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Chapter 7 - Aesir

Jack looked down at his untidy desk, all the papers piled on top of each other, each a separate incident relating to Aesir. He had expected Natasha to still be awake when he got back to his office in the dead of night but instead she was laying face down asleep.

He decided to forgo the charges of misconduct this time.

He slid his brown overcoat off and slipped back into his chair, it was a realm of comfort compared to all the stress that he had been given over the last couple of days. He watched the clock ticking away and wondered if Diamond's words could have truly been trusted. After all, he gave the information away too freely... and that alone made Jack suspicious.

He sifted through the files hoping to find a piece of paperwork that he needed to complete when he noticed that the window had been opened. He tilted his head into a strange frown, there was not a sound apart from Natasha's gentle breathing from her receptionist desk outside the office.

His office was very small but it was quite adequate and was kept in an orderly state thanks to Natasha's excellent organisational skills or Jack was sure that room would have been in chaos otherwise. He was never very good at organising paperwork, his desk was the perfect indication.

Jack stepped silently over to the small hatch window and looked puzzlingly at the street below. He was sure that he had locked it before he had gone out tonight.

He waited for a second as the late night air blew in his fur. He knew Natasha, she never entered his office except to file papers and never opened the window.

Jack's nose twitched... there was somebody else here.

"Natasha...!" he beckoned, rushing out to the other room. Natasha slowly recovered from her slumber and looked up to see a shadowy figure standing over her with a shining silver barrelled gun.

"Noooo!" shouted Jack as he saw the assailant who fired the silenced handgun straight into Natasha's forehead. The small sound that left the gun sounded like nothing but a rush of air down a pipe. Natasha fell backwards as Jack watched helplessly, falling off her chair and toppling to the floor dead.

"You bastard... I'll KILL YOU!!" shouted Jack, loosing his last shred of decency and calm. He clambered for his own gun that was on the table in his office and jumped over the desk, narrowly missing the attackers next shot at him.

The image of Natasha lying helpless on the floor, gunned down and massacred brought up some painful memories that Jack had rather forgotten.

His fluffy red tail smashed onto the floor as he toppled over for the cover on the other side of desk however Jack did not feel it due to the rush of adrenaline. He reached out with his paws and pushed the desk onto its side, creating a barricade to protect him from enemy fire.

He quickly swung up to return fire at his target after cocking his small black handgun. He thought back to his combat training, this was the first time after Osirus's death that he had actually been in the position to kill anyone. He did not want to remember that night that had haunted his dreams from his death.

As soon as he popped up his head, all he saw was a flying black paw slash him around the face. The assailant had used those seconds of protection to position himself in front of Jack. He was so fast.

Jack felt searing pain as the claws entered his face, ripping the skin along his muzzle and a full force of a hand against his head. He felt the warm and slightly sweet taste of blood enter his mouth and felt himself slipping away.

He collapsed on the floor in front of the attacker... unconscious.

* * * *

"Officer Jack McElder, service number three-nine-one-two-one" stated a meticulous voice. Jack squinted to open his eyes, dreading where he had been taken. Anyone who could break into a police centre without being caught had to be good. "Oh... I apologise for the state of the house but then we are not used to having guests."

His eyes came into focus as he looked up to find himself in an old and dreary barn that appeared to be incredibly old. He could have been anywhere in the country, let alone the world.

There was a blinding white light that was right in front of his eyes that prevented him from seeing any further. This light was clearly artificial and had to come from a dentist chair lamp.

Jack struggled to get up, he was held down by large leather straps that broke into his fur. For that matter he appeared to be on something that was very similar to a dentist chair, neither chair nor bed.

He remained silent, awaiting a chance to know why he had been brought here against his will but it was also important that he did not reveal any information at all. He assumed that they wanted information otherwise he would have not been alive right now.

"W-w-who are you?" he asked as he struggled to get the words out, frantically trying to find a means to escape. He felt like a rat in a cage.

"Come now Jack..." jeered the voice in a calm, cheerful but slightly twisted tone. "You're a detective, you should really know yourself..."

Jack was puzzled by the cryptic response. He felt that he should just stick to basic questions for now, there might be an opportunity to escape later. "I don't fuckin' know, the tooth fairy" he cringed at how cheesy his words were.

"Jack... Jack..." the voice continued to jeer as if speaking to him like he was an old friend. "Lets not be crude at this wonderful moment... I know that you have been making good progress on the Aesir case..."

"I don't know what the hell you mean!? I'm not working on the..."

"Jack... please do not talk with such bile... it offends me..." interrupted the voice. "I have every intention of releasing you, but not if you are going to have such a "hostile" attitude..."

Jack still peered around the room, the figure was standing in the corner of the barn, he could make out his shape but not anything more. He appeared to be quite the short man. "Hostile attitude!?... you killed my friend, you bastard...!"

The figure in the darkness looked like he raised his hand to his head for a dramatic sigh. There was something not completely sane about this person and it scared Jack. "Ugh!" he femininely sighed. "She was a minor part and of no consequence... she was in the way of bringing you to me..."

"And WHO are you!?" shouted Jack, he analysed the mysterious figures behaviour and he seemed to have more in common with an actor of some sort. He was just so dramatic.

"Who am I..." laughed the voice. "Who AM I!?... why... I am your liberator, your welcome, your guardian angel!" The figure then let out this cackling insane laugh which made the fur on Jack's neck stand on end.

"What do you mean!?" shouted Jack, realising that he might have been in the company of a potential psychopath.

"We are going to give you a liberation... that feeling of wonder... oh can you feel it jack!?" sighed the voice with almost artistic expression. Another figured entered the room coming before Jack, it was a very tough looking tiger who also had traces of fox within him. He had stripes but a bushy tail and slightly larger muzzle. Plus he was huge... he held in his hand a syringe, glowing with the green liquid of Aesir that Jack recognised.

This green liquid was Aesir resin, the purest form which could be almost instantly addictive, compromising logical thought patterns and personal integrity. Jack had read the reports that one "hit" was enough to get the body hooked and withdrawal symptoms were very severe with some even resulting in death.

Jack looked up at the figure in the darkness, he was helpless as he struggled against the tigerfox, who mercilessly pinned him down to the chair.

"Do not resist Jack..." cheered the voice with frightening joy. "Soon all will be clear!"

"NOOOOOOO!" shouted Jack as the Tigerfox pushed the syringe into Jack's body. He pushed down the plunger, injecting the drug and almost instantly Jack fell into a deep silence.

He felt a warm feeling of joy, almost as if joy was something tangible like a blanket and he could wrap himself up in it. He was calm, at peace with himself as he looked up at the face of the tigerfox and his blazing green eyes. He laid back in the chair and just allowed where he was to fall away from him in an instant. A calmness consuming his body.

He was suddenly standing, looking out over his old house that himself and Osirus used to share together but as he turned, suddenly everything turned sour. He saw his boyfriend's half mangled throat bleeding as he walked towards him mumbling his name. Natasha followed, her head bleeding and covered in bloody and hate for him.

He screamed... beyond all help... beyond his sanity.