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CHAPTER FOUR

NED

After the excitement of the day Ned met Garrett, what with the Fincher homicide and all, the next day was decidedly dull. Nothing had been turned up about the murder, and Carlos Sanchez was a virtual recluse, refusing to speak with anyone. Ned had been able to get the Harman case assigned to Milo and Jason, and yes, he had made Scarlett green with envy when he'd told her he was going on a date with Garrett Dyckert, of all people, but otherwise...nothing.

The next day was somewhat busier at the station. Arkady finally managed to get Sanchez to come out of his house long enough to talk, but the fennec had nothing of interest to say. "Neither he nor Fincher had any enemies that he was aware of, nor had they received death threats or any other such sign of the approaching danger," the fox explained, sighing. "Not that I really expected the case to be solved that easily, but it was still something to look into."

"Yes" Lennox muttered impatiently, glancing around to the other officers. "Listen up, everyone. Captain Williston just called..." she sighed. "The Mayor is giving a new press release, something to do with fighting organised crime. The entire station is supposed to watch."

Ned had not met the Mayor, David Wong, personally, but knew the grey-furred wolf to be a zealous young fellow, given to longwinded speeches which began passionately but soon delved into very long, very dull monologues. He was also known for his habit of flitting from one new cause to another, without ever having satisfactorily dealt with the last. So perhaps now he had turned his attention towards organised crime.

"If the good mayor wants to fight organised crime, I'll give him my gun" Montoya said, elbowing Diego.

Scarlett frowned. "Organised crime isn't really our area, though. That's Special Investigations Unit business"

Lennox scowled. "No, it isn't our area, but I've never known either the Captain or the Mayor to pass up a chance to waste our time if they could. Just watch him gab when he comes on screen and then get back to work."

After the wolf had returned to her office, Arkady explained why Mayor Wong was bothering to give a speech about organised crime. "It's just political scheming" the fox clarified, straightening his notes from the Sanchez interview. "Gang wars are running rampant lately down in the Underworld, and our city is at a record high for the amount of armed robberies and smuggling going on."

"The drug cartels?" Milo asked hesitantly. The jackal was SF Metro's youngest rookie cop, and tended to keep pretty quiet.

His partner, the cougar Jason, scoffed. "This isn't Columbia."

Milo's ears dropped, but Arkady shook his head. "No, but Milo's right that drugs are part of it. But just a piece of the pie, really. There's lots of gangs or crime organisations on the rise recently - the Black Panthers, the Decimators, the Chinese Triad, the Norteños. At least a dozen big groups are in operation right now. And that's not counting the big-name crime lords who control the gangs, or who work independently. Our job in Homicide is mainly to handle non-gang related deaths, but we do need to keep informed on organised crime as well so we can assist with delivering justice to the killers therein."

"I heard something about a new crime lord who's just appeared?" Scarlett questioned. "A woman."

Arkady flicked ah ear, disconcerted. "Medea, she calls herself. No clue what her species is, but I don't think she can be taken seriously. To be honest we don't know if she even exists. So far all we've heard is rumours."

They talked a few more minutes after that, then quieted when Arkady turned on the office's television. The press release had already started, and Mayor Wong - the youngest mayor in San Fernando's history - was already speaking into a microphone in front of a crowd of reporters, an ordinary grey wolf in a suit and tie. The big Doberman standing to his left was none other than Captain George Williston, the Chief of Police. Rumour had it that the Mayor and Captain Williston were thick as thieves, and addressing the crowd, they certainly gave off the appearance of being allies.

The speech wasn't really very impressive. Mostly it consisted of the Mayor elaborating on how much he detested mafia and other such organisations, and that he was taking a stand against organised crime. "We'll have the streets cleaned up by the end of summer" he promised, glancing at Captain Williston. There was a lot of clapping and flashing of cameras; the Captain said a word or two, and the pair disappeared off of the pulpit.

After that the day had gone without further incident. The crime lab had released a report stating that they had found no evidence that anyone had ever been in Conrad Fincher's bedroom save himself and his husband. It had also been confirmed that the bullet which had killed him had been from Fincher's own gun, which had yet to be found - probably the killer had taken it.

Garrett had called that morning, asking him to meet at a certain spot on the beach. That was somewhat surprising, true - most new dates asked to meet at a restaurant or a movie, but then again, Garrett was proving to be somewhat unpredictable. A beach date probably wasn't meant to be very formal, but nonetheless, Ned made sure to wear a nice shirt and newer jeans, just to be on the safe side. Not to be conspicuous - but the only person who even noticed, or commented at least, was Jason, and that was perhaps not surprising. "Where are you going all shined up?" the cougar asked slyly as Ned walked out to the Ford. He was leaning against the outside of the building, smoking a cigarette, and blowing the smoke carelessly in Ned's direction.

Jason had disliked Ned from the moment they'd met. But that gave the impression that he disliked Ned personally, which wasn't exactly true. It was just that Jason was convinced that the police force had a canine bias, and that as a feline, he was thought to be inferior somehow. Which was simply put, ridiculous. Yes, the Homicide division was mostly canine, but that was because canine noses were so adept at discovering bodies or the scents of suspects, not because of some kind of speciesist bias. After all, there were plenty of feline street cops, or in Narcotics, and besides, it wasn't like Jason was the only feline in Homicide - there was Montoya. Then again, the good-natured jaguar was Jason's virtual opposite, and Jason didn't seem to like him much either.

Because of Jason's unpleasant attitude, Ned didn't particularly like him either, but really, no one did, not if they had to admit it. Besides being the only member of Homicide with a habit of complaining and unfriendly behaviour, he was also the only chain smoker, and after a while, the insensitive way he'd come in with his fur reeking of nicotine dulled any friendliness the team might have felt towards him.

That was why Ned just shrugged off the cougar's question. "Out to have a hell of a better evening than you're having" he flicked his tail, watching Jason's face turn sour as he turned his back on the other rookie and trotted out to his car. Traffic might be tight, so best to get heading in the direction of the particular beach approach at which Garrett had asked him to meet.

Garrett was already at the beach when Ned arrived.

"Hey, Ned" the coyote called, getting out of a bright yellow Ford Mustang convertible. An expensive car, Ned observed, but Garrett was an actor after all. "I brought Chinese" he continued, grabbing a cardboard bag out of the car.

"That sounds good to me" Ned said.

Garrett grinned. "Then let's walk down and sit on the sand. This beach is usually pretty empty this time of day."

Ned followed him down a path through some dunes, and indeed, the coyote was right when he said that the beach was best in the evening; he could spot only perhaps half a dozen people, and most of them were some distance away. They'd have the place all to themselves. And that meant that they'd have privacy, for whatever that was worth. He glanced down the beach again, towards the direction of the other strollers. San Fernando was an extremely open minded place insomuch as gay folks were concerned, but he still wasn't sure if he was comfortable - stop it, Ned. He wasn't at the office with Arkady and Diego and Montoya, and worst of all, Jason, watching. He could be himself, enjoy a date with a guy, without having to hide.

And this did seem to be a nice beach; waves lapping gently against sand, lowering sun brilliant upon the water, the golden gate bridge visible in the distance. Far out on the water some sort of container ship was passing, leaving a long trail of white water in its wake. The air smelled pleasantly of salty seawater, and somewhere a gull was screeching. Altogether, not a bad place to spend an evening. When Garrett had first mentioned his intentions to meet on a beach, Ned had wondered for a few brief moments of suspicion whether the coyote intended to take him to one of San Fernando's gay nude beaches, places which, while perhaps nice in fantasies, were distinctly less so in reality. But then he had shaken his head. Garrett didn't seem like the kind of person who'd be into that sort of thing, and even if he was, he was probably too smart to dare inviting a policewolf to such a place.

"This is as good a spot as any" Garrett was saying, causing Ned to turn around from where he'd been staring at the bay. Garrett had laid a tablecloth of some sort on the sand and was taking several Chinese takeout boxes out of the cardboard box. "I hope I picked something you like."

Ned sat across from him and read where the box's contents had been written on them in sharpie. Sweet and Sour Chicken, Beef with Snow Peas, Shrimp with Assorted Vegetables - very standard Chinese restaurant fare. "Looks fine to me."

"Good" Garrett said, smiling. He tossed a set of chopsticks on the cloth. "Pick something and dig in." His ears perked. "But first..." he reached back into the box and pulled out a bottle of wine and a rolled up beach towel.

"You brought wine?" Ned said, surprised. "Classy...."

"It's my nature" the coyote told him, unrolling two wine glasses from the towel. "And anyway, it's more romantic than beer."

"Oh, so you're a romantic?" He took the glass of wine Garrett handed him. "Aren't you full of secrets?"

"I'm the master of secrecy" Garrett smirked grandly, sipping his wine. "But we had better start eating or the food will get cold. After which I'd like to learn a bit more about you."

Ned couldn't argue with that, so he took the cartoon of Beef with Snow Peas. Garrett had not provided any utensils beyond the chopsticks, but he managed to spear the pieces of meat and peas with them, if somewhat sloppily. Garrett seemed to have less trouble with them, but he probably had more practice.

The beach atmosphere, with the lowering sun and the scent of the bay, was strangely relaxing. "I must admit, when you asked me on a date, this wasn't what I had pictured" Ned remarked at length. "But far be it by me to complain."

Garrett shrugged, putting down his chopsticks. "I dislike clichés, and first dates are full of them. You know, go to a restaurant, then a movie, and so on. I like to do things my own way."

"Really. So does that go for acting, too?" Ned asked. Garrett had moved so they were more or less sitting next to each other, watching the bay.

"Maybe?" He waved a paw. "I have to tell you, I haven't really done that much acting, to be honest. My role in Carmen Barbosa is my first big role....otherwise I've just played minor one-episode characters in other shows."

"That's no matter" Ned assured him. "I don't date guys based on how many stars they have on the walk of fame."

Garrett grinned. "Good to know. So, Ned. You're a policewolf, but a rookie?"

"In the Homicide division, yes. I haven't got my detective shield yet" he explained.

"Homicide? Are you working on Conrad Fincher's murder, then?"

Ned found himself grinning like a praised pup. "Yes...actually I've been assigned to it."

"Really?" Garrett's tail wagged, thumping against the tablecloth. "Dude, that's totally awesome! Should be good for your career."

"Did you know Fincher?"

The coyote shook his head. "Oh no, never met the man. I think the closest we ever were was being at Comic Con at the same time last year." He smiled apologetically. "Minor roles, remember. My connections in Hollywood only go so far."

"So why are you here, then, rather than in LA?"

"I live here" Garrett explained. "I only go to LA when I need too. I used to go to the University here."

"Studying acting?"

"No, Creative Writing, actually. I've written two novels."

That was interesting. There was definitely more to this coyote than met the eye. "So you're a writer and an actor! I'm surprised you're still single..."

It was a cliché sort of thing to say, but Garrett seemed pleased by the compliment anyway judging by the way his tail started wagging again. "Just haven't found the right person yet" he laughed. "Working on that..."

"I thought maybe you were Miss Rogan's boyfriend" Ned said. Garrett and Olympia had given the impression of being very....close, if that was the right word, when they had been at the station.

"Olympia? No, she's my housemate, and my best friend, but not a girlfriend" Garrett told him. "I roomed when her when I went to college here and we really hit it off."

Oh. Well, what was he expecting, some long story about their rampant love affair? "I'm sorry for all the questions" he apologised. "I just like to know who I'm going out with."

Garrett waved a paw indifferently. "Don't worry about it. Remember, this is extremely unlike me....I've never dated anyone before who I wasn't already good friends with."

"I'm not sure that's much of a concern with me" Ned flicked an ear. "I'm not an overly interesting guy."

"Shouldn't I judge that?"

Ned considered that. The setting sun was lighting up Garrett's golden fur, lighting up the softer tones on his lower muzzle and the darker shades farther up by his ears. It'd probably do so even more if he wasn't still wearing the leather jacket. "Oh, maybe." He allowed finally, scratching absently at one of his ears. "I mean I'm just...you talk about secrets, but I'm a pretty straightforward guy."

"How so?"

"I'm a policewolf; I'm single and I live alone, I spend most of my time working."

"Friends? Family?"

"Only friends from work. I go out with them sometimes. As for family - just my Mom, in Montana, and some cousins in Michigan."

Garrett still looked incredulous. "Everyone has secrets, Ned. Not that you have to share them, but you don't seem like a boring guy."

"I dislike secrets" Ned said, frowning. "The last time I tried to keep one....it almost destroyed me, inside. Never again."

"Well....I can live with that, I guess" Garrett shrugged, but he still looked doubtful, or at least Ned thought he did. He didn't pry about the secret, though, not that Ned would have minded mentioning his teenage struggles with coming to accept that he was gay.

He finished the last of his wine glass and set it on the tablecloth. "So tell me about your novel-writing" he asked. "I'm sure you have more to say about that besides just that you've written two novels."

And he did. Turned out both of his novels, one a fantasy, the other a historical fiction, had both been bestsellers - Ned had actually heard of one before, although he hadn't known who'd written it. And that led to discussion of their respective reading habits - they both preferred to read novels, including some of the same authors. From there the conversation wandered to television - while Ned preferred movies, Garrett liked television dramas best, perhaps not surprising since he acted in them. Ned also learned that Garrett had family, although they did not live in California.

They were wrapping up a delightful conversation on the subject of the worst book-to-movie adoptions, when Ned noticed belatedly that the sun was mostly out of sight. Somehow they'd managed to turn what (he thought) was supposed to be a quick date into a lengthy evening; not that that was a bad thing. His first impression of an arrogant, overconfident guy aside, the coyote had proved to be a genuinely interesting person, and his confidence wasn't really in the arrogant, better-than-the-rest-of-you attitude some celebrities gained with time, but rather a self-assurance that in the long run probably wasn't necessarily a bad character trait.

That, and he was cute, especially when his big coyote ears dropped when Ned told him so. "This has been....a very nice evening" he said, taking Ned's paw in his. "I was so nervous yesterday - where I'm from, a coyote who asks a wolf on a date is liable to get laughed at, or worse."

Ned nodded. "Same in Montana. But this isn't one of those states."

"No, far from it" Garrett agreed, rolling up the now empty tablecloth. Together they walked up to the dunes.

"But yes, I enjoyed this too" Ned continued, not wanting the coyote to think he hadn't. "I've never been on a first date quite like this....we should do it again."

Garrett turned around at the edge of the parking lot. "Yes, I should very much like to see you again, Ned Parker" he said, and he reached to kiss the wolf softly on the cheek, the way a guy would with his girlfriend as he drops her off on her parent's porch. It was a cute gesture, and Ned found himself giving Garrett a hug. The coyote was slenderer than he was, and not as tall, although the big ears almost made up for that.

"Call me tomorrow?" They released each other, Ned feeling more confident.

Garrett grinned. "Certainly, stud!" This last word, coupled with the way his tail swished above his butt as he walked off, humming softly, to where his convertible was parked made Ned's jeans feel somewhat tighter. He wondered what Garrett was like in bed.

Ok, it was a little early to be thinking those thoughts. Not that doing so was necessarily bad, but Ned had never had a one night stand, nor did he plan to. That probably made him an extreme rarity among twenty-five year old American males, but still. Sex was fantastic, but only within the context of relationships, and so could wait.

He waved to Garrett as the yellow Mustang, the top still down, backed out of its parking space and pulled away. The parking lot was getting pretty dark (it wasn't lit up) and only one other vehicle remained, a van, from which a couple guys were pulling what appeared to be surfboards.

His mind was still on Garrett as he drove away from the beach, blinking from the headlights of some jerk driving a white car, which passed him driving at least twenty miles over the speed limit, if he had to guess. Garrett had handled this first date, so he'd have to do the next one - maybe pick a different place to eat. Scarlett might have a good idea. At any rate, he had to take some initiative here. In his earlier relationships, he'd always taken the leading role. Of course, thinking that just reminded him of his father. "Be an alpha" Jeffrey had said. "You're a wolf, act like one. I didn't raise my pup to be somebody's omega bitch." That had been after Ned had told his father that no; he wouldn't be asking Elmira Slade to prom, because he didn't like girls, not in that way. "I like cock" was what he'd actually said, in a rare moment of defiance, but the way his father had started at him, like a stranger, was actually worse than it would have been if he'd just yelled.

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm still your alpha" he muttered sarcastically, as if his father was sitting across from him like he had ten years ago when Ned was learning to drive a stick-shift. He'd loved those drives, just dad and son enjoying each other's company, before his he'd told his father he was gay; before their relationship had essentially ended.

Why think about him now, anyway? Jeffrey Parker had been dead and buried for over five years, and Ned had more important people to think about, namely Garrett and the Fincher case, the one that was going to win him his detective shield. "See, Dad, I'm doing it" he said aloud, glaring at a traffic light, and extending his middle finger at the empty passenger seat. "I fuck guys and I'm still going to be a big-time cop. And not just in some tiny city like Helena." It was a childish thing to say, but - who cared. No one was listening anyway. He'd let his alpha personality come out from the recesses which his father had driven it to, and show Garrett that he could make the first move too - that was often one of the traits non-wolves were looking for, when they dated a wolf. But that was ok; Ned liked being in charge, when at his own pace. Maybe someday, when Captain Williston had finally retired (no time was too soon enough) and Lennox had replaced him as Captain, and Arkady had replaced her as Lieutenant; then maybe he could get Arkady's place as Sergeant. It was also possible he might become Lieutenant himself; Arkady was older than Lennox and yet she had the higher-ranking position, so perhaps he just didn't want it. Lieutenant Ned Parker - he chuckled.

It was nice to dream anyway.