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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

NED

"You have not yet had me arrested" the wolf observed, calmly.

They were moving slowly with the other dancers, now, and Ned found to his annoyance that she seemed to know the dance better than he did. He had never counted himself as among those who were talented at dancing, but the idea of being bettered at anything by this femme fatale was...distasteful, to say the least. Nonetheless, he focused on putting his paws in the right place, swishing his tail very slowly to the beat, and at judging Olympia's response.

The way she said it.... "You already knew" he realised, watching the cool unflinching gaze.

The wolf flicked her ears, unconcerned. "I make it my business to know everything which occurs in the Underworld" she said simply. A passing bear couple glanced at them, the husband's eyes envious. If you only knew, buddy, Ned thought.

He gave a low sigh. "I suppose I shouldn't bother trying to contact Roscoe Burns again, then."

Her expression was cold, calculating, and totally in control. "Mr Burns is feeding the fishes at the bottom of the bay. Just the same as every other fool who's ever tried to cross me."

Was that a warning? Ned checked for hostility, and saw none. Everything about this wolf was a picture of total balance, from the way her ears rarely moved, tail erect and even, eyes ever penetrating and searching. You should have been an actress, he thought. "I am next?"

"No. You do not intend to reveal my identity to your associates, so you are not a threat."

"Don't be so certain" he growled, hating the way this woman toyed with him.

"I am certain" she whispered. "You do not want to risk hurting Garrett, which is wise. I do not wish that either, so we are aligned to the same desire."

"Oh," he muttered sardonically, "so you do care about something other than your greed."

Her arm around him tightened. "Do not doubt that I care, Ned. There are few in this world that I love, but those that I do - your coyote, and my family - I would do anything to protect."

Ned snorted. "Your crime family. Probably all crooked."

"No!" she insisted. "My brother, Jeremy, is a good person. He's studying in New York to become a neurosurgeon, and he's going to save lives. He must never know....my other life."

It was the first time she'd really shown a crack in her composure, and that, Ned realised, was proof Olympia did care, that she was a person beyond her crime lord persona.

"So we have a deal?" her strange eyes peered at him intently.

"I'm not going to report what I discovered" he whispered, ears low. "But if you let Garrett get hurt by this..."

She smiled thinly. "Do not worry about your coyote. He can handle himself." She was looking over his shoulder. "Someone else wishes to speak with you. Make certain she is as wise in her choices as you." She gave Ned a direct look, and then, shockingly, leaned in and kissed him meaningfully on the muzzle. "Remember what has passed here" she whispered, and then she was gone in a flash of white fur and red gown.

Ned had barely a moment to comprehend that Olympia had concurrently kissed him and given him a warning before he spun to face a startled Scarlett, who was standing alone at the edge of the dancefloor. It took him three strides to reach her. "I think we'd better talk" he murmured lowly.

"Nolan went to get me another drink" she explained, "and I won't ask about the kiss." He took her paw and led her back among the dancers, waiting until they were both in tune with the dancing before explaining.

No reason to sugar-coat it. "Olympia knows" he said. "She knows, and she killed that informant to silence him."

Scarlett ears drooped and she gave a tiny gasp. "She killed him? What about you? Does she know....?"

He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed Scarlett's emotion but did not see anything suspicious. "She knows that you and I know who she is, but - and she could be lying - she says she's not going to do anything about it." He paused. "She did warn...she did tell me to warn you not to do anything foolish."

She swallowed, ears twitching. "Fuck.....is that all she said?"

"Yes, but she's got every important man around here wound about her finger. Captain Williston, the Mayor, Judge Clay, DA Douglas - everyone. I don't know what her goal is, but she's winning."

"Maybe right now she's just being Olympia Rogan?" the coyote suggested. "I mean, this may just be typical behaviour for her, with parents like that. She's a spoiled aristocrat who's lived among high society all her life. Events of this sort are probably something she has a lot of experience with."

That actually could be it. Was he reading too much into Olympia's presence and charm? "You're probably right...."

Scarlett narrowed her eyes, looking off to where Olympia had already reassembled her group of followers. "Sometimes I wish I was as pretty as she is."

"Don't" he told her, firmly. "Olympia is evil. Her beauty is on the outside only, but you are not an unattractive woman, and more importantly, you have a good heart. Which is something Olympia will never have."

The coyote's ears were tilted down again, but more from enjoying the compliment, he thought, than from actually being envious of Olympia's popularity. "Oh Ned, you really are the best partner" she remarked. "Although I must admit you're kind of a lousy excuse for a gay best friend."

"Huh?" Ned blinked, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, quirking his ears curiously.

"Aren't gay guys supposed to be excellent dancers?" the coyote asked, smirking. "You've stepped on my paws three times in the last five minutes."

Ned's tail gave a nervous wag. "Um, sorry? But you know me."

"Do I?"

"There's only one aspect of the gay stereotype that applies to me: I like to fuck dudes. Other than that? Totally straight."

She snickered. "Which is why I'm going to ditch you for my super-amazing dancer straight-wolf boyfriend" the coyote said, steering Ned towards the edge of the dancefloor.

After Nolan had reclaimed his girlfriend from Garrett, Ned watched the wolf and coyote dance for a minute before deciding it was time to recollect his own date.

He found the coyote amongst a gathering of mostly lawyers, Rainer Peck and P Worthington Roswell and Gregory Poole and JJ Maxwell and District Attorney Douglas. Garrett was talking with the DA, a Great Dane in a dark grey suit, although Ned couldn't imagine what common interests they might have. The district attorney was a greedy, shifty-eyed man with a nefarious reputation he'd earned by seducing pretty young law interns or court bailiffs; not someone likely to find common interest with a young bisexual actor.

"Oh, my show?" Garrett said, quirking an ear backwards to acknowledge Ned's presence. "Carmen Barbosa is a modern-day retelling of the Indiana Jones movies of the 80s, except for that they replaced the male wolf Jones with a female coyote heroine, Carmen Barbosa."

Which had annoyed some wolf fans, Ned remembered. "Hey, Garrett, can I have a word?" he ventured, eyeing the podium, where Mayor Wong and some of his cronies were gathering.

Garrett murmured something to the Dane and then he and Ned slipped away into the crowd, back in the direction of the dancefloor. The buzz of conversation was like the hum of swarming bees, overpowering, and the haze of a thousand different personal scents felt rather overwhelming, so Ned steered the coyote back towards the table where the wine was being served; not particularly difficult once he saw what Ned had in mind. The supply of wine was dwindling, and a tipsy lynx was leaning over the table so much that some of the longer strands of her mane were dangling in the wineglasses, but Ned managed to grab two glasses.

"I saw you dancing with Olympia" Garrett said. "I didn't realise you were into-"

"I wasn't" Ned retorted. "We were just having a word."

"About something fascinating, I have no doubt" the coyote smirked. "With all this wine, I'm surprised you aren't lightening up yet."

If you knew that Olympia was a gangster, I doubt you would be lightening up either, he thought, but since Garrett seemed happy, he bit back the negative thoughts and instead observed "You seem to be enjoying yourself."

Garrett nodded, slipping an arm around Ned's waist. "Oh yes, certainly....although I haven't seen enough of you. Especially seeing you dancing with not one but two attractive women. Conversing about indictments and legislature is all fine and dandy, but sometimes I crave something a little more...."

Oh no, Ned thought, he's going to do something scandalous. Sure enough, he felt the coyote's paw slip down to the base of his tail, scrunching up the fur, and scratching his fingers along the base.

Ned shivered a little, just because having the base of his tail scratched was a particular secret pleasure of his, but he gave the coyote a dark look. "I'm not sure that's appropriate ballroom behaviour."

"Who says we have to be appropriate?" Garrett argued, and to Ned's mutual horror and delight, he released the wolf's tail and instead began massaging his butt with the same paw, making Ned give a tiny growl of approval.

"You can't seduce me here" he growled lowly, but did not pull away. His boyfriend's tender fingers caressing his ass made him want to look for some dark room where they could sneak away together for a few moments - damn. Just thinking about bending the slender sandy-furred canid over was making his cock hard, and the tux he was wearing was very well fitted; it would not do to be sporting a hard-on at a formal gathering.

He settled this internal debate by grabbing Garrett's paw and pulling him towards the dancefloor. He might not be able to fuck Garrett at a ball, but he could sure as hell dance with him. After all, this was 2014 San Fernando; even a male-male couple on a dancefloor would be acceptable to most. "Dancing?" the coyote allowed Ned to place a paw on his shoulder. "I didn't know you were the type. But far be it by me to stop you, Mr Romantic."

"I had to find some way to get your paws off my ass" Ned muttered, carefully to avoid stepping on Garrett's feet.

Garrett smirked. The scent of wine was heavy on his breath; that, Ned felt, was probably to blame for this latest stream of groping. "But you have such a nice ass, stud. Wolves generally do. Also nice, bushy tails that you just want to grab."

Ned felt that Garrett was likely to grab his tail again soon, so he put his ears back and narrowed his eyes in his best alpha-male glare. "Not right now, yote. Remember what happened last time I humped you in a public place."

"Yes, it was very hot" Garrett said, but he did not move his paws.

Dancing with Garrett gave Ned the chance to consider the implications of Olympia's honest words. She apparently had genuinely come here just as part of her...well, her Olympia Rogan persona, the dignified daughter of a distinguished British diplomat, rather than as Xang Lan. The question was, who was she on the inside? Ned was vaguely aware of the Jekyll and Hyde concept, that one person could be two people at the same time. Was that the case here? If not, who did Olympia really identify as - Olympia, or Xang Lan? If she had told the truth, she did honestly care about her adoptive family and about Garrett, and so perhaps to her the Chinese Triad were just a means to an end - but then again, one must not take too seriously the words of a criminal.

Olympia had laid her warning clear, but she seemed not to mean Ned harm - no, wait, that was a stupid idea. She had killed Roscoe Burns without any apparent guilt, just a chessman - a pawn - removed from the board. Ned would be a more important piece, a rook maybe, because he was Garrett's boyfriend, and Olympia did not want to hurt Garrett. But even a rook must sometimes be sacrificed for the overall success of the game, and Olympia was obviously a skilled and ruthless player.

The wolf was puzzling over these speculations when Garrett tapped him on the shoulder, the smirk fading. "Don't look, but isn't that marten the same writer who's been doing the sketchy articles?"

Ned's tail instantly ceased its casual swishing. "Damn. Holly Vaughn?"

It was Holly. The marten was not dressed in pink - this time in a blue suit similar to the one she'd worn to Conrad Fincher's aborted funeral - but the camera was just the same, and it was pointed directly at Ned and Garrett.

Ned gave Garrett a "let me handle this" look and brushed past several dancing couples. "Miss Vaughn" he murmured icily in his best impression of Severus Snape. "Might I ask why you're photographing me?"

There was the same patronising smile he remembered, the way her short muzzle turned downward, eyes flashing up. "Oh, Officer Parker," her voice oozed with disdainful charm, "I thought that would be awkward for a big bad policewolf like you! Do you really expect me to pass up a chance for FABULOUS to report that bisexual actor Garrett Dyckert is screwing a hunky male policewolf?" She cocked her head, eyes wide and questioning.

Garrett's usual smile had vanished, and Ned tightened his hold the coyote's paw. "That is none of your business" he said coldly. "What I find even more distasteful though is your slanderous articles about the recent murders."

Oh God, it was maddeningly the way this marten spoke and acted, like an arrogant adult speaking to a small pup. "But Officer Parker, I simply must report your division's ineptitude to the public! Don't you think they deserve to know how dreadfully you're failing your duty to protect San Fernando's gay citizens?"

Ned felt his lips raising to bare his fangs. "Have you no respect? We are-"

"Screwing your boyfriends in the middle of the office?" said Holly Vaughn, grinning malevolently. "Yes, I know all about that. But don't worry, wolfy. I won't tell." She leaned closer. "Yet."

"Let's go, Ned" Garrett whispered, his voice entirely devoid of the charm with which he'd spoken earlier. Glancing at his boyfriend, Ned had never seen the coyote so unnerved; his tail all bushed up, his ears flat, and eyes flaring. "We don't have time for bitches who can write nothing but tabloid trash."

The only indication that Holly Vaughn was bothered by this slight was the way her little ears gave the slightest of twitches. "Be that way, then" she said, smiling with her teeth this time. "But remember. San Fernando wants to hear about this case. Maybe even about the possibility that..." she leaned in close again "...SF Metro is deliberately not catching the Prophet because they don't want to help fags."

"You know that isn't true" Ned hissed. A couple of other guests had noticed the hostile tone of his voice and had moved away from the three of them.

"Oh, of course" said Holly Vaughn honestly. "But the public doesn't. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen." She flashed her condescending smile and flaunted off through the crowd, looking for some other poor soul to terrorise, probably. As Ned glared after her, feeling Garrett's paw almost trembling in his, he tried to think of how to describe the marten. Holly Vaughn, rudest woman in all of San Fernando. No, that probably wasn't enough. The marten was more than just rude; she went out of her way to make trouble for people, seemingly merely for her own enjoyment. How does one deal with such a person?

Abruptly, the buzz of conversation dwindled, and Ned became aware that one of the Mayor's staff members had taken a microphone. He glanced at Garrett, who was still staring after Holly Vaughn. "Let's get closer" he whispered, and they pushed their way through various guests until they could get a better view of the stage. The band had ceased their music, and the announcer raccoon was holding up a paw for silence. "Ladies and Gentlemen, at last the time has come for our distinguished Mayor, Mr David Wong, to speak to you. Before he takes the stand, however, we would like to draw your attention to the special faces present on this fine evening:" at this point he gestured to a varied group of VIPs who'd gathered on chairs on the stage - Governor Greg Feldman, a greying cougar who looked merely tired; Senator Lindsey McCracken, the middle-aged otter who represented this part of California in the American Senate; and a few of San Fernando's leaders - Judge Clay, DA Douglas, Captain Williston, and City Commissioner Sorenson.

Odd, Ned thought, as the Mayor himself walked up to the podium. The Mayor had organised this event as a fundraiser in honour of SF Metro and its efforts to fight crime, and yet of the somebodies being spotlighted, only one of them was actually part of SF Metro, and that dog, Captain Williston, rarely actually visited crime scenes or did investigations himself. Politicians were like that, Ned thought - they spent their time writing long legislative documents that were of uncertain meaning, debating over pointless laws, and spending millions so they'd keep their job when election time came around, saying that they did all of this for the good of the people, yet then they expected the public to treat them as celebrities - which they did. He wondered whether this gala was really in honour of the police or if there was some political backrubbing going on - actually, probably there was. Everyone and their mother knew that the Mayor and Captain Williston were buddies with high politician ambitions, and Senator McCracken was a powerful woman in Washington - who didn't come to San Fernando often.

"Honoured guests" the Mayor began, raising his arms over the crowd. "I thank you for joining us tonight in this special even to honour the men and women who keep the streets of San Fernando safe from harm." Actually, that was a silly thing to say, considering how Mafia and gangs were so successful right now, but it sounded nice, anyway.

"I have here on the stage with me our very own Chief of Police - can I hear a round of applause for Captain George Williston?" The Mayor turned and looked expectantly at the big Doberman, who stood and held a paw up to the crowd.

Ned clapped because he was expected to and because Williston was technically his boss, but he noticed that Garrett's paws remained folded across his chest, and that the coyote was gazing at the police captain with that same intent expression which Olympia seemed so prone to. Maybe Williston had been rude to him - but that wasn't likely, considering he'd been so eager to impress Olympia. Speaking of which, where was Olympia? For a moment he worried she was up to some mischief, but he soon spotted the white wolf some distance away.

Williston sat down again and the Mayor smiled and held up a paw to still the applause as behind him, a projector screen blinked on. Now, Ned expected, they would be subjected to another of the Mayor's characteristically long and dull monologues. "Now I'm going to show a little presentation, which I think should illustrate-"