FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Phase 1, Chapter 3.

---

The pounding of bass greeted the wildcat as he made his way up the streets, paws tucked deftly into his rear pockets as he strolled along looking about as casual as a male in his mid-twenties could look while obviously standing in a red-light district. Several of the establishments, upon closer inspection, were much more than simple clubs or bars. This area dealt in luxuries, and not the sort you would find anywhere else. The soldier tried his best to look natural, flattening his ears a bit as the sounds of purrs and moaning cascaded down from the upper floors of the building he was passing. Drawing out his pilfered wallet, he began dumping the previous owner's ID cards into the gutters one at a time, while taking a few moments to look over the membership card to see if it included an address. Unfortunately, there was no specific street name or location to be had, which meant this entire walk was a shot in the dark. There was no way of telling whether or not the damned club on the card would even be on this street. Cursing himself for overlooking this fact, Kalevar slipped the wallet back into his pockets. If worst came to worst, he could get Fayah to look it up for him later.

He had already committed to this course of action and he intended to follow through with it. After all, the wolf (now feline) liked a party as much as the next animal. He had always lived by the ideals of fight hard, play hard, live at the extreme. Still, this whole ordeal he was wrapped up him made it feel as though he were perpetually stuck in a state of duty, as 'technically' he was on assignment. It would take a lot of mental discipline to work his way into loosening up, and dropping some of that military bearing which had been hardwired so deeply into his core. It was time to stop being a soldier, and start being an agent. A cat who walked the streets and played whatever cards it took to make the kill, not a wolf who wore a uniform and abided by the rules. With a deep breath, Kalevar shook out his bangs, running his fingers lightly through his uneven tresses. Casting a glance down at the gutters, he noticed his reflection for the first time. His muzzle was sleek, accentuated with black around his eyes and nose. Tips of black also ended his ears and the bangs which hung to his brow. He was a cat, alright, and by the looks of it a fairly streetwise one. He tested out his smirk against the puddle, and it became a full fledged grin after seeing how it looked on his new face. It wasn't who he used to be, but it wasn't bad either. A bit more charm, and a little less rugged appeal. A fair trade, all in all.

It was nearly fourty minutes until Kalevar found the establishment he had been looking for, but the wildcat was so relieved to have found it without Fayah's help that he forgot entirely how exhausted he was from the boring trudge through the dirtiest streets in the city. There was a new spring in his step as the club tunes hit his ears, and he pushed open the doors as smooth as anyone could walk into a completely unknown place. His eyes swept the room as soon as he entered, though he did not pause in his stride towards the center of the place. Keep moving, but see everything. That was his way. Roughly fourty or so patrons mobbed the dance floor, ranging from half-drunk to completely and utterly hammered. A deep, heavy bass caused the walls themselves to vibrate, the pressure in the room beating down against Kalevar's ears in synchronized waves. A mixture of tables and booths lined the outer edges of the dance floor, offering places to sit for those who were too out of it to stand or perhaps desired a bit of privacy. As his eyes followed the contours of the room, Kalevar created a mental map of the place. The entrance, windows, bathrooms... And there was a wide doorway in the back, curtained off with crimson silks and flanked by two well-dressed grizzly bears. Their arms were so large that it was laughable that they hard tried to fit into suits, but it didn't make them any less intimidating. He could only suppose that was what his card was for.

"Note to self... Don't piss anyone here off until you have a gun.."

With that in mind, the wildcat slipped towards the bar and laid a handful of cash on the glass while waiting to catch the bartenders attention. The two bears created a bit of a problem, and it was difficult to decide whether or not approaching would be a good idea just yet. Chances were that they'd recognize their usual patrons in an enviornment as small as this, and just having a card would mean nothing. It was a gamble, though. There was always the chance that those cards were handed out as passes to get in and do business, in which case the guards may have seen new faces every week. Really, in the end of it all Kalevar had nothing to lose by trying. He'd get a few drinks, just enough to help loosen up but not enough to dampen his tactical abilities... Yeah, that sounded good. With a wave of his paw, he flagged down the siberian who was working the counter.

"Barkeep, let's get a thirsty cat a drink over here."

"I'm all ears, kid. What'll it be tonight?"

"Start me off with an irish carbomb, and we'll see where the night leads."

"Sounds like a deal. Cheers."

The alcohol and cash slid easily across the counter and into the waiting paws of the two men, each taking their prize and going back to business... Kalevar wasted no time in pounding down his little pick-me-up, ears twitching lightly as the warmth nipped at his skin. He couldn't remember the last time he had sat down for a good drink. Of course, he couldn't remember anything at all, but regardless... Something in his subconsciousness told him it had been a very long time since any version of himself had just kicked back and chilled out. Gradually he let the music pull him in, and after a few minutes he was tapping his paw along with the base. He kept a careful eye out to see if any traffic went through the back doors, and much to his displeasure there didn't seem to be any at all. With a slight frown, he admitted that didn't bode well for his scenario, but hell. He was literally a new man, with nothing but options. He'd figure something out.

"Something got you down, hun?"

Kalevar's head popped up abruptly as he felt a body brush lighty past his arm, taking a seat at beside him at the bar. A short but rather flattering white dress hugged the curves of a caramel furred doe, her big blue eyes looking him up and down more than a couple times. She certainly wasn't large, maybe a few inches shorter than him, but with enough padding on her bones that she wasn't a skeleton with breasts and a rear. A fact which gained points for her in this situation, seeing as Kalevar preferred his women to be proportionately built. After all, it was hard to really get into things when you felt like you were going to break your partner in half. Maybe it was the wolf in him, but he certainly preferred prey with a little meat on them. The fact that she was a deer just made it all the more laughable in retrospect.

Putting on a smile, he leaned back against the bar and cast a sidelong glance her way. Taking a simple movement and using it to casually cover the fact that he was positioning himself in such a manner that she could fully eye him down.

"Apparently not, if i'm high enough to have angels sit down next to me."

"Awh, why the frown then? That was awful smooth of you, sugar, but I know I saw a sad look on that face of yours."

"Ahaha, so i've been found out, have I? I was just thinking, is all.. Trying to figure a few things out."

"Oh, I see... What sort of things?"

"Nothing relevant, really.. Job related things.. What makes you ask?"

"Well, perhaps I was hoping that 'who to dance with' happened to be on that list of things...."

"No, no... I think I have that one all figured out."

The poor little doe had been in the middle of looking terribly rejected when she finally caught the implied meaning to his words, as the wildcat stood and offered her his paw with a grin. Crystal eyes lit up and she smiled, hopping up so quickly she just about dragged Kalevar to the dancefloor. The soldier in disguise couldn't help but laugh, finding that his body naturally wanted to move with the music. Carefully, in forethought, he chose to relocate the knife hidden against his thigh to the back pocket of his jeans before the doe really got a hold of him. Better not to have to answer 'is that a phone in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?' with 'actually, it's a knife.' anytime tonight. That was the sort of thing which really tended to ruin first dates.

Time became nonexistant as the trance and dubstep blurred into one giant mess of sounds. Amidst all the bodies on the floor, Kalevar could hardly tell what belonged to who in the mess of tails and arms. His new friend seemed to know her way around, however, and was sure to keep him more than close. Dancing became little more than grinding, as she guided his paws to her waist.

"What's your name, hun?"

"... My name?"

"Yes, your name! Already forgotten, have you?"

"Hah, not quite. I was just distracted... And I think you know why."

"Guilty. Hehe.. Glad to know it's working. So, you gunna tell me?"

"You can call me Kain."

"Kain? I'd have picked you for an Isaac.. My name is Hannah."

"A pleasure, Hannah."

"Mmm.. Not as much as it could be."

"Tempting me, are you? I might be able to step up my game... In exhange for asking a few questions?"

"I like the sound of that, hun. Shoot."

"What do you know about that room in the back?"

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Hannah stopped dead, and so did Kale's heart. His right paw instinctively shot for the knife in his pockets as he nearly expected some sort of alarm to go off and cause every drunken male in the entire bar to come raining down on his head. On a second observation however, Hannah appeared to be more frightened than angry. She shook her head quickly, taking a few steps away from him.

"You.. Are you one of them? Ohgods, please don't take me back there!"

As her voice elevated, Kalevar panicked. Grabbing her around the waist and covering her mouth, the wildcat made a b-line for the nearest booth, jerking the curtains shut as soon as he got inside, sliding onto the table to fit into the small space. Hannah was desperately flailing and kicking in his lap, causing more than a small degree of discomfort, as well as awakening some dark thoughts in the back of Kalevar's mind which dictated that her neck should be snapped. Holding his act together, however, he kept a firm grip on the doe and tried desperately to hush her.

"Hey, hey! Shhhh, Hannah.. Please, be quiet! I'm not taking you anywhere. We're staying right here, okay? I just have questions... Look, if I were going to take you anywhere I could do it right now, we've both seen that i'm more than capable of keeping you under control. All I want is to talk, alright? Please."

Kale waited until the female had steadied her breathing before even considering taking his paw away from her muzzle, and remained one-hundred percent prepared to knock her out cold if she tried any sort of screaming. An unrequired precaution, as Hannah appreared to have believed his words. As he let go of her, she tilted her head to look up at him from where she was held awkwardly in his lap.

"So you're not.. You're not a crimson sting?"

"No, i'm not. I don't even know what that is, but I can guess it isn't legal."

"They own half this street... Half the city, depending on who you ask, and who you owe favors to."

"Hows that?"

"They're thugs, villians.. They prey on the desperate, both male and female. Some sell drugs, others convince people to become prostitutes by telling them they'll make good money, some just up and kidnap people and sell them as toys.. They'll do anything for extra paper in their pockets.."

"And the city does nothing? No police, no government action?"

"They can't. They cover their tracks too well, there's never enough for official prosecution. Besides, most who could do anything are too scared to try. People die trying to take down the sting. That or their families turn up missing, or worse. Those who they can't kill they blackmail.. No one with any sort of history at all is safe from them."

Kalevar looked down at the doe, her last words ringing in his ears for a few moments, and all the pieces seemed to fit together more and more. If what she was saying was true then he needed to get away from her as soon as possible. As the situation stood, anyone with a past, anyone who had resources for this organization to threaten in any way ran the risk of losing the things closest to them. Certainly this fact would discourage the wealthy and greedy from taking any action, as well as frightening even the most honest people into silence for the sake of their loved ones. There were higher prices to pay than simply losing your own life, and this new evil was preying upon that fact. As this realization struck him, Fayah's statements replayed themselves in his head, bringing with them a new level of understanding.

"You are your only backup, your only resource... You are everything."

Twisted knots of anger welled up in the wildcat's stomach. He had never realized that corruption like this had existed within the borders of his own home. He had been off for years at a time, fighting to help liberate and maintain the freedoms of other countries, while his own festered with problems like this. If this was the life which existed on the streets, why didn't they fight here? Why had he never been deployed to serve the common people? The questions tore at him, but he forced them aside... He was here now, and he was going to do something about it. A gentle hand against his cheek told him that he had been grimacing, and it was with great reluctance that Kalevar turned his emerald eyes back to the crystal blue orbs belonging to the female on his lap. Running a hand through the fur at her neck, he leaned in and kissed her deeply. A surprised groan slipped from Hannah's mouth as he pressed against her, pinning her against the wall of the booth. Slowly parting his lips from hers, Kale felt the unfamilliar sensation of a purr reverberating within his chest.

"A kiss for my questions... As promised.. But you know we can't do this. It isn't safe."

Worried eyes watched as Kale backed away, Hannah's hands clasped nervously in her lap. The wildcat did not reply to her pleading glances at first, slipping off of the table and onto the padded leather seats which rested on either side of the booth. The scents of alcohol and smoke coulded his head and made it hard to think in the sudden haze of revelations and emotions he had just experienced. A part of him wanted to say to hell with it all, and take Hannah right here and now on the marble tables of this club. But the soldier he had been re-born to be knew that more was required of him. He could not be selfish, not when so much was at stake. He could not allow himself to begin to feel disconnected, as though the matters at hand were ones he could merely run from or ignore. The entire reason he was here, in this time, was to save the lives of thousands of innocent people who were trying to carve out a living. He did not have the luxury of hiding. Determination glowed sharply in his veridian eyes, and he lifted his head to look at Hannah.

"...You're going to fight them, aren't you..."

"..... No. I'm going to kill them."