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Chapter Twenty Four

"C.I.Z.A. Standing By"

By

Furry Sith Lord

Merrik approached the front door of Lou's mansion and rang the doorbell. A butler answered and Merrik was stunned that he was a black fox that had silver tipped fur. Several minutes later Lou joined him and invited him to the dining area where the maid was busy placing breakfast for Lou. She eyed the wolf and shook her head.

Lou was in his boxers and an open bathrobe as he sat at his usual place. Merrik was in his usual C.I.Z.A. suit.

"What is it with you and wolves," She remarked as she went to find a plate for Merrik.

"So why are you here?" Lou said as he narrowed his eyes and stopped the pleasantries when the maid left.

"I've spent all night trying to get you access to our base again and after talking to my higher ups they'll agree to it if you divulge the location of The White Citadel to me." Merrik replied.

"You really think I'm THAT stupid that I'd fall for that." Lou said as he folded his arms across his chest.

"We have to move and we have to move soon! All funding has been cut to my department. I've got my guys looking into it because we think it may be your buddies trying to get revenge on us."

"My buddies?" Lou asked.

"The brotherhood," Merrik lowered his voice. "We have enough funds to last a week or two but after that we shut down completely." Merrik said and Lou wished he could smirk right now.

"I'm willing to give you the location under certain conditions."

"Such as?" Merrik asked as he began to strum his fingers on the table. The maid suddenly entered and placed a plate of soggly looking breakfast food in front of him. "What the fuck is this shit?" Merrik exclaimed and he took a bite... and then another and another until he began to wolf down the food.

"Uh huh, his husband does the same thing. Something must be wrong with you 'wolves." she remarked as she was making her way out. Lou watched him and for a moment he looked like Leggo when he eats breakfast.

"Whut?" Merrik said with his mouth full of food as he saw Lou watching him. He quickly swallowed the last of what he was eating and looked at the full plate in front of Lou. The deer was just sipping tea and he was awaiting Merrik, who he figured was gonna act like Leggo, to ask for his plate also.

"You gonna eat that?" Merrik asked right on cue and Lou pushed his plate in front of him then Merrik scarfed the food down.

"Merrik, there's something I want to ask you. Honestly... that's a word that means to be truthful and not lied," Lou explained and Merrik rolled his eyes. "What's the deal with you and my husband? Do you have a crush on him or something? I mea why are you after him so much?" Lou asked.

"Truthfully, when I had to become The White Fox I did vast amounts of training to get in shape to match the cold camera footage we had of him. I thought I had everything down packed then I met your husband and he outdid me in every way possible. It pissed me the fuck off that this has been was still way better than me and he wasn't even in shape. So he became my rival... then I met you and saw that your intellect was superior to my own. So you became rival 2.0." Merik said and he licked the plate clean after finishing it.

"What about my boys?"

"I'm not really impressed by the lion but that tiger," Merrik whistled. "He's a real find! He had me completely convinced he was sick but when he shoved the chocolate down my throat..." Merrik licked his lips. "I realized I wanted someone like him for a son."

"You know I wish I could take credit for him being like that. His genius is immeasurable and I even get jealous of him. He inherited his brilliance from his... real family, if you can call them that, and they just sell him away as a slave as if he was a lump of coal but when my husband found him, he found a perfect diamond." Lou remarked.

"Family isn't family only because they give birth to you. I've had many mothers over the years after my birth mother died. You are their real family because you loved them enough to stick around while their birth family sold them." Merrik replied as he picked up the plate slightly and was looking under it.

The maid entered carrying two more plates of food as saw Merrik looking under the plate.

"Holy fuck! That damn wolf is multiplying! Or do you all just share the same mind?" She asked as Lou chuckled. Merrik looked at her blankly then turned to look at him hoping for an explanation.

The maid gently placed the dish in front of Lou and then slammed the one down in front of Merrik.

"Thanks sweetheart," Merrik replied and Lou looked at him as if Lou was choking. She removed a chef knife from her apron and pointed the tip at Merrik.

"Call me that again and the next dish you eat will be your own nuts." She replied then she turned and left.

"Charming, I can see why you keep her." Merrik said.

"Let's get back to business."

"Sure, so you were going to tell me The White Citadel location." Merrik replied.

"As... I mentioned. I need some assurance before I reveal that information."

"And as I mentioned, we're running out of time until our funding is cut. Merrik replied sarcastically.

"Can't you discuss this with a higher up to get your funding back?" Lou asked but he knew his special hydra virus was the reason for the funding being canceled and no higher up would be able to just simply restore it until the virus is eliminated. If the funding was now cut off then it was replicating faster than expected.

"I've tried but I keep getting excuses and told that they're working on it. It could be a while before I can get anywhere with them and we can't rescue your husband and... kids if the funding dries up. We need to act soon!" Merrik pleaded and Lou was surprised that Merrik was so shaken like this.

"My demands are simple, I've been watching The White Citadel and I've seen them move my husband and sons into the main areas of their city. If you send your team to rush in, my family will be killed for sure. If you send in your guys I need them to only bring in tranquilizers."

"That puts us at a disadvantage," Merrik remarked.

"I care only about my family's safety."

"And if they use live ammo? Should my men die? Is that what you're saying?"

"I can guarantee they don't have live ammo from what I saw," Lou began.

"Prove it!"

"Fine," Lou rose and went to get a laptop from his study then returned and placed it in front of Merrik and adjusted his robe before playing footage that Sanic had brought him. The video Lou had created showed that The White Citadel was a regular community with shops and businesses.

"This is their main area... now the underground areas my mole got into." Lou explained. The video changed to what looked like an underground bunker and an army of soldiers were lined up holding their weapons. The guns looked different than regular weapons that soldiers carry. A close up showed the bullets being filled with rock salt.

"Rock salt?" Merrik remarked.

"I'm guessing they have no rare white species that are ammunition engineers. The best they could come up with is rock salt bullets. No worries of them killing your men." Lou concluded.

"Maybe," Merrik replied as he viewed the footage a second time. "But like you've been saying, Bear isn't so easily fooled and may have a secret stash we don't know about."

"You have access to the files of rare white fur species, right? Do any of them have experience in metallurgy?" Lou asked.

"None that I recall but couldn't you simply learn it from reading certain books" Merrik asked.

"I think it's more complicated than that. Having an amatuer trying to work out something like that could have dangerous consequences. On the other hoof, let's say the fur doesn't blow themselves up with the gunpowder... you'd still have to worry about the effectiveness of the bullets. You'd get more misfires than actual shots." Lou replied.

"Maybe but..."

"Merrik, stop! This is why things keep getting fouled up. We keep second guessing ourselves. The evidence I have shows that rock salt is the only defence they have, not counting barriers they could erect like tipping over cars to make a barrier.

Guarantee me that only non-lethal means will be used and I'll keep up my end and give you their location. From the footage my mole got me they have at most 50 furs that can fight. The rest is an innocent community that just wants to escape the persecution they face because of their fur color. " Lou interrupted.

"The world will never allow rare white fur species to live in their own community. No matter how peaceful they seem... err are... they will be seen as a threat. An entire community of them will always be viewed as an army." Merrik countered.

"I doubt that. Things are changing! My boys tell me about how they are accepted at the academy and not mistreated or ridiculed. Even my youngest is now the most popular football player there and he has dreams of making it to the Big Leagues. The first rare white species lion that is celebrated for his athletic prowl. He'll be one of the first to help the world realize that rare white fur species are nothing to be feared.

That cub's book will one day be seen as just that, a silly little book that's nothing special but a bedtime story to teach children NOT to hate. They'll learn that once there were species that were afraid of everything but we have evolved since them and we've learned to be better and we've learned to grow and accept the differences that make us all stronger.

You know Merrik, before I met my boys I hated rare white fur species too! Then my crazy husband talked me into taking them. My life changed in ways you can't even begin to imagine. I realize what a fool I've been to let hatred ruin my heart all those years.

I realize that one day I will die and my body will feed others, I just don't want my meat being poisoned by hatred. I just hope that when I die the hatred of the world dies with me." Lou replied.

"Wow, you know that's a truly moving speech but as I see you standing there in your underwear... I can't take you seriously." Merrik countered and he reached for the half eaten plate of food that belonged to Lou. Lou reached out and slapped his paw away from it as he glared at Merrik.

"Plus, if the news media found out that an entire community was wiped out by C.I.Z.A. fear would spread that C.I.Z.A. is trying to systematically wipe out all communities." Lou said and Merrik sighed as he realized the deer was right.

Lou adjusted his tie so that it was perfectly placed against his brown suit he was wearing today. The suit's color was a shade darker than his natural hide so that species looking at him could see how resplendent he was dressed.

Merrik had finally left so he could get himself looking dignified before starting his day. He had started to miss Merrik ignoring him because he had been enjoying the peace and quiet. He was missing his family though and the only good thing about Merrik annoying him was that he was distracted from how lonely he was.

He was pleased that the video footage he had generated had fooled Merrik so convincingly. He had recorded his own army that was going to try and intercept C.I.Z.A. when they invaded The White Citadel. By splicing that in with the recordings Sanic had made; made it look as if The White Citadel had an army. An ill equipped army but one nonetheless!

Hopefully, Merrik would stay true to his word and use nonlethal weapons otherwise he would be forced to send in his secondary army to wipe out C.I.Z.A. The Rock Salt Army, as he named them, was just a diversionary tactic to allow him to sneak in and save his family. He had created a B.O.T.S. army in case Merrik tried to double cross him and B.O.T.S. carried very lethal weapons to neutralize C.I.Z.A.

Still he could feel his heart beating rapidly as fear filled him because although Tyger's plan was sound and everything was falling into place, still so much could go wrong and turn everything into a disaster. He wanted to kick himself for trusting in it in the first place. Still he loved his boy and this was an area where Tyger seemed to shine.

He knew he had to think outside the box because every plan he came up with just had him running around in circles. He realized a while ago he needed Tyger to help him past the problems that kept him trapped in an endless state. Tyger had done just that!

He was too cautious while Tyger was too risky and he hoped to meet his son somewhere in the middle to pull this off. So far it had been working perfectly but his overcautious nature was still getting the better of him.

"Hello son," he replied as his phone rang and he recognized the number was from a special phone that Sanic smuggled to Tyger.

"Father..." Tyger replied and he seemed to get choked up and was unable to speak.

"Go ahead son." he replied to give his boy a gentle nudge.

"I miss you. I... I'm sorry for the things I've said."

"Don't worry about it. I think we both said things we... regret. How are you and Ben doing? Are Lyon and your dad well?" Lou asked and Tyger got him caught up on everything that happened.

"That sounds exactly like something your dad would do. Which reminds me, did I ever tell you the story of why your dad wanted to buy you guys in the first place?" Lou asked.

"You said you wanted us to help with your business and you couldn't trust anyone because they might sell your secrets but slaves like us couldn't."

"That was only half true at the time." Lou said and he went on to explain about how Leggo had saved the fox slave but was forced to give him up.

"How come you never told us this before?"

"I didn't want you and your brother feeling second best. I think you're old enough now to understand but at the time you were too young. Either way your dad has a good heart and he'll stand up for anyone."

"So whatever happened to the fox?"

"We passed him to one of the nicest slavers that I knew iof and he found him a good home with a colleague that was looking for a son of his own to leave everything to. His own son had died and he was too old to father any new children so he bought and freed him then adopted and left him everything when he passed away.

He became the founder of Free Animals Now or F.A.N. and thedy do work on ending slavery." Lou explained.

"Oh, F.A.N. actually visited the academy trying to recruit new members. Ben and I attended a meeting."

"Then you probably met him."

"Anyway, the reason I'm calling is that we're out of time. I just found out that Ben is graduating his indoctrination and next Lyon is going to start the indoctrination program. We held off as long as we could but time's up."

"It's alright, don't panic. The final stages of the invasion are underway so be prepared to help Sanic move everyone into the shelters... soon." Lou replied.

"Understood, were you able to get Merrik to agree to our terms?" Tyger asked.

"Yes... but I don't trust him in the least. However your uncle gave me a great idea on what to do. I'm sending remote drones to record the incident, so if Merrik goers back on his word I can broadcast the footage and it adds another nail to their coffin.

I built a mobile command center centered around multiple drones to record and monitor their progress. Uncle Jon has been training and he's just about ready to fly them during the invasion. I'm going to meet with him tonight and see how he does as he demonstrates what he can do."

"How many drones are you going to use?" Tyger asked.

"The van can monitor up to a dozen drones at once but judging by the size of The White Citadel from what Sanic sent me. We'll probably use half that amount."

"Sanic and myself ran projections and the closest we figure we need is at a minimum 4 hours notice to evacuate everyone safely. Anything less and we cannot guarantee everyone will be safely hidden."

"OK that's good to know because I'm not sure how much warning I'll get from Merrik, so I'll have to play it by ear."

"We know we can trust you father, you may need one of your famous diversions if Merrik tries to cut it any closer." Tyger instructed.

"Good job son, you sound like a perfect leader! Oh and make sure your dad doesn't act like a puppy." Lou chuckled softly.

"Will do, father... Say, has Sanic told you what Bear has in his possession?"

"What do you mean? Has in his possession?" Lou asked.

"He never told you about a certain book he owns?"

"Not that I recall. What kind of book is it?"

"A first edition copy of 'The White Menace.' He's gonna read Lyon it as a bedtime for the first night of his indoctrination."

"Oh? Should we be concerned about that for some reason?"

"Have you ever read the original version of the story?" Tyger asked as he was leading his father.

"I've read the story to you and Lyon many times. Just so we could have discussions about the possible persecution you may face."

"What if I told you the original was completely different from the one you read me?" Tyger asked knowing that he had his father on the hook.

"Different how?"

"Completely different that the whole context of the story was purposely altered."

"Tyger, what are you saying?" Lou asked his son and Tyger began to tell the tale of the first night that Bear had read the original to him. Lou nearly dropped his cell phone as he realized the secret Bear had been keeping from the world.

He tried not to get visibly angry because it was his son he was talking to but all along Bear had the means to end the hatred of rare white fur species and he purposely kept it hidden for some reason. This was another reason why Lou wanted to destroy The White Citadel, because it was causing suffering when it could have stopped it ,long ago.

Gele and Merrik were examining a staging area where the agents were getting trained for the invasion of The White Citadel. A couple of lead agents stood in line holding tranquilizer rifles in their paws for Merrik to inspect.

"How are the preparations?" Merrik asked one of the agents. He was a light colored shepherd with dark patches on his ears.

"Running smoothly sir. As you can see we specially outfitted this so it looks and acts like a regular tranquiliser gun but at a moment's notice the darts can be replaced with .50 ammunition. We've timed it to take less than 5 seconds to switch the clips. Observe." He told Merrik and then demonstrated switching the current clip in the gun for one mounted on his chest armor. Merrik whistled.

"Impressive!" Merrik responded.

"Per your orders should things go bad all our agents will switch to live ammo and neutralize any threats."

"Excellent. The intel we've gathered suggests the best they have is rock salt guns but I prefer to air on the side of caution. Plus the source cannot be trusted in any way." Merrik said and Gele cleared her throat as she gave a cold hard look at Merrik.

"We are ready for whatever they throw at us!" The agent said proudly.

"Good, carry on." Merrik and Gele continued on with their inspection.

"Live ammo? Are you insane?! You know that deer is going to have some other tricks up his sleeve. You're basically playing right into his hoof." Gele argued quietly to not alert the other agents as they prepared.

"It's just a precaution. I made sure the agents know that there are numerous hostages collared and made to blend in. Our agents will be discreet but should The White Citadel use force we will return it in kind... but only as a last resort, of course." Merrik argued.

"Of course," she replied skeptically.

"Which reminds me, I have a special job for you."

"Me?" She asked.

"I need you to keep an eye on the deer. Like you said I expect he's up to something and I want to make sure he doesn't get a chance to pull it off." Merrik said.

"And if he does try something, what am I supposed to do?"

"Alert me immediately. I'm going along to make sure things go according to plan. I've been training with the agents and I got my own gun." Merrik removed a tranquilizer handgun and hit the release and the mag slid out and he popped in another mag with .45 hollow point rounds.

"Did you know I met his maid? She's a charming woman, very smart. Anyway we hit it off as I waited for him and we both decided that when I retire the two of us are taking a long vacation so we can gossip about how stupid our bosses are." Gele said as he gave Merrik another look. He was still oblivious to it as he focused on his handgun.

"That's nice," he replied just for the sake of replying even though he hadn't listened to a word she said.

To Be Continued...