02 Shadowfox -- Null

In the other bed, "I'm So Sick" stopped using words. She emitted a soft grunt, an 'eh', then another, stronger one. The sounds continued to crescendo upwards, louder and more shrill. She started shaking her bed. It rattled and banged against the floor.

Firefox glanced over in the direction on the bed, although her view was blocked by curtains. Shadowfox wondered what the big vixen was thinking; if she was annoyed, thinking of calling for a nurse, or if Firefox was wondering how badly damaged "I'm So Sick" was, what had driven her there.

"Nothing you could do, Shadow," Firefox stated.

Shadowfox looked away. It was consolation that didn't console. The fact was that Shadowfox's infiltration of the boat hadn't accomplished anything, besides running the risk of antagonizing the people they were supposed to be working for.

ICON was a private entity. ICON operations frequently involved force, and force was a government monopoly. They were always walking a tightrope, trying to cast it in terms of self-defense, minimum necessary force, or whatever. ICON had a finite amount of political capital, and operatives who drew too heavily on that found themselves cut loose.

Shadowfox had boarded a ship and thrown Bill overboard. She had no guilt about it, but no lawyer could sell it to a judge as 'Self-defense.' In ICON's eyes, success would justify almost anything; failure was never defensible.

"Why do you think they kidnapped Silverfox?" Firefox asked. "It would make more sense for them to kidnap you."

"That's what I can't figure out," Shadowfox frowned. "I was the one getting close to Fischer, not Silverfox. Even if they knew about her, they'd target me." She slumped back in her bed. "They knocked us both out, so why didn't they take us both? And how did I end up on the fire escape?"

The little fox looked pensive for a moment. "I've been giving that some thought. Either they didn't know there were two of you, or they were interrupted and had to run before collecting both of you."

"One of the guys on the boat called me 'the one who got away,'" Shadowfox remembered. "So we know they were looking for me."

"Let's say..." Firefox said slowly. "They go into your hotel room. They knock both of you out. They grab you, and open the window to the fire escape. That triggers the alarm. He didn't expect it, so he drops you. You fall outside."

"Would an Ursus even fit through the window?" Technofox asked.

"I don't think so," Shadowfox shook her head.

"We know there's two of them," Technofox said. "Caucasian male and an Ursus. The human opens the window before he notices the Ursus can't make it. He doesn't want to split up, so he drops you." She grimaced and shook her head. "No."

"I don't see why he'd toss me out the window and just leave me there," Shadowfox said tactfully.

"Or they didn't know there were two of you," Technofox said. A grin twitched the corner of her mouth. "But how do they knock out two of you without knowing it?"

"I don't see how," Firefox shrugged.

"Neither do I," Technofox said pointedly.

It had something to do with 4094, obviously. The command was sent by a small, dedicated transmitter, with a range of ten centimeters. That wasn't a matter of signal strength; that was a built in safety feature: some chimerae were soldiers and police and it wouldn't do to let some rogue actor shut them off remotely.

So where had the transmitter been placed? In their pillows?

Technofox had her netbook open. Shadowfox recognized the card that bulged out of its slot; it was a radio sensor. The little fox tapped some buttons, and touched her ear. She had found a microphone. They were bugged.

Well, maybe. The sensor and pattern analyzer was prone to false positives at the best of times. A hospital was probably packed with perfectly innocent automated monitoring and communications equipment that would be tagged as a bug. And even if there were a microphone in the room, it might be there to listen to her roommate.

Shadowfox personally doubted that the RCMP had slipped a bug into the room. It seemed wildly unnecessary. But Foxforce couldn't count on that, so they couldn't talk about 4094.

"You were caught in a janfu," Firefox said. Joint Army-Navy Fuck Up. "This was an RCMP operation. The Vancouver Police Department knew McKinnon was working on something, and they knew he was hanging out with Silverfox, but they didn't know Silverfox was an agent working with him."

Shadowfox waited a moment, expecting someone to mutter a disgusted curse. It didn't happen, and it felt like a hole in the conversation. She realized she was waiting for Silverfox to chime in. Would they have to live with that gap? She felt a moment of panic and dread.

"They thought Silver murdered McKinnon in a lovers' spat. It took almost an hour to sort that out." Firefox clenched her jaw, and forced a laugh. "We had to call every emergency number in 'E' Division until we found someone who knew what McKinnon was working on and knew who we were. Would you believe we had to go all the way up to an Inspector?"

That was bad. Shadowfox shook her head.

"What was that about Silverfox leaving with McKinnon's killers?" Shadowfox asked.

"Hotel security video," Firefox explained. "Silverfox was being carried through a fire exit by an Ursus."

"This was after the alarm went off?" Shadowfox guessed.

"That's right. The alarm was triggered by your window opening. The video quality of security cameras is pretty low, and some cop thought McKinnon had injured her in the gun battle."

Shadowfox sighed and shook her head again. It was always a challenge to keep preconceptions from changing what you see.

Technofox was upset and worried. So was Firefox, but Tech showed it.

"Are you okay?" Technofox asked Shadowfox, directly.

Shadowfox honestly felt confused. Was who okay? Oh, Tech was talking about her. But why? The black vixen was stumped. Oh, duh -- Shadowfox had reported a rape, and Technofox was worried about her. It was sweet, but a little silly.

Yes, I'm fine. It would make Technofox feel better.

Someone else might be listening to them. Words were tools to make your audience believe something, and Shadowfox had two audiences.

Shadowfox squeezed Technofox's hand. "A crewman raped me. I was afraid he'd do worse. I had to defend myself." That's for the RCMP. No jury in the world would convict her of murder based on that. "But I'm not injured." That's for Technofox.

"...Okay, that's good," Technofox said dubiously.

"We got through Blue Diamond; I'll get through this," Shadowfox said. Okay, this would be a good time to mention 4094. "There's a gap in my memory. I lost the whole day. Dawson said that happens with chimerae sometimes." Would they pick up the hint? Dawson knows about 4094.

Technofox blinked, and looked over to Firefox for guidance. Firefox hugged herself and clenched her jaw. Good.

"He's a neurologist," Technofox said. "So I guess he would know."

"Is he?" Shadowfox asked, feigning surprise. "I thought he was a detective."

Shadowfox didn't need to bring up the contradiction; it was obvious Firefox saw it and was fretting about it.

Everything had gone pear-shaped in the last few hours because McKinnon was the only Canadian on the scene who was in the know, and he was dead. That was perfectly credible.

The RCMP knew -- or rather, that Division "E" Inspector knew -- Fischer was smuggling kidnapped chimera women to brothels; they knew the brothels used 4094. Given that, it made perfect sense the Canadians would have their expert on 4094 involved and on the scene.

It even made sense that Foxforce had been kept in the dark about that: they might wonder what a civilian neurologist was doing on the team.

But if Dawson knew about the investigation, why hadn't he sent the VPD after Fischer? And if Dawson didn't know, what was he doing here?

This was bad. It implied that they couldn't trust the RCMP.

It bears investigation.

"I think he's sort of cute," Shadowfox smiled shyly. "I've always liked distinguished older men."

Technofox frowned and shook her head. Firefox nodded slowly. Technofox grimaced.

"What's the plan?" Shadowfox asked. Time for you to take over, boss!

Firefox scowled. "Truthfully, right now I'm stumped. There's nothing we can do that the Navy and Coast Guard can't do better. So I'm looking for ideas."

Truthfully was a code word, meaning "Even though someone else is listening, I am telling you the truth." The big vixen hunched over and her ears flattened. It wasn't easy for her to admit she was at a loss.

Firefox was looking at her expectantly, hoping that Shadowfox would pull some little factoid out of the air that would change everything, something that would point to a hidden door in the blank walls before them.

Shadowfox looked at Firefox steadily. She nodded, a tiny incline of her muzzle. Technofox started; Fire put a hand on the little fox, restraining her.

"They tell me here you're here under observation," Firefox scratched the back of her neck. "You need to get some rest. Tech, can you lend her your netbook?" Firefox asked it casually, as though she was asking for something trivial, like can you get me some soup or may I please have your left kidney?

For an instant, Technofox looked stricken. To ask her to give up one of her computers was like asking a mother dog to give up her puppy. She sniffed, just once, and her ears flattened.

"Now, now," Firefox said gently. "Shadow's laptop is sitting in a crime scene."

Technofox's ears twitched. She was jealous of her computers, but that jealousy stopped short of outright selfishness. Surely, the horror of someone she loved being totally computer-free would trump her natural reluctance.

"Mmm, yes," Technofox admitted. Her ears twitched down as she logged out of the device. She gave her netbook a little pat before handing to over to Shadowfox, as though to assure it that it was only a temporary parting. The little vixen looked so sad that Shadowfox almost refused it.

"Thank you," Shadowfox said. She couldn't resist. If need be, blood will flow in defense of your beloved. "I'll be nice to it."

"Well... okay. Don't turn it off for half an hour," Technofox said. "There's a process running under my session."

"Right," Shadowfox said. She logged in under her own profile and brought up a text editor. She typed a quick description of Bill and how she had forced him to jump off the boat. She turned the screen so Fire and Tech could read it. They nodded, and Shadow turned the keyboard back to herself.

Technofox reached and moved her hand over the keyboard . Her fingers flicked with amazing speed, like they were tiny striking cobras:

what time.

Shadowfox wasn't sure. About 0300.

Technofox's glasses reflected light from the screen. She nodded once, and typed OK.

Firefox took the notebook. Police haven't mentioned him yet.

That was interesting. It could only mean that the police hadn't compiled a complete crew list, and that meant the crew wasn't talking. Perhaps the crew thought Bill had gotten away, and didn't want to betray him. At any rate, there was no way they could tell the police that Shadowfox had forced a crewman over the side.

Firefox nodded. "Tech, take a cab to our hotel room. I'd like you to start crawling the web."

"Right," Technofox nodded. The first thing on her agenda was obviously figuring out where Bill might have washed ashore.

"Where are we staying?" Shadowfox asked. It wasn't a trivial question. She and Silverfox had been working out of a hotel room with minimal equipment. She hoped Firefox had gotten access to an ICON safe house with equipment.

"ICON doesn't have an apartment in Vancouver," Firefox said gravely. "We're staying in the Best Western Plus. I'm going to try to get you checked out of the hospital."

"Try?" Shadowfox asked.

Firefox closed her eyes for a moment. "They're talking about hypothermia, and a mandatory observation period after a reported sexual assault. And they want Tech and me to bring them up to date."

Shadowfox let her head fall back against the pillow.

Shadowfox looked out the window. The night people had vanished; now the day people were out and about, their work day just starting. It was almost seven.

"What are they going to do with Silverfox?" Technofox asked.

"Let's hope she has some resale value," Firefox said.

---

"Is he dangerous?" the manager of the bed & breakfast asked. He had gray hair and wore glasses; and was so thin he looked like an experiment to see how little flesh it took to make a human being. He looked like the owner of the General Store from a million western films. He should wear an apron and have something tied around his bicep, and be played by Charles Lane. His name, according to the hotel signs, was Mr. Ryan.

Shadowfox took a deep breath. That was always Silver's trick; comparing people she saw to actors. "Probably not. Certainly not if he's on his medication."

Mr. Ryan blinked.

Bowen Island was close to Vancouver, but isolation made it a small town. The population almost doubled during the vacation season. The Flying Saucer had passed it the night before.

Emergency services hadn't picked anyone out of the water. Bill had either been swept into the Pacific, in which case he'd be dead in a few days, or he had made it to shore without getting stuffed into a hospital.

Mr. Ryan was reluctant to talk. It went beyond any legal concerns; he seemed naturally reticent. Someone had taken shelter under his roof and he didn't like poking his nose in other peoples' business. And he didn't like people who did.

Shadowfox could smell a dog on him; he probably let it sleep on his bed.

Animal lovers could be a little difficult for a chimera to handle. If he thought of her as a talking dog instead of an exotic woman she couldn't use sex as a lever. If she tried it would backfire badly, triggering disgust and horror instead of interest. She could sometimes get a good response if she exaggerated the atavism -- wagged her tail, held her mouth in a slightly-parted dog-smile.

You're a nice person,_she thought, _and I'm a good girl. Won't you help me, please?

"And since he's out of the hospital, he's not getting his medication," he said.

"That's exactly right," Shadowfox agreed. I'm only thinking of him. It would be much more convincing if he brought it up himself. She hesitated. "I know I'm asking a lot but his family doesn't want the police involved." Mr. Ryan seemed the sort who would sympathize.

"Mmhm," he mumbled. He sighed. "I don't know. It's not that I think you're lying, but he was pretty convincing..."

"He didn't show you any identification, did he?" she asked, playing on his suspicions.

"He said he fell out of a fishing boat and had to kick his pants off," he admitted. "His wallet was in his pants."

"Yes, exactly," she nodded. "He's very persuasive."

"...Right," he said slowly. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed. He shook his head. "You think you get a nose for people in this business, but they always end up being something you don't expect."

But you can trust a pretty girl like me, can't you? I like you!

"He came here this morning, a bit after six. I let him use a shower, gave him breakfast, and lent him some clothes. Put him on the ferry to Vancouver this morning." He frowned, trying to remember. "The ten-thirty. I told him he should spend the day, but he said his wife would worry..." He shook his head with a laugh and a world-weary sigh. "I should have realized he was in too much of a rush."

That meant the trail was hot. Shadowfox tried to keep from sounding excited.

He hesitated, as though ashamed at admitting his own foolishness. "He said he called the Coast Guard to check in."

"Sir, I'll bet he didn't," Shadowfox said apologetically. "I can check with the phone company, if you'd like."

He shook his head sheepishly and laughed. "Nah, no point to that."

She smiled and thumped her tail. I'm so glad you believe me. It hurts my feelings when people think I'm a liar.

"He offered to leave his watch as collateral, but, well..." he trailed off uncomfortably.

"Guy falls out of a boat, last thing you want to do is make his day worse," Shadowfox nodded and smiled. "It was good of you to let him warm up."

That probably means Bill expects to get help soon, she thought. He wouldn't risk losing his watch unless he knew where he was sleeping tonight.

Shadowfox noticed it was just getting past fourteen hundred. Silverfox had been missing about twelve hours.

"Yeah, that's exactly right. I don't suppose I'll be getting that back," he laughed.

"I'm sure his family will feel obliged to make good," Shadowfox assured him. You've been so nice I want to be nice back. "If you can give me the receipt and an invoice for the room, I can pay you now."

"Thanks very much." He grinned.

"Just one thing -- do you mind if my friend and I look in his room?"

He blinked. "Not at all. It hasn't been made up yet -- even better."

--

Firefox held the towel up to her nose and slowly filled her lungs. She held her breath, and her eyes developed the far-away look of a chimera concentrating on remembering a scent.

Bloodhounds could, with luck, track a man through a city. Reynard 10s weren't bloodhounds, but there was dog in them. Shadowfox waited for her to put the towel back down.

"Should we take this for Technofox?" Firefox asked. Scent was a useful tool but it had its drawbacks. Scent couldn't be photographed or emailed. Technofox was back in Vancouver running interference.

"Too risky," Shadowfox shook her head.

"Risky how?" Firefox asked.

"Mister Ryan has a dog," Shadowfox explained. "If we take the towel the first thing he's going to wonder is --"

"--Is why we had to pick up a scent article," Firefox interrupted, nodding. "You're right." The big vixen dropped that line of thought and went onto another. "You need to go back to Vancouver." She tapped her earpiece to start a phone call. "On the same ferry line he took."

"And talk to the crew?" Shadowfox asked.

"They might have more than one boat. I'll talk to Tech about that." Firefox looked thoughtful. "I expect he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and enjoy the ride, though."

"Probably," Shadowfox nodded.

"I want you to get on his tail in Vancouver. You go to the terminal on the mainland and scent around for him," Firefox ordered.

"...Right." Shadowfox was dubious, but she didn't want to say it. He had probably taken a bus, and he had too much of a lead for her to literally follow his scent trail.

Firefox hesitated. "I know it's a longshot, but we've got to cover it."

"Yes, of course." Firefox was right. An army of Canadian law enforcement was looking for Silverfox. Bill was the only lead Foxforce had that nobody else did.

"Well, we're making progress," Firefox said. "Finding this place is a big help. Tech can hit the server logs and maybe we can figure out who Bill is talking to. Let's get going, then. Stay sweet with the manager but keep the chat to a minimum."

Shadowfox tried to think of a reason to stay in the hotel and failed. "You got it."

They said goodbye to the manager and left at a brisk walk.

"And I want you to get in touch with Jerry," Firefox added.

Silverfox liked to make a boy and girlfriend in every city she visited. Jerome Shayler was her Boston guy; since Foxforce lived in Boston, Silver spent a lot of her free time with him. Silver had him over at the apartment a few times; Shadowfox had cooked them breakfast. He was rich, probably in the millionaire class, but she didn't know him well.

"Does he know Silver's missing?" Shadowfox asked.

"Yes. I called him." Firefox looked away.

It was a bit odd for Fire to share information with an outsider. "So soon?"

"Thought it was better than having it scroll out of a search agent."

Shadowfox's ears shifted. "He's got search agents looking for Silverfox?"

Firefox smiled, tiredly. "He invented search agents. That's how he paid for his penthouse."

"Oh, that's right." Shadow felt a bit unnerved -- she should have made that connection. "What did you tell him?"

"That we and half the law enforcement in British Columbia were looking for her. The truth, basically. I want you to add the personal touch."

"Do you want me to be his girl?" Shadowfox asked.

Firefox flinched, just a little, and Shadow wished she hadn't asked. "No, I just want you to make sure he's okay. He helped Silverfox in Victoria, and I don't want him to get the idea he's a professional agent and go off on his own."

"Gotcha."

Jerry would need to be handled carefully. A millionaire was potentially too valuable to estrange.

Shadowfox wondered how to keep Jerry. She would have to be subtle about it. If he saw through her, it might even wreck his relationship with Silverfox. Shadowfox would have to be his friend first, and then over time become his lover.

Or she could jump-start it by hitting him up for a sympathy fuck. That might be too dangerous, though.

It was ironic. If Silverfox were here and Shadow had proposed a three-way, Silverfox would have gone for it. The two of them typically slept together if they weren't with someone else. Jerry and Silver weren't exclusive -- Silverfox was never exclusive. But with the grey fox missing everything got more complicated.

Damn it, Silver, be okay.

Shadowfox's throat closed and when she blinked tears came out. Firefox patted her shoulder wordlessly.

--

The crossing took about twenty minutes. She went to the rail and leaned on it, staring out at the water. Silverfox had vanished into it, but just staring at the Pacific wasn't going to find her, so Shadowfox touched her earpiece and used her brain implant to select a number from Silverfox's phone list.

He picked up quickly. "Hello, Jerry?"

"Shadowfox, hi." He has my caller ID? As far as Shadow could remember, she had never phoned him before. He probably has search agents integrated into his appointment program, and they pulled in Silver's first order links. "Is there news?" he asked, clearly steeling himself.

"No," Shadowfox assured him. "Not yet." It was better to be direct -- any delay would come across as an attempt to soften the blow. The best thing to do was convince him they knew what they were doing and were on the hunt: that would keep him from meddling.

"I'm glad you called. I'd like to hire Foxforce."

That was unexpected. ICON had Foxforce on a retainer: technically, they were freelancers and not employees. They had never taken a paying job except through ICON, but aside from conflict-of-interest clauses, there was nothing in their contract that forbade it.

"What did you have in mind?" Shadowfox asked curiously. It was obvious he wanted them to look for Silverfox, but why hire them to do something they were already doing?

"I'm sure you're doing everything possible to find Silver. I know she'd do the same for you."

"Yes." He was upset, she was sure, but he wasn't ranting or breaking down. He was serious about this.

"But if you run into a problem that can be solved with a check, I want you to call me."

Shadowfox relaxed. Good. That was reasonable. "Thank you. ICON's budgeting a lot to this, but I promise I'll call you if we need anything. I'm sure Silver will appreciate it." All right -- he just wants to make sure we're not sidelined by admin. Let him keep talking.

"And I want you to get the people responsible, no matter what your bosses say."

"We will," Shadow nodded.

"I don't mean for trial."

Damn. Shadowfox hesitated just a moment. "Jerry, if I believed you meant that seriously --"

"I--"

She interrupted before he could say more. "--If I believed you meant that seriously I'd have to report it to the FBI and the RCMP." She let that sink in. "Really. Just talking about it could cost me my license."

She paused, and hoped that the reality of the situation had filtered in past his anger and grief. She had no reason to suspect there was a tap on her phone or his, but she lived with the assumption that everything she said over an unencrypted cell would be played back in a courtroom.

"Yes, of course," he said meekly. "I'm sorry. I was just venting."

In a pig's eye. She hoped he knew she was only covering. "I know how upset you are, and what you meant. It's okay."

"Good. How are you holding up?" he asked. "We should get together again some time."

Message received and understood. "Working hard. But when things settle down, absolutely. Keep your phone with you," she said. "I promise I'll call you the moment there's news."

"You got it," he said, sounding more upbeat. "Good luck."

Shadowfox ended the call and opened an envelope Mr. Ryan had given her. She studied the invoice. Although Bill had used a shower, Mr. Ryan hadn't charged for the room. But he claimed he had given Bill twenty Loonies for carfare. She looked up, over the bow. She could see where they would dock: a place called Horseshoe Bay.

The ferry was a big vessel; it wasn't the one Bill had ridden. Shadowfox doubted they'd find anyone who remembered him.

All right, she thought, where is Bill going? Twenty wouldn't get him very far.

Bill seemed to be pretty bright. His cover story was "fell off a fishing boat." In keeping with that, he couldn't ask for a plane ticket to Toronto; he'd ask for fare to the nearest metropolis. From there, he could hitch a ride, hop on a freight, get anywhere in Canada within a week.

But she didn't think so. He'd get in touch with friends. He might have a friend in Vancouver. Every Canadian on the West Coast probably had a friend in Vancouver.

It was now fifteen fifty two; the ferry was running a bit late. If Bill took the 1030 she was only five hours behind him.

The ferry nosed against the tires on the dock and the propellers churned the water, holding the bow in place. Gates opened and the first cars started to drive off. Pedestrians, like Shadowfox and Bill, had another exit.

Shadowfox dawdled, let the first press of people go before she got off.

There was a transit center. She went inside and stood near the men's room. She sniffed the air experimentally; the scent of dozens of people filled her sinuses. She held it, trying to sort him out. She failed. Too many had passed this way. She looked around for cameras: they covered the ticket machines. It was possible that Bill might have wandered in front of one.

I have twenty bucks in the pocket of someone else's pants, she thought. I don't have photo ID. Where do I go? She saw a sign on the wall for a homeless shelter:

On the run?

Hungry?

Nowhere to sleep?

The first line was probably for runaway chimerae, making for the 48th Parallel and freedom. There was a phone number and an address. She took out her phone and photographed the sign, just in case.

Technofox had the car now. If Shadow caught a lead, she'd have to call her, or a cab.

The earpiece Shadowfox wore buzzed softly; her brain implant flashed the caller ID of Technofox, and the symbols that indicated a scrambled conference call.

Shadowfox looked around. Nobody near her looked like a potential cop. She turned to the wall and put her hand to her ear. "Hello?"

"Tech here. Let's wait for--"

Another voice. "Firefox here."

"Our boy is William David Smithson," the little fox announced. "Deserted the Royal Canadian Navy eighteen months ago. Hasn't filed an income tax since. He made a call from the hotel, to Jannah Burns, 325 Lakewood Drive, in Vancouver. She didn't pick up, so he sent a text message."

"And he's probably there now," Firefox said.

"Exactly," Technofox said.

"Did you get the message content?" Firefox asked.

"No," Tech replied. "This was pure traffic analysis." Shadowfox hoped there wasn't anything significant in the message. Most likely it was just a request for crash space.

"Who's Jannah?" Shadowfox asked, and then immediately clarified. "Is she an accomplice or just a bystander?"

"Twenty three, college dropout, waitress, studio apartment. Her record's clean," Technofox answered. "I'm leaning towards bystander."

"Right..." Shadowfox gave it some thought. Just a girl with an exciting 'Bad Boyfriend?' That seemed plausible.

"I'm compiling dossiers. I'll send them before I go," Technofox said.

"I'm still on the island," Firefox said. "About an hour from Horseshoe Bay. Shadow, get a cab and get to Tech now. I'll meet you guys as soon as I can."

"Right. Tech, I'll flag a --" Shadowfox turned around from the wall and stopped short.

Doctor Dawson was walking towards her from the parking lot. He waved.

Why, it's that nice man I met! Shadowfox waved back, smiling. "Hey guys," she said, "Doctor Dawson just showed up."

The others fell silent. Obviously, Foxforce was being monitored, most likely their locations through the cell network.

"...All right," Firefox said. "Shadowfox, you've got an hour to get rid of him. I'll meet you at the dock and we'll take a cab. Tech, go to the objective. We'll meet there."

"Right," Shadowfox said. "Talk to you later."

She kept the smile on her face and went to meet Dawson. "Hello, Doctor. Is there news?" It's nice to see you! I'm happy to talk to you now because I wasn't doing anything important or illegal.

"No. I'm just a little surprised you checked out of the hospital," he said.

That had been a calculated risk. Ideally, Shadowfox should have spent longer in the hospital to give weight to the rape charge. But she didn't have time to fake psychological trauma.

"Silver needs me," she said. "I'd rather work. I can deal with the rest later." She brushed her hair out of her face and let her lower jaw tremble. I'm trying to be brave, but it's hard. "Look, I guess you've seen my record. You know I was in Blue Diamond."

"Uh, yes," he said awkwardly.

"Then you know I've been here before."

"All right." He looked at a loss, not sure what he should say. Good.

"Fire and I were doing some legwork on Bowen Island." The police were probably following them through cell phone location logs. "I... came back early."

"All right. Do you want me to drive you back to your hotel?"

"No, thanks." That's so sweet of you! "Firefox is taking the next ferry and I'm going back with her."

"Did you find anything on Bowen Island?"

Shadowfox hesitated. I wish I could tell you more, because you're nice and I trust you.

She could read doubt on his face. Maybe it would be best to turn this into something more casual... "Have you had lunch yet?" she asked. "To be honest, I'm famished." Feed me? Please? I don't want to be alone right now...

She hadn't eaten since breakfast, but stress kept her from feeling it. This was a deliberate test. If the RCMP knew Foxforce was working behind their backs, he'd likely be too angry to relax over a nice mid-afternoon lunch.

"...Oh, sure," he said. "My treat." He looked around. "What looks good?"

"If you're paying, you choose." I'm sure you'll pick something wonderful. She let herself smile.

Dawson chose a bar and grille. The tables and decor were all dark wood, Olde Tyme Publick House of a type that was common in Boston. Shadowfox was curious about the beers but decided against it.

"You know that the legal status of a chimera varies a lot from state to state," she said. "Canada defines chimerae as human."

"High-order chimerae, anyway," he corrected her. "Defined as those able to generate complex sentences."

Shadowfox took a gravy and cheese-laden fry out of her poutine. "And a lot of chimerae are running north."

"The underground railroad, yes."

"We think that part of that traffic is being diverted," she swallowed. "Kidnapped, sent to slave brothels."

"Like Blue Diamond? Uh, Jade," he said.

"...Yes," she looked away. She had to compose herself. That was bad, she thought. Then, No, I can use this...

"Sorry," he said, looking pensive. So, you were a pleasure slave? It wasn't an easy subject to bring up.

"It's okay," she replied. She smiled shyly. There. That established a shared intimacy. She swallowed. Now businesslike. "Sent to slave brothels, or hunted. Did you see the trophies in Baker's apartment?"

"Yes, I helped identify the models." He seemed a little shaken. That was probably good. He was inexperienced as a police officer, and he also saw chimerae as people.

"If Silver's alive," Shadowfox said, shaking a little inside at the thought, "she's on her way to one of those."

He nodded.

"The RCMP knows that people are coming to Canada to hunt chimerae," she said, intentionally implying that no Canadian would do such a thing. "That's got to be off in the wilderness somewhere."

He nodded. So, are you listening patiently, or do you have nothing to say? Silverfox is missing, what are you doing about it?

"And I'm sure you guys are looking for it," she prompted.

He got a slightly distant look in his eyes. "Yes, we're looking for the hunting preserve. What sort of facility would you need to build for that? It's got to be off the cell network."

"Not necessarily," Shadowfox said. "In Blue Diamond, they disabled my implant's wireless."

"Okay, it's_probably_ off the cell network," he said. "Just because it's safer that way. And this is the Pacific Northwest. There's a lot of holes in the network."

Shadowfox nodded in agreement.

"You're not going to rely on a physical barrier -- too obvious, and too easy to get by." He took a sip of water. "They've already looked at the privately held islands."

Shadowfox inhaled. At least that's something. She felt better already.

"I can't believe they'd just cut the quarry loose without ... I'd guess they're using a virtual fence," he said. "So there's an electronic footprint, but how do you tell that from thousands of hikers with consumer electronics?" He shook his head and laughed. "I'm just a neurologist."

Shadowfox smiled, a genuine smile. "The three of us aren't going to scour the Canadian wilderness for a hunting cabin, so we're assuming she was sent to one of the slave brothels in the States. We went to Bowen Island to talk with a contact."

"Who?" he asked.

"I hope you'll let us keep our sources confidential," Even though I_trust_ you implicitly.

"Well, that does make sense," he admitted. "It's just that there's some Mounties who think you're holding out on us."

She looked annoyed. "Why would we do that?"

"That's what bothered me," he said. "I can't imagine what you'd want to conceal from us."

"Neither can I." She rested her head on one hand. She seemed to be looking at him, but her attention was on her implanted clock. It had been about twenty minutes. Firefox would be at the rally point on the next ferry. That gave her forty minutes of slack time to part from him amiably, without his suspecting she was on a schedule.

He was a neurologist, not a cop. The RCMP had probably sent him to check up on her because she was a chimera, and knowing how her brain worked was supposed to give him insight about how she thought. He was either dissembling, or he didn't know anything useful. It was time to shift from information gathering to building the relationship.

Should I flirt with him? Too risky. If he knew how ICON chimera teams worked, he probably knew she was a sexual operative. No, it would be better to shift the conversation in another direction.

"Did you help define High-order chimerae?" she asked. "For Canadian law, I mean."

"Huh?" He looked startled for a moment.

"I'm just curious," she said. No, that won't work."Well, of course I'm curious. The Canadian High-order definition was adopted by Massachusetts. I live there, you see."

"Oh, right. Yes, I was part of that group." He grinned. "Now that we have chimerae, the big question is how to treat them legally. Canadian law defines three levels of sapience. 'Low-order' chimerae or animals can't use words at all. 'Mid-order' chimerae can speak in two word sentences. You and I can speak in complex sentences, so we're 'High-order.' Most machine intelligences are high-order as well."

Shadowfox parted her lips to speak, but he pre-empted her.

"By 'Speak' I mean communicate in any way, of course. Sign language, verbal, or pressing buttons on a computer are all speech."

This was good -- he was talking more. It was important he enjoy her company, and it would give her a chance to eat her burger and poutine. "It seems there's lots of ways to tell people from animals. Why did you focus on language?" she asked. "Because it's easy to test for?"

His eyes brightened. Got him.

"Surprisingly, it isn't," he said. "It's very easy to fool yourself into thinking a conversation is taking place. Fairly simple programs can give the illusion of machine intelligence. There's some controversy about great apes -- whether or not they're mid-order."

"Don't they teach apes to use sign language?" Fortunately, this was a subject she actually knew something about.

He shrugged. "That's very controversial. I don't work with apes, but I think they just throw out random word salad, and the researchers record the hits and forget the gibberish."

Shadowfox nodded, her eyes bright.

"We chose language because language probably drove human evolution. Using language appeals to the practical side of the problem as well."

"The practical side?" Her eyes were wide and she looked at him attentively. You are the most fascinating man I have ever spoken with. How smart you are!

He grinned, embarrassed and looked away for a moment. "With some exceptions, high-order types can take care of themselves. Low- and mid-order types either live wild or need caretakers. Really, what sort of role can they have in society? Should they be allowed to vote?"

That sounded callous but it did make sense. "Suppose you had someone able to speak in three or four word sentences," Shadowfox said. "Where would they fit in?"

He was swallowing and coughed when he tried to respond. Shadowfox waited for him to clear his throat. "That's the funny thing. There's always exceptions, of course, but once someone gets past two words, it's pretty much assured they will learn to speak in complex, grammatical sentences." He nodded and his eyes took on a dreamy aspect. "It's almost like there's a quantum level involved."

It was obvious he was far more comfortable talking about this than the investigation. Fine. She settled back and focused on her burger.

"Someone able to say something like 'Me go store get candy' just needs to develop vocabulary and sentence structure. An adolescent who can only say 'Go store' is probably stuck there forever. You find cases like that sometimes. Human cases, generally abuse victims. Their brains literally work differently from ours. You can tell with an EEG."

"Can they understand a complex sentence?" she asked.

"That's a philosophical question. It's much easier to comprehend a foreign language than speak it, but I think they reduce the complex sentence into something they can understand. Like a dog --" he froze for a moment, as though he had committed a faux pas.

"In Massachusetts I had to pass a test to be legally human," she said. "I think I understand the test now. It was mostly just sitting and talking to a psychologist."

"Yes. If I remember correctly, there's a checklist of responses they're looking for. You need to inquire, to negate an assertion, form complex sentences, that sort of thing. They probably asked you about your ability to understand relative adjectives and prepositions."

"'Which is larger: a big car or a little battleship?'" Shadowfox asked.

His head bobbed. "That's exactly right. It's actually a pretty complicated thing to understand. That's what I did for my PhD dissertation."

"Yes, I see." Should I risk it?"Do you date chimerae?" She smiled, to look pretty.

His jaw dropped. "Uh... I haven't. Most of my chimera friends are former patients or co-workers. But--" he swallowed. He was trying not to be nervous.

"I mean, assuming you're not attached." She took a sip from her Coke to cover up her amusement.

"You've probably noticed that there aren't many chimerae in Canada," he said. "So I pretty much just meet them professionally."

Nicely played, she thought, and nodded.

--

Shadowfox waved at Dawson as she got into the cab next to Firefox.

"Please take us to Lakewood and East Hastings," Firefox said to the driver. "Have you made a new friend?" she asked Shadowfox.

"I hope so."

"Well, be careful," Firefox said.

Shadowfox nodded. "Where are we taking our guest?" she asked.

"Seattle." Firefox was looking out the window.

"...Really?" Shadowfox asked cautiously. Firefox wouldn't risk taking him over the border unless there was a good reason for it.

"Really." Firefox looked steadily at the back of the driver's head, reminding Shadowfox they weren't alone. "The facilities are better there."

Shadowfox nodded. She knew what that meant. Bill might have to disappear, and that would be easier to arrange south of the border.

--

Shadowfox was using every petty annoyance she could remember to amp up her emotional state. Being cut off in traffic. Being told her kind wasn't being served. Ebony was angry.

Ebony stormed into the little apartment building.

The black fox rapped on the door.It was a sharp, angry tattoo. Oh, I am so going to kick his ass! The door opened.

She could scent Bill. He had been at this door, not long ago.

Behind it was Jannah, a small woman, a bit heavy. The uniform of a fast food place hung on a hook over the closet door. Jannah's shift started at 1900. Shadowfox could hear a shower running.

Jannah was about to say something. She was a little off balance. Shadowfox interrupted.

"I know the son of a bitch is in here. Where is he?" she demanded.

Jannah's jaw dropped in surprise. Shadowfox pushed her way into the studio apartment.

They could have waited until Jannah was gone, but that ran another risk: when she got back, she might call the police. No, Jannah had to see Bill go, and she had to be okay with it.

Shadowfox looked to the left and right, before letting her eyes focus on the door to the bathroom. She narrowed her eyes to angry slits and took a step forward.

"Who the hell are you?" Jannah demanded. She put out her hand. Shadowfox allowed Jannah to stop her. Let Jannah think she had control over the situation.

"That wad of cash Bill showed you?" Shadowfox asked, lowering her voice. "It's mine. He stole my fucking tips."

Jannah's jaw dropped again, as she tried to integrate this information into her reality. Bill must have had told her something when he showed up. Jannah shook her head, confused. "You know Bill?" she asked. She frowned. "You're not a cop?"

Shadowfox laughed, and shook her head. "Do I look like a cop?" She rummaged in her pocket and passed her one of her business cards. "I'm a dancer. My name's Ebony."

Jannah looked at the card. On it was printed a photograph of Shadowfox in a bikini. The text read Do you like what you see? and the contact information for Ebony, Glamor Model / Exotic Dancer.

"Dancer, huh? Ballet or Broadway?" Jannah asked sarcastically.

Shadowfox grinned sheepishly. She had to get Jannah on her side. "I danced on Broadway once. Well, 1674 Broadway. It's a club, but it's on Broadway. "

Jannah laughed.

"The code on back of the card's good for six month's access to my website." Shadowfox shrugged. "If you're into that."

Jannah looked dubious. "Bill said someone was after him."

Shadowfox laughed, and pretended to misunderstand. "Well, yeah, me."

"He _said_he was in trouble," Jannah insisted, still suspicious. "How do you know him?"

Shadowfox sighed, and put a reluctant expression on her face. Honey, I'm so sorry I have to tell you this. "There's a mole on top of his dick."

Jannah swallowed. In Shadowfox's experience, there was one lie any woman would believe of any man. Jannah looked back at Shadowfox, sized her up as a competitor.

If Shadowfox came across as too much of a bitch, Jannah would circle the wagons with Bill and everything would go to hell.

Oh, you poor thing. I'm so sorry that lying bastard fooled you. "We met in a bar. The next morning, he asked to borrow a twenty from my bag. I said he could, and he lifted all my tips for the week. About five hundred."

Jannah started. She was going to say something, but didn't.

"Did Bill tell you he was broke?" Shadowfox asked gently.

Jannah nodded reluctantly.

Shadowfox shook her head and laughed. "Then I guess I'm not the only girl who fell for his line."

"Uh... yeah," Jannah muttered.

Shadowfox smiled at her. "You're nothing like what he said. You're smart."

Jannah's eyes narrowed and she faced the bathroom door. "Oh, that is it."

She threw the bathroom door open. The shower was very loud.

"Hey, baby--" he started, surprised.

"Don't 'baby' me, you furfucker," she was shaking with rage. "After all you said, you went after the first piece of chimera ass--" she caught herself short and looked back at Shadowfox apologetically. "Uh, no offense."

"None taken," Shadowfox assured her.

His face, partly rinsed, came out of the shower and stared at Shadowfox. She smiled. He paled.

"Oh my God--" he started. The fear and shock in his face was real, and now Jannah would think it was because Shadow had told her the truth.

"Didn't expect to see me again, did you?" Shadowfox asked. She took a step forward. "You know what I want, and --"

He jumped out of the shower, knocking Jannah over. She squealed. He made for the door to the hall.

Shadowfox positioned herself to intercept. He lifted his hand up to push her away. He was wet and slippery and soapy. Shadowfox caught his wrists and swept with her left foot, catching his right and sending him over onto his back. She pulled to cushion his landing and keep the neighbors downstairs from complaining.

_Not a sound if you want to live,_she thought, and emphasized that by letting him see the knife in her hand. The blade was folded, but he recognized it anyway and went limp.

The fox looked over at Jannah -- she was getting up, and crying. Shadowfox guessed she hadn't seen the takedown. "Oh my God," Shadowfox gasped. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, I'm okay." Jannah rubbed her arm. She was feeling the impact, but Shadowfox doubted it was more than a tumble. Bill started to move; Shadowfox lifted her foot warningly.

"Can you check his pants for my money?" Shadowfox asked.

"What money?" Bill asked, honestly bewildered.

"Her money," Jannah hissed. She fumbled through his pockets. Sniffing, outraged and angry. "I've had it with you, you lying prick. Just get dressed and get the hell out of here."

Bill squirmed and Shadowfox positioned a foot to kick him in his groin. He immediately settled down.

"Your money's not here," Jannah said.

"It's not?" Shadowfox asked.

"What money?" he bleated.

"Shut up, you." Jannah looked back at Shadowfox. "No, really. It's not here." Jannah held out the pants. The pockets were inside out and she showed her hand was empty.

"I trust you," Shadowfox said with a smile. She shifted her gaze and it turned into a frown. "You -- get dressed. You're taking me wherever you hid it, or I'm calling the cops."

Bill got up. "Jannah, honey, I don't know this bitch. Baby, I'm telling you the truth."

"If you want the bastard you can have him," Jannah snarled. "I have had it with his shit." She threw the pants at him. He looked at Jannah, and then looked at Shadowfox with pure hate.

"I just want my money back," Shadowfox said. She smiled slightly, and he set his jaw. "You in prison gets me nothing," she said, sounding conciliatory. She had to offer him a way out, or he'd realize he was better off in jail.

Bill looked at Shadowfox, and back at Jannah. Anything he tried to say now would sound like a lie, and he knew it. He would get no help from Jannah. His shoulders sagged in defeat.

--

Shadowfox slammed the door behind them. She kept a hand on his arm, reminding him she was there.

"You just had to fuck up things with her, didn't you?" Bill complained.

"I'm supposed to feel sorry for you?" she asked.

"Bitch." His eyes were moving around the corridor, and Shadowfox knew he was planning to make a break for it. Would he run when the elevator arrived, or wait until they got outside?

Shadowfox pressed the down button. With her eyes on him, she opened her wallet, counted off five twenties in US currency and held them out. He hesitated, took the bills, stuffed them in his pocket. It reminded Shadowfox of feeding a monkey.

"You want more, come to Seattle with me," she said.

"You can get me to the States?" he blurted out.

Okay, he wants to go to the United States... That was very lucky indeed. Why? Is it because he's a deserter from the Canadian military?

"If that's where you want to go," she said, trying to make it sound like she was a step ahead of him.

"Why?"

"This is what we call a debriefing," she explained. "We go to a hotel room in Seattle, you talk to us for a day or two, and you leave with five hundred dollars in twenties. We find your information accurate and useful, and we give you another two thousand. Sound good?"

"And you're doing this after I tried to--" he cut himself off.

It was an odd question. Maybe he actually felt bad about trying to rape her, or he realized she was leading him to a trap. "I'm a professional," she began.

"With ICON, right?"

How did he know that? She was trying to tell him that she was a professional agent, that she wasn't out for personal revenge. So how did he know she was private security, let alone the company she worked for? She didn't allow her expression to twitch. She didn't want him to realize he had said too much.

"That's right." She couldn't claim to be a police officer, and there was no point in denying it.

"You're giving me a bribe."

The way his brain worked, taking a bribe might be worse than kidnap and rape. "ICON deals in information," she said with a shrug. "You have something we want to buy."

He pocketed the money and looked at her as the elevator opened. "Hotel room?" he asked, with what he thought was a sly grin. "Are you going to be there?"

The night before, she had stabbed his buddy and held a knife to his junk. Maybe he didn't know that Buddy was dead. She had just ruined things with Jannah. And now he was coming on to her?

He must be a life support system for a penis. She grinned. "I've had worse dates." Hey, if we can be friends, why not? Sometimes the suggestion that you might screw them could work wonders. Most men like that thought they were irresistible.

He smiled back.

Firefox was standing by the front door, close to the wall. Even though it wasn't seventeen hundred yet, she held a flashlight in her fist. The aluminum case barely protruded from her fingers. A blow would quiet Bill if he suddenly kicked up a fuss. Shadowfox gave a quick thumbs-up. Firefox nodded.

Bill didn't notice Firefox until she stepped away from the wall. He looked startled at first, and then gave her the Male Glance. That was probably a good sign. Keep him thinking about tits and not escape.

Tech and Fire had rented a car in Seattle; Technofox was in the driver's seat. The little fox glanced over at them in her mirror.

Shadowfox opened the door to the rear seat. Bill hesitated. Firefox's eyes narrowed, and Shadowfox put a friendly hand on his shoulder, ready to drop him with a punch or turn it into a restraining hold. Get in and I'll let you play with my boobs.

Bill got in without complaint, moving over to the other side as she came in after him and slammed the door. The far side door was locked and Technofox had rigged it so the lock worked from the front seat. Firefox got in shotgun and Technofox put the car in motion before she got the door closed.

"Technofox is driving, and Firefox is my boss," Shadowfox said, cheerfully. "Tech, Fire, this is Bill."

"Hi," Technofox kept her eyes on the road.

They couldn't start interrogating him until they got him to Seattle. If Silverfox was still alive, a few hours wouldn't make a difference. I hope.

There was a small bottle of vodka in the glove compartment; Technofox had laced it and resealed the cap. Shadowfox hoped they wouldn't have to use it, or knock him out. It would be much better if they kept him relaxed, on a first name basis. Reviving him would waste time.

"Pleased to meet you, Bill." Firefox turned partly around in her seat and nodded politely.

"We're about an hour from the border," Shadowfox said.

"Two hours," Technofox corrected. "We're not going straight to Seattle."

"So you know the guys on duty at the border station?" he guessed.

Technofox's ears twitched.

"That's right," Shadowfox said. How clever you are! She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. They would have to be more careful, certainly. He'd feel them out with subtle questions. Did he understand that they would kill him to get Silverfox back?

"You've really done porn?" he asked.

Firefox's jaw dropped, slightly.

"Yeah. Want to see?" Shadowfox asked. He nodded, and Technofox rolled her eyes. It will_keep him busy._ "Fire, can you pass me the netbook?"

They had a backup of Ebony's website on the netbook. She wasn't sure how much video material was there, so she kept pausing the videos and spinning anecdotes about what they were looking at. Some were hers, most were adapted from dressing-room gossip. Fire and Tech were silent, letting Shadowfox do her work.

The minutes and kilometers ticked on, as Shadowfox brought up and talked about digital images of herself naked or almost so. He put his arm around her, and his hand went to her breast. Fourteen hours ago he had been ready to rape her; apparently, now she was supposed to be okay with him groping her. Would he do that with a human woman? Probably not.

She hadn't slept since she woke on the fire escape, and it was starting to catch up with her. She wasn't getting adrenaline anymore, so she boosted. Her endocrine system released amphetamines into her system, clearing the cobwebs and making her sharp.

She looked up to the front seat. Fortunately, the two foxes were both looking out the windscreen. Perfect. Shadowfox made her expression wary. I hope they don't see what a naughty girl I am... She looked at him and earnestly shook her head, glancing into the front seat. Then she touched her nose to his ear and gave him a quick kiss.

On the netbook screen, she knelt on a bed, naked below the waist, pulling off a tank top. Her breasts were out and she looked at the camera longingly.

"I really got turned on in this session," she lied. She smiled and her tongue flicked lightly over her lip.

"I can tell," he said, nodding as though he knew something about her.

She put her hand on his lap, felt his erection through his pants. She had an urge to grab and twist until he screamed. Instead, she patted it, gave him a friendly smile, and looked up in the front seat. He smiled at her, convinced they had a secret.

--

The ICON apartment was in a building with underground parking, and 24/7 security. Technofox checked them through. The security guard looked at Bill, and probably wondered what was going on, but he was too well paid to ask.

"Nice place," Bill said, looking around.

It was on the tenth floor, a spacious two-bedroom with soundproofing and a good view of the Space Needle. And the bolts on the door closed with a solid thunk.

"You get the master bedroom," Shadowfox said. "Go freshen up while Tech sets up the recording equipment."

The master bedroom had a full bath. In the pantry there was a carboy of industrial nanosolvent. If it came to it, Bill would be leaving through the drain in the bathtub.

"Recording equipment?" he asked, looking alarmed.

"It's standard procedure," Firefox said. "But if it makes you uncomfortable, we'll just take notes."

"I'd prefer that," he said. His gaze lingered on Firefox's breasts before he closed the bedroom door behind him.

Technofox waited for the door to close. "How do we start?" she asked.

Firefox bit her lower lip. "Let's give him a chance to co-operate before we get rough," she said.

"I thought that was why we brought him here," Technofox said with surprise.

"So we would have the option," Firefox snapped. Her ears flattened slightly, and her lip curled. Shadowfox twitched, and Technofox almost jumped.

Firefox hesitated, smiled briefly, and ran a hand over her face. "If we have to get extreme to find Silverfox, we get extreme. But I want to be very sure of that."

"I do too," Shadowfox said evenly.

"All right," Technofox nodded. "I'll set up the hidden video."

Firefox nodded. "Good."

Shadowfox rested her hand on the door. "Give me five minutes. Then knock on the door."

"You've got it." Firefox nodded.

The black fox opened the door and slipped in. He was in the bathroom, peeing into the toilet. He looked over with surprise.

"Can I give you a hand with that?" she asked, padding over gleefully. His face broke into a grin as she wrapped his arms around him from behind and put her hands on his penis.

"Hey, careful," he chuckled. "If you get it hard, you cut off the flow."

She licked his neck. "It'll be worth it." She aimed the stream in, and aimed it at different parts of the bowl. She laughed, "Hey, this is fun. If I were a guy I'd do this all the time." She squeezed it and shook out the last drops.

"You're good at this," he said, surprised.

"Oh, I've had a lot of practice with these," she said. She let go with one hand and went to her knees. She put out her tongue and licked his shaft once, base to tip. "Mm," she sighed. "Yummy."

His hand rested on her head, and he stroked her, once. "You're something else," he said admiringly.

She got to her feet. Keeping one hand on his erection, she put the other around his shoulder and kissed his lips, twice, before she used her tongue. He put his hands on her breasts, squeezed them through her shirt.

He was hard and eager and excited. It seemed genuine, not a fake or a fear response. He didn't seem to suspect her hands might be pushing his head underwater, that there was a very real possibility his life would end after hours of pain.

Was he really falling for it?

"One condition," she murmured. "We keep it cool in front of the others. Right?" She put her fingers on his lips and looked stern. That would give her an easy excuse.

"Right," he said, and pressed his lips against hers. He pulled her shirt out of her pants, put a hand up and onto the lace of her bra. He found her nipple, pinched it. It felt good, like a jolt. She let herself feel it, enjoy it, to spur her on while she panted and licked his ear.

There was a knock at the door. She grimaced and turned from him, composing herself and her clothes as she went to open it. She swished her tail as she went. The sooner you tell us everything, the sooner we fuck.

--

"This guy named Baker's got a cabin somewhere to the north," Bill said. "He's holed up there now. Sometimes he buys stray furs from Fischer. Not many. That's probably where they took your friend."

"What does Baker do with them?" Firefox asked.

"I really don't know," he said, trying to look honest.

"He's lying," Technofox said.

Firefox's claw touched the space bar, pausing the video player. Bill's face froze, midway through shifting into the wide-eyed earnestness that Shadowfox knew always accompanied lies. "About the cabin?"

"No, that part's probably true." The little fox shook her head. "I'm saying he knows damn well what's going to happen to her."

"Probably," Shadowfox agreed. This was bad. How long did they have before the hunt started?

Firefox folded her arms. "The important thing is that what he's saying holds together. Fischer smuggles hot chimerae, Baker runs the hunting business. Maybe Baker buys the ones the slavers don't want. He's got a cabin somewhere north."

"Does Baker own a cabin?" Shadowfox asked.

"Baker's got holdings under different identities," Technofox said. "We haven't linked him to a cabin in the woods yet." Her voice was a little petulant.

"I'm sorry, Tech," Shadowfox apologized. "I should have known you were on it."

Technofox looked up at her guiltily and smiled. "Sorry. I'm being a little bitch."

Shadowfox shook her head and looked at the clock. 0315. Twenty five hours.

Firefox nudged the little fox affectionately. "I think you should get some sleep."

Technofox shook her head, and twitched. "Too late," she said cheerfully.

"Did you just boost?" Firefox frowned.

"Probably," the little fox said. She started typing.

"That's a bad habit to get into," Firefox scolded her. "You just volunteered for first watch."

Amphetamines were no less addictive when it was produced by their own bodies. Still, surely the danger to Silverfox justifies it. Shadowfox decided not to let Firefox know that she had already boosted twice.

Technofox nodded, not really listening. "Tomorrow I want to pump him about operations. Figure out where the flush-decks dock."

"I agree," Firefox nodded. Keep the interrogation focused on Silverfox.

"Do we kill him when we're done with him?" Technofox asked.

Shadowfox pressed her lips together. It had been in her mind. Firefox looked thoughtful.

"I'm not convinced we need to," the big fox said.

"It's not a_need_," Technofox said. "It's a should. He was going to rape Silverfox, and Shadowfox."

"That's true," Shadowfox agreed.

"And if she's dead, I--" Tech's voice cracked.

Shadowfox folded her arms. "Tech, we don't have to kill a prisoner to even the score. I _already_paid her toll."

"We can't turn him over to the police," Technofox shifted tack from should to_need_. "We grabbed a wanted Canadian citizen, took him across the border, and we're hiding him from extradition."

"We've got a lot of options here," Shadowfox said gently. "And I don't think we need to make a final decision right now. But you're right. We can't give him to the police, and I don't like the idea of cutting him loose, either."

Technofox nodded, probably assuming that Shadow wanted a pound of flesh. Firefox tilted her head, understanding there was more to it.

Shadow pointed at the screen. "He wants to be in the United States. That means he's got plans. If he's got plans, he knows something he's not telling us."

Firefox nodded firmly. "I agree. When we're done with him, we point him to Snitchville."

Technofox raised her eyebrows. "Do you think he's that valuable?"

"Maybe, maybe not. That's up to the Mayor of Snitchville." Firefox shrugged. "If he's not valuable enough, they'll deal with it."

Snitchville wasn't a place; it was ICON's witness relocation program. Handlers would decide if Bill should be pumped for information and then discarded, hidden away indefinitely, or even turned into a double agent.

"Great," Technofox twirled her finger in the air. "He gets a studio apartment."

"We're not the jury," Shadowfox said.

"Not this time." Technofox snorted.

"Huh?" Firefox frowned.

"...Nothing," Technofox shook her head and put her hand over her eyes. "Sorry."

You never told her? Shadowfox concealed her astonishment.

"One more thing before going to bed." Firefox looked at Shadowfox doubtfully. "Shadow, are you playing him?"

"He's hooked," Shadowfox said confidently.

"Really?" Technofox asked, surprised. "After you put a knife to his groin?"

"It's complicated. Here's how I want to play it. I'm interested in him, I don't want you two to know. That gives me an off switch."

Technofox looked dubious. "So you're not sleeping with him?"

"No. I think he's the sort to lose interest after getting a woman in bed."

Technofox grinned. "I'll be more than happy to play Captain Cockblocker."

"Can I be your jealous lover?" Firefox fluttered her eyelids.

"I think he'd like that mental image," Shadowfox nodded.

"All right, then." Firefox got to her feet, and walked over to Technofox. She lifted the little fox's chin, closed her eyes, and kissed her. It took Technofox by surprise, and Shadowfox counted ten before either released.

"Good night, love," Firefox said. She lifted a finger and wagged it. "Wake me in four hours. Not four hours and two minutes."

"No, I'll take the shift," Shadowfox shook her head.

Firefox looked at Shadow blankly. "You're not on a shift. I want you to sleep when _he's_asleep."

Shadowfox nodded gratefully.