FSE

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Two

Martin and Tristan pulled into an abandoned parking lot several hours later, containing the remains of an old video rental store that had been destroyed by a falling tree a few years prior. It was out of view of the main road, so no one felt like spending the time and money to remove the tree.

"Is this guy coming or what?" Tristan scoffed. "I wanna get this planning crap out of the way."

"He'll be here soon, I'm sure." Martin looked around the parking lot, looking for signs of life. Their beat-up sedan sat alone, the wind the only sound to keep them company. A sudden burst of sound coming from a cell phone on the dash board startled the two. The wolf looked at the caller ID, a familiar albeit unpleasant name appearing on the screen.

"It's about damn time, Chip. Where-"

"Patience, hun. I can see you both in your little car. Look up at the light pole right next to you." The two got out of the car and looked up. A small, black camera shook back and forth three times, then fixated back on them. "Look, I even taught him how to wave! Isn't he adorable?"

Tristan chuckled. It was too ridiculous to not laugh at. "Do you realize how much of a flamer ya are?"

"Honey, the degree of flaming that I am would scorch your tough little butt. Now, I really just called to tell you I'm running a bit late. I'll be there in five minutes." The line went dead. Tristan closed the phone and looked over to the bear. Martin had resorted to leaning against the car, his leg still posing as an annoyance.

"He'll be here in five. You okay?"

Martin looked down at his leg. "It's fine. Just gotta walk it off a bit." He smiled up at the wolf. "Ready to be flirted with?"

"Don't start that shit. You know I'd punt him across this parking lot if he wasn't so damn valuable." He looked to the ground. "I ain't got a problem with gays, he just really gets on my nerves."

"You don't gotta tell me twice." They turned to the entrance to the parking lot, noticing a pair of headlines preceding a large, black van. "Heh. If you painted that thing white, you could write 'free candy' on the side and make it onto the internet."

"Dark place, man. Just shut up and let's get this over with." The van rolled to a stop just in front of them. The door opened, revealing a chipmunk dressed in a light blue, V-neck shirt and a pair of tight jeans. He stepped out of the vehicle and brushed the creases out of his shirt.

"Hello, boys." His head barely reached up to the level of Martin's chest, but he talked as if he was the one in control of the situation. He was. "What are a couple of handsome guys like yourselves doing in a place like this?"

Tristan growled softly. "Waiting for you, unfortunately. Let's get down to business."

"Touchy, touchy." A wide smile flashed across Chip's muzzle. "And here I thought we were going to have a pleasant social outing together, just the three of us. A few guys on the town, hitting all the local clubs and bars-"

"Chip?"

"Right; let's get on with it. Follow me." Chip walked around to the back of the van and punched in a code on the door; fifteen digits at least. It clicked open, revealing a control center full of computers, monitors, and equipment.

"Just like something out of a movie," Martin remarked. "Only we ain't playing the FBI guys." Chip stepped in and took a seat at a chair placed in the middle. Between the size of Chip's tail and the low ceilings, neither Martin nor Tristan could fit. They opted to stand outside.

"Here's the plan." Chip tapped away at the keys and a blueprint of the building appeared on the screen. "Our contact will enter the building at exactly 4:00pm tomorrow evening. He'll enter through the main entrance, stopping at the reception desk to sign in. He'll slip a Wi-Fi transmitter under the counter, allowing me access to their security system." Chip cleared his throat. "It was the one area they forgot to give me access to last time. Morons."

"Mack said they gave you access. What happened?" Martin looked at his partner who barely seemed to be following the conversation. He shrugged and turned back to face Chip.

"Well...they did. And they didn't. See, here's the thing with transmitters. They have to be close enough to what they are trying to gain access to for them to be useful. He put one in the vent next to the secondary security room, but that area only has access to two items: bathrooms and private offices."

"And that won't help us with the security guards." Martin sighed and looked at the wolf standing next to him who was scratching behind his ears again. At least he wasn't the only one who was nervous.

"Correct. Cute and smart; I like that." He winked at the bear, who simply rolled his eyes and motioned for him to continue. "Once I have access to that, I can upload a loop in which the cameras themselves will only see a replayed image of a guard walking through the corridor every seven minutes. It seems our friend managed to do something at least somewhat useful with his time there.

"Once those cameras are down, I'll trigger a fire alarm. That'll be your signal to enter...here." He pointed to a spot on the west side of the building; a loading bay door, Martin figured. "From what I can tell, their fire codes dictate that those stationed in the docks have to open the main bay door and exit that way. Something about allowing more room for the workers to get out."

"How are we supposed to get into this door? I figure it'll be locked or something." Tristan looked at the chipmunk. "And another thing; what the hell do these people have a loading dock? I thought they were an accounting firm."

"Good questions!" Chip turned back towards the two, his eyes shining. "To answer the latter question, they publish accounting and finance books used in many of the colleges around the country. Which is funny, because the firm itself has been financially struggling as of late. It would help if any of those idiots bothered to go get a degree before they started toying with people's money."

"That's one of the reasons we're going after him, right?" Martin sat on the edge of the truck, lowering the back enough to cause Chip to nearly fall out of his chair. "I mean, that as well as the people trafficking."

"You bet your butt it is. And to answer the former of wolfie's questions, their fire alarm automatically opens the main bay door and unlocks the rest. It locks all the doors leading inside the main building. However..." He looked back to the blueprints to the building. "You won't need to get inside."