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Part 28 - Retribution

(Nathan)

"Yes, I spoke with your friend earlier," the female dispatch officer confirmed over the phone, responding to Nathan's panicked summary of the situation and its unwelcomed escalation. "He told me of your problems. Now they have returned, car will be sent to your location as soon as is possible."

"It will!?" he barked in surprise. "I... How long is 'soon'?"

"Possibly... fifteen minutes for its arrival. Please, stay upstairs until this time."

"Fifteen!? Stay up here? Wait, you don't understand. Alex... he's gone down there to try and stop them!"

"You are serious?"

"I... couldn't stop him."

"Okay... Try to remain calm," came the officer's flustered reply. "I will do all that I can to make this quicker."

"T-Thank you." He hung up with a worried sigh, the promise of prompt response offering little reassurance.

'At least she was willing to speak to a Polcian... even if it is to save a Velikan and his property--'

"Stop that," Nathan groaned at himself, far more concerned for the safety of his wolf than Polcian equality. "Why'd you go, Alex? ...Please be okay."

With the call at an end, he tossed his phone aside and sat himself upon the sprawling, lonely bed. A sickeningly tense wait followed, during which Nathan placed his paw to the mattress to find Alexei's usually comforting warmth still radiating from it; a warmth that served only to sadden and worry him further.

"It's been far too long," he rumbled, staring at his phone. "It doesn't take... It's been almost five minutes since he left--"

A loud crash echoed out from below, raised voices and what sounded like a bout of laughter accompanying it. Nathan perked his ears, shifting forward intently as another series of dull thuds followed. "What the hell?"

He shuffled up to his feet, peering from the edge of the bed towards the darkness beyond the half-open bedroom door. The ruckus continued on, slam after echoing slam practically rattling the building. With no sight, sound or smell of his wolf forthcoming, Nathan began to fear the worst.

'You just gonna stand here and listen!?'

'It's not like I want to--'

'Get down there and see if he's alright!'

He whimpered meekly, despairing at the powerlessness of his position. Could he really go down to the workshop? March straight up to the Velikan intruders, more than likely the same trio that had abducted him not twelve hours ago, in order to check on Alexei? What could he even do if his wolf did need help? Regardless of what the answers were, Nathan couldn't bear to stand here wondering any longer.

He bounded across the expansive mattress, skipping past heaped, crumpled blankets on his way to the makeshift staircase at the foot of the bed. With the stacked books and boxes descended in record time, Nathan raced full pelt across the green-carpeted floor in nothing but his boxers.

At his smaller stature, the run into the darkened living room proved long enough to start Nathan panting. To make matters worse, it'd been just a matter of hours since his exhausting escape from the ironworks, only adding to his fatigue.

As he rushed through the darkness, between the rear corner of the cliff-like couch and the high dining table plateau, memories of what came before that getaway set his mind arguing with itself all over again. 'What if they snatch me up? How's that gonna help Alex?'

Nathan emerged from behind the huge sofa, the sight of the apartment door resting ajar visible through the hazy moonlight.

'With that door open, what's to stop them coming up here and doing it anyway? Especially if they've hurt--'

He growled and slapped a paw to the side of his face, unwilling to even contemplate the ever-increasing possibility that Alexei could be in real danger.

The voices from below became that much clearer as Nathan raced onwards; Yuri's growls, Marat's squeaks and Bogdan's grunts all-too-familiar, quashing any lingering doubt over the intruders' identities. He slipped out of the apartment through the crack in the door, stopping to catch his breath after a sprint that'd stretched a good eighty yards at least.

From the top of the building's huge staircase, the ominous sound of pounding paws, clattering tools and snapping wood carried clearly through the air. If Yuri and his friends hadn't been wrecking the workshop before, they'd certainly begun to now.

"Vicious bastards," Nathan snarled, swiftly sliding his paws around his neck to unclip his voice-boosting collar. At least he'd have little fear over being heard at his smaller size.

He spent the duration of his recovery staring down into the increasingly daunting, black abyss, the heart-wrenching sound of Alexei's store being torn to pieces folding his ears back. "I can't not go... no way. I need to find him!"

As one final, deep breath dispersed into the tense air, Nathan felt as ready as he'd ever be to enter the fray. He jogged hesitantly to the top step, sitting himself down and sliding across the carpeting until his legs dangled over the edge. Even with his fears and doubts all but suppressed, descending a series of drops that individually stood a shade taller than his five-foot-ten frame would offer a considerable challenge.

'Don't fall,' Nathan warned himself, keeping his focus squarely on the first drop ahead. With a soft, frightened grunt, he pushed off.

The step below offered an awkward landing, while the force in his fall required a quick, correcting stride forward. Thankfully, Nathan managed to keep his balance, and more importantly, stop himself from plummeting further.

Undeterred, the little husky wasted little time in repeating his sliding technique for the next drop, touching down with far less uncertainty once aware of what to expect. He continued this a dozen more times, arriving at the hallway at the base of the staircase inside a minute.

The voices of Yuri and his gang echoed dangerously close now, one last open doorway the only thing separating them from Nathan's position. He set off tentatively towards the illuminated, chaotic-sounding workshop, restricting himself to slow, steady steps. His caution didn't so much come from a fear of being heard, rather the prospect of getting caught up beneath an oblivious Velikan's pawstep, be they friend or foe.

Nathan stayed as close to the wall as possible, sliding along its base until he'd reached the workshop's doorframe. He peered inside just in time to be greeted with a building-sized piece of equipment tipping over, slamming full force to the floor a matter of mere feet away. An almighty crash rang out, the ground trembling from the impact as Nathan urgently retreated to cover.

A blast of displaced air sent wooden debris rushing through the doorway, forcing the little husky into shielding his face. He cowered down against the wall, staying low until the whipping winds died and the shaking floor steadied.

If not for the stomach-churning laughter that erupted from Yuri and his group after the impact, Nathan may well have remained crouched behind cover, intimidated into inaction by the sheer scale of everything around him.

"Alex," he muttered, reminding himself just why he'd chosen to literally drop himself into this precarious position. He pushed away from the wall, the heavy crashes of destruction and rumbling footsteps continuing unabated as he rounded the doorframe and entered the workshop.

Nathan jerked his head around frantically, searching for a place to both stay hidden in and further scan the area from. It would take him a matter of seconds to figure that the felled piece of machinery, now identifiable as a huge table saw, lying just inside the doorway would serve this purpose perfectly. He jinked away from the doorframe, sprinting the few steps between himself and the newly-formed wall of metal. Once safe there, Nathan poked his head out, now truly able to see the extent of the damage done by the intruders.

All kinds of tools and equipment lied scattered, surrounded by numerous skeletal heaps of lumber that once formed carefully-constructed pieces of craft. A fine coating of wood dust covered the tiled floor, and even filled the air itself; a byproduct created by the gang's ruinous rampage. The swarming particles tickled Nathan's throat, forcing him to grit his teeth and resist a cleansing cough. Even with his Normaliser's voice booster detached, he remained wary of anything that might attract attention.

In front of him, the workbench nearest the side-door had collapsed, its centre push halfway down into the storage cupboards. To cause such damage, the amount of force thrust upon its thick surface top must have been considerable.

Even the pile of lumber at the back of the workshop hadn't been spared, now truly resembling a felled forest of trees as it lied scattered across the ground. Above it, the room's rear window had been visibly forced open, giving away the gang's point of entry.

The only things that appeared to have been left untouched had been the bulkier items of machinery, likely too heavy to be pushed aside like the table saw cloaking Nathan.

"Evil, wicked bastards. I--" Nathan's muttering stopped short the moment he spotted the rear of Yuri's and Bogdan's heads, just about visible above the broken workbench. All though not in sight, the shorter fox, Marat, no doubt lingered here. Grunting and snarling, they continued with their vandalism, striking down mercilessly with fists and tools upon something lying out of view. In that heart-stopping moment, Nathan's world began to crumble; a dreadful, terrifying thought screaming from inside his head. "No... please. Not... not Alex."

With no regard for cover or safety, he leapt out from behind the fallen saw machine, mazing through shards of broken wood and strewn work tools. Sickening thuds and crunches continued to echo from beyond the two workbenches, sending Nathan's ears flat to his scalp.

At full pace, he reached the first, shattered station in a matter of seconds. Without hesitation, the husky darted around to the left-hand side of structure, finding a sight that distressed him only further greeting him.

'Oh my gods!' Nathan slowed to a jog, then again to a walk as his knees threatened to buckle. Poking out from between the two towering workstations, a familiar, grey-furred footpaw sat motionless, its black pads pointing towards the ceiling. Yuri and his friends meanwhile stood beyond the second bench, still completely unaware of Nathan's presence.

'What have they done...?' He resumed his run, darting past Alexei's upturned paw and into the wide walkway between the pair of broken stations.

Smashed wood panelling flanked him as he rushed onwards, the giant wolf lying in a heap against the right-hand workstation. A few more seconds ticked by, enough time for Nathan to travel the length of Alexei's huge frame.

"A-Alex?" he whined, bending down to gently wrap his arms around the tip of his unconscious wolf's muzzle. He pawed at Alexei's big, black nose, trying in vain to win a response other than the shallow breathing ruffling the fur of his legs. "Wake up, please." Nathan started to thump harder, but still he wouldn't stir. Instead, Alexei just remained there, eyes fixed shut while sprawled out motionless beside his workbench.

A weird, momentary sense of relief helped to ease Nathan's fright; grateful that it hadn't been his wolf on the end of those cruel, bludgeoning strikes from Yuri and his friends. That relief came a long way short of countering the other thoughts in his head; dreadful mental images of the suffering and pain Alexei must have endured to end up lying here like this.

In the end, Nathan gave up his pushing and prodding, all too aware that his size restricted him from having any hope of reviving his wolf. Solemnly, he padded away from Alexei's muzzle, up to where his grey and white face fur met the brown patch of fur atop his head. He'd intended to speak to him from beside his ear, perked level with the husky's eyeline, as if hoping that might allow him to offer reassurance despite his unconsciousness. Before he could begin, Nathan noticed a hint of red flashing from behind Alexei's ear. He took an extra couple of steps, allowing himself to investigate the top of the wolf's head.

"Blood?" Nathan grumbled to himself, finding a distressingly matted patch of brown. He reached out nervously to brush the reddened fur aside, finding an oozing cut hiding beneath. "Oh, hon," he gasped, slapping a paw to his quivering lips. The sight of Alexei's old scar a short distance from this fresh wound only heightened Nathan's sorrow, thinking about how all the heartache, all the suffering his wolf had endured over the course of his short life had been catalogued among these brown strands of fur.

"Why did you come down here alone?" he sobbed gently, stroking softly at Alexei's head. "Why didn't I try harder to stop--"

Another ground-trembling thump startled the husky out of his sorrow, a stark reminder than those responsible for all of this violence remained here, still adding to it. His erratic, grief-stricken breathing slowly built up into even, forceful grunts. With a snarl, he spun on his feet to look up over the bench behind him, the back of Yuri's head visible above its demolished structure. "You heartless bastards!"

"-Pisk?-" The tiger ceased his smashing, glancing aimlessly around the room. "-Polciek pisk?-"

"How could you do this!?" Even from down on the ground, Nathan could smell the alcohol lingering on Yuri's breath.

"Is that you, Polcian? You show your true, pathetic voice?"

He allowed his thoughts and emotion to flow freely, refastening his voice booster around his neck. "You evil piece of... Whatever your problems with me, what the fuck did Alex do to deserve this!?"

Yuri found the tiny husky's position instantly, glaring down over the broken bench with sharp yellow eyes and an even sharper scowl.

"Wasn't keeping me in that freezing cage enough for you!? Tell me!"

He laughed curtly, moving with thudding steps to stand at the end of the walkway. It came as little surprise to Nathan to see Marat and Bogdan also shifting to join him. "We do this because he had it coming, because he is a traitor to his country."

"All of this? All of this, because you're sizeist pricks!?"

"We also do this because of what you have done!"

"I've done nothing--!"

"Do you think we would let you just run away!?" the tiger cried with a stomp forward. "Forget all about how you have mocked us? You are dreaming."

"This makes no sense," Nathan squealed, unable to avoid cowering back as a tremor turned his legs to jelly. "All this for... You're fucking crazy!"

Yuri looked down to Alexei's frame with a terrible, feline grin, evidently failing to take in the little husky's words. "I wish for you to know one thing," he hissed. "After I hit him, your wolf, he stumbled as if drunk before falling here. It. Was. Very funny."

The gang laughed wickedly in unison, sharing a joke in their native tongue while Nathan watched on with clenched fists. "If I was your size, I swear," he growled, baring his teeth and looking ready to tear Yuri's throat out, even with the massive size difference. "I'd fuck you up for this, for everything! And believe me when I say I'd do it with a fucking smile on my face!"

"Look out, Yuri," Marat squeaked with his own sickening grin. "Little Polcian will attack you!"

"I am so scared!" the tiger cried mockingly, paws held out in front of him theatrically.

Nathan's terrible growl weakened into a dishearten groan. "Fuck you."

"What will you do, bite ankle? I could kick you across this room, break every bone in your body if I so wished! You frighten me almost as much as this stumbling, traitor wolf."

He gripped his fists tighter, hating his stature almost as much as he hated the trio sneering down at him. Still, all through his anger and despair, he couldn't escape one hurtful, unpleasant truth. 'IfI was their size... none of this would have happened to begin with.'

"-Ey.-" Yuri turned to his friends, gesturing back to their former position behind the workbench. "-Prodolzhat.-" Both Marat and Bogdan smirked in response, quickly padding out of sight to resume their noisy, floor-shaking demolition of Alexei's work and livelihood. Yet more clouds of wood dust wisped up from behind the bench, floating through the air and falling to add to the countless piles already deposited by the destruction. "It is good that you are here," Yuri scoffed, looming like a tower block over Nathan while his striped tail whipped and cracked behind him. "You can watch us as we take away your wolf's whole life... just like your kind have done to so many of us!" Nathan followed him as he too turned to pace away, stopping at the end of the walkway. He watched Yuri move to the opposite side of the room to his gang, heading straight for a hulking circular sander sat close to the now disorganised heap of lumber. "We... we've called the police, you know," Nathan whined, tail tucking as anger reverted back to distress. "All this noise... I'm sure the neighbours will have, too. You'll not get away--" "You think I care!?" Yuri snarled, barely breaking his stride. "They are useless. We will be gone before they are even close. This is what happens when government focus their money on the rest of the city, on Polcians. This is just another price to pay for it." He placed both paws upon the sander upon reaching it, giving it a quick once over. "Bogdan, Marat!"

The other two strode over to join the tiger with grins of delight, but not before Marat threw a cracked, wooden chair leg to the ground. It landed with a thump right in front of Nathan, forcing him to flinch back to avoid the impact as it skittered on by.

With a collective groan, the trio began to heave at the bulky machine, looking to tip it in much the same fashion as they did the nearby table saw. Nathan watched on meanwhile with a muddle of awe and terror, the floor juddering with each failure by the gang to send the enormous sander all the way over.

"When we are finished with this," Yuri rumbled, "we will come to join you and your bitch wolf. If you think we are done with you, you have surprise coming."

"You... bastards!" Nathan's voice cracked even further, his grief and concern for both Alexei and himself overwhelming. He rushed back into the walkway to tend to his wolf, tears beginning to pour down his cheeks. "Alex, wake up, now! We need to get out of here." He pounded with even greater urgency at the tip of Alexei's nose, glaring at the flash of reddened fur while praying inwardly for him to open his eyes. "Come on, you're okay... Get up... Please."

Nathan tried over and over again to resuscitate him, distress building with every second that passed without response. After a half-minute, he resigned himself to simply cuddling up against the warmth of Alexei's fur, nuzzling at his muzzle. "This is all my fault... I'm so sorry."

A deafening crash won from Nathan a petrified wail, the quaking ground prompting him to hug closer to his wolf. Sneer-inducing, victorious laughter followed, drawing the husky back out from the walkway a short time after.

He peered out from behind the workbench to find the huge sander down on its side. Yuri and his friends meanwhile congratulated themselves, literally patting each other on the back with smug, blood-boiling grins. Nathan wanted to call them out, bombard them with all the names under the sun and to hell with the consequences. If not for what followed, he likely would have.

A loud crackling started from the wall beside the felled machinery, gaining in volume and stealing his attention from the gang. To his horror, he spied the electric socket that housed the sander's plug hanging precariously loose. It became instantly obvious that giant machine's fall came not only with enough force to shake the ground, but also to yank both its power cable and the fixture receiving it right out of the workshop's back wall.

The exposed wires fizzed and flashed like a perilous strobe, a loud pop bringing with it frightening shower of sparks. Before Nathan could blink, the wood dust coating the floor below burst into a bright, dancing flame. "Oh, my gods!"