FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Mr. Lockheed, I presume?"

Dante had only seen them in paintings or on documentaries about the world's past. The chance of meeting one was very slim, as they had vanished little by little as their empires gave way to new ones of the anthropomorphic species. But Dante seemed to have cheated the hand of chance, for in front of him stood a fully grown human male.

He was of the Caucasian breed, so his skin was a peachy color. The man had a full head of brown hair, bangs cut short in the front, but draped down to the shoulders in the back. Brilliant green eyes peered out beyond the locks of hair, staring at Dante. The man's measurements were average for a human. He stood at 5'7'' tall, around 160 pounds.

Dante could see that this man was definitely war torn. His arms bore tattoos of various military units, all with their own menacing logos. A dark red scar was etched into the right side of the man's face under his eye, a permanent tear streaking toward his chin. Just seeing the look in his eyes made Dante realize that this was indeed the man he had summoned.

Dante had once read that the humans were the "pioneer species" the first sentient creatures that had learned to walk upright. They had been the first to invent language, written and spoken. The same went for farming, marriage, building, money, art and civilization in general. It made Dante recognize, although most were dead and gone, the humans were a force to be reckoned with.

The green eyes narrowed and the smile faded from the human's face. Dante had been staring. But how could he help it? In front of him stood the testament to an ancient species! But not wishing to strain their agreement, Dante broke his stare. Instead, he smiled politely and outstretched his hand.

"I'm Dante Lockheed, yes."

The human smiled again. "Splendid!" He took the black wolf's hand and "I'm Keith. Keith Israel. I'll be your specialist."

The human had said this as a waiter tells you that he's going to be your server for the day. A specialist of this magnitude ought not to be taken lightly. Dante, wishing to start off on the right foot (or paw, rather) removed a stack of bills from his coat pocket. "Half now, half after the job's done."

The human looked at the money and then at his new boss, "Are you sure, Mr. Lockheed? I may not be able to complete my task per your orders and you'd be losing twenty-five grand in the process."

Dante, persisted, "That's the price of life, my friend." He then shoved the stack into the human's hands, which he pocketed them safely within the military fatigue jacket. "Thank you, sir, I appreciate it."

The dirty and cold train station was the last place in the world Dante wanted to be, despite the meeting. He was more interest in getting out of here; the girls were probably worried sick. Especially Selene. "Come, I'll drive you back to the mansion. You probably want to wash up and have some hot food."

The human looked very grateful to have an excellent employer. He nodded, "Yes, sir, Mr. Lockheed. I'd enjoy that very much."

"Don't call me, sir."

.................

"Come on! Tell me!" Raksha was pestering Selene like a child pesters her mother to buy him a toy. "Tell me, what was it like?"

Selene, who sat embarrassed on the bed, felt corned. "Dante and I just spent the morning cuddling, that's all." Selene knew from the second that the sentence left her mouth that it was a poorly constructed lie. Much more than that had gone on. But she felt too embarrassed to talk about it, even with another female.

Raksha raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that? I could hear you two down the hall doing...God knows what." This too, was a lie. Selene may not have been the brightest slave, but she was smart enough to catch Raksha in that fib.

"You said there was a sound-proof wall around the room!"

"Okay! Okay! So I had my ear to the door. So what?!"

Selene drew back. Her vixen friend was a lot more...promiscuous than she had originally predicted. "You listened to us? Why?"

Frustrated, the vixen stood up and began to walk around the room, throwing her hands up into the air. "I don't know! Nothing interesting ever happens in this house. Ever. Then you showed up and actually brought a little life into this dump. I was just curious; I'm a vixen after all."

Selene gave that some thought. She could see why Raksha would do it, but the idea of being monitored closely was a little...Orwellian. Still, her intimate moments with Dante were not a side show for some Pepping Tom. Or in this case a peeping Tina.

The argument was silenced, however, by the sudden introduction of tumblers rotating and a door swinging open on its hinges. Dante had returned. Selene, thankful for this interruption, began to pull on some clothes. When she was decent, she raced down the stairs, ready to leap into her lover's arms.

Selene was stopped short. She felt as if she'd run full force into a brick wall. From the staircase, she realized that Dante was not alone. A strange face with piercing eyes was looking back up at her. Dante stood by the man's side, staring at Selene. But this time, there was no smile on his face, and his eyes drooped with stress.

Raksha was filing calmly down the stairs and noticed Selene's frozen stature. "Honey, what's up?" The vixen hurried down to see what was the matter with the wolfess, but then recognized the dilemma. There was a human in there home. And its eyes were fixed on her.

The wolfess was too shocked to say anything, so Raksha took the initiative: "Dante, who is this?" The human was silent, not seeming to want to introduce himself. But he eyed Raksha with a curious eye, his thousand-yard stare making her uncomfortable.

Dante gave a sigh, as if he had been dreading this moment for a long time. His apology was issued painfully; he had been hiding this from them. "This is Keith Israel, he's a military expert. He'll be staying with us for a couple of months. I'm sorry for not telling you earlier, but I figured that the fewer people knew about his arrival the better."

But Israel was oblivious to the explanation; he was far more interested in the girl standing on the stairwell. But Raksha's condescending look humbled him into looking away. "Mr. Dante, maybe it would be more convenient for you and your family if I stay in a hotel for the duration of our agreement. I have enough money to pay for a room and to feed myself. That way I'd be out of your way until we get to work."

Dante gave an intimidating glance toward Raksha to show her that her manners toward the new guest were less than desirable. "Nonsense, Keith. You're welcome in this home as much as anyone else. Besides, a hotel would just get in the way of our work."

His attention turned toward the woman he'd walked out on this morning. Selene stood there, obviously confused as to what was going on, but not enough to let it affect her politeness. She wore a smile that only widened as Dante faced her.

"Selene, would it be okay if you stayed in my room now instead of the guest room? Keith will need it."

Selene, who was still amazed at Dante's hospitality, did not mind in the slightest. In fact, the chance to stay in the same room as Dante made her heart flutter madly. The idea of waking up to Dante's face every morning was a really comforting thought.

"Of course I don't mind, Dante." She then turned to the human, who had turned his attention back to Raksha. Raksha might have not been very warm toward this newcomer, but Selene knew better. "Welcome to our home, Mr. Israel. I hope you enjoy staying here." The human turned to the wolfess. He strained to form a weak smile, "Thank you, Dear. I'm sure that things here will be quite to my liking."

Dante, wishing to diffuse the dramatic tension that Raksha seemed to be producing, made the new guest a new proposal. "Keith, why don't you go upstairs and unpack? The guest room is yours to do with what you wish. Please, settle in. I'll serve lunch when you're finished."

The human nodded, picked up his attaché case and began to file up the stairs. Raksha moved to one side to let him pass, but gave a very low growl as he passed as if to say, "I don't like you." Thankfully humans did not posses the superior hearing that most morphs did, so the chances he had heard it were slim. Nevertheless, the human stole one last glance at her out of the side of his eye as he passed her.

He smiled weakly at Selene as he passed; trying to return the kindness she had shown her. When he reached the top of the landing he disappeared down the hall and into the guest room. No sooner had the door of the guest room closed than an eruption of emotion occurred within the hall.

Dante scowled at the vixen as an angry father glares at a disobedient child. "What the hell is wrong with you, Raksha? Do you have even a scrap of manners?" The vixen almost stumbled backwards from the outburst from her roommate. But she soon regained her composure and retaliated with full force.

"Me? What the hell is wrong with you? Inviting some stranger into our home without even asking Selene or me? Do you even know who he is? He could kill us!" Raksha was no slouch in the subject of history, either. It was true that humans were a violent race. They had invented war. Many tribes of humans waged war for seemingly stupid reasons. That explained why so few were left; they all kept blowing each other up.

"You know how I feel about stereotypes, Raksha. True, this man is a product of war, but we need him. He's been through more than you can imagine. Besides, it's not in his interest to kill us; I haven't given him the full reward yet."

"Still, humans are unpredictable. Hell, their prototypes threw fecal matter at each other!"

Dante's eyes narrowed with the fierceness of the verbal duel. But he had an ace in the hole: "If he wanted to kill us, he would've done it already." For this, Raksha had no reply. The truth was sinking in. It was true that the human was more than capable of killing them all at anytime he wished, but it seemed that he had no intention of doing so. The longing look in his eyes when he had looked up at Raksha was proof.

The vixen straightened up and proclaimed, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dante. Me, I'm not going to let my guard down for a minute. Now excuse me, Selene and I are planning on doing each other's hair."

So with that, she walked away. Selene looked at Dante and shrugged her shoulders, "Is it okay if I go with her?" Selene asked. Dante, who was still very frustrated from the argument nodded his head and waved her on. "You two have fun; I'm going to start making lunch, anyway."

Damn it. The human sank against the closed door, exhausted. It wasn't the long train ride that had tired him, but the moment of tension out in the hallway. He hadn't been there a minute before he found himself in disfavor with one of his new hosts. The pretty vixen had looked at him with such malevolence, it downright broke his heart. Especially because she looked just like...Her.

Keith hung his head in shame. He had better hearing than his new hosts had assumed, so the conversation that had followed him entering the guest room was anything but secret. He had heard fully well the things the vixen had said about him. He might as well have been hearing her thoughts, they were so hateful. "Hated everywhere I go," Keith thought silently to himself. But now was not the time to start feeling sorry for himself, so he began to unpack.

His new hosts, especially Dante, were very gracious. He only hoped that he would be able to succeed in this final mission. He uncovered the pistol in the attaché case and gave it a long, hard stare. Hopefully he would never need to use it again after this.

"Lunch is ready!" called the black wolf from the kitchen. He made a stew, salads and French bread, along with a bottle of wine from the cellar. The boarders all began to assemble in the dining room. Bowls of steaming broth already spread out. Keith looked hungrily at the meal, his eyes darting from dish to dish. He had not had such a meal in along time, since his army days.

Selene sat down next to Dante, leaving only one chair left. Raksha walked into the dining room, and realized that she was going to have to sit next to the human. It was if she was a student and she was assigned to sit next to the kid who picked his nose all day. With a frustrated sigh, she sat down and began to eat, never once wasting a glance at the human.

The human's disappointment was obvious. He was actually looking forward to being good friends with the vixen. But her opinion of him had ruled that possibility out completely. Keith gave a sigh and started in on his stew.

It only took one spoonful of the warm gravy broth to draw out his approval. The cooking had taken his mind off of the vixen's anger. The large chunks of beef and diced potatoes warmed his insides. Even the military chefs could not have created a dish this superb. "Mr. Lockheed, I must say that you have quite the culinary expertise. And that's nothing to take lightly."

Dante chuckled. "I guess you would know your way around good food. 'An army travels on its stomach' after all."

"Ah, so you've studied Napoleon!"

The two men laughed, tied up in their complex joke. The girls, however, were left in the dust of the intellectual humor. The men casually sipped their wine, talking about epic battles fought throughout the ages. Normandy, Yorktown, Gallipoli, Iwo Jima, Little Big Horn, Gettysburg, Tours and, of course, Waterloo. Each impressed the other with a prowess of military knowledge.

"You two sure like to talk about death, don't you?" Raksha remarked blatantly. She did not look up from her soup, indicating that she was still upset with the human's arrival into her home. The two men looked at each other, unaware if they should answer the question or not. Seeing the opportunity to explain himself to vixen, Keith spoke up.

"Well, when you get into my line of work, death becomes the word on everyone's lips." The answer provoked the vixen. She looked up from her meal and her eyes made contact with the human's. A conversation was catching on. Keith had constructed his answer in such a way that it would invoke another question in return. Raksha played right into the human's furless paws.

"And what line of work is that? Dante mentioned you were a 'military expert', but that's an awfully vague title if you ask me."

The human shrugged his shoulders. "Well, when it comes to fang and claw, I guess you could say I'm a mercenary. I was formerly an officer in the Maxim Military."

The room was suspended in silence. The only sound that was heard was from Selene: she had dropped her soup spoon into her bowl when she heard the man's previous occupation. The pictures on Dante's desk came to mind.

"You?! Why would Virgil ever allow someone like you into his army? He's a racist, after all."

Dante's grip on the table tightened at the mention of the Colonel's name. Selene could see his eyes light up with fire. He fought back the urge to vomit and took a sip of wine to relax his mind. When the momentary scare was over, the conversation continued.

"Well, you're right, the Colonel is a racist, but he favored humans because of our history. He thinks that humans were naturally born as fighting machines. Our bodies and minds were the first to adapt to the concept of war. He adopted Nazism as his religion, because he thought that humans had finally figured out the answer to a perfect world. Needless to say, I think that the Allies put a damper on that little idea."

"So they let you join because they thought you were a member of some kind of master race?" The vixen could not help but feel a little put down by the comments. The human was obviously against Virgil and Nazism, so he couldn't be all bad. Still, a soldier in the Maxim Military was likely to be a slippery snake.

"Master race? Oh heavens, no! They let me join because they thought that a human would make as good a soldier as any. It wasn't until I passed Boot Camp that Virgil took an interest in me." And with that, the human lifted up the sleeve of his military fatigue uniform. As the green and black sleeve was lifted away, an orange and black patch of skin emerged. There, sitting upon his white skin, perched the ferocious image of a tiger, its fangs dripping with blood.

"You were in the Desert Tiger Brigade?!" The vixen exclaimed, noticing the insignia. The Desert Tiger Brigade was essentially the Waffen SS of the Maxim Military. They were elite soldiers who not only served as a body guard, but were also Virgil's trump card to make sure that Maxim was victorious in all of its endeavors.

The human lowered his sleeve and the tiger retreated into the dark cavern, hidden from prying eyes. "I was a 1st Lieutenant. I was told that I could've gone as high as Colonel if I proved useful to Virgil, who was a Major back then. But my priorities changed very quickly. I wound up going AWOL, which is how I wound up in my current occupation."

Raksha could practically smell his cowardice. "You just ran away? God, I know the military isn't all it's cracked up to be, but to just leave your post like that is a capital offense! They could have you executed!"

The human knew of this and blatantly acknowledged it. "Why do you think that up until now that Dante had to keep my employ a secret?"

Raksha didn't need to answer the question. But she had another question that she needed to ask before becoming satisfied. Little did she know it, but this final question would begin a chain reaction that would lead to the removal of all her maliciousness towards the man.

"So, what made you run away?"

The human straightened up in his seat and cleared his throat. Finally, with a calm voice and a firm composure, he began to speak. "Very well, then. Let me tell you of Hell."