FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Once you're committed, there's no turning back

Michael wasn't expecting any training to be easy so it came to no surprise to him that he had to keep hitting the gym on a weekly basis to keep in shape. What did surprise him though was some of the activities that the Society organised for so called "training" purposes so when Michael was invited to go out paintballing one day for marksmanship practice he jumped at the offer. His mother in particular wasn't so fond of the idea, claiming that it was dangerous and that he shouldn't risk his body trying out paintballing. Strangely enough his father seemed to wholeheartedly recommend the sport, even being willing enough to pay for any charges. The young skunk couldn't explain why but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut before he gave his father any reason to change his mind. Apparently it was Dave's idea for the paintballing session instead of the laser tag which the Society normally used.

"It's more realistic this way and it trains you not to get hit and to move quickly,"

He had been told that paintballing required a good amount of stamina in order to keep up and that he should be prepared to have a few aches and pains for a few days afterwards. Michael was unsure about just what to expect but he dressed up according to the recommendations that Dave had given to him through email. As he pulled on his long sleeved shirt, he shivered slightly as the cooling material came into contact with his body. He didn't have much clothing for strenuous outdoor use and this was the best that he had. He shifted uncomfortably in his trousers as he did a few stretches, flexing his lithe body in front of his mirror.

By the time he arrived at the designated place, Michael saw that he was but one in a field of many. There were easily thirty or so individuals who had turned up and the skunk was more than overwhelmed by the thought of competing against them. By that time though his father had already driven off, leaving him to the mercy of the Society members, many of them taking brief backwards glances at him before returning to their conversations.

"Michael there you are!"

Turning to the origin of the voice, which in itself was no easy feat considering how noisy it, Michael saw Dave, La Volpe and three other individuals approach him. Michael shrank back slightly as he looked at the other three Society members: an otter, a lioness and a stallion. He had no idea who these people were and to be honest, he wasn't too enthusiastic about wanting to greet them.

"This is supposed our newest member? He's a wimp!" he heard the otter whisper.

"Now come on, give him a chance. He's probably just a little scared is all. If I had his body shape, stature and looks I'd be scared as well," the stallion responded.

"Yeah, come on Laura, remember what you said about Adam? Look what he turned out to be," the lioness added

"Hey what did I say about mentioning Adam in public?" Laura hissed.

The three would have continued to bicker with each other if it wasn't for La Volpe clearing his throat to get their attention.

"You wanted to meet the newest member. Here he is in all his glory. You wanted somebody of his calibre did you not?" the fennec muttered, clearly displeased at his superiors' behaviour. The three then carefully examined Michael, pacing around him and examining the skunk for each of his physical details.

"Well he is more lightweight than most of the other members... don't quite know how effective he would be in active duty though? Are you sure you tested him properly?"

Michael did his best to fake a smile at the otter pacing around him. It was disheartening to hear this but he didn't have the gall to snap back with a response.

"Yes I followed the guidelines set out by the Society. Is there a problem with our latest member?" La Volpe responded icily.

"No there is no problem whatsoever. We'll just be keeping close tabs on you La Volpe... you and your apprentice,"

Without another word the three walked off with nary a backward glance at Michael, Dave and La Volpe.

"Well that could have gone down a lot better. I will have to be more careful with my words next time," the fennec mumbled, hiding his face behind a paw.

"What just happened here?" Michael timidly asked.

"You just met our and La Volpe's bosses," Dave whispered, "I don't think they're too fond of you at the moment. They're still on their guard after what happened recently. They don't want another snitch working within the Society. From the looks of things you're gonna have to make a mark for yourself,"

Still a little intimidated by the meeting with his new superiors, Michael was more than hesitant to continue with paintballing as he pulled the protective mask over his head. As he was handed the gun, the entire lot was divided into two groups before getting instructions on the rules and regulations of the sport in addition to other miscellaneous information. He was thankful that he was on the same side as La Volpe and spent most of his time near the fennec. It soon became apparent that La Volpe was a skilled marksman, marking numerous opponents in the outdoor environment, even taking a small group by surprise, eliminating a group of ten with the aid of Michael and a few others. They didn't win every round however and there was one situation when it was effectively La Volpe, Michael and a ring tailed lemur on their side against Dave, a tiger, a wolf, a squirrel and a coyote. Hiding behind a large rock with his two allies, Michael scanned the area around him, barely hearing La Volpe order their other teammate to go scouting. The lemur was promptly taken down by a hail of paintballs coming from seemingly random directions. La Volpe was merely only using this as a diversion however and he quickly rolled out, taking down two of the assailants before hiding behind a tree trunk. The skunk glanced over at the fennec, waiting for orders but La Volpe told him to stay put and wait for his command. They waited for a few minutes but there was nothing that could aid them in finding where the other three opponents were.

"Give me some cover fire!" La Volpe hissed. Nodding his understanding, the skunk blindly aimed his weapon above the rock and fired, allowing the fennec to scurry over, paintballs flying in both directions as his enemies failed to track him properly.

"You're gonna have to do better than that if you want to get me!" La Volpe yelled as he fired his gun a few times, drawing the wolf out of his cover. Michael seized the opportunity and fired his weapon, unsure of whether or not he was hitting the wolf or not.

"Ha you missed!" the wolf yelled out wiping some of the paint from his clothes as he hid behind a tree trunk. La Volpe was quick on the mark and blasted him with a volley of paintballs when he poked his head out of his cover.

"Alright alright I'm out!"

"Good shot man," the skunk whispered to the fennec.

"Nah you hit him first, he's trying to cheat," the fennec mused as he peeked around the corner for the remaining enemies.

"Hey Michelle I got a little present for you!"

Peering around his side of the rock the skunk had noticed that Dave had exposed himself to both him and La Volpe. He noticed that the fennec was also watching but holding fire, waiting to see what the leopard was going to do.

"My cute skunk boy! You've got a hole that needs filling and I have the right thing for it!" Dave yelled out, emphasizing his last statement with a series of pelvic thrusts. Closing his eyes, Michael raised his weapon and fired three shots in quick succession. Dave soon crumpled into a heap a few seconds later, groaning in pain while his last teammate dragged him away behind some cover.

"Ah god that hurts! I think I really got to him there," Dave moaned as he stared up in the sky, grabbing a hold of his crotch and trying not to focus on the pain that was currently engulfing his body.

"I am not proud of what I just did there," Michael whispered, suddenly hoping that his shots hadn't done any permanent damage to the leopard.

"That's his fault for not wearing a cup. You gotta protect your balls from these things given they travel at what two hundred or three hundred metres per second. He's gonna have a rather nasty bruise there for a few days I reckon," La Volpe smirked, "Alright on my mark go out and see if you can find the other guy,"

Leaning over to the other side of the rock, Michael prepared himself for a dash to behind a tree which he hoped would provide some ample cover.

"Mark! Move it! Go! Go! Go!" La Volpe bellowed, forcing Michael out of his cover before leaping behind a fallen tree trunk. Michael heard the splattering of paintballs to his right as he zigzagged across the dusty ground, avoiding most of the projectiles until a good volley of shots punched him in the chest. He let out a cry of surprise as the shots knocked the wind out of him, forcing him to call it quits. La Volpe wasn't in much better shape either though as he was shot in the back when Michael's cry of surprise distracted him for a brief moment in time.

"Ha! Is that all you got? I expected more from you La Volpe! You need to be more careful" called out a voice from behind a tree. Turning around to look at the source of the voice, Michael was more than surprised to see a female panther appear seemingly out of nowhere.

"Diana Andrews... I should have known! Only a predator can hit me on the move!" La Volpe laughed as he lowered his weapon, which had been aimed squarely at Diana's chest.

"You run quickly La Volpe which makes it an honour to shoot at you! You know I'm surprised the new guy can run so fast... most people don't know to zigzag when running from enemy fire," Diana smirked as she watched Michael scamper over to Dave with the obvious intent of apologizing for shooting the leopard in the crotch.

"I reckon he's been playing too many war games. I mean I don't do it," La Volpe countered as Dave gave Michael a good slap across the face with an open paw.

"That's only because you run fast enough to not require it. Slower runners need to do it or get taken down in a hail of bullets," Diana scowled before firing the La Volpe in the leg. The fennec yelped in pain as he fell to the ground, rubbing his shin.

"What the hell was that for?" he demanded as he carefully picked himself off the ground.

"That was for slagging me off at last week's meeting," Diana hissed before marching off past Dave and Michael.

By the time that they finished up for the day, Michael was exhausted and aching in more places than he thought possible. Covered in paint he dragged himself to his father's car and flopped inside, groaning due to his sheer exhaustion.

"Enjoy yourself today?" his father asked him, a slight hint of smugness in his voice as he started the car.

"I can't feel my body anymore. I've been shot who knows how many times all over my body and I can't feel those parts anymore," Michael grumbled as he lay on his stomach on the back seat. Michael's father chuckled at his son's obvious discomfort as he drove off.

"Did you have fun though? Shooting each other that is?"

"I'm gonna have bruises all over my body and at the moment I've got a headache after being shot in the head," Michael whined as he rubbed his temples with his paws. The incident in question had involved La Volpe getting the drop on him and after being conned into turning around by the fennec, he had been promptly shot in the head multiple times. Despite the helmet which everyone had to wear, the impact was still rather jarring and he was groaning on the ground for a few minutes before somebody came to drag him away.

"Don't make me think about it, my head hurts enough as it is," Michael grumbled as he closed his eyes and tried to tune out the throbbing pain in his head.

"So are you rested up?" La Volpe asked as he drove Michael to what would be his first Society meeting.

"My head still hurts from where you shot me," Michael pouted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well you shot Dave in the balls... I reckon he's got it worse than you have," La Volpe responded, turning the car down a back alley. The aroma instantly hit Michael like a solid brick wall. The smell of garbage and sewage caused him to grimace slightly, prompting La Volpe to reprimand him.

"If you think this is bad you do not want to know some missions that some of the others have to do... just let me say that it involves going down into the sewers... alright we're here,"

Getting out of the fennec's car, Michael looked around and tried to recognize just what he was supposed to be looking at.

"Follow me and stay close if you don't the others to start staring at you," the fennec warned as he led the skunk around the building. From what he could gather it was a warehouse of some sort that had been abandoned from the looks of things. Pulling up a roller door, La Volpe waved Michael in before entering the building himself, closing it behind him. As Michael's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light, he saw La Volpe make his way to a dimly light sign and the door that lay below it. Knocking on it twice, they waited for a moment as the door slowly opened.

"Step into the light and provide identification or leave, otherwise we will open fire!" commanded a voice. A spotlight suddenly turned on and pointed to a spot on the ground.

"Okay after I'm done, show them your tattoo, that way you won't be leaving here in a body bag," La Volpe whispered as he undid his shirt and strode into the light. Turning around once, Michael watched intently and looked around for the source of the voice from earlier.

"Welcome back La Volpe, it's good to see you again,"

Gesturing for Michael to come forward, the skunk cautiously strode forward into the light. Pulling aside his shirt, he revealed the tattoo that emblazoned his chest.

"Welcome to headquarters, please have a nice day,"

The spotlight turned off and the normal overhead lights flicked on. Squinting until his eyes adjusted, Michael got the shock of his life to see four guards in uniform armed with assault rifles, all of them with fingers on the triggers and ready to fire. The skunk quickly did up his shirt and rushed behind La Volpe, a little shaken by the threatening display. He was still quaking a little as he followed after the fennec through the nearby door.

"Don't be scared about those guys. We hired some muscle sympathetic to our cause and for a security company they are incredibly well armed and skilled. It's surprising actually," La Volpe laughed as led Michael down a corridor, "Welcome to The Society,"

Opening the door at the end of the corridor revealed what seemed to be a paradise to Michael. The inside of the warehouse had been cleared out and renovated, and instead of the dull place that the skunk was expecting, in its place was a thriving miniature city.

"We picked up this place at a discount as it was about to be demolished. But hey with a couple new coats of paint and a small fortune in renovation costs, we turned this into paradise. Now we'd normally give you an orientation but the Society is still in crisis so we're still being careful with new recruits," La Volpe told him, noticing the awestruck look that had crept onto Michael's face.

"Hey La Volpe you old dog! I was wondering when you'd turn up here again,"

Turning around to see the source of the voice, Michael saw La Volpe doing a handshake of some sort followed by a chest bump with a white furred fox.

"Michael this is Steven, we went to school together when we were younger. Pharmacist just like you are," La Volpe told him, the fox extending a paw for him to shake.

"Pharmacy student right? What year are you?" Steven asked as Michael shook his paw.

"Um... first year," Michael responded, trying his best not to cringe under the fox's crushing grip.

"Do tell me is that old sourpuss Mr. Johnson still teaching?"

"Yeah I got him for chemistry,"

"You poor child,"

Clearing his throat, La Volpe sequestered the attention of both males.

"Well Stevey I leave it up to you to show Michael around. I'll call for you when the meeting is to start. I bid thee good day, Steven, Michael," the fennec said to the both of them before marching off to a small office in a corner of the building.

Gesturing for Michael to follow after him, Steven started to show the skunk the place that was the base of operations for The Society. From the get go, the skunk liked the arctic fox; there was something about him that seemed to pique his interest, like there was something dark and mysterious. Leading Michael to a small cafe inside of the building, the fox gestured for Michael to take a seat opposite him at a table.

"La Volpe has spoken quite highly of you, I can only hope that you deliver on all of the praise that La Volpe has piled on top of you," Steven started, "Please have a drink, my treat. They make an excellent cappuccino here,"

Looking through the menu, Michael scanned through all of the items on offer and their associated price. They looked only marginally cheaper than what one could get at a cafe on the street but the skunk was more than a little hesitant to order anything. He barely knew Steven so to go about using his money didn't sit too well with him.

"Can I help you two gentlemen?"

Looking up from the menu, he saw a female rabbit, not unlike Lucy Brandt only that her fur was a dark chocolate brown with spots of white.

"I'll have a cappuccino and Michael what do you want?" Steven asked.

"Oh I don't want to be a hassle," Michael responded.

"Nonsense it's no trouble at all! Get the kid a hot chocolate," Steven told the waitress before handing her the appropriate amount of money. Wanting to change the topic desperately, Michael took a look around to get a sense of his bearings.

"So this place... is it big?" Michael asked.

"This warehouse is a lot bigger than what it looks like on the outside. There are several floors in this building with each one dedicated to one particular chapter not including the ground floor reception. The three main chapters occupy floors one through to three and the miscellaneous chapters four and five. In each one you will find a library and councillors dedicated to whatever chapter they are associated with. This is in addition to certain exclusive sections that each Chapter has," Steven explained, thanking the waitress as she delivered the drinks that they had ordered.

"How so?" Michael asked, now intrigued as he stirred his hot chocolate slowly.

"Well," Steven answered, taking a sip of his coffee before setting it back down on the saucer and licking his lips to remove the froth that had collected there, "You're with sexual diversity right? If I must be honest I say you guys have the best stuff there on that floor of yours. You have the dance floor, the drinks bar and rooms dedicated for fucking. What do we guys on religious diversity have? Only prayer rooms and the movie theatre! The guys on cultural diversity have the music room and um... something else I cannot remember,"

Michael sipped his drink as he slowly digested the information.

"Wait there are rooms for having sex in here?" he gasped.

Steven's face flushed slightly as he remembered his own forays in those rooms when he was still single.

"Well yes... remember the government has eyes everywhere. This place is one of the bastions where one can engage in what is now forbidden. Nobody can see you... unless you want to be watched. All of the rooms have eye holes drilled into them which can be covered up if you don't want others watching. It all really depends on how much of an exhibitionist you are and if you want voyeurs peeking in or not. The Society enforces a strict condoms only policy in those rooms and for voyeurs as well. You would not believe how much of a mess it makes if you let people have sex or wank without condoms,"

Michael blushed slightly as the thoughts of other males masturbating to the sight of sex crossed his mind.

"You're gonna love it here, trust me, The Society takes care of all of those underneath its flock," Steven reassuringly told him, draining what was left of his coffee.

"Attention all Society members, the monthly meeting will be taking place in ten minutes. Please report to your respective floors for a head count," called out a voice on a loudspeaker.

"Well duty calls Michael. It's been nice meeting you, come we'll take the elevator. You're on the third floor, the one just above mine," Steven told him as he started to walk towards the nearby elevator with the skunk in tow.

"Now you take care okay? La Volpe can protect you for so long before you are on your own. Don't go picking fights and always remember the rules of the Society,"

Michael looked up at the taller fox before responding in a low, quiet voice, "Yes sir,"

"There's a good boy," Steven laughed, ruffling Michael's hair before getting off at his floor.

Sighing to himself, the skunk waited for the elevator to go up one more floor before stepping out. Half expecting to see individuals conforming to the gay stereotype, the skunk was relieved to find nothing more inconspicuous than couples holding paws and kissing on the ample number of couches available while gentle music played in the background. The dance floor must obviously be on another section of the floor. Looking over to his left, he saw another of the armed security guards, her weapon lowered but still with a finger on the trigger. Looking up he saw that there were numerous television screens and while they displayed nothing but pretty patterns at the moment, there would be no doubt that there would be flickering into life within moments. Taking a seat on an unoccupied couch, Michael looked around carefully for anybody that could pose a possible threat to him.

"Oh hey there! I've never seen you around here before,"

Turning to the source of the voice, Michael saw a rabbit sit down next to him. Clad in jeans, a light blue t-shirt and wearing a big grin on her face she held out a paw for Michael to shake.

"You're a new guy right? I'm Victoria Steinmann,"

"Um... Michael Chan," Michael mumbled as he shook her paw firmly.

"Oh you're La Volpe's new recruit aren't you?" she asked.

"How many people did he tell about me?" Michael wondered as he looked Victoria up and down.

"Well we all come in different shapes and sizes so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt this time around. So how did you meet La Volpe?" Victoria asked, reclining on the couch opposite him. Michael scratched the back of his head as he started to recall that fateful night.

"Well we met in a nightclub. He somehow managed to get me inside after I forgot my ID" Michael started, "Then after..."

"Alright you people let's get over and done with. I don't want to be here an extra second that I have to,"

Directing his attention to one the nearby television screens he saw the three heads of the main chapters standing around a podium with La Volpe in the background. Despite not knowing who represented which chapter, the uniforms which each of them wore bore the insignia of their respective chapter. The head for Cultural diversity was first to speak.

"Alright you maggots let's get this show on the road. Our lobby over pensioner payments is currently being debated in parliament with good signs of succeeding. Now we need to put pressure on them to make sure that they don't go back on their promises. All of those interested in an intimidation mission are to put their names down on a list that will be posted after today's meeting. That is all,"

Eric's eye twitched slightly as the female otter stepped back; allowing the lioness that represented Religious Diversity stepped forward.

"Damn what a bitch," Michael muttered under his breath.

"Ah don't let Laura's no nonsense approach intimidate you. She's more than a capable leader. We're talking the TRG here," Victoria told him by whispering into his ear.

"The Tactical Response Group? Are you fucking kidding me?" Michael asked astonished.

The Tactical Response Group was the specialist police force used when breaching a potentially dangerous location such as a drug lab or places where the individuals could possibly be armed. When not on active duty they acted as police officers on the street, adding an extra element of fear to lawbreakers. Rumours always floated around of them doing more than simply running after and catching criminals. Breaking arms or legs and dislocating shoulders were some of the big favourites at the moment.

"Ladies and Gentlemen as you are most likely aware we conducted a fundraising drive recently to pay for new equipment and for additional clerical costs. I am proud to say that not only did we break even but we made a profit as well. I want to thank all of you for your generous donations. The Society looks kindly upon such acts of generosity and we will be furthering our efforts in increasing the levels of diversity and tolerance the public will give minorities. Unfortunately we have lost a member recently, who passed away last night from multiple bullet wounds. This was not a government attack but one fuelled by prejudice. May God protect you on your ascension to Heaven,"

There was a brief spell of silence as everyone fell quiet in respect of the fallen Society member whose portrait and birth date was displayed on screen.

"Ahem... moving on,"

Looking back up at the screen, the lioness had moved back, allowing the last of the three main chapter heads to come forward. The stallion looked pristine in his black uniform which stood out against his white coat and muscular body. Tapping a few papers on the podium he cleared his throat once more before continuing to speak.

"Although the passing of Master Henessey is tragic we must press on to our ultimate goal of tolerance and diversity. Our meeting with the local newspaper for the district of Valdarin has been a success and we have received a formal printed apology over a grievous mistake mistaking our actions with those of a petty thug. The newspaper will now be a little more cautious before linking us with any crime without proof first. On a much brighter note, The Society will be celebrating its anniversary next month. Each of the chapters will be holding their own private functions but Society members are allowed to move freely between the floors. Good night people and have a nice day,"

There was much excited chatter amongst the denizens of the third floor as word of the anniversary spread. Having only been in the Society for a short while, Michael seemed lost and confused, unsure of his place in the Society.

"Members of the Society can I please have your attention,"

Turning back once more to the screen, everybody fell silent as La Volpe started to address them.

"As you are aware we have had to tighten security and be more cautious over our actions. We will remain on high alert for several more months until we can be certain that we can relax our vigil a little. Until then I implore you to follow the code of conduct that the Society has in place. Peace be with you. Oh and Michael if you happen to be listening in I'll come find you on the third floor. I need to have a small talk with you before we leave,"

The excited chatter suddenly switched topic to La Volpe's new recruit and Michael tugged at his collar uncertainly as all the talk about him reached a crescendo.

"I hear this new kid's a wimp. Like feminine body structure and all that," a tiger muttered.

"Nah you got it wrong the kid's more like the boss, you know the muscular body build," whispered a wolf.

"I've heard that he seduced La Volpe with promises of sex every week if he was allowed into the Society," hissed a lioness.

"No way! The kid's bound to be a virgin, I've been told that he's only sixteen or seventeen," a vixen quickly added. Looking over to Victoria, the rabbit gave him a quick thumbs up before whispering into his ear.

"Don't worry kid, once La Volpe talks to you the others will leave you alone. They know better than to harass anybody under La Volpe's tutelage,"

Curious, Michael proceeded to ask why this was the case. Stephanie scratched the back of her head ruefully, suddenly wishing that she could have held her tongue. Resigning herself to telling the truth she leaned in to whisper the truth into his ear.

"Look, Michael, although La Volpe seems really nice now and such I hate to be the one who tells you this but um... that fennec who you currently call your tutor. Let's say, he has a very short fuse. It's quite easy to piss him off and trust me you do NOT want to piss him off,"

Michael raised an eyebrow as the conversations around him quickly returned back to their original topics while others got up to return to whatever they were doing earlier. La Volpe did not give off the impression of being an aggressive character, a sly individual with a lot of patience maybe but not somebody with a short temper.

"Okay you're bullshitting me here I know," Michael scoffed, his tail flattening against the couch. Stephanie merely shrugged her shoulders as she kept an eye out for the fennec in question.

"Whether or not you believe me is up to you. I don't have a lot of experience talking to him so I wouldn't know. One thing which I can quantify however though is thus. A few months ago, some guy tried hitting on La Volpe while drunk. Let me just say he walked away with a broken jaw and still can't eat solids to this day. And because of that he is off duty until he has recovered from the injury. I know because I saw the beating. Happened during lunch time as well and the stench of blood was off-putting to say the least," Stephanie hissed before looking off in one direction, "Speak of the devil, here is 'The Fox' himself... nice talking to you kid!"

In an instant, the rabbit quickly bounded over the couch and out of sight as La Volpe's familiar face filled his view.

"Ah there you are! Listen um I know this may seem a little hasty but I think you are capable enough to take on your first mission," the fennec told him, sitting down next to the skunk. Michael looked at him like he was listening to a madman.

"Are you fucking kidding me? I've only been here six months," Michael muttered, giving La Volpe a sceptical look.

"Yes I know that and I think you should be alright to do a mission. You'll be under the supervision of experienced Society members so there's nothing to worry about,"

Michael was still unconvinced. He had seen some of the other Society members spar in the past, taking part in competitions organised within the Society itself and there was no way he could even come close to competing with them. Michael was reluctant to get off the couch and follow after La Volpe. He was still more than sceptical about his ability and it took La Volpe more than an hour to convince him otherwise.

"This is stupid. I cannot keep up with you guys I'll only slow you down," Michael pouted as La Volpe dragged the reluctant skunk to the office of Paul Dienes, the chapter head for Sexual Diversity.

"Will you stop making this difficult for me? I have faith in you Michael and so does the rest of The Society. Will you quit whining and believe in yourself for once?" La Volpe huffed as he knocked on the door.

"You may enter," called out a voice, as La Volpe opened the door and pushed Michael inside. Instead of a conventional office, there was a theatre of some sort with tiered seats and a stage up the front. Around in the middle was a table and around it were several filling cabinets, filled with all different types of papers. Seated behind the table was the head of Sexual Diversity, the American stallion Paul Dienes.

"This better be important La Volpe, I'm up to my neck in paperwork," the stallion muttered, his powerful voice accentuated by the acoustics of the theatre.

"Um yes sir. I've found our last volunteer for mission 5263a9," the fennec answered, pulling Michael to the stage at the front of the small theatre. The stallion sighed as he pushed off in his chair to a filling cabinet behind him.

"5263a9... 5263a9," Paul muttered to himself as he flicked through the files in the drawer until he found the file in question, "Ah here we are,"

They waited silently as the stallion flicked through the mission brief, examining objectives, current active members and other details.

"La Volpe we already have three members on the mission including yourself. Are you sure you want a fourth member to partake? Remember that the more involved, the greater the risk of liability,"

La Volpe gave a nod, "Yes sir I do. Sir this is Michael Chan, one of our newest recruits. You met him during our recent paintballing expedition,"

The stallion peered over his papers to get a good look at Michael, his memory faintly recalling the skunk in question.

"Okay Michael, La Volpe has spoken highly of you, almost to a boastful degree," Paul started, causing Michael to give La Volpe a furious look. The fennec smiled sheepishly before pretending to dust something off his right shoulder

"Now I dare to ask you. Can you provide what the Society requires?"

Michael's reply was almost instinctive, "Yes sir, whatever the Society requires I shall deliver on,"

The stallion smiled slightly, "It is good to see a Society member so sure of themselves these days. Let me take a guess. This your first mission?"

Michael kept his mouth shut. Was he a little overzealous in his response?

"Don't think too much about it, I'm just playing with you. La Volpe I am assigning you leadership in this mission. Set a time for your briefing and carry out your orders. You have a job to do. You are dismissed,"

Tugging on Michael's sleeve, La Volpe quietly led the skunk outside. Michael was still in a daze as his eyes readjusted to the different lighting.

"What just happened there?" he asked.

"You're going to embark on your first mission my boy. I'm gonna be so proud of you," La Volpe mused as he led Michael to his car and driving him home.

Michael's parents were relatively oblivious to what he had been doing, given that he had said that he was merely visiting a friend to do some university work. For some reason as long as he mentioned that it was for educational reasons, his parents didn't ask just what he did or where he went. He had exploited this in the past and at times he wondered just how long he could get away with doing it.

"So did you get your forms filled in?" his mother asked as he walked past the kitchen table where she was sewing shut a small hole in a pair of his shorts. Opening up the fridge, Michael pulled out a bottle of cold water before pouring himself a glass.

"Yeah I did them. We had a small argument over which fluid we had to use as a vehicle for the nasal drops but apart from that we got everything done for Thursday. The forms which he was referring to were a part of his university course and if he didn't fill them in every week he risked getting a very poor overall mark.

"Argument over what exactly?"

Michael to a sip of his water before sitting opposite his mother, "It's the phenoxyethanol, we were tossing up whether to use glycerol or propylene glycol as the vehicle. It's caustic in water so that rules out water and ethanol as vehicles. Though I don't think many people would want to put something with alcohol up their nose anyway,"

His mother nodded despite having no idea just what he was talking about. She was a trained nurse and although she had a basic knowledge of drugs, she only knew what they did and not the more in depth information like their formulation.

"I'd better get back to my chemistry. I still don't get this order of reaction stuff," Michael muttered as he washed up his cup and marched to his room. He was still on edge despite being a Society member for three months now. He had the strangest feeling that his mother knew what he was doing despite his lies but if so then why didn't she report him? There were rewards for ratting out on those who dared to break the law. Interestingly enough the crime rate had dipped soon after the new government had taken power. Whether or not this was due to the more restrictive laws was anybody's guess but it was quite effective.

"So Mikey are you free tomorrow evening? A couple of the others want to go down to the tav,"

Michael looked up from the cylindrical measures in front of him to glance at the skunk next to him. He watched as she carefully poured the powdered paracetamol into a conical measure filled with glycerol before mixing it in evenly with a stirring rod. Returning his attention back to the oral solution he was filtering he watched as the level of the fluid reached the 50mL mark.

"Nah I can't. I'm... meeting with some guys to discuss something," Michael responded, taking away the measure and pouring it into a bottle before attaching a label.

"Oh that's a shame, because we've managed to convince Glen to come along here. We intend to get him pissed then see what he does. You're gonna miss out on a wonderful show!"

Michael set up his strainer as he started to measure out the paracetamol.

"I really wish I could but I really have to go see someone for something," Michael muttered, thinking briefly of La Volpe before returning to his tasks.

That evening, Michael let out a long sigh as he waited for La Volpe to pick him up. He had a tough time explaining to his parents just what he was doing that evening but had somehow succeeded despite the odds. As he paced up and down the driveway he glanced at his watch in the relative darkness.

"He said that he'd pick me up at seven right?" he asked himself. The glowing display showed that it was currently a quarter past seven and he had been told by others that La Volpe wasn't normally one for tardiness. The sound of a car horn soon got his attention and he scampered down to join the fennec in his car.

"Sorry about being late but there was some pretty nasty traffic snarls downtown... which is where we happen to be going," the fennec muttered before driving off with nary a backwards glance.

Despite going downtown on many an occasion, the skunk had never really bothered to look at the apartment buildings that dotted the landscape with an incredible frequency. These were top notch properties that resembled penthouses and no doubt would cost an arm and a leg to even consider renting one let alone purchase.

"Holy crap man you live in one of these things?" Michael cried as he stared out of the window. Rolling his eyes, La Volpe showed an ID card before diving into the apartment complex. Pulling into the car park, he drove around in circles until he reached his designated parking space.

"This place may look expensive but you need to know how to haggle and when to buy. I got this place dirt cheap and can sell it for a small fortune... not that I'm not making one," La Volpe smirked as he parked the vehicle. Gesturing for Michael to get out, the skunk peered over the edge of the nearby wall only to realize that they were easily a few floors above the ground.

"Stay close Michael, time is short," the fennec murmured as he strode in front of the skunk.

Climbing up one flight of stairs, Michael was surprised to not only see Dave waiting for them but Diana as well. The seductively dressed panther looked overdressed when compared to the casual look that the three males were sporting.

"Yo Diana what's with gear?" La Volpe asked as he unlocked the door to his apartment.

"I'm going out later so I want to make this fast?" Diana replied, taking off her stiletto's before walking inside.

"Oh that'd be right wouldn't it?" Dave growled as he took off his shoes at the door, "La Volpe asks the question and gets an answer! I ask the same question and I get a slap across the face! Seriously what the fuck?"

Walking over to a nearby window, Michael peered outside. The city was alight with dots of white and orange and judging from the highway in the background, something big was happening tonight. Turning his gaze down, the skunk noticed the relatively large swimming pool at the ground level. It surprised him that there were still people doing laps so late at night.

"Michael get your ass in here this instant!" La Volpe bellowed, startling the skunk and sending him scrambling to the source of the voice.

Taking a seat next to Dave, Michael looked warily from one face to another. There was simply something about Diana that seemed to unnerve him. La Volpe's study room seemed quite small compared to the rest of the apartment. The cramped and surprisingly warm room comprised of one study desk, an overhead light and several shelves full of files. It was simply a miracle that the fennec could find anything in this room and judging from the books that were set out along the kitchen counter nearby La Volpe's tidiness wasn't restricted to only one room.

"Okay peoples let get this over with. Now before we begin I want everyone to know that we have a rookie on board for this mission," La Volpe started, handing a mission brief to Michael. It was depressing to hear both Dave and Diana letting out simultaneous groans but before he could say anything, Dave seemed to answer his question for him.

"Listen Mikey, no offence or anything but you're still a freaking scrub man! You haven't been here a year and we're taking you on a mission already? I didn't do my first action until fifteen fucking months!" Dave grumbled.

"Yeah what the hell La Volpe? You know my stance on working with newbies!" Diana added. A sullen look crept on Michael's face that went unnoticed to everyone else but La Volpe.

"I wanted Michael to go on this mission because I feel that he is up to the job. Dave the only reason why we took so long to find you a mission was because you were acting in a snooty matter towards me and the Chapter head and by now I am sure you know what the punishment is for acting in such an arrogant manner," La Volpe snapped. Dave winced slightly as the memory came back to him.

"Yes sir," he sullenly replied, "I couldn't sit down for hours after,"

Michael looked at the leopard for a moment and was about to open his mouth to ask the leopard just what happened before La Volpe slammed a map of a building on the table.

"Okay let's get this over and done with shall we? Diana since you were the one to raise this issue up to the Society you have the honour of introducing it at tonight's briefing," La Volpe mused, sitting back in a chair and resting his paws behind his head.

"This year the education board decided that it would be a good idea to change the sexual education syllabus to teach an abstinence only program instead. Now I have nothing against teaching abstinence but in all honesty they want that to be the only thing to be taught which I am against!,"

Michael looked down at the mission brief that had been handed to him, suddenly finding it a lot more interesting than the ranting of the female panther.

"Here is the plan. We're getting our new books from a small publisher nearby and we think that with a little "convincing" we can get them to produce a more evenly balanced text for students to study from,"

"The basics look simple enough," Michael thought to himself as he read through the proposed plan of action a few pages in_, "Get in, snoop around, convince the publisher to change the book and then get out,"_

"This sounds simple enough," Michael started, "If these guys are only a small publishing company there shouldn't be THAT much security around and what makes you think that the publisher would be working late anyway?"

"That's the thing though. The government wants these books ready for next year which means that they are going nuts trying to review everything in time and get things printed," Diana responded, "Which means that we need to get this stuff done quickly before they start printing out the new books,"

"This is what some of our tacticians had in mind. Now I want everyone to listen in because I'm not going to repeat it," La Volpe told them before laying down a print out of a road directory, "We're to approach from the north down Stock road here. From there we are to park a short distance away from the publisher and make our way to a set of bushes near the building where we will hide and confirm our actions before moving out,"

Taking out another map of the building and surrounding area, La Volpe continued with the plan.

"From there we need to sneak into the building. There are doors located here, here and here. Guards normally patrol these areas so two of us will have to take them out while Diana picks the lock,"

"Wait hold up a moment here," Michael started before turning to look at Diana, "Since when does anyone know how to pick a lock?"

"Training scrub, it was the only thing that tipped me off to the fact that they were changing the school syllabus," she responded.

"Can we get back to the task at hand please?" La Volpe muttered through gritted teeth, "Once inside we have to avoid the security cameras and make our way to the head editor's office. From there we "recommend" that he make a few changes and threaten him with death should they not occur. Then we high tail it out of there before they know what the fuck happened,"

"Sounds good on paper but what if we get spotted? Then what?" Michael demanded. La Volpe scratched the back of his head in thought. He hadn't been expecting this question.

"Well if that's the case, which is shouldn't, then everyone splits up and finds their own way out. This is a basic mission so we won't have communications watching us," he responded.

Diana shot Michael a hostile look.

"Meaning that if you fuck this up for me I am going to wring your scrawny neck do you understand?" she growled at him. Michael nodded sheepishly while looking at Dave and hoping that the leopard would intervene. Dave remained silent however, seemingly more interested in the map that was in front of him than helping Michael. Not wanting anymore conflict to occur, La Volpe quickly adjourned the meeting, allowing a scowling Diana to quickly take her leave.

"Well I'd better get out of here as well. I don't think that my roommate is buying the fact that I went to the library much longer," Dave mumbled as he got up and felt for his car keys, "I'll see you around La Volpe. Oh and Michael before I forget, study hard. Don't throw away your uni degree for The Society,"

Michael nodded his understanding as La Volpe saw the leopard out. Taking some time to walk out of the stuffy study room, Michael walked back into the living room and took a long gaze out of the window. The bright lights of the city and of those that lined the highways stood out against the darkness of the night, the cars in the distance resembling ants moving back and forth going about their daily duties.

"Nice view huh?"

Michael turned to see La Volpe pouring some whiskey into a glass and topping it up with some Coke.

"Yeah it's wonderful but how can you afford all of this?" Michael asked as the fennec made something else before carrying both cocktails over. Handing the Jack Daniels and Coke over to Michael, La Volpe took a sip of his drink as he stood next to the skunk.

"Well part of this was paid by the law firm I'm working for, including the sports car which you rarely see. The one I picked you up in today is my work car. So do you understand what we intend to do as a plan?"

Michael sniffed the drink before taking a swig of it. It was unlike anything he had tasted before and he couldn't really tell whether he liked it or not.

"I think I get it but what do you mean exactly by "recommend" some changes?" he asked.

"Well it's quite simple. We wave a knife or a gun in his face and say that if those changes, which have been written up by the way, don't appear then we're going to return with some buddies to beat some sense into him," La Volpe responded, taking another swig of his drink, "If we do this right we won't have to return,"

"And if we fail this mission? Then what happens?"

La Volpe paused. Flashbacks of missions in the past came back to him, some of them his fault, others where he was just a member and the sometimes brutal punishments that accompanied them. The fennec ran a finger around the top of his glass before responding.

"Well just hope that we don't fail. Failure is not an option in the Society and the punishments are dire indeed. Trust me you don't want to know," he finished before downing the rest of his drink, "You'd better finish that quick in case your parents start wondering where you are,"

Glancing back up at the clock on the wall, Michael was stunned to find that it was currently 10pm.

"Crap is that the time? I've got shit to write up for tomorrow!" he gasped as he gulped down the drink.

"Take it easy kid. I don't want you to be sick. You just seemed tense tonight,"

Michael's eyes flicked towards La Volpe before falling back down to the floor.

"Can you take me home? I really need to get some uni work done," he mumbled. La Volpe merely nodded as he reached for his car keys.

"Sure. We'd better head off then. The traffic should have died down by now,"

Michael was tired and irritable as he dragged himself into the lecture theatre at eight in the morning the next day. He was lucky to even get five hours of sleep last night considering how he struggled through getting some work done for later in the day. Pulling the laptop which he had gotten for university out of its bag, he pressed the on button as he struggled to keep himself awake for the four hours worth of lectures.

"Woah dude you look rough... late night huh?"

Michael groggily looked up to watch the wolf sit down next to him. Phillip was among one of the first to approach him earlier in the year and he was among one of the regulars who frequented their study group on Tuesdays.

"Yeah... I kinda got distracted on Wikipedia," Michael lied as he slowly opened up Firefox to download the lecture notes from the university website, "That thing is a serial time waster,"

Phillip laughed as he pulled out a set of computer print outs and a pencil case, "Yeah that's true. Gotta be careful with that 'random page' function though, you don't want to be seeing certain pages with that thing,"

The skunk chuckled slightly as he sat back in his chair. He didn't notice the rest of his pharmacy social group taking up the seats around him until their lecturer had walked in and heralded their attention.

"Okay chaps, let's get started shall we?" the fox started before going on to start his lecture.

_"Today is going to be a long day,"_Michael bitterly thought as he struggled to keep pace with the lecturer.

His prediction turned out to be relatively correct as the skunk only barely made it through the day and even that was accomplished with lashings of caffeine at seemingly random intervals. By the time he arrived back home that evening, he collapsed onto his bed out of sheer exhaustion, not hearing his parents calling for him to come and eat his dinner. Michael awoke hours later to the sound of his mobile going off in his pocket. Groping for the device in the dark, he blearily answered the phone.

"Hello... what do you want?"

"Mikey? It's Dave, La Volpe told me to inform you that he wants to initiate the plan Friday night. You in? Cause he added that if you were busy with uni then that comes first,"

Michael glanced over at his bag which he had dumped unceremoniously at the side of his bed. His stomach growled as he looked at his bedside alarm clock. Shaking his head he dug out his planner from his bag and flicked through it.

"No Friday looks clean. It looks simple enough... get in get out operation right?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Well... theoretically yes that is the gist of it," Dave finally responded. A hint of hesitance tainted his voice however and this set a slight feeling of unease into Michael's mind and he wanted to know why.

"What do you mean theoretically? What could possibly go wrong?" Michael demanded lying properly on his bed while staring at the ceiling.

"I like the fact that you're so confident but remember that not everything goes to plan. Just make sure not to fuck this up, La Volpe can only protect you for so long before you're on your own and trust me a lot of people see you as a subby little bitch begging to be put in his place,"

Michael remained silent, partly out of surprise and partly out of rage. He was almost certain that there had been some form of mistake here.

"Just be careful alright?" Dave finished, "I'll talk to you soon,"

As the leopard hung up, Michael exhaled loudly as the full weight of the call finally started to sink in. Did he really have any idea just what he was getting himself into? Trudging into the kitchen to look for something to eat, he found his dinner in the fridge waiting to be warmed up. Covered in Cling wrap, there was a note attached to it.

"Since you didn't come down to dinner we saved some for you. Just warm it up in the microwave for a few minutes. Love Mom"

Michael smiled slightly as he pulled it out and warmed it up.

"Maybe I've made a mistake,"_he thought, _"I think La Volpe's too confident of my abilities. Man I so think I am going to fuck this whole thing up,"

This haunting feeling kept up with him for the entirety of the week as Michael racked his brain for a plausible excuse to give his parents as to why he was going out Friday evening. As of late he had been going out a lot and his parents were commenting on this, making snide comments about whether or not he was seeing somebody behind their backs. Had they actually known what he was really doing there would be hell to pay.

"So do you have any idea how you are going to explain to them what you are doing?"

"I wish I did man. Please tell me you have something that I could possibly use! You know how dad always acts whenever I say that I'm hanging out with you,"

Dave rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair. Both he and Michael had decided to have lunch together at the university library cafe after Michael had given him a nervous call about Friday.

"Well you could always use that lie that has worked for you since high school," the leopard responded, "You know the one about you doing group study or something?"

Michael dismissively snorted.

"They're not going to buy that for a third day in a row. They're not THAT stupid," he grumbled, "And besides I'm up to date with my work only that I should start revising for mid-sems is all,"

"Well if you're up to date then your parents can't stop you from going out... for God's sake Michael you're 18! You're legally an adult!" Dave cried.

Michael's gaze dropped to the plate in front of him. He speared a stray bit of cheese with a fork and twirled it around on his plate. There were times where he almost certainly wished that he was still a young naive kid again so that he would never have to deal with responsibility. If only life were that easy.

"Trust me Michael you work hard enough as it is. Maintaining a 70 average isn't as easy as it was in high school and your results reflect the hard work you put in. You'll be fine trust me just say that you need to take a break from studying or something,"

Michael sighed as he dropped his fork onto his plate, the eating utensil making a loud noise as it made contact with the porcelain plate, as he glanced at his watch.

"I guess you're right... I'd better get ready for my lab class. See you Friday then," he mumbled before scampering off to avoid being late.

Michael was jittery as he finished his last class on Friday. His mind raced continuously as he sat on the bus back home.

_"What should I say? What should I do? What if they come looking for me?"_he asked himself as he got off at his stop. Just as he reached the door, Dave's words started to filter back into his mind. Unlocking the front door, Michael set his things down in his room before heading into the kitchen for something to eat. Being early afternoon meant that his father wouldn't be back from work and after finding something in the cupboard to sate his appetite, he went around finding his mother. What surprised him though was that she was nowhere to be seen.

_"Strange... she's usually watching television at this time... I wonder what happened,"_he thought to himself as he wandered back to his room to lie down. On his desk he saw a hand written note by his mum.

_"Something has recently come up and I'm not sure when I'll be back. If I'm not back by 5:30 then go ahead and make something for yourself,"_the note read.

Michael heaved a sigh of relief. If she didn't get back in time then he could bluff that he went out to have dinner with some friends... the perfect alibi! Cleaning up the mess that he had made in the kitchen, he padded to his room to find a suitable change of clothes for the night's operation. While most of his clothes tended to be dark in colour he simply had no idea just what to wear for the evening. He eventually settled on a plain black shirt and trousers as he sat cross legged with his eyes closed in an attempt to calm himself down before being picked up.

The music of Frank Klepacki soon roused him from his stupor as his mobile rang loudly next to him, the oppressive sound of marching sounding throughout the room. He let it ring a few times as the music slowly filled his blood with adrenaline.

"Yeah... what is it?" he asked in an unnaturally deep voice.

"Prepare yourself rookie... let's get ready to move out. We're waiting outside for you," came the response before the speaker hung up. Exhaling loudly, Michael got up and placed his phone on a table before marching out the front door, locking it behind him. His father wouldn't be home until later meaning that nobody would be in the house until later that evening. He had the foresight to leave a note explaining that he would be having dinner with some friends, who exactly he didn't say and would leave up to them to figure out for themselves. Marching down to the car he got in the back seat with Dave, the leopard seemingly disinterested and distant.

"Here kid take this," La Volpe muttered, handing Michael a handgun, "With any luck you won't need it but you never know,"

The skunk gingerly handled the weapon before noticing that the safety was on. Looking at the strap on the holster, he attached it to the outside of his leg where he could easily grab a hold of it if necessary.

"Don't fuck this up rookie or I'm gonna make you regret coming on this mission," growled a voice in front of him. Peering around, Michael shied away when he noticed that Diana was sitting directly in front of him.

"What do you have against me anyway?" Michael demanded, "What do you see in me that is so threatening?"

Diana turned to face him, a scowl plastered on her face, "Listen rook I don't agree with La Volpe's decision to bring you along and it is only because he is more highly ranked that I am that I say nothing. Otherwise I would have you thrown out of The Society so damn quickly your head would spin!" she growled.

"Alright that's enough you two!" La Volpe demanded, effectively silencing them both, "We are here to get something accomplished and I'll be damned if you two can't get along for the duration of it! We're here to complete a mission, not argue amongst ourselves. If I wanted to see arguments I would have gotten married years ago!"

The rest of the car ride continued in an uneasy silence and Michael could now see why Dave seemed so disinterested in the mission. There was no doubt that he had done similar things in the past and that this would be routine for him.

"Alright rook, this is your first action so keep your head down and your trap shut while we go in. We don't want to arouse any suspicion," La Volpe finally said, breaking the silence.

"But surely there won't be many guards around here. I mean it is only a local publication right?" Michael asked.

"You really are naïve aren't you?" Diana hissed, "They are printing false information about contraception in these articles and not only is it unscientific but they are effectively trying to scare my students into believing things like having sex before marriage will cause your penis to fall off and bullshit like that. I do not want my students learning this crap! It's a crime against education that's what!"

As La Volpe parked the car near the building, Michael observed only a few cars still present. There was no doubt that most of these would either be security guards or a few workers doing some overtime.

"Alright rook you sure you remember the plan?" La Volpe asked him.

"Get in, snoop around until we find the head publisher and 'recommend' an adjustment to the text," the skunk recited, the briefing session replaying like a broken record in his mind.

"Good boy, now this will be your first intimidation, be light on your feet and let's get this done quickly. If we get spotted split up and find your way back here unless you can find another way out of the area," La Volpe muttered as he pulled on a balaclava, "But take too long and we'll be forced to leave you behind. Remember that this is a covert operation, if we're spotted its mission failed but we must still try and attempt the intimidation understand people?"

The three others quickly responded with a crisp, "Yes Sir!" before taking a position behind some bushes after carefully climbing a fence.

"Okay there should be a lone security guard doing his rounds about now," La Volpe whispered as they waited for the sound of shoes on pavement to become louder. They waited motionless as the guard in question, an arctic fox from the looks of things, came around a corner sipping a cup of coffee. Gesturing for Dave to move out, Michael caught the wisps of communication between the fennec and the leopard.

"Go and create a distraction... I'll take him out," La Volpe whispered before reaching into a small bag and pulling out a piece of cloth.

"Michael when I leave, count to twenty before taking Diana over to that door over there. We'll be back when we've dealt with the guard," the fennec whispered to him as they heard a loud snapping sound in the distance. A flashlight clicked on as the guard dropped his coffee on the ground and picked up his baton.

"Alright wherever you are come out this instant!" the guard bellowed as he moved around the corner. La Volpe carefully crept out from where he was hiding and proceeded to stalk after the guard while Michael started to count.

"... seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty..." he mumbled to himself as he got up and gestured for Diana to follow after him. Sprinting over to the door, the panther unloaded the bag on her back and drew out a set of lockpicks. Sticking one in between her teeth she pulled another one out as she started working on unlocking the door.

"Damnit... these guys must have known we were here last time," Diana muttered as she pulled out another tool, "They've changed their locks,"

Michael was intrigued by this statement but something more pressing was on his mind at the present moment.

"How'd you know how to pick locks?"

Diana smiled guiltily at him as she withdrew one pick and replaced it with another, "Dad taught me... he always said that the best secrets are always locked away and that with the right tools anyone can find them," she looked at him briefly before going back to her work, "Same sort of principle also applies to other people. Come around some time and I'll tell you how to unlock others like La Volpe... he's a real interesting one to try and crack open,"

Michael was unsure just how to respond to that statement. The cooling night made him bristle slightly, almost like an omen that something was going to go wrong that night. Dave and La Volpe's arrival was swift and silent as the two of them crouched around Diana, leaving Michael the only one still standing up.

"What? Why are we not inside already?" La Volpe hissed as Diana gritted her teeth in frustration.

"They changed their locks since the last time we were here. I'm surprised it's taking me this long actually," she grunted, arching an eyebrow, "I mean it's... wait... right I got it,"

Looking around she twisted the knob and it turned without a sound, the door swinging open.

"Heh... I still got it," she muttered to herself as she removed her tools and packed them away as the four of them quickly entered the building and shut the door behind them.

There was little light inside the room which they had entered, causing La Volpe and Diana to flick on torches.

"Where the hell are we?" Dave asked as he whacked his knee against a low table.

"A storage room... what the hell does it look like?" Diana hissed as the group slowly made their way around the maze of office furniture and equipment. Opening another door, La Volpe poked his head out into the darkened corridor... silence.

"Alright people let's go," the fennec whispered, switching off the flashlight and skirting alongside the wall. Security was light and even the odd security camera posed little trouble to the fast moving group. La Volpe and Dave easily incapacitated and guards they came across before dragging the body out of plain sight.

"Won't these guys start wondering why so many guards are out cold?" Michael asked as Dave dragged another guard behind a pot plant.

"Not if we get this done quickly they won't," La Volpe grumbled as he ordered them forward.

Coming across a communal eating lounge of sorts, the sound of voices and soft footsteps on the carpet caught La Volpe's attention.

"Someone's coming," he hissed as he dragged Michael behind a couch. Looking off to his left, Michael had noticed that both Diana and Dave had hidden behind a wall where the shadows could conceal them properly. They remained motionless as two workers, a female tiger and a male wolf idled around the water cooler while exchanging some harsh words about their boss.

"I'm telling you we can't get this done in time for next year, he's got so many people doing overtime and frankly I'm surprised that nobody has quit just yet," the otter hissed as she filled a cup from the water cooler.

"Yeah I know. The damn bastard doesn't seem to care for his fucking employees anymore. Damn government has to rely on small publishers to put forward its damn message. Frankly I wonder what the hell is wrong with the stupid contraception section. What the fuck is wrong with teaching kids about condoms and such?" the wolf grumbled.

"I hear that it's because the boss is a prude and because he thinks that teaching kids about contraception is a bad idea, says that it encourages them to have sex or something. You know he isn't averse to telling lies. I also personally think it's because he hasn't gotten laid in a long time. I mean he's got no wife, no girlfriend; he spends all his time in the office... how many men could go that long without wanting to screw someone?"

The wolf laughed heartily, "That's assuming he can get it up in the first place! I wouldn't be surprised if he has to take Viagra just so he can have a good wank!"

A brief moment of silence developed between the pair as they drank their water before throwing the cups away.

"Well I'd better get back to those stupid drawings he wants. I have to hand it to him though he really knows what could scare the shit out of normal people," the wolf muttered as he looked at his watch.

"Well don't work yourself too hard. I'm sure you need your wrist for more important things," the otter laughed before the both of them parted and went their separate ways.

"So it seems even the workers are malcontent about their boss," La Volpe muttered as he gestured for Diana and Dave to come out of their cover.

"It looks like we underestimated the number of people still working. There is no way these two can be the only ones left in the building," Diana hissed as she shifted her bag around quietly.

"Agreed how much longer do we have to go. All these people around is making me feel edgy... and hungry," Dave added, causing everyone to look over at him, "What? I didn't eat before we left and I thought that there wouldn't be so much traffic on the way over here,"

"How much longer to we have to go?" Michael asked as he touched the weapon which he had strapped to himself.

"Not much longer. Just need to take a lift up and through a few more corridors. The guy's office looks like everyone else's so don't barge in without confirmation it's his. Let's move we think he'll leave the office at midnight meaning that we only have half an hour left," La Volpe told them as he waved them forward.

Passing by one room after another, they saw nothing but darkness. Furniture gathering dust as the stillness added a touch of tension to the stealthy group. Calling down the elevator, Michael looked at the uneasy expressions on everyone's faces. He could tell that none of them really wanted him to be here and there was more than enough proof to show that. He was the one that was lagging behind the others and slowing them down. If it wasn't for his paranoia that he was making too much sound he could probably be moving much faster and easily keep up with the others. There was absolute silence as they went up a floor. Michael knew better than to question the use of a staircase as he saw Diana unzipping her bag and taking out a small folder.

"Alright kid we're almost there. Do whatever it takes but make sure that he takes the bait and agrees to put in our documents. You're doing the world a good here so don't stuff it up," La Volpe told him in a deep voice. This did little to ease the tingles of fear that ran down Michael's spine as he fidgeted a little.

"Easy there Mikey... breathe... take deep breaths. You can do this,"

Dave's gentle tone of voice seemed awkward given the situation. What they were doing was illegal by any definition of the word and being told to calm down wasn't making his feeling of unease go away.

As the doors opened they were greeted by a dimly lit corridor, a solitary door at the end was lit in a sickly yellow glow as the group slowly approached it.

"You'll be needing this I assume," Diana hissed as she passed the folder to Michael. Taking a hold of the folder, Michael let out soft sigh as he knocked on the door.

"What is it?" boomed a voice from inside the room, "Get in here and be done with whatever you want!"

Michael glanced at La Volpe and then at Dave. Both responded with almost synchronised shrugs, a little unsure of just what to expect. Opening the door, they found a squat, overweight tiger sitting behind a desk. There were papers absolutely everywhere and the stench of sweat was a little overbearing to say the least.

"What is it? This had better be important!" the tiger grunted, not looking up from his set of papers.

"Me and my 'colleagues' have come up with a few suggestions for next year's book. We'd like to see them implemented if you don't mind," Michael politely responded, tossing the folder onto the cluttered table. The tiger looked up from his papers. He squinted dismissively as the four of them.

"And who the hell do you think you are eh?" he drawled, "You Government types are all the same! I've had enough of this bullshit! You should be bloody thankful I'm willing to do this! Stop trying to change my mind,"

Michael glanced back at La Volpe. The fennec merely tilted his head in the direction of the tiger, giving the go ahead for the skunk to deliver his speech.

"Listen fatso perhaps I didn't make myself clear the first time," Michael started before bending over to loosen the strap which attached the gun to his leg, "I said that we have some suggestions for next year's book. I... no... WE want those printed in the book,"

The tiger got up from his seat and looked at the Michael and the rest of the group with his beady eyes.

"Wait a minute you're not with the government," he growled before picking up the folder and throwing it in Dave's direction, the leopard barely catching it, "You will address me as Mr. Mitchell and you bastards don't scare me! I've put down tougher men then you have,"

Michael stifled a snicker as the thought of the fat tiger beating up a group of fitter individuals. It did however remind him of the old Hong Kong films that his father enjoyed so much as one of the actors was a portly young gentleman who knew how to handle himself in a fight. Just remembering though made him feel bad about laughing, but that feeling was soon washed away as the tiger started to act in a threatening manner.

"What so funny huh? You think that just because I'm fat means I can't take you?" the tiger fumed, shoving Michael backwards. The skunk just laughed as he drew the gun out of its holster.

"Oh yeah I'm pretty sure I can take you!" Michael smirked as La Volpe, Dave and Diana also drew out their weapons. Four guns trained themselves on the tiger whose knees started to buckle at the sight it the weapons.

"Now are you going to listen to our demands or are we going to have to put a few bullets in you before you listen?" Michael demanded, only now remembering to turn off the safety on the weapon. When he didn't get a response, Michael fired the weapon once at the roof, causing the tiger to drop to the floor, quietly whimpering to himself.

"Answer me!"

"O...okay whatever just... just don't shoot me!"

Michael could tell that everyone was staring at him at the present moment. Discharging a firearm without a silencer this late at night was bound to be heard by those currently inside the building.

"Diana stay outside to check if we have company," La Volpe muttered, causing the panther to give Michael a look of disgust before leaving the room.

"Now are you going to listen to reason hmm? Or are we going have to put you in a body bag?" Michael demanded, placing the gun away back in its holster.

"Okay fine... what do you want?" the tiger whimpered

Michael snatched the folder out of Dave's paws and slammed it down onto the table with a loud thud.

"We want these to be put in that textbook of yours... that is all. You do that and you never see us again. Fail to do however..." Michael hissed before crouching on the ground next to the tiger, "And the next time we come... you leave here in a body bag. Do you understand me?"

Michael made out the slight motions of a nod from the cowering figure, it was clear that the guy was traumatised enough to do whatever they wanted.

"Alright we're done here... let's go," Michael muttered to Dave and La Volpe as they exited the office.

"You cocked up good there rookie... hey why don't you let off some fireworks to celebrate your victory while you're at it?"

Michael stared daggers at Diana, the sarcastic comment causing the fur on the nape of his neck to bristle.

"Do you have anything useful to report for once apart from my glaring mistakes?" Michael hissed.

"Hey cut it out you two!" La Volpe demanded, leaving Diana and Michael to glare at one another menacingly, "Do we have any hints of security coming to find us?"

Off in the distance, they heard the sound of voices coming up from a staircase.

"I heard gunshots... I think they came from the boss's office!"

"Fuck! Come on people! We are outta here!" La Volpe bellowed as he sprinted off down another corridor with Michael, Dave and Diana in hot pursuit. This soon attracted the attention of the guards who had come looking for them as they too started to give chase.

"You guys know the drill, evacuation plan sigma, epsilon! Head back to the rendezvous point!" La Volpe yelled gaining a tentative "Yes sir!" from Dave and Diana. Being three stories above the ground ruled out jumping out from a window with the intention of landing on something soft. Michael could only get a brief look at Dave before he peeled off from the others and took an alternate route to the ground level. Diana soon followed leaving La Volpe and Michael to take a staircase together down to the second floor.

"Alright kid," La Volpe panted, "This is the moment to prove yourself! You're on your own from here! Get to the rendezvous point ASAP!"

The number of guards who had followed after them had halved by that time and as La Volpe changed direction it halved again, leaving only one guard in pursuit of Michael.

_"It's all up to me now,"_he told himself as he spotted an emergency exit and opened the door, losing several seconds in the process, allowing the guard to catch up to him. Bounding down the stairs two at a time, the skunk nearly tripped as he made it down to the first floor with the guard in hot pursuit. Barging the door open, he stumbled a little as he raced for the normal staircase at the opposite end of the corridor. Panting heavily, he now understood why the Society demanded that everyone have excellent cardio, if it wasn't for all the exercise there would have been no way that he could have lasted this long. In all honesty he was surprised that the guard chasing him could catch up. He hardly seemed to be one for heavy running but with groups like The Society cropping up maybe they increased the requirements for who could take the job. What surprised him however was Dave suddenly appearing in front of him with another guard chasing after the speedy leopard. Michael halted his advance as he contemplated the different scenarios quickly in his head.

_"I'm between the devil and the deep blue sea,"_he thought to himself as he turned to face the guard chasing after him. If he continued to follow after Dave then he could be cornered between the guard chasing Dave and the one after him. If he stayed put and went back the way he came then he'd have to deal with the guard chasing after him. The latter option however seemed to be the lesser of two evils as Michael squared up the large bear that was chasing after him. The sheer intimidating size of his opponent scared the lightly built skunk but with a few well aimed strikes he should come out alright. This brief lapse in concentration however allowed his opponent allowed the guard's fist to connect with his jaw. Michael reeled back in pain as he struggled to block it out of his mind.

"You're a dead man kid!" the bear growled before approaching the downed skunk. With few options remaining, Michael reached for the gun that he had put away and took aim. Remembering that the Society condoned killing others, he aimed at the guard's lower leg before pulling the trigger twice. The loud sound of the weapon reverberated within the area as the bear suddenly fell forward, clutching his leg and crying out in pain.

_"Now's your chance! Go! Go! Go!"_Michael's mind screamed as he picked himself off the ground and ran for the emergency exit back in the direction that he came. His jaw was awash with pain and his mind was numb as the magnitude of firing his weapon slowly sank into the depths of his mind. As he descended the stairs, all he could think about was getting out of the place alive.

Opening the door at the bottom of the stairs, Michael found himself out at the back of the building. A little unsure of his bearings, he took the time to catch his breath as he looked around in the dark night. His breathing was deep and heaving as he recovered from his exertions, his legs feeling like jelly as the skunk stumbled around a corner. He soon heard the sound of La Volpe's cocky voice coming from nearby as a dark figure stalked across the lawn and started to climb a fence. Turning to his left, Michael soon followed suit and started to scale the wire fence. Landing on the ground on the other side with a soft landing, Michael tried to track La Volpe in the low light conditions. He soon managed to catch up to the fennec as they turned around a corner and found Dave and Diana waiting for them by the car.

"About time you guys! Let's get the fuck outta here!" Dave called out as La Volpe unlocked the doors before getting in the driver's seat. Starting the engine, Michael barely had enough time to attach his seat belt before the fennec gunned the engine and they sped off into the night, taking one turn after another until they were certain that the guards had no idea just where they had gone.

"Well that could have gone down better," La Volpe sighed as he leaned back in his seat after having stopped the car somewhere.

"No shit Sherlock!" Diana grunted, "What tipped you off to that? The guards chasing us or the big mistake you brought along in the first place?"

"Diana get out of the car now! I've driven you back now go before we have another argument!" La Volpe demanded trying his best to prevent the hint of hostility from becoming any louder. The panther shot Michael a dirty look before getting out and stalking up her driveway to the house. Starting up the engine again La Volpe started to drive to the university where Dave was staying on campus.

"I... I'm sorry guys. I stuffed up royally back there," Michael mumbled, breaking the ominous silence that had settled inside the car.

"No... you did good there Mikey we underestimated the amount of security that was present tonight. This was as much our fault as it was yours. Pay no attention to Diana. She hates every new guy at first... you get used to her after a while," Dave responded, sitting back in his seat.

"Dave you know all too well that as team leader that I have to fill out all the paperwork right? I have no idea how to explain tonight... the boss 'aint gonna be happy when he hears this," La Volpe sighed as he pulled up in front of one of the dormitories.

"Yeah but I mean I had to shoot somebody... and it looked really painful as well," Michael admitted, looking at the floor beneath his feet. La Volpe and Dave exchanged looks before addressing the confession.

"We didn't load any real bullets in your weapon... just blanks. No first year member ever is trusted with live ammunition, even those with specialist training don't get live rounds until they prove themselves first," La Volpe finally responded.

"Then why did the guy buckle down in pain then?" Michael asked.

"It could have been a lucky shot. If you were close enough then even a blank has a chance to do damage," Dave added. This would make sense though given that they were in close quarters combat.

"Well either way don't think about tonight too much. So we fucked up, we still got the main objective completed and the truth should get printed in time for next year's book. Sure it will make the workers grumpy for a while but it's the right thing to do. Don't worry we'll cover for you. This is our fault as well so The Society has to punish each of us. I'll see you soon," Dave reassuringly told the skunk before getting out and walking up to the front door.

"I still know this is my fault. If I hadn't fired then we would have been fine," Michael muttered as La Volpe started to drive him back home.

"We had no idea what sort of stimulus it would take for him to crack. I would have done the same thing,"

"Then why do I still feel bad then?"

La Volpe paused to think as he stopped at a traffic light. The streets were basically deserted by that time of night meaning that the lights changed quickly. The absolute stillness of the night seemed to calm Michael down a bit and La Volpe used this to his advantage as he took the scenic route so he could talk to the younger skunk.

"Always bear in mind that joining The Society carries a big responsibility with it. You are fighting for the rights of minority groups here. You will have to make tough decisions in mere seconds without thinking about the consequences. These are decisions that we have to live with so it helps if you don't think too deeply about them. We always hold a debriefing situation with the chapter heads soon after each mission so feel free to explain your actions there if you wish but remember that what's done is done and we can't go back to change it. You are a member of The Society... never forget what and who you are fighting for and you cannot go wrong... do you understand?"

Michael let out a sigh as La Volpe's words slowly sank into his head. Glancing at his watch he saw that it read 11:39. With some luck both of his parents would be asleep and unwilling to ask where exactly he had been.

"I understand sir," he muttered.

"There is no need to call me sir, Michael. La Volpe is plenty. We are equals here Michael I am only your superior in terms of rank but I refuse to be called sir unless we are on an active mission. Go get some sleep and forget about tonight. I'll get Dave to contact you when we need to meet again,"

Nodding his understanding, Michael got out and said his goodbye to La Volpe before heading to the front door. The car had driven off as he turned the key in the lock and after stumbling inside, Michael slumped onto his bed after taking his shoes off at the door. He was going to need a long sleep if he wanted to forget the events that had taken place today.