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A ray of sunshine poured into the small motel room through a crack in the curtain.

Gradually rising from the horizon, the sun's ray slowly shifted its position until it reached the face of the calico cat sleeping in his bed, causing him to stir from his slumber and turn his head to the side. At that moment, his short muzzle touched the fur on a well-toned body lying next to him. The body belonged to the familiar red fox who was still asleep, breathing rhythmically. A small pool of saliva had formed at the pillow on a side of his face.

"Cas..." Troika murmured quietly enough to not disturb the fox's sleep. He reached out and touched the fox's cheek, then slid his paw down the fox's body across his naked chest, torso, and crotch. He could feel the fox's beating heart underneath the sheet, strong and healthy like the machinery in his factory. Cas didn't have a single piece of clothing on him, and neither did Troika. They must have fallen asleep from exhaustion last night, from all the excitement that Troika had never experienced but enjoyed greatly.

Troika's face got warmer as he lightly felt the fur on his bed mate's naked body and reminisced what they did the night before. From what he could recollect, the two stayed up until two in the morning doing all sorts of things that Troika had never before imagined doing with another male.

And_good god_ did he enjoy every single second of it.

In fact, Troika enjoyed it so much that after experiencing an overwhelming dose of turbulent, violently pleasurable climaxes, his memory turned into a blur and eventually to black as he slipped into unconsciousness. Nothing he did with Tina could hold a candle to what he experienced with Cas.

A part of his body had hardened to the level it had been the night before. Troika contemplated if he should wait until the hardness went away or go to the bathroom now to relieve himself. As the cat was about to decide on the latter, the fox let out a soft moan--which sounded almost sensuous and titillating to the cat's now-aroused mind--and lazily opened his eyes.

"Morning, sunshine," Cas mumbled, stretching his arms and shoulders.

"Good morning, Cas." Troika looked awkwardly away from his friend's body. "It's almost ten. Let's get dressed so we can go grab some complimentary breakfast downstairs."

"Breakfast sounds good. But..." Cas sniffed the air and grinned, his fluffy orange-and-white tail wagging good-humoredly, "I'm guessing you need some help getting prepared for the day."

"What're you talking about?"

The fox tapped his long snout with his finger. "Don't underestimate a fox's sense of smell, kitty cat. I can smell your arousal from a mile away. What happened--did seeing my naked body remind you of all the fun we had last night?"

"Yeah, it did," Troika admitted. His tail curled in embarrassment. "I was remembering how I was...pretty unhinged, last night. Did I uh...do well? It was my first time, after all, and I don't think I was very good at it."

"This isn't school, Troy, and there certainly isn't a universal grading scale for sex," Cas laughed. "But in case you wanted to keep scores for the record, I made you come five times and you made me come three times, so I guess that's a win for me."

Before the cat could protest the vulgarity of the fox's remarks, Cas gently grabbed Troika's shoulder and held him closer.

"In all seriousness though, you were really hot and cute last night, and it was without a doubt the best night of my life." Cas kissed Troika on the cheek. "Thank you, Troy. I'm so happy you chose me as your boyfriend."

"Was last night that good?" Troika asked, snuggling his cheeks in the fox's chest fur. Among the scents of soap, shampoo, and sweat, he could find traces of the unmistakable smell of male desire that lingered from the climaxes of the night last past. It made him want more, so he closed his eyes and took a whiff of Cas's fur to calm himself.

Cas stroked the fur on the cat's shoulder. "Hell yeah. You know, sex is more than just getting horny and fucking each other--it's a way of communication too. Every movement of your body conveyed how much you care for me and want me. I felt relieved knowing that you not only accepted me for who I am, but that you're like me--trying to understand our own feelings and find that perfect romantic relationship."

Troika looked up at Cas's face. "I hope I can be a good boyfriend to you."

"You're already the perfect boyfriend," Cas reassured. He closed in on Troika's face and lightly kissed him on the lips. "So...do you wanna do a little morning workout?"

The fox re-positioned his body above his, their hardened body parts rubbing against one another. It was at this point that he realized both of them were panting and the scent of arousal got stronger between them.

Troika looked Cas. "Yes... Yes, I am."

But before the couple could kiss each other again, there was a sharp knock at the door.

"What the hell?" Cas grumbled as he pulled himself away from Troika, breaking the embrace.

"I'll go see who it is," Troika said.

The cat got out of bed, quickly put on a shirt and his pants, and walked to the door to peer through the peephole. As he focused on who was standing at the door, his hazel eyes became wide with surprise.

It was the snow leopard with whom he had an encounter yesterday. He was wearing a suit and a pair of sunglasses.

"Troika Arseniy Valenki," the snow leopard said in a deep voice, staring into the peephole at the cat on the other side. "I came to deliver a message to you by the orders of your grandfather. Please open the door."

Troika didn't know how to respond. His grandfather? He vaguely remembered his uncle telling him a little about his grandfather, who was the father of both Uncle Mack and Troika's mother. Uncle Mack said that the old cat was a hopeless alcoholic who drove his car into a tree while under the influence and died in the crash. That was when his mother was in her teens and Uncle Mack was in his early twenties, which was long before the calico cat was born.

"Who is it, Troy?" Cas came behind him and whispered concernedly. He was dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. "Is he trying to break in or something? Do you want me to call the police?"

"No," Troika said. "It's just my gut feeling, but I think he won't harm us."

"You sure?"

"I'm not certain. But since he knows my name--middle name and all--I'm inclined to believe that he has some information about me that I don't know about."

Especially that godforsaken middle name, the calico cat thought. He never liked telling others of his middle name, so either this uninvited guest had access to governmental records or he really obtained it from one of his relatives.

The calico cat unlocked the door and braced himself in case the snow leopard should make any sudden move. He didn't. The feline outside just stood there and nodded when he saw the door open.

"What's the message?" Troika inquired.

"I can't tell you here," the snow leopard said. "Please follow me to my car. We'll talk in there."

The cat frowned. "How do I know that it's not a ploy to kidnap me?"

For the first time, the snow leopard's facial expression softened somewhat to resemble a slight smile. "If you're so worried, you can bring your friend along," he said, looking at the fox standing behind the cat.

Cas and Troika looked at each other and agreed to go with the snow leopard. When the snow leopard led them to his car, Troika noticed that it was not the gray sedan that he saw yesterday but a black minivan.

"You changed your car," Troika commented.

"Yes. Thanks to your noticing me following you yesterday, I had to get a new one."

"So you haven't stopped following us despite what you said."

The snow leopard opened the door for the two to get in. "I don't have a choice. It was an order that I keep you in my watch at all times. I merely made the promise to avoid having you be wary of me following you. I'd be in more trouble if you got into an accident."

Cas looked at the figure who was easily half a foot taller than him. And almost twice as strong, he speculated as he scrutinized the body of the stranger. Wrapped in an armor of muscles which he undoubtedly gained over years of toil, the snow leopard had an air of unruffled composure about him that exuded a strange sense of allure which was difficult to describe. Even from a cursory observation of the stranger, Cas was certain that he was no Ordinary Joe. The fox guessed that he was a professional who specialized in physical tactics of some sort--possibly in the armed forces or the military.

"Troy, you know this guy?" the fox asked the calico cat as the two got into the car and sat down next to each other in the second-row seats.

"No," Troika replied, "but I saw him following us yesterday on the 15 so I confronted him when we were at a rest area. He didn't say why he was following, but he promised that he'll leave us alone."

Cas was surprised by his friend's hasty and foolhardy decision to confront their apparent stalker, but he didn't say anything.

After the snow leopard turned on the engine, the red fox asked him, "Do you mind telling us who you are? Are you a governmental agent or secret agent or something? FBI? CIA? Males In Black?"

"I'm a mercenary."

The snow leopard pressed a button on the touchscreen display in front of him, and a display appeared from inside the ceiling, between Cas and Troika. As the two looked at the display, a middle-aged wolf wearing a appeared onscreen.

"Hello, Mr. Valenki. I see you've got company," the wolf said politely.

"Yes, he's my partner, Cas Kokkinos," Troika replied. Cas grinned at hearing the word used to describe him. "And you are?"

"I'm Takeshi Morituri," the wolf introduced himself. "I'm the attorney for your grandfather, Maddox Weissler."

It took Troika a few moments to let the statement sink in. Then, after it did, he opened his mouth in amazement and shouted, "What!"

Cas seemed equally taken aback. After blinking a few times, he asked, "Wait, you mean the Maddox Weissler? That genius scientist?"

"Why, yes," said the wolf in the screen, sounding perplexed. "Didn't Buran explain to you when he went to pick you up this morning?"

"I didn't want to discuss this matter outside," said the snow leopard named Buran from the driver' seat, loudly enough for the attorney to hear. "They're staying at a motel, and the walls are as soundproof as a sheet of paper. I told them to come straight to the car so we could talk in private, without letting the entire building overhear the conversation."

This made Troika aware of an important question: if the walls didn't prevent the sound from inside a room to propagate to another, could it mean that an occupant in the room next to theirs could hear what was going on in there? Imagining the unstifled moans and groans that he had allowed himself to let out last night, and the fact that it could have been overheard by someone else besides his boyfriend, suddenly made Troika want to crawl into a hole and bury himself in there.

The attorney's voice brought Troika back to reality. The cat quickly put on his best attempt at a poker face as Morituri said, "Ah, I see. Well, Mr. Valenki, I regret to inform you that Dr. Weissler passed away late last night. According to the will he left behind, you're indicated as one of the beneficiaries of his intellectual properties."

Troika remembered hearing the news about the scientist being in a coma the day before. But since he didn't turn on the TV or radio since he and Cas returned from the Fest, he didn't know that the scientist had passed away during the night. But then, he doubted if a news outlet would report on such news immediately. It was only the death of a scientist, after all, and not the top executive of a mega-corporation whose untimely demise could spell disaster for the Dow Jones Industrial Average the following day.

However, although Maddox Weissler was just a scientist, he was nevertheless a very rich one, as far as Troika knew. He was more than eager to obtain any inheritance he could get his paws on. "Does that mean I get to inherit a part of his fortune?"

"Yes and no," came the ambiguous answer. "Dr. Weissler was a philanthropist who donated almost all of his fortune to non-profits a few months ago, so as of now, the only asset he owns is his mansion and a rather small sum of money compared to what he earned in his prime."

Troika was annoyed and disappointed by this statement. "What's the point of telling me all this if I don't inherit anything?"

"I said a small sum as compared to what the original value was," the wolf explained. "There is still money for you to inherit, and I'm sure it will not disappoint you. But there is more to this story than just simple monetary assets--pertaining to his intellectual properties, as I said. Dr. Weissler indicated in his will that he has organized a 'treasure hunt' of sorts for his relatives to participate in, if they choose to. Your inheritance, therefore, is a tentative one--you'll inherit the reward, whatever it may be, only if you're the one to find it first in the treasure hunt."

"Treasure hunt? What's that about?"

Morituri shook his head. "I'm not aware of the details because it was not explained in the first portion of his will, but he indicated that all of his relatives shall be gathered at his mansion to attend the reading of the second portion of his will. Everything will be clarified at that point."

Troika and Cas looked at each other. "Are all rich people this eccentric?" Cas murmured, raising a brow.

The calico cat chuckled at Cas's remark before turning his attention back to the attorney. "When is the reading of the will taking place so I can start this so-called treasure hunt?" he asked.

"Next Saturday at 3PM. Buran will take you to the mansion. Once the will is read, you're free to decide whether you want to attend this treasure hunt or just go home afterwards." The wolf flashed a courteous smile. "I look forward to seeing you, Mr. Valenki."

The connection terminated, and the display disappeared into the ceiling of the car.

"That's the story," Buran said as he made a U-turn on the road and headed back toward the motel. "I'll drive you back to the motel for now. As Morituri said, I'll pick you up at your home next week, Troika Valenki." Looking back at Troika through the rearview mirror, the snow leopard must have caught the inquisitive look on the cat's eyes, for he continued, "Save your questions for next week. I'm just an agent hired by your grandfather and I don't have the answers to whatever you're thinking of asking."

"Well, isn't that nice," the cat returned crossly. "First you follow me and my boyfriend, then interrupt our precious vacation time, and now you refuse to let us ask questions. Great hospitality there, Buran."

The snow leopard didn't answer.

"Can you at least tell us why you were following us yesterday?" Cas asked. "That was before Maddox Weissler was dead, and I don't see why you needed to do that if he was still alive."

To Troika's surprise, Buran responded to Cas's question. "Maddox Weissler instructed me beforehand to stay within a certain distance from you--Troika Valenki--if he became hospitalized in a critical condition. One of the benefits in doing so is that I can reach you immediately after he dies to deliver the message from Morituri."

"That makes sense, I guess," the fox said, scratching his head. "And the other benefit?"

"I'm also hired as a bodyguard for Troika Valenki." He looked briefly at Troika. "Should you find yourself in any dangerous situation, I can better intervene if I'm not hundreds of miles away."

The calico cat blinked a few times. "Why would I need a bodyguard?"

"You need to be more aware of how important you are, Troika Valenki," the snow leopard scoffed. "I'm sure some folks would kill to have you out of their way in this little treasure hunt, and I don't mean that in the figurative sense."

Before Troika could ask what he meant by this statement, Buran stopped the car. They were now back in the parking lot of the motel.

"I'll see you in a week, Troika Valenki," the snow leopard said, turning his gaze to meet with that of the calico cat. His icy blue eyes held Troika's hazel eyes for a short moment before turning away and unlocking the doors. "Enjoy the rest of your day."

Back in the hotel room, Troika checked the clock and saw that thirty minutes had passed since he and Cas's morning fun was interrupted by the uninvited guest. But the two were no longer in the mood to pick up where they had left off, so they decided to go eat breakfast at the dining area of the motel.

After the two each grabbed a plateful of food and sat down at a table near the TV, Troika noticed that the news was talking about the death of Maddox Weissler the night before.

"Look, it's your eccentric grandpa," Cas teased, pointing his fork at the image of Dr. Weissler on the screen.

"I don't disagree with that," Troika said grumpily, taking a bite of the muffin. "If he knew about me being is grandson, I wish he had left some money for me instead of a stupid treasure hunt, whatever that might be."

"At least he donated his fortune for good cause," the fox said. "The news says the money that he donated will be used to help destitute children get the education they need."

"I know." Troika looked uncomfortably at his food. "Do you think I'm being selfish to think that he should've given some of that money to me, if he cared about me at all?"

Cas shook his head. "That's normal," the fox reassured. "Especially considering all the trouble you've been through, with your mom passing away and your dad leaving you..."

His eyes then lit up.

"Wait, you didn't ask that attorney who your father was! Aren't you curious who that might be?"

Troika shrugged. "I really don't care, to be honest. It's not like he can make up for the years that he's been absent from my life. And besides, I have Uncle Mack, and he's the only fatherly figure I need."

"Speaking of which..." Cas placed his plastic fork down on his emptied plate. "You think you can introduce me to him soon? You know, now that we're in a relationship and all?"

"Of course. I'm sure he'll love to talk with you. I've told him a few things about you before, and he said you seem to be an interesting fellow."

"Do you think he'll be OK with you having a boyfriend, though?"

Troika finished the food on his plate and took a sip of orange juice. "I don't know, but I think he won't mind. And even if he has an issue with it, there's nothing he can do about it. It's not like I live with him anymore. I'm an adult and can make decisions for myself."

Cas saw the resolution in Troika's eyes and smiled.

"That's what I like about you, Troy."

Those words made Troika's heart beat faster.

The couple checked out of the motel shortly after finishing their breakfast, and since there was no other place to visit in the town, they decided to head back home.

Time flew by somewhat quickly during the drive home, for Troika found himself constantly wondering what his late grandfather had in store for him in the "treasure hunt" referred to by the wolf attorney. His mind kept going back to the short conversation they had in the mercenary's minivan and then to the tall snow leopard who drove it.

There was something about the snow leopard that caught Troika's interest, but he wasn't sure what that was. He was certain he had never met or seen the mercenary before, since it was nearly impossible to forget seeing such an animal looming over him like a mountain. But he decided to stop thinking too much into it.

From time to time, Troika checked the rearview mirror to see if any black minivan was following them. He saw no such car.