FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

NED

Ned and Scarlett were waiting when Garrett's yellow Mustang pulled into the SF Metro parking lot. At first Ned thought Garrett had come alone, but then he realised that Olympia was in the backseat. She and Garrett were dressed the same as they had the day he'd met them; matching leather jackets and dark sunglasses. Now that he knew who they really were, the clothes seemed more fitting.

Scarlett seemed pretty nervous, with the way her tail kept twitching, but Ned couldn't help feeling good, especially when he saw the happy perk of Garrett's ears when the coyote caught sight of him.

Garrett leaned out the open window as he pulled to a stop. "Ned, you're riding shotgun" he announced. That meant that Scarlett had to ride in the backseat with Olympia. Her tail and ears were low as she got into the car, but there was nothing Ned could do about that, and Olympia was polite and composed as ever.

"So where exactly are we going?" Ned asked, once he was settled into the Mustang's passenger seat. Garrett had whipped the car out of the lot and was driving in the same general direction Ned usually took to get to the coyote's house. The coyote kept glancing over at him and grinning, like he couldn't get enough of Ned, and when the wolf was honest with himself, he felt the same way.

"Down to Chinatown to see a friend of ours" Garrett said, glancing in the mirror. Ned followed his gaze. Scarlett was squished as far to the right side of the car as possible, ears down, tail bushed up, trying not to look at Olympia, who wasn't even looking at her. "I promise, Scarlett, it's perfectly reputable."

The girl coyote gave a snort and didn't answer, but Garrett continued anyway. He wasn't even paying much attention to driving, Ned thought, as he had only one paw on the wheel and kept looking over at Ned or in the back at the two girls. "This friend happens to keep a fine tab on goings on in the Underworld, and he might know the right guys to ask about fancy daggers."

"Sounds swell." Hopefully it wouldn't be some smoky room in a dark, decrepit building, Ned hoped - but Garrett and Olympia were high-class criminals; not common thugs.

The coyote was smirking, and kept flicking his ears towards the backseat, waiting for Scarlett to say something, apparently. "So, Scarlett, have you ever got to ride in a sports car before?"

It was a silly question, but maybe Garrett was just trying to make Scarlett feel more at ease. Ned thought she probably wouldn't answer anyway.

She surprised him by lifting her head. "It doesn't fit you" she muttered. "I would have expected you and..." she flicked an ear at Olympia "to drive a black jeep Cherokee or something like that, with tinted windows and bullet holes in the back."

Garrett laughed. "So stereotypical! I try not to follow stereotypes."

Ned couldn't help scoffing at that. "Avoiding stereotypes? You're doing a pretty poor job of that."

"Oh really?"

Tourist traffic was prevalent today, increasing as they neared Chinatown, and Garrett's careless driving was beginning to make Ned feel nervous. "Just think of what all the stereotypes say about coyotes" he pointed out. "You're supposed to be sly, sneaky, clever, untrustworthy, dishonest..."

Garrett smirked. "Maybe. How about you? If we follow the stereotypes concerning rookie cops in homicide divisions, you should be an awkward, overexcited greenhorn who constantly trips over your own paws trying to impress your superiors. Or at least that's how rookies are portrayed in crime drama shows."

"Actually that's Scarlett, not me" Ned admitted.

"Hey" Scarlett protested. "I'm not _that_bad! That's Milo and Jason you're thinking of."

Ned opened his muzzle to answer, but noticed Garrett's smirk of satisfaction, and realised the coyote had succeeded in getting Scarlett to lighten up just a little. Olympia must have made the same observation, because she turned to the coyote for the first time. "Miss Lewis, I really must insist that you stop looking at me like I'm about to stab you."

Scarlett shivered. "I'm a cop. I'm not supposed to hang out with..."

"Mafia? Villains?" Olympia tipped her sunglasses up. "You must not be aware of how many of your fellows have contacts outside the law."

"Huh?" Garrett made a turn down one of the main streets of Chinatown, weaving through traffic. Scarlett was staring at Olympia now, looking mortified. "You don't mean..."

"A truly honest inspector is as rare as a truly evil villain" Olympia removed her sunglasses, leaning back against the seat. "I've heard of many cases in which an inspector allies with one particular crime organisation to take down another. Your Captain Williston has been doing that for years."

Williston dishonest? Well, it wasn't like Ned hadn't seen that coming. Practically everyone knew that Mayor Wong and the police chief had been using each other to political advantage, so Williston certainly wasn't opposed to playing outside the rules. Besides which, in a city as full of organised crime as San Fernando, it was practically a given that a significant percentage of the police force quite literally belonged to various of the crime lords. Scarlett, though, just swallowed and started fidgeting with her tail again. "Why are you telling me this?"

"So you can put your conscience to rest" Olympia answered quietly.

Scarlett flinched, surprised. "Why would you care?"

"I wish all my colleagues to live from a place of inner peace" the white wolf told her.

The coyote was silent for a moment, as Garrett turned the Mustang onto a side street. "You're not very like what I expected a Mafia leader to be."

"Perhaps you should change your expectations" Olympia unbuckled her seatbelt as Garrett pulled in to the curb. "Or, better yet - live with no expectations at all!"

Garrett had parked the Mustang on the curb in front of a front of tall buildings, most of which had signs labelled only with Chinese characters. The sidewalks were crowded with tourists and scents of soy and rice floated on the breeze as Ned got out of the car.

"This is our destination" Garrett told him, linking his paw with Ned's and waving the other at the establishment in front of them, which appeared to be a restaurant, judging by the tables that were detectable through the large windows. "Yong Fo's Restaurant."

The coyote opened the restaurant door, allowing Olympia and Scarlett to enter first, then taking Ned's paw again as the two males stepped inside. Instantly Ned's nose was assaulted with a torrent of scents, mostly of Chinese food, although the scent of tigers was also ubiquitous. A young woman of that species was standing behind the front register, late teens, Ned thought, and wearing a flower in her mane. Her eyes immediately flicked to Olympia, who said something in Chinese.

The young tigress nodded and left the register, waving for the four to follow, which they did. The restaurant was decorated vaguely similar to Olympia's house; hardwood floors, silk tapestries and Chinese artwork on the walls, potted plants in the corners. It appeared to do relatively good business, judging by the number of tables currently occupied by customers. Three other tigers were waiting tables - another young tigress, a man of around the same age, and an old woman with much grey in her fur. All three had their eyes on Ned and Scarlett, and as the wolf noticed the suspicion in the old tigress's eyes, he realised where they were. Olympia's house wasn't the viper's den, he thought, this is. He'd thought that it was only in the Italian Mafia where the organisation was controlled by a powerful crime family, but as they passed the tigers, he knew that wasn't true; these tigers were the ruling family of the Chinese Triad in San Fernando, and even though Ned and Scarlett were not wearing uniforms, somehow the tigers knew what they were.

When they reached the back of the restaurant, the young tigress said something to Olympia, then turned and went back to the front of the restaurant. Olympia knocked once on a wooden door that stood opposite from the kitchen entry, then entered without waiting for a response.

The room which Ned found himself in was warm and smelled strongly of incense and smoke. Three men were seated at a carved table in the room's centre, eating rice and fish with chopsticks. All three looked up.

Olympia murmured something in Chinese, a greeting by the sound of it, and holding her paws folded in front of her, she bowed slightly to one of the men, an older tiger, who repeated the motion. This tiger stood, and when he did so, Ned was instantly aware that this cat was an enemy to be reckoned with. He was very tall, even for a tiger, and as he stood he held up a paw and released his claws, while thin eyes sized up Olympia's companions. A long pipe rested between his fingers, which were covered with many rings.

Garrett had repeated Olympia's gesture, after which he and Olympia joined the three at the table, across from a tough-looking panda with a scarred face and yet another tiger, this one in his mid-thirties, maybe.

Olympia had turned her penetrating gaze on Ned and Scarlett, both of who had subconsciously allowed their tails to slip between their legs, ears flicking back and forth anxiously. "This is Yong Fo" the white wolf inclined her muzzle towards the older tiger. "He is my mentor and my second-in-command. It is he I have brought you to see."

Ned forced himself to hold out a paw towards the big tiger, who was regarding him with an expression he couldn't read. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, sir" he said.

Yong Fo said nothing for a moment, blowing out smoke from his pipe, then....laughed? "A polite policeman? You have indeed found a rarity, granddaughter." He shook paws with Ned, in a grip that mad the wolf feel like his paws were being crushed to powder. "It has been many years since a policeman has entered this room."

Next to Ned, Scarlett was shaking uncontrollably, eyes darting from Yong Fo to his two companions. "Have no fear, my fight is not with you" Ned told the tiger, reaching into his jacket. "SF Metro is currently pursuing a very deadly killer, and Olympia...Xang Lan...believes you may be of assistance to us."

"Does she now?" Yong Fo droned, the corners of his muzzle turning up into a smile. He scratched an ear thoughtfully with one long claw. "This would be the man your newspapers call 'The Prophet."

"The same." Ned handed him a Ziploc bag, containing the dagger. "A reporter who has been covering the case was murdered with this. We wonder if you may be able to discover who purchased it."

The tiger took the knife from him. Ned had had to go to lengths to retrieve it from the evidence room - if he was caught with it by another officer, there would be hell to pay. As Yong Fo examined the dagger, turning it to expose the intricate carving on the handle, Ned uneasily glanced to Garrett, who gave him a thin smile, apparently from an desire to put his nervousness at ease.

"What a fine article" Yong Fo breathed, setting it on the table.

"Can you discover its origin?" Ned asked. Make your voice sound strong; that's what these kind of people value.

"....I might" the tiger tapped his claws on the table, so that Ned realise he actually did not have them extended; they were so long that they were visible even when not extended. "...For a price."

Ned had anticipated this, so he immediately answered "Which is?"

"You are not a powerful man, so I will not ask that you cease your investigations into our dealings" Yong Fo murmured. "But let me tell you this: I hear whispers in my ears that your Captain Williston has declared a desire to remove us from this city."

"He has" Ned admitted. "Although we are otherwise occupied with trying to catch this killer."

Yong Fo smiled. "Exactly!" he lifted a finger. "There is a proverb: 'he who chases two rabbits catches neither.' You would do well to remember that."

"What do you want?" Ned repeated. Technically, the tiger was right; but he did not want to discuss that here, not with Olympia, Garrett, and the two other Triad members watching him, all waiting for the right answer.

"I want you to report to Xang Lan any information you may feel useful to us concerning your Captain's intentions" the tiger growled. He pronounced Olympia's other name in the Chinese fashion, "X" being pronounced with an "sh" sound. "Along with any other information we request. You are now our informant within SF Metro."

Scarlett's outburst was so unexpected that even Yong Fo looked surprised. "I'm not a crook" she snarled, baring her fangs at the mafia.

Ned tensed, waiting for one of the Triad guys to pull a knife or a gun, but Yong Fo just smiled. One of his fangs had been replaced with a gold tooth, which shown in the light. "You would be wise to think twice about that, young coyote" the tiger advised, looking also at Ned. "You just became one."

"You just became one?" Scarlett repeated, later when they were back in Garrett's Mustang, driving away from the restaurant that Ned now knew to be a front for the Chinese Triad's headquarters. "He lied. I will never be a crook."

Ned didn't like that concept himself, but when he glanced at Garrett, the coyote nodded. "That would depend on your definition of crook, Scarlett. I will never pressure you or Ned to step outside the law, but I do intend that you keep Olympia and I informed on SF Metro's investigation of...our business."

Scarlett just looked more miserable than ever at that, so Ned waved a paw at Garrett, trying to shush the coyote into refraining from making any further comments. "Scarlett," he said, "just remember we did what we did in the goal of stopping the Prophet. Not because we want to be criminals."

From the way Olympia was looking at him in the mirror, she was probably thinking about making some postmodernist comment about how Ned or Scarlett should stop judging things as purely good or evil, but she never said anything, which was probably a good thing considering how shaken Scarlett was.

He had hoped that reminding Scarlett that there were good intentions behind their actions would calm her nerves, and thankfully, that did seem to be the case, although after Garrett had dropped the two cops off at SF Metro, Scarlett still seemed a little twitchy. It didn't help that that very afternoon, Captain Williston came in angrily complaining about how Mayor Wong was getting impatient with him, both since the Prophet hadn't been caught yet and because a small bank on the city outskirts had been hit by a team believed to have been led by Medea, who had otherwise been unheard of since the night of the gala. The Captain was insistent that his detectives had better make some headway soon, or there would be hell to pay.

Fortunately, Ned was able to return the dagger to the evidence lab without being detected by any of his fellow officers, and Scarlett did seem to cheer up after Nolan randomly brought her a bouquet of flowers. Otherwise, though, the scene at SF Metro was a hectic one. Once the news had gotten out that the Prophet had claimed his eighth victim, the media uproar was louder than ever. "We've got dispatchers getting frantic calls from parents of gay kids who fear their kid will be the next victim" Arkady growled in frustration, during one of the gatherings at the evidence board. "People are calling in with the names of anyone they know who's ever seemed homophobic; gay folks are getting scared to show their faces in public...."

"The people are losing their faith in this city as a safe haven for the minority" Lennox reflected. "Have we been able to confirm Senator Johnson's whereabouts last night?"

Montoya nodded. "He was at his hotel, but only his wife can confirm that."

Lennox glanced at her watch. "It's too late tonight, but I want to speak with the Senator tomorrow."

Which, Ned thought, was about time. Yes, it was a long shot, but what if the bigoted badger really was behind all these murders?

He was still puzzling over the conflicting clues that evening when he and Garrett sat down in a corner booth at Yong Fo's. He'd been a little hesitant to return to the Triad headquarters so soon, but Garrett had brushed aside his concern. "Even if it is a front, it's still an authentic business" the coyote said. "Where do you think I got that takeout we ate on our first date?"

The old tigress, Yong Fo's wife apparently, had given Ned another mistrustful glare when he'd followed Garrett into the restaurant, but after Garrett spoke a few quick words in Chinese, she seemed to relax, so that the two males were able to converse without having the Yongs - the last name appears first in Chinese names, Garrett explained - staring at them constantly.

"My Chinese is sketchy" Garrett explained as they sat across from each other, "but it's improving. Like with everything else, Olympia is a great teacher."

Strange, Ned reflected, that it no longer seemed implicitly odd when Garrett talked about his life as a criminal in front of him; when he really thought about it, Garrett more resembled a comic-book villain than a hero. "I still don't get how a coyote got into an organisation that traditionally consists only of species of Chinese origin."

Garrett lowered his menu. "It took a little doing, but Olympia does have the final say, and after I won over Yong Fo, no one else had a problem with it. I earned my place..." he paused. "I won't explain how."

"I appreciate that" Ned said honestly. He didn't need to know who Garrett had killed to earn his place in the Triad. He glanced around the room again, taking in the Chinese artwork and the tiger Buddha statute in the centre of the room, below which a large tropical fishtank was attracting the attention of a pair of young ocelots. "I must admit this place didn't really meet my expectations.

"Oh, were you expecting some dark, smoky gangsters den in the Underworld?" Garrett smirked. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"Do you do much business there?"

The coyote raised a paw to signify he was ready to order. "Sometimes. We have a counterfeiting shack there - no, I won't tell you where it is - and sometimes we attend drag racing events there."

Ned remembered how illegal street racing was another thing Mayor Wong had claimed he intended to shut down. "The Stang?"

Garrett flicked an ear dismissively. "No, I don't drive that well. But we do occasionally pick up nice cars there."

Picking up nice car probably meant stealing them. But Ned didn't have a chance to question that, because the old tigress arrived, listening attentively while Garrett ordered for both of them in Chinese. After she'd left, Ned took off his jacket and sighed deeply. "I never thought I'd be dating a thief."

"A thief?" the sly coyote grin returned. "You should have seen the haul I made at the Mayor's gala. A couple wallets, a gold watch, a fancy cigarette lighter...."

"You're a pickpocket too?" Ned groaned. "Ok, I give up."

"Let's discuss your case" Garrett suggested.

Ned laid out the details of the latest developments, from the specifics of Holly Vaughn's murder to Lennox's decision to bring Senator Johnson in for questioning. "You don't seem to have an concrete evidence against him" the coyote mused. "The quotes, yes, and unreliable accounts of his whereabouts on the nights of the murders. But that wouldn't explain the first five deaths."

"No, but if he did in truth order them, arresting him could lead to catching whoever's working for him." Ned shrugged. "We don't have anything better to go on."

Garrett didn't answer, just smiled, leaning into his booth contentedly. "I...I have to tell you, I'm....really relieved" he said at length. "I showed you my darkest side, and you are still here." He reached a paw across the table. "I don't have to hide anything from you...."

He seemed so sincere that Ned couldn't help grin back. "I'm not going anywhere, yote. Although I can't say I won't stop trying to turn you back to the good side."

"You keep doing that" Garrett smirked. "It's good for me to be around someone who doesn't have a dark side."

Did Ned not have a dark side? No, probably not. "I guess I don't" he echoed. "Although I used to feel like being gay was my dark side."

"How so?"

Did he want to share this with Garrett? Well, he'd probably learn sooner or later. "Growing up, I was really really close with my dad...." Garrett smiled encouragingly. "I was the apple of his eye, I guess you could say. I could do no wrong. Until the day I told him I liked boys.

"Everything changed. For the rest of his life, he despised me." He paused. Somehow, he could admit that without feeling any pain; it had been his father's choice, not his, and he could not take the blame for the failed relationship. "But that doesn't matter anymore," he said with confidence. "I've found someone who likes me as I am."

"And for that, you'll be a better father yourself" Garrett said, smiling.