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This story is a work of fiction. It contains adult themes and situations and is intended only for adult readers over the age of 18.

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MIND GAMES - pt. 6

Pepper hunched over her computer in the squad room. Nothing seemed to be making sense. Names had been added to their case board, along with individual profiles, statistics and pictures, but instead of the five, which Kaplan had said, there were now twenty-seven additional cases. What was even more peculiar was the frequency with which they were occurring. Not one every month or so, but two, and sometimes three. She wondered how the DIA agent could have been so far off.

She turned to ask Saul a question, only to find the human stretched out, sound asleep on a nearby leather couch. She smiled ruefully. He seemed to tire easily since the hospital. She wondered if it was the antibiotics he was taking, or just plain physical weariness. She wanted so much to lie down next to him. To curl up and feel the strength of his arms, the warmth of his breath against her fur. She wanted to feel safe. Pepper shook her head. No! There was still too much to finish here first.

She scrolled up and clicked open another file. This one seemed okay. There were no confusing additions to it, just a simple comcam test pattern. Watching it made her feel relaxed, warm and happy. It didn't last. She was suddenly jerked backwards out of her chair by a large anthrop bear she knew from the patrol division. He forced her hands behind her, pinning them in one of his massive paws before slamming her down hard across the top of her desk. The air was knocked out of her and she gasped, unable to speak or scream. She twisted slightly, catching a glimpse of the ursoid's face. The eyes were blank, empty of emotion and he had a silly little smile spread across his muzzle.

In one swift motion he hiked up Pepper's skirt, tore her panties off and rammed his massive cock into her mound. She felt as if she were being ripped apart as the bear thrust blindly in and out. A line formed behind him Nearly every anthrop at the station had cued up to wait his turn. One by one, they each brutally raped her as she cried and begged and pleaded for them to stop, even Captain Harris. How could they? They were her friends, her colleagues. "Why?" she screamed. "Why? Why?"

"Because they belong to me!"

Pepper looked up. Standing before her was a short, bald human dressed in a simple shirt and trousers. He smiled, the cruelty plain to see in his blue-gray eyes. His face, though still slightly blurred, seemed naturally round and soft.

"You belong to me... You and your kind will always belong to me. You are nothing more than toys which I can play with, then break and discard at my pleasure." He unzipped the fly on his pants, pulling out a ridiculously small cock.. The detective could see no public hair at all around the appendage. "Suck it!" he commanded.

The vixen shook her head, long black tresses bouncing off her cheek ruff. Scowling, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a silken cord and quickly wrapped it. around her neck. He pulled; choking her, forcing her mouth open. Then he slid his cock down her throat. Her body spasmed as she tried desperately to gasp for air, but none came. Panicked, she looked over at her sleeping partner, screaming in her mind for him to help her, for anyone to help her. She couldn't breathe. There was no air... no air!

"PEPPER... Wake up. Wake up, you're dreaming. It's all right... You're safe... you're safe."

She opened her eyes. She could feel herself shaking uncontrollably, gasping and drawing in air as quickly as possible. Somehow Saul had pulled himself out of his bed and was sitting on the mattress next to her, holding her firmly by the shoulders. His eyes were filled with both concern and strength. Weeping, the vixen threw herself against him, burying her face in his chest, sobbing as if the world were ending. The big man grunted slightly in pain, then reached up and gently brushed at what was left of her hair, scratching gently at the back of her ears and head with one massive hand while the other pulled her in tight against him.

They sat like that for almost thirty minutes, until Pepper had cried herself out. "Oh God!" the vixen sniffed after getting a hold of herself. "I'm sorry. I've just never felt so frightened, so out of control of my life before."

"It's understandable. It's a scary thought to know someone can take control of you with just a snap of his fingers. I think the sooner we catch this monster, the better you'll feel."

"Will I?" she asked. "How can I, knowing that I've got this part of my brain that can be tampered with by anyone who has the right program?" She leaned against him silently for a moment or two. "You do realize we can't ever tell anyone about this," she said. "If word got out to the general anthrop community they'd go paranoid with fear."

"It won't happen," Saul said.

"It won't?"

"No... It won't. I won't let it, Pepper. I promise."

The vixen leaned her head against her partner, drawing strength from his silent confidence. She glanced up at the clock. It was slightly after two in the morning. "We should get you back to bed," she stated matter-of-factly. She helped the giant human as he eased himself back into his bed. The vixen chuckled silently to herself. Saul's 'bed' actually consisted of two standard hospital beds tied together which he lay across diagonally. An idea crept into her mind when she noticed how much extra room there was.

"Would... Would you mind if I snuggled in next to you?" she asked hesitantly. "I'm just a little afraid to sleep on my own." Saul smiled and raised his arm slightly. Pepper quickly wriggled in, curling up along his right side, opposite from his wounds. Within moments, they were both asleep

* * * *

True to his word, Kaplan came by late the following afternoon to see if either detective was ready and able to join them. Despite the doctor's admonition, they both got dressed. Pepper had substituted a flexible collar for the hard plastic brace she had been wearing. Saul had his right arm in a sling and a fresh dressing on his wounds. He wore his jacket loosely over his shoulder. Both detectives ran through an abbreviated discharge procedure then followed the canine out to his car.

"Have you had any luck yet nailing down an image or idea of what our Puppeteer looks like?"

"No," Pepper replied. "What images I have are all blurred and confused with other people I know. I barely understand what happened to me, let alone remember much of it. I had some kind of nightmare, but I can't recall anything about it."

"Too bad, because you may be the only person who's seen him. If we're lucky though, coming face to face with the bastard might unlock your memory."

"I hope so," the vixen sighed.

"So, how does this go down?" asked Saul.

"From what we've learned, we were able to eliminate five of the suspects from our list. Of the others at least three of them routinely show up at the café between six and eight every night and stay until closing. The other two are being watched by teams from your department augmented by my people. When I give the word, those teams will serve warrants and bring them in for questioning. At the same time, we'll collect the three here and hold them until we can search their homes."

"You might want to cut power to the café, or at least disconnect their internet and comcam lines," Pepper offered.

.

"Why?"

"Put yourself in his shoes. If he even thinks he's about to be arrested, he'll want to create a distraction so he can slip away. Imagine if he could make a general, local area broadcast using this STROMBOLI program. The instruction would be simple, something like go out and kill ten people. Playing the numbers, you'd probably wind up with at least one or two hundred anthrops running amuck throughout town."

"SHIT," muttered Kaplan. "I had all my people checked for the plug, but we didn't even think of that."

"It's not hard to imagine," the vixen replied. "Especially once you've been on the receiving end of his mind games."

The major was on his cell immediately, talking with someone at his command center. After a few minutes of back and forth conversation, he nodded in satisfaction and punched off. "Good call," he said looking at Pepper. "I've got someone on that right now. He'll make sure the comm lines are secured before we move."

They pulled into the parking lot of a building about thirty yards away from Jigsaw Jim's. From there they could see both the side and back of the jazz café. A figure carrying a backpack approached the car and climbed into the front seat with Kaplan. It was Lieutenant Cooper. "Everyone's reported in positions sir. Now it's just a matter of waiting."

The canine nodded and turned to face the two detectives. "I'm going to take position at our command post. I'd like you two to stay here with Cooper and keep an eye on the back and side. Let us know if anything goes down that will affect our bust." With that he climbed out of the car and strode purposefully over to a large plumber's van parked not too far away.

"Stay here and watch the back?" Pepper asked. "Is he kidding?"

"What would you do if you were in his shoes?" asked Saul.

"Considering the shape we're in... probably the same thing," she admitted glumly. She pulled out a stick of gum, offering her two companions some. Cooper thanked her, slid over into the driver's seat then turned and handed her a PDI.

"You might want to pass the time scrolling through this," he said. It could help you identify our Puppeteer later."

The vixen noted it contained a facial features program used by police artists to suspect image. She looked up at Saul.

The big man just shrugged then winced slightly. "Well, it's more useful than a pocket video game," he said.

Pepper went to work while Cooper and her partner quietly talked. An hour passed. The vixen tiredly set the PDI aside. With all her effort, she'd only been able to create the shape of a face and a set of eyes that 'felt' right, but which she still wasn't positive about. She rubbed her hand through her hair, pushing aside a particularly annoying strand that kept poking her in the eye and sighed.

"I think I could use some coffee."

Almost by magic, Cooper reached into his backpack, pulled out a thermos and a small tin cup, which he deftly filled and handed to the vixen. She took the cup gratefully and sipped on the hot liquid.

"Thanks."

"No problem," replied the otter. He offered Saul a cup, but the human turned it down. A minute or two later, the agent put his hand to his ear and listened to something. Noticing the curious looks on the detectives' faces, Cooper reached again into his backpack and handed them a small box with a split earphone attachment. Pepper and Saul immediately plugged in.

"...He's crossing the street now; thin, black hair, glasses, red long-sleeve shirt, beige trousers and white running shoes. Yes, he's carrying a backpack. Probably has a laptop inside."

"Let's not assume anything," Kaplan's voice cut in. "Station four... let us know when and where he's sitting."

"Copy." There was a short pause. "I've got him in sight. He's taken the third booth on the left."

"Good." Okay people, by the numbers, we'll start moving in five. All units copy?" They listened as a quick roll call was taken. Everyone confirmed ready. The minutes ticked off slowly. Then... "Team one and two. Move on your targets... Now!"

Silence. It dragged on for an eternity.

"Central... Team two, subject in custody."

"Roger...Break... Team one. Status?"

Silence.

"Team one... Central... Status?"

"Central, this is Team one. Target in custody."

"Roger... All units, confirming Target one and two under control...Stand-by to move."

"Is it my imagination, or does this seem to be going down way too smoothly," asked Saul.

Cooper looked back at the human. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen my share of busts, and almost none of them ever went down as planned."

"You don't know Major Kaplan," the otter responded. "When it comes to this kind of thing, precision is his middle name. Besides, thanks to your partner, we've got everything we

could think of covered."

"Maybe," Pepper said, "but I have to agree with Saul. I don't see any flexibility in your plan."

"It's not needed," Cooper insisted. "Like I said, everything's covered."

The two detectives looked at each other. "Feds!" they muttered in unison. They continued to listen as step by step they prepared to move in on Jigsaw Jim's.

"Station Four from Central... On my mark, I want you to secure the room where the servers are located and cut all external links into and out of the café."

"Roger."

"Teams Three, Four and Five, be prepared to move when the links are secured." Once again, everyone acknowledged the command. There was a long pause then Kaplan gave the order.

Inside the café an agent sitting at the bar got up and headed for the restrooms. She paused in front of the server room then knocked firmly on the door. Her partner had already taken position behind her. Both of them were out of sight of the other customers.

When the door opened the female ocelot held up her badge and firmly pushed her way in. The tech wasn't given time to object as the two feds began shutting down the servers and the phone lines. When she did start to complain, the larger of the two agents, a wolf, handed her a copy of their warrant and told her to stay back and stay quiet, or else! Backing away, the human picked up a shoulder bag and left the room. Neither agent saw her scoop a pair of hard drives off the worktable. Walking calmly, she made her way through the kitchen and out the delivery door in the back.

"All stations, report!"

"Team Three... suspect in custody."

"Team Four... roger, same here."

"Team Five reporting, suspect and possessions secured."

"Roger, copy all. This is Central. Reel them in."

Cooper turned looking back at the two detectives once more. "What did I tell you... like clockwork."

Pepper wasn't listening, focusing instead on the figure strolling unhurriedly out the back of the café. "Who's that?"

The otter picked up a small pair of binoculars and looked, then relaxed, passing them to the vixen. "It's okay. That's the Info Tech who works there. She's not one of our targets."

Something dug at Pepper, she wasn't sure what. Maybe it was the way the human was moving, or her absolute composure. She brought the binoculars up and focused on the figure as she straddled a motorcycle. The human started the machine, then looked around carefully before pulling a dark colored helmet over her head. In that instant the vixen saw a pair of cold, gray eyes. A shiver ran down her back and tail.

"Follow her."

"What?" asked Cooper

"FOLLOW HER!" the vixen snapped.

The motorcycle pulled out of the parking lot and quickly accelerated down the street. The otter slipped on a pair of night-vision glasses and the unmarked sedan followed, its headlights blacked out in the evening dusk. He kept at least a block and a half between themselves and the human.

"Surveillance Two, this is central. Where are you going? Return to position immediately."

Cooper reached up to answer and Saul grabbed his hand. "Don't answer. We don't know why she left the café... She could be monitoring us."

"That's paranoid," the NIS agent responded.

"Yes," the giant agreed. "But at this point, a little paranoia might be helpful."

The motorcycle slowed then turned to the right. Cooper followed. Shadows lengthened and streetlights came on. Their target turn left, then right again.

"Surveillance Two... Surveillance Two, this is Central... Respond."

"The Major's going to have my hide for this," Cooper muttered.

Saul looked over at his partner. The expression on her face was tight. She was focused completely on the hunt. "What have you got?"

"I'm not sure... an image from a dream, or a memory, or both. It's hard to tell, but something inside me says we can't let her get away." The vixen looked up at him. "Kind of thin, isn't it?"

"No doubt," Saul replied, "but remember what I said about your instincts." Pepper smiled.

The motorcycle continued straight for about a mile, then turned left into a cul-de-sac and stopped next to a five-unit apartment building. The human dismounted, removed something from the saddlebags then climbed a short flight of steps to a second floor apartment, disappearing inside. Cooper brought the sedan to a stop on the street opposite the cul-de-sac. "What now," he asked.

"Wait here," the vixen instructed as she and Saul unplugged from the shared headset.. "If we're not back in ten minutes, call for backup." The two detectives crossed the street, careful to keep to the shadows. Cautiously, they approached the apartment building.

"How do you want to handle this?" Saul asked. Pepper didn't reply. Instead she silently padded up the steps leading to the human's apartment. "Okay then... the direct approach," he muttered to himself. He followed, crouching out of sight just below the top step of the landing. From there, he could still see the vixen standing in front of the apartment door. He pulled his service pistol out, holding it in his left hand instead of his right. It felt odd, but not unfamiliar.

Pepper reached under her jacket and unhooked the holster strap on her gun then rang the doorbell and stepped quickly to the right.. Even through the door Saul could hear the sound of footsteps approaching. There was a pause, followed by a voice. "Who's there?"

"Sheriff's Department. We'd like to have a word with you... "

There was a sudden booming roar and the apartment door blew outward. A few stray shotgun pellets ricocheted off the wrought iron banister nicking the vixen in her legs. Pepper drew her pistol faster than she had ever done in her life. A second blast followed immediately, taking out what little remained of the door. The human stepped forward, expecting to see a body lying on the balcony. Instead her eyes locked on the vixen, half crouched, weapon up and ready.

"YOU?" the woman screamed. She tried to bring the shotgun to bear. Five shots crashed out, two from Pepper, three from Saul. They struck the woman in the chest, slamming her backwards into the apartment. Saul moved up to the opposite side of the door, keeping his gun trained on the now prone figure.

Pepper slid into the room, sweeping it with her pistol before moving up to the woman's side. The face looking up at her was straight out of her nightmares. The woman had worn a wig that had been knocked off as she fell backwards, leaving her completely bald. The vixen stared at her face. The woman's expression was twisted, frozen forever into the same look of pure hate Pepper had seen in her dreams. The detective quickly checked her pulse.

Nothing.

Saul felt a movement behind him and turned just as Agent Cooper reached the top step. "Back-up's on the way," he panted, taking position of the opposite side of the door from the human. He looked in just as the vixen stood. "What about her computer?"

Cursing, Pepper dashed for the back room, moving carefully, her eyes scanning for traps. The first door she opened led into a small bedroom. Turning, she headed back along the short hall to a second door that was partially opened. Pushing it wide she suddenly felt as if she were entering yet another bad dream. The walls were covered with news clippings, photo printouts and magazine articles about anthrops, or more specifically the violent death of anthrops. Death notices, crime scene photos, images from accidents... the walls were an insane tribute to hatred. Symbols of various hate groups decorated the walls.

In the corner of the room sat a computer terminal. Surrounding it were dozens of screen cap printouts of the Puppeteer's victims, some taken while they were alive, others as they were being hanged. Carefully tacked to the wall above it were nineteen sets of female panties, all featuring a tail hole. One pair she easily identified as her own. Among the screen caps was a very seductive picture of her, naked and asleep on the bed of the motel room. Looking around, she could almost feel the hate, the depravity that was so much a part of this human's life.

There was a soft click and the computer screen came to life. In the upper right hand corner a timer activated and began counting down from three minutes. Pepper began moving back, calling for Saul and Agent Cooper. Without warning, the screen filled with the STROMBOLI test pattern. The vixen froze, eyes locked helplessly on the display. Her head began pounding and her stomach twisted in on itself. She could hear screaming within her own mind to look away, but she couldn't.

Pepper began shaking. She tried to force her hand up, to aim her gun at the screen. She only got halfway before the weapon slipped from her grasp and bounced across the floor. She was abruptly seized from behind and pulled from the room. She staggered back, falling against Saul. The human supported her until she could find her balance once more.

Agent Cooper wormed his way past the two figures and dashed over to the computer. Studying it, he threw himself into the chair in front of it and began typing frantically. "Get out! Go! Go! Get everyone out of this building... NOW!" The two detectives raced to comply. He studied the display. The damn computer had some kind of dead man switch, probably keyed to its owner's heartbeat. The moment she died, a failsafe program kicked in. He continued to work frantically, wasting no time with the small box attached to the underside of the desk.

Two minutes, fifteen seconds... The otter plugged in his mobile memory and crashed his way through the first layer of security.

One minute, forty-five seconds... He was past the second level of security and into the main operating system. A third security firewall slammed down, almost booting him out of the system

One minute, twenty seconds... Cooper began running through a number sequence designed to isolate and identify access routes.

Fifty-five seconds... He plowed his way through the third level of security and accessed the command files.

Twenty-eight seconds... The otter isolated and cut all external links from the computer, shutting down its broadcast capability. The STROMBOLI virus was abruptly cut off moments before it could finish sending out its code

Five seconds... Cooper disabled the link between the internal counter and the external box containing the two pounds of C-4. There was nothing more he could do now except watch and pray. The clock continued to count down.

Four...

Three...

Two...

One...

Zero...

Nothing!

The Lieutenant heaved a great sigh of relief, rose shakily from the chair, staggered into the bathroom and quietly threw-up.

* * * *

True to form, it took Kaplan and his team several days to wrap-up and debrief everyone involved in the case. There was nothing the Feds hated more than an uncrossed T or an undotted I. Through it all, the two local detectives remained patiently stoic.

Pepper glanced at the Puppeteer's face one last time before tossing the picture into a folder and handing it to Saul. "Alexandra, or is it Alexander Belasco... talk about your crazy bitches."

"Literally... Though the medical examiner would disagree," Saul replied. "He'd insist you couldn't class a hermaphrodite as either one or the other, though he'd probably agree with the crazy part."

"I might be crazy too," observed Agent Cooper, "if I had as much wrong with me as she did... I mean the gender thing is bad enough to confuse anyone, but when you add her family background, membership in a clandestine anthrop hate group and a brain tumor to the mix, it's no wonder she believed she was the victim of genetic experimentation."

Saul pulled a couple of data sticks from his desk drawer and handed them over to Cooper who bagged and tagged them before placing the evidence into the cardboard box along with Pepper's photo file. "Just in case I didn't say it before... You did good, Lieutenant."

"Careful," Kaplan smiled, "too much praise and he'll have to buy a bigger hat."

Saul raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually cracking a joke?"

The Major shrugged. "Why not? Case is over, STROMBOLI is dead and gone, we even have a couple of good leads on anthrop hate groups we can pass to the FBI, thanks to what we recovered off of Belasco's hard drive."

"I thought you guys didn't talk to each other," Pepper said.

"Au Contraire, Mademoiselle,: Cooper responded. "In Washington, it's all about owing favors. The more chits you have to call in, the better off you are."

"Speaking of which," Kaplan said, more seriously. "We owe you two, big time. If you hadn't gone with your instincts and followed Belasco, she would have dumped STROMBOLI all over the comcam net. She played us pretty stupid with those false targets of hers."

Pepper shrugged. "Just chalk it up to a rookie mistake. Everyone makes them. It's how we learn." She handed Cooper a lid for the box which he tapped into place. "I think that's it," she said.

The two Federal agents took a moment to shake hands with the detectives. Kaplan pressed a card into Saul's hand. "If you're ever in Washington, drop on by. Dinner and drinks are on me." With that, they left, Cooper carrying the cardboard box.

Saul glanced over at Pepper. The vixen was staring toward a nearby window, a distant, slightly lost look in her eyes. "You okay?"

She nodded, turning toward her partner. "Yeah. I'm just glad this case is over. It's been way, way too... too personal."

"Want to talk about it, maybe over a beer or two?"

"Are you asking me out on a date, Solomon Blackthorne?"

"Call it what you want," he replied. "Just thought you might want someone's ear to bend for a while. Someone you can trust."

Pepper stood and hooked an arm through Saul's. "You are on, Big Guy! Last one sober drives," she joked. Smiling, the two detectives exited the squad room and strolled out into the night, off the clock and case closed Tomorrow was another day and would take care of itself.

THE END