BX-132

© 2008-present

by Rick Coona

Chapter 1

The raccoon stood at the bus stop, wondering if he had missed the bus. Less than a minute later his bus rounded the corner.

Smiling at the driver, a powerfully built stallion dark as a moonless night, the raccoon asked, "Thank you, good sir. Lovely afternoon, wouldn't you say?"

"That it is, that it definitely is," the driver replied as the raccoon took a seat.

'This fellow was one of the good ones. He was courteous, he announced every stop, and seemed to be enjoying himself.' The raccoon thought as the miles slid by.

An elderly beaver femme rang the bell for his stop before he could pull the lanyard. He smiled at himself as the bus pulled to a stop, thinking about the saying, 'old age and treachery win out over youth and skill', realizing that you don't get to be that age unless you have a few tricks up your sleeve. Extracting his transit pass he waited until the elderly beaver had disembarked.

"Thank you my good fur, I really appreciate the service." the raccoon said, sliding the pass through the fare box.

"Always a pleasure, Mr. Conrad, take care now and thanks for riding with me today." The equine gave a broad smile showing a mouthful of teeth before continuing on his route.

#

The Furston Institute stood on a low hill out in the bucolic countryside, it was here the raccoon went. Passing through the double doors, the ursine security guard nodded to the raccoon, his AR-15 slung over his shoulder.

"Afternoon Max, quiet day?"

The bear gave a grunt. "Just the way I like 'em, Mr. C," he said with a wink.

"Me too, Max, keep up the good work," he said, nodding, as he headed to the reception desk, where a rather stunning red vixen sat.

"Afternoon Sarah, anything out of the ordinary today?" he asked before heading to his office.

"You had two calls, and Dr. Sezara wanted to meet with you as soon as you got in, it sounded rather important," she said, handing him his messages.

"How's your day going Ron?" she asked.

He nodded, reading his messages.

"Not too shabby my dear, and yourself?" he asked, turning his attention on the vixen, who smiled up at him.

"Well, I've got a date tonight, and I'm off tomorrow, so I'd say things are really looking up," she said with a wink.

"Have fun," Ron said as he headed down the hallway to his office. Pausing in front of his door he smiled at the brass name plate that read "Ron Conrad - Head of R & D." Sliding his identa-card through the reader, his door clicked open. He liked his dark paneled office but he would have preferred hardwood floors to the gray carpeting, he thought, pulling off the shoes he wore to protect his feet when venturing out. Wiggling his toes in the deep pile carpeting, he had to admit, it did feel wonderful on his feet. He hung up his jacket and put on his lab coat. Sitting at his desk, he dialed Dr. Sezara's extension.

#

Dr Shaharazod Sezara (who went by Shari for short, much to the joy of the staff), a jet black Abyssinian with flame green eyes and an explosive temper, was Head of Bio-medical Research at the Furston Institute. Three rings later she picked up.

"Dr. Sezara, Bio-medical, what do you need?" she asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Hey Shari, it's Ron. How can the R & D department help you today?" he asked in his easygoing way.

"What? Oh, Ron. Yeah. I need you to come up and take a look at something."

"Sure think Shari, be right over, I..."

"Good." {Click}

That's Shari for you, not one to mince words, the raccoon thought, taking his P.D.A. from the charger and heading out the door.

Bio-Medical occupied a good portion of the 3rd floor. After an inquiry at the front desk, Ron noticed two uniformed German shepherds with conspicuously displayed Uzi's flanking the door . They gave the raccoon the once-over, twice.

' __They were new._'_Ron thought as he headed down to Lab 3 wondering what Shari wanted him to see.

"No! Keep it in cryo until Ron gets- Oh there you are," Dr. Sezara snapped, looking rather peeved at something. The raccoon gave the feline one of his smiles that seemed to put folks at ease. It seemed to be working, he thought, as she sighed and a ghost of a smile dusted her muzzle.

"Afternoon Shari, What do you need from the R & D department today?" Ron asked.

The Abyssinian turned, seeming to forget he was there for a moment.

"What? Oh, right... Come with me Ron, and prepare yourself, this isn't pretty," she said, leading him down to the level 5 containment rooms, reserved for only the nastiest contagions.

"Shari, this must be serious, if we are going to the level 5 rooms," Ron said.

Shari stopped in her tracks, looking at him.

"Ron, I wish I had something more secure for this, But level 5 is the best I've got here," she said.

Ron noticed, for the first time, that Shari looked almost frightened.

End of Chapter 1