desk, but knew he probably wouldn't be able to get access. He decided it was a dead end but before he could leave, someone entered the room; it was the director.

"What the hell is going on here?" Asked the lion, a noticeable snarl on his face. "I can explain." Gabriel blurted, well aware the massive lion could easily win a fight. "You have ten seconds." In somewhat of a panic, he accidentally showed his hand. "We know Fuller met with you." He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. "And what exactly are you insinuating?" The lion closed in on Gabriel, claws at the ready. "His death wasn't a suicide was it? You know something, don't you." The lion brought up a claw to Gabriel's neck, "Be very careful, officer." To Gabriel's surprise, the lion let him go, though not before nicking his collar. "Out. Now." Not wanting to push his luck, Gabriel scrambled out as quickly as he could. While he still didn't know what the connection was, he was certain that he needed to meet with Helena.

*****

Gabriel stumbled in to his apartment after a long day's work. The rest of his shift had been pretty standard, and it seemed as though the director was keeping quiet for now. Nonetheless, He was very concerned that the worst was still to come. He began to take off his uniform when the light turned on. "Why if it isn't the great officer Smith, gracing us with his presence." It was Helena, once again. Startled, Gabriel turned around, nearly falling over. "Geez, is that really necessary?" Helena simply giggled, Ingrid now joining her. "No, but this one can't help herself." She said, in an exasperated voice. "She told me she'd come across you in the Director's office." Gabriel promptly re-did his buttons, feeling ambushed. "Yeah. She was standing in the corner like a weirdo." "Hmph." Helena was insulted. "And then, she leaped out the window after resisting arrest." "I had to make it look good." She responded, flicking her hair haughtily. Gabriel simply stared dumbfounded at how casually she was talking about all this. Ingrid decided to step in. "Well considering we're all here now, I think maybe we should talk."

"Let's start off with you. Why is the police snooping around Lionhart's office, let alone MOF premises?" Ingrid was straight to the point. "Fox forged some sort of warrant. We needed to look into the director, we have reason to believe he's connected to an alleged suicide." Ingrid sighed, uninterested. "I don't care about a single suicide, as tragic as it may be, there's nothing we can do about it now." Gabriel stood straight, "What if it wasn't a suicide?" "Are you saying there's a conspiracy?" "Well, when you put it that way... Look, all I know is it seems like this 'suicide' is fishy. We just wanted to try and get more information." Ingrid paced around for a while, "What do you know about the director?" Gabriel wasn't sure how to respond. "Not much, I guess." "Are you aware he was looking into both me and 'Ms. Cache' and our 'activities'? More to the point, do you believe the director would resort to murder? Especially if, say, he felt someone was threatening him?"

"I don't... I can't say. But that might explain... If he was that type of person, given the resources at his disposal, I guess he could have framed Fuller's death as a suicide, and closed the case. But that doesn't explain why he would do such a thing." He leaned against the doorjamb, out of ideas. "By the way, what are_you_ two doing here?" Helena strolled up beside him, "The same thing as you. But, for different reasons, of course." Ingrid decided to give an actual answer, "Lionhart seems to know who we are, but he's keeping it under wraps for now. We want to know why, and if he's working with the Clavigers." Gabriel was worried, "What have you found?" "Not much unfortunately. It's possible he's working on his own, but we should be safe rather than sorry."

Gabriel realized that the best way forward was to work together. "Alright. So where do we go from here?" Helena and Ingrid looked at each other. Ingrid gave a subtle nod to Helena. "You should stay out of our way." Helena said, matter-of-factly. "Hold on, I can help! Besides, it's my investigation. Let me talk to Fox-" "Fox doesn't know about any of this." Ingrid remained calm, but was dismissive. "Even after all that talk of needing to work together?" "This doesn't concern him. It's our mess, we'll clean it up. If we _do_find anything relating to your investigation, we'll give you a call." Gabriel was determined, "Actually, madame governor, I'm sure that since you're in NNY, you must have a good reason, some diplomatic dinner or something. And it would seem you're lacking in security. Well, who better to protect you than a first year officer who has already helped to protect dozens of individuals successfully?" Ingrid smiled, though Gabriel wasn't sure of it was a genuine smile or a conniving one. "You really are persistent aren't you? In that case, I suggest you get back to your precinct. And make sure you get picked for security duty. We'll bring you up to speed if you succeed." "Guess we should take off in that case." Helena spoke, with fake fatigue. As she was leaving, she paused to say one more thing, "By the way, I left you a little present on the bed. No need to thank me." She left with a flirtatious wink, Gabriel unsure of what to think. Ingrid followed her out, giving Gabriel a shrug.

Gabriel went to his room, nervous of what he was going to find. On the bed was a plain black box. Inside, he found what appeared to be a custom built grappling hook gun, designed to be very compact. There was also a note, "Try not to get caught without an exit again. Next time, you'll lose more than you're lapel." Although Gabriel didn't find this funny, he couldn't help but be impressed by the craftsmanship of the tool. It was clearly very expensive, and most likely rare. He wondered where Helena had obtained such an item. Considering how little everyone seemed to know about her, he realized he didn't know if he was in awe of her or terrified of her.

*****

It hadn't been too difficult for Gabriel to get assigned to Ingrid's security team, though his superiors had been somewhat intrigued as to why. He managed to come up with a reasonable excuse, stating that he wanted a change of pace from patrolling in a cop car all day, which was technically true. Although Checkers was initially annoyed by the whole situation, he quickly forgot his frustrations when Gabriel explained he'd have the cruiser to himself for the day.

The event Ingrid was attending was a government fundraiser for the upcoming elections. Although still a few weeks away, all the politicians were gearing up for their campaigns. Unlike most of the others, Ingrid was not part of any political party. As such, it was even more important that she got a head start.

The event itself was taking place inside the ballroom of the city's town hall. Normally, it would happen in the candidate's province, but Gabriel suspected that Ingrid and Helena had found a way to force everyone to NNY, no doubt as part of their "plan". He waited outside, along with several other officers. A few of the night guests had already arrived, but there were still plenty more due to arrive at any moment.

He had been starting to drift off from boredom when a large vehicle arrived. At last, Ingrid and Helena had arrived. Unsurprisingly, Helena was driving, with Ingrid in the rear. He supposed this was the typical arrangement for them. Ingrid was wearing a fairly simple long, black dress, and had a small white handbag. Additionally, she had black heels, though they were not very tall. Helena was wearing trousers and a suit. For a few moments, Gabriel simply stood taking in the unusual sight, but quickly came to his senses when Helena approached him, an annoyed look on her face.

"I don't pay taxes to be ogled at by the police." She said to him. Gabriel, confused began to protest, but he was interrupted by a shove, "Just make sure to do your job." She passed by, Ingrid close behind. He wanted to go after them, but realized Helena had slipped him a note. He waited for an opportunity, and quickly took a look:

East hallway, third door on the right. 11:00 sharp. Don't be late.

There was no other instructions, and Gabriel wasn't sure whether he should be relieved or worried. He checked the time, 9:53 pm. He groaned, and decided to head inside and brace himself for a long night.

***

Despite the requirement of security, Gabriel was well aware that there was no need to be overly alert. In Ingrid's case, as she was well received by pretty much everybody in the country, and no one would really want to cause her or her associates any harm, it was somewhat unneeded. Even so, there was occasionally still the odd hooligan, but they were typically very easy to handle.

As was expected, the fundraiser was pretty uneventful. Gabriel quickly hated the fact he was unable to drink, and was exceptionally glad when it was time for the meet. He waited for a moment where no one was really paying attention, and headed for the east hall.

The hallway itself was moderately decorated, with very plain wooden doors. He reached the third door on the right, and reached for the handle, but found himself hesitating. He quickly glanced to both ends of the hallway, and braced himself for whatever crazy scheme they surely had prepared.

Gabriel was surprised to find himself in a breaker room, illuminated by a simple incandescent light bulb. He looked around, burning time while he waited. He didn't have to wait very long, as Ingrid and Helena soon entered.

"Sorry about the wait, but someone insisted on another glass of champagne." Ingrid said briskly, closing the door behind them quickly. Helena simply flicked her hair. "Anyway, glad to see you found your way here." Gabriel was eager to get started, "So, what's the plan?" Ingrid leaned against one of the walls, careful not to disturb any cables or levers. "The fire alarm will go off in thirty minutes. When it does, we'll only have a small amount of time to act." Gabriel grew concerned, "Act? Act how?" Helena took over, "Our director Lionhart just showed up, no doubt to act on us. Naturally, when the alarm goes off and I escort Ingrid to safety, he'll make his move." "So when he tries to trap us, we actually trap him." Gabriel considered the plan, which while sensible, had a few variables.

"Alright, but how exactly are we going to handle him? I mean, it's not like we'll be able to get the rest of the force involved." Ingrid stood up straight now. "You're right. Which is why your going to make sure you catch him from behind while he's focused on us." Gabriel backed up a step, "Hold on there, I'm not exactly sure I can do that. I'm not a cat or a spy, I'm not used to sneaking around." Helena confronted him, face to face, despite her lower stature, "That's racist." After a pause, "Figure it out. Oh, and don't mess it up. We only get one shot at this." Despite her size, she still managed to be quite intimidating. Ingrid put a hand on her shoulder, indicating she should stand down. "Please excuse her abrasiveness, she gets unpredictable after a few drinks. We should head back now, before people begin to wonder where we are." They left, with Gabriel waiting for a little while before following suit.

He did his best to seem normal in the minutes up to the alarm. He wasn't quite sure where to be, so he simply lingered around the doors to the back of the ballroom. After a few minutes, he spotted Lionhart, and suddenly realized he might grow suspicious if he spotted Gabriel. Fortunately, he seemed preoccupied with his assistant, a male panther. Gabriel tried to find Ingrid and Helena, but was unable to locate them. He supposed they were off talking with supporters, to try and quell any suspicions.

The alarm went off right on schedule. Gabriel immediately went into action, giving the attendees directions, and making sure everything was under control. In the commotion, he lost sight of Lionhart, and decided to act quickly. He grabbed his radio, "This is Officer Smith, I'm going to search the north side of the building for anybody that's still inside." "Roger that, Smith. We'll come and join you as soon as we can." He headed quickly down the hall, and nearly tripped as he spotted Lionhart, no doubt on the trail of Ingrid and Helena. He slowed down, doing his best to keep quiet, occasionally ducking into a nearby doorway in case Lionhart decided to check behind him.

He followed Lionhart for a while, eventually leading into the rear of the building. There was an access way leading outside into a sort of loading area. Gabriel remained at the door, looking through the small vertical window. The area was lit by a few dim lamps, but he could see Lionhart a few feet away, and could hear him speaking.

"This has been a fun game, Ms. Mantissa, but I'm afraid this game must come to an end." Gabriel swore, and quickly made his way outside. He did his best to close the door quietly, and began moving towards Lionhart. In the dimly lit alley, he noticed Helena was absent. However, he decided to try and stay focused on taking down Lionhart. Ingrid noticed him, and tried to buy him time, "Director. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again so soon. No doubt Fuller was just as surprised. Or, did you have someone else do your dirty work?" She stood her ground, keeping quite calm.

"You may think you know everything, but I assure you, you know nothing." Lionhart grabbed her arm, "It's over, Ingrid. You're coming with me." "Actually, I think it's the other way around." She replied, Gabriel quickly coming up behind him and handcuffing the lion. "What is this?" The director growled, furious he had been tricked. Gabriel, still nervous, stood back, worried about what Lionhart might do. "You." He said, turning back at his captor, "I knew something was off about you." His eyes glared, and deep inside, Gabriel's primal instincts told him to run. He did his best to be brave, "Mr. Lionhart, for conspiracy to assassinate an elected Government official, you are under arrest." Lionhart laughed, a deep guttural tone, "Listen to yourself boy, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." "Enough!" Ingrid said, "We're leaving. And you're going to tell us just who put you-"

_ BANG!_

A shot rang out in the night, Lionhart stumbling. He was shot, in the leg from behind. They all turned, and saw a black panther, standing coolly in the night. "Indeed, this has been fun, Mr. Lionhart, but I'm afraid your services are no longer needed. Your country thanks you." "You little-" Before he could finish, the panther shot him, right between the eyes. Lionhart fell dead, and Gabriel stood frozen, shocked. "An unfortunate sacrifice." The panther said, looking down at Lionhart's dead body, "But a necessary one. We can't risk anyone getting too close." Gabriel couldn't say anything, his mind racing, unable to decide how to proceed.

Ingrid spoke up, "So, you were pretending the whole time. Who are you, really?" The panther remained expressionless, speaking in an almost disinterested manner. "One of many. But you know that already." Gabriel stammered, "W-who exactly?" Ingrid answered, "One of them. A Claviger." The panther smiled sinisterly, "Impressive. We knew you would be a worthy foe, but thanks to our friend here, now we know we underestimated you. He was good at his job- maybe a little too good for his own well being." He held up his weapon, "He was right about one thing. It is indeed over." Gabriel's heart stopped, bracing himself for the coming chaos.

There was no shot. Instead, Helena appeared from further down the alley. "I would suggest you stop pointing at my employer. After all, It's my job to protect her." She said, haughtily. The panther was clearly annoyed by this development, but refused to sway, "I'll be honest, I didn't see that coming. You changed your little plan, didn't you?" He sneered, "No matter. You thought you had the upper hand, but the truth is, I always did." He raised up his left hand, and closed it into a fist. Gabriel realized what was happening, and tackled Ingrid. Shots rang out, Helena swung around to the source, which were snipers on the rooftop.

Gabriel pulled out his weapon, and shot at the panther quickly, but had no time to check where he had hit. He provided cover for Helena as she joined them, the three quickly making their way out of the alley. "There's a van around the corner!" Ingrid yelled over the gunfire, and they all ran.

They got in the van, Gabriel driving with Ingrid and Helena in the back. He was still freaking out but did his best to suppress it, and figured he'd better head to a safe house. "Make sure no one's following us." Helena said, distracted by something. Gabriel looked in the rear view mirror, and saw Ingrid holding her side, red staining her hand. "Is she-?" "She's going to be fine. Just got winged." Helena said, scrounging around for supplies.

There weren't many cars on the road, making it easy to tell if they were being followed. After a few laps of the block, Gabriel was finally comfortable enough to park. He chose a secluded alleyway. They had headed to a run down area of the city, hoping to be unnoticed. They quickly headed down to the safe house.

"Well isn't this cozy." Ingrid remarked with a wince, entering the chapel. "Wonder why Fox chose this place for a safe house." Gabriel said, as he looked around. The chapel was fairly small, which was surprising in the city. Plain wooden pews lined the floor, and a couple of stained glass windows lined the walls. The ceiling was unadorned, with only a few old fashioned gas lamps hanging down. "Maybe because not many people nowadays don't have faith." Helena finally responded, running a finger across the stone alter. The place was very dusty, and not well maintained; an oddity considering Fox's usual safe houses.

Gabriel made sure the heavy wood clad steel door was bolted, and joined Helena and Ingrid in exploring their surroundings. There were the typical guns, ammunition and gear that was usually in a safe house. The electrical equipment was unusual, resembling Fox's tech but almost as though it were an early prototype. Eventually, Gabriel found a hand lamp and some white oil, and lit the lamp. "What is that?" Helena asked, pointing at the odd looking lamp. "I think it's called a Chapel Light." Gabriel responded. "Apparently they used to be commonly used for religious purposes. But I guess the North stopped using them a long time again." Helena's ears twitched slightly, and Gabriel suspected she was interested, but instead she changed the subject.

"So, what the hell do we do now?" She sat on a pew, letting out a heavy sigh. Ingrid braced herself against the alter, gunshot still fresh. "I think it's safe to say the gig is up." She winced as she checked her bandages, deciding to leave them alone for now. Gabriel refused to accept the situation. "We need to go to the MOD. Tell them what we're up against-" "You realize the first thing they'll do is arrest you?" Helena interrupted, seemingly calm. Gabriel just balked at her, "Well we have to do something. They shot a government agent!" "And will likely have people _in_the government." Ingrid responded. She sat down on the ground. "Even if Lionhart was the only one who knew anything, his assets are all theirs now. Not only that, but they know who we are now; they can get to us." She buried her face in her hands. "We have to lay low. Figure out where to go from there."

"And what about your people, your province?" Gabriel insisted. "What are they going to think about your sudden disappearance." Ingrid turned away, the reality of the situation dawning on her. "They'll come up with an excuse. Probably... they'll probably say I died. That was probably their goal the whole time." "I don't-" Helena butted in, "Lionhart was working for them. He just didn't know it. They probably found out about me and Ingrid when he started looking into us. And they thought we were a threat." She stood up, her attitude growing more and more frustrated. "They found a way to take us out, along with Lionhart. Two birds, one stone." "Yeah? Well they failed!" Gabriel retorted.

Helena rolled her eyes, "Doesn't matter. They had the upper hand. And now they're unchallenged. We don't have the resources to counter them, so we may as well be dead." Gabriel was now silent, the gravity finally hitting him. After a long silence, he spoke up, his voice cracking, "So. What do we do?" Helena responded in a sarcastic tone, "NOW_he gets it." Ingrid ignored her, a sudden glint in her eyes. She turned to Gabriel, "Go back to the station. Quick, before they suspect anything." "Hold on, what?" Gabriel asked, bewildered. "I thought you said they knew all about us?" Ingrid stood up, "I said they knew all about _us, me and Helena. But you only came into the picture recently. If I'm right, they don't know you're involved." Gabriel wasn't convinced, "What about that panther? He may have gotten away." Ingrid sighed, "He might have, but even if he did, it's worth the risk. We're burned now, but if you can keep your cover, we may still have a chance." Gabriel paced a little before finally coming to a decision. "Fine. On one condition: You tell Fox about everything that's happened tonight." Ingrid nodded, "Fine. Just get a move on." Gabriel headed out, leaving the two females alone with the abandoned church.

*****

Fortunately, it had only been a little over an hour when he rejoined the rest of the police. The scene was chaotic enough he could slip back in unnoticed. He looked for a superior officer, and was surprised to see detective Craft. "Detective Craft." He said plainly, wary that he might be hunted. The detective turned to him, pausing writing on his notepad. "Ah, officer Smith. I had heard you were on duty. Have you found any sign of our dear governor?" Gabriel grew nervous under Craft's cold stare. He realized he was growing hot under the collar. "N-No sir. No sign of them at all." The detective grunted lightly, "A damn shame. Well the rest of your group has already been relieved. I think you should get some rest." "Sir, I have to ask-" "We'll find her, don't worry. I know you're dedicated to the job, but I assure you, so am I." "Yes, sir, I understand." "Well then, good night officer. I'll be sure to let you know if we find anything." "Yes sir, goodnight." Gabriel left, relieved things had gone without incident. He was still unsure if he was in the clear, but decided for now he should continue as normal.

*****

The next day, Gabriel had the day off. He thought about going out, but decided it would be better to stay home. Although he had made sure to consider the possibility of being watched before, now he was overly careful, and was even reluctant to contact Fox. True to their word, Ingrid and Helena had explained the situation to him.

"I assure you, Mr. Smith, I have yet to find any indication that the Clavigers suspect any one other than Ms. Cache and Ms. Mantissa." Gabriel was relived to hear he wasn't suspected, but still remained uneasy. "Have you found anything about our panther friend?" He asked, wondering if he should return to work. "Unfortunately, there is either no data on file, or we didn't capture that information." Fox replied. "So what should we do?" Fox seemed to be typing, "For the moment, I suppose we have no choice but to proceed as usual, with the exception of Ms. Ansi and Ms. Cache. I imagine that the public won't be too happy, but given the current situation, any other action may result in putting us all in danger. I'll ensure that they are both safe, you should focus on your day job for now, just in case there's any suspicion." Gabriel wasn't too happy being sidelined, but understood Fox's apprehension. "Alright, fine. But I want to know the minute you find out anything." "Of course. I'll be sure to give you an update in a few hours." The line went dead before Gabriel could respond. He laid down on his couch, exhausted by the recent events. He didn't exactly regret his decision to help Fox, but he definitely found himself wishing things were a lot simpler. He drifted off to sleep, not aware of the nightmare that was approaching.