Behind Locked Doors | Part 8

Story by Rivard on SoFurry

, , , , , , , ,

#15 of Inner Dilemma


The clock in the car read 2:32. Each passing minute took forever, then once it passed, it seemed like it went by way too fast.

I sat in the back seat of one of the undercover police cars. Bosh sat in the driver's seat and Zig was stationed in the passenger's. Both of them were sipping on coffee. I didn't have any because I didn't need the caffeine. I was too wired with nerves.

Little was said in the car. The only noise in the car was the occasional sip of coffee or from the police radio. Eventually, the silence became the only thing that I could hear. It came to the point where the silence was getting too loud and I had to disturb it.

"So, are the other officers going to be stationed outside of the house?" I asked.

"We'll be a few blocks away." Bosh answered.

"The house that we will be going to," Zig added in, "has empty lots on either side of it and has very little traffic so that if we were right outside, someone will find us out even if we were undercover. They will move in when I give them the signal." Zig opened up his jacket flap and showed a small device with that last part. I didn't get a very good look at it when he put it away again.

2:40

"Okay, let's go over the background information." Zig said.

I got a little annoyed about going over the background information for the umpteenth time, but it was better than the deafening silence that started to creep up again.

"My name is Preston Cobb," I said, "You saw me get into a fight at Giard's and you approached me afterwards. You gave me the gist of what I needed to do and I agreed because I need the money. I'm a high school dropout and have no parents."

2:43

What the hell am I doing?

2:48

Shit! This is actually happening!

2:51

"You guys better get going." Bosh said looking at the same clock that I was. He turned around and looked at me, "Don't fuck this up. Follow what Zig does."

I returned the look and gave a small nod. I had no intention of acting against what Bosh and Zig wanted. I opened the car door and placed my footpaws on the asphalt below them. I slammed the car door shut behind me as Zig did the same. The air was getting cooler and I zipped up my black jacket and popped the collar on it. I walked around the front of the car to where Zig stood waiting for me. He led the way down the sidewalk and I followed about half a pace behind him.

We were past the nice part of downtown; past the amounts of history, shopping, and dining that tourist love. This was the downtown that featured run-down businesses and abandoned apartments. It was one of those areas were whenever you walked through, you had that feeling that you might get mugged. We went down to the end of the walk and made a right. The unfamiliar streets spooked me a little as we continued down them. The amount of light provided by street lamps decreased exponentially.

The entire scene seemed to be taken from an action-suspense movie, except for the fact that I wasn't in the audience and there was no suspenseful music in the background.

"There it is," Zig said pointing his paw off into the distance.

My gaze followed where he was pointing and I saw a small, two-story house that didn't seem like it belonged compared to the other buildings. It was white wood on the outside with mud, dirt, vines and a bunch of other stuff on the sides of it. It looked like an old eighteenth century Victorian house that was abandoned. Tall grass surrounded the lawn in front of the house and to either side.

There were lights on from the inside and I saw a couple of silhouettes moving around inside and it made me even more nervous. Zig seemed to keep a level head. I guess after doing this for three years, one kind of gets use to it.

We crossed the street and walked onto the small pathway from the sidewalk up to the front porch. The steps ascending to the front door creaked as I stepped on them and it only increased my feeling of uneasiness.

A coyote at the front stepped in from of Zig saying, "Yo Zig, who the fuck is this?" He motioned to me without looking at me.

"He's here for Franz. He's the guy." Zig answered.

"Kinda young don't ya think?"

"Franz said that he wanted someone young. Just go ahead and frisk him."

The coyote walked over to me and instructed me to raise me arms. I did so without hesitation and he unzipped my jacket and reached in and felt around my torso in case I had hidden a weapon or if I was wearing a wire. The then moved down to my ankles and felt al the way up to my groin. "Quit being so jumpy," the coyote said, "you know you like it."

I definitely did not like it at all, but I refrained from jumping again when he did the other leg. Once he was satisfied, he stood up straight and turned to Zig. He reached towards Zig's torso, but Zig shoved him away saying, "Get your fucking paws off of me." The coyote opened his maw to say something, but a look from Zig must have closed it because the coyote didn't say anything else.

Zig turned towards the front door and pulled it open with this paw and stepped in. The door started closing behind him, but I stopped it with my own paw and stepped in behind him.

It was a lot warmer inside the house, a bit too warm for my liking, but I kept my jacket zipped. There was music playing in the background and a group of furs playing cards around a table. There was a bunny who had tattoos all over his white arms, a couple of hyena with brown and black fur, they looked nearly identical, and an otter with a patch over his left eye.

The stench of booze and cigar smoke invaded my nostrils and it was really hard keep my nose still. I really wanted to cough but I kept myself from doing so. I had to lay low.

Zig stopped walking and I nearly ran into him. He turned towards me and said, "Wait here, I'll let you know when to walk in." He took a few step towards a door and knocked, a vixen opened the door and let Zig in. As soon as Zig was clear of the door, the vixen closed it before I could get a look inside.

I stood there in a room of thugs playing poker unsure of what to do. I leaned against the wall behind me and waited. I listened to the chatter of the poker game, "I'm getting screwed," "Looks like I'm cashing tonight!" "Fuck you! You cheatin'?" "I call" "I raise" "Wha'chu got?" "What the fuck are doing here?"

That last one was directed at me. I looked up at the bunny giving me a cold look. I didn't answer, I just put my paws in my pocket.

"Hey," he said, "I asked you a question." He stood up from his chair and walked around the table. He stood at about six feet if you count out the ears. "When someone asks you a question, you answer them."

"Wait," one of the hyena's inspected me a bit. I got a little scared and wondered if he recognized me somehow. "You the guy Franz wants?"

I nodded at the hyena trying to ignore the bunny who still stood a foot away from me. The hyena stood up and walked up to me standing right next to the bunny. My heartrate picked up speed; I think they noticed because they both smirked. They faded away quickly.

"I wanted to kill that fag the first time, but he let those dumbasses try it and now he doesn't trust us for some reason. Now he's letting some child to do a man's work. I hope you fail too so that I can just take him out. From some reason though, he thinks that we're incapable and he decided to go with you. Betcha you're as much of a faggot as his son, you'll probably blow him the first opportunity you get."

I was getting angry and wanted to retort, but then Zig came in the picture saying, "Marty, Jake, lay off him."

The hyena and bunny looked up at Zig and stepped back. The hyena looked at Zig and said, "I don't trust him Zig, I should be the one out there."

"Shut up and play cards, Marty," Zig said pointing toward the table. Marty did as Zig said and sat don't with a pissed off look on his face. "Come on," Zig said to me and headed for the door. I followed close behind, preparing myself for what was going to happen. I kept telling myself "It's gonna be alright. Just stay cool and everything will work out," but I couldn't convince myself.

Once I passed the door, it shut behind me. I looked over my shoulder and say the vixen standing there in nothing more than her tank top and panties. She stared at me with glassy eyes; she looked like she was on some sort of drug. I turned around and, at last, I saw Kyle's biological father.

He sat in a large chair with a female otter to either side of him. Both of them wore panties, but were topless; a sight that Franz obviously enjoyed. The otters also looked like they were drugged and were leaning in towards them as though they really like him. Franz was bigger than I pictured him. He had a bit of fat on him, but not too much. I imagined that there was a good deal of muscle beneath. His face had similar features to Kyle and Cole. He wore a white "wife beater" that had some sort of dirt on them and black pants with holes in the knees.

When Franz saw Zig and me, he waved the otters back and leaned forward. He put a bit of a smile on and stood up. "Welcome," he said to me, "you must be Cobb, the answer to my problems." He stuck out his paw and I took it. The feeling of him smiling at me and holding my paw was nearly overwhelming. I wanted to hurt him just like he hurt Kyle, but I knew that it would go terribly wrong and ruin everything that Bosh and Zig have worked for. I gave him a slightly firm grip, but gripped my paw harder and shook it with enthusiasm. "Yes sir," I answered.

He released my paw and headed for a table off to the side. As he turned around, I looked over at Zig. He wasn't next to me anymore. I turned my head more and saw the he stepped off to the side. He gestured at me to follow Franz. I looked at the table and saw that one of the topless otters was pouring something into two shot glasses.

"Well come on," Franz said beckoning me over to him, "relax a bit, have a drink."

I sat down at the small table and took a hold of the shot glass. I didn't want to be on Franz's bad side, so I drank it. I had never had a shot of anything before, but I knew that you basically and to dump it in the back of your throat all at once. I was afraid I was going to cough it up, but I managed to take it all down. It burned my throat for a moment and I winced. Franz was pouring me another and didn't notice it. I drank the second one as he did, but the second one didn't burn as bad as the first one.

"Right," Franz said setting down his glass, "before we get wasted, I want to ask you a few questions." He paused for a second, I continued staring at him until he spoke. "How did you and Zig get acquainted?"

"He approached me at Giard's bar a few blocks away from here. It was after I got in a fight with this loudmouth."

Franz raised an eyebrow at me, "How'd it go?"

"I got a cut about my eye when he threw a chair at me. You should've seen him though, he had to be taken to the hospital, not sure what become of him though." I was surprised at how well I was able to stay in character. My voice was steady, and my face looked calm, cool, and collected.

"What did Zig tell you when he talked to you?" Franz asked, satisfied with my first answer.

"He told me that he needed someone about my age that was tough for a job. I told him that I was interested and willing to do whatever it takes. He told me that it would include homicide, but the sound of a job it was had me interested. I told him that as long as the money was good, it didn't matter what I had to do. I also told him I didn't care about popping off some John Doe."

"How much did say you'd get paid," Franz asked immediately.

"Are we going to play twenty questions or are we going to talk business," I said in a cocky tone. I was told to do this to show that I wasn't a push over.

"Hey!" Franz said in a booming voice, "Listen to me, don't talk back to me. I ain't someone you talk back to. I'm not going to listen to some punk like you. I'm the big dick, and you're just a pussy, you got that?!"

I definitely got it, I glared at him for a moment, but he didn't budge. I nodded slightly and said, "he never told me how much."

This satisfied him. He sat back in his chair in a relaxed position. "You're right," he said, "enough with the questions, let's talk about what you need to do." He pulled out a a couple of photos and slid them across the table at me. I looked down at Kyle's and Cole's school photos and saw them smiling back at me. "These are the two that you need to take care of," he said. "They were my sons, but not anymore. I want no part part in them except for their death. They're the reason why I was incarcerated for the past few years. I'd kill them myself, but it's too risky for me, so I need you to do it."

I looked away from the photos to Franz. He continued, "I need you to get close to Kyle; become friends with him. Within the next couple of weeks, I want you to go to his house. I don't know where it is, but you should find out. Once you're there, get them together and kill them both. I don't want you to beat them up or torture them; that's what the last guys did, and now, one of them is dead, and the other is off in some prison. Just pop them off. You can kill their new parents too if you want. Once you're done, Zig will help you get out of there and you'll report back to me. Sound good?"

It was difficult to keep my breathing level. I couldn't believe that Franz could keep so calm while instructing someone to kill his two sons in cold blood without a single shred of remorse. He just sat there waiting for my reply. I nodded my head, "sounds good."

"That's what I like to hear," Franz said and he poured himself another shot without pouring me one. Once he finished pouring it, a knock came from the door. It started out slow, but then the knocking became quicker and more urgent. The vixen looked at Franz to get approval, then opened the door. On the other side was the bunny that was playing cards, his breathing was heightened and he had a toothy grin on his face.

"What is it Jake?" Franz said standing up, "What is so urgent that you have to interrupt?" He sounded angry.

The bunny took a few breaths, "we found someone outside,"

"Police?" Franz asked.

"No," the bunny said, "just some kid snooping around at night."

Franz looked at the floor and brought his paw up to his chin in thought. He raised an eyebrow, and looked back at the bunny. "Bring him in," was all he said.

Jake, the bunny, turned and waived a paw in a beckoning way to someone out of sight. He then walked through the door with one of the hyenas following and holding onto a struggling fox with a cloth over his head and his shirt ripped in what seemed like a struggle. The hyena had a hold with one of his paws on the fox's wrists and the other on the fox's shoulder. He brought up one of his footpaw and kicked the back of one of the fox's knees, sending the fox's knee to the ground while the other one followed.

Franz, arms crossed, stepped in front of the fox. "Let's see who's been snooping around." He reached down and yanked the cloth off of the fox's head. The fox blinked a few times and looked up at Franz. A feeling of horror filled my insides as I saw who it was.

"John," I whispered, as I saw one of my best friends helplessly kneeling in front of a bunch of dangerous men. I snuck a glance over at Zig. He caught my glance as I gave him a scared look. My eyes flicked back and forth between him and John and Zig got the message.

I looked over at John, and he looked around at all the guys around him. His gaze them fell on me. My heart stopped when we made eye contact. John didn't make any visual reactions, but I knew exactly what he was thinking. He must be terrified to see me amongst these people. I had my eyes wide open and I shook my head a little trying to tell to not notice me. He seemed to have gotten the message.

"We don't like trespassers," Franz said raising his voice, "now you have to be punished." He stared at John in anger. Suddenly, his anger went away and a small grin came across his face. "Actually," he said, "thank you so much for coming here. Now you get to help out our new recruit." Franz walked around John to the bunny and whispered in his ear. The bunny got a huge grin on his face and nodded and handed Franz something out of my sight.

Franz turned and walked towards me motioned me to stand up. I obeyed and walked up to him right next to John. My heart rate was beating really fast.

"We need to know that you're part of the group now," Franz said to me, "consider this you initiation." He held out a black 9mm handgun.

I didn't move. The sight of the gun stopped all of my motions. Franz grabbed my paw and forced me to take a hold of the gun. He added in, "You need to know what it's like to take a life, Cobb. A life that you don't know, and this gracious fox has volunteered himself to help you out."

I've only shot a gun once before and that was when my dad took me to the shooting range. I still remember everything that he taught me about guns before you shoot them. I checked the gun I was now holding and saw that the safety was off, the gun was cocked, and everything was ready to fire. All I needed to do was pull the trigger.

"Just point the damn gun at him and fire!" the bunny yelled.

I lifted the gun up to my best friend's head. John looked back at me with pleading eyes. Tears started to roll down his face as he cried silently. I started to tear up, but I knew that I couldn't show any emotion. Everything around me seemed nonexistent for a moment. It was just John and me. I held the end of John's life in my paw.

A clicking noise and the feeling of metal in the back of my head broke me out of my trance. The barrel of another gun rest against the back of my head and I heard the words, "Either you shoot, or I do."