You were in trouble and you knew it. Sweat ran down your face as the predator before you smiled at you confidently. A mink with a sly smile and confident demeanor stared at you with half lidded eyes. She was about your height, but she was a bit more heavily built than you were. Despite that, it seemed that she still had the agility to rival a fox if she so desired. She wore skirt down to her thighs with leggings running down each of her legs while a loose fitting, long sleeved shirt which was white in color covered her upper half. She had long flowing hair which was only a slightly darker shade of brown than her coffee colored fur. Her green eyes regarded you with interest and amusement.
"So?" She asked, "Shall we continue our little game, or are you about ready to concede and admit defeat?"
"There has to be a way out of this..." You thought. Your eyes scanned the hopeless situation before you, searching for even the slimmest means of survival. You desperately wracked your brain, looking for a way to buy time. You had used up nearly every move on the board, and it still wasn't enough to stop her from backing you into a corner. You honestly didn't expect to be struggling like this against a mink of all things. However, though she was an unusual predator; she was still dangerous all the same.
"Well?" She asked with a lot chuckle, "Have you finally decided to give up? You cant possibly beat me as things stand."
"Wait! She's right!" You thought, "With the current situation, there's no scenario where I can take her head on. However, victory only means achieving my goal. It doesn't necessarily mean that I defeat my opponent! Maybe, if I can just-"
Suddenly the door to the room opened before Malcolm strode through it. "Are you two still playing the same game?" He asked as he eyed the chess board that sat between yourself and the mink.
"I'm afraid so," She replied with a smile, "Though I clearly have the upper hand, he is a rather persistent and clever opponent."
"I'm forced to agree," Malcolm replied with a nod. "I've never seen anyone survive against you this long in a game of chess."
Malcolm watched with interest as you two continued to exchange movements on the board. It seemed that your opponent was genuinely enjoying the match. You were able to take several of her pieces, but most of them were pawns. You weren't able to take anything of substance without risking what was left of your own forces. Eventually, Malcolm decided to end the game in a draw.
"It's unfortunate, but we have to be going. We have much work to do and I can't possibly do it all without my secretary," the mayor admitted.
"Just when it was getting good," The mink sighed.
"Yeah, it's too bad," You added.
As she got up to leave, she flashed you a suspicious glance, "Is it though?"
"Is it what?" You asked.
"Is it really too bad?" She continued as she stepped past the board and looked down on you as you remained sitting in front of the chess set. "You couldn't have possibly won given my skill level and the remnants of your forces. However, you knew that I had to leave to rejoin the mayor at some point. So tell me, is it possible that you may have devised a strategy to keep me from winning long enough to force a draw?" You blinked at the mink who placed her hands on her hips and bent down to eye level with you so that you could see your reflection in her eyes. "Well?" She asked.
"Maybe," You replied with a shrug.
She grinned and stood up once more, "I suppose there is more than one way to play a game of chess isn't there? I like you, we'll have to play again sometime."
You nodded, "I look forward to it.'
"In the meantime," Malcolm interjected, "We'll walk you out. I'd hate to think that you were late for your appointment because you unwittingly used the backdoor."
You cringed as the mayor finished his sentence. You'd hoped that he hadn't been paying attention. Unfortunately for you, he had been. The mayor and his secretary walked you out to the front of the building.
"Kara should be along to pick you up soon," The mayor stated as you neared the double doors that formed the entrance of city hall.
You forced a smile and a positive attitude, "Great."
The mayor chuckled before turning to go back into the building, "Let's go Selica, we have much to do."
"Yes of course," The mink replied before giving you a friendly wave goodbye along with a smile. She the turned on her heel and followed Malcolm back into the building.
You looked to your left, and then to your right. You had expected to find a cheetah speeding towards you. However, you did not see anyone that you knew in the hustle and bustle of the city.
"Guess I'll just have to wait a bit longer for her," You muttered to yourself. However, as you sat down on the sidewalk and stared up at the cloudy sky you grinned. "Or maybe..." You muttered as you stood up, "I might just get 'lost' somewhere." With that said, you turned and ran down the street with a smirk tugging at your lips. "After all, it's her fault for being late, right? So why wouldn't I assume that today's appointment was cancelled?" Of course, you were well aware that she was probably only a few minutes late and you were completely rationalizing the situation. But that wasn't going to stop you from trading a day at the university for a day on the town.
Meanwhile, Malcolm sat in his office at his desk with Celica bringing him a few documents to read over. As she laid the documents on his desk he looked up at her with a inquisitive expression, "Well?"
Celica glanced down at her employer, confusion plainly written across her face, "Hm?"
"How was the game?" Malcom elaborated.
"You witnessed the ending for yourself," She replied.
"Yes, yes, I know how it ended. But I want to know what it was like playing him.
Celica crunched up her nose and furrowed her brow in thought, "I have to admit, he wasn't a normal opponent. His strategy continuously adapted. He lost a lot of his pieces to me through mistakes and missed opportunities early in the game. But once he realized what my tactics were, he began to effectively repel me. Even with diminished forces, he put up quite a fight."
"Yet he still lost," Malcolm replied as he put his fist to his chin in thought.
Celica shook her head, "No... he didn't. Though victory is ultimately achieved through capturing the enemy king or eliminating all forces and cornering the king, he didn't necessarily lose. He realized that he couldn't achieve total victory over me, so he changed his terms for victory. In order to defeat him, I had to capture his king and the same went for him. However, he knew that I was going to target his king. I assumed he would do the same. But he didn't, instead he did everything he could to protect his king while taking minimum losses rather than attacking my forces to capture my own king."
"So in essence, he found his victory in denying you yours?" Malcolm surmised.
"Essentially yes."
"Do you think he realized he was playing against the three time regional champion?" Malcolm asked.
"I don't believe so," Celica replied.
"Hm... he surprises me at every turn," Malcolm muttered, "His thinking is so three dimensional. He can perceive things from viewpoints that simply don't occur to us as anthros. Something that I'm sure my sister is desperate to exploit. If she could learn to think like that, or even use him as a thought engine... it's frightening to think of what she might do. We must protect him..."
Celica tilted her head as she looked down at her boss, "For his sake or ours?"
Malcolm looked back up at her with an intense expression, "For both his sake and ours. And it's the right thing to do."
Celica smiled and nodded, "Yes sir."
"So tell me," Have we heard back from Sally yet?"
"No," Celica replied, "I know she's self sufficient, and she's pretty good at what she does. But I'm starting to get worried."
"Hm..." Malcom grunted, "We'll give it another day. If we don't hear back from her by then, I'll begin preparations for a rescue operation."
"Yes sir," Celica replied.
"No need for that," Came a sultry feminine voice.
Malcolm turned in his chair to regard the owner of the voice. A fox bat anthro stood before him in grey cargo pants and a skin tight black t shirt. Unlike the species of bat that the name eludes to, this anthro was quite literally a hybrid between a fox and a bat. She had the body of a fox to be sure. Black and gray fur with lethal claws on the ends of her fingers and toes. A canine snout, and glowing amber eyes. Her ears though, were large and angular. Similar to a foxes, but more bat like in actuality. Her wings lined the sides of her arms, running from her wrists to the back side of her upper arms. A long bushy tail swayed behind her as she stood behind Malcolm's chair.
"So you've returned," The mayor noted.
"How observant of you," Sally replied.
"Why didn't you contact us? We were starting to worry."
"I was on a deep infiltration mission," Sally explained, "Answering my phone was not only in bad taste, but it was also an unnecessary risk."
Malcolm sighed as he leaned back against his desk, "I can't argue with that logic. And you did come back before we actually deployed a rescue operation..."
"Would you like me to relay my report now?" Sally asked as she moved to sit in one of the plush chairs in front of Malcolm's desk.
Malcolm opened his mouth to speak before his personal phone rang. He answered the phone In a somewhat irritated tone. "Yes what is it? He's what? When did you get there? Then he can't be far. No, get back to the university and expect his arrival, I'll have it taken care of. Yes, thank you."
Sally crossed her legs and raised a brow, "Problem?"
"I'm not sure I'd call it that," Malcolm replied, "But I have an AWOL human running around somewhere and I need to find him and get him to the university. I'll be sending Cody to make sure he gets there in a timely manner."
"Would you like me to lend a hand?" Sally asked.
"At what cost?" Malcolm cautiously asked.
"Getting to meet this infamous human will be my fee this time around," Sally replied. "I want to see with my own eyes how he escaped Sylvia Deluma's ambitions."