FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

PLAYING GOD

Part 3 - Crime and Punishment

This was it.

Some of them were packing the streets; waiting for hours to catch the merest fumbled glimpse of him. Some were half-way across the world, watching through the cold mechanical eyes of television cameras. What was distance? What was time and patience to those who'd already lost the ones who meant everything to them? Nothing, nothing at all. This was it.

Justice.

The papers had called it "Judgement Day" - but that was nothing but a hollow gimmick, a weak ploy to try and give the wordless, hopeless grief a label. It's sole defendant had been branded too, with a thousand names and insults, a thousand words of hate and worthless fury. But none had come close to the truth, really. For names can never hurt you, but sticks and stones can break your bones.

And knives... knives can take you into a whole new world of pain.

The van was coming now. Big and black and brutal, cordoned by a regiment of armoured Police officers. Whether they were there to protect the van's occupant from the crowds, or the crowds from the occupant, none could tell.

Silence fell as it approached, slowing carefully to avoid the crowds. There was a moment of pure stillness, as if the fabric of the world itself couldn't dare disturb the brutal peace.

Then the doors opened, and out he came. His mischievous grin flashed in the sunlight. Despite the two bulky officers restraining him from both sides, the tall wolf somehow managed to saunter, moving with an unnatural, sinuous elegance as he was led up the steps to the courthouse. He turned and spread his arms wide to the crowds, like a star performer expecting applause.

With a snarl of effort, someone in the crowd hefted a brick at the lupine. The officers on either side scrambled to get out of the way, but Finn merely smirked, and caught the projectile without looking. He glanced into the crowd, and his warm eyes of liquid amber zeroed in on his attacker. An old and livid-looking raven, her feathers ruffled with pure rage. The crowd seemed to part from between them, so that the gazes of the murderer and the mother of his 13th victim were locked, without hindrance. The wolf smiled, and slowly, tenderly, blew her a kiss.

Anger liquefied, into pure delicious sorrow.

Finn chuckled softly, watching the avian's face crumple as she started to cry. Even across seventy feet, he found he could perceive every tear in exquisite clarity. For a few seconds, he concentrated on the intricacies of her grief, ignoring the shocked and stunned onlookers entirely. Then, with a terrifying grace and swiftness, he whirled round, presenting his arms to his open-mouthed captors.

"Shall we?"

***

"He's a monster."

Inspector Redstone spoke curtly, his voice betraying no hint of emotion as he watched the grey wolf lazily lounge into the chair in the defendant's cage. Judge Raphael Henderson glanced at him, adjusting his official wig, and sighed as he laid a scaled hand on his old friend's shoulder.

"I'll do what I can to bring him to justice, Brutus."

The rat snorted derisively, not looking at him. "Justice? How are we supposed to give that creature justice? By the Catalyst itself... he knows. He knows that whatever we can do to him, he'll have won."

Henderson opened his mouth to speak, and closed it again. He didn't know what to say.

Redstone kept his hard eyes on the court scene below, as the legalities began. When he spoke again, his voice had an odd, tense quality to it.

"Raphael... there's something you can do."

"Oh?"

The rodent glanced around, and pulled out an official-looking document from inside his jacket, presenting it hurriedly to the gecko. "This is why, Raff. This is why I took the case. Because the Authority promised me that they'd do the rest."

Judge Henderson frowned at him, his green-scaled eyelids flickering with puzzlement as he took the piece of parchment and glanced through it.

"It's all official. Comes straight from the High Council."

The lizard raised an eyebrow, turning a page - and stopped. His eyes widened.

"Brutus? What in the name of all that is holy is this_?_ It... it goes against everything our society is founded on!"

"I don't need a politics lesson!" snapped Redstone, turning again to watch the slow dance of the law unfolding below him. "I know how it works, Raphael. The life of every sentient being is sacred to the Authority, blah de bloody blah, but... look at that bastard!"He stabbed an accusing figure at the wolf, who, though too far to hear their conversation, noticed his pointing and gave him a cheery little wave. "Look at what he did! Do you really think he's anything approaching normal?"

The gecko grimaced, turning over a page of the document. "But... look, Brutus, that's exactly the attitude that led to the Rebel Wars! "Death is an acceptable weapon"? We can't risk letting that happen aga-"

"WE CAN'T RISK LETTING HIM ESCAPING EVER AGAIN!" the inspector roared, whirling round to face him suddenly, his muzzle twisted with wild fury. "No matter how good the prison, no matter how many the guards... it doesn't matter! One slip. That's all it takes. One tiny slip and that... that murderer will be walking the streets again. We can't take any chances."

"But..."

"Justice will be done, Raphael. I swore it when I joined the Police forces, twelve damn years ago. Justice WILL be done. Will you help me?"

"I... He..."Henderson's shoulders slumped inside his robes of scarlet. "...Okay."

"You'll do it?"

The lizard raised his scaled head again, a thin smile twisting his lips.

"Hell, Brutus, do you think I haven't wanted this too?" He swept his thick tail forwards, knocking Redstone's leg companionably. "I'll do it."

The rat grinned at him, a hard, angry grin that didn't reach his eyes. "I'll see you in court , then."

He left the viewing gallery, passing by a young panther usherette who'd come to get the Judge. Henderson nodded as he got up and adjusted his wig again.

He went out, and prepared to make history.

***

"Finnley Nero Sharpe, you have been found guilty of all charges brought to you by the Court of Merciful Justice. Do you..." the Judge hesitated, his scaly fist tightening around his gavel, "...Do you have anything to say before I pass sentence?"

Finn held up a hand for silence, swivelling back and forth in his chair as he considered. Slowly, he turned round to gaze at the viewing gallery, sifting through it's stony-faced occupants. Searching it.

And there she was. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the mere sight of her. Sitting ramrod-straight, her paws clenched in her lap. She wore a rather tasteful blue trouser suit that drew attention away from her delightfully gangly figure... and also hid the scars. Her vibrant green eyes were looking straight at him, but it was several seconds before she realised he was looking back. Those emerald orbs widened and she cringed away from his amber gaze, a near-inaudible whimper escaping her throat. Despite the distance and the steel bars between them, the terror she felt was almost palpable. Finn let her squirm for a few seconds, impaled by his gaze. Then he spoke gently, with the tenderness of an utterly intimate lover.

"It was fun while it lasted."

Sarah Colfer stared at him, and started to cry.

Chuckling softly to himself, Finn turned back to the Judge, lazily motioning him to continue. He ignored the total silence around him, broken and even accentuated by the quiet sobs coming from the viewing gallery.

"Ve... Very well." The gecko's voice barely shook, but the rage in it sang out to Finn like sweet music. "I, by the powers vested upon me by the Authority, sentence you..."

"...to death."

And for the first time in his life, Finn was lost for words.

It was enormous fun, actually.

He allowed his expression of mild surprise to remain on his face, sitting back to watch the imminent fireworks. The silence -

_ _

"What?"

_ _

-would be broken soon enough.

Finn's lawyer, a rather weedy lemur dressed in a tweed suit slightly too big for him, almost choked on his own tongue in his hurry to speak. "D... Death? Death? But... Subsection 24 (vi) of the Declaration of Sentient Rights clearly states that - "

"An exception," interrupted Judge Henderson tersely, "has been made. By the orders of the High Council itself."

Even Finn found himself raising an eyebrow at that. The High Council were at the very top of the Authority's overcomplicated hierarchy: they were, quite literally, the most powerful men and women in the world. The Council's word was law.

And their word had been that he should die...

The silence was broken again.

Finn started to laugh. He laughed until tears leaked from his amber eyes and his sides ached. He laughed until he almost fell off his seat, reaching out with one shaking, silver-furred paw to steady himself. He kept laughing, great insane whoops of it that shook his slender body.

He felt flattered, actually. They'd seen fit to repeal one of the most basic, most vital and most strongly upheld tenets of their ideology... for him?

Oh, the ecstatic irony.

He wiped his eyes - the first tears of real emotion that he'd shed in a long, long time, and got a hold on himself, stopped his cackling lungs with a quick pulse of thought. Even here, even now, he had... no, he was control.

_ _

(he would have it. no matter what.)

_ _

And the wolf looked up again at his shocked, horrified audience. He shrugged casually, grinning at them.

"What? Insanity, remember?"

Finn got up, his large ears twitching as he stretched sinuously. "Now then. Everyone. Shall we let justice" - he spoke the word with an uncharacteristic sneer in his velvet voice, as if it was a spoilt child that he was being forced to tolerate - "be done?"

***

Was that it? Was the cruel nightmare over at last?

The Judge's words still rang in her ears, spinning through her head. Death. Death. Finn, the cheerful cocky wolf that she had loved. Given the most final sentence the Authority had ever given. She just couldn't believe it.

Sarah felt a sob rise in her throat, choking her. She drew a deep shuddering breath. This was it, okay? This was the end. She could start again, try to live her broken life again. That's what she'd told herself, that's why she'd come today, even though every atom of her soul begged her at the mere thought of it, of seeing him again.

"O... Okay?"she whispered to herself, hugging her knees, biting back the tears. "It's... it's over. It's over."

No. It was only about to begin.