FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter Two

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Ashley Donovan may be a fox Otherkin and he may make her skin crawl a bit every time his ears moved or his tail twitched but there was no denying the fact that he was rich. Very, very rich.

Finally giving up on sleep, Ally rolled over onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. At least dinner had gone well. Ashley was indeed an excellent cook and the steaks he made came out perfectly. The wine Hanai had her buy was excellent and the chocolate ice cream was divine. She was forever in Hanai's debt for that one.

So why was she still so uneasy?

Because of your prejudice against Otherkin that's why, Ally thought sourly as she rolled onto her side and grabbed the plastic card sitting on her nightstand. Although to be fair I hate Biotech just as much, she amended as she leaned back against the bed and stared at the card in her hands.

It was about the size of her palm and acomputer chip was clearly visible on the right side with glowing digital numbers and words scrawled across the front of it. At the top was the name of a bank and underneath that was Ally's full name, Allyson Moreaux. Then there was the amount of credits on it with Ashley Donovan's signature imprinted into the plastic at the bottom.

Plasti-cards could be given to people as payment and deposited at their bank of choice. After which the card would be wiped of information and returned to the original owner if it was just a one time payment. You could also reload them so plasti-cards were also used to pay employees. A card was given to them to keep when they started the job and their wages would be loaded onto the card automaticallywhenever they got paid.

This amount of money though was more than Ally was expecting.He had given her 100,000 credits just as a sign on bonus alone.Either this Otherkin was crazy or he just had too much money to throw around. Her rent, utility bills, network access, phone, public transport card, and food expenses totaled nearly40,000credits each month. Currently she was making 55,000 a month which didn't really didn't leave a lot of wiggle room since that extra amount was usuallytaken up with unexpected bills. Withthis kind of paycheck coming in she could finally afford savesome of it andbuy a few luxury items she'd had her eyes on.

Ally did not like Otherkin but she hated Biotech even more. Besides she could really use the money and the hours were better then the slave labor her current job was extolling from her. Later this morning she'd go to the restaurant address Ashley Donovanhad given her and sign on as his new employee.

---

After looking up the address, Ally realized that it would only take about 15 minutes to get to the restaurant location if she took the bus. The job she had now was two tiers up and took anywhere from 45 minutes minutes to well over an hour to get there depending on the traffic. The shortened commute alone would make this job worthwhile.

It was also the flashiest and most gaudy building on the block. This tierwas pretty close to the Lower Level so what businesses there were around here were generallymore sedate. Most of them hadcheaperprinted signsinstead of the flashing electronic displays that crowded the tiers farther up the Mid Level. Although quite a number of businesseshad older style neon displaysin the windows and on poles outside as well.

_Then you have this place,_Ally thought as she stood staring up at the building. The outside was real brickwork which must have been incredibly expensiveand it had an electronic display all across the front advertising the nameof the place. A full menu and prices were displayed on one side of the holo-glass while the other showed the daily special along with a steaming coffee mug made out of neon lights.Walking up Ally brushed her fingers across the menu currently on the electronic glass display.

"What in the world is unagi?" Allywondered aloud as she ran her finger across the word.Immediately the menu was pushed off to the side as the holo-glass pulled up a picture of the menu item in question. Apparently it was some type of eel.Ally wrinkled her nose at theimage and tapped the menu again. Thefood picture disappeared and the menu enlarged again waiting for her to selecton something else.

"Okay now that is pretty cool," Ally admitted as she straightened up and looked up and down the street. There was a tech store offering the latest gadgets, a repair store, a fill station so vehicles could charge their electric batteries and a small take-out pizza place. The pizza itselfwas halfway between synthetic food and real and usually tasted a day old. This place Ashley had directed her to on the other handwas clearly designed to attract attention and indeed there was no way you could miss it.

"Divine Eatery. Best food on any Level," Ally read and scoffed slightly. Ashley certainly wasn't one for subtlety that's for sure. Reaching into her pocket she fingered the plasti-card and thought of how many credits were on it. Taking a deep breath she left the card in her pocket and headed to the door and pulled it open. Stepping inside she looked around to see what she was getting herself into.

Immediately inside on the left was what looked like the coffee shop. There was a real coffee grinder, mugs available for sale, smoothie makers, and a menu display floating up above the counter along with a real glass case displaying desserts that were available for purchase. A few small tables were scattered over there as well and a few people were sitting down at them and watching the news currently playing up on a screen in the corner.

On the right was a waiting area with plastic chairs lined up against the windows. Then there was a podium and behind it a very large open space with much fancier tables scattered about and Ally could spot what looked like a full service bar way in the back next to what must be the kitchen doors.

This kind of place was something Ally would have expected to see at the top tier of the Mid Level. Maybe even in the Top Level itself. Especially the dinning room. Were those cloth napkins? _Real_cloth napkins? And actual metal silverware? Not metallic looking plastic?

"Hello, can I help you miss?" a deep and rather dry voice asked. Ally snapped to attention and looked back to see a rather imposing Otherkin nowstanding there at the podium tapping a stylus impatiently. He had a dark brown shirt on with tan buttons down the front and black slacks.His feet were bare primarily because of the huge talons on the end of hislarge bird like feet.

Ally had to search her memory for a moment to figure out what type of animal he was. Every school had biology and health lessons sponsored by Biotech Genosys where they learned all about different species of animals and how their DNA could be used to treat variousdiseases.

_He's a golden eagle,_Ally thought as his expression started to turn from mild irritation into stern disapproval.His arms were covered in brownfeathers and muchlonger ones rested on the underside of his arms. Could they flip back and forth at will? They looked like they could be extended like a cat's claws or something. But how did he manage to talk with such a large beak?

Ally had always thought of Otherkin as creepy. It had never occurred to her that they might be beautiful as well just like the animals whose DNA they now carried within them.

The Otherkin cleared his throat louder this time and Ally snapped out of her staring and blushed heavily withembarrassmentas she fumbled around with her pockets.After what felt like an eternity under the eagle's intense and vastly disapproving scrutinyshe managed to pull out the plasti-card.

"Umm, here you go. I'm here because of Ashley Donovan; he offered me a positionyesterday. He said to just give this card to one of the staff if I decided I wanted to take the job," Ally said hesitantly as she handed the plasti-card over. Humming at that the eagle took the card and examined it carefully. Allycouldn't help but stare at his large scaled hands and thefeathers around his wrist.

After a moment the eagle Otherkin turned around and held it over a small scanner that was sitting on the podium he was at. A few beeps sounded and the card flashed green before the amount of money on it changed.

"Welcome to Divine Eatery. This amount will be your regular two week paycheck. Keep this card on hand as it will bereused each time you get paid. You alsoget paid holidays, vacationsand sick days,"the eagle said in the same dry tone of voice; as if he had gone through this recitation so many times that he could say it in his sleep. Ally accepted the plasti-card back and nearly fainted when she saw the amount of money on it.

"T-two hundred and s-sixty thousand credits?" Ally squeaked out. Sure Hanai probably made this kind of money in a day but for her this was a huge amount. The eagle stared at her for a moment before his already narrow eyes dropped down into mere slits.

"You're not going to faint on me are you? Reviving humans is not part of my job description," he warned her and Ally quickly shook her head.

"No... I just... this is a lot of money for me that's all," Ally choked out and he hummed and motioned for her to follow him. Quickly she hurried along as he walked her through the ornate dining room. There were even crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.

"Very well. You start training tomorrow officially but for now I'll show you around. My name is Brutus and I'm the primary manager here," the eagle stated and Ally tried not to be distracted by the fact that he also had tail feathers sticking out from the back of his pants. Besides he was still talking.

"There are three people under me. A human who oversees the dining room and one who takes care of the kitchen and the food. There is a feline Otherkin who runs the coffee shop. You won't be in the kitchen so don't worry about what happens there," Brutus explained as he gestured to a pair of double doors off the the left of them.

"Here in the dining room you will be directed by Amir. He's sitting over there," the eagle pointed one of his finger talons at a man of Middle Eastern descent who was stroking his beard and watching over the customers with a concentrated gaze. Amir noticed them staring and merely nodded his head in greeting.

"Sitting there on his lunch break is Wesley," Brutus added pointing over at an orange tabby cat Otherkin. The feline was currently stuffing his face with fish and rice and he looked up for a minute and waved cheerfully at them. Despite his animal features he didn't look like he was much older then she was which would put him in his mid twenties somewhere.

"You are assigned primarily to the coffee shop but you may also be called on to be a waitress every once in a while depending on your final work hours. You will get two days off work and you can decide which ones you want off after your training is complete and your regular schedule is set," Brutus explained as he turned around to face her.

"Break time is 30 minutes with another 15 minute break if you have decided to work a double shift that day. You may be asked to pull a double, but it will be no more then once every other week. You can have one meal here free during your work day and get a second at a discounted price. What I say goes so if I tell you something then it overrules whatever another manager has told you. Unless one of the Donovan brothers is here," Brutus continued but had turned around before Ally could ask questions about what he meant by "brothers." Evidently Ashley had a sibling.

"You'll get three shirts for free with the restaurant logo on them and you can wear either black or brown slacks pants with them and nice shoes. No sandals, sneakers, or cyber shoes," Brutus cast a hooded look over his shoulder at the mention of the latter. What he was referring to was a special type of shoe that glowed and pulsed in time to whatever music was around. They were a huge hit in clubs and had become the latest fashion.

"Yes sir," Ally said quickly as Brutus faced her fully.

"Be here at nine in the morning tomorrow. Your training will start then in the coffee shop with Wesley. Although since you have worked as a barista before you shouldn't need much help. In the afternoon Amir will work with you and have you serve a few tables as a waitress," Brutus explained as he glanced up at something over Ally's head. Following his gaze she saw a holo-display up on the wall showing the time.

"I have work to do. That is all for now. You are free to leave if you wish," Brutus added and then dismissed her with a wave of his feathered arm. Ally stood there uncertainly for a moment as Brutus walked off towards the back of the restaurant towards Amir. Well the least she could do was move out of the way of the paying customers.

_This place is magnificent though. I wasn't expecting anything as upscale as this,_Ally thought, greatly impressed by the fancy décor.

"Well, well who do we have here?"

Ally turned around to see a familiar fox standing there watching her with open curiosity. At least he seemed familiar until she saw his eyes. One of them was gold and the other was brown.

"You're not Ashley... are you?" she asked hesitantly. They looked almost exactly the same right down to their expensivethree piece suits, but this one was leaning slightly on a cane in his righthand as if his leg hurt him.The caneitself had a pewter cobra head at the top with some type of red jewelsfor eyes.

The fox flashed a toothy grin andbowed slightly to her.

"Right you are my dear, although I have heard much about you," he repliedeasily. "The name is Sasha Donovan. I'm Ashley's twin brother and businesspartner. Hanai is a good friend of ours and she mentioned to me that you might be coming here today. So I just couldn't resist coming down here to see you for myself. Hanai speaks quite highly of you after all," the fox said as an introduction.

"Well that's... very good to know... I think," Ally responded hesitantly. Sasha stepped back and motioned for her to go ahead.

"Come now lets sit down and have a meal. I'm sure there isplenty we can talk about," he invited and Ally paused for a moment before following him. Ashley had a more calm and reserved air about him. His brother however had just the opposite. The expression in his mismatched eyes was every bit a fox. Intelligent, wise, and most of all cunning. It was the look of someone who could easily manipulate others and was very, very good at it as well.

"Here order anything you like off the menu. It's on me. It is my restaurant after all!" Sasha laughed at his own personal joke and Ally resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she scanned the menu. There were tons of items to choose from all of them nicely organized into different categories. Finally she just settled on a salad and some breadsticks. Hanai always had access to stuff like this, but when Ally had a chance to eat real food the bread was usually old and crusty and the vegetables were starting to go bad.

The menu itself was also made of holo-plastic so all Ally had to do was tap the display and the screen asked her if this was what she wanted. After selecting yes she decided to go with some fruit juice. A thank you message popped up and informed her that her order was on its way as well as an estimated completion time.

"You really do go all out don't you? Being a waitress here seems like it would be pretty easy if that's all you have to do to order," Ally asked as she put the menu back into a slot that was carved into the side of the table itself. Sasha waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh this? This is nothing compared to some other places Ashley and I own and certainly not as nice as the shops we have up top. Of course we rarely get the chance to go up there but Hanai checks in on them for us," Sasha said but he couldn't hide the obvious note of satisfaction in his voice or the way his furry chest swelled with pride.

"So how do you know Hanai anyway? I mean she knows a lot of people and Otherkin, but this is the first time I've heard of you or your brother," Ally asked wanting to know more about him.

Sasha's eyes brightened and cleared his throat before saying, "S.A. Divine. The best clothes on any level." Clearly he was going for a commercial voice effect and it only took a moment for the puzzle pieces to fall in place.

"That's you? Hanai wears that brand of clothing all the time! The rich snobs up Top nearly had heart attacks when their most beloved fashion model started wearing clothes and accessories from some unknown designer," Ally said remembering how that "scandalous" event had blown up all over the news. Appearances were very important on the Top Level and Hanai was considered odd for actually wearing what she wanted instead of following the latest trends.

"Indeed we are! Of course the initials stand for Sasha and Ashley. Most models up Top get paid to wear clothing from certain designers. It's part of how they stay famous and rich since they go through credits like mad. Hanai is rich because of her parent's and grandparents inheritances so she really just works as a model because she likes it. She certainly doesn't need to work and doesn't care much for fame," Sasha responded and then smirked. "Besides Hanai basically told everyone to shove off when they started getting upset. She said the interest on her credits alone was enough to keep her living comfortably for the rest of her life, unlike them," he recounted and Ally couldn't help but smile a bit at that one. That sounded just like her best friend all right. Hanai tried to be nice but her sharp tongue had cut many people down to size over the years. Then Sasha leaned forward with a sly glint to his eyes.

"So what about you? I know you met Hanai through your current job and you hit it off. To be honest though she wasn't sure if you would work here. Said you had some personal history with Otherkin?" Sasha asked lightly and Ally hesitated at the question.

Sasha and Ashley Donovan were not just Otherkin gangsters. The influence both they wielded had reached all the way to the Top Level if they had managed to pull Hanai into their web of business. Who knows how many others worked with them up there? Who knows how many worked with them down here. They may appear innocent, but Ally couldn't forget for a moment that these brothers were potentially very dangerous.

If you always tell the truth then you won't get caught trying to remember all your lies, Ally considered. Dear old grandma had told her that one and it was especially true in this case. There was no way she wanted to get caught lying to a gang leader. Besides could Otherkin tell when you were lying? Like smell it on you or something? Certainly no need to risk it.

"My mother got sick. Some type of lung disease. It's common on the Lower Level tiersbecause there's so much more pollution down there. We took her to one of Biotech's medical centers for treatment. They helped her all right, but halfway through the year long injection process she started having bad reactions. Started getting aggressive and violentand started growing feathers. We took her back to the medical center and they took herinto the back. She was screaming and thrashing around the whole way. That was the last time I ever saw her. When they came back they said they had done all they could, but it had progressed too far and she had passed away," Ally stared down at the table as she spoke but she could feel Sasha's eyes on her.

"It just... I never forgot how she looked. How her body had started changing. It was just so... disgusting. All I could think of was that Biotech had taken my mother away from me. They said their cures were perfectly safe but they weren't. I was twelve years old at the time and I couldn't understand how they could let that happen. Before then I had mostly just avoided Otherkin, but afterwardseeing them just made me more and more upset. It was just another reminder of what my mother had gone through. How much pain she had been in and how much her attitude had changed at the end. I couldn't understand why anyone would do that themselves and to their families deliberately," Ally said and rubbed her arm uncomfortably.

They were interrupted when a dog Otherkin came over carrying their food.The salad was huge and looked delicious and the bread did indeed smell divine. Sasha had ordered a small pepperoni pizza and a glass of wine.

Leaning forward Sasha cocked his head slightly and said, "Let me guess... they didn't want to let you in the back see her for a final goodbye did they?"

Ally's head snapped up and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him.

"How did you know that?"

"I've already investigated you my dear. I know more about you then you know about yourself. Besides do youhonestly think you're the only person who's ever lost a family member that way?" Sasha countered with a twitch of his pointy ears and she bristled at his tone of voice.

"Of course I don't. I know plenty of people on the Lower Level who have lost family members thesame exact way. People who then fell into so much debt that there was no chance of them ever moving up anywhere. Once I bothered to look I saw it happening all the time," Ally shot back and Sasha calmly cut a piece of his pizza and ate it while those words hung in the air between them.

Inside her head Ally's brain paused and started turning those words over and over. There was something there. Something she had always known but had never taken the time to really think about and examine.

Sasha swallowed and took a sip of his wine before saying, "Think about what you just said for a moment. You know people on the Lower Level who have lost family members the same way. Yet how many on the Mid Level do you know?"

Ally was taken aback and fumbled around for an answer.

"That's... there are just more diseases and sickness on the Lower Level in general. The city has basically abandoned the place and the population there overall is very poor... but maybe...fiveon the Mid Level?" Ally wasn't entirely sure. It certainly wasn't as many as when she lived on the Lower Level it seemed like every family there had a similar story.

"And what happened to those families? Those people you knew who ended up losing a member of their family?" Sasha questioned sly and went back to eating his pizza as she thought about that. Frowning to herself, Ally grabbed her fork and took a bite of her salad as she thought about the question. For a while they both just sat in silence eating their meals.

After about five minutes, Ally responded. When she did her words were slow and deliberate as she tried to piece things together.

"Some of them tried to go to the police but they always said there was nothing they could do. Whenever they tried to find a lawyer insteadthey ended up getting hit by huge bills from Biotech and going into debt or having their wages confiscated as payment instead. Most of them are still down there on the Lower Level trying to pay off their bills," Ally said and paused for a moment to nibble on a breadstick. She was definitely eating as many meals here aspossible. Sasha waited patiently as she came to her own conclusions.

"But the majority of families said it wasn't worth it. That Biotech Genosys was just too big of a company to go after and they were too small. They never went to the police or tried to find lawyers. They just kept to themselves anddidn't cause any trouble.Some of them moved up to the Mid Level and have just gone on with their lives," Ally whispered softly and Sasha hummed at that as he sipped his wine.

"And what about you? You and your father didn't cause any trouble for Biotech did you now?" Sasha prodded his whiskers twitching back and forth. Ally closed her eyes, feeling like she had just been punched in the gut. Her hand tightened into a fist around her fork.

"My father drank himself to death a few years after that and I moved in with my grandparents. Both of them were afraid of Biotech and didn't dare speak out against them," Ally opened her eyes and shook her head. How could she have been so stupid? So blind to the obvious for so long?

"I don't remember when it happened exactly but I remember my grandparents getting a letter from Biotech stating that they were sorry for the loss of our relative and they were canceling our debt and refunding the money we had paid so far. My grandparents started saving up as many credits as they could until I had the chance to move up here to the Mid Level. Every family..." Ally stopped as frustration and anger clawed at her.

"...every family that just went on with their lives and didn't try to press charges against Biotech got a similar letter. Every. Single. One," Ally pushed her salad away and let out a bitter laugh. "Oh god I'm such an idiot. I never understood it as a child and didn't think about it as a teenager, but I did notice that all of our neighbors just... gave up if one of their family members had a bad reaction because of Biotech'scures. They knew it was rigged so they stopped fighting it. Either they took the risk or they just dealt with whatever disease they had until they died," she dropped her head into her hands as she put it all together. She couldn't have felt more stupid if she tried.

Looking up Ally saw Sasha calmly starting in on another slice of his pizzaand she leaned forward.

"You know the truth. You _know_what Biotech is up to down there in the Lower Level don't you? Or at least you have a very good idea of what's happening in the city... right?" Ally questioned him urgently and Sasha met her eyes with an unwavering stare.

"Of course Ido. The real question... is whether or not you can handle the truth."